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Sunday, January 29, 2012

Let's just break out the whines...

What's cookin'?

I am so very whiney tired worn out.

But on the up side -- I've got friends, my tiredness is earned, and things will work out.

Actually, nothing's cooking at my personal house. I hold the opinion that it is my beloved's duty on weekends. He, um, has been distracted. But (she says righteously) not as distracted as me, because of teh deadline thing, and how I'm actually almost working right now. Maybe it will be pizza night, or something.

Let the fine whines begin...

34 comments:

esperanza said...

I'm going to borrow "how I'm actually almost working right now." That's genius.

You don't even want to hear my whine. Still sick. Worse, in fact. Going back to the doctor tomorrow to complain about the placebo drugs I've been taking. Mini is somewhat better. She *will* go to school tomorrow. Sweet is somewhat worse.

Part of Sweet's worse is likely my fault. When the sticker on the bottle says "do not give with iron." Maybe you should, you know, not give with iron. Crap. In my defense, see above re: sick.

AW: the whine post is up early, so I can whine before bed! Thanks, kathy a.

kathy a. said...

oh, esperanza! why won't the universe give you and the baboos a break?

Sue said...

I agree - it's about time for the Universe to get busy with some good news for esperanza and the baboos.

AW: Still on study leave, trying to take it easy. Headache status still in the "okay" territory. Not completely pain-free, but then I rarely get that. It's enough to have these 3-5 weeks of lower intensity and frequency before the Beast sneaks up again. Still - it's all good - I'll take whatever relief I can get! Since my injections a week ago, the worst pain I've had is in the 3-4/10 range. WOOT!

W: Is it bad that I check my "Countdown to Sabbatical" on my ipad every. single. day. Sometimes several times a day? (It also nicely provides, hours, minutes and seconds) The deal is that I am required to stay in my present job for one year following my return from said sabbatical. As of Sept 2013, I could look for another job. It makes me sad that it sounds like such a good idea.

I love the people in my church (well, most of them), but I don't know if I can work at this pace, with this pain, in the same way for another dozen years until retirement. On the other hand, what else am I going to do? I find it all overwhelming to think about, so I think I'll just let it go for now.

Still - I need this sabbatical SO BADLY I could scream. 68 days to go....

W: My feet have fallen asleep because the cat is sleeping on them. She's very happy, so I cannot move her. Altogether now:

No-buuuuddddyyyyy knows....the Trubble I've seeeeeeeennnnnn.....

I know, Wah.

kathy a. said...

WOOO WOW WOOT YAHOO! the diploma, she has arrived. it's official! daughter is really, truly, she can prove it now, a college graduate!!!!

passing the cake!

Sue said...

Yaaaaaaaaayyyyyy!!!!! Congrats daughter!!!!

By all means, pass the cake.....

esperanza said...

Thanks, everyone. For those not following along on FB, Sweet woke up much worse this morning, making me think she had pneumonia or something. Anyway, our wonderful pulmonologist agreed to see her, and she's fine. Lungs completely clear. Just a nasty virus. Couple of ideas to make her feel better in the meantime.

Flurry of phone calls this morning, because Daddy had jury duty, of all days. Grateful for sweet people willing to pick up Mini from school, etc.

Needless to say, I didn't get to the doctor today. Waiting not-so-patiently for a return phone call about another prescription.

Yay for kathy a's daughter! Yay for study leave! Yay for sabbatical! Yay for beaten-down headaches!

Sarah at ratatat said...

Oh Esperanza - I hope y'all get better soon. And not just not terribly sick, but quite healthy. Boo for lingering viruses.

Hooray for KathyA's Daughter!! And KathyA! I hope that you get some rest and feel caught up soon.

Sue - I hope that sabbatical comes soon. And I also don't like those moments when you look far ahead and wonder, is this really where I'm going for the next 10 years??

Anti-whine: Thank you Pixies - the phone interview went well enough they asked me to come in for an in-person interview this Friday. I hope it works out.

Whine: I think I am starting a cycle where when my husband and I don't talk enough, I think when we do talk that we will come to an agreement and find common ground. I live in a fantasy world. This is not true. Oy!

Days said...

Yay and kudos for Kathy's daughter! Lysol and chicken soup for esperanza's crew, stat. Hugs for Sue and Sarah. And fingers crossed for the in-person interview!

Winter has finally made an appearance here and my in-laws are graciously hosting three of the kids for a week of skiing, snowshoeing and other such wintery things. They are thrilled at the unexpected week off school and on the slopes.

The (un)lucky non-skier gets to spend a week with mom and dad in the Big Apple. Fortunately, hotel room service and carriage rides are still big thrills for her.

Being asked to return to NYC this week after only getting back last week is not a thrill for me at all. At least having hubby and the little along will be a nice change of pace.

kathy a. said...

