Itch-fest 2010

So I'm not a meteorologist and I'm not a ground hog, but I can without a doubt tell you that spring is not too far off.

How is it I can say this? Sure if you look at the calendar it shows that spring is drawing closer. However, for me the sure sign of spring being around the corner is hives.

At the beginning of every spring and fall I get hives. Like clockwork. I'm more reliable then that dumb groundhog and more accurate then any of the meteorologists. I should get paid to let people know when I get these flippin' hives.

This morning I woke up itching. Upon investigation I found hives.I spent the morning passing on the news that "Spring is on it's way" to my mom, Becky, and Andy. They are all very excited over my hives. Mainly because they know that it is a true sign. I also think they just like to see me miserable.

Tonight has actually gotten to the point that I took one of my pills that helps with the itchiness. Normally I go as long as I can without taking something for it. Try to walk it off or ignore it until it is unbearable. Today, however, they are really bad already. In the past my hives start off with a couple here or there and then slowly build up to being downright annoying. This year though, they are different. I already have them on arms, legs, and on the back and palms of my hands. I'm unsure if I'm getting more sensitive over the years or if Spring is just coming rapidly this year.

Either way...I itch!

If I wake up with them on the bottom of my feet in the morning, you will know by the howls you hear coming from my direction.

NaBloPoMo - Day 16

This morning I got the girls got off to school, called my doctor's office while feeding Kaitlynn (who stayed over last night :) and then waited for a call back from the nurse.

I told the nurse what has been going on with my ankle and she said that I really needed to get it evaluated, but that my doctor was booked for the day. She suggested that I go over to the other side of town to the Urgent Care. I said that I would, somewhat grudgingly.

When Becky got here for our Monday morning hang-out I informed her that I had to go across town and we headed out. Note of importance to this story: Becky took her own vehicle so that we could stay on that side of town and then she could just go from there to work.

We drove across town, Becky in her car following me in my van with Kaitlynn in her seat. Here is where the fun starts. I get to the other side of town via the highway and as I am on the off ramp and slowing down I hear a thunk thunk thunk sound. My first though? CRAP!

I turn off of the exit ramp without having to stop...which is a good thing. The thunk thunk thunk continues and I feel the car pulling to the left. I see the light ahead is red and I know that stopping is only going to make going again more difficult. As I turn onto the road the urgent care place is on I'm basically crawling and feeling very glad that I don't have far to go because driving very far like this wouldn't be a good thing.

I park in the first spot I find and get out to look at my tire. Sure enough....completely flat. Thought at that point...something a little stronger then CRAP and then something about just wanting to laugh so I don't cry, I should have stayed home, and what the hey am I gunna do now?

Once seeing the tire, I think Becky understood why I was crawling down the road and also why I had parked on the opposite side of the building from Urgent Care.

After getting my ankle checked out I remembered that through my car insurance I have roadside assistance so I called, made sure I in fact did have roadside assistance and that there would be no cost to me, and then asked them to send help. I did have a spare with me, but who knows if I would have been able to get the tire off or spare on easily. Besides, isn't that what guys are for?? For the record though, I do know how to change a tire.

Here is where things get more fun. The wait time for my hero to ride in on their steed is 55 mintues. Do you remember the fact that I have Kaitlynn with me? The almost one year old little girl? The little girl that likes to move around alot and do things? Yeah. Wanna guess how happy I was when I got this news?

Fortunately, Becky ran to get some food, I fed Kaitlynn and let her crawl around in the back of the van, and it didn't take long for my hero to ride into the parking lot. They found me, put my spare on, and showed me how horrible my tire was. Metal was showing and tonight Andy found that there was also a nail in the tire. Me... I touched the wire thinking it would be more flexible then it was and ended up with a small prick in my finger bleeding. Yeah...I'm good like that.

Tomorrow I'm going to be bringing the van in to have other tires checked and will get 2 new tires. Even more fun!

