We lost our  first and second appeals to our former health insurance company, so Little A has not had any therapy for seven months.  Said insurance company is also dragging its heels on paying the home health company for services rendered, so that company is not willing to continue working with Little A–even though we have a new insurance company who will pay for up to 60 visits per calendar year (which isn’t a lot, but better than the nothing she is getting right now.)  I am in the process of filing a complaint with the Texas Department of Insurance, and am gathering documents when I can find the time.  I’m also filing a complaint against the home health company because this entire situation is their fault.  Moving on…

 

Little A is now off her feeds for ten hours a day, so she is actually beginning to feel hunger and indicate that she wants to eat.  She mostly eats pureed foods and baby food, with some teething cookies and biscuits thrown in so she can learn to bite and chew.  She’s got the biting down, still trying to figure out the chewing, and now we’ve added drinking from a cup to the mix.  She refuses the sippy cup, wants to drink whatever it is we have in our glasses, and hasn’t yet figured out how to keep liquid in her mouth and not let it dribble out.  Hoping that the feeding therapist we’ve found will be able to help with that, and that she is able to begin working with Little A soon.

We’ve had to have two of Little A’s specialists fax Compounding Exception forms to our new insurance company, hoping they will grant the exception and cover these medications so we no longer have to pay so much for them and so we won’t have to switch her medications.  Please pray for my sanity because this experience has not been fun and is beginning to leave me short-tempered. Not cool. I know that in the grand scheme of things, our family does not have it so bad.  But I would LOVE to go back to being that family that never has issues with their health or their insurance. That would be great.

There are other, good, things happening in our lives. Chris and I have switched to a ketogenic lifestyle, with intermittent fasting, and the results have been good for both of us.  What this means is that we eat one meal a day (or separate it into one meal and a small snack) that is high in fat but low in carbohydrates, and squeeze most of our calories for the day into that meal.  Our fasting window is 18 hours, with six hours in which we can “eat our calories”.  I love it!   While I’ve only lost seven pounds so far, Chris has lost sixteen.  We both feel great, and seem to have more energy than before (of course we do! We aren’t eating sugar or carbohydrates!).  We keep track of our food and beverage intake using the MyFitnessPal app, and since we both have Apple watches we use the health app to track our steps and calories burned…and share it with each other to keep us honest and focused.

I have also been selling (and buying!) like crazy through the Kidizen, Poshmark, and Mercari selling apps.  If you don’t know what these are, check them out! It really is addicting, and I love the whole “let’s make a deal” feel to it.  I’ve had a couple of bad experiences, but mostly good ones.  I’ve sold a bunch of Little A’s unused or gently worn clothing and toys, which has allowed me to purchase new clothing for her.  She now has more clothing than her father and I together, and I am to blame.  Who knew that buying children’s clothing could be so fun and time-consuming??? It’s also allowed me to be able to set money back for her second birthday party, which is coming up in a few weeks.  CanNOT believe my baby girl is about to be 2 years old…where has the time gone?

I’ve also discovered this product called LipSense. Have you heard of it? It’s amazing!!! It’s lipgloss that literally lasts all day long…as long as you use the clear gloss on top of the colored gloss and reapply often.  But I love it! So far I only have one color, as they are $25 apiece, but I have a list of colors I want to purchase once I have the money:-) I am a makeup junkie~ just ask Addi’s daddy.  He calls me a makeup hoarder.  Which I kind of am.  I don’t wear makeup every day, but I collect it like I’m running out and am especially addicted to lipstick and lipgloss.  And eyeliner.  And eyeshadow, now that I am thinking about it.  My favorites are Bare Minerals, Urban Decay’s Naked Eyeshadow palettes (I have 4), and Smashbox eye trios.  For lips I love TIGI, Mary Kay, LipSense, Buxom, Clinique, Estee Lauder, and Smashbox.  I can’t seem to help myself:-)

Last random thought before closing today~ I currently have an A- in my Finance class for my MSA degree.  The last item standing between me and my A- is the final exam, which I plan to take tomorrow.  I never, ever thought that I would make an A in Finance, so I am doing a little dance of joy over here in my chair with my Starbucks on the table next to me. Please say a prayer or send positive thoughts my way~ I need to keep my A-. My current GPA for my master’s program is 3.7 and I need it to stay there.  Thanks and good evening~