The Delay of the Tooth Fairy (an update)

 

So you heard about my last little spill down some stairs, huh?  

Well, all is well.   The tooth fairy will NOT be coming for a few more years (my parents hope). 

My cheesy smile is back!

Sometimes she turns seven.

7 years old.

S-E-V-E-N

Seven years ago, my life changed forever.  For the better.

The night before her birthday, I cuddled in bed with her for our nightly routine of reading, prayers, chatting, tickle scratching and kisses.   Only, this night, she wanted to forgo the usual for a retelling of her birth story.

I spilled it all out for her….the excitement, the contractions, the happiness, the fact that I got stuck at 8cm (ouch) only to have the nurse check me  during a contraction (ouch) and feel a little hand grabbing her finger.   When I told Kaelan this, her eyes got huge and she looked at me. 

Who was in there? she gasped.

It was YOU, silly! I told her.  

We really should have that whole anatomy, where babies come from talk….not just yet, though.

She loved hearing about how the nurse pushed the little hand back off the head (really ouch), and BOOM, I was at 10cm and ready to push.  

Your drain was plugged, huh mom? 

Yep.  Your little hand was plugging my drain, and once it was free….you popped out!  

Yep.  Definitely need to schedule that talk.

She loves that story.  

I love that story. 

It was Chapter One is this awesome book we are still writing. 

 

 

The actual day of her birthday, The Prez was in Chicago on a business trip.  I knew he would be up until all hours of the night planning and setting up something special for her with me if he were home, so I did it all myself, so not to disappoint.

She awoke to herself buried in the traditional “balloon tomb”.   I also set up a great treasure hunt throughout the house and outdoors.   I attempted a balloon waterfall in her doorway, but as I began hanging them at 1:30 am, they started popping.   I actually spent 10 minutes on the floor hiding after one popped and she sat up in her bed to figure out who was lighting fireworks in her room. 

No, really.  She actually sat up and said, “Who is lighting fireworks?”.

She then flopped back down on her pillow and resumed sleeping.

 

 

The hunt ended back at her bed ( slipped it in there after she took off hunting) with a few special gifts.

 

The balloon waterfall…..minus about 15 popped balloons.

Wanna hear something really funny?   I noticed a balloon still inflated and tied to a long string attached to the back of Kaelan’s pajama shirt when she climbed out of bed.   I knew I didn’t tape any balloons to her, so I questioned out loud how in the world that happened.   Then she said:

Ohhhhh,   I got up to go to the bathroom last night, and I felt something behind me on the potty.  I thought I saw a red balloon when I looked down, but I figured I was just dreaming and sleep walking.   (Laughing)   I guess I did see one!

So, in case you missed that, YES she walked through that waterfall earlier that morning without even realizing it.  And YES, she somehow picked up a hitchhiker balloon in the process.  And YES, this all didn’t disrupt her sleep pattern in the least.

If she wasn’t so smart and awesome, I would worry that whole “stuck in the drain” incident caused damage.  Sometimes she worries me.

Customary birthday breakfast (she chose mommy muffins this year) and a surprise birthday humiliation ride.   She actually loved it.   People were honking like crazy on our commute.  

Sadly, I wasn’t real quick with hitting the car wash, so when people kept honking at me two days later, I had forgotten about the window messages and couldn’t figure out what people’s problem was.  I may or may not have made a few inappropriate hand gestures that week. 

I apologize.

All of that took place at an ungodly hour before school.   Whew.

After school, we picked Kaelan up and blindfolded her.  We drove to the nearest toy store and surprised her upon arrival with a purse of birthday money sent from relatives to go pick out what she wanted.  Fun!

I had to constantly remind her this was HER birthday when she kept trying to buy things for Seth.   We settled on giving him a few bucks so he could pick out a little something.  Sometimes she makes me beam!

The three of us grabbed her meal of choice (Pei Wei) to go and headed home for a wonderful evening of play, face time with dad (he flew in late that night),presents and cupcakes. 

Seven.

She was officially seven years old.   The night before, I had mugged on a a six year old, but that night,  I tucked a seven year old snuggly in bed.

Was there any difference?   Had she changed?

As I left her room that night, I looked back to see her swaddled in her favorite blankets with her favorite teddy.   My eyes saw the same little swaddled being I placed in a bassinet beside my bed the first day I brought her home.

Nothing had ever really changed in the whole seven years. Probably never will.

She called out to me as I tackled my way out of the balloon waterfall she had begged me to leave up.

Mom, I am really tired, so no fireworks, tonight.  Okay? 

Sometimes she makes me laugh.

Making the News

 

Thumbing through my recent edition of Oklahoma magazine (blows Cosmo out of the water, by the way), I was excited to read a great article about the fantastic Ree Drummond (aka Pioneer Woman). 

However, the hottie on page 15 caught my attention, and I forgot all about reading that article.

It appears “The Prez”, as he is known around these parts, is on the social scene.

 

Guess I better start shopping for a house in the Hamptons……

Crash Goes Boom

$171.36 to rush to an out of network emergency pediatric dentist…..because, you know we had JUST moved to Edmond like ten minutes before “Crash” decided to get a little parkour practice in.

