The gift of good manners

I have been pondering what is one of my biggest pet peeves lately and I was wondering what others thoughts were on the subject that is the focus of my pondering. The peeve is the minuscule number of parents teaching their children the social graces. By no means, do I think that a preschooler should have the ability to hold their own in a lengthy conversation at a party but it has become painfully apparent that there is a breakdown in parenting when it comes to the instruction of greetings when meeting adults in addition to other appropriate polite salutations and responses. "Hello Mrs Smith or Hello Mrs Lori" is how I have my children address adults but I know way too many parents that do not instruct their children to even say hello to the adults and other children that they are meeting, let alone instruct them in giving a proper greeting. Sometimes I will observe a parent instructing the child to say "Hello" and when the child does not, just ignores the opportunity for a teachable moment and moves along in their own conversation.

How about parents helping their children to assist other children when joining in a group or activity such as "Katie, please say hello to Jane and after you do so can you please introduce her to Ethan?"

Greeting and manners such as good morning, please, thank you, excuse me, may I, may I please be excused, etc. seem to have been abandoned by so many and I really think it is just one more symptom of the breakdown of polite society. I see more and more children, much older than my two four year old's that do have this type of training at all. They brush past you as if you do not even merit their attention. It is unbelievable to me! What does being a parent really mean to people? Are we not supposed to be our childrens first and most important teachers?

I take that responsibility seriously as did my parents, who I feel taught my sister and I very well. It has served us both throughout our lives. We are both able to handle any business or social situation gracefully. My sister and I have passed this on to Justin and his cousin Sam already and I am teaching my little ones now. When they see people that we know they always say "Hello" politely without even being asked and when we meet new people I prompt them in the greetings already discussed, if they do not initiate themselves.

So, what are your thoughts on this subject? While you are pondering that one I will "Thank you" in advance for giving me those thoughts :)

Hanukkah Blessings

Hanukkah has been wonderful this year. Obviously, the first thing that I am thankful for is that I have a healthy husband to share it all with. Marc's heart and health is completely back to normal and it makes my own heart sing.

This is the first year that the kids "REALLY" get it! They are beginning to understand the basis of the holiday and what the meaning of the holiday is. Of course, the gift giving has not been lost on them either.

One of the highlights of the holiday would have to be the party that we held here at the house this past weekend for 14 of the DD's friends and their parents. We served delicious food, played fun games with the children, did crafts and had a gift exchange, which was a big hit!

Another big highlight was gift giving each evening with the DD. Tonight was night 6 and it was a very special night; one that memories are made of.

After the candles were lit and it was time to give a gift to each child, I realized that I had one extra gift for each, so we decided to give them two tonight....well, that set off waves of excitement!

The first gift for Katie was an American Girl "Asian Bitty Baby" with a layette. I have actually had this gift for about 18 months but held back from giving it to her for two reasons; I wanted her to be mature enough to take care of it and second, I thought that Ethan would end up wanting to play with it too because when he first came home from China he wanted every doll that Katie had. I actually held it so long that I second guessed myself and thought that she was now too old for it. Well, was I wrong about that! She absolutely adores it and I think it will be one of her fav toys for quite some time. She named it Hong Shan, which is her Chinese name and Hong Shan is now sleeping soundly with Katie Starr Hong Shan.

Ethan got a Huge Tonka Crane....boy oh boy, did he love that!! This is the third vehicle or piece of heavy machinery that he has received for Hanukkah and he is just loving all of them.

The other two gifts were equally well received; Katie got dress up princess shoes and Ethan got a fun pre-school game called Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes. We all played a few rounds of the game and had a lot of fun! I highly recommend it for this age group.

The icing on the cake came after those second gifts were given. Katie Starr turned to me with the most beautiful and sincere look and said "Mommy, thank you and Daddy for giving us all of these wonderful presents.

