Hello antibiotics

Yesterday afternoon I received a call from my friend who watches JT during the day. Actually I missed the call and will go into that reason later. But JT had a fever of 103. Off to urgent care we went and he was diagnosed with a double ear infection. Ugh. Poor thing. Got one round of antibiotics in him before bed last night. Then he and I were up for about 2 hours while his fever spiked. Poor thing was miserable. I was able to rock him to sleep and this morning he woke up chipper and happy and fever free. Yahoo! He has been fever free all day. He does have a pretty wet cough and sometimes I can hear the gunk in his chest. I'm hoping the antibiotics will clear that up too since he has a runny nose and that's probably the culprit.

OK, back to why I missed my friend's call. Two of my coworkers were told their jobs were eliminated yesterday. Two other departments are going through the same thing. Our environmental services manager was laid off and the lead housekeeper. It's tough to see our friends and great coworkers go. Today was a down right crappy day. I have more work on top of my already heavy work load. I just cannot get done what I need to when the added on work is pouring in. I'm close to hysterics and tears. It's so overwhelming I feel myself shutting down.

A fellow medical biller at one of the hospitals here in the cities told me the perfect analogy on how I feel. I feel like a dog in a room full of bouncing balls. There's so many I don't know which one to grab and stand there watching.

We have a busy weekend this weekend and all I really want to do is stay in my pj's and watch movies all weekend. Then we're busy every night next week. I really hope I don't explode.

Quiet Day

This has been a pretty relaxing weekend. We had no major plans and pretty much everything in the house is in it's (new) spot. I am still looking for the camera cord, one of my pictures that has the Lord's Prayer on it, and my jewelry box. How do you lose a jewelry box?! I think it's packed in a box but I thought all the boxes were unpacked. It may be in the garage, although I really hope it isn't.

Daddy got the kitchen cleaned out and there aren't any boxes or bags in the dining room any more. Yahoo! He also cleaned off the papers on the counter and table. I really wish I could find the camera cord so I can post pictures.

The snow is melting off of our driveway and I noticed it's a cement driveway and not asphalt (did I spell that right?). Nice. I can't wait for the rest of the snow to melt so Little Man can play outside. I suppose that would require warmer weather and I wish for that too.

On Feb 17th I had my one year anniversary at my job. I can't believe it's been a year. That year has flown by. I have gone from being extremely confused in my job to taking on all the Medicare billing, and soon will be learning HMO therapy billing to help with that (you know that means the person in that position will be let go...but shhhh you didn't hear that from me). I have my 1 year review on March 1st. I'm not nervous or anxious about it because my boss has told me multiple times how much they appreciate the work I do. She has also mentioned how the board of directors are noticing the money coming in. In this economy a little bit helps. The one thing I'm wondering about is if I'm getting a raise. I would love a raise. In most places I would say I know I would be getting a raise. But in the health care industry, especially Long Term Care, money is lacking, jobs are being cut, and we are pinching every penny. We have furlough days we are required to take once a month. So that is why I am wondering if I get a raise. It would be nice if I did but I completely understand if I don't.

Day 1

Tomorrow is Day 1 of Daddy's new job and Little Man's first day at daycare. I was getting a bit worried when she never called me back (she was on vacation last week) and was hoping I wouldn't have to miss work tomorrow. Come to find out her father in law (and mother in law) are in town and he had a heart attack on Friday. He's doing well and will be going home to Florida on Thursday.

I'll be dropping Little Man off at daycare at 7am. And I'm petrified. Not because Little Man is actually in daycare but because I've never driven to her house by myself. She lives in the country by our church and the past couple times Daddy has driven. I'm going to Google her address and put it on my GPS, just in case.

Tomorrow becomes our new routine. Wake up at 5am, drop Little Man off at daycare by 7am (requiring me to leave around 6:30am), Daddy will leaving a little before 6am to be at work by 7am, work, I'll be leaving around 4pm, Daddy will be leaving around 3:30pm, he will pick up Little Man, and I will head home to clean up a little and start supper. Hello normal, you will become routine in no time.

No more nights with Daddy away. We continue to be overwhelmed at how much God continues to bless us.

One more time

Well next Wednesday at 1:30pm Daddy will be having interview #2. We are thinking they will give him the job this time. (praying and crossing fingers!) With all the frustrations and troubles this company has been giving Daddy I've always felt he would work there.

I will keep you posted if Daddy has a job next week.

Back at it again

After talking to his former coworker (who got the job HE originally applied for), Daddy emailed the company yesterday and a couple other people want to interview him. We are scrambling to find someone to watch Little Man (a glimpse into what is to come when he is in daycare) sometime the first week in August. I can't miss time as it's month end. Well maybe if it's before the 3rd but who knows.

At my job lots of changes are happening. With budget cuts and letting go of people our business office is being restructured. Depending on who you are (meaning how hard you work and how well you know and want to do your job) this is could be bad thing.

I got the hugest compliment from my boss when I found out my coworker is our new supervisor and I was also apparently in the running to be a supervisor. The only reason I didn't get it is because I'm so new. Which is fine. I would have taken on the job with pride and would have been shaking in my boots at the same time. This is bad for our current supervisor. She's kind of getting demoted. She really was not a good fit for being a supervisor. She just can't separate friendship and work.

I on the other hand will be working Medicare A AND B. My coworker who handles the B is not strong enough. She is not on top of things and they are seeing that. Her new position is clerical, entering cash receipts and doing insurance verification. I am not sure how she is going to handle this (she already knows she is handling cash receipts but I don't think she fully realizes I'm getting B for both facilities). I'm sure she'll be in my cube complaining after her meeting and our department meeting on Friday afternoon (I had my meeting this afternoon with my boss).

After this long week all that is happening is making me happy. I love what I do and as scared as I am that sometimes I don't know it all I am doing a great job and they are seeing that. Also, I was thinking this morning (remember it's been a long week) about Daddy's job and if I really should stay at my job. I was worried about advancing in the company. I honestly didn't see any advancement opportunities for me. I thought of the supervisor position but figured it was out of reach. My boss commented that it is not out of reach and I would definitely be considered down the road if/when people are promoted (or someone leaves). That makes me feel good.

Life is looking up. Now if only we could get through our agency. We are having issues with them being more worried about money and the secretary has NOT called or emailed me back since we talked last Friday. Daddy and I aren't happy and are ready to pull our application and ask for a refund.

I'll keep you posted.

Well...

Two weeks and 1 day ago Daddy emailed that company in regards to the job they apparently offered him. Again, it's been 2 weeks and 1 day and he still has not heard back from the guy. I was giving him the benefit of the doubt and figured he was on vacation. Now...I'm not so sure.

We have pretty much given up hope on this job...

Daddy got a letter in the mail that says when his unemployment insurance runs out (which should be in about 2 weeks) he can sign up for the extension.

I like my job, honest.

I like my job. I really do. It's challenging and rewarding. I do have my days where I wonder if it's all worth it. Especially when I'm confused or something and then I wonder if I'll ever get it.

But the one thing that's bothering me is my one coworker. She handle's the Medicare Part B accounts (I handle Part A). She use to work at our East campus and they moved her to our West campus to have all the business office people in one location. I'm glad they moved her as it would have been frustrating trying to get trained in. But what's bothering me is she is ALWAYS comparing the 2 facilities. 'East is/was more relaxed'. 'West is more 'professional'. No one even says Hi to you.' 'At East everyone could joke around. At West no one smiles.'

I didn't work at East. I work at West. I'm sorry she's having a tough time with the switch but I don't need to know what goes on at East. She has told me things about people at each facility (one including the story how my boss got her job) and how different they are because she feels 'I have a right to know.' No, I don't. I don't need to know that. I don't need to know that my boss is only 28, that she apparently only has funeral home billing in her history. I don't need to know my supervisor didn't know the Manager position was open. That my supervisor has low self esteem and needs to be lifted up alot.

I don't need to know.

What I need to know is how to do my job. How to get the claims out the door in a timely manner and how to get them paid in a timely manner.

I need to know that my manager is a great boss. She's down to earth but knows how to get the job done. She blunt, to the point and doesn't dance around messy problems. She knows how to show you you did something wrong without you feeling put down. I like that in a boss.

I know I get along with all my coworkers at West. From my coworkers in the business office, to the physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech therapists in rehab, to the gals in the deli, the nurses, and nurse managers, social workers, housekeeping, IT staff, and all our volunteers.

I don't care how different each facility is. I will figure that out on my own.

