March

March was full and fun! Here are the highlights:

• A visit to the C.R. Smith (American Airlines) Museum

• Mom's Night Out mug exchange

• Lots of track meets with improved times almost every time

• Weston and Max started an online coding class that they really love.

• Weston attended a couple of 4H meetings to see if that is something he is interested in participating in for the coming school year. 
• We discovered Local Pint and kind of made it "our place" since it's within walking distance of our house and since it's a pretty fun place to hang out.

• We saw A Wrinkle in Time, which was pretty disappointing as a movie but still made for a fun outing.

• Paralympics

• Weston went on a Boy Scout campout. He also worked super hard on merit badges throughout the month.
• We celebrated Pi Day in a big way, with pie for every meal.

• Jeff went to yoga with me.
• I participated in the next wave of a longitudinal health study I've been a part of since I was in high school.
• We decided on the spur of the moment to take a long weekend in Sallisaw, OK for Spring Break. We had fun hanging out at our KOA, hiking through the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, and hiking at Devil's Den State Park in AK. 

• We started making our plans for the next school year.
• We finalized all our plans for our upcoming summer trip to South America.
• We spent a night in Allen, TX, where the kids were delighted to find a putting green and swimming pool at the hotel, in addition to the awesome breakfast buffet. 

• Ruth took a practice PSAT test and did very well.
• The bluebonnets started blooming!

• Weston and Clay participated in the district PSIA meet, and Weston brought home ribbons for Math (6th) and Number Sense (3rd).

• We hiked the Katy Trail, which runs for three miles through downtown Dallas but feels somewhat removed from the city. 

• We discovered Bishop Cider Co. aka Cidercade, where we had fun trying some hard ciders and playing vintage arcade games.

• We had a Wind in the Willows picnic, which we all agreed was the most epic picnic ever.

• Ruth took her first CAP orientation flight. She actually had control of the plane for about 15 minutes in the air, and she had a blast. I think she's truly hooked now!

• We finally got around to visiting the Shannon Brewing Co. in Keller, which we've been meaning to do pretty much since we moved here. The kids enjoyed the yard and table games, and Jeff and I enjoyed sitting on the patio sipping on stouts. I'm sure we'll visit again.

• Clay lost his first tooth with absolutely no fanfare. In fact, the baby tooth just sort of disappeared (seriously, we have no idea when it fell out or where it went!), and his permanent tooth is already filling up the gap. 

• Jeff and I took a cheese making class at Dallas Mozzarella Company.

Day Five in D.C.

After a leisurely morning, we headed over to Mt. Vernon to learn more about America's first president. The property was absolutely beautiful, and we thoroughly enjoyed the tour of the mansion and exploring the grounds and outbuildings.

Washington's Home

The grounds at Mt. Vernon were gorgeous!

George Washington had terrible teeth and had to have
several sets of dentures made. He was self-conscious of this,
which is one reason he always looks so serious in portraits.

The swearing in ceremony

A meeting of the great minds

From there, we made our way to Old Town Alexandria for a late lunch at Virtue Feed and Grain. The food was delicious, and the little town was lovely!

Virtue Feed and Grain in Old Town Alexandria

Weston's lobster pot pie

Our next stop was Arlington Cemetery, and truly I have no words. It completely took my breath away, and I walked around with a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes the entire time we were there. We were just in time to observe the last changing of the guard for the day at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which was a beautiful and moving thing to behold.

So incredibly thankful for the sacrifice of these brave souls

The changing of the guard at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Finally, we stopped to pick up "dinner" at Dangerously Delicious Pies and Coffee. I would not really recommend having chocolate pecan pie for dinner every night, but sometimes when you're on vacation, you've just got to go with what feels right.

Dinner

A reason to smile

When I was 8 or 10, my friend and I were playing around in a golf cart. We were seeing how fast we could go around corners, and for some stupid reason (possibly the same stupid reason that had me participating in this activity in the first place), I was waving my hands in the air like I just didn't care instead of holding on. But, as I slid across the gravel road on my face, I began to care very much. Once we got the bleeding stopped, it became clear that half of my front tooth was missing. Our family dentist was able to repair it with a crown, and that was that. Or so I thought.

