So much talk and emphasis has been put on what Little Man can't do lately that I feel it's important to point out that there is still plenty that he CAN do.
In life it always seems easier (& sometimes more important) to focus on the negative things but I think it's important to always remember the positive.
Obviously Little Man has things that need working on so that's typically the topic of conversation. However, cognitively Little Man is right where he should be and that's fantastic news. It's incredibly easy to forget that because he struggles to communicate his needs, wants & thoughts.
He has his speech & occupational evals in 2 weeks and sees the neuro in 4. We're on the waiting list for physical therapy right now and next month he should be having his assessment through the school district. Fall is going to be busy, busy, busy.
And so for your viewing pleasure the posting directly under this one is Little Man talking to me.
****************
Peanut is doing really well. We still have at least one REALLY bad night/day a week but things are improving. We honestly don't think they'll take him off the apnea monitor until he's 6 months old but a glorious day that will be! LOL. I started putting him in 3-6 month clothing this weekend which made me a bit sad while happy at the same time obviously.
****************
I don't have much in the way of pictures from last Friday at Pump-it-up but it was a LOT of fun. I think we were too busy playing to take pictures, lol. The kids also had a blast at chuck-e-cheese. Speaking of pictures, I just looked on my computer to see what I had to share and I think I'm missing pictures! I'll have to look on the laptop later.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Thursday, August 7, 2008
The Savings Continue
The last post was getting long so I'm breaking it up.
Kellogg's had their $10 MIR form come out on Sun so many places are putting Kellogg's products on sale this week. Kroger's Mega Deal, which ended Tues, produced a few great transactions for me including 10 boxes of Nutrigrain bars that were CHEAP. Not bad and at the rate with which Little Man goes through them I can never actually have too many, lol.
So tonight at Walgreens I did their Kellogg's deal. I bought 4 boxes of cereal, 4 boxes of pop tarts & 2 boxes of cheez-it crackers. I also bought a small handful of school supplies & some of the Glade scented oil candle refills along with one Glade candle.
My receipt says I spent $18.95 OOP and saved $30.11. I also got 2 $5 RR (coupons to spend on your next order) and a $10 MIR to complete along with $4.40 in WAGS rebates coming to me.
So after all the rebates I will have profited $5.45 from this transaction. I'm happy with that.
******************
I screwed up at CVS in a major way tonight. Hubby & the cashier had a good giggle at my expense. However, when I came home and did the math I didn't do nearly as poorly as I thought. Now if CVS would just stock the products they advertise we wouldn't be having this discussion at all. :)
I got about $70 worth of stuff (toothpastes & toothbrushes, detergents, dish soaps, make-up and other goodies) and paid almost $20 on gift card. I left with $6 and some change in my pocket along with $12 in ECBs and a $1.50 MIR. That's basically a break even there. I got the gift cards by transferring prescriptions. Last week there was a coupon in our flyers here for a $30 GC when you transfer a prescription. I transferred 3 so I made a profit of $60 on that.
******************
Tomorrow is going to be LOTS of fun. We aren't going to be here for Diva's birthday party since we're leaving town that day. So instead we're taking the kids to Pump It Up again and after that we'll take them to Chuck-E-Cheese to celebrate her fourth birthday. Oh I'm sure we'll have lots of pics tomorrow...if I remember to charge my camera battery tonight.............
Kellogg's had their $10 MIR form come out on Sun so many places are putting Kellogg's products on sale this week. Kroger's Mega Deal, which ended Tues, produced a few great transactions for me including 10 boxes of Nutrigrain bars that were CHEAP. Not bad and at the rate with which Little Man goes through them I can never actually have too many, lol.
So tonight at Walgreens I did their Kellogg's deal. I bought 4 boxes of cereal, 4 boxes of pop tarts & 2 boxes of cheez-it crackers. I also bought a small handful of school supplies & some of the Glade scented oil candle refills along with one Glade candle.
My receipt says I spent $18.95 OOP and saved $30.11. I also got 2 $5 RR (coupons to spend on your next order) and a $10 MIR to complete along with $4.40 in WAGS rebates coming to me.
So after all the rebates I will have profited $5.45 from this transaction. I'm happy with that.
