Anti-Dentite

If you know me at all by now, you know that my kids’ teeth are very important to me. From the time Bud popped his first pearly white, I have been a basket case about teeth being knocked out, and cavities and anything remotely dental related. I am very laid back about many things as a parent (really, I am!!), but about teeth, I am so not.

A few weeks ago Hub and I took the kids in for their 6 month dental cleaning and checkup only to find out that the pediatric dentist had a death in her family and was not able to check the kids out. They were seen by the hygienists though and the cleanings and x-rays went well. Lucy had no issues to speak of. Bud and Liv though, were a different story.
I have perfect teeth!


Bud has had issues with his teeth for a very long time. You may remember when he had an extra tooth extracted from in between his 2 front teeth, just before he started Kindergarten. At the time of that extraction, the original plan was to remove the extra tooth as well as his 2 front teeth, which I was completely against. When we showed up for the surgery, the pediatric dentist was uncomfortable with taking the tooth out because of the roots and many prongs, so she had the actual oral surgeon come in. He removed the extra and said he saw no reason to take out the fronts. The x-rays showed that Bud’s permanent teeth, which were still under the gums, had been turned to the side because of the expanding extra tooth. We hoped that with it out of there, that they would turn around, and come in somewhat straight. We’ve had no such luck, and in addition, keeping the front teeth, which were really secured in there, caused some more problems with the spacing. One did come out on its own, but Bud had the second one pulled yesterday. As you can imagine, with 2 traumatic experiences under his belt, Bud is not a big fan of the dentist. And he is not looking forward to the first of what will be MANY orthodontic appointments in June. He is young for braces, but we are likely looking at spacers to keep the teeth in the right spots as his mouth grows and then braces later on.
I'm not even showing you my teeth anymore


When Live saw the hygienist, she indicated that her 2 year molars—which she just got--had already developed cavities; she said that the enamel was very soft. The dentist yesterday said this is a defect that occurs during fetal development; was probably nothing I did or didn’t do, but is likely just genetics. (I have very very soft teeth, so the genetic thing makes sense.) Hub and I were hoping that she could maybe just seal them in the office, but since these are teeth that she will keep until she is 11 or 12, they need to be capped. Capping takes about 30 minutes a tooth and can take longer on a small mouth. The recommendation is to have her go to the local children’s hospital, where she will be sedated, and the dentist will do all 4 caps. She’s been through anesthesia with her tubes before and was just fine, but I still don’t like the idea of my baby being put under. And I don’t know if Hub asked about this or not (I was at work) but I want them to be white caps, not metal. The pediatric dentist isn’t in again until tomorrow, so I am going to call her. She wanted Hub to pre-register for the procedure right then and there, but he brought all the paperwork home so she doesn’t end up being scheduled when I am away. In any case, we’ll need to fix them sooner rather than later so they don’t rot.
This is not why I have cavities!


I’m not looking forward to the months/years ahead with all of this, but at least I know that what we do now, will go a long way towards the kids having healthy mouths for a long time to come. It won’t be fun, and it certainly won’t be cheap, but it will be worth it.

Step back from the ledge...

I am increasingly panicky about my trip, for which I leave at the bright and early hour of 4:30 am this Sunday. It’s to the point where if I am even off task for a second, my mind wanders to the trip and the flights and what to pack and the kids and the dog and FIL, and Hub packing lunches and OMFG, like seriously, I cannot shut it off. And maybe it will help me to type it all out, or maybe it won’t because it might just cause me to think of new things to panic about. But I’m going to type it all out regardless and maybe you can talk me down from the ledge, or give me some travel tips or something.

The Flights- until yesterday, I did not even have seats on any of them; they all showed as confirmed but unassigned and I was told to just get to the airport early and they would help me. And what now? Well after my friend R called them to see if we could sit together, it kind of worked out in that I have a seat on all but 1 flight, but they are all middle seats and on the long flight, it is middle row middle seat. And I’m a nervous pee-er and just thinking about sitting in the middle makes me have to pee. Furthermore related to the flights, I have only gone on one other trip in my life that required me to fly and it was maybe 3 hours of flying each way. This is 8. 8 hours enclosed in a plane. In a middle seat. While I have to pee.

The Packing-I’ve never checked a bag before, but that isn’t what’s concerning me in particular although it does make me a little bit nervous. I’m more having a problem with the whole carryon situation. I will carry on my laptop and my purse. I don’t know if I need an additional carryon bag. I’m generally a light packer anyway but I don’t know…could it be useful? Or will it be more of a pain in the ass as all of us traveling together try to load the car? I don’t want to seem overly prepared or be that person that everyone jokes about bringing their entire house with them on the trip. But I don’t want to be underprepared either, or have no room to bring things back.

