It's Official- I'm Old

We got home late from Basketball, Soccer, etc., so we turned the TV on to something brainless, that we could get involved in quickly. "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader" was our only real option. There was a woman (girl???) who was a Sophomore at SDSU (San Diego State University). I was watching and remembering my college days fondly (and remembering how we made fun of all of our friends who wound up at SDSU-sorry, I'm sure it's a good school) until it dawned on me. She is closer in age to my DAUGHTER than to me......sad, sad, sad. I am officially old.

Why Do Batteries Break?????

Why? That's all I want to know. We were already juggling 4 batteries amongst 4 Cochlear Implants (which was a feat, trust me, due to the fact that we had no new batteries charging), but now we have another broken one. I need to submit my insurance because I believe they will cover batteries, but it's just the principle of the matter. Why are these very expensive batteries not more durable. We lost the last two just by Emily's implant flying off her head and landing on our kitchen floor. (Yes, the implant flying off is a whole different subject). The plastic sliders snap off, making the battery unusable. And, they are not under any kind of warranty. My thing is if you are going to spend $100-$200 on a battery, it should not break every time it hits the floor. Yes? Good- I'm glad we're in agreement :)

I called Advanced Bionics to order two new batteries, and asked to speak to the product support people. They were on the other line, but I was promised a return call. That was 2 days ago. I know.....patience. EDIT: I CALLED AGAIN AND SPOKE WITH ONE OF THE FANTASTIC AUDIOLOGISTS AND FEEL BETTER- IT'S NOT JUST US. THAT SAID, NO GREAT SOLUTION EITHER, BUT AT LEAST I LOGGED MY COMPLAINT- SORRY FOR THE CAPS, JUST WANTED THIS TO SHOW AS AN EDIT, AND MY COMPUTER DOESN'T LET ME DO MUCH TO DIFFERENTIATE. I just had to send Delaney to school with her hearing aid only due to not having a battery for her. She's the only one of the kids who is fine w/ that (in fact, she probably prefers it, I just don't let her get away with it a whole lot because she hears better w/ both). Anyway- I'm done whining. Hopefully our two new batteries come today!

I need to go dig out a Basketball uniform, and Emily's Soccer uniform. We have a double-booked evening: Basketball from 5-7, and Indoor Soccer from 7:40-8:30. They are on opposite sides of the city (of course), and we have to cram dinner in somewhere as well. I may have to cave and get some kind of fast food tonight. We've been trying to limit our fast food consumption this year, but there are times where it's the easiest option. Bye!

Just Can't Do It (come up with a title that is....)

I decided since I am here on my own tonight (well, if you don't count the 4 kids), I would spend a little time writing a brilliant blog post. As you can see, there is no brilliance to be had. I am just not a night person (and just in case you were wondering how pathetic I really am, it's only 9:57 pm). I've been staring at my monitor for 20 minutes or so, trying to decide whether I should work on this, or finish up the girls' soccer movie. I REALLY didn't have it in me to work on that right now (although I will ask you all for some advice in a minute), so I here I am. Being anything BUT brilliant. I guess that's a sign I should work on the soccer movie.

So- here's my question to you all (especially those of you who have an affinity for teeny-bopper music). I need a couple of additional songs to go with my mini-masterpiece. I have already used the ever-popular song "Got Nerve" by Hannah Montana, and "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield, as well as " We Will Rock You" by Queen. I need probably 2 more songs. They have to be clean, and something the average 11 year old will love (and something I can stand to listen to over and over as I'm editing). Piece of cake!

And, since I know I'm going to get a million suggestions (LOL), I think I'll wait on that project, and go to bed. Too tired to think. Goodnight!

My Love/Hate Relationship With Running

In the Fall I made a decision to try to become a runner (of sorts- in fact, maybe we should just say 'a jogger'). I've never been one to enjoy running. I found it boring, and frankly just plain hard on the body. But, I have a friend who is a marathon/triathalon runner, and she inspired me. Not to run either of those, but to try my hand at a 5K or 10K. I started slow, with a mile or two, and had worked my way up to 4 miles. I bought the iPod accessory for my shoe, and w/ the help of a new Nano (thanks mom), I was tracking my miles and setting goals, and LOVING it. Until, stabbing pains started happening every time I finished running. Yes- I had shin splints. I had to put my running on a hiatus, and resort to the Stairmaster, etc.

