Everything's going to be alright.

I found an article that made me smile. It gives me so much hope for the future. It made me realize, that even though there are many people who will not accept Carly for who she is; a child born with Down syndrome. There are so many people who will accept her. People will value her as a person. So what if not everybody does. For each person who looks down on Carly, there will be that many more who will not.

There is a reason that Carly was born with Down syndrome. I don't know that reason. I may never know the reason. But that big guy upstairs knows. God has a plan. Whether it's to teach others the value of a particular person. Make a family more appreciative. Or prove to families that they can in fact, over come various obstacles. I do not believe that having a child born with Down syndrome is a curse. It's a blessing. I've always known that. But stories like the following, click here, are absolute proof!

Sometimes I tend to get off track with my ability to actually see what's important, what matters and what doesn't. Easily done when someone is constantly throwing curve balls at you. But when I read stories like this, I for one believes that eventually, everything is going to be alright.

Dare I say it??

I think my dizzy spells may be a tad better this mid morning! But only a tad. One could hope anyway. I don't like this feeling at all. It's very scary to be dizzy so often. Yesterday, I bent over to pick something up off the floor and I nearly fell face first. I caught myself on the edge of the counter. Just before hitting the floor. Carly got a good laugh in seeing that! She got a really good laugh in the other day. I sneezed and fell backward. Carly laughed so hard. So did I. Even though it was very weird to sneeze and fall backward, it was funny. And no doubt, quite a sight!

Yesterday, my mom went to the doctor. We have the same doctor. He's awesome. She told him about me and my dizzy spells. And he already knows we have no health insurance right now. He said my mom was describing, what sounded like a terrible case of inner ear infection. Kind of what I was leaning toward...but I don't have a medical degree! Anyway, doc gave my mom some samples of antibiotics and told her to have me to start taking them ASAP. Good thing too, 'cuz last night was horrible. I couldn't do too much. My head was all swim-y feeling. I couldn't type worth a darn. My fingers just couldn't hit the right keys on the keyboard. I handed Paul a bottle of Diet Pepsi and completely miss judged what I was doing...dropping the whole thing onto the floor. Not a pretty sight. Paul had to clean it up...I couldn't bend or squat without falling over.

I had to stopped driving for a few days. One reason being..I nearly killed Carly and my mom and I on Tuesday. We were heading to Carly's dentist appointment. I was feeling so off that morning. I thought it was from getting no sleep the night before. Thanks to the loud obnoxious thunderstorms passing through the area ALL NIGHT LONG! We were driving down the highway...or freeway...or expressway, which ever floats your boat! I put my blinker on, checked my mirror and began to pass a very slow moving truck. Suddenly, there was a car fender at my driver side window. I jerked the wheel..just like you're never suppose to do. I nearly lost control. I jerked back on the wheel again... and then leveled the car off. Scared the CRAP out of me and my mom. I of course told my mom that the car appeared out of nowhere...but, in reality, I miss judged. Big time! Should have had mom drive, but she doesn't drive highways or cities anymore.

Hopefully, things are on the upward swing today. I think they are. I still feel a bit off. But, as of last night, I have had one double dose (per doctors order) of antibiotic in me. I'm still eating Antivert (drug that levels out your equal librium) like candy.

I am hoping Paul's boss will do something to get our insurance back. Although, he is not the most honest man. I've been making phone calls like crazy. The union,,,where I talked to the "big dog", as Paul put it. I've called the benefits people at Paul's work. I've called the insurance company and anyone else I think can get the ball moving. I'm hoping we have insurance back by May 1. I will then cram all kinds of appt's in. Paul and I will be going for our yearly blood work. I need a yearly with the GYN. Thank goodness I had my mammogram in December. I need to get to the dentist and I really need to get to my Cardiologist. Guess I'll be busy.

We pay out of pocket for Carly to go to the dentist. (we have GREAT dental coverage, when we have insurance) I wont let her health/teeth go down the gutter. We will pay out of pocket for costs for her. No matter the price. The rest of us can just wait. It cost me $200 to get her teeth cleaned Tuesday. Last month, I took her for x-rays, because the school said she was complaining of a toothache. She was fine, but that cost me $105. Then I took her to the doc the same day and spent another $50.

Gosh, reading all that makes my head spring! HAHAHA! If I had to say it...I'd say, I'm a tad bit better today.

Have a great Thursday!
and please, excuse any errors you encounter while reading this.. My head is still kind of swim-y feeling.

