Persistance pays off

I got a coupon in the mail the other day from CVS. It said that I would get a $25 gift card if I filled a new prescription or transferred a prescription to their pharmacy. As luck would have it,I got a new prescription for my diabetes supplies.

I went in on Monday to pick up my prescriptions and handed the girl my coupon. She couldn't ring it in correctly so she asked another girl to help her. Girl #2 said I had to be a NEW customer to get the gift card. Nowhere on the coupon does it say that. She huffed and puffed and acted like she was doing me a huge favor and agreed to give me the gift card......but she couldn't get the code right and the register wouldn't calculate it correctly.

She said I didn't qualify and that it couldn't be done.
Girl #1 asked the busy pharmacist and he just shook his head. She gave me the coupon back and said to try another day.

I was pissed. I always forget to redeem coupons and things and the one time I do they made me feel like a criminal.

I just called their corporate headquarters and spoke to a lovely woman. I gave her all the information and she put me on hold. A few minutes later she got back to me and said she had spoken to the manager in the CVS I had gone to and they will absolutely honor the coupon so that I can get the $25 gift card. She apologized several times for the staff not knowing how to process the coupon and the fact that they said I couldn't get it.

I'm so excited! Money is tight as usual and that gift card will help me get some stocking stuffers for Christmas...not to mention that Chanukah is only a few days away!!

I'm so glad I made that call!

The handsome doctor

I've worked at my job for 17 years. When I first started,I became close to Dr.C who was 62 years old. He was so good looking he could easily pass for an old fashioned movie star like Rock Hudson or Cary Grant.....only much better looking. He was tall,charming and extremely handsome. The women swooned when they saw him. Who could blame them?

I ended up working with him a lot and I got to know his routines. Tuesday mornings he would take a piano class at Berklee College of Music and then end up running late for his first patient at 8:30am. His assistant,Bernice,would often run up to me and whisper,"He's in a bad mood. Can you do anything?" I just shrugged my shoulders and said I'd try.

When Dr.C would come down the hall I would make a face and say,"Rumor has it you're in a bad mood today. I have to work with you ALL day so I hope you're not really crabby!" He would always laugh this booming laugh and say,"Who said I was in a bad mood? Well....I guess the traffic got to me but I promise to be in a good mood from now on." Then he'd smile and see his first patient.

One day a mean and nasty patient grabbed my nicely polished hand and sputtered,"YOU are a disgrace to the entire medical profession! Your nails are too long. They could poke my eye out. I'm going to report you to the medical board!!"

I was so horrified and scared.I was still kind of new. Just as Dr. C was about to go in to see that patient,I wiggled my finger at him to come here. I told him what the woman said. He looked at me and asked,"You're a disgrace to the entire medical profession?" I nodded slowly. He laughed,patted me on the back and said,"Congratulations! What an honor....the entire medical profession. Wow!" I asked,"You're not mad? You don't think my nails are too long?" He just shook his head and said,"She's nuts!"

When he retired several years ago,I wrote a song for him to the tune of Johnny Angel. The doctors all dressed up in angel costumes and sang it to him. It was so funny.

The reason I'm writing all this is because Dr.C came into the office today. I ran over to him and hugged and kissed him. We talked for a while and then everyone came over to see him. He was there for a while so I got to talk to him a few times. Some people said they weren't sure if he remembered them. He is 79,after all. I asked him if he remembered me and he said,"Of course I did,Robin!" I was so happy. If the president had walked in no one would've paid any attention to him. Seeing Dr.C today just made my day!!!!

A very happy Thanksgiving

Well,turkey day is over and I'm stuffed! We had a lovely day and it was just the way I wanted it. Kara came over with her chocolate lab Cody AKA "my furry nephew." Her mother-in-law Ginny came over too which was so much fun. I love Ginny. She is very kind and loving and I always enjoy being with her.

She is also Lisa's mother-in-law but Lisa,TC and the kids are in Florida right now so Ginny couldn't be with them on Thanksgiving.Their loss was our gain.
Rich's friend Gary also came over today and after dinner the guys watched Gettysburg which is a 4 hour movie.I've seen it a few times but I always cry.

While the guys watched their movie,the girls took Cody for a little walk to try to work off the food we devoured. It didn't work. We could barely move when we got back home.

We each tasted a dessert but we really couldn't eat much. Why do we always eat too much at the holidays? Who cares? We all had fun.

I hope you all had a very happy day too.

Tired of diabetes

November 8th was my 2 year anniversary of being rushed to the hospital with pancreatitis and diabetes and almost dying. I know I have a lot to be thankful for since I'm still alive but I'm really tired of being diabetic. Some days it's just too much of a burden.

I know I could have something much worse where I only have weeks or months to live and I feel lucky that diabetes is something I can control more or less but today,I wanted to give it back. I hate it and I resent it.

I don't enjoy checking my blood or thinking about food all the time: how many carbs?grams of fat? grams of sugar? I don't stay on my plan all the time and then the guilt kicks in. Stress makes me eat. Why doesn't stress make me want to exercise??

So,what pushed me over the edge today was going to CVS to pick up my blood pressure med and my test strips. On our old insurance,test strips were $50 but they usually lasted 6-8 weeks depending on if I had a problem with my sugar and felt the need to test more often. Today was the first time I had to fill that prescription.

As the cashier added it up I was stunned. "What is $93????" I asked in a panic. It was the test strips. My new insurance doesn't cover my strips although it has been covering my lancets which I use to prick my finger. So I can draw blood but I can't test the blood. How the hell does that make sense?? The pharmacist agreed that it didn't make sense at all.

I just wanted to blurt out,"Do you think I enjoy having diabetes? Do you think it's fun to test my blood every day?" Instead,I got teary and really couldn't say much. One of the other cashiers told me to call my insurance company tomorrow and explain the situation and hopefully they will send me a new monitor so that I can buy supplies that they will cover. I certainly hope so.

I love the things she says

Lillianna and I were in the car on our way to her best friend Mollie's house today. I don't even know what we were talking about when she said,"Between all my friends,I'm the one who is closest to my mother."

I thought for a second and said,"That's not true. All your friends are very close to their mother." Since I am friends with all those moms I felt pretty sure saying this.

Lillianna said,"Well,ya...but not like we are. You take me everywhere you go."

I laughed and said,"That's true. You've sat through my root canal for over an hour when you were 3. You've come to hair appointments,doctors appointments....just about everything....but you have to remember,you are my only child."

I have always thought it was just easier to take her with me wherever I went because she is such a well behaved child. Then I said,"Nana used to take me everywhere she went too and then I used to take Kara everywhere that I went. It just seems normal to me,I guess."

I had such a warm fuzzy feeling because Lillianna and I are very close. I hope it always stays that way.

Another reason to be proud of my daughter

I'm always proud of Lillianna. She has always been a kind,loving,compassionate,thoughtful and generous child. I wasn't surprised at all when I went up to school for my parent-teacher conference on Thursday. Mrs. O'Neil said that Lillianna was very helpful to her classmates and she always asks if there is anything she can do to help in the classroom. She's not Eddie from Leave it to Beaver,"You look lovely today Mrs.Cleaver." She genuinely cares about people and always tries to help when she can.

During the week of conferences,a Scholastic Book Fair was held in school. Each teacher could fill out a wish list of books she would like for the classroom. If a parent would like to purchase a book for the class then he/she can look at the wish list and choose from there.

I wish Lillianna had told me about this while we were at school instead of when we were in the car on the way home. I would've bought a book for her class. Yesterday,Mrs.O'Neil said the kids could take one more look at the Book Fair since it was the last day. Lillianna checked Mrs.O'Neil's wish list and saw that there was only one book left on it.

She took her dollar that I gave her for ice cream during lunch and decided to see what she could do.(They can only buy ice cream on Fridays.)She asked her friends if they wanted to pitch in and buy Mrs.O'Neil's last book. Some people only had a quarter to give but Lillianna said every bit would count. In the end,she managed to gather the $5 for the book and she bought it for Mrs.O'Neil.

(Lillianna would have to add the details to this but she's at a local Junior Miss pageant with her best friend and she's sleeping over there tonight so I'll have to wing it.)

Mrs.O'Neil asked who bought her the book and Lillianna gave her all the names of the people that chipped it. I was so proud when Lillianna told me this story but for a second I felt bad that she didn't get her ice cream which she looks forward to every week. When I told her that she said,"Mom,a book is way more important than an ice cream!"

