Guest Post from Nic

Ellie, I just read a story about a 12 year old Maryland boy who died from an infected tooth....you should post about that.

What a tragedy. My heart goes out to that poor boy. Nobody should have to go without care for their teeth because they are a poor family. What a shame. Here's some snippets of the article below

For want of a dentist
Maryland boy, 12, dies after bacteria from tooth spread to his brain
Deamonte Driver, aged 12, is shown with his mother, Alyce, at Children's Hospital in Washington, D.C., after emergency brain surgery.
• Most • Most viewed on MSNBC.com
By Mary Otto

Updated: 17 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Twelve-year-old Deamonte Driver died of a toothache Sunday.

A routine, $80 tooth extraction might have saved him.

If his mother had been insured.

Story continues below ↓


If his family had not lost its Medicaid.

If Medicaid dentists weren't so hard to find.

If his mother hadn't been focused on getting a dentist for his brother, who had six rotted teeth.


• More national coverage

By the time Deamonte's own aching tooth got any attention, the bacteria from the abscess had spread to his brain, doctors said. After two operations and more than six weeks of hospital care, the Prince George's County boy died.

Deamonte's death and the ultimate cost of his care, which could total more than $250,000, underscore an often-overlooked concern in the debate over universal health coverage: dental care.

Some poor children have no dental coverage at all. Others travel three hours to find a dentist willing to take Medicaid patients and accept the incumbent paperwork. And some, including Deamonte's brother, get in for a tooth cleaning but have trouble securing an oral surgeon to fix deeper problems.

In spite of efforts to change the system, fewer than one in three children in Maryland's Medicaid program received any dental service at all in 2005, the latest year for which figures are available from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

You know, I think it is a shame that there dental wasn't covered. Even if it was, I am curious as to how much Medicaide does cover. I know that I get $1000 a year with the dental plan we have. Dental really is for most people an out of pocket expense. To deny children any kind of coverage is ridiculous. Especially since children cannot fend for themselves. I am furthermore curious as to why this mother has all her children's teeth rotting out. Do they not brush their teeth. I know that brushing and flossing can't prevent everything, but 6 rotting teeth on the other child? I wonder how much the mother fought for her coverage as well. It is a shame that in the US, it is the in your face tactics that win more than anything.

I feel for the mother and I certainly think that her situation needs to be reviewed, however I don't think that the entire blame can be placed on the healthcare and dental care system. I certainly hope that her other son gets the dental work he needs. I couldn't imagine losing a child like that.

uh oh

okay ya'll... I know I have been slacking on the posting lately. Guess the pregnancy has my brain in a twist. I was admitted to the hospital yesterday for dehydration. I am okay and baby is okay. I am home now, but taking it easy. I don't think I will be posting for a day or two. Kinda sucks cuz I have lost some of my readers already. I hope that once I am up in full force again, they will come back.
Thanks to all that keep sticking around!

A Child Protective Services No No!!!

So earlier this week I was informed that my daycare provider had a complaint filed against her. A parent that leaves their daughter in daycare from 6:45 am to 5:30 pm everyday noticed a bump on her childs forehead 5 hours after she picked her up from daycare. A 7 month old who has a quarter size mark on her forehead...and you don't notice it until 10:30 at night. In which at that time you rush her to the hospital and have pictures taken and claim that your daycare provider beat her.

Nice.

I understand and respect the need to investigate every claim. Especially when it comes to a daycare provider in charge of several children. However, the woman didn't stop there. She called child protective services. Nicky has a child of her own. Without even talking to Nicky she went commando and pulled out all the stops to get her lisence taken away and effect the parenting of her own child. What REALLY pisses me off about the entire situation is that Child Protective Services tried to interview my 2 year old without my permission or my presence. WTF??? Nicky let her interview her daughter and the questions asked were not 'how does mommy interact with the other children?' they were 'do you ever see mommy hit the other babies?'!!!! Isn't that the power of suggestion? Then to try to interview MY CHILD with questions about child abuse. He is two..he knows that when the word no is used...it is negative..so he would probably say yes to everything in order to please. It was like this woman wanted to skip a step to make her day easier. Then when Nicky said she wasn't allowed to interview the other children w/o parental consent the woman suggested that Nicky not inform the parents.

You wait until I get in touch with that woman's supervisor!

Britney Attacks Paparazzi

And I say Good for her. I know I know, Brit has put herself is a slight situation. BUT in her defense...she was trying to see her children. Paparazzi were all over the car. She was upset. She BEGGED 'please please don't do this"! They kept snapping away..so she flipped out. Even got a good hit on one of the photogs. I know she is famous and there is a certain expectation of Paparazzi, but when they are on you night and day and won't let up and you beg and plead..what is she supposed to do. The re-hab she was at said that there were hundreds of photo hogs camped outside and helicopters flying over trying to get a snap shot.

