Dentist

So, after months of trying, I finally got the kids approved and their insurance choices selected.  It all went into effect on May 1, once I knew this, I started calling and making Dr's apts for the kids.  For Garrett I needed a dentist apt, an eye Dr apt and a well check up, Payton just needed a well check up.  The dentist won for quickest apt, they got my in May 2, the eye Dr is June 6 and the well visits are June 13 and June 19.

Garrett's regular dentist didn't take his new insurance, so we tried out a new office, Element Dental.  I know someone who works there, so I figured it couldn't be all bad.  And it wasn't.  The office staff was all very nice, but every one was very young, or maybe I'm just getting old!!  I was a bit nervous when we first arrive, our apt was at 3, and there were 7 kids waiting in the waiting room when we got there, but we got called back a little after 3, so not bad at all.  It is not advertised as a pediatric office, but all I saw in there were kids.  The hygienist was great, she was super nice and it was obvious she had worked with kids before.  I thought the Dentist was the hygienist, she was SO young!  But, she was also really, really nice.  Garrett did have a cavity, I knew this though, he had the starts of one last year but we just could never afford to get it fixed :-(  She fixed the cavity and sealed a couple other molars, just to be safe.  Garrett did great, he didn't seem to mind anything, the gloves were grape flavored and the nitrous was bubble gum scented.  The thing he cried over?  The fluoride treatment.  The hygienist said it really does taste horrible, and Garrett wouldn't swallow for a long time.  At that one appointment we used up almost all his benefits, I have enough left for one cleaning, so as long as he doesn't need any more fillings this year, we're set. 

In total, the visit cost me $3, without insurance it would have been close to $800!!! 

Kindergaten Round up

Kindergarten round up was so fun!!  It was a week long here, we waited until Thursday to go, we figured it might not be as busy.  Stefani and Keira went with us, since Keira will be in kindergarten next year as well.  The school sent Garrett a personalized letter to come take a tour so he was SO excited about that!!  We were lucky enough to be the only ones that morning and since Stafani's son Louden already goes to school at Bowen, the principal let him give us a tour, all 3 of the kids thought this was great.  Garrett's favorite part was the library, lol!  They had 3 classrooms, so we were able to interrupt all three, the teachers were all very nice.  Garrett loved it all!  The principal did say they had record early enrollment this year, so to keep the classroom sizes manageable there will most likely be 4 kindergarten classes next year.  I know Garrett is so ready to go to school, he asks me every day how many more months until he starts.  I am so glad he enjoys school so much.  I feel like most kids do at this age, I just hope he takes after me and enjoy school a lot!

T ball

Wow, I'm not sure whether I like t ball or not, it's a huge time commitment!!  We started out practicing twice a week, then the week I started working we had opening ceremonies and ever since then we've had 3 t ball things a week, either practices or games.  They all start at 6, so on the weeks I get out of work at 2, this is super easy, but on the 5pm days it's a nightmare!  I race out of work to get the kids, his teacher is kind enough to change him and we have just enough time to eat something I've packed in the car and jump out for him to go play.  This has involved a lot of tears and too much yelling.  It's too much for him, he's tired from school and then has to race off to practice, which he doesn't really like at all, or to a game, which he does like.  But, he's usually starving by the time it's all over and usually pretty dirty and sweaty, so we race home and have just enough time to do baths and read his reading assignment and then he's in bed.  He complains he doesn't get to play and misses watching tv.  I'm not even sure he likes baseball, I think he plays because we've signed him up, but given the choice, he'd not be playing ;-(  Matt love it and is his coach again this year, so I feel bad that Garrett doesn't love it more.  You can tell the kids who love it, they want to stay after and hit more balls, they come running up at practice and quite frankly they're pretty good at it!! I hope he eventually decides he likes it, but if not I"m not doing this too many more years in a row!!

Daycare

Daycare-I knew this would be an easy transition for Garrett, he was already upset that he could never stay after school to play like some of the kids did.  I figured Payton would be ok since she's been going up there to pick Garrett up a couple times a week since she was born, but she would not be in the same room with Garrett and had never napped anywhere but home.  I knew from experience she would adapt, but I also was worried about her first few days.  And I was right, the first day she didn't nap at all, and her first week she had a TON of pee accidents.  About her 4th day there, we got out of work early, so I got them and brought them home and P took a 4 hour nap!!  But, 4 weeks later, she's fully adjusted.  She's having no trouble napping, no pee accidents since the first week, and hugs and kisses her teacher in the morning and when I pick them up.  And I see genuine love on her teachers face, she seems happy to see Payton in the morning and always has great things to tell me when I pick her up.  Plus, I can tell she's learning a lot, she's talking more and more, and yesterday, out of the blue, she counted to 10 unassisted and got about halfway through her alphabet, she was not doing this a month ago, despite my best efforts.  So, there are days I miss them terribly and thing I'm horrible for taking them to daycare and there are days I see it was best for everyone.  I often get off early enough that I can run errands and quickly clean the house before I pick them up and then I can spend time with them and my focus is on them, not me cleaning or dragging them all over running errands.  And, I have to time the pickup just right because Payton doesn't nap until 2:15, so I can't go between 2:15 and 4:15, otherwise I wake her up, so that helps me feel less guilty about not picking them up until 4:30 or 5.

