Busy Busy Busy ~ Life Is Really Busy

Well where can I start…so much has happened since the last time I’ve updated you guys on Bianca. Maybe I’ll just touch on some key moments from the last three weeks.

Week of 09.08.08

As soon as I posted our last blog that Bianca was doing so well in school and had not missed a beat the following week she woke up w/an eye blister! =( Needless to say I could have kicked myself in the head for even putting it out there that she was doing so well! She missed 3 days of school and well she wasn’t too happy about it. This was the worst eye blister ever! We did manage to do the week’s homework assignments so it kept her spirits up that she was returning to school. In the meantime this gave me time to get all the stuff together for her birthday party!

This same week we met w/her school to go over her needs for an aide. Since Bianca was out and couldn’t physical attend the meeting I brought w/me her medical pictures from when she was first born and then recent pictures of her wounds. Talk about driving the point home! Thankfully Bianca’s pediatrician – who is the best in town Dr. Socarras from Pediatric Associates in Aventura ( http://www.pediatricassociates.com/ ) – has always been so flexible and accommodating to Bianca’s needs. He submitted the forms necessary for the Florida Department of Health to approve what is needed for Bianca in school. After a long 1 ½ to 2 hour meeting everyone was in agreement that Bianca needed a Paraprofessional (One on One) plus what was even more amazing is the fact that a nurse was also requested due to Bianca’s needs for periodic bandage changes while in school. I was so happy with the way this meeting turned out. It really showed me that there are schools in the Miami Dade County system that sincerely cares about our children’s need. Even though these are services WE ARE entitled to another school – which shall remain nameless – literally told me to “be prepared to put on your gloves and bring your lawyer” to fight for what’s rightfully ours.

This same week we celebrated Bianca’s birthday. This year’s theme was Barbie and the Diamond Castle. It was an absolute blast! The kids played in the pool all day while the adults mingled around the house. It was also a beautiful day out! We could not have asked for a more splendid day! We are so amazingly blessed! Needless to say we were pooped out by the end of the day. We were all hibernating the following Sunday from all the craziness. Thankfully my sister in law (Rosy) and mother in law helped TREMENDOUSLY in cleaning up while the party was going on and after. I do not know where I would have been the following day if it weren’t for the bighearted assistance in cleaning up the mess left behind. More than likely I would have had an extra crappy Sunday cleaning up by myself. God love them!

BIANCA'S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION ~ LOTS OF FUN AND CHAOS!

Week of 09.15.08

Well our week started off pretty good. Bianca headed back to school. She had lost her groove so we were starting ALL OVER AGAIN w/the tough mornings and lazy school days. I would usually get a call from her asking me to go and pick her up. But I told her to stick to it and she’ll be fine. We headed to see Dr. Socarras for Bianca to get vaccinated. What a fun way to start your birthday week huh?!? Once there Bianca was weighed and measured plus an array of other items. The usual stuff when you go to the doctors. Bianca is officially 44 ½ inches tall and weighs 55 lbs. In 1 year and 8 months Bianca had gained 17 lbs and grew 3” or was it 2”? Regardless that is proof that the dilatation we had done in May ’07 was a true success. I’m hoping we can go for at least 2 years before the next one – hopefully more!!!! So say a prayer right now about it for us or just send some positive karma our way! We’ll take it all.

On Tuesday we (or I) baked 44 cone-cupcakes! I was up until midnight getting them ready for Bianca’s school. Since it was her birthday that Wednesday I thought it would be nice for her to have a “mini-celebration” at her school. It was a hit! She came back home w/tons of birthday greetings from her classmates. Kids are amazing and Bianca of course LOVED the attention. On that day Abuelo Armando and Abuelita Maria Luisa picked her up from school! Once again THANK GOODNESS for grandparents! They brought her a small cake and sang her happy birthday!

Mommy and her little helper decorating the Birthday Cone Cupcakes!

Enjoying her day at school and then w/the Abuelos

That weekend we headed to Nana's house for some additional celebrating! That same week it was also Bianca's cousin's birthday and her aunt's birthday. So needless to say September is a busy month for us all!

~More celebrations at Nana's house!~

The week progressed on and Bianca has finally come back to her groove with getting up in the mornings. Our days are busy and they’re filled with so much to do. Even though I am tired and physically aching from all that we do now I would not trade this “normalcy” for the world!

Bianca and her skin

Bianca is putting a lot of stress on her skin now that she’s in school fulltime. Her body is fine but her feet are taking the brunt of it all. The ankles are now constantly breaking down and I’m trying to find new/innovative ways to wrap them. Yet when I finally do wrap them the wrappings are causing stress blisters around the edges. So we’re back to a very simply yet light wrap. It’s crazy! Bianca is not wild about the idea of having a wheelchair but I think that she (and maybe a few others) will have to come to terms that she might need it for school. I guess it will all really depend on her. It’s just a new assignment on my list of “Things to do for the Quality Of Life for My Daughter”.

Overall we're at a happy place! Everything is flowing ~ a few bumps along the road ~ but we’re hanging on just fine! I just cannot wait for cooler weather! Even though cooler for us Floridians means anything below 80 degrees!

Good night!

2 Weeks & Counting!

Well tomorrow makes 2 straight weeks that Bianca has gone to school! We’ve done pretty well and I thank the lord above every day for this blessing! We’ve had a bit of a rough start but things seem to be getting underway just fine with Bianca and school!

The Good Stuff

She’s been doing quite well in class. She is participating in almost every single thing in class except for going outside to play in the playground. But that was to be expected and she understands the reasons why she can’t be outside on days where the temperature is well above 95 degrees! Usually she spends the time indoors playing with the blocks, reading stories or doing some sorts of arts & crafts. I usually get a phone call around 10:30AM letting me know she’s doing well and that she’s enjoying herself. She’s able to call me because I provided her with a cell phone to use in case of any emergencies. I’m so happy with the technology that we have today! I think I would be a nervous wreck if I don’t hear from her. If she does not call me around that time then I can expect her to give me a call around her lunchtime which seems to be around 11:30AM.

Last week they had to do some seating arrangements with her classmates. Apparently Bianca was chatting it up with another little classmate and her teacher was not pleased. Bianca’s attention was called a few times while the other little girl was put on time out. Apparently she talks more than my daughter! Next up is a young little boy who she has befriended. She says he’s very nice – he takes out the seat for her and picks up her blocks when they are done. Apparently he’s a little gentleman. You can only imagine how daddy reacted when she told him about this little guy. It was priceless!

She was also rewarded for being a good participant in class last week. The teacher gave her a star and a little notepad as a prize for being such a great student! She was very proud of herself and wouldn’t stop talking about her reward! She LOVES the attention.

Lunch has also been a great turn around for us. Bianca’s appetite is beyond what we would have expected! She eats quite well in school and usually trades her lunch for other items in the cafeteria. I think this “Lunch Time Bargaining” is just too funny and cute! Aside from this she still comes home and asks for more food and milk! I love the fact that her nutrition has not been hindered.

Homework has been pretty fun for her thus far! She is pretty much on top of it. I usually have to explain things to her once maybe twice and she gets it. Lets see how long this will last…we all know how MUCH MORE FUN (of course I say this with a sarcastic tone and eyes rolling) homework gets as we get older!

The So-So Stuff

Bianca has been able to get around the school just fine on her own two feet. She does get tired much faster then the rest of the kids but keeps on going after a few minutes of resting her feet. We have noticed that all this walking around is a double-edged sword. The positive side of things is that she can walk a bit more straightly now and for longer distances BUT her feet are paying the price. They are tender/sore/blistered. Not completely but in certain areas we are dealing with some wounds. I was expecting this to happen since she did have the same problem when she started to crawl/walk. Certain areas tend to be more tender than others because lack of use. At home she was in a more relaxed laissez-faire environment. The areas that are now breaking down will more than likely toughen back up as time goes on. This has usually been the case with Bianca and her EB. Only time will tell. I would not want to introduce a wheelchair for her to use in school unless it’s ultimately impossible for her to walk around without pain. For now we are OKAY!