I say leave her alone and let her get healthy damn!

for a link to the video go here -> http://britneyspears.hollywood.com/

Husband....is really the smart one

So after months of being sick, I was feeling rather good on Saturday. So I thought it would be the perfect time to go shopping. I hadn't been in months, needed some maternity wear. So off to the mall the family went. I got a new small wardrobe, my son got some new cloths and we all got some shoes. I was having so much fun. I said to hubby "If there is anything you want now is the time to get it cuz I am in the mood to shop!" ...what do we come home with...

A 50" Dlp Samsung television!

Hubby is slick! he had a way of convincing me that the television was REALLY for me...uh huh!

She lost her hair....what about her mind?

Britney Spears has apparently shaved off all her hair in the middle of a nervous breakdown.

I hope her family seriously intervenes. She checked herself into and then less than 24 hours later out of rehab...so she must know that she is going through something.

If she wants any kind of hope...girl better get help now!

Shout out to Brit's family....'WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?"

Harry Potter Naked / So Wrong!

Okay...so Daniel Radcliffe is doing some play where he is on stage for a full 10 minutes naked. I could understand that..to an extent. (It's art..blah blah blah) I understand the need for Daniel to want to grow up in the public eye. But dearie..you are still a boy. There are a ton of promo pics circulating with him naked laying with a horse, and pics of his nude backside. My biggest issue with this is, he is not yet 18. Which means that people could technically use his photos for kiddie porn. They could have waited till June or July ...whenever the hell his birthday is.

PLUS...he is Harry Potter. The last movie isn't yet out...my kid doesn't need to see him naked!

What is wrong with people?

so sad

Anna Nicole Smith died today. I sure hope she has finally found peace.

Are we ready United States? Finally?

So you have a choice, and yes there are choices other than Barack Obama & Hillary Clinton, BUT, they are the talk of the town. The question is if the United States is ready for a Black President or a Female President? I have no real issues with Barack Obama, other than he is a Democrat. BUT Hillary....hmmmm I have a small list.... One of my biggest concerns with a Female President is will she be able to make the best military decisions, especially if she has no military experience?

Personally, I don't care if the president is a purple & yellow hermaphrodite, I just wanna know they can do the job!

The purpose driven life

This topic just won't go away for me...so I had to post. Even if you aren't religious, you have to think somewhere along the line that there is a purpose for you in life...it's what keeps us going. To be stuck on earth with nothing to do or accomplish would eat away at you. I often used to wonder why God put me here. Nothing in my life ever went right. I was shuffled from one parent to another and back again. I never got what I wanted, I was never trusted, and I always had to work for everything I ever wanted or needed. I used to wonder what the hell my purpose was. Then one day soon before my wedding, it hit me. I wasn't doing what I wanted in work, I hadn't cured cancer or won a Nobel prize, but maybe my purpose was something a little simpler.

Peace.

Just to finally get it right for once. I come from a long line of broken homes and divorced families. In my family there is a history of alcohol, physical and sexual abuse, suicide. (not my parents, but theirs and theirs before). My parents tried to get it right, but it just didn't work. So I spent most of my weekends being shuffled about and getting an ear full of bickering each time. I have never wanted anything more in this life other than a stable home, someone who loves me and I love them, and stability for my children. It's as simple as that. I need to get it right, so that hopefully the chain will end with me. I rather like that concept. I can recall a conversation with my dad once where he asked me If I knew what I was meant to do in life. I had answered "no Dad..do you?" and he simply said what I had already known "Your the one who is gonna get it right in life". Simple as that.

If you had a purpose in this life, what do you think it is?

My Lunch Today

Just an FYI... Today I had for lunch:

Southwest Salad from Chick*fil*a with Ranch and Spicy dressing
Small Criss Cross Fries
Cole Slaw
Large Iced Tea
Fruit Salad
Pringles

yum yum

That time of year again!

You know I remember as a kid, my father, every year, grabbing his breifcase with the look of a mission on his face and locking himself behind closed doors for hours. I would watch in awe as he would scratch his head, chew his pencil, cuss the breifcase out, and make weird gestures and faces to thin air. It was well known to leave dad alone during this time...tax time. I used to be really scared about when I would finally have to start doing my taxes. But to tell you the truth, I have been doing them since I was 14 and have never had a problem. Granted when I was 14 I didn't have much to do except sneak into that closed room and pass the w-2s to daddy, but when 16 hit I was living with my real father and decided that I wanted the refund. So I started doing my own taxes. For the most part I always owed state. I could never see how cuz I was a full time student and didn't makes squat. But state always seemed to punish me.

So this year I sat down yesterday to pound out the numbers. When I calculated my w-2's with hubby's, I almost fell out of my chair. I couldn't believe how much we made in income. So I stare at the turbo tax and see a negative $5100 that I owe just in Federal alone. I try not to look at the upper left hand corner of the screen b/c it goes down once you start plugging in your deductions and donations. Lucky Hubby and I are generous people. With all our deductions and the extreme amounts of donations we gave last year, that -$5100 turned into a +$3500. Whew...that was a close one. It always reminds me how much I really love tax time. I always get them done right away and almost always get a little moolah back. Now...to pay that damn credit card off!