For over a decade I was a business traveler. I loved traveling across the nation and to other countries to get work done. Some days I miss it. I miss the intellectual stimulation and challenge that comes with having an adult-type job, interacting with adult-type people. What I don't miss, is the adult-type stress levels and the adult-type workload. Also on my list of things I don't miss... airports.
Stick me in any airport in the world and I can settle right in and prepare to wait. Wait and wait and wait if necessary to get on that flight home after a challenging week of work. I was an expert at all the ins and outs of checking in, getting upgrades, knowing when to board the plane and all the best spots to eat and go in the major airports. I could check out and return a rental car without even thinking about it.
But it's just life cycles to nowhere. Minutes, hours and days spent waiting in line and waiting for something to happen. And doing all of that completely surrounded by strangers. My two best friends were always with me, my ear plugs of solitude. No one will bother you if they see bright pink earplugs in your ears because even though you can hear them, it's a message that you're spending time alone.
Planes, I miss. I love a good plane ride. I love falling to sleep before the plane takes off because when the engines turn on it acts as a soporific and I can't manage to stay awake until we're in the air. But sorry airports, I don't miss you. However, I do look forward to vising you from time to time, like on vacations.
The Big Boy Update: Booster Seat and Krrrsch. He sat in his first booster seat the other day. He doesn't try to escape when there's food in front of him (usually) so we gave it a try. Success. On the language front, he knows my father's name (Gramps) but as he can't say the "g" sound, so he makes this, "krrrsch" noise and points at his stomach. This is a little thing my father has done to him since he was old enough to stand. It sounds like a little buzzer going off in the corner of your mouth. My son can make the same noise and point either to his stomach, or to Gramps and make it. He's getting closer to pronouncing "g" though, I think. At lunch today he started saying, "Nana Nana!" we looked around and there was a lady sitting at a table with the back of her head towards him. She had a hair cut and color just like his Nana. Then he said—we think—"ampa." which is his other grandfather, "Grandpa" minus the G.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: She has been looking forward to nap time lately. And by that I mean that she's taking earlier and longer naps than she was just a month ago because she's so mobile. She can wear herself out more quickly than ever before.
Fitness Update: Early morning run with my neighbor and we talked about alternate exercising to get more in shape for the half marathon. I've ordered a heart-rate monitor, which should help with my pace because it takes the focus away from distance and places it more on maintaining a specific heart rate for a period of time. She suggested weight lifting for alternate days. We found out neither of us have a set of weights to lift. They're building our neighborhood clubhouse and pool as I write this, so next year we'll have a weight room. This year, it may be exercising with rubber bands and soup cans.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Monday, August 6, 2012
Preparing for School
This morning I was getting lots of things ready for the start of the school year for my son. In less than two weeks, he's off to preschool. We're very excited. He even knows the word, "school," has met his teacher and has been to two play dates at school. If he knew how to look forward to something, I think this would be it.
So I've got a sharpie out and I'm labeling every single scrap of his clothing—including socks—and he and his sister are all underfoot around me. He helped me unorganize several drawers, climbed up on multiple things he wasn't suppose to and read his father's book on the bed. That's right, the one with no pictures.
He even found a new place to hide. This was an interesting turn of events. We were in the closet getting something and he and I heard the dog come out from some hung shirts and do that dog shake thing where you hear the cartlidge of their ears go fwap fwap fwap. He realized she had been hidden under the shirts. He had to investigate.
He crawled behind the shirts and waited for me to find him. And he was fairly well hidden. If he was a bit older and didn't want to be immediately found, we would have had one missing baby for as long as he was willing to stay put and quiet.
By the time Mimi and Gramps arrived from the mountains though, we'd gotten everything labeled and a big bag packed of items needed for the first day of school.
Next thing to do to prepare for the start of school...shift sleeping hours so we can have everyone up and fed so we can get to school on time.
