Its the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

For the first year ever, Seamus and Finn carved their pumpkins without any help from me. They didnt even ask for it. I bought the pumpkins, set out some knives and watched them go to work. I wasnt expecting them to not need me. It came as a surprise. Usually they will want me to help draw stuff on their pumpkins or carve out something that is particularly hard for them to manage. This year I felt like a fly on the wall. It was like I wasnt even there; not needed in the least. At first, my impulse was to ask them if they needed help -a passive aggressive way of thrusting myself into the action. But then I thought better. I opted to sit down on the steps and enjoy their independence. It didnt feel natural at all and it wasnt easy for me either. I had to make myself sit there - watching without being involved.

I must say, though, their pumpkins turned out really special this year. Very unique - different than in years past. Their own personalities really seemed to shine though in their design, which was cool.

Happy Friday.

Guess What's In This Yellow Box.

Can you guess what is in this little yellow box?

Its a tooth. It might not look like a tooth with those long roots, but trust me. Its a tooth. Guess who's mouth it came from? Give up? It came from my sweet, little Finner.

Here's the story.

Tuesday night, Finn told me his tooth was hurting. I know first hand the pain that comes with having a cavity and hoped it wasnt anything major. Finn wasnt crying or going on and on about it, so I gave him some tylenol and he went to bed without incident. At about 1:30 am Wednesday morning, Finn woke up. His tooth hurt. Ruh-roh. I gave him more tylenol, slipped into bed next to him and prayed it would be better in the morning.

It wasnt.

When Finn woke at 6am, any hope that the pain had dissipated was gone. Finn was cupping his cheek and bordering on tears. "Mama, it still hurts. Mama why is it still hurting?" I didnt have any answers for him. Unlike me, Seamus was ready to fill Finn's head with all kinds of horrors. Finn's filling could have fallen out. He might need a root canal for a bad cavity. He could have an abscessed tooth and need oral surgery. None of this helped Finn's nerves or mine. My youngest son is quick to panic and with a brother like Seamus, who can blame him? Although I tried to calm Finn down, no amount of "you can do it" pep talks were going to get him to school - not on this day. Finn had to get into the dentist asap and I was the person who was gonna make it happen.

An important side note: I am irrationally afraid of the dentist. When I get work done, I have to be drugged. My fear is that bad. When the kids have cleanings and/or cavities to be filled, Matt takes off work to go with them, not me. I do all the doctor visits. I do the ER and Urgent Care and lab appointments. I do not do the dentist. I cant. Today, that would change.

A second important side note: Wednesday morning marked our third day without Matt at home. He had been in Virginia with the USMC all week and was not due back until Thursday. He was thousands of miles away. I could not expect him to help. I was on my own. OMG!

Im ashamed to admit it, but the thought of making Finn wait until Thursday entered my mind more than once. In my opinion, his toothache couldnt have happened at a worse time. Between Matt being gone and Wednesday being the one day of the week that I work consistently, his timing was bad. All that withstanding, I couldnt add to his pain. Finn had to be seen by a dentist so I psyched myself out, put my big girl pants on and got him into Dr. Englert's office for his 10:30 appointment.

The prognosis was not good: Finn had an infection in his tooth root and unfortunately his roots are like mine - long and deep. After careful consideration, we opted to extract his tooth rather than put Finn through a root canal. The tooth was a baby tooth. It would grow back. Finn will have to wear a retainer/spacer so that his adjacent tooth wont grow forward into the empty space, but Im ok with that. I told Dr. Englert to go for it and he began working on Finn with diligence and care. Nitrus was used, but just to take the edge off. We were in the office for about an hour and a half and Finn did great! He didnt even realize what had happened until I told him upon completion. Im not joking! Dr. Englert pulled the tooth out of his mouth and Finn didnt have a clue. Now that is a good dentist!

Im happy to report I did pretty good too. I didnt freak out. I didnt have to take a xanax. I didnt show any distress, fear or worry in front of Finn. In the hour or so before Finn's appointment, I convinced myself that this appointment was no differnet than a doctor visit. I could do this! I had to do this. There was no choice. When Finn was finished he went out to the reception room to pick out a prize. Quickly, I turned to the hygentist and said "I pulled it off, right? Didnt I? Could you tell Im a total freak? Did I do ok?" The lady looked at me with surprise and said "You did great, Mom."

I did great and so did Finn. Cross your fingers his healing goes well.

Happy Wednesday night.