One of those days...

I had a couple of pictures to share today...but, my pic's wouldn't load onto my computer. Of course it may of had something to do with the fact that my battery was dead!

The snow is flying here in Mid Michigan. Something we haven't been blessed with much this year. Or should I say, cursed much with! The weather guy says upwards of 10-12" by tomorrow night. High winds, with gusts of 50mph are suppose to pick up later tonight. Which will cause some major drifting. YUCK!

My tickle in my throat is so much better. Funny what a few days of antibiotics will do for ya! Only problem now...my head is POUNDING!

Carly is so much better. If you follow me on Facebook, you likely saw her picture. She was sitting on her "perch" (counter top) as we call it. She sits there often. We started placing her on the counter during her chemo. Now, it's her favorite hang out spot while I'm busy in the kitchen.

Ahhh, the kitchen. A place I haven't been able to organize in the last few days. It's driving me nuts. But, honestly, who is going to stop by when everyone knows we've had the sickies??!!

As far as Carly and her sickies...she is doing so much better. Up and playing. Into EVERYTHING. Keeping my house a constant mess! One would think we had an army of 8 year olds in this house. I'm not really complaining...much! Honestly, I love the fact that she's a mover and groover. It reassures me that, over all, she's feeling pretty good. Except for the terrible cough she has. I did finally get some cough med into her last night. I gave her Delsym. Normally the cardiologist would frown on giving her cough meds. But, this cough was so awful, her doctor decided a couple of doses wasn't going to hurt. The problem of course, is getting the meds into her. She is terrible about taking meds. The only antibiotic that she takes really well is Omnicef. The taste of Omnicef is similar to that of strawberry milk. The Delsym is grape flavored and tastes equally as good as the Omnicef. Well, except that it's grape flavored!

This poor house has been so neglected since last Thursday. Guess I had better get busy, 'cuz you know, it's just another, One of those days!

What's been going on, and...

TGIF!!!

Man, am I happy today is Friday. This week seemed to drag on forever. Honestly, I think it has a lot to do with the weather. I'm just getting tired of it. I'm sleepy all the time. Cranky too. Or, I suppose it could have something to do with the fact that I started off the week without my dear old friend...Coke Classic. Yep, I'm trying to kick the habit. No doubt, the reason why I'm so ornery and sleepy! I'm lacking my caffeine fix. It's about to kill me! Oh and I'm dieting. No wonder I'm losing my flippin' mind this week! Ha!

Let's see, what else has been going on?? Carly went back to school Monday. She had not been since the start of Christmas break. Which was Dec 18. She kept getting that darn strep throat. Or else, she just couldn't get over it. One or the two. However, I believe, we have finally conquered it. Now, she is dealing with thrush. Ugh. Poor kid. Her tongue and even the corners of her mouth were a mess. Which does seem to be looking better today. After the using Nystatin for the past week.

Each day, I receive reports from the school. The teacher, and all of the other staff who work with Carly; speech teacher, resource teacher (who works on tons of speech w/C), OT, PT..send me a written report on how Carly's day goes. Each day this week, they all reported that Carly worked her little tail off. She really does try so hard to keep up the pace with the other kids. Carly is doing so well the last few months (in school). Her words are exploding. She is FINALLY...talking more. I know that all of her doc's told us, "Give her time. Carly would likely have been talking by now, but she kept getting slammed with all this medical stuff. Causing major delays...over and above the delays seen with Down syndrome". Maybe they were right. I hope so. We have been waiting and waiting for this talking to take off. She is recognizing sight words and even picking them up on her own and bringing them to me while verbally saying the word. WOW! We are thrilled. The school is thrilled. Most importantly, Carly knows this is big stuff. She is very proud of herself.

Yesterday Carly got to celebrate her birthday with her class. The teacher called and asked if we could do it on the 14th. Due to the fact that Carly's bday falls during Christmas break. Then the following week the poor kid was out sick all week. So yesterday was the day. I took cookies and juice boxes to the class. I'm so upset because I didn't have my camera or my cell phone to snap a couple of pics. See what not having Coke Classic is doing to me? Anyway, the kids all sang the bday song to her, as she stood up in front of the class. It brought tears to my eyes. Those kids just LOVE her. They don't view her as being "different". Carly is their peer. Equal, in their eyes. Other than they all about freaked when they asked her how old she was and she proudly displayed 8 tiny fingers. Carly is very tiny. She does not look like an 8yr old. She looks about 4. That may even be pushing it. At any rate, the kids were in shock to learn that she was indeed 8. Actually, she is the oldest in her class. It's so funny to listen to those kids talk. They gush over Carly. They tell her how little and cute she is. And that their baby brother or sister "wear shoes and boots that little too, just like you Carly".

