Hollywood, really? Did ya have to??

So, uh, this is what happens when you complain about some minor side characters having the same name as your son. Don't do it people! Just don't do it.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/122242/movie-trailers-cyrus

Attention Psychologists

Lemme give you a little tip. Just because a large percentage of people take their mental issues out on their progeny, doesn't mean it is okay for you to assume it is happening or will happen. The fact is, some of us realized early in life that we don't want to inflict things on our children and have made a special effort to resolve as much as possible AND educate ourselves on how to properly raise healthy, well-adjusted children. No, really, some people put many, many years into this endeavor. I am definitely one of those people. So, when you meet me in the context of evaluating my delayed child and suggest to me that my past is probably contributing to her stress, without any knowledge of what my past actually is or what I have done about it, you're outta line!

Not only is it making some pretty broad assumptions but it feels like you're trying to blame me for my kid's delays. It also contributes to the b.s. idea people have that good parents raise smart children and bad parents raise problem/not perfect children. I was a very smart child. I learned to read around age 3. I was raised in a really crappy situation. Is my intelligence to blame for why people never believed that my home situation was crappy? I will be so thankful when my kids are old enough to tell people what a great mom I am. Maybe I look like I should be crappy on paper, but I know that my years of reading books on parenting, and therapy, and watching good families and getting to know my kids has turned me into a really good mom. Frankly, I'm offended that the subject even came up today.

Hoar Frost

Cyrus has the best view in the house out of his bedroom window. Today, I just had to take a pic of the trees covered in hoar frost. The picture doesn't do it justice so you'll just have to take my word for it -- hoar frost is stunningly wonderful!

What Gives, Hollywood?

Why do you keep naming random side characters after my son? Seriously, it's starting to trip me out a bit. You used to occasionally use Cyrus for a Persian guy, but how often are you putting Persian guys in sitcoms? Oh, what? Never? My point exactly. So, just off the top of my head, dearest Hollywood, you have used the name on some desi guy on some lame show (edit: it was The Ex List)that got canceled last season, used it on the Princess Bride dude on Gossip Girl and now on some rich guy's lackey on Caprica!

Is there no other foreign name that suits you, Hollywood? Wasn't it bad enough that my son had to live with people wondering if I liked Achy Breaky Heart *that much*??

Grrrrr!

Poor little Cyrus. I give him this awesome name that is both Persian and Biblical and it has turned into the sidekick name of the decade and attached to some questionable country folks on the Disney channel. Sadness is mine.

I probably should have just named him Lazarus.

Healthy Outlets for Anger

I've made a commitment since about November 2009 to only take my anger out on Sanford Health collections people. Now, these poor people are only trying to do their jobs, but since the situation is so dang ridiculous and I could use a place to vent, I've chosen to vent on them!

It appears that the Sanford system doesn't like to follow directions from Medicaid. It would also appear that they aren't very organized. I had to take Cyrus to the E/R on a Sunday morning back in August because he had a high fever and was having trouble breathing. Since he was a year old and no urgent care available, I really thought the E/R trip was warranted! We get there and his oxygen levels are not where they were supposed to be. They gave him oxygen and a nebulizer treatment and a chest x-ray then sent us home with meds once his oxygen level was back to normal.

Am I totally off base for thinking that if a child has to be given oxygen on a weekend, the decision to go to the E/R was the correct one?

Well, Sanford keeps claiming they didn't get the referral from the pediatrician so they want me to pay the bill. I have a copy of the referral so I know the pediatrician did it. This last conversation with the collections people was ridiculous. Apparently, after I last went off one of their reps and paid a visit to the Vermillion billing office, a note went into their computer saying the bill was my responsibility, that I'm aware of that, and that the care was not emergent since my kid had been sick for three days. Um, WHAT??? He *may* have had a cold for a couple days, but nothing that made me think he needed a doctor. What part of "child had low oxygen level due to labored breathing" did they miss??

Anyways, poor Sanford Health is getting one final chance to get their act right. I'm faxing the referral I have up to Sioux Falls and requesting a full chart copy of Cyrus' medical records. If they screw it up or refuse to re-bill to Medicaid, I'm going to send the whole stack of stuff to Medicaid, and whoever the heck runs Sanford so I can get them audited and get some idiot fired. Oh, and I'm still not paying that bill.

Grrrrr!

A Whole New Year

Sometimes, forces collude to change the path of life. I think the important thing is to just live in the present and roll with it. So, I’m going to make the best of this opportunity to grow in the unknown. I’ve actually managed to get excited about it! I feel like I came home from Cali to a whole new life. It’s weird!

Anyways, what I *did* come home to is Snow Mountain.



Lee was not gonna take that kinda attitude from the snow!




Of course, we had to dig our way in (luckily not through the mountain)

Before:


After 2am shovel job: