PROCRASTINATION!!!!!!

I have so much to do for work that just thinking about it makes me dizzy... What the hell was I thinking when I decided to go back to work??? Honestly I love it but now I need to play the procrastination game. Sam is in school, Judah is with his nanny and me sigh... I get to breath deep with a minute to myself.

So did I ever tell ya about how Scott and I first started dating??? I didn't... Well then let me tell you...

Scott and I have known each other since we were 10 years old. Yes I know how romantic but I can assure you we did not start dating until 13 years later. Scott was quite the obnoxious wisenheimer back then and I didn't like him very much. Years later we both graduated from college and moved to NYC. Because neither of us knew many people we often hung out just as friends. He would try and fix me up with other guys I would try and fix him up with other girls... But it was always interesting that when things didn't quite work out with the other guys Scott would get a little too excited over my disappointing date life. One evening Scott and I went out to dinner. It was the night before he was going on vacation to Italy. After dinner we walked to a local bar for a drink where he stopped me in the middle of the sidewalk right in front of Sparks and he kissed me. Well at that very moment I knew without a doubt in my mind that Scott was going to be the man I was going to marry. I don't know how I knew it but I just did. Its funny how a split second can determine the rest of your life for the good and for the bad. But in this case of course it was for the good. He left the next day for Italy and a week later when he came home everything just unfolded naturally. In fact the first time I saw his parents after we started dating, which was very shortly after that first kiss, they told me I could call them mom and dad... Whoa... slow down Leshins... But then later I realized that Scott never brought anyone home before and his parents were just so ecstatic that Scott brought home a girl... Ha...

I am so proud to be married to Scott. He is such a great person and I love him so much! He is the best dad with the exception of my father who is also a great dad and Scott's dad who is another great dad. OK this is going no where. I am going to get back to work now.

Sam's First Day of School!

I never would have thought looking back that Sam would be able to go to school at 3 years old. We are so happy that we found such a beautiful program that can provide Sam with all of his needs including medical needs, therapeutic needs, and academic needs. Sam started school yesterday. Grandpa Dave bought Sam his first day of school outfit. He looked just gorgeous! He is accompanied by a nurse and rides the bus both there and back. It is a 5 day a week program from 9-2:30. Yesterday I went to the school at around 1:30. I was told that Sam had a great day! He did not cry at all and he participated in all classroom activities. When I got there Sam was reading a story on the computer. He looked up when he heard my voice then continued to finish what he was doing. After he was done they put him down on the mat and he made his way over to me to give me a hug. It really was so cute. I was told he was good as gold and so attentive. We are so proud of him!!!

Labor Day

We had such a beautiful weekend to mark the end of a very long and busy Summer. Saturday we celebrated Scott's grandmother's (aka Nana)85th birthday. She looks fantastic, would't you agree. The party was at Aunt Iris & Uncle Arnaud's beautiful house on the water. We all had such a great time especially Sam. We had Sam in the pool all day and he even got to go out on Uncle Arnaud's boat which he loved!

New Digs...

I have to say Scott and I could not be happier in our new home. The town is so beautiful and the people all around have been so helpful and great. We have such nice neighbors and there is a ton of stuff to do around here. OUr house came out beautiful and the kids just love it. Sam is doing great! He starts school on Sept. 8th. We have all new nurses for Sam who are just absolutely amazing! Judah is liking his new surroundings too, now if we can just get him to sleep a little bit longer at night things would be just that much better. We still have a ton more to do around the house but thank g-d all of our family has been so amazing to help us out. All the grandparents and even Scott's grandmother has been so helpful in giving us a hand with the kids so we can do things around the house. I will post more pics soon. Here are a few to tide everyone over in the meantime... I have no idea where my camera is so newer pics will have to wait ;).

Loooooooong Overdue

Its been a month since we moved and I have to say I DO NOT miss Brooklyn at all. Don't get me wrong Brooklyn has served us very well but there is something to say about moving into a home where you do not live right on top of other people,where you do not have to listen to the squeak es and squawks of city buses, getting attacked by pigeons and so on and so forth.

So in honor of the good the bad and the ugly of Brooklyn here is my top 10 loves and top 10 hates about good ole Brooklyn...

The Top 10 Things I will NOT miss about Brooklyn

10) I will not miss the city bus that always blocked my driveway because the bus driver decided it was OK to leave the bus parked there so he could go take a piss.

9) I will not miss listening to the stray cats f***ing outside my window at 2 am in the morning that I kid you not use to scare the daylights out of us and wake us out of dead sleep.

8) I will not miss the major city project being done outside my house where every time they used their tremendous jack hammers and such things would fall off of my walls.

7) I will not miss the lovely view of the city bus depot across the street.

