Checking In

So, it's been a bit longer than a week (actually almost two!) since I checked in, but it's been really crazy around here. We've all been getting over being sick the past couple weeks. Jayden came down with a fever on the 18th and I stayed home with him for a couple days. He had a bit of vomiting and diarrhea, but went back pretty much to normal with the exception of a cough and runny nose. Jaxson got the same runny nose and cough, but that was about it. Aaron was sick for a day or two and then I ended up coming down with it. Mine started out as a sore throat and just progressed from there. We are all doing a lot better, thankfully, but it's been a crazy 2 weeks.

Update on the diet/weight loss: I've lost 3-4 pounds since my last post but I think that's mostly due to being sick. I'm still trying but it's not going as well as I'd like. Working on the will power is hard!!

Also, I'm switching doctors for sure now! AND I'm writing an angry, but professional letter to Virginia Mason letting them know how incompetent members of their staff are. It's no secret that we've had problems especially this year with taking the kids to the doctor only to have them misdiagnosed ( like how they told us Jayden had chicken pox back in March when he was actually having an allergic reaction to Amoxicillin) or have them tell us we need to bring the kids in "right away" to be checked only for them to say that there's nothing they can do for them or that they won't give them medicine for a sickness they have. I love my PCP but she only works 2 days a week and so more often than not, we get stuck with one of her colleagues (and there's one in particular, I'll call her Dr. B, that we usually get stuck with) and they don't take care of us the way they should.

Case in point, I called at like 1am on Monday the 12th because Jayden had a 104 degree fever and I wasn't sure if I needed to take him in right away or not. Dr. B was the "on-call" doctor that evening and she not so kindly pointed out to me that it was 1am and that she was sleeping. Pardon my French, but who gives a shit??? No kidding that you were sleeping! I'd be doing the same thing myself except for the fact that my 2 year old is vomiting and burning up! Show some compassion...that's your job isn't it?

Then on top of it, I called the doctor to get antibiotics since our colds weren't going away and had progressed into sinus infections. They faxed in a prescription for me, but because of the ages of the kids I needed to bring them in to get checked. Based on the symptoms they were having, I was told (yet again!) to bring them in "right away" so I took time off of work and spent $25 in co-pays to go in only for Dr. B to tell me that both kids had sinus colds and to just give them Motrin, and then that they both had pink eye but she wouldn't give them any drops for their eyes (which is the only way to get rid of pink eye) because "they don't do that anymore and don't believe it helps". Oh, but I could bring both kids back in 7-10 days if they weren't feeling better (and pay another $25 co-pay per child) and she'd put them on a more "aggressive" treatment of steroids. Hmmm, but she couldn't just try mild antibiotics first? Last time I checked, MOTRIN doesn't cure sinus infections. And what's just as bad? She had a medical student in with her... great, teach the next generation how to be shitty doctors and give poor service to patients so you can rack up more money by wasting their time and money. Real good thing to teach a student.... :/

So, I took my kids back home and by Saturday morning they were way worse. Green goop coming out of their noses and eyes. All of them screaming and not sleeping well...so I took them in to a new walk-in clinic which was both a godsend AND a disaster. Jayden was a freaking devil screaming, running away from me, and totally bulldozing an innocent little girl (on purpose!) while I'm trying to calm a screaming and uncomfortable Jaxson at the same time as filling out paperwork...by myself, I might add, since Aaron decided to stay home by himself and play on the PS3. Anyway, 45 minutes later and I finally got in to see a doctor. When I told both the doctor and nurse what happened and what I was told about the boys on Friday, they looked at me in astonishment. "She (Dr. B) told you your kids had pink eye and she didn't prescribe any eye drops for them??!!?" Nope. So, we found out both kids had pink eye and sinus infections and poor Jayden also had a double ear infection on top of it...his 4th one this year. We are all doing much better now that we have antibiotics and eye drops. I'm so glad that SOMEONE cared enough about my kids to give them the medicine they needed.

In lighter news, we had pictures taken on the 17th for Jaxson's 6 months and for Halloween. We were going to do a family theme for Halloween this year but it didn't work out due to finances, so Jaxson is going to be a cow, and Jayden is a pirate. We plan on spending Halloween night with Tommy and Samantha and their cutie, Brayden. We are planning to do trick or treating at the mall and then hit up a neighborhood in our neck of the woods. It's been a while since we've gotten together with Aaron's brother so it should be fun. I might have mentioned this before, but they also found out that they are expecting baby #2 (due June 1st) so I'm excited to talk preggo talk with Samantha. I've got a bit of baby fever, so I've got to live vicariously through her until Aaron and I try again for baby #3 next fall. Anyway....pictures. They were a disaster since both boys were feeling crummy and Jayden did not want to cooperate. He was screaming, pouting, and the only way we could get him in a picture by himself was to hold this dang soccer ball... oh well! Without further ado, here they are!! Enjoy!