For the reason above I have left the stroller in Bianca’s school to be used in case of any emergency. This however has not been fruitful. Since Bianca notices that no other kids are using strollers she considers it a burden. She does not want to be seen in it whatsoever! I have had to explain to her that she’s a princess and that princesses get pushed/carried around in carriages. Her carriage just happens to be a hot pink stroller. She really didn’t buy into the story but she has obliged to use the stroller upon exiting the school for safety reasons. She flies out of it as soon as she sees me but other than leaving schools she refuses to use one. Our next option is to maybe have a tricycle she can ride around in the school when she needs to get from one place to another. Another mom who has a son with epidermolysis bullosa suggested this option and I think it might be the best thing! Now if I can only find one with big enough trunk space! I mean she’s all girl and boy does she carry stuff around! I have an idea of something that she might enjoy and make her look “cool in school” instead of the stroller. It’s a little Vespa Scooter. She might be able to get away with using this in school! The psychologist that was observing her today did make the suggestion of a tricycle as well so it might be something we’ll be looking into getting her for her birthday!

Last week she did not get many new booboos. Come to think of it she only got one booboo which happened while she was exiting the bathroom. The doors at the school have some sort of safety mechanism which automatically shuts the door in a very quick pace. I think it’s more of a hazard than a safety. The door moved a bit too fast for Bianca and it nipped it on her left wrist. This was nothing compared to the little girl they heard screaming at the top of her lungs because her little fingers got crushed from the same door!

The Everything Else Stuff

Today I received a call from the district office in regards to having either an aide or a nurse for Bianca in class. The ball is moving, slowly, but it’s moving in the right direction. The school system is having so many issues that I can only hope for this to be resolved by the time Christmas is here! Hopefully before then…but I prefer to not give myself false hopes! At least I heard the statement “I’m going to approve an aide but wound care cannot be performed until a nurse is in place”. They really are trying to ease the burden but it’s tough with all the budget cuts around here. Regardless, I know Bianca needs to assistance in school so this MUST BE DONE. No matter how many times I have to explain myself she needs an aide.

I’ve been able to make the necessary arrangements to take my hour lunch from work everyday at 1:30PM to pick Bianca up from school. It’s been crazy but nothing beats picking your child up from school and listening to all the wonderful things they did in the day! She’s tired and ready to go home but still has sooooooo much energy that I get the news from school hot off the presses! With having no lunch hour to myself any longer I’ve been forced to prepare something for lunch the night before so I can heat up and eat in about 15 minutes. It has saved me some money in my pocket but I know I’ve been putting that back into my gas tank for the extra trips I’m doing 5 times a week! But again it is ABSOLUTELY all worth it! I am actually spending so much more time with Bianca and I can really be on top of her care with the extra time I’m spending with her.

Bedtime has finally been set to 8:30PM every night. It’s pretty difficult to incorporate everything we do each evening into a couple of hours but we manage. She also gets up so refreshed! Still a bit cranky/whiny but after the ½ hour she’s ready to go! I’ve also learned NOT TO get dressed before getting her ready! I use to get dressed first and by the time I was done with Bianca I will have toothpaste on my blouse, powder on my trousers and god knows what everywhere else! So the best thing to do is to get up and do everything I need to do except get dressed, get Bianca ready and then get myself ready! It’s amazing how less stressful it is…I don’t have to worry about my clothes getting stained!

