Ugh..my sister is not coming now until Tuesday night. She was supposed to come home on Sunday. The weather was so nasty on Sat. night and SUnday where the airport is in Conn. that she is now 2 days behind getting her flight home. That's ok though because now she is staying 3 extra days on the other end and will get to be here for New Year's Eve and isn't leaving until Jan. 2! Yah!

Sammy is getting a recheck done at the doc's this afternoon for his pneumonia. He now has another cough going on, like a cold one. I am praying hard that he is able to resolve this before the holidays! My poor sweetie...I am getting so frustrated with the no sleep , too much meds, and no eating which is our latest battle yesterday.

One and a half more days at work with the kids and then vacation baby! :)

no Botox...

So we drove all the way to Northampton yesterday to get Sammy's Botox done and the doc decided not to do it because he is being treated for pneumonia. I guess better safe than sorry! So we have rescheduled for January 7th...hopefully we will have kicked this by then!

It wasn't a totally wasted trip because we went to Yankee Candle and Sammy got to see Santa! He loved it.... Santa was pretty good....Luke got to get his glass pickle for the tree...apparently some German tradition! :)

Luke made a great project for his CAD class that is a model house for retirement living. He is so funny, he made a safe room and a man trap to keep the old people safe from intruders! He also included wheelchair accessible doors for their power chairs. :) My sweetie! :)

We got an xray for Sammy yesterday, and got the call back today that he has asthma/pneumonia. so he's going on yet another antibio to see if we can kick it's butt! My poor baby ! Is school worth this at all??

On the good side, we found the lights for the tree (yes, I'm an idiot and they were in the ornament box after all) but they were all dead so Brian and Luke trekked to Big Lots and got new lights. So the boys put the lights on last night and Luke and I did the yearly tradition of putting the decorations on..of course Luke had to go to bed and insisted I wait until this afternoon to put the tinsel on with him! :) My little sweetie! :) He is hacking like a mad man from a cold, hopefully on the mend...he's a pretty quick healer, and is a trooper! :)

Going to bring Sammy to see Curious George and Martha Speaks at Barnes and Noble on Sunday! He is so excited! Doing the birthdays (mine and my sister's the day after mine) this weekend, should be fun! :)

I'll get some pics of the boys with the tree...

Santa Clause is coming to town....

Sammy is so hyped for Santa now! We got snow on Saturday and our Christmas tree yesterday. It is HUGE...of course doesn't look as big when it's outside. :) I will have pics of it when we get around to getting the decos and lights on....that is Brian's job this year (the lights) since it's too tall for me this year! :)

Some pics of the log house with the snow (makes the snow so much more doable) and Sammy with his homemade Advent calendar that my sister the graphic designer made for us! :) The boys both love it! :)

Hey, now I have a sinus infection! What the heck??!! I am done with this... I need VACATION!

Sammy went for his re-check for his bronchitis before Thanksgiving and was diagnosed with an ear infection. Will it ever end??!! He is on a different kind of antibiotic now and we are also giving him an oral steroid to see if we can clear out the rest of the junk in his lungs. UGH! He was crying his head off this morning before I left for school, not sure what the issue was...maybe just tired, but then he doesn't finish eating his breakfast and can't tell us what's wrong...hopefully school cured the crabbies!
On a lighter side, he is so happy it is the holiday season...he is totally in love with anything Santa! :)

Have to post some more pics soon...

So Sammy went to the docs yesterday and apparently has bronchitis in his right lung. UGH! My poor baby... he is on antibiotics and a nebulizer with 2 inhaled meds. He thinks it's too cute to do the nebulizer because my dad does one everyday and he used to go there once a week and watch him do it. He was bicycling and very excited and laughing while doing the nebulizer. He got mad at me when it was done! Thank God for little things! He's not crazy about the antibio, but he still takes it, my little trooper! I have a pic that I'll post later!

Luke had his first band performance at Herberg last week. He was so happy and did great! (As far as I can tell with all of the other instruments playing!) He was so handsome too! My big guy!

Had to include the pics of the boy and his dog! They both love to snuggle! :)

the sickies....

Ok, so I am so fed up with the sickies already and the cootie season just started! UGH! Luke JUST went back to school today after being out since last Wed. with this respiratory bug and Sammy has been out of preschool since last Tuesday. He didn't go today either. The fever broke pretty quickly for them, but the cough is never ending! Sammy's isn't bad, but Luke can't seem to stop. He just went back today for the fact that he will be too far behind if he misses anymore and he is fed up with staying home.... I know, crazy kid! :) Poor Sammy isn't eating well since he got sick...he is acting ok, and starting to sleep better, but just doesn't seem to be interested in eating. It stinks, because he is so limited in his food choices to begin with... ugh....
Brian also got the virus and I just got a sore throat and a little cough. Thank God...SOMEone's gotta take care of everybody else! ;)

We had to cancel our Halloween party last Sat. at my sister's since everybody was sick and hacking...Sammy and I carved a pumpkin, though, with a spooky design that Luke picked out. And it poured the night of Trick-or-Treat as well, so there weren't many kids out at all.

We also got bad news at school yesterday morning, our long-time, well-loved secretary died unexpectedly Sunday night. She was in her 80's, but seemed so young and youthful that it is hard to take. She was truly a great woman and will be sorely missed!