It's January and I've decided 3 months is long enough to heal my shins. I bought new shoes, inserts, and I think I'm ready to go. I ran about 2 miles yesterday, and the shins feel great (although the rest of my body feels like it was run over by a semi-truck). But, I have added motivation. My niece was recently diagnosed with JRA (Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis), and my sister mentioned that there is a run to benefit JRA. We have made tentative plans to run it together. So, despite the pain in ALL of my body, I will know that I'm running for a good reason. To help kids like my niece who probably have some degree of pain all the time.

Now if I could just get the school district to stop delaying the start of school for snow (that never shows up), I could actually keep working towards my goal. But instead, I'll just sit here and catch up on everyone's blogs-LOL.

Check out the hair

Someone just gave me this picture from last summer: We had been tubing on a windy day. This is the result. It sure is.....BIG-LOL.

Recap Of My Day (Thrilling title, isn't it?)

Snow day- over (thank goodness......)
All kids at school temporarily- YES (of course I have to leave in 5 minutes to pick up the little one)
Gym /Run- accomplished
Laundry- 1 load down, 5 to go
Shower- accomplished (trust me, this is rare)
Blog time- I have no more time. Maybe I need to lose the shower next time (HA!)

My 12 hours (see below) have vanished! Where is all my free time?

Now That I Have An Additional 12 Hours In My Week...

I am going to spend some time updating this blog. I need to add some links, and I need to figure out how to link to things from my various posts. Yes, basic things, but for some reason I have limited functionality using this version of Safari (for my Mac). This will involve getting the newer version of Safari, which will involve getting a new Operating System, which will involve offloading/backing up of my photos and music, which.....never mind, you get the picture. This should help use up the extra 10-12 hours I have since we're on a soccer hiatus. Which is good- I was worried I'd be bored with all that 'free time'.

Mother Nature Gets the Last Laugh....

My children have been wanting.....maybe NEEDING, is a better word....a snow day for many a month. Well, this morning they got their wish. All local schools have been canceled, except for my youngest son's school, which is starting late, and is 30-35 minutes away. I'm canceling his school for him. The funny part? They had no school today anyway. It was a Teacher In Service Day, so the only people who really got a snow day were the teachers, who no longer have to be there. And the other funny part is that there is not really enough snow to even sled. My sad, sad children (who will quickly become bored). Instead of sledding and snowman building we are going to see "Alvin and The Chipmunks", which I have managed to avoid until now.

The 5 Stages of Grief....did you experience this?

I received a phone call from my mother-in-law that has just made my mind spin. While I am NEVER one to second-guess anyone's decisions when it comes to raising their children (hearing, non-hearing, Cochlear Implant, ASL, etc.), this one really has made me think about our whole experience when we found out Delaney was HOH/deaf. My MIL called me about 6-8 months ago, and said she had an associate who has a child who was just diagnosed with hearing loss, and they were really struggling with the whole idea. She had no idea if her doctors were doing what they should do, and she was very sad and depressed. She asked if I would mind talking to this woman, to see if I could answer any questions, etc. I said, of course. A week later I called her, and told her of my situation, and let her know what we went through with Delaney: How we found out, what tests they did, what tests we probably SHOULD have asked for, etc. She said her ENT had not done some of the testing that we had done, so I urged her to push them a bit, just so they would have a good handle on whether there are any structural issues which made lead to further loss, and talked to her a bit about all the options out there (we discussed Oral/AVT, Total Communication, ASL). Anyway- I ended the call by letting her know how well-adjusted and just 'normal' the kids are, and that while it is overwhelming in the beginning, I could safely assure her that no matter what they choose to do, her family would look back on this in a few years and feel much better about it all. It just takes time.

Fast-forward to now. My MIL called me again to thank me for taking the time to talk to her friend, but told me the woman confided to her the other day that they were still having problems facing the reality that their child can't hear, so they were doing nothing at the time. It really made me feel for the child (who has a pretty significant loss- not profound, but moderate to severe). It also made me think back to how we felt when we learned that our only child (at the time) had a moderate-profound hearing loss, that was most likely progressive. I remember being sad in the beginning, and for a very brief moment wondering if my beautiful daughter would ever love music as much as me, and if she'd have a prom date- I know, shallow aren't I :) But, we instantly went into research mode. We called every expert we could think of, read many a book, and talked to a bunch of parents who were in our position. We looked at the Oral program at out local School for the Deaf, and looked at the Total Communication class. A few years later, we also went and looked at the charter school that had just opened that was an ASL school.