There is very little in life that is more gratifying than to have an appreciative child. That is a virtue that we model for them every day and I am very proud to say that we have not one but three appreciative children.

Here are a few cute photos from night 6 of Hanukkah...

and one last thing to add that we all are appreciative for and that is Nana. My mom and all of the grandparents adore our children; all of them. Here we are celebrating my mom's birthday yesterday. The whole motley crew was together but with all of the fun and frivolity, I just got a couple of shots of her and as well as my goofballs. Love them all!!

My mind cannot even go to that dark place

My friend Kira called me today, totally upset and beside herself with what she had just witnessed. After hearing the following scary tale, I decided that it was an important story to share.

Kira was at a local Wal M*rt and was standing in line waiting to return an item that she had purchased. All of the sudden, she saw a little girl that she estimated to be no older than 3 years old; lost and crying. An employee was called to the scene and began to make attempts to call the mom or guardian to the front of the store via the intercom system. This went on and on for some 15 to 20 minutes and of course the child was very scared and upset. At this point an older man walked up and claimed to be the little girl's grandfather. The child seemed to not know him and when he tried to call her to him, she did not want to go. The employee refused to let the man take the girl with him as she had no way to know that she was really her grandfather, as he was claiming. At this point the mother finally walked up and the child went running to her immediately. This woman did not seem the least bit frantic or upset that her daughter had been missing for all of that time. She just basically wanted to take her child with her and move on after confirming that there was no grandfather with them....not so fast! While this was happening the man slipped away. Other employees were sent to look for him and the police were called, both to try to locate this man and to determine the fitness of the mother.

How horrifying is that!! This man, if left to his own evil agenda, would have taken this little girl and I do not even want to think of the outcome!! The mother, in my opinion, was more than just negligent, she was complicit in the unknown outcome. I pray that their situation is carefully scrutinized!

All of the people that were standing by were horribly upset. Kira said it was a terrible scene that she will never forget.

Thank G-d that this innocent being was kept safe. This man was laying in wait for the right opportunity and he almost found it. If this child had been one that willingly went with people that she did not know......well, the thought of that is mind boggling and tears sting my eyes at the thought of it.

I know that you all understand why I am sharing this and will continue to take the steps necessary to protect your child(ren) as well as any precious and innocent child in your care that cannot protect themselves. Their well being and even their lives depend on it.

Are you trying to tell me something?

Katie was sitting on my lap this morning and blurts out the following....

"Mom, the freckles on your legs are sharp; they are poking me!" *SNORT*

I guess I should have shaved my legs this morning.

Promoting my new venture!

I am celebrating the grand opening of my online Avon Store with lots of promotional give-a-ways on my Facebook Avon Online Page

Check it out, as everyone that becomes a fan of my page is entered into the drawing and there are a few other ways to get more entries. You do not have to be a user of facebook to get involved. One way to do it is by adding a link to my online store on your blog and you will get two entries into the drawing. If you purchase product then you will get five entries for the gift. A Twitter shout out with a link will earn you two entries as well.

Here is the video of Katie drawing a winner from my first promotion.

Thank you all for helping me to pass the word about this new business and if you are kind enough to become a customer, you will never be sorry. Just as in my Real Estate business, I always make sure I give very personal and professional service.

Ding Dong...Guess who is calling!

Lori is and she is selling Avon! I have always loved the Avon Brand and I have decided to become a Avon Representative. I have an E-Store...of course :) Please visit my store for any of your Avon needs. I would be so happy to be able to assist you!

This company is longer your Mother's Avon! They still deal in Makeup and Skin Care but now there is so much more to choose from. From Jewelry to clothing to perfume to toys and dolls are just a few examples. Please check it out for yourself.

If you purchase 30.00 or more this holiday season, please use coupon code FS30REP for free shipping!

If you do not like to shop online, then please just drop me a line or leave me a comment and I will place your order and have it shipped for you.

Katie was practicing for her Hanuakkah show next Friday and she was so darn cute that I had to catch it for posterity.

