Busy and more busy

I know that it has been awhile since my last post. I apologize but I don't seem to have much time anymore.....I wonder why? This 40 hour work thing has taken up much of my time lately. How is one suppose to manage a household, kids, and working full time? I guesss it's not that bad but it certainly has curtailed my computer usage lately. (lack of updates)

The job is going well, and the commute has not been that bad. I've been trying to get into the office by 7:30 AM so I can be out of there and home by 4:30. So far it's been working nicely. The workload has been steadily increasing at the job and I have been watching my caseload grow. Just when you think you're catching up, a new pile of claims mysteriously arrive on top of your desk. I've been getting a little quicker doing the basic cases but still not as fast as the others. I understand it much better but I guess I will forever be slow. Today, just when my confidence was growing, I had to be trained on medical reviews. It'll take another two weeks for me to understand this but hopefully by then I will win the lottery. (just kidding)

The family is doing well. Big B has come down with a stomach bug and I pray that he doesn't share it with the rest of his beloved family. I came home today to find the windows all closed and the feeling that the germs were having a field day being stuck in the house. One thing that I truly do not like is having the windows closed when there is sickness in the house. His excuse was that it was cold outside.....you think he had a fever?

Besides Big B feeling sick, we have been stressing over the upcoming Beef N Beer. The baskets still need to be completed and the gift cards need to be written out. A couple of people have offered their time this weekend and I am deeply appreciative for that. I hope to have it all completed by Sunday evening but I think that is a long shot.
We seem to have a pretty good variety of gifts to raffle so I do not think that people will be disappointed. So if you haven't purchased your tickets yet, just call!

Sorry for the short post this evening, but hopefully this weekend I will be able to write more and post pictures.

And don't forget!!! Go PHILLIES!!!!

J

My Head Hurts

So who knew that swinging a PHILLIES rally towel could take so much coordination and effort?
I found out tonight how little muscle mass I must have in those flabby things that I'm supposed to call arms. Not only am I left with sore arms, I realized that I wasn't swinging or twirling the towel the way most of the other fans were twirling theirs. Most fans had their towels going in tight little circles above their heads, their arms handling the exercise with ease. My rally towel twirled in large circles and would often wrap itself around my wrist. Nobody ELSES was wrapping...only MINE. Furthermore, as I was spinning my rally towel in large circles attempting to keep it from wrapping around my wrist, trying to maintain some composure, I was hit about 52 times in my right eye from Evan's rally towel and 38 times in my left from Bobby's towel spinning in a humongous circle. I hope the Phillies have taken out additional insurance for those injuries caused by us incompetent rally towel spinners.
Otherwise, using the rally towels was a good thing...there was a lot to cheer about as the Philles beat the Nationals. The magic number is now ONE!

Shay was a bit cranky and had trouble watching the game. I did take her to the Phanatic playground and we walked around awhile. She ate pizza, cotton candy and daddy bought the kids number one fingers. It was a good time except when those rally towels became weapons used by my kids. Yes, not only was I having trouble with getting clunked in the head with them, but each child discovered that they do make a great weapon and numerous times, mom the referee threatened to take them away...especially Shays. She loved hitting the boys with hers.

Enjoy the weekend everyone,
J

Another WEEK

Another weekend has come and gone so quickly that it feels as if I just blinked and now it over.

I certainly can appreciate those two days off now that I am working a 40 hour week.

At the job I am finding it difficult trying to keep the law straight when doing these Medicare appeals. I can barely remember the terminology; determinations, redeterminations, apellants, beneficiaries, LCDs, NCDs, etc. Now I'm beginning to scare myself as I am realizing that I need to be applying these terms already and I 'm still trying to understand their meanings. The attorneys who were hired with me seem to have picked it up so fast and so well that I feel like a dummie next to them.

I hope that I begin to catch on soon or they will be letting me go before my training is even over.



We spent a somewhat relaxing weekend not doing much of anything. Mom Mom came over yesterday to help with raffle baskets, (thank you) and I spent the rest of the time catching up on cleaning. I am still trying to sell tickets to the BEEF N BEER so if anyone is interested, please jot me an email or just call. If anyone would like to help out with preparing baskets and silent auction items, please let me know as well.

Erin, I'm not sure if you saw my email but we would love to have handmade items from you if you had the time to make them. Don't worry if you cannot make them, I know how busy you are.



I am ending this short post with a huge

Go PHILLIES!!!! I just Got tickets for Friday night's game!!!

J

I made it!

I made it through my first day at work! Thanks for all of the well wishes and prayers. Miss S, thank you for the psalm. I had trouble sleeping last night so was up bright and early this morning. I fiddled around for an hour and half then decided to head at about 7:30. Though my anxiety levels were through the roof I made it on the long journey without any problems. It took me 50 minutes to drive to work and 15 of those minutes were spent sitting on route 73 near my house.
There were about 8 others who also started today but only 4 of us as officers. Two new attorneys myself and another nurse who began last week. The day was spent trying to keep my eyes from blurring while staring at training module after training module on the computer. It was tedious work as Medicare seems to be loaded with more information than the Enclyclopedia Brittanica. Much of that information, I must admit, is pretty monotonous. I never thought that so many abbreviations existed for any one entity. Medicare has acronyms or an abbrieviation for EVERYTHING! They must hire someone just to think of new acronyms.
Besides being overwhelmed with the above, the day went smoothly. The 3 others in my office seem very nice and we seem to have a good mix of experience therefore when the time comes, we will be able to help each other out.
The drive home wasn't bad either as it took another 45 minutes.

S began her long day in pre-k today and Big B said she did great! She even took a nap there, something that is quite unheard of here at home. However, now I'm paying the price as she's been playing in her bed for an hour not being able to fall asleep.

I will attempt to post picture from her first day of school last week, yeah a little late but I'm having some difficulty with Blogger.

J

T MINUS AND COUNTING

It's coming, faster than I had anticipated. Less than 48 hours left until the beginning of a new and hopefully wonderful adventure. The adventure?????
My new job! I will start work Monday morning at the leisurely hour of 9AM. What a difference from the ungodly hour of 7AM. I will still need to wake myself bright and early, probably around the same time as I would have awakened for my job as a floor nurse. The reason being is the amount of travel travel required to get there. I will probably need at least 45 minutes in the morning depending on the time I leave to drive along the PA turnpike....YIKES! Perhaps longer in inclement weather.
I am looking forward to this new opportunity with an open mind. It is an office position in a business environment, a welcome change. Big B and I have been working out details of the morning rush with the kids...he will be flying solo beginning Monday. We plan on having backpacks, packed and ready to go along with
clothes laid out the night before. Lunches Will still need to be packed in the mornings...I tend to think that if they were packed the night before they get soggy.
I may take one last practice drive out there tomorrow to make sure I won't get lost and end up in Harrisburg. Wish me luck.

On another note, S began her new pre-k class on Thursday. We dropped her off and 9 and picked her up at 11:30. The teacher said she did great and S told me she had fun. The next day, the same routine. As the the teacher was walking her outside I made sure to ask how she did. The teacher responded very well, except....there seems to be a problem that if there is an open door..S will walk out of it. The door between two classrooms was open and S took it upon herself to venture into the other room. As long as she doesn't venture outside we should be okay.
Monday morning Big B will drop her off at school where she will remain until he picks her back up at 3:00. I pray that she continues to do well, that she doesn't disrupt the class and that she is able to make friends. She tends to be a bit on the aggressive side which frightens other little ones away. We're working on her social skills at home and I have been reassured that the school will help in that area as well.
S also had her developmental evaluation from the Montgomery County IU. I wanted to make sure that she was on par with her age group developmentally and also to see if occupational therapy could see her for her arm. NADA! She doesn't qualify for any services....including speech. This is a child that spoke only Mandarin for 3 1/2 years and now English for just 14 months!