We had AVT experts work with our daughter, but also had a Deaf mentor come to the house and teach the family ASL (until we moved out of state, and no longer had access to the program). I guess for us, action was what got us through those early years. By the time we had child 2,3, & 4, and found out they too had hearing problems, it was just not that big of a deal.

I guess the reason for this post was just to comment that all parents handle hearing the news differently, and that some of us get 'stuck' in different stages of the grief process. This parent made the comment that we were just in a totally different place than they were, and they couldn't fathom getting there. To that parent and any others that are overwhelmed, and sad or scared. Just know that we were right where you are, and even though we are fine now. What you are feeling is completely normal.

My first-born baby is now 11. We found out when she was 2. That's a lot of time to work through all the things you are feeling. The one thing we did do right away, was accept the fact that she was in fact deaf/HOH. We faced the fact that we did need to make certain decisions and choices, so that our daughter could begin to communicate with people (whether it be through verbal communication, ASL, Cued speech, etc.) I hope that this parent can get to the acceptance stage at some point.

Sorry, so long.

The Agony of Defeat......

I'm sad to report that the girls lost their Semifinals game. This will be my last soccer recap (at least until April, when they start back up again-LOL). I think getting up at 5:00 to travel up to Seattle, was just too much for the girls. That, and they played a team that wanted it every bit as much as our girls did. We arrived to the field, to be met by ice pellets and rain. The girls had all written "Believe" across their foreheads in blue ink. This would later add to the pathetic vision of the girls as they trudged off the field. They started off playing fantastic, but the other team responded to each and every goal. After two overtimes, when it looked like they were heading to penalty kicks, the other team managed to get a shot off that went in. Delaney had one last attempt at a goal to tie it and ended up sprawled on the icy turf w/ a twisted ankle- tears were just pouring at this point. I think partially from the ankle, and partially from knowing they were not moving on to the Finals.

All 12 girls left the field, tears down their faces, blue ink mixing in w/ the tears, and icy wet hair. But, they were met w/ a huge round of applause by some very, very proud parents. We all decided NOT to spend the night since the weather is supposed to get somewhat nasty today (which may have also added to the tears), but by the time we hit our lunch spot a short while later, all tears were gone and the girls were focused on the team party. Gotta love 10 and 11 year olds :)

While it would have been nice to make it to the finals, I think losing is a good life lesson as well. They handled the loss as graciously as you can at this age, and now have extra motivation for next year, which is right around the corner.

Thanks for letting me share- Gotta run

We're off bright and early in the morning.....

6:00 am to be exact. It could be worse, but that's early to have us all loaded and in the car. That said, we're all packed up and ready to go. Dog sitter has been arranged. And, we're off! I'll give you all a recap on Sunday night. The only thing that could throw a wrench in the works is the fact that there's a chance of snow and freezing rain. Hopefully it holds off until Monday, and then maybe the kids luck out with a snow day. So far, no luck this winter though so I told them not to count on it. We've been so lucky with our soccer games this month- the weather has been cold, but really pretty nice. The grand finale might be a doozy. Have a wonderful weekend!

Traveling alone w/ four kids- Have I met my match???

This weekend is the semi-finals and finals for Delaney's soccer state cup. It also happens to be my husband's National Sales Meeting- in Palm Springs (yes, warm, sunny, Palm Springs). Which means I have to get myself and the four kids to Seattle, stay in a hotel, and out for multiple meals ALONE. In a few years, no big deal. But right now- a bit overwhelming.

My solution? Lose a kid. I have called in a favor, and my wonderful, kind, and beautiful (are you reading this 'sis) sister, has offered to watch Trey. Just taking the number of kids down by one makes a huge difference in the family dynamic. I wouldn't want to PERMANENTLY get rid of one, but now instead of feeling overwhelmed, it feels manageable. The funny thing is it usually doesn't matter which child is gone- the other three always behave better. We still haven't figured it out, but I think it has something to do with the two boys pairing off and egging each other on, and the two girls pairing off and eventually fighting w/ each other. When there are three, this doesn't happen and they all gel better. In this case though, Trey was the lucky winner- a sleep over with his much beloved cousins.

