Last week I spent the better part of the 7 days having serious anxiety. Those of us who have dealt with cancer refer to it as "scanxiety". I basically couldn't sleep, couldn't eat much, and would cry at the drop of a hat. I had my 6 month c/t scan, blood work, and oncologist visit on Thursday. With the help of my friends and ativan, I made it through, and my scans and blood ork came back all clear! I've now been NED (no evidence of disease) for 18 months. Let's hope it stays that way for the rest of my life.

Writing has been hard because my computer stopped working. I'm not sure what the problem is, and unfortunately can't afford to get a new one. This is kind of a big deal because my entire business is online. When I boot up in regular mode the track pad doesn't work. I scroll over the bottom menu and it does nothing, and I can't click on anything. I can start it in safe mode and the trackpad works, but I can't connect to the internet. I guess if anything at least I can save all my files in safe mode. Hopefully I'll figure out a solution to this, but until then my blogging might be sporadic. 

My Kid Did That: Cat in Heat Edition

After finally settling into our apartment these past few months, I decided that we could get one of the cats from Elijah's dad's house so Eli would have a cat (since he loves cats, that's one word he says constantly) to play with, and I'd have a cat to cuddle with when Eli sleeps overnight at his dads 3 nights a week. What I didn't realize when we picked up Thufir, was that she hadn't been fixed yet. Visions of a cat peeing all over the house immediately sprung through my head.

Luckily there has been no peeing. Thufir is, however, constantly in heat. It seems that way anyway, she's been in heat for the past 5 days or so. For some reason Eli is all over the poor cat while she's in heat. I'm talking rolling over, laying on, I even caught him trying to stand on her today. Luckily I caught him in time and we avoided that situation. The other day we were sitting in the living room playing and good ol' Thufir comes in the living room and starts trying to love on the carpet, meowing, with her butt up in the air and her parts all exposed. Eli took this opportunity to put his finger in Thufir's hoo-ha because it was just THERE. Yup, my kid did that. You can rest assured that Eli got a bath immediately following this incident, and that Thufir will be getting fixed as soon as she's out of heat.

One Single Mama's Healthcare Crisis

We all know the health care situation in America is, for the lack of a better term, messed up. Half of the people who need actually need health care don't have it and can't afford it. I'm one of those people who needs health care. I certainly can't afford it, and unfortunately, most people don't want to insure me. Since that law that will allow people with pre-existing conditions to get insurance doesn't go through until 2014, I'm screwed.

I recently applied for medicaid thinking there was no way I could get denied. My only claimable income in child support, which is $10 less than what my rent is. I do have a small business, but the income for that is so sporadic, there isn't even a way to claim it, and it's certainly not enough to cover health insurance. So since my child support barely covers my rent and I have other bills to pay (electricity, transportation, etc.) then I should get medicaid, right? Wrong. In Texas you can only make a whopping $163 per month for a family of two to be approved for medicaid. What!? Homeless people who stand on the side of the road asking for money probably make more than that. Texas has basically made it so that no one can be covered by medicaid, unless you are a child or pregnant.

Their logic boggles my mind. Yes, low-income children and pregnant women should be covered, but as soon as you have a baby you are no longer covered under their care. What happens when these children's parents can't get the care, preventative and otherwise, that they need? Children need parents. There's no argument there. If I don't figure out a way to get health insurance or to be seen by doctors then there's a chance that I could die, and that would leave my son without a mother. Is that better than raising the monthly income allowance to a rate that is more feasible?

The law states that each state can make their own medicaid guidelines. In Massachusetts a family of two can make up to $1,200 a month. In California they practically give insurance away. What gives, Texas? 

