Day 7 of Lent

Oh, Maria.  Last Friday she was supposed to be in Annie, her stage debut! at school.  On Thursday, Veronica was sick and stayed home, so she missed Maria and the rest of the cast doing the show for the whole school assembly.  Maria said it was "great!".  She said her friend Camille gave her TWO thumbs up and hugged her and even the boys hugged her and gave the thumbs up, TWO thumbs up, she kept saying, so cute.

So Friday Veronica stayed home too but she rallied and we all went to St. Joan of Arc for the show.  I had taken the night off work, we were meeting Laura there, everything was all set so of course Maria threw up on the way in to school.  I didn't know if it was nerves or what and she said she was okay but right before the play started Mike said "there's Maria" and I craned my neck to see the stage and he said, no THERE'S Maria, and she was coming toward us with her teacher.  I took her hand and we were walking out when bleeeeaaaaahhhh she threw up AGAIN.  Oh Lord it was a mess!  A nice mom friend of mine got me paper towels and cleaner and  I cleaned up while Mike got the car but by the time he got there Maria wanted to stay and see her number so he took Veronica and Felicity and Laura headed to our house while I waited with Maria so she could see her friends in Hard Knock Life.

We walked out to the car and I said well, Maria, I'm glad you got to do the show yesterday and maybe you can do it tomorrow.  I said I'm glad you got to see your number, no one else did!  We got home and she threw up before we got into the house, even, and was sick all night, joined eventually by Felicity and Anthony, ugh.

But she was such a great sport about it.  She realized on Saturday that she wasn't going to be able to go that night and she was just very understanding and grown up about it.  I honestly feel like Mike and I were more disappointed for her than she was for herself, so we just went with her.  She is something else.  Here's what she wrote in her journal for school about it, it doesn't all fit in the picture, but it has a happy ending, where she felt better on Sunday! And went to the store!

Day 3 of Lent

Veronica is home sick and so I don't have much time but today is Day 3 of Lent, aka the first meatless Friday, aka, the third day where I talk about What's So Great About my kids and today is Maria's turn.  These are in no particular order, I am just starting with who is the least recently updated.

Anyway, here's What's So Great About Maria!

• I've said this but she is doing really well at school.  She has friends and she's doing well academically and she plays Chess and she is in the school play.  I am looking forward to her starting some athletics, they don't start until like third or fourth grade, which I like but won't it be fun if she plays kickball or something?  We don't play organized kickball in NJ, so it was a big surprise to me when I moved here and they have it as a regular sport.  I even know adults that play on leagues!  Anyway, she is a good and model student, so far, she seems to be having fun and doing well and I'll take it.  
• As I said, she is making her St. Joan of Arc Debut tonight!  She's one of the orphans in the Hard Knock Life chorus, which is all the first graders do.  She has done it for us a few times and it's super cute.  I can't wait to see it.  Yesterday they ran the whole show for the school and she was so funny about it.  She said, "Camille (her bff) was really nice about it, she made two thumbs up and hugged me.  But then some of the boys hugged me too!  Devon, and La Don and Henry ALL made two thumbs up and all hugged me and said 'good job'".  
• She can be quiet!  Last week she was invited to a friend's birthday party for Sunday afternoon from 3-5.  I was working at 5:00 and Mike wasn't too keen on picking her up with all the other kids in tow so I asked our neighbor if we could carpool.  Her son is in Maria's class and they live on our street.  She said yes so I went and picked up Luke and he and Maria and I drove to the party, about 15 minutes away.  And NOBODY said a word!  Ha, these kids go to school together every day, he was in her kindergarten class and is in her first grade class and she spoke not a SYLLABLE, I have never seen her that quiet.  It was interesting.  
• She's pretty flexible.  Yesterday I asked my friend Marta to pick her up because I didn't want to take sick Veronica out in the 5 degree temperatures and she said sure, so I emailed the school and asked to give Maria the message that she would be meeting Marta and she just - went, played at Marta's, played church, did her homework, and I picked her up after Mike got home with Anthony.  She makes my life easier and I am super grateful.  I knew it would happen, someday, ha!

LONG TIME NO HEAR

Man I can't believe it's been since just after Christmas since I wrote about Maria.  She is doing so great, it's wonderful.  I mean, I want to kill her twice a day because she is talking back so much but man, she is also just terrific.  She is doing so well in school, the top five percent for reading in the country of first graders (what a horrible country that would be, ha!) and the top eight percent for math.  I'm very proud of her and I have almost nothing to do with it.  She is naturally smart and competitive, which is a good description of Mike (smart) and me (competitive).  She turned seven on January 11, we had a big party here, just pizza and cake but her friends had fun.  I took this idea from Pinterest and it went over well.  We are going to Florida for Spring Break and she is excited.  Honestly she is behind the whole trip, I just wish she would be able to drive, ha!

Oh and she had strep throat!  She was the first to fall, then Felicity, and then Veronica.  She had a high, high fever two Fridays ago and I had to go get her from school.  She couldn't even sit up at the clinic but after a day or two of Penicillin she was much better.  She is a real tough guy.

Here's a cute picture: