Forgot To Add

I forgot to add this picture in my post. Aunt Kelly bought Riley that princess crown she is holding along with some new headbands. My parents gave Riley a gift certificate to go to McDonald's and some money. I can't tell you how much Riley loves hamburgers. :)

Thanks again to everyone for coming!

Happy Birthday, Riley!

 Happy Birthday, baby girl! I still can't believe she's 4 and is in preschool. I still remember the day we brought her home from the hospital. She was our little "surprise" baby. I thank God for her because she's just what our family needed. She has such a cute personality. She can be so sweet and gentle but yet give you such attitude. I love watching the three of them interact. They are so close in age and play pretty well together.

I think Riley has a fun birthday. It's always a weekend celebration. It starts with the St. Patty's Day parade and ends with a big birthday party. She wanted to go swimming again. I was very hesitant because of what happened last year (she almost drowned.) I did book a hotel room with a pool but only invited the cousins. I didn't want a lot of little kids running around a pool. It's so risky, even with all of the adults around.

Although it was a little party, Riley still had fun. We ate some pizza and then she opened gifts. Everyone was so generous. She received a lot of nice gifts!

 Shayne and Amber bought her this dress. I knew the second she pulled it out that she was going to love it. She's such a girly girl.

 Steve and Sarah bought her some flip-flops, a poodle purse, and a glass birthday plate.

 Grandpa Tom and Grandma Andrea bought her a wooden highchair. She loves playing with her babies and this will definitely get used!

 Mike and I bought her a princess Play-Doh castle, some coloring books, and markers.

 Uncle Mark bought her a gift card to go to the movies. That's one of her favorite things to do.

 After we opened presents, it was swimming time. All of the men got in the pool with the kids and the women sat on the side. It's funny how that works. Is it the same way in your family? I did get in my swimming suit later, but I waited until everyone left. :)

 The kids had a blast in the pool. They didn't heat the pool, so the water was FREEZING! It didn't seem to phase them one bit.

 Riley wanted a pink birthday cake with pink frosting. I figured since we spent quite a bit on food and the hotel room, I'd make the cake. I probably could have done more to decorate it. She was thrilled with it, so I guess that's all that matters!

 "Happy Birthday to you...Happy Birthday to you..."

Mike had to work the next morning, so the kids and I were going to stay in the hotel room by ourselves. At the last minute, Riley decided to go home with Mike. She wanted him to put together her highchair so she could start playing with it! He said she was up until midnight playing with all of her toys.

The twins were so worn out that night. They fell asleep in record time. I had to wake them up the next morning so we could get one last swim in and head home.

It was such a fun weekend! I'd like to thank everyone that drove to come to her party. Amber and Shayne and Kelly and Eric drove 4-5 hours to get here. It means the world to us that they did that! You really realize the importance of family the older you get.

St. Patty's Day Parade

 Our town has a Parade for St. Patty's Day each year. They do a good job putting it on and the kids really enjoy it. My brother-in-law, Steve, works downtown so we were able to hang out at the place he works until the parade came down the street.

 It was really cold this year! Last year, it was in the 70's. We stayed outside for about an hour and then had to go warm back up.

They handed out some candy this year. The kids had fun picking it up. They ate their fair share of tootsie rolls that day!

Patching it Up

 Guess who had to start wearing eye patches? We take Mia to the eye doctor every 6 months because her left eye drifts. We notice it when she's tired or stressed and it seemed to be getting worse. Her vision worsened quite a bit at her eye visit in December. The doctor said that when the eye drifts, the brain shuts off vision to that eye because it can't interpret double vision. This makes the eye even worse and some kids can lose vision to that eye.  

We patch her strong eye so the weak eye has to work. It was pretty funny the first few days we had to do it. She would tilt her head and look sideways so she could see the tv. We do it two hours a day, five days a week. It is amazing how well it works.

We took her back to the eye doctor in January and her vision improved an entire line. We have to patch her eye until her appointment in April and then start weaning her off the patch to see how her eye does.

She does pretty well at wearing the patches. She does cheat though. She'll open the patch up so she can use her strong eye to do stuff. It's quite comical watching her try and pour cereal into a bowl or play a video game. It makes me dizzy using one eye, but she's done so well! She even puts the patches on herself. I had to order some cute ones from amazon. I let her pick them out so she was a little more excited about wearing them.

Funny Drawing

 Ethan told me he wanted to draw a picture of me. When he finally finished, he handed it over. I couldn't help but laugh. He drew a picture of me pregnant. I asked about the baby and he said it was him! I asked where Mia was, and he said he didn't want to draw her.

Busy

I'm a single parent for the next week. Mike went to Phoenix for business. He usually goes back 2-3 times per year and I guess he was due. I really hope Mike is enjoying his sushi and 70 degree weather while I'm wrangling the three beings we call our children and freezing my ass off. :)

I'm not even going to try and make a big meal this week. In fact, we had a frozen pizza for dinner. And I think tomorrow, we're having tuna helper or McDonald's or maybe we'll have cereal. :)

I originally took all three days off this week since Mike was going to be gone. Their preschool transportation can be a nightmare. I decided I didn't want to burn through all of my vacation, so I do have to work a half-day tomorrow and full-day on Thursday. I'll have to leave at 12:00 to take the twins to school and then leave at 3:00 to pick them up, but my boss was okay with it. I think she was happy that she didn't have to find coverage! And I'm happy to get out of the house a little bit.

I would like to thank our awesome neighbor for scooping out our driveway again! I've purposely avoided learning how to use the snow blower so I wouldn't have to do it. It snowed last night and we had a pretty decent drift that extended into the road. I really did not want to go out there and shovel. One less thing I have to worry about!