Is this child really only 10 years old? I know I wasn't that thoughtful or generous at that age. I am so lucky to have this child. She simply amazes me.

Ha-Ha-Ha???

I'm going to have to stop watching t.v. because it's making me crazy!
This morning,on Fox News,there was another story about Santa. I know it's almost December but why is this year the year to bash Santa?

Apparently there are stricter guidelines this year for department store Santas. After thousands of years of greeting people with,"Ho-Ho-Ho Merry Christmas!" he now has to say,"Ha-Ha-Ha Merry Christmas!" Why? Because Ho-Ho-Ho is scary to children and offensive to women!

Let's break it down,shall we? It is 2007. Ten year olds are creating profiles on MYSPACE and meeting strangers online. Scary for the parents but not scary for the kids. Kids of all ages are playing Grand Theft Auto which allows them to steal cars and assassinate innocent bystanders while they rob banks and whatever else seems "fun" to them. That's not scary but Ho-Ho-Ho is going to traumatize them?? Get real,folks.

As for being offensive to women,I've never had anyone call me a "ho" so I never associated Santa's greeting with a derogatory remark towards women. Are farmers going to have to rename their hoe too? We'll just call it that flat bladed thingy since we don't want the farmer's wife thinking that Old McDonald has a girl stashed in a hay stack when he yells,"Hey honey,can ya bring me that hoe in the barn?" Can you just imagine the confusion? The divorce rate would sky rocket!

In a time when we are all completely desensitized to violence,why turn something innocent into something that it isn't?

No one will have a happy or merry anything if this keeps up!

Santa is too fat???? Are you kidding me??

I was watching t.v. in Tech Lube while the oil in my car was getting changed and the news came on. Apparently,moms are in an uproar because.....wait for it.....
Santa is too fat!!

Jolly old St.Nick needs a gastric bypass or a personal trainer. Moms do not think he is a good role model for the kiddies. So what if he eats a million cookies on Christmas Eve? He washes them down with milk and that's a healthy beverage. He's not swigging down a few brewskies or having a frappe at every house,now is he?

He works his butt off all year long. He puts everyone ahead of himself and he brings joy to the world. That's not an easy task especially in this day and age. He's probably a stress eater.....ahhhhhh....I can totally relate.

So what's the solution to Santa's round body? Call Jenny Craig? Liposuction? Lap band? Richard Simmons? A Dr.Phil intervention? Oh that would be hilarious.

"Santa.....you can not change what you do not acknowledge......you are over weight. You are not really jolly now are you?" For those of you who know Dr.Phil's lingo,this is what he would say.

I for one do not think Santa's weight is an issue. We will be leaving cookies and milk again this year. Maybe he'll eat the reindeer's carrots and feed the cookies to the reindeer. Then next year they'll be too damn fat to fly and no one will get any damn presents!!! Merry Freakin' Christmas!!

You can't quit motherhood

I was talking to my cousin last night. Her brother is divorced and she is fairly close to his ex-wife although the ex has some issues. One of which is that she barely takes care of her kids. They're not babies but they're not old enough to be on their own.

My cousin was with her 12 year old niece recently. She is very close to this girl and she loves her as well as her two brothers. She is more of a mother to them than their own mother is.Her niece revealed that she thinks her mother is just tired of being a mother. That floored me. Tired of being a mother? Tired?.....of being a mother?

I'm a mother and I am definitely tired but not of being a mother! I love being a mother. It's the best job on the planet. If I didn't have Lillianna I would have a huge empty space in my heart. She is the joy of my life.

Her activities keep me hopping,that's for sure,and I have no idea how I'd handle two kids but I completely love the one I have. I'll be mothering this child until the day I die. My mom is 70 and she is still mothering me and Kara.

It makes me crazy when parents think there is something more important in life than taking good care of their children and loving them unconditionally.

I pour my heart and soul into raising Lillianna. I take this job very seriously. I changed my work schedule back in May so that I could spend more time with her. I hate working 5 days a week but the pay off is that I can drop her off at school every morning,pick her up at 2:30pm and have the weekends with her. That sure beats working nights and weekends and missing her life.

I wish women understood that you just can't quit motherhood. If you choose to take that job....it's for life.

