Friday, October 29, 2010

Really?--Letters of Intent

Foursons


Dear Ear Nose and Throat Associates:
Attn: Dr. Shreck

You might not remember me, I'm sure you're absurdly busy, but you did my sinus surgery back in September. You did a great job and I can't complain about your surgical skills. However, I really think you might need a watch. Or a lesson in time management. I came to your office yesterday for a follow up to my follow up. I was informed upon check-in that you were running at least and hour and a half behind. AN HOUR AND A HALF! WHAT?! How does one get THAT far behind? And why oh why wouldn't your secretary, nurse, or someone call patients and explain that you are behind. Maybe do them the courtesy of seeing if they would like to reschedule.
I wish I could explain what an ordeal it is to bring a 3.5 year old and a 15 month old to Mommy's doctor appointment. First, there's the diapers and the wipes. Then there's the snack and the drinks. And, of course, the toys. You see, I want to be prepared so that my appointment can go as smoothly as possible. But here's the thing, an hour and a half wait with two little kids just simply isn't possible. Not to mention my appointment was at 4:15, so that would mean I wouldn't be seen until 5:45. That's dangerously close to the dinner hour. Maybe other kids don't turn into crazed maniacs around the dinner hour, but mine do. So, again, not a good scenario.
I was totally amazed that the receptionist was totally rude as well. She said "It's not like I can do anything about it." I explained that I would be unable to wait and she said "What do you want me to do?" What I wanted to say was "Walk your lazy behind over to your handy dandy computer and schedule a different appointment. And while you're at it, how about an apology and some compassion." But what I said was "Can you just cancel my appointment?" I kindly explained that I had made the 25 minute drive and that I was a little frustrated. She said "That's not MY fault." Apparently she knows of some teleportation device that would beam me directly into your office, eliminating the need to drive.
It's like this...if I showed up an hour and a half late, would you still see me? What's that? The answer is no? Well then, why am I expected to wait on you? Do you forget that you charged me almost $20,000 to do the surgery? Do you forget that YOU work for ME, not the other way around? You see, I'm wise to this game. I won't play it. I won't make my kids and myself miserable because of your poor time management. I won't do it. Yes, you are a great doctor, but you will no longer be MY doctor.

Signed:
I'm not waiting

Thursday, October 28, 2010

We didn't blow away!

I'm still here, we haven't blown away in all of this crazy wind! I find myself facing a lot of writer's block lately. I have a lot of stuff in my head, it's just hard to get it out. Not to mention, it's a wee bit disheartening to post blogs and have no comments. I'm sure people are reading, but I need some comments people! Don't have an account? No problem! Post under anonymous, but please sign your name so I know who you are!

We've been ridiculously busy for...well...since forever it seems. I know that one of these days we're going to be able to sit around in our pajamas all day long and watch TV. Right? No? Not gonna happen? Sigh....

Here's a few updates:

Adelae is still loving pre-school. She is making lots of little friends and learning so much. When I hear her sing her songs, it makes me smile from ear to ear. I remember my Grandma telling me that one of her favorite memories of me when I was little was when I would sing her all my preschool songs. I like to think that Grandma's looking down at Adelae and smiling that same smile. Adelae has developed a real passion for reading lately. When I go up to check on her at night she's almost always cuddled up in bed with her flashlight and her book. She can't read the words yet, but she loves to look at the pictures. Her imagination has really taken flight as well. She's starting to get into playing house with her various dolls and stuffed animals. Adelae is also working on testing my patience, but she's 3 so it's to be expected. Over all she is such an amazing little girl. I love to watch her grow. Even though she's a big girl now, she's not about a few snuggles here and there. The other morning she climbed in bed with me and whispered "I just wanna hold your hand like this till I fall asleep again." How could I say no?

Brinna is changing a little bit every single day it seems. She's starting to "talk" more and more every day. Right now her favorite thing to do is to point to something and say "UH! AH! AH! AH!" insistently until you give it to her. She is entranced by baby dolls and petrified of any toy that moves on it's own. She has definite opinions on what she does and doesn't like! I would like to say that she's growing like a weed, but well...I can't. She's definitely our little munchkin. She just had her 15 month check up and she's weighing in at a whopping 16 lbs 4 oz and is 29 inches long. Our doctor said that some people are just tiny and isn't concerned at all. Brinna eats like a horse, so I'm not sure where she's putting it all. It's my theory that she has a hollow leg. Brinna has a wee bit of hero worship going on where her big sister is concerned. Lately she does everything Adelae does. Most of the time it's pretty cute. Most of the time. It's not so cute when Adelae is sassing back and Brinna starts yelling "AH, UH, BA, MA, AH, AH!" at me. Brinna recently learned how to give kisses and hugs. She will routinely walk over to me just to give me a hug and a kiss. It completely melts my heart.

