"Flickr? I hardly know her"
Now that we've got that nonsense out of the way...
I signed up and got myself a Flickr account. Because? All the cool people (i.e. Betsy) have one. And it's free. And so very cool. And pretty much fool proof. Plus it lets me put pretty pretty pictures on my blog. So YAY!
My Flickr pictures (feel free to go peek)
Saturday, April 30, 2005
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
This house hates us
Ok, so this house? Totally hates us. With the white hot passion of a thousand suns. Apparently this house only adores Rusty's mom and that love does not extend to her offspring. And get this (this makes things even more exciting), the hatred is spreading. Now the yard is getting into the act.
The house apparently made a deal with the lawn mower:
House: "Bwa ha ha ha ha ha... Lawn mower, thall shalt stall at least 15 times while the lawn is being mown. "
Lawn Mower: "Yes, master. Yesss, maaaa-ster."
House: "And just for kicks, when the evil homeowner tries to restart you for the 16th time? Thou shalt go all out. Let them have it!"
Lawn Mower: "I have the perfect plan..."
And since I had no part in this conversation, I had no previous knowledge of the stupidity that was about to be unleashed upon me as an unsuspecting, law abiding, lawn mowing citizen:
Me: [Mowing along]
Lawn Mower: [stall]
Me: [Restart mower]
** Repeat this 14 more times **
Lawn Mower: [stalls for the 16th time]
Me: "...the hell?" [pulls handle-on-a-string that starts lawn mower]
** Handle-on-a-string that starts lawn mower comes completely, all the way, out of lawn mower and lands across the yard **
Lawn Mower: "Ha ha ha ha ha. You lose."
The house apparently made a deal with the lawn mower:
House: "Bwa ha ha ha ha ha... Lawn mower, thall shalt stall at least 15 times while the lawn is being mown. "
Lawn Mower: "Yes, master. Yesss, maaaa-ster."
House: "And just for kicks, when the evil homeowner tries to restart you for the 16th time? Thou shalt go all out. Let them have it!"
Lawn Mower: "I have the perfect plan..."
And since I had no part in this conversation, I had no previous knowledge of the stupidity that was about to be unleashed upon me as an unsuspecting, law abiding, lawn mowing citizen:
Me: [Mowing along]
Lawn Mower: [stall]
Me: [Restart mower]
** Repeat this 14 more times **
Lawn Mower: [stalls for the 16th time]
Me: "...the hell?" [pulls handle-on-a-string that starts lawn mower]
** Handle-on-a-string that starts lawn mower comes completely, all the way, out of lawn mower and lands across the yard **
Lawn Mower: "Ha ha ha ha ha. You lose."
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Being Mom is hard
Holy crap, people. What a week. Last week, Liam's doctor acknowledged that some of our concerns for the short man (a.k.a. Liam) may be symptomatic of borderline autism or one of the other conditions under the "Autistic Spectrum". We can't get an appointment anywhere in the metro Washington DC area before mid-September. We're scheduled for September 12 at Children's National Medical Center. At least they were nice. One other place told me how important they were before they said they couldn't schedule Liam until October. The other place told us we could fill out their packet and they'd get back to us to let us know if they would see Liam.
This? This is not gonna fly with us. Liam starts first grade in a new school in the fall. PG County has yet to decide who will staff that new school. We're lucky because a lot of the kids in Liam's class will be switching to the new school as well. But it's still a change -- a new building, new way of doing things, new grade... and "new" isn't really Liam's friend. Unless he can be prepped way ahead of time. Which is why we're all "Woo HOO! A new school? That's great! Yay, fun, good times!" I'm not sure he's fooled, but he's not freaking out either.
Back to our current situation. Our doctor? She's great. Very reassuring. Doesn't think Liam is dealing with any hard core issues but suspects something mild that will just need to be slightly adjusted for him to make it through school ok. She's totally supporting the idea of getting this assessment done before school starts and encouraged us to go where ever we need to to get that done. So. I went old school. Having grown up in Cincinnati I know the caliber of Cincinnati Children's Hospital. My sister is a researcher there (Nephrology rocks!). So I called the Kelly O'Leary Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders . I wasn't sure what to expect as Cincinnati Children's Hospital is a top hospital. I'm so glad I called.
First of all, the woman I talked to - June - was incredibly reassuring. She couldn't tell me enough about the wonderful people there. She explained the process, she went over the paperwork, when I mentioned the irony in our move from Cincinnati and now we're having to head back for something like this she told me that God exposes things and brings them to light in His time. What?!
