my monkey doodles

Fun runs are back!

2012-01-22T08:07:00.001-08:00

Back to our Sunday fun runs!

All cleaned up

2012-01-15T07:48:00.001-08:00

Day 3 in hospital. Hopefully we can ditch the 02 tent today.

RSV yuk!

2012-01-14T12:56:00.001-08:00

Well, Sam has had a rough 2 weeks. He was now diagnosed with RSV and has been admitted to the hospital. He will be ok, just needs some extra oxygen love.
Just fell asleep.

Back to biz

2012-01-11T06:09:00.001-08:00

Been over a week since I've ran. Starting to feel better. Hitting the road.

Date night

2012-01-10T15:34:00.001-08:00

Just me and my monkey Sam:-)

Tuscany

2012-01-08T17:56:00.001-08:00

Dinner with Greg and Deb.

Grandma time

2012-01-07T15:07:00.001-08:00

The boys love grandma!

Seeing Dr Rich

2012-01-06T11:23:00.001-08:00

Well the weekends here. Sam not so good better get checked out

Angry birds anyone?

2012-01-05T06:29:00.001-08:00

Home today from school.

2012-01-04T18:37:00.000-08:00

So we go back to school and I get a call....Sam has a fever. Poor guy:( Hopefully, this is nothing. Back to school on Friday:) Darn winter!

2012-01-04T18:35:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I am NOT going to commit to the 365 thing like everyone else. I would rather commit to my daily running. Sorry! I will however post pics and try to post randomly:)

Jan 2nd

2012-01-03T20:16:00.001-08:00

Snowy VT

WOW..it summer 2011

2011-08-07T16:10:00.000-07:00

I have been so bad about updating this blog. Lets see, it is 2011 already!
MY MONKEY DOODLES, Cole, Jack and Sam are all doing well.
Cole is gearing up for 8th grade and is currently at New England Prep Cross Country Camp this week for X-C training. Jack is going into 4th grade and has done Cooking camp and the KIDS COOKERY and swim camp at Bubbles to Butterfly this summer.
Sam is doing one more year at preschool and is 5yrs old already!
We are spending a week at CAMP HARKNESS this summer! Can't wait! I promise to post pics soon!
Oh...need I say, I have been training with my oldest son to run a 1/2 marathon in NOVEMBER. Yes, call me CRAZY!

Here is a picture of Jack using his KIDS COOKERY skills at Grandma's house!

The Kiddie Pool

2010-12-16T06:39:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone! Happy Holidays to you:) We decided to put together a page for Sam at Adaptivemall.com for some things he is in need of. Sam is too tall for his current stroller and we are in need of a new one for him that will grow with him a bit more. Sam needs transportation via stroller when we are on long outings as he tires easily and just wants to sit down or be held. We thought this would be perfect for our friends and family who want to give to Sam for his birthday, holiday or any event.

Here is the link to Sam's Page:
www.adaptivemall.com/sams.html

We hope everyone has a very merry holiday season!
xo Peter, Holly, Cole, Jack and Sam

Happy Holidays from www.mymonkeydoodles.blogspot.com

2010-12-06T13:34:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone!

Yes, I know. I have been really bad about posting on my blog since we attended the annual conference.

Well..lets see, what is new? Mr.Sam is a pretty happy 4 1/2 yr old little boy. Lately he has had a bout of coughing and croup but is on the mend.
Sam just had his first Augmentive Communication Evaluation at the school. It is looking like the IPAD is the way to go for him. We will have the formal evaluation on paper in the beginning of the year.

Sam has really made some milestones. WE ARE POTTY TRAINING! Sam is doing great on the potty. We are still in our cloth nappies at night but do great throughout the day. He singed "potty" to me for the very first time...well...initiating it for the first time the other day! SO exciting:)

Sam is coming out with more and more words too! Just amazing! We are super excited about this. I will try to post a video here but you can always go on my facebook page to see it too.

