What was Walmart thinking????

Sorry second post in one day, but I just remembered I didn't tell you all this.
The other day I took Tessa shopping. We went to Michaels and then ran to Walmart real quick. I am sure most have seen the  People of Walmart site or at least some pictures from it.

We are almost done in the store when they announce that in 3 minutes over by the bakery section they will be giving away 3 inch paring knives to all customers 18 and older!

OMG, really?  I then decide that I am done shopping and need to get out of there. My goodness, who thought it was a good idea to give the people of Walmart weapons???
Needless to say I finished up and went to check out. When I was leaving I saw a big crowd gathering in the bakery department and they were getting loud.


Yikes, only at Walmart!

Thinking Positive And Finding The Good!

I have been trying to teach Kaden to think more positive about things, and try to find 1 thing good in every situation, good or bad.

I have explained it to him and how to do it, yet he still needs reminding sometimes. I am determined to teach my kids that no matter what life throws at you, it isn't so bad if you take a step back and look at it from a different angle. I want them to understand that life isn't always pretty, or fun, but if you can find something good in every bad and laugh even when it doesn't seem too funny right now, you will have a great life. I tell them that only you can determine how a situation is going to impact you and how you feel.

Being sad, depressed, angry, lonely, negative all the time sucks, and if you keep being that way people will avoid you and your attitude. Life is too short to not have fun, don't dwell on the bad.
Like if you don't feel well, or something is going wrong, the more you think about it and feel sorry for yourself the worse it will be. Push it all aside and tell yourself, you are not going to live like that anymore. It is your life, choose to enjoy it, show your kids that it is a good thing.

So here is one thing that happened yesterday to Kaden and he almost flipped out because he thought it was so bad. I reminded him to think happy, and laugh.

Kaden was brushing his teeth before school, I went in the bathroom to quickly go before we left. I was just about to close the lid on the toilet and flush it when Kaden dropped a stack of paper cups in the toilet. We both stood there for a second, I could tell he was about to get upset, thinking he was in trouble and wondering how we were going to fix this. I looked at him and started laughing while I quickly grabbed the last dry spot on the cup and took them out & trew them away. Kaden had this look on his face, like he didn't know why I was laughing. I told him that it sucked it happened, but it was really funny, gross but funny.

Today I was getting quarters ready so I could go to the Laundromat with Tessa to dry clothes after we dropped Kaden off. Kaden says to me, " that is so bad you have a broken dryer, cause now you have to hang stuff up around the house & go to the Laundromat." I told him that is wasn't so bad, and to think of something positive about it. He thought and didn't come up with anything. I asked him what he thought about it being good that the washer still worked. He says "Oh yeah, that is a good thing." Then I tell him that we also get to go to some place different and meet new people, that today will not be a boring day for Tessa and I.

I try really hard to laugh everyday. Sometimes it is to keep from crying, sometimes I laugh so hard I do cry! I always try to make sure my kids laugh too. Sometimes they need help finding something, most times they don't. Travis has gotten good about finding the positive and Kaden is on his way. They both have great sense of humors and love to laugh, and like there mother find the craziest things funny.

So... What do you do to stay positive and find the good?? Do you laugh everyday?
Remember: No one controls your emotions, how you choose to react to situations is your choice. Life is only as good and happy as you make it and choose to be. Life is all about choices and the ramifications of those choices. Please make a choice to be happy, you'll be glad you did!!

Disclaimer:  By no means do I think I am perfect, I just know that I lived my life feeling sorry for myself and blaming others for all the bad in my life too long. I saw it was negatively impacting my children and knew it was time for me to change my attitude, outlook and future. I have days where I don't feel good and many days I am in pain from one thing or another (getting older does that to you) but I usually don't dwell on it or make my discomfort know all the time. Life is only as good as you want it to be & as good as you make it. 

I'm back. Ok I never left..

So it has been a long time since I posted, but I have been busy.

