Dentist, Drugs and Patriotism

I don't think I've told you yet. Last week we found out that Mashuga had an abscessed tooth. Not as much fun as you might think. He was in massive pain last Tuesday evening, so we gave him ibuprofen and put a warm rice pack on his cheek. Oh and the other side of his head hurt too because he's been recovering from an outer ear infection. Again, not so very fun.

So, one emergency trip to the dentist, a serious course of antibiotics and a week later, it was time to have the offending tooth removed. Eeek!

Yesterday morning I got Kaitybean off to school. Then I took Scud and Coco over to my neighbor and friend, Emma's house. And Mashuga and I were off to the dentist.

Now, Mashuga has spent A LOT of stinking time at the dentist. For some reason, neither his teeth nor Coco's teeth developed properly while in the womb. They both had teeth come in with cavities already in place and enamel that was less than desirable. I'm really not sure that Mashuga has a tooth that has not had or does not currently have a cavity. He's always been exceedingly good for the dentist, but last time was AWFUL! Did I blog about how he screamed the WHOLE TIME and my mama heart just broke?

So, this time we opted for a Versed sedation. And it worked WONDERS. Just minutes after taking the medicine, he was curled up on my lap smiling a goofy, out-of-it smile and reaching for things that weren't there. In a moment of clarity he turned to face me and said "Mom, I think something's messing with my mind." We waited in the waiting room for another 15 minutes or so. All the while, he lay happily on the couch next to me, mumbling incoherently and teetering between sleep and awake.

We took him back to have his teeth worked on and he was a dream. Actually, I think he may have been dreaming. I heard him snore a couple of times. The dentist was able to fix EVERYTHING on the right side of his mouth (two root canals, two crowns, one simple cavity, an extraction and the placing of a space maintainer) without a single hitch. I took him out to the waiting room and laid him carefully on the couch to watch Ice Age. He only fell off twice while I was paying the nice receptionist an obscene sum (one that sounds a lot like whine hundert dollhairs) and negotiating times for his next appointment and the time for Coco to go in for general anesthesia and an overhaul of his cute little mouth.

On the way home I bought him a strawberry milkshake because he hadn't eaten anything all day and could only have soft foods. After this we proceeded to pick the other boys up from the babysitter, deposit a paycheck at the bank and pick up the other two kindergarteners in Mashuga's carpool.

About this time, Mashuga started "waking up". He was not a happy camper and the amnesiac properties of the Versed were very apparent. He kept asking things like "Why did they give me a sword balloon when I wanted a motorcycle?" ("Because you weren't coherent enough to tell us what you wanted.") and "How did we get here?" and "Why are we picking kids up from the school when we're supposed to be at the dentist?" and "Why does my mouth hurt?" and "What's all this stuff in my mouth?"

After a few hours he was back to his normal self and satisfied with my answers to all his questions about the morning's goings-on.

Then, last evening we went to the Hope of America Student Showcase to support Kaitybean, who was in the chorus. A few years ago, Kaitybean and Scud had the chance to be in the floor show with others from their charter school. We knew it would be a fiasco and a late night. So JDub stayed home with Coco (who clearly wouldn't have enjoyed sitting still that long) and Scud (who just didn't want to go). Mashuga and I went together to watch the show.

As it was last time, it was a bit of a fiasco. Less so with only two of us searching frantically for seats and such, but still quite interesting.

Some highlights:

• Mashuga lost a shoe on our way across a VERY busy street. TWICE. And I had to brave the cars again to retrieve it. I'm so glad neither of us is dead.
• Mashuga took his shoes off while we were waiting for the show to start and managed to kick the guy in front of us in the head. He turned his highly pierced and tattooed and very angry face to glare at Mashuga. Then he left and never came back.
• At the end, we went to get Kaitybean from the designated spot and she wasn't there. Luckily, she and a friend just got a bit turned around and made it to the right place after a while.
• While there, Mashuga informed me that his mouth was hurting. So, I pulled the ibuprofen out of my purse and ignored the sideways glances from our neighbors as I poured some for him.
  
