Safety Fair

We just came back from the local safety fair in our neighborhood. I was looking at programs offered by our local Children's Hospital and found that they were doing bike helmet fittings (and giving free bike helmets) throughout the city. I put it on our calendar and asked my husband to take the twins because I hadn't gotten them helmets since they were in preschool. Then when I saw the neighbor down the street teaching her kids to ride big bikes I printed out another notice and ran it out to her. Nerdy, I know, but I would have appreciated it if someone did so for me.

On my way back from an appointment I stopped in and hung out with them for a while. It was really nice. The police brought motorcycles and their bomb squad truck and local service organizations and agencies had tables inside. We checked out the Cub Scout table and the kids were given hot dogs, popcorn, and lemonade from the Kiwanis. We were even able to get i.d. kits with instructions on how to save a dna sample (which I pray that we'll never need!)

This is an annual event, but we've never made it up there before. We got to see families that the kids used to go to preschool with and the boys really enjoyed themselves. Now they're checking the yard for rocks & sticks before Daddy cuts the grass for the first time this season.

What free camps are in your area?

Search Google & local newspapers for free camps for your kids this summer. Our three youngest really enjoyed a three week day camp at our Children's Institute and it was specially designed to accomodate a variety of needs. In our area, the water treatment plant offers a camp that teaches kids the science behind purification of water in an environmentally friendly way. There is also a free camp for kids called "A Starfish can grow an arm, why can't I?" We are looking into a video game design camp for our oldest -- it's sponsored by local technology councils and is free of charge.As you go to the outskirts of our community, there are even more choices available.

For more Frugal Friday tips, go to Life as Mom: http://www.lifeasmom.com/2009/04/frugal-friday-reusable-baking-mats.html

Ways to get Health Care at little or no cost (or get paid for going to the doctor)!

There are ways to get health care even when you are under insured or uninsured. Some will only work for you if you live close to a large city, but some can apply to anyone. These suggestions are not meant to encourage you to take any medications you are uncomfortable with.



1. I'd encourage anyone with children to look into your state's Children's Health Insurance Program. It can usually be found just by googling your state name and the phrase. In Pennsylvania, all children under age 19 are eligible. For those with lower incomes, there are no co pays. There is a sliding scale for fees as your income goes up.



2. Check out the websites of stores nearby to see if they offer deals on prescriptions. Some stores even offer free supplies of basic antibiotics, while others have a wide variety of medications for $4 or less. Even if you are not taking prescription meds, check to see if any of your over the counter medications are listed. Sometimes you can get a better deal that way.



3. Look into clinical trials and studies. I'm not suggesting that you or your children become guinea pigs for questionable medications. But there are many studies that need control subjects and will give a physical as part of the screening process. There are studies that are looking at medications that you may already be comfortable with, but a new aspect is being studied. Other studies may not involve taking medication at all, but simply charting symptoms.



For example, my children were part of a study that was looking at how/why colds get passed between family members and why some children develop ear infections while some did not. This meant that the kids got very good physicals and hearing tests and then were seen every other week by a nurse practitioner. If they did develop colds or ear infections, standard medications were provided to us at no charge. I just had to chart symptoms and call if someone in the house got a cold. In return, we had nurses and doctors who made house calls and the same medications that I would have given my children had we not been part of the study. Some studies even pay a stipend for your time and effort. We did another ear infection tracking study when Daniel was an infant. I wanted him to get more checkups than I could manage with co pays and parking at the time. We did a study that was looking at ear infections in infants/toddlers and the small stipend helped pay for his diapers and a stop at the coffee shop for me.



I've found studies that interested me at clinicaltrials.gov, on posters while riding the bus, and tear-off sheets at the doctor's office. I've even found a few just by listening to the radio. If you want to be a control subject and not take a medication, search for "healthy volunteers". If you want treatment (medication or other interventions like therapy) for a condition, search for the name of your illness. I've also found allergy medication studies on Craigslist.