What I do know is I like my job and what I do. That's all that matters.

Short post

I won't be posting much the next few days. With the new job and moving I hardly have time for Little Man and Daddy. Hopefully by next week I can take it easy and slowly unpack stuff and stay intune to you all.

I am LOVING my new job. Although I'm pretty overwhelmed (and confused!) on all my job duties. But that's OK. I know I'll get it down eventually and will have a routine. One thing I do love is there is a therapy dog, Jasper, that comes in with her owner. She only goes in a couple times a week but because she had eye surgery she's been in everyday this week (so her owner can give her eye drops while she works). She is the sweetest and she goes around to all the business personnel to get a treat. I love it! She walks around the nursing home like she owns the place. It's too funny! She definitely knows where she's going.

We have a place and hope to be fully moved in by the beginning of next week. It's very hard when all of our friends are busy this week otherwise they would have helped during the week. We should have help tomorrow and Friday night and all weekend. So that'll help.

Well I'm off to target to pick up some things.

Oh Daddy got an email from a company he use to work for, well through his former job, and they want to set up an interview. The only bummer is the job is 1 hour and 5 minutes from our new home. Sigh. If we must, we must.

And good news is on April 1st we'll have insurance. It's not bad but the premium is awful. Wherever I've worked I've always had an option to pick a higher premimum plan and not have a deductible. Not here. Sigh. One option is a $1500 deductibe (or $6000 for our family) or a $500 deductible (or $1500 for our family). We're choosing the $500 deductible but that means we'll have to pay $548 and some change. Eep. More than I was hoping for.

Count down begins

In a little less than 2 days I will become a working mom. The thought excites and scares me at the same time. It's been exactly 2 1/2 years since I last worked. I also didn't have a small child relying on me.

I'm excited to get back into the work force. To be doing something I love and helping people at the same time. I'll be spending my days putting my knowledge and skills to use. I will also be learning knew practices and procedures.

I will also be spending 9 hours a day away from Little Man. Two and half years it was me and him all day. Playing with his cars, trains, coloring, reading books, watching a cartoon or two, or playing with play-doh. Watching him learn different things. Watching his vocabulary and personality blossom and seeing the joy in his face when he saw something for the first time.

Now it's Daddy's turn. Daddy is now a stay at home dad. I don't doubt his parenting but he's a guy and they don't think how us women do. I hope he can keep up with Little Man's potty training (like when Little Man says he needs to go to take him right then and there). Don't forget his 10am and 2pm snacks. Or that he likes to slowly wake up after his nap and be snuggled. And that a whole bowl of cereal and a banana is WAY too much food for a 2 1/2 year old.

Although there's a upside to all this. No more laundry for me! :) Daddy stays home, means daddy does the housework too. I won't mind giving that job up.

Oh Happy Day!

I GOT THE JOB!!! Daddy decided to take Little Man and I out tonight. We got home a little after 7pm and I saw that there was a message at at 6:30pm the manager called and left a very generic (but positive) message. Eep! I was beside myself and didn't know what to do and if I could wait until tomorrow. So I decided to call and see if she was still working...she was!

I start Feb 17th. I'm so excited!

Thank you God!

No word

No word yet on if I got the job or not. I really hope I did and she calls tomorrow.

However I received a phone call today from United Health Group wondering if I was still interested in the Claims Representative position. (Not really...I want the job at Sholom.) I told the guy I was and have an interview tomorrow at 10:30am.

I'm having a very hard time with this. I have never wanted a job so bad. To be able to not only work on claims again but I also get to work with the public. It'll be tough, stressful but very rewarding.

I have been in constant prayer since yesterday. Asking for peace as I wait.

I will keep you all posted.

Job interview

The job interview went VERY well today. I had to do a test first and it was kind of comical. I kept thinking do people really answer 'Always' to wanting to hit someone or knowing how to throw a punch, or finding it fun to watch a fight in progress? There were also questions about wortk ethic, stealing (whether from your place of employment or a grocery store), and any drug and alcohol use. I of course passed with flying colors. Yay me!

