Life with Camden!

My conversation at 6:30 this morning with Camden:
C: Mom, dshfdsjkfhkkfjwlfjk nose.
Me: What? (half-asleep)
C: Mom, sfkdfjkslfjklfjksdlfjl nose.
Me: Camden, what are you eating? 

C: Jellybeans
I then proceed to pick him up and put him in bed with us and Randy looks at him.
Randy: Camden is that a Jellybean in your nose?
C (crying): yes....

Why are children obsessed with sticking items up their noses? It was really stuck too, I don't think he will be sticking anything up his nose again for a while!

Readoption

Today I decided last minute to load the kids up and head down to the court house in Johnson County to file for the re adoption.  We went in and found the Probate office and I told the clerk what I wanted to do, and she said I need her passport, adoption certificate, and birth certificate and the court order.  So glad she knew what I wanted to do.  It took her about 20 minutes to prepare and certify everything, gave me everything back in a envelope to mail to Topeka and it only cost me $36.  The Birth Certificates are going to cost $30, and that gets you an amended birth certificate and a certified copy of their birth certificate.  So a total of $66 to get a Kansas Birth Certificate.  The kids were pretty good during the wait and the clerk gave them some smarties which they enjoyed!  One more thing down and all I have left is to get her U.S. Passport.  We got Dasha's registration back 2 weeks ago and we got our deposit back last week for the registration, which was nice.

*Edit: I forgot to state that you have to print off the Report of Adoption form from the Kansas State Vital Statistics page and fill that out also.  But overall very easy process!

One of those days....

Ever have one of those days that you just wonder why you got out of bed?  Yesterday was one of those days.  The morning went great, but in the afternoon it started going down hill.  While eating tacos for dinner I spilled taco meat on my favorite T-shirt and the jacket I was wearing.  Since we keep our house so cool during the winter, I usually wear a jersey jacket in the house.  So I went to go wash the two items.  I threw the items in the washer and went about my business.  About 45 minutes later I walk by the laundry room and hear thunk, thunk, thunk.  We have one of those HE washers, so it moves like a dryer.  I was trying to think what I put in the washer that would be that heavy.  Then it dawned on me, I didn't clean out my pockets of my jacket.  Guess what was in the pocket.

Yep, you guessed it.  My phone.  My heart just sank, it was not good.  I pulled it out and took it apart, and yeah, it is not salvageable.  Now we don't have a land line so cell phones are our only form of communication and Randy was at work.  So I sent him a quick FB message, and started searching the house for our old phones that we let the kids play with.  Luckily I found one and I am going to Sprint this morning to activate it.  Then Randy comes home this morning and the 1990 truck that he has been driving for the past 4 years has been acting up on him badly.  We don't think it is going to last much longer.  We are going to replace it when we get our tax return back, just praying it lasts until then.  Not to mention that we have been putting off $400 worth of work on my car for the past month.  Please pray that the car makes it.  We really can't have it quit on us right now!

Infant and Toddlers

I finally was able to get Dasha evaluated through Infant and Toddlers.  After 3 previous cancellations, 1 on our part, 2 on theirs, we got it done.  And she doesn't qualify.  She is a little behind in certain things, but only by a month, whereas to qualify you have to be more than 4 months behind developmentally. So I guess this is almost a positive in my eyes, as we have been so insanely busy these past few weeks, I really don't think I could schedule another thing in right now. 

Now my focus is moving towards Camden.  Now if BM's gross you out do not read on.....fair warning.  So Camden has had major bathroom issues since he was about 2, before potty training.  He usually goes at least 3 days between BM's.  It only got worse with potty training.  After a while we got better, occasionally having to use a laxative to get him to go, but when we traveled to Russia he went 8 days without a BM.  I was about ready to take him to a hospital in Russia when the deed finally happened.  It got better when we got home, but now it is getting worse again.  We went to the pediatrician this morning and we are going to clean him out, and do a regiment of laxatives and then slowly wean him off and see if that helps the problem, it will probably take about 3-4 months, if that doesn't improve the situation we will get referred to a G.I. specialist.  I really hope it gets solved soon, it is painful to see you child cry in pain just to go to the bathroom. 