4. Schools and grad programs. Friends have been particularly pleased with cleanings and treatments from local dental schools. It's not free, but the cost is much lower than a private dentist. If someone in your family needs therapy (speech, physical, occupational, etc.), you may want to see if graduate students under supervision of a licensed therapist need people to treat. Try a search on the closest college or professional schools in your area to get started, then call and ask.



5. Free public health screenings. Check the bulletin boards at your library or the community events section of your newspaper. Many organizations such as the Y sponsor health screenings with services such as checking for diabetes or high blood pressure. Your local health department may have a website with scheduled events as well.



6. Speaking of your local health department, ours offers vaccinations to the public. At the beginning of the school year, they hold "catch up clinics" for kids whose immunizations aren't up to date. Some of these are no cost and some are very low cost. Our health department also offers visiting maternal and child nurses as well as support for children with special needs. Yours may have some great programs as well -- check it out!

For more great ideas, check out Works for Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family

http://www.wearethatfamily.com/2009/02/wfmw-meal-planning-helpers.html

and Frugal Fridays at Biblical Womanhood

http://biblicalwomanhoodblog.blogspot.com/

10 Things for which I'm Thankful

I was just thinking about some of the many things for which I'm thankful.

1. The ability to study the word of God on my own and understand the plans that He has revealed to us. I realize that copies of the Bible and the ability to read are not available to all girls across the globe.

2. The family that brought me up valuing Christ's church and encouraging me to make sure that my faith was my own.

3. The safe places I lived when growing up. Both my parents' house and our neighborhood gave me a sense of security that too many children lack.

4. The time that I've been able to have with both of my parents. When my mom died, I was torn between losing her for myself and my children's loss of a grandmother.

5. The good teachers that I had growing up and in college. Now that I'm a mom and in the education field, I appreciate this so much. I've tried to look up some of my old teachers to say thank you, but not all of them are so easily located.

6. The supports that made going to college possible. I do not believe that I "deserved" college through my own virtues and that other kids did not. I was blessed with the opportunity to have a supportive family and scholarships (from skills my teachers taught me). Mr. Miller, thank you for teaching me bassoon when I got bored with the saxophone!

7. Friends that I've been blessed with throughout childhood and adulthood. Even when my mom died a couple of years ago friends from high school reached out to me. I have friends now who share the same faith and with whom I feel I can share just about anything.

8. Skills that I've picked up from work experiences. Thank you, previous babysitting and nanny employers, for letting me practice on your kids before I had mine. Now that my oldest is past the age when I cared for others' children, I wish that I had even more experience. My workstudy job in college was in the Computer Center -- I was sure that would be a disaster, but I learned so much and gained in confidence as well. Even my short stints in a hospital and assisted living helped me when I needed to care for my mom. Now I am in a job that sends me to trainings and task forces that I never had to time to be part of before -- I love this part of the job!

9. My family. I'll have been married for 16 years soon to the guy I fell in love with when we were working on our college production of The Good Doctor. I have 4 boys who were wonderful babies and are too quickly becoming young men. I've been able to share with and learn so much from them and received plenty of love along the way. I hope that I'll be able to instill in them some level of the love and security my mom gave me.

10. The medical care available to me and mine. I've often thanked God for letting me and my children live in a place where both standard and specialized medical care is readily available. I've told my husband that if we ever had to move, I'm sure that we could settle in with a new church congregation and that we'd work things out for school for the kids. But what would be the most unsettling thing is finding new medical care for the kids. I don't know how I would have made it through some of the crises with out the encouragement of Dr. Chaudhari and Ann and Dr. Amy and our Early Intervention specialists. Thank you all for being there and telling me I was doing a good job when things seemed so bleak.

Planning for Summer

Well, we're in full planning mode for summer now. Daniel & Nathan went to the Summer Camp Expo with me and we found some more interesting programs. The emails to plan for sleep-away camp have started and the weeks are getting blocked off on the calendar. All of the boys will go to a week of sleep-away camp with us and we hope that the 3 youngest can get into the 3 week day camp that they attended last year.

