I wasn't going to stick this here, but it refuses to move! This image popped up on my newsfeed this week, an artist's rendition of "grief" - I thought it was SO good and so accurate.
Wednesday
So, back into the normal minutia that makes up this blog…
I had to drive to Iowa City today to take Ben to his dental appointment (4 hour round trip for a 20 minute visit…sigh…I hate Medicaid). His teeth are fine, but they’re telling me we need to get his wisdom teeth out before he turns 21.
Apparently, Medicaid gets a little nasty if you try to claim that after that age. So, I think we’ll shoot for next winter. I may be able to have that done in Des Moines rather than having to drive out there. Ben would probably appreciate that.
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A week ago I took Ben in for his Special Olympics physical. He’s fine. The doctor says he done growing, which I kind of thought was the case. I haven’t had to buy him new clothes in a long time. He topped out at 5’, 11” which is kind of short for our family. But that’s probably because of all those steroids he was on as a preschooler. His weight is a bit of concern. He’s only at the 3% level for a man of his age and height. He’s gained exactly 6 pounds since junior high. The dr. wants me to start piling on the protein – suggested chocolate milk at every meal if we can. He said we may want to consider some Carnation drink mixes, too. I remember we had to do that for awhile when he was a toddler. I’m pretty sure with his cp, Ben is always going to be on the extra slim side.
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We got approval last week for Lizzie’s braces. I’m very thankful insurance is going to cover them! That is scheduled in Iowa City for June 2nd. Sam also goes in for a consult with the same orthodontist that day because his top teeth are growing inward (think of a broken down mattress).
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And Ellie is having surgery July 14th for her foot. She’s had a lump that first appeared this winter on the joint between her leg and foot. It started out pea sized and is now the size of a nickle. It’s gotten darker and darker and she became more insistent that I needed to take her to the dr, so I finally did last week. They sent me the next day up to Methodist for an ultrasound. That was kind of an interesting appointment. The check-in clerk was black and she made a huge deal about how cute Ellie is. Which was kind of relieving, actually. I fear the disapproval of black women more than anything, probably. I worry that they will think I’m doing a lousy job with the hair, not dressing her “black” enough, or will disapprove of the “white” name I gave her or the fact that I adopted her at all. I really shouldn’t worry about things like that, but I do. And then, it turned out that the gal who did the ultrasound is Will’s old football coach’s wife! She immediately knew who we were. I had no idea she was a radiologist, let alone worked at that office. I ended up seeing her again at Prom Walk-in Sat. night and was able to update her on what I’d found out about the foot.
So, yesterday I had to meet with a surgeon. He says the lump is a ganglion cyst but is located in a very unusual place and he said you almost never see them in children as young as Ellie. It hasn’t grown into her tendons so removing it shouldn’t be a huge ordeal. But he said we definitely want to get that cut out. It will be a regular surgery though – she’ll be completely out. I decided to wait until July to have it done, mostly because she’s scheduled for her kindergarten physical then and I’m hoping we can combine that with her pre-op physical if insurance will let us. Plus, the kids are doing swimming lessons the last two weeks of June and I want those to be over before she has the operation.
Thursday
I had my oral critique this morning. I was kind of nervous about that. I had never accessed a skype-like session before so I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to figure out the system on the computer. And then I’d be talking face-to-face with my professor. So, I made sure to get on plenty early and was sitting there 15 min. before the scheduled time, mentally going through my notecards when his face popped up on my screen! He asked if I wanted to get started early so we did. I must have done ok because he said he’s giving me 100%. Whew! I already had a 99. Something in there already, so I’m guaranteed an A for the class now. And to think I was just hoping to get a B- or higher when I started!
I found out today that my next class has been cancelled due to lack of interest. But I can still take it. It’s just going to be done as an independent study. I think that will be preferable, anyway. This way I can attend David’s softball games and get the stuff done that I need to for Ben’s party without having to be stuck in front of my computer two nights a week.
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Sam has a new obsession – the Titanic. It kind of tickles me. I’m not sure what sparked his interest or how he even heard about it to begin with. But he’s been watching all these youtube videos about the subject and has just packed his little brain full of facts about the events surrounding that ill-fated ship. He was so excited when I happened to mention that they made a film about the Titanic 20 years ago and is asking me to rent it now. As I recall, there is one scene that involved a lady posing nude for a portrait session, so I’m not sure how appropriate it would be for him. I guess if it’s just that one scene, we could fast forward through it.
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David has some sort of notification on his phone that lets him know what national day it is. I think there is something assigned to every day of the year. Last week he let me know that “national pineapple upside down cake day” was fast approaching and strongly suggested we celebrate that one. So, we did. And then last week he announced that it’s “national weed day.” He scratched his head and asked, “Why would anyone want to celebrate growing weeds?” I really tried to not laugh as I explained to him it wasn’t the weed he thought it was. I love his innocence, particularly because he probably needs to lose some of that as he gets into adulthood.
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I was in Walgreens one day this week with Ellie. I needed to wait in line at the pharmacy and since there were people in front of me, I suggested she wait on one of the chairs right behind me in the waiting area. I finally got what I needed and I turned around and Ellie pointed at this woman there and asked, “Mommy, who is that lady?” I didn’t know and said as much and the lady explained to me that she thought Ellie had been lost and was about to help her “find her mommy” until Ellie pointed me out to her and told her that her mom was right there. I immediately realized what had happened.
Because I am white and Ellie is not the woman automatically assumed that Ellie was separated from her mom. I’m not complaining. It’s a natural response and if, anything, it’s nice that the lady was concerned enough to step in. But it’s another example of what happens when you adopt transracially. I suppose this is something we’ll run into repeatedly.
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Well, this is all I know. I went to get my hair trimmed and my eyebrows done today and when I got home I discovered that Will had finally hung my barn quilt on the garage. Yay! That makes me happy. He’s working on the basement now, getting the track laid for the ceiling panals.
I don’t have anything pithy with which to wrap up this post. So – bye for now!
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