So here it is, immortalized for all time......Introducing Miss Katie Starr singing............

Puff the Jewish Dragon

Tools of the Trade

I came home late today and laid down my weary bones for a few minutes. Katie came in to see me and wanted to make me feel better so she gave me her fav (and first) stuffed animal, "Snotty Baby" to make me "feel better." Then she put her Sesame Street Elmo Stethescope on my heart and followed it up with her big bird scope to look in my ears and throat. Katie's Diagnosis...... H1N1!! I swear it's true!! Unfortunately, I may have to take Snuffleupagus brand Tamiflu!! *SNORT*

There is nothing worse than watching your child struggle for breathe

About ten days ago, I blogged about the fact that Katie was in the throes of bronchial distress directly related to that foam pit that she played in while at a birthday party. Now, Katie has been diagnosed with asthma and the last 2+ weeks have been nothing short of horrifying; both for her and for us.

Initially, she was placed on Albuterol Syrup in order that her airways stay open, but it was not enough to stop the terrible bronchial spasms that were causing her to cough and struggle with her breathe until she vomited. The doctor even placed her on an antibiotic in the hope that this may be a bacteria that would be killed off. Finally, on Saturday evening my terror level reached new heights as her situation worsened and I got in touch with her pediatrician who was forced to place her on the nebulizer for breathing treatments and in addition prescribed oral steroids to reduce the inflammation. When she did this, it was with words of caution that things would deteriorate before they improved. Well, she was correct! Katie's symptoms were even worse than before and to compound the discomfort, was the fact that the steroid causes sleeplessness and irritability. Katie's emotions were off the chart and she was basically jumping out of her skin.

Last night it got so bad that she was inconsolable and we took her into our bed to comfort her. Thankfully, it did comfort her and she slept. Since she is a major bed hog, no one else did...but I digress.

She woke up and I could sense immediately that she seemed to be a bit better. She was not exploding into uncontrollable attacks of coughing. I called the Doctor to ask her if we could adjust the steroid a bit as it was really playing with her little body. After listening to what she was going through and hearing that we had a bit of improvement she told me to skip the nighttime dose and double dose her in the morning. I am bringing her back tomorrow so that she can be assessed and to see what our next step is. My understanding is that once they get it under control completely, then they place her on a maintenance medication. Tonight has been peaceful so far and she is sleeping....fingers crossed!

Katie made a statement last night that was actually a refrain that I have heard throughout this ordeal. It really has struck me; both in it's deep sadness and the insight it gave me into our four year old's amazing little mind. "Mommy, I want to be normal again, I just want all of this to go away so that I can be normal..."

I gave her the only answer that I could "Baby, you will be normal again; I promise you will..."

I always keep my promises!

My month of blogging is drawing to a close and now a new chapter is beginning!

This experiment and experience of daily blogging for a month is coming to a close and I am happy to be able to say that I met the challenge. It was not always easy but in the end it was always gratifying. I really did not explore any deep or controversial issues as I have in the past but this month has really been much more lighthearted than all of that and it was fun to share all of the happy things that have been happening lately in our lives.

There have been times on this blog that I have posted quite often and easily and other times when the writers block was as bad as it gets and I have basically abandoned my blog for a couple of weeks at a time. I really love writing, so when I am blocked like that it feels quite uncomfortable. Lately, I have been exploring the creative part of my brain both with photography and with my writing. My mom is always imploring me to write a book and every time she brings it up, I do what I seem to do best and I scoff at my own abilities. I immediately respond by saying to her that it is just because she is my mom that she likes my writing as much as she does. I am sure it helps that she is my mom but deep down inside, I must believe that I have something to say or I would not have been posting pretty consistently on this blog for 4 1/2 years. As I am typing this I can hardly believe it has been that long, but yes, it was way back in 2005, just before we sent our dossier to China for Katie that I began this online journal.

