Random Thought/Vent

I was chatting with some co-workers over lunch today regarding a change in insurance benefits provider for one of our offshore payroll companies. They were telling me about some boring conference calls that they'd been attending regarding the transition, and it brought up a funny conversation.

I am wondering...if someone works for an insurance company, do they get the utlimate kick-ass insurance plan offered by the company, or do they get the crappiest plan??? Also, I am wondering how often a claim is denied for one of the employees of the insurance company. Furthermore, if a claim is denied and one chooses to dispute it via the toll-free hotline, what would this employee do if his/her job was to answer the hotline phone calls?? Would they be consulting and disputing with themselves?

Seriously, I think insurance is one messed up industry in some real need of an overhaul. When an uninsured person paying for care out-of-pocket can get cheaper services than someone who works hard and provides insurance for their family, there is a problem! When claims are being disputed YEARS after the service was provided, there is a problem! When people are having to fight tooth and nail to get basic care approved by insurance companies, there is a problem!

And do the employees of the insurance companies have all the same problems that the rest of us have??

Shop Till You Drop!

“Carrie: Honey, if it hurts so much, why are we going shopping?

Samantha: I have a broken toe, not a broken spirit.”

~Sex and the City

Elise truly does take after her mother! She LOVES to shop!

Quick Football Update

Are you ready for some football!?

Since today was the first day of school, I thought I would give a quick update on the upcoming season! I am so excited! I went and watched about an hour of a scrimmage on Saturday, and the kids look great. We are playing our season opener this coming Saturday vs. Houston Jones, then the home opener will be here on September 7th vs. Rosenberg Terry HS. I am sure I'll be updating with highlights and scores all season long. GO MUSTANGS!!!

Overdue Update

"At work, you think of the children you have left at home. At home, you think of the work you've left unfinished. Such a struggle is unleashed within yourself. Your heart is rent."

~Golda Meir

This update is long overdue...is anyone even still reading?? It's not that I haven't had anything to write about, I promise. The problem is finding the TIME. It's been tough to juggle all of my responsibilities lately. As I sit here typing this, I should be out getting an oil change that is now almost 2,000 miles overdue. But at some point, you just have to say enough is enough! So, I am taking some time to do something I enjoy instead. I'll deal with the car later.

Elise is so cute lately. She's been in this really sweet phase - lots of hugs, kisses, cuddling. I am loving it, because she's normally too busy for those things. The night before last, as we were tucking her in, she said, "Mommy, you're my best friend." I nearly melted right there. Granted, I know she says this to lots of people, but it was still so cute to hear.

She has also gotten really into wearing her sunglasses. She thinks it's great, and she even wears them inside. She came in on Thursday and told me that I needed to turn on the lights. I had to remind her that the lights were on, and maybe the problem was that she needed to take off her sunglasses. Jamie has affectionately nicknamed her "Hollywood".


She has also discovered popsicles. We buy the Pop Ice brand, because they are enclosed in plastic, which greatly reduces the messy factor. Jamie has taught her how to push them up from the bottom, and she goes to town with them! She eats all of hers, then wants to take ours as well. YUMMM!

Quack, Quack!

Since this is our last weekend before football kicks off, Jamie wanted us to spend some quality time as a family. We decided to take Elise to feed the ducks and play at the park.

It was REALLY HOT! I can say that I definitely do NOT envy all the guys who will be out in the heat for 2 practices per day all next week. I think the trip took a lot out of Jamie too, and he took advantage of his last opportunity for nap. He had some little furry friends to join him as well.

Nekkid Babies and Monkeys Jumping On The Bed

de·tail (dĭ-tāl', dē'tāl')

idiom:
in detail
With attention to particulars; thoroughly or meticulously

I've been paying particular detail to Elise when she is playing lately. In recent weeks, she has really started to grasp the concept of independent play, and it's fun to watch. I've really taken note that she has an amazing amount of attention to detail for someone her age. I walked in today to find her setting up her Five Little Monkey game pieces. She had set up a monkey on every single square of the bed. She was almost finished when she accidentally knocked 2 of them over. Rather than just set the 2 fallen monkeys back on the board, she knocked the ALL over and started from scratch. Once she had all the monkeys placed on the board, she began putting the round game pieces on the board - but not just anywhere on the board...the purple pieces went on the purple circles, green ones on the green circles...you get the idea.

Another funny thing about Elise...she doesn't like ANY of her babies to wear clothes. I have dressed those babies 1000 times, and it never fails that I walk into the room and they are all naked again! I have finally given up, and we just have a bunch of nekkid babies laying around our house. Today they were all lined up on the couch to watch Dora.

The Weekend Update

When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses. ~Joyce Brothers

We've had a great weekend, and busy as always! Elise was invited to a really cute birthday party last Thursday night. This place was great for kids her age, and even the older children really enjoyed it too.

Of course we had some quality time with the puppy too.