Holiday Down Time

I don't know about you, but during the holidays I have some downtime when the kids are in their PJ's watching movies and just relaxing. Now don't get me wrong, I love to relax and sleep in, but after a while I get a little bored and need something constructive to do. So I have some end of the year things I do to fill this time.

Family Medical History....

Throughout the year as I recieve insurance EOB (Explanation of Benefits) I write on the EOB the reason for the doctor visit and any other information. I put them in a file and at the end of the year I sort them according to family member, and then put them in date order. I record the information in a Microsoft Excel file, titled "Medical History 2009".  I have columns for recording information: Family member, Date, Doctor, and Reason for visit. I take the EOB's and input the information for each family member.
I then shred the EOB's and start with a clean file for the new year.

This medical history has been a very helpful resource to keep track of appointments, patterns of sicknesses. An example, one of my children for three years straight visited the doctor in February and November for the same reason each year. I mentioned the pattern to my doctor and it turns out it's a specific allergy. So around those months an allergy medicine is taken and we don't have those doctor visits anymore.

This downtime is a good time to sort out files. I take one file at a time and while watching a movie or sitting around visiting with my family, I sort the file. Make sure you have a bag for recycle and shredding.

It never fails during winter break, my kids say, "I'm bored!". Yes, my children still haven't learned to say that around this mom! I spend time with each child going through their toy box or closet and clean out to make room for the new items recieved as Christmas gifts.

Well, I'm off to put away my holiday decorations, which always leads to a good house cleaning!