Rough Day/Dear Dr. Dilley

I was told I am a bad mother by Allison's asthma specialist. He says I care more about Ethan and his needs than I do about Allison's. How does he know this? He knows because, when I took her to see him the other day because she was SICK, her lung function was down to only 54%...lower than it was the first time we saw him for a well-visit and she was healthy. Well, excuse me but, um...DUUUUUUUUHHH!!! SHE WAS SICK!

Dear Mr. Asthma Doctor:

When asthmatics get sick...catch a cold in Allison's case...their lung function goes down. And guess what? Their mother's really don't have much control of the germs, bacteria and viruses floating around in the air, especially out in public!

Sincerely,
Lauri Smith-a mother who loves boys more than girls

Anyway...this all goes back to a letter we got on Friday, from Ratner, Dilley & Associates, LLP, stating:

"Please be advised that we will no longer be able to treat your child as a patient. All scheduled appointments have been canceled."

This came out of the blue Friday afternoon, so of course there was no one we could talk to until today. Finally, after several calls, Dr. Dilley finally called me back and asked what I needed, like he didn't know. I asked why they were dropping Allison as a patient, and that was the reason. Because I obviously was not following his directions for her meds and her lung function was too low, and that I care more about my "special needs son" than I do her.

Well, dammit! I made her cut her smoking back to only one pack a day! She still needs to use her inhaler, too? Geesh! And because dust in the house has a bad affect on her lungs, I make sure she dusts everything at least every other day. I thought I was doing good!

Dear Mr. Asthma Doctor:

Even when asthma patients are taking their maintainence meds, they can still get sick, and need a little extra medical intervention; which I was doing on the day you decided I was an unfit parent and could no longer treat my daughter.

Very Sincerely,
Lauri Smith-a mother who has done more than her fair share of Asthma, ADD, ADHD, Bipolar, Dyslexia and Schizophrenia research.

Dr. Dilley...you do not have a "God Complex". You have something much, much worse. After speaking with you on the phone this afternoon, I have realized that you truly believe you are so much better than everyone else. That you know all. That you know all about me, my family and our life situation after only 2 fifteen minute visits in your office, and that you are able to make judgements about what kind of mother I am. God does not even judge like this...and that is what makes you so much worse. The thing is, I thought you were a good doctor-I respected and trusted you and thought you were good at what you do. However, you have shown your true colors and I no longer have any respect, much less trust, for you as a doctor or a man; and you can't get any lower than that.

Very Truly Sincerely,
Lauri Smith-a mother who loves and guards her children more fiercly than you could ever imagine.

munkeepod Blog

Let's hear it for my friend, Gayla! She actually got the blog part of my munkeepod website going! I do have a post over there, so, those brave souls who are willing to be my guinea pigs...would y'all mind checking it out and make sure you can find it and leave comments and all that stuff? It doesn't seem as easy as Blogger and I hope I can figure it all out.

Anyway, you can try this link... http://blog.munkeepod.com/Or, if that doesn't work, go to www.munkeepod.com then at the top of the page, click on "munkeepod blog". I would really appreciate it! And if there are any problems, let me know...you can leave comments here or on ArtSmith. Thanks!

How did this happen?

I've been made a "Featured Artist" on the ZNE website! Is someone out there still playing April Fool's jokes??? Because seriously...how did I get in with this great group of artists? All the ones I stalk and worship? Go check this out!

http://www.znespirit.com/

All I keep thinking is, in the words of 'Frank Barrone', Raymond's dad on "Everybody Loves Raymond"...Holy crap!
Thank you, Chel!!!

In family news: I am now the 'Mother of a Teenager'! Isn't that a whole new stage of life? Somehow or other, last week zipped by in a flash! Then, over the weekend, I was only home long enough to sleep. And now Allison is sick and we have an appointment with the asthma specialist tomorrow. Poor thing-I feel so bad when she is like this, because there is just nothing I can do! Hopefully, the doctor can help tomorrow.

Conversations with Allison???

OK-I really thought the girl was smarter than this...or at least knew me better. And Mom, don't hit your head on the desk while you are laughing so hard you fall out of the chair!

