Thursday, February 24, 2011

please forgive me!

it's a little backwards, but ps.  darn you blogger- i thought i had published this one post last week, and it's sitting in my posts as a draft.  arghhhhhhhh.  i'll show you.

excuse me for my lack of posting lately!  we have been super busy and only to get busier!  this past weekend we enjoyed a 30th birthday party and a 1st birthday party- and that pretty much sums up how we will celebrate most of 2011.  everyone is either turning 30 or 1!  we had a blast leaving ian with the grandparents and heading into the city to dance and drink and celebrate with friends.  it was the best time i've had all year, and now i can't wait to plan a fun 30th celebration for dave & myself!

i've also been busy with work.  besides my out-of-the-house job that i work 2 evenings a week, I also work from home for my in-laws.  they own a counseling practice and i am my father-in-law's assistant.  i do all of the bill paying and important stuff like that- the beginning of the year is crazy- throw a 1 year old into the mix and it's just insanity.

i've also been busy working out.  dave & i vowed to work out this year, we have a membership through our local parks & rec department and we are busy getting ready to knock the big one off my 30 before thirty list (you won't find it on the list though....)  ;)

i promise to be better.  i don't know how some of you do it with jobs and babes.  i think i just have really poor time management skills... Pin It!

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

fml or how i reached my insurance deductible by february for the second year in a row

boo.

if you have been reading this blog since i was pregnant, then you know about our insurance ordeal(s).  if not, let me (quickly) explain.

in september 2009, my happiness in having my first baby was turned to fear when i learned that my husband's company (which i hate with every fiber of my being) was "revamping" their insurance plans.  this meant that on january 1, 2010, we would be covered by a new plan, with a new, much higher deductible.  our deductible which was once $300, would now be $2,000, $3,000 or $4,000 (and after that only 80% of costs would be paid until you hit your max- which is double your deductible).  the only things that would be paid would be "preventative care."  so in essence, they want their employees to be healthier, go to their dr's for preventative appointments in order to avoid other appts and to cut down on unnecessary er visits when you could wait to see your dr. in the morning.  what they failed to realize is that emergencies happen, and that PEOPLE HAVE BABIES.  this company did not care that i would only be pregnant 3 weeks (not even) of 2010.  my condition was not "pre-existing."  in other words, i, a perfectly healthy woman was being punished for having a baby.  we tried to deliver early, ian's lungs weren't healthy enough, we had to wait, we got slapped with $4000+ worth of bills and we are STILL paying for the birth of my son 13 months after his birth.

dave & i will probably not have another baby while he is working for this company.  sad, isn't it.

so, january 20, 2011- my son's 1st birthday.  we go to play group and have a good time.  monday, january 24, ian starts coughing.  i learn from another mother that her son was diagnosed w\ rsv over the weekend.  rsv takes 4-6 days to show up- explaining why this baby wasn't sick until the weekend and why ian wasn't sick until monday.  at this time ian also appears to have all 4 of his top front teeth coming in.  yay.  we're also on the brink of a wonder week.  joy.

saturday, january 29th ian throws up after nursing from coughing so much- it's the 2nd time it's happened that week.  we are able to get him in to see the pediatrician, who almost writes us off after we explain ian's "symptoms" until i finally get ian to drink water from his sippy- which causes him to cough.  the dr. doesn't say one way or another whether ian has rsv, but his cough is consistent, he has a runny nose and he has lost 5 oz.  we go home irritated.

wednesday, february 2nd.  dave & i are watching a movie when all the sudden ian wakes up screaming in terror- we usually give him a few minutes- and we did, but the screaming doesn't subside.  i go in and pick him up, but he's still screaming, i rock him, i walk with him, we turn the light on in the room- still screaming.  i take him into our room, lay him on  our bed, try to sit him on the floor to crawl, give him to dave- he was still inconsolable.  i sent my friend a text b\c i was so worried, and she called me back- the screaming was terrible- her husband could hear him.  i talked to her for a few minutes, and then called my mil.  we finally decided to page the pediatrician's office- the pediatrician was SO RUDE (there are 8 dr's at our practice and thank God this wasn't my dr.).  he told us that we should take ian to the er because "he couldn't help me over the phone" (ass).  this was our worst fear- do we wait and see if he gets better & risk something bad happening b\c we are afraid to take him to the er b\c of the cost or do we take him and know that we're going to get slapped with a bill that could range up to $6000 (i call this fear-mongering, husband's company calls this "insurance.")