Here's the thing. I had stage 3 cancer. After I had my 2 surgeries in 2009, they told me I had a 50% change of recurrence. In order to make sure I don't have any cancer in body, and that they catch it early if I do, I have to have C/T scans approximately every 6 months. I believe that's for the first 3 years, and then I can move it to once a year. If anything abnormal was to ever come back on my C/T scan then I would have to go in for a PET scan. Now let's talk cost. Me, a single, uninsured, practically 300% poverty level female, has to pay approximately $6,000 out of pocket for a C/T scan. This is the price that MD Anderson sent me for an uninsured patient (which means it costs even more if you have insurance, but if you have insurance then they pay for a lot of it). That's just the C/T scan. The last one I had took about 20 minutes because they just do my head, chest, and neck. Now if it does come back abnormal and I have to have a PET scan it would be a full body scan and take about an hour. The average cost of a PET scan is about $7,000. If something were to come back abnormal that would ultimately mean I would need a surgery or some kind of radiation or chemo. My two surgeries in 2009 (without any chemo or radiation) cost roughly $80,000. What's a person to do in this situation?

I have done copious amounts of research. I've contacted cancer societies and google searched until my eyes almost bled and the answer is always the same, there's nothing I can do except rack up insane medical bills that I will only be able to pay if I win millions of dollars in the lottery, but that's a catch-22 because I don't even have the extra money to PLAY the damn lottery, and if you don't play then you can't win.

The real kicker? There's an organization in Austin that gives working musicians health insurance. It's a wonderful organization and I am glad that it's around for people who need it, BUT WHAT ABOUT ME!? Where's the organization that can help me!? The only thing I want in life is to be able to stay alive so I can watch my son grow up, and so I can do all the things that I have ever wanted to do. Texas would  apparently rather see the poor people die. I'm lost. Really lost. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions that I might not have already thought of, I welcome it with open arms.

Growing Up

It's hard to believe that in less than two weeks my little man is going to be 20 months old. Before I know it he'll be having his second birthday. Time truly does fly when you've got a babe around. I love this photo because it shows Eli today, but you can also see the beautiful certificate that I got from the birth center when he was born with his footprints on it (it's the center frame on the wall).

Handmade Monday: Wool Longies From The Littlest Forest Giveaway

Every Monday is going to be Handmade Monday here at The Hip (Single) Mama. Handmade Monday will feature our favorite small businesses and handmade goods. There's so much great stuff out there that's made by moms like us that they deserve their very own special day.

To kick of our first ever Handmade Monday we're going to be giving away one medium pair of sage green merino wool longies from The Littlest Forest on Etsy!

 

Medium longies on a 19 month old 30lb baby

These longies are made with two layers of 100% merino wool interlock that is knit and dyed in Peru. They are a pull-up style without elastic in the waistband, so you don't have to worry about red marks on your little ones sensitive skin. These longies are The Little Forest's new "sweatpant style" longies, which feature a cuff on the bottom.

The medium longies have the following measurements (unstretched):

Waist: 16"

Rise: 14"

Inseam: 10"

So, what do you have to do to win? It's easy! First and foremost you MUST be a public follower of The Hip (Single) Mama on Google Friend Connect (to the right).

Once you are a public follower please post in a comment why you would love to win these longies and what other products from The Littlest Forest you love. (Be sure you leave your email address so I have a way to contact you if you win!)

Additional Entries 

(please post a separate comment for each entry)

1. "Like" The Littlest Forest on Facebook

2. "Like" The Hip (Single) Mama on Facebook

3. Link to The Hip (Single) Mama on your blog! (2 entries)

4. Tweet about this contest: Win wool longies for your #clothdiapers from @lepetitowlet http://bit.ly/icbjGb (up to 3 tweets per day. Please leave the permalink for each tweet, and make sure your entries are in separate comments!)

5. Blog about this giveaway! (5 entries. Please leave a link to your blog)

This contest is open to U.S residents only and will end on March 6th at 11:59pm CST. Good Luck!

If you have a small business that sells handmade items and are interested in being featured on Handmade Monday then please email ohdearjessica@gmail.com

BabyKicks Organic Fitted Review

I'm always on the search for cloth diapers to try with features that I love. I have a strong love for fitted diapers with wool, especially during the day, because I want Elijah to wear something that is breathable and natural. Some other features that I love are of course one size diapers, because they will fit my son until potty training, and side snaps because my 19 month old babe is always on the go and keeping him down is hard enough as it is, side snaps are a bit easier to fasten when he's rolling over. I was thrilled to receive a BabyKicks Organic Fitted diaper to test out because it has all these features and then some.

