Teen in the House

Sommer is a teenager! On March 14th, it happened when a bunch of her friends came over to make it official! After what seemed like endless giggling, talking and squealing, the birthday girl blew out her candles and became a 13 year old. So far, so good. But we are talking about Sommer here...so good, so often. Such a joy to the whole family. We love you!

Happening

I have been feeling a bit blog lazy as of late. Maybe it is the lack of pretty picture taking. It could be a decrease in brain power that I have been losing over the years. It most definitely isn't due to lack of "happenings." I feel like each day blazes by.

I have been thinking about years ago when I would be home with little ones. I felt there were many days that seemed to last forever. I had kids up at the crack of dawn after being up all night, cleaning, diaper changing, doctor going, playdates, kid napping, playing in and outside again and again, making meals, and anticipating the dreaded 4-6 pm hours before Garth got home from work (where kids began unravel...or was it me unraveling?!)...it all seemed to go ON and ON. (This all done while being pregnant most of the time)

Today things are different. By the time I get the kids off to school and do a quick clean up of their morning whirlwind damages, go for a run, lunch with the lady friends...BAM! The day is done. I am never bored. I never have time for a good Oprah moment. Time flies...maybe cause I am having fun (like the saying goes).

Not that I wasn't having fun before, life just seems more enjoyable. Easier? Maybe. But I think what I have is a better understanding about my life. I don't want what others have(okay, I would take that Hawaiian vacations my bro, sis and parents are on right now...even the rain...but you know what I mean!), I really don't. I love what I have and am cherishing it (exept when the "haves" are sassy). I am not anticipating "moments" to begin or "moments" to end. I am just living as things are happening.

And I am loving it!

Picture This

If only I were better at taking pictures. I just couldn't bring myself to take anymore dark, blurry amateur photos this weekend. I love seeing my many talented friend's blogs who share the most amazing pictures. I do not have that skill. Nope. Nothing. No picture talent. I am a point and shoot kind of gal...whatever the lens captures it captures...and it totally shows.

But...

My husband does. And he mentioned he would like to get a decent camera so he can start taking pictures again! I can't wait...and until then...

My apologies to my darling family. We had the best weekend and I have no pictures for us to enjoy later...

You will just have to "Picture this (our Massanutten Highlights)":

1. Hiking along the top of the mountain in 65 degree temperatures. Watching the kids run ahead playing make believe. Sitting with Ashton and Calvin on a huge boulder looking down onto the valley as we waited for the rest of the family. Cal providing us with a few paint balls where we had a fun blasting them into the rocks exploding yellow paint on a winter brown landscape (by the way, the paint is bio-degradeable).
2. Watching Ethan enthusiastically dig out an old glass Coke bottle he thought was worth millions. Come to find out it was worth 5 cents if you returned it for recycling in Maine.
3. Making our annual snow tubing trip. Garth's goal each year it to get going so fast he blasts into the barrier at the end of the hill. Goal accomplished.
4. Running 14 miles in the hilly mountains. Overjoyed when I actually find a flat surface to run on...this would be a parking lot where I loop around and around until I am dizzy. Then it is back to more hills. I was even more thrilled when I found 12 one dollar bills strewn on the ground.
5. We enjoyed a day at the indoor water park. Grateful Garth doesn't lose his swim trunks this year. But he does almost lose his big toe when it becomes lodged between the tube and siding before blasting down a slide. Extra grateful that all of our children are finally tall enough for all the rides!! And when the fire alarm sounds, we are thankful it is 65 degrees out as they evacuate the entire building in their swimsuits. No fire by the way...
6. Had a wonderful dinner at IHOP where everyone (except Ashton who wants his chicken nuggets) satisfies his/her pancake cravings.
7. Went to the movies. Garth takes little boys to "Mall Cop" and I take older kids to see "Taken." Garth has already seen this movie and LOVED it. We all agree...it was awesome. My favorite moment was when Garth came in halfway through the movie with the little boys. It was late. Ashton snuggled up onto my lap and quickly fell asleep. I haven't had one of my little (now so big) kids fall asleep on me in years. What a wonderful feeling having a child soundly sleeping in your arms.
8. We hit the (ice) slopes on Saturday. We decided this was the year the kids would be given an open invitation to ski (in the past we had too many little ones). Round one: Calvin, Mom, Dad and Tate. Calvin loves to ski and is gone in an instant. Tate on the other hand lasts for about 20 minutes. We take him back to the condo hoping next year will be a better experience for him. Ethan declines the ski offer. Garth talks Sommer into giving it a try. They head out and within minutes she is hooked! We find Calvin a few hours later out of his skis and has swapped them for a snowboard. And just like that...he can snowboard. We spent the entire day on the mountain (Garth, Sommer and I taking turns with the non-skiers). Our great friend Vicente joined us too. It was a perfect day and I have high hopes we will all be up and skiing next year!
9. That evening it snows. Beautiful.
10. Arrive home grateful for our time together.

Tate Loses It!

Tate finally lost it...his first tooth that is. It all happened while eating cookie dough this afternoon. Smart kid, he knew something was amiss but swallowed the dough first, keeping the microscopic tooth safe for the fairy. Our kids are always the last ones to lose their first teeth. Then they all fall out in what seems like a week. I had better start saving my money.

But man is he cute (and with that new haircut...one handsome boy)!

A Bear and an 11 Year Old Scout

Ethan became a bear last week. Boy oh boy he loves scouts!
Calvin left cub scouts and moved on to boy scouts! He received the Arrow of Light and crossed the "bridge" taking him to the boy scouts. I was thrilled to join him on his cross-over as Garth met us at the other side.
And lucky me, I received two pins from my boys.
Everyone was thrilled.

Animals

Animals

Chapter 1: "Joey and Misty"

Recently Garth started calling me Dr. Doolittle. Misty the cat and Joey the dog have been following me around non-stop. I feel bad for them as I take a quick seat at the computer for a few minutes. They will follow and curl up at my feet. Moments later I am back up, headed somewhere else. They immediately get up from their comfy spot and follow. Why?!
At night it gets worse. Misty the cat waits for me to settle down at night. As each hectic day comes to a close, I relish quiet time watching mindless TV from the comforts of my bed. It takes me awhile before I get everything done so I can call it quits for the day. Misty follows me as I tuck the little boys in. Makes her way downstairs as I turn off lights (meowing at this point hoping for a treat). Back up I go as she bounds at my feet. She looks irritated though. I know she is thinking, "How dare she?"
At last I snuggle up in bed and turn on my first show of the night. Within seconds, Misty is on my chest, circling around for a perfect spot. She blocks my view. Her bum is usually in my face on a few of those twirls. I tell her to hurry up and get herself situated. It is irritating. But at the same time sweet. I am Dr. Doolittle remind you. She stays there until I turn off the TV and call it a night. I have told her at this point, her spot is at my feet or nothing.
Where is Joey during all of this? At the foot of my bed. He has tried to jump in a few times but I just can't allow a 75 pound hairy beast in bed with me (Mike...don't make a funny here about Garth). Besides, he smells bad (not Garth, Joey).