Trey is the one who wakes up at the crack of dawn and wants to go (anywhere and everywhere), and somehow the other hotel guests do not always appreciate an early morning wake-up call. The others now like to lounge in bed, and be waited on until eventually we HAVE to get out of bed. Trey likes to crawl under tables in restaurants, inspecting the new gum additions, while the others will now sit long enough to eat at least some of their meal. I, on the other hand, have just learned to shovel in as much food as possible in the first 5 minutes of the meal, and then if I get more, great, if not, at least I ate a bit.

I'm now off to buy my sister and brother-in-law a nice bottle of wine. Just in case they find they need it this weekend.

Matching hearing aids spotted at hotel

We were sitting in the atrium of the hotel on Saturday, just Jake and I, having some pretzels and a drink, when Jake noticed a little boy at the next table. He said "Mom, we have the same hearing aids", and sure enough, they had almost the same exact ear molds. He was so excited, he kept coming up with excuses to walk right by the little boy. The little boy was not looking up, but his sister saw Jake and kept trying to show her brother. It was pretty cute.

My kids get so excited when they see another child with a hearing aid or implant, and I find that usually the other child gets just as excited. It also never fails to amaze me how open kids are about what they are wearing, etc. My kids have all been asked many a time about what they have in their ears, and without fail the kids all tell the 'asker' all about their Cochlear Implant, and/or Hearing aids. I'm hoping this never changes, but who knows, as we're approaching the tween/teen years Delaney is getting a bit more self-conscious in general. Every year, for each of her classes she has done a little presentation on hearing loss and Cochlear Implants. We figured it would be educational for the other kids, plus it would resolve all the little questions right away, and might even get the other kids excited about hearing technology. This was the first year she has not wanted to do it. It's probably not as important because most of the kids now know that Delaney has hearing issues, and it's really no big deal to them. For the most part, she hears well (thanks to technology), but when she doesn't her friends all know to tap her, and look right at her.

Next year will be the real test- Middle school. The year when ALL kids get picked on for something or other. Fun Fun! Well, I need to run outside and retrieve our neighbor's trash can that is careening towards our house. It's nice and windy, and we seem to be the house that attracts everyone's stuff :)

I'm off to buy our household a "Sonic Boom"

Thank you Paula for the recommendation. I LOVE the name, and figure it will take at least a 'Sonic Boom' to wake up my daughter-LOL.

Be back after all the school drop-offs

Yes, I fixed the type-o in my title.....(I couldn't take staring at it any longer)

Info needed: Alarm clocks for deaf/HOH child

Just a random thought before I go to bed. I am so tired after last night's bad night of sleep- I thought I'd fall asleep by 8:00 yet here I sit. Delaney is starting middle school next year, and while I don't mind running downstairs to wake her up, I'd love to get her used to waking on her own, at least partially. I'd love some good recommendations for alarm clocks that don't rely on sound. I'm also wondering what the everyone else has done for fire alarms. We were in a hotel in November, and were awakened by the hotel fire alarm. The kids did not budge, even with the lights flashing. It worries me a bit. Ideas?

Well, I better go to sleep before I decide to tackle world peace. Just wanted to throw those questions out there while they were top of mind. Goodnight all!

The Girls Did it!

Semi-finals next weekend (which means another trip to Seattle). My posting has been sporadic, but this will all get better once State Cup is over- Win or lose, it's all over next weekend. It was a SUNNY weekend but very cold and windy. I'll take the sun instead of the dismal grey that we usually get this time of year. The kids all did great in the hotel, although Trey kept rolling out of bed. Not sure why- he doesn't do this at home (or else he does and he just gets back into bed). I also discovered that Jake is talking in his sleep non-stop. He was cracking himself up....I wish I knew what he was dreaming about that was so funny.

I'm off to go catch up on laundry. I hope you all had great weekends as well!

Big Football Weekend....

And I mean both American football, and the futbol/football that rules our household. Never did I think (when we signed my sweet little girl up at age 3 1/2) that soccer would take over our weekends between May and February. Don't get me wrong- it's not a complaint, we all really love the sport now. In fact, we now have three children playing, but fortunately only one playing at the insane level of my oldest. I'm sure Emily will follow in her footsteps once she's old enough to play Select/Premier soccer, but for now it's only Delaney. That said, the entire family participates. We all go to every game to cheer her on, and for the most part, it's always enjoyable. I had to laugh though when my husband (who used to be a die-hard NFL fan) realized that my daughter's state quarterfinal soccer game happens to be right during the middle of the day on Sunday (Championship Sunday-LOL). He moaned about it for a few seconds, and then commented on how excited he was to watch the girls play. My how times have changed.