so we bundle our screaming kid in his snowsuit (please remember we had a BLIZZARD that had just ended 8 hours before this) and drive as slooowly as possible on the awful roads to a hospital i'm not familiar with (the hospital i delivered at was just too far to go to).  it's almost midnight.  ian is calm for the car ride.  we get him checked in, they take his temp (no temp), weigh him (he's now lost 8 oz) and ask us some questions, then we go into our er room.  the nurse comes in and asks questions, we tell him about the possible rsv, the blood that's been in the diaper for 3 months, etc.  ian goes back & forth the entire night between screaming in terror/tiredness/anger/confusion and laughing or being calm.  he wants nothing to do with me, and only sleeps in small spurts when dave is holding him.

tests performed at hospital:  catheter for urinalysis, rsv test, breathing treatment, chest x-rays, iv and blood draws (had to leave the room for that one), ultrasound, and abdominal x-rays.  everything comes back negative except for "inflammation" in the blood work, which gets us admittance to the regular hospital (around 6 am).  ian is asleep on dave, so i drive home, grab snacks, extra clothes/diapers and fight morning traffic back to the hospital.  we're in our room (which they don't have a crib for) and waiting on the ped.  we finally see the ped who goes over all the inconclusive tests- and says that maybe ian just had gas (i will refrain from punching anyone in the face at this time).  we're told to monitor is intake & outtake for a few hours, and they'll let us know when we can leave.  finally after sitting in a hospital room all effing day doing nothing- we get discharged around 2:30 (and ian is asleep).  so we wait until he wakes up, we get his iv out, and we go.  we have no answers, and now we have no money.  awesome.  we also got to visit the pediatrician again on friday the 11th for blisters in the diaper area- we got the honor of seeing the dr. for a full 3 minutes for him to tell me to keep doing what i'm doing for it, and that maybe the concentration of his urine is what caused the blisters.  grrrrrrrrrrrr.

so thank you to everyone who asked about ian during these last 3 weeks.  i wish i could say i knew what was going on with him that night- or during these last 3 weeks.  he's currently doing really well- happy and smiling and laughing- he's being himself.  me- i'm recovering.  i was pretty depressed during that time- it was worse than anytime after i had given birth to him.  it was hard.  we're glad to all be back to normal.  now, to win the lottery and pay off those medical bills!

a couple photos to remember this by...


ian in the hospital crib- which looks like a cage.  and finally asleep after being discharged.
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Wednesday, February 16, 2011

i resolve... february

not to make stupid resolutions this year that i will have forgotten about by... yesterday.

instead.  my "resolution" is to make a short list of attainable goals each month- and to share them with you.

once again, we're almost halfway through the month, but i've had my list going.  first, let's revisit january's goals:

  • sign up for mentor program for my biggest 30 before thirty goal - done!!
  • start working out.  for reals.  find a gym- husband's company will reimburse- so do it!  - done- not until february, but done nonetheless!
  • use lotion on my hands EVERY night (this is silly, but i hate that the air is so dry my skin splits) - done!
  • lose 5 pounds.  starting weight: 1X6 - not done, but a pair of pants i couldn't wear a few weeks ago, i can wear now, so i've lost something!!
  • finish the book listed on my blog.  that i haven't even started....  - not done.  ugh.  not a good month for reading...
  • complete 2 items on my 30 before thirty list (some of these goals should help) done!!  #3 (start a work out plan and start working out), and #28- (file our financial documents and shred the junk)
  • type up the "chore list"  - done!  now, to start doing the chores... ai yi yi
  • start/finish the "remodeling" on one of the bathrooms - done!  not only did we do our bathroom, we finished ian's as well.  pictures to come!

and now, my goals for february:

  • lose 5 lbs.  
  • finish reading that darn book already
  • complete 2 more items on my 30 before thirty list
  • go to bed before 2 AM (to most of you, this is probably crazy, but i have a lot of trouble winding down- this is a HUGE deal for me)
  • start listing clothes on smashion
  • start implementing the cleaning plan
i'll check back in with you on these in 2 weeks!! Pin It!

