We're Moving

Yep, that's right... we're moving.  Thanks to an answered prayer, all of the plans we had made for the upcoming year or two were rushed into a matter of weeks.  We will still be in Culpeper, just on the other side of our small little town.  The girls will change schools next year, but I'll let Emma finish out 2nd grade at her current school.  Hannah will be going to a new school regardless next year as she begins kindergarten (sob, sob).

So out of the blue we were contacted by someone from our church about the opportunity to rent a house.  I had been praying about what we were going to do this summer - was this the summer we moved so the girls could start fresh in a new school together? Do we stay one more year but risk having to put Hannah into another school? See, I went to multiple different schools as a child/teenager and really don't want to do that to my kids.  We said from the beginning they would only change schools once as we went from renting to buying, if necessary.  As far as the kids go, Emma makes friends easily; she's a super social butterfly and gets along with everyone.  Hannah is, well, like me.  Plus, with her being in preschool at one place, then the possibility of kindergarten somewhere and then moving again - I just didn't feel comfortable with that.  So I was really on my knees about our situation. And of course, God's plans always override our own, so here we are moving the week of Christmas to get as much done as we can as fast as we can!

So to make a long story short, our landlord first insisted we give him 30 days minimum notice but would appreciate longer.  Then he asked us if we could be out by the second weekend of January (not New Years weekend, but the 7/8th).  Talk about stressful - I'm gonna be gone the entire last week of December.  So, we've been moving stuff all week - I even got most of the kitchen over there and unpacked!  I left what was essential to eat over the next few weeks and to cook Christmas dinner!  Today, I brought the last of the girls' things over minus their bed and some clothes and shoes.  Again, keeping what was essential over the next two weeks!  Now, after this short blogging break, I'm going to begin clearing out my closet and taking over as much as I can in another load.  We'll repeat again tomorrow leaving hopefully very little for Matt to take over while the girls and I are gone.  Then that only leaves our furniture - which may get taken over while we're gone or that will be done when I get back.  I guess we'll see.  Then I'll spend the rest of our time cleaning the current place and touching up paint and such!

I don't have any pictures yet - I forgot to put on my old lens the day I brought my camera over to take pictures and I couldn't zoom out.  It's a two-story cape cod (really a story and a half) with three bedrooms and two and half baths!  It was built in the 1940's and the owners recently did some work to it while keeping the look of the 40's.  It's actually quite beautiful on the inside with all the touches they've made.  The kids are excited to have their own room (the owner has actually offered to paint their rooms whatever color they picked for free!  How awesome is that?) and they love the house.  Emma is a little apprehensive about changing schools, but I think as she enjoys the time there and meets the kids next door she'll open up more!  We plan on being here long term again, but if we move again, this school district is much larger than the one we're currently in, making it easier to keep them in the same school.

I'm confident this was the answer to my prayers and am so excited about moving ahead with our lives here.  I invite you all to come visit the new house as soon as you can!  It's now big enough for parties, cookouts and more!  See you soon!

Thanksgiving 2011

Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE Thanksgiving?  It's in my top 3 of holidays - Independence Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas all vie for first place.  The last couple of years I've hosted Thanksgiving at my house always with an open door invitation to all of our family.  Some years only my Dad has come and a few years ago, we had a huge crowd.  This year my Mom, Dad, Step-Dad and Emma's grandfather (her Dad's Dad) were supposed to come.  My Mom ended up sick and so it was the four of us, my Dad and Emma's grandfather. But it was wonderful nonetheless.  We had a ton of food and just enjoyed each others company.

Emma was sick a few days prior to Thanksgiving, violently throwing up every 10 minutes or so until there was literally nothing left to come up.  She was beginning to become dehydrated from not even being able to take a sip of ginger ale before she would throw up again.  So at 8pm I headed to the ER with her at the recommendation of the nurse-on-call at her pediatrician's office.  I've had some bad experiences at our local hospital, but I must say I was pleasantly surprised at the wait time, the nurses and the doctor we dealt with.  I was a little irked that a family with 2 young kids did go back before we did after getting there after us when they were happily playing in the waiting room and Emma had already thrown up 3 times since we had gotten there, but our turn did come....

