Category Archives: Katie
A new playground
We were out and about testing out the car and decided to stop at a new playground (it’s at the other local elementary school).
Katie is so different from Owen at that age—she just climbs right up the stairs no problem and zips down the curly slide with no fear.
She kept going over to these but wouldn’t actually get on them.
Then when it was almost time to leave, she decided to start playing in the wood chips and dirt.
Test drives!
Friends were talking about getting new cars and other friends were talking about cars they were looking at and how much their cars were worth…so just for shits and giggles I researched my car. Kelly Blue Book approximated $25k-27k so that grabbed my attention because I knew our payoff was about $10k less. Now, it’s not that I don’t like my car…but I don’t love it (like we loved the Highlander) and I thought What could it hurt to look? Famous last words, right?? 🙂
I had a few cars in mind from friends’ recommendations, so when Tom came home I told him what I was thinking and he looked at me like I was completely nuts. By the time I was leaving for my PTO meeting an hour later, he was on board for some research and we agreed we’d take a quick look at Carmax tomorrow. By the time I got home from the PTO meeting, he told me we had two test drives scheduled (at two dealers) for the morning! 😯 Well well, look who was suddenly on board!
The reasons for wanting a new car were twofold—our current monthly payments are a little too expensive now that our cost of living is higher (our BAH—the money the government gives us for housing—paid for the house AND car in Jacksonville…here, it doesn’t even cover our rent) and we have realized we miss the AWD (especially with actual winter weather coming). So we just thought we’d see what we could find that might cut our monthly payment a bit while still giving us the size we need.
And then the reality sets in that to REALLY cut our monthly payment like we’d like, we’d have to spend about $10k less than we are looking at…and unfortunately I’m really used to the nicer touches of a little bit more expensive car. (When we were searching for this car, we looked at the Ford version of a similar size (I think the Traverse) and everything about it just felt cheap.) I also really really really don’t want a minivan. We don’t need seven actual seats but we do sometimes need six so when parents come to visit we don’t have to take two cars (critical in this traffic nightmare). And I like the space seven seats affords us with the last row folded down because we fill up the back A LOT (we’re not even carrying strollers and stuff anymore—I’m talking trips to Costco, IKEA, Target—all errands in one day type of thing—plus our road trips to Michigan). We use all that space very frequently.
I was 99% sure that there is not a new/different car in our future because we are not the people who just buy a new car on a whim (I kept my last car for 10 years and Tom has had his Prius for six years), but now we’re both thinking about it.
So…we did our test drives. I’ll skip the majority of the BS that goes along with that, other than to say we had Katie with us and she didn’t do too badly. She LOVED playing in the cars in the showroom while we waited and didn’t mind the test drives at all.
Katie: I want to start it up!
Mazda earned points for giving Katie a balloon—and boy did she love it!
After both test drives, we were pretty sure we were going to go ahead with the Mazda CX-9 if they could get us a bit closer on trade-in value. We liked the dealership and they’ve let us take the car home overnight to really test it out.
Most of the things I don’t like about it are minor (the auto liftgate isn’t quite as good, I don’t love the color (see below), it has navigation which I don’t want, it doesn’t have the backup warning beeps, the shifter pattern is WEIRD, and it doesn’t have the automatic three turn-signal-clicks with one press)…but the Bluetooth is nice, it has lots of pep, the third row seating is easier to get into, it has XM, and while it’s not as tall as my car, it still sits high enough to not feel like a car). The things I don’t like about it are things that my current car has spoiled me for over the past two years. It’s definitely a step down in luxury but not enough to be a deal-breaker.
Dolphin Gray Mica—meh. It totally reminds me of the color of our Birdie house—the siding was gray or blue or green depending on the lighting. At least this car doesn’t have shutters that try to match. 🙂
So stay tuned!
Katie’s cute little ankle x-rays
When Tom and I looked at them the first thing we said was “Oooh, they’re so cute!” Yes, they’re just ankle x-rays…but AREN’T THEY CUTE?! (These were from awhile ago but just looked at them today.)
I’ll take a snuggle.
