It's Like Pulling Teeth

Oh wait it WAS pulling teeth.  Two weeks ago I noticed a weird bump that looked almost like a blister on Kayda's gums.  I knew we were going to visit Grandma and Papa G the next day so I decided have her look at it then (since Grandma G was a dental hygienist).  So that Friday we went up there and after a while I remembered to have her take a look.  She was worried it was an abscess so we called the dentist and raced over to have them take a look (it was 4:30 on Friday).  Sure enough an abscess is exactly what it was!  They numbed her up and popped, poked and prodded to drain it, then they gave us a prescription for antibiotics and we scheduled to get those teeth out.  We didn't know why the abscess was there.  She could have bonked her mouth on something or it could be because of the permanent tooth that was working it's way down while the stubborn baby tooth didn't want to move!  The abscess kept filling and draining for about a week and a half.  It just stopped refilling a couple of days ago but those teeth still needed to come out so it won't come back!  So last night Kayda got to spend the night at Grandma and Papa G's since the appointment was at nine this morning and I was worried about getting all the kids out the door in time to get there.  This morning the boys and I got up and going much slower than I would've liked since they both weren't cooperating (neither of them were ready to wake up) and we headed up.  By the time we got close Kayda was done and back and Grandma and Papa's house.  Apparently it went very well, Kayda is especially brave and didn't cry at all, she was nervous about going but Daddy gave her a blessing last night and she said that she prayed when she was nervous.  The places the teeth were attached are very red and swollen and now she talks with a lisp but she is VERY excited for the tooth fairy to come tonight.  

Just so you know, courtesy of wikipedia  "A tooth abscess or root abscess is pus enclosed in the tissues of the jaw bone at the apex of an infected tooth's root(s)."

 The tooth on the right was being very stubborn, it's been extremely loose for about two weeks now, we kept trying to tug it out but it refused!

 See how far it would come forward?  And of course the permanent tooth already cut through behind it!  The one on the left was originally the looser of the two, then it decided to stop and the right one went nuts.  The abscess was high on the gums to the left of the left front tooth (sorry Grandma G, I don't know what they're called!).  If the abscess comes back they'll have to remove the next tooth as well (the permanent tooth was right there according to the x-rays the dentist took).

 No, that's not a marshmallow, it's a roll of gauze!  She had to keep pressure on that spot because it was more difficult to get out and bled more.  

 Toothless!  Well, almost, you can see the tip of the new permanent tooth now. 

 The tooth on the left is the one that was hanging on for dear life and we could NOT get out.  The one on the right was the one by the abscess. 

Notice the root is completely gone in the super loose one and the root is still there on the right one.  

Kayda's retelling:  "First they put my lips and gums to sleep.  Then they used a little thing that looked like it could pinch a hole.  The turned the looser one and tugged and it came out easy."  [on to the second tooth] "Then they wiggled and wiggled and tugged once, it hurt a little bit.  But I thought that it was pretty ticklish.  It took a long time to get it out.  Before they give me the teeth they gave them a bubble bath.  And then put it in a black see through box and you have to wash your hands with soap before you even could hold it.  The dentist said that I was the best patient ever!"

Dillon's Preschool Celebration

Thursday was Dillon's preschool celebration.  He was only at the school for a couple of months but I think he enjoyed it.  He had an hour bus ride to go to school and then got to ride the big bus for five minutes to come home.  They gave them lunch and he got to socialize a bit.  He was SO bored when he was home with Carson and I every day.  The program was short and cute, unfortunately I didn't know grandparents and other relatives could come until Wednesday so Grandma and Papa H couldn't make it.  Fortunately Grandpa G is retired so he and Grandma G were able to make the spur of the moment performance. 

 They sang us five or six of their favorite songs.  We were especially entertained when they sang "where is thumbkin" and the kids got to "tall man".  They basically had 15 preschoolers making some very inappropriate gestures and the kids of course had no clue.  I thought it was hilarious.  The one Dillon liked the most was about a little fish that gets eaten by an octopus, who gets eaten by a tuna fish, who is eaten by a shark, who in turn is eaten by a whale, just when you think the humongous whale is going to get eaten it burps.  Dillon spent the entire song wearing a gigantic grin!

 This is Dillon and his main teacher Miss Peggy.

 They gave each of the kids backpacks with pictures, art, diplomas, and a few other goodies.  Then since they got a grant of some sort they needed to use they bought some of the kindergarten supplies!

 Dillon and Miss Peggy.

These two LOVE each other!  Carson wasn't too keen on leaving Papa G!