******************
I screwed up at CVS in a major way tonight. Hubby & the cashier had a good giggle at my expense. However, when I came home and did the math I didn't do nearly as poorly as I thought. Now if CVS would just stock the products they advertise we wouldn't be having this discussion at all. :)
I got about $70 worth of stuff (toothpastes & toothbrushes, detergents, dish soaps, make-up and other goodies) and paid almost $20 on gift card. I left with $6 and some change in my pocket along with $12 in ECBs and a $1.50 MIR. That's basically a break even there. I got the gift cards by transferring prescriptions. Last week there was a coupon in our flyers here for a $30 GC when you transfer a prescription. I transferred 3 so I made a profit of $60 on that.
******************
Tomorrow is going to be LOTS of fun. We aren't going to be here for Diva's birthday party since we're leaving town that day. So instead we're taking the kids to Pump It Up again and after that we'll take them to Chuck-E-Cheese to celebrate her fourth birthday. Oh I'm sure we'll have lots of pics tomorrow...if I remember to charge my camera battery tonight.............
I still Coupon
After being teased I took down the couple of blogs that dealt with my coupon obsession. However, a few folks have asked why and so I am here to tell you my obsession with couponing has not died.
Instead I will be proud that I am keeping our money in the bank instead of spending it. (Who am I kidding? You haven't seen our medical bills, lol.) I digress....I will happily allow the manufacturers to pay my grocery bills and you can too.
I have figured out the formula game. If you live in Texas and you buy your infant formula, my suggestion is HEB. I do use the Enfamil $5 formula checks for the Gentlease but if you aren't picky you can get the HEB brand for next to nothing all day long. And let's face it, most of the formula is the same because it's regulated. I'm stocking up on the HEB brand for when Peanut is a little bit older. I don't believe for a second that he'll need the Gentlease for his entire first year.
How does it work? It goes something like this.
Buy a can of HEB brand formula = $7.99 At the end of the transaction you'll receive a coupon for either $10 off the big can or a FREE small can.
Every single time you buy a can and use one of those coupons, it spits out the OTHER coupon. I've been doing this for 2 months. I'm probably going to cry the first time it doesn't work, lol.
I will also spit out coupons for Carnation Good Start Formula.
Tonight I bought 4 cans of formula: 1 Good Start, 1 Enfamil Gentlease, 1 Small can HEB, 1 Large Can HEB and paid just under $20 for all 4. I saved $30.
Instead I will be proud that I am keeping our money in the bank instead of spending it. (Who am I kidding? You haven't seen our medical bills, lol.) I digress....I will happily allow the manufacturers to pay my grocery bills and you can too.
I have figured out the formula game. If you live in Texas and you buy your infant formula, my suggestion is HEB. I do use the Enfamil $5 formula checks for the Gentlease but if you aren't picky you can get the HEB brand for next to nothing all day long. And let's face it, most of the formula is the same because it's regulated. I'm stocking up on the HEB brand for when Peanut is a little bit older. I don't believe for a second that he'll need the Gentlease for his entire first year.
How does it work? It goes something like this.
Buy a can of HEB brand formula = $7.99 At the end of the transaction you'll receive a coupon for either $10 off the big can or a FREE small can.
Every single time you buy a can and use one of those coupons, it spits out the OTHER coupon. I've been doing this for 2 months. I'm probably going to cry the first time it doesn't work, lol.
I will also spit out coupons for Carnation Good Start Formula.
Tonight I bought 4 cans of formula: 1 Good Start, 1 Enfamil Gentlease, 1 Small can HEB, 1 Large Can HEB and paid just under $20 for all 4. I saved $30.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Names I'll never forget
Jennifer Ertman & Elizabeth Pena
Fox News Story
More details of what happened to them but with a warning: it's not for the weak.
I remember this story all too well. The girls went to my HS (which I was to start that fall) so it's not like I knew them (even though I had friends that did). However, their bodies were found VERY close to someplace I would often times ride my bike at. I very much remember them planting the tree at the HS in their honor that fall.
I think we all have that moment that we must realize we aren't invincible and this was it for me. We all watch the news growing up and hear about the bad things that happen but the younger you are the less likely you are to be capable of grasping the reality of those things. This was just one of those moments in my life where reality set in. The brutality the girls endured and death. Gruesome reality that hit close to home.
My heart goes out to the families.
Fox News Story
More details of what happened to them but with a warning: it's not for the weak.
I remember this story all too well. The girls went to my HS (which I was to start that fall) so it's not like I knew them (even though I had friends that did). However, their bodies were found VERY close to someplace I would often times ride my bike at. I very much remember them planting the tree at the HS in their honor that fall.
