You get to pick the title for today's entry.
Last week, I was met at the door by the babysitter (we'll call her D) when I went to pick Emily up after work. As usual, Em came running at me shouting, "Mommy!" and then D was quick to fill me in that there'd been an "altercation" earlier in the day.
An altercation? Hmmm, interesting. My gears started turning... Who was it this time? Certainly it wasn't my little angel.
D is very good at telling us about things that happen throughout the day. She understands our kids very well and knows that they "talk" about their day with their parents and that they might not always get the facts straight... especially when the aforementioned kids don't have a good grasp on vocabulary yet... especially Emily who uses a combination of words, signs and pantomiming to get her points across.
Yeah, yeah, you don't care... you just want me to get to the point of the altercation, don't ya?
So, back to my story. D informed me that she and the kids were reading books and the kids were taking turns getting books and bringing them to her. Emily had gone to the shelf, picked out a book and a little boy (we'll call him J) not only took her book from her, but pushed her to the ground, sat on her and then proceeded to scream at her in his very high-pitched scream (which he knows scares her). D said that Em was shouting at him and saying, "No! No! No!" and when he wouldn't stop or get up, Em hit him. During all of this, D was trying to get the little boy to stop and to get off of Em and was also trying to get other kids and books off her lap so she could go split them up. She said as soon as Em hit him, she had a look of panic, that she knew what she did was wrong... but D didn't feel right punishing Em for defending herself.
The little boy did get disciplined and Em sat on D's lap and they talked about why it wasn't nice of J to do what he did and she asked Em if she knew that it wasn't nice to hit. She said that Em absolutely understood it but that it definitely stressed her out and she was more intraverted the rest of the day.
The next morning, Emily went to speech therapy and as we were pulling away from there she kept repeating, "D's, no. D's, no." until I figured out what she was referring to and asked if she was afraid to go to D's. She said she was and when I asked if she was afraid of J, she said "yes" to that as well. I talked with her for the next 5-10 minutes as we drove to D's and told her some things to do if J was acting mean. (Go to D, play with someone else, play in another room, etc.) She was still pretty clingy when we got there and I stayed with her a little longer than I normally do. Before long she was back to playing with the other kids like she normally does and all seemed well with the world again.
Overall, I think Em handled herself pretty well and did the only thing she could do at the time. She seems to be over the initial fear of what happened, but over the weekend while reading some new Dr. Seuss books with Tom she seemed to be overly obsessed with the "mean fish" in "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish". She wanted to keep talking about it, wouldn't let him turn the page, wanted to show me the mean fish and wanted me to talk about it.
One thing's for sure and we've seen this with so many other situations with Em. She's fairly quick to forgive, but she doesn't forget... ever.
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Grandparents
A cute email I received a few days ago regarding grandparents...
1. She was in the bathroom, putting on her makeup, under the watchful eyes of her young granddaughter, as she'd done many times before. After she applied her lipstick and started to leave, the little one said, "But Gramma, you forgot to kiss the toilet paper good-bye!"
2. My young grandson called the other day to wish me Happy Birthday. He asked me how old I was, and I told him, 62. My grandson was quiet for a moment, and then he asked, "Did you start at 1?"
3. After putting her grandchildren to bed, a grandmother changed into old slacks and a droopy blouse and proceeded to wash her hair. As she heard the children getting more and more rambunctious, her patience grew thin. Finally, she threw a towel around her head and stormed into their room, putting them back to bed with stern warnings. As she left the room, she heard the three-year-old say with a trembling voice, "Who was THAT?"
4. A grandmother was telling her little granddaughter what her own childhood was like: "We used to s kate outside on a pond I had a swing made from a tire; it hung from a tree in our front yard. We rode our pony. We picked wild raspberries in the woods." The little girl was wide-eyed, taking this all in. At last she said, "I sure wish I'd gotten to know you sooner!"
5. My grandson was visiting one day when he asked, "Grandma, do you know how you and God are alike?" I mentally polished my halo and I said, "No, how are we alike?'' "You're both old," he replied.
6. A little girl was diligently pounding away on her grandfather's word processor. She told him she was writing a story. "What's it about?" he asked. "I don't know," she replied. "I can't read."
7. I didn't know if my granddaughter had learned her colors yet, so I decided to test her. I would point out something and ask what color it was. She would tell me and was always correct. It was fun for me, so I continued. At last, she headed for the door, saying, "Grandma, I think you should try to figure out some of these, yourself!"
8. When my grandson Billy and I entered our vacation cabin, we kept the lights off until we were inside to keep from attracting pesky insects. Still, a few fireflies followed us in. Noticing them before I did, Billy whispered, "It's no use Grandpa. Now the mosquitoes are coming after us with flashlights."
9. When my grandson asked me how old I was, I teasingly replied, "I'm not sure." "Look in your underwear, Grandpa," he advised, "mine says I'm 4 to 6."
10. A second grader came home from school and said to her grandmother, "Grandma, guess what? We learned how to make babies today." The grandmother, more than a little surprised, tried to keep her cool. "That's interesting," she said, "how do you make babies?" "It's simple," replied the girl. "You just change 'y' to 'i' and add 'es'."
11. Children's Logic: "Give me a sentence about a public servant," said a teacher. The small boy wrote: "The fireman came down the ladder pregnant." The teacher took the lad aside to correct him. "Don't you know what pregnant means?" she asked. "Sure," said the young boy confidently. 'It means carrying a child."
12. A grandfather was delivering his grandchildren to their home one day when a fire truck zoomed past. Sitting in the front seat of the fire truck was a Dalmatian dog. The children started discussing the dog's duties. "They use him to keep crowds back," said one child. "No," said another. "He's just for good luck." A third child brought the argument to a close. "They use the dogs," she said firmly, "to find the fire hydrants."
13. A 6-year-old was asked where his grandma lived. "Oh," he said, "she lives at the airport, and when we want her, we just go get her. Then, when we're done having her visit, we take her back to the airport."
14. Grandpa is the smartest man on earth! He teaches me good things, but I don't get to see him enough to get as smart as him!
-and my favorite -
15. Grandparents are funny, when they bend over; you hear gas leaks, and they blame their dog.
1. She was in the bathroom, putting on her makeup, under the watchful eyes of her young granddaughter, as she'd done many times before. After she applied her lipstick and started to leave, the little one said, "But Gramma, you forgot to kiss the toilet paper good-bye!"
2. My young grandson called the other day to wish me Happy Birthday. He asked me how old I was, and I told him, 62. My grandson was quiet for a moment, and then he asked, "Did you start at 1?"
3. After putting her grandchildren to bed, a grandmother changed into old slacks and a droopy blouse and proceeded to wash her hair. As she heard the children getting more and more rambunctious, her patience grew thin. Finally, she threw a towel around her head and stormed into their room, putting them back to bed with stern warnings. As she left the room, she heard the three-year-old say with a trembling voice, "Who was THAT?"
4. A grandmother was telling her little granddaughter what her own childhood was like: "We used to s kate outside on a pond I had a swing made from a tire; it hung from a tree in our front yard. We rode our pony. We picked wild raspberries in the woods." The little girl was wide-eyed, taking this all in. At last she said, "I sure wish I'd gotten to know you sooner!"
5. My grandson was visiting one day when he asked, "Grandma, do you know how you and God are alike?" I mentally polished my halo and I said, "No, how are we alike?'' "You're both old," he replied.
6. A little girl was diligently pounding away on her grandfather's word processor. She told him she was writing a story. "What's it about?" he asked. "I don't know," she replied. "I can't read."
7. I didn't know if my granddaughter had learned her colors yet, so I decided to test her. I would point out something and ask what color it was. She would tell me and was always correct. It was fun for me, so I continued. At last, she headed for the door, saying, "Grandma, I think you should try to figure out some of these, yourself!"
8. When my grandson Billy and I entered our vacation cabin, we kept the lights off until we were inside to keep from attracting pesky insects. Still, a few fireflies followed us in. Noticing them before I did, Billy whispered, "It's no use Grandpa. Now the mosquitoes are coming after us with flashlights."
9. When my grandson asked me how old I was, I teasingly replied, "I'm not sure." "Look in your underwear, Grandpa," he advised, "mine says I'm 4 to 6."
10. A second grader came home from school and said to her grandmother, "Grandma, guess what? We learned how to make babies today." The grandmother, more than a little surprised, tried to keep her cool. "That's interesting," she said, "how do you make babies?" "It's simple," replied the girl. "You just change 'y' to 'i' and add 'es'."
11. Children's Logic: "Give me a sentence about a public servant," said a teacher. The small boy wrote: "The fireman came down the ladder pregnant." The teacher took the lad aside to correct him. "Don't you know what pregnant means?" she asked. "Sure," said the young boy confidently. 'It means carrying a child."
12. A grandfather was delivering his grandchildren to their home one day when a fire truck zoomed past. Sitting in the front seat of the fire truck was a Dalmatian dog. The children started discussing the dog's duties. "They use him to keep crowds back," said one child. "No," said another. "He's just for good luck." A third child brought the argument to a close. "They use the dogs," she said firmly, "to find the fire hydrants."
13. A 6-year-old was asked where his grandma lived. "Oh," he said, "she lives at the airport, and when we want her, we just go get her. Then, when we're done having her visit, we take her back to the airport."
14. Grandpa is the smartest man on earth! He teaches me good things, but I don't get to see him enough to get as smart as him!
-and my favorite -
15. Grandparents are funny, when they bend over; you hear gas leaks, and they blame their dog.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Puppy Dog Eyes...
A few days ago, I was fighting a pretty bad headache all day and when it came time for bedtime Emily was all ready for me to go in and read to her. I asked Tom if he would mind putting her to bed that night and I whispered to Em, "Go give Daddy your puppy dog eyes."
She promptly did as directed. She walked right over to where he was sitting, paused just long enough to say "Bow Wow!" and kept right on walking to her bedroom. He had absolutely no idea why she was barking at him and once I caught on and quit laughing I translated for him.
Ah, the fun never ends in the Hypes House.
She promptly did as directed. She walked right over to where he was sitting, paused just long enough to say "Bow Wow!" and kept right on walking to her bedroom. He had absolutely no idea why she was barking at him and once I caught on and quit laughing I translated for him.
Ah, the fun never ends in the Hypes House.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
The Thin Mint Saga Continues
All right... which of my faithful followers tipped Emily off about my fear of her eating all my thin mints?!??
This morning, she went to the cupboard, brought me the box, looked at me with puppy dog eyes and held up 1 finger. Then, she went so far as to calm my fears by saying "not 2" and held up just 1 single finger again.
Oy, what's a mother to do! I gave her one.... and took the 2 she didn't want for myself. Hehehe.