About two years ago, I started having intermittent intense pain and random swelling in my face. A year after that, I finally found out what was causing it: The root of the injured tooth was seriously infected and beyond repair. So my dentist and I decided it would have to come out and an implant would have to be placed and a new permanent crown installed. Without going into too many of the gory physical and emotional details, I can tell you that the final step of the process happened today. I got my new tooth, just in time for Thanksgiving. It feels ridiculously odd in my mouth right now, and I am still in some pain from the procedure, but I am so thankful to have it finally and firmly in place. I am also thankful for the two dentists (one in Marble Falls, Texas and one in Dublin, Ireland) that worked hard to accommodate my crazy travel schedule in order to get it done. I truly have many reasons to smile.

Bring on the turkey! 

My sweet family presented me with flowers and chocolate
to celebrate my new tooth. Another reason (or five) to smile!

Dentistry by the numbers

It's never much fun to go to the dentist. It's less fun when you have a relatively large family, and the majority of them have dental issues. We were in the dentist's office today from 8:30 until 12:00, being seen by 3 hygienists, 2 dental assistants and 2 dentists. As a group, we came away with five cavities, one diagnosis of periodontal disease, one diagnosis of gingivitis, two prescriptions, one plan for another round of surgery, ten follow up appointments, three recommendations of countries offering quality dental care, and several thousand dollars missing from our pocketbook. This is especially frustrating, because we do take dental hygiene seriously and try to implement healthy brushing practices in our home. Obviously, it isn't working. So, we've ordered a water pick and electric toothbrushes, and one of us will soon be wearing a night guard. So many fun times! At least we had the foresight to schedule this appointment at this time, so we can get everything taken care of before we leave on our trip. And, thankfully, our dentists and everyone in their office are wonderful to work with.

All I want for Christmas is a new front tooth

When I was about 9 or 10 years old, I was thrown from a swiftly moving golf cart, while laughing hysterically. Right up until the time my face made contact with the earth and the rest of my body came skidding along behind it. At that point, the fun and games pretty much seemed to have run their course. When I got to my feet, I was a bloody mess, with more than a few pieces of gravel embedded in my knee and a significant portion of my permanent (not-so-permanent) front tooth broken off and planted in my lower lip. A root canal followed sometime later, along with the building of a fake tooth. And, that was that.

Flash forward a few decades. You may remember that I had some "mysterious face pain" a little over a year ago. I convinced myself that I had a crazy sinus infection, and when the pain went away after a few days, I mentally patted myself on the back for having been right.

But then, about a month ago, I experienced a day of pretty intense pain in my front tooth, followed by two days of ridiculous celebrity-facelift-gone-wrong swelling in my lip and face. I made an appointment with the dentist. She recommended I see her husband, the oral surgeon, to discuss a procedure that seemed fantastically over-the-top to me. I politely made the appointment but cancelled it when I got home, because I was no longer experiencing pain and swelling, and it all just seemed like too much. I mean one day of pain a year didn't really seem like that big a deal compared to the very involved and expensive procedure she was suggesting.

And, then, three days ago, someone hit the replay button on the days of pain and swelling, and I realized things might be worse than I thought. I rescheduled my appointment with the oral surgeon for today. As he showed me the x-ray, he explained that I have a fractured root and diminishing bone. He continued by telling me the problem will only get worse, and I will have more and more days of pain and swelling unless the tooth comes out. But, since it's a front tooth, and since I'm rather vain, it's not enough to just take it out. It must be replaced with an implant, which requires a bone graft, which will require months of healing before the implant can even be placed. Throw in a serious time crunch because of an already-scheduled trip around the world, and you can see what an awesome situation this is.

So, long story short, in ten days, I will begin the process, with the tooth extraction and bone graft. We won't really know how the rest of the story looks until the doctor has a chance to see what the existing bone looks like. It wasn't exactly what I wanted for Christmas, but it is a gift that will keep on giving, so there's that.

