Am I The Only One Who Does This?

When your son or daughter is acting up, sportin' a 'tude or just in the middle of a situation, do you think about how you'll blog about it? Do you 'write' the post in your head while the event is happening?

We were at Arches National Park today and Beth was being a pill. She had such a bad attitude, would not talk to any of us and just kept walking away. As I'm speed walking in the 87 degree heat trying to catch up with her, I am 'blogging' the entire event in my head. What I would write, the order I would put the events....

Am I the only one who does this?

Let Us Show You Around!

Two days and 1300 miles later, we're in Denver. Arrived last night after two days of driving; eleven hours each day. Warm weather, beautiful scenery. Had lunch yesterday in a small town in Montana. Population 3400. We drove hour upon hour without seeing a building more than 3 stories high. And most of those were the gorgeous homes perched on top of rolling hills. I wondered if the kids growing up in these small towns had ever seen a sky scraper? Had they ever visited 'the big city'? I grew up in San Diego and have lived most of my adult life in Seattle, so these small towns intrigue me. I love the quiet streets, the open country side, the relaxed lifestyle.  I wonder how my life would be different if I lived there.

We started having minor car trouble just outside of Denver last night, so Chuck has taken it to the shop. In the mean time, Beth and I are hanging out at the hotel. We had breakfast downstairs and then decided to show you around. :)

We always show Beth how to get to the room by herself.

She knows our room number and which floor we're on: Three.

(Doesn't she look thrilled? I think she ate too much breakfast!')

When you come off the elevator, which way do you go?

The hallways can be confusing!

When you step off the elevator, there is a small table with a mirror above it. We've told Beth she needs to smile at herself when she goes to our room. So she knows to go by the mirror! I do love that face!

There are two small arrows on the bottom of the room key. She knows to put those in the key holder.

And now you know how to get to our room too! :)

We are here for a few days to help Chuck's mom and sister with a few things in their condo. His mom will be 80 this year, is a cancer survivor and is struggling with her health. His sister suffered a stroke a few years ago and is paralyzed on her right side. There are things like changing light bulbs and reaching the rods in their closets that we are going to fix. It's going to be a lot of work but we really want to make a difference for them.

There's no one like family!

Fun Photo Friday!

This photo might not look fun to some, but to us it means: Road Triiip!!

We're almost completely packed.

Each of us looks over the list, crossing off the item in our column.

Dad, Mom, Beth, Diana.

Then tomorrow, while it's still dark out, we'll fill our travel mugs with our favorite hot drinks,

grab our blankets and settle in to the rhythm of the long, open road!

Houston, we have cleared the tower!

I have put in a lot of extra hours at work lately. Planned and organized a big event at work. When I haven't been at work, I've been at home, on the phone trying to find a doctor for Beth.

I guess this whole fiasco happened because of my lack of knowledge of Beth's insurance. For dental, she is on Medicaid. But for medical, she is subcontracted with Molina. Had I remembered that in the beginning, I would have saved myself weeks of frustration and tears.

This morning I began the search again, going onto websites, making phone calls, jumping through hoops. I finally decided to call the DSHS office, "Your wait time is not less than 30 minutes" (in a methodical monotone voice). Terrific. But after waiting only 11 minutes, I spoke with a guy who explained the subcontract thing with Molina. "That" he said "will make all the difference in finding a doctor."

I immediately called the original referral from our primary doctor and within 10 minutes, Beth was in their system and an appointment was scheduled!

What a relief!! Now I feel like I can move on with the rest of my life. :)

By the way, Beth was up again all night last night and this morning missed her bus for karaoke and art. We'll both be glad to get her thyroid regulated again!




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Beth's Beginning

Can Anyone Out There Relate??

Our family doctor referred us to a specialist for Beth's thyroid. I called the clinic to schedule an appointment with the endocrinologist but was told they are not accepting new patients with Medicaid.

I called our doctor to get another referral and was told by the person answering the phone that I needed to first find a doctor that will take Medicaid. She gave me the number to the referral service.

I called them but got the answering service. They are open... the exact hours I am at work. I left a message for them to call me.

I then got a letter from the clinic saying they received a referral from our doctor and they are trying to get a hold of me. I called them and was on hold for more than 10 minutes. I had to hang up. My lunch was over and I had to get back to work.

