stupid f-ing dumbasses

Yeah, you heard me. I swear I hate getting bills, especially when it is from retards. So today I'm opening up mail my dad forwarded to me. One was from Tinley Woods Anesthesia. Back in, oh...May of 2004, Brenna had to have eye surgery. She was 18 months old. Even though insurance covered the surgery we were requested to pay up front the difference and it just about broke the bank. It really wasn't much. (almost $300 for the use of the facilities and $108 for the anesthesia). We paid it so she could get her surgery done and thought that was that. A few months later we recieved a refund of $47 for the anestesia.

Well today I get another bill from these idiots saying I owe $60.75. So I look at the bill. The anesthesia was $810. Our insurance discount was $405. Insurance then paid $344.25, leaving $60.75. Okay so the math works. Problem is we already paid $108 back in May 2004 and we already got our $47 refund (the math works there too). These people are idiots. The problem stems from the fact that they never sent the papers into the insuance people on time or something (I periodically get stuff from the insuance saying they are reprocessing the claim). They finally get it all straightened out and now they want me to pay again. Morons!!!!

No offence to any medical billing people out there but Damn! get it together already. This isn't the first medical billing problem I've had in the last week or so.

A couple weeks ago I got a note from Meagan's dentist that they are no longer doing buisness with the billing company we were paying. No big deal except I had just sent my last payment of $20 to the billing people. But since the due date was before they even sent the letter I didn't care. Then a week later I get a note from them again saying I owe $20 and to promptly pay. Oh for Pete's sake. I ignored it since I already paid. Then a few days after that I get a bill from the billing agency saying I owe $20 and this was their final attempt to get payment before they send it to a collection agency. It's just twenty freaking dollars people. And I paid it. Okay so it was a week late. But I paid it.

So now both the office and the billing agency seem to think I owe $20. I hope they communicate a little and it gets taken care of. I am not paying both of them.

Then...I get a bill from Brenna's eye doctor with final notice stamped across the bottom. This bill is also from the surgery from last year. It says we owe $100 but I went through my checkbook and found several checks to them equaling about $40. But I had forgotten about a week ago I got a letter from them that had two bills. One was a computer printout that we owed $100 (like I got the other day) and one was a regular bill on their letter head like I used to get. I don't remember how much that one was for. I was very confused and filed it away thinking I would contact them in a few days. Now I can't find the dang letter.

We are so broke right now that none of these people are getting money from us. We just paid our rent, car payment and insuance leaving us with pretty much nothing. Our gas bill was a little over $100 which was about $40 less then last month so keeping the thermostat at 60 helped. I can't wait to see what our electric is. If it seems much higher then last month I am going to kill our landlord. He hooked up this stupid lighted sign last week and there are really only two places he can be getting the juice from--us or the preschool downstairs. I refuse to pay to light his stupid sign. No where in our lease does it say we have to pay for that.

On the up side--my dad sent me a very pretty birthday card with $150 for my birthday/christmas gift and the note said to spend it on myself, Ha. Who is he kidding. I am so much like my mom. I already spent it--on a Christmas tree and boots and snowsuits for the kids. I did get myself a couple of magazines. He also sent $200 to get gifts for the kids from him and Santa. I have no clue what to get them. $200 really isn't much to split between 3 kids especially if it is from Papa and Santa.

We haven't gotten much for the kids ourselves. Owen is getting a Tonka truck with a trailer pulling two bikes, a NASCAR that he wanted and something else (I forget off hand). Meagan is getting some art stuff (she loves to draw) and some Barbies and a puzzle. Brenna is getting a small doll house and a few other small things like that. And a NASCAR of her favorite driver (Bobby Labonte).

I did pick up a bunch of books for the kids at Wal-mart from Santa/Papa because that is something he would get them. And eventually I will get over to Target to go through their dollar bins and see what I can find. They usually have cute stuff for the girls.

Oh and they all got new underwear. Toys r us had a great deal when I was there a couple weeks ago--3 packs of character briefs for boys for $12 and 3 packs of girls character panties for $10. Owen got 3 packs, Brenna got 2 and Meagan got 1 (she's already got a ton). I was most happy about that, lol. Oh, the little things.

more nesting

Well, I woke up this morning and decided I needed to do more cleaning. This is not really like me. I mean I'll straighten up here and there, do the dishes and clean the bathroom when it needs it but I don't just spend the day cleaning.

I started with the dishes and even wiped off the table and stove (usually I'm so tired after the dishes I go to sit down and forget the rest of the kitchen). I was going to start on the bathroom when I walked by the girls' room and saw what a mess it was. I was fed up and finally got that done. I rearranged their furniture so hopefully I will at least be able to reach their clothes in their closet now. Usually there are a ton of toys in the way. I made their beds. WOW! I rarely make their beds because 1. they just pull the sheets off in about a day and 2. Brenna wets the bed even with a pull-up on so it seems pointless. But I made them anyway. I assume I will be taking Brenna's sheets off in the morning because they will be wet.

I pulled out even more toys to give away. They are lining the hall now waiting for me to go through them and make sure pieces are together in sets. I might do that tomorrow. I straightened up the living room again and vacuumed. I'm proud of myself. But I'm hurting again. My hip is already locking up. I have been working since about 10am with just a short break around 12:30. I figure you won't be able to tell at all by the middle of next week. The kids will have every toy on their floor again.

I put the tree up on Thursday. We bought this dinky 6' artificial tree for like $17. It is horrid looking but I won't complain for $17, lol. It actually doesn't look all that bad with the lights and garland on it. My dad would hate it. He likes these full, completely covered trees. The one he has back home probably cost a good $400-$500. I would never spend more then $100 on a tree. This one will do for now. It fits perfectly in the corner by the window and the box is small enough to be stored in the hall closet with the other Christmas stuff. It has almost no ornaments though. I only brought the Hallmark ones we bought a few years ago and a few that me and my mom made in '97. I also had 5 glass ornaments that I had bought back when I was in college. Well it took a whole day before one of the kids broke one. Let's see how long the other four last. I need a tree skirt, too. I was thinking of making one but that means dragging out the fabric and sewing machine and having the kids ask me a million questions about what I'm doing.

And today Owen broke Brenna's favorite pair of glasses. The pink ones with the coloring changing lenses (that she got when she was 18 months old and pretty much wears in every picture I have taken of her). She was so sad. She tried for a few minutes to fix them. "Id otay, Mommy. Me fix dem," she told me. She was almost in tears when I told them it was no use (the frame cracked apart and the lense came out). Then she looked up at me with those big brown puppy dog eyes, batted her lashes, stuck her lower lip out and said, "ewe buy new ones. We go store an buy new ones?" She looked so pathetic, but hopefull at the same time. I told her I'd talk to Daddy about it. Patrick already said we can get her some new ones if we can find them. We got them at Lens Crafters but the one here at our mall didn't have them in pink, only clear white.

When she got those frames over a year ago she picked them out herself. She was so cute. Just 18 months old. She tried them on and wouldn't let me try another pair after that. She threw the biggest fit when we had to hand them over to the tech to have the lenses put in and refused to let the lady adjust them on her face when we picked them up. She wears them every day without a fuss and always has from day one. Luckily we bought a spare pair over the summer from Wal-mart because the pink ones were starting to wear out. They are purple and alittle big. She still prefers the pink ones. Everything always happens to poor Brenna.