Today, Carly is home from school. It's teacher planning day. Monday is MLK Day. No school Monday either! Sooooooooooooooooo,, she is keeping me hopping this morning. Nothing is making her happy on TV. I finally told her to go find her toys and play. Thankfully, she took me up on that. Right now, she is playing with her puppy. (toy). It came with all things needed to fix a sick puppy right up. A stethoscope, syringes and even a cast for an injured paw. Carly thinks the puppy also needs to be wearing lip gloss all over his/her nose. Which makes for a nice MESS!

OMG, I finally got a facebook acct. Much to Ashleigh's disliking! She tells me it's not for old people. Guess 43 is considered old now. At any rate, I signed up Wed., night. Ashleigh may have a point...I'm having a heck of a time learning how to navigate around facebook. Maybe it should be left to the youngin's! My friends tell me I'll figure it out. They seem to think blogging and facebook are very similar. I beg to differ. This blogging stuff is pretty cut and dry. Facebook has so many different options. Quite frankly, I do not have that much time to spend on a computer. Maybe it will get less time consuming once I figure out just what he heck I'm doing.

Have a great Friday everyone. TGIF!! Once my eyes stay open for more than 20 minute intervals....I'll be back at it. If I make it through my Coke Classic withdrawals!

A Birthday gift from a Friend.

Actually, this gift couldn't have come at a better time. Carly is battling strep throat for the 3rd time since Dec 17. We had just gotten home from the doctor yesterday, when the mail man (woman in our case), arrived with a package for Carly. Let me tell you, this kids eyes lit up! I'm quite certain that Carly thinks gifts are an everyday thing around here! Being that her birthday is one week after Christmas!

Pay no attention to her non matching clothing! After the mailman (woman) left, I told Carly she had to go potty first, before she could open her package. Big mean momma. After going potty, we opted for some comfy clothing. I could only get her comfy pants on her, before she darted off to open her gift!

Do you see the word Candy? Well, for a split second, that's what we thought it was. A box of candy. Boy were we ever wrong! It's a matching game!

Carly saying "cheese", while not taking her eyes off this game. It's a very nice matching game. I've never seen one like it. The cards have pictures of all different kinds of candies. Made me want some chocolate while playing it. Ha! We have played this game many times already. It's a big hit!

A HUGE thank you goes out to Polly and Kristen. Who, bytheway....are amazing! All they are going through, and they had time to think about Carly on her Birthday. Kristen, is an amazing gal. I'm blown away by her each time I read Polly's blog. Make sure you check on Kristen. Prayers have been answered many times over for Kristen. Let's keep those prayers up for Kristen and her family. Go visit their blog. I'm telling you, she is amazing! Again, thank you for thinking of Carly during such a trying time for your family. Polly, we received a card in the mail from your mom. It brought tears to my eyes. The card was full of kind words.

Christmas '09

Part 5

Christmas night at Grandpa and Grandma's house

Brad, not happy with this picture. He said,"Mom, it looks like I'm flipping the bird". Not to mention I caught him with a scowl on his face. Sorry..Brad, I'm posting it :o)

Carly was sooo into opening presents at this point. She'd open one and yell, "MORE"!

Aunt Sandy bought some clothes for Carly. Most of the time, Carly likes getting clothes. Not so much this year! See her checking out the tissue paper?? She was in search of "more" gifts!

She is very happy with this gift. Like all kids, the bigger the gift, the better. Or so they all seem to think.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Poor Carly. She was back to the doctor the other day. She woke me up at 4:30am on Tuesday asking to go to the "doctor". She told me her throat and tongue hurt. When I put her to bed Monday night, I already knew we were going to be heading to the doctor come Tuesday. Carly had started to run a temp. She rarely runs a temp. Long story short, she is back on antibiotics. On the 18th she was diagnosed with Strep throat. Tuesday, her throat was red streaks and the doc said, "we're just going to treat her again". Today she is MUCH better. Back to eating and drinking like a champ.

