Totally Talented Tuesday

Check out Dee at Two of a Kind Working on a Full House for more talent.

Wyn rocks circa 2004

Our Trip to DC

One of the great things about living in Maryland so far is being close to DC. There is so much to see and experience there and most of it does not have an admission fee. Last week we drove to DC and checked out the Air and Space Museum. It was a lot of fun! It was very busy and there was a ton to see. Despite the 5 hours we spent there we only saw about half of the museum. Good thing we are only 40 minutes away and will have many more adventures in DC. My camera died shortly after we got there but I got a few cute pictures.

B in front of an old airplane

The view looking up

The kids in front of the big cockpit

I will say from the little we did see I learned a lot. Air travel looked luxurious back in the day. The seats were roomy and the food looked good. One of the funniest pictures I saw was from the 70's and the skimpy outfits the flight attendants wore. It said something along the lines of "A tired business man deserves to look a a pretty girl." Nothing degrading to women there. It was very interesting to see and read about the beginnings of air travel and Wilbur and Orville Wright's journey. Overall we had a great time and I can't wait to see more.

Aloha Friday

I am going to take it easy today and participate in Aloha Friday. Visit Kailani at An Island Life to read more Aloha Friday posts.

What charity or cause do you feel passionate about and why?

My answer:

The March of Dimes because they help save babies! Their mission statement is: "We're dedicated to improving the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality."

How many things can one person break in one day?

I am referring to myself not one of the children.

Today was relatively productive and I was feeling quite good about the day until Max got home.

Me: "Honey the handle on the bathroom door upstairs broke earlier can you look at it?

Max: "Sure" as he promptly fixes it.

Me: "The garbage disposal won't work and the kitchen sink won't drain, can you fix it?"

Max: "Nothing is stuck in it, it turns on, unless you want me to take the stupid thing apart call the property manager."

Me: (The beauty of renting. Uh, annoying, I have dishes to do).

Me: "Oh yeah hon, and the computer is broke. It won't re-start, crashed, and now it won't connect to the internet."

Max: "How did one person break so many things in one day?"

Me: "I don't know." (As I ponder how all this really did happen and how none of it really was my fault).

Maryland

I have joined the technological world again! Thank the Lord! We have fiberoptic internet through Verzion (not available in Colorado) and when max tested the speed last night we were getting 18 mg, crazy. Not that I need internet that fast for what I do but it is nice that it is included in our $99 per month tv/phone/internet bundle (haven't I told you how I like saving money).

So here I sit in Maryland a little over a week into this big adventure of ours and I thought I might share some of my thoughts as well as update everyone on everything new for us.

Max's job is good. He is super motivated and kicking some butt. He really is one of the smartest people I know. The first few days were background and a little boring, some of the work is tedious, but he taking on new projects and completing them quickly with very positive feedback so I think he is off to a great start. His company already reimbursed us for our moving expenses and we got out insurance cards today so I am excited about those parts.

I don't have a job yet but I was only casually looking in Colorado. Now that we are unpacked and the kids started school the job search is in full swing. I am hoping being both commuting distance to Baltimore and DC will provide me plenty of opportunity. We will see what comes along. If I could find something I love, even better!

The kids started school last Wednesday and are doing exceptionally well. The school did not hassle me about enrolling them just took the documents I had gathered and asked if they could start the next day. All three of the kids have very friendly teachers and all have made "best friends." We even have a scheduling conflict with a Cub Scout event and B's new best friend's birthday party and I thought moving to Maryland would give us more free time! The kids all seem advanced for their grade levels and I am meeting with their teachers either this week or next to get up to speed. In Colorado they ate hot lunch every day, now they bring "home lunch" and they are excited about packing their lunches everyday (oh, the little things). B did the Colorado standardized tests before he left and he did have to immediately start similar testing here but he is doing well. The girls both got brand new bedrooms sets complete with full size beds and dressers. Wyn's is a dark wood that is very cute and FiFi's is white. They are being delivered tomorrow morning. After that I will feel like all three children's rooms are coming together well.

Our house is adorable and has worked out better for us then we could have imagined. Our queen size box spring would not fit up the stairs so we turned the main level playroom into our bedroom. Now we have a master suite with a full bath attached and the laundry room off the bath with tons of shelving and hanging space which I turned into my master closet. Since our kids are older I love having all three of them upstairs and having our room on the main level. Why didn't I think of this sooner? We still need to get living room furniture which I know is making Max crazy but one thing at a time. We found some furniture we like but I want to shop around a little more. Most of the boxes are out, now just cleaning and organizing and little improvement projects. Good thing for us Max is very handy and we are used to fixing up little things we want modified. My kitchen is cute and laid out well but lacking a pantry which is proving challenging for me so far. I think today I have to rearrange where somethings are kept so I can get everything into a cabinet.

The weather here is different. The highs have been in the 40's and 50's and the overnight lows in the 30's. It hasn't seemed close to snowing and I get the impression it snows a lot less here. It does rain a lot more here. The week and 3 days we have been here it has rained at least 6 of those days. The rain here is very different than Colorado it warmer and more like a slow, steady drizzle, that lasts a lot of the day. In Colorado the rain comes in quick and hard and often is cold. It does not rain that often in Colorado or when it does it last 30-45 minutes. I don't notice a difference in humidity yet but I hear it is coming this summer.

B's asthma was acting up the past few days and I felt like the paranoid mother talking to the school nurse all the time. I think it is more secondary to a cold than climate related. Guess I need to trust my instincts and chill, his asthma has always been moderate never severe so it would not make sense for it to get really severe at almost 9 years old.

