Random happenings

So, I was a little too busy and never posted my random thoughts and happenings for the week. So, you get it today instead. And it is RANDOM ...

We've had a few things up in the air this week that are just stressing me out! First of all, we are changing insurances on January 1 (not by our choice, but by Paul's employer), so we've been trying to figure out whether or not we can continue our prenatal care w/the same group we've been seeing. They offer a "continuation of care" option that allows you to pay in-network prices for out-of-network doctors/hospitals (which ours is), but they have to approve it and have the out-of-network doctors/facilities approve it. Only problem is that you can't even apply for it until you're in their system, which is January 1 -- my third trimester! Ugh! So, I've been trying to get answers on that and really haven't gotten many.

I'm feeling comfortable that it will all be approved -- not only will I be in my third trimester, but I have gestational diabetes, which is considered a risk. I'm so hoping so, because none of the hospitals here will let anyone do tours of their maternity wards b/c of swine flu paranoia. I'm so totally sick of that by now!!!

The other thing is that we've been trying to refinance, which has been a lot more stressful than any other refi we've ever done. I think I mentioned our appraisal came in VERY low (giving us "credit" for only about 1/3 of the cost of the addition), which made us think we couldn't do it. Then our mortgage broker said he'd work with us to make it happen (he's awesome -- and I don't just say that because his wife reads my blog :), so we were planning to do it, even though we would have to pay out of pocket for some closing costs and extra for our taxes due to our escrow being $500 short. (Lots of info I'm leaving out, but just know that it kept appearing that we would have to bring in more and more money because of that stupid low appraisal that I still don't believe or respect.) In any case, the last straw happened when we found out our payoff amount was more than we expected (who knew they added an extra month of interest and mortgage insurance?), so we thought we couldn't do it ... but turns out we're going to anyway. Seriously, it has been a roller coaster, and it's what made me really regress (I mean REALLY regress) on my fitness challenge. Oh well. I'm going to do another in January if any of you would like to join. (Details here.)

Anyway, the refi will be a HUGE blessing, because our new insurance will cost us $100 more per month, and the refi will save us about $85 per month. Phew! BTW, it's not the insurance itself that costs so much more, but the higher plan we're going with to pay for baby. Cheaper overall but a lot more per month. In 2011 we will be able to go back to the plan we're on and reduce our premiums by $100/month again. Babies are expensive! Good thing they're worth it. It always makes me miss our GroupHealth (HMO) where we had babies for only $250 total no matter how long you stayed in the hospital, whether or not you had epidurals or c-sections, etc. And the hospitals were nice -- Zachary was born where Bill Gates takes his wife to have babies. :)

So, speaking of babies, early this week I "got" to go get tested for gestational diabetes. My numbers are a little high, so they want me to take the 3-hour test. I asked to opt out and just say I have it. I mean, if I've had it for three pregnancies now, is it really possible (without any weight loss) to NOT have it this time? I'm a little bummed, because in the past they always waited until the third trimester to check. Now I'll have four months of finger-pricking and watching what I eat. Overall it's good for me and baby, but what a pain! This brought about more phone calls to find out if my insurance covers me receiving the diabetes education they provide when you're diagnosed. It's so sad that after an hour on the phone it doesn't feel like I'm any closer to an answer than I was before I called! (They said diabetes education is covered, but UVRMC isn't. I know UVRMC is covered, so I'll go and hope I don't have to spend a bunch of time on the phone figuring out our bill. Don't you just love insurance?!?)

So enough of the stressful. On to the fun/happy ...

Monday Tyler asked me if I thought his loose tooth was loose enough to pull out. I asked him if he could just pull it out himself. He tried and out it popped. I think it surprised him that he actually pulled out his own tooth. In any case, he was VERY happy to think the tooth fairy would be visiting. In addition to making a sign to put on his bedroom door, he put this on his dry-erase board: (Click on it if you can't read it)

The blue thing in the upper left corner is a copy of the book/pillow we own that has a compartment for his tooth for the tooth fairy to find (which is right below the dry-erase board). So cute! I'm guessing the thing on the left is a light saber. This is only his fourth tooth to lose, so it's still very exciting.

Speaking of exciting, one month from today my brother gets married! That means in less than one month from today I get to see my parents!! HOORAY!! It will be awesome to see them right before Christmas, but hard to send them away again. At least we get 2 days with them. :)

I'm beginning to feel like we will NEVER agree on a boy's name! Our lists are so totally different that it's like we are from different planets. I'm going to stress about it until we have a name chosen, so hopefully we'll agree on one soon. (I guess this should have gone up with the stressful stuff after all. :)

And the good news to end the week is that Paul and I get to go to the BYU football game this Saturday! Hooray! Hilary's parents got enough tickets for her family, but since they can't all come Paul and I get the extra tickets. It will be a blast -- I'm just hoping we don't freeze! Go BYU!