The Big Boy Update: Hoppy and Mickey. He can hop and hop and hop now. Little jumps of happiness. He's also very excited whenever he sees Mickey or Minnie mouse and can say, "Mickey!" And when the double whammy of The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse music and Mickey Mouse are combined, he's likely do demonstrate both of these new skills at the same time, hopping around the room saying, "Mickey!"
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: Alone on the potty. Initially, I couldn't let her sit on the potty without being right in front of her. She was great at sitting, unless she took a notion that something in front or to the side of her was interesting. Then she'd do a lunge-fall maneuver and you'd need to be there to catch her. She can do the same move now, but catch herself nicely. So I can get her clothes ready for the day and clean up in the room while she ponders a book on the potty.
So I've got a sharpie out and I'm labeling every single scrap of his clothing—including socks—and he and his sister are all underfoot around me. He helped me unorganize several drawers, climbed up on multiple things he wasn't suppose to and read his father's book on the bed. That's right, the one with no pictures.
He even found a new place to hide. This was an interesting turn of events. We were in the closet getting something and he and I heard the dog come out from some hung shirts and do that dog shake thing where you hear the cartlidge of their ears go fwap fwap fwap. He realized she had been hidden under the shirts. He had to investigate.
He crawled behind the shirts and waited for me to find him. And he was fairly well hidden. If he was a bit older and didn't want to be immediately found, we would have had one missing baby for as long as he was willing to stay put and quiet.
By the time Mimi and Gramps arrived from the mountains though, we'd gotten everything labeled and a big bag packed of items needed for the first day of school.
Next thing to do to prepare for the start of school...shift sleeping hours so we can have everyone up and fed so we can get to school on time.
The Big Boy Update: Hoppy and Mickey. He can hop and hop and hop now. Little jumps of happiness. He's also very excited whenever he sees Mickey or Minnie mouse and can say, "Mickey!" And when the double whammy of The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse music and Mickey Mouse are combined, he's likely do demonstrate both of these new skills at the same time, hopping around the room saying, "Mickey!"
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: Alone on the potty. Initially, I couldn't let her sit on the potty without being right in front of her. She was great at sitting, unless she took a notion that something in front or to the side of her was interesting. Then she'd do a lunge-fall maneuver and you'd need to be there to catch her. She can do the same move now, but catch herself nicely. So I can get her clothes ready for the day and clean up in the room while she ponders a book on the potty.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Family Photo Fun
For my son's school families book each student submits a family photo and a bio about themselves, in their own words, saying anything they like. In the case of toddlers with limited vocabulary, the parents get to write something up.
The bio I had done a few weeks ago. I've been waiting on family pictures we had taken at one of the school's summer socials back in June. Since the due date was getting close for our family picture submission, I did some chasing down with the staff at school about the pictures. There were some holdups, and I finally got the two shots that were the best last night.
Everyone looks great, except for my son, who looks surly in one picture and is looking away in the other. Time for plan B.
My in-laws came to town this morning. After lunch, when the children were in a full and happy mood, we got some shots out on the new play set. My mother-in-law can make any baby smile and laugh because she's willing to do whatever it takes, no matter how silly it might make her look, to get that big grin appear.
She got them looking at the camera and smiling, my father-in-law got the camera taking shot after shot and we now have a family photo. How do people with big families do it? Getting two babies to sit still, look at the camera and smile at the same time takes four adults and some luck.
The Big Boy Update: Potty update (you know you want to know.) Lots of time on the potty. Lots of books read. Lots of training pants wet or messy. Not one single production in the potty yet.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: She is just so happy. She smiles all the time. Smiles at everyone, strangers, other babies, pieces of fluff on the floor and Mickey Mouse (of course.)
Fitness Update: 11.1 miles this morning and I'm only two miles away from a half marathon distance. But...so...tiring. Maybe I just wasn't ready to be running this morning. I gave myself a good rest from the eight mile run three days ago, so I should have been fine. I didn't get as much sleep as usual, so that could have been a contributing factor. I also ran a more challenging route than the ten mile run. Today, I was just tired. We're doing a half marathon early November, and as of today, I'm glad I have time to train. I need to be able to make the distance, and make it easily; because if the last race is any indication, when you race you push yourself harder and faster. So there's work to be done. But it's good to have a mission and a goal. Also, I hit my first 1000 calorie workout. Two hours three minutes of non-stop running. If you tell the March 2012 version of me about it, I guarantee you I wouldn't believe you.
