Sadness

I follow this blogger at Indy With Kids, her name is Katy.  This week she lost her two month old baby girl, Shaundi.  I do not - how do people get through things like this?  I don't understand it, it is so sad and so horrible and the only thing I can do for her is pray for her and her family and that sweet baby.  I donated here, because I feel like it's the least I can do and I hate the thought of her family worrying about money at a time like this.  I'm asking you to donate too - no amount is too small, everything will help.  And if you can, say a prayer for her, and for all mothers who have lost babies.

Sunday

July 28th is the last time I posted about Veronica, ahhhh!  That's terrible.  I'll do Seven Things for Sunday as penance and try to do better in the future.

1. I cut her bangs today.  She's been asking me and asking me to do it and right before we left for church she asked me and we went and got a towel and the scissors and I cut them on the porch. They came out really good, she stayed so still, and I told her that is the secret to good bangs!  
   
2. She started preschool on Tuesday and it went just great.  She only went Tuesday and Thursday this week, as it was the Monday/Wednesday kids' turn to go on Friday this week and now this coming week she doesn't have school on Friday because they are all off so they can get ready for the French Market, which is a bummer, but whatever!  She started and she loves it.  Her teacher happened to come in to the restaurant where I work this week and she said how sweet Veronica is.  She is, too.  
3. She is starting to write really well, she asks to spell EVERYTHING, just like Maria and she makes her letters just fine.  I imagine she'll do lots of stuff earlier than Maria, because she has Maria to set an example.  I am looking forward to that paying off and not just in the bad way.  
4. The other day she told me, out of nowhere, "if you need energy, go to the JUICE AISLE, Mommy!  The JUICE AISLE!  Then you'll have energy, like one HUNDRED!  In the juice aisle!".  I have no idea what she's talking about but I guess she is maybe watching too much television.  
5. She is getting a little chubby, I think!  She is still as tiny as ever but she is a great eater and a LAZYBONES, so maybe it's catching up with her a little bit, belly-wise.  I've been taking her and Felicity for walks in the mornings when she doesn't have preschool but she always, ALWAYS wants to go in the double stroller.  LAZYBONES.  I'm glad she's such a good eater, she is by far the most adventurous of all of my kids and I appreciate it.  
6. Oh, this was sweet: I picked her up at 3:00 on Tuesday and I pick up Maria at 3:15, so we had some time to play on the playground with just me and Felicity.  So I was just chatting with her, and I said, tell me your favorite part of your day at preschool and she said, just BEAMING, "it was when you comed to get me, Mommy!  It was when I saw you!".  Ay yi yi, isn't that something?  She is a killer.  
7. She is a killer, in the bad way too.  She is lonely, I guess, without Maria, and I thought I'd go insane before she started preschool.  She wanted me to look at every single thing she did, all day long!  I found myself begging, Veronica PLEASE, I have to do some laundry, I have to clean the house, I have some STUFF TO DO!  She is much happier being back in school a little bit and she is going to start back to ballet next Wednesday and we'll be happy with more to do.  

Seven Things for a Sunday

• Veronica is ridiculous in church.  I have to carry her in, and hold her for most of Mass.  She is FOUR!  What the heck?  
• She's super sweet, though.  I don't have any favorites among these kids, but if there were a contest for sweetest and most easy going, Veronica would win that contest, hands down.
• She is doing very, very well at swimming.
• She's started to sing some of the prayers in church.  She always makes me hold her hand during the Our Father, which I do NOT like to do, but I'll break her of that eventually.
• Maria and Veronica and I went for a walk today but Veronica has to ride in the stroller, because she gets so TIRED, she says.  Her FEET hurt.  She is ridiculous.  RIDICULOUS.
• She is really trying to pronounce words better, it's cute.  RRRRRRRRRR Wed!  She says, for red.  RRRRRRRRR Wed!  She'll get there someday, I bet.  
• She can never go to our neighbor's house because they have a dog.  Sometimes, when Maria goes to our neighbors' and Felicity takes a nap, it's just me and Veronica and it's nice.  She is a sweet thing, for real.  

Veronica's Four Year Stats

At four plus two months, Veronica was 39.17 inches tall and weighed 37.92 lbs.  Also, her blood pressure was 92/54, which I guess is probably normal since they didn't measure it.  I want to throw away the piece of paper I got which says all this stuff, so I thought I'd post it here.

End of Days

Ha, I was just being dramatic.  Of course it is not the end of days, just the end of summer.  It's not even really the end of summer, it's just WISHFUL THINKING because this summer sort of sucks.  Veronica is located directly to my left RIGHT NOW, crying in my EAR, because she thinks Maria spoke in too harsh a tone for her.  That happens all the time, some perceived hurt that Veronica has with any of us, it's exhausting.  I would say it was a manipulative thing, but it doesn't seem like Veronica has it in her.  Anyways.  Here's some things about Veronica at the end of summer:

• Things are going much better at swimming.  We start our last session tomorrow and go for three weeks.  I told her last time that if she got in the pool, I'd get her something from the vending machine and now of course it's a thing.  It always, always becomes a thing that I regret.  I Regret Everything:  The Joanne Kehoe Story is the title of my unwritten memoirs.  
• (Now FELICITY is in here, it is a wonder I can ever get anything typed on these stupid blogs)  She starts preschool on 8/26, two weeks after Maria, the same week Felicity starts her Moms Day Out thing.  So it's Tuesdays that I will have no kids from 9:00-2:00, that will really be amazing, right?  I know Veronica will like preschool, she is a cute and social person.  
• We went to the JCC pool the other day, my friend Jill from work came with us, and she and Veronica went to the lazy river a lot, she really liked it.  Veronica loves Jill, because they both have the same favorite color (purple) and they are both 3 out of 4 kids.  I am 3 out of 4 too.  
• We got Veronica's four year checkup out of the way the other day, she is 3'3" and weighs 37 pounds.  She's still low-ish on the percentage charts but she's just fine.  
• She screamed and cried when she got her two shots!  She went first and it was awful, AWFUL, but she was recovered by the time we walked out, she was talking about her band aid, etc.  
• I guess that's it.  I want to keep their blogs updated but it's hard when they are awake and I am super tired and over thinking about them by the time they go to bed.  That probably sounds mean but I don't care, this is too much time to spend with someone!  Lately, Veronica cries and cries when I go to work, and I go to work at 5:00 in the evening.  We've been together for like TEN HOURS by then.  Good lord, child, I want to say, aren't you sick of me?  I'm sick of you!  

Six for Saturday

Ha, I can never do Five for Friday on Friday.  I never can do Throwback Thursday on Instagram either, I'm a mess!  Here's six for Saturday:

1. I took Veronica to swim lessons on Tuesday, with high hopes that she would jump in the pool and we could pick up where we left off, but of course, that was not to be.  She acted EXACTLY like she acted last year on the first day. Sigh.  We are going three mornings next week so maybe she will get the hang of it.  We even have her favorite teacher from last year, Mr. Isaac!  It was so disappointing.  
2. She'll start at a new preschool in like six weeks, her new preschool calls the kids Butterflies.  I mean, they don't think they are butterflies, but like that's their name, Butterflies.  I hope I am being clear about that, I don't feel like I am.  At her old preschool, they are just "2's", "3's", etc.,  but this is cute, right.  I mean, the whole school is called the Monarchs, so it's fitting with the theme.  
3. The other night she pulled her dresser over on herself!  It was my grandmother's dresser, it's big and the drawers are heavy and she must have been using all the drawers as stairs?  Or something?  My guess is that she was trying to get to the top so she could jump onto her bed and POSSIBLY, she was framed.  All I know is that we heard a loud crash and I went up and she was on her bed, in her underwear, crying and saying "I didn't dit it!  I didn't!  I didn't DID IT!".  Ha!  Poor stupid baby, of course she did!  I felt terrible for her, she was very upset.  I hope she remembers it!  
4. Maria and Veronica stayed up late on Thursday, we figured because it was the 4th there would be fireworks around, so they may as well catch some fireflies.  They were cute, they had a picnic, and toys out on the deck, they caught fireflies in sippy cups and had a high old time.  The fireworks were a little loud for Veronica but otherwise it was a success.  They went to sleep around 10:00 and slept until the unheard of late hour of 8:00.  
5. Today I heard Maria introduce Veronica as Veronica and Veronica said "You mean Veevsy Voo!".  Ha!  Who'd think that would be her preferred nickname?
6. We went to the library today to see this percussion group called Clang! and they were just great.  They asked for volunteers and who's hand shot up but Veronica's?  She was adorable, so excited.  Here's a picture:  

Five for Friday - Saturday Edition

1. Veronica IS going to go to the preschool where Maria is going next year.  The spot was available and THEY called ME, so I figured why not.  I thought about it and I thought maybe Veronica would like to be where she is going to be in Kindergarten before she gets there.  Plus maybe some kids she'll go to Preschool with will also be going to Kindergarten and that would be nice, right?  Maria is annoyed that no one that she attends preschool with is going to St. Joan of Arc, so maybe I could circumvent that with Veronica, I figured.  Also, last night I was talking with some friends of mine and their middle child, their son, just graduated from eighth grade and one girl from his class and he have been together since preschool and now they're off to high school together.  So that seems like a nice thing.  We'll see.  
2. Veronica started back to her little preschool summer camp thing this week and it went well.  She also did well in Vacation Bible School, oh you should hear her sing some of those songs, it's adorable.  She sings LUSTILY, no matter what it is - "A, B, C, D, E, F, G!", she'll sing like Bonnie Raitt or Etta James or something, it's hilarious.  From VBS she sings "Soon and very soon, we are gonna see the King, soon and very soon, we are gonna see the king!".  She's adorable. 
3. She will not shut up.  The other day she said to me, remember when I was little and I didn't talk? I said yes, I remember and she said not now!  Now I can talk and talk!   I said I KNOW!  IIIIIII KNOOOOOOW!  
4. She gets really mad, really mad lately when her needs are not immediately met.  I wonder where she gets that from?  Ha ha just kidding, we all know where that example is set.  We are working on it.  We don't have terrible twos around here as much as terrible threes and (not) fun fours.  
5. She had her ballet recital and did very well.  She is a good listener.  Well, not here but for everyone else.