They ruled out appendicitis and were pretty confident we were dealing with just a nasty stomach bug.  The doctor wanted to rehydrate her before we left and gave us some pedialyte to try.  Since it had been about 30 minutes since she last vomited (the longest she had gone all day), we gave her a teaspoon and a half of pedialyte to which she swallowed and then while I turned my back to set the bottle down on the counter she instantly began throwing up which instantly set of the alarms she was connected too (I believe her heart rate would surge and then her blood pressure would be off).  So the lovely nurse gave her zofran aka miracle drug. Hannah uses this to help her during her vomiting episodes and it instantly stops the vomiting and just like with Hannah, Em instantly got relief.  Over the next hour we got her to drink the rest of the pedialyte and then waited forever to be discharged.  She spent most of the next day resting and I washed sheets, blankets, towels and my hands.  By 2:30 Wednesday she was back to herself with the occasional complaint that she was nauseous.

Fast forward to Thanksgiving day.  We had a wonderful spread, turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, stuffing, rolls, deviled eggs, pumpkin pie, yellow cake, all kinds of yummy stuff!  Hannah didn't eat much and we assumed it was because she consumed her fair share of chips right before dinner.  Around 5:30 she climbed up on Daddy's lap in complete misery.  I tried giving her zofran but around 6pm her night of vomiting began.  She got so exhausted she wouldn't even sit up to throw up, I had to literally hold her body up over our "puke bucket" so she wouldn't choke.  I didn't try to give her any liquids until she had slowed down on the vomiting and knowing that Emma's vomiting lasted about 4 hours, I waited it out.  Running upstairs every 15 minutes to comfort and soothe her and at times hold her up, this went on until 10:30 that night.  I slept on the floor of her room afraid she would choke.  But then around 3am I woke up sick.... There was no way I could handle throwing up every 15 minutes, but thankfully I only got sick twice.  But the nausea was ruthless. I laid on the couch all day in misery - no black friday shopping for this momma!  I ended up with a migraine and anyone who suffers from migraines know that it comes with its own bout of nausea!  I took an imitrex, a phenegan and slept until 1030 the next morning!  Five pounds light and about 85% better, I'm hoping to accomplish very little today, put up our tree, clean up the mess that was made while I would out of commission yesterday and maybe take the kids to see Arthur Christmas later this afternoon!

So that was our Thanksgiving this year!  I'm thankful we got to enjoy most of the day healthy, long enough for me to cook dinner and enjoy it with some family!  I didn't have anything I needed to get on black friday, so I wasn't too bummed I didn't get to out.  My Dad and I had plans just to go out and shop later in the day, but I guess this virus had other plans for me.  I'm actually quite excited to see what deals I can get on cyber Monday this year!

So, how was your Thanksgiving?

Roxie

Last year I heard of this thing called "Elf on the Shelf" and thought it was so neat!  I didn't pick one up because the actual one wasn't cheap - but I so loved the idea that this year I splurged and not only got an elf for our shelf, but the book too! So meet Roxie...

He has been so much fun!  The first night we set him up on our fireplace; Hannah was at a sleepover so we didn't read the book but Emma did pick out the name Roxie.  The next morning we woke up and found him on top of the TV - funny little guy, wonder how he got there?  When Hannah got home we read all about our elf on the shelf and found out that each night he (or she as there is a skirt accessory to make "him" a "her") goes back to the North Pole to report to Santa on how the kids were behaving and gives Santa ideas for Christmas presents.  Mystery solved!  We've since woke up and found him on the clock, on top of the book shelf and today he was on top of the chandelier.  He's very special and the girls aren't allowed to hold him or play with him or his magic goes away and he can't go to the North Pole each night.  He'll go back to the North Pole on Christmas Eve and won't reappear until next Christmas season.  The girls are having so much fun with this and they are truly fascinated and excited to see where he is each morning.  LOVE IT!  I'm wondering if Roxie will leave them each a surprise when he leaves for the North Pole on Christmas Eve....

Halloween 2011

Hannah's class does a Fall Harvest Party each year at Halloween.  Seeing a classroom full of kids dressed up as their favorite character is just tooooo cute!

Hannah as Princess Ariel with her best friend Hayley as Belle!

The 4-year old class - LOVE the teachers costumes this year! (There were TWO Buzz Lightyears as well as Woody too)

How cute is this??

Winning a prize!

The girls on Halloween Night!

I love Halloween and I love seeing the girls have so much fun.  This year Emma began to feel a little self conscious - not sure if this is a sign of a little girl getting older or what, but she did still have fun!  Hannah already has the next two years of costumes picked out, she's such a planner just like her Mom!

