We Are Two!!

The twins have turned two! I now, and for the next week, have a house with 3 two year olds in it. Kajta turns 3 next week.
Wow, Kelly and Sabrina are two. They had such a wonderful birthday. It was so different than last year. Last year we had plenty of guests but Kelly was still really withdrawn because of her West Syndrome and did not really enjoy it. This year she was just like every other average kid. She was so excited about the cake and the presents. I am going to post videos later today or this week. The girls each got a new baby doll.


Here is Kelly opening hers. Sabrina got an identical one too, of course.



They could not wait to get them out of the boxes.

They both said "Baby!!"

and they both

kissed their babies.




It
was
so
sweet



They also got a Dora video. Kelly about flipped out because she loves Dora. Then they got plastic dishes.



These were a necessity because we had one small set.
and they all kept fighting over them.
Same thing with the baby dolls. We had one large baby and they all fought over it. Now they each have their own. The dolls were inexpensive. I went for the dolls that require imagination. They do not talk or poop. I like that much better.




The twins look so cute with their matching shirts, a gift from Michael's friend Julia and with their matching hats. They are twins, after all. The girls had such a good time and Kelly did a great job grabbing the paper and pulling it off.




Oma and Opa Meyer came to visit and celebrate the double birthday.


Here is Oma holding Baby Sarah.


Nanny Sarah gave the girls both play cellphones. Again, I was so impressed with Kelly.

She knew just what it was and both she and Sabrina started talking away on their phones together like professionals!!!


Next they will want an I-Phone.

Nanny Sarah's parents in Canada sent the girls gifts too. Now we have several really cool Disney Singalong DVDs.

This is a super addition to our house.
Every single one of my five lovely flowers loves to sing.
I think they get this from me and from my Mother too.

Thank you to the Nielsen family in Canada!




I did not bake the birthday cakes.
Somehow, I just do not seem to have enough time to do everything.
I bought frozen ones in the store. They turned out really cute though.



Everyone wore a hat, even Baby Sarah.


Oma and Opa gave us money and we bought the girls a Princess Tent with it. We let Katja unwrap that because she is still too young to get the idea that only the birthay person gets a present.
Everyone had to get in on the act. Even big Sister Sam wanted to get inside of the tent.




Wait, who is that? Is that Oma's behind sticking out of the tent?



Once Oma figured out that she did not fit into the Princess tent, the girls had it all to themselves. We put Kelly into her Bumbo chair and fun was had by all!

Life is Good Again

Well, life is still crazy but it is good again. We are out of danger and I can stop and smell the diapers again. MMMM smells good in here!!

I sent everyone an email update but I have not had time to post an update because the girls have been playing sick for the last two weeks. All five have had a fever and they have been taking turns at it. One would be sick for 2 or 3 days and then the next one would take their turn. With five of them that means about two weeks worth of fevers. It is over and now we just have runny noses!!

Well, we have been paying off the medical debt and we are finally out of danger. The nursing firm is payed off and even some of the smaller medical bills. We bought Kelly a bumbo baby feeding chair and I am going to order her a creepster crawler today. So, thanks to you guys, life is good here again. Thank you all for your prayers and for your donations. This was a terrible time in our lives and now it is over. I received so many wonderful, heartfelt donations of all sizes. Each one was special and appreciated. Very, very much. I hope now that I can get our lives back on track and start living like a normal family.

We are thinking about starting an online business of some sort. Maybe selling smaller special needs equipment here in Germany. There are many items from America that would be a benefit to the special needs kids here. It is amazing just what we do NOT have here in Germany. We also need to find a way to earn more money so that we can assure that Kelly receives all the therapy that she needs. We have to face the fact that insurance companies are just out there to make money (I quote my brother Jerry here) and they are not going to pay for everything. There will be more surgeries and things they do not completely cover. Michael and I want to find a way to get ahead of the game so that we can provide all the children with what they need and never be in the situation where we are afraid of losing the house.

But, at the moment, Life is Good again. We are still wearing cloth diapers. I am still counting my pennies carefully. BUT we are actually able to stop and enjoy and smell those diapers.
Janette

Cloth Diapers Rule

Well, here is the update I promised on our great cloth diaper experiment. I have learn so much over the last weeks.
First, you need a bunch of diapers with this many bottoms. We go through 25-30 a day!! That is a lot of tee tee!! Remember, my goal is to be able to wash them but hang them up to dry so that we can save money. In order to do that I had to find used diapers enough for two days worth of use. Then, I wash a load at night, hang them up, use the second batch on the kiddos during the day and allow the previous days diapers to dry hanging. In the winter, when the cellar is really cold, we will have to use the heating room or lay them on the heaters in the house. Germany, at least most of Germany, does not have central heating. We have these heaters that are up against the wall. The oil heats up water down in the celler which then runs up through the pipes and heats the rooms. The price of oil really kicks our bottomss too. We may have to have 3 sets of diapers to be able to do it without using the dryer.
Second, there are so many varities of cloth diapers on the market. There are some really cool brands out there. Most are way to expensive for what we are trying to do here. We are using a brand called popolini. They are really easy to use and one size fits all the bottoms. That is a major plus for me. What I really wish I could afford are the ones called Bum Genius or Fuzzi Bunz. They are a complete diaper with the liner inserted into the diaper and the cover is waterproof. These are very much like disposable diapers. You do not need the plastic cover with them and one size fits all again. They have adjusters. Unfortunately, they are super expensive. I bought our popolini on an ebay auction and got enough for one child. That is 18 diapers, absorbent liners, flushable paper liners that you use to catch the poop, 2 plastic covers. These parents are selling them on ebay as a complete set. I am hoping to resell mine when we are done.
Third, not everyone in the family is as excited about this experiment as I am. Michael is clueless about how to put the diapers on. The rest of the crew is being patient with my experiement, even though it can be kind of yucky when they get really wet and then also have a nice big poop. That is why those paper liners are great. With Samantha, 15 years ago, we did not have those and then we had to swish the diaper in the toliet. No need for that now!! I am greatful that all the people who help us out during the day are participating in the great diaper experiment and not complaining. I think everyone understands I am just trying to save money and save the house.
Well, baby Sarah looks a bit wet. I better get on it and change that diaper. I do miss the absorbency of a good old pair of Pampers!
Janette

Thank you and an Update

The last two weeks have been very stressful in our home. We have come forward with this situation and I want to take time to thank you all for helping us so far. I want to address a few questions you have asked about our situation. I also want to tell you how far we have come and what we are still trying to do. So, bear with me and read on to find out what has happened to the Meyers.

· We have received many great donations from people all over the US, including people I have never met. This has lifted my spirits up so much and given me hope. I received donations from strangers, my uncle, my aunt and her mother, my cousin, old friends, an old boss, old students from LCU, another mom from the CP website, and many other people who just heard about our situation from the website. I am trying to email everyone individually but it will take me a few days. I am currently sharing the computer with my teenage daughter and with the other four girls around, there is not much time.

· I received one email asking why we are asking for our donations to be sent to an American address and account. That is because I still do my banking in America and it would be easier for us to get the money from my debit card here than have American friends trying to send things to Germany.

· Another friend asked if it was too late to send donations. NO, it is not too late.

· We have approached the firm that provided the nursing services last year and given them what we have collected so far. We still do not have the complete amount to pay off the bill but I am hoping this will buy us a few weeks time.

· People have asked me why we do not just get a lawyer and sue the insurance company. There are several reasons we are looking at.
1. The company found a nice little loophole and said they do not have to provide the type of care we received while I was pregnant. There are different words for different kinds of care given to sick people in the German insurance language. They told us that what we received was not what they covered in the insurance. Then they pointed to the city and told us to contact them. The city said the insurance should pay for it and we needed to work on their interpretation of the wording. This game of pointing fingers went on during the whole pregnancy.
2. We cannot bite the hand that provides for Kelly. We just checked with a social worker familiar with the law and they think that it would be very difficult to sue the insurance company. The other problem would be that if we attack the insurance company, and we later need them to approve something for Kelly, then we have bitten the hand that feeds us and may be denied for something important.
3. So, we would have to sue the city of Barsinghausen. We could do that and still may but if we do not pay this bill ASAP, it will not matter because we will lose everything anyway.