This morning, she went to the cupboard, brought me the box, looked at me with puppy dog eyes and held up 1 finger. Then, she went so far as to calm my fears by saying "not 2" and held up just 1 single finger again.
Oy, what's a mother to do! I gave her one.... and took the 2 she didn't want for myself. Hehehe.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Potty Parties!
We decided last week that we were going to make a second attempt at potty training while I'm off for spring break. Emily agreed that she was ready to try again (a little peer pressure from her cousins, Abby and Gracie, who are well on their way helped a LOT).
Last week she used her little potty chair several times for us and out of the blue, this weekend she doesn't want to use her little potty chair but wants to use the big potty... fine by me! She still hasn't quite managed to let me know ahead of time when she has to go, but she manages to go every time I set her on the toilet.
She's been fascinated with some new Elmo and Disney Princess underwear that has been in her drawer and she shared last night that she wanted to try wearing them today.... we'll see how it goes!
Last week she used her little potty chair several times for us and out of the blue, this weekend she doesn't want to use her little potty chair but wants to use the big potty... fine by me! She still hasn't quite managed to let me know ahead of time when she has to go, but she manages to go every time I set her on the toilet.
She's been fascinated with some new Elmo and Disney Princess underwear that has been in her drawer and she shared last night that she wanted to try wearing them today.... we'll see how it goes!
Hats?
Emily went shopping with me this morning and as we passed through the "intimate apparel" section of the store, she spotted the bras and happily proclaimed to me that we were surrounded by "whole lot hats"! I did need to add a few new "hats" to my collection so we purchased some and Emily begged to carry the bag to the car for me and held onto it until we reached our next destination.
I watched through the rear view mirror as she took all of our goodies out of the bag and then watched her open the box that held one of my "hats". Sure enough, the "hat" went on her head and looked quite -- uh, how should we say -- special. I caught the whole thing on video since we were at a stop light but seeing how quite a few of my family, friends, and co-workers read this, I don't think I'm quite ready to share my dirty, er, clean laundry with the whole world yet.
Some day, when she's ready, I'll let her know they aren't really hats... but I don't think we're ready for that talk just yet. :-D
I watched through the rear view mirror as she took all of our goodies out of the bag and then watched her open the box that held one of my "hats". Sure enough, the "hat" went on her head and looked quite -- uh, how should we say -- special. I caught the whole thing on video since we were at a stop light but seeing how quite a few of my family, friends, and co-workers read this, I don't think I'm quite ready to share my dirty, er, clean laundry with the whole world yet.
Some day, when she's ready, I'll let her know they aren't really hats... but I don't think we're ready for that talk just yet. :-D
Monday, March 23, 2009
I've Made a BIIIG Mistake
Hmmmm, I'm trying to figure out how to undo this one. Let me know if you have any ideas...
I let Emily have one of my Thin Mint (Girl Scout) cookies this afternoon for her snack. She's hooked. She keeps asking for more. I was kind of cherishing the fact that Tom liked them but not that well and I was the only one in the house that really enjoyed them! I fear I'm going to have to hide my other box and at the very least I'm going to have to remove it from the snack cupboard that's conveniently located at toddler level!
And, no, I will not be sending my coveted thin mints to your house for safe keeping so it's probably not a good idea to even suggest that!
I let Emily have one of my Thin Mint (Girl Scout) cookies this afternoon for her snack. She's hooked. She keeps asking for more. I was kind of cherishing the fact that Tom liked them but not that well and I was the only one in the house that really enjoyed them! I fear I'm going to have to hide my other box and at the very least I'm going to have to remove it from the snack cupboard that's conveniently located at toddler level!
And, no, I will not be sending my coveted thin mints to your house for safe keeping so it's probably not a good idea to even suggest that!
A New Look
I've been getting a bit of spring fever today and decided to change our blog's template today to a more outdoorsie look. I tried finding some spring-looking templates for our blog but didn't care for the ones that I found.
Hope you like it!
-j
Hope you like it!
-j
RyRy, Play-doh Please
Emily's speech has taken off quite a bit over the past couple of weeks. She's starting to pick up new words on her own now and we sometimes hear her practicing her words through the baby monitor. She's also starting to putting several words together to make short sentences.
She looks forward to the weekends when her brother, Ryan, comes home and she practiced and practiced saying, "RyRy, play-doh, please." She couldn't wait for him to come home this weekend to ask if he would play play-doh with her. And, being the good brother that he is, this 17 year old boy obliged and made his sister VERY happy.
She looks forward to the weekends when her brother, Ryan, comes home and she practiced and practiced saying, "RyRy, play-doh, please." She couldn't wait for him to come home this weekend to ask if he would play play-doh with her. And, being the good brother that he is, this 17 year old boy obliged and made his sister VERY happy.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Botox 2nd shot - Follow-up
NOTE: I originally wrote this email to our family last week on Tuesday, March 10... but have debated posting it on here because I was simply so frustrated after the appointment and it came shining through in my email. I little dose of PMS didn't help the situation one bit. (Did I just tell the entire world that I'm not perfect and had PMS last week?!?!) However, after thinking about the whole situation and having time to step back for a bit, I think it is important to include this in our blog. There are other families dealing with situations similar to ours and it's not always pretty. There are bound to be speedbumps and hiccups along the way.
Tom and I have lived our life and our faith out loud. Our life is and always has been an open book. I'm also post-dating this blog entry so that it shows up correctly on our blog timeline.
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Hey all!
Em had a Botox follow-up appointment at Children's Hospital this afternoon at 4pm. She was in a great mood on the way down especially since we were going to meet up with Aunts Shell and Laura afterwards for supper. We got called back right about 4pm so it was looking good... but then apparently there was some sort of emergency ahead of us and it was nearly 5:30 by the time
the doctor finally came to our exam room. I hate it when they do that because by then Em's patience is running thin and she's played with everything in the room and chatted with everyone in the hall, etc.
Even on the way to Columbus, Em seemed really concerned when I mentioned they might take her shoes off or that they might roll her pant legs up. And when they asked me to do it she threw a royal hissy fit while squirming around and sitting on my lap. Instead of waiting for her to calm down, Dr. B seized the moment to see how much range she had in her ankles. Needless to say, Em was not at all happy and my shoulder was covered in her tears and snot in the few seconds it took to check her out.
Later, when things settled down a bit, Dr. B suggested that I give Em a dose of Benedryl prior to bringing her in... in other words mildly sedate her. I understand what she means... but really?
I wasn't real impressed with that and probably should have just asked the doctor to wait for her to calm down... after all, we waited an hour and half for her to come see us. ;-) But, I was thinking about Em and how to calm her down and get her to cooperate and wasn't feel snippy and brave at the time. Don't get me wrong the doctors that saw her were very nice and played with her and took time with her after the initial eval. But thinking it over in retrospect, we all know Em has an excellent memory and now THIS will stick in her mind the next time we need to come see Dr. B.
She was already worried about getting "ows" (shots) because she remembered that trauma from the last time when we came for the actual botox shots. I have a really strong feeling it's going
to get harder and harder for her to enjoy going down there if she's traumatized each time.
Dr. B still didn't feel that Em had much if any improvement over her initial evaluation (prior to Botox). She simply recommended increasing the dosage the next time Em gets the shots. She asked if Em had a lot of pain from the last set and I said "no" that she has never shown signs of
pain, she is just REALLY bothered by the fact that people hold her down when she gets the shot. Dr. B prescribed a topical numbing cream for us to put on Em an hour before her next Botox shot so that she won't have to deal with the numbing spray they've been using. Great. Now I have to attempt to put lotion on the back of her legs, get her to agree to leave a band-aid over both of them while we drive for an hour to get to our next appointment. This oughta be a hoot.
Some of our other discussions this afternoon were about the possibility of serial casting (using leg casts to hold her feet in position since she's still tiptoeing everywhere). However, Dr. B felt that serial casting could cause more damage. Seeing how Em reacted today, she felt she would
have to be sedated to get the casts put on (and I'm thinking also to have them cut off). Sedation has its risks - the casts could causing scarring if she fought them, etc. Another option our PT recommended was a type of night splint. Dr. B was also concerned about these, Em would probably have to be sedated to have the splint sized and made. They cost about $1,200 for each foot and would have to be replaced about once a year because she would outgrow them. She wasn't sure that would provide enough support and the right kind of bracing that Em would need. The other option that was thrown in the ring was surgery... but was quickly discarded because they said she wasn't old enough... they usually do those around 6 yrs. of age. At the end of the brainstorm-out-loud session, Dr. B. said that Em was a tough one and that she was really making her think.
I didn't leave this appointment feeling as optimistic as the other appointments we've had down there. Em was in much better spirits when we left there and was laughing and teasing with everyone as usual, but I don't feel like we have any firm plan of action yet. I'm going to talk
to her physical therapist again tomorrow and review the day with her. I think I'm also going to start seeking some information on my own and see what others are doing for kids this age. You'd think we had a pit bull or something with as much sedation talk as we had today!
Well, that's enough for tonight... I'm ready for my own sedation. I'm beat.
-jenni
Tom and I have lived our life and our faith out loud. Our life is and always has been an open book. I'm also post-dating this blog entry so that it shows up correctly on our blog timeline.
- - - - - - - -
Hey all!
Em had a Botox follow-up appointment at Children's Hospital this afternoon at 4pm. She was in a great mood on the way down especially since we were going to meet up with Aunts Shell and Laura afterwards for supper. We got called back right about 4pm so it was looking good... but then apparently there was some sort of emergency ahead of us and it was nearly 5:30 by the time
the doctor finally came to our exam room. I hate it when they do that because by then Em's patience is running thin and she's played with everything in the room and chatted with everyone in the hall, etc.
Even on the way to Columbus, Em seemed really concerned when I mentioned they might take her shoes off or that they might roll her pant legs up. And when they asked me to do it she threw a royal hissy fit while squirming around and sitting on my lap. Instead of waiting for her to calm down, Dr. B seized the moment to see how much range she had in her ankles. Needless to say, Em was not at all happy and my shoulder was covered in her tears and snot in the few seconds it took to check her out.
Later, when things settled down a bit, Dr. B suggested that I give Em a dose of Benedryl prior to bringing her in... in other words mildly sedate her. I understand what she means... but really?
I wasn't real impressed with that and probably should have just asked the doctor to wait for her to calm down... after all, we waited an hour and half for her to come see us. ;-) But, I was thinking about Em and how to calm her down and get her to cooperate and wasn't feel snippy and brave at the time. Don't get me wrong the doctors that saw her were very nice and played with her and took time with her after the initial eval. But thinking it over in retrospect, we all know Em has an excellent memory and now THIS will stick in her mind the next time we need to come see Dr. B.
