Friday, July 30, 2010

Friday Frenzy

What better way to end another week than with randomness.

*Jay over at Play's With Sirens is a fireman and any week when the guys have to work Mon, Wed, Fri they refer to it as hell week (yep, I said hell it's my blog and it's allowed cause I said so). Well I work hell week every week, what was I thinking?!?!

*Ian finally decided to show us what he can do and rolled over at our house I witness the roll in the morning and Marcus got witness that same night. I also got it on camera and in attempts to upload everything from the camera to the computer to a flash drive it didn't make the transfer and got deleted. I have since been waiting for a performance for the camera.

*Work has been work and we'll leave it at that. I am looking into other avenues though but nothing concrete. Marcus is also looking at different options. So if you pray and your prayer list is a little short the Z's could use some.

*We leave for San Diego in 25 days (whose counting?) and my sister has been looking at the weather and well folks we will be layering!!! Our goal is to each pack in carry-ons. It's going to take some planning and rolling. I'm thinking I will arm my parents with coupons and some cash to get diapers and food for Ian before we arrive. We are also trying not to have a jam packed schedule while were there either it is a vacation so we do want to do some relaxing. And of course workout as we will be doing some great eating!!

*Groupon, has anyone seen the deals they have on there?? Everyday I get a new one for the San Diego area in my inbox. For things that you may normally not think to do while there.

*there is serious thought going into starting P90x this fall, gotta get ready for swimsuit season next summer. (you can never start too early right?)

*Only a few days and we will find out if in fact Ali has found her lover boy or if she says bye to both Roberto and Chris. I have heard rumors that she is still single and choose no one. I do like Chris so if those rumors are in fact rumors I do hope Chris is her lover boy.

*pictures will be coming soon. A new camera is on order, although the only color they had left to order was orchid. Marcus is still a little unsure about it he keeps calling it pink and I keep reminding him it's orchid and it's a good deal, so get over it!!

Have a great weekend, we (I use the term very losely) are going to continue to work on finishing the basement although I did just ask for a pull up bar to be installed so it probably doesn't help that I keep adding things to the list. Oh well...

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

soap box derby

It's like a soap box derby around here. I'm pulling out my soap box left and right and jumping on and saying what I need to say to anyone who will listen. Thank you Marcus, mom, dad and Marci:)

Remember On Monday I was going to call the orthotics place and insurance? Well, have no fear I did and we may or may not be going over our minutes for yet another month. Maybe I can bill those to insurance?

First call was to orthotics who was surprised when I said we received a letter as they had yet to get one. Next she was surprised on their reasoning and agreed it was lame (yeah I got my soap box back out for her too). Next step is to appeal it and throw so much information their way that they cave and agree to cover it.

Second call was to insurance this was call probably wasn't necessary but hey I thought maybe I can ask for an exchange on their decision in my head it went something like this after I dialed 1 and verified my identity:
I(insurance): how may I assist you today
me: yes, I would like to exchange your lame excuse letter for not covering my son's durable device for an approved coverage letter please (this is where I would get out my soap box)
I: well of course mam, we are sorry that you aren't satisfied with that, our goal here is to make sure everyone is happy and cared for in the best way possible. We do apologize for the error we made in making our decision. Let me just go into the system and get that changed for you.
me: "smiling ear to ear" thank you

WAKE UP!!!

Yeah, it went nothing like that at all (It really hurt my exchange/return record). Instead after she pulled up our records and I pulled out my soap box,I think she put me on speaker then muted the phone and went for a coffee refill, potty break, water cooler catch up session (where they probably talked about me and what they were having for dinner) and came back to say "mam, that is all not to true there are some procedures that are guaranteed and those who reviewed the case felt this was not one of them and when you appeal it you are more than welcome to include everything you said into a letter." As I defeatedly got down from my soap box and was pissed beyond pissed I did what any female would do (no matter how sensitive you are)....CRY!!!

I talked to Marcus as I was trying to figure out why I'm so pissed at their decision when all along I knew the chances they wouldn't cover it were very high so I shouldn't be surprised by their response. What I wasn't prepared for was their choice of words. You can bet we aren't going down without a fight. As I said before Ian will get what he needs with or without the help from insurance (obviously it would be great for insurance to help).

