Mrs. Crabby Office Lady

I really like our pedaitrician. She is a wonderful, down-to-earth, easy to talk to kind of person. BUT....their office keeps getting bigger and bigger and it is just crazy there now. We arrived 20 minutes early for our appointment. I was thinking that since it was right after their lunch break, they would be on time and we would slip right in. No such luck. We waited for an hour before they called Katie's name. Then we waited and waited to see the doctor. She came in and ordered blood work. We waited and waited and finally I went out and tracked down the nurse. I had to tell her what the doctor wanted and she got the phlebotomist to come draw the blood. Then we waited and waited again and I went and again tracked down a nurse who found the blood count results and took them to the doctor. All in all we spent nearly 3 hours at the office.

The latest diagnosis? The antibiotics are working, keep taking them. She has tonsillor plugs which essentially are large hard plugs of pus and mucus that have solidified in the crevices in her tonsils. Here is a picture of what that looks like (but it's not Katie. She didn't want her tonsils outed in such a public forumn!) She is supposed to work hard at gargling and scrubbing at them with a q-tip to try and get them to come loose. That should help the rest of the pus drain out. We will then see an ENT to see about yanking the darn things.



Katie is ready to take the test to get her drivers permit. Yikes! Just the thought of that makes me flinch. How did my sweet bald baby get so big? So old? So grown up? And how in the world am I ever going to let her drive a car, on the streets, with traffic??? Why didn't anyone ever warn me that this was coming??? (Oh wait, they did and I just didn't listen.....sorry Mom!) So yesterday I sent the form with her to school so they could sign it declaring she was a valid student and therefore qualified to get a license. It is one of many forms necessary to get a permit. More on that in a minute. Katie turned it into the office and then when I went later to pick her up we stopped in to pick it up. This is where I met Mrs. Crabby Office Lady. I asked if we could pick up the form and she looked at me and said, "And you are?" I told her I was Katie's mother and she told me she needed my driver's license. She then proceeded to pull up Katie's info in the computer and scrutinize my license to be sure I was who I said I was. When I finally got my license back I again asked if we could get the form. She looked at me as though I were a pile of stinking dog poo and told me that they required 24 hours notice to complete the form and that I had sent the wrong one. They have their own form they use. I asked her if that meant that tomorrow Katie could pick up the correct signed form. She then asked if we had filled out the request sheet for the form. We told her Yes it was all filled out and submitted that morning. She told us Katie could pick up the completed form tomorrow. She said this as I noticed our form lying on her desk (the one that the Texas DPS gave me and that I had already filled out) next to the stamp pad with the signature stamp to sign the form. Our tax dollars at work.

Speaking of Drivers Ed, permits and such. In our area they no longer offer Driver's Ed as a school course. You have to send your kid to a private course or teach them yourself. But, you can't just teach them how to drive. You have to instruct them with a DPS recognized course and curriculum to qualify. We have purchased the Driver's Ed in a Box version. The first packet is all about how to get a permit. It required us to spend 6 hours of classroom time going over the handbook. They also supply all the paperwork necessary to apply for the permit (one of those being the verification of education form for the school) I have to register with the state to be her instructor. They check my record for this. If I have ever lost my license, gotten a DUI, murdered anyone or been guilty of any number of crimes, then I cannot be her teacher. Luckily I am not (guilty that is). Whew! We need her passport, social security card, birth certificate, last report card, school ID, multitudinous forms stating who she is and what she wants, and a copy of the last 5 years letters to Santa. Plus I have to swear in front of an officer that I am her legal parent and guardian and have the authority to allow her to get her permit. What next? A DNA test? Geesh, it's a wonder any kid ever learns to drive. I wonder if I can convince her that the latest rage is riding a mule around town????