Tax Free Weekend

Texas tax free weekend starts today. I am absolutely DREADING my trip to the store today. I need one thing...DIAPERS. Why on Earth didn't I buy them yesterday? Because I forgot it was Tax Free Weekend. I suppose at least diapers are tax free as well so I can save my little 8.25% on two packages of diapers. I feel like I should buy a new outfit to make it worth the hassle. I wonder if Bob will go for that? I can hear that conversation now. I suppose I could buy the boys new shoes or an outfit or two.

Speaking of the boys...

Did you vote for Mason today? Just click on the widget in the top right corner of the blog and sign up on the site. You can choose to not get notifications from the site. It is our local newspaper hosting the contest. After you sign up the easiest way to vote is stay logged in but leave the site and click on the widget from here again because it will take you right to his photo instead of making you search through all the photos to find his.

Also remember the auction to benefit Mason's Page on Facebook starts on Sunday. Mason, or Skeeber for those that don't know my boys needs to wear a DOC band for plagiocephaly. Insurance has denied our claim due to a specific exclusion. Our amazing friends started Mason's page to help us raise the funds to pay for Mason's treatments.

Skeeber Skeebs

Well it's been quite a whirlwind of a week. Mason had his (late) 6 month check up on Tuesday. The Nurse Practitioner noticed his head right away. I've always been concerned with the shape of Mason's head, but the doctors where we previously lived didn't seem to show any signs of concern so I just let it go. Missy (the NP) noticed it right away and referred us to Cranial-Tech so we could get an evaluation done to see how severe his head is.

He has moderate-severe Plagiocephaly and Brachycephaly with associated facial and ear asymmetries. Basically that means his head is flat in the back and bulges on the sides and his ears aren't symmetrical. He also has issues with the muscles in his neck and they are so tight on one side you can actually see them pulling through the skin when they tilted his head around.

Cranial-Tech recommends the DOC band treatment for Mason. He would wear the band for 23 hours a day for about 4 months (maybe longer). It's super important we get this taken care of ASAP because the longer we wait the harder it will be to treat.

So what are we waiting for? Well insurance has denied our claim because of a specific exclusion. They won't cover any of the costs for treatment. Which means we have to figure out a way to come up with the $4,000 it costs for one round of treatment (meaning if he needs to wear the band for more than 4 months we'd need another $4,000 at that point).

There's nothing like looking at your happy smiling baby who has no idea what's going on and knowing in your heart that there is nothing you can do for him. It's pretty much the worst feeling in the world. I've heard "don't beat yourself up", "don't worry about it", "it is what it is", "you're not a bad mom", and "everything will be okay".

Nobody will truly understand until they are a mother in the same situation. You can't not worry about it and you do beat yourself up. It's your sole purpose in motherhood to make sure your children are happy, healthy, and well cared for. When you fail at one of those things it makes you feel like crap. Plain and simple I feel like crap and I DO feel like a horrible mother.