Suspended...

... yes, that is right. Gaby got suspended from school today. One the suggestions from the psycologist was to take her out of the school as a last resource when she didnt wanted to listen and follow instructions. Even though it is very harsh, the first suggestion of sending her to the 2 or 3 years old class was not going to be effective with Gaby as she actually LOVES to spend time there.

Today Gaby wanted to wear a crown to school, and actually had to be dragged in after she was told that she was not allowed. Half hour later, the principal called me to pick her up. It was my last day of work at the school (I have to go on Monday to hand in my final report, though), so I couldnt leave home and miss work. So, I called my mom and she agreed on keeping her in her house without privileges.

The psycologist recomendation was that I needed to be very upset while picking her up and do not talk to her. If I talk, I was going to give her the oportunity to "play around" with the truth, plus I was going to give her attention for a bad behavior. So, I got to the school with my BULLDOG FACE, sit her on the car and dropped her off at my mom's house. Every time we get to my mom's house, she runs to grab Lupita (my mom's dog) and to say hi to my mom and grandfather... This time, she waited for me to lead her: She knew better!!! When I was about to leave I told her (still with my bulldog face): You are not allowed to play with Lupita, and you will stay in this room (the bedroom that doesnt have a TV) until further notice. Then I left. The amazing thing was that she didnt tried to explain me or anything... She KNEW she was in BIG trouble.

I called a few times to find out about her, and she was quiet and didnt tried to break the rules. That night, we talked and hubby and I explained her that we were very upset, and that was unacceptable that her behavior was so innapropiate that they had to call me to pick her up. She was very sad, especially since they had a reading competition where they were going to win "money" to buy books from the fair. She was really looking forward to it, and was very sad that she missed it. She also promised that she was NEVER going to do again what she did at school that morning, and that she was going to follow instructions from now on. We'll see how much impact this day caused on her. The psycolgist guarantees that her plan will work in two weeks if we are firm and work as a team.. We just have to wait and see.

I also noticed a pattern. I have been having this feeling about this (hubby too), and she misbehaves Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and behaves fine on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We suspect the reasons, but let's see if this patterns continues.

Working on having healthy buds - Part III

Update time again. New updates are in red. Im also adding the dentist on each girl as they need a regular checkup, so I have to put it in agenda.

Amelia - The Pink Bud
1 - CAT Scan to check for Sinusitis - Diagnosis: She has Maxilary AND Frontal sinusitis. The tech was nice enough to explain me directly in the computer where was all the sinusitis. When we talked to the ped she told us that this is normal as she cant blow her nose. She told me that it can be treated at home and prescribed her a treatment. Update: We already started the treatment, and I guess we will do another Cat Scan when is over.
2 - Check up with an Eye Doctor
3 - Check up with a pediatric Dermatologist
4 - Check up with the dentist

Camila - The Red Bud
1 - X-Ray to check for Sinusitis and Adenoids - Diagnosis: Everything looks normal.
2 - Buy Humidifier or Vaporizer to sleep (still need to find out which option is better for her)
3 - Ultrasound to check if she has any enlarged organ to produce the abdominal distention - Diagnosis: Everything looks normal.
4 - Test for tolerance to Lactose, Gluten and Soy (Those are 6 tests, 4 of those are RAST to milk proteins, and the other two are RAST to Soy, and RAST to Gluten). Diagnosis: Gluten and Soy came back negative. Out of the 4 from the lactose family, 3 came back with a VERY low intolerance. More testing to come.
5 - Disaccharides Test and Digestion Test... Both done with stools . Diagnosis: It was not completely negative, but the ped says that the part that looked positive was affected by what she ate the day before. She says there is nothing to worry about in this part.
6 - Check up with the Eye Doctor
7 - Blood work to check on the white cells and platelets level. Diagnosis: White cells and platelets are back to normal (yaay). As always, she is showing a little bit of anemhia, even though the ped said it is nothing to worry about.
7 - Check up with the dentist

Gabriela - The Purple Bud
1 - X-Ray to check for Sinusitis and Adenoids - Diagnosis: No enlarged adenoids!! This was actually shocking as this was the X-Ray to make the decision for the removal surgery. I havent talked to her ped about this, but I will ask her if she thinks she needs to repeat them ro make sure.
2 - Check up with the new ENT doctor
3 - Check up with a new orthopedist for a second opinion and tell him that she sometimes complains of leg pain.
4 - Follow up with her eye doctor
5 - Call the new psicologist to find out about group therapies. Diagnosis: We had an intervention with the psycologist in school, and she said to hold on for the group therapy until a few more weeks to find out if the new strategy to proposed works, which means that the group therapy may not be neccesary.
6 - Resume with the tests prescribed by the neurologist. EEG, Head MRI, plus some blood work with several tests.
7 - Vaginal culture exam
8 - Check up with the dentist

More tests to go... I will continue to update the blog about this.

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Today we had an article about our day at the beach at the Cloth Diaper Whisperer's blog.