I think we all have that moment that we must realize we aren't invincible and this was it for me. We all watch the news growing up and hear about the bad things that happen but the younger you are the less likely you are to be capable of grasping the reality of those things. This was just one of those moments in my life where reality set in. The brutality the girls endured and death. Gruesome reality that hit close to home.
My heart goes out to the families.
STOOPID Insurance Co
You read that right, I cannot stand them. There is just too much to go wrong from the point of service to billing and it always gives me a headache. I have an appeal with the ins co from my stay in the hospital with Peanut that I have now sent in TWICE and they have lost twice. So I will send it in again.
She assured me she would make sure she gets a copy of the fax so that she can personally handle it. My response, "Yeah, not to be rude but that's what the last lady said too."
I also told her I would start faxing it every single day if they don't "get it." She said, "that would be excessive." My response, "And you don't think me having to waste 45 minutes of my time every single time I have to call you to check on it and having it 'not received' twice already with no hope in sight isn't excessive?"
I've had nothing but headaches this year with them. Little Man had to go to the doctor twice in April and they somehow managed to bill that as an NP (bigger co-pay) instead of the Pediatrician. The ins co kept telling me that it was the office's fault even though they were admitting the office was using the exact same billing codes they have ALWAYS used. Fantastic. That has since been sorted out and it was their fault, not the doc's office. Took like 6 phone calls between the two places though. They have also managed to screw up the billing for Peanut's 2 well child visits so far. We're battin' 0 for 2 right now. (Which I did finally get to the bottom of today and should soon be billed correctly.)
Which brings me to today. I took Peanut in today for shots ONLY. As in, no need to see the doctor but for some reason I had to wait in the line of people waiting for the doctor. His appt was for 10:30 and we finally got the shots right about noon. Freakin' A-HOLES! lol. That is probably their way to deter us from using our alternate shot schedule. I personally refuse to load up my infant on all the CRAP in those shots at one time. He will get the most important ones first and only the brands with the least offensive ingredients. No more than 2 shots or 3 diseases at any one time. I could rant about vaccines for a long time but will spare you.
I can only imagine what kind of mess the billing for SHOTS ONLY is going to look like. I know they are covered at 100% but I'm sure the ins co will find a way to say otherwise and make me pull my hair out until it gets sorted out.
The great news in all of this mess is that Peanut weighs 12lbs 8ozs. He's gained 2 lbs in the past 5 weeks. WOOHOO! That's fantastic! Size wise he's going to catch right up it appears. There are some things that a 3 mo old should be able to do that he cannot yet do and there are plenty of others that he can. I'm so thankful that he's doing so well and hopefully we will be rid of that apnea monitor soon.
Next I must tell you that Edouard is a bust. It's barely even rained here although we should continue to get more this afternoon/evening/night. I'm disappointed it didn't make landfall where they thought it would last night.
And lastly, since you've stuck with me though my venting, here are a couple of really cute pictures.
Happy Peanut (which is starting to happen more often at least)
Peanut in Little Man's sunglasses. Too Cute.
Little Man after getting his sunglasses back. (When is this kid NOT happy? lol)
She assured me she would make sure she gets a copy of the fax so that she can personally handle it. My response, "Yeah, not to be rude but that's what the last lady said too."
I also told her I would start faxing it every single day if they don't "get it." She said, "that would be excessive." My response, "And you don't think me having to waste 45 minutes of my time every single time I have to call you to check on it and having it 'not received' twice already with no hope in sight isn't excessive?"
I've had nothing but headaches this year with them. Little Man had to go to the doctor twice in April and they somehow managed to bill that as an NP (bigger co-pay) instead of the Pediatrician. The ins co kept telling me that it was the office's fault even though they were admitting the office was using the exact same billing codes they have ALWAYS used. Fantastic. That has since been sorted out and it was their fault, not the doc's office. Took like 6 phone calls between the two places though. They have also managed to screw up the billing for Peanut's 2 well child visits so far. We're battin' 0 for 2 right now. (Which I did finally get to the bottom of today and should soon be billed correctly.)
Which brings me to today. I took Peanut in today for shots ONLY. As in, no need to see the doctor but for some reason I had to wait in the line of people waiting for the doctor. His appt was for 10:30 and we finally got the shots right about noon. Freakin' A-HOLES! lol. That is probably their way to deter us from using our alternate shot schedule. I personally refuse to load up my infant on all the CRAP in those shots at one time. He will get the most important ones first and only the brands with the least offensive ingredients. No more than 2 shots or 3 diseases at any one time. I could rant about vaccines for a long time but will spare you.