Four years ago: visual proof that time flies by

As I've been working on the soccer movie, it dawned on me that I haven't taken any video of the kids since Jake was a baby. I have plenty of pictures (see above), but I haven't used this movie program since then. Four years makes a huge difference- the girls have changed so much. I almost forgot that Emily used to wear a body worn CI, w/ a little backpack carrier. Her headpiece attached to her head via a really long cord, and we were constantly losing her headpiece. It would get hung up on something, and then the magnet would stick to anything and everything. I really like the BTE better. And Delaney- at this point she was nowhere near qualifying for a Cochlear Implant. Little did we know that less than a year and 1/2 later she'd be getting one. She was just coming into her own with soccer (no longer turning cartwheels out on the field, but developing her love of the game). Anyway, forgive my little trip down memory lane. I think sometimes it's nice to take a step back and look at how much everyone has changed, and how quickly it happens. Although one look in the mirror should do the trick-LOL.

Fever Free

FINALLY! Jake is now officially sans fever and wearing both hearing aids. Thank goodness. And, judging by the mischief in his eyes, I would say he's feeling back to normal. In a way I kind of miss my cuddly, quiet, sweet Jake, but that goes hand in hand w/ sick Jake, and I certainly don't want him sick. Guess I'll take him back to normal- mischief and mayhem included.

Making my first movie.....

that can only be seen at our local pizza place, of course. I was volunteered (don't you just love that?) by my daughter's soccer coach, to create a year-end movie for the girls. I really love to do this kind of thing, but the problem is I'm a bit of a perfectionist. I could spend hours editing the darn thing- making sure the music lines up perfectly with the given scene, making sure every transition is up to snuff. Last night I was up until 1 in the morning working on my masterpiece. Stop the madness. Sometimes it's best to remember the intended audience- and the fact that they won't care-LOL!

Better update later (after a few more 'edits')

I HAVE to be losing db's by the day....

All I can say is that Jake better getter over this ear infection quickly. He has been on antibiotics since Monday evening, but he still has a fever of 101. His ears still hurts to the point that he cannot wear his hearing aids, which means if I let him watch any TV (which I am, because he's been home sick all day by himself for several days, and occasionally I have to get a few things done), the TV volume is unbearable. No exaggeration, I just can't be in the same room with him. I run down, turn the TV down, and as soon as I hit the stairs it's maxed out again. Please ears....heal quickly!!

I spoke too soon (or jinxed myself...you decide)

We got up this morning, and Rob said, "Hmmm.....I can't find Trey's hearing aid. I KNOW he had it on when I put him to bed". So, we started tearing through sheets, etc., looking under the bed, and finally I asked him. Of course he answered "downstairs", as it seems to be his 'go to' answer. I went downstairs and, yet again, tore it apart, but no hearing aid. I'm now ready to tear my hair out, when suddenly, my wonderful husband strolls into the house holding Trey's hearing aid. Where was it, you ask? My 'brilliant' husband had taken it off of Trey because it was squealing while he was sleeping in the car last night. Why couldn't he have remembered that this morning before I tore the game room apart.

Jake also was complaining about his ear last night, so we gave him so drops and put him to bed. He woke up saying his ear still hurt, and he had a fever of 102-something. Yep- you guessed it. Ear infection. The poor boy has been sleeping for the last 3 hours (which is unheard of for him), so I'm expecting to be up with him during the night since he'll be nice and rested. He hasn't had an ear infection since last September so that's not too bad. Hopefully at some point they will grow out of these (please????)

I'm being recruited for a round of Wii golf by Trey, so I better go. He's very persistent-LOL!

Weekend done (well, almost)

We survived the basketball and soccer games, the sleep-over, and the birthday party. We managed to not lose any hearing aids, implants, or batteries (YAY!), so I'd say it's been a success. Not to mention, all four children are present and accounted for. Kind of. Rob actually has the two boys at the birthday party (did I mention what a wonderful husband he is?) so that I could get dinner done, the girls bathed, and type this recap (he probably didn't count on that part of it, but oh well.)

Delaney's soccer team won both games, thereby securing a spot in the State Cup quarterfinals. Just in case all of you die-hard soccer fans were waiting with bated breath. She also managed to keep her shorts up in BOTH games :) Amazing what happens when you tie them-LOL. We'll be traveling again next weekend for that game- this time of year gets a bit nutty.

