Clines Update - Twins & Peter... and all that stuff

I would type up a nice long update on where we are at with the twins, with Peter's accident and all that stuff... but since it's all posted on our blog I figured I just put a link here and redirect everyone to our blog.

http://familyclines.blogspot.com

Camp Wannaweep T-Shirts

So I designed a camp t-shirt. This is totally optional. But if you would like one, I've attached the file HERE so you can print it out on transfer paper and iron on the design to as many shirts as your heart desires.

Contact with Lake of the Ozarks

I just got off the phone with the gal at the camp I guess it takes a week to return calls. All the business is squared away for us to arrive on the 7th at 2pm. Here are some details that I was able to ask her:
NO Pool- there are other state parks that have pools but not Lake of the Ozarks, we get a private beach on the lake. Now Jeff can use his professional Lifeguard license for a summer job ;-)
Cabins: all have electricity, but if there is too many extension chords or things plugged in circuits will break. Fans are ok. A/C units are not.
Dinning Hall: the Kitchen area had a window air conditioning unit, dinning area is in closed (has walls), but can open windows for circulation. Might need an oscillating fan.
Water hook up: there is an outdoor facet to hook up a hose behind the Dinning Hall. SO dad if you want to bring the slide I'm sure the younger kids would love that, although I'm not sure how close an open area to set it up is.

There is not a Sam's Club within a 50 mile radius but there is a Super Walmart 2.2 miles away.

If you have any other questions about the camp then you have to wait until we get there!

Camp Wannaweep

Dad made a spread sheet with the expenses of Camp Wannaweep. Evan's brother isn't able to come but maybe one of his boys will. So once the final decisions are made I'll send out the spread sheet. I do find it easier for one person to pay for every thing, so if everyone can get their $ ready before you get there it would be good. If at all possible cash would be the best so that no one is putting out all the money and waiting to get home to deposit it all. Roughly it's going to be around +/- $175 per family depending on how many people you have in your family.

I'm working on a menu and would love any suggestions, I figure since we will have a kitchen we don't have to have the same food we always eat when we are camping. Once the menu is done then I will make a shopping list and a binder that will contain the menu and recipes. I was also going to get all the groceries there instead of people hauling it with them. Each family will be assigned kitchen duty sometime during the weekend.

Since we are staying in cabins you won't need to bring tents, but will need appropriate bedding (pillows, blankets, sheets), and what ever else you will need. Every family should be able to have their own cabin, but as far as which cabin we won't be able to make that assignment until we get there.

We are also responsible for bring all cleaning supplies for the kitchen and bathrooms including brooms, dust pan, toilet paper, paper towels. I figured we could use the grocery money to pay for the cleaning products unless someone would like to donate them. I purchased wash clothes and towels last year for the camp and will bring those. The website says that the kitchen is stocked with pots, pans, cookie sheets, plates, utensils etc... but I don't think we should relay completely on them to have every thing so based on the menu we should bring extra supplies.

There is a basketball court, volleyball court, and a private beach on the lake. There is a question about there actually being a pool and the lady in charge at Lake of the Ozarks is very difficult to get a hold of. Jeff is at lifeguard training this week end in hopes that there is actually a real pool at our disposal. There is one at the park by the stables but I don't know if it cost anything to get in. It is also on the other side of the park than Camp Wannaweep (about 7 miles). We can't plan for everything since this is a new place that we are going to and not sure what it all has but there is a first time for everything.

If you have any questions that I need to track down then let me know, also suggestions about meals is needed.

It's that time of year...

It's that time of year again. It's Scout Camp time. David and Sam had camp this week. David went to Camp Constantine and Sam had a week of Cub Scout Twilight camp. Jacob was also at Scout camp this week. In fact, I think Dad went a few days as well. Jeff leaves for Scout camp tomorrow with his new troop. This is his first summer camp as Scout Master. I have a tip for Jeff. Personal hygiene is NOT optional. Make sure the boys take at least one shower during the week. Scout Masters don't seem to think that's a big deal, but mothers do.