Safari Day @ School

They had a Safari day at school today because of the Scholastic Book Fair. They had a blast and I have to confess that I had a great time putting their outfits together.

I was ready to buy a "Zoo Keeper" costume that was on sale (it was actually 20 something at that moment), but that was when Camila got hospitalized and I forgot to buy it on time. By the time I remembered, it was already 30 something plus the shipping was going to be too expensive to have it on time... Also, they never had a size for Camila, so I was ordering one from a lady on Etsy, but the same thing happened: It got too late, and the shipping was going to be too expensive.

What to do? What to do? As they have khaki pants, I decided to look online for a cheap khaki shirt (if it was very very cheap, I was going to be able to pay a fast shipping), and also decided to look for boots on Amazon, as I have Amazon Prime, which means I have free 2nd Day shipping. I found the most gorgeous romper in Old Navy. It was JUST perfect, and it was only 10 bucks each (it is 15 already... boo). I got 3T and 5T, and even though I was taking the risk of Gaby not fitting, I decided to give it a try and find out later if it didnt fit. Then, I went to Amazon and got a couple of boots for the girls.. Snow boots that is, but oh well, those were the cutest ones that I found at a low price.

A few days later when I got the rompers and the boots, I found out that Mia's boots didnt fit (they did fit, but she didnt liked how they felt), and that the rompers where too small for both girls... I was expecting this with Gaby, but not with Camila... This is the second time that this happens with Old Navy, and I really need to learn my lesson and buy 2 sizes up when I buy at Old Navy.

Hubby had the idea of putting them apart and make them look as a short and jacket, and to put them a white shirt underneath. I asked my mom for her opinion and when I told her about Ernest's idea, she thought it was a great idea, and instead of leaving them apart, to instead put them back together with another fabric... The time was very short, and I had no idea where we were going to do this, and then I remembered that the school's nurse loves to sew, so I asked her for her help. A day later, and only 6 bucks later (yes, SIX BUCKS... including the fabric), I had two gorgeous Safari outfits!!! She even decorate the pockets with a little bit of the same fabric. The only thing I couldnt solve was Camila's boots (Mia's lost, is Mimi's gain), so I look for a pair of fleece boots that had "boots" face (meaning Dora's friend) .. Somehow, they came home without the sole (wonder how that happened), but that doesnt matter... What it matters is that they had fun and that they were stinkin' cute!

Gaby update - Psychologist

The last time hubby and I saw Gaby's psychologist, we asked her if she was willing to stop by the school to evaluate her there as there was nothing that she or us was really concerned about, except for the reports from the school. She agreed, and it happened today. After she observed her, we got all together to talk (the psychologist, the school's psychologist, the teacher, the principal, hubby and me).

The psychologist suggested an action plan, and we will just have to wait and see. Her behavior in school havent improved, even though she is acting more mature with us and with everybody else... Just last Saturday, she was sleepy and tired and Ariel Enrique was literally jumping on top of her. She was in a lazy boy seat and he wanted to play in it. Gaby acted like a big girl and didnt got upset, and understood he was just playing.

Next week is her evaluation report from the school.. I wondering what's in there!

Fun from last Saturday....

As I mentioned, we went to visit my friend Luz, and we also had my oldest nephew in town. We sure had a lot of fun, and here are some of the photos we took (some are with Luz professional camera, and they look SOOO good!!).

Mimi and her typical "dont bother me" look:

Isnt he TOO CUTE??

Mia making a mess:

Luz, Mimi and Gaby:

Gaby and Ariel having fun:

Another cute one of Ariel:

I seriously LOVE this picture... I think it talks by itself so much about us... It is just perfect and so real:

This one back at my mom's house playing with Little People.. Ariel loved the house:

Carnival Parade 2009

This was truly a very busy weekend. After the beach, we went to my mom’s house to spend some time with my oldest brother, wife and nephew. I also needed to stop by Luz house as she was having her flight in the middle of the night. I will post about it tomorrow with photos.

The main event from today was that we went to the Carnival Parade. Honestly the last time I went I was a little kid, and if I would have known how it was, I wouldn’t have taken Mimi. She was amazed by the colors and music, but it was very crowded and it is not easy to be outnumbered by the kids.

Temperature was 92 F (33-34 C), and we were covering ourselves with umbrellas. Honestly, Im not a big fan of the carnival, because some people do the most horrible acts simulating blood and hitting each other, and that is not my thing. However, the girls had fun, and that is what it matters. I do think some of the performances were too graphic for them, but it was fine.

Here is Mimi at the parade sitting on her stroller.. The three of them were wearing the typical flag outfit:

One of the typical "Diablo Cojuelos"

Here is hubby with a "Diablo Cojuelo":

We took almost 300 photos and the memory got full. Sadly we couldnt get photos of the best parts of the performances, but this is the first time that we actually get it full. We will be on the market for a spare memory after this incident. I made a selection and put them very small, so the blog doesnt loud so slow as both previous posts has too many photos: