Let me start by saying this:  I highly dislike Li's weasel.  

The damn thing won't stop biting my toes and yesterday when she bit my butt was the end of our relationship.  She's a juvenile so she's nippy, and Li's trying to correct it; however, I dislike being bitten by any animal.  Her bites are not hard - that's to say they don't break the skin - but even a non-skin-breaking bite to your toes is painful.

Knowing her penchant for nips to my toes I went into Li's room yesterday and decided to sit on the floor with my feet under me so she couldn't get to them.  (She being Bella the Weasel, not Lianna.) She crawled on my lap, investigated my sweatshirt pocket, ran up my arm and back down my front and under my legs only to come around behind me and bite me right on the ass.  

That's it.  I'm done.  I don't like being bitten and those little nips are much like a puppy's nips.  Those teeth are sharp!

I had a rough night last night.  I didn't get much sleep at all.  My company is changing insurance carriers as of February 1.  I knew this was a possibility but did not know for sure that this was taking place until this past Friday. (Because every damn thing in this company is a HUGE secret and must be kept quiet.)  I suddenly realized that some insurance companies consider pregnancy to be a pre-existing condition.  

I broke down and called my Mother.  She works for a very large health insurance company and I figured she'd have some insight for me.  First she said that it can't be considered a pre-existing condition.  Then she said that it's possible that my new insurance company will consider it to be pre-existing because my company is a small business with less than 51 employees, which gives the insurance companies the right to determine certain things to be pre-existing.  

So I went to the internet.  I went to the insurance company website.  I found that they will cover pregnancy (yay) if you're switching from one policy within that insurance company to another policy within that company (getting a little sweaty right about now) otherwise it's pre-existing and they will not cover maternity. 

I start to panic at this point.  

I'm not going to be covered for this pregnancy?!  I can't get on M's insurance because he also works for a Small Business and has the same insurance that my company is switching to. 

So I go to the State website to check into getting state insurance.  Nope.  Now that M and I are married our combined income puts us over the limits for even the lowest coverage via the state insurance program.

By this time I've got the Ugly Cry going on.  I've got snot running down my nose, I can't see through the tears and I can hardly breathe.

I spent all night worrying about this.  

I got to work this morning and sent Virginia, my boss, a text asking her if she was coming in today because I had to talk to her and Mike, my other boss, about an insurance issue.  

I spent 20 minutes in Mike's office with him and Virginia talking about what I was told last night about policies, what I read online at the insurance company's website, and what I found out about the State insurance.  Mike said that he'd talk to our insurance broker and see if there was something that could be done.  3 minutes later I got a call from the broker - the pregnancy is covered!!

The broker explained to me that even if I was a new hire as of today, and I was 9 months pregnant, the insurance company would still cover me because my company has a group policy.  If I was purchasing an individual plan the insurance company would not cover my pregnancy, but because of the group plan the insurance company will cover the pregnancy.  

Cue more crying because my hormones are all over the damn place and I cry about everything now apparently.  

The sky is blue?  Blubber, blubber, blubber...

(And I don't know why everything is centered.  Blogger is weird.)

1 Down. 13 To Go?

I had my first OB appointment yesterday.  I thought it would be too early for an ultrasound and it was.  So basically, I make M come with me for absolutely no reason!  We did talk to the OB though and he gave me a prescription for progesterone pills that may or may not prevent another miscarriage.  There’s no real proof that it WILL prevent one, but there’s no harm in taking it.  Basically, the thought is that a miscarriage in the first trimester is caused by chromosomes not forming right therefore the baby doesn’t grow properly, but it can also be caused by your ovaries not producing enough progesterone to keep the pregnancy going until the placenta is big enough to take over the making of the progesterone.  That’s the layman’s version anyway.  My OB said that he was prescribing it for me for two reasons: 

#1 – My “advanced” maternal age (because 35 is OLD, Bitches!)

#2 – The previous miscarriage

He said that if my ovaries are producing the progesterone properly – more progesterone via a pill every night isn’t going to hurt anything.  The most it will do – if it’s not medically necessary – will be to make me feel “more pregnant”.  Since I don’t feel pregnant to begin with, I don’t see much harm in it.

Speaking of not feeling pregnant… Other than a missed period, being tired, and some sore body parts (read: Boobs) I don’t have any symptoms at all.  With the last pregnancy I was so ill by now.  I couldn’t look at cheese without feeling nauseous, and could barely eat anything other than carbs.  I was so sick.  With this one I’ve got nothing.  I actually took another home pregnancy test yesterday before my appointment to make sure I wasn’t nuts.  Although doing that probably makes me nuts!!

My OB also sent me to have additional blood drawn today, and I have to go back on Monday to have the same blood work done.  Apparently there are certain “numbers” they look for that indicates a woman is pregnant.  If the pregnancy is progressing normally then those numbers should double every 3 days.  My OB said his office would call me by Wednesday and let me know how things are going, and I have an ultrasound scheduled for next Friday.

We still haven’t told anyone other than the girls, and Justin and Jessie.  M is dying to tell people but I just can’t do it yet. 

Consider yourselves privileged!  You guys, my Blogy Friends (Blogie? Does anyone really know how that is supposed to be spelled?!?) are the few outside my little bubble of protection who know the truth. 

Thanks for keeping your traps shut!!  

The Weasel

We have a new addition to our family.  To be more accurate, Li has a new addition.  For her birthday waaaaaay back in May, when she was talking about getting a hamster, we gave her $50 toward the purchase of a cage, bedding, wheel, water bottle, etc.  Whatever $50 would get her and she'd come up with the rest.  Her idea of a cute, harmless, noiseless hamster turned into the thoughts of getting a ferret.

I blame her preschool teacher.  Miss Megan got a ferret during a class trip to the pet store and brought that ferret into the classroom fairly often.  This was when Li was 4.  She's now 16 had has NEVER forgotten the ferret that Miss Megan introduced her to and has said for 12 years how much she'd like to have a ferret.

Li has a new pet and her name is Bella.

This is right after I was poking on her little hammock sleep thing.  Yeah, I woke her up!

 She's investigating me to see what the heck I wanted after I so rudely interrupted her nap.

 

 Apparently when her ears itch - she scratches them like a dog!

I think she's planning her escape here.  She was very interested in bedroom door that she's looking at.

All in all I think she's an interesting animal.  She makes little to no noise at all, she's friendly, although a little bitey, and her acrobatics are rather fun to watch.  She reminds me of a puppy who can't quite figure out how to move his body in sync with his feet.  She does this thing when she wants to play where she arches her back and hops around on all four legs.  All the books and online things we've researched call this the "Weasel War Dance" and this is when her acrobatics come into play because she falls over stuff, off the bed, runs into the wall...  I'll have to attempt to take a video of it and post that here.

Now Li needs to teach her not to nip.  It hurts when she bites, but we've been told that it is a correctable behavior as well as a behavior that she should outgrow.

Here's to hoping that Li will keep her room clean enough for this animal to be out of her cage 3-4 hours a day.  I have a feeling that's not going to happen...

Clusterfuck

I know I bitch about this a LOT, but I really can’t help it.  This is the only place I feel like I can vent about it. 

I FUCKING HATE MY JOB.

It’s such a clusterfuck of insanity here that I can’t understand how the office functions.  I already recapped how the office had an “Office Meeting” in which the guys were instructed to send all correspondence through me.  Yeah… That lasted all of one week.  They’re back to typing their own shit and I’m still sitting here twiddling my thumbs. 

My boss even gave me a project to begin a take off for.  I’ve been waiting three days for him to help me in figuring out what I need to do next.  He’s too busy with his own estimating, and everybody else’s issues to help me.  I was actually told yesterday that he “can’t help right now.  It’ll have to sit on the back burner until later”.  The job bids in one week.  I still have to get glass out to price, aluminum out to price, and everything else.  In essence this is going to be yet another “job” he throws my way and then says “oh well.  I don’t have time.  You did all that work for nothing.”  What the fuck is the point of that?

I am so angry and irritated with this bullshit that I’m actually contemplating quitting after I have the baby.  I know that’s not financially smart, but that’s how angry I am with where I am.  I’m angry here, therefore I’m angry at home, and it’s total bullshit. 

And on top of that I have to listen to Craig bitch every Friday about how BUSY he is and how he has no time to do anything, and I want to punch him in the throat every time he opens his mouth.  Not a single one of the guys would NOT benefit from delegating to me simple things like typing, filing, copying, etc.  OFFICE WORK.  Instead they make me feel like I’m too fucking stupid to do anything, and it’s a wonder that I can brush my teeth without help.

Fuck this.  I’m done.

My Mind Is All A Jumble

Mrs. Small Soldiers, You are CORRECT!!  

I'm PREGNANT!

 

I haven't even gone to the doctor yet, but I have an appointment on the 26th.  I called my OB on Monday and made an appointment.  They usually wait to see you until you're between 6 and 8 weeks, but because I had the miscarriage in October they're getting me in at 5 weeks, which was the earliest appointment he had available.  The nurse/receptionist told me they may not be able to hear a heartbeat that early but they'll run some blood tests and whatnot to "set me at ease".

When I think about seeing an ultrasound or hearing the heartbeat I start to panic.  I really don't  want to see an ultrasound until I'm past the "danger" period.  I'm not even sure I want to hear the heartbeat.  I think I'll just let the Dr tell me that it's there when they do it - whether it's at the first appointment next week or a follow up appointment.  

Whatever... I just hope everything goes GOOD.  I don't wanna go through that shit again.  Ever.  We're not telling people until we're past the 12 weeks.  My kids know and Jessie and Justin know, but no one else.  

I had to tell Jessie.  How the hell do you explain to someone who you drink with EVERY time you see them why you're not drinking for an extended period of time?!  I can make excuses at bowling, going out to dinner, etc.  I see Jessie at a minimum once a week, and every time we open a bottle of wine.  Plus M told Justin at the bar Saturday night.  Justin promised not to tell Jessie, but said he hoped that I would tell her soon so he didn't have to worry about slipping up!

I guess this explains why I've been so damn hungry lately!!  LOL!  And tired!!

Nervous. So Nervous.

TAKE TWO!  

Thank about that for a moment...  Did you guess yet?

No?  Keep thinking...

In My Head

There’s so much I want to say today and I just don’t know where to start.  If you could see inside my head you’d wonder how I function. 

Um… for starters Ki got her period.  Great.  That kid’s going to be a bigger brat than she already is.  I am SO not looking forward to the next 4 – 6 years with her.  That sounds so bad, but I’m so aggravated with her lately it’s not even funny.  She starts these huge fights with Li and then when I try to separate them by removing Ki – I NEVER LISTEN!!  I’m done listening.  I’m done trying to please them both.  I want to yell back at her “TOO FUCKING BAD!  YOU’RE AN ASSHOLE SO YOU GET TREATED LIKE AN ASSHOLE!”  But I don’t.  I don’t care if she doesn’t like it.  Tough fucking shit.  Be a nicer person and maybe you’ll be “treated” nicer.

Our office wants to cut down on costs, increase bidding therefore increase jobs, etc.  This is such a clusterfuck of insanity I don’t know how our office manages to function.  First my boss writes his own PO the other day, but then yells at Dick for writing his own change order.  Dick sends me the change order so I can type it out in our format and he emails me the document in a pdf format.  Seriously?

My boss’ kid is here working in the shop while on winter break from his freshman year of college.  Apparently he thinks that being the boss’ kid he’s exempt from actually working.  He wanders around most of the day pushing a broom, takes 15 minute bathroom breaks every 2 hours (on the dot), and gets into arguments with Justin (shop foreman) when Justin tells him to work.  The kid is seriously lazy and acts as though he’s doing Justin a favor by being here when I know for a fact that he creates more work for Justin.  The other day a truck delivery showed up right before lunch which needed unloading.  Justin was in the process of unloading when The Kid came up here, asked where Justin was, and sat down with his cookie and tea.  Literal tea and cookie, too.  I told him where Justin was and he just sat there looking at me.  Go help unload the truck, Asswad!  What do you think your job is here?

