More Random Writings

I thought I'd written about this, but maybe not...Thursday, I asked the kids what they were thankful for, and Luke (in typical fashion) named each one of us, including himself. Susanna hesitated for awhile (well, actually she said nothing, in typical fashion, until I threatened to take away her food, her clothes, and put her outside, since she wasn't thankful for any of it) then she replied, "God. Potatoes. Eggs. Food. Daddy. Mama. Luke...." and continued on and on and on. Guess I gave her something to be thankful about!

Yesterday, I cleaned out the kids' "store" banks, counted their money, put it in separate baggies, and off we went to town to Christmas shop. The concept wasn't that easy at first. We went to our Christian bookstore. Susanna decided she wanted a really long pencil, so I gave it to Luke. "No, that's for ME! I want it!" I explained that she WOULD get it, but Luke would buy it, wrap it, and put it under the tree until Christmas time. Then, Luke decided he wanted a ball...and I went through the same explanation for him. We next stopped at the "tractor store" (our local Fleet store), and the kids immediately saw mailboxes filled with cookies and wanted them. So...they each picked the one they wanted...and explanations again took place when they wailed because I gave "their" mailbox to the other child. They did have fun giving their money to the clerk, getting their own bag, and keeping their receipt to show they paid for their purchase. They also loved getting something special for Daddy with their own money...and also have a bit left over for Daddy to take them shopping for me, yippee! Susanna was disappointed that Luke didn't have $89 to buy the Barbie Jeep she wanted at Walmart....

Then we came home to wrap their presents. They had great delight in wrapping each other's gifts so they wouldn't know what the presents were until Christmas. Of course, when a friend came over today to babysit (more on that later), Susanna immediately showed her her long, nicely wrapped pencil.

Today was my first of three eventual dental visits to fix my teeth. Ugh. I often wonder if our childhood dentist just drilled our teeth for the fun of it. Mom says my dad thinks we put his kids through college. My mouth is filled with metal. And I've not had a cavity for over 20 years... but my teeth have been hurting, and I had parts of a tooth break off during both my pregnancies. I went to a local dentist who is a bit expensive but does white fillings instead of the metal ones. My pastor's wife is one of the hygienists, and she had the lucky honor of working on my mouth on my initial visit. It's interesting. Not only do they take x-rays, they also photograph the upper and lower teeth to show you what your teeth look like. Unfortunately, my teeth are NOT pretty. And I notice a huge crack in one of my teeth...must be what was bothering me, hm? Turns out, three teeth have cracks, the metal fillings are pulling away from my teeth (which you can easily see in the photos), and I need three crowns. Between doctor, hospital, and dental bills, our (my) medical bills are even uglier than my teeth.

Now, most people probably don't like going to the dentist. But I dislike the visits more than most. I had a very bad experience with my wisdom teeth 23 years ago -- two were impacted, which he didn't know about before pulling them, and even after about a dozen shots (seriously) of novacaine, my mouth still wasn't completely numb. I usually have to write out and sign my checks BEFORE the appointment and have the receptionist fill in the amount because by the end of my appointments I'm trembling so bad. Even with just a cleaning. The dentist today was great. I really didn't feel a thing while he drilled out seven old cavities and replaced them, building up a temporary filling where a crown will eventually go. But the sound of the drill. That freaks me out. Horribly. I usually take a walkman (yes, walkman, I'm not techically advanced enough to have an MP3) to block out the sound -- I don't know why I didn't do that this time. I would rather hear nails on a chalk board. I WILL take a walkman on my next appointment.

By the way, did I mention that the seven fillings (including filling one cracked tooth) was only ONE SIDE of my mouth? Thankfully, upper and lower. Two more appointments. Eventually. They will get done, but I need to recover a bit, get through all the rush of end-of-year things, then Luke's birthday. And Susanna's birthday. And...what comes after February 15 that I can use as an excuse? Okay, it isn't that bad. Well, I can deal with it. I think. And...I'll have a walkman to block out the noise.

I don't know why I thought of this, but Liz -- do you remember when you and Joe stayed with me in, California, I think, maybe it was as far back as Florida?, and Joe went out to buy a coffee maker and toaster oven so he could have coffee and toast in the morning? I still have them!

It's been cool reading emails and comments from my WHO ARE YOU blog. A friend from years back (I remember her and her husband visiting us off and on, probably shortly after they were married) reads my blog...I haven't heard from or seen her in decades! But to add to the mystery, now there is someone that sitemeter posts as "unknown." Completely "unknown." No country, state, nothing. ARG!!!!!!! but...thanks for reading! I do appreciate it.

There...some random writings. And more to come at another time, I'm sure of it!