Our First Fundraiser

Okay now this is where we need your help! Sorry for slipping this in here but I’m going to be advertising it all over the place. We have received our packet for our FIRST FUNDRAISER! Bianca is actually pretty excited about it so I will probably end up buying just 20plus items myself. We all know how these school fundraisers go! So if you can go ahead and order an item or two that would be great! You can either check out the catalogs we have with us right now or go online. You can let me know what you’re interested in and I will put it down or place the order directly online.

Important Information For Online Orders – Student Code is VERY IMPORTANT so Bianca can get credit. So make sure to enter it upon ordering.

STUDENT CODE: 448680

SCHOOL: MadieIves ElementaryStudent

Email: simba9960@yahoo.com
http://www.4jaxco.com/store/cart.php?m=product_list&c=7

When you purchase items, you will be allowed to assign 1 point per item purchased to Bianca after you check out. Thanks again for helping her school and Bianca on our fundraising campaign.

Good night everyone ~ I'll attempt to post some new pictures up as soon as I can!

Our First Days In School

~Bianca's First Day For School 08.20.08~

Well our first few days were definitely quiet eventful! There was a little bit of everything! Also I would like to thank Gramma Shirley, Dr. Amjad and others that have been so helpful in providing me w/some very much needed feedback. From things I can incorporate into her nutrition to things she has full rights for in class! That kind of input in priceless for us at the moment…and will always be! So please for anyone that has any input ~ no matter how insignificant you think it might be ~ trust me it really is not!

~ Let start w/Wednesday ~ 08.20.08

We made it promptly to her class. It was such an exciting day filled w/so many emotions all at the same time…will she be okay? How will the other children interact w/her? How will the teacher handle an incident (we got to experience that one but more later on), how will lunch time, PE time and all the chaotic moments of Kindergarten go for her? Well needless to say I got all my questions and then some answered in 72 hours! As she was settling in she looked like a pro at meeting and greeting other kids. At first some did stare at her bandages (tubular gauze) covering her arms – while others were just straight out and friendly! She did have a very good time in class and followed orders very well. Her first assignment to draw a Brown Bear… easy enough b/c she got a happy face! As time went by she made it out to “PE” which was mostly sit by the sidelines and do low key fun stuff in the park. She enjoyed that and NO ACCIDENTS thank the lord…but keep reading! There was a small incident where a little girl mistook Bianca’s hands for being dirty. I guess it’s because of how they look. I mean we’re not oblivious but the little girl was down right nasty! She told her to don’t touch her because her hands looked all yucky! And I know Bianca prides herself in cleanliness because it’s been our forte since day one! Just ask those that were with us on her first days in the NICU…SCRUB DOWN!!!!!! So it’s a staple in our house to first wash our hands from the time we walk into this house and then handle everything else! But I also attribute it to lack of education & awareness. I do know this little girl’s attention was called upon several times in class by the teacher until she was finally moved and put in time-out. Of course the whole thing did not phase Bee one single bit. She moved on with her day and actually made a nice friend. Her name is Lisa. The funny thing here is that Bianca actually got up in the middle of the class to ask her teacher for a pencil. Turns out the pencil was for Lisa. Go figure my daughter who usually needs some assistance is the one helping out her new friend so she won’t get in trouble! LOL! At lunch she did pretty well which was a concerned because I thought she would not eat too well w/out first having a bottle (yes I know I know) but she actually surprised us all! She went down a nice list of items during lunch time! So you know I’m a happy momma there!!!

Oh I forgot to mention that she has been able to walk all over the place w/out any assistance in her stroller. Which I am very proud of her determination to “Do It”. God knows how that might play down the line when classes get much heavier but we’ll build and cross that bridge when we get there! She also has her Nana w/her in class as a volunteer until we have the aide set in place. Hopefully all that is coming along just well…but w/the school system boy you never really know. But I keep my hopes up and a parachute on my back just to make sure I land safely when things don’t go through as planned! When I picked her up from school she was allllll pooped out! She was like I need milk and my blankie please! Then she sprawled on her Princess Pull Out Bed in the living room and relaxed! Then she was off to a relaxing bubble bath! Awwwww to be a kid again!

