My Mingle Rating

Based on Super's blog entry today, I decided to check out my blog's rating.

 

 

It's somewhat embarrassing actually. 

I intentionally watch my language, but that's downright unfortunate.

PRK me ASAP

Gina had the PRK laser vision correction procedure done on her eyes this morning.  I had put a significent amount of money in my HSA account for Macie's birth and we ended up only needed a small portion of it.  It's something she's always wanted and if it didn't happen this year it wasn't going to happen for many years based on our expenses, etc.

She just called me and let me know that everything went well.  She could read signs across the street already.  The eyes will take a few months to heal completely, but she was definitely pleased with the initial improvement.

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On a side note, my grandma was also suppose to have open heart surgery this morning.  She needs two heart valves replaced.  The surgeon said that if things were successful, the procedure should extend her life by years (lately her life expectancy has been discussed in months).  There is obviously risk whenever an 82 year old woman has her chest opened up, but the family decided that the risk was worth the potential reward.  It also helps that my grandma has a very conservative surgeon.

Unfortunately, they were unable to secure enough pints of blood (she has special antigens in her blood which makes it more difficult to match) and the procedure has been tenatively moved to Monday.

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My stress levels can now subside (at least until Monday).

The June Swoon

To put it mildly, June has been an interesting month for us with Natalie.

In April, she was acting odd (Natalie has a high threshold for pain so it's hard for us to know when something's a real injury and when it's a fake one) so we brought her in to have her ear's checked.  She had an ear infection and was given medication for it.

In May, she was still acting the same way (irritable, moody and overall not very enjoyable to be around).  We headed back to the doctor and she had an ear infection again (and was given medication).

On June 4, we returned for her two-year checkup with her still in acting the same.  This time she has a double ear infection.  We are given a more powerful medication (which thankfully has returned our Nattie that we missed so dearly during April and May) and setup an appointment with an ENT (ear, nose and throat doctor) in July.  It looks like tubes are undoubtably in her future.

After completing most of the two-year checkup with no issues, our doctor looks at one of Nattie's charts and drops a bombshell on us.  Natalie has not grown since December.  Not even 1/8 of an inch.  In that time, she has lost two pounds as well (most likely because she was under the weather for so long).  She was still 33 inches tall.  A second measurement that day confirmed her height (the measurements at this age are not an exact science).

After a long talk (and some tears from Gina), our doctor suggestsed that we go to Children's Hospital (as a preventive measure, not necessarily because anything was wrong) and have an X-ray taken and some bloodwork done.  Her main concern was that there was no progress for such a long period of time.  Even if she had grown marginally it would have marked some level of development.

The X-ray was of her right hand and it checked Natalie's bone age.  Part of the blood tests were to check her kidney and liver function as well as to confirm that she has acceptable iron levels to rule out any external issues within her system that may be affecting her body (and possibly her growth simply as a by-product of the problem).

The other more significant portion of the bloodtests were done to confirm that her thyroid was working properly and that her growth hormone levels were normal.  While treatment can be administered to help both of these processes function "normally" and no major long term medical issues are imminent from them, medication/shots/etc. would be needed and we were never really given a time frame of how long she would need to be treated for.

On June 11, I took a half day and we went to have the tests done.  Surprisingly, Nattie did very well with the nurses drawing blood from her arm.  It was a major concern of ours, especially considering we had been told that they sometimes strap the child down to protect them from inadvertently hurting themselves while moving with the needle in their arm. 

The results were expected back by early the following week at the latest.

On June 13, we were told that the kidney and liver were good.  Part of me was more concerned with a lingering issue behind the scenes so the results were a major relief.  Thankfully, the bone age also looked good.  She was anemic, however.  This was not a shock to us as she's not a big meat eater.  We are currently addressing this issue (with eggs now being included in her meals regularly).

On June 23, I received a bill for the tests...>$1000.  Granted, we will only need to pay for a portion of the amount after it passes through insurance but the irony of receiving the bill before the main test results were returned is quite humorous.

On June 25, we finally got the main results back.  The test that the doctor was most concerned about came back normal.  The secondary test was a little low but she said the test can be affected by diet and calorie intake so if Natalie had not eaten well the day before it would have affected the results, etc. 

So...Natalie has been given a clean bill of health.

 

 

The doctors will be keeping their eye on this closely (as will Gina and I with monthly measurements) and we will see what happens as we move forward.  But at a minimum, we have averted any issues temporarily.

However, I wish I would not have measured her at 32 5/8 inches this weekend.  I'd be feeling even better about everything if I had seen some sort of growth.

State funding at its best

Call me crazy, but I have to believe that my tax dollars could be spent more efficently then fighting this battle?  Too bad I'm going to get screwed in the end with this one...

It sounds like a war is a brewin'.

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Cities battle for parking spaces at transit station

Overcrowding at the Apple Valley bus transit station has prompted the city council to move toward issuing permits that would keep Lakeville and Farmington residents out.

By Sarah Lemagie, Star Tribune

Last update: June 26, 2007 – 12:56 PM

If you live in Lakeville or Farmington, your days of parking in the overcrowded Apple Valley transit station parking lot may be numbered.

On June 14, the Apple Valley City Council told city staff to go ahead with a plan to require permits in the lot on Gaslight Drive near 155th Street. The decision isn't official until the council and the city's Economic Development Authority vote on it, but that could come as early as July, with the new system going into effect this fall.

The free permits would be available to residents of Apple Valley, Burnsville and Rosemount, but not Lakeville or Farmington.

That's because Lakeville and Farmington are outside the transit tax district, in which residents pay extra property taxes for buses and stations.

Police would enforce the permits with $29 tickets.