((( days ))) so glad you have your sweetie and little sweetie along. but it really sucks being "invited" back so soon. xoxoxoxo

i think i know the little who is with you, and her coloring is still prominently displayed on my fridge.

esperanza, so good sweet is better!

sue -- you can do 67 days, 3 hours, and 4 minutes! step at a time. yay for less pain!

go, sarah! fingers crossed about the interview. oy, about the other thing. it's not you.

Sue said...

((((days)))) I hope that all goes well for you in the Big Apple. sorry you have to be back so soon.

I can't sleep tonight. I think I'm not used to falling asleep without ice on my head! It's not like I was taking any meds that would be sleep-inducing prior to my treatments. It's odd. Last week when I got home, all I did was sleep....oh, and nap.

This week - not so much. I appear to have caught up! Imagine!

I'm off work this week, so it doesn't really matter if I'm up late and sleeping in a bit (though I do set my clock, re: sleep hygiene). Either way, the cat lubs me.

Yup. I'll make those 67 days....it's feeling closer already.

kathy a. said...

bleah on insomnia! we should start a middle of the night club...

good meeting this morning! but i've got this headache that starts in my shoulders and moves up. time to pull out the thing that heats in the microwave and melts the rocks in my shoulders.

esperanza said...

(((Days)))

W: hives. Seriously. Took a new OTC med (as directed) and new antibiotic at supper. 30 minutes later, hives.

AW: only a few

W: but I'm home alone with the Baboos tonight. Don't really want to be incapacitated, ya know?

AW: called doctor on cell phone. He offered to come by the house tonight if I need him. I heart small town doctors. He thinks it's the OTC drug, so we'll just ditch that.

kathy a. said...

you have a doc willing to come by the house? omg, esperanza. that's amazing.

glad teh hives outbreak was not bad, and sending virtual ice cream or whatever.

esperanza said...

I'll take some of the whatever, kathy a. I am just about done.

Yes, he was willing to make a house call. He is a member of hubby's church, so it's a nice perk.

I am in a benadryl-induced fog right now, so if I don't make sense...well, we'll just blame the drugs for this particular incident.

Sarah at ratatat said...

Oh Esperanza - HIVES?!?! But very sweet for the small town doctor.

Sue said...

Hives = definite winning whine. *shudder*

Sue said...

Unsolicited middle-of-the-night Pixie advice:

Playing Angry Birds is not conducive to relaxation and sleep.

kathy a. said...

i am so mired in groveling for time on my big work thing... uck.

but 2 cents, no links now -- the koman foundation sucks for cutting its funding to planned parenthood for breast cancer screening. in my opinion, an organization that is dedicated to defeating the fireplacing cancer ought not to opt out of the only screening available to many women.

Liz Miller said...

My baby is Ten. TEN!

Koman sucks.

Angry Birds is nothing NOTHING compared to Plants Vs. Zombies on the not conducive to sleeping front.

kathy a. said...

woot! hippo birdie two ewe! the time does fly, doesn't it?

Sarah at ratatat said...

Liz - we hit the two digit age last summer - really crazy feeling.

It feels a little old skool to pull out my whines: Last night the 3yo peed in my bed, the 7yo had a nightmare and the 10yo had an ear infection. All in the course of 2 hours. It feels too bitter to complain my husband slept on in his own room...

esperanza said...

ouch, Sarah. I feel you on that one (the peacefully sleeping spouse).

But pee of any provenance in one's bed is award worthy.

kathy a. said...

oh, sarah -- a trifecta of old skool, plus! xoxo

in his own room? i don't know the state of things, but are you saying he has his own room at your house?

kathy a. said...

i know he's got that apartment someplace, and you can't afford one of your own, and you're working the visitation/sharing parenting by him coming over. etc. but wow, if he's actually sleeping there on "his" night and you are the one dealing, that's special.

esperanza said...

No, if it's his night, then it's just plain...um...well, shitty.

Sarah at ratatat said...

Yes, I can't really describe it any other way. It somehow seems so much worse when I spell it out. Perhaps I better stick my head in the sand again, it's quite nice in the dark...

And to be fair, I am not super enthused about getting an apartment. Still trying to find the options that will make me less whine-y.

Sleeping in a bed without pee would be nice. We went back to pull-ups tonight. And the 10yo is on antibiotics + pain relievers, so I hope she sleeps.

Sue said...

(((Sarah)))

Sue said...

*fingers in ears* My son told me about Plants vs Zombies. Haven't gone there....yet. :)

And yes, Komen sucks. In a massive, unjust way.

purple_kangaroo said...

It's been a long time since I've checked in on the blogging world in general, or here on WW. I was just thinking today how much I wished I had a good place to vent about a couple of things, and then remembered I did, and it was Wednesday!

So, here goes.