Suppressed stress?

Say that 5 times fast.....I dare ya!

I've been stressed for quite a while but lately,things are kind of normal although still stressful.....if that makes any sense.

I guess what I'm saying is that I'm not any more stressed than usual but my left eye has been twitching off and on since yesterday. That only happens when I am under stress. So I must be suppressing some stress.

I over carbed today.....I guess I am stressed after all. Stupid stress!

A growth spurt

Today was Lillianna's yearly check-up with her pediatrician,Dr.Fernandez. I knew Lilianna went through a huge growth spurt this past year and I was eager to hear what the doctor had to say. Usually she only gains a few pounds each year but this year she gained 10. Dr.Fernandez was thrilled with that. I was surprised when she told me she had grown 4 inches. I didn't realize she had gotten so much taller.

Dr.Fernandez said that normally she would've only grown 2 inches but since she grew 4,that means she's hit puberty. I told her we already knew that. The mood swings have already surfaced which can go on for the next few years.

Since I don't want to be at odds with my precious child just because hormones are taking over,I told Lillianna that when she is feeling out of control,she just needs to come to me and say,"I feel crazy." Then I can hug her or talk to her until she feels better. We tried this yesterday and it worked really well.

I have shared my lovely hormone stories with her and they make her laugh. I remember being 12 or 13 and having a melt down and my parents got angry at me. I vowed that I would remember how that felt and be kinder to my own child. Back then,I don't think parents really understood what was happening and all the emotions their child was going through.

When I was pregnant,holy hormones,I was on my way home and I drove by my house. Not wanting the stranger behind me to know that I passed my own house,I refused to turn around. I ended up driving 2 towns away before I could turn around and head home. At the time,it made perfect sense. Looking back,I just have to laugh and shake my head.

I have explained some of my PMS stories to Lillianna and again,they seem so funny now. I remember arguing with Rich way before Lillianna was born and honestly,I think I was mad about something to do with a spoon. Even as the ridiculous words were out of my mouth,I heard a voice in my head say,"Stop! You're not making any sense! You're out of control!" but I kept on freaking out anyway. I think the whole scene ended in tears and then the moment passed. Compared to my weird situations,Lillianna seems calm.

The other day she said,"I'm glad I have a Mom who remembers what it's like." I'm glad I kept my promise to myself to remember.

Do you have any crazy hormonal stories you'd like to share?

My family is soooooo lucky!

Yup...that's what a patient told me yesterday. She said I was sweet,funny and extremely intelligent and that my family is very lucky to have me! She said that I had to go home and tell my family that she said they were lucky. She made me laugh.

I have to start off by saying her name was Lillian. I always get chatty with nice patients named Lillian since it was my Nana's name and Rich's Nana's name which is why Lillianna has her name.
Lillian was 85 years old and very sweet. We chatted about a bunch of things after I did her eye exam. I don't get great patients very often so I really cherish the good ones. She really made my day.

Lillianna always tells me that I am the best mom so I knew she already realized how fortunate she is to have me! Rich,on the other hand....well.....I often wonder what he thinks of me. When I told him my conversation with Lillian he agreed that he was lucky to have me. Hmmmm......that kind of surprised me. You just never know what your family is thinking,do you??

An insult wrapped in a compliment?

Lillianna and I have quite an earring collection so we are constantly sharing our earrings with one another. One time I stood in the living room,arms akimbo (damn! I finally got to put that expression in something!I only hear it used in books.)and I said in that mom kind of way,"For the last time....put....your.....earrings....away."
She held them up in front of me and laughed,"Mom,these are your earrings!" Hmmmm.....who knew?

So the other day I borrowed one of Lillianna's Halloween earrings:a pair of fat,sparkly,happy ghosts. They are quite adorable. They look like the Pillsbury PopNFresh guy with glitter. I try to dress up my navy blue scrubs whenever I can.

I called in a patient who immediately noticed my earrings. She sat in the exam chair shrieking,"OOOOOH! I love your earrings. I gotta have 'em. Give them to me!! I just love them!!!"

I thought she was a little wound up for 67 but what the heck. I said,"Oh,thank you." Then she looked at my earrings again and said in the most disappointed voice she could manage,"Hmmm....they're Caspers....I thought they were cats! You can keep them!"

