U is for Updated!

See the new look! I think I might possibly like this one. It has been far too long since I’ve actually been happy with the look around here. It’s not perfect, but it’s way better than anything I’ve put together lately.
We’re wading our way through new school schedules, ballet class, preschool orientations, doctor’s appointments, new Bible Study commitments…whew! It’s gonna be a heck of a week. Somehow I also have to manage to plan two birthday parties. One girl (Belle) has big plans-too big, if you ask me-and the other (Little Lamb), well I just have no idea what she wants. She’s so easily swayed by her siblings, that I really don’t know what SHE likes. And all that’s without considering J’s crazy schedule this week. I’m sure I’ll survive to tell the tale, but I suspect I’m going to be a tired Mama come next weekend!

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T is for The One

Belle’s first day of school was Tuesday.  In our family, that means a special dinner selected by Belle.  She chose spaghetti this year.  Easy enough, really.  However, Tuesday evening, around 5pm, I began watching an episode of Barefoot Contessa while feeding  baby C* a bottle.  And what was she making that day, but spaghetti and meatballs.  The recipe calls for a mix of ground beef, pork, and veal.  I only had beef on hand, so that’s what I used.  I also halved the meatball recipe, but kept the sauce as is.  It was delicious!!  We had the leftovers last night (but with fresh noodles) and they were every bit as good as the first.

*baby C is the sweetest little 9/10 month old I’ve had the privilege to watch a couple of weeks this month.

S is for Scientist

Ever since Belle was just over two years old, she’s taken some time to fall asleep.  When she was younger, she would jabber to herself, playing with white baby and pink baby-original names, huh?  Nowadays she generally reads a book, but occasionally she will color or design clothing.  Yes, she really does design clothes.  Yes, I will be in trouble once she hits her teens.
The other night, however, she designed an elaborate contraption called The Bouncer.  It involved a slinky, a bouncy ball, 2 pillows, 2 bowls, and a few other props I no longer remember.  She even drew a picture demonstrating how The Bouncer worked.  The adult in me wasn’t sure it would work as well as she hoped.  I told her she could try it in the morning, hoping she might forget all about it.  Of course, she woke up the next morning ready to try out her experiment.  I helped her gather the necessary parts, bracing myself for the inevitable disappointment.  Much to my surprise, it worked just as she had planned.  Some times it doesn’t pay to be the jaded adult.

R is for Ready

J has a big exam this coming week. It takes two days (Mon and Tues) to complete. How ridiculous is that? Two days of computer multiple choice questions. Sounds fun, doesn’t it? It’s a true sign of a capable doctor, to be able to pick the right answer from a selection of 4-5 possibilities for every odd combination of symptoms, reactions, ethical situation, etc.
Can you tell I’m feeling a bit sarcastic about this? I’m sick of the studying. Of having J home this weekend, but not really here. Of seeing him push himself to know more, fearful of the unknown, worrying that maybe, somehow, this would be the time he didn’t study hard enough. We’ll all take a deep breath of relief on Tuesday night and spend the rest of the week playing with J’s family. I’m excited to see everyone, but mostly I’m ready to be done!

Q is for Quick trip to the dentist

Yeah, total cop out.  I’ve been completely stuck on Q and I’ve just got to put it past me.  

So, I made my trip to the dental clinic that specializes in TMJ.  My friend whom I would normally ask to watch the kids was out of town, and my appt. was at 8 am (far too early to drop the kids off somewhere during the summer), so the kids went with me.  I grabbed a new spiral notebook and pen for each of the kids from my secret stash in the basement and we headed out.  The lady who took me back to the room didn’t look impressed as we paraded through the office.  But, I knew my kids wouldn’t let me down.
After an X-Ray, a bit of poking and prodding, much opening and closing and shifting of my mouth, it was determined that my pain stems from over-taxed muscles around my jaw.  Many people with TMJ wake up in severe pain which lessens during the day.  That’s because the grind their teeth or clench their jaw in their sleep.  Me, I’m the opposite.  The evenings are my most painful time of day.  Ultimately, my teeth are almost always touching when they should not touch at all except when chewing.  This puts the “closing muscles” (for lack of a better term) in constant contraction, which over time causes pain.  Makes perfect sense really.
My task now is to be conscious of how I’m holding my jaw, to keep it at rest where both sets of muscles are in equilibrium.  Otherwise known as, break yourself of a habit you had no idea you were even doing!  Should be easy enough.  I’m also supposed to use the heating pad for 20 minutes, three times a day for a while.  It’s an odd feeling, laying your head on a heating pad.  
I’ll keep you informed of my progress.  In the mean time, thanks for your concern.  I’m most thankful I don’t have to sleep with some obnoxious contraption in my mouth!

P is for Precious

     I’d decided I wasn’t going to write tonight as the only P word I could think of that was fitting for today is synonymous with exhausted.  But that’s not very exciting.  And then I remembered this cute moment from last night.
     Belle and I are reading These Happy Golden Years together in the evenings.  She’d gotten that funny look in her eyse when Clarence suggests Almanzo is her beau, though we haven’t gotten to the part where they actually begin courting.  Just as we sat down to read last night, she asked me who wrote the book.  I told her Laura and showed her where it says across the top of the book “Laura Ingalls Wilder”.  I light went on in her head and a precious little smile came across her face.  “They do get married!” she exclaimed.

O is for Ouch!

Friday morning I headed downstairs to feed the cat, just like every morning. I was greeted at the bottom of the stairs with a nasty rendition of Hannah’s (the cat) dinner from the night before. I stepped over the mess, choosing to feed her first, looked down at the food bowl, and was suddenly gripped by a terrible pain in my neck and back. I hoped it was the type of muscle spasm that hurts with unimaginable intensity, but then relaxes and the pain disappears as quickly as it came. I stood in the basement, willing the pain to go away. When it seemed clear that the pain was here to stay, I feebly fed the cat, stepped back over the nasty mess, and went upstairs. Thankfully, J had been on call Thursday night which means he was home on Friday. Even more thankfully, J had an easy night Thursday and was able to help with the kids, rather than sleep all day. I spent nearly all day on the sofa, using the heating pad to help with the pain. Even though the kids were sad that I wasn’t able to go do fun things, they were extremely sweet to me, and helped out as much as they could.
I went to bed that night praying that I would be better in the morning. J was afraid I would need a script for a muscle relaxer if I wasn’t better. I’ve never taken anything like that, and I wanted keep it that way.
I woke Saturday morning stiff, but with a much greater range of motion. At my best on Friday, I could turn my head maybe 45 degrees. By the next morning, I was already able to turn my head much further. I spent a little more time on the heating pad and continued to improved throughout the day. I even managed to be able to drive to the mall and take Belle and Little Bear swimming at the pool!
I’m continuing to improve today. Though sitting here typing is beginning to really aggravate it. I’ll put myself to a real test this week as I’m watching a 9 month old baby from 8:30-6:30 all week. She’s not crawling yet, which is a real blessing in my book!