David seemed to have a good time. He earned several merit badges this year (last year he earned 0 as he missed several of his class). He'd taken to calling Camp Constantine the 'Place of Evil' after his experience last year. Camp Constatine is a couple of hours west of DFW located on scenic Possum Kingdom Lake (seriously, that's the name) and it's know for it's blazing hot and arid condition. Last year it rained the entire week - a once-in-100-year event. David came home with his pillow covered in mildew. This year it didn't rain, but the fire ants were out in force. Camp Constatine may not be a place of evil, but fire ants are truly the devil's spawn.

So David's been telling me stories from camp this week that generally revolve around various humorous-to-13-year-old-boys body sounds. David earned a merit badge in Reptile Studies while at camp so when he told me that he saw two diamond back rattlesnakes, I assumed this occurred in Reptile Studies class. I suppose one shouldn't assume. Evidently, Camp Constantine is not only overrun with fire ants, but also has a sizable number of rattlesnakes. David told me that he and another scout, AJ, found a rattlesnake on the path one afternoon.

"I knew it was a rattlesnake, because it was shaking it's rattle at us. And then AJ poked it with a stick and it rattled even louder!" Ack!

Slave Labor Update

Evan says (behind my back when he thinks I can't hear him) that I've had a personality transplant since my last semester of pharmacy school course work ended last month. I do feel like a tremendous load has been lifted from my shoulders. I started my clerkship rotations on June 2. So 2 weeks of my 40 weeks of slave labor as a doctor-of-pharmacy-wanna-be are completed. 1600 hours of working for free and paying tuition to Creighton for the privilege. Who made up that rule?

I'm working just down the road at a local chain pharmacy. Working with the public is always interesting. Here's what I've learned so far...

1. If someone comes in with prescriptions for both intestinal worms and pubic lice, use rubber gloves and a long stick to hand back the medication or you'll feel like bugs are crawling all over you for weeks.
2. If you must smoke while simultaneously using bottled oxygen, please don't use the pharmacy drive through to pick up your asthma inhalers. When you explode into a fiery ball of nicotine stained chunks, I'd rather not be standing 3 feet away with only a plate glass window to protect me. What kind of fool blows oxygen over an open flame? Evidently, lots of them.
3. Old ladies complain about paying $4 for 30 pills that will probably save their lives. Old men willingly pay $10 a pill for Viagra that will probably kill them, yet they never complain about the cost.
4. No, I don't want to see your rash and, yes, you probably can spread jock itch to your face.
5. If you took your Viagra an hour ago but then your wife called and said her appointment at the beauty parlor ran late and she won't be home for a couple more hours, don't call the pharmacy and ask me what to do about it. Really, don't call me.

I completely FORGOT!!

I was scrolling through my old email Icame across the Trojahn Blog. Out of sight out of mind, sorry I really do love you guys ;-).

I had a wedding this weekend and just received a call from the mother of the bride. I was terrified that she was going to tell me all the flowers fell apart and I ruined her daughters most important day of her life! My nerves quickly calmed down once she told me how many compliments she got on the flowers. She said the pictures from the Temple looked awesome and the bouquets were perfect. She told me I should have left business cards for her to hand to people. I wonder if she talked to Michelle? Shell tells me all the time I need business cards. Cards shmards!

Anyway I was very pleased with how it turned out; there was only one thing that was wrong I guess more like 90 things wrong. Half of the ranunculas that I ordered were fully opened and dropping their petals, I had a feeling that since I needed 160 stems I should have ordered them straight from the farm. In the future I will strongly advise brides not to have ranunculas for the only flower. She wanted her bouquet, 6 brides maids bouquets, and 5 corsages to only be ranunculas. Luckily my supplier had double tulips the same color that I was able to use for the brides maids, and the corsages had to be roses, they are one of the few that can handle the beating. I'm waiting on pictures of the bouquets from my client, but here are pictures from the reception.

Don't laugh, you should see my Dad in his bottlecaps!

