Pet Peeve #127

This is probably going to make me sound really crazy, but just can't keep it quiet anymore.

I can't figure out why some people think it's ok to eat in some situations.

I took Hunter to the doctor the other day and when we walked in there was a sign on the door specifically stating NO food or drink. (of course they also tell you to turn off your cell phone too, but that's a different post and seriously, who can go without their cell phone when that's the relied upon source of entertainment for the waiting room?) This lady and her daughter came in and the woman sat down, put on her iPod, and sat there eating some kind of trail mix or something. I'm pretty sure with this particular woman that she's just rude and has no regard for rules. I also wonder what makes her think she should be eating in a room full of sick kids who've probably touched every single surface with their germy little hands. And the headphones.....why would you put on headphones when you're waiting on them to call you back? She actually asked her daughter to let her know if they called them. Her daughter looked like she was about 4. Responsibility anyone?

I was in Wal-mart (yech) and some lady in the chip aisle just walks up, snatches a bag of chips off the shelf and rips it open so she can eat while she's shopping. OMG does this crap bother me. It's just gross! I didn't come to the grocery store to watch people eat. I guess sample day is exempt from this complaint, because some people go just for the samples. (Sorry, you will not find me eating those either). I think it bothers me because I just don't get how someone can be THAT hungry and can't wait to at least get to their car before tearing into their snacks. Hunter is 4 and a half and even he understands that we don't eat IN Wal-mart (unless we stop at McDonald's on the way in).

This is going to sound really gross too and I absolutely would not mention it if I didn't KNOW people who do this. Do NOT eat in the bathroom! I mean come on people, it's for your own safety. I'm not talking about at home, do what you want in your own house, I'm not likely to be there. And yes, it makes it worse that I'm talking about a public bathroom. If you have to go that bad, put the food down, leave it in the breakroom or something, last time I checked half eaten food was pretty safe there.

Most of the time seeing people eating has no effect of me. Those few situations where it's just completely unhygenic and disgusting... yeah, it bothers me a LOT!

I keep thinking of things to blog about. Keeping a notebook wouldn't even help, I don't have the time to write in that either. I have so much going on these days. Busy is a good thing for me though. I barely watch TV, which means I also barely think to turn it on to keep my kids busy.

They are both getting better at playing with their toys (together at that). We recently decided it was time to teach Hunter about keeping his room clean and he's doing a great job...most of the time.

Rylie just moved up a room at daycare. They chance rooms at the start of the school year. Hunter would have moved up, but he was already in the room for the oldest kids. They had moved him up there shortly after they started at that daycare, so a lot of his friends left for kindergarten.

Just the other day Hunter found a piece of paper and wrote his name on it for me. It was very rough, but you could definitely tell he'd been practicing. I'm constantly amazed at how much he's learned in the short time they've been at the new school. They are very structured there, with the same teachers all the time, and they keep the same schedule each day.

Two weeks ago I traded in my embroidery machine for a brand new one. I bought mine in November last year and they give you 1 year to trade with a great deal on a new one. So I caved and traded a little early, but I knew I wanted to anyway, so I figured I'd just get it over with. If I had known last year how much I would be using it, I probably would have bought the new one then, but who knows, right?

My new machine has so many upgrades and extras. Wow, it's so nice. It plugs directly into my computer, no more dealing with 3.5 floppy disks. It seems to embroider faster than the old one as well. I have been having some issues with broken needles, so I think tomorrow I'm going to take it over and have them look at it for me to see if there's something wrong with it. I have a couple of blankets I need to finish, and some other stuff, but I don't think it's worth waiting because of the time and money spent on broken needles. Hopefully it's something easy to fix and they won't have to send it in to the repair shop.

Other than that the days are flying by. It's hard to believe that just a year from now Hunter will be in kindergarten. I am loving the fact that Rylie is getting bigger and more independent. It sure makes me think that all of the business of having babies is behind us, I can't imagine having another one at this point. Of course, I reserve the right to change my mind.

Maybe I'll be able to work blogging back into my regular routine again. I have forgotten how much I liked it. Strange how you can let go of things without even noticing.

Wordless Wednesday - going for a ride

Somewhere in New Mexico

Snacks and movies- it's amazing what a difference this makes in the car. Hunter was wide awake at 3 am when we all got in the car, just so he could watch the same old movies in the car. He stayed awake ALL day. We drove 18 hours the first day.

They had a ton of fun at the children's museum in Iowa City. Hours there and we didn't even get to see that much because what they saw kept them so entertained.

Look who's in a big girl bed...

...after climbing into her crib to get her doll yesterday, then she figured out how to climb out and that was it.

Here's a look at my June special over on my other blog.

Nothing much going on here lately.

Hunter is starting to be a well behaved 4 year old. He's doing his best to get adjusted at the new daycare and it hasn't been too bad.

At the same time Rylie is fully into the terrible twos. I thought maybe we'd be spared some grief after Hunter and all of his climbing antics, and since Rylie is a girl I figured she'd just want to play with her baby dolls all the time. Unfortunately I was wrong. She's becoming just as bad as he was about climbing the counters. The bathroom counter, the kitchen counter, and always on the kitchen table. I just wish someone could explain the excitement of toothpaste, perfume, deoderant and hair brushes. We think she's also flushed something down one of the toilets. I'm just not that excited about dealing with all of the 2 year old nonsense.

As it gets hotter our days at work get shorter, so we have even more spare time on our hands. It seems like it's never enough to get things accomplished though, when you have kids around to "help" you do everything. Seth put down some pergo in the den because our carpet was beyond gross. It was so easy we'll probably be putting it in our bedroom and eventually the kids' rooms also.

I've been getting a pretty steady stream of orders, usually one right after another. I've also got some things that have been on the waiting list that I need to get started on. I put up a sale on my store which will run through Memorial Day. If you haven't been over there for awhile, check it out!

I finally figured it out...Mashed Potatoes!!!

Anyone in my family can tell you how much I love mashed potatoes. When I was in junior high I would always walk to my grandma's house after school. She always asked me what I wanted for a "snack" and I would usually say mashed potatoes. She. was. the best. She usually already had them peeled and ready to go on the stove.

I still like mashed potatoes a lot. I guess I would still call them my favorite food. I also have to admit that sometimes, I make a meal to go with my mashed potatoes instead of the other way around.

Since I moved to Arizona 11 years ago my family has always asked me to move back. I thought it was because I am so smart, cute and funny, you know, the life of the party.

If I moved back my mom could see her grand kids more.

My sister, well, we'd do sisterly things together. Things like fighting, shopping, pulling hair, doing each other's hair, messing up each other's house, helping each other with the kids.

I know my brother and my dad would love to go play golf with me and Seth. We'd make a great foursome on the course.

While I was peeling potatoes for dinner tonight I realized something.

They don't want me back.

They want their potato peeler back!

Out with the old....

...and in with the new.

We've had a lot of small things happen lately that have accumulated into a bunch of changes. I feel like I'm running in circles some days, drowning in paperwork, and trying to get things done.

A few weeks ago I took Hunter into the Dr. for his 4 year checkup. They asked me to pay a copay, but I explained that we've been with our insurance for 3 years and we don't pay for well child care. Then when I took Rylie for her well child visit they argued with me about it again. Having just been through it a month before I was really annoyed. This time the office manager told the receptionist to collect the copay anyway. Then a couple of minutes later she called me back to talk to her. After explaining how my insurance works, and how their billing department is so slow to refund money that is owed to me, I got my copay back. I felt really insulted because the office manager asked that I pay them in a timely manner if in fact we did owe a copay. Sort of like she thought I was going to stiff them on the bill.

The same visit Rylie was due for immunizations. The nurse said she had missed her 18 month shots. I thought that was weird because I always bring the kids for their appointments when they tell me to. I also found out that Hunter was not caught up, even though he had just been there for shots the month before. Irritating to say the least.

All of those things, combined with a new physicians assistant that my kids seem to be afraid of, contribute to my decision to take the kids to a new doctor.