We are thinking one more year of pre-school is the way to go for him. We are hoping to keep him at CT College for another good year of a foundation year for him. He is really making milestones and this is a really important time. EVERYTHING is in place there.

As for Sammy's brothers, Cole and Jack. Cole is very busy with his running. He is doing fun runs on Sundays to stay in shape for the track season in the spring. He is looking forward to Ski Club early next year. 7th grade has been good for Cole. Big changes.

Jack is JACK! Oh..my little 8yr old. I think he is realizing it is VERY important to brush your teeth for more than a second when he found out he has to have FILLINGS!
Why doesn't that kids like to wear a winter coat?? LOL OH..my:)

I had to close my natural maternity and baby store for economic reasons. The economy is not very nice to small brick and mortor stores:(
I have however, opened up my NEW SALON! WAAHOOOO PINK cut & color studio! Come check it out. Would love to see you if you are local.

I promise 2011 will be a better year for posting:)

NDSC Conference was awesome!

2010-08-17T07:02:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

We had a fantastic time in Florida for the NDSC Conference. It was just AMAZING to see all parents networking and making a stronger community for all of us with kids with Ds. Cole attended the sibling conference. On the first day he learned more about people first language and the 2nd day they went on an outing. He made some great friends and connections. I spent all day on Friday at the affiliate conference representing Connecticut. We networked on how to make our local non-profit stronger and how to gain more volunteers,etc. So great to see other organizations in the same boat...don't feel alone!

Saturday and Sunday our Jena came from N.Carolina to watch Sam and Jack while Peter, Cole and I went to the conference. Peter really enjoyed the D.A.D.S session. We learned SOO much and will be bringing many of the ideas and thoughts to our own local convention this November. It will be a great!!

You will see here a picture of Cole who made a great friend Tim. Tim is a college graduate and is opening his own restaurant "Tim's Place"! Oh....he also has Down syndrome!

Of course, with the convention in Florida, we had to see MICKEY! What a great way to tie in a learning experience and a little family fun.

Thank you to all of you who made this possible for us. xoxo

Holly

We are going to the National Down Syndrome Conference

2010-06-25T05:38:00.000-07:00

Well...it's only been a months since I posted. Bad mommy. I have to get better at this. With Facebook and everything else this blog gets left behind. Good thing is I have a way to post from my phone super easy now! Love the iphone!

So we did some amazing fundraisers to help us get to Florida next month (July) to get us to Convention. Cans for Sam is still bringing in the change which is great seeing this convention is located at Disney. Spaghetti for Sam was a success. WOW...I just don't know how to thank everyone for all they have done to pull that event together for us. The leclair family and his boy scouts rocked and of course my sister Tammy and her family are always at hand. We had many donations for our raffle drawing including a bike (pics of raffle item on this post)! THANK YOU TO ALL!

Overall, we were able to raise enough funds to pay for everything and even to get a sitter for a few days so Peter and I can enjoy the conference and Jack and Sam can stay back at the resort to splash in the pool. Cole will be at the sibling convention. So excited for him!

I PROMISE to post lots of pictures when we are away.

On another note. I am lucky to have won a scholarship to the National Apraxia Conference in Pittsburg the beginning of July. Yes, I am a busy mama but somehow seem to fit it all in!

xo for now!

My Monkey Doodle Sam is 4 today!

2010-05-04T06:06:00.000-07:00

Here we are, May 4, 2010. I can not believe my baby is already 4. Time does certainly fly by. We are so lucky that Sam is in our family. Today Sam will celebrate with his classmates by sharing his wheat and Gluten free corn bread muffins we made. Tonight we will celebrate with family after brother Jacks LAX practice. We will have Sammy's favorite...ICE CREAM CAKE of course!

