Samantha Meets NYC

Samantha was treated to a few days of rest & relaxation after her long trip here. She lounged around & watched as Meredith turned herself into a dinosaur. She even participated in a special instruction session for Sean.

Today...... she was ready for more. Of course Samantha insisted on wearing her pj's out. I warned her she'd be cold, but she insisted. Who am I to question someone else's style?

Samantha knew that NYC was a big city, but she wasn't sure just how big until..... She got to Manhattan. Her first big subway ride!!! She helped us read the map & looked out the window to see the city going by.

She even thought it would be ha ha hysterical to play "where's Flat Samantha?" on the train. After we finally found her (little stinker) we had to explain to her that the subway was no place for games of that nature. She could get very hurt or lost.

When we arrived she was so excited she was dancing! She couldn't believe how big the buildings were. She almost couldn't see the tops of some of them.

As we neared the river where the intrepid was, Samantha found out exactly why it was I told her she should bring her coat. It's pretty windy & chilly right off the Hudson River. Samantha tried to hail a cab just so she could sit for a few minutes & get warm. Of course he didn't stop. So I just shared my jacket with her when she got cold.

As traffic whizzed by, Samantha was pretty surprised by the amount of traffic we have around here.

We went to the Intrepid. Samantha was so excited to see history up close & personal. We were met with some very friendly employees who kindly showed us where to go.

As we entered the hangar deck, Samantha stood still. Breathless by the knowledge that she was standing on a real carrier with real jets on it that member of our military had actually worked on. She wandered around, mouth agape looking at all the jets, and weapons. We even saw a lego replica of the Intrepid.

  

And don't worry Kayla. We made sure to tell Flat Samantha that guns were only to be used by trained professionals.

We made our way up & down and Flat Samantha loved being apart of it all.

 

She even pretended to be a helicopter pilot and saw a plane being restored.

And to prove we were there too. 

After we were done, we made our way to Times Square. Because it's the holiday season it was mobbed with people.

We passed by the Hershey store

And then on the jumbotron screen we saw people. People that looked just like the people standing around us. HOLY MOLY!!!! We were on the jumbotron!!! 

Can you see us? We're at the top left side behind dancing ad guy's shoulder. 

How about now? Can you see us? We're right there in the middle. I spotted Rob's hat right away. 

Samantha thought it was cool that she saw the New Year's Eve ball and even more excited that she gets to see it come down (on tv) while she's here in NYC. 

Hee hee snuck in a picture of my little ninja. 

Then we mosied on over to Rockefeller Center to see the giant tree. Of course we stopped along the way. 

 

And then we headed home. It was a long day. Samantha, Meredith & Sean are snuggly tucked into their beds. 

Tomorrow is not going to be nearly as exciting, but we are going to see Santa and have some pancakes. 

Oh My. I'm In Trouble Now.

Tonight Sean got a little daring and let go of the couch & took one step. I know it was only one, but the boy cannot stand unassisted yet. Isn't standing a pre-requisite to walking? I missed a memo somewhere and apparently so did Sean. He's been cruising the furniture for a little while, but today he's like a cruisin' fool!

Tonight as the kids played in Sean's crib I heard, "No Seany. Don't turn off the light." Um...... When I went in to look I found Sean cruising his way on over to the light switch & turning it off.



Of course I shimmy his crib down a little further to hopefully make it less tempting to play with light switches in the middle of the night and lo & behold.... that little stinker lifted his leg to try to climb there!





Seriously. Who is this kid? I have a feeling it's going to be milestone marathon around here.

Flat Stanley um.... er.... Samantha is here!!

Samantha arrived on the same day Meredith had surgery. Meredith was so happy that Stanley had decided to visit some other friends and his sister Samantha joined us instead. 

When we opened the envelope, Meredith exclaimed "Look mommy. She has polish like me!!" And she does. Kayla's teacher asked her to make her "Stanley" look like her. And Kayla did. Right down to the nails. 

The first thing we did was let Samantha know that wearing pj's around town just wouldn't work around here. It's getting cold. So we gave Samantha a jacket & some pants. 

Yesterday morning Samantha joined Rob & I for parent\teacher conference at Meredith's school. 

She was happy to see that classrooms in every state have pretty much the same things. Table grouping for kids to work together or apart. Nice colors, rules on the wall, cubbies for coats & backpacks. You get the idea. 

