Stay - At - Home - Mom

I don't know how stay at home mom's do it!  The kids and I have been home for 3 days and I'm already going stir-crazy.  I love my kids more than I thought it was possible to love anyone.  I love that my job allows me to be on the same schedule that they're on.  However, I'm a type-A personality that really needs order.  Christmas break at our house is anything but orderly.  Toys that I don't even remember us having have made their way into the living room.  The piles of laundry seem to by multiplying despite the fact that we spend most of the day in our pajamas.  Just as soon as I have one meal cleaned up the kids are asking for a snack.  You'd think that with 2 weeks of no work, my to-do list would be whittling down to nothing, yet it continues to collect dust (and lengthen).  I've got 10-12 different projects going on right now, but can't seem to finish any of them because I get so easily distracted by the chaos that surrounds me.  So, I'm giving up.  The kids and I are hitting a Redbox kiosk after lunch and this afternoon will be spent snuggled up on the couch, eating popcorn, and watching movies with the kids.  The toys will continue to litter the living room.  The laundry will continue to multiply.  The pile of dishes on the counter will continue to grow.  At some point I'll throw a hissy fit about how messy the house is and how I can't get anything done.  But, for a few hours this afternoon, I'm going to enjoy being a stay-at-home-mom, even though I'll be doing it all wrong!  Once again I find myself in awe of all the stay-at-home-moms out there.  I don't know how you do it!

Insurance

I'm beyond frustrated with our insurance right now!  We found out in February that Levi is on the autism spectrum.  Since then, we've run an emotional gamut and questioned every decision we've made regarding treatments.  Finally, this fall we made a few decisions and began seeking support services.  Our first stop was The Thompson Center at MU in Columbia, MO.  Amazing facility!  On our initial visit, we met with a doctor that specializes in treating children with ASD's, a nutritionist, a speech therapist and a resources coordinator.  We left the visit feeling like we finally had a plan on how to move forward.  We found out very soon after that visit that our insurance will not cover any services provided by this facility and we will be paying for the entire visit out of pocket!  Our next approach was to try to find providers in the KC area that we could work with.  We met a fantastic lady in Excelsior Springs that could provide ABA therapy.  Again, we soon found out that our insurance would not cover these services so to utilize them we would, once again, have to pay out of pocket.  It turns out that our insurance provider won't cover any therapy services related to autism.  As long as our school district provides therapy, our insurance provider is under no obligation to provide Levi with any additional services.  This led us to examine medications.  If the only therapy that he is going to receive is through school, we decided that it might be best if we try medicine to help him stay focused during his school therapy sessions so that he can make those most of that time.  When we talked to the pharmacy about the cost of these medications, we found out that our cost would be approximately $175 for a one-month supply!  What the hell are we supposed to do?!  I feel so freakin' defeated right now.  Do they honestly expect us to pay out of pocket?  How does anyone afford that?  I HATE OUR INSURANCE!

Babysitter

My work holiday party is this weekend.  I plan to attend.  My +1 is a colleague and dear friend.  I'm very excited about spending time with my colleagues outside of our work environment and even more excited about having some girl time with my +1.  However, I'm a little sad that my +1 isn't my husband.  Of course, he was my first choice.  He agreed to go and we made our usual "we need a babysitter" phone call to Nana.  Turns out, though, that Nana has her own social life and isn't available that night.  This creates a problem.  Nana is the only person that has ever watched our kids while we went out on a date.  Having her live so close, and so eager to spend time with her grand kids, has been a blessing - she's reliable; she knows the schedule we like to follow; best of all, she's free!  But, she's busy with her own plans this weekend.  As a teacher, I know of several high school aged students that would be great babysitters.  We've even called on a few to watch the kids for an hour or so when we had to work late.  The issue isn't the babysitter.  The issue is the little boy that we're leaving with the babysitter!  Levi is fascinated with electrical outlets, the doorbell, and switches right now.  He'll pull a stool over to the kitchen counter so he can plug in the coffee maker.  He'll unplug the night light in his bedroom and plug it into one of the outlets in the living room.  He'll wait next to the outlet while I'm vacuuming just so he can be the one to unplug it as soon as I turn it off.  The sound of the doorbell sends the dog into a barking frenzy, which Levi finds hilarious.  He'll  open the front door and go outside so he can stand on the porch and ring the doorbell just to get the dog going (poor Macy).  He did this today when we got home from school, never mind that our high temperature was 28 degrees today!  He'll walk through the house and turn on every light before going back through the house and turning them all off.   We're yet to find a form of discipline that works in keeping him from doing these things.  We're looking into behavior modifications that might help redirect him when Levi seeks out these activities.  In the meantime, Brad and I deal with all of this the best that we can.  The problem is, we don't feel comfortable leaving him with a sitter knowing that he does all of these things.  We're not necessarily concerned about safety, although that is a concern.  We're worried about some poor individual going insane with worry as they try to keep up with him and all of his busy-ness.  I'm starting to get past this and am ready to take a test drive to see what happens.  Brad, on the other hand, has no interest in putting anyone through this test.  This brings us back to the holiday party.  Brad won't go because he won't leave a babysitter with Levi.  This is yet another aspect of autism that we weren't prepared for.  How do we have time for "us" when we don't feel comfortable leaving Levi with a babysitter?  Today is one of those days when I hate autism!