She was already worried about getting "ows" (shots) because she remembered that trauma from the last time when we came for the actual botox shots. I have a really strong feeling it's going
to get harder and harder for her to enjoy going down there if she's traumatized each time.
Dr. B still didn't feel that Em had much if any improvement over her initial evaluation (prior to Botox). She simply recommended increasing the dosage the next time Em gets the shots. She asked if Em had a lot of pain from the last set and I said "no" that she has never shown signs of
pain, she is just REALLY bothered by the fact that people hold her down when she gets the shot. Dr. B prescribed a topical numbing cream for us to put on Em an hour before her next Botox shot so that she won't have to deal with the numbing spray they've been using. Great. Now I have to attempt to put lotion on the back of her legs, get her to agree to leave a band-aid over both of them while we drive for an hour to get to our next appointment. This oughta be a hoot.
Some of our other discussions this afternoon were about the possibility of serial casting (using leg casts to hold her feet in position since she's still tiptoeing everywhere). However, Dr. B felt that serial casting could cause more damage. Seeing how Em reacted today, she felt she would
have to be sedated to get the casts put on (and I'm thinking also to have them cut off). Sedation has its risks - the casts could causing scarring if she fought them, etc. Another option our PT recommended was a type of night splint. Dr. B was also concerned about these, Em would probably have to be sedated to have the splint sized and made. They cost about $1,200 for each foot and would have to be replaced about once a year because she would outgrow them. She wasn't sure that would provide enough support and the right kind of bracing that Em would need. The other option that was thrown in the ring was surgery... but was quickly discarded because they said she wasn't old enough... they usually do those around 6 yrs. of age. At the end of the brainstorm-out-loud session, Dr. B. said that Em was a tough one and that she was really making her think.
I didn't leave this appointment feeling as optimistic as the other appointments we've had down there. Em was in much better spirits when we left there and was laughing and teasing with everyone as usual, but I don't feel like we have any firm plan of action yet. I'm going to talk
to her physical therapist again tomorrow and review the day with her. I think I'm also going to start seeking some information on my own and see what others are doing for kids this age. You'd think we had a pit bull or something with as much sedation talk as we had today!
Well, that's enough for tonight... I'm ready for my own sedation. I'm beat.
-jenni
Friday, March 06, 2009
That is awesome!
....that would be her dad's response to the video below.
Since Daddy's out of town tonight, we worked on a surprise to send him. We worked on this at supper. I'm not sure if she'll say it without being prompted yet or not... but it's a wonderful start. It only took us 2 1/2 years to get here... but isn't it lovely!?!?
The other phrase we learned right before bedtime tonight was "Be nice"... she supposed to tell Daddy that the next he decides to tickle her!
Take care and be blessed (we certainly are!)
-jenni
Since Daddy's out of town tonight, we worked on a surprise to send him. We worked on this at supper. I'm not sure if she'll say it without being prompted yet or not... but it's a wonderful start. It only took us 2 1/2 years to get here... but isn't it lovely!?!?
The other phrase we learned right before bedtime tonight was "Be nice"... she supposed to tell Daddy that the next he decides to tickle her!
Take care and be blessed (we certainly are!)
-jenni
Friday, February 27, 2009
Of cookies, books, phones and body parts...
Emily continues to be fascinated with her valentines from a couple of weeks ago. She does a pretty good job at "telling" me who gave each of them to her. She even had a couple added when she went to visit Nannie and Papa last week and we dropped in a few that she received in the mail. (She loves to get mail, so thanks gang!)
Late last week, we were excited to find pre-made Valentine's Day cookies on sale (24 cookies for $1.00) All we had to do was take them off the cardboard sheet, put them on a cookie sheet and bake them. Emily was having a grand ol' time helping make cookies until about the 1:54 mark in the video... which involved putting the cookie sheets in the oven for a few minutes. Enjoy the footage! (Hint - Someone might be getting nominated for an Oscar soon!)
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Late last week, we were excited to find pre-made Valentine's Day cookies on sale (24 cookies for $1.00) All we had to do was take them off the cardboard sheet, put them on a cookie sheet and bake them. Emily was having a grand ol' time helping make cookies until about the 1:54 mark in the video... which involved putting the cookie sheets in the oven for a few minutes. Enjoy the footage! (Hint - Someone might be getting nominated for an Oscar soon!)
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Last week, Emily and I also got to share a few gorgeous sunrises together. We peaked out the window and Emily shouted, "DOD!". I knew immediately what she was talking about. One of her favorite bedtime books is called "Thank You, God!" by P.K. Hallinan and the illustrations are brightly colored and beautiful. The sunrise on those days looked exactly like the pictures of the sunrise/sunsets (Did you just hum a few bars from Fiddle on the Roof?) in Emily's book. I had to agree... God certainly did a fine job painting the morning sky last week!
(It's a shameless plug, but here's a direct link and you can order it through our store!)
(It's a shameless plug, but here's a direct link and you can order it through our store!)Anyway, back to the story about the story... Did I mention Emily loves this book? We've read the book enough times now that she can finish the sentences for me. I thought she was doing a really great job grasping what the book was about (being thankful and thanking God for the things that we have) until she started pointing to the little boy that's in every picture. "DOD!", she exclaims while pointing at the little boy. So apparently the concept of God and not being able to see him is escaping my 2 1/2 year old daughter at the moment. She IS a mighty fine prayer though!
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While Emily loves her "Thank You, God" book, her absolute favorite at this point in time is a another book that she picked up off the shelf at our store. We occasionally sneak in to the store to surprise Daddy and while we're there Emily likes to kill time by looking at books in the kid's section. Prior to Christmas we were frequently stopping in the store because that was Daddy's busy season and we didn't get to see him at home much. Every single time, Emily pulled the "God and Me" book by Penny Boshoff of the shelf and would gently flip through the pages and look at the pictures. "God and Me" is a children's devotional book with a themed page for every day (yep, 365 of them!), a short 1-paragraph story, a full-color picture and a scripture verse to look up for further reference. It's probably intended for second to about fourth grade but Emily loves to look at all the kids in the pictures and talk about what they're doing, what they're wearing and we throw in the short story and life application for good measure. This has been her favorite book for over 4 months now... which is VERY long in the life of a 2 1/2 year old! And, guess what?!?!? You could also buy this one through our store. (My background is in elementary education and I highly recommend it for toddlers through about grades 3 or 4! Heck, I even like looking through it with her day after day after day!)
Yet another shameless plug and link where you can buy the book through our store!- - - - - - - - - - - -
This evening Emily broke stride and in the middle of watching a video she walked over to the coats, picked her's up and started to hand me mine. The following dialogue ensued.
Emily: Nannie's.
Me: Oh, are you going to Nannie's?
Emily: Nes.
Me: Am I going with you?
Emily: Nes.
Me: Do we need to go see her right now or can we call Nannie and talk to her on the phone?
Emily: Nes.
(You can see it's a very deep conversation already, can't you?)
We put the coats away and I ringy-dingy'd Nannie and Papa. I put the call on speaker-phone... enjoy.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Emily: Nannie's.
Me: Oh, are you going to Nannie's?
Emily: Nes.
Me: Am I going with you?
Emily: Nes.
Me: Do we need to go see her right now or can we call Nannie and talk to her on the phone?
Emily: Nes.
(You can see it's a very deep conversation already, can't you?)
We put the coats away and I ringy-dingy'd Nannie and Papa. I put the call on speaker-phone... enjoy.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
And, I know you're just dying to find out about the body parts part of the entry today...
Earlier this week as I was getting Emily dressed for the day she happened to be stripped down to her diaper (no, we're not potty-trained yet... that's a whole 'nother topic for another day!) and she discovered her nipples. {Did I just type the word "nipples" on my blog?!?!} And, NO, there is no picture to accompany this little story!
She was running her fingers over her chest, felt the little nubbins and the look that crossed her face was very similar to the look she gave the first time she tasted a lemon. "Messy", she kept saying over and over. What followed is what I fear to be the first of many talks about human anatomy which will eventually lead us down the path of the big talk about the inhabitants of aviaries and hives. Ahem.
Our daughter, being part elephant, is not one to forget things easily. Every morning since, she has located her nipples and we've had some matter of fact discussions about who and what have nipples... (e.g., mommies, daddies, Emily, grandmas, grandpas, cats, dogs, etc.) The chuckle for the day came when she went through this routine tonight at bedtime. She said each of the previous examples and followed one of them with "biiiiiig" ....Was that exaggerated enough? I'll let your mind wonder as to who she thought had big nipples, but you can rest assured she didn't think it was Mommy! Ahhhhh, reminds me of high school all over again!
{Wow... there, I did it again and revealed a little TMI! And with that ...this appears to be a good place to end today's blog entry before I start blushing!}
Earlier this week as I was getting Emily dressed for the day she happened to be stripped down to her diaper (no, we're not potty-trained yet... that's a whole 'nother topic for another day!) and she discovered her nipples. {Did I just type the word "nipples" on my blog?!?!} And, NO, there is no picture to accompany this little story!
She was running her fingers over her chest, felt the little nubbins and the look that crossed her face was very similar to the look she gave the first time she tasted a lemon. "Messy", she kept saying over and over. What followed is what I fear to be the first of many talks about human anatomy which will eventually lead us down the path of the big talk about the inhabitants of aviaries and hives. Ahem.
Our daughter, being part elephant, is not one to forget things easily. Every morning since, she has located her nipples and we've had some matter of fact discussions about who and what have nipples... (e.g., mommies, daddies, Emily, grandmas, grandpas, cats, dogs, etc.) The chuckle for the day came when she went through this routine tonight at bedtime. She said each of the previous examples and followed one of them with "biiiiiig" ....Was that exaggerated enough? I'll let your mind wonder as to who she thought had big nipples, but you can rest assured she didn't think it was Mommy! Ahhhhh, reminds me of high school all over again!
{Wow... there, I did it again and revealed a little TMI! And with that ...this appears to be a good place to end today's blog entry before I start blushing!}
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Catching Up - Part 6 of 6
Emily had a Valentine's Day party with her friends at the babysitter's last Friday. She LOVED it. She wanted to look in her Valentine's box on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights before bed and carried it with her to Nannie and Papa's house for several days this week. Nearly a week later, she looked in it again this evening!
Showing off her first Valentine's box
that she decorated at her babysitter's party.
Enjoying her foam heart from Gracie.
(Don't look too closely, those are HER teeth marks in it!)
Treasuring her valentine from Debbie.
Her beau, Jared, gave her one
with a kitty on it.
Showing off her first Valentine's boxthat she decorated at her babysitter's party.
Enjoying her foam heart from Gracie.(Don't look too closely, those are HER teeth marks in it!)