• I got to see my amazing friend Monica and her cute family while waiting for Kaitybean. I enjoyed talking to her for a minute. She always makes me feel very empowered, just because of who she is. Just her being Monica makes me happy and willing to keep trying to be a first-rate version of Heather.
• Kaitybean was hyper and happy after it was over. She enjoyed the experience very much. And I liked it, too. Though it wasn't much different from the last one we attended. Still, it was very touching and patriotic.
• Fighting traffic to get out was, as I expected, a fight. We took a side road and ended up in front of the Provo Temple. So, the three of us decided to stop there and enjoy the temple grounds and the fountains. It was wonderful to be there together and to talk to the children about the temple and to feel their excitement to go there and their love for that peaceful, beautiful place.

I returned home to find a very exhausted JDub, who clearly got the short end of the stick. It took him 2 1/2 hours to get Coco to sleep.

So we drugged and dentisted our 6 year old amd managed to survive another Hope of America with our 10 year old.

Next on our list of parenting to-dos: find solutions for Coco's sleep issues.

And the Answers Are...

Valerie got the closest to getting all of the answers right. Not surprising, since she's like my children's second mother and knows them almost as well as I do.

A. These two children have a goal to win a lego contest, earn fabulous prizes and live in the lap of luxury for the rest of their childhood.
Answer: Scud and Kaitybean
Each month my three oldest children get a free lego magazine and there is always some kind of contest going on. One was to make a movie with legos and win $2500. Another is to create some kind of batman creation out of legos -- the grand prize winner gets an xbox360 and the batman lego game. So, these two are forever making lego creations in the hopes of winning something WAY COOL.

B. This child has undertaken a campaign to single-handedly make the IKEA people rich.
Answer: This would be Coco.
In the last week or two he has broken three bowls, three plates and a bedside lamp -- all from IKEA. So, now I will be replacing them. And buying more plastic dishes for my accident prone toddler.

C. This child wants to be an American Idol, an olympic gymnast and an inventor.
Answer: Mashuga.
Of course. Who else could it be. And I think he actually has the energy to reach any or all of these goals.

D. This child wants to invent a small ball that will make a planet explode in less than an hour.
Answer: Scud
Scud has found his calling in life. He wants to be an engineer and design and build stuff. Considering his dim view of engineers, I wonder what my Dad would think of this. I am mostly disturbed by Scud's desire to make WMAs. But, apparently he doesn't want to hurt anyone. He just wants to explode a planet and then run back to earth. Maybe he'll create better means of interplanetary travel, too. Who knows?

E. Last, but not least, this child is determined to break the records for world's longest and loudest burp.
Answer: This would be my darling Kaitybean.
Yes, with all of these boys, my delicate daughter is the one who is constantly practicing her near record-breaking belches. You'd be surprised. This cute girl can burp like a MAN!

More Picture Catch Up

We love trees, especially ginormous ones like these.

Coco out on the town. He has been walking for 6 weeks now. Yes, he started walking at 9 1/2 months. Blew me away. I think I like my later walkers better. It's like 24 hour suicide watch around here.

Honestly, though, who would NOT want to spend 24/7 with this face? This kid is so much fun.

And this face? Also melts my heart. And cracks me up.

Another Mashuga. This is at our local courthouse. I'd never been inside before this day and it is really an interesting building.

And more Mashuga. He's fun to take pictures of. Probably because he's such a ham.

Halloween Pictures

Um, what do you mean it's almost Christmas? What does that have to do with anything?

Itty Bitty Reunion Report

It was a good weekend. I was very surprised by just how much I enjoyed our family reunion. I realized that I actually really like this motley crew I call my family. Granted, some of them look like the type of people I wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley, but they all love me and each other and when it comes down to it, are good people. I was surprised by how warmly I felt toward everyone and how genuinely glad I was to be around this crazy family of mine.

I was especially glad to see some of my family that I haven't seen for over a decade.

Then there was my cousin, C, who is witty, warm and welcoming. One of my favorite people and its been forever since I saw him. A couple of my favorite quote from him:

Speaking (very lovingly) of one of our other cousins:
"Well, you know, that gray matter isn't magically going to come to life with age."

and

Speaking (perhaps less lovingly) of one of our cousins with whom he hasn't always gotten along:
"Are you kidding, I haven't seen him for 16, 17, 18 years. I had to come. Couldn't miss it. It's like a trip to the zoo."