Onto the interview. There are 2 positions open and she asked me which of the two I would like. That is a hard question. Honestly I wouldn't mind doing either and I would hate to say one position and maybe they have someone better fitting. I did tell her which one I would prefer but am not opposed to cross training. The manager is very down to earth and easy going. I like that. She told me her managing style and how family friendly the office is. Start times are very flexible and you can make up time (which I was hoping as I'd rather do that than use vacation time). There are around 10 people in the billing department so it's very small, even though the company is huge.

I was worried about the pay range. I was on the high end at my last job and it tends to turn some employers away. I brought it up to her and she said the salary range and what I was making when I quit TCO is in the middle. (God does provide!) She said she likes to pay employees what they are worth and that the speciality care pay is usually on the high end (Sweet!). She asked me what I thought I was worth and so I told her (which is what I was making at TCO...as a LEAD). She didn't argue it and wrote down what I said.

During the interview she told me she really liked me. (I tried very hard not to squeal with joy.) She said not to be surprised if she calls soon but then said she has a few interviews next week so may not make a decision until Wednesday. I'm praying she said that so I don't get my hopes up and that she does call...soon. Tomorrow would be good.

A little too late...

Remember that company in Omaha that was interested in Daddy but were dragging their feet? (First they didn't want an interview until after the New Year. Then they just kept going at a snails pace.) Well they emailed Daddy yesterday saying they want to set up an interview on Friday afternoon.

Umm...a little too late? Or not?

I have my interview Thursday afternoon. Daddy also applied for a job and they just mailed him an application to fill out. So we're thinking this is a good sign for a possible interview. And now the job in Omaha is coming back up. And we have the apartment on hold (Daddy dropped off the deposit yesterday).

So, Lord, where do you want us to go? Are we staying? Leaving? Show us what you have planned for us.

Yahoo!!

I applied for a job on Saturday and got a call yesterday for an interview!!! It's on Thursday. I am SOOO excited! I hope and pray I get this job. It would be wonderful if I do. Because of the interview I wrote out a deposit today for an apartment. I wrote about it here. Daddy will drop it off on his way home from work. After talking Daddy and I decided we liked the 3 bedroom better. Even if the laundry is much smaller but amazingly it's cheaper than the 2 bedroom. I hope the nursing home (where I applied, in the billing department) makes a decision before the weekend. If they do I'd like to sign the paperwork on the apartment and start moving in!

Jobs, jobs, and still no jobs

I have a few places I want to call today and check the status of my application (and to get it on top of the pile).

Daddy, Little Man, and I went for a drive Sat night and Daddy and I found out we applied to jobs that are about 2 blocks from each other. How wonderful would that be?! We could car pool everyday. We've done it before and thoroughly enjoyed it.

At church yesterday I saw in the bulletin that they are having the preschool open house on Feb 10th. I can't believe Little Man will be old enough for preschool (at the age of 3) this coming Fall. Little Man will love preschool. I am hoping he is potty trained in time. Otherwise he won't be able to go. I was talking to our Pastor's wife about this (she's the preschool and kindergarten teacher) and she said they have a lot of 3 year old applicants for the preschool program. She said there are so many they are going to have to turn some of them away because she won't be able to handle so many kids...unless she had a helper. She looked at me and said 'Would you be interested in being a teacher's helper? It's free tuition.' YES! (And not because of the free tuition, but that does help.)

I wonder if she was serious. I wonder if this is what God wants. I really hate to assume that she was offering me a job. I don't know if it needs to get approved by the council. Also, this job won't start until next Fall. I need a job...NOW. Will they pay? And how much? Will I just work with the preschoolers who only meet twice a week?

I see I have a few questions to ask her. But the thing is we need something (a job) now. We need to move in the next few weeks. I know God will provide and if this is it. That would be wonderful!

Pray for us. And pray Daddy hears from places this week.

I'm in love!

Daddy and I (Little Man too) have been looking at apartments, and a townhouse, the past few days. We are looking at another apartment later this morning but I don't really want to. I'm in love with the townhouse we looked at yesterday. It's a 2 bedroom 1 1/2 bath. The bedrooms are HUGE! We could stay there a few years and even adopt again and have enough room in Little Man's room for a crib (if we do another DIA (Domestic Infant Adoption) otherwise we can split the bunkbed and have room for both of them if we adopt a toddler. And there's plenty of room in the garage to store alot of our stuff.

