Battle of Wits: Mama-0

This morning, as I was getting out of bed, I heard a child leave their room. I went to make coffee, and saw it was Jordan, and - as usual - she went straight to the sofa, grabbed the remote and turned on cartoons. I asked her, "Ugh! Why is it that you have to turn on the TV first thing every morning?" Jordan looked at me like I had gone insane and responded, "Because it entertains me." I laughed a little and then asked her, "So, being entertained is the most important thing in life?" Without hesitation, Jordan answered, "It is when you're 8." Once again, I lose the battle of wits.

This child has always had an amazing sense of logic, and her use of vocabulary is intense. "It entertains me"?? What child says things like that?! It's like when she asked for her "beverage" when she was 4, and then there's the conversations with God that she had from 2 - 6. It scares me sometimes that she is my child, and it's my responsibility to raise her correctly. I definitely do not think I'm the right person for the job, and then there's the days when I'm certain that raising this child will, in fact, kill me. 

I finished a cross-stitching piece for the Month of December, and then I spent some time working on Jordan's baby sampler.

So, to recap the time, we had a great weekend. Justin and his girlfriend, Marissa, came over and not only spent Sunday afternoon and evening with us, but they stayed the night and enjoyed breakfast with us. Ken loved having the time with his middle son who hasn't given us much time over the last couple of years. Sadly, Justin is in quite a bit of trouble in life - he chose his mother and everything about her including irresponsibility, not having to listen or follow "stupid" rules or laws, and as a result, he has found himself sorely unprepared for life. Ken and I are deeply worried about him.  

I really did my best not to "bash" Justin's mom. It got difficult when both kids kept griping about her and the things that she does. Seriously though....Sheryl left the state and dumped Justin just before he turned 18 because she wasn't going to get child support anymore and he isn't her problem now. Ugh! It's tough to watch him struggle in life, but he made his choices. Luckily, he is starting to remember that Ken and I aren't idiots. Keeping my mouth shut is never easy, but it's really important to do with this situation.

Unfortunately, I was having so much fun visiting and getting to know Marissa, that I failed to take pictures of them. Oh well. The next time, I will be sure to get some. 

Jordan decided that she wanted to show me that she "appreshates" me, so she made me a sign for my office and made me lunch so I could relax. It was really adorable!!

 With my lunch came the pillow and blankets to pamper a Queen - as Jordan stated.

 Jordan made this sandwich all by herself - please note the amount of mayo used - HA!

After my Lunch of Appreciation, I had a dental appointment. I was getting the lower left quadrant re-done with non-metallic fillings. I hate the dentist. There's just nothing pleasant about it, and while I am happy and hoping that I won't have teeth breaking from the metallic fillings, the pain in my mouth and jaw is unbelievable! Sadly, it'll last days as well. I always have to get one dose short of the "maximum" for numbing and the amount of shots it takes kills me. It's nice not to see a ton of silver in my mouth when I laugh, but this is excruciatingly painful.

Because I was just getting home from the dentist, Ken took Jordan to her podiatry appointment. She is like Taylor in that she gets ingrown toenails really badly and won't let us help her to take care of her feet. So, she had to endure having her toenail cut out along with the roots. They only took the sides, so that is helpful, but now she's stuck having to take antibiotics and soak her feet more.

It was a painful evening for Jordan and myself. She had the problem of the numbing wearing off her toe and mine was wearing off from my jaw and mouth. Eating was a major problem for me, but I managed to get something into my stomach. 

The girls enjoyed some hot cocoa and we watched The Princess and the Frog on the Disney channel together last night. Jordan was able to soak her foot, and I was able to quietly medicate myself to help the jaw. Ibuprofen better not let me down.

Today, I spent the entire day dealing with work. While the rest of my school has the week off, I'm stuck trying to finish the file update for the Verification Review for the State's impending audit. Thankfully, my boss has assured me that I can schedule my breakdown for December 14th.  I just keep waiting....