Monday, July 26, 2010

experimental

Warning!!! I'm getting out my soap box.

On Friday I called insurance on my way home work and I of course I went through a dead zone and lost the call. Which means I had go back through the whole regamole and start back at square 1. After some looking the status was still pending. I asked how long it takes to say yes or no if something is marked URGENT and was told to call back Monday afternoon (today).

Once home with my favorite lil guy, we got the mail and wouldn't you know there was an envelope for Ian. I proceeded to open it (with his permission of course) and it was from the insurance company. And they denied coverage because it is experimental/investgational. Now, we knew all along the chances of them covering would be very slim but their reasoning is a bit of a stretch. Isn't everything in the medical field experimental/invesgational doctor's practice medicine for a reason. Nothing in the medical field is 100%. My sister broke her wrist they set it and put a cast on, only to then have to do surgery to re-break it and put pins in. She still has some issues with it...seems a bit experimental to me. Through all my research I've done with the cranal remolding they've all had success stories. So I guess I'm a bit confused as to how this is experimental/invesgational.

I'm going to call the orthotics company and see of there is anything else they can do to help get it covered or if it's just a loss cause. Marcus and I talked and had they just come back with the answer of no with the reasoning that Ian's case is not severe enough or they feel it's just comestic (which isn't true) then we wouldn't have an issue with it. But we feel their reasoning is a cop-out and a sad excuse.

The bottom line is that Ian is no matter what going to get what he needs.

The soap box has been put away, thanks for your time.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Why I do it

Some of you who I'm friends with on FB know that I workout...up to anywhere from 2-3x a day. Yes sometimes 3x in 1 day. Why? Well, when I'm at work I workout at both locations I manage so there are 2 workouts (if you want to call them that I really have zero motivation to workout at work but do it for the clients) and then when I get home from work Marcus, Ian and I hit the road for a run. On the days that I get to be with Ian all day I will go for a run in the AM and then usually do something again in the PM. Before Ian entered ourlives and while I was pregnant I would workout 2x a day everyday except for Saturday's. This all started back in 2005 and I've been working out 2 or 3x a day since before that it was 1 time a day 6 days a week.

Anyways back to the title. I do this because 1)my body is use to it 2)I don't want any health issues as my age increases that can be avoided with a healthy lifestyle 3)I enjoy doing it, I feel accomplished 4)I want to instill into Ian the importance of daily exercise 5)sometimes I suck at making healthy food choices so I try to make it up with exercise 6)I simply want to be healthy and not carry a spare tire around my midsection

A friend has been inviting me to join her at her gym to workout the last week or so and it's been fun to change things up. We went to a bodypump class last week and if you ever have the opportunity to go a Les Mills bodypump class I highly encourage you to check it out. It will push you to your max, leave you with shakey legs and arms and you may not be able to properly shampoo or style your hair for at least 3 days without pain. My sister Marci is currently going thru the certification process to become an instructor. So I expect to have DVD's sent to my house for me to do at home which each new launch. Anyways I'm going back again tomorrow so if you see me around with "Ali hair" it's because I can't wash or brush it.

This week I went to a spinning class this was my 2nd time ever doing spinning and if you are looking to fill a bucket with sweat then you should probably go to a spinning class. Although it really comes down to how hard you want to work and how much you want to put into your workout. I never thought of spinning as a total body workout as who knew you used your core muscles while peddling. Well now I know, and can we please get so more padding on those seats by goodness. I must say this time my butt bones didn't hurt near as much as they did the 1st time.

Overall I really enjoy working out even when my legs are shaking, sweat is dripping and I'm doubting myself as to if I can finish the run that i started. I'm super proud of my hubby for lacing up the running shoes and hitting the road with Ian and I. He has also laced up his basketball shoes and start to shooting hoops with a friend of his and then running afterwards. So in a matter of 3wks he went from a couch potato to a 4x a week worker outer. And is making much healthier food choices. We should pretty much open up a smoothie store. Our blender is getting quite the workout as well.

If you're thinking out about working out you should probably stop thinking and get started. Anything is better than sitting around, you'll feel better and look better.

