The Great Tooth Tragedy of 2011

As most of you may recall, we held Greyson back last year.  One of the reasons, was that he was by far the youngest kid in his class.  There were many ways that being the youngest manifested itself into issues, some unknown to Greyson, but one way was very obvious.  He hadn't lost a tooth.  By the time school ended last year and EVERYONE had lost a tooth (well except Jessie but as Greyson pointed out between sobs, girls don't count) it was a major point to my son.

So at the start of this year, while I am sure all the other mothers were learning the new kids' names and which mother was attached to which child, I was surveying mouths to see where we stood in the lost tooth arena.  To my delight and relief, there was a handful of children who, like Greyson were hanging on tightly to their baby teeth.  Yes!!!

In September, we went to the dentist and after she reveiwed Greyson's dental x-rays I casually pulled her aside to see if she could give me a estimate of when that first tooth would fall out.  She gushed on for a full 5 minutes about what a wonderful root system Greyson had, even taking it so far as to turn the x-rays back on and show me on the film.  I really wanted to say that I didn't much care about a root system that was destined to fall out over the next few years but that she really needed to get to the actual answer to the question.  But when she finally got there, I was less than enthused.  "With such a wonderfully deep root structure, don't expect to lose any teeth for at least another 6 months."  Well crap.  Surely some other kids in Greyson's class have just as  magnificent root structures as he does.  One of them will hold on to their teeth longer, I mean he is the oldest kid in his class.  Surely, this tragedy will not befall the family again.  And thus far there are still kids in his class who have all their baby teeth.

What I didn't expect was this:

About two weeks ago I went to pick up Quinn after school (luckily Greyson elected to stay in the car and finish reading his book).  I was greeted at the door by an ecstatic Quinn "I have a loose tooth!!!"

I just shook my head in disbelief.  "No you don't really?!?!"

"Oh, yes" chimed her teacher.  "She noticed it at lunch today."

"No, it really isn't loose?!?!"

By this time Quinn was using her finger to show me that yes indeed it was loose.  Clearly my face was crestfallen and I could tell that her teacher thought I was crazy.

With all the fake enthusiasm I could muster I said I was excited for her as we gathered up her things to go.

By this time her teacher was giving me this look and I could tell exactly what was going through her mind "Crazy lady, don't you know that kids teeth are suppose to fall out??"

So I mouthed to her that Greyson hadn't lost a tooth yet and we headed out the door.

Drama ensued for the 20 minute drive home.  Greyson sobbed because Quinn was going to lose a tooth before him and Quinn cried because Greyson was mad at her and kept screaming "It isn't my fault, I can't help it is loose."  I just kept wondering if there was a liquor store between school and home.

The next few days were a roller coaster of emotions in the house and I had to perform a major balancing act.  Trying to be excited for Quinn because it was a big moment for her and I didn't want anything to take away from that and at the same time downplaying it for Greyson ("No one goes to high school with their baby teeth") so he wasn't constantly in dismay.  It also didn't help that Quinn carried around the little tooth container I bought her at all times.  "It may fall out any minute and I don't want to lose it."

And so we rolled into the weekend and a trip to see "Junie B. Jones: Jingle Bells, Batman Smells" at the Nashville Children's Theatre helped to lift Greyson's spirits a bit and afterwards we went out to lunch.

It was about halfway through lunch when Quinn proclaimed mid pizza bite that she had indeed lost her tooth.  And there it was, a little hole, where that tooth should be.  Her excitement was quickly extinguished by the recognition that she had not only lost her tooth but had also swallowed it.  It was at this point she burst into tears convinced that the tooth fairy was not going to come and she was going to have nothing to put in her little tooth box.  Moments later Greyson joined Quinn in the tear fest bemoaning the fact that Quinn had lost a tooth and he hadn't.  And well, since I didn't want them to cry alone, I followed suit realizing that I wouldn't be able to save the first tooth that Quinn ever lost.

So there we were, all 3 of us crying in the middle of the restaurant, with everyone staring at us and Raif completely stumped as to which of us to console first and proclaiming that we were all over reacting.

At the end of the day, everything had calmed down.  We wrote the tooth fairy a note and gave Greyson an extra story that night and all was well with the world. 

Who would have thought such a little piece of bone could cause such drama....

Halloween Flashback

Halloween isn't just a day anymore, is it?  It is a celebration over many days, with various activities and multiple costume changes, similar to the Oscars.  Or more simply put: chaos.

We started our Halloween celebrations at the Nashville Zoo's Ghouls at Grassmere.  Unfortunately we were suppose to go right when Greyson came down with that wonderful Hand, Foot and Mouth nightmare and so the first go round only Quinn went and then the following week Raif took Greyson, but forgot the camera (which really wasn't his fault because I didn't tell him to take it).


Then after that it was Halloween parties at school.  Greyson got to wear his pajamas to school AND have a party where he got lots of candy. 




Quinn got to wear her costume and parade around the parking lot like the Quinncess she is.  (Note the regal hand wave)





Then finally it was THE big event - Halloween night.  What a nightmare.  Raif had to work late so I was running the night solo.  The parties at school caused me to be late getting home and I misjudged how long dinner would take to make so I was still getting the kids ready when the first trick or treater arrived at my door.  You can imagine the chaos that was me trying to get the kids in their costumes while simultaneously answering the door plus trying to calm the kids down who were convinced that we were going to miss trick or treating if we didn't leave RIGHT THEN.


"But Mommy, EVERYONE is out trick or treating right now.  There won't be any candy left!!  We need to GOOOOOOO."  Argh.