Have you ever watched the show Mob Wives on VH1?  What a clusterfuck that is.  Ki got me into this program last year, and I’ll tell ya what, these women are deranged.  It’s a goddamned train wreck I can’t stop watching.  The entire premise is that they have connections to “the lifestyle”.  They’re either married to, divorced from, related to, or divorced from but still in love with men in the mob.  They have nothing better to do apparently then to bitch to their girlfriends about how this one set her up, or that one is talking smack, or they’re not talking to this one, or they are talking to that one.  Or they fight each other.  These crack me up.  There’s a lot of hair grabbing and shirt ripping.  I see them swinging and of the four main characters, only one knows how to throw a punch.  The other ones just seem to go all - let’s flail my arms and yell, a lot, and flail my arms some more, and now I’ll pretend that the guys can’t hardly hold me back any longer, and I’ll flail my arms again to get my point across that I’m mad.  It amuses me; especially when one of them says “when I get into a fight the ambulance usually ends up coming”.  Um, really?  All I saw was a lot of plate throwing and hair pulling.  Oh, and some boob popping out of the shirt.  That was classy.  Oh, and my favorite line so far has been “Check my bloodline, Bitch!  I’m comin’ for ya!”  Is she going to give her AIDS or some other blood illness?  Having a dad in the mob doesn’t make you a lethal weapon.  He’s not a superhero.

Next on my list (I’m tellin’ ya, I have to purge this shit or it backs up and destroys my ability to function) is Dance Moms.  Are you fucking kidding me?  You mean to have me believe that this 400 lb woman is the master of dancing girls?  I’m calling shenanigans.  This lady, Abby Lee, is a monster in a Mumu.  She yells at little girls and then expects them not to cry.  She yells at the parents and then tells them that they’re lucky their daughter(s) is allowed to be on her competition dance team.  And the mothers of these girls are only slightly better.  I don’t know about you but if some cow of a bitch was yelling at my kids the way this lady does, she’d have a size 9 ½ boot up her poo-nanny.  These mothers accept the abuse and while they may put up a front of fighting against the enigma that is Abby Lee, I think they’re really just trying to live out their own dreams through their kids.  Bullshit I tell ya.  Pure bullshit.

Is “Reality TV” the only programming available now?  What happened to wholesome family TV shows like Full House, Perfect Strangers, Family Matters, Step by Step, or my personal favorite Hangin With Mr. Cooper?  They were funny, ya’ll.  They didn’t show people yelling and fighting and threatening to beat some bitch up or kick a kid off a dance team.  If the characters fought, by the end of the 30 minutes they were making up and making brownies. 

Holy shit.  I think I just purged myself; for the time being anyway.  I’ll be back, Bitches.  I’ll be back.  But for the moment I have to go prepare for the MASSIVE AMOUNT OF SNOW WE’RE SUPPOSED TO GET!!!  OH MY GOD!!!  (I hope Lake Shore Drive closes down again.  This time I’ll go sit in the middle of it like my brother did last year.)

I Think I May Be A Bitch

Where to start…  Where to start… 

Well, for beginners I think I need to change the name of my blog.  “Mom Who” doesn’t really work for this blog.  My intention when I started this little venture of mine was to journal my life with teenagers, but lately this has become more of me just venting about whatever bullshit is going on at the moment.  Some of it is kids, but not much anymore.  Honestly, they don’t want anything from me unless it benefits them in some way such as money or a ride somewhere.  That’s the extent of my correspondence with my kids other than arguing because they are complete Asshats and totally self centered.  They are teenagers though.  At least I know they’re normal in that sense.

I’ll work on a new name.  Don’t be alarmed when you find me not on your blog list anymore! I didn’t go to jail for child abuse, the blog name just changed is all!

Here’s my rant for today:  Sit back and hold onto your hats; I anticipate a lot of swearing in this one (I’ll try to hold back though…).

We had a company meeting on Monday basically discussing how our estimators need to buckle down and get more work while simultaneously managing whatever jobs are currently going on.  I could see Craig getting more and more upset thinking about “all the work” he’ll have to do in the upcoming months to maintain what’s going on as well as estimate new projects.  That part of the meeting didn’t pertain to me as I’m not an estimator nor am I a Project Manager (PM); however, I did mention that the PMs should utilize me in the position I was hired to do, by giving me any and all correspondence to type and send.  That includes Change Orders, Purchase Orders and letters. 

This is what I was HIRED to do, people.  Assist these guys so they can concentrate on the work that they have to do and that they cannot have someone help them with.  Not one of these guys does this. 

My boss was all for it at the meeting, and even went so far as to have me come up with forms for various communication to be used across the board.  Currently each guy has their own format for whatever they type up.  Ron even types EVERYTHING IN CAPS NO MATTER WHAT IT IS.  I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU BUT TO ME THIS IS YELLING.  IF I WERE TO RECEIVE A LETTER LIKE THIS I WOULD IMMEDIATELY GO ON THE DEFENSIVE THINKING I WAS BEING YELLED AT. 

Craig pulls a chair up to my desk yesterday after asking if I can type a PO for him.  He’s got a huge binder on his lap with various information in it and I thought that he had a difficult PO with multiple sizing and pricing that I needed to type out. Fuck no.  He wanted me to type this exact sentence:

Furnish 12 gauge, 16 gauge, and 1/4" thick pre-galvanized steel shapes per attached sheet 100 and 101 based on your quote from October 28, 2011.

Are you FUCKING KIDDING ME?!?!?!?  That was all!  I said “you had to sit here for THAT?”  and he got all defensive telling me that I’m the one who wanted to type all the POs so why am I bitching?  Then wanted to know if I’d “allow” him to get comfortable with me typing his stuff.

FUCK YOU, YOU COCKSLAP!  I mean, really?!?!

Do you have any idea how completely demoralizing that is?  This is what I was hired to fucking do and he has to micromanage my typing a single god damned sentence?!?!?!

To top off my wonderful day of being micromanaged by Mr. Douche-Canoe of the World, when I put the PO into our binder where we keep them for reference –there’s a PO in there that my Boss wrote the day before.  If he’s not even going to have me type shit how the hell can I expect anyone else in the company to use me?

I’m fucking tired of this shit.  I can’t take this anymore.  I sit here day after day surfing the fucking internet because I have nothing to do.  When I finally think that maybe I’ll have work to at least take up a portion of my day, I get a slap to the face by being micromanaged and ignored.

I’m tired of listening to Craig bitch about how much work he has to do when he wastes time by watching me type one fucking sentence!  Not only that but the fucker hasn’t even showed up today and it’s 10am.  Supposedly he was going to a jobsite this morning but our shop was already there and guess who wasn’t!

I fucking hate my job and I'm getting more and more pissed just sitting here typing this...  

New Year - New Me. Maybe.

Hi!  Remember me?  I used to post her fairly often (Ok, fine.  Somewhat often, happy now?  No?  Tough.  Deal with it.) but in the past few months I have faded into obscurity.   I apologize.  I’m a bad blogger.  I don’t even deserve to call myself a blogger.  Slap my wrist and let’s get this show on the road. 

I’m back, bitches!!  (This is a New Year’s Resolution that I aim to keep.  I’ll at least attempt to keep it.)

I hope everyone had a good holiday and that Santa brought you what you wanted.  I know that, yet again, my mother didn’t fail me and I got exactly one item that I will use from her and several other items that I will never use and are un-exchangeable therefore will collect dust for several months until I decide that I can get rid of them without feeling like a total waste-whore.

The only good thing I got was a Kindle holder for the Kindle I bought myself on my birthday because I was convinced my mother would never get it for me.  I was wrong and she was pissed when she found out I went ahead and bought one.  This year she also got me a $60 gift certificate to Mario Tricoci Salon.  $60 to that salon doesn’t even get me a hair cut because my hair is too thick and too long.

Ki got a new cell phone that she’s been asking for/begging for for some time now.  And she promptly dropped it in the toilet (after flushing so at least that’s a plus) after less than a week and it’s now garbage.  Yay.  Money well spent.  She’s not happy that I won’t turn around and shell out another $80 for a new one, and even less happy that it will cost her two months worth of babysitting for Jessie to buy a new one herself. 

Live and learn, Kid.  Maybe you won’t drop it in the crapper if you figure out much work it is to earn the money to buy it yourself.

Li got the new digital camera she wanted and a new pair of headphones.  As well as a necklace because apparently it was M’s mission to get every female in our house a necklace even though some of us (ahem, me) never wear them. 

M got his new air compressor he’s been drooling over for two months as well as a new surround sound system for the TV.  That’s because I won’t let him spend $1800 on a new 60” plasma TV when the only thing wrong with the current TV is that it needs a new color wheel.  Color Wheel = $300.  New TV = $1800.  You do the math.  It was easier to give him the $100 his parents gave me to buy the surround sound system than to argue with him about the financial reasons not to buy a new TV.  Sure, the surround sound system is “ours” but let’s be real here.  I don’t know how to work it, and he won’t show me, so it’s not mine.

New Years Eve we just went to Beth & Craig’s for a “Party”.  The party consisted of Beth, Craig, Katelyn, Craig’s sister Keri, Keri’s husband Bill, and their two kids.   Woo hoo.  They know how to party.  (Read that as bored out of my skull and ready to go home at 10pm)

Ok.  That caps up my family’s Christmas of Waste.

Let’s shift gears for a moment, shall we?  I have a question for any readers I may still have:  Is a Hoarder only a hoarder because they live in small cramped spaces with too much stuff, or can a millionaire who “collects” be considered a hoarder?

According to Wikipedia hoarding is defined as: “…a pattern of behavior that is characterized by the excessive acquisition and inability or unwillingness to discard large quantities of objects that would seemingly qualify as useless or without value.  Compulsive hoarding behavior has been associated with health risks, impaired functioning, economic burden, and adverse effects on friends and family members…”  So maybe a millionaire who “collects” would be a hoarder if they didn’t hoard valuables?

I ask this because I was watching a show my kids recorded called Selling Spelling Manor.  Having grown up watching Beverly Hills, 90120 and Melrose Place, and being old enough to remember Dynasty and The Love Boat (Remember Tattoo?!  “De plane!  De plane!) I was intrigued as to the inner contents of “The Manor”.

I mean, Hello?  Candy Spelling had a Gift Wrapping Room and her attic was a mini-warehouse!  Who wouldn’t want to watch all of that which is pure insanity?

Apparently when a family member liked an item, Candy would go on into overdrive.  Candy forced a collection of valuable china dolls onto Tori by getting her one ever year (a well documented fact in several of Tori’s books).  Aaron Spelling expressed an interest in animatronics.  (They showed a dog with a pipe, in a smoking jacket reading a paper – reminded me of Hugh Heffner – and it moved)  She bought so many Aaron had to tell her to stop.  She likes Nutcrackers so much that she cleaned out every Costco in the greater LA area and now has 963 Nutcrackers.

Really, the only difference I see between Candy Spelling and your average mold-dwelling A&E Television hoarder is that Candy had the finances to acquire and house her crazy whereas the hoarder lives in squalor because they spend all their money on crap.

I had a friend once who lived with her mother in a tiny two bedroom apartment.  Both of them were hoarders.  Her mom loved cows SO much that every flat space in the common areas, and her bedroom, were covered with cow stuff.  She slept on the couch in the living room because her room was so crammed with the cow stuff she didn’t have room to put out on display.  My friend wasn’t much better.  Going into her room was complete and total sensory overload; not an inch of wall space showed.  Unfortunately the only way I could deal with being in her home was to be stoned the whole time.  Thank god those days are behind me.

The only thing I’ve ever collected have been books, but with moving so many times when I was married the first time therefore losing nearly all of them over the course of the years, and now having an electronic library at my fingertips – I don’t collect anything that I can think of.

Do you collect anything of value?  Do you collect things that have sentimental value to you?