5 Months Ago...

So, WOW!  It's been about 5 months since I posted a blog!  I barely opened my laptop over the summer because, for me, it's a trap; I get lost down a very deep tunnel wasting a whole bunch of time, so I decided I would only get online when I needed to (thank goodness for my smart phone!).

But, I do miss blogging and I missed sharing all of our summer with all 2 of you that read  used to read my entries.  We had a fantastic summer!  We went camping, visited my grandmother with my sister and nephews, went to the beach for the first time as a family, and even ventured to Kings Dominion for the day.  In between that we, of course, lived at the pool - spending almost all of our free time there!

Slowly, but surely, I'll begin blogging again!  Maybe I'll even finish the entries I started (can we say earthquake?) and post those.  Maybe I'll share how I'm having a hard time with time lately - it's going by sooo fast and I can't slow it down.  Maybe I'll share about my 40-day fast from TV and how I'd be OK if I never watched it again (OK, well maybe Survivor...).  

I'll brainstorm for some ideas, get up the urge to post pics and I'll post wonderful entries for all of you to read, and hopefully enjoy!

125 Posts

I recently hit 125 blog posts which sounds like a lot to me, but I feel like I never have anything to blog about, so I was amazed to see 125.  BUT - in classic milestone blogging, here are 125 random things - about me, about life right now, about whatever in honor of those 125 posts!

1. I'm not sure how long coming up with 125 random things will take

2. Which leads me to wonder who will actually read this entire post...

3. I went to the gym this morning (whoo hoo) and was the least in shape in a class full of senior citizens

4. The class was NOT meant for just senior citizens, it just so happens they enjoy the class

5. I need to lose about 35-40 pounds

6. I think the first 20-25 will be easy (I won't mind working towards it), but the remaining weight puts me "pre-Emma" and I know that will be hard

7. My sister is an amazing encourager - she motivates me everyday to work out and make the right eating choices

8. I'm super excited summer is here - we have A TON planned

9. I think we have too much planned, actually and it won't be as enjoyable

10. I have AC in my car (well, my van) for the first time in 2 or 3 years and boy am I THANKFUL!!

11. Because the girls are used no AC, they always want the windows rolled down

12. I had homemade bbq chicken pizza for breakfast this morning

13. I know that doesn't go well with my workout this morning - baby steps

14. I'll be a senior this fall in college

15. I don't know what life will be like with college

16. I'm scared about actually working and not being home with the girls - I've really embraced being a SAHM over the last 5 years

17. I'm thinking about getting my masters degree in religious studies

18. I'm doing the Goodreads book challenge this summer

19. I set a goal of 5 books before summer is over

20. I'm reading my third book, but having trouble getting through it

21. I'm currently reading, "Bringing Up Girls"

22. I want to read "Forgotten God" and "Two Kisses for Maddy" next

23. We're taking the girls to the beach for the first time EVER - I can't wait!!!

24. We're going on our second annual camping trip this summer too - a weekend at Jellystone

25. We have a major ant problem - they are everywhere, from the dishwasher to the washing machine

26. I'm constantly spraying and ponder if that is ok for our health...

27. Matt and I are going on a 3/4 day leadership conference in Atlanta with some people from our church in October

28. I am super excited about being able to attend this conference - there are amazing speakers there this year

29. I'm so excited to be going away with just Matt for several days

30. I'm super nervous about leaving the girls away for that long especially when they need to stay in their regular school and activity routines!

31. There are a few movies I want to see this summer and hope Matt and I can getaway to see them

32. After 5 years, we finally saw our first movie together, alone

33. The day after our wedding, we took Emma to see Night at the Museum 2 - so technically that was our first movie together, but Emma was with us

