The Broken Beads

Just over 3 years ago, I lost one of my grandmothers. When she passed, my mom brought some of her old bead necklaces to Gabby so she could play dress up with them. Well, over time, when a little girl plays with them, they occasionally break. A clasp breaks or the beads come apart. Yesterday, as I was working on organizing Gabby's bedroom, I came across some broken beads that used to belong to my grandma. If it would have been any other dress up jewelry that she had that was broken, I would have thrown it away but these beads were different, they were my grandma's and I couldn't bring myself to pitch them so I placed them back in her jewelry box as a memory of grandma. I love you, grandma, and can't wait to see you again in Heaven!

Out of the Water

I'm not sure if I've blogged about Carson's ears before or not but if I have, here's a refresher. Since the end of November, Carson has been having constant battles with ear infections. We have made several trips to the peds. office, only for me to tell them what is wrong with him and for them to confirm it, charge me out the wazoo for the appt. and then send me on my way to pick up yet another prescription.

By the end of February, I was getting frustrated but was trying to put trust in my pediatrician. I had asked him a couple of times about tubes for Carson but he always just kind of chuckled and assured me that once spring got here, his infections would clear up and he'd be fine. After a lot of coaxing from my mom (thanks mom, you were right, again), I finally took him to our ENT here in Fort Wayne (Ear, Nose, Throat Specialist). They did a hearing evaluation, looked in his ears (after he'd been taking a strong antibiotic for 2 weeks) and confirmed that he had fluid in his ears and that it was giving him approx. 30% hearing loss, which would be like if you were always under water or walked around with your fingers in your ears. The answer was obvious, we were going to get tubes.

So today we left the house at 6:45 to head down to Lutheran Hospital. I must admit that although it was a minor, out patient procedure, I was a little nervous. Thoughts of him not coming out of anesthesia or really struggling with it crossed my mind several times. We arrived at the hospital at 7:20 and were taken back at 7:30. once he was taken into the surgery room, we waited in the waiting room for about 10 minutes and they were back and took us to recovery. When the surgeon came out to talk to us, he told us Carson's ears were pretty bad and he had a lot of fluid in there so it again confirmed that we had done the right thing.

To make a long story short, by 8:30, we were headed out of the hospital with our little boy and while he was a little cranky, he was doing fine. We got him the McDonald's breakfast we had promised and took him home so he could eat. Once breakfast was over, I pretty much had my boy back and we've already seen some improvements. It's amazing how much better he can already hear us and how he sat in awe at Red Robin as he listened to all the sounds. He would put his fingers in both ears and then take them out and look around like he'd never heard so much, so clear at one time before.

With some concerns over the last couple weeks about the possibility of Asperger's (these concerns stem from me and things I've seen through working with other kids, we have no diagnosis, I just see things that worry me) our hope and prayer is that these tubes will change his life and eliminate so many frustrations that we've been dealing with over the last year. Time will tell but for now, it looks like he's "out of the water" so to speak with his hearing and we are so happy to see the changes he's made in the first day.

I look forward to the next week or two with much anticipation as I wait to see how his speech improves.

"We're NOT Wal-Mart"

O.k. so I just had to blog about my dentist appt. this morning. I went in for a cleaning and let me begin by telling you, we have no dental insurance so every time we go, it's out of pocket. Sometimes I think medical and dental professionals just walk around thinking that EVERYONE has this great health plan that covers all of their expenses and so there's no holding back. Well, I was also due for x-rays and when I told them I was skipping them today, it was like I shattered their world.

I tell you all of this for this reason....

Late last summer, I was eating ice cream (of all things) and had my tooth crack and half of it fell out. I immediately got it filled to buy me time and decide where to go from there. I sat down with the office manager at the dentists office and had three options, the least of the three was going to cost me $1,000 and there was no guarantee how long it would last. The most expensive was going to cost me $3,200, at an estimate. Well, I did what anyone that has to pay out of pocket does, I started talking to people and asking other dentists what they charge for this procedure. The procedure I need done is an implant which is basically a false tooth in the place of my bad one.

A long time family friend of ours, who works for a dentist, got me in for an eval. and I was quoted $2,200. O.k. is it me or is that a HUGE difference? So today when I went in for my appt. I talked to my dentist, told him that I had gotten a second opinion, with a much lower estimate (and I might as well mention here that the other dentist does cleanings for almost half the price) told him that I would like for him to do it but that $1,000 is a huge difference and here is what he said: "Oh, haha, we're not Wal-Mart! We don't do price comparisons!" And a nice smile to follow it up.

Can you believe after that conversation, the hygenist was dumb enough to say, "So what would be the next step? Should we book her an appointment?" To which I kindly replied, "No, I'm gonna need some time to think about it." and then walked out of their office for what could have possibly been the last time!

If this dentist would have tried to work with me, I may have stayed but he wasn't willing to even think about it and to that I say, shop around, do not be afraid to get second opinions! It's your body and your money!