CT Results

I got the results of Dasha's CT today.  The scan was clear, no cancer cells anywhere!  We knew that she was cancer free anyway due to her blood work, but it is always good the be absolutely positive that there are no issues.  They want to follow her up every 3 months with a chest x-ray and an ultrasound for a year, and then once a year after that.  So overall a great day!

Can we say Bed Head?!?

CAT Scan

Today was Dasha's CAT scan, so I got to get up early and Dasha also, we are 8 am sleepers!  I had to have her fed by 7 am so that she would have an empty stomach during her scan so the sedation didn't make her sick.  We left for the hospital at 10 and got to Children's Mercy at 10:30 and got right in.  They went ahead and did her chest x-rays and then we went to the CT waiting room.  There she had an hour and 20 minutes to drink the contrast.  It smelled fruity, and they said it didn't taste bad, but if she didn't drink it, the only other option was a tube up her nose.  Needless to say I was practically pouring it down her throat by the end of our hour and 20 minute deadline. She hated every drop of it, but I know she would of hated the tube down her nose even worse!  We then had to wait an hour after she finished her contrast so she really played well in the tiny waiting room we were in. 

We finally got called back at 1, now mind you, by this time on a normal day Dasha has already had a snack and a large lunch so she is doing extremely well.  She did see a picture of some food on a magazine and was signing "eat" to us but no fits.  They take us to a room, get her pulse ox. her blood pressure, and then put some numbing cream on her arm for the I.V.  After about 15 minutes they came in to do the I.V.  I let Randy do all that stuff so she cried but didn't throw a fit, and then they taped her arm on a little board thing so she couldn't bend her arm.  She didn't like that! 

Dasha's I.V.

Then the interesting thing happened.  They asked if I could get her to go to sleep so they wouldn't have to sedate her, so I was like, I will try but no guarantees.  By now it is almost 2 well past her nap time so I snuggled her up next to me and held her tightly so she would quit squirming, we don't rock to sleep at home, and within 5 minutes she was asleep!  The nurse came in and took her and she woke up, but was still very groggy.  They took her, we weren't allowed to go and they said they would see how it goes.  Maybe sedation, maybe not.  10 minutes later they were back, she laid there perfectly still so NO sedation was needed!  They were super impressed, so were we!  They gave her some juice and some crackers and she SCARFED them down, she was so hungry!  We were out of there probably an hour before we would of if she would of been sedated!  So we went back to the car where I fed her lunch on the way home, and relieved my mom who came up from Wichita to watch Camden for us. 

We get the results of her scan on Thursday, so just praying for a normal scan and after that we are done with doctors for the next few months!  Wahoo!

Taxes

So we decided to use a CPA to do our taxes this year since we were filing for the adoption tax credit this year.  We "did" them on our online tax software that we always use, just for reference and when the CPA did ours we were within $50 of our # on Federal, but he got us a lot more on our state refund that I had gotten.  So hopefully within the next few months we will get our refund.  We were told to expect a 2-3 month wait since the refundability portion is so scrutinized now adays.  My wonderful friend watched the kids for me so I could go without dragging kids with me, and Dasha did great.  That was the first time that I had left her other than the nursery so that is a big plus!  The best part was though when we were done with our taxes the CPA asked if he could pray over us and our family.  What a great guy!

Dasha has her CAT scan next Tuesday, and we will get the results of that on Thursday and other than more shots we are DONE with the doctor after that!  WAHOO!!!

First Snow!

So this has been such an insane winter.  We have had NO SNOW at all!  We usually average about 30 inches of snow every year.  As of Sunday we had 0.6 inches of snow.  Sunday night though it snowed a little over 2 inches!  Yeah!  Unfortunately we didn't get to play in the snow on Monday, Camden had school from 9:30-2:30 and then it is nap time, and they don't get up until it is time for dinner.  So this morning we went out and played in the backyard and they had a blast!  So after about 45 minutes they needed a break so we headed out to Target to try and find a sled.  We succeeded and got one for 50% off!  So below are a few tidbits of our fun this morning.  The first is Camden and I going down our front lawn.  The second of Dasha and I going down the front yard.  The final is Camden and Dasha going down the hill.  We are lucky enough to have a great slope to our yard and it is perfect for sledding.  Yes, we do go into the street, we live on a cul-de-sac, and hardly any cars go down the street!