34. Emma just finished her last day of first grade, she starts second grade in the fall - ahhhhhhh

35. Hannah will be in pre-k 4 this fall - her last year before kindergarten

36. My abs are starting to hurt from my class this morning

37. They offer Zumba classes some nights, I may give it a try

38. They offer Tae Kwon Do classes for all ages, so we're all going to take it as a family

39. I still haven't printed photos from our wedding yet, I'm hoping to work on that this summer

40. I've finally broken my bad habit of biting my nails

41. I didn't use to bite my nails - but began after I got "tips" one time

42. I like to read my magazines backwards

43. I subscribe to Redbook and Family Fun and Kraft Foods Magazines

44. My sister just gave me a whole years worth of back issues for Health Magazine

45. I really like it, I may just subscribe if she doesn't have anymore

46. I have a droid - one of the first ones to come out

47. It's too smart for its own good! It hangs up randomly and my cheek and earlobe hits the mute button all the time

48. I want a new one; one that works right, something like an iPhone

49. I'd really like an iPad

50. Hey, I'm half way to 100!

51. The 4th of July is my favorite holiday and Culpeper actually puts on a pretty good fireworks display

52. Hannah doesn't like loud noises. At all.

53. She covers her ears for small, simple noises like vacuuming

54. Hannah talks. A lot. Sometimes so much, I feel like I'm gonna crack.

55. I am thankful for her chatter though. She talked later than most babies.

56. Emma is very into her looks now

57. She won't let me pick out her clothes or do her hair anymore.

58. Emma has a great laugh, one that makes anyone in the room laugh too!

59. I love brownies, LOVE THEM!!!

60. I like cheesecake too - but hardly have it

61. I made cake from scratch for Hannah's party

62. It was pretty good until I refrigerated it - then it got dry

63. Her barbie cake was a P-A-I-N

64. I just realized I never posted pictures of her cakes

65. I'm bummed that it's been super hot during the week while the pool isn't open and nicer weather on the weekends

66. Our pool is now open everyday since school is out

67. Wow, I'm not even halfway there and I'm out of random thoughts!

68. Today was the first day of summer vacation and I got up at 645

69. When Emma is in school, I struggle to get up at that time, and now I can sleep in but can't?

70. My abs are so sore today from my class that I can't use the muscle at all

71. I'm glad I started this class on a Friday so I have two days to recoup

72. My political views are so very different from the majority of my family

73. It's frustrating to always hear negative things about how our country is run

74. I can't stand when people refuse to see something from another side

75. Oh, look half-way there!

76. Leave me a comment and let me know if you've gotten this far!

77. I can't wait to see Cars 2 this summer!!

78. Last year during the summer, our movie theater offered free movies one day a week

79. They played older movies but it was still something fun to do!

80. We saw Planet 51 - it was very funny

81. I think kids shows today are inappropriate and encourage kids to do bad things

82. We've had to ban iCarly and Drake and Josh in our house

83. I'm incredibly irritated that previews for Degrassi are shown all day long where kids can see them

84. Emma loves TV - Hannah will usually just watch a show or two a day

85. I'm planning on cutting WAY back on the TV this summer

86. I say that as we watched the Dennis the Menace movie this morning already and now another has started

87. It's this blog though - if I wasn't working on it, I could get my much needed desk organizing done

88. I got a new desk from a friend - I LOVE it

89. We gave her our desk and a dresser for her daughter 

90. She also gave us her awesome dining room table, just because

91. But now, because I had to take everything off my other two desks and dressers, stuff is everywhere

92. I'm almost done, but just have those little things that I don't know where to put them...

93. I'm leaning towards the trash at this point

94. Matt brought home my favorite donuts from 7-11 the other day - they're cake donuts covered in chocolate

95. They are 260 calories for one

96. It's taking everything out of me to not eat one right now

97. I had an oatmeal and orange (go me!)

98. Hannah is going to a birthday party today, so I'm resisting the donut by telling myself that I can't have a piece of cake later if I have a 260 calorie donut this morning! 