A couple of cute stories. 1- Paul was talking to Carly last night about school. He asked her if she was ready to go back to school next week and see her friends. Carly answered, "NO. All done"
2- Ashleigh was laying on the couch the other night. Carly, like always, insisted on climbing up on top of Ashleigh. Planting herself on Ashleigh's legs. Eventually, Ashleigh's leg were stretched out over top of Carly's lap. (My crazy older two wear shorts yearly around here. Keep in mind, our wind chill has been in the teens all week.) Anyway, Carly looks at Ashleigh's knee and asked, "What's that"? Ashleigh says, "it's a scar. Want me to tell you how I got it" To which Carly replies, "No, (while shrugging her shoulders and shaking her head)" Too funny! Ashleigh and I laughed our butts off. It was like, Carly really could have care less about the nastly looking scar on her sisters knee.

Winter Wonderland.

We went to bed last night knowing we would likely wake to the beautiful white fluffy blanket of snow.

It's very cold here today. Temp of 21 wind chill of -12.

Carly was VERY excited this morning. We bundled her up and headed out to the bus. She giggled the entire time.

Had I been on the ball this morning at 7:40, I would have taken a picture of Carly dressed in her winter wear from head to toe. Next time!

Whew..

...what a weekend! I've been out of touch with the world wide web for several days. Our internet went out. Thanks to our DOG! He ate the wires that run along the outside of our house. No internet since Sunday morning. He ate that wire after he had already eaten through our cable wire on Friday. Causing us to have no TV all weekend. GRRRRRRRRRRR! Will this puppy stage ever end? For the record. This WILL be our very last puppy. EVER! We've never had a puppy this destructive.

Flowers

Aren't these pretty? I love fall colors. The leaves. The flowers. Likely it's my most favorite time of the year. Especially this year. We've had warmer than normal temp's around these parts for the entire fall season. Except the weather man says it's all about to change. ;o(

Paul did some errands on Saturday morning. When he returned home, he had brought with him, these beautiful flowers. Paul and I don't really do the flower thing. Neither of us have ever felt that spending money on flowers for each Hallmark Holiday, made much sense. However, I must admit, that once in a blue moon, it's a nice surprise.



Aren't these the brightest most vibrant colors?


When I asked Paul what the reason was for the flowers. He said, "you've had a rough couple of weeks with the school and I thought flowers would perk you up". He was right. A big bouquet of fall colored flowers was just what the doctor ordered!

Mama's little helper.

On Friday, Carly helped me clean. She LOVES to help clean. I give her a Pledge Wipe and she's off to dusting. One of her favorite things to do. Well, to my surprise, she continued on with the dusting early this Saturday morning! She moved from end table to end table.

Toy to toy. Doll bed to doll stroller. She was on a roll!

Bedhead and all. Carly was on a cleaning spree this morning.

She is, without a doubt, Mama's little helper!

Wordless Wednesday...'er not!

Okay, so it's not such a Wordless Wednesday. Can you guess what kind of week I'm having??????? You don't need to think too hard. It's pretty self explanatory!

&

Ahhhh, such a great combination. Coke and chocolate. Dove, it is my new favorite!

Yep, it's that time of the month.........again! I get more sick of it each and every month. Not to mention, another week of H3ll concerning the school and Carly. There's no doubt about it, I've got my work cut out for me. We head back for part 2 of our IEP mtg., on Nov 16. Ugh! That's about all I can say..Ugh!

Carly is finally back to school. I sent her on Monday. She should be fairly well covered for the Swine flu. Plus, the Swine flu has slowed way down at her school. Of course, I'll pull her out again if and when it kicks back up. The swine flu that is!

We take Carly to have her second H1N1 shot sometime after Nov 24. That's going to be here before we know it. I'm so glad we kept her home for the last couple of weeks. I found out that her class, which has 18 kids, was down to 8 kids for 2 straight weeks. Not to mention many teachers and students from other grades were out sick as well. Some still are.

We were suppose to be heading to Ann Arbor tomorrow, but we canceled. I will not knowingly take her into a hospital that is full to the brim with the Swine flu. No way, no how. Both cardio and oncology were in agreement with this. Oncology was satisfied that her pediatrician just did a physical exam on Carly in mid October. However, we do need to have labs drawn within a few days. We could use a few prayers for good labs. I'm fairly comfortable that we will have decent results. Cardiology says we can go in 6 months, or bring her in whenever I'm comfortable. I'm sure I'll take her before 6 months!