The kids started spring break on Friday the 30th, and Travis had a Robotics competition Friday & Saturday. This was a lot of fun to watch and I was so proud of his whole team. These kids worked their butts off for months getting ready for this, and even harder during the 6 weeks they had to build it.( rules of First Robotics only allows for a 6 week build time to keep all teams fair) They sometime would work for 5 hours after school  4 days a week, all while keeping up with school. In the end they came in I think 44th out of 61, but they learned a lot and more importantly they had FUN!

Here is the product of their hard work!

The next exciting thing to happen was we bought a new van!!
Poor Mini ( yes, we named our van) was getting very old. She was a 2001, and had 180,000 miles. We had been to Wisconsin more times then I could count. We had been to North Dakota, Texas 3 times, and Disney World 3 times, not to mention I put between 300 to 350 miles on a week.

I am  now the proud owner of a 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan. I am also so lost when it comes to figuring out all the new high tech stuff on it. Poor van doesn't have a name yet, we are still calling it Mini for now, but hope to have a name soon.

There she is, now to figure out her name!

We did make it to the zoo on Thursday, and now are spending the last few days of spring break being lazy and getting nothing accomplished.
The only one main and oh so important thing left to do is color Easter eggs. Yep, we are one exciting bunch around here.

So...What have you been up to?? Do you have any suggestions for Mini 2.0's name???

I want to wish everyone a very Happy Easter. Don't eat too much candy or hard boiled eggs.

Disney World Update!

Anyone one who knows me, knows I LOVE Disney. We have been on many trips and will be on many more through the years.
I always start planning the next trip as soon as we are driving home from our current one. I am going over everything we did, where we ate,where we stayed, every little thing, then I plan how to make it better. I figure out what we need to do, eat, see again & what we don't need to.

We always drive so I never have to worry about what I can and can't pack, or how much airfare is going to be. We leave on a Friday around 5 pm, drive till Saturday around 4pm. We stop to eat and go potty those first 24 hours. We then get a hotel Saturday night, and continue the last 4 hours in the morning. Yes, we are a bit commando, but it works for us. We have been doing this since Kaden was 15 months old.

Now Dennis always gives me such a hard time about all the time I spend researching & planning. He & the boys give me weird looks when I make my little note cards & laminate them for each day we are there. However Dennis is the first to admit it is all the neurotic planning and obsessing that makes our trips fun and go so smoothly.

So now for Today's update.
We leave for Disney World in 571 days or 18 months, 3 weeks, 1day
Yes, you are reading that right. We don't go till October 2013.
But, I get to book our vacation package in August of this year.
I also have to book all the sit down restaurants we are going to eat at while there in April 2013.
Yep, have to make dinning reservations 6 months out.

So I have things to look forward to and plan. Yes, that all seems so far away, but when I plan and do all this so far out it makes it easier to budget & save. Plus starting in January 2013 I will start slowly buying the things we are going to need to bring. I have found it is cheaper and easier this way. I just put all of it in our Disney bucket till it is time to pack.

So Yes, some might think I am nuts, but I really don't mind. Disney is my happy place and all of my obsessive planning and researching has made for some fun, stress free trips for us and others I have helped plan as well.

If you ever need advice or help planning a trip, you know where to find me!

Yeah, me neither!

Have you ever lost your 14 yr old in the grocery store?
Yeah, me neither.

Haha, I actually thought I did last night. I was scared for a brief second. He was there a second ago. Where Is Travis???

It is no secret I am a bit of an airhead. I really try hard to not let my kids see it, but sadly Travis knows my secret.

We went to the store last night and Tessa was sitting in the cart, Kaden was walking on my left side, and I thought Travis was right next to Kaden.
I look over at him and there is no Travis. I look behind me No Travis. I panic and say where's Travis, what happened to him?
Kaden starts smiling, and Travis says "I am right here." And yep, there he was right on my right side!!

I still have no idea why I didn't look to the right, maybe cause he hadn't been there the whole time so why would he be there now?
I don't know, I just know I thought he was gone.

