Forgot to mention

Cole is planning on being baptized on March 20th just in case there is anyone out of town that wants to plan on attending. We're really excited for him because he's been bugging us for a year to get baptized, so we're finally ready. I took him yesterday to get his own set of scriptures and it was really pleasing to me how excited he was to get them. He began reading the Book of Mormon without prompting and it on 1 Nephi chapter 5 already. Sometimes the things your kids do surprise you in such a good way. As much as we might have trouble with him sometimes, I know deep down that he is such a sweet boy and is going to grow up to be a really wonderful man.

Something to think about

I've been out of commission for the last two weeks trying to get over this root canal. I was in pain for ten days exactly, my dentist ended up putting me on antibiotics (and when that didn't work) and steroids in addition to something called "miracle mouthwash" which has a topical anesthetic so it numbs the sores in your mouth. I wasn't sure that the whole miracle thing was true but the day I had the procedure done, my mouth broke out inside and out with cold sores, and let me tell you, that mouthwash was a miracle. When I used it the first time and it kicked in, it was the first time in nine days that I'd been able to eat without it just burning (the location of my cold sore was incredibly rude--along my gums on the very inside where your tongue nests, so every single thing that went in my mouth hit the coldsore and burned). And the next day it was already beginning to heal over really well, so I was happy. That was also the day my jaw stopped hurting, and I started feeling almost normal.

Other than that, not much else has gone on other than the mad chaos that goes with having three kids and all their activities. I love seeing my kids happy and active, but it makes for busy weeknights. And then Jason and I try to get a little time to ourselves for our own activities, so it's pretty crazy. This year I had to buy a weekly planner that I hang up just to keep track of where everyone needs to be every day (and we still manage to forget sometimes).

The best thing about this year so far is that we are active in church again. It has been a really difficult time here in Arizona feeling like we belong and enjoying church. We decided that however uncomfortable it has been to go, we have to go anyway (more for the kids than anything else), and it's been pretty good so far this time. I'm actually beginning to make a few friends; only took me three years to say that. I just got a new calling last week as well. I'm now the RS chorister. And as musical as I am, I'm much more comfortable following someone else conducting than doing it myself. And just because you know how to conduct doesn't mean you're any good at it, so this will be a learning experience for me. And this week we had combined RS and priesthood with a really important lesson. I try to be humble and don't really consider myself too proud, but the lesson really made me think about things that I can change and improve on. The person I am now is not the same person I was three years ago in Stockton (and I liked that person much more), so I have a long way to go just to get back to where I was. I always say that when I'm faced with a challenge, I always know when it's over or almost over because I learn something from it. I don't think I'm there yet, so I'm sure there's more challenge to go, but I at least feel like there's been some improvement. I'm hopeful that the light at the end of the tunnel is visible and that maybe this place can turn into something like home.

The bad thing about genetics

My mom has great teeth, great eyesight (until she got older, which causes most people to go farsighted), no real joint problems, things like that. My dad has bad teeth, bad eyes, a bad back, bad knees, bad joints. Of those problems, my brothers and sister have bits and pieces. And then there's me. Bad teeth, bad eyes, bad knees, bad back, bad joints. I got them all. Apparently he must love me most because he passed this all on to me (at least that's the thought I comfort myself with when I'm in pain because of one of my problems). :D

Along with just having weak teeth, I have a weakness for soda, and I know it doesn't do my teeth any favors. In addition to that, Jason and I went about eight years without dental insurance, so I had a lot of little problems that began way back then that I wasn't able to take care of when they were little. For the last three to four years, we've had dental, so I've been maxing out my insurance every year trying to get my mouth back into the kind of order where I can actually chew on both sides of my mouth. My biggest problem actually started way back when Lindsay was born. During pregnancy I craved ice--never craved it before or after, but I would just go buy a cup of ice and munch on it like it was candy. That usually lasted until the baby was about a week old. So while I was munching on my last cup of ice after Lindsay was born, I chipped a tooth. It really wasn't that big of a deal (and this is during the period of no insurance so I couldn't afford to take care of it), I just had to be careful because food would get trapped back in there. Fast forward a couple years, I flew up to Seattle to visit my best friend and the pressure on the airplane caused me to have a massive toothache during my visit. So when I got back home, we had to scrape together money for me to get a root canal done. I felt better after, but we couldn't afford the crown, so I just left that tooth alone with the massive filling intending to get the crown when we could afford it. Three years later, we're here in Arizona, finally have dental insurance, but that tooth is so weak now that it has begun to crumble around the filling. My dentist, who is in our ward and is the most compassionate man and who's judgment I trust, suggested that he may not be able to save that tooth anyway, so we should work on the rest of my mouth trying to get it in good condition before we start maxing out my insurance on just that tooth. This whole time, I haven't really been able to eat on that side of my mouth because I knew it was weak and I tried to preserve it. Unfortunately, that made it so that I had a ton of cavities on the other side of my mouth because it's not compensating. So we start doing all kinds of filling work, meanwhile that tooth just keeps getting in worse and worse condition. Finally, about eighteen months ago, I had him just extract it because I couldn't deal with it anymore and it was causing too many problems. So I've had a gap in the back of my mouth for the last year and a half and still can't eat on that side, but I haven't had the pain or aggravation of that tooth. So about a year ago, we start to discover that the tooth next to that tooth, and the very rear tooth on the bottom side of my mouth, has a problem. I'm not really feeling the problem most of the time because I'd had a root canal done on that tooth when I was eighteen. He actually couldn't even see it in the x-rays, but you know how dentists are, and when I told him I had some sensitivity back there (and he was like, you can't possibly be sensitive, there's no root), he tapped on the tooth and it hurt so much I was almost in tears. So that's how we discovered that I needed to have another root canal done on that tooth.

Yesterday, I had that root canal done and the prep work on a bridge (so that I actually won't even have a gap back there anymore). I thought since there's no root it wouldn't be as bad. And oh, boy, I was wrong. Apparently the decay had set in under my gums buried in my jaw, so I've got this really deep ache in the middle of my jaw. The nice thing about my dentist, though, is that he actually just called me to check on me--woke me up from my nap since I've been trying to just sleep it off. And he was saying the pain shouldn't last too much longer. And, of course, the best part is that in a couple weeks they're putting in the permanent bridge so I won't have to deal with the gap any more and all of my teeth will finally be cavity free. I think that's the first time in almost ten years that I could actually say that.

Oh, and a cruel trick of fate--Jason still hadn't gone to the dentist (had been almost ten years for him), so I finally bugged him enough to get him in the chair last year. He had two small cavities. That's it! I go every six months and wind up with new cavities, and my dear husband doesn't go for years and has two small ones. Let's hope the kids have the genetics of his teeth.

Tonight's conversation with Bailey

Bailey: "Mom, I was wondering...well, Lindsay's DS looks exactly like your DS. So, I was wondering if it was the same or if you bought a new one."
(incidentally, it is the same one, we packaged mine up and gave it to her because it was cheaper and when do I have the time to play with it?)
Me: "What do you mean did I buy one? Santa gave it to her."
Bailey: "Oh, well, I was just wondering."
Me: "Well, wait, you always tell me you believe in Santa so do you or not?"
Bailey: "Of course I believe in Santa. I just don't know where most of my presents come from."
Me: "Well, what do you mean you don't know where they come from. If they come from Santa, they come from Santa, right?"
Bailey: "Yeah, well, I was just wondering"

I was laughing when she left, thought it was funny. I'm pretty sure deep down she knows the truth, but she either (1) doesn't want to give up the fantasy of Santa or (2) is afraid that if she fesses up to not believing we'll take it away like we did when we told her about the tooth fairy (seriously, when you're nine, parents are tired of paying for teeth!)