I have had lots of time for thinking lately, especially with all of the twists and turns that our lives have taken and I have come to the conclusion that I am going to stop sabotaging myself by finding ways to not pursue my gifts. It will not be an easy process as old habits die hard....very hard, but I am going to make a conscious effort daily to finally pursue the vocations in life that will bring me pleasure. Writing and photography will top that list. I will do my best to push the fear of failure aside and "just do it" as the commercial says. By me writing this, I am proclaiming this fact to the world or at least my little part of it.

2010 is going to be quite a year for me and I really hope that you will come along for the ride. I could really use the support and friendship as I navigate all of the barriers, both real and imagined, that are sure to come as I begin the next exciting chapter of my life as a woman who is no longer afraid to pursue my own success.

With love and gratitude,

Bridal weekend draws to a close on a very high note!

The much anticipated bridal weekend was a huge success and drew to a close today in a most wonderful fashion. Judy's parents hosted the bridal shower and they give new meaning to the phrase "Hosts with the most." They completely outdid themselves. The party was held in their backyard, which is truly an oasis by any standard. Judy's dad owns a landscaping company and he has truly created a showcase of his talents in their yard. The flora and fauna that he has cultivated is just breathtaking! It was the backdrop to a beautifully decorated patio and gazebo area. The brilliant blue skies and amazing weather just made it all that much more wonderful.

The day was highlighted with tasty food, great company, fun games and the feeling of love in the air.

It was a women's only shower but Justin was invited in for one (very fun) game and to open the gifts with Judy. I kept watching them and thinking that I just cannot believe how my baby boy has turned into such a great man and is embarking upon this new chapter with the beautiful woman, who he has loved for 6 years. It really made me quite misty in a very good way.

I also must say that Marc and I feel so blessed by the fact that this union has brought our two families together. Judy's family and our family just love each other so much and when we are together we are truly one family. We could not have wished for anything better than that.

Here are some pics from this wonderful day that this mama will always remember.

Beautiful atmosphere




Me with my son, the happy groom to be



Me and Judy, the happy bride to be



Enjoying ourselves



Judy and Joyce - Two beautiful sisters



One of the amazing floral centerpieces



The games and fun that was planned for us



Shannon and Pattie, dear family friends



Our table minus Kira who was away from the table



This was just before the game that was planned for Justin. Doesn't he look a bit nervous?? Well, he should be. He had to answer questions about Judy and if he got incorrect answers his penalty was to put on an article of lingerie. He did not know as much as he should of and..................



This was the end result. Believe me when I tell you that there were many more pictures but for the sake of family harmony, I will only show this one of his backside! Thank goodness that he is a good sport!!



Judy's dad looked pretty amused as were the rest of us.



sharing something private



My mom and another dear friend, Kira



Judy and her girls (bridesmaids and Holly on the left is her maid of honor) They did a fab job organizing the festivities.



Sharing some fun while opening gifts.



Next party will be the wedding reception. We cannot wait!!

Bridal Weekend Heats Up!

Justin and Judy's wedding is approaching at the speed of light and in anticipation of that event, we are in the midst of bridal weekend, with last night being the bachelorette party and tomorrow being the bridal shower.

Our plans were to go to a Drag Show/Dinner as a group, with the mother's in attendance and then the youngins would go off after to do what they do. A couple of my friends, who Judy has befriended, were invited as well which was really nice for me.

I got myself dolled up and then before it was time to leave Marc wanted to take some pictures of me. Since I get a lot of complaints that you all hardly see me on this blog, the next four pics from my photo shoot are for you.









We arrived at the club, got seated and waited for the fun to begin. These men/women were fabulous!! They were funny, campy, sexy and just over the top. We had a blast. The first pic is of one of the entertainers bending over me and me giving her a little love in the way of a tip (wink)



Then this lovely wo/man had all of the women at my table mesmerized with the fact that her legs reached her armpits...what a bod!



