And spider season begins

Okay, I know some people are off gallivanting around with rodent type creatures, but what's the excuse for those who aren't? My excuse is that D was home again yesterday, so I was out of my routine.

So, spider season has begun. One day there were no spiders and the next I had to kill 2 spiders to take a shower. And to make matters worse, our bug zapper fly swatter thing was broken by one of the kids. I'm just sure that running the spiders down the drain with hot water won't actually kill them and they will swim back up and drain all my blood. As of yet, no naked spider dance this year. That's just as well, without the cat to fall on the dog it just wouldn't be the same.

W had some very exciting news yesterday. He got home from school and there was a letter in the mail for him. It was from Boy Scouts. He was the #3 seller for candy in our district. So, he won $100 that could either be used to pay for summer camp or to shop at the scout store. Since he already had both camps paid for with his popcorn and candy commissions, he opted to go for the spending money. I can hardly wait to take him. He hasn't been there yet, so he has no idea how much cool stuff they have. I don't know what I'm more excited about. The fact that we don't have to pay for camp for him or that he won one of the $100 prizes.

OMG, I am seriously thinking that my PT sessions are closer to torture than a spa treatment. Talk about bait and switch. The first session was devoted to evaluation and then over 30 minutes of just laying on hot pads with electrodes on my back and neck. It was so weird. When they turned the juice on to the electrodes it felt like the jets in a hot tub. That and the heat...and not getting wet. D was so jealous. Well, the last two sessions have been devoted to fixing this horrible heal pain that is just basically tendinitis. The beginning of the week she worked one muscle in my back, the right side of my neck and all the way down the back of my leg. OMG, when she was digging into the back of my leg, there was this horrible pain in the arch of my foot. She has this funky ring thing that she wears on her index and middle finger, I assume to allow her to apply more pressure. Now I'm wondering if there are hug spike that popped out and ran all the way down to my foot. I have to admit, it did seem to help. She also told me to hit the motrin and ice. I told MandM that night that I had taken my super motrin and was ready for the ice. I just couldn't decide if I wanted it in Kahlua and Cream or Tangueray and Tonic. Anyway, yesterdays session wasn't as bad.

Here is our advice on Tri Not To Care. When you retire, don't count on an allotment going into effect. Don't trust them. They are not your friends. We have been going round and round with them for one thing or another since D's retirement paperwork was mishandled by the local nit wit. We have been randomly assigned to providers that don't take new TC patients. We have been told our premiums are past due, even though we supposedly had an allotment and given cc payment to cover while the allotment went into effect. We have given second cc payments to cover while the allotment was re-processed, only to receive yet another statement saying our premiums were past due. In mid February we received a letter from them in response to a dispute I had sent in saying our premiums were paid through the end of April only to receive a statement dated 2 days later saying we were past due. They can't even keep the same story line through the course of one 20 minute phone call. Our most recent issue was a statement showing us owing a lot higher amount than we should have. Upon calling I was told that we had been cancelled from prime retroactively to January because we hadn't paid and that we had to wait a year before we could get back on prime. After about a week of phone calls to everyone I could think of they have re-instated us with no lapse in coverage and resubmitted the paperwork for the allotment....or did they??? I'll tell you what, my next step will be something along the headlines of "vet and disabled son screwed by TC". If we do ever get things straightened out I will be needing the mental health coverage!!!

Okay, nuff ranting. I feel better...or do I???

W had his first baseball game the other night. I had to go to scouts, so I missed it. He got up to bat twice though. His second game is this weekend, but D will miss it...for scouts. I think he is actually pretty good when he pays attention. I dropped the 3 of them off for practice the other night and then went to the grocery store. When I came back W was in the outfield...with his batting helmet on...sideways so he could look through the ear hole with one eye. He was so proud of his accomplishment that he was turned around showing me what a goof he was...as the ball rolled past him. I did overhear a conversation between him and one of the coaches a few weeks ago. The coach told him that he only needed to wear the helmet when he was batting. He informed the coach that last year at practice D had hit him in the head with a ball, so he really did need it all the time. Well, he missed the part about D not helping out at practice this year as well as the most important point...that it was actually his own fault for not paying attention. Some days I'm just surprised that the state doesn't take him away for the mis-information that can flow freely from his mouth. Anyway, he seems to have fun at baseball for the most part, so that's what counts.

So, does anyone want a free dog?? OMG, for a free dog to us, she's sure been a pain. I took her to the vet the other day and spent $100+ for shots and a new 3 year tag. She's starting to get another hot spot. At night she just licks and whines. If we throw her out, she starts barking and I'm afraid that we may be coming up on skunk season. We had to give her a week of antibiotics. She's fine for the first few days of getting food with a pill hidden in it. Then it's like she realizes if she actually chews her food, she can spit that pill back out and get some more food wrapped around it. The vet said we should just body shave her for the summer. Ughh. Some of you have seen our mutt. She's half germy shephard and half chow(der head). When I talked to the groomer, she flipped. She said first off, Kodi would be so embarrassed to be seen looking like a freaky lion. In addition to that, evidently the wives tale about hair growing back thicker after shaving is actually true for some breeds (don't know that I really buy that) and Kodi is one of those breeds. So, she will just be getting a bath and trim. Basically just the hair between her toes and pads, the long hair on the backs of her legs and butt and the long strips behind her shoulders and in front of her hips (shave the pits and bikini line). Just that makes such a big difference in her. And she doesn't seem to get too embarrassed by that.

H is really coming along on his speech. On weekends W has figured out that he can tell H what he wants for breakfast. Then W will bring him over to us and ask him to tell us what H wants for breakfast. So, his parrot skills are improving. I honestly don't know why W doesn't realize that we know what he's up to. Anyway, their new breakfast favorite is Dutch Baby Pancakes. H is so cute when he comes to us saying he wants to eat babies for breakfast. They are so easy and the kids really seem to like them, so as long as we have cream it's not a big deal to make them.

Anyway, I am off to slosh H through the tub and then he's off to speech. And then it's the weekend.

I am expecting lots of pictures from the vacationers...