I was speechless. What could I have said to that?

Have you met Dash?

Lisa finally wrote about the birth of her second son,Dashiell. I can say from 1st hand experience that he is a little cutie pie. Then again,his older brother Trent is so cute I want to bite him. I got to feed and burp Dashiell a couple of weeks ago and since Lisa is really sleep deprived,I could've run off with the child. I only drive the speed limit so I could've never out run the police. That's why I didn't abduct him.

Lisa and I are going to plan a sleep over for me and Lillianna. She's going to take Trent and Lil out to a movie and I get to stay home with Dash! I told her I'd get up and feed him in the middle of the night. I love those feedings!

So hop on over to Lisa's blog and congratulate her on the birth of her precious new baby.

Munchausen by proxy syndrome

The first time that I heard about Munchausen by proxy syndrome I was shocked.I didn't understand how a parent could purposely hurt their own child. I was horrified and fascinated that the parents do it so that they can be the center of attention. Family members,doctors and nurses commend the parent for taking such good care of their sick child without knowing the parent is the one causing the sickness!

I've always hated when Lillianna has gotten sick. When she was about 5 years old,she threw up for the first time. I called the pediatrician several times during the day to update her on Lillianna's condition. By the next morning she looked horrible and I brought her in to be seen. The doctor took one look at her and had her admitted to the hospital for I.V. fluids. She ended up being in the hospital for 2 days.

I was with her constantly. When she had an accident getting to the bathroom on time,I cleaned and changed her and gave her reassuring hugs that Mommy would stay with her. If I could've been sick instead of her I would've changed places with her. My heart ached for my lifeless,droopy and sad child who cried because the nurse put the I.V. in her writing hand so she couldn't color.

Today,Dr.Phil talked about Munchausen by proxy syndrome. I only watched it for 5 minutes and then I had to leave to pick up Lillianna's friend Hannah who was coming over for a play-date. Lillianna watched it for 2 seconds and then said she didn't want to watch it at all. She was uncomfortable with the topic. I told her I'd watch it tonight when it repeats.

I hate the abuse that takes place with this syndrome but for some reason,it fascinates me and I will have to watch it.

I'm the mom!

Lillianan's best friend Mollie came over around 2pm today so that the girls could spend some extra time together before the sleep over starts at 5pm. After a few minutes Mollie and Lillianna asked if she could open her present right then. I said okay.

Mollie asked,"Are you sure it's okay?" I laughed and said,"Ya...I'm sure. I'm the mom and I make the rules. Go ahead and open it."

She gave her a friendship bracelet kit which Lillianna loved but I knew it was the second present that Mollie was so excited about. She had made a framed scrapbook page of their dance recitals for Lillianna. They have been dancing together since they were 3 years old.

I had made a similar gift for Mollie 2 years ago and I had wanted to make one for Lillianna but of course having it come from her very best friend gives it more meaning. Her mom and sister helped her put it together. It is just beautiful. I hung it up in Lillianna's room immediately.

I told her they could each hang their frames up when they room together in college. That would be so cool if they did!

Happy Birthday,Lillianna!

My daughter is 10 today. TEN!! She's been awake since 2am. How do I know this? I woke up to go to the bathroom and she was in bed reading and watching t.v.! I don't think she ever went back to sleep although she eventually stopped reading and turned off the room light.

Since I am a goofy mom,I put notes all over her lunch today.

On her peanut butter and fluff sandwich it says:

Hey,Peanut butter!
Ya,Fluff.
Did you hear that Lillianna turned 10 today?
Lillianna Piccini ?
Ya....that's the one.Hmmm...never heard of her!


On her bag of grapes it says:

A ten year old grape would be a really wrinkled raisin,
don't ya think?

On her bag of tortilla chips:

Ten year olds love tortilla chips.
Well,nine year olds do too
but that's not the point,is it?

On her bag of mini Oreos:
From all of us in the Oreo bag....
Happy 10th Birthday,Lillianna!

On her bottle of water:
Drink me!! Ten year olds need water to help them grow to be eleven year olds!

I also have a few surprises in store for her. I love sneaky surprises. Today is Wednesday which is rehearsal for the Winter Festival she was picked for. I will pick her best friend,Mollie up on my way home from work. She lives one town over from us. Then we will get Lillianna and Ashely from Winter Festival rehearsal. Lillianna will be shocked to find Mollie with me and I'm sure she'll ask why.