· I know many, many families in the US with children who suffer from CP or other medical conditions who have the same problems. Medical bills that the insurance will not pay. Insurance companies are evil. The difference is that the families in the US can ignore their bills for years and no one comes and takes their house or job away. I live in a foreign country where things are different. In America the other parents with CP children have had fundraisers done for them in their hometowns to raise money for bills, or new therapy or equipment that the insurance will not pay. People give them money and participate in the fundraiser and never once tell the people that they should just get a lawyer.

· So why not do a fundraiser here in Germany? Those are not common at all here. People give once a year around Christmas to big charity foundations. The social worker we are speaking with is trying to get us funding through one of these foundations. We will apply for something next week.


Please believe me that we are trying everything we possibly can to take care of this situation. I have thought about doing some type of craft and selling it on the internet. It is all a matter of timing and funding. At the moment we have done what we can for the short term and it is a matter of waiting and seeing what happens. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Janette and the Meyer Family

The Great Cloth Diaper Experiment

Cloth Diapers

I am trying to find a way to save money. One thing way we keep throwing money in the trash, literally, is with our daily diaper use. We use 6 diapers per day, per child. With four children, that diaper use adds up and it all gets thrown in the garbage.

So…Okay, maybe I am nuts but I am changing the four little ones all over to cloth diapers. Yes, I will have four children in cloth diapers. Why am I doing this insane act? Do I want to live with the smell of wet diapers in a pail? Four sets of diapers? Well, that is something I am going to find out.

Katja needs training panties. She knows how to use the potty, but she is in a lazy mode and does not always make it to the potty. With everything that is going on here, I have not been able to focus time and remind her every so often. She needs to have training panties on, instead of a diaper, which will be uncomfortable and alert her that she is wet. So, the cloth diapers here look like training panties with Velcro. I will be using the largest size on Katja, which should speed up her toilet training.

The plan is for us to find used diapers and start the kids out next week. Cloth diapers are very expensive now. There are so many varieties here.

Here is our plan.

1. Not buy the diapers new. They are really expensive.
2. Bid on used diapers on ebay.
3. Ask the neighbors and the midwife if they have any or know of anyone who has old cloth diapers they do not use anymore.
4. Put diapers on all of the children during the day. I might put them on the older ones at night. They are very absorbent.
5. Use a paper lining product that you can get cheap, to catch the BM or poop so it is easier to dispose of. I swished them out in the potty when I had my first daughter in diapers and that was gross. I do not want to have to do that now, with four little bottoms at once.
6. Put the used diapers in a pail to soak with detergent in the water.
7. Wash the diapers every other day on 60°. This is a European temperature. They have a temperature that is 95°, which is close to boiling. It would get them cleaner but it would cost us more money. I plan to use the 60° first and then if that is not enough, I will move on to the higher temperature. The German washing machine I am using is awesome and will probably get everything out on 60°.
8. Hang the diapers up to dry. I would use our dryer, but again I am trying to save the family money. These diapers are thick so they will take longer to dry if I hang them up. We have a room in our basement where I do the laundry. The cellar does not get warm ever, so it takes longer to hang dry clothes. We also have a room in the cellar where the heating unit is located. This room is warm in the winter. I will be hanging the diapers up in this room. I will be timing how long it takes to dry them in this room. I am washing a pair today and want to see how long it takes to dry. On sunny days, which are rare in the winter here, I will hang them up outside.
9. If the children get wet and have trouble sleeping through the night, God forbid, I will put one disposable diaper on them at night.

This sounds like a bunch of work, and it will be. The idea is that I am hopefully going to save 200 Euros a month by cutting back on our diaper bill.

I will keep everyone updated.

Our Family is in Danger of Losing Everything

Dear Friends,

WE NEED HELP!
This is an emergency posting asking for help. This past year, while I was pregnant with baby Sarah, several things occurred that have now put us in a real state of jeopardy.
These things were:
1. I became pregnant with Sarah in August
2. I began to bleed after lifting Kelly and taking her to a doctor appointment
3. I was put on bedrest for the remainder of the pregnancy
4. I was told not to pick up my children, do housework, or I would lose the baby

So, because Katja was not even 2 and the twins not even a year old, we had to have in-house care. The doctor reassured us this was something that the insurance had to pay. Kelly, who was the sickest of the twins, was not developing and becoming mobile and needed nursing care and I needed in-home assistance while Michael was at work.

Then in September of last year, Kelly was diagnosed with West Syndrome and I stayed with her in the hospital for a week while they tried to get her seizures under control. The nursing staff then took on more hours. Again, we had a prescription at this point from my Gynaecologist and the Pediatrician stating we were a family in need and that we required care for the 3 children under 2 years of age. Michael and I were sure things would work out.

The insurance DID NOT PAY. They simply told us that it was the responsibility of the city. The city then pointed their fingers back at the insurance…and this dance went on for 7 months. During this time we had to keep someone working in the house and caring for Kelly so the nursing company we hired kept billing us.

In January we got the first diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy for Kelly and then we started to battle the insurance for therapy, and medical equipment. Do not get me wrong, they do cover the bare basics for that. What shocks me about this the most is that they knew from this diagnosis that we needed help in the house with the children but no one helped.

We contacted the local churches and they had no program to help people in need. The nurses were even calling people because they knew we were getting further in debt and that the insurance was not paying.

To make the point even worse, I also have a back problem and will need to find someone to help carry the children until it is repaired or grows stronger. On advice from the doctor, we found an AuPair to help us. Again, the insurance does not cover this cost either. Even though Kelly is non-mobile and requires more care than the other children.

Now, we have to pay off this debt, or we lose everything. I am an American but I live in Germany and therefore I have to abide by the German laws. There are laws in Germany regarding debt. My husband works for the German government in the IRS and he is not allowed by law to be in debt. If we do not pay off this debt, Michael will lose his job.

So, you find us at a precarious point in our lives. We have a brand new baby and face the possibility of losing first our car, then our house and on top of everything, Michaels job.

We have tried to pursue this matter and force the insurance or the city to pay but it has been to no avail. Now we have to try to save everything before we are sitting on the street with five children.

As I write this I am afraid of stating the truth that it has really come to this point. I am in a country far away from family and friends. I am doing the only thing I can do at this point and that is to ask for your help. We are asking for donations to pay off this debt. We owe over $8,000 backwards for this period. Michael told me yesterday that we have to have $4000 by next week. He has been keeping this from me while I was pregnant and now while the baby is small, hoping that he would find a way. Now we have to ask for help.

My father’s address in Texas is listed on the side of this post. We are taking checks payable to Janette Meyer. We are checking with the bank at the moment to see if we can get an account started in the name of Kelly. I will also be setting up a Paypal button that you can donate with a credit card. I am speaking with someone today about how to make this a tax-deductible contribution for you. We will find out soon how to write you a receipt for your tax records.

I cannot explain how afraid I am at the moment. I am trying to act positive and upbeat around my children so that they do not know what is going on. They feel something is not right.

Even a small donation would help us. Please share this post with your friends, co-workers and any you know. We really need help.

Thank you,

Janette
Mommy to Five Girls

New Blog for Kelly

I have started a new blog just for Kelly and her CP. It is titled CP Can't beat me. You can find a link to it on the left of this page.
I did this because many people want to read about all of my daughters on here and I thought Kelly and her condition, stuggles and triumphs needed their very own page.
I just posted a post about the financial dilema we find ourselves in now because of several bills the insurance would not pay. I apologize in advance that it is a bit depressing but it is 4 in the morning here and I cannot sleep because of the stress.
Anyway, check out Kelly's brand new blog!