My latest adventure or flying down the stairs
Mood:  accident prone

Last Sunday evening, we attended a basketball game. Pierre left first since
he had to comment the game on the radio. I would meet him later at the
game, along with our teen aged neighbor.

I was getting the girls ready to go to a basketball game. Karla had taken a
bath and gotten dressed. Letty had also taken a bath and wanted to eat. As
I was walking down our stairs carrying Letty, I felt a puddle of water under
my bare feet. I tried to hold on, but before I knew it I was landing knee
first (I heard a pop! when my knee hit the floor) on the half of the
stairs. Letty flew out of my arms and landed on the half of the stairs
right side first then face down. I couldn't catch her on the air, but some
angels must have because she was unharmed. Thank you God! We both cried. Letty must have felt allright because she insisted on being fed.

I put an ice pack on my knee (inside my thin legged jeans) and got the girls to the game along with my neighbor. We were late (got there at the beginning of the 2nd half, but we got there)

There's a saying in Spanish "Los niños son de goma" or kids are made of rubber. Somehow kids will come out unharmed. I was not so lucky. Even though I put an ice pack on my knee for the whole night, my knee was still very, very sore.

On Monday, I got up early put on some compression socks, tennis shoes,
and bought a knee protector at the drugstore. I looked horrid (like out of
What Not To Wear), but was still able to go to work. At work, I informed my
boss I could not attend the week's hearings, but was still able to get our
documents out. That evening I called our physiatrist (A physiatrist is a
physician specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation.) He was out
until Wednesday evening and couldn't see me until then.

My knee and ankle hurt throughout the night. They were very, very swollen
by Tuesday Morning. I was able to get an orthopedic surgeon to examine me
Tuesday morning. (He is a friend of my parents). The orthopedist ordered
Xrays of both ankles and my very bruised right knee. No broken bones! He
also ordered an MRI, gave me an ankle protector and a prescription for
Celebrex. By the time I left the hospital where the offices and the X rays
were located I was just beat.

Wednesday morning (today) I got the MRI done at a place where it was first
come, first serve. The scan wasn't bad. Some people say it's
claustrophobic. To me it was an opportunity to sleep or at least rest. I
must have slept throughout the scan (as noisy as it was) because it just
went by way too fast and I was just too groggy when the test ended. My only
complaint was the cold. Next time, I'll request 2 blankets instead of 1.
(I hope there's no next time, those tests are expensive). In the evening, I
saw the physiatrist as scheduled. He will need to see the MRI once results
are in. I will definitely need PT for the ankle (which is bruised, but does
not worry the orthopedist too much). My knee will need PT to help the
swelling subside (even with lots of ice and a knee protector) the knee is
still quite swollen. The physiatrist's office is across the street from my
house and very accessible. The PTherapists are excellent. The doctor and
the therapists had done a great job with a bruised elbow(tennis elbow), so
I'm hopeful they can help with my legs. Lord knows I need to be able to run
after my kids.

On times like these I really appreciate my health plan, which allows me to
go directly to a specialist w/out a referal. Even, if I pay for this
through the nose.

Still, I feel terrible for I feel terrible for Karla.  She's only 4, and feels terribly guilty for the fall.  She can tell Mommy is in pain and cannot walk well.

Weaning?
Mood:  crushed out
Topic: Motherhood

Today Karla asked me why my "lechitas" were ddry.  I told her mommy's milk is for babies and that once babies stop needing milk the lechitas' stop producing it.  Needless to say, my boobs are shrinking.

I think she's weaned.  Karla knows there is very little milk.  Besides, Karla is 4 and has very little interest in nursing.  She only remembers every few days, sometimes every few weeks.

Letty has lost most of her interest in nursing.  Letty is only interested in nursing at bedtime, and for less than a minute.  Letty insists I prepare a milk bottle (bibi) at night.  She nurses first.  If and when Letty wants milk and is not satisfied with my production she drinks from the milk bottle.  Otherwise, she hugs the bottle like a safety charm.

 Once Letty is asleep, I put the night's bottle and sippy cup (milk and water) in the mini refrigerator upstairs.  If she wakes up in the middle of the night, she can have her bottles ready.