Some holiday projects

It's been awhile since I've had the time to post projects, but I did do a few things around the holidays:


I had to make two cards this year due to a lack of planning--I didn't have enough of any good colors of cardstock to make 55 cards that were all the same. I was less than thrilled with how they turned out, but I ran out of time, so to me they're a little unfinished and definitely not my best work. But they're handmade, so that's something.

I really liked these two cards much better (but they were too much work to make that many of!). The dog one we made for our vet and dog trainer and the karate one for Cole's karate teachers.
These were for my siblings' gift cards this year. They turned out really cute (if I do say so myself).
This was the gift I made for my boss this year and the gift bag I wrapped it in. We actually went over to her house on Christmas Eve for the party she was hosting. She gave the kids each a present that they were super excited about, and I think she had fun watching the kids open them up.

So after finishing up my last class (and having taken back to back to back classes) for just about a year, I've decided I need a little break from school. I'm still on the wait list--if I get really lucky, I'll get pulled from the list in the fall, but I think it is more likely to be spring semester next year. I've only got two classes left that are required to graduate with my RN, so as long as I knock them out before I start, I'll be good. So hopefully that will mean that I'll get to post more creations since I should have the time to work on them.

Christmas pics

As anyone with kids knows, the holiday season is an incredibly busy time of year. Every year we know that as soon as Halloween is here, that's it--the rest of the year flies by. Added to that fact is that I had my final on December 12, so I haven't had much time to post. We had a great holiday season. Jason and I both took a lot of time off work so that we could spend the first week of winter break with the kids. The day after Christmas, I drove the kids to Blythe to meet my mom who took them for the next week. I managed to save a couple more days off this year so I got to take off two days from work without anyone to take care of. I have to say I was really lazy, I pretty much just laid around the house and watched the first season of "Glee" on dvd that I picked up. Not that I endorse laziness, but it was really nice to have the time to do whatever I wanted and not have school/work/kids demands placed on me. J and I went out to dinner to a few places that the kids don't like or are too expensive with the five of us and enjoyed our time with each other. Last night I made the drive to Blythe again (by myself again!) and picked up the kids. I love to miss them, and I love when they come home. It's nice to enjoy your kids telling you stories when (sometimes after you've heard their voices for six hours straight) you don't always want to hear them talk. So we're trying to get the house picked up and ready to return to work/school, but I did want to share some of our holiday pictures with you.

At the beginning of the month, Cole tested for and passed to get his beginning gold belt. We had a little bit of a struggle with him at the beginning of the month with karate (his frustration at a few things was making him tell us he didn't like karate--luckily we know how much he really loves karate). He's having fun advancing and we are enjoying all the stages as he progresses. Next test will be for his Gold belt.

Bailey had her first concert at school for band. I was as excited for her as she was to perform (and totally related when she would tell me how nervous she was as we approached the day of the concert). For only playing for six months, I think she's pretty talented, and she really loves playing. I've yet to hear an arguement from her when I tell her to practice. Hopefully she'll keep up that love of playing an instrument.

Decorating the tree is always one of our favorite family activities. This year we bought a real tree and our house smelled so wonderful. While it was a pain to bring home and dispose of, it brought back so many memories for me as my family always had a real tree every year when I was a child. Digging into the box of ornaments always brings back so many memories of our Christmases together. As children, both Jason's family and my family gave us ornaments each year in addition to ones we made for ourselves or were given as gifts from friends/teachers. Nowadays, mine and J's ornaments hardly make it onto the tree because we've kept up the tradition of a yearly ornament for the kids. We usually try to pick something that represents what our kid's interests are for the year and it's so much fun to go back and remember years when we got certain ornaments.