Consider us moved! (Again)

Yeah! We in the Dave Trojahn family are settled at 430 N. 7th Street! And for sure we are NEVER moving again. Can you believe that I now admit to being a city girl? Yes, we all love the new house, even Jacob, who was the only one hesitant to leave the country house. The new house has just the right amount of space for everyone. We are not unpacked, but I say, what's the rush? It's not like we're going anywhere.

We had lots of help with our move. Thanks to Mike who worked many a day getting the old house ready to move into, then sell. Thanks to Ben who also put in some back-breaking labor and who also neglected his family for our sake. Lest I forget, thank you to all of the "vacationers" at Christmas-time who helped with the dining room ceiling. (So who cares if most of it fell down??) By the way, Luke LOVES his new microwave--thank you Howarth's.

The list of thank you's could go on and on, but in particular I want to thank God for allowing us our (my?) heart's desire--a big beautiful, well-kept house. We worked very hard for this house, but some things were just out of our control. Those things simply worked out at the last minute. We locked in a low interest rate, making this house more affordable than the last, even though it is worth more. At the last minute, our water test passed, even without the help of the well whisperer. (He was hospitalized. Seriously.) Even the fact that this house was still available after eight months is a miracle.

I just walk around the house, saying, "I can't believe this is our house." It's that nice. You are all welcome anytime. And thanks, thanks to all of you. Thanks to God. And thanks to Dave for carrying the weight of the world, the burden of three houses, and oh, yeah, me.

While I'm talking to myself

While I'm talking to myself here... Since the movie theatre opened up down the road and we now have a built-in babysitter, Evan and I see a lot of movies. I'd highly recommend going to see the movie "Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day". Here's the trailer. It was really entertaining. http://www.apple.com/trailers/focus_features/misspettigrewlivesforaday/trailer1/

Hello! Is this thing on?

Where's my happy birthday post? Do I have to do it myself?

So no one has had anything to say lately. Things are the same here in Texas. I'm swamped with school. I counted today and I have only 59 days until the semester is over. Then NO MORE TESTS. Well, except for the pesky NAPLEX exam that I have to pass to actually be a licensed pharmacist. But that's next year. I can definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel. I start clinical rotations in June at yet undisclosed locations but I suspect they will be scattered all over the metroplex.

The kids are doing well and are generally as rambunctious and noisy as ever. Last night for family home evening we took the family to see The Chipmunks Movie at the dollar theatre. But as it was Monday night, it was only 50 cents. If you round up, the movie might have been worth that much to see. The crappy cartoons I watched as a kid were better. The boys, however, thought it was hysterical. After all, there was bathroom humor. Evan brought along his iPod and a Stereophile magazine. I brought candy.

Speaking of Evan, he's beginning to hate his car and the numerous minor yet annoying problems that have developed recently. He fell in love with a 2007 VW GTI at the used car lot. The red plaid upholstery (seriously, like a kilt) and integrated iPod dock were singing a siren song that only Evan could hear. He came to his senses eventually and decided to start fixing the worse of the problems on the Neon. While replacing the faulty door lock in the Neon (that strands him periodically on the side of the road when the door fails to unlock when the door is opened), he embarked on a quest to upgrade to the woefully inadequate and partially non-functional audio system. The door was already taken apart, why NOT replace all the speakers? You know all those pesky little parts that fall out when you take the window controls apart? No? Well, keep track of them because they're expensive to replace - twice as much as the door lock to be exact.

Now all he needs is a new head unit and a subwoofer 'bazooka' for the trunk. I'm pretty sure the day he gets the audio all jazzed up like he wants it will be the day that car bursts into flames while idling at a stop light. But until then it has manifested its disgust at being tampered with by spontaneously generating a huge crack in the windshield while parked in the driveway.