Sam will have a few friends over to celebrate his turning 4. We are going to have a "Sock Monkey" theme! I can't wait to post those pictures. It will be super fun! I got the idea to get back into the theme party from one of my dear customers Suzanne! Thank you Suzanne! No reason to not do it up right?

This year Sam is getting a balance bike from us and his brothers got him some "hooked on phonics" books. Sam LOVES to read and is already reading! I will post more on that soon. I have some great video footage of that! More pics to come!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY SAM SAM!

July will be here soon!

2010-04-15T12:40:00.000-07:00

The Salegna family is working really hard to collect every bottle and can possible for "Cans for Sam". We fundraising to attend the National Down Syndrome Convention in Florida this July! We have to go! There will be a siblings 2 day workshop for big brother Cole to attend and lots to do! Yes, Florida is HOT that time of year but thankfully there are pools and air conditioning!

Check out Cans for Sam!

We will keep you posted!

Cans for Sam

2010-04-06T06:05:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

WOW, I can not believe it, I have not posted to this blog since January?? SO, SORRY!
I think I have just been a bit busy!

We are very anxious to attend the upcoming National Down Syndrome Congress Convention this July in Florida. Yes...hot July Florida! The best part about it all is it is at Disney World! Our life is always about Down syndrome and at times my older 2 boys get lost in it. We want to make this a very special trip for everyone.

Hmm.....how are we going to get there?? Conference fee, travel expenses, Disney tickets???? FUNDRAISER! You betcha! I am not shy to do a fundraiser that is going to benefit all of us! We all need to learn more and more at the convention on how we can give Sam the best opportunities. I want my children to understand (I do think they are getting it) how important it is that we have to be Sam's advocate.

We are doing a Can/bottle drive fundraiser to help us get to Florida in July. During these hard economic times we would not ask anyone for direct funds....if you are not using your bottles/cans to cash in yourself or would like to donate them...we will take them!

Check out the event CANS FOR SAM here!!!!!!!!!!!

Become a fan of CANS FOR SAM on FACEBOOK HERE!

Slide show of Sam from Stars of Hope

2010-01-10T18:52:00.000-08:00

Here is the beautiful photo shoot from Nina Benjamin. Sam is the January Star of Hope for her blog.
Enjoy.

Stars of Hope

2010-01-10T09:41:00.000-08:00

Sam was picked to be the "star" of the month at "Stars of Hope". We were honored to be choosen by Photographer Nina Benjamin to be the Star of January. Our photo shoot was so productive. She came to our home and utilized what we have here. She really likes the natural setting of what the child is doing. You will see that absolutely reflects in her work. She did bring in a backdrop for a different feeling as well. She is fantastic with children. Sam just adored her with smiles as you will see in the pictures! Thank you Nina!

View the Photo Gallery here

diapers...diapers...diapers

2010-01-09T19:29:00.000-08:00

All I can say is I am so glad I ENJOY cloth diapering as much as I do:) Really, I propably have saved over $5000.00 by now with all 3 kids in cloth and Sam who 3.5 and not potty trained. I am anticipating 5yrs old for that...so 2 more years or so of DIAPERS! OH..yes, so glad I am saving space at the landfill:) hehe!

So, this is what I do in my downtime at home:) Stack them, stuff them, sort them and get them ready for the diaper bag for Sammy's school day! I only have to send 4 or 5 depending on what day of the week it is (Friday is shorter day).

I am very excited to try out the Thristies all in ones! woop woop. Does not take much to make this mama happy!

Christmas 2009 - over already!

2009-12-27T07:05:00.000-08:00

Wow....how does this all happen so fast? All the hype of the Hoidays and then poof..they are over:( Well, My Monkey Doodles are all enjoying their holiday gifts this year. The big one was for Cole and Jack. They received an Xbox 360. Yes, we gave in to that one. In return, I had to re-organize everything in the playrooms and TV console so I was able to do a lot of clean up! That feels great!

