It's been a while...

Well, it's been a while since I've updated you on our lives! I cannot believe November is almost over! We have our fair share of sickness this month, which is probably why I haven't been on here in a while...Emma was out of school for a week at the beginning of the month with a virus...followed by Bradlee for one or two days...I think we're just a sickly family! It's supposed to get better as the kids get older, right?

Last Sunday, we went to visit my grandparents, Snookie and Papa. We hadn't seen them in a while, so we had a day free and decided to make the best of it! Boy did we ever! The kids were on their most excellent behavior and we had a wonderful lunch with Snookie and Papa, as well as Kat and Garrett, who also joined us! After lunch, Kat, Garrett, Emma and Bradlee played hide-and-seek, of course.....Snookie and Papa both took some pictures while we were there, and I hope to get some copies, which I will post, 'cause I think they are going to be good ones! One thing's for sure, I can always count on Aunt Kat and Uncle Garrett to wear at least ONE of the kids out for the ride home!

Of course, this was Thanksgiving week, so the kids and Tony only had school on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Wednesday morning, Tony got a call from the secretary at Emma's school, telling him Emma had a fever of about 103. Great. So Tony went to pick her up and took her right to the doctor. She was diagnosed with a "strep-like" bug and was put on antibiotic. She was pretty miserable Wednesday night and Thursday...but still managed to eat some turkey, green bean casserole, and 2 pieces of pie!! We also watched the parade, dog show and Harry Potter on Thanksgiving morning...

I've also realized that November has been a crappy month for pictures! Hopefully that will change today, as we have our annual Kozloff Family visit to Frankenmuth!!! :)

Concert season!

On Sunday, I performed in a concert with the Flint Symphonic Wind Ensemble. It is a local volunteer group I started playing with 4 years ago. I LOVE it. We are playing some good, challenging music and I have made quite a few new friends also! At the beginning of October, I was elected by the band to serve as the President of the board of directors for the group! What an honor! I am hoping to make some changes that are needed for us to continue to move forward and improve!

Anyway, this is one of our first concerts that begin a pretty crazy season! We performed at a senior living center in Frankenmuth and it was a great performance!! Tony has also become involved with the group and is the announcer for us!! At the beginning of our 2009-2010 season, Emma requested we play "Peter and the

Wolf". I mentioned it to our conductor, Roy, and FINALLY this
year, it was on our play list! Tony did the commentating for it and Emma even came to the rehearsal to hear how it was going to go! She gave Roy two thumbs up and was so excited for the concert! On Sunday we performed it, and Emma made Roy a GIANT picture of Peter, the wolf (who had already eaten the duck, so there were only feathers!), the cat and the bird on a tree!! It was
so great, Roy not only showed the entire wind ensemble, but also the audience before we played the piece! Emma just sat next to Gramma and raised her hand so everyone could see who made the beautiful picture!!! I was so proud! :) The concert went really well...and now we start working on CHRISTMAS music for our Christmas concerts we have next month! There's nothing worse than having "Sleigh Ride" in your head in the beginning of November! :)

Bradlee Update!

About a week and a half ago, Bradlee started a stuffy, drippy nose....now, this wonderful Michigan weather hasn't helped, but a week and a half?! Seriously?! Anyways, yesterday (Wednesday), Tony got a call from the daycare about 11am and was told Bradlee had a fever. Tony was able to leave school and pick him up, and took him directly to the doctor! Normally I wouldn't do this...I would wait it out and see how he does, but the face the nose has been drippy for the last week and a half had me thinking sinus infection (especially since I'm just finishing up an antibiotic for the same thing!). Well, the pediatrician said he has a really good cold...that's the cause of the stuffiness...but the stuffiness is causing all the drainage and stuff, which caused an ear infection in his left ear, which, as it comes to find, has lost its tube! He prescribed an antibiotic, which we did not give him...

You're probably thinking...."You crazy mother! He was diagnosed with an ear infection! Give him the antibiotic!" Well...here's the reasoning behind my madness...

Today, Thursday, we had an appointment with the ENT for a check-up on his ears/tubes! When he's had an "ear infection" in the past year (since he's had the tubes), we've gotten ear drops from the ENT to clear it up....

So we went to the ENT and I told them what the pediatrician had said, and that there was a prescription waiting if we needed it...the ENT looked in the right ear and saw "the most beautiful tube in the world!"!! When he looked in the left ear (the one the pediatrician said was infected), he found no tube, but a "beautifully pink ear drum"....i.e., NO INFECTION! So...how can one doctor see and infection and one doctor say it's clear?! I don't get it. The ENT did give us a prescription for a nasal spray, so that should hopefully help the stuffiness!!!

We went to get the nasal spray and Bradlee actually ASKED for it! So I sat him on my lap and squirted the nasal spray in his nose, he "sniffed" and then got down to go play! AWESOME! I'm even more glad we only have to give it to him once a day!! :)

So, ears look good...nose, not so much...but hopefully we'll see some improvements soon!!!