6) I will not miss looking at my neighbors bloomers hanging on the clothes line in the yard.

5) I will not miss the noise of the buses coming and going right at the foot of my driveway where you literally had to put the volume of the TV up to 70 in which you still could barely hear what was going on during Oprah.

4) I will not miss the midnight Chinese Karaoke that went on right in back of my house until the wee hours of the morning.

3) I will not miss the Brooklyn traffic where it could take 25 minutes just to go around the corner.

2) I will not miss the intense honking and cursing you would get if g-d forbid you did not slam your foot on the gas as soon as the traffic light turned green.

1) I will not miss the near death experience you encounter every time you get off at exit 5 on the Belt parkway...


Top 10 things I will surely miss about living in Brooklyn

10) I will surely miss the guys at seaview body shop. G-d bless them for fixing my side view mirrors before my husband came home from work every time I knocked one off. And yes they new me by first name.

9) I will surely miss all of the wonderful therapy Sam received for free because we lived in Brooklyn. We really miss everyone and thank g-d we had them as we owe so much of Sam's progress to them.

8) I will surely miss all of Sam's nurses as they also showered him with so much love and attention.

7) I will surely miss Kings Highway bakery for the best seeded twist in the world. Hands down best Italian bread ever!!!

6)I will surely miss the fact that you can get whatever you need whenever you need it 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

5) I will surely miss NATHAN'S, yes the original and it was AWESOME!!! Gotta love a Nathan's frank. And its different if you go to a chain versus the original.

4) I will surely miss having Nellie Bly (A child's amusement park) in the back of my house.

3) I will surely miss having 2 great city parks within a few blocks away from us. Sam I know misses the swings.

2)I will surely miss PISA the greatest Italian specialty store in the entire world. They make there own fresh mozzarella and it is amazing!!!

1) And the number one thing we will all miss so much about Brooklyn is L & B Spumoni Gardens Pizza and Spumoni. There is nothing like it in the entire world!!!!

Last Weekend in Brooklyn

Scott's Pen

This morning I took Sam on our usual morning walk to the bagel store. It’s a great Saturday morning tradition Sam and I started doing since he was born. Then it hit me as I left, this is our last morning walk and we will start a new Saturday morning tradition in Livingston.

It is strange, sad, amazing etc to reflect back on the past three years we have been living in Brooklyn. We came here for a reason, to give my son the best chance in life he can have to walk, talk, eat, sit up, smile etc, and we leave with a tremendous sense of accomplishment. Sam…you did it. When we did not know whether or not you would make it through the night you did, when we did not know whether or not you would ever smile you did, when we did not know whether or not you would sit up you did and your mother and I love you sooo much and are sooo proud of you.

I know that the next three years will be just as amazing as the past (I will leave out the heartache as this is a happy blog post).

I want everyone to know how much I appreciate what each of you have done for us over the past three years.

Dad and Mary, while I may not say it, I am very grateful that you gave up on selling this house and letting us move in without hesitation. It is because of this house and living in Brooklyn that we were able to give Sam as much as we did.

Dad and Mom, thank you for driving from NJ every Sunday through S.I. over the Verrazano and on the Belt in hours of traffic to bring us food, diapers and loving company. It really broke up the weekly routine and gave us and Sam something to look forward to.

Mom, thank you for sleeping in the "dungeon" and flying at a moments notice from FL to NY to be with us at the emergency room and just to cook your amazing dinners and spoil us.

Therapists, thank you for working tirelessly to push our son to do all he could and then some. Thank you for breaking through those plateaus when reached and striving for nothing but perfection from our son.

Nurses, thank you for sleeping next to our baby and providing us with the comfort knowing that Sam would get through the next day. You allowed for us to relax at times and when needed. Mada and Carlene, a special thanks to you. You are family and we love you.

Doctors, thank you for taking our late night calls and seeing us without an appt. Thank you for giving us the encouragement to continue to move forward and thank you for keeping our son alive.

Friends and family, thank you for schlepping to Brooklyn to give us company and a sense of normalcy. Thank you for opening your homes and hearts when we needed it most.

We now leave for the next chapter in the Leshin Family saga, hopefully with less drama. We came with a 3 month old and we leave with a 3 year old and 3 week old. WOW…. 

Judah Shai Leshin

Hi Everyone... Long time no post. Well this will be a short one as I am still recovering from a C-section. It really really hurts! So Scott and I had our second baby boy Judah on Friday July 19th at 11:18am and we are thrilled! He was born weighing 9lbs. 13 oz. Sam is handling his new little brother quite well actually. He gave him a kiss on his head this evening. It was so precious. I will post more on this soon. Thanks for all of your well wishes!