Jordan gets a filling

Jordan had a busted molar.  We don't know how she broke it, but it was done.  So, today, Ken and I got her to the dentist and they set to fill it so there wouldn't be an abscess.  I authorized and paid extra for her to have the nitrous gas so she would be more calm.  Ken commented that since we were paying for it, and that he and I have never experienced it, that we should get a sample.  Dr. Robert Whiting laughed and said an emphatic, "No!"


We had to stay in the waiting area.  Dr. Rob must have thought we were panicky parents or that Jordan was not going to handle this like a trooper.  I was completely bummed that I couldn't get a picture of Jordan with the mask on her face for this post.  I am sure he will soon understand my addiction to taking pictures, but I missed today's shot.


Jordan's filling and sealants were done in 40 minutes.  She was the complete trooper - no problems and she even listened!  I am going to mark this date on the calendar as her first day of being able to listen.  Jordan got TWO prizes for being so good, and everyone complimented her.  She went out of her way to say hello to Dr. Casady who was there since he doesn't want to deal with retirement.  After telling him hello and all about how good she was (seeking praise of course), Jordan asked me who that was.  I laughed again and told her that was Jared's dad, and then she commented, "Wait!  MY Uncle Jared?!  You're my Uncle Jared's Daddy?  How cool is THAT?!"


On the way out, she paused for dramatic effect in front of all of the people in the waiting room.  One older couple commented that she must be the really brave girl they heard about.  Jordan simply responded, "Yes, that's me!"  She then told everyone that she had Ariel cards for her birthday party.  Everyone asked her when her birthday is, and she told them "It's April 2nd."  One gentleman told her Happy Birthday as she walked out.  Jordan stopped, walked back in and told him, "It's not my birthday yet!  My birthday's in April and it's still March you silly!"  We left the office with everyone laughing behind us.


As always, Jordan entertains wherever she goes!

I REALLY HATE THE DENTIST!

OK, so now that I have made the statement that will cause me more pain the next time I go to the dentist, I must say that Dr. Casady and Dr. Whiting have seriously worked hard to save my teeth.  Every time I go, however, I always think about the things that Bill Cosby said in his stand-up routine, "Bill Cosby: Himself."  He makes mention about how he knows he can walk with his behind after being in the dentist's chair, how the dentist tells you to never pick your teeth with a sharp object, but that's the first thing they use, etc.


In all seriousness, these wonderful men have kept me from having dentures at a very young age. I had to have my first crown after Jordan was born.  Apparently, children really do suck the life out of you!  LOL  I had only had one filling my entire life, so that was an unpleasant experience.  When I left the girls' dad, I had to have a root canal and another crown because of the broken tooth I received.  That was definitely not fun.


Today's visit was to be a cleaning and a small filling.  However, it turned into a major project because I am an enigma.  Poor Dr. Whiting swears that he gave me enough Lidocaine to numb a horse.  I thanked him for not comparing me to a cow, and then he laughed.  Really, it took an hour for me to get numb enough to tolerate the drilling - no, seriously, I was numb from my eyebrow to my throat, but I could still feel the drill.  I felt bad for Dr. Whiting who felt bad because he was hurting me.  I was able to tolerate the pain that I had, and they want to look into a way to discover if I have an extra nerve because I always require a lot of Lidocaine.  This can't possibly be good for me as I was numb from 9 am this morning until 2 pm this afternoon.  


The girls have to go for their check up tomorrow, and I really hope that they manage to avoid any drilling. Taylor has already had one filling, so she makes sure to brush her teeth very well.  


On a good note, Dr. Whiting really hated a stain that was on my front tooth.  I've had it since I was about 16 or 17, but it drove him nuts.  Every visit, he would ask me if I wanted him to polish that tooth to get the stain off.  After a year, I finally told him to get rid of it since it bothered him so much.  The stain is almost completely gone and unnoticeable.  I'm glad I could make my dentist so happy!