I do have to apologize to Ms. Walsh though. I promise that I was paying attention to you & our talk. I am ever so grateful that you think so highly of Meredith and that she really has continued to blossom in your class. 

As we left, Samantha was so happy to notice a familiar face, Meredith's, on the board outside the office. Meredith's picture from Peace Day was right there in the corner. 

It was a pretty rainy day yesterday so we got some inspiration from Pinterest and made some Jewish Stars.  Samantha enjoyed doing crafts with the kids and we did make sure that she was wearing her smock when the paint came out. Today we'll hang some on our Christmukkah bush when we decorate it. 

Then Sean made a menorah out of his handprints. No one else was brave enough to paint their hands to make them. 

Lady M's Surgery

Ever the gracious princess, Meredith wore her Cinderella dress to the hospital. I explained that Dr. H would be fixing her ears & nose so that they wouldn't hurt her anymore or make her sick. She asked why we weren't at his doctor office and I had no answer. I just told her that Dr. H was going to see her at the big doctor office he had at the hospital. I have always wondered what she remembers, how long things stay in her memory and how she relates those memories to life. Well.... wonder no more. She said "like the hospital Seany was in when he had a boo boo in his heart?" 

They only allowed one person up to the pre-surgery area. So Rob & Renee stayed downstairs until after Meredith was assessed by the physician's assistant. I tried to make it as fun as possible to be starving, wearing weird jammies and nervous. We made funny faces and Meredith tried on my hair. 

 

Watching as Meredith fought her mask as hard as she could and finally be sedated was probably more traumatizing than anything I have ever witnessed before. It was hard to walk out knowing my baby was helpless. I did though so Dr. H could get it over with. It was the longest 20 minutes I've had to live through in quite some time. 

Dr. H carried her out & handed her to me and she was a mess. She was swollen & agitated. She sounded so hoarse. She had a couple of dips in her oxygen levels so she was given some oxygen. She just couldn't get comfy. Dr. H told us that her ears were filled with fluid & infection. There was fluid in her ears that was obviously old and was syrupy. My poor baby. He was able to clean it out, but her ears were still draining as he brought her out. 

 

Of course as she became more & more aware her slickness came out.  She would cry & scream that the IV hurt her hand. That's why she couldn't fall asleep like the nurse said she should. 5 minutes later..... "My arm hurts." (from the pressure cuff). The nurse would come in and take it off. "Mommy my toe hurts" (from the pulseox thingy) The nurse came in & took that off too. "Mommy my chest hurts" (from the stickers). The nurse came in & said we could take those off too. And then it was time to go home. Little miss slick figured out that if the nurse took those things off, she could go home. 

When we got home she almost ate me out of house & home. We were all shocked. And Sean missed me something terrible. He wouldn't nap while we were gone, but snuggled right in as soon as we got home. 

Meredith finally fell asleep in the afternoon. She didn't sleep long or deeply, but I'm sure it helped her. Of course when she woke up we all got a surprise. 

Flat Stanley turned out to be Flat Samantha. The little girl who sent her to visit us made "Stanley" in her own likeness. Meredith was so excited that Stanley's sister Samantha came to visit. She immediately exclaimed "Looked mommy!! She has purple nails like me!!!" Oh the the adventures we're going to go on. 

She came in her PJ's so we found her some clothes to wear. :) 

Eve of Surgery is Upon Us

As we set about our day today, I tried to put the fact that Meredith was going for surgery tomorrow out of my mind. Of course when Meredith says "Mommy. My ears hurt." It's really hard. 

Meredith has had 6 ear infections & 3 sinus infections since the beginning of September. It seems that as soon as she comes off her antibiotic, her ears stop draining. :( Poor kid inherited my ears. So tomorrow she's going in for tubes in her ears & to have her adenoids taken out. We trust Dr. H. If we didn't obviously we wouldn't be allowing him to do the procedure. 

We didn't tell Meredith what her day will hold for her tomorrow. We just allowed her & Sean to play. And when they play..... it's part ha ha hysterical and part "really kid? Didn't I just say he couldn't have that?"

Here's what you get when you tell a 3 year old that her little brother can't have Christmas garland. 

 

How we roll on Saturday Mornings

On lazy Saturday mornings on the days leading up to Hanukah & Christmas, there is no better way to spend the morning than playing with the boxes that bring gifts to our front door. 

There is something magical about watching kids of any age get a kick out of something as simple as a box. It reminds me that they don't need "stuff". They just need imaginations. Which is good because everything that was in that box was for me.