Monday, July 19, 2010

remolded

Our Dr looked over the scans and agreed that Ian needs to be remolded. He signed off on the medical necessity paperwork and the orthotics company sent all the info to insurance on Friday 7/16 it can take up to 30days for insurance to make a decision. Now, no matter what insurance decides Ian will be remolded with that said you wonder why wait the 30 days to hear back from insurance. Well, we thought the same thing in fact I already made an appt for measurements to be taken and what not. But, I'm going to cancel that appt. and reschedule for later because if you look at from a business perspective they won't work as hard and be on top of insurance to come back with a decision if we have already given them money. We all know how insurance works and businesses work...the evaluation scan was 350 or that is what they will bill insurance if insurance won't cover it then they will only charge us what it costs them to do the scan. Can you says screwed up?? The amount they would charge us is about half what they would charge insurance. So now 2x a week I will be calling insurance and once a week I will be calling the orthotics people. Why?? Well I have learned that presistance pays off and I won't let them forget about my lil boy and what he needs. I called insurance 3x a week for 2 months straight to get them to change the way they were looking at Ian's hospital bill...pros and cons to be born on New Year's Eve. Anyways let the waiting game begin, too bad with insurance the saying no news is good doesn't apply:)

We will give insurance about 2wks to make their decision and then go ahead and make the appt for the scanning and measuring to take place and then it takes about 7-10days for them to get the remolder (I don't like the way helmet sounds) back and then the remolding can begin.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Photo Session

Ian's 6mos photo session with Knox Photography (these are just a few of them) looking forward to his 9mos photo session.









Thursday, July 15, 2010

Monday, July 12, 2010

Just Ask Me

What to know how to get from Michigan City to New Buffalo? Just ask me and I will have you go in a complete circle that will take all of 20min and I will still believe until I see the Blue Chip that we are going in the right direction...oops

What to know what kind of car to buy? Just ask me and with in a month you will dislike the vehicle.

What to know where you should go for vacation? Just ask me and you will end hiking up the tallest mountain in Tennessee on the 1st day of your vacation (round trip 16 miles or something ridiculous), stay at the worst Sandals hotel in Jamaica and at the end you will simply cry.

Not sure what color to paint your walls? Just ask me and you will end up repainting all the rooms your house again and some rooms up to 6x.

Unsure of what you want to study in college? Just ask me and you will end going through just about all the programs offered and still not have a degree.

As you can see I give great advice luckily only Marcus has had to deal with the outcomes of my answers/decisions and we can look back and laugh about each and everyone of them. I should probably start and advice column, what do you think?

Thursday, July 8, 2010

evaluation

We went today for Ian's evaluation and after a bunch of italian was thrown our way (no it wasn't really italian but just a bunch of termology that is new to us). Scans were done where they place a tight white bonnet over Ian's head and then the scans that were done are being sent to our family dr who will write a Rx and then the orthotics place can proceed with insurance. In the meantime we want to talk with our dr to get his opinion after seeing the scans. However he is on vacay this week so we really won't know anything till later next week. As of right now Marcus and I are leaning towards going the helmet route no matter what. As the ortho guy explained to us that in the long run not just for appearances but also developmentally other problems could arise such as TMJ which can cause the locking of the jaw and major headaches and then in order to correct the problem they would have to break the jaw to realign to correct the issue. So for now we are playing the waiting game and hoping our Dr had a great week off.

Let's get technical Ian has a little Positional Plagiocephaly which in normal language translate to the asymmetric shaping of his head. Normally caused by undue or excessive pressure on one side of the occipital (posteror or ) area of his head. This gives his head a general parallelogram shape. He has a little brachycephaly which is the symmetrical flattening of the back of his head. Like positional plagiocephaly, it is generally caused by positioning. This flattening is marked by its symmetry across the back of his head. There are fewer medical issues that can be ties to brachycephaly, but is often even more noticeable then the asymmetrical flattening that is seen wit plagiocephaly. Ok so that really isn't normal language at all I can say I very rarley use the term asymmertic or parallelogram. So take it for what you want and want to translate it too. The book also had pictures but we don't have a scanner you can google if you'd like to look into further.

