Woohoo! ~ Christmas Came Early!

On our way out of town Thanksgiving weekend, we had to call the doctor for Flutter Nutter.  He had a super bad head cold and we knew the Colorado altitude could complicate things.  So our super wonderful pediatrician found a Walgreens along the way and ordered some scripts for Flutter Nutter.  Good thing, cause Flutter Nutter needed them, and then Daddy's Buddy and Hockey Player needed them.  All approved by the doctor, just in case you thought we were doing a big no-no of sharing prescriptions. 
After we picked up the medicine, I got to looking at the receipt.  I thought we just got an amazing deal...$10 for 3 prescriptions.  However, we were only charged for one of the three medications.  What ?????  Focused on having fun, I decided to put it aside and think on later when we got home.  Arrived home and decided not to worry about it, afterall, I made it all weekend without thinking twice about it. 
Today I had to refill a couple of prescriptions.  I signed the slips and sent my card in through the drive thru tube.  I even put in my member number for Dillons so I could get my fuel points.  The clerk informed me there was no charge!  What? ?  I looked at her and told her, "I always have to pay for my prescriptions.  What is going on?  This is the second time this has happened."  Poor girl, she didn't know what to do.  Here she had told me, "No charge" and I was insisting on paying.  How crazy is that ! ? ! ?
She quickly went and found reinforcements.  Receipts and paperwork looked over.  I was told that everything had been processed and was correct.  Balance due:  $0
She did suggest we might have met our deductible for the year.
We DON"T have a deductible.  Just co-pays.
I call the insurance company.
Our insurance has a catastrophic medical clause.  Once you reach the designated amount out of pocket in a year then all medical expenses are covered at 100% for the remainder of the enrollment period!

Co-pays, prescriptions, eye doctors, dentists, counseling and therapy all apply.  But NOT orthodontics. Bummer, cause Hockey Player is suppose to start that process next year and we would just have to start him this next month if they were only covered. 
The year, I try to NOT go to the doctor.  The year I am constantly reassuring hubby all will be fine, they don't need to go to the doctor.  This year we meet our maximum out of pocket and qualify for the catastrophic clause.  We have a month left + a day.  Do I give the kids permission to go crazy? 
Guess this means I can quit playing the do we or do we not get the flu shot.  I hate paying for the flu shot and then we are all sick 3 months later with it. 
So now, when I can't figure out what to buy for Christmas for the kids or my husband, I get to try and figure out if there are any medical things we should get taken care of while we can.  Maybe the 2 topics can overlap and I will have both taken care of.... allergy medicine for the stockings!   Dental xrays all wrapped up in pretty gold filling paper.  Hee hee!
I don't know if I should be some what mortified about our medical expenses this past year or ecstatic that there are no more expenses the remainder of this year.  For now, I will just celebrate in having no more payments for a month! !  WOohoO

SunButter ! ! ! YUMMY!!

On our drive home from Colorado Springs we stopped in Colby at the Kansas Country Store. 
Everyone was in need of some time to stretch their legs and take advantage of the facilities.
The folks there were wonderful and hospitable.  They overheard me tell Flutter Nutter to not go touching all the food stuff since they had nuts and such and offered us samples of SunButter.  Oh my goodness!!  It was so yummy.  It made my mouth do the happy dance it only gets to do when Flutter Nutter is not around and I have a chance to eat a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.  Sooo happy !!
The other children were overjoyed at the possibility of cookies and sandwiches. 
No nuts,  no cross contamination! 
Yummy !!!
Happy Mouths and Happy Tummies !!! 
Now I am doubly excited, cause the first thing I had to do was check Amazon and see if they offered it online. 
They do!! 
Our lives are forever changed for the better!

