Back to the subject at hand...

Because who really wants to hear about me, right? Where do I start with little man? Or should I say Big Man? Because that's what he insists that I call him now. No more Little Bug, Boosie, Buddy Boy, or Little Man. "Mama need call me Big Man. I a Big Man!" Sniff, sniff...He's growing up way too fast.

And he had his first bee sting last week. Sad! We sat on the back porch and Mike snapped these pictures from our bedroom window...Stinker was spying on me! But you can see the bowl of baking soda and his little hand held out with the baking soda sitting on it.


And last but not least, I have to show everyone the cornhole boards that Mike worked long and hard on (Thanks J.P!). As you can all see, Aiden was very excited about this new game! And yes, Daddy chose the shirt...don't ask where the shorts were at this point, I really don't know.

Where have I been?

I hope to be back soon with pictures, but before I leave you all panting for more news on life with Aiden, I wanted to tell you why I've been MIA. I've started working. Mike told me to get useful or get out...No, I'm just kidding, he's been extremely supportive of me because this is something that I wanted and needed. So what is this job of mine? Freelance writing. So it's perfect because I can stay home with Aiden, but I have something that I can do on the side during naps and early evening hours. Plus, my brain doesn't feel quite as mushy as it used to.

I hesitated to tell everyone about this until I was sure it was something I would enjoy and stick with. But it's really a lot of fun. There's no adrenaline rush like landing a job. When you realize that you have a commodity that someone else wants, wow, it's quite flattering. I finished my first job yesterday and God has already provided another one. This one may lead to more jobs. If anyone else out there is looking to start a freelance business, I highly recommend www.elance.com. and I'd be happy to talk with you more about it.

Sugar Momma

Well, hardly...so my writing so far has earned me 16 cents. It's not much, but it's more than I've ever been paid to write before, so I'll take it. And as more people stumble across my articles, I earn more pennies. Hey, a penny saved is a penny earned, so it's exciting for me.

There will be more to follow on Aiden...it's just that I've, um, lost my camera. Sort of. I left it at my friend's house 2.5 hours away. She's going to send it to me when she gets a chance, but she's a first year doctor, so I have a feeling it'll be awhile. I have a backup around here somewhere, but I haven't really searched for it yet. Instead I've been grabbing my camcorder, and video clips are much more involved when it comes to uploading them to the computer. So yes. It boils down to me being lazy.

However, Aiden has learned to actually ride his tricycle (as opposed to pushing it) and now loves to ride down the street on his own. His favorite thing is to come to the crest of a hill, pedal as fast as he can and then lift his feet into the air and let his bike careen down the hill. Unfortunately he wobbles his handlebars back and forth as he does this (because he's so excited) and has come close to taking a good tumble a few times (Yes, my child can flip a tricycle...how's that for talent?). Thankfully, I've been jogging within arms reach both times it's happened, but let's face it. I won't be jogging within arms reach of him forever...Maybe it's time to invest in that safety helmet my pediatrician recommended. She said he wouldn't need it yet, she just thought it'd be a good idea to get him used to it, I'm thinking there may be a real need for it...And kneepads and elbow pads...hmmm, can I just strap a pillow to him or is that overkill?

And it isn't so much that I'm afraid of him getting hurt, I mean, of course I'm concerned about that, but the bigger concern is that he'll skin his knee and we'll be hearing about it for the next month. About two weeks ago now he stubbed his toe on the pavement and took off a nice layer of skin. It has pretty much healed over, but any time he wakes up, takes a bath, goes swimming, or breathes, he reminds me of his "owie". I suppose turnabout is fair play as I remember my parents telling me to stop whining about my aches and pains when I was a kid, but seriously...The kid comes up with owies that are invisible to the naked eye. And then he wants a Popsicle to make it feel better. I'm not against giving him a Popsicle for a mouth wound (it's a great way to ice that down), but for the hangnail on his index finger? Really? C'mon Aiden! So if he were to fall off of that tricycle and skin his knee, I have a feeling I'd have to buy the kid an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen in order to get over that "owie". That's why I'm considering ways to strap pillows to him...It's purely for my own survival, not his.

