More Sevens

7 Things That Make Me Smile (in no particular order, blah, blah, blah):

1. Seeing my kids smile.

2. Rollercoasters

3. Tulips

4. Shopping (for fun, not groceries)

5. Date Night with my Hunny.

6. Mild weather and all the windows in the house open.

7. Seeing old photos of friends and family.

Updates

Here's an update from the last few posts:

1. Got my money back from Walmart and the Pediatrician's office sent a letter and we are clear!!! (two down, two to go!!)

2. Got an affirmative RSVP for BB's party - yay!!! (one down, 13 to go!)

3. I have the most awesome husband - I came home to a cooked meal and 50 tulips last night!! What a sweetheart! Love you baby!!!

So, all in all it was a good day.

Cover your eyes and shut your ears...

Here's a quote from Eve Ensler, creator of the Vagina Monologues...

"New Orleans is the vagina of America - It's moist, it's a wetland, it's a place where people come for fun. And when things go south, forget about it.”

Hahahahahahahahaha!!!!!

(original context here if you're interested)

Happy V Day

Happy V Day to you!!! Here's to you guys kissing your girl's butts!! Better do it right fellas! ('Cause you know the V doesn't stand for Valentine!!!)

Well, apparently I'm feeling a bit saucy today! Possibly because I've lost 5 lbs? Could be. Yay for me!!! Hopefully now I'll be able to stick with it.

Yesterday I was walking to the office from my car around lunchtime, and there was a pick-up truck outside the building. They were passing out NBA "no-flat" basketballs. The NBA All-Star game is here this weekend, so I guess it was some sort of PR campaign (they were filming) and I got a b-ball for Ian! I'm never in the right place at the right time, so this was pretty cool! AND, he went out and played with it for a while last night, which makes me even happier. I think he actually liked his gift!

The one low point is that I'm getting nervous about BB's party. Monday night I was really upset, but I have realized that I can't do anything about it and hopefully things will work out for the best. The little girl next door can't come and one other girl at school told her she can't come (the reason was kind of questionable), and no one else has called. So of course I'm having these horrible visions of no one showing up. It's hard because I don't know any of the parents at the new school so I don't really have anyone to ask about it. They seem kind of "clique-y", so I'm nervous about the whole thing. Every kid deserves a birthday, no matter if you hate the parents or the kid is annoying. Come on, people, I'm suffering through the Children's Museum 3 times in two weeks and how many trips to Skate Country have I made since New Years? Please. But, as I said, there's really nothing I can do about it and I know I'm a worrier so I'm trying not to.

J is going out of town again next week. I think I'm gonna have to send a letter to his boss. Or send the kids with him! Hmmm...that has potential.

The kids have been full of funny stuff, none of which I've written down, so I'm sorry you will not be entertained by the comedy stylings of my offspring. Maybe next time.

Love Ya!!!

Money Talks

I'm tired. Tired of fighting for what's mine (or, really, my family's). It seems lately that everyone wants my money. Currently, I am in a dispute with:
1. The Pediatrician
2. The Dentist
3. Sprint
4. Walmart

Okay, the Walmart thing I cleared up today. In my favor. With no problems. And I'm glad, because that was kinda the straw that broke my back. We went shopping yesterday, and it wasn't until late last night that I realized they double-charged me for a $10 item, and the "screener" marked both charges as if they were both in my cart - so I knew there would be trouble. But I wanted my money back. And I just didn't want to deal with it anymore, but I (and Jerrod) worked hard for that money and it's ours, not Walmart's. So I went in with steely resolve and they gave it back.

BUT....the others are not so easy. The pediatrician keeps billing the wrong insurance and when they don't pay the pediatrician then tries to bill me. I've sent them 3 letters (with spreadsheets and attachments) and they still keep screwing it up. It's been going on for months and I'm gonna be pissed if they try to send it to collections. So last week I wrote a letter to the pediatrician (with spreadsheet and attachments) and sent a copy to the hospital administration and both insurance companies. Maybe this time they'll get it right.

Hopefully the dentist will not be an issue either. Basically they ask for payment at the time of service and bill your insurance. Which is fine, except that they also got the insurance payments. So they owe us $100. The problem is that last time we had a credit they wouldn't give it back, they kept it as a credit. Except that we don't need any more dental work and our check-ups are free. I want my money, not a credit.

And lastly, Sprint. I bought Ian a phone for Christmas. It had a $50 mail-in rebate. I sent in the rebate. They denied it saying it hadn't been active for 30 days, except that as of the date they received it it had been active for 39 days. So now I'm disputing that too. I want my money.