Sam received a new pound the ball wood toy, music box, leap frog catepillar, books and play dough. Oh..his big gift is a hanging indoor SWING from HABA toys. It holds up to a couple hundred lbs so we can sit and read to him in it. I think him and his brothers will love it. It will go in his and Jacks room once I am done re-painting it!

Here are the boys enjoying Christmas morning.

Ask and you shall receive and GLASSES!

2009-12-11T16:14:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,

I have been totally slacking on the blog with darn Fbook now!

So Sam is 3.5yrs old and yes, he has Down syndrome. A lot of kids his age with Ds to have words at this point. Sam has none:( I know he has so much to say. He does sign a lot but nothing vocal yet. Just some sounds. He has been getting speech 3x a week at his school and I just asked to revise his PPT or put an adendum on it for a couple reasons.
1. Sam is not talking and also has Apraxia. The recommended resources for him for that is SLP 4-5x a week. So I am asking for another 1/2hr of SLP for him.
2. GLASSES! Yes, Sam now has glasses.They are prisms. His vision is actually pretty good but he does not track well. I totally notice a difference on how he looks at thinks with them on! He is so cute I just can't stand it!
We have a new eye DR. who is a behavioral eye specialist. SHE ROCKS! I am taking Sam's big brothers to her to get checked out too! Who knows....I am thinking this is why Cole is having issues at concentrating. She works a lot with kids and schoolwork!

Soo......received a call today from the director of Sam's school and the PPT is scheduled for Jan 6th at 2:30. Anyone want to join me:) hehe. She said, Sam WILL be getting slp 4 times a week...we are going to add another 1/2hr! WAAAAAHHOOOOO!
Oh....did I mention...his mommy ROCKS! He needs the gift of speech so badly and they will do anything to help him there!

Ok..heres is a pic of Sammy in his new specs!

The holidays are coming! Christmas 2009

2009-11-08T15:15:00.001-08:00

Photo Tinks by WiddlyTinks.com

Sam doing THRILLER!

2009-11-01T11:12:00.001-08:00

New set of ear tubes and bronchoscopy

2009-10-22T18:10:00.000-07:00

Well we spent a few hours up at CT Childrens this past Tuesday. Sam had to have his 3rd set of tubes and a bronchoscopy. He is doing great! He gets fluid often on his ears which can impact his hearing so we keep him as fluid free as possible with the tubes. Croup happens about 8 times during the cold season with Sam so the ENT wanted to check his airway for obstructions. Sam is free and clear. His air way is narrow but that is normal for a person with Down syndrome. We just have to dive into the liquid steroid for 2 days when it comes on, which btw is like 1am! This way we will avoid and ER visit.

So...as you can see Sam recovered beautifully! He is still nursing a little and need some TLC in recovery~ No wonder he bounced right back!

My 2 older boys had tonsils and adenoids out

2009-10-11T12:19:00.000-07:00

Well..I was brave and so were Cole and Jack this past Friday. They both had their tonsils and adenoids out. Dr.S said "those tonsils were like cottage cheese." SO glad they will not suffer like I did as a teen with strep and such!
Here they are...so happy before surgery! We are 3 days post op with a lot of ice cream and TLC.

Down syndrome Awareness Month

2009-10-04T18:21:00.001-07:00

October is Down syndrome Awareness Month. I am going to try to post daily to create more awareness for all the beautiful people out there with Down syndrome including my son Sam:)

Fact: The medical term for Down syndrome is : Trisomy 21

Sam has AFO's !!

2009-09-20T14:21:00.000-07:00

So Sam was fitted a few weeks back for AFO's. He was doomed from the start when it comes to his feet. Mommy pronates, grandma...Aunties and so on! Sam will strengthen his leg muscles by having the correct footing behind it.

We could NOT find a shoe that fit this AFO at all. We tried Target, Payless, Stride Rite...you name it and even taking the inserts out a no go. We knew we could order the ugly Hatchback shoes for him but I would not put those on my other boys (UGLY)..why Sam? I was determined to find a normal looking shoe for him!