Another of my family traditions that I've carried over is the way that the kids are allowed to come down Christmas morning. The kids are not allowed to even peek at the downstairs before J and I get up in the morning. So usually the night before, we tell the kids what time they can start waking us up (usually 7 am), and then they'll come in to get us up. This year we got really spoiled because the kids were so tired, I think it was after 8 when they came to get us. Then they have to line up at the top of the stairs in order of height while we set up cameras. When we're ready, we call them down so we can start taking pictures and video. Once they come down, they get to open their stockings before breakfast. Each kid gets a dvd (and in more recent years) a cd from Santa in their stocking, so it's always fun to see which movie and cd Santa brought.

Santa also brought hats and gloves because they kids have been too cold in the mornings to ride their bikes to school. Lindsay got the Princess and the Frog soundtrack and the new Tinker Bell movie.
Cole got the Transformers soundtrack (he really likes rock with bands like Green Day and Nickelback) and the entire first season of Clone Wars on dvd
Bailey has (finally!) fallen in love with Harry Potter, so she got the new Harry Potter movie on dvd and the Emily Osment cd she's been wanting (and let me tell you, Santa had a really hard time finding it in the stores around here--they were all sold out!).
Even Charlie got to open his stocking and he had a great time chewing up Santa before destroying him later that day.

Some of the highlights for Bailey this year were some DS games, and a lot of equipment to go with her Zune: her own headphones (so she could give her dad back his), a dock with a remote and speakers so she can listen to it without the headphones.
Some of Cole's highlights were this Star Wars book (which is a complete visual dictionary of everything Star Wars), a new DS (which Santa actually got used since the last DS Cole got two years ago got broken within six months), some games for his DS, and more legos and bakugan.
Lindsay's highlights were a DS (which used to belong to her mom, but she hasn't figured that out), a huge Bobby Jack pillow (that she fell in love with at Bed Bath & Beyond and carried around with her the whole time we were in the store and cried when she had to say goodbye to him--she is seven and not three, right?), and a ton of new Littlest Pet Shops.

I really tried to do less this year than I have in years past, and I think I succeeded without the kids really realizing it (or if they did, they didn't mention it to me). Getting Cole's DS secondhand (and on sale too) was great as was the idea to give Lindsay mine since it was sitting in my drawer not being played with. With as much as I tried to tone it down for the kids, though, Jason went wild in gifts for me, not the least of which was a Cricut expression (which I did find for a screaming deal for him--almost half off), and another Fossil watch. I objected, and tried to get him to allow me to return some of the things, but he's told me it's a reward for working so hard in school this year, so as much as it pains me, I'm going to let him spoil me. The best gift by far though, and as much as it must have pained him to buy it for me, he bought me an authentic Dodger's jersy from the '88 world series when the Dodgers beat the A's through Kirk Gibson's iconic home run, and includes Mike Soscia's name on the back who is my favorite Dodger of all time. This pained him because J is a huge A's fan and we both have such different memories of the '88 world series, and I always remember to rub it in, I mean, I remind him who won. :D There wasn't much for my wonderful husband to open up this year (his computer died earlier this year so he will be getting a laptop, we just couldn't do it in time for Christmas), but I tried to do my best. I found him a new Grinch ornament (I try to find a new one for him every year as Grinch is his favorite Christmas story and has become one of our family traditions regarding the reading of the story and watching the movie every Christmas eve). Cole found him a pin that has a Mr T shaped "poo" on it that says "I pity the poo". This past year J has taught the kids all about Mr T and now has them driving me nuts quoting him non stop, so this was perfect. I also found a book called Chuck Norris vs Mr T and it's all just a bunch of jokes regarding two of J's favorite joke subjects. We had a great time, as always, reading the names off the gifts as one of Jason's family traditions got handed down to our family. We try to find funny and clever names to write on the gift, usually having something to do with the gift itself. Before you get to open a gift, you have to read the names out loud so wen can all get a kick out of it. This has been a really wonderful Christmas season, and I'm not anxious to leave it. I'm so grateful for all that my family has been blessed with, the love that we share and for the sacrafice of our elder brother who made returning home possible.