Ashleigh was home over the weekend. Carly was THRILLED! As she always is whenever "sissy" is around. Last Thursday night, while Carly was lying in bed, we had a little conversation. It went like this:

me: Carly, sissy is coming home tomorrow night.

C: Yeeeeaaaahhh! (used her words)

me: What are you and sissy going to do?

C: taps her chin and says, hmmmm. Then continues with all this: books, (used her words). (She signed all of the following without skipping a beat), ~ eat cake, cookies, drink juice. Play blocks, puzzles, games, color, write. Play outside, swing, slide, climb.

She responded with continuous signing. She didn't pause to think about it. She just let it flow. Now..can anyone tell me, does my daughter communicate??? I believe she does. Yes, she does use some words, and her words are quite clear, but she mainly signs. Signing is her thing. Matter of fact, I've been putting a list of her signs together for the stupid school. So far I'm up to 457 all learned in the last 2 years. And I'm still working on list! Can anyone explain to me, why in the world the school does not see this?????? They are denying Carly her native language. Signing. That's the way I look at.

Yes, she kept Ashleigh quite busy over the weekend!

Nothing much else going on around here. Just the normal. Researching laws and regulations that the schools are suppose to follow regarding special needs kids. Gathering tons of information. Chatting with advocates and attorneys. Preparing for the upcoming IEP.

So much for the whole Wordless Wednesday theme!!

Have a great week everyone. I'll try to get back into the swing of things. I promise!

Monday.

We're back home. Ashleigh, Carly and I went with my parents to visit my brother and his family who live in Illinois, for the weekend. We got home last night. It was A quick trip, but it was a nice visit.

Now, I'm finishing up my laundry and trying to function with these stupid monthly cramps. Ugh! I really hate these darn cramps. They hurt like the dicken's. Plus, I always feel so awful. Yuck! I do take Motrin 800 and it does help quite a bit.

Last Thursday Carly went in for a physical with the pediatrician. She didn't need any shots, just the physical. I did take in a urine specimen to be checked. The school had called me on Thursday afternoon to tell me Carly had wet her pants. So unlike her. I knew she was going have a UTI. When I collected her specimen, Carly looked at it and said, "apple". She meant that it looked like apple juice :o) I was right. The doc ran the test. She is now on a 10 day course of antibiotics. She also has a viral thing going on causing a runny nose and cough. However, those both seem to be better today.

I've been trying to deal with the school again. Boy do I get worked up with those people. They want to do testing on Carly. It's called the Gazelle Test. I've been researching it and decided not to allow this test to be done, as of now. Being that Carly's main form of communication is sign, there is no way to accurately test her. Not until someone is hired who knows signs. I think they would be knocking points off of Carly's scores and that isn't fair. This little girl knows tons. Her receptive language skills are dead on for her age. But her darn speech takes points away from any testing. Especially if not one single person knows/understands the signed responses that Carly would likely give.

Other than that. We are trying to get back into the groove of things. Laundry, house work, menu plans, catching up on all the blogs I follow, etc......

Happy Monday All!

Back online.

I'm back online. Finally. My computer's on the fritz. So....in the mean time while that's getting fixed, Paul bought me this.

I love it!

High School Players Inspiring Touchdown.

Such a touching story click here and to see for yourself. This brought tears to my eyes. This proves to me, that people can and do show compassion for our kids born innocently into this sometimes very scary world.

You know you're old when....

...your oldest kids teenage babysitter tracks you down at a school function and says, "are you the George's"? Paul and I looking completely stunned, "yeah, we are". She then goes on to tell us who she is. I about fell over. She has three kids of her own now. Her oldest two are the exact same age that Ashleigh and Brad were when she started babysitting them. 4th and 1rst grade. That's how you know, you're getting old. sigh!

Is there a Doctor in the house??

Why yes, that would be Doctor Carly!

She is first giving herself an injection. This is pretty much how she deals with the real injections. No big deal to her. She sits and watches without much fuss. When the nurse/doc pokes her, Carly says, "Duh"! and shrugs her shoulders. As if it's no big deal.


This is her favorite doll. Sadly, this is how she plays dolls. Well, that's not entirely true. She does like to push her dolls in their doll stroller. She likes to feed them and change their clothes. Well, actually she likes them with no shirts on! As for rocking and such...not so much. But this is the way she spends most playtime with her dolls.

I suppose this is just what Carly knows. Doctoring at it's finest.

This doll was a Christmas present last year from my brother and his wife. It's a doll complete with all things necessary for a good doctor in training. That would be Carly.