My Dad's cousin J.R. and his family I especially haven't seen for a long time and it was wonderful to see them. He has a son, F, who is my age and has just always been uber-cool to me. Still is. He now works for Policy Today and will be taking a break from his job soon to take a long biking trip through Italy and Croatia with his girlfriend and her parents. Yeah, an interesting glimpse at the road not taken.

I'd be tempted to regret my life choices and wonder at "what ifs," but I've got these cool kids.

Coco was passed around and around, of course, as babies always are at family functions. Everyone oohed and ahhed over how pretty he is.

Kaitybean got to spend some time with J, one of my cousin's daughters who was born just a month after Kaitybean. They had a ball. They made a dam with JDub, rode bikes, climbed trees, got dirty and sang Hillary Duff and Britney Spears songs for all of us.

Scud was his usual blend of kookiness and timidity. He contorted his face for the camera, rode scooters all over and was just his wonderful, ever-present self. Watching and enjoying it all. Just taking it all in. Sure love him.

Mashuga was, of course, the star of the party. He tends to do that. Things just kind of turn into the Mashuga show. This was no exception. Just after dinner, they started karaoke. Well, Mashuga got up on the stage with the microphone and talked and welcomed everyone. Then, he sang a rousing rendition of "A Young Man Prepared". Nothing like a good church song to start off a night of inebriated karaoke.

But then, oh then, he got up and danced while someone else was singing.

It was hilarious, I tell you. Hil.ar.i.ous. This kid can move. And then, he turned around and did his little bum shake. Nobody expected it and we all laughed like crazy.

Videos and pictures are forthcoming. They just happen to be on JDub's computer, which is at work with him.

Don't worry, bloggy friends. I will not deprive you. You MUST see this.

And as we were leaving, my cousin C gave me one of the best compliments he ever could have given.

"I love your kids," he told me.

Then, at my shocked look he insisted, "Really. You have really great kids. They're normal kids, of course, but compared to a lot they are really well-behaved. And they're so much fun and so friendly and comfortable with people."

Ahhhhhh.......

Just hearing that made the whole trip worthwhile.

Photos

I love this guy.

Isn't this one of the cutest things you've ever seen. I love just his head poking out.

Tada! Paper hats at the Japanese Culture Fair on the last day of school.

My heart melts every time I see this one.

Sucking in his bottom lip.

Whatcha Talkin' About

Mommy Son Date

My Cute Date

He was disappointed. His friend got the comics page and he got stuck with this lousy ad page.

In a tower at the park.

Happy in the sling.

Sweet, sweet baby

Numbers Game

I am the mother of four.

I am learning that the more children you have, the more the numbers in your life grow.

Because I am the mother of four, every time we go anywhere I am responsible for clothing five total people. Sometimes I even have to make sure JDub is dressed appropriately before we head out the door.

This means ten socks. Ten shoes. Seldom are they where they should be.

Now, this part HAS gotten easier as my children have become more independent. But any mother knows that just because a child is at the age where he can dress himself doesn't mean that he really always dresses himself. Cries of "Mom, where is my...?" and "Mom, I can't find...!" abound.

This means that I have five mouths to feed on a daily basis. Three meals a day plus snacks in between -- a minimum of 21 meals a day. Oh and there's JDub. I prepare food for him at least once a day.

And buying the food is no picnic either, especially since gas prices put the grocery guys out of business. On Monday, Mashuga, Coco and I went to Target. There we purchased a heaping cart full of food for one week. When we got to the checkout line we found that all of our groceries would not fit back into one cart. So, I managed to get two small children and two full carts out to our car. Then, I loaded approximately 40 bags and other assorted items from the car to the house. I won't even estimate how many individual items I then put away. I'm guessing it is about one hundred.

Having four children means about 12 loads of laundry each week. Or more.

It means that I am responsible for the cleaning and trimming of 100 fingernails and toenails on a weekly basis.

I am the one must try to make sure that approximately 100 teeth get cleaned twice a day. More when Coco actually gets teeth.

