Morning, the loss.

When our daughter told us her tooth was loose, I thought she must have hit her face on something and miraculously forgot to mention it to us. I considered this possibility for a moment and realized that with the phase she's been in for the past year, there's no way possible she took a face plant and didn't express her pain, discomfort, or inconvenience to us without a whine, whimper or full-blown bawl.

It sounds bad to paint your own child as an annoying pain in the ass, but when she's not sharing her food with me, making me cards, inventing games for us to play and building forts for us to hide in, that is EXACTLY what she's doing. And, she does it very well, I might add.

Still, there it was, all wiggly and holding on for dear life by a pink gum string. I didn't know that she could lose a tooth so young (just turning five in March and all). So, of course, Dr. Hypochondriac that I am, I looked it up on the internet and many pediatricians concurred that this was completely normal. So, I took deep breath and let go of the idea of our daughter having silver caps. Not like there's anything wrong with that. And I'm sure I would have pushed for a porcelain one and paid money we didn't have just so people wouldn't stare at her teeth.

After several days of seeing Maddy perpetually with her fingers in her mouth or tickling the wobbly tooth with her tongue, it came out. With a little help from my husband. Neither of us could stand it anymore. With his brute strength, he twisted it delicately until it tore off and she began choke on a mouthful of blood. I'm kidding about that last part, but it did come out. And with it, a little blood and a great amount of symbolism. She had lost a baby tooth. She really was no longer a baby at all.






This and the fact that kindergarten is starting mid-August, we're suffering from a bit of post-preschool blues. There is a definite empty nest thing going on in our house. And to think that our son, the one who will be sixteen in August, has only two years of high school left and then he will be gone. The choice to visit us will be only up to him. And I put fingers in my ears and I scream lalala until I start to cry. And I pray that he really feels the connection to his family that we think he feels and can't stand to be away for too long.

The morning after Maddy lost her tooth, she found a crisp single and a Hello Kitty candy necklace under her pillow. I know, sugar. The vigilant promoter of tooth loss. But it WAS her first. I guess we wanted to make sure that it wouldn't be her last ;) I mean, what would we do without the constant reminder that someday, that bright blue room with the handmade posters, flower garland and Little Mermaid accessories would be empty. A workout or sewing room. A room without laughter.

Love to you.

Incubation Period

Time for my quarterly blog...wish I had the constitution to blog more frequently. What I blog about here are the most important things and I find it sad that I don't find more time for writing about them. It doesn't make them any less vital to me.

What's been happening lately...since the last blog, we thought we were all done being sick, but I think I was more sick of the sickness than it was sick of me (and my family). Colds, flus and allergies, never ceasing. I know, that's all a part of life, but it seems like it's hit us especially hard this year (especially Christian). I think we're seeing the beginning of a healthful season. Allergies are preferable to cleaning up vomit and visits to the ER.

Christian's approaching his sweet sixteen ironically with a sour outlook. I know his diabetes gets him down and it's compounded by general teenage angst. Or vice versa. There's still a lot of nagging. Sometimes there's notable improvement, but not long after, being followed by backsliding. The negative stuff is really kind of minor and very typical, but when you want everything for your kid, you don't want them to get hung up on the little BS stuff. He's a smart kid and deep down, he's a good kid. I just want him to enjoy high school more than I did. And I want him to have an easy transition into adulthood.

Madeline's officially registered for kindergarten. She has her assessment in the beginning of May. I have mixed feelings about her starting. I'm excited to see her in another phase of her childhood, but like her daddy, I will mourn the loss of her dependency. I will be going back to work after a long stay-at-home "vacation", as Christian calls it. Time to put the Bon Bons away and start earning a decent living.

Since Christmas, we've had a lot of birthday madness and general madness, which I will share with you in the form of a pictorial:












Until we meet again, Blogger.

I love you SMUCH!