ER

Donny's wheezing cleared after the 6:45 treatment, however  by 8:30 the wheezing had returned so it was off to the emergency room.  He received two more treatments and a dose of Predneisone. Big Daddy and Donny returned home around 11:30 and Donny received more treatments throughout the night.  Much to his teacher's dismay, he will be on Albuterol and Predneisone for the upcoming week.  Lord help us all.

Our First Baby

Almost eight years to the day we brought her home, we received very bad news about Ashley.  Earlier this week, Big Daddy and I noticed that her breathing had changed, she was having a difficult time and  she didn't want to eat.  After two days of not eating, I made her chicken, carrots and rice. She ate every bite. Big Daddy took her to the vet to have the vet scope her nose.  While they were there, Big Daddy found a new lump on Ashley's throat.  She has about eight fatty tumors on her body that have all been tested and are okay.  Big Daddy had the vet biopsy the new tumor and it isn't good.  Ashely has the canine version of lymphoma.  Her prognosis is not good.  The vet thinks she only has a few months left with us.  I have spent two days crying and I am sure there are many more to come.  I have no idea how we are going to tell Donny.  I do know that: sAshley will never eat dog food again, all meals will be cooked, she will get ice cream for a special treat, she will receive more hugs and kisses than she can stand, but most importantly she will know she is loved.

Sick II

Well, it has been a week since Donny had a stomach bug.  I made him stay home on Monday just to get his strength back.  He was 100% by noon and I wished I had sent him to school.  He started showing signs of a cold yesterday and now I am sitting next to him on the couch while he does a breathing treatment.  He hasn't been this bad in a very long time.  I can hear wheezing in his chest and if it is still there in a half an hour, we're heading to the hospital.  I had to use the emergency inhaler today in a store.  I have never used it before.  I will keep update when I am able.

Sick

Donny started vomiting Friday night and is still sick.  I stayed with Donny in his race car bed for the night.  I had to crawl out of bed and into the living room after a night of being kicked and elbowed.  I spent about ten minutes on the floor stretching my back before I was able to stand.  Donny did pretty well yesterday and made it through the night, but the vomiting started again this morning.  He asked me why he felt this way and I couldn't give him an answer.  My poor little man.

Shut

Abigail and I were working on a project at the kitchen table.  At one point, she said, "Shut your mouth!"  I slowly looked up at her and gave her my best you just said something very naughty look.  She kinda grinned and looked down.  I gave her a little lecture and was confident that my firm tone and stern look had ended this naughty incident.  I, however, had underestimated the intelligence of my three year old.  I returned my attention to my project when she said, "Shut."  I quickly gave her the look again and she said, "What? I'm just singing. You know, the door on the bus goes open and SHUT, open and SHUT, open and SHUT."  The look on her face was just scary.  She outsmarted me and as I looked at her, I saw a teenager and fear crept through my body.  Big Daddy and I have no idea what we have gotten ourselves into with this little one.  We are in BIG trouble.

'ello

Big Daddy asked me how long Abigail had been speaking with a British accent.  I had no idea what he was talking about until the day she walked up to me and asked for mashed potatoes with an accent.  That evening Big Daddy and I were discussing Abigail's accent and wondering where she could have picked it up.  That's when Donny walked in and said, "She talks like that from the Tinkerbell movie."  The little girl who finds Tinkerbell is British. Thank heavens for our son, I don't know if we would have ever figured that one out.

Bad Mommy

I recorded Dumbo today and thought it would be fun to watch with Abigail.  I started the movie and we were so excited for the mommy elephant when the stork brought her a baby.  Abigail almost cried with joy when the mommy unwrapped her new baby.  "He's so cute mommy.  Look how happy the mommy is."  It was at about that time when my father called.  I was talking to my father for a few minutes when I heard Abigail start to mumble something and I am sad to say that I didn't turn around immediately.  A moment went by and she started to get very upset.  I told my father I would call him back and  I turned around to see tears streaming down her face and she was shaking, "They're being mean! They're being mean! Why are they doing that?" I looked at the screen and saw men taking the mommy away from her baby and tying her up.  I turned the movie off and tried to comfort my girl.   When she finally settled down, I called my father back.  Several minutes in the conversation Abigail walked up to me and said, "Mommy that movie was very inappropriate for me."

One Year

What a difference a year makes.  Last year at this time I was looking at real estate and seriously considering relocation.  Today the temperature was in the 50's and the kids played outside in jackets.  How long will this last?

Speaking of one year...after an entire year of very hard work, Big Daddy has completed the house renovation in Larchmont.  Big Daddy you have out done yourself and I am so proud of you. xoxo

Freddy

I loaded Abigail into the car after school yesterday and then got into my seat.  I turned around and asked, "Are you ready Freddy?"  She tilted her head and said, "Oh Mommy, Freddy is on the playground playing." 

Check-Up

Donny had his six year check up yesterday.  When  we picked him up from school, the first thing Abigail said to him was, "Remember Donny, no shots.  I promise."  He has asked about shots so much that even Abigail was tired of hearing the question. 