Our waitress was also an entertainer. She was outrageous!!



Here is my girl, Kira



Judy's lovely mom and sister, Elsa and Joyce



and my other girl, Shannon :)



Here is the beautiful bride to be, my soon to be daughter in law, Judy



Judy got pulled on stage and of course things heated up a notch but hey, what happens in the drag club needs to stay in the drag club.

My only complaint about the evening was that it was far too short. When I walked into the house my hubby was shocked that I was home so early. He knows me very well and this mama can still party like a rock star but alas, this night was for another star and it was her party so.......

I am sure that I can find something to celebrate soon so that we can partake in a little more fun!

A day for hanging around

Yes, it has been a day for hanging out. The kids did their hanging in the park with daddy and I am at home hanging out and doing a bit of online holiday shopping as well as organizing for next week's annual home purging...oops, I mean garage sale and getting ready for a weekend of fun.

This is Judy's bridal weekend. Tonight is the bachelorette party and then Sunday is the bridal shower. I will have lots of fresh material for blog posts! In the meantime, I am going to go back to my hanging out. I need to conserve my energy for the night ahead >;0)

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are thankful for the food that sustains us...



Family to share it with...



Humor to make our life so much more fun...



Men who don't rub it in (much) when they win a game....



A strong and sensitive husband (pictured holding his very petite mother)...



and warm and wonderful, soon to be in-laws, that we love very much!



We are so blessed. From our gang to yours, we wish you a most wonderful and joyous holiday season!

So thankful for Katie's School

I have spoken about Ethan's school before. We are so grateful to have been placed there as well as with a wonderful teacher that has allowed him to continue to progress towards his potential. I have never really posted about how wonderful Katie's school is. Today, is a good day to post about how thankful we are for this wonderful school community that we happened upon over two years ago.

By a weird set of circumstances, (which is our life) we happened to walk into a temple in our city which is well known for it's excellent preschool. Marc went in while I stayed in the car with a sleeping Katie. Ethan was not yet a part of our family. I asked him to get some info on the preschool while he was in there and when he walked out he looked happy and excited. While talking to the director of the school and after realizing that they are both from New Jersey, he found that she was the best friend to his cousin Gayle in New Jersey. We had heard about Gayle's best friend so many times and here we happened upon her at this preschool...such a small world and such an amazing feeling of "beshert" (The Hebrew word for destiny) Not only was this a highly rated school but a very close family friend oversees it. How much better can it really get?

Katie started just a couple of months later, at age 2 1/2, just after we adopted Ethan. It was perfect timing, as Katie needed something of her own while Mommy and Daddy forged a bond with her new brother. She took to her new school so beautifully and we have been blessed with wonderful teachers throughout her time there. Katie is now in Pre-Kindergarten and is excelling. We are so grateful. The school staff and community have embraced us as if we are family and we work very hard to assist them in all of their endeavors. It is a beautiful marriage and it works.

Today will illustrate why this school is so special to us. Instead of the traditional Thanksgiving Party, which has been done time and again; the story of which is hard for children to identify with at this young age, the school decided to have a multi-cultural celebration celebrating the diversity of it's families. Their reasoning was aren't we all pilgrims to this country unless we are native American? Shouldn't we instill pride in the fact that we all are so beautifully different and so amazingly the same? I loved the idea as did Marc.

So today, off we went with our beautiful daughter who was born in China. She was adorned in a beautiful red dress that we purchased for her there and we brought a couple of artifacts that were also purchased there that have significance to us and could be displayed. We also brought in a Chinese Rice dish to share with the group. We dropped Katie at her class and her pride was shining through for all to see. The great thing was that she was able to experience that pride with so many different children that have backgrounds that cover the globe. After we set up the social hall, we got to watch the children walk in and the excitement was palpable as they found their families and got to check out all of their friends finery. Then they got to sample a variety of very tasty foods from those countries and sing wonderful songs.