Round Two

Back in August of 2011, Ruth got braces. We knew at the time that it was only Round One. She started Round Two today, on a more aggressive schedule than we first anticipated due to our travel plans. She spent almost two hours in the chair at the orthodontist's office, so it was nice (though highly ironic) to receive a sweet treat from the doctor at the end of her visit.

A day at the dentist

Five of us went to the dentist today. This is always a super-fun time. Oh, and this was the family's first visit to this particular dentist office.

We started at 8:30, with Clay's first-ever visit. He was thrilled to sit in that funky chair with all the interesting maneuvers, and the hygienist showed him every possible tool, and even let him handle all of them. His favorite was "Mr. Thirsty," the water sucking straw. He did fantastic with the cleaning and really had a good time.

Max was up next. He got to wear cool shades and got a wonderful report. He has twenty-one teeth, but we could see from the x-rays that it won't be long before some of them start to come out.

By the end of Max's appointment, Clay was restless and ready to go, so it worked out well that we had a break before the next round of appointments. The three of us came home for a brief period before returning to the office, this time with the two oldest kids in tow.

The two littles stayed in the van, watching a DVD, while I took the two older kids inside for their simultaneous appointments. The next hour found me running from exam room to van to other exam room. And, on one of my visits to the van, I found that Clay had released himself from his seat and was giddily rolling the windows up and down. Upon opening the door to lock the windows, I noticed the overpowering stench wafting up from the backseat. Sure enough, Clay had pooped in his pants (on an underwear day). And, AND, I had neglected to relocate the diaper bag back to the van after taking it out over the weekend. I was utterly unequipped to take care of the situation. My own dental appointment was coming up, so I called in reinforcements. Jeff came and saved the day, and took the two little boys home for safekeeping.

Meanwhile back in the office, Weston also donned the shades and got an excellent report. He had to have his spacer removed and replaced, which was a little painful, but he was a trooper and did great.

Ruth had a couple of problem areas and will have to go back in for sealants and a filling. (Ruth was more on her own than the others, so I didn't get a picture of her. I suspect she wouldn't have allowed that anyway, though.)

By the end of my appointment, I was a bit cranky from having been there all day, from having had my mouth messed with, and from having received a little bit of bad news about some crumbly old fillings, which will have to be replaced (at a significant cost). So, I was super-thrilled when I handed our Health Savings debit card to the business manager and she told me it wasn't working. This required me to call the bank, and to be placed on hold, and to talk to the always-helpful bank people--from the comfort of the dentist office. The first person I spoke to at the bank confirmed that the card wasn't working, as well it shouldn't, because there was a zero balance in the account. It's a brand new account that we just opened a couple of weeks ago, so I was a bit shocked. After explaining this to the unhelpful lady on the phone, I was transferred to someone slightly more helpful, who was able to determine that we do have money in the account, we just can't use it (for another few days). Awesome.

The good news is we all survived and (most of us) don't have to do it again for another six months. Another positive was that we are all very happy with our new dentists and their staff. This was a good change for us.

Thankfully, the big kids and I were able to end the day by seeing the Tarzan musical Marble Falls High School was putting on. What an amazing show! It provided plenty of opportunities to show off our very clean smiles.

Fun at the Dentist

I had to go in and get my teeth cleaned today--always a fun activity. While I was there the following conversation ensued.

(Scrape, scrape, scrape)

Hygenist: Hmm. Looks like you have some bleeding here.

(Scrape, scrape, scrape).

Hygenist: Do you floss? (This asked while she has both of her hands and two pieces of equipment crammed in my mouth).

Me (finally): Occasionally.

Hygenist: The bleeding may be caused by gingivitis--and it may be made worse by hormones since you just had a baby.

Me (Not really what I said, but definitely what I thought): Yeah. Maybe. But isn't it just possible that the bleeding could be casued by you poking me with an evil-looking, pointed hook thing.

Yes, yes. It's always fun to go to the dentist. And luckily I get to go back in four months and do it all over again.