The bio I had done a few weeks ago. I've been waiting on family pictures we had taken at one of the school's summer socials back in June. Since the due date was getting close for our family picture submission, I did some chasing down with the staff at school about the pictures. There were some holdups, and I finally got the two shots that were the best last night.
Everyone looks great, except for my son, who looks surly in one picture and is looking away in the other. Time for plan B.
My in-laws came to town this morning. After lunch, when the children were in a full and happy mood, we got some shots out on the new play set. My mother-in-law can make any baby smile and laugh because she's willing to do whatever it takes, no matter how silly it might make her look, to get that big grin appear.
She got them looking at the camera and smiling, my father-in-law got the camera taking shot after shot and we now have a family photo. How do people with big families do it? Getting two babies to sit still, look at the camera and smile at the same time takes four adults and some luck.
The Big Boy Update: Potty update (you know you want to know.) Lots of time on the potty. Lots of books read. Lots of training pants wet or messy. Not one single production in the potty yet.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: She is just so happy. She smiles all the time. Smiles at everyone, strangers, other babies, pieces of fluff on the floor and Mickey Mouse (of course.)
Fitness Update: 11.1 miles this morning and I'm only two miles away from a half marathon distance. But...so...tiring. Maybe I just wasn't ready to be running this morning. I gave myself a good rest from the eight mile run three days ago, so I should have been fine. I didn't get as much sleep as usual, so that could have been a contributing factor. I also ran a more challenging route than the ten mile run. Today, I was just tired. We're doing a half marathon early November, and as of today, I'm glad I have time to train. I need to be able to make the distance, and make it easily; because if the last race is any indication, when you race you push yourself harder and faster. So there's work to be done. But it's good to have a mission and a goal. Also, I hit my first 1000 calorie workout. Two hours three minutes of non-stop running. If you tell the March 2012 version of me about it, I guarantee you I wouldn't believe you.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Big Rocks, Little Rocks, Too Many Rocks
We have the baby seat that goes on the back of the bike now and there's a second baby seat on the way so my husband and I can both bike with a baby, "on board." Today I thought I'd bike around the park with my daughter to see how it went.
About this park, it's gravel trails. They are nice gravel trails, but gravel is basically rocks of different sizes, hopefully packed down in a nice trail formation. I wanted to try the full circle which is about eight miles, but I knew there were some spots that were hilly and steep in parts both up and down and also windy with sharp curves. Dare I do it with a little girl on the back?
So I dared. Or I was dumb. You be the judge. To jump to the end, we're both back without a scratch, but it was a challenge. I knew I wasn't in a hurry, and I knew bikes had brakes, so I had that going for me on the downhill parts. But I had never done the full route on the bike either, I'd always done it running.
In parts, I was going so slowly downhill that I was working harder to keep the bike balanced in my upper torso and arms than I realized would be necessary. At one point the chain hung on a steep hill just after a sharp curve and the chain dropped off (we're guessing this was user error) so I had greasy hands and a push uphill before I could get the top-heavy, baby-laden bike back in motion.
But that was all good fun. The only part that really worried me was the rock surface. I felt a little like I dealing with the Rocks of Red Riding Hood. If the rocks were too big, the wheels would bounce about on them, which is disconcerting when you have a little one just behind you. If the rocks were so small as to be gritty, the bike would slide or sink into them, which is not a comforting surface to be riding on. I spent a lot of the ride looking for rocks just the right size; not too big, not too small as I rode down the paths.
We got back just as my daughter woke up from her nap, decided she had had enough of this helmet and hot weather. Nice timing.