I don't think I'm perfect

This post was inspired by a comment made to me on Facebook by my cousin. I spend a lot of time thinking about things while I am rocking Tessa, mainly it helps me keep from rocking myself to sleep too.

She had made the comment to me about getting respit care for when things get hard & I need a break. She had said "I know you like to pretend you can do it all, (said with love) or you do live up to your nickname." ( my nickname is Coo-Coo, I'll tell you the story later)

Now I have been thinking about this for a while. There are a few things that should be known about me to understand why hell would have to freeze over before I will leave my kids with anyone other then my husband, my sister-in law, my step-mom, or Travis's daycare lady when he was little.
My brother and I were left alone when were 7 & 9 years old, not for an hour or 2. We were left alone for the whole day & most the night. I remember being left at strangers (to me, not my mom) houses when I was 4 or 5. I remember waking up in a strange dark house wondering why my mom didn't take me home & when was she coming back. I could write many, many posts about my childhood & maybe someday I will, but for now, no.

I don't ever, ever want my kids to think I have left them, don't care about them, or don't want them around. My kids are my world. and there is nothing so important or special that I have to do that would require me to leave them.
I am with one or all of my kids constantly. I rarely go to the store without one of them with me. I don't get much sleep because I choose to not let Tessa cry herself to sleep. I don't want her to be sad or scared in the middle of the night & wonder why I am not there to comfort her. Now, I do comment on Facebook about lack of sleep, energy levels of my kids, needing a break, but the reality is I am venting. I wouldn't change one thing about my kids. I have made the adult decision to bring them into the world, they are my responsibility. I don't for a minute expect someone else to raise them or watch them for my own selfish, personal fun. Dennis & I have made the decision that our time is when they are grown, for now vacations, going out to dinner, everything includes the kids. Maybe we feel this way because we have known each other for so long, we have traveled and done fun stuff before the kids came. I don't know.

Now back to not being perfect.
I offer advice and suggestions to others based on my experiences with 3 kids. I have been through 7 surgeries with them to date. I have been through sedating Travis for tests, I have been through extreme illnesses, hearing loss, Aspergers diagnosis, and life with it for 7 yrs, IEP's, speech therapy, now the whole Down syndrome stuff and everything that goes with it.
I have a lot of life experiences with many things. I also have been blessed with children with "special needs" and as such there are things that are too hard to explain to others. I think most people who haven't seen what my daily life is like would be shocked. It isn't always pretty, it isn't always ugly either. It is what it is and I do it day in and day out because I have to, I choose to. I wouldn't change a thing about it all either. I love my kids.

I have learned over the years that you can't keep your sanity with all this going on unless you connect with other moms who have been there or are there. Almost everyday after school I let the kids play and I hang out and chat with 2 other moms who have children on the Spectrum. These women are the best. They are funny, they understand, and they are real about it all. Sometimes thing are funny, sometimes they make you want to scream, but it is all easier to deal with when you have someone who knows and understands and can laugh or cry with you.
I also have an amazing Down Syndrome parent group I go to once a month. They too are a great help. Some are still new to it like me & some have been on this journey for many years. We all can relate and they are a great resource to have. Sometimes they laugh, sometimes they want to cry, but they are always real. Having a child with Down syndrome is a challenge, but it is also fun and rewarding.

And even with all this I have one "typical" child to balance in the mix.

I am not perfect, I don't pretend to be, I am real, and I try to offer help and advice when & where I can.
Some days my life is chaotic, messy, insane, busy, frustrating. But it is also so rewarding, fun, happy, and incredible.
I don't have it all together, but I try. I also try to find something good out of every situation, to find something to laugh about and to stay as positive as I can. The one thing constant in my life is it is funny, some days I have to wonder if I am part of a prank show cause it is that crazy.
I am an airhead, I am stressed, I am being pulled in many directions on a daily basis, but I have to keep my head up & carry on. Life is too short to not have fun while living the icky parts.
So.... No I am not pretending to do it all, and anyone who knows me, or has seen my daily life first hand would know that.

