Jerks

So.  Today I was home with the three girls and my mom was coming to get Maria and Veronica and take them out for a Day of Fun.  I took Felicity upstairs for a bottle and a nap and I told the girls, I'll be down in 15 minutes, please stay down here and be quiet.  Two minutes after I went upstairs the phone rang and I heard Maria scream, I'LL GET IT!  IIIIIIIII'LLLLL GEEEEEEEET IITTTTTTTTTT!  She scraped the chair over to the counter and got the phone and bellowed, HELLLLOOOOOO into it.  Then I heard her clomping up the stairs and she barreled into the room, followed closely by her henchman Veronica.  The baby was all, what the hell? and wide awake and Maria yelled at me, handing me the phone, HE WANTS TO TALK TO YOU, TO MY MOM.  It was the Orthotic place for Anthony, with some long ass involved questions about our insurance.  So I talked to that poor girl, over Maria and Veronica yelling and over the Backyardigans, that Maria turned on.  I finished with her and hung up and I asked Maria to take the phone downstairs and please let me get the baby to nap.  So they left and then I heard the garage door open and Maria screamed and I mean SCREAMED, GRRRAAAAAAANNNNNDDDDDMAAAAAA! and then she clunkered down the stairs and I was terrified that she'd fall.  And this may sound rotten but I was scared she'd fall and hurt herself, but mostly I was afraid of the way that she would SCREAM even if she had a PERCEIVED injury.  I hate when she falls down because oh, Lord, the yelling is insane-o.

So.  I lay the baby down and she promptly started screaming but I figured the heck with her for a minute and I got the girls' stuff together and they and my mom left.  I went back up to the baby and got her to sleep but by the time she calmed down, I was late to meet my friends.  She woke up after about a half hour and I went to meet them and I was saying how it's hard for the baby to get any naps in because Maria and Veronica were jerks and they both looked at me like I was a crazy person.  But - but - they were being jerks.  I mean, it's not like I expect much different, I know they are four and almost three years old but WOW, do they have to be so loud?  Maria is so, so loud.  I want to stick my fingers in my ears all the time. I have been listening to Pandora in the car, so I can NOT listen to the Wiggles or whatever the hell and Maria can't stand it.  She talks to me the whole time, "what are you doing?  what are you listening to?  Mom?  Mom?  MOOOOOOMMMMM?"  I love them but they are jerks.

Heavy is the Head that Wears the Crown

Ha!  It just came to me to type that title.  Mike posted this picture on Facebook and said "it's hard being four years old and the boss of everyone".  She takes a nap almost every day, she gets up soooo early, she has to. 

Today I was upstairs witht the baby, lazing around, and Mike was getting ready to leave with Anthony.  I heard her yell DAD!  I THROWED UP!  Ugh.  So she couldn't go to school and this was after being off last week!  Nightmare! 

She knew she couldn't go and that's how I knew she felt bad, because she didn't even fight me on it.  She got better and better all day.  When we first got home Felicity took a nap (miracle, angels sing) and I exercised and Maria laid on the couch and commented on my workout.  I was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and I took it off and was just in my sports bra and yoga pants and Maria said that none of the ladies on the tv weren't wearing a shirt.  She said "all of their bellies are covered up, MOM".  Ha!  So that was fun. 

Then later she asked if we could make a chocolate cake.  Not cupCAKE, she said, but cake.  So we did, it was excellent fun.  It's nice to do stuff with just Maria sometimes, especially when she is a little worn down from a bug.  When she is full strength, it can be exhausting but it was a pleasant day, as these days go.  She got a little puny right before I left for work and she napped for a long time this afternoon but I think she's okay, I think she can go to school tomorrow.  I hope so, anyway. 

 

Sister

 Maria, pictured here with Felicity and her friend Carlotta, is an excellent big sister.  Veronica could learn a thing or two from Maria, if you want the truth.  She is so funny, she uses this VERY creepy voice with Felicity, she'll say, sounding like the hag in Snow White, "Sweetie!  You sweetie girl, Felicity!  You are a sweetie girl, aren't you?  Aren't you a sweetie girl?".  She cracks me up. 