99. It's one or the other, but not both

100. Wow, only need 25 more random thoughts

101. I really want to take the girls to Kings Dominion this summer

102. Hannah's never been and Emma hasn't been since she was younger than Hannah

103. They've both been to Dollywood and Hershey Park several times

104. The girls REALLY want a dog

105. I don't want one

106. I said we'd talk about it once we got a bigger place

107. I can't wait to buy a house

108. My urge for a chocolate donut has only gotten stronger since I made comments 94-99

109. They're so soft on the inside, mmmm

110. I don't think we'll have anymore children

111. Most days I'm a-ok with that and it's a decision we both agree on

112. I'll live vicariously through my nieces and nephews

113. I need more nieces though - I only have 1 but TONS of nephews

114. I'm having trouble coming up with new dinner ideas

115. It's going to be a long summer the way the girls are already fighting

116. Thank goodness for VBS! 

117. I'm driving the girls to my grandmothers by myself for the first time

118. It's an 8-10 hours trip with just me and the girls

119. I'm a little nervous - mostly about the bickering that will occur

120. I really wish I had a one-level house

121. It would make cleaning much easier

122. I'm on top of the game and already have most of Matt's Father's Day gifts

123. But none for any of the other Father's in my life

124. I need to order a few gifts today while I'm thinking about it!

125. Whoo hoo! Last one - I'm finished!

First Grade Awards

Emma's school had the first through third grade awards ceremony yesterday. I didn't know if she was getting anything special or not, but I attended anyway.  The second to last award was for Outstanding Citizen, an award that I believe the teacher nominates students for.  I was so proud to hear Emma's name - being a good citizen is taken very seriously at her school and I know they've spent a good portion of the year teaching how to be a great citizen.  Emma's teacher talks a lot about how great Emma is in the classroom and how much of a team player she is, so I shouldn't have been surprised when she received it!

The award says,  

You have three names, the one you inherited, the one your parents gave you, the one you make for yourself.

Receiving her award - I think she was surprised yet, SUPER excited

Standing with the rest of the recipients

Back in her classroom her teacher gave each child their own award, something unique about each one.  I was so proud (again) to have Emma receive the Sunshine Award.  On it it says, You are glowing with a positive attitude! You make each day bright Emma! You always have a smile and you love to laugh.  This is very encouraging to others. Thanks for making our classroom a cheery place!

I don't think anything can beat that!

Her teacher giving her the Sunshine Award

Hugs!

She's proud, I'm proud, we're all so proud!

Way to go!!!

Flashback Friday

 

I found this picture the other day scrolling through my facebook photos!  This was taken in December 2008, so Hannah was about 18 months and Emma would be turning 5 the next month!  

Emma looks so little and Hannah cracks me up! She has a muffin and a crazy-do!  I forgot how it looked when all her curls were coming in!

Hannah-isms

I know I've mentioned this before, but Hannah is one of those kids that say's "the darnedest things"!  Here are two of the latest things before I forget them!

• "Mommy, when you were a little kid with a little head did you have a purple shirt with stripes on it with no sleeves when you had a little head?" - this one cracked me up - she was so set on me having a little head!

• "Mommy, I love you!" "I love you, too sweetie!" "I love everyone that is in my heart" - she is the most sweetest, loving little girl I know!

Baptisms

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"
2 Corinthians 5:17

Sunday was a busy day in our house!  June 5th is Hannah's birthday and our church was having it's first baptisms of the year!  Apparently, we like to do them while celebrating other occasions, since last year Emma and I were baptized on my first wedding anniversary and now Matt was baptized on Hannah's birthday!

You can watch a video montage here, but here are some shots I took of Matt! I used my feature on my camera that allows me to take up to 30? consecutive shots back to back so I didn't miss a beat! (Oh, and because he is so much taller than Pastor GW - he went down rather than back!)

I'm so proud of him!  

"And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes"

Galatians 3:27

Hannah's 4th Birthday Interview

I started birthday interviews this past January with Emma's 7th birthday and then Hannah asked me to her too, so you can read her answers from earlier this year (age 3 1/2) here to compare.  I ask the questions with no coaching (I even had to ask Matt to stop when he suggested he was her best friend), I want raw, real answers from her! 

What is your name? Hannah

How old are you?4

What grade are you in? first grade

What school do you go to? to second school

Who are your best friends? Hayley

What do you want to be when you grow up? A mermaid and a farmer and a horse rider

What is the best part of being 4? going to school

What are you looking forward to about turning 4? a horse and a farm

Favorites…

Food – chicken nuggets and french fries
drink – apple juice and sweet tea and orange juice and lemonade
color – purple and pink and blue
book – Ariel
show – Dora and not Diego
movie - Ariel
game – Ariel
toy – Barbies and Barbie cars
animal -horses and lambs

This kid LOVES anything mermaid! 

Coupons Coupons

I haven't been able to really do couponing like I'd like to!  I learned a few lessons from the last time I went and decided to really try to incorporate coupons in my next shopping trip.  I spread all of my coupons out and went through each ad I had received in the mail.  There were only a few really good deals between the sales and coupons but here is what I found!

Martins was doubling $1 off coupons up to 4 of them so I was able to get the following deals:

• Breakstone Sour Cream (16 oz) was on sale for 2/$3 and then I had $1 off 2 coupon which Martins doubled!  So, I ended up getting 2/$1 or 50 cents each!!
• 6 Packs of refrigerated jell-o was on sale for 2/$5.  I had a $1 off coupon off of 1 and then Martins doubled it to $2, so I got a pack for .50 cents!!! I never buy these, but it was a great deal, and they turned out to be very handy after I got my tooth pulled!!