After reading all that you may or may not remember that I had my ankle looked at today. So it isn't sprained, which I knew as I've had many sprains and I also could put full weight on it. They also don't think anything is broken...and seriously how is it possible to break something when you are just sitting on the floor? So the diagnosis is that I strained the ligaments in my ankle. I am to take it easier for the next few days (which will be fun as I run around getting tires done) and use heat and ibuprofen for pain. I am also suppose to keep using it some so that it doesn't tighten up or the arthritis that I have doesn't get worse. (yes, I am young to have arthritis...I'm special like that. Also...my body hates me) So rest, but keep going, and also...while you are at it, do it with a smile. Another side note: On Friday Cassie has a field trip to tour some caves...this includes steep stairs and I'm chaperoning. And on Sunday I'm going to walk dogs. It'll be fun, but if I rest now I'll be able to walk with no problem by then. Right? Right??

Over all it was a good day, but for a while there I wanted to bury my head in the sand on some nice warm beach and wish everything away. These things only seem to happen when Andy isn't around for them. However, they do make good blogging subjects.

May 14, 2009

My life, while I love it, kinda sucks lately. Last week I had a couple of instances where I wanted to say 'why me' and this week instances are continuing. Would you like a few examples? Let me count the ways...

1. Last week in the mail I recieved notice from our local DMV that I'm due to have my license renewed. This means that I have to pay to get a new little card with all my info on it and that I have to get my picture taken again. UGH

2. This wasn't bad enough, right? Yeah, well then a couple days later I get a letter in the mail from my local circuit court. It was a summons to be a juror for a whole week in late June. Seriously? Not only do I not really want to have to be a juror, but I also am looking at the fact that my kids will be out of school by this time and I am the person that watches them every day. So what is it that I'm suppose to do with the girls while I'm at court? I biggest hope it that I don't end up having to go. A girl can hope.

3. The most recent thing that happened was this morning. I woke up and it was 7:45. The girls start to get jackets and backpacks on at 8:00. Kalli was still in bed with me sleeping and Cassie is out on the couch watching cartoons in her jammies. (actually she is just in her underwear because she strips during the night/early morning. We're working on trying to get her to keep her pjs on) Usually the latest I get up is 7:15 and that is pushing it.

Luckily Cassie had eaten...she is very into making her own breakfast lately. I get up and come into the living room telling Cassie to start getting her braces on and letting her know that we have to hurry. She then informed me that she had tried calling my name to wake me and that I didn't wake up. My alarm had been going off on my phone and it never woke me either and then, after so long, turned itself off.

I'll admit that I've been very tired lately. I've stopped laying down with Kalli too because I'm trying to get more done. Plus, ya know, the fact that I'm an adult and shouldn't have to take naps. I've always needed more sleep then most people though and I think that today proved the fact that I should get to sleep a little earlier. Either that or buy a gong to wake me in the morning.

August 19, 2008

In my purse I keep a small notepad. I use this for when the girls need paper to draw on or someone needs to write something down. The main purpose of this notepad, though, is so that I can write down bloggable things. When I first purchased the notepad, it was so that as things happened or were said I could jot down a note about it. That way at the end of the day, when my brain was fried, I could easily write a post or share something the girls had said.

Sounds good in theory. Right?

This process would work out wonderfully if I would use it. For example, earlier today Kalli said something that Cassie and I both in stitches. I should make a note about it to write about, right? Nah... I'll remember what she said. It was halarious. How could I possibly forget it!

Fast forward now to the present, a mere 2 hours later.

Guess what. I forgot it. Ugh. I even went and asked Cassie if she remembered what Kalli said.

Me: Cassie, do you remember earlier today when we were sitting at home and Kalli said something that cracked us up? Do you remember what she said?
Cassie: Blank stare.
Me: Remember it was so funny. We were on the couch and it made us laugh real hard. What did she say?
Cassie: Blank stare.
Me: Do you remember any of it??
Cassie: Nope. (Going back to playing)

So, now I'm writing a post about...nothing. Enjoying it yet?

________________

On another note. Yesterday Andy called our horrible customer service place as we still hadn't recieved our refund. When he had spoke to them early last week, they had sent us an email saying it would take 1-3 days. It had as of yesterday been 4 business days.

Once he got through to someone, they put him on hold. For close to 10 minutes. Not sure if you can sense the unhappiness in reading this, but it is there.