See? These should all be no-brainers. I'm tired of fighting. But if I give up, they win and keep my money. I work to hard for this bullshit.

Heavenly 7s

Seven Things I'd Like To Do Before I Die:
(in no particular order)

1. Visit Ireland (and kiss the Blarney stone)
2. Learn to play piano well
3. Fill my passport
4. Swim with dolphins
5. Learn to speak Spanish fluently
6. Visit the Pyramid of the Sun (and as long as I'm in the vicinity, Chichen Itza)
7. Go on a "real" train ride, i.e. with sleeping car, dining car, etc.

and one to grow on:
8. Travel cross country stopping whenever the mood hits to stop and look at whatever.

There are many more things I'd like to do, but for now this is my top 7 (8).

Slingin' around the F-word

I was sitting at my dining room table this morning, having toast and diet coke, planning my weekend and reading the newspaper. Average Saturday morning. Then, I happened upon this article. As I read it, I realized he was talking about me. As much as you tease me about being a feminist, I laugh back and say "no, that's not it". But you know what? Maybe I am a feminist. All the things that are important to me - abuse, education, equal opportunities in the workforce, the ability to make your own financial decisions, to marry or not to marry, to vote - make me a feminist. In my head, I've always pictured feminists as braless man-haters parading around in Doc-Martens who were more interested in being angry than having a family. And maybe at one time they were. But they're not anymore. They're women like me, balancing a family and a career, who are free to enjoy those rights fought for by others. Somewhere along the line, feminism became the F-word, and it shouldn't have.

Read the article I linked above. Hopefully you will see yourself in it too. I'm here now saying "Yes, I am a feminist". And if you don't like it, F U.

Wagon Wheels

You know how you get into a rut and the days all seem to meld together into one big chunk of time? That's about where I'm at. I know, I know, Mardi Gras was three days ago, how is it possible to be in a rut? I don't know, but I am. Don't get me wrong, the parades were fun, ALTHOUGH...I think we're gonna have to change our "usual" parade spot to a few blocks closer to the beginning of the parade. This year we were inundated by high school/college kids who were not exactly rude (well, maybe a little) but not friendly either.

My two Lenten resolutions are: 1. Start the diet and stick to it (i.e. Lose Weight) and 2. Go to Stations every Friday. Started "The Diet" Wednesday. Not going well so far but I know (this time) I'll get it right. Over the weekend I will get all my stuff together and plan menus and remind myself of points, etc. Wish me luck (I'm gonna need it)!!! I'm looking forward to walking the 9 Churches on Good Friday w/SIL(E) again. If anyone else wants to join us, please feel welcome.

I have this to look forward to my next few weekends: 2/16 Birthday party for 7-year old at Children's Museum. 2/17 Birthday party for 3-year-old at Children's Museum. 2/24 BB's B-day party. 3/2 Birthday party for 4-year-old at Children's Museum. Speaking of birthdays...Let me remind you aunts, uncles, and grandparents who are living in New Orleans that BB's birthday is Feb 26 (Tuesday) and we will have cake and ice cream at 7:00. At our house. Be there.

Mary McTitties and other Mardi Gras staples

Thanks to the wonderful generosity of Mom (and Dad for not minding being alone), I was able to take the kids (sans Molly) to the parades last night. While Mom came over to watch my snot-nosed kid (no, really, she has a URI and her nose is like a nasty faucet) Ian, BB, and I were able to catch 4 parades! (BB also brought along her school project - "Flat Stanley". He's a cutout she colored and has to bring on adventures, write in her journal, and document with photos.) KenEllie and her mother were there and I think had a great time (more on that below). Our long lost friend, Dan the Mexican (DtM) was there - I haven't seen him in ages, and it was great to hang out, AND, his GF Dannie(or "y", I'm not sure) from BR came in - haven't seen her in forever either. The parades were great, although my favorite, Muses, was a bit behind the others and passed us at about 25 mph trying to catch up, so we really did not get quality time to catch throws as they whizzed by. HOWEVER, Ian did catch the most prized of Muse throws: a shoe. He caught a red ballet flat decorated in glitter and beads with a couple of plastic "jewels" glued to it. He almost ended up "Flat Ian", but in the end, the prize was his.

So, here are the high (or low) points from last night, scribbled on the back of a McDonald's receipt so that I wouldn't forget:

I guess I'll start with McDonalds. Now, we've been coming to the same location to catch the parades for years. There have always been port-o-lets in the parking lot at the McD's, which is one of the plusses of our choice of spot. This year, however, they decided that you have to buy a meal to use the pots. One meal, one person can go, and they keep your receipt. So, DtM and I went in to buy meals (two meals, two receipts), and while we were waiting for our food, I noticed there was a trash can with receipts in it!!! Of course, we grabbed a few and were set for the night!!!

