3rd Time's a Charm

Today at 2:00 a doctor will either be very happy that I am in her office or leaving with some type of broken appendage. Lauren has an appointment to get her ear molds fitted for her hearing aids. This is the third doctor's appointment for hearing aids in 4 weeks. I am cautiously optimistic that we will actually accomplish our goal of leaving with the knowledge that hearing aids are on the way. We will see. Pray that it all goes well and that Josh VanAlmen (my friend's police officer husband) does not have to come to the office and arrest me for trying to strangle an audiologist. It's really hard to write a blog from jail.

Poem

Don't ask me how or why, but I stumbled across a Dear Abby article that featured a poem that caught my eye. It was written by Edna Massimilla from Hatboro, PA. If you are a mother of a special needs child, your efforts don't go unnoticed. If you are a friend of a mother with a special needs child, go give them a hug, they probably need one. Enjoy...

HEAVEN'S VERY SPECIAL CHILD

A meeting was held quite far from Earth
It was time again for another birth.
Said the Angels to the Lord above --
This special child will need much love.
Her progress may be very slow
Accomplishment she may not show.
And she'll require extra care
From the folks she meets down there.
She may not run or laugh or play
Her thoughts may seem quite far away
So many times she will be labeled
'different,' 'helpless' and 'disabled'.
So, let's be careful where she's sent.
We want her life to be content.
Please, Lord, find the parents who
Will do a special job for you.
They will not realize right away
The leading role they are asked to play.
But with this child sent from above
Comes stronger faith, and richer love.
And soon they'll know the privilege given
In caring for their gift from heaven.
Their precious charge, so meek and mild
Is heaven's very special child.

Poo Bucket

Warning: If you are prim and proper this is not the post for you. If you are easily offended and your delicate persona cannot handle descriptive visual images, please discontinue reading. Consider yourself warned.

There are certain times in your life where something happens to remind you what life is really like. You do the same things day in and day out until, BAM, you remember what you were put on this earth for. Mine came in the form of a Poo Bucket.....

We decided that it was time for young Lauren to use the potty. To be honest, it was time for us to help out our pocketbook and stop buying diapers. Either way, it was time. I would try to get Lauren to understand the concept of using the potty in the past, but all she wanted to do was wad up the toilet paper and wipe. I decided we would bite the bullet and buy big girl undies. My theory? Let her pee all over the place before we get new carpet and hopefully she will hit the toilet every once in a while. There is nothing funnier than seeing Lauren get a look of panic on her face and seeing her little legs run down the hall with a stream of pee following her all the way. I almost wet myself following behind her laughing and jumping over the little puddles she leaves behind. It's the best when Rugby thinks that he's missing out and tries to run with us. Then we have a few seconds to get Lauren's panties down and on the toilet after hurdling over pee puddles and trying to do all of this without tripping over Rugby in the hallway. You really need to be here to see it. You'll never be the same. Anyway, I digress. There were many times when she missed her 30 second window and had an accident in her pants. Most of the time it was just pee. The problem arose when the poo got in the way. Long story short. I can't throw away poo panties. So I needed a new tool. This was the BAM moment that made me remember that I am a mom. I found a Poo Bucket. Not only did I find it, I was proud that I thought of it, happy that it worked, and wanted to call someone to share the victory about it. I'm a momma because I love my Poo Bucket. I fill it with eight pounds of detergent and some water and let it soak, baby, soak. I came back to my Poo Bucket after a while and started laughing at the realization that my life is so much different than I pictured as a kid. I always knew that I would be a mom someday and that someday was here. No one told me that you would have to think about Poo Buckets and pee puddles. You don't picture that when you are setting up your tea parties for all your stuffed animals. Poo buckets or not, I wouldn't change a thing!

TAG!!!

I have been tagged by my friend, Erin. Miss you lady!


Four Jobs:
1) Playground attendant at McDonalds
2) Daycare person
3) Teacher
4) Mother



Four Places I've Lived:
1) Bethel Park, PA
2) Slippery Rock, PA
3) Grove City, PA
4) Charlotte, NC



Favorite TV Shows:
1) Lost
2) Big Brother
3) Hell's Kitchen
4) Scrubs



Food:
1) Funyuns
2) Wings from Quaker Steak and Lube
3) Pizza Hut salads
4) anything chocolate



Places I'd rather be:
1) on the beach
2) Hickory visiting my friend Krista
3) swimming
4) sitting on someone's couch chatting



Favorite movies:
1) Ever After
2) The Net
3) Tombstone
4) Where the Heart Is



Tag Time:
1) Dunn Funn
2) Judith
3) AspergersKitty
4) Rick

What Would You Choose?