Blah, blah, blah...Claire and I are talking about things she plays now, and things I used to play/pretend when I was little...and mind you-there was NO RELIGIOUS talk at all!

Allison: Mom, didn't you ever pretend like you were a nun?


BWAAAHAAHAAHAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! Steven falls down to the to the ground in the parking lot at Michael's, where is where we were. He almost didn't recover.

Don't get me wrong...I was a very good kid, and truly hope that my kids turn out just like me. I never drank, smoke, used drugs, or anything like that. But...I did question things, had my own opinions and had no problem voicing them at any given moment, which I think scared my mom because most of them were not hers. I want to clarify here that she DID NOT have bad opinions, they were just different; and, to her, you didn't question authority. But, when authority is an idiot, I can't stay quiet. We are the CLASSIC Nature vs. Nurture Study Family! Definitely coming out on the side of nature, no matter how hard my mom and dad tried to make us nurture! lol! And some of my strongest, most passionate beliefs go completely against the Catholic Church, in which we were raised, AND which I still consider myself to be.

But, if I were ever to walk into a nunnery and announce that I was going to become a nun, they would all faint dead away, losing all of their faith wondering why Jesus had challenged them with THIS burden, because they would know that God gave them WAY MORE than they could handle...because I would NEVER give up my rights to be Pro-Choice; I will ALWAYS believe a gay or lesbian or homosexual (whatever you want to call it-but it better be in a good way) marriage is just as good and valid as my marriage is to Steven; I would NEVER be subservient to ANY man, Priest, God or Husband-not to mention then population of men in general-most of which have IQ's lower than mine, and I'm not even going to go into morals. Most of all, I could never walk around with my head bowed to anyone or any thing. I am Lauri Smith...a decendant of Fred Jack Smith. We have egos that can't even be measured they are so high off the charts...ok, so maybe the nurture part did have some affect! My Aunt Carol and my Mom will second and third me on this!

Ummm...what was the whole point of this post anyway? Oh yeah...me being a nun. HA! Still can't get over that...I will laugh about that one as long as I live! EVERYONE knows I was going to be a "Commercial Lady"!

Conversations with Claire

Claire got a haircut yesterday...along with Allison, Ethan and Steven (read: everyone but ME, AGAIN!)...and it's one of those cute, stacked little bobs.

Her hair is short enough that her neck needs to be shaved a little bit. She's had it done before and it's never bothered her.

So, the stylist is shaving the back of her neck, and Claire says: "I'm not feeling very comfortable with this."

And, when I'm typing this out it doesn't seem so funny. But when you're there and this little girl who isn't even in Kindergarten yet pops something like that out at the exact right time, because if this girl has nothing else, she has timing, it's freakin' hilarious!

You Can Learn a Lot from Blogs

Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize
they were the big things.

-- Robert Brault

I found this quote today on Stargazer and I immediately knew it was one of those that I need to remember. I tell myself, basically, the same thing every single day, but, having it all put together like that just made it all so nice and neat.

The thing is, I actually start out enjoying the 'little things', but, between one or the other of the kids that little thing usually quickly deteriorates into one of the 'fight things'. And by the time we've actually gotten to that part, I've worked so, so hard to keep it from going there that it just becomes one of 'those things' you want to forget. About once or twice a year (and I am not exaggerating) we will have one of those nirvana moments...we are all together, everyone is in a good mood, there isn't any fighting and we're all having a good time...and that is when I want to just stop time for a little bit and let that mood linger because, really, that is all I've ever wanted. And I'm so afraid that the girls are going to grow up and hate Ethan, or that Ethan is going to grow up and hate everyone. And maybe if I can get the kids to enjoy the little things that are going on when Claire suddenly states, out of nowhere, "Purple is my favorite color.", and Ethan comes back, with smoke and fire coming out of his ears, nose and mouth, "NO IT ISN'T! YOU'RE FAVORITE COLOR IS ORANGE!!!", that it does not matter one bit who's favorite color is
what, or whether the sky is blue or light blue, they will finally learn that those little things are a lot more fun than the fighting.