More Drama

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/02/11/russia-wants-to-suspend-us-adoptions/

Oncologist Referral

So as I stated in a previous post, the kidney specialist wanted us to go see an oncologist since Dasha did not have any formal cancer treatment after her tumor removal.  So our Pediatrician set up a referral with a pediatric oncologist.  They want to do a CAT scan and a chest X-Ray just to make sure there are no little bad cells hanging out anywhere.  Now mind you, all her blood work came back clean, her ultrasound came back clean, she is very healthy.  Just being overly cautious. 

Now to do the CAT scan and chest X-Ray you have to be perfectly still, not going to happen with a 22 month old.  So Dasha gets to be sedated.  That should be interesting.  The CAT scan is set for Feb. 21st.  Randy is suppose to work at the fire station that day, but we will just get someone to cover for him that day.  The other negative, her scan is set for 1 pm.  She can't eat after 7 am that morning.  That is going to be rough for her, she LOVES to eat!

Other than that, life continues as normal.  Dasha is adjusting well, and the kids fight like siblings, and life is pretty good.

Dentist Appt.

This appt. went just about as well as I thought it would.  We waited forever, they were crazily overbooked.  So Dasha was extremely restless by the time we got called back.  They took us to a private room since she was so little, and they figured that she may cry.  The dental asst. got out the latex gloves and Dasha saw them and instant tears.  I put her on my lap and she stopped.  The same thing happened at the Nephrologist appt.  the minute the gloves come out she tears up.  There has to be some negative memory concerning those gloves.  So then the dentist came in and he put ON the gloves, then more tears.  They had her sit on my lap in the chair, and he did get her to open so he can look.  Not too hard to do though when she is crying her heart out.  He did a quick exam, and stated that her teeth look good, no cavities, so that is good.  They gave her a balloon and a toothbrush and she was in HOG HEAVEN after that.  They want us to come back in 6 months to try to do a cleaning.  So hopefully she will lose those bad memories by then!

We also went to the courthouse to try to apply for Dasha's re adoption.  We live in the poorest county in KS, and only live there out of obligation.  They county has a residency requirement for city employees.  Over half of Wyandotte Co. lives below the poverty line, so foreign adoption is not very common in our county.  So they told us that we had to go hire an attorney etc.  File all kinds of forms etc. and this was straight from the judges mouth who should know the law concerning re adoption.   I told them that the state website says that it is a 1 page form.  They stated that the state was wrong!  So we left and contacted the state, they told us to go to the Johnson Co. Courthouse and that the Wyandotte Co. people had no clue what they were talking about.  So we called Johnson Co. the richest county in the state, just south of us, and they said, yep, this is what you need, a one page form, the fee is $36.  Only hitch is we need her passport and Dasha's is still out for her registration.  So we need that back before we can apply for her new birth certificate.

In other news, her hair is looking SO much better.  We went to see a friend last night and they had seen Dasha before we got her hair cut, and they were so impressed with how much better her hair was.  She is adding more and more words.  Still mostly on her terms.  She seems to be attaching well.  She will not go to people that she doesn't know.  She will instead run and cling to my legs.  She still gets very quiet in new situations, but is doing well.  Sleeping at night and during nap time is also going well.

Little bit of this, little bit of that...

Today we went back up to Children's Mercy for her hearing test.  She did great during this visit.  No crying, no whining, all was good.  She is not responding as well as they would like in her right ear, so we have to go back in 6 months for another test.  She did pass, but just slow responses on her right side. 

Veggies, we love green beans, etc, but we are now trying to learn to like carrots.  Yeah, she doesn't like them so much.  If they are mixed in food she eats them because she doesn't take the time to pick the carrots out, but just giving her a raw carrot is a little more difficult.  So what I have been doing is putting her in her high chair, and giving her the carrots, and then going to make her meal.  Usually by the time I get her meal ready, the carrots are gone.  If not I set her plate on the table so she can see it, and the carrots disappear quickly after that! 

