Baby bug in the bath tub, 06-27-08

Today's video: Rowan discovers the miracle of water...lol I never put him in the tub while the water is running, for fear that he will want to turn it on himself. But tonight, against my better judgement, I let him see "where water comes from". Judging by his reaction, I believe I may have started something...and NOT a good something! It was too cute not to get a video of though, so enjoy!

WOW WHAT A DAY!!!!!!!!!!

I have had one heck of a busy one today. Yesterday, while I was driving to Spfld, Rowan's doctor called to schedule his appointment with the radiologist. They scheduled it for 10:00 on Monday morning, the same day and time of our closing! I called the realtor to see if we could reschedule the closing on the house, which she took care of for me. Then the bank called with a few questions about the loan, so I talked to him for a while about what was going on. He gave me a list of things that needed to be done.

SO...today I had a lot on my list.

I called the bank back with LOTS of questions, which I got answers for...some good, some not so good...basically, our interest rate is higher than we hoped, so our payments are also higher........
STRIKE ONE!

I had to go and set up our insurance for the house, which is a bit more than I had planned on....strike TWO.

I called Ameren IP to get our gas and electric switched over on the 30th, and found out that the average monthly bill is more than the selling realtor told me...strike THREE

I went to the water company and filled out the application to also have the water switched over on the 30th.

I went to check the mail, hoping for something from my husband...nothing was there...what strike am I up to??? I did get bills...more medical bills, one that I have already paid! I called the doctor's office, and they said they never received the payment...called the bank, never cleared...ARGH

So, I called Tricare and asked why I am paying a 20% copay with Jamie being deployed. I was literally on the phone with them for about 3 hours, talking to DEERS too. I am beyond frustrated at this point. Even though Jamie IS in Iraq, and IS ACTIVE DUTY until 2013, because we are not "in a prime area", we would have to travel to Louisiana, MO to get full coverage on our medical expenses. I'm pissed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT THE HELL!!!!! Is it MY problem that there is no military medical facility nearby? FREAKKKKKKKKKK!!!! I really am pissed.

Then I called the IRS, 28 minutes on HOLD...thanks assholes! I asked them why I have not received our tax refund, and they said, well, you didn't have the correct form for the educational credit, so we mailed it back to you. I said, "I NEVER RECEIVED IT!" Hmmm. they sent it to our GERMANY address on April 9th, AFTER JAMIE LEFT FOR IRAQ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Because of their mistake, I had to run to H&R Block and REDO our taxes, and REDO our change of address form.

I am so frustrated today. Can we start lining people up so I can kick some ass? I really need to. I am so concerned with all of the expenses, I could literally just cry...and have been for most of the damn day. So, our house payment will be more, our utilities will be more, and the freakin' Army, once again, will not take care of their people. GO FIGURE

Anyone else wanna piss me off? It seems to be the day to do it, so come on!!! I could go more into detail, but I don't want to...so goodnight

Wednesday, June 25

I didn't get to post yesterday, as Ro and I had a pretty full day. We were up and moving fairly early, and had to go to Spfld to my Uncle's burial. I thought I would do okay, not too emotional...but I proved myself to be very wrong. I did take Rowan with me, because I had nobody to watch Rowan. My sister warned me that the 21 gun salute may scare the kids, so she left hers in the car with Jeff. I, however, did take Rowan to the burial and ceremony. He kept me pretty occupied during most of it, and he did really well. He jumped at the first shot, but stayed composed through the remainder.
I however, did get pretty emotional. I was very sad for my Aunt Toshiko and cousins, Emiko and Ryan. I don't like to see other people hurting, especially when those people mean so much to me. Because it was a military service with military honors, it really got me... I won't go into what it meant to me, because I don't feel like crying anymore tonight...
Afterwards, we all met at my Aunt Kandace's house in Williamsville; we had a nice lunch and a nice time getting to visit with everyone. Jamie and her boys were there, so the three little ones kept us all entertained and moving! LOL

Rowan's dr apt.

So, today Rowan went to see the eating specialist. She was SUPER nice, really good with Rowan, and made him feel so comfortable. She administered food to him; first apple sauce, then a cereal bar, and then gold fish crackers. She also gave him some juice. There was little evidence of his choking during the feeding, of course; however, when he started to caugh (as if to be choking), she thought that was uncommon. Not sure I understand that, but she is the dr...
She listened to him swallow the food, and observed how he manipulated the food in his mouth. She said he does fine with the food while it is in his mouth, it is after that that there is a problem... She is referring him to get radiology done, to take pics of what is going on WHILE he is eating. Basically, she explained that it could be a number of things.

1. It could be that he is just prone to choking b/c of not chewing/swallowing well
2. His esophagus could have some type of abnormality or underdevelopment
3. He could have some type of unknown allergy that is causing his esophagus or throat to swell up while he is eating.