The council's move is the latest in a battle among the cities. Many Apple Valley leaders resent that commuters who don't pay the extra taxes take up space in the 337-space lot, which routinely fills by 7:15 a.m. A survey last fall of cars parked at the station showed that 59 percent came from outside the transit tax district, according to the MVTA.

Commuters who arrive later can park in part of the nearby Carmike Cinemas lot or on city streets.
Many Lakeville and Farmington residents argue that their regular property and motor vehicle taxes already help pay for transit. "If it's a public transit facility, it should be open and accessible to members of the public, and Farmington residents, last time I checked, were part of the public," said Farmington Mayor Kevan Soderberg, who said he's gotten calls from residents who said they would organize a boycott of Apple Valley businesses if the permit system goes into effect.

Leaders in Farmington and Lakeville have been reluctant to join the transit taxing district because, they say, the move would be unlikely to result in the construction of any stations in their cities, which don't have bus service.

On some streets south of the lot, parking has become a source of neighborhood complaints about obscured sight lines and blocked mailboxes. In addition to requiring permits, the city plans to ban parking between 6 and 9 a.m. on some of those streets, though parking would still be allowed on 155th Street, north of the station.

Apple Valley and the MVTA are trying to get more people to park at a nearby, underused station at Pilot Knob Road and 157th Street.

"The 157th Street [station] has plenty of room. Let's use it," said Apple Valley Mayor Mary Hamann-Roland.

The MVTA surveyed commuters at the Apple Valley station this month to find out what was stopping them from parking at the 157th station. Some say it's because buses that stop there continue on to the Apple Valley station and it's quicker to get on the bus farther down the line.

The permit plan -- which would be the first implemented at an MVTA station -- is the latest in a string of efforts to relieve overcrowding at the Apple Valley station. The city considered a similar plan in 2005 but held off in the hope that Lakeville and Farmington would join the taxing district, or that the newly built 157th Street station would attract commuters.

This spring, Sen. John Doll, DFL-Burnsville, and Rep. Shelley Madore, DFL-Apple Valley, introduced an unsuccessful measure to expand the transit taxing district to the entire seven-county metro area.

And the MVTA is negotiating with a Watson's store, just to the north of the transit station, to buy its land and move the transit station to the larger area.

Rep. Pat Garofalo, R-Farmington, called the permit plan unfair and said if Apple Valley moves ahead, he'll consider introducing a bill next session to prohibit cities from requiring permits at transit stations.
"It's bad policy for the whole region," he said.

Marley & Me

I just finished reading Marley & Me.  Those who have read prior posts of mine may remember that I had to stop reading this book while Gina was pregnant (for undisclosed reasons that would become apparent if you were to read it). 

I finished the last 200 pages this week and finally was able to get it back to my buddy Matt from work who was very understanding of the time it took me to finish (we did a book exchange, I gave him Freakonomics...even though he is currently attending Hamline for his master's degree, he finished long before I did).

I can confidently say that if you have a love and/or appreciation for dogs, reading this book would be worth your time.  It compassionately and objectively explores the goods and bads of canine companions (I'll spare details just in case anyone wants to check it out) and I definitely appreciate Casey more after reading it.

Rock It Science

A couple of weeks ago, Gina and I went out with some teachers from her school.  The trip consisted of a Saints game and a trip to Half Time Rec just down the road in St. Paul.

They had a musical group playing that night (Rock It Science) and after I walked in I was immediately dissappointed.  They were an 80s cover band.

As far as I am concerned, if we could (as a society) disregard any music that was released in the 1980's I would be elated.  In fact, I could probably fit the songs I still enjoy from that decade on one CD outside of a handful of bands that transcended the era (The Cure, U2, etc.).  Even so, most of my favorite music from those bands were released sometime in the 90s.

However, a crazy thing happened that night.  After a couple of songs I started to notice that I was not as miserable as I had been initially.  By the end of the night, I had even decided that I had enjoyed myself quite a bit.  The group was pretty good (especially the drummer) and kept me thoroughly entertained.

In the end, I'd call the experience a lapse in judgement more then anything else...but for one night the stars alligned and I did not find 80s music quite so replusive.

Where is my mind?

I had a softball double header last night (i.e. if you saw yesterday's post you'll know I am probably not doing well in parent of the year voting at the moment).

The craziest part of the night was running into a friend from NDSU who was the third baseman on the first team we played.

I hadn't seen him in almost a decade so it was nice catching up with him (his daughter's first birthday was last night).

As we were talking he told me that out of sheer coincidence he had told a story about me a week ago.

I played softball with him in intramurals at school and in one of the games he was playing left field and I was playing left center field.  Earlier in the inning he had hurt his arm. 

After the injury, the next batter hit the ball to him as well and he made a diving catch.  I was backing him up and since he couldn't throw the ball he flipped it to me.  I proceeded to throw the runner on 3rd out at home trying to tag up.

From what he was saying I must have made a long throw or something as, for whatever reason, this was a vivid memory in his head still.

For me, nothing.  I don't remember it at all.

More then anything, my point in all this is that I have forgotten so many things from my past as I have gotten older.  It's not uncommon for me to hear a story told (which I may even be significantly involved in) that I have little or no memory of.

Rory, on the other hand, can tell you what he was wearing on June 3, 1983 (maybe that's a slight exaggeration but you get my point).

Have I run out of room in my brain and now memories are falling out? 

I know I am not as active as I once was but I use to have such a good memory.  Maybe the lack of physical activity affects memory retention more then I thought.

All I know is that right now I am still in my twenties and if my memory is already this bad maybe I just need to go pick up a copy of Surfer Rosa and embrace this.