The Big Boy Update: Today was a school play date for families with either children rising to a new class or joining the school for the first time. My son saw his teacher and her new assistant and had the best time playing with other children, watering the plants and drinking from the water canister. School starts in two weeks. I think he's going to love it.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: Long bike ride. She likes the seat. She likes the helmet. But the helmet doesn't let her look straight up because of the back of the seat being in the way of the helmet's rear "flair" thing. So she looked down at the road a lot. Then fell asleep. She slept through the most rumbly, rocky ride I think I've ever put her through. Isn't it grand to be a baby?
Fitness Update: Runner envy. I do love my bike. And I loved riding my daughter around with me. I realized as I biked past runner after runner, that I was jealous because I'd rather be running. Wait, what? I was jealous because I wanted to be running instead of doing some other exercising in nienty degree weather? Who kidnapped me and swapped me for someone who not only likes to exercise, but looks forward to it?
About this park, it's gravel trails. They are nice gravel trails, but gravel is basically rocks of different sizes, hopefully packed down in a nice trail formation. I wanted to try the full circle which is about eight miles, but I knew there were some spots that were hilly and steep in parts both up and down and also windy with sharp curves. Dare I do it with a little girl on the back?
So I dared. Or I was dumb. You be the judge. To jump to the end, we're both back without a scratch, but it was a challenge. I knew I wasn't in a hurry, and I knew bikes had brakes, so I had that going for me on the downhill parts. But I had never done the full route on the bike either, I'd always done it running.
In parts, I was going so slowly downhill that I was working harder to keep the bike balanced in my upper torso and arms than I realized would be necessary. At one point the chain hung on a steep hill just after a sharp curve and the chain dropped off (we're guessing this was user error) so I had greasy hands and a push uphill before I could get the top-heavy, baby-laden bike back in motion.
But that was all good fun. The only part that really worried me was the rock surface. I felt a little like I dealing with the Rocks of Red Riding Hood. If the rocks were too big, the wheels would bounce about on them, which is disconcerting when you have a little one just behind you. If the rocks were so small as to be gritty, the bike would slide or sink into them, which is not a comforting surface to be riding on. I spent a lot of the ride looking for rocks just the right size; not too big, not too small as I rode down the paths.
We got back just as my daughter woke up from her nap, decided she had had enough of this helmet and hot weather. Nice timing.
The Big Boy Update: Today was a school play date for families with either children rising to a new class or joining the school for the first time. My son saw his teacher and her new assistant and had the best time playing with other children, watering the plants and drinking from the water canister. School starts in two weeks. I think he's going to love it.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: Long bike ride. She likes the seat. She likes the helmet. But the helmet doesn't let her look straight up because of the back of the seat being in the way of the helmet's rear "flair" thing. So she looked down at the road a lot. Then fell asleep. She slept through the most rumbly, rocky ride I think I've ever put her through. Isn't it grand to be a baby?
Fitness Update: Runner envy. I do love my bike. And I loved riding my daughter around with me. I realized as I biked past runner after runner, that I was jealous because I'd rather be running. Wait, what? I was jealous because I wanted to be running instead of doing some other exercising in nienty degree weather? Who kidnapped me and swapped me for someone who not only likes to exercise, but looks forward to it?
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Pre-prepared
I'm not a big fan of the word proactive. I think when I started out in business from college it was a big buzz word and it just got burned out in my mind and I try to avoid it. Avoid the word, not the behavior.
I like to be prepared. With the children I like to be ready to go places with them and not have to get ready for a half hour before we can leave the house. You want to go out to dinner to Pei Wei and you just decided three minutes ago? Sounds fantastic, I'll have the kids ready to go in five minutes. But that's only possible because I'm pre-prepared to go places with them.
I have a "go bag" that is not small. It has all sorts of baby things in it including lots of diapers, wipes, heck even swim diapers, a change of clothes for each child and a pair of shoes for my son who can walk places and may need them in case we sweep him into the car and forget that he's shoeless. But most importantly, it has food. Plenty of food for both children for a meal and a bib for each.