Katie was snuggly when she woke up so I took advantage.
Katie’s ankle: The End
It started off great, then hit a rough patch, then ended great so overall I’m happy.
THE GREAT
The hospital is super easy to get to and only takes about 15 minutes—and there’s plenty of parking in the attached parking garage. Everyone was super friendly, the hospital was very nice, and the pediatric area was easy to find. There was plenty of seating for kids and adults…with kids shows on the TV.
We were there about 25 minutes early in case we had to fill out paperwork, and I was surprised when they called us back almost immediately to get Katie’s vitals. They were going to put us in a room but none happened to be ready so we got sent back to the lobby…
THE ROUGH PATCH
…where we sat for 20 minutes until I finally went up to the desk to ask (at military facilities there’s always a sign saying to let the staff know if you’ve been waiting more than 15 minutes). When I told her what doc it was, she immediately kind of laughed and said “He’s always slow…THOROUGH.” /sarcasm on/ GREAT. /sarcasm off/ No, I know being thorough is a good thing, but always running behind is not. If he’s always that thorough they should schedule the appointments accordingly.
Katie passed the time playing with the other kids in the waiting area.
So we kept waiting. And waiting. At 15 minutes past our appointment time (and 30 since vitals) we got put in a room. I wasn’t thrilled…but overall it still wasn’t TOO bad. So we waited. And waited.
And waited.
And had time for three snacks and a drink.
Ten minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes. At the 1-hour-past-my-appointment mark I went out into the hallway to see if I could get an update from anyone…and the doctor was actually in the hall headed to our door. As I started to politely question about the delay, he was already apologizing and explaining that the previous patient had been an acute case—apparently his staff missed signs of low oxygen (?) and he had to rally everyone to get it taken care of and have it be a teaching moment.
THE GREAT ENDING
It turns out I REALLY REALLY like him—he’s very personable, I felt very comfortable with him, and he was amazing with Katie… She was sitting on his chair when he came in, so he got on his knees (down to her level) and examined her right there instead of making her get up on the exam table. He explained everything he did as he was doing it. Just his entire bedside manner and tone of voice was comforting and knowledgeable.
So, his thoughts? Her ankle is fine and we don’t need to see a specialist. He was poking and prodding and she never winced even a tiny bit and it wasn’t swollen and he could see no reason to refer her. His only thought was that it might possibly be Lyme disease (as that affects joints) but since it was just the one joint and no others and no other symptoms, he immediately ruled it out. He did say that if it gets worse then we can revisit it, but for now, just keep giving her Tylenol when it’s swollen or if it seems to be hurting her (which it rarely does). He said he sprained his ankle when he was a kid and it gave him troubles for many years but there wasn’t anything to do for it. He even said if he did refer us, the pediatric orthopedist would say we were wasting his time. He had said he has three young girls himself so if he thought there was ANYTHING wrong at all or ANYTHING at all to be gained from a referral (or more x-rays or tests or whatever), he wouldn’t hesitate. But he just didn’t see it with this case.
I then mentioned that the other doctor had noticed a heart murmur and said it wasn’t serious but that it should continue to be watched. Within about four seconds of listening to her heart he said “Yes, she has a definite murmur.” However, it wasn’t in her armpits and it disappeared when she stood up—and he diagnosed it as a very common Still’s Murmur (also known as a vibratory murmur). He said she was a very healthy little girl and we had nothing to worry about.
On the way out, I briefly mentioned big brother Owen and his GI issues so we chatted for a minute about that—and he told me two of his girls were on the Miralax regimen as well. So I feel good about that aspect when we need to take Owen in.
So, it all ended on a positive note, though I think the wait could have been handled better (why can’t ANYONE in any doctor’s office ever tell waiting patients what’s going on when something like this happens?). And I think I’ll be much happier with them than the first office I had picked from a hat. Score one for Tricare! 🙂
Katie wanted to play in the water!
Katie is 2 years 2 months today!
And the very last one was the best!
Continuing peds office inefficiency.