I recently started thinking about the challenges that Lauren might face having a hearing impairment. If she has to take her hearing aids out at night, will she hear the fire alarm? When she gets married, will she be able to hear her baby's first words? Can she hear the whistle from a lifeguard at the pool? I have no idea what she can and cannot hear, so it always gets me wondering. Then I had a thought. If I had to lose one of the 5 senses, which one would I choose? I think sometimes it would be cool to lose the sense of smell so I could eat all the healthy food I want and it wouldn't taste bad. It just wouldn't taste like anything. I would be skinny and life would be great. I would miss the smell of Lilacs, though. Not sure if I would chose that one. Sight? No question, never! I am a visual learner so if I lost that one I would be in big trouble. Hearing, nope. There is nothing that moves me more than the perfect chord of my favorite song or Lauren's giggle that comes just when I need it most. Not sure about touch. It would be great to get a shot and feel nothing, but I would miss the feel of Lauren's soft, little cheek resting against my hand. I am at a loss, really. I guess that's why God doesn't let us choose. So, I guess it's your turn. If you had to choose, what would you pick?

9 Years and Counting

Yesterday was our 9 year wedding anniversary. There is so much that happens in your life over that long of a time frame and you get to share every bit of it with someone you love. It's really pretty cool if you think about it. I sometimes feel like we just got started.

Ty surprised me last night with an 'anniversary adventure'. Now, Ty usually stinks at surprises because he gets so excited that he makes rookie mistakes. He will accidentally leave a note lying around and I see it or forget to have a phone conversation out of earshot. The biggest giveaway is when I guess the surprise correctly. Ty can't lie so if I guess something close to what he planned, he gets a huge goofy grin on his face and his cheeks get red. It happens every time. Maybe I should be a nice wife and not guess...too bad. Once I found out that there was a surprise on the horizon it was game on. I think if I had a super power I would want to make you tell me what you were thinking no matter what. Kind of like Wonder Woman's lasso of truth (Come on...who's with me?). I love surprises but they drive me crazy until I know what they are. I have no ability to delay gratification. Ty did not smile or blush one time. He never cracked or gave me ANY clue about the night. I just knew that he had arranged a babysitter (thanks Allison, you rock!) and we were to leave the house promptly at 5pm. He told me what I needed to wear ( a general idea, not crazy psycho man who picks out his wife's clothes), and he put something in the back of the car. I threw every question I could think at him with no avail. I had no clue where we were going until we passed a sign. Ty got my attention and I missed the first one that was near the exit we were taking. He wasn't counting on the seven others that included arrows to show the direction to go. Eventually I spotted a sign for Verizon Wireless Amphitheater. I knew we were going to a concert. Ty got us tickets to the John Mayer concert and I had no earthly idea it was coming. I hadn't been to a concert since New Kids on the Block. Ok, maybe not that long ago, but close. We had so much fun. I had more fun watching all the crazy weirdos around me. There are some whack jobs that come out when a concert comes to town. Minus the occasional drunk stumbling around and the hint of pot in the air, I had a fabulous time.

Doctor's Offices are the Devil

As I hinted in the last post, I had a rough time at Lauren's last appointment. It was the worst one by far. Not because it was hard to see her at the doctor's yet again. It was hard because doctor's offices are the devil. What other business can make you wait weeks to get in, make you sit in the waiting room however long they want to, and charge you out the wazoo. It baffles me. Anyway, I had an appointment to get Lauren fitted for her hearing aids on Wednesday, July 25th. (Keep in mind that this is the second time I have tried to get these things.) The last doctor sent me to this office because Lauren was too young for him. I thought everything was ready to go and we would be walking out of this appointment poised to take the next step in Lauren's development. WRONG!!!! I get to the desk to sign in and the receptionist told me that I never had an appointment. I waited two weeks to get this one, I wasn't leaving until I saw an audiologist. Poor lady, she had no idea what was coming. The receptionist went to talk to someone in the back office and came out to tell me that she could make another appointment or I can wait and see if she could fit me in. What? I don't think she could have picked a more incorrect thing to say to me. In a nut shell I told her that someone in her office told me exactly what to bring so I obviously made the appointment in the first place. I said that I did my job by making the appointment so I don't care what you do I will be seeing someone about hearing aids. I would not be leaving without getting them fitted and I don't care who I see. I will not be waiting very long to see an audiologist. I got in 15 minutes later. When I got back to see the audiologist, she left for 30 minutes to check on my insurance. To make a long story short, she came back and said that she doesn't feel comfortable treating Lauren today because she had no idea if the hearing aids would be covered. So, yes, she referred me to yet another doctor. I asked how long it would take to get another appointment. She said anywhere from 1 to 4 weeks. I lost it in the office. I was so mad that I just cried. I couldn't say a word, I just cried. The doctor didn't know what to do, Ty didn't know what to do and Lauren just kept wiping tears from my eyes with a Kleenex. It was pitiful. Oh well, The good news is that I have another appointment on the 8th of August. What's even better is that the whole shooting match is free. The newest doctor accepts something called Assistive Technology. What that means is every piece of equipment Lauren needs to hear better will be totally free to me. I don't have to pay for a hearing aid or a battery and everything in between until she is 21 years old. By then she better have a job and paying for them herself.