So when it's time to go out, I go to the refrigerator and grab the sippy cup for my son that's also pre-prepared and a bottle of juice for my daughter that's ready too. I stick them in the go bag and then all we need to do is pack the children in the car.
I like being able to go out at a moment's notice. Maybe that's because I like going out. When we return home, we do a "reset" of the go bag. That involves restocking, replacing and swapping for clean so that the bag is sitting in it's spot, prepared for action.
I don't think pre-prepared is a word. My spell checker says it isn't. But I don't care.
The Big Boy Update: Left-handed? We're not sure. We never give him anything with a particular hand in mind. When he eats, we use two spoons many times because we want him to be able to feed himself, but we also shove some into his mouth between his less-effective feeding. So sometimes he ends up with two spoons. He seems to have started favoring the left hand for things like feeding himself. He's young and that's only in the realm of food, so we'll have to wait and see how his handedness pans out.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: Teeth grinding on the tub. Imagine your cute little girl crawling over to the tiled tub. Imagine her standing up and then imagine her intentionally, repeatedly, chewing and grinding her teeth on the edge of that tub. She is teething we know, but it's still singular that she will head directly for the tub, stand up and chomp down on the edge, and has done this multiple times over the past week. The tile can't be all that flavorful.
Fitness Update: I ran eight miles this afternoon. It was hot. I shouldn't have been running faster than I normally run in the mornings when it's cool. And I should have been running slower because I went, "the hateful route" as I like to call it, due to some steep, hilly sections. But I did. Not only did I run the first two "hateful" miles faster, I kept running faster through the remaining six. Maybe I need to run in the heat more? Or start out with tiring hills? Or maybe I'm still tired when I run in the morning. More research to follow...
I like to be prepared. With the children I like to be ready to go places with them and not have to get ready for a half hour before we can leave the house. You want to go out to dinner to Pei Wei and you just decided three minutes ago? Sounds fantastic, I'll have the kids ready to go in five minutes. But that's only possible because I'm pre-prepared to go places with them.
I have a "go bag" that is not small. It has all sorts of baby things in it including lots of diapers, wipes, heck even swim diapers, a change of clothes for each child and a pair of shoes for my son who can walk places and may need them in case we sweep him into the car and forget that he's shoeless. But most importantly, it has food. Plenty of food for both children for a meal and a bib for each.
So when it's time to go out, I go to the refrigerator and grab the sippy cup for my son that's also pre-prepared and a bottle of juice for my daughter that's ready too. I stick them in the go bag and then all we need to do is pack the children in the car.
I like being able to go out at a moment's notice. Maybe that's because I like going out. When we return home, we do a "reset" of the go bag. That involves restocking, replacing and swapping for clean so that the bag is sitting in it's spot, prepared for action.
I don't think pre-prepared is a word. My spell checker says it isn't. But I don't care.
The Big Boy Update: Left-handed? We're not sure. We never give him anything with a particular hand in mind. When he eats, we use two spoons many times because we want him to be able to feed himself, but we also shove some into his mouth between his less-effective feeding. So sometimes he ends up with two spoons. He seems to have started favoring the left hand for things like feeding himself. He's young and that's only in the realm of food, so we'll have to wait and see how his handedness pans out.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: Teeth grinding on the tub. Imagine your cute little girl crawling over to the tiled tub. Imagine her standing up and then imagine her intentionally, repeatedly, chewing and grinding her teeth on the edge of that tub. She is teething we know, but it's still singular that she will head directly for the tub, stand up and chomp down on the edge, and has done this multiple times over the past week. The tile can't be all that flavorful.
Fitness Update: I ran eight miles this afternoon. It was hot. I shouldn't have been running faster than I normally run in the mornings when it's cool. And I should have been running slower because I went, "the hateful route" as I like to call it, due to some steep, hilly sections. But I did. Not only did I run the first two "hateful" miles faster, I kept running faster through the remaining six. Maybe I need to run in the heat more? Or start out with tiring hills? Or maybe I'm still tired when I run in the morning. More research to follow...