I finally have a child who like PB&J!  Wahoo!  I can't get Camden to eat sandwiches period, so I thought I would try with Dasha.  She loves them!  Wahoo!

Sleeping, we are great in that department now.  I have even removed the nightlight, no issues at all.  I play music at night still, but I have always played music for Camden.  Classical, hopefully they will learn to appreciate classical music through osmosis! 

Behavior, overall is pretty good.  Except for Sundays.  Every Sunday is the same, horrible fits after her staying in the nursery.  I am usually on my own, so if I want to enjoy church, the nursery is the answer.  She is great for them, but is pretty horrible for me the rest of the day.  Oh well, I guess one day a week isn't too bad. 

Randy's work, he is on day 4 of a 5 day in a row work stint.  Which means the kids don't see him at all for 5 days straight.  This is the last one until the middle of March though, so hopefully we can continue this new trend when he sets up his next work schedule for the hospital.  5 days in a row is really hard on me, I am just exhausted by the end of the 5 days.  I give ultimate credit to single moms and to military moms.  I don't know how they do it.

Nephrologist Appt.

So today we went to Children's Mercy to meet with a Nephrologist.  We had a nice bright and early appt. at 8:15 in the morning.  Never again will I do an appt. that early in the morning.  I had to get the kids up way to early to get them ready so that we could be downtown in time.  So we get there, get signed in and get right in.  I was curious about how she was going to react since just last week she got to experience her first shots. 

Since she only has one kidney they needed to get a "sample", that was interesting.  As soon as we started getting Dasha undressed she immediately started crying.  I guess the shots ruined the doctor for us!  So they attached a bag to her skin to catch a sample so they can test for protein etc.  We went over medications that she is on, and then we saw the intern.  The intern did the main exam, checked her over, and said she looked very healthy.  Every doctor has said that her ears are full of junk, hopefully when we go to the Audiologist on Monday they might clean her ears out.  So then the main doctor came in and examined her, said that she looked good, but sent us down to radiology for an ultrasound.  We have to go back in 6 months for a follow-up, and then every year after that.  He did give us a list of things that she shouldn't do, i.e. dangerous sports, etc.  We did at the end get the sample they needed, and removing it was just about as emotional as putting it on.  Luckily Randy was there today to help!

Down in Radiology she got pretty nervous and started pouting but the tech. was very good and made a game out of it, and they stated that her remaining kidney is good!  They are giving us a referral to a pediatric oncologist just to cross out t's and dot our i's since Dasha had no chemo or radiation after her tumor removal. 

Because of how long we were there we missed our speech evaluation, so I have to call and reschedule that, but oh well!  Overall a good day!

Annalisa 15H

Every year for my birthday my parents instead of buying me a present, they give me money and let me get what I need. I really kinda appreciate this gesture, that way I can get what I need. So this year I was contemplating, clothes, pedicure, etc. Then I was perusing the Internet one night and I ended up on Reeces Rainbows website. I have always had a heart for children with Downs Syndrome. Now I am not sure if I would be the best match for a child with Downs, but they are some of the sweetest children that you can meet. I was searching through the girls 0-2 with Downs and they are all beautiful children, but this little girl just caught my eye. She looks so happy and such a beautiful little girl. Her name is Annalisa and there is a link below her picture and you can go to her page and read more about her. I instantly knew what I was going to do my birthday money this year. I don't need any new clothes right now, I am a stay-at-home mom, I live in sweatpants and t-shirts. :-) I don't need a pedicure, my feet are enclosed in socks for at least 2-3 more months. Unless this "winter" continues as it has been. My feet might see the light of day a little earlier than usual. But still I don't "need" a pedicure. Annalisa NEEDS a family! She already has a great scholarship fund. I am going to add to it to make sure she gets the family she needs. My challenge to you, find a child and sponsor them, one that speaks to your heart as she spoke to mine. 



http://reecesrainbow.org/19041/annalisa-15h