I can only imagine what kind of mess the billing for SHOTS ONLY is going to look like. I know they are covered at 100% but I'm sure the ins co will find a way to say otherwise and make me pull my hair out until it gets sorted out.
The great news in all of this mess is that Peanut weighs 12lbs 8ozs. He's gained 2 lbs in the past 5 weeks. WOOHOO! That's fantastic! Size wise he's going to catch right up it appears. There are some things that a 3 mo old should be able to do that he cannot yet do and there are plenty of others that he can. I'm so thankful that he's doing so well and hopefully we will be rid of that apnea monitor soon.
Next I must tell you that Edouard is a bust. It's barely even rained here although we should continue to get more this afternoon/evening/night. I'm disappointed it didn't make landfall where they thought it would last night.
And lastly, since you've stuck with me though my venting, here are a couple of really cute pictures.
Happy Peanut (which is starting to happen more often at least)
Peanut in Little Man's sunglasses. Too Cute.
Little Man after getting his sunglasses back. (When is this kid NOT happy? lol)
Monday, August 4, 2008
Bring it on EDOUARD!!!
hehehe, I couldn't resist. I absolutely LOVE this kind of weather and I live far enough inland & high enough up that damage and/or flooding is not an issue for us. We didn't live here for hurricane Rita (which spared most of the area after all) but were around for TS Allison. That was a doozy with the flooding and lost one car in that storm. I don't think this one is going to be bad but we desperately need the rain. I guess in the morning I'll have to double check that it's even coming anywhere near here and go pick up the few items that could become flying projectiles from the yard. So if I'm not online tomorrow, I probably just don't have power, lol. As of tonight's 10pm (CST) update we're right in line for the eye. WOOHOO!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Little Man's Assessment
Today was Little Man's assessment with the developmental specialist. It was interesting and I'm not sure I learned much. The lady is a little bit old school and a couple of things she said bothered me.
Anyhow, she does agree he needs Speech (obviously) and physical and/or occupational therapy. Because the insurance benefits are so low she recommended he have speech and occupational since some of the OT will overlap with PT. I guess time will tell. The next quest is to figure out where to take him and how much it's going to cost. I've got phone calls into 2 places and I'm just waiting for them to verify benefits so we can schedule him and get an actual eval for each individual area. Seems redundant doesn't it? LOL.
Anyhow, she does agree he needs Speech (obviously) and physical and/or occupational therapy. Because the insurance benefits are so low she recommended he have speech and occupational since some of the OT will overlap with PT. I guess time will tell. The next quest is to figure out where to take him and how much it's going to cost. I've got phone calls into 2 places and I'm just waiting for them to verify benefits so we can schedule him and get an actual eval for each individual area. Seems redundant doesn't it? LOL.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
I am so frustrated!
Normally I don't actually blog about these kinds of things, but what the Hell...
I don't even know where to begin. Let's start with the first fact...if Little Man needs nothing else, the boy needs some intense speech therapy. He's young enough to mold and teach and it's GOT to be done.
Little Man will be seeing the neurologist in Sept to determine whether or not he has Cerebral Palsy (CP). (Oh man, it looks even worse typing it than I thought it would.) The older Little Man gets the more we realize that something is different about him. When you look at all of the individual things he has gone through and been treated for along with his current "issues" CP looks like a real possibility. ESPECIALLY if you take into account his more than traumatic entry into this world. It just seems as though nobody has ever really "connected the dots" you might say.
Words cannot even begin to describe my emotions on this subject and the way that my heart breaks for him, what he's already gone through and the road ahead, diagnosis or no diagnosis.
So we've been trying to find someplace to put Little Man for speech since no matter what a diagnosis is or is not he needs it. ECI just can't give him the amount of services he needs right now. We live in a rural area and the ST is part time.
I am so overwhelmed right now and downright frustrated that I just don't even begin to know where to start. For some reason, the place we were going to take him to (which is still 45 miles one way) is going to be billed differently by our insurance than the regular speech therapy. That was going to quadruple our cost for the sessions which doesn't even include gas to get to & from. So we cancelled the appointment and are trying to find someplace else. UGH!
All of this is on top of the medical bills from mine & Peanut's stays in the hospital. In researching the issue with the billing for speech it was discovered that the benefits for Speech, Occupational & Physical therapy combined are RIDICULOUSLY low. If Little Man needs anything other than speech he is going to blow right through it and then I have no idea what to do.