Visiting the Old Preschool

I never did get around to giving Dillon's old preschool teachers their "bye we're moving" gifts.  They were wonderful and I wanted to do something for them.  So Tuesday we headed back up north to visit.  As we walked along to windows to the door we suddenly heard a chorus of "Dillon!".  The kids apparently asked about him every week!  Of course it's been almost a full year since any of them saw Kayda but a couple remembered her. We got to watch the class do their rehearsal for preschool graduation, Kayda and Dillon knew all but one of the songs and sang along while we watched.  I so wish that we could've been watching Dillon do that program!  Later the teacher did a little question and answer session since Kayda is a hot shot kindergartener and then they asked Dillon about his new school.  We miss that school!  I'm sad that Carson won't be able to go through it but happy that we moved at the same time.

Afterwards we headed off to a play date with Chari and her son Lucas, the boys had a BLAST.  Then we headed over to Grandma and Papa G's to visit and then off to Grandma and Papa H's to visit.  It was a busy day!   Of course Carson and I had to return the very next day because Dillon forgot his blanky at Grandma and Papa G's!

Kayda and Mingo

Sorry to those of you who already saw this but I decided this belonged on the blog.  I used to sing with Mingo as I grew up, for a long while I was the only one he would sing with.  Well now he likes to sing with my sweet girl!  Notice the kiss at the end.  He gives ALL my kiddos kisses!

Outdoor Projects!

We've been busy little bees around our house in the three months since we bought it.  Much of what we've been doing is painting.  Before moving in we painted the family room, eating area, kitchen, den/playroom, Kayda's room and Dillon's room.  Since moving in we've also painted the downstairs half bath and started painting the entry area/stairs/hallway upstairs (though the task is daunting so we're procrastinating it at the moment) and we just bought the paint for Carson's room.  I have this thing about the kids' rooms being THEIRS before they start using it and since we're getting ready to work on moving him out of our room it's time to paint.  I'm 99.9% sure that his room will be painted before we even pick up a brush for the entry way again!  

Anyway, we've also been loving on our yard a bit.  I added some bulbs and weeded, unfortunately it will be a long time until my gardens will be as manageable as our old house's gardens.  The bank did a nice thing and put down bark for us... right over the top of years of weeds.  Gotta love it.  One of the things we knew we had to get done and quickly was the fence.  There were no side fences so that was our highest outdoor priority.  They got done a month or so ago.  

The next thing to go was "the pit"  This area was once the home of a shed, which someone stole while the house was sitting empty for a year plus.  While it was a wonderful play place for the kids (they spent hours there) it was incredibly ugly.  So it was time for it to go.  

 The Pit

 The previous owners also made a very poor attempt to expand the patio by laying down pavers.  Of course they didn't even bring them up to the height of the actual patio and they were each a step down from the stone before it.  It was completely unusable.  So we decided, "hey lets put them into one level space and expand our patio that way, we'll take the grass we pull up and move it to the pit.  So...

 Step 1: Rototill the pit to get it ready for grass.  That was NOT fun!  There was so much stuff buried under there!  I would be going along and "Whoa that rocks pretty big!"  or "Is that a rotten two by four?" I even found a deflated ball buried in there.  Carson decided he should be operating machinery too and joined me!

 Step 2: Move the grass we could and seed the rest.  We weren't able to save much grass.  But it looks much better!

 Step 3: Rototill the new patio area.  We then continued to rake it out and tried to make it a cost-free project by laying the pavers down on the dirt.  Unfortunately we have the rockiest soil ever!  So we got frustrated and took a break.  

 Step 4:  Switch to making a new digging space for the kids.  They had so much fun digging in the pit that I wanted them to have PLENTY of room to play in the sand.  We decided to expand our sandboat.

 Step 5:  Fill 'er up!

 Step 5: Step back and glory in the awesomeness!  Who's coming to play?

 Step 6:  Pull up the pavers we already put down, rake it out, compress and dirt and cover with the sand remnants.
Step 7:  Put in the pavers, sand in between and cover the edges with rock.

Perfect, we have doubled our patios space for next to nothing!

Pretty awesome!  Now I just need to build a picnic table!

Random Pictures

Kayda let me do her hair today, that doesn't happen very often.  She said that I could do it however I wanted.  So I decided on "bear ears" at least that's what I called them when I was little.  I thought she looked adorable so of course I wanted to take a picture.  Next thing I know Kayda and Dillon are passing the camera between them for some picture fun.  For whatever reason (sometimes our children's camera rush) our camera seems to catch blurs in half the pictures but some of them I couldn't pass up so you'll have to deal!

 Carson's getting in on the silly face action!

 Great shot by Kayda!  If only I could make it NOT blurry it is perfect. 

Careful Carson! That power ranger sure looks like it's digging deep!