Now, I did learn when I got there that they would only double your $1 off coupons if you spent $15 in a single order.  Well, my sour cream, jell-o and steak-ums (no coupon for those, but they were half price!) were only a couple bucks.  But we've been eying coolers from various places for our trip to the beach, so I found a pretty cute one for $15 and completed my order!  

I also went to Food Lion for a bunch of of BOGO sales (cereal and Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce) but I also got what I thought was a semi-sweet deal.  Their large jars of Kraft Mayo was on sale for $2.50 and I had a $1 off coupon, so I got a big jar of mayonnaise for $1.50.

Now that I have a bit more time these days (school's out for summer!) and I've seen a little bit of success (even if I have to go to 3 stores), I'm going to put a little more effort into my coupon adventures!  My sister shops at Kroger and that seems to be where "the people" from Extreme Couponing seem to have the most success - I just wish there was one here!

Do you coupon? What has been your best deal?

Wisdom-less

For a few years now, I've been avoiding my impending surgery.  See, everyone wants to take out all four of my wisdom teeth along with a broken tooth I have (from a root canal that needed an $800 crown that I never got and thus, broke).  Last year, the dentist wouldn't even fill my cavities until I got my teeth pulled. The estimate to get said teeth pulled was about $1300, which is part of the reason I've been putting it off, which meant no pulled teeth and no cavities.  Fast forward to 2011 and a new dentist.  New dentist tells me I have ZERO cavities and that while he recommends I get my teeth pulled (mostly the one that bothers me and my broken one) it's up to me what gets pulled and what stays.  LOVE my new dentist.  He referred me to an oral surgeon in town but I found out they weren't a provider for my dental insurance and neither is anyone in Culpeper.  Not wanting to pay more than the discounted insurance price I found a dentist (what I thought was an oral surgeon) in Gainesville - only about 35 miles from my house.  

My lower left wisdom tooth has been trying to break in for years.  It usually doesn't hurt - only when I have a cold or am congested; but lately it started trying to come in again and I was in a lot of pain.  I couldn't close my jaw without biting the gum and more than once I bit the broken gum area HARD while eating something.  I knew it had to come out soon!  So I called to make a consultation about getting my teeth pulled.  My mom already agreed to watch the girls for me while I was recovering and we figured out a way to pay for it (PTL!!).

I called and the dentist agreed to see me same day.  I came in and the dentist looked at my panorex x-ray I brought with me.  He was concerned about the problem tooth being so close to my nerve (which if aggravated with during the extraction could lead to permanent numbness in that side of my mouth and lip).  He took another x-ray, more close up of the tooth and nerve and decided it was far enough away and told me he could take out the tooth now.  I was kind of speechless.  I mean, I was there to make an appointment for several weeks from now to get all 5 teeth removed and he's ready to take it out now!  I asked about the others and he said that since I'm getting close to the 30-year mark (thanks for pointing that out, btw), and the teeth aren't bothering me, I could wait and see if they ever cause problems and deal with them then.  I was ok with this since I didn't even feel them grow in and I'm scared to death of having them pulled.  He didn't say much about the broken tooth - I'm actually not sure what's gonna happen with that.  I guess the shock of hearing that my wisdom tooth was coming out took over the need to inquire about that one.  

So the nerves start and my texts to my sister about healthy eating tips and joining the gym turned into "OMG, he's taking my tooth out today!" I even sent a "help me" email to my BFF.  

And by the way - Hannah is the best almost 4-year old I know.  Besides a few tantrums, she is sooo good.  She sat next to me and played with her Barbies most of the time, climbed on my lap once to watch the Planet Earth video that was playing (which was showing animals hunting and eating their prey - not very kid friendly especially when they showed penguins being attacked by seals, but she was into it).  She doesn't run around and get into things or make lots of noise.  She stays right with me and (usually) obeys. 