I noticed there was a late blizzard in honor of Dave and Debbie's move to their new (or should I say newest) house. It was nice that the weather cooperated like that. It would be a shame if it were pleasant and sunny while you were trying to move. Speaking of pleasant and sunny, Evan and I are going to San Diego for the weekend obstenibly for the American Pharmacist Association national convention. Woo hoo! No one parties like pharmacists! Well, I'll be partying with the pharmacists. I think Evan will be visiting all the high end audio stores in the area. Or the beach. Or both.

Life SIZE disembowelment, dismemberment, and decapitation

Thanks to Dad (you're the greatest Dad EVER!) we can now enjoy not just life-like grosteskery but now it's also LIFE SIZE! Mortal Kombat has never been a better father and son bonding experience! With more than 36 SQUARE FEET of epileptic-seizure-inducing goodness, Dad's LCD projector is a electronic miracle of love. It's like you are ripping the heart out of a REAL LIVE evil Ninja IN YOUR LIVING ROOM! For those who know little of the family friendly goodness that is "Mortal Kombat - ARMEGEDON", here's a glimpse of what you are missing.

I ROCK the house....big time!!

Man! am I good at football! I'm not talking about my recent Championship win in my"Fantasy Football" league, no, no I'm talking REAL LIFE here people!!

Here I am striking a devastating and demoralizing, not to mention dashing (note: saggy crotch sweat pants) taunting pose, after a stunning and seemingly impossible interception during the Dickey-john company football game. Everyone of the 10 people who were there was very impressed. Now all my family can be too.






ps.. we lost 7 to 3, obviously i can't do it all. :(

Insurance Rant

At the risk of ruining my reputation as a "reasonable" Trojahn, I thought I'd let you in on my rant to the insurance company. I've been trying to get claims from September processed for months and this lame email response pushed me over the edge. They'll probably round file those claims now that I've sent them this nasty-gram but it made me feel better...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear MH,

Thank you for your question regarding the status of your
claims.

We have located a copy of the documents you faxed on November
21, 2007. The claims have been forwarded as an expedited
request to the appropriate department for processing. An
Explanation of Benefits will be issued shortly.

If you need additional information please call the member
services number on your Blue Shield ID card. We are here to
help.

Sincerely,
The Blue Shield Customer Service Team

----------------------------------------
Dear Blue Shield Customer Service Team:

Regarding this email you sent to me yesterday - your response is a complete and total lie. You didn't even look into the matter. If you had, you would have seen that I had submitted that claim by mail in October, again in November, and then by fax on November 21 for a THIRD TIME since you conveniently lost the first two submissions. You also would have seen that Blue Shield REFUSES to process these claims because they need a TAX ID# or NPI# WHICH NO ONE BOTHERED TO TELL ME WAS NEEDED THE FIRST TWENTY TIMES I CALLED. I assume the idea would be that the NPI# would magically appear while Blue Shield customer non-service employees sat around doing nothing for 14 weeks. It would have to arrive by magic since I couldn't possibly submit a number because no one mentioned that it was missing. Why would anyone pass on trivial information like that when the NPI# fairies can deliver it?

So the idea that you are going to process the claim "shortly" is a total load of crap and a complete lie. I faxed in the NPI# to Bridget yesterday so have someone actually look into this and do the job they are getting paid minimum wage to do and process the claim IMMEDIATELY. Not tomorrow. Not after Christmas. Not next year. IMMEDIATELY. I need an EOB saying I've met my deductible so I can send dozens of claims to my NEW insurance company that Thank Heaven and Praise The Lord ISN'T Blue Shield of California.
-------------------------------------------------------------

Just FYI - it's now January and more than six weeks since I sent this rant and they still haven't done a single thing with this claim. I wonder why?

Boy, is it quiet around here!

It 10:00 PM Sunday night, Beth, Lucy and Yogi are all sleeping. There's no one else here!

We really enjoyed having everyone here this Christmas and even thought the quiet is great, there is something to be said about all the noise and commotion. Grandkids running everywhere. Legos and Nerf Darts all over. What a wonderful time we had. By the way, does everyone know that I won the Monopoly game Saturday night?

Now, who is in charge of the July 4th family camping planing?