Treasuring her valentine from Debbie.
Her beau, Jared, gave her onewith a kitty on it.
*Disclaimer and fine print... no hair products were depleted in the making of this post. This was one of those days that Emily declared a "No Babbies" day... which on this particular day meant no scrunchies, barrettes, clips, or hair bands. Hence, the crazy sasquatch hair photoshoot.
Catching Up - Part 5 of 6
Our church held a Valentine's Dinner/Fundraiser for our youth group. The youth group served a spaghetti dinner and then our friends, Keith and Jessica, did some praise and worship music for us afterwards.
Jessica with a very happy and handsome baby Jonas.
I "think" this is the result of telling Emily to
turn around and say, "Cheese" to Daddy.
Emily's friend, the beautiful Miss Kael.
Keith and Jess
Post-party clean up and then run around like a crazy woman
all sugared up with candy and all the leftover balloons!
Jessica with a very happy and handsome baby Jonas.
I "think" this is the result of telling Emily toturn around and say, "Cheese" to Daddy.
Emily's friend, the beautiful Miss Kael.
Keith and Jess
Post-party clean up and then run around like a crazy womanall sugared up with candy and all the leftover balloons!
Catching Up - Part 4 of 6
Emily LOVES to read books. She goes to the library about once a week with Nannie and Papa and we read books together nearly every night. There have been quite a few evenings or weekends when Emily disappears for a little while into her room and when I peek in, this is what I see...
Catching Up - Part 3 of 6
Here are a few pictures from home while we were on Christmas break...
Love this picture...
We spent a lot of time flopping off of the couch and
reading our favorite new book, "Dod -- Me!"
(Otherwise known as "God and Me")
We also spent a lot of time playing with our
new Elmo sticker book from Aunt Shell. Even though the sticker book has sheets of stickers and pages to put them on, the majority of her new stickers ended up on Em as "Ows".
(pretend bandaids)
Love this picture...
We spent a lot of time flopping off of the couch andreading our favorite new book, "Dod -- Me!"
(Otherwise known as "God and Me")
We also spent a lot of time playing with ournew Elmo sticker book from Aunt Shell. Even though the sticker book has sheets of stickers and pages to put them on, the majority of her new stickers ended up on Em as "Ows".
(pretend bandaids)
Catching Up - Part 2 of 6
Christmas morning was fun as usual this year. This was the first year that Emily really got into opening presents and was excited to see what she had received.
A fun pose in front of the tree.
Taking a quick break from opening presents to play with Daddy
(who's pretending to sleep in the background).
Once again, pretending to sleep until Emily got in his face,
then he'd jump at her and scare the begeebies out of her
and make her giggle.
Digging in for those good presents in the back!
Ooooooh!
At the end of the afternoon, Em wanted to eat an apple...
and I mean a WHOLE apple. This is all that was left when she
handed it to me and proclaimed that she was done.
No, she didn't eat the penny, it's just there for size comparison!
A fun pose in front of the tree.
Taking a quick break from opening presents to play with Daddy(who's pretending to sleep in the background).
Once again, pretending to sleep until Emily got in his face,then he'd jump at her and scare the begeebies out of her
and make her giggle.
Digging in for those good presents in the back!
Ooooooh!
At the end of the afternoon, Em wanted to eat an apple...and I mean a WHOLE apple. This is all that was left when she
handed it to me and proclaimed that she was done.
No, she didn't eat the penny, it's just there for size comparison!
Catching Up - Part 1 of 6
'Twas the day before Christmas and what's there to do,
but play with Mommy's ribbons and make things askew!
but play with Mommy's ribbons and make things askew!
The way I figure it, these ribbons had been on the spool in the closet for about 6 years and were feeling a bit left out of the holiday spirit. It was worth all the fun and mess of watching Em untwist it all and play with it for the rest of the day!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Botox: Numero Deux
Botox was similar to last time, but they didn't have as many people in the room to help hold her... Emily's a strong, squirrely little thing when people are trying to hold her down! She had to lay on her belly so they could do the shots in her calves again. One nurse held her legs still and I pretty much had to lay my body on top of her torso to keep her from squirming... but she still managed to kick the needle out in the middle of one of the injections so they had to poke her again.
After everyone cleared out of the room and Em was settled down (30 seconds later), the nurse asked me how I felt her pain level would rank on a scale of 1 to 10. When I said "2", she actually laughed and said, "seriously?". Now, if they asked me how ticked she was while I was trying to hold her down... the sobbing, wailing, snot-faced girl would have easily earned a 15. Thankfully, she's quick to forgive and she was mommy's girl again as soon as we were done!
Oh... and Happy Valentine's Day everyone!
After everyone cleared out of the room and Em was settled down (30 seconds later), the nurse asked me how I felt her pain level would rank on a scale of 1 to 10. When I said "2", she actually laughed and said, "seriously?". Now, if they asked me how ticked she was while I was trying to hold her down... the sobbing, wailing, snot-faced girl would have easily earned a 15. Thankfully, she's quick to forgive and she was mommy's girl again as soon as we were done!
Oh... and Happy Valentine's Day everyone!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Another Botox Day
Please say a few prayers for us this afternoon. I take Emily back down to Children's Hospital this afternoon for her 2nd Botox Injection (her last one was November 12). If you recall, she wasn't thrilled the last time because about 3 adults held her down while they gave the shots. I'm not sure if she'll get much if any nap today and she's been testing her boundaries the past couple of weeks to see how many timeouts she can score. (She had to have hit a record last night!)
Thanks in advance for the prayers!
-j
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Our Chosen Child (& My Homework)
I'm really sorry I haven't been updating our blog much this past month. However, I hope today's entry should help make up for some of my delays. I've been enrolled in an online course on Web 2.0 tools for the past 4 weeks and it's been taking up most of my evenings after Emily has been put to bed. After next week I should start to get a few of my evenings back and will be able to continue updating our blog.
Posted below is my homework from this week. This is my first time using a new (to me) web application called VoiceThread. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this application and hope to be able to use it for future professional development opportunities with our staff at school. You may need to click on play to get it started, but once it does I'll narrate you through 50 slides that chronicled our trip to Kazakhstan to adopt our daughter Emily and some of the highlights at home from the past 2 years. I have narrated each of the slides and Emily makes a surprise appearance in quite a few of them to help with the narration. (What can I say, she woke up early and I think it ended up adding a cute twist to the story!)
HEADS-UP... I just played it back while writing this entry and realized the VoiceThread is nearly an hour long... feel free to fast forward through it and linger on the ones that look interesting. And, if you want to see the higher quality version, you can go to VoiceThread Site and search for "Our Chosen Child".
For YOUR homework (and to earn me some brownie points) please leave some comments on a couple of the slides. If you have a webcam you can post a video comment, or if you have a mic you can post an audio comment. You can also type a comment in and write on the screen like I did on a few slides! (NOTE: Partway through the slideshow is a generic black VoiceThread "commercial" slide that lasts only 4 seconds, you can click past it to keep the slideshow moving!)
Posted below is my homework from this week. This is my first time using a new (to me) web application called VoiceThread. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this application and hope to be able to use it for future professional development opportunities with our staff at school. You may need to click on play to get it started, but once it does I'll narrate you through 50 slides that chronicled our trip to Kazakhstan to adopt our daughter Emily and some of the highlights at home from the past 2 years. I have narrated each of the slides and Emily makes a surprise appearance in quite a few of them to help with the narration. (What can I say, she woke up early and I think it ended up adding a cute twist to the story!)
HEADS-UP... I just played it back while writing this entry and realized the VoiceThread is nearly an hour long... feel free to fast forward through it and linger on the ones that look interesting. And, if you want to see the higher quality version, you can go to VoiceThread Site and search for "Our Chosen Child".
For YOUR homework (and to earn me some brownie points) please leave some comments on a couple of the slides. If you have a webcam you can post a video comment, or if you have a mic you can post an audio comment. You can also type a comment in and write on the screen like I did on a few slides! (NOTE: Partway through the slideshow is a generic black VoiceThread "commercial" slide that lasts only 4 seconds, you can click past it to keep the slideshow moving!)
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Eavesdropping...
This is what I heard coming from Emily's room this morning while I was checking my email.
Shoes.... shoes....shooooes.... yay! (By the way, this was a new word for her yesterday!)
Nana... BAnana.... yay!
Mommy... shoes.
Pay-doh!.... yay!
Shoes.... shoes....shooooes.... yay!
Nana... BAnana.... yay!
Mommy... shoes.
Pay-doh!.... yay!
Friday, January 23, 2009
Rice Bowls... Mommies, Daddies, Babies!
Tom sent this note out recently and thought it would be fitting to share a sweet Emily story with you today:
FROM TOM: "Emily and I had a talk about the Rice Bowls last weekend. I told her every time we put money into the Rice Bowl, we are helping babies who do not have mommies and daddies. Last night, as Jenni gave her some change, Emily said "Up, up, up" which means she was going to go upstairs to our room and put change in the piggy bank (which we have pretty much always done). However, once I said, "Let's put it in the Rice Bowl for the babies", she got very excited, ran over to the bowl on a living room table, got it down, took great care putting the change in, and then placed it right back where it went. Then, she clapped and ran to Jenni in the kitchen saying, "Babies! Mommies ..... daddies......babies!" I don't know how much she gets but I'm convinced she knows she is helping babies with every coin or dollar dropped.
I pray as we come into our last week of collection before gathering day on the 1st of Feb. that we all adopted this heart of excitement of helping the babies without mommies and daddies. Emily was in that boat for 8 months so she is the face of the heart we desire to have on this campaign! One more week for Rice Bowls - Jump In!"
(FROM JENNI: You can click on either of today's pictures to follow the link to this great organization. They not only believe in feeding children and meeting their basic needs, but they also serve in countries that allow them to spread the Gospel message to these children and ultimately to their families. Our church is very excited about participating in this outreach this month!)
FROM TOM: "Emily and I had a talk about the Rice Bowls last weekend. I told her every time we put money into the Rice Bowl, we are helping babies who do not have mommies and daddies. Last night, as Jenni gave her some change, Emily said "Up, up, up" which means she was going to go upstairs to our room and put change in the piggy bank (which we have pretty much always done). However, once I said, "Let's put it in the Rice Bowl for the babies", she got very excited, ran over to the bowl on a living room table, got it down, took great care putting the change in, and then placed it right back where it went. Then, she clapped and ran to Jenni in the kitchen saying, "Babies! Mommies ..... daddies......babies!" I don't know how much she gets but I'm convinced she knows she is helping babies with every coin or dollar dropped.