So I did the best I could, shoved them out the door mostly in costume and off we went.  Of course I couldn't keep them still long enough before trick or treating to get their picture.  So here they are after an hour and a half or running through the neighborhood
 

At one time Quinn's hair was swept up in a lovely bun with a pink scrunchie which got lost somewhere after the third house and even though Greyson insisted on taking his sword this is actually the only time he held it with the exception of the first house we went to.  Ahhh, Halloween.

A Day at the Garden

Two of our favorite fall events happen at Cheekwood: El Dia De Los Muertos and the Scarecrow Exhibit.  We usually try to do them separately so we can enjoy a little quiet time in the gardens with the scarecrows but time flew this October and so we had to pack it all in in one afternoon.

Organizations, schools and individuals come together every fall and create a myriad to different scarecrows scattered throughout the gardens.  From girl scout troops, to local schools, to charities, to professional artists - a wide swath of the community creates and displays their scarecrows.

El Dia de Los Muertos celebrates the Hispanic celebration of death, coincidentally occurring right around our Halloween.  There was salsa music, crafts for the kids and the best mexican food to ever come out of a portable trailer.












(Of course the BEST thing to do in the fall is to throw leaves at your Mother)

I took this picture just for you Cindy, this is the Wear-crow, sponsored by an organization hoping to increase the awareness for wearing babies in sling.  Thought you might appreciate it.

Birthday Rewind

Somewhere in all of the chaos of the last month my darling little girl magically turned into a big one.  (She actually had another milestone since then but that is for another post).  5 years old.

We didn't do a traditional birthday party but rather her celebration was her weekend in Atlanta and then we just had presents at home and a trip to her favorite restaurant for strawberry cake on the actual big day.  She also had a little party at school.  So here are a few moments from the day....

 
(First picture as a 5 year old.  You will notice that this is the only picture we have of her in her birthday dress.  Apparently she was sooo excited about being 5 that she threw up all over Raif's car on the way to school.  Happy Birthday to Raif!)



(Her only two requests for her birthday: Wonder Woman and Police Officer costumes)

Hockey Time!

It should be no surprise that Greyson is in HEAVEN now that he is playing hockey.  I myself am in desperate need of a Snuggie and an ass warmer (whoever thought that metal bleachers in an ice rink was a good idea ought to have his head examined).  Greyson is in the Termite league and is a proud Hurricane.  I have to admit though, that as kids' sports go, youth hockey is highly entertaining.  While there are some AMAZING skaters out on the ice for such a young age, most of the boys (and a few girls) out there are, at best, average and so the games in some aspects resemble a Three Stooges cartoon as multiple kids go for the puck and one falls into the other and they all fall boink, boink, boink like a set of Dominoes.  And besides the frustration of being really cold, I will say I have a hard time figuring out exactly which one is my kid.  They all are padded to the hilt like the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man with the same red jersey and black helmet and face cage and when they are all in the mosh pit around the puck it is sometimes hard to determine where one kid ends and the other begins.  But the sweaty, exhausted smile of my boy coming off the ice tells me it is all worth it.

Soccer Round Up

The soccer season came to a close sometime in October, shortly after Quinn's birthday.  While I truly enjoyed watching the kids play and sitting out in the wonderful weather, I am more than a little relieved to be done with 3 a week sport practices and marathon mornings at the soccer park.

Quinn finished the year as the team MVP (well to be honest I gave her that title, but since she averaged 8 goals a game I don't think that is a stretch).  And Greyson found his calling as a defensive play maker, occasionally throwing in a goal for good measure (see pic below).  All in all, not a bad fall sports season.

Catching My Wind (and Up)

As Mark Twain once said "The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated."

I have tried very hard over the last few years to keep my blog updated fairly regularly.  It keeps the Grandmas happy and it keeps me with a journal of such of my children growing up.  So you may wonder, "Where the hell have you been these last two weeks, Michele?"  Well let me explain....

About 6 weeks ago or so, Raif's company (which he is a 30% owner) landed a HUGE client with a very critical timeline.  Great for the company, bad for my husband, or more accurately bad for me in getting to see my husband.  During these last 6 weeks I have been averaging about 15 minutes of face time with him a day.  We groggily grunted at each other over the sink in the morning as we brushed our teeth.  At breakfast we quickly went over the crucial life happenings of our children and any other urgent business that needed attending.  He took the kids to school so he could spend a little time with them and I told him I would see him tomorrow as he usually rolled home that night sometime between midnight and one.  On the weekends, IF he was home he was plastered to his computer in the dining room with a Do Not Disturb sign clearly plastered on his forehead.  So I have basically spent the last six weeks playing the role of the single Mom and for all the single moms out there...you so deserve a medal.  I had to navigate through the end of soccer, Quinn's birthday, vacation to Atlanta, Halloween, various school programs and volunteer days and hockey practices all without my usual safety valve.

To add insult to injury, somewhere in all of that Greyson managed to contract a horrid case Hand, Foot and Mouth disease.  His poor throat was pretty much swollen shut and he cried like we were pouring battery acid down his throat anytime he swallowed food.  He spent a good 3 days or so subsisting on hot chocolate and popsicles.  He pretty much missed a whole week of school and any attempt I had of keeping life going after that went down the tubes.  I will admit on more than one occasion a school uniform was recycled from the laundry bin after passing the smell test and I am sure I offended someone who was down wind of me.

Thankfully, however I have seen the light at the end of the tunnel.  Starting middle of last week my husband made his first appearances at the dinner table and he even had the weekend (mostly) off.  So as I am starting to dig myself out of my hole, I will be trying to catch everyone up on all the exciting things going on around here, which honestly aren't many because we have been too busy to be exciting.  But there are a few nuggets here and there, so enjoy!