The kids were playing in the waiting room waiting for the nurse to call us.  Abigail asked me to get her jump rope out of my purse.  I reached in and handed her jump rope to her. She started to walk away then abruptly turned around and said, "Mommy, this isn't my jump rope this is my yo-yo."  I might add there was a bit of attitude.  I took the yo-yo and gave her the jump rope.  Moments later we were called in so Abigail stashed the jump rope in my purse.

Once the doctor entered the room the kids became very chatty.  Doctor began asking Donny questions and one of them being, "Donny does anything bother you?"  After a moment Donny said, "Yes, bugs.  Bugs bother me.  I don't like when they land on me and sometimes they get in my eyes."  Doctor and I both found his response to be quite funny.  Doctor does not smile often and I love when the kids can get him to grin.  Durning Abigail's check up, he asked her if she had any questions and her response was "Yes, do you like me boots." 

Abigail began to get a little antsy and asked me for her jump rope.  I really didn't want her jumping in the middle of the check up so I said no and I think the doctor was a bit relieved. She was a bit more persistent so I gave in, reached into my purse and handed her the jump rope.  A smile started to creep along Doctors face and then he looked up at me and said, "The jump rope is imaginary."  "Of course it is, do you think I would like her jump rope in here?"

Bus Knowledge

Donny comes home from school everyday with a new piece of knowledge that he has learned on the bus.  As you can imagine, most of his new found knowledge is either inappropriate or not true.  Yesterday, I was informed that the pinkie finger is the Chinese version of the American middle finger.  I'm not sure which category this piece of knowledge falls into, but I can tell you that I will be watching closely for that pinkie finger in my face.

Stinky

Big Daddy, Abigail and I were sitting at the kitchen table having lunch today when Abigail leaned over to Big Daddy and asked him to switch places with me.  "Why do you want me to switch with mommy?"  "Because you have stinky breath daddy."   Big Daddy told Abigail that she was the one with stinky breath and didn't move from his chair, so Abigail pushed her plate across the table, got out of her chair and climbed into Donny's chair.   She looked at Big daddy and said, "Daddy you are wrong."

Sassy

I had to take a trip and was going to be away for a few so I wanted to say goodbye to the kids.  I told Donny I was leaving and he gave me a big hug and kiss, told me he loved me and was sad that I was leaving.  It broke my heart that he felt so sad.  Abigail was playing in her room when I told her I was leaving and that I wanted a hug and a kiss.  She hugged me and said, "I love you mommy and I love when you leave. Bye."  With that she turned and continued to play as if I wasn't standing in the room.  That girl is just cold!

NYC

Okay DAD, I finally got the kids to the city to see the train display in the Transit Museum.   I should have known it was going to be a rough day when I had to tell Donny not to touch the glass every 30 seconds.  We stayed for awhile and then headed off to the shoe store to buy Donny some new shoes.   Walking two blocks isn't a big deal unless your legs are the length of a hand towel.  Abigail asked me to carry her outside of Grand Central, another bad sign.  She was a trooper and pushed through.  We arrived at the shoe store to find they no longer carry children's shoes.  The manager was very helpful and suggested that we just go over to 3rd and 59th where they carry the entire line of children's shoes.  Needless to say, no shoes today.

As we left the store, I told the kids we were heading to somewhere fun.  The Lego store was just a few blocks away.  We walked into Rockefeller Center and the kids were very excited.  I was able to take one photo of Donny before he spotted the Lego store.  I made them sit on the bench, took a photo and explained the importance of sticking together.  As I finished my lecture, Donny couldn't take any more. He jumped up and ran into the store.  All I can say about the Lego shopping experience is that I really wished they served cocktails.  Look at the photo of Abigail below, it says it all.  After about an hour in Lego, Donny finally decided what he wanted, I couldn't wait to get out of there.  I felt really bad because all Abigail wanted was a little doll.  Well, I temporarily went insane and took the kids to American Girl.  After a fifteen minutes of hell and Donny telling Abigail she could get whatever she wanted, I pulled the plug.  We left and Abigail was a bit sad, but very good about the whole thing.

We headed off to the Starlight Diner because I know it is loud and the kids would have fun.  Well, we got there and the line was really long, we ended up at Applebees.  The kids were so hungry the didn't care.  After lunch, Donny hailed us a cab and we went back to Grand Central.  We stopped in Larchmont to say hi to Big Daddy then headed home.

Swim

Donny started swim lessons this morning.  I am so proud of him.  He is terrified of getting into a pool and has been for a very long time.  Donny has always been more of a beach boy because he could go in and out of the water on his terms.  Last summer while on vacation, I was able to get him to float on a raft with me.  We were chatting and he told me he wanted to learn to swim.  I promised that he would be able to swim by the following summer.  Which brings us to today.  He went right into the pool without hesitation, he was ready.  Abigail sat in the chair next to me and played with her game.  Every once in awhile she would lift her head and say "good job Donny" or "you're doing great."   When the lesson was over, he walked over to me and said he had fun and wanted to do it again.  I am so proud of my little man.