I pray as we come into our last week of collection before gathering day on the 1st of Feb. that we all adopted this heart of excitement of helping the babies without mommies and daddies. Emily was in that boat for 8 months so she is the face of the heart we desire to have on this campaign! One more week for Rice Bowls - Jump In!"
(FROM JENNI: You can click on either of today's pictures to follow the link to this great organization. They not only believe in feeding children and meeting their basic needs, but they also serve in countries that allow them to spread the Gospel message to these children and ultimately to their families. Our church is very excited about participating in this outreach this month!)
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
What a Difference a Year Makes
Remember yesterday's Christmas picture with Santa? Check out last years!
Hehehehe. They're good buddies now... someday I'll share my video of them dancing together this year!
Hehehehe. They're good buddies now... someday I'll share my video of them dancing together this year!
Monday, January 05, 2009
Christmas Pict and Friendly Advice...
Yeah, yeah... I forgot to post this Christmas picture for you guys when I was actually sending out Christmas cards! Happy New Year Everyone!- - - - - - - -
Another fun email I had to share... To those of us who have children in our lives, whether they are our own, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or students... here is something to make you chuckle.
Whenever your children are out of control, you can take comfort from the thought that even God's omnipotence did not extend to His own children.
After creating heaven and earth, God created Adam and Eve.
And the first thing he said was, "DON'T!"
"Don't what?", Adam replied.
"Don't eat the forbidden fruit.", God said.
"Forbidden fruit? We have forbidden fruit? Hey Eve..we have forbidden fruit!"
"No Way!"
"Yes way!"
"Do NOT eat the fruit!", said God.
"Why?"
"Because I am your Father and I said so!", God replied - wondering why He hadn't stopped creation after making the elephants.
A few minutes later, God saw His children having an apple break and He was ticked!
"Didn't I tell you not to eat the fruit?", God asked.
"Uh huh" Adam replied.
"Then why did you?" said the Father.
"I don't know." said Eve.
"She started it!" Adam said.
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"DID NOT!"
Having had it with the two of them, God's punishment was that Adam and Eve should have children of their own.
Thus the pattern was set and it has never changed.
BUT THERE IS REASSURANCE IN THE STORY!
If you have persistently and lovingly tried to give children wisdom and they haven't taken it,
don't be hard on yourself. If God had trouble raising children, what makes you think it would be
a piece of cake for you?
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:
1. You spend the first two years of their life teaching them to walk and talk. Then you spend
the next sixteen telling them to sit down and shut up.
2. Grandchildren are God's reward for not killing your own children.
3. Mothers of teens now know why some animals eat their young.
4. Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you SHOULDN'T have said.
5. The main purpose of holding childrens' parties is to remind yourself that there are children
more awful than your own.
6. We childproofed our homes, but they are still getting in.
ADVICE FOR THE DAY:
Be nice to your kids.
They will choose your nursing home one day.
AND FINALLY:
IF YOU HAVE A LOT OF TENSION
AND YOU GET A HEADACHE,
DO WHAT IT SAYS
ON THE ASPIRIN BOTTLE:
"TAKE TWO ASPIRIN"
AND
"KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN"!!!!!
AND YOU GET A HEADACHE,
DO WHAT IT SAYS
ON THE ASPIRIN BOTTLE:
"TAKE TWO ASPIRIN"
AND
"KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN"!!!!!
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Still catching up...
So it's now January 4th and I have been off work for 2 weeks for Christmas Break (now-a-days called "Winter Break" by nearly every public school because they have to be politically correct). I have had a blast spending every day with Emily. We've spent our days fingerpainting, reading lots of books, playing with sticker books from Aunt Shell and playing with out newly acquired Play-doh set (or "doh-doh" according to Em).
Here are a few Em Updates for you:
SIGN LANGUAGE:
I'm still very happy with the fact that we decided early on to start teaching Emily sign language. We've learned right along with her and it's been so helpful. Emily has always understood everything we've been talking about even though her favorite phrase right now seems to be, "Huh?!?" Her verbal skills still aren't quite where others her age are but they ARE increasing every day. We started learning basic signs by watching a Baby Einstein DVD. That seems to be what peaked her interest and she started imitating the signs she was learning there. That DVD had a decent number of signs on it, but many of them were not signs that a toddler would use in every day life to express their needs. I stumbled across a set of 3 Signing Time DVDs and they are now Emily's favorite videos... even topping Elmo! The Signing Time DVDs have a little boy named Alex and a little girl name Leah. Emily knows the signs for each of their names and frequently imitates things they do. Some day, I'll post a list of the signs that Emily knows.
...I was going to post a lot more updates in this entry... but it's already way past due... I do another entry another day for you.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Video 4 of 4 (Lemonhead)
After her haircut, Emily chose "Bow Wow's" as the place where she wanted to celebrate and eat supper. (She calls Max & Erma's "Bow Wow's" because of my sister's dog, Max.) She begged for my lemon after I squeezed it into my water. Fun times!
Video 3 of 4 (The finished product)
After the haircut, Krystel asked me if I'd like her to style Emily's hair. I told her I'd be thrilled if she wanted to because I am certainly out of ideas on things to do with Emily's hair. Not only did she style it, but she gave me lessons! Woohoo!
On top of that, the stuff she sprayed on Emily's hair when she was done smelled like cupcakes! Not only did our daughter look adorable after her haircut but I couldn't stop smelling her hair all night! Yummers!
On top of that, the stuff she sprayed on Emily's hair when she was done smelled like cupcakes! Not only did our daughter look adorable after her haircut but I couldn't stop smelling her hair all night! Yummers!
Video 2 of 4 (The Haircut)
After Daddy got off work yesterday, he joined us as we ventured to Cookie Cutters for Emily's very first haircut. Cookie Cutters was awesome experience! As soon as we walked in the door, Emily spotted the ginormous slide and started playing with her newfound friend, Lily, who had just finished getting her hair cut. Lily was just slightly younger than Emily but helped her crawl through the tunnel and showed her how to go down the big tube slide.
Emily's turn came and she followed her new friend and hair stylist, Krystel, back and got to sit in a car while she got her coiffeur trimmed. We picked Elmo as our in-flight entertainment and it was fabulous flying from there on out... enjoy!
Emily's turn came and she followed her new friend and hair stylist, Krystel, back and got to sit in a car while she got her coiffeur trimmed. We picked Elmo as our in-flight entertainment and it was fabulous flying from there on out... enjoy!
Video 1 of 4 (Mirror, Mirror)
Emily accompanied me in picking up Nannie's birthday present yesterday. She kept herself occupied while I did some shopping... and, NO, I did not leave her here unattended! In fact, she was quite upset when it was time to move on.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Who Knew?
Sorry, I just couldn't resist. Emily is an awesome snowboarder so I had to share it with y'all!
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Another day w/ the sickie...
I stayed home from work today with Emily and it was a good thing I did. I think we went through a record number of diapers today... I leave the rest to your imagination.
Saturday afternoon we were supposed to have gone to Dad's lodge for their Christmas party. Santa was supposed to make an appearance and I had talked about it the night before with Em and prepped her in the morning so it would be something she'd be looking forward to. She was a tad disappointed when we stayed home Saturday since she was sick. I told her we would try to visit the mall sometime this week to see if he was there.
Fast forward to yesterday morning: I let Emily sleep until the very last minute before we had to leave for the sitter's. It was still dark outside and her room was dark when I opened the door. I thought she was still asleep until I was greeted by, "Ho, Hoo, Hoooooo". Apparently, she's still thinking about her trip to the mall this week!
Today, even though she was sick she didn't let it dampen her spirits. I've tried to teach her to look at things with her eyes and not have to touch everything. She loves to look at our computer screen and keyboards and it's soo tempting for her to want to touch the keys while we're trying to type. Tonight she was identifying the letters on my keyboard that she can say (Z, Y, A, B, T, O, P, I, S, D, M, B, and C) and ended up trying to touch/press every one of them. I told her to look with her eyes... and the goofball literally tried to touch the keys with her eyeballs! Then she realized it was funny and kept trying to do it over and over. Sheesh!
At supper tonight, Emily tried her hand a praying for the first time. After I finished praying, I realized she still had her hands together and her head bowed. It went something like this, "blahblahblahDaddy, blahblahblahRyRy, blahblahblahPapa, blahblahblahShelllll, blahblahblahblahblahblahblahHoHoHooo". Um, yeah. I see where I rank.
Have a good evening! Let's pray this bug works its way out of Em's system soon!
Saturday afternoon we were supposed to have gone to Dad's lodge for their Christmas party. Santa was supposed to make an appearance and I had talked about it the night before with Em and prepped her in the morning so it would be something she'd be looking forward to. She was a tad disappointed when we stayed home Saturday since she was sick. I told her we would try to visit the mall sometime this week to see if he was there.
Fast forward to yesterday morning: I let Emily sleep until the very last minute before we had to leave for the sitter's. It was still dark outside and her room was dark when I opened the door. I thought she was still asleep until I was greeted by, "Ho, Hoo, Hoooooo". Apparently, she's still thinking about her trip to the mall this week!
Today, even though she was sick she didn't let it dampen her spirits. I've tried to teach her to look at things with her eyes and not have to touch everything. She loves to look at our computer screen and keyboards and it's soo tempting for her to want to touch the keys while we're trying to type. Tonight she was identifying the letters on my keyboard that she can say (Z, Y, A, B, T, O, P, I, S, D, M, B, and C) and ended up trying to touch/press every one of them. I told her to look with her eyes... and the goofball literally tried to touch the keys with her eyeballs! Then she realized it was funny and kept trying to do it over and over. Sheesh!
At supper tonight, Emily tried her hand a praying for the first time. After I finished praying, I realized she still had her hands together and her head bowed. It went something like this, "blahblahblahDaddy, blahblahblahRyRy, blahblahblahPapa, blahblahblahShelllll, blahblahblahblahblahblahblahHoHoHooo". Um, yeah. I see where I rank.
Have a good evening! Let's pray this bug works its way out of Em's system soon!
Monday, December 15, 2008
The Sickie
The flu bug has been making its journey around the neighborhood and it didn't feel like skipping our house this year. Em was a little extra cuddly on Friday night and I just thought she was tired. Saturday brought stomach cramps, some nasty diapers and a little spewage. She didn't have an appetite all day and it was difficult getting her to drink anything. Em and I stayed home from church Sunday "just in case" and it was a day without incident.
I figured she had gotten it out of her system and could return to the babysitter's today. Bad call, I guess. I got a call this afternoon about an hour before I was done for the day and it sounded like Em still wasn't feeling well. (2 diapers every half hour isn't normal, right?!?) I picked her up and headed home and so far (knock on wood!) she's been okay.
Throw some prayers up (not stomach contents) for the little one if you would. We didn't make it in for flu shots yet!