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

1st Birthday Party!

i originally wasn't sure if i was going to do a theme for ian's birthday party- but i found the perfect invitations and it all fell into place!  i think things turned out splendidly!  lucky little guy had not 1, but 2 1st birthday parties!  first we celebrate with our friends and family in georgia, and then we celelbrated with our friends and family here in illniois!

enjoy!

invites from paperheart press- etsy!

baseball themed party fare- top (l-r) popcorn, chocolate and vanilla "ice cream" funfetti cupcakes, peanuts, animal crackers & goldfish.  bottom (l-r) ice cream cupcake, ian's baseball smash cake (with homemade banana frosting), cracker jack. we also grilled hotdogs!

atlanta party:
a few of our party friends, including my buddy ryan, opening gifts with mommy & daddy, and then checking them out for myself.  ian's first birthday cake- he definitely wasn't sure about it.  birthday crown from betterthannormal - etsy!

ian was supposed to have a raglan baseball tee with his name and "1" on the back, but it's so difficult to find infant-sized baseball shirts.  it just wasn't meant to be.  

chicago party:
photos (click collage to enlarge) top (l to r) daddy & ian w\ cousins jason & christian, checking out presents, face full of frosting, reading a book upside down.  middle (l to r) grammy trying to entertain me as i get restless, more frosting face, riding in my brand new wagon w\ jason, my party baby friends!  bottom (l to r) checking out gifts w\ jason, opening gifts with mommy & daddy.
embroidered birthday bib: ginghambunny - etsy!

happy birthday!
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Monday, February 7, 2011

straight from the heart

valentine's day is in a week!  i love valentine's day a little too much.  it's safe to say that it's my favorite holiday- while for most people it's a day they wish just didn't exist.  i used to always go overboard for the big day- i've changed that a little since being married, but i still want sometime cute to wear for my dinner date with the husband.  modcloth's newest look book straight from the heart pretty much belongs in my closet- and confirms that my taste is a little twee...  oh well.  here are my faves!


all items from modcloth

1.  heart act to follow cardigan
2.  to the patisserie sweater
3.  traveling translator tote
4.  lace embrace top
5.  on the ball-et dress
6.  tweet on you dress
7.  flowers of romance dress
8.  seafoam of affection dress
9.  moments to remember dress
10.  eye in the sky heel
11.  flurry up top
12.  constellation rising top

your thoughts on valentine's day?  love it or hate it? 
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Tuesday, February 1, 2011

you know what's not fun?

teething. 

ian has 3-4 teeth coming in (2 top teeth have already broken through)!  want to put a cherry on top of the teething experience? 

get sick (not you- that would make it worse- baby).

ian has rsv (he got it on his birthday- symptoms take 4-6 days to show).  a baby in our group apparently had gotten it and was at group that thursday- their symptoms didn't show until the weekend, which is when they got their diagnosis.  he started coughing last monday and that was accompanied by a runny nose and feeling warm (although thermometer shows no fever).   saturday morning he coughed so much while nursing that he threw up everything he had just drank (poor, wasted milk)that was enough for me, and we took him to the pediatrician (ever been on a saturday- holy s- when we arrived, there was 1 other child, but 5-6 came in- but when we left, there were 30 people in the waiting room!)  we saw our ped who seemed skeptical about whether he had rsv- and of course, ian hadn't coughed the entire time the doc was in the room.  i had to make something happen though- so i let ian drink water out of his sippy, and sure enough, the coughing began.  he did have the cough associated w\ rsv and 5 oz of weight loss.  right now, we just have to ride it out, as you  have to with most baby things.  that's that.  we're still sick.  we've missed a baby group outing, group itself and a swim class (that has been paid for- grr).  i'm not sure we'll make it out to anything this week either.  just hope my boy is better soon!

and on a final note.  we're supposed to have a blizzard.  projected 3-6" snow tonight (monday) with up to 20" starting on tuesday in the afternoon.  lovely.  can this southerner survive her first blizzard (ok, 2nd, i was around during the blizzard of '93) in the midwest.  photos to come, if i care to get out in it, or if it even happens.  i will probably be holed up with my margs either way!  people are making this out to be the snowpocalypse.  seriously. 

any tips for dealing with a sick witta guy (or girl)? Pin It!