It was all possible and absolutely wonderful because of the leadership in the school and the dedicated staff and parents that carried it off.

Later, when Katie came home and she opened up her backpack and there was her report card. The following comments brought us a great deal of pride.

"Katie is a sweet, kind and cooperative child who is very mature for her age. She has adjusted well to Pre-K. Her verbal and motor skills are good and she knows all of her letters and most of her numbers in 4 languages! During class discussions she raises her hand and patiently waits her turn. She is not only at ease with her adoption and her Chinese heritage, she is proud of them and enjoys teaching the class the numbers in Chinese. She is a joy to have in class."

We could not be any prouder of her or her school. We love how they have embraced our daughter and all of the facets of her life. As Katie faces life as a member of a minority race, I am so gratified that the school is on the same page as we are in setting the bar for her sense of self. There is nothing in my estimation that is more important than that!

Here are a few pictures from today's festivities.



Katie's contribution on the table







Here comes the children



















The nontraditional Marc in the traditional head dress of Trinidad

My foot is twitching...That may be a bad sign!

That is what it has come to this November. My self imposed "daily blogging for a month" experiment has just about pushed me over the edge. It really was a small shove to get there. I am the one that has made my own life resemble "The twirling tea cups ride" at Disney World. I seem to have lost the ability to say no, but even worse, I have lost the ability not to volunteer in the first place. I have so many projects on my plate in addition to work, being a mother and a wife that I find myself looking at my size ten left foot quivering and wondering what I can do to make it stop. To add to my anxiety is two sick children and a dog that is looking a bit sick herself.

It sure would be nice if I could think about it on vacation, while sipping a chilled adult beverage.

I do know one thing. It is a good thing that I have the most supportive and involved husband that I could have ever dreamed of. There is no way that "stress would be as fashionable as black" without him.

OK, enough venting, I have to go do some Internet research as to how to stop this twitch. If Katie's coughing is not keeping us all up tonight, then I sure as heck don't want it to be my foot that does! *SNORT*

There is quite a bit of power in that tiny package!

It was a crazy busy weekend and to be quite honest, I am exhausted. I usually have great stamina and can go days without a lot of sleep and really be no worse for the wear. Today is different though. After a weekend of non stop action and in addition Katie fighting the beginnings of asthma, there has been no rest for the weary.

I thought about what I wanted to post today and one thing kept coming back to my mind and that is the DD's very good friend, Erin.

Erin is the daughter of Tammie and David, two wonderful friends of ours that came into our lives through what I always call the "miracle of adoption." Since the moment that Erin met both members of the DD, they have had an amazing connection. Erin has an especially strong connection with Ethan. Tammie told me that from the moment she saw his referral photo she said to her mom that "he was hers!" She feels very protective of E and it is a very common sight at most of our FCC gatherings to see Ethan in Erin's arms. she totes him everywhere. This has become much more difficult of late as he is getting bigger and heavier. Erin is as petite as she is beautiful. As strong as she is, the little mama is going to have to let him walk on his own soon *SNORT* Here are a couple of photos that I found that will show you what I am talking about. In these, she has E on her lap.





Erin is smart, strong, compassionate and loving. Marc and I always marvel at all of her wonderful qualities and we know that the devotion of her parents has played a huge role in nurturing this amazing little soul.

OK, now that you have the background on Erin, it brings me to what stood out in my mind this weekend. During our FCC Picnic, Erin and her Karate team gave our group a demonstration of their skills.

There she was, this little seven year old spitfire, adorned in her blue belt, not only keeping up but excelling with children several years senior to her. You could see how the other kids felt towards Erin and how much she respected them as well. When they performed, I was so proud for her, her family and for us. How lucky are we to have this beautiful child in our lives. She is truly a role model for the children that are coming up after her.