Spring Cleaning

Well, spring cleaning has begun in the Beeman home which means, "Let's divide, conquer and get rid of some of this stuff!" I sat down and made a list of things that I wanted to get done around the house this spring. I told Brad the other night that I thought I could do most of it on my own but there were a couple things that I would like to have help with, one of which was cleaning out and organizing our attic. His response was, "Well, go ahead and do it without me, just don't get rid of my baseball cards." The reason for him saying this, I believe, is because he knows I hate storing them and think he should just get rid of them so I think he's keeping them to spite me but, oh well! I've resolved the fact they don't take up that much space so I'll just bite my tongue. That's right Brad, I'm biting it, hard! :)

So let me start off by saying that I love my attic closet. It's adjoined to our walk-in closet and has carpet and shelving. It's really nice but it gets so cluttered because we just throw stuff in there and it doesn't take long until we have to almost move everything out just to get to something. Well, I decided this past Friday was the day...I was gonna start spring cleaning and I was starting with the attic! So, I emailed Brad a friendly little memo letting him know that I would be unloading the attic and stuff would be overtaking our bedroom for 2-3 days while I go through it and decide what we're keeping. If I was going to do this on my own, he would have to grin and bare it a couple of days!

Today is Sunday and......(drum roll please) IT'S DONE! And, it looks so nice! You can walk all the way from the door to the back of the attic and get to anything you need. I feel so much better knowing it's done and even better about the fact that I was able to donate a bunch of stuff to the Burmese community here in Ft. Wayne.

Tomorrow it will be nice to cross the first item off the list and decide what to work on next! Happy Spring!

Happy Birthday, Gabby!

Gabby and the girls while
she opens her gifts.


Carson thinking he's "one of
the girls" while Gabby gets
food orders put in with daddy.

Last weekend was Gabby's birthday! She is now officially, six years old! She had decided that she wanted to have her birthday party with school friends this year and that she'd like it to be held at Crazy Pins which, in my opinion, was much better than Chuck E. Cheese! While I still felt the need to bathe both kids when the party was over, I didn't have that urge to dump bleach in the tub like I had in past years!

Crazy Pinz was a great place to hold the party. We had 8 girls, including Gabby and while I thought I had it all under control, I thank God for the two moms that offered to stay and help out! I had no idea how nerve racking it could be to keep all 8 girls together and then to remember all of their names on top of it! So, we got them set up with bowling and I think only had to call the staff over 6 times to remove balls and pins in the alley! Not bad! After bowling, we took them and got them a bite to eat and birthday cake and then did gifts. Lastly, they ran off to the ball pit which was a lot like a gigantic McDonald's playland! Carson went in with them and I was so proud of Gabby for taking him by the hand and letting the other girls go ahead of her while she looked out for him. She is such a great big sister!
After Brad and I made sure each girl was with the correct parent, we gathered our stuff and walked outside. I think my words to him were, "Well, we survived!" I was so exhausted! However, Gabby had a great time and I think all the other girls did too and that's what mattered to me! It's amazing to me that she is 6, she acts even older than that at times and I feel like time is slipping through my hands. We very much enjoy her sense of humor and watching her grow! She is so fun!

Since Saturday was her official day, her and I left in the morning and she attended a baby shower with me. We had decided that we would eat lunch out for her birthday and also make a trip to Build-A-Bear because she had gotten a coupon for a "free" bear for her birthday. So, at 9:30, we departed for the shower. After the shower, we had lunch at Olive Garden, her choice but I must say, it's my fav place to eat so I was excited! Brad and Carson met us, along with mom and Jen since they were in town for the shower anyway.
After lunch, Gabby and I waltzed over to the mall where I had to drive for 15 minutes before finding a parking spot. Once we got into the mall, I knew I was in trouble. The mall was PACKED! I am not a fan of going to Build-A-Bear on the weekend, in fact, I boycott it because it's such a busy place. Long story short, let's just say we waited 40 minutes just to stuff the darn thing but it was so worth it. Gabby was so well behaved and we just talked about anything and everything that a 6 year old thinks about! Whew! It was her day and I wasn't in a hurry. I wanted her to enjoy it and I wanted to enjoy it with her.
Every year when her birthday comes around, I'm taken back to that day she was born. She came into the world at 2:27 in the morning. Visitors came and went her entire first day of life and I'll never forget that first full night we had with her, she had pretty much slept the whole day. I think she was on sensory overload. As soon as the last visitor left, she opened her eyes as wide as she could and just looked around. It was just her and I, it was at that point that I realized that she was mine and it was almost overwhelming! It was in that moment that I realized I was responsible for something way bigger than her tiny 6lb. 14 oz. size showed at that time. I was a parent! A MOMMY!
Gabby, your dad and I love you more than you'll ever know..."To the Moon and Back!" as we say and we're so proud of you and all you've done in your first 6 years of life! You brighten our days and make parenting an exciting and wonderful journey! Happy Birthday!

Birthday Pictures

Having a happy birthday!

Gabby just doin her thing!

And now, for my apology at being so bad at posting pictures on this blog! I'm sorry! Hope you enjoyed what I was able to put up! :)

Carson opening his new cars!

O-R-E-O

You know what I'm talking about, that little chocolate cookie with that creamy filling. I'm not a huge fan of them but the rest of my family is and I hear they are really good for dipping in milk. Brad and Gabby prefer to eat them crushed on top of ice cream! Well, ever since my grandpa found out that my kids love Oreo's, he's kept them in constant supply! EVERY (and I do mean every) time we see him, he has a pack of Oreo's for each of them. It's kinda funny because we will have just run out and then will see grandpa and get a fresh supply. I never have to buy them! I have found that I like them in dirt pudding which the family also likes so occasionally, I will make it for dessert.
I love and appreciate that grandpa takes the time to do this. It's something that my kids will remember long after he's gone!