Quote of the Day

Compliments of Sarah, after getting a panoramic x-ray at the dentist's office:

"And then she just left me there all alone. I mean, who does that?  To a little girl?"

Picture a fake disgusted look with hands outstretched. 

Lol.  She hasn't had enough x-rays to know the technician always leaves the room.

Half A Smile

Daniel and Nathan got fillings today. Daniel said he was numb, but I couldn't tell by looking at him.

Nathan, on the other hand...

Toothy Trials

Leah has officially been visited by the Tooth Fairy. It was a bumpy road to get to that milestone.

She has had a couple loose teeth for quite a while, without much progress. Meanwhile, the adult teeth were just coming up behind the babies. We did this once before...with Daniel. That didn't give us very good results, so we're all over this current situation.

The kids went in for a regular cleaning and we scheduled an additional visit for Leah to get those two loose teeth pulled. Well, as it turned out, she need 4 pulled, not 2. Unfortunately, only two were loose.

We sent her back and thought she'd be back in 10 minutes or less. (That's how fast Daniel's come out.) It took much longer and involved FOUR pokes with the syringe to numb her mouth. Two teeth came out with the full root. OUCH.

We had planned on going out to dinner after all of this, but decided that Leah wouldn't have much fun sitting at a table, drooling, while we ate. So we went through a drive-though and at hamburgers at home.

Let me just say this...it was a very good thing that she had a red shirt on! ewww

Dentist

I took the four oldest to the dentist on Thursday. Here is the run down.

Daniel - A cavity in a back molar, but it's a baby one and looks like it will be out soon, so they'll hold off and just watch it for now.

Nathan - FINALLY! he has some loose teeth. The kid is starting 3rd grade, for crying out loud. We'll have to let you know when they actually come out. It will be a BIG celebration...such a rite of passage, you know. He goes back this week to have some sealants put on.

Leah - F.O.U.R. cavities. I about fell over. We need to be better about getting those kids to brush! She gets them filled the same time Nathan goes in (Thursday morn). I don't think she understands what is going to happen. I'm not going to say anything...maybe it won't be so bad. -?-

Rebekah - They found a sticky part on a tooth and took care of it that day. She thinks she didn't have any cavities. I think she probably came close enough to call it.

Joseph and Sarah were there, too. Joseph charmed a helium balloon, plastic lizard and toothbrush from the lady there. He's good! He didn't even have to sign in or anything! Sarah crawled around the waiting room while I cringed, imagining all the germs she was soaking up. In celebration of the visit to the dentist, she got her first tooth. (It was that day or the next; I'm not sure.) Now she's dangerous! :)

Floating on the high of having some loose teeth, Nathan has been testing his two bottom teeth regularly. They are loose, but not even wobbly. He has a ways to go yet. On Thursday, after we were home again, he came up to me and said, "I'm glad these teeth are loose. They've been in my way."

Huh. We may have a problem when even bigger teeth replace those obnoxious baby teeth!

Do I appear to drool?

I had a little black spot sitting on the surface of one of my bottom molars. For a while, I thought it was food and tried to brush it away. Then I forgot about it for a few weeks. When I saw it again, suspicion set in (I'm a little slow, I know). Upon poking it with the end of a plastic dental pick, I realized it was indeed a cavity. *sigh*

It took me a while to remember to call the dentist's office during business hours. Does anyone else remember all of the phone calls they were supposed to make as they are climbing into bed? Then I saw that the black spot was gaining strength and I finally made the call. It's a little tricky to schedule appointments with 3 kids still at home and a 4th kid jumping off a bus at lunchtime.

Today was the day. I struggled a little to find someone to watch all 4 kids (including a nursing baby who has never used a bottle) for the 2 1/2 - 3 hours I would need them for. I was blessed with the kindness of a friend who is so nice to my kids, they probably dreaded coming back home with a mean mom. They were all fine, including Sarah. She made sure I fed her first thing when we got back, though!

Now I'm home and suffering from a numb right side and a tongue that feels swollen (even though I know it's not). I ended up having 2 cavities: one on top and the one on the bottom. That is a whole lot of anesthetic! It's a little tricky to swallow, which I'm careful to watch because the thought of drooling while I'm awake is unpleasant. I'm a bit thirsty, but it's likely just the power of suggestion. I'm holding off until I'm sure I can get it down! I'm glad I have 3 more hours before dinner. I'll have to remember not to schedule fillings near mealtimes.

Before I got the cavities filled, I had my teeth cleaned. The lady doing it was very nice, but she talked a lot. I began to see that this is a very good job for someone who likes to talk, as long as they don't want the other person to reply. And while she wasn't the classic "gossip" type, I did notice a tendency in her. It was killing me the way she kept pulling her mask down to talk and resting her cleaning tools on her knees while she did. I kept thinking of Sarah starving while I sat in that chair forever! On the flip-side, it's a very strange thing to stare at a face (upside down) with only eyes visible. Sometimes, it was nice when that mask came off and I could reassure myself that she had a nose and mouth!

Recent videos and the dentist

Here are a few recent videos for you. I've been saving them up. Since Chad has the power to the well disconnected, and I am waiting to take a shower, I have time to upload videos.

Here is Leah in one of her famous tantrums. She only stopped screaming because she saw me with the camera. That girl is very aware of the cameras and will usually quit her antics when she sees one pointed at her!

Here is a video taken just this morning. I looked out the window and saw these birds weighing down the wires. There were so many! And then they'd take off, fly in a big, crazy circle, then land again. I'm guessing they were eating insects, but my camera isn't good enough to see bugs that high up, so we'll never know for sure. I was reminded of Alfred Hitchcock. I got a better video on my nicer camcorder, so you'll have to visit if you're a serious bird enthusiast!

This video is of Joseph last month. He was so cute. I am obligated to have that opinion, but it does come quite easily!

In other news, I went to the dentist yesterday for the first time in 4 years. My mouth has been hurting for quite a while and I knew my teeth were full of cavities. I was very surprised to learn that there wasn't a single sign of decay in there. My problem is receding gums. On several teeth. The hygienist told me a powered toothbrush would not only clean my teeth better, but would save my gums from further damage.

So I stopped by Wal-Mart on the way home and got one. I've used it twice. It's going to take some getting used to as the slobber and toothpaste dribble out of my mouth easier with that big thing in there, and I get double vision from the vibration of the motor against my teeth! I'm seriously hoping that the kids don't give in to the inevitable temptation to play with it. Do they make "The Club" for toothbrushes?

How sad am I?

I haven't posted since the 2nd? What's wrong with me?

I have been in the land of living peoples. I have been working on Leah's blanket, finished the blessing afghan, started another baby afghan, made one of my maternity dresses (and wore it two days in a row), getting school supplies together (THEY START ON THURSDAY...YIPEE!!!), cleaning house, doing a little Family History and fighting a higher level of fatigue than I expected.

Today Daniel and Nathan have a dentist appointment. Tomorrow, they have school registration.

I did one scrapbook page. Check out this blog page to see all the pages our little ward group has done so far.

It was a warm one last night. The temp in the room was 81.5 when I turned out the light and a chilly 76 when I got up this morning. Lovely. I thought I was going to sweat all night. I was directly under the fan which was Mach 5.

Rebekah asked me, "Why?" this morning. Oh no, it's finally got her. They all have the WhyBug now.

And now I'm off to clean the bathrooms. Gross.