1. I do not understand why spouse completely fails to grasp why it's a problem to leave the car with the needle below empty and the red "danger zone--get gas now" light on, without warning me, when he knows I am going to be the next person driving the vehicle and will very likely not have time to stop and fill it on the way to a time-critical thing (such as picking the kids up from school)--especially when I didn't know to plan ahead for it! Argh.

Last time, I thought I finally got through to him with the comparison to using up the last of the toilet paper and not replacing it with a fresh roll, and he did try--and filled up the other vehicle for me. But then it happened again today.

He also had a flat tire with the kids in the car a couple of days ago because he doesn't pay attention to the car's basic maintenance needs or the state of the tires, either. they were worn completely down so the cords were exposed.

At least I make sure the vehicle I drive the most gets maintained, for the most part.

2. After nearly a year on the waiting list, we finally got an appointment for oldest with the child development clinic--only because we got on the cancellation list; otherwise they wouldn't even have been calling us to make an appointment until April. Then they called today to inform me that our insurance most likely isn't going to cover this at all because she's over age 6 (or was it 8?), so just the evaluations are probably going to cost us about $2,500.

It would have been nice if they had told us this a year ago, when the pediatrician made the referral.

Now we need to decide what to do. Oldest has improved dramatically in the last few years, but still definitely has some unusual responses, issues and social quirks. We're not sure, though, exactly what we're likely to learn from the evaluations or if what we get out of them will be significantly more helpful than the therapy and other tools we are already using. Decisions, decisions.

3. Months later, we're STILL trying to get old house on the market so we can buy new (to us) house, and still not really unpacked and settled in new house.

Liz Miller said...

PK, does he have a regular schedule in general? So that you could say to him, "Every Wednesday, on your way home, get gas whether the car needs it or not"

About the money for testing, I'm appalled. I have no advice, though.

kathy a. said...

sarah -- no head in sand! hold that head high! you're working hard to find something that is not too disruptive for the kids, which is really admirable.

(and it's not like you can toss the kids out and tell them to go wake their father up.) but the situation sucks for you.

hi, PK! oy -- that really stinks about learning only now that insurance may not cover the evaluation. it sounds like you heard that from the clinic?

i think you may need to deal with the insurance company on this - -or at least try. find out if the clinic has requested pre-approval from insurance. if you get pre-approval, no problem. if you get denied, they have to state reasons. then you can go to work on the reasons.

a common reason is that some desk-jockey decides something is not medically justified. i assume you can prove medical justification up and down, between the doctor who made the referral and all the information you can provide as a parent.

it may be more tricky if the denial is on some clause in the insurance contract - -but it does not really make sense for there to be a strict age cut-off for a child with potential developmental problems. (it's not her fault that she did not get a referral earlier!) it could be that is a presumptive cut-off, but that there are exceptions.

i believe the state department of insurance has helpful information online about problems with insurance coverage. usually, you have to do something like an internal appeal before any other action can be taken -- and i think there are time limits for that, so it is worth getting info about the rules. i believe the department of insurance may also help with unfair denials of coverage.

if you have a lawyer friend, once you figure out what's going on, a letter to the insurance company on legal letterhead tends to get attention. (even if you do not intend to sue.)

this is not legal advice -- this is not at all my area of law. but we fought our insurance company some years ago, when the company decided 6 months after my son had some expensive treatment that it was "not medically justified." the company turned around when i sent a very strong letter documenting necessity, and mentioning that if we did not get satisfaction, we intended to go to the department of insurance.

esperanza said...

My own two cents about the insurance situation, p_k, along with a sympathetic groan: it helps immensely if your doctor can come up with some sort of medical diagnosis. Granted, that's maybe what you're going to get from the evaluation. This is the annoying circle you get in. But maybe the originally referring doctor could come up with something.

And on why it takes so so long to get an appointment in the first place: I have no idea. It's the same situation here, and I was thinking we just have a shortage? I don't know. We have had the same problem with two developmental pediatricians here.

But like kathy a said, it's at least worth investigating the fight to see if it's a fight you want to take on.

Sorry you have to deal with this. Our Sweet Baboo is only four, so we haven't run into the age limits. But there are plenty of other arbitrary, nonsensical rules. Bah, insurance companies.

kathy a. said...

esperanza's suggestion to go back to the doc is a good one. the doc may have thoughts about the insurance situation -- docs deal with that stuff all the time.

and also -- it may help you make decisions if you ask a bunch of questions. what does the doc expect to come out of the evaluation -- how might it help? what happens during the evaluation -- what will particular tests be looking at? etc.

these are just some questions off the top of my head -- you'll have others more particular to the situation. but it sounds like you're trying to do a cost-benefit analysis without all the information you need to make a good decision.

kathy a. said...

i forgot -- keep whining and anti-whining! awards friday.

W: zits on my nose. i'm 54. this is so not right.