Aurora Borealis

My first attempt at sauerbraten turned out reasonably well.  Sauce was rather too thick, though.  Next time I’ll use more water than the recipe calls for.

Amazingly, I managed to wrestle the straps on the car seat into the next height position for our big growing boy.  I say amazing because I’m usually not good at these things and it’s breathtaking how many opportunities motherhood presents for feeling inadequate.

We shall not discuss my failed attempt to bring home the wardrobe boxes I acquired at the local U-Haul.  Not happy.  Well, at least one made it home, and that shall have to do for packing up clothes for the yardsale we will have eventually.

…and the sad state of “customer service” and health insurance.

While I’m washing baby bottles, phone rings and I answer promptly only to be greeted by a recorded message from the billing office at the hospital where Agent Murphy was born, telling me they need to discuss an important matter with me and giving a number for me to call back.  Are you kidding me?!?  But I call back, and wait on hold for 5 minutes or so, hearing a friendly voice every 30 seconds or so tell me to “Stay on the line for an important call.”  Finally a live human picks up and says they’re trying to resolve the matter of a small balance on Agent Murphy’s account.  I rattle off the amount we sent in for my care, and the amount we sent in for his.  The man says, “Did you send in a payment or the whole balance?”  I again stated the amount we paid and that it was the balance due.  He then notices that the payment has been posted, but hadn’t posted to the system that places the calls.  I told him he might want to pass on to customer service that I found that system offensive.  I answered my phone, and if the call was so important, someone should have talked to me about whatever the issue was rather than making me call back only to wait on hold.  He said the system is used by many places other than hospitals.  I reiterated that I find it offensive and he should pass that on, because it makes me think about whether I want to do business with this hospital again.

This is the same place that sent us for our first post-service correspondence a letter saying we were late in paying, blah, blah, blah.  I called about that and said this was the first bill/request for payment we’d received.  “Oh,” the woman said, “does it say 115 in the lower left corner?  You should have received a 105, but our system has been having problems and sending the wrong letter.”  Whatever.  We then promptly sent in a payment.  That was for my services.   More time passed before we received a bill for Agent Murphy.  We could have/would have paid our balance right after Agent Murphy’s birth if they could have given us a bill.  Not our problem that they can’t get payment statements out for months and months.  I’m sure it’s at least in part an issue of how slowly the insurance company processes claims - more evidence of Mr. Tldz’s assertion that health insurance is the problem in healthcare.  But then there’s no reason to treat us like we have to be dunned for the money.  We pay promptly when we’re shown a statement of what we owe.

Just another day in another week at the Tldz household.  I’ve been feeling a little headachy and not very productive today.

Agent Murphy took in a pretty full complement of food.  But he was pretty sneaky during what we’re trying to establish as his formal afternoon nap time.  Very quietly, he got on his tummy and turned around in his crib and was trying to figure out how to get to his toys which were stashed down at the foot of his crib.  I peeked in expecting to see my sleeping baby, and was greeted by a big grin instead.  Mind you, this was after he drank his lunch practically in his sleep.  He really struggled to be awake enough to eat.  But he did eventually take a little nap.

Had a phone conversation with K. this evening, Agent Murphy’s godmother.  Good to catch up with her.

Homemade calzones hold up pretty well as leftovers; but they’re better fresh.

Yesterday I cleaned the bathrooms and scrubbed the kitchen floor.  Some of my least favorite chores.  But they earned me a back rub from Mr. Tldz last night.  Lovely.