Are You Kidding Me? I Mean, For Realz??

Let's see. Things that make me say, "Are you kidding me? Are you for real? Are you serious?
 
In no particular order:

• The fact that a door to door salesperson just rang my bell. At 9 p.m. I ignored it, as I'm trying to get two incredibly hyped up girls to bed and I've got a neighbor kid over and, hello, I don't open the door unless I know you. He rang the doorbell again. I ignored it. Again. He knocked. I ignored it. He knocked AGAIN - and I stormed to the door and almost ripped it almost off the hinges. "Hey, you know what? I didn't answer the door ON PURPOSE. I have a sick kid (more on THAT in a minute) and I am trying to get her to bed. I do not need what you are selling. Stop bugging me. No solicitations."
• To which he replied, as I shut the door in his face, "You know, I can just come back tomorrow."
• These 2 spam comments killed me: Art originates from life, but higher than life! and I really like your blog's style, and hungry to withstand friends is that: the strict test! So we can carry the absolute trust.What they have to do with my blog I have NO idea, but I appreciate the originality.
• My littlest girl has been coughing for 2+ weeks now. It's asthma. We know it's asthma. The doctor said it's asthma. The allergist said it's asthma. She's been on albuterol, Pulmicort and Singulair for 2 weeks now (added in at different times and bumped up once or twice) and she's still coughing. We went today for another check, and she was, in the doctor's words, wheezing like a freight train. So, we are going to stay on the steroids, but she added in an antibiotic, right after she took a culture for PERTUSSIS. The Air Quality warnings here have been orange - alert for asthmatics. I'm sure she's sick of coughing, but Gah, so am I.
• And one of my big kids had an asthma attack today. And we are almost out of albuterol for the nebulizer.
• Speaking of which, I'm arguing with my husband about keeping our health insurance. Can you see the big warning bells going off here? I've got five asthmatics, I have a history of migraines and melanoma and girly issues, 3 of my kids are in different therapeutic activities, and four of them wear glasses. He seems to think that we can save the $1200 a month and use it to pay stuff out of pocket. Except, you know, the Advair that three of them take retails out at more than $900 a month. BUT. He is of the opinion that giving them medication actually GAVE them asthma - and without meds everyone would be awesome.
• Yeah, it's like that.
• BTW - thank you SO much for the generous donations to my Chip In to Blogher. I sincerely and honestly appreciate the donations. The snarky commenter, not so much. If it only was just a matter of giving up my lattes, dear. The level of sacrifice that has gone on in this family over the past two  years - see the point above about going without Medical? - is getting ridiculous. Cutting out the extraneous happened a LONG time ago. I did get some extra money in November of last year, but I used it for those things called bills and you know what, bite me. Don't want to contribute? Don't. I put it up because over the course of the last five years I've had more than a few readers ask me why I didn't have a contribution button - and Blogher isn't a vacation for me. It's WORK. Since I'm self employed, I don't have a company to send me - it's me and my keyboard. I'm trying like crazy to get sponsors, but it's not panning out.
• So. I made the Braided Lemon Bread and it was delicious. I made Crock pot mac and cheese and it was insane. This post is long enough so I'll put the recipe below the fold.

Have a great night, everyone.

Crockpot Macaroni and Cheese

Grease your large crock pot. Dump in 2 14 ounce boxes dry pasta shapes - I used rigatoni, since it was what I had. Grate in one half of a large block of cheddar cheese - I love that I'm so precise in my recipe. Cut up a block of Velveeta and stir the cubes in. Rip up about 6 slices of sandwich cheese - I used Munster since it's my favorite - and stir that in. Cut up 1/2 stick butter and bury it in the noodles. Add 2 T salt, 2 T pepper and 3 T onion powder. The original recipe calls for 9 cups of milk - I used three cans of fat free evaporated and then milk just until it covered the noodles. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours. It was AMAZING.

Comments

[Headless Mom]

Oh honey. Bag it all and have a margarita? Less than a month, my friend. Heart you!

[Tina]

Thats right! Tell them to bite you! :)

[addy]

Do not give up the medical! You will regret it. Tell the snarky beeeotch to bite me too! The level of "cut-backs" in this house is so out of control...Anybody want a house?

[Karen]

Remind your husband that one hospitalization for asthma could easily cost in the six figures without insurance -- and then tell him No F'in WAY! (Oh and tell the snarky lady to bite us all!)

[KG]

At first I thought you were nuts for asking for donations. But honestly the more I think about it the more I realize that I really get a lot from your blogs.
You have giveaways, you share advice, recipes, life experiences and we don't really get a chance to give much back. I feel like I have always taken things away from your blogs. Now I have a chance to show my appreciation. I may only have a few bucks to "chip in" but I hope in doing so you will know that I appreciate what you do.

Personally I will never understand the snarky comments. If you don't enjoy the blog, read elsewhere. There are a few blogs I read that in all honesty make me frequently roll my eyes. Too much drama. A good measure of BS. A heaping dose of egomania. But I would NEVER tell those bloggers how to write, or what to write or judge their actions. And I have noticed that the snarks hardly ever manage to leave a link to their blogs (non-existent as they may be! lol)

[Sheri]

Insurance has saved our lives just this past year alone, I never appreciated it as much as I do now! I've got a son with asthma, and oddly enough my other son and I had asthma attacks this spring - three people on that medication was outrageous, even with insurance! Keep it at any cost.

I wish I could contribute to your Blogher fund. Do not listen to those "helpful" commenters that apparently have perfect lives and never have to ask for help. People can be so "generous" with their criticism, can't they?

Good luck, and if I could, I would help. I just really hope you get there :)

[Amy]

Some people are just ridiculous... haters to the left please. Jeez.... Anyone can tell that you work extremely hard and if that commenter thinks it's just a matter of "skipping a few lattes" well... if that's all it took, everyone could just do that and life would be all puppies and rainbows huh?

Healthcare is a MUST. I have an inhaler for the occasion I need it and I paid for it out of pocket when I was inbetween insurance and it was definitely expensive and not something I could continually pay for all the time. $1200 sounds like a lot, but meds are far more expensive.

that recipe sounds awesome! yum!

[amie]

The mac & cheese sounds soo good- great for potlucks w lots of kids I bet. Sometimes men are clueless, even when they r brilliant and successful and savvy .When it comes to real in the trenches of parenting stuff they r clueless. Keep the insurance girl- haul out all those eobs from last yrs dr visits, your leg business, girly parts business and let him do the math of what all that would have cost out of pocket. Not to mention the enormous accident potential of 6 kids playing sports UGHH!Btw was the cause of the endless hives ever identified?

I was hoping this summer would be a nice break from school year life however we still seem to be cruising along at breakneck speed here & it seems you guys are too. Lets relax in our respective hammocks tomorrow afternoon, a state apart but in a singular frame of mind. This will def require some icey adult lemaonade :) xxxoooo

[Elizabeth]

Don't drop the insurance!! Hubby's employer switched last year to a HSA (Health Savings Account) as the only option. IT SO TOTALLY STINKS!! (yes I know I "yelled") Basically our premium went down by $20 a month, the company gave us $1000 seed money and we paid out of pocket retail value (meds too) until we met our deductible.

Doesn't sound too bad right? Until you find out Amoxyicillin cost $80 for 7 days worth. Augmentem $76. I was diagnosed with Diabetes & hyperthyroidism last April. 1 round of lab work was over $500 and my meds are $500 each for 3mths mail order. Speech therapy was $350 for 1 session. We met our deductible by May. Then everything was at 10% until we met the next level which was in Sept.

I blogged about it last May. Here is the link - http://texasebeth.blogspot.com/2009/05/high-cost-of-medicine.html - feel free to share with your husband.

The rest of it - UGH! Have fun at BlogHer and ignore the trollz the best you can.

[KG]

ps
Keep us posted on the pertussis. Mine all had it three years ago, you know, when everyone told me I was crazy because they had all been vaccinated so no one got that anymore (rarely). Crazy thing is the NEXT year they started requiring a booster shot for it for everyone entering 6th grade. You know, since no one got it anymore lol It was NOT FUN...

[Elizabeth]

I read the post about the HSA above thinking "I could have written that!" We feel like we are bleeding money to healthcare until we reach our $5000 deductible. This is for a job that started in April (right after we met the deductible for the old insurance) so we aren't there yet. Even though we pay out of pocket, we DO still get discounts on the dr. visits based on negotiated rates, which with no insurance at all you wouldn't get. Keep the insurance. Lack thereof could be the gateway to an event with an enormous cost sending you to bankruptcy court, no kidding.

[charmingbitch]

With insurance the out of pocket cost for IV vancomycin was $185/day. One hundred and eighty five dollars a day. A! DAY!

Keep your insurance.

[kyooty]

OMG! your hubbie is crazy!!!! You don't put your kids health ahead of your $$. Yes I know that it's hard to scrape all the $ together but it's also hard to live iwth yourself if you can't afford the meds the Doctor prescribes. Right now your hubbie issaying he'll never fall off the side of the house when cleaning the gutters? never have a heart attack and leave you to "deal", that you will never have another migraine mostly brought on by stress to pay those bills, your child will never be in a car accident or never fall off a bike/skateboard/playground equipment. It's never going to be a reality. It's all fun and games until someone losses an eye/arm/brain/whatever. Come to Canada. I'm sure there's work for you all and how many under 6? 1? you get 100.00 for them a month until they are 6. You have to pay for your meds but the prices? We've got Universities and hey that aspsiring Cop? Mountie! picture him in red:P

[kyooty]

Oh oh oh and I think M&Ms should totally sponsor you for this trip. Remember the power off almond M&M's (and this part your hubbie will agree with)

[Nicki]

Ye gads! Definitely don't cancel the insurance. My husband had a similar belief regarding asthma once upon a time, then my mother ripped his head off and he has since changed his opinion. :) Medication alone (I speak here of having only 3 children on constant medication and myself) will eat up that $1200 in a heartbeat, forget any hospitalizations or doctor visits, etc. I know it is hard, very hard, but fight to keep the insurance until there is no other option.