Profit

I've found a way to write and get paid for it. Wow! I'm still checking things out, so I'm not sure how much I'll really make from this, but if you click on the link to the right you can see my articles that have been published (and it helps me get paid if I have more viewers). At the time of this post, there is only one article, but I hope to add more. I have all kinds of things I can write about.

If any of you are interested in doing something like this, check out www.triond.com. There are all kinds of things you can upload and get paid for. Pictures (Joel and Jesse--are you guys reading?), movies, writings, etc.

Happy Birthday to Aiden!

3 years old! Wow! Where has the time gone?

Here is Aiden showing us how old he is:





This is Aiden's birthday present. We bought it hoping he'd figure out how to pedal, but instead he's stubbornly insisting that he push himself along with his feet. Ahhh, 3 year-olds...They remind me of the middle schoolers I once taught.



In fact, he finally gave up altogether as you can see from the pictures below:




And of course, like every 3 y/o who gets to choose his own dinner, Aiden chose...Wait! That's not pizza? Sushi?! And yes, he ate all but 2 pieces of that. (And it is California roll so there was no raw fish, don't panic people!)



And it was just mommy and daddy singing happy birthday this year, but that didn't seem to taint his enjoyment of the moment. Just look at that grin!



Happy Birthday little man! We're so glad you're here!

The Hospital Bill

So I did call and argue the invisible IVs that I was given. I was told that my account would be put in "dispute" and I could call back in 30 days to find out what they decided. Yeah, right. At that point I was thinking that I wouldn't be getting any kind of news about the account and it made me mad because how was I going to prove that I never received an IV?

Two weeks after my complaint I got a call from the hospital. Yes, they called me! And they had looked at my paperwork and saw that I hadn't had an IV. Yay! So they were removing those charges from the bill. I was shocked that it was actually that easy, but it was.

I didn't bother arguing the pregnancy test. I figured they'd just tell me that they had given me one so they needed to charge for it...although the stupidity of giving someone who is visibly pregnant a pregnancy test...wow. And $60 for a pregnancy test? Maybe next time I'll bring them one of my internet cheapies from home and let them use that. They obviously don't know how to shop for good deals on pregnancy tests.

Ahh, the craziness that is our health care system.

Doctors or thieves?

The hospital bills are coming in after losing our baby nearly 7 weeks ago. Here's a lesson we've learned, always ask for an itemized bill. M. requested one and it came today. We found some interesting things on it.

The most shocking is that they gave me a pregnancy test. I was 18 weeks pregnant and showing. I was in the ER because I had started spotting and was there for a "threatened miscarriage," but yet they had to do a test to prove it. Anyone want to guess how much a pregnancy test costs? $5? $10? Yeah, in a store...But go to the ER and they charge you $65.77 for a urine, pregnancy test.

I was also charged $94 for an IV that I never received.

They tested me for STDs too. It doesn't matter that I've been tested many times, in the course of my fertility treatment, for STDs and have a mutually monogamous relationship with my husband. But while testing me for STDs, did they bother checking for an infection? Of course not (since that's what was really wrong). Wanna know how much it cost ME for them to find out what I could have told them? $165

Another test that they ran could have been spared with a simple question to the patient...They checked my RH factor. This is something that I was tested for with Aiden, so I could have told them what they'd find. But they chose to just charge me $53.75 instead of asking me.

No wonder insurance costs are on the rise with all of this frivolous testing being done! I feel violated. All of these tests that were done, all of this information that these doctors found out about my body, and I didn't even know they were doing it. They didn't tell me. It just feels as though someone went through my underwear drawer when I asked them to find me something that was on top of my dresser.

How are we supposed to trust our doctors if they don't trust us? I wanted to post this for all of you. Learn a lesson from this and next time you're in the hospital make sure you ask for an itemized bill so you can make sure it's right. I never thought to do this before, but it makes sense. You always walk out of a store with a receipt. You should know what you're being charged for in a hospital too. It's your money. Make sure you guard it wisely.

My rant is over for the time being. We'll be calling our hospital in the morning!