KitchenAid on Cyber Monday and those pesky little words...ON SALE and Rebate too!

oooh my goodness! !! Isn't this pretty! ! !!  !!
I just put it in my store.
It is on sale.
ON SALE!!!
oh how my hubbby hates those 4 little words.  "It is on saaaaaale!!!!"
He has been making fun today.
Pretty cinnamon color.
I have always talked myself out of a KitchenAid, but I am caving.  If only he could find the value in my having one. 
He told me I already got my Christmas when I bought a Vitamix last month.  It cleans itself!  How cool is that.  The KitchenAid doesn't do that, but it is pretty and would make cookies, frosting, cakes, bread, and so much more....
I am in love or is it in envy???  Ahhhh, **big sigh**
Did I mention there is a 50 dollar rebate? 
And if you don't want the magazine subscription you can request the 24 dollars to be refunded to you.  All in the print.  Sooo pretty!
So, so pretty.
Oh, by the way it is on Amazon.  hee hee, should have told you that. 

State Quarter Collection

So Little Princess developed an interest in the state quarters earlier this summer. We suprised her with a State Quarter Collection Book for her birthday!

She has taken her collection very seriously and has almost completed the series. On one of our recent hockey tournament weekends, she mistakenly put a five dollar bill in the quarter machine. It proved to be worthwhile, because she was able to add a lot of quarters to her collection!

You can find this book at Amazon. We actually discovered it at a Borders store that was closing.  Saw it and knew immediately it would be a great gift for Little Princess. 
Now we have a younger brother who would like to start his own collection.  Hint, hint Grandmas and Grandpas!  He put his allowance in the quarter machine at the ice rink this week to help start his collection. 

I also wanted to let all of you dear friends, family and readers out there know, I am creating a tab/page specifically on behalf of Little Princess.  This page will list the remaining quarters she is need of to complete her collection.  If you happen to come across one and choose to share it with her, she would be thrilled!

New Perspective on Bedtime!

Flutter Nutter just rushed downstairs with sooo much excitement and announced, "I get to go to bed! I am soooo happy! Daddy says I can go to bed. Now I don't have to be tired. I love him soo much, infinity beyond zero and all around the earth millions of times!"

Now I know, instead of saying "Go to bed." I need to say, "You can go to bed now, so you won't be tired."

Mystery solved.

Random Conversations!

The girls are loom knitting. A lot of loom knitting is happening here. Aunt Sharon has ordered 26 hats and scarves. So when they aren't sleeping, eating or doing their school work, their fingers are busy. We were in the car tonight and a discussion was started about making hats for babies at the hospital for next summer. Patterns, designs and colors are free for the imagination while their fingers are busy. This particular idea was about babies born on the Fourth of July and having patriotic hats awaiting them. Little Princess didn't want to exclude babies that were already in the hospital. What about the babies born on July 2nd or 3rd and maybe had wet lung?
Wet lung? Yes, she knows about wet lung. She has heard about her birth story and the day and a half she spent in the NICU. However, she doesn't know what wet lung is and asks me. But before I can respond, Flutter Nutter excitedly announces, "I know what wet lung is!"
Fun Mom, a lot quicker than her mom, responds with, "Tell us what it is Flutter Nutter!"
His response: Wet lung is when you take your shirt off and get wet all over!
Quietly, my shoulders shake and quiver and I compose myself before telling him, not quite. I then proceed to answer Little Princess's question. But I get his logic and I really enjoy learning about the world through his eyes.

A Sweet Present!

So I have been posting about my birthday.
And I got the sweetest present ever this year. AND it wasn't even candy. I do like candy, but this was better than that!

Sweet and talented Sarah suprised me with one of her crocheted creations.

According to her and my slightly jealous daughters (only slightly, cause it isn't nice to be jealous.) I am in style now! The girls lovingly finger it, but know better than to ask for it or to borrow it. Can you see me twirling and dancing around the room, singing "I am in style"?
What busy mom doesn't want to be a bit in the now and fashionable every once in a while? So I loving gaze down at my wrist and say, "Thank you, Lord for a friend who loving thought of me and twisted and twirled this yarn into a thing of beauty for me."

She makes lots of really cool hats and has her own Etsy store! I am amazed by her creativity and wonder where she finds the time with her busy children and home. But she does and she is so talented!
Check her out her creations at TaeTaesCrochet.
I absolutely love this hat:

The sock monkey hats make me giggle. The ones with flowers make me oooh and ahhh.