Have you seen the commercial previews for M.adagascar 3. We have. When Little M had Hand, Foot and Mouth a couple weeks ago he was so miserable all he did was sit on my lap for 4 days and whimper. It was awful. But S.pongebob made it better. :) Of course this was right before the movie opened so every other commercial was a preview.
We permanently have the Circus Afro song stuck in our heads. Little M thought it was hilarious. So when the chance to see the show for free presented itself. I jumped!
Through the HopeKids group we got tickets to a special screening. So far our movie experiences with Little M have been disastrous at best. He's just too little to sit through a movie. Unless it's a movie about cartoon animals dressing up in circus costumes and singing. He sat through the whole show. Barely blinked. Squealed with delight when the circus afro song played. And danced in his seat (that I had to hold down with my leg so he wouldn't get folded in half!). I watched him the whole show instead of the movie. It was just too precious to look away.
Chalk up another win for HopeKids! This group is amazing and I'm so glad we were told about them!
Monday, June 18, 2012
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Breaking down the numbers
Recently I had to gather all of Little M's medical records to try to get him on disability. I never really stopped to think about just how often he's been in the hospital or seen by a specialist. I knew it was a lot but holy cow! He has nearly 100 hospital, clinic, ER, specialty, therapy, lab visits in two years. How is that even possible? So I broke it down. Because I'm a number geek like that.
ER visits: 5
Hospital stays: 8
Well baby check-ups/ weight checks: 9
Sick baby visits: 12
Specialty visits: 21
Therapy appointments: 35
Lab visits (most of these required drawing blood): 9
No wonder I don't have any time off accrued at work!
It's a wonder my little guy doesn't start screaming the second we walk into the pediatrician's office! At his 2 year well baby check he was as charming as could be all while talking and smiling for Dr. J. She's just as shocked.
And not to rock the boat or jinx anything, but Little M got a cold the beginning of June. That makes every month this year. And for the first 5 we had a hospital visit or stay. We stayed home this time. I think he's getting stronger. And I think the asthma controller meds are helping.
The one thing that I try not to dwell on with all these visits is the cost. Yes we have insurance. It's not the greatest, but at least it's something. We still have co-pays, deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums to meet. And they all reset every year. Simply put, it's draining. Financially, obviously, but emotionally too. Then throw in an out-of-network ICU stay and, well, shit. I'd like to use a stronger word there, but I'm trying to not dwell on it again.
I love my boy more than I ever could have imagined. And knowing what we know now, yes we would still do it all again. I just wish we could have been more prepared for the financial toll this was going to take. But hindsight....
So for now, we just keep taking each day one at a time. I try to remind myself daily that God won't give you more than you can handle. I just wish he didn't trust me so much!
ER visits: 5
Hospital stays: 8
Well baby check-ups/ weight checks: 9
Sick baby visits: 12
Specialty visits: 21
Therapy appointments: 35
Lab visits (most of these required drawing blood): 9
No wonder I don't have any time off accrued at work!
It's a wonder my little guy doesn't start screaming the second we walk into the pediatrician's office! At his 2 year well baby check he was as charming as could be all while talking and smiling for Dr. J. She's just as shocked.
And not to rock the boat or jinx anything, but Little M got a cold the beginning of June. That makes every month this year. And for the first 5 we had a hospital visit or stay. We stayed home this time. I think he's getting stronger. And I think the asthma controller meds are helping.
The one thing that I try not to dwell on with all these visits is the cost. Yes we have insurance. It's not the greatest, but at least it's something. We still have co-pays, deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums to meet. And they all reset every year. Simply put, it's draining. Financially, obviously, but emotionally too. Then throw in an out-of-network ICU stay and, well, shit. I'd like to use a stronger word there, but I'm trying to not dwell on it again.
I love my boy more than I ever could have imagined. And knowing what we know now, yes we would still do it all again. I just wish we could have been more prepared for the financial toll this was going to take. But hindsight....