This week is the girls' spring break week from school.  I made a comment on Facebook about how preschoolers didn't NEED spring break and good GOD everyone went insane!  All of a sudden, I was slamming teachers and how dare I and I was just thinking of myself and blah blah blah.  Here's a tip:  I am ALWAYS thinking of myself because I am NEVER thinking of myself!  I have to give every single thing to these kids (which I do willingly, blah blah blah) but I mean, COME ON!  I'm supposed to care more about some preschool teacher than my damn self?  Ugh, whatever.  I am going to try to have a good week, even though Maria asked me 2000 times today what we were doing this week.  In fact, she wanted to do stuff TODAY.  I always explain, in this very tense tone of voice, that SUNDAYS are days that people ENJOY with their FAMILIES!  She always wants to have a playgroup, and then I say, well, I emailed the mommies and we'll see and she says, right then DID THEY ANSWER?  ARE WE HAVING A PLAYGROUP?  So, sure, who would want a break from that?  WHO I ASK YOU?  WHAT TEACHER HATING PERSON WOULD WANT THAT? 

WILL NO ONE THINK OF THE PRESCHOOL TEACHERS?  Ay yi yi. 

Anyways.  Tomorrow we are going to the haircutting shop, as Maria calls it, so I'll try and post a picture before next week, ha! 

Catchup

Maria is fine.  She is the same as ever.  She is unable to leave anywhere and I mean anywhere without screaming and crying.  It's very wearing.  I've tried everything - telling her how long it is until we leave, talking to her on the way there to explain that we'll have to leave at some point, just - everything.  How hard is it to leave somewhere?

One of the problems is that she's tired.  She has been staying up super late, as has Veronica, and they still get up at the regular time (7:30 ish) and they're beat.  Then around 2:00 every day they turn into demons and they stay that way until they fall asleep, sometimes in the car, sometimes on a tabletop.  It's insane, I'm hoping it has to do with the hot weather and time change and will right itself.

Ted Talk

Ugh, I just watched this video on Youtube.  I'm sorry but I think this woman, Alicia Arenas, is a JERK.  A friend of mine posted it on Facebook and I went and looked at it after I put Felicity to bed.  I'm so mad now and I'm going to try to not think about it because I have to get some rest tonight.  When I saw it on my friend's Facebook feed, I saw in the introduction to it, it said the speaker lost one brother to the world of autism, and one to a terminal illness.  What does that mean, lost to the world of autism?  At first I thought maybe something happened to him, maybe he died, like being hit by a car or something.  That is one of my big fears, because in this book that I read a long time ago, one of the kids has autism and later in his life he gets hit by a car and dies.  Anyways, no, it just meant LOST to the WORLD of AUTISM.  You know, because her brother wasn't THERE anymore.  He was LOST.  Vomit.

Then I watched the video and if she said she was HEALTHY and her brother had AUTISM one more time I was going to make a time machine, fly back in time to this Ted talk and smack her.  Some woman on Twitter, she said, was HEALTHY but her brother had Asperger's.  ASPERGER'S!  God!  If someone with ASPERGER'S is unhealthy, what would this jerkstore say Anthony was?  At death's door?  AT THE DOOR OF DEATHLY AUTISM?  God.  People are jerks.  She is such a patronizing jerk, I can't get over it still.  Anthony is not unhealthy because he has Autism.  Maria is no healthier than Anthony because she doesn't have autism.  LORD.

"Parents", she says, addressing ALL OF THE PARENTS, EVER, OF HEALTHY CHILDREN AND UNHEALTHY CHILDREN, "if you ask your child how they're doing and they say they're doing fine DO NOT BELIEVE THEM!".  Ugh.  UGH.  They're called Glass Children because their parents look right THROUGH THEM because they are so focused on their special needs child.

So.  Maybe Maria behaves the way she does because we LOOK RIGHT THROUGH HER.  Anthony is in school from 8:freaking 30 until 4:freaking 30 every day of Maria's life, practically, while Maria is off to ballet and playdates and preschool.  Maria waltzes in to every room she ever enters and says HI I'M MARIA to whoever will answer.  Maria is going to grow up and go through school and go to college and get a job and maybe get married and maybe have kids and boo hooo hooo, lady, I can't feel too sorry for Maria.  You know what might be worse than being a GLASS CHILD?  Having AUTISM!  And maybe never going to a regular school, and maybe being called a retard and maybe having your sister go to a big talk and tell a lot of people how MISERABLE your EXISTENCE made her.