I figured she had gotten it out of her system and could return to the babysitter's today. Bad call, I guess. I got a call this afternoon about an hour before I was done for the day and it sounded like Em still wasn't feeling well. (2 diapers every half hour isn't normal, right?!?) I picked her up and headed home and so far (knock on wood!) she's been okay.
Throw some prayers up (not stomach contents) for the little one if you would. We didn't make it in for flu shots yet!
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Adoption Scammer on America's Most Wanted
Since we began our quest to adopt in the summer of 2004, we've met a lot of local and online families that have journeyed down the same path. Many were able to complete successful adoptions and unfortunately, for various reasons, several families were not able to have the same happy ending that we have.
The ending that hurts the most are the families that have been scammed by fraudulent adoption agencies. Shortly after we returned home with Emily we met a local family that was also interested in adopting from Kazakhstan and even had a picture of the little girl they were paperchasing. I've stayed in touch with this family and long story short, their story didn't have a happy ending. The agency they were working with (AIP) took them for tens of thousands of dollars. They considered switching agencies but could no longer afford the process. They never really found out if the little girl they were hoping to adopt was ever even available or if that was a lie to. Scams like this just burn me. I know first hand the emotional roller coaster that I road during our process and I still hate roller coasters! (I wasn't very fond of them to begin with!)
With that being said, pasted below is a link for one of the biggest adoption scammers out there... the one that scammed them. When we started researching agencies, we checked all the references and asked tons of people online for their recommendations. AIP (Adoption International Program), which is/was run by Orson Mozes is an agency that NObody should ever get involved with. He threatened clients, extorted money, used bait and switch tactics to lure people in to signing with his agency, and put many people's lives in danger.
WANTED:
ORSON MOZES
for adoption scams
PLEASE follow this link to America's Most Wanted and read the article about this person. Look at his picture and if you recognize him, PLEASE call the authorities. He's been on the run for a long time and in 2007 had 62 felony counts against him and had fled with over $500,000.
Please also consider tuning in to America's Most Wanted episode about Orson Mozes which will air on Saturday, January 3rd at 9/8 C on FOX. Please spread the message. The more that see this, the more likely someone will recognize him and will know where he is.
... stepping off my soap box now.
The ending that hurts the most are the families that have been scammed by fraudulent adoption agencies. Shortly after we returned home with Emily we met a local family that was also interested in adopting from Kazakhstan and even had a picture of the little girl they were paperchasing. I've stayed in touch with this family and long story short, their story didn't have a happy ending. The agency they were working with (AIP) took them for tens of thousands of dollars. They considered switching agencies but could no longer afford the process. They never really found out if the little girl they were hoping to adopt was ever even available or if that was a lie to. Scams like this just burn me. I know first hand the emotional roller coaster that I road during our process and I still hate roller coasters! (I wasn't very fond of them to begin with!)
With that being said, pasted below is a link for one of the biggest adoption scammers out there... the one that scammed them. When we started researching agencies, we checked all the references and asked tons of people online for their recommendations. AIP (Adoption International Program), which is/was run by Orson Mozes is an agency that NObody should ever get involved with. He threatened clients, extorted money, used bait and switch tactics to lure people in to signing with his agency, and put many people's lives in danger.
WANTED:ORSON MOZES
for adoption scams
PLEASE follow this link to America's Most Wanted and read the article about this person. Look at his picture and if you recognize him, PLEASE call the authorities. He's been on the run for a long time and in 2007 had 62 felony counts against him and had fled with over $500,000.
Please also consider tuning in to America's Most Wanted episode about Orson Mozes which will air on Saturday, January 3rd at 9/8 C on FOX. Please spread the message. The more that see this, the more likely someone will recognize him and will know where he is.
... stepping off my soap box now.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Baby Hugs... an emailed story to share
A very good friend forwarded the story below to me this morning. It struck a chord with me since Emily does the very same thing as the little boy in the story. More often than not, our adventures happen in the grocery store where we love to shop together.
Shopping with Emily is still one of my favorite things to do with her. Although she's growing fast, at the time being, she still fits in the front seat of the shopping carts and we talk and play all the way through the store. She doesn't beg for things off the shelves. She doesn't squirm or cause problems. She loves to ask, "What is that?" and when I tell her we need to find something, she puts her hands under her chin, scrunches her face up and responds with, "Hmmmmmm" like she's really trying to figure out where things are. She loves to read letters off of signs and labels and loves to mimic the expressions of the kids and people on the boxes and advertisements in the stores. And, for at least the past year, Emily loves to wave and say "hi" to random strangers as they walk past us. Many times they don't hear her and she'll try again. More often than not, her "hi's" are returned with a twinkle in the eye and a broad smile and a wave. It's amazing how a little 2 year old girl can change a person's entire demeanor by simply saying, "hi". And, it is truly humbling how my reaction to some of those same people changes when my daughter opens the door for a conversation with them. God is already using this little girl to do ministry and to help her parents reach out to others.
I hope you enjoy the story below and that it touches you as much as it did me.
-jenni
- - - - - - - - - -
Baby's Hug
We were the only family with children in the restaurant. I sat Erik in a high chair and noticed everyone was quietly sitting and talking. Suddenly, Erik squealed with glee and said, 'Hi.' He pounded his fat baby hands on the high chair tray. His eyes were crinkled in laughter and his mouth was bared in a toothless grin, as he wriggled and giggled with merriment.
I looked around and saw the source of his merriment. It was a man whose pants were baggy with a zipper at half-mast and his toes poked out of would-be shoes His shirt was dirty and his hair was uncombed and unwashed. His whiskers were too short to be called a beard and his nose was so varicose it looked like a road map.
We were too far from him to smell, but I was sure he smelled. His hands waved and flapped on loose wrists. 'Hi there, baby; hi there, big boy. I see ya, buster,' the man said to Erik.
My husband and I exchanged looks, 'What do we do?'
Erik continued to laugh and answer, 'Hi.'
Everyone in the restaurant noticed and looked at us and then at the man. The old geezer was creating a nuisance with my beautiful baby. Our meal came and the man began shouting from across the room, 'Do ya patty cake? Do you know peek-a-boo? Hey, look, he knows peek-a-boo.'
Nobody thought the old man was cute. He was obviously drunk.
My husband and I were embarrassed. We ate in silence; all except for Erik, who was running through his repertoire for the admiring skid-row bum, who in turn, reciprocated with his cute comments.
We finally got through the meal and headed for the door. My husband went to pay the check and told me to meet him in the parking lot. The old man sat poised between me and the door. 'Lord, just let me out of here before he speaks to me or Erik,' I prayed. As I drew closer to the man, I turned my back trying to sidestep him and avoid any air he might be breathing. As I did, Erik leaned over my arm, reaching with both arms in a baby's 'pick-me-up' position. Before I could stop him, Erik had propelled himself from my arms to the man.
Suddenly a very old smelly man and a very young baby consummated their love and kinship. Erik in an act of total trust, love, and submission laid his tiny head upon the man's ragged shoulder. The man's eyes closed, and I saw tears hover beneath his lashes. His aged hands full of grime, pain, and hard labor, cradled my baby's bottom and stroked his back. No two beings have ever loved so deeply for so short a time.
I stood awestruck. The old man rocked and cradled Erik in his arms and his eyes opened and set squarely on mine. He said in a firm commanding voice, 'You take care of this baby.'
Somehow I managed, 'I will,' from a throat that contained a stone.
He pried Erik from his chest, lovingly and longingly, as though he were in pain. I received my baby, and the man said, 'God bless you, ma'am, you've given me my Christmas gift.'
I said nothing more than a muttered thanks. With Erik in my arms, I ran for the car. My husband was wondering why I was crying and holding Erik so tightly, and why I was saying, 'My God, my God, forgive me.'
I had just witnessed Christ's love shown through the innocence of a tiny child who saw no sin, who made no judgment; a child who saw a soul, and a mother who saw a suit of clothes. I was a Christian who was blind, holding a child who was not. I felt it was God asking, 'Are you willing to share your son for a moment?' when He shared His for all eternity.
The ragged old man, unwittingly, had reminded me, 'To enter the Kingdom of God, we must become as little children.'
Sometimes, it takes a child to remind us of what is really important. We must always remember who we are, where we came from and, most importantly, how we feel about others. The clothes on your back or the car that you drive or the house that you live in does not define you at all; it is how you treat your fellow man that identifies who you are.
(**After originally posting this, a new internet friend named Ellen shared the following information: "This was written by Nancy L. Dahlberg and published in at least two of William Baush's books. This is (a) stolen and (b) changed. It properly ends at "My God, my God, forgive me" other sentences are changed as well. "
I did some internet research of my own and did not find any information showing that Nancy L. Dahlberg wrote this. If she did, my apologies and I am all for giving credit where credit is due. It is still a very touching piece and I choose to leave it on my blog in hopes that it might change someone's actions especially during this holiday season.)
Shopping with Emily is still one of my favorite things to do with her. Although she's growing fast, at the time being, she still fits in the front seat of the shopping carts and we talk and play all the way through the store. She doesn't beg for things off the shelves. She doesn't squirm or cause problems. She loves to ask, "What is that?" and when I tell her we need to find something, she puts her hands under her chin, scrunches her face up and responds with, "Hmmmmmm" like she's really trying to figure out where things are. She loves to read letters off of signs and labels and loves to mimic the expressions of the kids and people on the boxes and advertisements in the stores. And, for at least the past year, Emily loves to wave and say "hi" to random strangers as they walk past us. Many times they don't hear her and she'll try again. More often than not, her "hi's" are returned with a twinkle in the eye and a broad smile and a wave. It's amazing how a little 2 year old girl can change a person's entire demeanor by simply saying, "hi". And, it is truly humbling how my reaction to some of those same people changes when my daughter opens the door for a conversation with them. God is already using this little girl to do ministry and to help her parents reach out to others.
I hope you enjoy the story below and that it touches you as much as it did me.
-jenni
- - - - - - - - - -
Baby's Hug
We were the only family with children in the restaurant. I sat Erik in a high chair and noticed everyone was quietly sitting and talking. Suddenly, Erik squealed with glee and said, 'Hi.' He pounded his fat baby hands on the high chair tray. His eyes were crinkled in laughter and his mouth was bared in a toothless grin, as he wriggled and giggled with merriment.
I looked around and saw the source of his merriment. It was a man whose pants were baggy with a zipper at half-mast and his toes poked out of would-be shoes His shirt was dirty and his hair was uncombed and unwashed. His whiskers were too short to be called a beard and his nose was so varicose it looked like a road map.
We were too far from him to smell, but I was sure he smelled. His hands waved and flapped on loose wrists. 'Hi there, baby; hi there, big boy. I see ya, buster,' the man said to Erik.