I caught all of the action on my camera. These are the raw images but I really wanted to get them on here before too much time had passed. You can see Erin here from introduction through the finale. There was even a demonstration of her skills when attacked from behind by a much larger girl.

Erin; our pride and respect for you is immense. We love you sweet girl.

waiting to start

very patiently

Let's get this party started!





















Being introduced after the demo and then leading the ending ritual





That went well!

Who is this celebrity?

This celebrity was attending a wedding that we attended today. She is a good friend of the bride and groom. She was a singer that began her career in the 50s. Her real name is Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero, she was married four times and has lived quite a tragic life. One of her many memorable songs was "Who's crying now?" It was also the title to her autobiography. Can you guess?

This is her with Marc and I today.



This was her back in the day....



BTW, We had a blast at the wedding. We sat with a group of really good friends. We had so much fun and danced ourselves silly...literally!

It was a very good day!

FCC- South Florida National Adoption Month Picnic

Today is National Adoption Day. Our FCC chapter, of which I am President, hosted it's third annual adoption month picnic. It was awesome!! We had warm, sunny weather, good food, entertainment for the kids and the adults and camaraderie with the most supportive FCC Chapter in the world, as far as I am concerned.

When you are amongst friends who have also adopted, it is like coming home. There are no questions, no weird looks and no explaining about the way that you have chosen to form your family. I love all of my friends but it sure is wonderful to be around my dear adoption friends.

I have a kadjillion pics to go through but here are a few of my kiddos and hubby in the meantime. Some were taken by me and some by my dear friends.

Germ Pits

Those are the two words that run though my paranoid mommy head every time we arrive at a party location that has one of these things. Last week was no exception but unfortunately, I ignored that little voice in my head and let the DD play away. Actually both kids pulled a switcheroo on me. Ethan was the one who was quietly playing with his friends in the play kitchen area of the location and Katie Starr decided to be the Indiana Jones of the party and kept diving into the foam pit. Seriously, she was in and out of that thing for the full 90 minutes we were in that room. About an hour into it, she came over to me because she wanted to give me a hug and I saw that her eyes were very irritated. I asked her to slow down a bit but before I could say "Please" she was off and running again. I hate to squelch these opportunities as she is not normally that adventurous and I think it is great when she starts to relax a little in these situations.

A little bit later, the party attendants called all of the party goers into the party room for Pizza and Cake. After locating and gathering the DD up, I started to hear that Katie was coughing. By the time that we got into the room she was having a full blown coughing and wheezing attack. It was so bad that Katie could hardly catch her breath, so I bid the hostess and birthday boy a hasty adieu and off we went so that I could get Katie something to relieve these symptoms. The whole way home she continued with the harsh coughing. We got home and I performed some of my mommy hocus pocus on her and the cough subsided. By the time she went to bed she was just fine. I immediately drew a correlation between the coughing and the foam pit. For the next few days, the only time that she would cough was sporadically at night and when she ran around too much during the day. She had no fever and no other symptoms...not even a runny nose.

Finally, last night she awoke at 4:00 AM and was coughing and choking again. She did this for about an hour and a half. I actually thought she was going to vomit from all of the coughing. It happened again on the Playground at school earlier today. We decided to take Katie to see her doctor. The doctor examined her carefully. She must have listened to her lungs for 7-10 minutes. After listening to my story of how this had all started, she said that this was definitely caused by the foam pit. It was not that she got sick from the germs right away but that the mold and dust that live in the foam and are stirred up by the movement, had irritated her lungs. Katie definitely has a predisposition to lung issues, especially since her bout with Pneumonia this past May.

She warned me to keep her away from the pits and other similar things that may irritate her lungs. She has put her on Albuterol Syrup, which is a medicine that deals with airway spasms. We just now left her room for the third or fourth time since she went to bed to rub her back and comfort her as the coughing so severely. I pray that she falls asleep soon so that she can get some rest.

Listen to your mama gut...it is usually right. I wish that I had this past Saturday.