For the Positional Plagiocephaly measurement Ian is a 7 which falls into the moderate. For the Brachycephaly Ian's precentage is 96% normal is 85-90%

Are you confused yet? It was great having both of us there to have 2 sets of ears to hear it all. They gave us a handy dandy little book and had I gone by myself I would've tossed Marcus the book and said "here ya go" and pulled answers out of my butt to whatever questions he would have had.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Ian's World

Here's what has been happening in Ian's world lately:

What sports will Ian play. We are going to start prepping him for football or baseball by having him wear a helmet. Yep, you read that right. We take him tomorrow for an evaluation and go from there. I have always noticed his flat spot as did our dr and the one thing I like about our dr is that he gives us time first to try things to correct the issue before referring us elsewhere. We tried for 6mos to do extra tummy time (which translate too a lot of tears and screams from Ian), and time in the bumbo and in the stationary entertainment center and with all that if it was going to correct itself we would have seen improvement by now. And we aren't so it's time. We will obviously learn more tomorrow. Marcus has taken the afternoon off of work to attend the appt. which is great this way what I don't think to ask he will and vice versa. Through some of my research there are quite a few babies out there who were also in the NICU that required this treatment as well. I'm not blaming the NICU our Dr said for Ian it's the way he was hanging out in my uterus. I still found that to be interesting

ByeBye infant carrier hello convertible car seat. We figured with his infant carrier only going to 20lbs and him being 18lbs 3oz (can't forget those 3oz) and with the chances of having a helmet, he and his helmet would be a tight fit in that infant carrier. On Monday since we both had the day off and decided it would be great day to have HORRIBLE customer service we headed over to Babies R Us in search of a car seat for Marcus' car (I already one for mine).

With saying goodbye to the infant carrier and hello to convertible car seat Ian is also saying hello to the shopping cart (and a highly neurotic mother) but not without the proper shopping cart cover to keep all those nasty grocery store germs away from. I'm undecided if I like our current cover. I'm going to do some looking around and I have a 2nd cousin (thank you facebook for helping us stay in contact with family who we would normally only receive Christmas cards and letters from once a year) who is going to look in her arsenal of patterns and see what she can come up with. Back to the shopping cart, Ian can sit on his own for all of 30sec now before tumble to the side or forward...enter neurotic mother so while he is belted into the shopping cart and to keep him from tumbling from one to the other I now drive the shopping with my arms under his keeping him up-right. I may turn into the fastest grocery shopper ever. Hey whatever happened to the show supermarket sweep?

As of right now that's what new in Ian's world. I booked him a slot at Aunt J's to try out the Johnny Jumper thingy tonight stay tuned for video footage.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

WOWZERS

If you have yet to catch up on your DVR with the Bachlorette then I advise you to stop reading NOW!! I think between facebook and texting my phone was exploding!!



WOWZERS...that was crazy. We'll start with a recap of Ali and her lover boys. It seemed as though Ali found her brush for the first 3 dates and then packed it away for the 4th date. Is there really no one there to assist her with her hair and brushing it?? We said goodbye to Ty last night he was a nice guy and all but he was never really able to redeem himself from his reasoning as to why he got the big D. And can I just say Frank is a little too emotional for me doesn't seem like the DIY kinda guy take the bull by the horns and what not. He's a little too safe I feel and unsure of things. I like Chris L (are we still calling Chris L even though he is the only Chris now there?), Kirk and Roberto. Hometown visits next week!!

Onto the big the WOW of the night and that was Jake and Vienna aka Fame Whores (FW). I think we all saw Mr Jake in a different light last night. Makes you wonder if the real reason he went to Jillian to tell her of Wes was really for Jillian or for his own career. Agreeing to do Dancing With the Stars so soon after the his season aired (fw). They didn't even get a chance to get to know each other. Wasn't one of the reasons he choose Vienna was because she wasn't scared to speak her mind?? Granted she was speaking out of turn but still she wasn't scared to say what she wanted to say. I do believe that she probably played the crying and taking off the ring card quite a few times. She also sold (for quite the rainy day fund) the story to the talboilds (fw). She said she sold her side because she knew he would sell his...well, she kinda gave him no other option but to sell his side once she sold hers. Marcus tuned in for it (he wasn't all the way watching such as myself but was still listening and watching some) and his thoughts on Jake are that he is a: D-bag, tool, and overall not a good guy. I did like when Vienna said he hasn't flown in over a year and he comes back with a smile plastered across his face that in fact he flew last weekend. What an A...

What were thoughts on the whole situation? Did reality steve call this awhile ago (I just started reading him)?