The Preparing at Home Hub already asked the kids if they could just buy lunch every day while I was away because he doesn’t feel like making them lunch. This sent Lu in to a nervous tizzy because she only likes to buy when she knows and likes exactly what is on the menu that day. He’s now said that he could slap some meat between bread but the whole snack and drink situation is too much for him. So I need to lay out 5 days of lunch snacks and beverages. I need to tell him when to shower the kids, when to get them up and out for the bus. I need to lay out 5 days worth of outfits which means I’ll need to keep an eye on the weather. Hub can handle the general household upkeep and such—that is completely his thing-- but the kids are my jurisdiction. And I could not even tell you what he will do when Liv wakes up 40 times a night.

The GuiltI don’t feel guilty about leaving, per se, though I’ve never been away from my babies for more than 2 nights and this is 6 full days away from them. I feel guilty about being excited to get the hell out of here for a week where there are no school functions or TKD or taking FIL to radiation or walking the dog. I feel guilty for getting an entire week that is essentially all about me (I will be working though) when there is so much going on here. I feel guilty that when my kids are being pains in the ass, as they have been colossally over the last few days, that I am thinking to myself “aaah 4 more days and I am out of here!”. I refuse to feel guilty about sleeping alone in a king size bed with extra pillows though.

The To-Do List I have personal things to do, like get a pedicure and have my eyebrows waxed, and buy travel sized shampoos and such. I signed Liv up for daycare on Tuesday and Thursday so Hub doesn’t have to worry about coordinating times with my mom. I’ve been steadily making a pile in our bedroom of things I need to remember to take (Kindle, camera, an extra book or 2)I think I want to write out specific instructions for Hub about each of the kids and I think I want to write them each a note for each day I’ll be away in case we don’t get a chance to talk with the time change. My office needs to be cleaned up, my laptop bag cleaned out and organized. There are millions of things and the more I think about it, the list gets longer and longer.

Hmm, that did help a bit, if only for a short time. I am really mostly excited about going, especially the 80 degree 0% chance of precipitation weather. And visiting Hollywood. I’m sure that once I am no longer distracted I’ll find more to fret about though. So help a sister out. Speak in soft soothing tones. Teach me how to travel. Tell me everything will be ok.

Friday Free for All

• Last week on a conference call, it was alluded to that there would be travel in my very near future. Yesterday it was confirmed, and I will be spending the entire 1st week in May in sunny California in our office that is about 30 minutes outside of LA. Despite the fact that I will be missing Hub’s birthday, my mother’s birthday and Muffins with Mom at school (plus the big TAP vote for next year’s board), I am very very excited. It is entirely possible that I will be locked in a room (in what we call “Summit”) from 8am-9pm for a few days but I don’t even care. A bed to myself. A whole room to myself! For 5 nights! I’m not much looking forward to like 9 hours of flying each way, but I think I will be ok! (Send me your book recommendations so I can loan my Kindle!!) The plan right now is to arrive early on Sunday afternoon, so I can be sure to see Hollywood with my work girls before we go our separate ways during the week. AAH!! I am excited!
• But unlike my regular work day routine, there will be daily showers and getting ready instead of pony tails and sweats. I also feel like CA Saly has to look better than NY Saly. Maybe I’ll actually do my hair and wear some make-up. Maybe I can lose 50lbs in 2 weeks.
• My usual mother’s day plan of spending the day alone while Hub takes the kids away is likely out the window though. I couldn’t possibly tell him to take them away after being gone for a whole week. (Could I?)
• I am on vacation next week and with the exception of Tuesday, the kids will be gone the whole time, either with my mom or at daycare/camp. Hub and I need to get this house in order—scrubbed, de-cluttered, all of it. I’m not exactly sure how that is going to go with a puppy underfoot, but we do have high hopes. I have no idea how this happens—the filth build up. I feel like we are constantly cleaning. Ugh.
• We also have plans of making and laminating weekly chore charts that we can use dry erase markers to check off. Seriously. But it is true; things go much better when we have a schedule to follow. And the kids like to know up front what they have to do every day rather than me barking that their laundry will not fold and put itself away and those trash cans will not empty themselves!
• Hub is going to get the puppy Sunday morning. I am not going because I am putting together a little birthday party here for Niece. OF COURSE I AM!!
• Squee!! 2 days ‘til puppy time!!

Puppy Love Part II

Friday evening, after fretting and working up courage all day, I called the lady about the puppy. Well, I should say that I tried to call her and the number was bad because my husband cannot read his own writing. I tried every combination of numbers I thought it could be and none of them were good. As my anxiety was through the roof, I took to Google and found a number that I thought was right. I took a deep breath and called, and it was her. The sweetest woman you could ever imagine. She gave me some info about Haley, and when I asked if I could meet her, she said that I could, but that they were going away for the weekend, so she would call me during the week. We hung up, and I was a bit disheartened, but we went about our weekend business and I put it out of my mind.