Ignore the stupid comments. It isn't even worth your time to have to get worked up over someone who clearly just likes to complain. If I had any extra money, I would have chipped in as well. I, too, get a lot from what you write, and this is your job so why shouldn't you do what is needed to further it? Hang in there.

[Megan]

"Skipping a few lattes"? You have said in the past that your husband's income has essentially been cut in half by the recession...there's no middle-class family out there that wouldn't be hit hard by that. Anyone who thinks you're guzzling lattes and living a luxurious life hasn't been reading your blog for the past two years, and I wouldn't waste my time worrying about such ignorant people.

As to the insurance issue, ask your husband what his plans are if someone in your family, god forbid, gets seriously injured in a car accident. Or becomes seriously ill and has to be hospitalized. These things add up to tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars very quickly. On the medication issue, I don't agree with him but I do wonder about the seemingly huge increase in asthma and food allergies in children over the past 10-20 years...were these things just underdiagnosed before, or is there something in our environment or food causing this? Knowing you, you've probably researched and know more than I do.

[Rox]

Men. MEN. My parents live in Hurricane Alley, and my dad insists that they don't need home insurance, either. When their old home in West Virginia was taken out in a mudslide, he took it as a sign -- a sign that he wouldn't need home insurance in Florida because obviously Mother Nature wouldn't strike his homes twice. But ... even he'd never give up healthcare. Hang in there ... looking forward to drinking our blues away at BlogHer!

[Paige]

OOh, did I miss the braided lemon bread recipe? That sounds awesome, too. Keep the insurance. Keep it, keep it, keep it.

[Kait]

Two months ago my parents, my kids and I were headed from St Louis to Denver. We drove as far as Kansas City for the night and stopped in a hotel. While heading down in the elevator to get stuff from the car, my dad (who is in his 50's and ridiculously healthy) started to feel feverish. He went to get out of the elevator and collapsed.

We didn't go to Denver. My father was rushed to the hospital and spent the next three days being poked, prodded, tested, examined and questioned. His hospital total was in the hundreds of thousands. Even adjusted down with their insurance it will likely cost my parents several thousands BUT they won't be bankrupt from it.

Don't let your husband talk you out of insurance. What if, God forbid, one of your asthmatic kids collapses in the middle of a soccer game and is rushed to the hospital? Will you have the tens of thousands of dollars to pay those medical bills on top of everything else? What if your lady business gets all crazy again? When mine went haywire we spent almost $8,000 out of pocket, not counting the over $20,000 our insurance covered. Maybe shop around for new insurance under the new laws but absolutely do not drop your insurance until you have something else in place. It's too big of a gamble with that many lives at stake.

(sorry for writing a novel!)

[Kikilia]

Don't give up the insurance! I am currently unemployed and paying my own insurance for myself and my daughter... it's all I can do to stay afloat right now- but insurance comes first. It's worth it!

As for the mac and cheese- sounds great- I can't wait to make it... How do you make the braided lemon bread?

[Denise]

We just became unemployed and lost our health insurance.. shall I report in to let you know how it goes.. you know then he can multiply it by 2 or so and see how it adds up..

[Donna]

Things sometimes just get so darn tough, don't they?
I am a single Mum- have been for 10 years- and I have a VERY limited income. My biggest single outlay each month is health insurance. It is expensive and when we are well there is very little benefit from it. BUT... there is no way that I would give it up. In the past we have had to use it and without it we would be tens of thousands of dollars in debt. My husband was sick for 6 months before he died (at age 43- it can happen at ANY age!) and those bills kept on coming in for months after his death. Thank God for health insurance. I have told my son many, many times....'No matter what...NEVER give up private health insurance!'
Of all the advice I have given to him over the years it's about the only thing he can quote back to me!
I sincerely hope that life gets back on to an even keel for you soon.
Thinking of you,
Donna from Australia

[A Simple Twist of Faith]

Carmen,

We finally got to place our youngest on our health insurance policy in June. Prior to that we paid over $200 a month for private health insurance for just her. Believe me, keep your health insurance.

[Sandra]

Keep the insurance!!!

My youngest had pertussis for over a month around Christmas time. It took several trips to the peds office and several antibiotics before they got the correct diagnosis.

[Beth A.]

Made your mac-n-cheese last night -- with a few changes (didn't have any Velveeta). It was YUMMY!

Thanks for sharing!