I, of course, burst into tears.
Our doctor took care of the referral today and Cincinnati Children's is sending the paperwork out next week. They will schedule Liam's assessment for sometime in July most likely. If they decide he needs to see anyone else to assist in the diagnoses, they will try to schedule it for that day so we don't have to make another trip out there. They will take care of pre-authorizing everything with our insurance company so we don't have to. They have a form for us to fill out in case our insurance doesn't cover it all. We will get 0-100% financial help after they review the form. If we don't get help, we still get placed on a billing plan just for filling out the form. Most importantly is that no one Liam deals with will look like "a doctor" (aside from possible lab work that would need to be done). No white coats or other "something-must-be-wrong-with-me" inducing props. As far as he knows, Liam will be there to play games and have fun while Mommy and Daddy and one of their "friends" watch and talk.
That about sums it up for now. Oh, each of the boys have ear infections in both ears and I haven't had a night of uninterrupted sleep since last Thursday.
This? This is not gonna fly with us. Liam starts first grade in a new school in the fall. PG County has yet to decide who will staff that new school. We're lucky because a lot of the kids in Liam's class will be switching to the new school as well. But it's still a change -- a new building, new way of doing things, new grade... and "new" isn't really Liam's friend. Unless he can be prepped way ahead of time. Which is why we're all "Woo HOO! A new school? That's great! Yay, fun, good times!" I'm not sure he's fooled, but he's not freaking out either.
Back to our current situation. Our doctor? She's great. Very reassuring. Doesn't think Liam is dealing with any hard core issues but suspects something mild that will just need to be slightly adjusted for him to make it through school ok. She's totally supporting the idea of getting this assessment done before school starts and encouraged us to go where ever we need to to get that done. So. I went old school. Having grown up in Cincinnati I know the caliber of Cincinnati Children's Hospital. My sister is a researcher there (Nephrology rocks!). So I called the Kelly O'Leary Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders . I wasn't sure what to expect as Cincinnati Children's Hospital is a top hospital. I'm so glad I called.
First of all, the woman I talked to - June - was incredibly reassuring. She couldn't tell me enough about the wonderful people there. She explained the process, she went over the paperwork, when I mentioned the irony in our move from Cincinnati and now we're having to head back for something like this she told me that God exposes things and brings them to light in His time. What?!
I, of course, burst into tears.
Our doctor took care of the referral today and Cincinnati Children's is sending the paperwork out next week. They will schedule Liam's assessment for sometime in July most likely. If they decide he needs to see anyone else to assist in the diagnoses, they will try to schedule it for that day so we don't have to make another trip out there. They will take care of pre-authorizing everything with our insurance company so we don't have to. They have a form for us to fill out in case our insurance doesn't cover it all. We will get 0-100% financial help after they review the form. If we don't get help, we still get placed on a billing plan just for filling out the form. Most importantly is that no one Liam deals with will look like "a doctor" (aside from possible lab work that would need to be done). No white coats or other "something-must-be-wrong-with-me" inducing props. As far as he knows, Liam will be there to play games and have fun while Mommy and Daddy and one of their "friends" watch and talk.
That about sums it up for now. Oh, each of the boys have ear infections in both ears and I haven't had a night of uninterrupted sleep since last Thursday.
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Liam
See this face? This face belongs to a little boy who is smart, funny, sensitive, friendly, athletic and incredibly sweet. This little boy may also be borderline autistic. Please keep us in your prayers.
Thursday, April 07, 2005
Festival of Colors
Residents dance as colored water falls on them as they celebrate Rangpanchami, the Hindu festival of colors, in Bhopal, India. (photo from CNN.com)
What can you say about that? It's gorgeous.
What can you say about that? It's gorgeous.
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
My Pretty Kitchen
Look at my kitchen. Isn't it nice?
I know you are all jealous. You know you want tar on your floor and drywall dust on every single item you own -- admit it! Maybe one day, with a lot of hard work and a little luck, you too can have a kitchen just like mine.
Also? Don't the little kid chairs make the table look all giant-y?
I know you are all jealous. You know you want tar on your floor and drywall dust on every single item you own -- admit it! Maybe one day, with a lot of hard work and a little luck, you too can have a kitchen just like mine.
Also? Don't the little kid chairs make the table look all giant-y?
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