So I called the pediatrician’s office this morning to ask the status of Katie’s medical records since they never called yesterday like they promised.. Um, well, hang on, let me look…no they’re not here…the nurses are in a training so I’ll call you when they’re out at lunch.
Fast forward to 2:30 (!) and I get the call they’re done. I drive straight there (so, maybe 15 minutes) and go to the desk and the lady was totally clueless, as if she couldn’t remember me from YESTERDAY (though I’m not sure if she was the one who called, you’d think she’d remember me). And it was a whole debacle again, with someone else needing to step in to handle it and me ending up pissed because they didn’t have copies of the x-rays—they just had the results form. Ugh. I thought I was pretty clear when I asked about copies of the x-rays—I never said x-ray results. Sigh. At least that part was rectified with a quick call to the imaging place who handed me the x-rays on a DVD within two minutes of me walking in their door. No cost, no stupidity, no drama.
The next update will be Thursday after her appointment with her new doctor.
One of today’s tantrums.
A typical morning
Katie gets into Owen’s bed…
And a superhero appears!
Katie’s cookie mess
Owen picked out some frosted cookies at the commissary today…and man can she make a mess!
Katie had an epic Terrible Twos day.
Katie was in rare Terrible Twos form today. One of those “if your brother had acted this way, we wouldn’t have had you” days. I know it was bad because normally I just get frustrated…but today, Tom was right there with me. I think she had at least four time-outs, but it was probably more like five or six…with many minor tantrums and fits along the way. Here are a few choice moments.
Miss Smartypants
I have a Kindergarten app on the iPad that was for Owen but he’s way beyond it now, so I tried it with Katie. I was amazed at the stuff she knew (nouns).
This is what we do when the pool is closed and our A/C is broken.
Of course the day the A/C goes out is one of the hottest and most humid days this summer. It wasn’t too bad if you didn’t move too much, but we finally had to open the windows to get what little breeze we could in the house. I gave up when it hit 84° and took the kids to the basement…but that only lasted until Katie found the caterpillar water toy. Then it was outside!
August pictures are online!
Happy birthday daddy!
Waiting for Owee
Lunchtime chat with Katie
Watching, Walking & Waiting
Owen needed a bath and Katie didn’t so she had to watch. She wasn’t happy but she got over it.
Walking to the bus stop.
Waiting for the bus.
Going to get Owen from the bus stop!
Katie was super excited and was ready to go the second I put her shoes on. Tom made sure to be home in time to go with us. 🙂
Playing with the other kids.
We could finally see the bus…and she sat down to wait. 🙂
Finally!
Screenshots from the video:
Once we got home I tried to get the scoop. He was excited and more interested in watching the movie (which was paused). But he was happy so that’s all that matters!
Katie’s Ankle Update (GRRRR)
I’ve about been at my limit with the pediatrician’s office. We were supposed to get a call almost a month ago with the referral appointment. (We did get her blood test results a ways back—I thought I posted but maybe not?—and there was nothing definitive so the doc wanted her to see a specialist.) Since they were supposed to call me, I kinda forgot about it. Then once I realized they hadn’t called, I called—and one of the phone tree options is “for referrals” so I left a message there. I didn’t hear anything after a few more days so I called back again (to the referrals request number) and gave more explanation. Days later, still no call. So I called back planning on just talking to the front desk because I’ve been patient long enough…and surprise! They’re having problems with their phones so all calls are being routed to their sister office who can’t help because Katie isn’t their patient. I call back repeatedly over the next two days and the sister office is still answering. Then it was the holiday weekend. It’s been over three weeks. RIDICULOUS.
So fast forward to today, when it’s time to get this figured out. Come to find out, they weren’t authorized as our PCM (completely unbeknownst to me, of course!)—but the kicker is they got the denial letter on AUGUST 25 and apparently no one felt it necessary to LET ME KNOW (and I didn’t get any denial letter from Tricare, either). GRRR. I asked why no one bothered to let me know. “Uh, um, stutter, stammer, I’m not sure.” Lovely.