We found this ROCKIN store called FOOTPRINTS in Newington,CT. We went on a Saturday and they were so super busy you have to take a number! The service there reminded me back in the day when my mom used to take me to Buster Browns to get my shoes 2x a year:)

They really know there stuff there and deal with AFO's all the time! We found a great pair of New Balance Sneakers in XX Wide and we also picked up a pair of socks so he will not chafe at all on his legs. They really are great there! I will post a pic of him wearing them soon. We have to wean into them:) We did pick up a pair of inserts for his other shoes when he is not wearing the AFO's so he can have support all the time.

Here is a pic of his new AFO's.

Clean house and SCORE!

2009-08-24T07:27:00.000-07:00

So we had a very productive weekend CLEANING. My room was last week. This week was the playroom/office. Whew, is all I can say. I just don't know how we can build up so much stuff. Really, I am not out buying toys every week for my kids. I have figured it out after cleaning up the war zone. It is BOYS! They love to take apart things, cut things up and throw stuff everywhere. Really. I have never seen so much cut up paper in my life. I am banning them from scissors (just kidding, but I would like too)!
So, 9 big black garbage bags later..yes 9. I would say 4 of them were garbage and the rest Goodwill. It does feel good to look in there and see a nice organized area!

We totally SCORED at the Goodwill while brining stuff there, we made 3 runs this weekend. We picked up an Imaganarium train/play table for 24.99 in mint condition. Looks like it came right out of the box. Unbelievable! You just never know what you can find. We picked that up quick as it would not last long there. The boys LOVE IT! We had a train table from about 9 yrs ago but the board was trashed and it did not have drawers like this one!~ WAHOOO!

Building a new porch

2009-08-21T21:54:00.000-07:00

WEll...we had to rip off our back porch completely...the wood was rotted and it was really falling apart. So for right now there is only one entrance to our house..thru the front. Our bilco door to the basement was also in disrepair so that is gone too!
Our original plan was to add on to the back of the house in place of the porch but....of course $$ is always the issue isn't it?? So we are just adding a very much need mud room! YAY! Need one with 3 boys..you should see what comes in from those shoes..etc! Finally, a place to put backpacks, coats, boots. A moms dream!
The rest of the back will be a patio. We have new french doors that we purchased years ago that will go in off the back of the house and we will put in a patio of some kind off of that. Hopefully will be ready for next year!

Will post pix soon!

Parade bound at Sesame Place

2009-08-10T18:39:00.000-07:00

Well...everytime the 2pm parade came along this is what Sam did. The picture says it all! LOL. We were testing out this new carrier by Phil and Teds. It is the Metro. We like it a lot. You can check it out at our store www.shoppapoose.com.

Sam finally woke up and we were able to hit the 7pm parade. So all in all we saw the same parade 3x but had fun!

Sesame Place was fun. Good price and good times:O) Would do it again for sure!

Sesame Place - have boys will travel

2009-08-07T20:56:00.000-07:00

Sooo...we are on a mini vacation to Sesame Place in Langhorne, Pa. The drive was not bad at all..about 3.5hrs. Pretty much 95 south all the way for us.

We arrived late thursday night. Staying in Willow Grove at a Marriott Spring Hill Suites which is a about 15mins away from Sesame. Yes, once you max out of a family of 4 you have to go with suites for hotels! Just works better that way:) Anyhow, there are 6 of us traveling. We took along my dear niece who is a kid at heart herself...at 24:)

So....woke up Friday AM to breakfast at the hotel then off to Sesame Place. Had a great day. Sun was shining! First stop was a roller coaster of course! Then we went to Elmo Live. That was great. Sam was in awe seeing Elmo:) Then...off to the water activities. Sam was completely tuckered out and fell asleep while riding on my back then we transferred him to the stroller to nap...he missed the parade so we hope to keep him awake for that tomorrow!