So, the dentist numbed my tissue with a topical gel and once that was good and numb on top, he used the needle and numbed me up that way.  It didn't hurt too much, only once it got deep into my gum.  Oh, and when Hannah decided to hop off my lap and it made the needle jump a little (OUCH!). He gave me a second dose and all of a sudden I didn't feel well. I felt extremely shaky.  When he lifted me up, he asked how I was doing and I couldn't even get my head up off the back without feeling like I was going to pass out.  I started to tear up a bit and told him I was really shaky! I held my hands up and they wouldn't stop shaking.  He asked if I had had the numbing thing before (sorry, can't remember the name) and I said yes, I've had fillings and root canals before. He thought it might have been my nerves, but I don't think that is what it was - it was a different type of shaking, uncontrollable and I thought I was going to pass out.  He noticed on my chart that I am hypoglycemic but I told him I ate on the way here, so I knew my blood sugar was ok.  Both times I had my epidurals for delivery, I shook uncontrollable - not sure if that is related.  Shaking from an epidural is a pretty common side effect (along with the unbearable itching I had), but not with the "numbing thing", so I'm not sure what went down! We waited it out a little bit, and while I was still shaky, it seemed to be getting subsiding slightly.  

He laid me back and I decided I'd rather give birth than go through with this, but he began cutting.  Then he used something to attempt to move it back and forth and then used the biggest pair of pliers ever to pull it out.  It took about 10-15 minutes and then he stitched me up.  Hannah laid on her belly on top of mine and watched the entire stitching process! I left there and as much as I wanted to go home and rest, I needed to find a party store to find cupcake toppers for Hannah's birthday (an unsuccessful search, btw) and meet Matt at his doctors appointment to try to get back on physical therapy for her foot.  He promised it would only be a few minutes - but we were there for 2 hours and my gum was still bleeding.  It went from being OK to full on pain about 45 minutes after I left the dentist.  Motrin helped with the pain, but it wouldn't stop bleeding.  We went to a taco place (not good) and I ate a burrito since I couldn't really do crunchy tacos!  My drink seemed to help with the bleeding.  We tried to get ice cream at the most awesome place ever in Warrenton, but they only take cash and we don't really understand that word.  We headed home, toured a gym, signed up (only $50/month for the whole fam!!) and I went home to bed.  My tooth (well lack of tooth) itself was fine but my jaw was starting to hurt.  I took a few more motrin and fell asleep.  Towards the early morning, I could feel it starting to hurt, but it was mostly the stiff jaw that hurt.  I still can't open my mouth all the way and it reminds me of before I had my TMJ surgery when my jaw would lock! I have to squish all my food down to eat and am still avoiding anything crunchy or too hard! I think I'll give my jaw through the weekend and see how it is on Monday.  I'd hate to have TMJ problems again!

But that's it!  My tooth being pulled unexpectedly wasn't too too bad.  I wish I could have come home and just relaxed, but as a Mom, ehh, there's just too much to do! I'm super glad I don't have to worry about getting my the others pulled and may just have the broken tooth pulled and get an implant but I'll worry about that at my next cleaning!

Have you ever had a tooth pulled? Are you afraid of the dentist? Share!

Field Day

Today was probably the hottest day so far this year and it happened to be Emma's field day!  It was unbearably hot and miserable!  Every pore on my body dripped sweat for 3 hours straight! The kids, although they complained about the heat, were great sports and gave it their all!

Emma waiting her turn

walking with giant shoes on

this relay took FOREVER

she make it back!

view form the top

Hannah being silly

Emma is actually pretty good at this game

She made it up and back pretty quickly - other kids face planted a few times!

Go Emma Go!

Love this game! Girls v. Boys

Run and get water for your cup - bring it back and empty into your bucket - first to fill wins!!

The girls won - 2 years in a row!

Tug-o-war! There's a pool in the middle!

Taking a break and watching her classmates

She's so pretty when she smiles

Her class won AGAIN!

Water war - students v. teachers

Hannah not happy she got wet even though it was 100 degrees out!  If I wasn't taking pictures - I would have jumped right in!

Memorial Day Cookout

My Dad had a cookout for Memorial Day.  My sister and her family came, my uncle and his family, my uncle's coworker and his son, and then me and mine!  It was hot - even up on his mountain but we had a great time nonetheless!  We had grilled chicken, grilled corn on the cob, hashbrown casserole, macaroni salad, coleslaw, rolls and we finished it off with brownies!  It was a great time with great family!  The kids' favorite part? The slip-n-slide!!

Down comes Hannah!

My cousins (Emma and Hannah's second cousins) Christina and Matthew

My nephew, Thomas

My Dad aka Pop

Down goes Thomas

Wait! This is cold!

Trying again - but still cold

somebody's having fun!