Now, where we were standing was a pretty good spot. DtM was able to secure front-row and a bit of space behind us, so we were lookin' good. The people to our right were a big family with parents, teenagers, and kids on ladders (typical Mardi Gras spectators). The teenagers were soooo obnoxious!!! They kept pushing each other out into the street in front of floats and in between bands (a big no-no). Ellie got shoved a few times, but apparently she told them what's what. Even the dad was a bit obnoxious - holding a kid and shoving people out of the way to catch beads (on more than one occasion), which is pretty dangerous. There were some older people in that group (I think they were together, it's hard to tell sometimes) who kept popping up and blocking KenEllie, so that was frustrating for them. BUT, her mom did catch some nice throws, and although they had to leave early I think they had a nice time. (Note to KenEllie: our friend who showed up late was apparently good friends with the strange older couple!!! I'll tell you about it later)

To the left of us was Mary McTitties. First, the description: Not hot. Not ugly, but not even cute. A bit chubby but not fat. Mid-length curly blonde hair and glasses. And a shirt two sizes too small that didn't cover very much (think period movies and "heaving bosoms"). I'm guessing late 20's early 30's - it was dark so I couldn't really tell. At the beginning of the first parade, she started by begging the riders for stuff, but they weren't having any of it. One of the popular throws was a light-up crest necklace, and a few people had already caught one, including DtM and Ian. So she comes over to Ian and asks him to give him the next one he catches. So I say, "if he catches another one he'll offer it to his mother before he offers it to a stranger". So she kinda backs off a bit, but hints to DtM that she'd sure like one if he gets another. Well, a few more floats into the parade, she sees that Ian is catching some pretty good stuff and sharing with members of our party. She offers him one strand of glass beads and says in exchange she'd like to pick from whatever he catches in the future that she likes. I cut her off right there - no way. Ian looked annoyed at the time, but after he'd seen her in action for awhile he thanked me. What I didn't know, because I was keeping an eye on BB and looking forward or to the right, was that she was up on a 1/2 ladder, leaning forward and pushing her boobs out. Not flashing, but almost. Now, it got pretty chilly out there, and she did not put on a coat until the last (all female) parade. This woman checked out everything he and DtM caught. DtM made me laugh, every time he would catch something "good" he'd show if off and then give it to one of his students standing across the street. After Dannie showed up she was a bit less obvious, but that kind of parade-goer drives me nuts.

All in all, we had a great time. We got home around 12:45, so we are all tired today! Because Molly is sick, we skipped today's parades so that hopefully we'll be able to go tomorrow. Tomorrow is an all day affair, and hopefully Molly will be able to handle that. I'm just gonna play it by ear and see how it goes.

"Wants" and "Gets"

I have been thrust, again, into one of Dante's lesser-known circles of hell. This one is the "microfiche circle", also known as "Oh my God, this freakin' sucks!". I have been copying microfiche, page by miserable page, on the world's oldest machine. Thank heaven for my Ipod, that's all I'm sayin'.

Today, however, I got a break. "How nice," you must be thinking. Well, you're WRONG! I got a break because Molly is sick. I just got back from the doctor, and she has an upper respiratory infection. But he can't give her any medicine for it because her diaper rash is so bad. So, he gave me a cream for the rash and directions to keep her diaper off for the next few days. So, I'm gonna have to cut back on my parade schedule, way back. Which is okay because it was starting to unravel anyway. But, you know I love my Muses....hopefully we'll still be able to go to that one tonight, since it was cancelled last night due to inclement weather. But, back to Molly's butt, things should be interesting around here with no diaper. I think I'm going to cover everything with plastic, a'la the 1970s.

I must switch gears here and thank KenEllie for a lovely Wednesday evening. Pizza, a movie, and gettin' my hair "did". Muchas gracias to you both.

Oh, remember that post where I was whining about having to make a Mardi Gras float with BB? Well, here's where I eat my words: crunch, munch, swallow...she won 2nd place in the 1st grade division! She'll get her picture taken and she won a mall gift card, pretty cool I guess.

I liked that last 7 random things post, so I've been thinking of other subjects to do (Hannah just beat me to it): 7 reasons I like living in N.O., 7 things I'd like to do before I die, 7 things I like about my family....please feel free to "steal" these and blog - I'd love to read your 7 (you know who you are), and any suggestions for other "7s" would be appreciated.