I'm looking into the Digi-Pen camp now that Drew is old enough. I'd love to get him into the Computing Workshop summer program at Duquesne, but our school district won't approve funding for it and it's a bit (no, a lot) too expensive for us to manage on our own. So I'll keep my fingers crossed for Digi-Pen & keep my eyes open for other opportunities. Drew will also be old enough for some of the high school/teen summer programs locally this year, but I don't know as much about those yet.

I'm not sure if we'll go to any medical conferences this summer -- the one I'm interested in is right before sleep-away camp. We're not due to go back to the NIH until next year, which disappointed the kids quite a bit. They love the Children's Inn and the rest of the place as well.

I should only have to present at a couple of workshops during the break. My goals are to keep clearing out stuff that the boys have outgrown, replace the carpeting, and rearrange the furniture. It seems like during the school/work year it's just a matter of scrambling from one week to the next which is really my only conflict about being at work. I also want to put my garden in again. I stopped when my mom was sick and didn't pick it back up, so this year I think that I'll make half the previous size & only put in the things that we totally loved. Probably just basil, tomatoes, watermelon & cantaloupes, squash, zukes, & cucumbers. If things get too hectic then I'll see if we can get added to the CSA delivery route.

A great day

We are blessed to have 3 different congregations within an hour's drive and we have worshipped with all of them at one time or another. We just started meeting with the church at Eastside -- we thought that we would stay with the group we knew and loved at Tomlinson Run, but there were several weeks in the last month that we could either take the parkway to meet at Eastside or not be able to go to services at all. Eastside just started meeting in the last year and we were meaning to go and visit. After gathering with them for several weeks when the roads were bad, we realized what a weight it was off of our shoulders to cut our drive time in half. I think that if we had visited Eastside in the middle of the gas price spikes, we might have made the decision sooner. But I am glad for the time that we spent with our sisters and brothers at TR.

Anyway, Bible class and worship were both very intense, in a good way. We are studying the Psalms in class and then a sermon on what the scriptures have to say about fasting. Both parts really encouraged me to concentrate and that's just what I need. Sometimes I have trouble staying "on task" when I'm trying to make sure that all four of my boys are doing what they should. Then I feel like apologizing to God for not being totally focused on worshipping Him. Other moms can make it look so easy!

I made sure that I planned for an easy meal when we came home so that my guys could watch the game. I'd put the barbeque chicken in one crockpot and green beans with bacon & onion in a smaller one. I got everything ready for the swiss & bacon (hmm - a recurring theme here to get plant materials consumed) potatoes and the honey butter biscuits. I'd have pineapple for fruit. Before I got dressed for services, the chicken and green beans were already starting to smell great.

We nearly had a mutiny on our hands after worship. We were invited over to eat with two families, but I'd already fixed our dinner at home. Eric and I conferred about picking up the crockpots and bringing them over to our closest invitation, but we ended up just letting our oldest go -- it was to my friends' who have twins his age.

So right now, the three littles are enjoying their weekend video game/computer time and Eric is parked in front of the tv -- it's Steelers 10, Cardinals 7.

My husband is so sweet

I'm taking a class in Family Development to get that credential. I had class yesterday and although I did my assignments, my printer at work decided not to recognize me or my officemates. I tried to print at home and could only get the top section of each page to print. I know that there's something you're supposed to do when that happens, but I couldn't remember what. So I just emailed my assignments to my advisors.

When I got to class, I heard that one of my advisors would be there late in the day to go over portfolios with us. I didn't want to be there without my papers to go over and I didn't have my laptop or even my flashdrive with me. So I couldn't ask someone to print the stuff out quickly and I couldn't leave to go to the library because you don't leave this class -- they serve breakfast and lunch so that you can be there all day and get your course hours in. We just get a couple of 15 minute breaks and that wouldn't have been long enough for me to have gotten somewhere and back.

I called my husband on a break and told him what had happened. My class was being held downtown and he works about 7 blocks away. Even though he already had to leave work early to be home when the kids got off the bus, that sweet man printed my stuff out and left work with enough time to bring the papers over to my class. And it was COLD here!

He is so sweet!