Yesterday we got a letter from our daycare about tuition going up next month. We've been taking Hunter there since he was 6 weeks old. We've always had a really good arrangement with them since we work short hours we've been able to keep them on half days and we had a sibling discount. The new plan includes them getting rid of any sort of discounts, as well as half days. The result is for us to either pay more than double what we're currently paying and stay there, or move the kids to someplace else that still has half days. I gave our two week notice today.

I feel so torn about leaving the daycare. I know the teachers all love our kids, and the kids love them as well. Hunter has a friend who he talks about all the time. I'm sad that he will be leaving her behind because they've been going to school together for so long. That being said, we have to do what's right for our family. Doing what's right does not involve paying the equivalent of $14 an hour in childcare.

Going Green and A Giveaway!!!!

I've been trying to do my part to help out the Earth.



I bought about 10 of those reusable bags for shopping. I really like using them because they don't rip open like the plactic ones always do. Now I just need to remember them every time I go to the store.



We recycle. At least we do try to recycle. We have separate trash cans and as long as the kids don't get confused about which is which we do pretty well. I also use the plastic grocery bags that I wind up with as trash bags for the bathrooms.



We carpool. Why drive 2 cars to go to the same place of work?



Recently I was contacted by someone from Ecostore USA about doing a review and a giveaway. I feel terrible that it has taken me this long to get it up. Life has been really crazy lately, with a side of writers block.



They sent me a set of their Vanilla shampoo and conditioner to try. I love it! It has no nasty chemicals, and it leaves my hair just as soft as my normal shampoo.



They have all kinds of green products on their website, and if you live near a Meijer store you can get it there as well. April is Earth Month and as a special treat all orders on their website over $25 qualify for free shipping!



You can enter to win a set of Vanilla shampoo and conditioner! Just check out the Ecostore USA website and tell me which product(s) you think you'd like to try. Then leave me a comment and make sure I have a way to contact you.



You can get also get 1 additional entry for each of the following things, leave an additional comment for each.



Follow me

Twitter the giveaway and include the link in the comment.

Follow me on Twitter.



That simple.



Entries close at 5:00 pm pacific time on Sunday April 19th and I'll draw the winner by 9:00 pm. Good Luck!

***4/24- Clearly I cannot handle the extra work that is a giveaway. I finally got around to picking the winner, it was Cynthia. I used random.org, haha, for the whole 5 entries that I had. Thank you for you guys who entered. I've been so bad about not doing ANYTHING lately.***

Keeping the Doctors in Business

I didn't expect to be paying a Dr's car payment last week.

I took Hunter for his 4 year well-child visit 2 weeks ago tomorrow. He was completely fine. Doing great. No copay (which is MY favorite part). I think the doctor may have even made a comment like he's a perfect average child, percentile wise.

He got his shots. I'm such a bad mom, I forgot his shot record because I didn't think he even needed shots. He did great though, such a brave boy.

Saturday morning we wake up, and he's complaining about his tongue hurting. Just 2 days after the Dr. visit. I finally figured out that he meant to say he had a sore throat. And it was so sore he didn't even want to drink.

Back to the doctor we went. $20 copay. Strep test was neg.(bill for that to follow), but antibiotics were prescribed.

Sunday Rylie started grabbing at her throat. That night she didn't sleep well at all, and Monday she was definitely NOT feeling well.

Back to the doctor we went. Another $20 copay. Antibiotics wer prescribed.

Thursday I took them to the dentist. A shocking $75 copay. Hunter got his teeth cleaned and hooray for no cavities! Rylie was completely uncooperative, and the dentist counted her teeth and said it didn't look like she had any cavities. Yay.

Friday I got a call from daycare. Rylie hurt her arm and was inconsolable. I ran over there and checked on her (I was out on my route about 1/2 mile away). She was hurting so bad, it didn't appear to be nursemaid's elbow. I tried the trick to pop it back in and she just kept crying. I decided to leave work and....

Back to the doctor we went. Another $20 copay. She couldn't tell exactly what was the problem, so she gave us an order for an X-ray.

We get to the X-ray place and she's climbing all over the place like nothing ever happened (little stinker). I crossed our names off the list and left. I have paid my dues and I'll expect to NOT have to visit any doctors anytime soon. (Oh, except for Rylie's 2 year checkup next week............and it begins all over again.)

Wordless Wednesday