Although developmentally she is on target, she does lack in another area which concerns me. This is her attachment to me. From an outsider's perspective one may see a beautiful, happy preschooler who tends to be a bit bossy. As a mom, I see a little girl who has not fully bonded to her mommy. She cringes at the first sign of a hug from me and desperately tries to push herself off my body if I pull her close. I've tried to rock her to help with attaching but for the most part wants nothing to do with it unless I bribe her with a chocolate milk.
I've noticed this for sometime now and it seems to have gotten worse.
I've been in touch with an attachment therapist and I'm hoping to be able bring S to see her.
I can understand where S is coming from and I do try to put myself in her place. Granted she is happy, playful and growing beautfully but with all due respect, I was the mean person who carried her away from her caregivers in China as she kicked, screamed and punched. That had to have had some effect on her whether in her subconscious mind or not. Those first few days were extremely traumatic for her and if your early life experiences provide a baseline for one's personality, growth and behaviour than this one could be a doozy.
I just hope one day that she will give a genuine hug freely to me without having to be begged or bribed. I love her and I know one day she will love me too.

Thank you for reading,
J

The foundation spent a busy weekend fighting to raise awareness in our local area. We spent yesterday at the Fairless Hills Babies R Us educating those shoppers who braved tropical storm Hanna to shop at Babies R US. We spent this afternoon and evening speaking to parents, grandparents, even great grandparents about our mission to protect the innocent from unsecured furniture. There was a great turnout at The Rockledge Night Out today and most of those who visited our booth knew our story and had heard of our mission. We were happy to be able to hand out tethering kits from Hangman products to those whose furniture needed to be secured. B and E each had a good time with their friends walking the Pike. E did such a fantastic job watching his little sister that I promised him a Bakugan tomorrow. B continued helping out with the Foundation by helping Big B yesterday and today setting up and taking down of our booth. After tropical storm Hanna had passed and the rain had quit for the night as I was letting the dogs out in the back I noticed a big spider working diligently spinning a web. Now, don't get me wrong, I do despise the critters when I find one in the house, however I really do appreciate the beauty of web when it is found outside. We are now entering spider season as Fall tries to make its way into our area. With Fall will come the spectacular webs found anywhere from your car windows to a surrounding bush, attached from a tree branch to your front door, (so that you walk thru it in the morning,) or hanging from your porch gutters. The picture of the web was found outside our kitchen door Saturday evening and it is still there now. E and I tried to capture its beauty but the stinking camera does not do it justice. The web is beautiful...the spider..well it's still a creepy, crawly critter that I hope does not find its way into my home. Enjoy the pictures. J

The FOUNDATION

The Katie Elise Lambert Foundation, http://www.katieeliselambert.org, will be participating in the BABIES R US safety event this coming Saturday at their Fairless Hills, PA store. Also, on Sunday evening we will take part in the ROCKLEDGE NIGHT OUT from 6PM to 8PM. Come stop by our booth at either event and learn how you can help prevent furniture tip-over. In addition, we will be handing out anti-tip kits, courtesy of HANGMAN Products. Please visit their website at http://www.hangmanproducts.com/. Many thanks to Jim G from Hangman for his kind and generous donation of anti-tip kits to our Foundation. Many many people have asked us where they can purchase anti-tip kits, brackets or tethering devices for their furniture. We are so grateful to be able to hand these kits out to those parents and caregivers about to secure their furniture so that one life may be saved. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KQkeMOZlk0.

Yesterday the boys started back to school at Mckinley Elementary. Both have decided that they like their teachers...so far and have not really complained too much about anything. ( Need to give it time though.)
S will begin a different preschool next Thursday from 9 - 1130AM to help with her transitioning.
She will attend both Thursday and Fri of next week and then begin a full week of 9 to 3 whil I begin my new job. The job will be quite different than what I am used to but I am looking forward to the challenge of office transitioning and relief from floor nursing. The two major drawbacks which I am concerned about is the long drive out to K of P each day and then the full time work. It's been quite a number of years. maybe 16 or 17, since the last time I worked a 40 hour job which was prior to my nursing career. It will be quite a change and challenge for our family but I am trying to fill myself with positive thoughts.
There will be little time for me to prepare for our Beef N Beer this coming October so if anyone would like to lend a helping hand creating attractive gift baskets, please let me know.

I would like to end my post this evening with my silly little S dancing prior to bed. I couldn't resist as she was so funny imitating the dancers on Caillou.
Enjoy.