After a week of lots of rain, some heavy fog, and a tornado (which are more or less unheard of here in the rainy corner of the states), we had a day filled with sunshine and warm weather (50+). Which is good, as I just heard that rickets are on the rise, so I know my kids got a healthy dose of Vitamin D. Rickets....who would have thought???

What else? I think that's it for now. I'm too tired to come up with anything too compelling (not that I've done ever done that, anyway :)

Crazy weekend ahead.....

Which means I probably won't update until Sunday night/Monday morning. Delaney has State Cup game 2 on Saturday ( for soccer) , and unfortunately it is an away game (only 2.5 hours, but still), and then Sunday is the final preliminary game, back here. We also have Jake's last indoor soccer game, followed by a team party, on Sunday. Emily is at a sleepover party tonight, and Delaney has a basketball game tonight. I really don't think we're going to be home much. However, I should have some great updates on Sunday, when we finally unload the car, and get ready for school on Monday. Why am I sharing? Maybe because it's helping me remember everything we have going on so I don't forget something......like a child at a sleepover.

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

Keeping BTE Cochlear Implant on ear....

Other than a staple gun or super glue, I'd love to know how the rest of you manage to keep your child's BTE cochlear implant on their head. This is how we've been so prone to losing Trey's (it dangles, he gets annoyed and eventually either takes it off, or it falls off). We tried using an ear mold, and it was better than nothing, but still only kept it on his head about 50% of the time. We're now trying a "huggy", which is a think piece of tubing that attaches to the earpiece, and then wraps around the ear, attaching, on the other end, to the battery. So far, I think I like it. But, I'd love to know if you have something that is really working GREAT!

Jake's birthday (yes...from December)

Broccoli, carrots, and zucchini

How do you make them more appetizing? That is my question for today. One of my goals for this year is to try to sneak more veggies into my kids (as well as for Rob and I). I realized the other day, that they do great with fruits, but when it comes to vegetables, we're failing miserably. For so long I was too busy trying to get a handle on the whole speech/hearing thing that I didn't really worry too much about expanding our food horizons. I made sure they got a multi-vitamin, and felt 'somewhat' o.k. with it. Now it has come back to haunt me a bit. Jake will not eat ANY vegetables. If anyone has a great suggestion for enticing kids to try vegetables, I'd love to hear it.

Still no implant.....seriously, how can it be lost in our house? I used to worry about it getting lost at the park, or out on the soccer field. Silly me!

Knock Knock.....

Who's there? Banana. Banana Who? Knock Knock...... (at which point I am cursing my husband for teaching my 5 year old ANY "Knock Knock" jokes, but especially the one that never ends.) Jake is totally enthralled with the idea of jokes. He tries to make up his own, and shares them while laughing hysterically. The jokes have no punch line whatsoever, yet we find ourselves laughing right along with him, wiping tears out of our eyes at the sheer creativity. Until today- I can't take any more banana jokes. I'm just waiting to hear "Orange you glad I didn't say banana" ?, but it just NEVER comes. The drive to Trey's school this morning seemed to last an eternity (well, I guess it did, in fact. We had rainy, wet roads, and there were accidents all over).

I still don't understand that. We live in a place, where it rains almost every day (it seems) in the Winter. How is it that drivers here STILL struggle in the rain? I would think they would struggle more if the sun magically came out. Accidents everywhere from all the drivers scrambling to dig out sunglasses that have been put away/hidden since September. Anyway, I digress.

I'm glad my son has gotten to a point where he is able to tell jokes and be very understandable. It is just time to expand his material. I think I'm going to go online, and look up "Jokes for Kids" and see what pops up. If I discover a good one, I'll let you all know :)

Trey's Cochlear Implant has vanished into a black hole....

that's the only theory I can come up with. I'm not giving up yet, but I'm close to chucking all the small toys we have and starting from scratch (so that maybe we'll unearth the CI). The good news is that when Em got her bilateral, she received 2 Harmony processors, so I had Trey's audiologist program her old Auria for Trey. It meant finding a new ear piece, a new head piece, and getting a new ear mold made, but at least we're up and running again.

We also found out today that Rob's place of employment is changing insurance companies. I instantly got that worried feeling in the pit of my stomach. I know what our old company would (and would not cover). So, I got online and it looks like they cover binaural implants (just thinking ahead to the future for the other two with implants, and Jake who will probably wind up with at least one at some point). Big sigh of relief!!!! So now I can not think about insurance, and go back to rooting through piles of stuff for Trey's implant. FUN FUN FUN-LOL!!!

