Has it been that long ?

I decided to check out my blog today and I couldn't believe it has been so long since I added to it.
The last time was when Barack Obama was voted in as our president and in 4 short days he will be our President.

Also the last time I checked out Mamamormons blog it was not working and now I see I have missed tons of posts. Sorry Mama I am now catching up !

So as I sit here on the coldest day of the year so far (and hoping it IS the coldest day of the year all year) waiting out school delays I thought I should make my first post of 2009.

Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year !!
See now I am all caught up :)

The drama still ebbs and flows but overall not as dramatic as some previous years had been.

The biggest news .. I am going to be a "Great Aunt".
Most of you that read this blog already know this but for those that don't that is the big news.

It is amazing how one day you are hunting through Toys R US for a great present for your niece or nephew and it seems like overnight you start thinking about shopping for their babies.

Boom .. just like that it happens. You are a "Great Aunt".

But even better is that your younger brother and his wife are going to be "Grandparents".

Seeing the word "Grandparents" makes me think "Great Aunt" is wonderful !!

While I one day hope to have grandchildren I am glad since my boys are still teens, that they get the title first :)

My niece is doing well, healthy and anticipating the August 21st arrival.
She has opted to drop the family moniker she was assigned as a middle name if she has a girl.
Trust me .. I totally get that , but I still have to throw it out there to her. After all some genius talked my Mother into it !!

We are now approaching halfway through the school year.
I am still plugging along with the issues that that always brings, but I do admit to having to let it go for awhile over the holidays. I am slowly climbing back onto that horse.
If you think filing taxes, or watching your 401 K's and IRA's disappear I challenge you to an IEP.
Nuff said about that !

I watched the coverage on the plane that landed in the Hudson River yesterday.
It was nothing short of AMAZING !
I hate flying .. no secret to those that know me, but I am declaring right now for the record that I will not get on another flight unless "Sully" is in the cockpit.

Great now I will have to stalk the man before I can book a flight and my vacations will be limited to where ever he is flying.
With the exception of the Hudson River I'm game !
I will pack water wings JUST in case but at least I have the peace of mind that I will make it.
Kudos to Sully !

I will end today's entry by saying the annoying "Hail to the Chief" song that has been playing on this blog will remain until after January 20th.
Inaguration day is only a few days away so it only seems fitting.

Ohh and to add: Joe The Plumber meet Barack the President.
I know what Marksmom will be wearing that day !!

VOTE

OK fellow bloggers we must VOTE this Tuesday.

VOTE because it is a privilege.
VOTE because you really like what your candidate stands for.
VOTE because you can't stand one of them so you pick the other.
VOTE because my webmail is starting to freak out with all the political mail I get now.
VOTE because if you are stuck in a waiting room you can't give the ads the DVR Fast Forward.

Camping with the Blind ...

Last weekend I participated in a conference for Blind children and their parents to deal with their children transistioning from the high school level into college or the work force.

WOW what a weekend.

The conference took place at a camp for folks with special needs. This camp was originally opened for the Blind but now takes other groups with special needs as well.

Do you remember the camp from the movie "Dirty Dancing" ?

That was the set up.

Cabin and dorm type sleeping arrangements. A large dining hall where everyone met for meals family style. NO TV'S 0_0

Various wooden buildings scattered amongst the grounds .. Activity room, Canteen, large living room with a real woodburning fireplace where you could play board games or cards.

It was a real throwback to the 50's with the exeception of more modern plumbing in most rooms.

I was first assigned a dorm style room which has 6 hospital type beds in it with 1 bathroom.

My supervisor and I were both assigned to this room with 4 other women from other parts of the state we had never met before.

I am not that much of a "sharer".

For one I know I sleep really lousy when I am in a strange room/place. I will talk in my sleep and roll around all night and while I don't mind annoying my boss doing that I didn't want to get voted out of the dorm by all the other women that were in there.

So we asked (begged) the guy running the program to switch us to a 2 person room. We were on it early and quick and were able to snag one.