Here are some pics....will post more later!

OFF TO CAMP HARKNESS TODAY

2009-08-01T08:19:00.001-07:00

Well the sun has come out! WAHHOO! Off to Camp Harkness for some beach fun.
We had a very eventful week this past week. CCMC for test, appts and more.
We are preparing for our mini vacation to Sesame Place next week too. Should be fun..just a 3 day get-a-way.

Sam stayed with his friend Stephen this past week for 1 day while Mommy was at a Phil and Teds Seminar in Boston for work.

This is how much fun they had!

Test at CCMC

2009-07-28T21:59:00.001-07:00

Well, Sammy survived the Barium test at CCMC. They were looking for Hirshprungs. That is where the colin is very narrow after the opening of the bum and it is hard for stools to pass. Ok...too much info, I know..I know. Anyhow, He did great. They gave him some sleepy juice and he was glassy eyed as he watched Barney while the DR.did the test.

So....reports so far show no signs of Hirshsprungs. We will still wait to hear from the G.I. doc to get the clean bill. What does this mean?? Well, Sam just has low gut mobility from low tone in his G.I. track and will always have to be on Mirylax daily so he is not in pain from being constipated:( We have tried it all and the Mirylax seems to work.

Here are some pics ...Sam feel asleep after the procedure so we had to wait a bit longer for him to wake up:)

2009 CT Down syndrome Annual Picnic

2009-07-26T10:12:00.000-07:00

What a blast we had at the CDSC Annual Picnic at Hammonassett. We had loads of fun. The day was beautiful. The kids enjoyed the beach, sensory tables, beach balls, music, great food, ice cream and more. Here are a few pics to show you how much fun we had. Sam tuckered out and took a nice nap under the registration table!

Summer Vacation - Therapy

2009-07-21T05:56:00.000-07:00

So had to make a decision what to do for therapy for Sam for the 4 weeks he is out of school. We just don't want to do nothing as he has made such progress! 4 weeks is not a long time but can be long enough for regression.

I am trying to find out if the school is responsible for providing services even though there is no school in session? If anyone knows please reply back.

We are continuing with SLP, PT and OT for now and will be paying an out of network fee since the therapist are all out of network. These are the same therapist that work with Sam at school and they are fantastic. They work at Therapy Works in Old Lyme with Deb Dixon. Top notch.

We are also getting some serious orthotics for Sam..I will be posting about this soon!

Last week of ESY

2009-07-20T16:41:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe this is Sam's last week of ESY (Extended School Year). He will have had 5 weeks this summer and then start back up at CT College Childrens Progam in late August. As for his brothers, they are at Holiday Hill Day Camp this and last week. They are loving it! Big brother Cole is doing a sleep over Friday night and big brother Jack is doing an extended day til 8pm tomorrow night to be around the campfire. I am sure they will have youth memories of camp to last a lifetime!

Camp Harkness

2009-07-20T09:13:00.000-07:00

We had a great day yesterday at Camp Harkness in Waterford. I must say, the beach is absolutely beautiful. The adaptive playscape is great and parking is a hop away from the beach. No long walking. The restrooms and changing area is clean and they have outside showers to rinse off. Lots of picnic area to barbeque if you wish. We had a great day:)

I sent in my information to get a lifetime FREE pass. Here is the link to check it out~

Application:
http://www.town.groton.ct.us/depts/parksrec/docs/CAMP_HARKNESS_Pass_Application.pdf

Great giveaway

2009-07-19T07:53:00.000-07:00

If you follow the Papoose blog every month they do a free giveaway. This is a natural maternity and baby store that focuses on prenatal up to about age 5. They have some great stuff!

Why would you not want something for free right? All you have to do is follow their blog and comment on the item of the month~!

Last month they gave away an UPPA BABY STROLLER!