Work

Work - It took me a couple weeks to decide if I really liked it there.  The hours are great, but I seemed to be having trouble with one of the co-workers, sadly, she was the one training me.  It all started out just fine and then she slowly started getting kind of mean.  I'm not even entirely sure how to describe it, but she would show me how to do stuff about 95% complete, so I was getting into trouble for not completing tasks, she was constantly talking and not working, I had to keep interrupting her to ask questions, and I was getting a lot of sighs and eye rolls.  But, she was also leaving, so I was determined to stick it out until she left and see if things changed.  About 2 days before she left, the girl I was going to be working with, Cindy,  pulled me aside and said she was really sorry I was being treated poorly, but she promised me it would be better in a few days and boy has it ever!  This week has been great.  Cindy has been filling in the gaps on the things the other girl left off, she's been extremely patient with my questions and has been showing me my mistakes and how to fix them.  No more me feeling like a complete idiot because I had entered something in the computer wrong.  I also have noticed I'm making a lot fewer mistakes, I think the stress and anxiety of my cranky coworker was making it hard for me to concentrate.  I'm sure the fact that I've been there a month is helping a lot too, I'm really getting to understand the insurance side of things and even competently answering patients questions.  Now, I just need to get up the nerve to ask about a raise.  I was told I'd be on the training pay for a short period of time, but honestly, the training pay doesn't even cover daycare, so if he doesn't give me a raise soon, I may have to quit and I really don't want to have to do that!!

April

The month of April was crazy busy for us!!  I went back to work (finally, some might say), both kids started going to day care full time, Garrett started t ball, and we went to Kindergarten round up!

Back to work

I've been back to work for a week, it's been an interesting week.  Thursday I worked 8-5, but we had 1.5 hours for lunch, so I came home, ate lunch, ran to 2 banks and picked up a check from a customer, so yes, I can work in an office and help Matt.  Friday I was off, since it was Good Friday and the daycare was closed, they told me not to worry about coming in sine it was such a short notice for me to start.  So this week was my first official week of work.  This week we work 8-2, but we don't take a lunch.  I've had to get very organized very fast.  I drop the kids off right at 7:30, then I fly over to work, they want us there at 7:45, but most days I arrive at 7:50 and I'm the first one there, so there's obviously some flexibility there.  But, the days are long.  I'm not used to not eating and drinking when I want.  We can go in the break room and grab a snack whenever we want, as long as there aren't patients waiting.  Some days this is fine, some days it's very busy and it's harder to find the time to snack.  But, after work, I help Matt.  I run errands, I send invoices, I collect checks, I run to the bank, etc.  Because Payton lays down at school right about 2:15, it's too hard for me to get there before she's asleep and since I'm paying until 5:30 whether I get them or not, most days I'll leave them there.  Garrett gets to play and Payton can nap.  But, today, today was rough, she's not getting her normal 2.5-3 hour nap, so that girl is tired at night.  This morning when I got her up, she cried, when I put her in the car, she cried, when we got to school she cried, and when I left her, she cried.  It almost broke my heart.  She has gymnastics on Thursday, so Stef sent me a text and said she was in a mismatched outfit, which means she had an accident and had an accident during gymnastics, and she clung to Stefani and didn't want to go back to her room.  I decided I was going to race over there and bring her home so she could nap at home, in her own bed.  She was SO excited to see me!!  And boy did she sleep!  I woke her at the 3 hour mark and by 7:30 she was asking to go to bed.  Of course, as soon as she's in bed, I have to make lunches for the next day and repack her backpack, and make sure Garrett has all his stuff and tonight I folded laundry, as well as ran to Target for diapers and then made invoices for Matt.  Am I doing anything any other working mother does?  I'm just saying, it's a lot.  I did get my first paycheck today, it wasn't much, but it felt good to be able to contribute to the household bills.  I know there's an adjustment period for all of us and I"m so grateful that we do work short days a lot and that means I can go get the kids if I want to.  It means not as big of a check since we never work 40 hours a week, but it means I'll have more time to help Matt and spend it with my family.  Plus Garrett won't have to go to an after school program very much at all, and that makes me happy.  So, while it's hard and I'm tired, I think it's a good fit for us.  But, yes, I miss my kids when I'm at work, I miss their sweet faces and their hugs and kisses and Payton's funny little quirks, but maybe I enjoy all those things a little bit more now since I don't get to see it all day anymore.