Fit: This diaper is very trim, which I love, especially since I pair fitted diapers with wool which can add some bulk. The side snaps create a snug fit around Eli's waist, and since this is a one size diaper there are snaps to change the rise setting.

Ease of use: I love the different colored snaps on this diaper, they make it super easy to use! I don't have t count or guess, I just snap the snaps with their coordinating colors. This diaper has a pocket, so you need to stuff the insert in before use, but I always do that after washing and drying anyway. I love when fitteds have pockets because you can add more absorbency if needed.

Performance: This diaper is made of organic cotton and hemp. Hemp is the most absorbent material, so this diaper can hold a lot. I Eli doesn't usually do very well with fitteds overnight anymore (he is a heavy wetter and gets really fussy when he can feel the moisture), but this diaper help up pretty great at night. It's the perfect diaper for when e are out running errands and there's an extended amount of time when I can't change him right away. Overall this fitted diaper has gone above and beyond my expectations.

Value: The BabyKicks Organic Fitted retails for $19.95. This is pretty standard for an organic fitted diaper. Some organic fitteds that are not one-size diapers cost this much, so that fact that this diaper will last from birth to potty training helps with the value. If you wanted to diaper your baby using BabyKicks exclusively, you could have a 12-diaper stash for around $240. 

We love our BabyKicks Organic Fitted diaper. You can use this fitted diaper as a training pant too, which is an added bonus in my eyes.

You can purchase your own BabyKicks Organic Fitted diaper on their website!

"Like" BabyKicks on Facebook!

Disclaimer: I did not receive payment in any form for this review.

I did receive a sample of the product or service for testing and review purposes. This will in no way sway my opinion of the product or service.The review is in my own words and is my own opinion. Your results and opinion may differ

Is your cell phone causing more harm than good?

In this day and age cell phones are hardly for emergencies only anymore. You probably have one, your sister, brother, parents, grandparents, your 12 year old cousin probably even has one. Cell phones have advanced so much in the past decade that you can do virtually anything on it. You can update your facebook, post pictures online, purchase goods, use paypal to forward money to someone, I could even write this blog post on my phone if I wanted to. Because of the convenience that our cell phones provide us, many of us are on our phones virtually all the time. So, how bad is that for us? While there is no conclusive research that the radiation emissions from cell phones are harming us, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that constant exposure to radiation can, and will, do some kind of harm. The more you use your phone, the more your phone is emitting radiation. For example, a simple phone call on a cell phone emits about 1/10th of it's maximum radiation. The more work your phone has to do, the more radiation it emits. The same goes for the distance you are from a cell phone tower, the further away you are, the more work your phone has to do to maintain a signal, therefore more radiation is being emitted.

CNET has a list of the 20 highest-radiation cell phones, is yours on it?

         Cell phone    /  SAR level (digital)

1	Motorola V195s	1.6
2	Motorola Zine ZN5	1.59
2a	Motorola Rival	1.59
4	Kyocera Jax S1300	1.55
4a	Motorola VU204	1.55
6	RIM BlackBerry Curve 8330 (Sprint)	1.54
6a	RIM BlackBerry Curve 8330 (U.S. Cellular)	1.54
6b	RIM BlackBerry Curve 8330 (Verizon Wireless)	1.54
9	Nokia E71x	1.53
10	Pantech Matrix	1.52
11	LG Rumor 2	1.51
11a	RIM BlackBerry Bold	1.51
13	HTC SMT5800	1.49
14	Sony Ericsson W350a	1.48
15	T-Mobile Dash 3G	1.47
16	Samsung Instinct	1.46
16a	Samsung Spex SCH-R210	1.46
18	Kyocera X-tc	1.45
18a	Motorola i576	1.45
18b	Motorola Adventure V750	1.45

So, what can you do to minimize the exposure to radiation? Clearly the best thing you could do is to not use your cell phone as frequently, but for some people that's just not an option anymore. The second best option would be to get a headset so you are removing the radiation from your head area all together and try not to keep your cell phone on your person (such as in your pocket) if you don't have to.