Mommy and Me Preschool

It doesn't get any more cheery than this right? You're absolutely right it doesn't! And this was the last of these cheery faces. The first day of Mommy and Me Preschool was an utter failure, I'd say :) Thankfully we didn't get kicked out.....yet. The problem seems to be that there is only ONE of me, and TWO of them. I think they plotted to try and bring me down before the class started! Due to a crazy busy morning and things not going as planned, we got there right at 9:31. Class started at 9:30. First fail of the day. All the handicap spots were taken by people without handicap stickers (yes we have a sticker but only use it when there's absolutely no other option-this case would have been a perfect example of when we really NEEDED a handicap spot and yes we qualify for it for both safety and mobility reasons)....anyways........

I parked across the street and put Mila on one hip and Sofia on the other. Mila weighs 34.5 pounds and Sofia weighs 28 pounds, you do the math...and add in puffy winter jackets and hats, a purse over my shoulder, and slippery snowy terrain if you forgot we live in the snow capital of the world! I tried 3 different doors and a woman (who was parked in the handicap spot with no sticker) stared at me just watching me try all 4 doors, all which were locked. I noticed she was looking at me STILL, so I said "Is there a different door?" She cheerfully said "Yes down there" and continued to stare at me. So I walked to the other end of the building and by that point could no longer hold the 62+ pounds of baby jello so I set Sofia down....Fail #2. You would have thought I was pulling her eyelashes out one by one or something. Nice person #2 stared at me, smiled and said, "Don't you have your hands full." If I wasn't carrying 2 kids (one now screaming) I would have.....ahh nevermind.  Next obstacle is the stairs, because their class is in the basement of the building. My arms were burning (who needs a gym) but I made it down the stairs with them and set Sofia down hoping she'd walk down the hallway to the classroom at the end. You can guess what happened there. So thankfully a friend who is in the class carried Mila into the room and another helpful friend took out coats and put them away :)

Sofia is in a stage (oh Dear God please tell me it's just a stage...now that I think about it she's sort of always been like this but it's gotten worse lately.....oh no.....) where she can't be without me for a fraction of a second without freaking the heck out. I'd much rather have this problem than attachment issues that some adoptive families experience....but we need to help figure out a way to help her have a less anxious attachment. I can't even take Mila potty without her losing her head. I can't even walk into another room. I can't even get out of my seat in the car to open her door without her losing it because she can't see me for 1/2 of a second. So of course Mila had to use the potty when we got there, I offered to Sofia to go with us but she refused so I left her in the classroom with the teacher and friends....thankfully Mila was quick and Sofia only screamed for about the last 10 seconds of me being gone. And THAT was just the beginning ;)

They took turns throughout the rest of the class having melt downs or just randomly screaming/growling for the fun of it. Walking from one room to another way tough too because Mila isn't steady over thresholds or in new environments and Sofia was being plain old stubborn and refusing to walk, so that was funny to watch I'm sure. Sofia has a really hard time with transitions and we transitioned 6 times in the hour so each time there was a melt down...once she got going with the new activity, though, and warmed up to the new surrounding, she did a bit better. And then it was time to go and of course she threw a fit! The teacher was really sweet and helpful and kept commenting about how calm I was. Well, ya know, what can you do really when your kids decide to plot to overthrow their mother. Just grin and bear it! 2 against 1, I'd say they won today!

I guess if anything good came out of today, we very successfully debunked the myth (in case any of the parents in the class believed this myth) that kids with Down syndrome are always happy....HA HA HA :)

I remember 3 being the toughest age for Zoya....so with my calculations we have about 1.5 more years of these shennanigans....Lord help me!

All I have left to say is next week I'm bringing back up...we're changing this Mommy and Me Preschool to "Mommy and Daddy and Me and Me." I'm rounding up some battle gear and going back for Round 2....and if we fail again, at least I'm not going down alone!

And because I can't leave a post on a bummer note, here are a few more pictures of my adorable perfect little angels, BEFORE the S**T hit the fan :) (P.S. don't mind the bruise on Sofia's cheek....she had an unfortunate trampoline accident but all is good!)