Chapter 2: Joey eats Grapes

Did you know grapes are toxic for dogs? True. Joey likes apples but didn't know until last night he liked grapes. He ate a bundle. I called my friend Erika after confirming the danger of such a simple natural item on the Internet. I wanted to find out if I could go ahead and get into bed and start TV time. Misty was waiting and I only had 30 minutes until 24 started!
She told me I should try to get him to vomit. Eew! Not now. I was just about clocked out. And besides, how in the world am I supposed to do that? After coaching me, I loaded up 3 syringes of hydrogen peroxide and shoved them gently down his throat. He wasn't happy. Thank goodness he is a gentle giant. I knew what he was thinking though, "I want to bite this woman! What in the world is she doing to me now (last week it was double ear infection mania...dog style)!"
I was told I needed to wait with him outside for 10 minutes to see if he would throw up. Great. I am in turtle pajamas and Ethan's size 6 furry crocs. Although there was quite a bit of light coming from a full moon, it was dark enough to hide my lovely outfit...I think.
I stood with Joey for 15 minutes as he stared at me wondering what we were doing outside in the backyard and not in bed yet. I had had it. 24 was about to start. I reluctantly headed us back in (only because of Jack Bauer) and figured our carpet upstairs would have to submit to yet another disgusting child/dog/cat withdrawal. I crossed my fingers and let fate and the grapes take over...I am not REALLY a doctor, so what could I do anyway?
Morning came. No mess. A well rested dog came tail wagging down the stairs. Joey...you dog you. By the way, 24 was great. Misty thought so too.

Mystery Solved

Calvin had been having an earache off and on for two months. We had been to the pediatrician twice to rule out a middle ear infection. But every week or so the poor boy would call us from the nurse's office at school complaining about that blasted ear. I had brought in Advil multiple times. His doctor thought the pain might be caused by TMJ but I didn't think so since the pain came at random times of the day...
We took him to the chiropractor to rule out a possible football injury that might have misaligned his vertebrae...although he was indeed "off," an earache came a calling once again a week later.

After days home from school, sleepless nights and way too many Advil, I figured it was time to solve the mystery.

Step one (really step three since we had been to pediatrician and chiropractor): Called dentist. Here we ruled out TMJ. We took x-rays of a huge cavity they had filled in November to be sure he didn't need a root canal. Ruled that out. Doctor thinks it might be "teething pain." Are you kidding...don't babies have that?! How many months does it really take to get a tooth in anyway. After much deliberation and confusion, she spots it! A HUGE cavity on a 12 year molar only 1/4 of the way in! She tells me that Calvin needs to get to the endontist pronto.

Step two: Go to endontist. I would not have known what that was except that Garth had been to one four times in the past two months having a root canal and other various issues worked out. He takes a moment to talk through other possibilities of Calvin's ear pain. He takes an X-ray.

Step three: Endontist is astonished at the magnitude of a cavity on a tooth that hasn't even set up shop yet. He tells me Calvin will need a Gingivectomy (WHAT?!):

A gingivectomy is a periodontal surgical procedure which includes the removal of gingival tissue in order to achieve a more esthetic appearance and/or functional contour. Gingivectomies are frequently performed using electrosurgery to cauterize away the undesired gum tissue.

He had to perform this procedure first to remove the gum that was still covering the tooth that wasn't exposed yet still housed cavity. I love watching any surgery, so I of course watched the whole show (Doctor did make sure I wasn't one of those pass out types). Poor Calvin, he squirmed a bit as this process was taking place...looked rather invasive if you ask me.

Step Four: Put in a temporary filling or a pulp cap fusion (if interested in what the heck that is):

An Indirect Pulp Cap is a procedure that is used when the dentist gets close to the nerve when removing decay. This is a perfectly proper dental procedure, and is used in cases where the nerve (or pulp) would be exposed if all the decay were removed from the cavity. Regarded as a conservative treatment, the application of medicated cement in the temporary filling helps the pulp of the tooth to repair itself by containing the decay and allowing the buildup of a wall of tooth structure between the pulp and the decayed material.

This is a "holding action". When your dentist removes the temporary filling, he may take an xray to determine if the pulp has healed. If so, the balance of the decay is removed, and a permanent restoration, or filling, can be placed in the tooth.

In summary, your dentist is trying to keep your tooth alive, avoiding the need for a root-canal filling, pulp capping, or extraction of the tooth.

So what we hope for now is NO more ear pain. No more cavities. And a happier boy! Thank goodness for great dental insurance!

Do enjoy these pictures of his special day!