That's when I'll tell her we are going out for pizza before dancing school. The 3 of them are in the same class. After dance class,I will take the girls out for ice cream before taking them home. It's been hard to keep this a secret but it'll be worth it to see her little surprised face!!

Why October 2nd is an important date to us

Fourteen years ago today,Rich and I met.
October 2,1993 is the date Rich and I have inscribed in our wedding bands. We got married on November 5,1994 but we thought the day we met was more important than the wedding day.

Ten years ago today was my due date with Lillianna. When my midwife gave me my due date on my first check-up I nearly fell off the table. How could my due date be the very day that Rich and I met? I thought that was pretty amazing.
I went into labor right on schedule on October 2nd and delivered my precious baby on October 3 at 4:59am.

That means my bouncing baby will be TEN tomorrow!! She has asked me to wake her up at 4:56am so that she can savor her last minutes of being nine before she turns 10 at 4:59am. Ya gotta love her.

After work today I'll pick Lillianna up from school and then it's home to mass produce baked goods. We'll make funfetti cupcakes to bring to school tomorrow,a chocolate candy cookie cake and some cookies to bring to my mom's for Thursday and then we'll collapse.

I love her birthday!!!

What makes a family?

Every now and then Lillianna plays this game with me which I call "Real or Not Real." It consists of this type of conversation.

Lillianna: Auntie Kara.....is she really my aunt?
Me: Yes,she's my sister so she is really your aunt.
Lillianna: Auntie Belle.....real or not real?
Me: Belle is my best friend so she's your auntie because I love her.
(Belle is really Liane. I used to call her Lianabella in junior high and high school and over the years it got shortened to Belle.)
Lillianna:Auntie Ida?
Me:Auntie Ida is my aunt because she is married to my father's brother. She might be your grand aunt or something but she is your aunt.


I'm sure everyone has aunts and uncles that are not really related to them but it doesn't make them any less a part of the family. I think it makes them more a part of it because we choose to add them.

With that in mind,I had a great time at Kara's yesterday. I fell in love with Lisa's baby Dash. He is such a sweetie pie. I got to feed him which was so much fun and burp him,which was more difficult than I expected. He does not burp easily. I felt victorious when he finally gave me two big burps.

As we were gathering our things to leave in the evening,Lisa washed Dash's pacifier and then dropped it on the floor. I picked it up and washed and dried it and handed it back to Lisa. She looked tired at that point. She said,"Thank you Auntie Robin."

I said,"Ya....I decided I want to be Auntie even though we're not related."
Lisa asked,"Aren't we related because our families got married?" It was a good theory but I laughed and said,"No,honey. Technically,you are my sister's sister-in-law. We are not related."

We decided it didn't matter at all. Lillianna always calls her Auntie Lisa and I enjoy creating my own family with people I love.

Who have you added to your family?

Twenty year anniversary

Yesterday was the 20th anniversary of when my dad died. Twenty years! That is just so sad.Sometimes I can't even process how long he's been gone.
I wrote about this last year so I'll just link to it.

I watched our home-movies this morning with Rich and Lillianna. For Dad's 50th birthday Mom put all our reel-to-reel tapes onto a video and bought Dad a VCR. There is no sound of course and some of the tape is scratched but for the most part,it's awesome.

Much of it is of me when I was a baby up until I was about 3 years old. There is also Mom and Dad getting married,their one year wedding anniversary,Dad and his friends in Fort Dix for basic training in the Army Reserve and lots of family parties.

I love seeing my Nana and Papa when they were young and all our family. It's just fun and sad all at the same time. The amazing thing is that we just watched Lillianna's baby videos last night and then when we watched mine this morning,we all noticed similarities. I love that part.

Today Lillianna and I are going to Kara's house for Trent's birthday and to meet his new baby brother Dash.You may have read their mom's blog over here. Lisa is Kara's sister-in-law and Lisa has not blogged since Dash was born last month. Hmmmmm....I wonder why she can't find the time? I can't wait to see everyone. It'll be good to be together and have a fun day with all the kids. I am also looking forward to spending time with my furry nephew,Cody. I love that dog!!