I'm doing well. I've fully recovered from my sinus surgery (although I dang near had a heart attack when we got the bill). I have my final check up this afternoon, but I expect that all is well. I recently decided that I needed a few more tattoos, so I had that done last weekend. Other than that the kids are keeping me hopping! It seems like between school, appointments and errands we are rarely home. That's ok though, it keeps us all busy and occupied. Sadly, my housework is sorely behind. I suppose I should be doing that instead of blogging, but blogging is just more fun!

Ben's tired. Poor guy! They've been pushing him really hard a work lately. He's been working three 12 hour shifts and one 10 hour shift, not to mention a few hours of overtime on the weekend. He's hoping his schedule slows down sometime soon so he can spend some time with us. We miss him! He took Adelae to their first Father/Daughter activity at school the other day. They had a pumpkin carving night. All of the kids sang their Halloween songs and Ben was one proud Daddy. I love that he loves spending one-on-one time with each of our girls. They are very lucky indeed!

We've been fighting some awfully strong winds the last few days and I'm pretty much over it. I suppose this will be the wind that finally blows winter our way. We're hoping the propane fireplace that we purchased will help keep us all warm and cozy this winter. If not, I'm going to pack up and move down South.

We're slowly getting ready for Christmas too. Adelae has a wish list a mile long. She's really nice and helping her sister make her wish list too. I'm pretty sure that the Tiana (from Princess and the Frog) Barbie that Adelae put on Brinna's list isn't really for Brinna. When I pointed out that Brinna might be too little for a Barbie Adelae said "Oh. Well I can just play with it till she's big like me." At least she's thoughtful!

That's about all that's worth reporting in our little part of the world!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

A Halloween Preview-Wordless Wednesday

Here's a little Halloween costume cuteness to feast your eyes on.





Wordless Wednesday is brought to you by 5 Minutes For Mom

Friday, October 15, 2010

Toot Toot!

I rarely toot my own horn, mostly because I don't really ever do anything worthy of it, but today I am. About three weeks ago I started The 30 Day Shred by Jillian Michaels. If you've ever watched The Biggest Loser you know that Jillian is no joke. If you know me, you should know that I hate exercise. Hate it. With a passion. I'd rather do just about anything than exercise. A month or so ago I decided that it was time to start doing something. I was feeling blah and very overweight and unhealthy. I've been hearing about the 30 Day Shred and decided that I could do it. It's only 20 minutes. I mean, I can do just about anything for 20 minutes, right?
The first day was rough. I almost passed out afterward and couldn't walk. The second day was worse. I actually had to take an Aleve so I could walk! But, I kept on. Day by day it got a little easier. I can say that I've noticed a big difference just in the three short weeks I've been doing it. Today when I got dressed I realized that, for the first time in a long time, my breasts are bigger than my stomach! Hooray! Last night Ben commented that was looking a lot thinner. Yay for me!!! So, just this once, I'll toot my own horn :D

*****TOOT TOOT******

Monday, October 11, 2010

Bullying

I don't often post about current events, but something has been weighing heavily on my mind the last few days. Bullying has been all over the news lately. There's the college student that jumped off the George Washington Bridge, the high school in Mentor where 4 students have killed themselves over the course of a little over 2 years, and a little closer to home a mother was bullied through her blog moments after she has posted that her son had died due to a congenital heart defect.
Bullying is everywhere. It happens online, in the hallways of our high schools, locker rooms, college campuses, elementary school playgrounds and everywhere in between. There are no words to explain how disgusted it makes me to see this happening everywhere. Kids are bullied because they're smaller, not as smart, gay, black, latino or "different" in any way. It's gross. All of this media coverage has me thinking about the bullies as well as their victims.
How is a bully made? Are they just mean? Is it some sort of cry for attention? Does the relative anonymity of a YouTube post or a comment on a blog make people feel safe?
Chances are, adult bullies were child bullies. (I have no proof of that, it's just a thought.) So, why weren't they stopped? Why AREN'T they stopped now? Where are the parents? Why are they not disciplining their children? I hear over and over again "The school didn't do anything." Why is it the school's responsibility? Why isn't it the parents job? If I found out that either of my girls were bullying other children, you can bet there would be consequences at home. I would work with the school to make sure the behavior was stopped immediately. Shouldn't others do the same?
With all of the technology out there, internet bullying is almost seen as a victimless crime. You can post nasty comments to a grieving mother under "anonymous" and you never have to see the reaction. It's just as easy to harass classmates on Facebook, MySpace or Twitter. You never see the reaction. You aren't there when that person, who is already hurting, reads that comment.
I've walked high school hallways and I've seen bullying. I've seen a group of students tease another student and laugh. When did it become funny to hurt others? When did we lose our empathy, our ability to care about others?
I wish I had the answer. I wish I could grab all of those people that are hurting others and scream at them. Or smack them. Or anything to get their attention. But I can't. I can write this blog and hope that maybe it touches someone. I can pray for the bullies as well as their victims. I can make sure that my children aren't bullies. I can make sure that they feel comfortable talking to me so if they're ever bullies they will tell me. If they are ever bullied, I can make sure that I stand up for them. I can offer words of encouragement to those that are being bullied in the hopes that my kind words will be the ones that reach them.
I hope that others will do the same.