So I called Tricare to find out that it’s MANDATORY we’re assigned to the army hospital WHICH MIGHT HAVE BEEN NICE TO KNOW A MONTH AGO. Their online system let me pick a civilian PCM back in July and I even double-checked afterward to make sure it was confirmed (it was). I asked why I hadn’t been informed and she said there should have been a letter. Well, if there was, I either missed it or didn’t pay attention because I ASSUMED IT WAS CONFIRMING THE DOCTOR I PICKED (why would I think otherwise?!). So, basically, no one has any idea what happened. But now I get to wait NINE more days for the first available appointment for the new PCM and then likely have to wait AGAIN for the referral from him (and I get to pay to have Katie’s records copied for the new doctor). I AM PISSED. The only silver lining is that Tricare still paid for (or the doctor’s office accepted the lower payment for) the first two appointments even though we technically weren’t assigned there.
What a mess. But, from the looks of it, even though I liked the doctor we saw, it appears the office staff isn’t that great…so maybe it’s a good thing we’re no longer going there.
Boo Hoo Breakfast
The breakfast was put on by the PTO for all of the kindergarten parents. And what a nightmare it was. It was scheduled for 9—which I understand because it’s at the beginning of school, and I guess they figured you’d likely be dropping off your kid in person so you’d already be there…? But trying to get there was awful, even though I drove straight there and was in the general vicinity at 8:50.
I was using the GPS because I’d only driven there once, and it took me to the back of the school where there is no parking (only Kiss-and-Ride and bus areas) and all the side streets were packed. I tried to reroute to the front of the school but the GPS wouldn’t do it and I couldn’t figure it out (it’s in a subdivision). I finally figured out how to get there, stupidly assuming that the small parking lot might actually have a space for people STAYING at the school instead of just dropping kids off. Ha. HA HA. There was literally NO parking space there or on any of the side streets for a half-mile radius. And it was already 85 and I was NOT walking that far with Katie and I was already late…so I said screw the breakfast. On the way out, I pulled over to calm down and think—if I waited just a bit longer, a lot of the parents would be done dropping their kids off and I’d hopefully be able to get a closer parking spot. So I waited until 9:15, turned around, and got a spot a block away.
The breakfast was…awkward. People were already at tables and chatting and there was nowhere for me to sit so I just stood there letting Katie play for a few minutes. It was also HOT in there—I asked if they didn’t have A/C and they said yes they did but in apparent Halley tradition the A/C was out the first day. 🙂 But they liked Katie’s school spirit—dressing in black and yellow! 🙂
Then I got us a snack and grabbed a seat and both other people were buried in their phones. Yay. 😐 I chatted for a brief minute with a mom from the pool but she was talking to friends. I hate these kinds of things but I had pushed myself outside of my comfort zone…and it was a bust. Lovely. So we listened to the welcome and the PTO president and I didn’t learn much. Katie was having a ball eating her apple and running back and forth to the stuffed animal area. Afterwards I talked to the PTO president about possibly volunteering a little and she was very nice. Then I saw Katie playing in another section so I went over to grab her and there were some other parents over there. I recognized one set as the parents of the twins in Owen’s class so I chatted with them briefly and they were very nice and we exchanged numbers.
It’s going to be an interesting year.
Owen’s first day of kindergarten!
First up? Baths. They didn’t take them after being in the pool yesterday so I figured we had enough time in the morning!
Katie picked the shark towel!
She got her toes painted again—this time to match mom!
They weren’t really focused this morning.
The best I got (though I didn’t take a ton because it looked like I got a good one). Oh well.
He opted not to get a haircut and said he’d let me put gel in instead!
His new minion back pack and lunch box!
Walking down the hill to the bus stop!
Waiting excitedly for the bus. We were the first people there but there were some kids across the street. A few minutes later kids just started appearing out of nowhere. We could see the stop ahead of ours and there were probably 20-30 kids there! At our stop there were about 6-8 (it was hard to count with all the parents there as well).
A mom that I met at the pool was there with her first grader and her 3yo (who is the same size as Katie—and they got along fabulously) and I had her take our picture. We talked about having play dates soon. 🙂
Kindergarteners get on first! The bus driver explains that in the afternoon you have to be there to pick them up AND ask for them by name before they can get off the bus.