On Thursday we have an appointment with a developmental specialist that is going to assess Little Man and let us know which areas he is behind in & just how far behind that is. We believe it's very likely he's going to need some occupational & physical therapy on top of his speech. How in the HELL we are going to make this work is beyond me.
I know somehow it will all work out but hopefully we'll be able to figure this out pretty quickly because time is of the essence for him.
He has got to be the sweetest 2 year old on the planet. He's cute, happy, silly & determined. He is madly in love with Thomas the Tank Engine right now and just loves to tell you all about it (even though it sounds like he speaks Chinese). I'm thinking it's going to be a Thomas birthday this year, lol. Although at this point, sadly, he still isn't going to have many people there because we won't be able to put him in MDO this fall like we planned. The money has to be spent on therapy instead.
Okay now that I have successfully depressed everyone (or is it just me? lol) here is a picture of the sweetest smile EVER.
I don't even know where to begin. Let's start with the first fact...if Little Man needs nothing else, the boy needs some intense speech therapy. He's young enough to mold and teach and it's GOT to be done.
Little Man will be seeing the neurologist in Sept to determine whether or not he has Cerebral Palsy (CP). (Oh man, it looks even worse typing it than I thought it would.) The older Little Man gets the more we realize that something is different about him. When you look at all of the individual things he has gone through and been treated for along with his current "issues" CP looks like a real possibility. ESPECIALLY if you take into account his more than traumatic entry into this world. It just seems as though nobody has ever really "connected the dots" you might say.
Words cannot even begin to describe my emotions on this subject and the way that my heart breaks for him, what he's already gone through and the road ahead, diagnosis or no diagnosis.
So we've been trying to find someplace to put Little Man for speech since no matter what a diagnosis is or is not he needs it. ECI just can't give him the amount of services he needs right now. We live in a rural area and the ST is part time.
I am so overwhelmed right now and downright frustrated that I just don't even begin to know where to start. For some reason, the place we were going to take him to (which is still 45 miles one way) is going to be billed differently by our insurance than the regular speech therapy. That was going to quadruple our cost for the sessions which doesn't even include gas to get to & from. So we cancelled the appointment and are trying to find someplace else. UGH!
All of this is on top of the medical bills from mine & Peanut's stays in the hospital. In researching the issue with the billing for speech it was discovered that the benefits for Speech, Occupational & Physical therapy combined are RIDICULOUSLY low. If Little Man needs anything other than speech he is going to blow right through it and then I have no idea what to do.
On Thursday we have an appointment with a developmental specialist that is going to assess Little Man and let us know which areas he is behind in & just how far behind that is. We believe it's very likely he's going to need some occupational & physical therapy on top of his speech. How in the HELL we are going to make this work is beyond me.
I know somehow it will all work out but hopefully we'll be able to figure this out pretty quickly because time is of the essence for him.
He has got to be the sweetest 2 year old on the planet. He's cute, happy, silly & determined. He is madly in love with Thomas the Tank Engine right now and just loves to tell you all about it (even though it sounds like he speaks Chinese). I'm thinking it's going to be a Thomas birthday this year, lol. Although at this point, sadly, he still isn't going to have many people there because we won't be able to put him in MDO this fall like we planned. The money has to be spent on therapy instead.
Okay now that I have successfully depressed everyone (or is it just me? lol) here is a picture of the sweetest smile EVER.
Three Months
I bet you thought I forgot, huh? No. I didn't forget. We were busy busy Fri & Sat but on Sunday (Hubby's big day) we just hung out and took it easy and I took Peanut's 3 month picture. On July 25 (Last fri) Peanut turned 3 months old (also 13 weeks). The next day he turned 6 weeks corrected. WHEW! LOL!
He's doing well and is sleeping better most of the time. When his tummy isn't bothering him and he's in a good mood he just smiles SOOOO big! He coos and makes the cutest noises. I really didn't get any great pictures of him for this month and honestly, I didn't try very hard either. But here is a picture of Peanut, aka "the piece of corn".
I know that often times when I've got pictures of the boys together Peanut looks dang near as big as Little Man, so this one is to prove he's not, lol.
He's doing well and is sleeping better most of the time. When his tummy isn't bothering him and he's in a good mood he just smiles SOOOO big! He coos and makes the cutest noises. I really didn't get any great pictures of him for this month and honestly, I didn't try very hard either. But here is a picture of Peanut, aka "the piece of corn".
I know that often times when I've got pictures of the boys together Peanut looks dang near as big as Little Man, so this one is to prove he's not, lol.
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