That means a minimum of ten dentists appointments per year.

An average of twelve doctor's visits per year.

At least six rolls of toilet paper, seven pull-ups and 30 diapers per week.

It means about 300 minutes spent in the car each week driving to and from a charter school for which I've put in approximately 200 hours of volunteer time in the past year.

But that's not all.

I get and give at least 25 kisses and ten hugs every single day.

I hear "I love you." at least 10 times a day. And I get to say it even more.

I get to see dozens of smiles, kiss countless owies, heal broken hearts every day.

I get to read close to 21 bedtime stories and sing nearly 30 lullabies every week.

It also means that if each of my current children has only two children of their own, I'll have at least 8 grandchildren. And I hear they are worth all the effort.

So, it's not about the numbers, though the numbers are staggering when I think about it.

And I am certainly not complaining about numbers now. I know that, in 20 years, the numbers I'll be measuring are miles between me and each of my children, days I go without kissing them, years since they left home.

So with all of my counting today, I'm trying to mindfully count the most important thingss -- my blessings.

Randomness

Just a few things going on right now.

I feel like a Garth Brooks song. Much too young to feel this darn old. I have FOUR children. Did you read that? Read it again. FOUR CHILDREN. I'm not even thirty yet! That, and I have LOTS of gray hair. I'll post a picture soon. Seriously. A LOT OF GRAY HAIRS. No, this isn't just the before thirty freak out about the first gray hair. I got my first gray hair when I was seventeen. Since then they have been reproducing like bunnies. There are families upon families of gray hairs. Sometimes I like it. Each gray hair is like a badge of honor. I worked hard for it. They're like tiny little signs of a life well lived. But, I'd rather wear them proudly at 50 than pre-30. I think I'll be calling my SIL soon about a color and cut.

Kaitybean has been studying ancient Rome in her class. Today they had a Roman Festival and Feast. She was very excited and was voted to be the Empress for the party. We also survived her first major school report. She wrote about Pompeii and interjected letters from a little girl who moved to Pompeii just months before Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. She did a fantastic job. Her teacher stopped me during carpool to let me know how great she thought it was. What a cool daughter I have. What a neat school. What a neat teacher.

Mashuga has spent the whole day in his room. This child is STUBBORN. He has two shirts, a pair of pants and seven toys on his floor. Not too much for a four year old to take care of on his own. He's been told that he can't come out of his room until it is clean. So, he has napped, played, sung and wandered about his room ALL DAY LONG. Because he doesn't feel like picking up a grand total of 10 things.

Scud is OBSESSED with Calvin and Hobbes lately. SERIOUSLY OBSESSED. He has a toy monkey that he calls Hobbes and frequently re-enacts Calvin and Hobbes comics. One good thing about this -- his reading level is improving dramatically as he gets at least one C&H book from the library each week and reads it from cover to cover. One bad thing -- when he answers the phone by saying "Hi, Scud speaking. I'd like to order a triple anchovy pizza." Then, when the person on the other end asks for someone at our house he says, "I'm sorry, you must have the wrong number." And he hangs up on them.

JDub. Well, JDub made a bold move today. I've complained often of his frustration with work. He is truly overworked, underpaid and (worst of all for him) kept from doing his job properly because of the micro-mis-management at his place of employment. So, today he took in a resume detailing his experience and contributions to the company and essentially re-applied for a job there. He outlined what he wants to do, what needs to change in order for him to make his branch of the business profitable and how he will be accountable for his results. Basically, he told his two bosses that either they let him play by his rules or he's taking his ball and playing somewhere else. Hopefully they'll listen. His ball is really pretty important to their game there and he plays a huge role, bringing in more than 50% of their sales volume. I would think any employer would be glad to get the resume and letter he turned in today. In essence it said, "Get out of my way and let me make lots of money for you or I'll walk." He didn't ask for higher pay. Didn't make any ludicrous demands. He just wants to do his job, do it well and allow both the company and his family to profit from the results. Sounds reasonable to me. Still, depending on the response, he may soon be looking for a new job. Which might mean a move. Which I might not be happy with. Happy thoughts our way, please.

So, there you go. That's all I have to say for now.