 

 

About a week after crashing.  Don’t worry, his eyes are fine.  That is just his cheese smile.

 

He was being stubborn, and decided he could walk down the steps himself.   He did hold on to the rail, and I was like two steps in front of him watching his every move.  Somehow though, he figured out a way to swing forward, slam his face into the iron rail and then tuck and roll down three steps before I could stop him.  He would have gone ALL the way down the flight of stairs had I not been there.

So off we went to the ER to save his smashed face….which after washing away a fountain of blood, we realized was really smashed teeth and gums. 

So off we went to the emergency pediatric dentist….the only one we could get to see us at 5:45 on a Friday evening.

Luckily, the damage is healing nicely.   We are extremely lucky he did not lose the four teeth we thought he may have damaged beyond  repair. 

Yes, we now have an in network dentist, doctor, surgeon, plastic surgeon, neurologist, ENT, podiatrist, dermatologist, internist, allergist….just to be prepared.

AND we do know the quickest route to the nearest E.R.

Fingers, legs, toes and eyes crossed for luck that we won’t need that info.

Seriously, keep them crossed. 

1st Day in the 1st Grade

 

What do you remember about 1st grade?  

Me?  I remember being devastated to find out that the snack and naptimes from Kindergarten days came to an end. 

I remember that being the year that a certain  bully/snob girl got swats for throwing my hat on top of a filing cabinet.  Sweet justice.  

I distinctly remember sitting on the carpet at circle time and watching a classmate pick their nose and eat its contents for the entire story time.  Yep, it was that traumatic.  To this day, I can’t even read that book to my kids without hearing “boogers, boogers, boogers” over and over in my head. 

I also remember losing my first tooth and for the first time in my short life,  feeling awkward when others pointed out I shouldn’t be playing with the boys so much.  

What will she remember about first grade? 

 

I hope she remembers her first day and how special it all felt.   How she picked out her own outfit from the store with such excitement after having only worn school uniforms in the past.

I hope she remembers the thrill she felt when she saw her new school in her new town with her new backpack in tow.

 

Just like last year, she worried a little about how her little brother would make it through the day without her.   Maybe I did, too.  But he did.  And I did.   And her dad did.  

Just like last year, I shed  a few tears, but after picking her up and hearing the stories from her adventurous first day, I knew she was going to be okay.   The second day, I cried not a drop.

Everyday I get to hear about all the games she plays with her friends at recess.  The girls AND the boys (yay, BOYS!).   She tells me all about snack (yay, SNACK!) and usually, she tucks a bit of it deep down in the pockets of her backpack to bring home and share with her  little brother.

 

I have no doubt she will make great memories this year.   There may be tears and booger eaters, and  hat-throwing bullies ahead, but I know my girl, and she is going to make the best of 1st grade.

Jackpot

 

I am not big on gambling.   It takes hours for me to go through the two rolls of quarters I allot myself when we go to a casino.  I am a pretty much a tightwad.

I rarely buy a lotto ticket in our household.  The jackpot has to be huge to peak my interest.   79 million???   Is that it?  Phsshhh.   I won’t play until it is a least over 200 million.   I mean, it has to be worth my time.

I NEVER win those door prize/raffle type things.   Well, there was that one time that I won a 2 bottles of Jack Daniels and mini bar stockpile.  I ended up trading it off for a flower basket from the drunks sitting at my table.  

And that pretty much sums up my luck factor.

But, am I lucky?

Yes, I am.

Every morning, I get to gaze into the eyes of these two little olive skinned, blue-eyed wonders (not to mention their cute dad) and THAT makes me the luckiest   gal EVER. 

 

 

 

 

Lottery be damned. I’m a winner every day.

Thank Heavens for Moving Companies.

While movers packed away our home in preparation for our move, we decided to get out and about and spend our last few days in Austin spending time with loved ones and exploring.   

Truth be told, my husband was just trying to keep his hoarding wife away from the house while he secretly had the movers “lose” some of her treasures.

Here are a few things we did that week:

We paid another visit to the Natural Bridge Safari Park and took a little ride through to see the exotic animals.  Doug traumatized the children AND me by pulling the usual “oops the sun roof is stuck open” trick as the ostriches came and attacked us.  

Yuck.  I hate those critters. 

 

We headed over the Miss Ivonne’s house for some water play with some our our friends.   Seth thoroughly enjoyed popping the water balloons before the kids could throw them.   I was happy about this, because the kids chose to turn and attack the mommies, so less ammo for their evil deeds.

 

 

We took ride number 49 on the Zilker Zephyr and hung out at Barton Springs with Darian…….

 

 

Rolled around in one of the unpacked rooms with good friends……

 

We also took a great tour of the fire station with some pals.

 

Seth did fine with the news of moving.  

He didn’t fare so well when we told him he couldn’t stay and live at the fire station.

Whew….moving is exhausting.

 

Most of the week, these two spent their last few days attached at the hip and making plans for when they would meet again.

 

Stay tuned…..that chapter will come soon.