Another reason to hate my health insurance

It is no secret I hate my health insurance company. Well, that isn't really fair, I do like some things, but most things make me so angry I become "that crazy woman screaming at them"

First a little back story.
When I became pregnant with Tessa I had to call and get prior authorization to go to the hospital to give birth. Yep, how stupid is that. Now they say it is just their policy. Also you have to agree to sign up for their completely voluntary health screening, where a nurse calls every month to see how your doing. The reason I say you have to agree to this voluntary "perk" is because if you don't they MIGHT reduce the amount they cover for your delivery.  Pretty tricky.

Now fast forward to Tessa's birth. I have an emergency c-section, Tessa spends 4 1/2 days in the NICU, she doesn't come home with me, but does come home the next day.
I get a call from the insurance company and their "expert" does not feel it was necessary for Tessa to have stayed 1 extra day in the NICU ( they say she was there 5 days cause they count the whole day she was born even thought it was at night). I guess the NICU doctors and her pediatrician are idiots because they said she needed to stay. In fact they were thinking about making her stay 3 more days.
A not so nicely worded letter from her Dr and suddenly they have a change of heart and will pay for the last day!

Fast forward to September last year. I want to get Tessa private PT. They say they will pay for an evaluation and decide if she really needs PT. I ask them why seeing as she has Down syndrome and babies with DS need PT. Doesn't matter they will decide. They approve it, all is good. We only went 2 times Tessa hated it.

Now fast forward to yesterday. I get the mail and there is a letter addressed to Tessa. The envelope says it is is personal and to be opened by the addressee. Ummm....Sure no problem. 
I open it and it is a form from the insurance company asking us ( Tessa) to fill out the back or call them about a visit to Children's Hospitals & Clinics on September 30th 2011. Oh, but it gets better. The form is asking if the visit is the result of an accident, injury, or a work related injury. They also want to know does she plan to file a claim with different insurance or workman's comp. Also has she gotten a lawyer?
All I could do was laugh...at first.

I called the company give them my name, relationship to Tessa, her date of birth, then I tell then I don't know what that visit was for so they need to tell me what the claim was for.

Wait for it, you will not believe this one.......
THEY CAN NOT TELL ME ANYTHING!!!
Why??
Because Dennis is the policy holder for the insurance.
Now, let's guess how well this went over with me??? Hmmm.... Yep I lost it, and they got an earful.
I am her mother, yet they can not discuss her medical stuff with me. They need Dennis to call and give them the info they need. HAHAHA Yeah, ok, you try that!
I told the man that he was not going to get any info out of Dennis, because Dennis doesn't have a clue about any of that stuff. I said a few more not so nice things, and yes, the F-word went flying a few times too.

I called Dennis at work and told him what was going on & that they would gladly talk to me if he gives them permission to discuss my daughter with me.
OK, now guess how this went over with Dennis???? OH, not well. Needless to say I was the calmer & nicer of the 2 of us to the insurance company.
Dennis told them he had no idea about anything medical because it isn't his F***ing job. IF they wanted to know something they needed to talk to me, he has no F***ing clue.

Surprise they called our house left a message, and were so nice and willing to talk to me when I called back.
Guess what the visit was they were questioning?
It was the Physical Therapy evaluation. They wanted to know if she was having one because she had been injured or in an accident. REALLY??? I know for a fact the insurance company knows why she had it because I had to do a prior authorization for it. They know she has DS!!
I tell the lady she has DS, and that is why she had the appointment. The lady then asks, "so she wasn't injured or in an accident?" I kindly, yet very sarcastically say " Nope she was just born with DS, nothing else, just DS."  Then the ever so smart lady says " Oh, OK so there isn't anything else that happened for this visit?"  Ummmm......I again say "No, she was just born with DS."  The she says " OK, well I guess we can close this case and you can through the paper away we won't be needing any of that info."

I hate dealing with health insurance companies!!