On Sunday when I got out of the shower, I had a missed call from the dog lady. She wondered if we’d like to come out that afternoon. After some schedule arranging, and a quick call back, we were on our way. I didn’t really know what to expect; I felt weird descending on this house with my whole family, but these people were so nice and so gracious. Just the husband greeted us at the door, and Haley ran out, and was just a ball of puppy exuberance. She scared the pants off of Lucy, who waited in the car for a while. As we talked, Haley chased Liv around, and she and Bud played fetch and we just got to know her a bit. Lucy came in later to wave the laser pointer around and squeal in delight as the puppy pounced on the tiny red dot. She was bigger than I thought she’d be for 9 months old, but still sort of puppy sized. She has the sweetest puppy face you’ve ever seen. (And of course I left my phone in the car and didn’t take any more photos)

When the wife came downstairs to talk to us, it was obvious that she’d been crying. She really loves the puppy, like to the point that we feel a little bit bad taking her, but they are insistent that they want us to have her here, in a family with children who will play with her, in a nice fenced in yard, where she won’t be alone all day long every day. As much as they love her, they know they are not the right fit for her. As it stands, she is a bit wild, and still has some accidents in the house. She needs proper training and they do not have time. So even though I feel like I am stealing this woman’s beloved pet from her, we are all in agreement that the dog is now ours. It’s the perfect situation, really—save for the emotions involved. She’s caught up on her shots, spayed, used to cats and is micro chipped. They don’t want anything from us, except to love and take care of Haley.

Really, I think she would have preferred for us to take Haley home with us right then and there; to rip off the band aid if you will, but we decided to wait, since Hub and I are both off of work next week, and pick her up this coming weekend. I have to call her to set up a time, but Sunday will likely be the day.

So this is the story of how our family adopted a dog together. I can still barely believe we’re doing it. It’s only been 5 years since we lost Sheeba, but it seems like an eternity that it’s been just us and the cats. I have visions of family walks in the park, and around the block with the dog in tow. Sitting around the fire in the yard with a dog at our feet in the summer, and snuggling up with her in the winter. Who knew I could ever fall in love with a dog? Certainly not me.

And they called it...puppy loooove

On Wednesday, as I was pulling out of the driveway to go spend an hour at the kids’ school (where I did not see either of my kids, btw—but another story), I got the following text from my Husband:

Want a 9month old puppy named Haley?

To which I promptly replied: WHAT?!?!

And he called me as soon as I pulled up in front of the school. Did I maybe want to talk about it? I shushed him by saying sure, and went about my business.

We did talk about it though, and since then, I’ve not been able to get her out of my head. Hub did a job at this home and was being friendly with the puppy, and the owner casually asked whether he knew anyone who wanted a dog. They’d gotten her for their teenage daughter who just swore she’d look after her, and she doesn’t. And the puppy, a collie/shepherd mix, is very energetic. They don’t want any money for her; only a good loving home. They want her to be played with and to go on walks.

I am not a dog person at all. I’d begrudgingly agreed to start looking for a puppy,. Kids deserve to have a puppy. Hub has really wanted a dog since we put our ancient mutt down in 2006. She’s 9 months old, so while still a puppy, she is past the “puppy puppy” stage. She is mostly house trained. She has a super sweet face. And the more I thought about it the other night, something came over me that just said that she is the one. THIS is our dog.

I am calling the owners this afternoon. I have a few questions as far shots and spaying are concerned (as in, have they occurred), but I also wonder how she will be around the cats. If it is meant to be, it will be. I really hope it is.

Ingrained

I dreamt last night that I was standing at the consignment checkout table, pulling tags, and scanning, and calling people over. All night long, repeating over and over again. This, my friends, is a big reason why I stopped working in retail—I could never get my brain out of busy mode, and I’d wake up feeling like I’d worked all night.

Working the sale yesterday was kind of a rush! I immediately fell in to that groove of rushing customers over, chit chatting with them as I went through their items, barely finishing with them before I was motioning the next person to come over. It was chaos and crazy for the entire 4 hours I volunteered, and I just loved every minute of it. It was exactly how I remembered the crazy times to be when I was at Blockbuster and Fredericks of Hollywood—even at Boston Market, which wasn’t retail at all, but not standard food service either. I was telling Hub last night that I think this sort of thing of stays in your blood; I was one transaction in, and I had a groove. I kind of loved it.

But seriously, I am not giving up my desk job anytime soon.

I did very well at the sale; only 6 of my items didn’t sell. I spent around $120 on clothes and books for my kids and niece, and Hub bought Bud a set of golf clubs with a bag, in perfect condition for $45, and I still came out with a decent profit. It was really nice to be a consigner and volunteer and get to shop the presale. I got so much for my money. Want to know what hurt? Seeing the same exersaucer we sold at our garage sale for $5 sell for $50. Of course, ours had been through 3 kids and was a bit more beaten up, but could you even imagine?

Aside from the sale and the volunteering, the rest of my weekend was just as crazy. Friday was lunch and a nice walk with my old friend J, and Saturday was dinner and cards with the TAP girls. I’m pretty sure we have nothing going on next weekend, and I am GLAD. As great as it was to go out and do things…because believe me, I never do things, I will be glad to be home and relax.