Here is the link:
http://papoosenews.blogspot.com/

ENJOY!~

OFF TO THE BEACH!

2009-07-19T07:04:00.001-07:00

We are off to the beach today with the beautiful weather we are having in New England. I think we are finally drying out here!

What did I do Mommy?

2009-07-18T09:56:00.000-07:00

Ok...so as I am trying to update this blog on my laptop, Sam decided to blog on his own by gettting on the desktop. Why do you need a full diaper on to type?? I will tell you why...behind the half on diaper in front is a chair with PEE on it! HAHAHA!
Oh well....that chair has seen better days any how! Time for an IKEA trip. I think when he climbed up in the chair the snaps came undone:)

Summer is here!

2009-07-18T09:33:00.000-07:00

So sorry again I have had a lag in posting. As you can see, I am updating alot of features on this blog! Yippee.

I am putting a special code to anyone who reads this blog who would like to browse my store at www.shoppapoose.com! Enjoy!

We do have the Stokke Tripp Trapp chair which I love for Sam~! Great for sensory feedback because his feet are grounded and not dangling. There is a great deal on it now with the baby set if needed:)

Just go to www.ShopPapoose.com for more details.

How To Wash Cloth Diapers

2009-06-25T18:12:00.001-07:00

How To Wash Cloth Diapers
Originally uploaded by hpscole2

Not sure how to wash those cloth diapers? Watch this short tutorial on how to wash pocket and all in one cloth diapers!

Make sure you come to our FREE Cloth Diaper 101 Class every month at papoose! For more information go to www.shoppapoose.com.

We are making more videos to help you too! Stay tuned...

Sam starting Pre-school

2009-04-22T19:10:00.000-07:00

Sorry everyone. It has been too long for my postings for sure! I am going to get better about this for sure! SO..I changed my blog name to mymonkeydoodles because Sam's favorite cuddle is his sock monkey. I will post a picture in a new header soon. I promise to post more on this pre-school venture he is starting. Sam is going to CT.College for Pre-school 5 days a week..full time. We had a round about with our district and they agreed there was not an appropriate setting for him and we agreed that out of district placement was appropriate for Sam. This I am happy about. I am not so happy there is no place for him in our district that is appropriate (mainstreamed) but that soon will hopefully change. THey are trying hard to make changes. THey just would not be ready for Sam by May 4th. I am also on the FAST team with our district. It is a parent/teacher advocacy group. Post later!

Support us in the 2009 StartupNation Leading Moms in Business Competition

2009-03-28T09:26:00.001-07:00

Support us in the 2009 StartupNation Leading Moms in Business Competition

Posted using ShareThis

Raising Awareness: Palin puts special needs in public spotlight

2008-09-09T17:17:00.001-07:00

I thought I would share this story with everyone. As many people know Papoose supports the Connecticut Down syndrome Congress as their charity this year.

My 3rd son Sam has Down syndrome. There is alot of buzz out there in the special needs parenting forums about Palin.

CDSC conference November 4th

2006-11-07T21:51:00.000-08:00

Wow. What a great experience at the CDSC conference. Joining me where my mother, sister Tammy, Nieces:Bethany and Katie, Dear friend Amy and friends Sarah and her mom Eileen. Sam has a huge team routing for him learing all there is to know about Down syndrome. I learn something everyday more so than ever now with Sam in my life. I ran the silent auction which was a great success! Chris Burke, self advocate was there to encourage all the self-advocates attending and put on a nice show at lunch. Steve Riggio hosted the morning breakfast sesssion. He is the CEO of Barnes and Noble and has a Daughter with DS. I was in all the birth 2 3 classes. Everyone joining me split up a bit to get information in all areas.
Jack had a rough start this morning for school. He is missing his daddy who is working 7, 10 hr days for a few more weeks. Cole is doing great. Lots of homework but surviving.
Sam goes for his 6 month check up tomorrow. I will keep you posted on that!

Cheers.