Then someone from the clinic left a message with me saying they deal in internal medicine and cannot help with the thyroid. She left the name and number of an endocrinologist that does take Medicaid.

I called him.... and got the answering service.

Please excuse me while I go scream into a pillow.

Fun Photo Friday!

It's payday for Beth! She loves paydays!

"Eighty six dollars and twenty cents."

And we all know payday means one thing: Shopping for Fun!

(Click on Shopping for Fun to learn how to add Fun to your shopping list!)

Her Peanut

We moved to Washington State when Beth was 4 years old. She slept in a new bedroom, ate dinner in an unfamiliar kitchen and went to a brand new school. As moms, I think we're always concerned about our kids making friends at school. Let alone at a new school 1200 miles from the old one.

Beth was adored at her preschool in San Diego. Everyone loved her. But I was still nervous about this new school. (I was nervous about the entire move! I knew it was the right thing for our family, but sometimes I felt like I wanted to throw up!)

So I was overjoyed when Miranda came into our lives. Her and Beth became good friends and they called each other Peanut. Miranda's mom Debra and I have no idea where that name came from but they scream it across parkinglots as they run into each others arms! They've had sleep overs, attended birthday parties together, even played on the same Special Olympic Bowling teams.

They live about 40 minutes from us so the girls don't get to see each other as often as they used to. We saw Miranda last Saturday at the bowling alley. Special Olympics training has started again. Miranda came up to the counter and sat down at a chair not far from us. Her and Beth leaned forward, smiled and waved at each other. What??!? Are they 'too mature' now to act like crazy kids?

Once bowling started, they loosened up and began high fiving when one would get a strike. They even danced a little when a good song would come on over the loud speaker. And boy can those kids dance!! :)

It may be hard to see them in this picture:

They're not looking at the camera. :)

Special Connections

Here are a few pictures from our Sunday school class. I don't have permission from the parents so I won't be showing the boys faces.

The boys we had this day all have a form of autism. I pulled out the parachute for the first time. Oh my word, they loved it!! There must be something about the way it feels on their skin and about the whooshing sound it makes that really calms them and brings out the laughter!

Sometimes we have them lay on the floor and we pull the parachute up to the ceiling, then down on top of them. Then back to the ceiling with a huge gust of air! Here they're sitting in the middle of it while we.... 'billow' it around them. (Not sure how else to describe it.)

The kids love it and the teachers are gettin' some cool biceps!! :)

Once in a Lifetime... No, Really!!

Beth was born on October 10.

So this year her birthday falls on 10/10/10.

That only happens once in every 100 years!!

Not sure how we'll celebrate this year but I want to do something unforgettable!

Hyperthyroidism

Beth was diagnosed with hypothyroidism a few years ago and was put on medication to help regulate it. I called the endocrinologist a few weeks ago to have it rechecked but the doctor is no longer there.

So, I took Beth back to our family doctor and she called this morning to tell me that this time her thyroid is "very overactive." So I'll be scheduling another appointment with a different endocrinologist. Hopefully regulating her thyroid again will help with her sleeping habits and increase her energy level.

A Playground Story

Beth graduated from high school 6 years ago. As I read all of your back to school posts, it makes me think of when my girls were in school. So many memories! I want to share something with you that happened to Beth when she was in the 6th grade. Oooh, you're gonna like this one! Mwuahahaha! :)

In the 6th Grade, Beth was in a special needs classroom, but they had lunch and recess with the entire school. The playground assistants noticed that a group of kids, some troublemakers were hanging around Beth. And we began to notice that Beth was using language that we did not tolerate. We knew she wasn't being defiant, she just didn't understand that those 'friends' were trying to get her into trouble. The playground assistants tried their best to keep them away from Beth, but it was difficult to do in a school with 1500 kids.

One day Beth was sitting at her desk and her teacher noticed she was fumbling with something in her hands. She struggled with it for a few minutes when her teacher decided to go tell her she needed to get back to work. As she approached her desk, Beth's face brightened. She held up 'the finger' and yelled, "I did it!!"

Ahh, such a proud moment.

Fun Photo Friday!

I held up the camera, "Beth would you show me your dress"?
She was three years old. :)