Anyways, despite being a GLASS CHILD, whom I ignore all the ding dong day while I think about my UNHEALTHY LOST BOY, Maria is doing just fine.  OR MAYBE THAT'S JUST WHAT SHE SAYS!

Nails

 Isn't she adorable?  This is a trippy picture, right?  Her eyes look huge and so do her hands.  On Saturday she asked me if she could get stuff on her nails - she has been painting her own nails with any Sharpie she can find for the last few weeks and she must have put it together that you can go get them done.  She might remember my manicure I had right before I had Felicity, or maybe someone in school has their nails painted?  Anyways, as recently as two weeks ago, I was swearing I'd never take a four year old to get her nails done and there I was, Sunday, taking Maria. 

Our weekends are so long.  She asked and I figured why not.  My friend Jessie was saying that she takes turns taking her two daughters out to eat and to go shopping and how much they liked it and I thought maybe it would be good for us to do something like that.  So on Sunday I told her I'd take her and I did, she was SUPER cute.  The girl that checked us in had two different colors on her nails so Maria wanted it too, pink and blue.  My favorite color and her favorite color, she said! 

She drives me crazy.  The negotiations are INSANE, the constant crying if we can't do what she wants, she never, ever wants to leave anywhere, she falls asleep late in the day and then is awful when she wakes up, on and on I could go about her but I swear I could say as many good things.  She makes us laugh so much, she's so smart, she's gorgeous, she's sweet 100 percent of the time with Felicity and 50 percent of the time with Veronica, she is a good, good girl and we're so lucky to have her.  So I figured what's $10 to get her ding dang nails done?  I'm glad we did it! 

Sunday

Maria's doing great.  She is a very fun four year old, even if she is going to drive me insane with the questions about her schedule.  Yesterday morning, she hammered away at me until I told her what we were doing through next THURSDAY!  I should be happy she goes places, I suppose.

This week I had a playdate with Naomi, a girl in Maria's class.  She is younger than Maria, kind of between Maria and Veronica and I'm sure Maria bosses her around at school.  Well, Naomi's sister Mary came over too and she's FIVE and she's not shy AT ALL and SHE was kind of the boss of some things at the playdate and hoo BOY, can you imagine how that went over?  When not only Naomi but sometimes Veronica was doing what Mary wanted to do and not Maria?  HA!  It was sad, Maria said "they are not playing what I want to, so YOU come up and tell them that have to do what I want".  Ooh, she was crying, so sad.  I told her no, you have to figure it out and take turns, blah blah blah. I feel bad for her because I am a bossypants, too!  I like things to go my way, too!  But they can't, always, and she's learning it.  She's tough enough, thank God, she can be crying one second and completely better the next, so I'm not too worried.

Preschool

I went to a parent/teacher conference at Maria's school, my first.  It's funny, I know I am in denial about being an adult because when I think about a parent/teacher anything, I never think that I am parent, I think about my Dad and Mom, ha!  Oh, they love Maria at school!  It's really nice to hear, I mean, she drives me mad daily but I really do see all the good in her, I swear, but it's nice to have it confirmed by an outside person.

Her teacher said she has two good girlfriends at school, Paige and Josie, but that she is willing to play with other kids too.  She said she is extremely empathetic and kind and that she avoids conflict.  She said Maria is the only one in her class who will put on her own coat and that they are working on zipping it up.  She said they call her the Walmart Greeter at school, because she stands by the door every morning saying hi to everyone and announcing their arrival.  She is doing fine motor skills wise.

She's perfect, of course, but ay yi yi is girlfriend sleeping badly!  I think she eats too late at night and I am trying to not give them too much to eat for an afternoon snack so they are hungry for dinner.  Typically Maria gets hungry around like 4:00 and eats a bunch and then doesn't want dinner, but DOES want a bunch of crap right before she goes to sleep.  She has been having "spaghetti dreams" as my friend Leslee used to call them, waking up in the night, etc.  She told me the other morning that she had a dream that Felicity turned into a bird and flew away.  Anyways, as usual, we are working on it.