So for now, we just keep taking each day one at a time. I try to remind myself daily that God won't give you more than you can handle. I just wish he didn't trust me so much!
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
HopeKids
At Little M's birthday party a friend mentioned the HopeKids organization and told me we needed to get involved. So I signed us up and found out more info.
It's an organization for families with rock star kids like Little M. Kids that have different medical conditions and different abilities. They organize different events and invite these families. The events are free. Which is great because when you have a rock star kid, funds tend to be depleated. It also gives us a chance to meet other kids with the same diagnosis as Little M.
We got to the zoo at about closing time. The HopeKids group just had to wear a wristband and in we went. Dinner was provided from Chik.fil.a. And we got to wander around and look at the animals. The best part was since it was evening, it was cooler and the animals were more active.
It's an organization for families with rock star kids like Little M. Kids that have different medical conditions and different abilities. They organize different events and invite these families. The events are free. Which is great because when you have a rock star kid, funds tend to be depleated. It also gives us a chance to meet other kids with the same diagnosis as Little M.
We happened to sign up just in time for Dream Night at the Zoo. I already had a good feeling about this group, but once I met the director, I knew they were awesome!
We got to the zoo at about closing time. The HopeKids group just had to wear a wristband and in we went. Dinner was provided from Chik.fil.a. And we got to wander around and look at the animals. The best part was since it was evening, it was cooler and the animals were more active.
We got to see the new part of the zoo with the new polar bear, brown bears, sea otters, seals, and sea lions. Little M had a blast! Mr. Temmie and I did too.
It was a nice little night out for our family.
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| Big kid has to push his own stroller now. |
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| See what I mean!!! No more baby face!! |
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| He was certain he didn't like cotton candy. |
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| Captain Blue Beard! |
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| Playing "I'm gonna get you mama!!" And I'm working on getting rid of the binki. But we had Hand Foot and Mouth disease last week so we relapsed a little. |
Monday, June 4, 2012
Craftastic!!!
First of all, this is my 100th post!!! That only took 2 years!!! ;) Anyway, yea for me and thanks to the 3 of you still reading! :)
Now on to the craftasticalness that was my weekend!! On Friday I stopped at the local thrift store on a whim. I've been wanting to get a nice comfy chair to put in Little M's room but I don't want to pay a whole lot. And since we weren't doing anything that day, why not!!
Well I did get a chair. But it's not for grown ups! I found the cutest little arm chair and it's just Little M's size! Only problem is it had a pink butterfly slip cover. GROSS!! But, in a moment of ambition and a feeling of I can totally re-make this!, I bought it. Plus it was only $10 so I couldn't pass up this deal!
When I got the chair home, I realized that I could easily just re-upholster the whole thing. I've done that before! But with a two year old boy, washable is everything!! So slip cover it was going to have to be.
Now on to the craftasticalness that was my weekend!! On Friday I stopped at the local thrift store on a whim. I've been wanting to get a nice comfy chair to put in Little M's room but I don't want to pay a whole lot. And since we weren't doing anything that day, why not!!
Well I did get a chair. But it's not for grown ups! I found the cutest little arm chair and it's just Little M's size! Only problem is it had a pink butterfly slip cover. GROSS!! But, in a moment of ambition and a feeling of I can totally re-make this!, I bought it. Plus it was only $10 so I couldn't pass up this deal!
When I got the chair home, I realized that I could easily just re-upholster the whole thing. I've done that before! But with a two year old boy, washable is everything!! So slip cover it was going to have to be.
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| Before |
I consulted Aunt Jen, a.k.a. sewing GURU. She confirmed that yes, I could just pick apart the butterfly cover and use it as a pattern. Patterns intimidate me. But I soldiered on! Once Little M was down for a nap I picked the whole thing apart and cut out a pattern. And since Little M opted for the Marathon nap that day, I got to sew about half of it back together before he woke up!
It took me 5 hours start to finish. It's not perfect. But Little M LOVES it!! And the whole thing is washable!!!! Even the cushion cover because I sewed in a zipper for the first time ever in my life!! :)
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