Personally, I am hoping for the first one! Although, I am not sure how we will correct it? We will be hearing from her soon so that we know what to do from here. Next step, radiology...if that comes back okay, then he will get tested for allergies. This is a very BRIEF summary of all that she told me today. Until then, I am to be very selective of what I give him...

We went to visit my nephews today. Graham is 11 months old, and is getting big enough to play with Rowan! I was trying to get them both dancing, but.....well, getting TWO to cooperate is a little tricky!

Rowan's dr. apt.

Thank you to everyone who has left messages, emails, etc. concerning Ro's apt. today. I will put up information about it later this evening.

TUESDAY BARGAIN SHOPPING:

So, my trip to Spfld was a success, here is what I got:

TARGET:

Pampers Value Box- 19.99
Pampers Value Box- 19.99
Pampers Sensitive wipes 210 count - 5.99
Pampers Sensitive wipes 210 Count - 5.99
Huggies Little Swimmers - 9.99
----------------------------------------------
TOTAL retail price: 61.95
COUPONS USED:
-5.00 (target coupon Pampers)
-5.00 (target coupon Pampers)
-3.00 (target coupon Pampers)
-3.00 (target coupon Pampers)
-1.50 (target coupon little swimmers Huggies)
-5.00 (target GC coupon)
-5.00 (target GC coupon)
____________________
savings: $27.50

MY COST AFTER COUPONS: $34.45

GET YOUR COUPONS BY CLICKING HERE: Scroll down the page, to the Target deals. She has a link that takes you to the coupons page. I reccommend using this page because it is simple to follow the directions, and you can print as many as you want without wasting paper!!!


My Target let me use the two $5.00 Gift Card coupons in THIS transaction, which ended up saving me more today! I had planned on using them in two different transactions. If I had it to do over again, I would have used the two GC's in the transaction and NOT bought the little swimmers. My thought was this: I would use the second $5 GC and the $1.50 coupon on the swimmers, leaving my cost at $3.50 for 18 swim diapers... Oh well, still not too bad, and we were out of swimmers anyway...we do a lot of swimming around here!!!

TOYS R US:
The coupon for the FREE Thomas toy was not valid; they had issued a NEW one as of this morning, but my Toys R Us let me go ahead and get the free toy.

Thomas toy retail price $12.99
Coupon -12.99
I had to pay tax, which came to $1.01.

Our day in pictures

Well, I have a lot of really cute pics from today, but blogger will not let me upload them!!! ARGH!!!!!!! We had a lot of fun today; Rowan and I took the wagon for a spin, he ate pineapple and LOVED IT!!! I went on a cooking and baking spree, and turns out Rowan really loves cheese sauce and brownie batter! LOL He was COVERED in chocolate...I let him help me bake brownies; it was messy, but super fun for both of us! He is eating like a champ again! Scrambled eggs and chex for breakfast; pears, mixed veggies, tator tots and tortellini for lunch; dinner was peaches, mixed veggies, and hamburger/small shells/cheese sauce casserole...which he LOVED! Snacks were normal and typical, fruit, cereals, etc. We played outside a lot today, Ro's fave thing to do!
Tomorrow is the doctor's apt. I'll update ya tomorrow on how this turns out!!!

WOOOHOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nothing makes me happier than finding a great deal on diapers (okay, maybe SOME things! LOL), and thanks to my wonderful and WISE sister, I found a great deal!!! She informed me of this wonderful website, babycheapskate.com, where I can always find the best deals on diapers each week. I seem to spend a good bulk of our budget on diapers every week, so I am constantly looking for good times to stock up.
This week, there is a wonderful deal at Target. As I have often said, I will not make a special trip to Springfield in search of a good deal. However, tomorrow Rowan has his appointment with the eating specialist in Springfield, so I am attempting to make the most of my gas money! LOL I will be stopping at Toys R Us to get my FREE Thomas toy, and then will hit Target.

You can see more about the Target diaper deals at the above listed website, but here is what I will do.

Target has Pampers Big Packs for $19.99 and Pampers Sensitive Wipes for $7.99. When you buy BOTH in one transaction, you will get a $5 gift card to use on a future purchase. Also, I have a coupon for $5 off purchase of both Pampers diapers and wipes, as well as a $3 off coupon for both. SOOOO...

FIRST TRANSACTION:
one Pampers Big Pack $19.99
One sensitive Wipes box $7.99
___________________________
TOTAL $27.99
- $5 coupon
- $3 coupon
- $5 GC
_____________
TOTAL $19.98

I will then turn around and use the $5 gift card on my next transaction. For two boxes of Pampers diapers and two boxes of wipes, I will spend $34.96, and have another $5 gift certificate...too bad they probably won't let me use the GC during that transaction!
I may find some more coupons, which would be fantastic!!! Jamie, if you know of a better way to do this, please let me know. Normally I prefer Huggies, but I can't pass this one up!

Late night???

AND ROWAN IS AWAKE!!! It is 9:00, little off schedule? Yes indeed! It's past his bed time, and IS my bed time...