Trey is downstairs playing Jake's toy electric guitar. Why, oh why give my children a loud, electric guitar? Although it goes nicely with the two keyboards they received last year!

Busy weekend/Quick recap

Just popping in for a minute. It's my husband's birthday today, which is always a tough one- Too close to Christmas. I always kind of forget about it (I know....that's terrible). But, we're going to have cake, and we got him a few small gifts. Our big present to each other is going to be new furniture at some point. Emily and I are about to start baking his cake.

My daughter's soccer team also had game one, of their state cup tournament. They did fantastic and (proud mom moment), Delaney scored the first two goals of the game. Even more noteworthy, was the LOSS OF HER SHORTS in her second goal. Yes, my daughter (let's just call her grace), in her moment of triumph, came out of nowhere, scrambled for the ball, made an awesome shot into the goal, with her body following the ball into the goal on the ground. Let's just say her shorts did not make the trip with her body. The coaches older daughter took a picture of my daughter's most memorable goal (and no, it will not be posted anywhere other than her scrapbook- to be tentatively pulled out before her junior or senior prom). Luckily she has a great sense of humor and could appreciate the mild ribbing she got after the game (and more importantly the huge hats off from her teammates for the great game). It made sitting in the 30/40 degree rainy, windy weather all worthwhile-LOL.

And, I'm also now looking AGAIN for my son's implant. I'm serious (thank you for the suggestion Jennifer) about talking to Advanced Bionics about adding some kind of clapper, or GPS system. It's sometimes like looking for a needle in a haystack. He insists it is downstairs in our bonus room (again!!!), but no luck yet. I think we'll tackle the cake first, so I can 'sweeten' my mood with some cake batter before tearing through all of our toy boxes.

SuperGlue: to use or not to use

This may be a really bad question, but have any of you other CI parents or wearers ever Super Glued a battery back together? A little plastic piece snapped off, and we're down so many batteries right now, that I grabbed my tube of Super Glue, and put a bit on the battery. It sticks a bit now when I try to attach it to the children's implants (and hopefully won't be permanently attached by the time Emily comes home from school). Just wondering if any other (totally desperate) CI users have tried this?

Happy Friday !

Oh, how I wish I was Samantha on "Bewitched"

And for those of you who are too young to appreciate my title, you too would be envious of someone who could twitch their nose and have a spotless home. I have a long list of things to get done, and of course I don't really want to do any of them. So, what have I done instead? Cleaned out our coat closet, straightened up the front part of our garage, took down all interior Christmas 'stuff', and completely organized our pantry. Does that give you any clue how bad the rest of my list is? At least this way I can look back at the end of the day and when the guilt sets in about what I didn't do, I can feel great about what I got accomplished. Rob will walk in the door, and I'm sure stare at the mounds of laundry covering both couches, and the floor in need of mopping, but I can quickly steer him to the pantry, where he will be in awe of it's outstanding organization. Of course tomorrow when he is looking for socks is a whole 'nother story. Which leads me back to my title: Oh how I wish I could twitch my nose and have everything done, you lucky Samantha!

Christmas Photos.....a little late, but here are a few

Happy Holidays

I resolve to have a good 2008.....

As I do every year right around the middle of December, I started thinking about what I'd like to accomplish in 2008. The same things came to mind, that have come to mind for the last, oh, I don't know, 5+ years. Lose weight, Save more money, Do more educational activities with the kids, etc. And, it's always kind of disappointing to get to December and realize you really have accomplished none of them- in fact, you've been on autopilot for an entire year, just trying to survive it. I have decided this year that the only resolution I am going to have, is to have a good 2008. That leaves plenty of room for interpretation- should make it easy to meet my goal. How hard can it be to have a 'good' year?? Doesn't have to be great, just merely good.

Don't get me wrong- I'd still like to lose 10 pounds, be 100% debt free, and teach my children Calculus, but I think I'll be more apt to make some progress without the pressure of a 'resolution' (clarification: progress on all of it, with the exception of Calculus, since I don't remember much in the way of Math, past pre-algebra at this point).

Hope you have a good 2008!

Happy New Year!

I've edited this, since I have now added my 'official' New Years post above. This was just a placeholder so that I felt like I hadn't totally neglected this blog. Thanks for the comments, despite my poor attempt at a New Years post-LOL!