When they finally came back on the line they told him that the refund was approved today. (Meaning yesterday, the day they were talking) It should show up in our account any day now.

Uh-huh. Sure.

Once Andy was off the phone, he shared with me what they had said. We both agreed that more then likely they had done the refund while we were on hold. Maybe they were hoping that we wouldn't call back and they could keep our money.

Last night I was checking my email and saw that I had reveived one from this company, that I won't name on here. (But if you want to get trampoline parts let me know and I'll tell you who NOT to go through) The email I received had been sent 4 hours earlier (about the time Andy spoke with them) and showed the amount we would be getting back along with other details. We are sure that the refund only went through because we called again.

And... Low and behold. The money is back in our account today. It's about time.

Ranting

Let's start off with the positive news: Today is my mommy's birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!! I love you.

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Wanna know what I hate? I hate customer service. Or I should say the lack there of.

I don't know if you have had the same issues as we've been having with customer service, but I have to tell you that I'm disgusted with everything having to do with customer service. Here is my example for the day...

Back in May we ordered a trampoline enclosure for the trampoline at my parent's house. We received it after a while and found that it had the net, but no poles to hold up the net. Hello...you kind of need the poles! Andy called and they sent us a return label because we decided to just return it and get a new trampoline and enclosure for the same price.

We sent it out on June 24th. We've been waiting for the refund to show up in our account. Yesterday Andy finally got around to calling them. (8-12) He had looked up the tracking number for returning the enclosure and found that they received it on June 27. The customer service rep that he speaks with isn't sure why they haven't gotten word from the warehouse about receiving the package so that they can do the refund. He says that he'll check on it and we should get refund the next day (today). Guess what. No refund!

Andy calls again today and it takes over 30 minutes before anyone even answers a phone. He wasn't on hold. The phone just rang and rang and then hung up. He just kept calling. He speaks with a different customer service rep and gets, all in all, the run around. Sure they know that the package is there now. But because we've different cards now for the account (read I lost my card so we had to cancel them and get new ones) they will have to send a check.

Tonight I checked my email and there was an email from them. It read as follows:

Thank you for your inquiry. It has been confirmed with our 3rd Party Warehouse that your return was received back on 6/27, but for some reason was never matched up with your account since we were not notified until now. Due to conflicts with Processing with the warehouse and Main Office, we are not able to issue a refund until 1-3 business days. I apologize for this inconvenience and delay, but assure the refund will be rushed to be completed ASAP. Once refunded, an e-mail will be sent with that confirmation.

Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Ok....so many problems with this email. 1.) Of course it was confirmed that it was received. We had them check the tracking number where their guy signed for it. 2.)1-3 business days until it can be issues?? I think not! Andy and I are furious with this. They've told Andy over the phone that they could and would do it right away. 3.) They were suppose to call Andy tonight when they knew more. No call ever came.

I'm SOoo frustrated with this place. If you say you are going to do something...then DO IT! It isn't like we couldn't use the money that we forked over almost 3 months ago and have been waiting to be returned for over 1.5 months. It's ridiculous!

I don't know what happened to customer service, but I sure wish it would come back.

April 14, 2008

Is anyone else fed up with "customer service"? I can't remember the last time that I had a GOOD experience with customer service. Honestly!

Today I was suppose to have a meeting over the phone at 1230. They were suppose to call me. They never did. Andy did some calling this afternoon and was given the run around completely. I ended up calling finally and when I was talking to them they were talking over me. Mind you I was not happy at all, but they were not placating at all. When Andy went to go to work tonight he noticed that his tire was low. This is the same tire that we had fixed 3 days ago. Of course, Andy is calling tomorrow about how well they "fixed" the problem.

I feel like customer service has just taken a nose dive lately. It no longer exists. The customer is never right and people that are put there to help you are just downright rude. And to top it off every where I go I have to deal with the horrible customer service.

____________________

Ok...done with my ranting. For now.

Today while out at my aunt's house the girls played outside for a while. I got lots of pictures. Here are a couple of my favorites.


In this picture Kalli is handing a tennis ball to Matt for him to "shoot" for Hunter. Hunter is very excited about this.