This doll has a 'hole' for the syringe on it's little bottom. When you stick the tip of the syringe into the hole, the doll cries and cries. Until you pick her up and stick a bottle in her mouth. Carly doesn't use that hole much. She prefers to do what she knows best. The syringe right in the chest. Just the place where Carly had two broviacs and one port during the course of 33+ months.

Before she received this doll, with all things necessary for fine doctoring. She would use our syringes that I get from the pharmacy to give Carly her Tylenol or antibiotics. I have a gazillion of them!

Paging Doctor Carly...

A bit riled up..

Actually, I'm still revved up about Carly and the dentist ordeal. I just can not believe how she was treated. How I was treated. Not being allowed in the exam room with her. I'm still blown away by that. I really just kept thinking that they were coming to get me any minute. They never did.

Here's why I'm still reeling over this. You see, when Carly came out into the lobby where I was talking to that very snotty lady behind the desk. She was crying. Had been crying. It was very obvious. Her face was streaked with tears. It was red and blotchy. I was floored to see her in this state. I thought sure they would take me to the exam room. Especially if she were upset. We all know that never happen.

As we got into the car and headed to McDonald's, I noticed a nice red spot on her left cheek. I knew darn well it was from a finger. I watched it over the course of a few hours. I then determined it was in fact a nice bruise from a finger. Carly also had other bruising on the side of her face (same side where the finger print bruise was) and down that side of her neck. She had a nice bruise on her arm. I'll tell ya, I've been sickened over this. Yesterday, I gave her a bath and discovered more finger print type bruises on her shoulder. I'm pissed. To put it mildly.

At least if I would have been in there. I could have seen just how they were holding her. How they were treating her. If they were being mean to her. Although, they wouldn't have been if I were in there too. I do realize that Carly has lower than normal platelets and that could have played a role in this. Honestly, I don't think there is any excuse out there that could justify these bruises being left from a dentist appointment. Low platelets or not. After thinking about it, the bone marrow test in June left no bruising. If you're unfamiliar with that process. They sedate the kids and then put them on their side, in a fetal position. Holding them quite tightly, so the kids don't squirm or move around and cause some serious injury to themselves. I'm not kidding when I say they hold them tight. I've been in the procedure room many times with Carly and witnessed this. Through all those bone marrow and spinal taps, Carly has NEVER bruised. EVER! Even with much lower platelet counts on several of those occasions.

We have made the decision that she will not be going back to that dentist. It wasn't a very hard decision to make. I have already gotten a phone number to another pediatric dentist and I plan on calling them this week to schedule Carly for a 3 month check up. Our fear now, is that Carly will have been so traumatized through this whole ordeal, future dentist appointments may prove to be nothing short of a nightmare for her.

I hate being all riled up....

Dentist appointment.

Carly had her dentist appointment this morning. The one where she was to have her intruded tooth checked out. Remember, the tooth that jammed down into her gum after the fall off a bike at summer school? Today was the day.

Our morning didn't exactly start off smoothly. It was raining cats and dogs outside. Carly is scared to death of rain.(It's a long story, I'll tell you all about it some other time). I knew I was in for trouble due to that darn rain. I got her dressed. She freaked out hearing the rain hit the skylights in the house. We then put Hannah Montana on her boom box and blasted the house out! Only because I needed her to calm down so I could pre-medicate her before her dental appointment. I was hoping the loud music would put her in a better mood. It did for a few minutes. Until I discovered...I had forgotten to do her hair. She HATES having her hair done almost as bad as she hates the rain. I decided I had better get her med in her first. Then battle her with her hair. She ended up in tears, as usual with the brushing of her hair. Ever since she lost her hair due to chemo., she absolutely hates anyone touching/brushing/combing her hair. I've been told that some people have tender scalps after chemo...maybe so, but this is unreal. She's been off chemo since November '06. Although, before chemo., she would sit with no problem while I did her hair. Maybe there is a coloration there.

Finally, we headed out the door. I had to carry her with an umbrella over our heads to the car. She worried herself sick all the way to the Dentist all because of the stupid rain.

Once at the Dentist, she went right in and made herself at home. Scary how comfortable she is in a medical environment. I talked with the hygienist first. Then they came and took Carly to the exam room. They told me they would rather I not go back with her. Carly wouldn't let go of me. I had to pry her off me and put her hand into the hygienists hand. I was a bit uncomfortable with that. No dentist has ever told me to wait in the waiting room while one of my kids goes in for a checkup.

