Ten things Tuesday (it's a long one!)

This has been a random week, so I figured I would post 10 snippets from the last 7 (or so) days...

1. I have fallen so far behind on my housework in the last two weeks or so. With all of the traveling that we've been doing, plus the business of school, plus cheerleading practices (for tryouts) started today, I've gotten absolutely NOTHING done!

2. Cheerleading practices started today for tryouts, which are next Saturday. I can't believe how sweet and talented some of the girls are, and then there's others who totally need to get over themselves in a BIG WAY!

3. Preschool graduation was last night for my 4-year-old class. They did a great job! They processed in to "Pomp & Circumstance" (which the parents loved) & then they sang two songs ("I'm a Graduate" and "I've Been Going to my Preschool") and then we presented them with their diplomas. For their gifts, we gave the kids tote bags, on which we stamped/painted a bee for each child in the class & wrote "So glad to 'bee' your friend!" The parents went nuts over them! They were filled with little gifts & things to do this summer!

4. Graduation is always bittersweet for me. On the one hand, I hate it because it is so stressful and there's so much preparation that goes into the program, which really only ends up lasting about 15 minutes (and then the reception, of course). But on the other hand, it is always nice to hear the positive feedback from parents to really know that you're making a difference for these kids...and I'll admit...I love getting little tokens of appreciation, too.

5. And I know, I know...it's the thought that counts, but I think I win the prize this year for the tackiest teacher gift (because to me, a tacky gift tells me that you think I'm a person that likes tacky stuff!). I got a lovely "decorative faux flower" arrangement...It doesn't sound so bad, right? Well...it just is...trust me on this one. Honestly, a card with a heart-felt message would have meant so much more than something that I think someone re-gifted to me...I'll be donating it to the theatre department at G's school, for props.

6. My parents came down this weekend and we set out to Home Depot on Saturday to buy some edging pavers for our landscaping, as well as some fencing for around my garden (in hopes of keeping out bunnies and such, of which I luckily haven't seen yet). After we came home, my dad showed G what to do for the landscaping & we got to work! I'll post some pics of the before/after, as well as my garden at the end of the post!

7. On Sunday, we left early to drive down to DC (I had never been there before) to see the Phillies play the Nationals. It was neat to see the Capitol Building and the Washington Monument, even if they were both in the distance. And it was, of course, great to see the Phillies win a game to sweep the Nationals in a 4-game series. It did, however, make for a really long day and we were both exhausted when we got home on Sunday night!

8. While we were on our way home from the Phillies game, we stopped at a rest stop. It was there that I learned that if you don't know how to speak our language, the only words you really need to know are "I'm sorry, so sorry" and it gives you a free pass to cut in front of other people in line! I could NOT believe the nerve of this woman...she walked right up the line past everyone in our group, looking at us saying "Sorry, so sorry...I was in line...my family...sorry, so sorry." As if, first of all, we had any idea what she was trying to say, and secondly that saying "sorry" gave her any right to cut in front of people who were patiently waiting their turn in line (and no, there were no members of her family or her group in front of us in line...apparently she HAD been in line & couldn't figure out what she wanted, so she got back out of line & just assumed that she could traipse back up to her original spot once she decided what she wanted!)

9. We're having insurance woes again. We spent over $600 out-of-pocket for our psychiatric evaluation (ours and with our donor), which we were told we could submit to our insurance ourselves (because they are separate billing from the doctor's office, they couldn't do it for us). Mind you, our doctor's office IS in network, so one would naturally assume that any services required through that doctor's office (even under different billing) would also be considered in-network. Fast forward to yesterday when I got a statement from the insurance saying that they received our reimbursement form, but they will only accept $180 of the charges made and it will be deducted from our $250 out-of-network deductible! We will never even meet the rest of the deductible, let alone go over that amount so we're basically screwed out of our money...I'm emailing the RE's insurance ppl tomorrow to see if they can get this straightened out for us, as psychiatric appointments when coded correctly (as ours was) ARE covered under our insurance...ugh, what a pain!

10. And finally, more news about our IVF study cycle. We found out last week that our donor tested positive for one strain of Cystic Fibrosis. G has already been tested for the basic strains of CF & came back negative, but with this new development, and the seriousness of the disease, we think it would be best to go ahead and get the full screening (optional at this point), which includes 90-some strains. The nurse didn't foresee any issues, though, nor did she seem worried that we would find anything from the full panel screening. We also found out last week that there was just no way possible that we would be able to get the IVF done before B left for her vacation to Hawaii in mid-June. That means that we will have to wait until mid July to start our IVF cycle up...and I'm trying, once again, to be patient!

Here are the pictures....
This is sort of what the "before" looked like (this is the right-side landscaping & we were working on the left)

And this is the "after"

And my cute little garden! I've got tomatoes, carrots, radishes, squash & lettuce (and some marigolds to keep the animals away!)