Hobbies and Crafts
I do crafts. I like crafts. I do all sorts of things that I might need to go to a Michael's store for. Recently my husband talked about a new store in his parent's town that had a big sign saying, "Hobby" on the front. We weren't sure if the store was named, Hobby, or if it was an indication of the contents of their store inventory. Was it a store where people sold things they made through their hobbies and crafts? We'd have to wait until it opened.
My husband was looking forward to it opening because he's been wanting to make a train table with my son. He's a little young for a real train table (my son, not my husband) but it's never too early to get planning.
The other day my husband said he found out the store had opened and his parents had gone. He said he was disappointed because the hobby store he had such high hopes for turned out to be much like a Michael's. I said, "Oh, it's a girl craft store, not a boy hobby store."
Until that moment it never occurred to me, but the word, "hobby" is more associated with things men like to do like model cars, trains, planes and figurines. Crafts is a more female-oriented word associated with basket weaving, picture framing, origami, jewelry making and lots and lots of other things that come to mind that I love to do personally.
Am I being stereotypical? You bet I am. Stereotypes are generally there for a good reason. Certainly there are many men who love Michael's, my builder included. And I put together more than one model when I was younger and had more time. It was just an interesting realization I had that my notion of the word, "hobby" is more male-oriented and "crafts" are something I not only love to do with my girlfriends, but I have a whole room that's nicknamed, "the craft room" in the house.
The Big Boy Update: Choo choo. He has started liking trains. He says, "choo choo" a lot. We have a potty book all about trains. He can spot one in pictures or in a toy from across the room now. And now he has a new, plastic, riding train with a back car. Maybe he'll learn to take his sister for a ride some day soon.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: Finger bowl, part two. Today, after yesterday's finger bowl introduction, I brought it back after a messy lunch. She saw the bowl coming and smiled at me. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get the bowl back, she had so much fun cleaning her hands.
Fitness Update: Half marathon plan. My neighbor and I are going to do it. I ran ten miles and she ran eight the following day. The race we're targeting is in November, so we feel confident we can make it in time. I am very pleased to be training with her. She has run a half marathon before, so she can give me good advice. She also isn't interested in racing, but in completing, which is exactly what I want to do. So we're a good match for training partners. Besides that, she's fun to be around and always encouraging.
My husband was looking forward to it opening because he's been wanting to make a train table with my son. He's a little young for a real train table (my son, not my husband) but it's never too early to get planning.
The other day my husband said he found out the store had opened and his parents had gone. He said he was disappointed because the hobby store he had such high hopes for turned out to be much like a Michael's. I said, "Oh, it's a girl craft store, not a boy hobby store."
Until that moment it never occurred to me, but the word, "hobby" is more associated with things men like to do like model cars, trains, planes and figurines. Crafts is a more female-oriented word associated with basket weaving, picture framing, origami, jewelry making and lots and lots of other things that come to mind that I love to do personally.
Am I being stereotypical? You bet I am. Stereotypes are generally there for a good reason. Certainly there are many men who love Michael's, my builder included. And I put together more than one model when I was younger and had more time. It was just an interesting realization I had that my notion of the word, "hobby" is more male-oriented and "crafts" are something I not only love to do with my girlfriends, but I have a whole room that's nicknamed, "the craft room" in the house.
The Big Boy Update: Choo choo. He has started liking trains. He says, "choo choo" a lot. We have a potty book all about trains. He can spot one in pictures or in a toy from across the room now. And now he has a new, plastic, riding train with a back car. Maybe he'll learn to take his sister for a ride some day soon.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: Finger bowl, part two. Today, after yesterday's finger bowl introduction, I brought it back after a messy lunch. She saw the bowl coming and smiled at me. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get the bowl back, she had so much fun cleaning her hands.
