Short Answer: Dumb Luck Long Answer: Follow doctor’s orders. If the doctor says, “Stay still. Don’t lift things.” Do that. Otherwise you’ll find your incision is trying to open itself and you’ll become really paranoid. Also, I got my first medical bill from the first leg procedure. It’s just over $250 and I called to set up a payment plan. As the next four bills come in (presumably for a similar amount?) I call and they will add them to the payment plan in some kind of rotation so I’m not overwhelmed. I’m not sure what the damage on the chest wall surgery will be. GREAT NEWS ALERT! I totally…
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How We Spent It 8-11-16
In this moment, I know the truth. We are going to be apartment dwellers for at least two more years. I like being a renter in some ways, well, most ways really. I have checked calculators to see at what level owning is smarter than renting and can’t wrap my head around it. With Mr. Brickie being injured and off work for four months on the 18th everything feels unreal. Plans are nothing but dreams and we are living day to day. We did get kittens from the County Shelter, though. Not the greatest financial decision since they cost $50 each and then we had to buy litter boxes and…
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Paying Ourselves Back and Injury Progress
My tooth is fixed. It chipped again four hours after the repair appointment but it’s a small chip so I’m leaving it be until my follow up in two weeks. I think my bite is back to where it was before I started this whole extensive dental process so leaving it alone is the extent of what I’m comfortable doing right now. She asks me at the end of every appointment if everything is okay and I don’t understand how she doesn’t understand that it takes a few days for the jaw to realign and settle to see if it’s really working out. Plus she always has me check my…
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I Keep Spending…and Spending…
Is it a bad life decision to drain my emergency fund to pay for summer activities? Yes! Am I doing it anyway? Yes! I’m not sure why. I think it’s primarily because I worry I’m not a good enough parent. They aren’t over-scheduled and they will have 17 unscheduled days in August to just veg and read and do some worksheets before school begins but June and July have something or another every day for an hour here or an hour there. There are “better” camps I would like to send them to. There are math camps and specialty camps and electrical engineering camps I can’t send them to and…
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Staying Busy and Under Budget
There won’t be any tips or tricks on how to live with someone who is injured in this post because I’m struggling. He’s struggling. The kids are struggling. We’re all antsy and tired and stressed out. We are under each other’s feet. Slowly, we are learning ways to get out from under each other though so I guess that’s a start. I send him out to do errands because he can drive fine with one hand as long as he doesn’t do too much in a day. Errands make him feel like he has a purpose so he’s less crabby. He went on a walkabout last week and even though…
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Surgery Day (After) – Part 2
Oh wow. He’s in so much pain. They gave him norcos (Vicodin + acetaminophen) but they aren’t doing a damn thing. In conjunction with the top and bottom ice packs it feels like we’re reducing his pain by, like, 20%. He’s in SO MUCH PAIN. I’m scared but trying to remain calm because: A) No one else is going to remain calm. B) The doctor sees him at 11am and maybe he can help. C) I don’t have any more energy for freaking out. So we are here and he is suffering and it sucks. I slept last night but woke up every time he whimpered, called out, or moved…
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Surgery Day – Part 1
Surgery Day! I’m so nervous I could … oh, hey, I have pills for this. One sec. Okay. I should feel better in about 15 minutes or so. I used to have a prescription for klonopin and I didn’t use it that often but kept refilling the scripts so even though they’re on lockdown now (I need to find a pain management specialist locally) I have backup pills to take in times of great anxiety. You know, like when you’re afraid your husband won’t wake up from the general anesthetic. That kind of anxiety. My kids are all optimists and seem fine with the situation. I’m obviously not freaking out…
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On Broken Bones and Broken Finances
Oh my friends. We have come so far. Financially we have struggled. Lately I’ve been feeling a little weird because all this normalcy and regular bill and debt payment made me feel shy and like maybe it was only interesting to write about things being bad. I was assured by many kind and loving folks that it’s okay to celebrate stability when you finally have it. Well, I guess when I had stability would be the appropriate tense. I did enjoy those two months in the sun, though, I really did. On Monday, Mr. Brickie fell off a ladder and broke his wrist. He was being super safe, the ladder…
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What the Middle Class Looks Like: Dentistry
Disclaimer: I am not 100% sure if we are middle class, but I think we live like we are. We live in the Midwest (so we aren’t paying LA rent or Alaska milk prices) and my husband is in a union so health insurance is an included part of the package and not a deduction from his check or something we have to pay for separately. The “Middle Class Mondays” series covers things I’ve always felt would be different when we had what I consider “enough” money and how those experiences compare to how things used to be for us or how they compare to how things were when I…
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How We Spent It 3-31-2016
Sometimes it makes me really sad that my plans get derailed by doing normal people things like taking my kids to the dentist. We used to go to this amazing dentist with a circus atmosphere (yes, even balloon animals) but once we moved it took an hour to get there one way. Too much travel for three little kids. We found a local dentist through a referral who is also a unicorn (small hands with long, thin fingers) and we couldn’t be happier with the office. X-rays, sealants, fluoride, and cleanings for all the kids (plus x-rays for me) – even with insurance – cost us $198 today. Well worth…