~ Thursday ~ 08.21.08

~Bianca's Booboos from her very nasty fall in school~

Well Thursday did not go quite as expected. All was going well until they had to walk the extreme of the school to the library. Out of all places Bianca took a nasty fall and landed on her right knee and right palm. You can imagine what happened after that…honestly call me a fool or just observant but when I saw the wounds after she took a fall they were really not as bad as they would have been say a year ago. Funny ~ or not so funny ~ is the fact that when this happened no one pushed her, bumped her, or did anything to her for her to trip and fall! It was all Bianca! But trust me she learned from that one. The teacher did take advantage of the moment to provide an educational awareness of what Bianca has and why they must all be very very very careful w/Bianca. To try and help her out as much as they can but to be gentle. She also went on to tell Bianca that it is okay, you don’t need to go home. I think she had a mix of embarrassment and pain from the fall which prompted her to want to go home. But the teacher was very receptive and said “no no you’re okay, you can stay and keep going w/the rest of the class”. It was almost twisted but since I know how Bee reacts to those situations I was really worried more about how the teacher was handling it. But she seems to have been A-Okay for the time being since the wounds weren’t really bloody ones. The day progressed and everything went well…Bianca is such a good student. But she does have a minor fault ~ read on.

~ Friday ~ 08.22.08

~Bianca Ready For Another WONDERFUL Day At School!~

Well here we are – made it through a whole “week”, sort of speaking, of school! I was able to get Bee dropped off in class on time ~ well about 40 minutes early! I managed to take the time to speak w/her teacher to see what concerns she might have…she said Bianca is doing well just that she seems very tired by 11AM but that she doesn’t think it’s anything to do w/her EB just a transitioning period of her not being used to work work work like a busy bee! But other than that she said she’s integrating well into her class. Today was an example of a great day! She did all her homework in class ~ draw an Orange Bird and a Yellow Duck ~ she received yet another HAPPY FACE! But that didn’t keep her and her new little friend Lisa out of trouble! You see they seem to TALK quite a bit in class. (God for those that have known me for a while who those that sound like in school?) Lisa ended up in timeout and Bianca was one more word away from being put in timeout herself. Who would have thought - my daughter la chismosa! I can only wonder who she might get that from…as soon as we got home she pooped out again. She was super tired and you can tell by her eyes. This poor girl has been waking up at 6:40AM every day. And that’s simply because I have to do some very minor wound care on her to be able to be out of this house by 7:20AM. By Friday Bianca managed to become friends with three new friends in her class, Molly, Emily and Lisa.

~ Woundcare ~

So how are we holding up? Within all pretty good. Unfortunately the booboo on the bottom of her foot peel opened again. It’s a pretty raw wound but it’s in an area that I can bandage up just fine. Then we have two dime-sized booboos on the back of her thighs. They’ve been heck to heal since they’re in a high-traffic area. But they’re slowly closing off. Aside from all this she has the two new wounds she got at school. They’re hanging in there just fine…I consider ourselves pretty luck that we’ve only got two wounds to worry about from school THUS FAR…and yes I’m very well aware that the year has just begun!

~Home Life~

Well home life has absolutely shifted quite a bit! All that time I use to find myself just sitting around doing close to nothing but pay bills, think of debts and what I have to work on for tomorrow are long gone! My day goes something like this:

• 6:15AM – Wake up and get ready for work ~ Shower, brush teeth, shave, get dressed, etc…
• 6:40AM – Wake up the sleeping beauty in the next room
• 6:40AM – 7:20AM – Get Bianca ready for school ~ quick overview of any new wounds in her body, sitting on toilet, brush her hair while there, clean her booty up, wash her hands, brush her teeth and wash her face
• 7:20AM – 7:45AM – Drop her off at school, settle her in to the front door of the class, say goodbye & head to work
• 8:00AM – 1:30PM - Work
• 1:30PM – 2:30PM – Pick her up from school, get home, do an overview of any new booboos that need wound care, change her uniform and give her a bottle of milk ~ head back to work.
• 2:30PM – 5:30PM (sometimes more) –Work, work, work and work
• 6:00PM – 7:00PM – Get home, get dinner ready, get Bianca’s lunch bag ready for the next day, and pay BILLS!
• 7:00PM – 7:20PM – Take ~what we call in this house ~ a Gypsy Shower go in and out in less than 10-15 mins., pop Bianca in the bath.
• 7:30PM – 9:00PM Serve dinner, clean up and take Bianca out of the bath for wound care and some dinner.
• 9:00PM – 10:00PM – Wound care and one-on-one w/Bianca about her day
• 10:00PM – Bed time for Bianca
• 11:00PM (varies) – Bed time for the rest of the house.

So as you can see I have a jammed packed day. And that is that I’ve missed a few things here and there….but honestly I’m enjoying my life at the moment. I’ve always been very happy to be in my house w/my family creating a home/memories side-by-side.

In closing I would like to say that we’re doing better than I’ve expected by this time…I was thinking before that I might have received 3-5 phone calls in a day asking every little question about Bianca. But thankfully the staff at Madie Ives Elementary is the most caring/understanding staff I have encountered. Plus they have such a wickedly funny sense of humor! Just my type of peeps! =)

Well that’s pretty much her first few days at school ~ FULLTIME!

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers plus send many positive vibes our way to keep going w/such a hectic schedule! Unless it starts taking a toll on Bianca’s skin this will be the schedule we will abide by for a while!

Love now and always
~Sally Contreras
Proudest Mommy On Earth of the cutest Kindergartener in the WORLD!

School what school?!?

The Nasty Weather In Our Backyard ~ 08.18.08

Well as most of you may or may not know Bianca didn’t make it to her first day in school or her second for that matter… You see there was this little T.S. named Fay that came right at us. Nothing too bad considering we’ve been through worse in the past but then again it’s not even PEAK hurricane season.

So Bianca stayed home for a few days and hanged out. She was, to say the least, disappointed! She kept asking “Why is it raining? I want to go to school mom!” and I kept reassuring her that she will just not when she was expecting to go.

A friend of my, Monica, made a pretty funny comment when she said that Robert must be pretty close to God, because of these two days of school being cancelled. I couldn’t help but laugh at the mental picture I got from that comment! It sounds so very true! I think school beginning two days later did, in a way, help ease our tensions of her starting school. We’re a bit more comfortable and accepting that she will be in school. As a matter of fact it is our new ammo around the house when we want her to do things. – Without the attitude of course…who would have thought a 5 almost 6 years-old little girl can have such an attitude!

Aside from it all she did have a pretty bad sore on her left foot we were trying to get healed. I was worried she might have had a less pleasurable experience on her first day of school since it was pretty sensitive w/shoes on. But as of this morning she feels much better and is walking/running/hopping all over the place. So yup she’s ready!

The only thing I am stumped on is what should I make for lunch five times a week – that’s EB friendly, yummy and nutritious? She’s picky but not extremely…so I might have to pop in there some choices. I was worried that she might be missing out on some nutrition but found this wonderful Thermos from Hello Kitty and it might be the perfect thing to keep her milk nice and cold through out the day. Since she needs to drink her Boost – plus other NUTRIENTS I pop in there – through the day, to maintain her caloric consumption at an ideal level, I thought this to be the perfect item. And the straw is not like those of a toddler sippy cup which is hard to suck on.

Anyways that is really all that’s happening in the home front. We will see what tomorrow – The Official First Day Of School – might bring our way!

Lots of XOXO
~The Contreras Family

Bianca "hanging out" for just one more day! ~ 08.18.08

Our long week w/Bianca's new school...