Ethan and Mia have their kindergarten screening tomorrow. I don't know how that snuck up on me. I still can't believe they're going to kindergarten. I'm kind of nervous for the screening. Their teachers said they know everything they're going to ask. I'm afraid they're going to be shy and not do anything for them. Before the screening, their preschool teachers tell them about the kids' personalities and what they can do in preschool. I thought that was neat. Kindergarten is a full-day and it's right down the road. They are excited for it but I know they're going to miss preschool. They've had the same teachers for two years. It's going to be quite the change for them.

Well, pray for my sanity for the next week! I need to get my three little ones to bed.

Clinic

I feel like I've worked at the clinic long enough to give some pointers on how a clinic works. So, here it goes:

1. Be nice to the receptionist
She has the power to call back to the nurses or even the doctor if she feels it's necessary. She has more influence than you may think. She will want to help you more if you are friendly.

2. Be nice to the nurses
The nurses are the go-to person to reach the doctor. If you are friendly, we want to help you more!

 The nurses have the ability to "double book" the doctor's appointments. If you call in and feel it's important to be seen ASAP, we will put two appointments in one fifteen minute block. However, know that this usually means we end up staying late at the clinic because of the extra appointments throughout the day. If you are being an asshole, we're going to be less inclined to help. You can go to acute care. :)

3. Give more than a few hours notice to refill medications
When we get a refill request, we have do a little research as to when you were last seen, what labs were drawn, and determine if any lab work is due. Doctors like to see you once a year if they are going to prescribe medications. This isn't to "get your co-pay" as some people have voiced. It's to protect their license and "lay eyes on you" so to speak.

After we do the research, we send the request to the doctor. Sometimes they are able to get to it in between appointments, but most of the time, they play catch-up and do it over lunch or at the end of the day. Give the clinic at least a day or two to get to your request.

It's also helpful if you choose one pharmacy and stick with them. One of my pet peeves is when one person has 5-6 different pharmacies they go to. Having one pharmacy is safer for you. Your pharmacist can look at all of the medications you are on and determine if one will interact with another etc. If you go to 6 different pharmacies, they don't have the entire picture and something can get missed.

4. Why the wait?
You probably wonder why there are waits at the clinic. The receptionist books the amount of time for an appointment based on why you're coming in. Any acute visit, such as a sore throat or sinus infection, gets a 15 minute appointment. Well-baby checks and some pre-operative exams get 30 minutes. Procedures such as cyst removal and stitches can get 45 minutes to an hour.

A lot of waits happen because someone will make the appointment for a sore throat and just happen to add in that they're having chest pain. Chest pain= EKG, lab work, sometimes x-ray. All of that stuff = at least 45 minutes. Another one of my favorites is when they mention abdominal pain when they're there for an ear infection. An x-ray and lab work is added onto the appointment time. When you call to make the appointment, tell the receptionist everything so she can book the right amount of time.

5. CT scans and MRI's
Nurses hate these tests. When a doctor wants an expensive test done (these costs THOUSANDS), this means the nurse has to call your insurance company and "convince" them that you need the test done. Insurance companies do NOT want to pay thousands of dollars for these tests, so they will try to deny them.

 When we do the pre-authorization, we have to go through your chart and figure out what medications you have tried, what therapy you have tried, and your basic medical history. If you've ever spent time on the phone with an insurance company, you feel our pain. I think it's a small miracle if you push the right buttons and get to speak to a real live person! Though, most of the people you speak to are foreign and you can't understand them. It can get quite frustrating, to say the least.

Another pet peeve of mine is when you go through all of that work to get the MRI approved, the patient then decides they don't want it done. UGGGGGGGGGH!!

If you are having any reservations about having a CT scan or an MRI done, voice your concerns right away!

6. Don't Kill the Messenger
The nurses do all of the doctor's communicating. We'll go to the doctor with your requests and questions. We relay information back and forth. Try not to kill us if it's not the answer you want. You can nicely ask the nurse to go back and talk to the doctor again and "convince" the doctor to see it your way. Sometimes this works and the doctor will change his mind and sometimes it doesn't.

7. Don't "no-show"
When patients make appointments and miss them, we call it a "no-show." Clinics keep track of how many times you no-show and can fire you as a patient if you do it a lot. If you are going to miss your appointment, be sure to call and let the clinic know.

8. Know your Insurance Policy
There are hundreds of different insurance policies. There is no possible way for the clinic to know everything about your insurance. We know some of the basics of Sanford vs Wellmark vs DakotaCare and what they may cover, but it's always wise to call and see if the service you want is covered.

9. Antibiotics
Antibiotics are for bacterial infections such as strep throat. Antibiotics do nothing if you have a cold which is caused by a virus. They will not help you. Don't ask us for antibiotics. We are going to say no. :)

If you do get prescribed an antibiotic, TAKE THE ENTIRE DOSE. Don't take half of the pills. That's how antibiotic-resistant bugs start. Antibiotics kill off the weakest bacteria first. If you take a few days worth, the weak bacteria are dead but the strong bacteria remain and get even stronger.

We want to shake you when you tell us you took some left-over antibiotics you had. You shouldn't have leftover antibiotics! Plus, if you do that, any testing we try to do on you can be skewed.

10. Be Honest
Tell your doctor everything. If you only took your lipitor (for cholesterol) once a week instead of every day, tell him. Your labs are going to be screwy and he's going to want to increase your dosage. That can cause more side effects. It's best to be honest. He's there to help you!