Shoes

Finn does not like to wear shoes.
In a perfect world, he'd be barefoot all day.
He has gotten some pretty gnarly cuts, splinters and gashes on his feet because he wont wear shoes outside.
It can often be a problem, but Finn doesnt complain or whine about his wounds.
His mama normally ends up finding out about his injuries because she sees them while he's in the bathtub.

When Finn must wear shoes, he will often put them on his feet without socks.
In the morning when he is getting dressed for school, his mama has to say "Finn, put on your shoes WITH socks."
If she doesnt, Finn will wear his shoes to school without socks.
When Finn doesnt wear socks with his shoes, the shoes he wears get really stinky.
That grosses out his mama.
Finn has two pair of shoes - one blue pair and one brown.
Neither one has shoelaces.
The blue pair has velcro and the brown pair is a slip on shoe.

Finn's idea footwear: flip flops.
He takes after his mama.
Finn has several pairs of flip flops - more pairs than he has shoes.
This weekend when it was raining, Finn wore his flip flops exclusively.
Since he wasnt playing outside, his mama didnt fight him on it.
She picks her battles.
Finn refers to his flip flops as "my flips."
His mama thinks that's cute.


Happy Monday.

Sunday, Monday... Happy Days!

This past few days have been really great.

1. We were productive all Sunday and got lots of little things done around the house and yard. Grocery shopping - check. Lawn mowed - check. Big school project completed - check.

2. Matt and I got solo time with the kids. I know it sounds elementary, but we dont usually pair off with each kid individually. Its either all four of us doing stuff together or Matt or I alone with both boys. Making time to hang out and focus on one child always leaves me feeling very contented as a parent. Its a wonder Matt and I dont do it more often.

3. On Saturday morning, Finn and Matt hiked over 5 miles with Finn's cub scout troop. Finn does not normally enjoy exerting himself on long, hot hikes but Matt said he had a fantastic time. He didnt complain and was able to spend time with his school friends Timmy and Philip.

4. While Matt and Finn hiked, Seamus and I patrolled the neighborhood for garage sales. I do not enjoy garage sales, but Seamus LOVES to find cool, unique nick knacks at low prices. Normally we like to go antiquing together, but on Saturday morning we hit up a few local yard sales instead. Seamus bought an old replica radio for $15 and has been listening to 103.7 every night.

5.Seamus' soccer team won their game on Saturday afternoon. Dama and Papa came out to watch at the new sports park.

6. Finn got a playdate at our house with his good friends James, Jeremy, Ryan and Eric. He was in heaven. When Tina and Kim came by to pick up the kids, we adults spent an hour or so drinking margaritas while the kids played. Now that is how to spend an afternoon.

Today Matt was home from work. USMC gets Columbus Day off so I skipped my normal volunteer hours at St. Francis and spent he day with him. We went to the movies and saw "Let Me In." It was surprisingly good; scary, but good.

I hope Tuesday is as good as the past several days have been.

Happy Monday. :)

No More Lonely Nights.

Yesterday I was listening to a Paul McCartney song called "No More Lonely Nights." Its not a critically acclaimed, awe inspiring song but I love it. I always have. Yesterday while I was listening to it I honed in on the lyrics below:

"May I never miss the thrill of being near you."

I have listened to that song dozens and dozens of times, but I dont think I have ever heard those words before. I tend to key in on the music of any given song - not the lyrics. Naturally, those words made me think of Matt. We've been married 13 years and been together 15. Matt has been such a blessing in my life. I, honest to God, hope I never miss the thrill of being near him either.

Not in 13 years.

Not in 20 years.

Not in (God willing) 50 years.

Happy Friday.

Walk This Way... Talk This Way

For a 9 year old, Finn's vocabulary is substantial. He loves to read and Im guessing his love for books has played a major role in him understanding and employing a large vocabulary. However, one of the cutest things about Finn's manner of speech is that he often makes words up so that they sounds bigger or more impressive. He does this so frequently that I have begun to write the words down . Here are three examples I heard this past week .

1. Constantaneously. I believe Finn uses this word when "constantly" doesnt adequately describe the large degree of frequency being exhibited. Example: I am constantaneously cleaning up after two little boys.

2. Quicklier. Another way to say quickly, but with more emphasis. Example: Seamus runs quicklier than many boys his age.

3. Elastical. Most of the time when Finn uses an inventive word in conversation, I dont bring attention to it. But when he said "elastical" recently, I asked him what he meant. He looked at me in all seriousness and said "Mama, elastical isnt normal stretchy like a rubber band. Elastical means real stretchy - like gum or goopy snot."

Yeah. Goopy snot. Gotta love it.

Happy Tuesday Night.