Monday, January 26, 2009

Living With Benny Hill

Help me Sweet Baby Jesus - Caroline has discovered the pratfall.  Admittedly it was amusing the first time or two, but the 749th time of falling to her knees or crashing onto the sofa doesn't elicit giggles anymore.  And it's always accompanied by the requisite soundtrack - AAAAAAAggrrrgh!  Waaaaruuggggh!  etc.  Naturally she must work on this technique at a time when we have other things to do, leaving me standing there with gritted teeth saying "GET. YOUR. SHOES. ON. NOW. oryoucangotoschoolbarefoot!"   And the answer is always "I really fell!  It wasn't a trick!"  It happens at bedtime too - 

C going up the steps:  [collapse on stairs]  OOOOOFFF!
M gritting teeth:  Wow, you must really be tired - guess that means we can't play Scrabble before bed.
C:  It was just an accident, really!
M:  It's not an accident the 12th time - get moving.
C:  [collapse on stairs]  Oooops, I just tripped!

It's not good for my dental work to sound like a harpy, but I swear the next time she's going to school barefoot.

Thursday, January 08, 2009

Five Loves....

Another blog that I frequently read (www.unpinkmom.blogspot.com) had a challenge to post about five things you happen to love today, outside of the obvious like husbands and children and pets.  So here are mine.

1.  Hot tea.  There's nothing better on a shivery cold morning like today was.  I especially like fancy weird flavors like almond cookie and chocolate strawberry.   (although today I just had mint)

2.  Bal A Versailles perfume.   I've never seen a store that sells it, but James and my mom keep me supplied when I am running low.  

3.  My crockpot.  Another blog I read was all about this woman's challenge to use her crockpot every day for a year.  She just completed it, but reading about the different things she tried(who'da thunk you could make Shrinky Dinks in there?!?!)   made me want to use mine more.  Next up, chicken and dumplings in the crockpot on Saturday!  

4.  Bath & Body Works scented glycerine soaps.  We buy them by the ton when on sale, it's just such a nice smell (particularly the cucumber melon) and I feel like they wash off better in our water that's so hard it's a solid.

5.  French fries.  I cannot think of a more perfect food.  I believe I could eat my weight in good french fries.  With ketchup, with gravy (don't give me that face, it's a local thing!), whatever, it's all good.

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Oh, the drama....

Caroline's sixth tooth came out tonight, with a bit of help from all of us.  At this point I wish I understood why it is such drama for her.  So far she's swallowed a tooth, pulled out one herself, and we've done the others.  But each one is accompanied by some trickery and hurt feelings.  I think the problem is that as the roots of the teeth dissolve, they are very sharp and so as they loosen up they are constantly poking her and causing pain and bleeding.  But no matter how many times we go through it, she is certain that it's going to hurt worse than ever and won't let us near her.  James has tricked her twice (by getting her to hold on to the loose tooth and then jerking her arm to make her pull it out), and now she's just so frustrated about it she won't even let him LOOK in her mouth, let alone help.

So this bottom lower-right tooth has been hanging on for so long that the adult tooth grew in behind it.  It finally loosened up to the point that today it was hanging nearly horizontal.  I told her that she simply could not go to bed with it hanging, I was afraid it would come out in her sleep and she would choke on it.  So she could pick Daddy or me to help, but it was coming out tonight.  Naturally this made her HYSTERICAL so once she opened her mouth to cry I stuck my finger in and simply swept the tooth out, it was so lightly hanging on.  

Once we celebrated and I got her to bed, I said that I was sorry for tricking her but that I was only trying to help her.  Caroline said "Mommy, you didn't do anything to trick me."  I said "do you think I like talking meanly to you?  I knew that if I did that I could get you to cry and I could get to your tooth."  After a moment of puzzled shock, she said "I didn't even think of that.  You're just EVIL!"  hahahahaha