Fitness Update: Half marathon plan. My neighbor and I are going to do it. I ran ten miles and she ran eight the following day. The race we're targeting is in November, so we feel confident we can make it in time. I am very pleased to be training with her. She has run a half marathon before, so she can give me good advice. She also isn't interested in racing, but in completing, which is exactly what I want to do. So we're a good match for training partners. Besides that, she's fun to be around and always encouraging.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Toothless
Or, rather, one tooth less. I lost a tooth yesterday.
I have always had rather good teeth. They've not been great, but they haven't given me lots of problems and they're generally not painful. I am happy with them and they've served me well. So my mental image of my teeth didn't include one being pulled yesterday. But that's what ended up happening.
My former dentist retired and I had only seen the new dentist once for a cleaning during my second pregnancy. But now that I'm pregnant-free, it was time to get them cleaned, X-rays updated and evaluated. I should have gone before now, what with my daughter being eight-months-old, but it wasn't as high a priority as it should have been. Never is, right?
So a chip came along in a molar and reminded me daily that I needed to get to the dentist. Just in time with the appointment, this tooth that eventually got pulled started hurting. When they evaluated my teeth, that one was in sorry shape, twenty-year metal filling with clear decay all around it. A large fracture down the side of the tooth and pain that had just begun.
The dentist said he would try to save the tooth if I wanted to, but he would pull it if it was his. It was a second molar and I wouldn't miss it most likely. (Talking to family and friends since this news has confirmed that most people don't need the back molars to eat effectively and normally.) He would try to save it, but it was going to have to have a crown, hell, there wasn't much tooth left that wasn't a wreck. And he would definitely have to do a root canal because of the depth of the decay on the X-ray.
He thought he could save it for a few minutes, but then discovered there was calcification in one of the roots from a long-gone infection. So he pulled it.
Here's a useful piece of information: teeth don't want to be pulled. They will do everything in their power to keep snug in your mouth. As such, my jaw and gums are quite sore. But the hole is already filling in and I think all is going well.
Two days ago, I got the news initially that I was going to not only lose a tooth the following day, but it was going to be expensive and, oh, there is a lot more work that needs to be done and you don't have that great set of teeth you used to have. I came home and was in a funk. I suppose shock and depression (on a minor mouth-centric level.) Shock because how much was this going to cost to fix?! (He gave me a handy estimate) and depression/grief because I didn't want to lose a tooth.
My husband said I had lost my mojo. I didn't have energy to do anything. I say on the couch and I didn't even think about what needed to be done and how I should be getting up to get things done. I felt like my arms and legs were made of heavier stuff than normal. I was able to eat ice cream though, so I knew I was going to pull through.
I worked through the funk quickly enough (aside from the shock of how expensive dental work is) with some good advice from both my parents and in-laws. They had advice from experience which was both calming and reassuring.
So today, one less tooth. In a few weeks, more work to get other bits of my mouth in order.
Next, I think I'm going to start a fund raiser project with my cute son and daughter to help defray the costs of my expensive mouth
The Big Boy Update: "Pops!" We got these plastic pops from our friends. They're little colored things with a male and female end. You link them together and make chains or rings. A few weeks ago he liked them, but he didn't get how to put them together. He could pull them apart and then he'd try to put them together, sometimes succeeding, but not having an overall plan with what he was doing. Today, the pops are out again and he gets it. He gets some design in his head which might include making a large ring or a chain. He breaks the current chain apart and pulls off some pieces and then relocates them to another end. It's an entirely different way that he's interacting with the pops today. He also has been saying, "pops" repeatedly to go along with the play.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: The Finger Bowl. My mother likes to finish mealtime cleanup with my son by bringing over a bowl full of water so he can get his hands really clean. He loves the bowl. It's a great idea and it's fun for him too. I'd never tried it with my daughter until today. She wasn't sure what to do at first, but when she realized there was a small body of water in front of her she could put her hands in and splash, she got into, "finger bowl time."
Fitness Update: Running together is less work. I ran with my neighbor again this morning. We chat and gab and talk the whole way around the park. And we're both likely to add on more distance if we're close to a mile or time goal and can wedge in the time. Today, when we were done and had run six miles it seemed like not only had the time flown, but we were able to make the run being less tired because we weren't paying attention as much as we would running alone.