Wean me gentle.  I'm not ready for my last baby to grow up.  I've been nursing nonstop for the last 4 years.  It's hard to believe my baby prefers a milk bottle to my mommy milk (I must be sooo dry)

Letty has begun potty training
Mood:  lucky
Topic: Letty

Letty has recently shown a lot of enthusiasm for potty training.  She would pull her diaper trying to take it off.  I finally got the old potty out of the box.  Letty soon learned to sit on it and pee.  My Baby gets very excited wherenever I mention doing pee pee in the potty (Yay!)

 Last week we got her a box of pull ups at Costco so she could train better.  Sometimes Letty lets me know when she needs to go.  Other times, she doesn't.

Maybe Letty will be potty trained before she's 3, but then there's no need to pressure.

Sahara Dust strikes again
Mood:  irritated
Topic: Puerto Rico

Ever since last wednesday, May 16, we've had record breaking levels of Sahara Dust aka African Dust. The sky is incredibly hazy and looks smoke filled.

This is poison for asthmatic persons. Weather persons have been warning the public to stay indoors, close their windows, keep the Air Conditioning on, and avoid outdoor activities. Needless to say, it's hard to convince a 4yr old to stay indoors because even though it's a gorgeous day, the air is *d i r t y*. On the bright side-- the days are sunny and it's only raining only ocassionally.

The air should clear sometime next week. 

Requesting clean air vibes

Karla's last day of school and pool party
Mood:  crushed out
Topic: Karla

The school year has officially ended at PPP (Parent Participation
Preschool). Next year Karla will attend Colegio Marista in Guaynabo and I will truly miss PPP's wonderful atmosphere.

We hope to place Letty at PPP in the near future.

Karla attended her last day of school, and the following day her class had a pool party at Dorado Beach East. I took the day off from work and took Karla and Letty to the party. Pierre got there later, and was there for about an hour.

The party was at a kiddie water park at el Hangar at Dorado Beach. The place is gorgeous and so are the surrounding homes$$$$$. I've been told Ricky Martin has a house there.

Needless to say the kids had a lot of fun.  We, the parents, also had a great time. It was a hot, sunny day (93 degrees F), the water was delicious, and the breeze was divine.

Almost all the kids from Karla's classroom attended. Their teachers, Ms Edeline and Ms Karla, were also there. I was happy the kids had a blast, but will surely miss them and the wonderful teachers and school.

Karla's 4th Birthday Party
Mood:  celebratory
Topic: Karla

Last May 5th we had a party for Karla's 4th Birthday. We celebrated at Reino de los Niños  an indoor park full of pint sized amusement park rides. Karla had a blast, and so did AdaLetty. (Ada Letty thought it was her birthday too!)

We invited Karla's classmates and a few of our friends and neighbors. We had 19 kids attend the party, plus a few babies and their parents.

My sister Frances came from FL and brought her two kids Francisco and Paula.  Paula's birthday was the day before the party so we also sang Happy Birthday to her.

Counting up to 20 with Karla
Mood:  quizzical
Topic: Motherhood

Tonight we were counting in both Spanish and English. Karla knows how to count in English better than in Spanish. When we were going from 11 to 20, I noticed Karla changed the number 19 to 9. So I start counting, along with Karla, Letty is watching us.

11..12..13..14..15..16..17..18..*19*..20. Yay!

As soon as I reach 20, Karla says--Mommy, I congratulate you. You counted really well.

Karla then proceeded to walk away and do something else.

I just stood there dumbfounded.

Who's teaching who?

My hubby the sports commentator
Pierre just got a second job as a sports comentator. How cool is that!

Pierre will be co-anchoring the broadcasts of Bayamon's Los Vaqueros. He's
been in sports management for the last 20 years, besides his day job in the
food industry.

I'm so proud and happy for him.

Got my bar results
Mood:  not sure
Topic: Working Mom

Got my bar results off the web.  I did not pass either exam.

Already told DH and called Celebration Bar Review. 

If you fall off a horse, you must get on right back.  Time to get back on the saddle.

1 down, 2 to go
I got an email telling me my MPRE (Professional Responsibility) results had
arrived. After some techno glitches, I found out I had a score of 98.
Believing my FL passing score was 100, I told DH I had flunked.

Still, I couldn't confirm the FL passing score, so I called FL Bar. They
told me the passing score is 80. Woo hooo! Yipee!

One down, two (FL Bar and MBE) to go. Meanwhile, I'm spending time with the
family (most imp thing in the world) and cleaning up the house.

At 2pm April 16, I should be able to find out my exam scores.