February 15, 2008

Throughout the year Andy and I don't buy gifts for each other because we wait for taxes to come back. When we do get them back, we go out and purchase something bigger for ourselves. Well, today is the day.

I, of course got a new lens for my camera. Duh! Don't fret...pictures will be coming. I'm already working on it.

Andy, well...I won't go into detail on what he got, but I will say this. One of the cords that he purchased cost $45.

For. One. Cord.

I'm still dumbfounded over this. I think that if I cord cost $45 it should be able to dust/vacuum the area that it is in so that I don't have to.

Agreed??

Dear Mother Nature......take 2

Dear Mother Nature:

Let me clarify my last letter. I would like Spring now. The entire season of Spring. Not a little rain that will make the roads slick as the temperature drops and then turn to snow that will pile up even more.

I'm tired of the snow, the cold, and mostly winter as a whole. I'm finished with the season. We had our good times and now it is last call and time to go home. We (and by we, I don't mean me) made 2 snowmen already and have shoveled more times then we want to talk about. So let's move on. Let's end Winter.

I know that you are finicky lady and like to play games with us. You like to throw a warm day or two in there just to get our hopes up. Then you slap us in the face with bitter cold and winds that make our eyes water. I can see how this could be entertaining to you. I can just imagine you watching, waiting, knowing that we are enjoying ourselves like drunks on New Year's Eve. Knowing how the cold is going to hit us like a hangover that keeps the room spinning until the following afternoon. I can even see you laughing, holding your splitting sides, and wetting yourself with the joy.

Know this though, Mother Nature. I will be here silently cursing you. Cursing the cold and the wind. Cursing the ice and snow. Cursing how unhappy my car sounds when it has to start up each day. And with every curse, I will be thinking of you.

So why not skip all that and just bring spring. Please.

Paula

PS. If you could see a way to help my mom get over her cold while you're at it, we'd appreciate it. I told her that I'd ask. Thanks again.

January 20, 2008

Tonight Andy is spending the night at Prevea having a sleep study done. They are checking for Sleep Apnea. We're hoping that they find something because how easily he falls asleep is not normal. However, I miss him. It is hard knowing that he isn't going to be home tonight. Even the girls miss him...especially Kalli.

Kalli isn't doing too hot today. She has been running 102.8 pretty much all day. With Ibuprofen I've only been able to get her down to 100.8/101.2. I feel so bad for my little peanut. Her eyes are glassed over, they look sunken, and her nose is running like a little sieve. She spent a majority of the day cuddling with us and drinking water/gaterade. She has a cough from drainage and her little nose is getting quite red.

I called the doctor's office today to see if there was anything I could give her for the cough at bedtime. I don't want to stop it during the day as it is productive to cough, but I want her to get rest. They took all the information and told me that with all the things being pulled off the shelf for younger kids, they really can't recommend her take anything. All in all....use a humidifier, elevate her head, and hope for the best. Oh and, if her fever is still high tomorrow, bring her in. (It'll be 3 days of high temps then)

Here is my thing. I'm not one to give my kids medicine all the time. The only time I give them anything is for high fevers and if they have a bad cough...then something at night so they can get rest and get better. I think it is wrong of companies and drug administration to pull all these medicines off the shelves. I can see if they contain something bad (which some did) but a lot of the cold medicines were pulled because of stupid parents!

You have these parents that are overdosing their kids because they aren't keeping track of when last doses were given or they aren't communicating with other caretakers. I'm sorry, but I don't think that because of some irresponsible parents all medicines should be pulled. Those parents should be punished or something. I don't see how children that could be getting better rest should be kept from that because of a few parents out there that screwing up.

Now mind you, I'm not a perfect parent. I sometimes forget what time I gave medicine last. In an instance that I do forget though, I think of the latest time it could have been and go from there. Also, when both kids are sick, I write down the times and what was given. That way both Andy and I know when they are due for another dose.

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Anyway, in other news... I uploaded pictures from Cassie's new camera today. Mind you we deleted a lot of them that Kalli took. You know...the TV, arm of the couch, the door.

Here are a couple that Cassie took.

Her first self portrait!

I really like this picture of Kalli and I