I have always had rather good teeth. They've not been great, but they haven't given me lots of problems and they're generally not painful. I am happy with them and they've served me well. So my mental image of my teeth didn't include one being pulled yesterday. But that's what ended up happening.
My former dentist retired and I had only seen the new dentist once for a cleaning during my second pregnancy. But now that I'm pregnant-free, it was time to get them cleaned, X-rays updated and evaluated. I should have gone before now, what with my daughter being eight-months-old, but it wasn't as high a priority as it should have been. Never is, right?
So a chip came along in a molar and reminded me daily that I needed to get to the dentist. Just in time with the appointment, this tooth that eventually got pulled started hurting. When they evaluated my teeth, that one was in sorry shape, twenty-year metal filling with clear decay all around it. A large fracture down the side of the tooth and pain that had just begun.
The dentist said he would try to save the tooth if I wanted to, but he would pull it if it was his. It was a second molar and I wouldn't miss it most likely. (Talking to family and friends since this news has confirmed that most people don't need the back molars to eat effectively and normally.) He would try to save it, but it was going to have to have a crown, hell, there wasn't much tooth left that wasn't a wreck. And he would definitely have to do a root canal because of the depth of the decay on the X-ray.
He thought he could save it for a few minutes, but then discovered there was calcification in one of the roots from a long-gone infection. So he pulled it.
Here's a useful piece of information: teeth don't want to be pulled. They will do everything in their power to keep snug in your mouth. As such, my jaw and gums are quite sore. But the hole is already filling in and I think all is going well.
Two days ago, I got the news initially that I was going to not only lose a tooth the following day, but it was going to be expensive and, oh, there is a lot more work that needs to be done and you don't have that great set of teeth you used to have. I came home and was in a funk. I suppose shock and depression (on a minor mouth-centric level.) Shock because how much was this going to cost to fix?! (He gave me a handy estimate) and depression/grief because I didn't want to lose a tooth.
My husband said I had lost my mojo. I didn't have energy to do anything. I say on the couch and I didn't even think about what needed to be done and how I should be getting up to get things done. I felt like my arms and legs were made of heavier stuff than normal. I was able to eat ice cream though, so I knew I was going to pull through.
I worked through the funk quickly enough (aside from the shock of how expensive dental work is) with some good advice from both my parents and in-laws. They had advice from experience which was both calming and reassuring.
So today, one less tooth. In a few weeks, more work to get other bits of my mouth in order.
Next, I think I'm going to start a fund raiser project with my cute son and daughter to help defray the costs of my expensive mouth
The Big Boy Update: "Pops!" We got these plastic pops from our friends. They're little colored things with a male and female end. You link them together and make chains or rings. A few weeks ago he liked them, but he didn't get how to put them together. He could pull them apart and then he'd try to put them together, sometimes succeeding, but not having an overall plan with what he was doing. Today, the pops are out again and he gets it. He gets some design in his head which might include making a large ring or a chain. He breaks the current chain apart and pulls off some pieces and then relocates them to another end. It's an entirely different way that he's interacting with the pops today. He also has been saying, "pops" repeatedly to go along with the play.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: The Finger Bowl. My mother likes to finish mealtime cleanup with my son by bringing over a bowl full of water so he can get his hands really clean. He loves the bowl. It's a great idea and it's fun for him too. I'd never tried it with my daughter until today. She wasn't sure what to do at first, but when she realized there was a small body of water in front of her she could put her hands in and splash, she got into, "finger bowl time."
Fitness Update: Running together is less work. I ran with my neighbor again this morning. We chat and gab and talk the whole way around the park. And we're both likely to add on more distance if we're close to a mile or time goal and can wedge in the time. Today, when we were done and had run six miles it seemed like not only had the time flown, but we were able to make the run being less tired because we weren't paying attention as much as we would running alone.
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