That room wasn't bad .. I did have my husbands XM boom box along with me so I was able to listen to music and the presidential debate when I had the antenna turned JUST right to catch a signal in the mountains. It reminded me of walking around the living room when I was a kid with the Rabbit ears to grab a good signal while watching TV.

YES I am old enough to remember that.

The kids at the camp were awesome and inspiring. I hope I can participate again next year !

Out of Pocket vs. Deductible .. HUH ???

Today was the day ... YES I will do it today.

I will take a morning off from work to call the Insurance companies and the Doctors billing office to find out just what these bills mean.

Would someone just tell me in PLAIN english who I owe what and to whom I may owe it.

After compiling the statements for testing done on son #1 and an xray that I had done (referencing toe vs. ottoman in earlier blog post) plus #1 sons ER visit I am literally swamped with pages of bills and "Explanation of Benefits" statements.

Where to begin to make sense of it all.

I call the one that seems the most alarming first. The Emergency room bill.
This came as the Explanation of Benefits statement that declares #1 son is not a member of their health care plan therefore we get to eat that little visit.
0_0
Woahhh back up the bus, how could he be the only member of the family that we decided not to insure ?!?!?
Ehhhh kid you are 17 you take care of it now, we are tired of carrying you ! (insert sarcasm here)

I call the BC/BS people that sent me this explanation.
Apparantly the hospital opted to bill my husbands former employers health insurance instead of his current one.
Oh heck it's only been 2 1/2 years since he has worked for them .. I just can't understand why they wouldn't foot the bill this one time !!

Sooo this morning I call the hospital billing to fix that mess.
I talk with Cathy and explain to her what has happened. I also informed her that the new insurance card was given to the ER when I took my son in and they scanned it so I am not sure how they could have billed the former insurance company.
After some clicking away on her computer she SIGHS loudly.

"Yes indeed you did give them the new card .. I can see it was scanned and entered.
I have no idea why they billed the former company, sometimes I don't know what they are doing over there but I will let you know that I have taken care of it now. Please disregard the 1100 dollar bill that will probably show up in your mailbox today"

Ty Cathy. 0_0

Onto the Doctors group billing and our now current Health Insurance plan.

Apparantly we have these Deductibles and Out of Pocket expenses.
They are listed separately and they show different amounts per person and per family.
One says we have met the family deductible while another line says we have not yet met the individual deductible for #1 son, but yet we still have thousands to go to meet the out of pocket expenses per individual and per family .. confused yet ???
So was I.

I call the insurance company and talked with a woman and requested that she go very slowly .. baby steps .. and walk me through this nightmare.
After repeating back to her several times what she said to me for clarity sake .. I think I get it now.
It is not as bad as I originally thought it was going to be, but we still owe a hefty chunk in deductibles. We took the most expensive health plan through my husbands job .. you know the one that touts the best coverage for a higher employee copay .. but even the best coverage doesn't come without your share of the bill anymore.

Onto the Doctors billing office and we realize there are still some charges that have not been billed yet because they haven't heard back from our insurance company.
Rest assured they will come , but at least now I THINK I am prepared for them.

So just when I get #1 son's billing straight in my head .. the husband goes in for testing of his own this week.

Ahh but this time I am armed with information.. ready to take it on full throttle.

I think !!!!!!

School and Fall are in the air ....

8:12 am and all is quiet in my house.
It's a tad bit cooler outside this morning so this must mean the unoffical start of Fall and .....

They are GONE !!

All the males in my house have departed for work or school and I have found peace at 8 am in the morning.

Most parents do the happy dance for a few days after school starts.
While the peace is nice it comes with a price.

HOMEWORK ... ughhhhhh.
The kids think they hate homework ???
Although I can't express it to them I do believe I hate it more.

For the next 6 hours I will not think about that but rather enjoy the fact that I can get to work on time without having to juggle who's watching who and what to make for lunch.

Happy Fall/School everyone !!