Here's to a better week coming up!

Apple "picking-up" on Sunday

So we went to a cute farm and orchard in Williamstown on Sunday. They had a great petting zoo, even Luke who's too cool for the family stuff anymore, had a good time! He really liked the llama, not sure why! :) Sammy got to feed the goats and loved it! He thought the giant pig was too funny! :) Thank goodness for my ingenious husband who made a wooden prop for his Special Tomato chair to fit into the wagon.

The only problem was the fact that there were NO apples left on the trees! I take that back, there was ONE! I took a pic! :) So we just went apple picking-up instead! Luke posed faux picking an apple off a tree just to be fresh! :) The boys loved the apples to eat and Sammy and I just made an apple pie! He IS my cinnamon fiend! :)

We also went for one last fishing excursion on Monday with our day off and froze our tookus's off on the middle of the lake. Not to mention the fact that 15 minutes out, Brian caught a great pickerel and also a treble hook in the web part of his hand! Not pleasant....thank God I have a mom stomach! ;) He managed to cut it out, and wiped it off and went back to fishing! Of course, we got nothing else, but it was still nice to spend some time with my 2 "older boys". :)

So we went to see Sam's physiatrist today and we all came to the final conclusion that he will definitely need to get Botox injections done. My poor sweetie.... I guess they put the numbing gel on that I used to get one of my tattoos lasered off, and then they do the injections right there in the office! He said it is quick and I guess relatively painless with the gel. We'll see.... thank God for Sam's screwed up sensory issues! Sometimes he actually giggles when he gets a shot! Weird! ANyway, it's still scary and I am asking for prayers of strength that we can all get through this latest trial. My little man is such a trooper! He will also be getting a new kind of brace that gets his leg to straighten and therefore stretch his hamstrings through his knee.... we probably won't get the Botox for a month or so...have to wait for fabulous ins. approval! :( I'm heading to bed now, but will post pics tomorrow of one of our latest outings in the beautiful Berkshires! :)

not too much excitement around here lately... the usual crap... Sammy is sick again with a nasty cough and a stuffy nose. Poor guy! Gotta love preschool! :( I got zero sleep last night since he was up all night either coughing or crying. UGH! This morning he is acting ok (after Tylenol) and is laughing at Elmo right now! Thank goodness! :)

I came home after a doctor's appt. Thurs. afternoon learning I had a UTI I didn't think I had, and dear Brian had gotten me some beautiful flowers (from Sammy). Made my day! I would be nowhere without my boys! :) (All 3 of them!) :)

Happy birthday Luke

Happy Birthday my sweet young man..... the first love of my life! :)


12 years later and you are still my everything! Even more so now! I love you more than ever and you make me so happy to be able to call you my son! :) I am officially old now that I have a 12 year old! ;)


Some pics from the party on Sunday....

Can he get any more grown up???? :) (And Sammy loves to be "wrapped up" in the wrapping paper!) :)

Don't laugh at my chihuahua cupcake on the cake! Brian said it looked like a pig and I think it looked like a cartoon wolf! HA! :) Luke told me it looked like a chiwi, maybe he was just being nice because he wanted his presents! ;) LOL Anyway, he thought it was cute! (Half the problem was that I couldn't find my decorating stuff! UGH! I finally did by the end of the night! Good timing, hah??? :)

Shriners pick up visit

We went to Shriners on Tuesday to pick up Sammy's brand new gait trainer (walker) and special needs car seat. The walker is the same size as the loaner we had, but a very cool shiny purple color that Sammy himself picked out. You should have seen him, he was literally running down this long hallway in it showing off for the therapists. Nothing but a giant smile on his face the entire time he's walking in it. :) My sweet man! We are working on getting him to bear weight more when he walks instead of just propelling himself with mainly his toes, but he is very motivated to move! :) Please continue to support Shriners! They paid for the car seat totally ($800) since the ins. co. wouldn't cover it. They consider it "either a convenience item or everyday care item". Crap, hah?? Thank God for Shriners! We are truly blessed to have them and have them so close as well!

He loves his new car seat, too! It looks like an overstuffed lounge chair! He sits lower in it than the old one, but it's got great head cushions that keep his head nice and straight and lots of cushioning to keep his body straight too. He looks tiny it because it is so big for him to grow with, but he looks very comfortable in it! I will get some pics of him in it and in the walker when I get a minute!

Luke's birthday is next Tuesday...my little man is turning 12! It seems like such a milestone! How did I get old enough to have a 12 year old??!! UGH! :( We are having his party on Sunday...just a regular party since he is too old now for themed parties! Oye! I am going to attempt chihuahua cupcakes to go along with the apple crisp he requested. (they are his fave dog) We'll see how they turn out! I'll post pics if they come out decently.

Happy birthday to Brian, who's birthday was yesterday. We did cards and his favorite ice cream cake last night and his mom is having an official birthday party tomorrow since his sister and mom have their birthdays in Sept. too. I got him a Kreuger (sp?) coffee maker. I know he doesn't read this, so I know he won't find out until tomorrow. :) He really wanted one, and I got a sweet deal at Bed, Bath and Beyond with a great coupon, so I was able to afford the nicer one. Of course, Luke will love it, too, being the coffee fiend! :)