Now...if only some jobs would call us for an interview. I applied for 3 more jobs yesterday and who knows how many Daddy has applied for in the past week. I pray somone calls at least one of us for an interview. I'm secretly hoping someone calls me first (and I get the job) then Daddy can just relax for a bit.

Until then we continue to pray for God to provide for us.

Life and all that goes with it

Wow I didn't realize it's been 3 days since I last wrote. I didn't mean to leave you all hanging after my announcement of possibly going back to school. After talking with a few friends (thank you!) I've decided to take it slow and once Daddy and I are situated (with jobs and a house) I'm going to take a Chemistry class (it's required for the RN program) and see how it goes. I am not a fan of Chemistry (who is?) and actually never had to take it in high school. So I'm very scared on how I might do. Can you see me playing with things that could possibly explode? Eep!

Daddy and I looked at an apartment yesterday, a townhouse this morning and will look at another apartment this afternoon. It's really hard to look when we don't know where his next job could be. I did hear back from one job I applied for and they hired someone else. Fine with me, I didn't really want to move to Duluth. I do hope we hear from the other jobs soon.

This economy is awful (and those who say otherwise really need to get their heads out of the sand). I heard that there are at least 50 people applying for one job. Yuck. I wonder if I have a better shot at winning the lottery...hmmm...maybe not.

We were so busy yesterday I never got my 20 minute workout in. I was going to do it tonight and again I don't think I'm going to have time. This is NOT good. I'm on week 2 and not off to a good start. I'm thinking of doing them back to back and work out Wed, Thurs, and Fri. Or maybe Wed Thurs, and Sat. Since Thursday will be the long, tough workout and I may still be sore on Friday. I'm on a mission to lose this gut of mine before summer.

Jobs

Sigh, this job hunting is getting pathetic. Staring at the same job day after day is frustrating.

I applied to 2 more jobs today. One job is at North Memorial Medical Center (I use to work there from 2000-2003) in Robbinsdale, MN. The job is a trauma registrar, entering information into their system and creating reports for internal audits. Sounds interesting. The other job I applied for is a Business Office Coordinator (basically medical biller) for Golden Living. This job is in Fridley, MN. So both are about a 30 minute commute. Not too bad.

Daddy is still applying for jobs and wondering why no one will return his phone calls or emails. It's very frustrating. But we'll keep plugging along and know something wil come up eventually.

Sunday laziness

For getting about 7 1/2 hours of sleep, I'm exhausted. I was hoping for a nap today but that didn't happen. Maybe Little Man won't mind watching movies all afternoon. Yes I'm that mom.

I applied for 2 jobs (one in addition to the one I wrote about on Friday) on Friday. One job is at a radiology clinic here in the Cities. I also applied for 2 jobs at United Health Care. One position is in the Cities and another position is here in the Cities or can be in Duluth, MN. So we'll see if anyone calls me back this week. I'm really hoping so.

I've been thinking the past couple days about the possibility of me working. I'm not really against it but it'll be a big change. We plan on putting Little Man in preschool this coming fall so I really wouldn't want to sit at home by myself. But I think about adopting again and wanting to spend the bonding time with our future child(ren). Although we are moving towards an older child (meaning toddler) adoption but who knows. We thought we'd be adopting internationally the first time and here we are with Little Man! Not that we wouldn't need the same bonding time, we would and it'd would be harder...but he/she would need the interaction with other kids...along with mommy/daddy time...this is where I keep going back on forth on staying home and working. I had always planned on going back to work once our kids were in school but that could be 10 years from now. Maybe it's better if I go back now and stay working...

What I did today...

I applied for a job! In Duluth! I figured maybe God wants me to work now and Daddy to stay home (hopefully not!). I started searching online and found NOTHING here in the cities. At least in my field and salary requirement. Then I found a job posted on MN job Bank and thought 'Why Not'. So I applied. It's at SMDC in Duluth, MN. The job is for the Accounts Receivable Manager position. The pay is around what I was making at TCO when I quit. Not bad. If I get the job (which I think I'm quailified for but I've had job names deceive me before. Hence, the job I was at for only 2 weeks in 2007.) then maybe Daddy can hold off finding a job for a little bit or maybe he'll get that one from the Nasty company. We don't know.

The funny thing is I wrote an email to my friend when I found out about the job for Daddy in Duluth and I told her I don't want to live in Duluth. Hmmm... So we shall see what happens!