Why Is My Lip So Fat!!??

Some tortures are physical
And some are mental,
But the one that is both
Is dental.
~Ogden Nash

Just as any parent, I absolutely hate seeing my child in pain, emotional or physical. It tears me apart and breaks my heart. There have been many times where I wish I could just bear the pain for them so they wouldn't have to....but not this time.

Benjamin and Hunter each had to get one cavity filled at the dentist today. In my opinion, the dentist is perhaps the scariest person on earth, or at least, what the dentist does is the scariest thing I can imagine. Sticking a needle into your gums, propping your mouth open so unnaturally wide, drilling with a metal tool into what feels like a perfectly fine tooth, it's just so wrong. Yet, like eating your vegetables, it's a necessary evil.

My poor boys had to endure this anguish today, and I had to endure the agony of standing by and trying to comfort them even though I knew my words were empty. "You're doing so good" and "It's almost over" do little to calm a nervous soul, let alone soothe dried out lips and stretched out jaws.

They were each set up at the same time in two rooms right next door to each other. So I had to wander from one to the other to take turns holding their hands and giving them my (probably annoying) sympathetic mother smile.

Hunter was stoic, silent and brave. I could tell he was uncomfortable as they were working in his mouth, but he never uttered a sound. So I spent much time in Ben's room. He did okay, until he felt like he suffering an intense case of lock jaw and thought he was about to drown in his own spit. His arms and legs wriggled with unease and the kind dentist said she would let him take a break. When she took all the stuff out of his mouth and Ben felt his face for the first time, he became very fearful that he looked like this:

I could see the anxiety in his eyes and the confusion in his mind as he kept feeling for the face he once knew. I'm going to risk sounding like a bad parent here, but I had a very hard time hiding my amusement over the whole ordeal. Inwardly, I was cracking up. Having been there myself, I knew exactly what he was experiencing. To witness that first moment of, 'Wait a minute...'WHERE IS MY FACE?!!!' was priceless. Nonetheless, I pitied him and stood at his side, holding his hand and doing my best to keep him calm, reassure him that he still looked the same and it would all return to normal in a little while. I even fished a mirror out of my purse to show him, he was still my handsome boy.

When they were done, the boys received a Popsicle and a coin to place in the toy dispenser as they left the building. By the time we got to the van, my seven year old's Popsicle was dribbling down his chin and he didn't even know it. For the next hour I heard whines and cries of when will it feel normal again, and for my own merriment I got them each a cup of water to drink....with a straw. They are right, I am a mean mom.

The good thing is they don't ever want to do that again and they both brushed their teeth tonight....without me asking them to.

Wishing you all a lifetime of healthy teeth,

Gina.

A Boost From the Ghost of Christmas Present

Two days before the beginning of the third week of Advent I had the opportunity to go shopping for our Christmas tree. I wasn't sure if I wanted a pre-lit artificial tree with is re-use ability and convenience or a real one with it's fresh pine smell and nostalgic memories. After talking with my cousin, however, about the necessity to water, and the constant need to vacuum up the needles of a real tree, I chose to find one I can retrieve with great ease from my garage year after year.

Thanks to our neighbors giant fir tree that hangs over my driveway, I am already sweeping up pine needles several times a day, I didn't need any more. So a trip to a nearby Kmart brought us an unexpected delight. As the kids and I browsed through the Christmas trees that were on display at the store we agreed that one in particular was not only very nice looking, but it fit our budget and the slim style would fit our little home. I looked for the box with the coordinating tree number on it and to our dismay, they were sold out.

I asked the customer service worker if there were any stored in another area and she informed me that the one on display was the only one left. She did say, however, that they would sell me that one, without of the box. I hesitated because it was heavily decorated and I didn't want to wait around as they removed all the beautiful ornaments and ribbons. As I stood there, indecisive, hemming and hawing about what to do, the sales associate simply said, "You can have everything that is on the tree as well." I asked how much they would charge for that, but to my utmost surprise she said, "No extra charge." What?!!! How could this be?

And so, I watched as several employees wrapped the tree, ornaments and all, in Saran wrap and loaded it up to take it to the back of the store until I could get my dad to come and pick it up in his truck. I couldn't really believe what I just did....bought a tree fully decorated. All I would have to do is get it home, unwrap it, and plug it in!

Now, I have always enjoyed taking my time and meticulously deciding where each ornament should go to look perfectly asymmetrical, all the while listening to Christmas music and sipping hot cocoa. But the reality is this: once my kids got old enough to want to 'help', it became an event that brought something close to dread in my heart. The bickering, the broken ornaments, the bickering and the bickering were just something that could put a damper on the best intended plans. So, this was perfect!

I did put Christmas music on, and we gathered around to ceremoniously unwrap the tree. Each kid took a turn holding the plastic wrap and making one lap around the tree, then they passed it off to the next one until our first Christmas present was 'opened'. They were so excited and really felt like they were helping decorate. We straightened out a few branches, cleaned up one shattered bulb that fell off and plugged in it! Waaaaaa-laaaah!!

They even gave us the shiny red tree skirt. It was the most fun I'd had putting up our tree in years, and the kids enjoyed it too. I even had energy to put lights on the house outside and after it was all over, Sam told me, "Thanks for all the hard work you did to make our house Christmassy." That brought a smile to my face.

Then we watched 'The Christmas Story'. Is it just me or does that movie get funnier every year? I was literally laughing so hard I had tears and my kids were like, 'What's so funny, mom?'

I truly sympathized with Ralphy when he had his "Oh Fuuuuuuuuuudge" moment. When I was taking out the porch light to install an outlet adapter for the Christmas lights, in slow motion the light bulb dropped to the concrete stairs and out of my mouth came a very loud "S#!t!!" with Samuel standing right next to me. I'm not one to swear, especially in front of my kids, so I don't know why such a word would  instinctively escape without effort.  It must have been the fear that arose due to the fact that those newfangled energy saving light bulbs that you cant throw away and contain deadly amounts of mercury was falling out of my control to the hard ground below....ya, that must have been it.

Merry Christmas and Happy Decorating.

Gina.