Oh what a week it has been! It began on Monday – August 11 - when we had to go and meet the vice principal from Bianca’s new school! She will go to Madie Ives Elementary School. The vice-principal’s name is Ms. Good. She was very nice and very understanding with the concerns we have in regards to Bianca starting school and the modifications we will need for her in the classroom.

As some of you might know Robert wasn’t too thrilled about the idea of Bianca going to public school. But with a little bit of pushing, and lots of positive stories from those that have gone to school in the EB community, he has decided to back down just a small bit. Needless to say it’s been a trying time between us since we have such different views on Bianca going to school. He doesn’t and I do…but we both ultimately have the same views on providing Bianca w/some normalcy in her life. That’s what we always strive for and school shouldn’t be any different.

Back to our week long adventure. After we met w/the vice-principal and another gentleman from the school, whose name escapes me at the moment, we decided to take a tour of where Bee’s class will take place. Strutting along the halls we walked quite a long way to get to the other side of the school. Bianca did manage to walk the whole way through but got tired ¾ of the way there, thankfully the school is equipped w/little benches along the hallway so she can stop and rest.

The school is set up so that the K-1st graders are in a separate building (which is still connected to the school through a hallway) called the PLC – Primary Learning Center. Everything is pint size for the kiddies to be able to maneuver around. Once inside the classroom Bianca’s eyes lid up! She was super happy and cannot wait for school to start. We got a tour of the classroom plus the bathroom which she “baptized” while there because she had to go! She a character! So at least I know she can handle the bathroom just fine!

Originally she was placed in a class with regular students, but after much consideration we are placing her in an ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) class since they tend to be smaller and more “personal” than a regular classroom. The curriculum stays exactly the same but they just incorporate English into the day. And boy is it a full day ever!

Now fast-forward to Friday – August 15 – it was orientation. This is the day we got to meet her teacher, counselor, principal and everyone else that would be involved in their daily lives at school. It was a lot of talk in regards to staff reduction, political issues w/our county and then about what we need to do to make sure our child is always safe and in a learning environment. From there we headed to speak one-on-one w/Bee’s soon-to-be Kindergarten Teacher. Everything felt so informal since I didn’t feel ready even though I was…but I just got all nervous! Thankfully Robert spoke up! I felt a bit rushed but I figured that her teacher wasn’t aware that we were meeting with her right there and then. She was thoroughly honest and we respected the fact that she said accidents will happen BUT that she’ll make sure that Bianca is always in a “Safety Zone” while in class. All in all Robert and I felt comfortable w/the team in the school. We are still pretty much worried about the one-on-one (Paraprofessional) she will – NOT MIGHT – but will need. Simply because the teachers are very limited in how much handling of a student they can do. They cannot take the child to the bathroom, help w/unbuttoning their pants; tend to any booboos, etc…all this because of all the nonsense that has happened in school with our kids. For us right now it’s a double edged sword. So we need someone set up ASAP – I know cliché – so Bianca can have a comfortable learning environment!

I pray that all goes well and that she will be able to integrate herself as comfortably as possible into school. For now she’ll be attending full-days and I only hope she’ll be able to keep that up as much as possible. Thankfully her booboos are very limited, her skin is still fragile, but we have minimal wound-care to do at this point in time. So that’s a plus on our side. I will be providing her lunch since I’m super scared of what she might encounter in the lunch room. So many dangers but I’m sure she’ll manage just fine!

The only I really want already in place is someone to help her! It’s the one thing I see as a major obstacle at the moment…everything else is just “growing pains”. We’ll see what Monday brings!

In closing Bianca was so funny at the orientation. she is so used to her “blankie” or “paño” that she brought it along with her to the orientation without even knowing. She took one look around and noticed that NO ONE ELSE had one and she handed it back to me. After a while I handed it back and she turns around to me and says “No mom…put it away, I don’t need my blankie, and I’m fine!” I bursted out laughing like there was no tomorrow!

Aiy my baby is growing up so fast!

Well that’s about it for now…good night!

Bianca's new gear for school thanks to her Mima!