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Where I’ve Been…

So sorry that I am just getting a chance to update this blog!  I am a little off on my days and times right now but early last week, DH’s grandmother had to be hospitalized.  She has been in a nursing home for a couple of years but her health quickly deteriorated last week.  The doctors did numerous tests but could not determine the problem.  She turned 84 on Tuesday.  The hospital released her back to the nursing home on Friday and called in Hospice.  Her conditioned continued to deteriorate and she passed away Sunday morning.  Needless to say, we have been very preoccupied with arrangements, etc.  We returned to NC for services and have just arrived back in IN.  It was a nice visit with family during such a difficult time but we all know that her suffering has ended and that she is now at peace. 

I will be spending the next few days trying to recover from our trip and get things back to normal for DD.  I am very behind on reading my favorite blogs and completely missed the APLS Carnival.  I don’t know that topic for this round yet but I hope to be able to get involved this time!  I hope Arduous hasn’t left for London yet and that I haven’t missed any drama or controversial topics over at Crunchy Chicken.  And I am looking forward to reading what is happening at Rural Aspirations  and getting some comfort from the peaceful posts of Tall Grass Worship and the eloquent words of Green Bean.  Please bear with me while we get it back together. 

The 3 P’s of Parenting

Today I was planning on writing about our wonderful camping trip but something else is on my mind (and sheets and blankets) this morning so that post will have to wait.  What I want to talk about today are the 3 p’s of parenting.  If you are already a parent, you already know where this post is going and what the p’s stand for but if you haven’t ventured into the world of parenting yet, this should be a good prep read.

So what are the 3 p’s?  Easy - pee, poop, and puke!  That’s right!  Nothing cute or sweet about those things!  Now, granted, these seem to really plague parents in the early years of childhood.  But they can crop up at anytime as our children grow. 

I remember when DD had a really bad stomach virus early last year.  Bless her poor heart, she was puking and pooping everywhere and when she had a really bad stomach cramp, she couldn’t control her pee so it would just flow at anytime!  Even though she had been sick before this was probably the most severe illness she has had. 

But what made it a little strange was the fact that DD potty trained really early thanks to elimination communication and spending many of her early toddler days naked (a great recommendation from her then pediatrician).  Anyway, proper potty etiquette went out the door during this time although DD did make an effort to get to the potty when she thought she needed to ‘go’.  But there were some accidents especially in the puke and pee category.  Ah, the memories.  Thank goodness the virus only lasted a couple of days but when you are constantly cleaning up the p’s it can make you crazy! 

On top of the virus, we were getting ready to leave for a trip to CA!  A few days after DD seemed to be back to normal, I noticed some small spots on her stomach.  I thought it might be heat but no, within a couple of hours she was completely covered with this rash!  Now what?  Turns out she reacted to the stomach virus by getting small pink dots all over her little body!  I was paranoid that the airline would ground us thinking she had some sort of horrible communicable disease!  Another trip to the pediatrician who told us it was nothing to worry about and that it happens sometimes - Benadryl should do the trick to fade the spots.  Good - that would probably help her sleep on the plane anyway.

Anyway, I was hoping DD would sleep-in this morning giving me a chance to catch up on some things but that was not meant to be.  I had just rolled over and then I heard her say she was wet, start crying, and profusely claim through her sobbing that she was sorry (now that will break every mother’s heart).  Since we co-sleep I just had to roll back over to discover the source of her distress - PEE!  Yes, my completely potty trained toddler had wet the bed profusely!  She usually wakes me up in the middle of the night when she needs to pee but not this time.  So, pee on the sheets, on our mattress, on our blankets, on her gown, etc.  Pee, pee everywhere!  This was really my fault - too much liquid before bed!

And so, that was the end of sleeping-in.  I had to spend a few minutes calming my emotional little girl down from feeling so bad about the accident (and it was ok - it was just pee and I can clean it up - good grief, girls are so sensitive - more on that later)!  And then I had to clean her up and try to get the bed back to normal.  What a morning.

So there are the 3 p’s of parenting for those of you interested in having children one day.  One of the baby shower gifts you should request - P cleaning supplies including a face mask and lots of rubber gloves!

Going Camping

Short post - We are (hopefully) going camping this weekend (or at least tonight)!  Will give you the details when we get back!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Identity Theft

I have been a little busy lately trying to deal with some identity theft issues.  For me, this has been going on for years (at least 8, probably longer).  I have had numerous fraudulent accounts opened in my name using my social security number.  Although I have started legal action to permanently resolve the problems, it will be some time before my credit reports are cleared and all of the creditors are dealt with. 

What really bugs me about this stuff is the fact that I had a 7 year fraud alert on my accounts.  Things did clear up a little during this time though there were a few bank/credit agencies that didn’t do proper checks on the applicants before issuing the thieves money or items in some form or another.  The transactions have included phone bills, propane gas bills, automobile loans, credit cards, lines of credit, and personal loans (the ones that I am aware of anyway).  I have had to deal with each of these individually by proving I was not the applicant.  As soon as the fraud alert expired, the culprits were back at it!  I have been completely amazed!  And the problem is so wide spread at this point that I don’t think I can get a handle on it on my own.

So, the last couple of incidences have driven me off of the deep end.  The first was a repo company coming to my house here in Bloomington to collect a car that was purchased in my name by someone in Florida.  I don’t know anyone in Florida and I have never owned the make or model of the car in question.  Of course, it is completely up to me to provide proof that it was not me which is a lot of work for someone who has moved around a lot over the past few years.  I finally filed a police report as well as a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. 

I have been trying to get copies of my credit report from the three reporting agencies but because their systems are automated and require you to verify recent information on your credit report, I haven’t had much luck.  Today, I was finally able to add a 90 day fraud alert to my accounts (hopefully) and request a copy of my report from all three reporting agencies (hopefully). 

I have contacted police several times in the past about this problem and have been told, repeatedly, that nothing can be done because it has happened outside the local authorities jurisdiction!  Yes.  All of the problems have occurred in places that I have never lived - New York, Florida, Georgia (the states that I know about).  So, I have contacted an attorney as a last resort.  Yes, I am sure the final fees will be way more than I should have to pay as a victim of a crime, but that is how the system works right now. 

I will have a lot more on this topic later on and my final attempt to protect myself will be to place a security freeze with the credit reporting agencies.  Fun, fun, fun!

And if you are ever a victim of identity theft, don’t wait - take the appropriate steps to protect yourself immediatly!  This stuff can snowball completely out of control in the blink of an eye.  I will keep you all posted on my progress…..