My husband and I exchanged looks, 'What do we do?'
Erik continued to laugh and answer, 'Hi.'
Everyone in the restaurant noticed and looked at us and then at the man. The old geezer was creating a nuisance with my beautiful baby. Our meal came and the man began shouting from across the room, 'Do ya patty cake? Do you know peek-a-boo? Hey, look, he knows peek-a-boo.'
Nobody thought the old man was cute. He was obviously drunk.
My husband and I were embarrassed. We ate in silence; all except for Erik, who was running through his repertoire for the admiring skid-row bum, who in turn, reciprocated with his cute comments.
We finally got through the meal and headed for the door. My husband went to pay the check and told me to meet him in the parking lot. The old man sat poised between me and the door. 'Lord, just let me out of here before he speaks to me or Erik,' I prayed. As I drew closer to the man, I turned my back trying to sidestep him and avoid any air he might be breathing. As I did, Erik leaned over my arm, reaching with both arms in a baby's 'pick-me-up' position. Before I could stop him, Erik had propelled himself from my arms to the man.
Suddenly a very old smelly man and a very young baby consummated their love and kinship. Erik in an act of total trust, love, and submission laid his tiny head upon the man's ragged shoulder. The man's eyes closed, and I saw tears hover beneath his lashes. His aged hands full of grime, pain, and hard labor, cradled my baby's bottom and stroked his back. No two beings have ever loved so deeply for so short a time.
I stood awestruck. The old man rocked and cradled Erik in his arms and his eyes opened and set squarely on mine. He said in a firm commanding voice, 'You take care of this baby.'
Somehow I managed, 'I will,' from a throat that contained a stone.
He pried Erik from his chest, lovingly and longingly, as though he were in pain. I received my baby, and the man said, 'God bless you, ma'am, you've given me my Christmas gift.'
I said nothing more than a muttered thanks. With Erik in my arms, I ran for the car. My husband was wondering why I was crying and holding Erik so tightly, and why I was saying, 'My God, my God, forgive me.'
I had just witnessed Christ's love shown through the innocence of a tiny child who saw no sin, who made no judgment; a child who saw a soul, and a mother who saw a suit of clothes. I was a Christian who was blind, holding a child who was not. I felt it was God asking, 'Are you willing to share your son for a moment?' when He shared His for all eternity.
The ragged old man, unwittingly, had reminded me, 'To enter the Kingdom of God, we must become as little children.'
Sometimes, it takes a child to remind us of what is really important. We must always remember who we are, where we came from and, most importantly, how we feel about others. The clothes on your back or the car that you drive or the house that you live in does not define you at all; it is how you treat your fellow man that identifies who you are.
(**After originally posting this, a new internet friend named Ellen shared the following information: "This was written by Nancy L. Dahlberg and published in at least two of William Baush's books. This is (a) stolen and (b) changed. It properly ends at "My God, my God, forgive me" other sentences are changed as well. "
I did some internet research of my own and did not find any information showing that Nancy L. Dahlberg wrote this. If she did, my apologies and I am all for giving credit where credit is due. It is still a very touching piece and I choose to leave it on my blog in hopes that it might change someone's actions especially during this holiday season.)
Friday, December 05, 2008
Good News... Bad News...
GOOD NEWS: I snagged some more pictures and video of Miss Em over the past couple of days.
BAD NEWS: They aren't included in this post.
GOOD NEWS: Emily had her botox follow-up appointment at Children's Hospital on Tuesday afternoon and (despite getting shots the last time she was there) she happily walked into the building, the waiting room and the exam rooms!
BAD NEWS: The doctor did a couple of flexy-things with Em's feet and quickly pronounced that Emily's flexibility hasn't changed one iota.
Say what?
The following day was physical therapy day and I mentioned the above to the physical therapist. Thankfully, she had the same reaction that I did. She didn't agree at all. She says there are so many things that Emily is doing now that she simply couldn't do before. She is also walking with her feet down when we remind her and she couldn't do that before.
We did get another prescription from Dr. B at Children's (whom Emily is now referring to as Nana B). They are recommending that Emily start going to PT twice a week now. So let's add those up... 2 physical therapies each week, 1 speech therapy each week, botox injections every 3 months, botox follow-ups 3 weeks after each injection, regular pediatric appointments and shots and a partridge in a pear tree!
GOOD NEWS: We found out Wednesday evening that Emily was approved for BCMH treatment funding. We don't have all the details yet, but should be getting them on Monday in the mail. She was approved a couple of months ago for BCMH Early Intervention funding, but if I understand it all correctly, that runs out when she turn 3 in May (can you believe she'll be 3 already!) and it has some different stipulations to it.
BAD NEWS: Apparently BCMH funding is getting hacked at like everything else in the Ohio Governor's budget and the last time it happened thousands of families' funding was cut with very little notice. The state is also looking at moving BCMH to be covered under some sort of Medicaid umbrella and that causes all sorts of other problems for BCMH families. At this point, I don't have a clue how this will effect us. If this happens, I don't know if we'll lose all funding, some funding or if everything will change altogether for us. I'm holding on to what I have right now and praying that Emily won't be harmed by the beaurocratic number crunching and shuffling that is said to be happening in the wings.
That's it from me, but if you care at all about special needs families in Ohio, the letter pasted below is definitely worth a read. We CAN do something to try to prevent this from happening. Take up your pens... or word processors and start writing!
- - - - - - - -
What is Happening to BCMH???
I am a concerned parent who has two children with Special Health Care Needs receiving benefits under the Ohio Department of Health’s Bureau for Children with Medical Handicaps program. I am a member of the Parent Advisory Council (PAC) for the Bureau for Children with Medical Handicaps. I am also a working, tax paying, citizen of Ohio. My daughters are covered under private health insurance and rely heavily upon BCMH to be their safety net.
Background
In 1969, the Ohio Bureau of Crippled Children’s Program (BCCS), now BCMH, was moved to Ohio Department of Public Welfare from the Ohio Department of Health. Because of disastrous results, it was moved back to the ODH in 1974. Medicaid did not understand the BCMH program. The end result was that BCMH clients were lost in the public welfare system and many working families did not qualify for services.
In 2006, the state again considered moving BCMH from ODH to the then proposed Department of Medicaid. At that time stakeholders of BCMH warned that such a move would put the uniqueness of BCMH in jeopardy. The stakeholders were concerned that BCMH would be seen as and become a Medicaid-type program thus risking its ability to provide services to working, middle class, privately insured families with Children with Special Healthcare Needs as well as to those Children with Special Health Care Needs who are covered by both Medicaid and BCMH. In response to the stakeholders’ concerns, BCMH remained an important part of ODH’s mission.
BCMH is again under threat of removal from the purview of ODH to under the scrutiny, management, and operation of EMMA (Executive Medicaid Management Administration). This move clearly goes against legislative intent in maintaining the uniqueness of the BCMH program and against the recommendations of the BCMH Legislative Task Force to Study the Future Funding of BCMH. It also clearly has been demonstrated that such a move will prove ineffective in providing services to Ohioans who rely on the program for health care.
What is at Stake?
What happens if BCMH is moved under the executive management and administration of EMMA and becomes a Medicaid-like program?
b) The Medicaid spend down program for disabled dual eligible BCMH/Medicaid clients allows BCMH to pay the Medicaid spend down amounts to ensure that they will receive both Medicaid and BCMH benefits which presents a cost savings to the BCMH program and the state of Ohio.
c) BCMH is able to draw down Federal Maternal Child Health Block Grant dollars and individual county real estate tax dollars within the Ohio Department of Health. Medicaid cannot access these dollars.
d) BCMH allows Children with Special Health Care Needs to be covered under the program until age 21 while Medicaid stops at age 18. Clients with CF are covered into adulthood.
e) BCMH allows for the HIPP program (Hemophilia Insurance Premium Program) while Medicaid does not.
f) BCMH works in conjunction with the Help Me Grow Program while Medicaid does not.
g) BCMH has a diagnostic component while Medicaid does not.
h) BCMH supports families allowing them to continue to work and pay taxes while Medicaid does not.
BCMH Budget
In addition to a proposed move, BCMH has also seen cuts to its current budget with more cuts likely to be proposed in the near future. In recent months, ODH/BCMH has experienced a budget reduction by action of Governor Strickland in the following ways…BCMH Children’s line item has been lowered by $512,610 (4.75% cut); the Adult Cystic Fibrosis line item has also been cut by $94,044 (almost 6% cut).
Historically, ODH/BCMH has handled budget reductions by manipulating the financial eligibility formulas resulting in the elimination of clients covered under the program. The last time cuts were incurred; five thousand clients were removed from the program with little to no notification of BCMH clients. Some benefits in the service package were also cut affecting thousands of clients.
What Can I Do to Help?
In the coming weeks, we will be organizing a campaign to address the issue of budget cuts and the movement of BCMH directly with the Governor’s office and the state General Assembly. We need your help to ensure that BCMH continues to provide services to Ohioans.
I would strongly advocate that BCMH remain under the leadership and direction of ODH so that it may retain its uniqueness and continue serving the needs of Children with Special Health Care Needs of Ohio.
Please distribute widely.
11/20/2008
Mr. David L. Hoffman, Parent of two children on BCMH
Member of the Parent Advisory Council (PAC) for BCMH
Email: dlhoffman@insight.rr.com
PH: 740.548.7305
For more information, or for more information about the upcoming action steps, please contact:
Mrs. Kim Mathews
Member of the Parent Advisory Council (PAC) for BCMH
Email: tkemathews@hotmail.com
PH: 740.366.2858
Mr. Jason Ranville
Public Policy Specialist
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
301.841.2617
jranville@cff.org
BAD NEWS: They aren't included in this post.
GOOD NEWS: Emily had her botox follow-up appointment at Children's Hospital on Tuesday afternoon and (despite getting shots the last time she was there) she happily walked into the building, the waiting room and the exam rooms!
BAD NEWS: The doctor did a couple of flexy-things with Em's feet and quickly pronounced that Emily's flexibility hasn't changed one iota.
Say what?
The following day was physical therapy day and I mentioned the above to the physical therapist. Thankfully, she had the same reaction that I did. She didn't agree at all. She says there are so many things that Emily is doing now that she simply couldn't do before. She is also walking with her feet down when we remind her and she couldn't do that before.
We did get another prescription from Dr. B at Children's (whom Emily is now referring to as Nana B). They are recommending that Emily start going to PT twice a week now. So let's add those up... 2 physical therapies each week, 1 speech therapy each week, botox injections every 3 months, botox follow-ups 3 weeks after each injection, regular pediatric appointments and shots and a partridge in a pear tree!