Our town is cute and has some historic buildings that date back to the 1700's. Colorado is a much younger state so you don't get that there. The neighboring town, Ellicot City has an adorable historic downtown that we have driven through. I can't wait to walk around the shops on a warmer day.

We made it into DC last weekend and walked along the mall and checked out the Air and Space Museum. I took some pictures and will post more about DC tomorrow. It is really amazing to be so close to so much.

Our one year wedding anniversary is May 24th and we are considering a weekend trip to NYC. I have never been but I amazed at how close it is. 1 hour by plane, 3 hours by train, and 3 1/2 hours by car.

I have also connected with one of my girlfriends from high school. She lives about an hour north in PA. We are planning to go visit them this weekend. She currently is expecting twin baby girls and I got invited to her baby shower. How fun! Something else I couldn't do from Colorado.

Everything is great so far! Thanks for bearing with me during this transition. I happy to be back to blogging. I have missed you ladies!

If the World was a Playground

What would the world be like if it was as simple as it was in elementary school to get along? We would have a whole lot less problems and the minor problems that came up would be resolved immediately.

My kids started their new elementary school yesterday and it went remarkably well! B and Wyn each made a "best friend" (their words, how adorable) and FiFi made two "best friends." They were excited, liked their teachers, and happy to have made new best friends. I have so far been pleased with their school and think it will be a great fit for all of us.

Don't you wish it was that simple as an adult or in the world at large? You could make a best friend in one day and everyone was excited to see you and be your friends. What a better world we would have. This is one of the lessons we should take from our children. Making friends, being a friend, and generally getting along seems so much easier to children then it does adults. Maybe we should give up all the complicatedness and busyness of our adult lives and just try to get along and make "best friends."

How Did We Live Without Internet?

I am writing this from the wonderful Catonsville Public Library. I have not had internet for a week now and when Verizon told me 3 weeks until they could hook it up I told them that won't work. They were magically able to find a Monday cancellation but they could only give me an 8-5 window.

Thanks for sticking around I know my blog has been lacking the past month or so but I hope to be back to normal later next week.

What Would You Do?

So what would you do?

I have a chronic medical condition and have been going to the same specialist doctor for 8 years now, who I really like. The problem is the last several times I have dealt with his nurse she has been very rude, and very short with me. I don't know if she is like this with everyone or just me but I don't think it is acceptable. I don't think my doctor would be happy if he knew some of his patients were unhappy with his nurse.

So here is my dilemma:
I faxed some paperwork to my doctor last Wednesday (approaching a week ago). I should have done it a week or two before so I take some blame for waiting to the last minute. I am moving next week and it needs to be taken care of ASAP. In my fax I asked to be called when it was completed. I have not received a call so I called today to politely follow up. The receptionist said it was not in my file so she transferred me to the nurse. I politely ask ed the nurse if she received the fax since the receptionist did not see it in my file. She immediately snapped back that she does not put faxes in the file. She said she got it but has not had a chance to look at it and does not know when she will. I am annoyed at this point by her lack of concern for my situation and explain calmly the need for this to be taken care of this week. She refuses to commit to even looking at it this week let alone taking the 5-10 minutes to complete the process even though I explain I am moving out of state next week. I pin her with the doctor's schedule and tell her I will call her Thursday morning to check the status. She is even more rude and I once again explain the urgency, indicating I know the doctor is busy and it may take him a day or two to look at it. This is not any ordinary doctor. He knows me. Several years back when I was very, very sick, I was in his office once if not twice a week over a period of several months. My mom was in his office for something unrelated yesterday and he told her to tell me hi. Come on, doctor office meany aka nurse, just show the doctor the stupid paper and move on with your unhappy life.

I am very upset at this point, of course not only by this but the stress of moving, and when I went to go pick up my paycheck from church it was not there. They have only managed to pay me on time about half the time and since I have to load and unload kids with each trip it is annoying.

I ask to be transferred back to the friendly receptionist to see if there is someone, anyone else I can talk to in this office who gives a crap about what I need or can leave a message for the doctor directly. I explain to her the situation, and how the nurse has been very rude and short with me on numerous occasions and I would like to either work with someone else or leave a message for the doctor directly. She gets all the background and says she will try to take care of it. She says she will see what she can do and if nothing else will leave a message directly for the doctor. I ask that she call me directly to update me on the status since I am sure the nurse won't be calling me.

I don't know if going above the nurse's head was appropriate. She made me so upset last time I almost told the doctor then but decided it was not worth the hassle. I guess I should have said something then since I still have to deal with her.

What would you have done? What do you do if you really like your doctor but their support staff is either rude or unhelpful? It seems like a change of doctor may be in order. Since I am moving across the country I suppose the doctor change is necessary regardless. I just need them to take care of my fax.

Sounds like meanies cannot be avoided! You find them in grocery stores, retail stores, and now doctor's offices. Why can't people just be nice or at least fake it to thier patients/customers?

We signed a lease!

My blog has been very neglected in our quick move. I write this from our hotel room in Maryland. We are in Maryland this weekend house hunting and I am very happy to report that we signed a lease yesterday. It does not have a garage so my husband is very sad :-( but nothing did under $2000 per month so in the interest of being reasonable we chose this house. It was the nicest we saw in our budget and is 4 houses down from the elementary school.

Our new home in Catonsville, Maryland

Please ignore the trash and stuff on the porch the former tenant was moving out that day.

The kitchen

Bonus room/play room on the main level

Living room, view towards the front door.

Master bedroom

So wish us luck. We will be leaving Colorado in 9 days. Once we get settled in Maryland and have internet once again I will be back to daily blogging.