Then Katie tried to get on the bus behind Owen. And started screaming and crying when she couldn’t: “OWEE! I MISS MY OWEE! I WANT TO GET ON SCHOOL BUS WITH OWEE!” Poor Katie bug.
We waved at him through the window, I could see him smiling, and then they were off! Katie was calming down as we walked back to the house with the other mom and daughter (I told them they could cut through our yard) but Katie lost it again when she realized they weren’t coming to our house: “I WANT TO GO WITH THEM!” Poor Katie bug.
Then it was in the car to head to the school for the Boo Hoo Breakfast!
Katie showing Charlie her new toy
Helping mom make brownies.
It’s about twice the amount of work because Katie wants to do everything (and can’t really do anything), she keeps putting all the utensils in her mouth, and neither one can actually stir. So it’s good it only takes about three minutes. This morning was extra fun because I forgot to pre-unwrap the chocolate candies, so Katie was having A MELTDOWN seeing all the chocolate and not being able to have any.
End of the summer pool party cookout!
Owen has REALLY been looking forward to the cookout and I was excited because Tom would be home so we could ALL go to the pool together for the last time. It was definitely warm enough and it looked like the rain was going to hold off for a bit, so we headed down after Katie’s nap.
Now, let me preface this by saying that when we go to the pool, there are typically just a handful of people there. As in maybe 3-6 other kids AT MOST (with parents)—and most of the time, there’s less. And when Owen and I went this past Saturday (the last Saturday before the pool closed for the season) we were the ONLY two people there (four total if you count the two lifeguards). And by the time we left two hours later, the only other people there were two older couples! I was baffled.
So today we walked in and HOLY SHIT there were a lot of people. As in “Wow, I guess there really are people who live here.” As in “If it was this busy all the time we wouldn’t come nearly as much.” There were lots of older annoying kids who didn’t much care that they were running into people or splashing people or just being overall obnoxious (and of course their parents weren’t doing anything about it). I heard the lifeguards’ whistles more today than all the other days combined. It was extremely chaotic.
The super annoying thing was that we had nowhere to sit when we got there. I felt like we should really have our names on some seats because we were there ALL THE TIME. All these other people NEVER went but were taking up all the seats for the free food. Well, at least that’s what it felt like. Literally the only seats that were open were in the kiddie pool area. Which was fine…just annoying.
So Tom was swimming with the kids and I was chatting with the mom I had hoped to see there (with the son in Owen’s class). And then I saw another mom I’d met at the pool previously (the ones that are moving this December) so we chatted a bit. And then Katie was coming down the pool steps behind me and I turned to see Tom behind us as well (just having moved our stuff to a table that had become free) and he was saying “Katie! Katie!” at some other little blonde girl wondering why she wasn’t stopping to listen to him. Well, it turns out her parents were right in front of me and Tom obviously had the wrong kid, so we laughed about it and started chatting and WOW, fingers crossed, they might just be our new best friends here. We just really hit it off—they have a 2.5yo girl with another on the way, they’re military (army), and they just moved here in late June so they don’t know anyone, either! And we instantly hit it off (as opposed to the other people we’ve met who are NICE but I just didn’t feel that instant connection with). So much so that we invited them to come sit at our table with us!
And then! Tom was sure he recognized a guy sitting across the pool. I told him it was all him—I’d done my part meeting moms. 🙂 So it turns out it’s someone he went to TBS with back in the day…AND THEY LIVE ON OUR STREET!! Small world, right? So we might end up with some good friends yet!
So then we had a little more fun in the pool and then Katie wanted to go home so as Tom was getting her packed up, Owen also decided he wanted to go home. I think it was just too chaotic for him (which I totally get).
She hid from me when I opened the door.
Someone wasn’t napping like she should have been.
Ikea kids
She likes minions, too!
These are also Owen’s old PJs…which I swear I had a picture of him wearing but couldn’t find one anywhere.
What a pout.