GOOD NEWS: We found out Wednesday evening that Emily was approved for BCMH treatment funding. We don't have all the details yet, but should be getting them on Monday in the mail. She was approved a couple of months ago for BCMH Early Intervention funding, but if I understand it all correctly, that runs out when she turn 3 in May (can you believe she'll be 3 already!) and it has some different stipulations to it.
BAD NEWS: Apparently BCMH funding is getting hacked at like everything else in the Ohio Governor's budget and the last time it happened thousands of families' funding was cut with very little notice. The state is also looking at moving BCMH to be covered under some sort of Medicaid umbrella and that causes all sorts of other problems for BCMH families. At this point, I don't have a clue how this will effect us. If this happens, I don't know if we'll lose all funding, some funding or if everything will change altogether for us. I'm holding on to what I have right now and praying that Emily won't be harmed by the beaurocratic number crunching and shuffling that is said to be happening in the wings.
That's it from me, but if you care at all about special needs families in Ohio, the letter pasted below is definitely worth a read. We CAN do something to try to prevent this from happening. Take up your pens... or word processors and start writing!
- - - - - - - -
What is Happening to BCMH???
I am a concerned parent who has two children with Special Health Care Needs receiving benefits under the Ohio Department of Health’s Bureau for Children with Medical Handicaps program. I am a member of the Parent Advisory Council (PAC) for the Bureau for Children with Medical Handicaps. I am also a working, tax paying, citizen of Ohio. My daughters are covered under private health insurance and rely heavily upon BCMH to be their safety net.
Background
In 1969, the Ohio Bureau of Crippled Children’s Program (BCCS), now BCMH, was moved to Ohio Department of Public Welfare from the Ohio Department of Health. Because of disastrous results, it was moved back to the ODH in 1974. Medicaid did not understand the BCMH program. The end result was that BCMH clients were lost in the public welfare system and many working families did not qualify for services.
In 2006, the state again considered moving BCMH from ODH to the then proposed Department of Medicaid. At that time stakeholders of BCMH warned that such a move would put the uniqueness of BCMH in jeopardy. The stakeholders were concerned that BCMH would be seen as and become a Medicaid-type program thus risking its ability to provide services to working, middle class, privately insured families with Children with Special Healthcare Needs as well as to those Children with Special Health Care Needs who are covered by both Medicaid and BCMH. In response to the stakeholders’ concerns, BCMH remained an important part of ODH’s mission.
BCMH is again under threat of removal from the purview of ODH to under the scrutiny, management, and operation of EMMA (Executive Medicaid Management Administration). This move clearly goes against legislative intent in maintaining the uniqueness of the BCMH program and against the recommendations of the BCMH Legislative Task Force to Study the Future Funding of BCMH. It also clearly has been demonstrated that such a move will prove ineffective in providing services to Ohioans who rely on the program for health care.
What is at Stake?
What happens if BCMH is moved under the executive management and administration of EMMA and becomes a Medicaid-like program?
- This move puts the uniqueness of BCMH and its ability to be a safety net for families of Children with Special Health Care Needs in jeopardy. BCMH has the potential to become Medicaid-like and be lumped into Medicaid with the same limits to benefits.
- Many children of working families who have special health care needs neither financially nor medically qualify for Medicaid. Applying Medicaid eligibility requirements will result in the loss of services to people who rely on BCMH for their health care.
- The population that is currently served by BCMH is not the same population as those currently being served by Medicaid and some of those being served by BCMH will fall though the cracks and lose their services.
- Medicaid maintains a limit on the number of prescriptions per month and tends to be too restrictive for people of certain disease groups covered under the BCMH program. Relocating BCMH under EMMA could result in patients being unable to get the prescriptions that they need to stay healthy each month. BCMH Medicaid dual eligible clients are currently permitted and encouraged by BCMH to opt out of Medicaid managed care plans because they are too restrictive and present barriers to clients obtaining appropriate and accessible health care and necessary medications.
- The state of Ohio has more control over BCMH and the benefits offered to its clients than it would under Medicaid.
- The staff of BCMH works directly with families who have Children with Special Healthcare Needs to make difficult situations work and to find solutions to unique problems while Medicaid does not.
- Benefits unique to BCMH will be lost as BCMH is forced to become Medicaid-like.
b) The Medicaid spend down program for disabled dual eligible BCMH/Medicaid clients allows BCMH to pay the Medicaid spend down amounts to ensure that they will receive both Medicaid and BCMH benefits which presents a cost savings to the BCMH program and the state of Ohio.
c) BCMH is able to draw down Federal Maternal Child Health Block Grant dollars and individual county real estate tax dollars within the Ohio Department of Health. Medicaid cannot access these dollars.
d) BCMH allows Children with Special Health Care Needs to be covered under the program until age 21 while Medicaid stops at age 18. Clients with CF are covered into adulthood.
e) BCMH allows for the HIPP program (Hemophilia Insurance Premium Program) while Medicaid does not.
f) BCMH works in conjunction with the Help Me Grow Program while Medicaid does not.
g) BCMH has a diagnostic component while Medicaid does not.
h) BCMH supports families allowing them to continue to work and pay taxes while Medicaid does not.
BCMH Budget
In addition to a proposed move, BCMH has also seen cuts to its current budget with more cuts likely to be proposed in the near future. In recent months, ODH/BCMH has experienced a budget reduction by action of Governor Strickland in the following ways…BCMH Children’s line item has been lowered by $512,610 (4.75% cut); the Adult Cystic Fibrosis line item has also been cut by $94,044 (almost 6% cut).
Historically, ODH/BCMH has handled budget reductions by manipulating the financial eligibility formulas resulting in the elimination of clients covered under the program. The last time cuts were incurred; five thousand clients were removed from the program with little to no notification of BCMH clients. Some benefits in the service package were also cut affecting thousands of clients.
What Can I Do to Help?
In the coming weeks, we will be organizing a campaign to address the issue of budget cuts and the movement of BCMH directly with the Governor’s office and the state General Assembly. We need your help to ensure that BCMH continues to provide services to Ohioans.
I would strongly advocate that BCMH remain under the leadership and direction of ODH so that it may retain its uniqueness and continue serving the needs of Children with Special Health Care Needs of Ohio.
Please distribute widely.
11/20/2008
Mr. David L. Hoffman, Parent of two children on BCMH
Member of the Parent Advisory Council (PAC) for BCMH
Email: dlhoffman@insight.rr.com
PH: 740.548.7305
For more information, or for more information about the upcoming action steps, please contact:
Mrs. Kim Mathews
Member of the Parent Advisory Council (PAC) for BCMH
Email: tkemathews@hotmail.com
PH: 740.366.2858
Mr. Jason Ranville
Public Policy Specialist
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
301.841.2617
jranville@cff.org
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Say What?
I've been trying to catch this on video for you, but the elusive Emily buttons her lips and has been getting all shy when the camera has been out lately.
Here's the story:
We were driving around town a couple of weeks ago and from the back seat we hear singing... More specifically, we heard, "Aw, sh!#. Aw, sh!#. Boom!" Tom and I looked at each other in disbelief and then acknowledged that we both heard the same thing. After stifling my laughter, it took a few seconds for my mommy-interpretation skills to kick in.
Step 1: Emily had been at the babysitter's earlier and spent the day playing with nearly all girls.
Step 2: Boom = down (as in boom boom boom = going down the stairs on your rumpus)
Step 3: Piece it all together and fill in some MAJOR gaps.
My sweet, lovely, angel of a daughter was singing "Ashes, ashes, we all fall down!" She confirmed my theory when we got home and she started dancing in circles while singing and plopping to the ground on the "boom" part.
Oh, but it was so much better hearing it straight from the horse's mouth!
Here's the story:
We were driving around town a couple of weeks ago and from the back seat we hear singing... More specifically, we heard, "Aw, sh!#. Aw, sh!#. Boom!" Tom and I looked at each other in disbelief and then acknowledged that we both heard the same thing. After stifling my laughter, it took a few seconds for my mommy-interpretation skills to kick in.
Step 1: Emily had been at the babysitter's earlier and spent the day playing with nearly all girls.
Step 2: Boom = down (as in boom boom boom = going down the stairs on your rumpus)
Step 3: Piece it all together and fill in some MAJOR gaps.
My sweet, lovely, angel of a daughter was singing "Ashes, ashes, we all fall down!" She confirmed my theory when we got home and she started dancing in circles while singing and plopping to the ground on the "boom" part.
Oh, but it was so much better hearing it straight from the horse's mouth!
Monday, December 01, 2008
What the heck?
For the past month or two, I’ve been thinking that Emily is getting closer and closer to being ready to start the whole potty-training thing. At diaper changing time, she’s thrilled to tell us if she’s gone potty or pooped. She’s intrigued by the whole toilet thing. She’s had her own special potty chair at my parent’s house for a month or so and seems really excited about it. And last weekend we even purchased one for our house.
Potty training is one of those parenting areas where I’m just not too confident with my skills so I’ve been doing some extra reading online. Last week, while visiting the Pampers.com web site, I was excited to find a section devoted to potty training! I read through a couple of screens and felt my confidence level rise as I kept saying to myself, “Yes, that makes perfect sense. That’s probably what I would have tried doing.”
That is until I clicked on the advice link for “We can help you with some ways to start”. Try it! It takes you to a recipe for “Corn and Tomato Pudding”! First off -- Can you say disgusting?!??! Secondly, it’s obviously an incorrect link… but how hilarious is it that something so disgusting is linked to the topic of potty training and all things toilet-related!?!? I had to click on it a few times to be sure!
I just want to assure you that our potty-training regiment will be attempted soon (possibly while I’m home for Christmas break) and that we will not be using Corn and Tomato Pudding as any form of PTT (Potty-Training Tactics) whether it be a reward (ewww… I’m not THAT mean) or threat.
Potty training is one of those parenting areas where I’m just not too confident with my skills so I’ve been doing some extra reading online. Last week, while visiting the Pampers.com web site, I was excited to find a section devoted to potty training! I read through a couple of screens and felt my confidence level rise as I kept saying to myself, “Yes, that makes perfect sense. That’s probably what I would have tried doing.”
That is until I clicked on the advice link for “We can help you with some ways to start”. Try it! It takes you to a recipe for “Corn and Tomato Pudding”! First off -- Can you say disgusting?!??! Secondly, it’s obviously an incorrect link… but how hilarious is it that something so disgusting is linked to the topic of potty training and all things toilet-related!?!? I had to click on it a few times to be sure!
I just want to assure you that our potty-training regiment will be attempted soon (possibly while I’m home for Christmas break) and that we will not be using Corn and Tomato Pudding as any form of PTT (Potty-Training Tactics) whether it be a reward (ewww… I’m not THAT mean) or threat.
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