The dentist had me come into his office. We talked a bit. And then. BOOM! He started going on and on and on and on and on...about "special needs kids". How some are so combative and how they need to restrain them. I nearly fainted. I couldn't believe what this guy was telling me. He hadn't even met Carly at this point. How did he know anything about her? What he knew was, Down syndrome. I wrote it on her registration form. Of course, he had to jump the gun and assume the absolute worse in my daughter. I snapped back at him and told him, "Carly is NOT combative whatsoever". Finally, he caught my drift and shut his mouth.

The appointment went well. They cleaned her teeth. Did x-rays and an oral exam. No cavities!!
Which surprised me a little. Carly is not too good at brushing her own teeth, but insists on doing it herself. And, she has never been to a dentist before. Bad of me I know. Honestly, our plate was just a tad bit full the last few years. Anyway, for preventive measures and to monitor her injured teeth, she will be going in every 3 months for cleanings and an oral exam. Fine by me. I would rather make sure her teeth are getting good cleanings. We will of course have to pay for a few appointments out of pocket, but it's only $60. to have a cleaning. Money well spent in my opinion.

As far as her damaged tooth/teeth. Well, we have to sit back and hope they continue to do well. This dentist thinks they will be okay. He did discover today that her top two front teeth were also damaged during her fall off the bike. The ER didn't x-ray her top teeth. So, we now have 5 teeth to be on the lookout for. The three on the bottom and two on the top. Ugh! We have to watch for abscess teeth and rotting teeth. Nice huh? Oh, the dentist today also said that if she were to fall and bump her mouth again, it could be disastrous for her teeth. Just what a mom wants to hear. NOT! They are all permanent by the way.

They did end up putting her in a papoose. I'm not sure how I really feel about that. I mean, I want her safe for sure, but not sure she truly needed to be strapped down for crying out loud. They said she kept reaching up and messing with her mouth. It makes me wonder if that were the honest truth. She is so shy around people, I doubt she moved one single muscle during the entire 30 minutes or so. Course, I will never know because they refused to allow me in the room with her. I mean, Carly is a kid who goes in for lab work/blood draws and climbs up in the chair all by herself. She sits perfectly still while they poke her. She doesn't hardly bat an eye.

I think it all boils down to Carly having the label of Down syndrome. They think they need to strap our kids down. I beg to differ. Our kids, or should I say, my kid is not a difficult kid. She is just like every other kid out there. Sure, she may look a bit different. She may learn a bit slower, but she isn't a freak show for goodness sake. Treat her like every other kid. Not like an animal.

As we were checking out. The lady at the desk was oh so snotty. She told me that because Carly is a "special needs kid" she has to be seen early in the mornings. I said, "WHAT. Are you serious"? I could not believe what I just heard. She then went on to say, "That's what the doc said. Give her an 8:30 appointment". That didn't sit well with me at all. I told this gal that it was just too bad what the doctor says. That time will not work for us. I went on to tell her that Carly needs to be pre-medicated an hour before she is seen. So you want me to pull her out of bed and jam a syringe in her mouth and then head out the door to this place? She responded with, "yes, that's what doc said". I told her quite frankly, "too bad what the doc said. We need a time that is convenient for us". About that time, the hygienist came in and asked what the problem was. I told her before this old snot of a woman could get a word out. Finally, after the hygienist gave the snot woman a dirty look, we got a 9:30 am appointment. As we were leaving the old snot said, "we have to give the special needs kids early appoints. They tend to act up more in the afternoon". Lucky for her, I grabbed Carly's hand and headed out the door. On the tip of my tongue, was a not so nice comment that would have likely gotten me thrown out on my butt. What was it you ask? This is what I wanted to say.... "my daughter may have been born with Down syndrome and you all may look down on her for that...but at least she wasn't born with a big case of ugly like you were".

Glad that appointment is over. I'm also glad that Carly had no cavities. Shew!

My new quilty pleasure is...

A Caramel Frappe' from McDonald's!!



Yesterday, Carly and I stopped again at McDonald's. After we finished spending $ at the DMV on plates for our cars. It never fails, whenever we are out and about, Carly wants McDonald's. She likes the same thing each time. A cheeseburger happy meal with fries and apple juice. Plus...a 4 piece nugget with sweet and sour sauce. Now, she NEVER eats all of this food. She manages to eat every french fry she has. Plus my remaining fries. I too order a cheese burger happy meal with fries. I rarely eat all my fries and if I did, she'd have a major fit. She knows, she gets my fries too. We always take home most of the burger and at least 3 nuggets. She then will nibble on them for the rest of the day. Just her cup o'tea I guess.

On to the Caramel Frappe'. WOW are they delicious. This is from me, the one who doesn't drink coffee. I do admit, I love the smell of fresh brewed coffee, but in order for me to drink coffee, it has to be full, and I mean FULL of cream and sugar. What's the point of drinking coffee if you fill it with mostly cream and sugar?? So, I just don't drink it. These Caramel Frappe's are quite possibly my most favorite guilty pleasure to date.

As I was standing in line in McDonald's yesterday, a lady behind the counter was making a Frappe'. I asked her what in the world it was, because it looked so good. I thought it was some new milk shake with whip cream on top. The gal behind the counter told me what it was and then said, "hang on, I'll give you a sample". I told her, "oh no thanks, I don't drink coffee". Her response was, "I promise, you will love this. It's died and gone to heaven good". I stood there waiting on our food when the lady comes over and hands me much more than a sample of a Frappe'. She made me a regular size with lots of whip cream and a drizzle of caramel topping. Just like the one I saw her making for someone else. I figured she would give me a tiny bit, but not the case. I thanked her and we found our seats.

We started eating. I was just eyeballing this Caramel Frappe', not sure if I should take a swig or pass it up. I decided to go ahead and try it. Let me tell you ~ it was AWESOME! I couldn't drink it all. I had maybe less than half of it. I wanted to eat my food because I hadn't eaten all day and was starving. Boy was it hard not to drink that Frappe'.

Last night, I was telling Paul about it. He's a coffee drinker. After dinner, he said, "lets go get a Frappe'". Off we went. This time, I finished mine. Paul thought it was good, but he prefers his coffee hot. Me...well, I think I could have one, maybe two, every day of the week. It's my new guilty pleasure after all. :o)

Date Night.

Paul and I have birthday's only 5 days apart. The kids like it because they can get us gift cards together! So last night, Paul and I had a date night. Ashleigh and Brad gave us a gift card to Smokey Bones. The meal was great and the place was packed.

After we ate, we headed to the movies. We really hadn't planned on seeing a movie, but the theater was right next door to the restaurant. We figured we'd may as well check out show times. It was 7pm when we pulled up to the sign outside the theater. We quickly read the listings and found this one. Granted, it was rated R, but we had both heard it was a really funny movie. Showtime was at 7:05..we had to hustle. I must say, it was the funniest movie I have ever seen. I had to keep wiping tears away because of laughing so darn hard. No kidding. We laughed so hard through the entire movie. Honestly, the only really raunchy part was at the very end of the movie. It lasted maybe 2 minutes. Guess that's the reason for the "R" rating.

Although this was a funny movie and you really couldn't help but laugh hysterically through almost the entire movie. A couple of parts could have been left out and the it would have been just as funny. They used that "R word" a couple of times. I believe I heard it 3 times. Will Hollywood ever learn?? Probably not.

We rarely go out without Carly. The last time we went to the movies was to see Hannah Montana. Before that we saw The Bee Movie and Horton Hears a Who...or whatever the name of it was! We did have a nice time. I only text Ashleigh twice and called once. Not bad for me...the worry wart.

Carly had fun at home with Ashleigh. I know she thinks that Ashleigh is her second momma. Although she doesn't call her momma, she calls her "sissy". They went to McDonald's and then to the park. Ashleigh was telling us that she had to ask a lady at the park for help getting Carly out of the baby swing. She said she (Ashleigh) just wasn't tall enough to get Carly out all by herself.(Ashleigh is only about 5'1"). She said it had to have been really funny for everyone at the park. Watching this little tiny short gal trying to pull a 40# 42" 7 year old out of a baby swing. Not sure why she didn't put her in the "big girl swing"! After they got home, Ashleigh said Carly started getting worried that we weren't home. She kept asking for "dumb momma and Paul". We got home and were greeted with lots of hugs. Yes, she was still up at 10:30! She's our little night owl. In fact, she was up until midnight last night. Which makes for a tired momma!

Our date night was nice. Wish we could have a few more of them. Since Ashleigh heads back to school next weekend, we lose our sitter. Although, neither of us like to leave Carly. We would much rather take her wherever we go.