Snaggletooth Luke

The moment we have all been waiting *months* for has finally come. Luke's top right center tooth finally turned loose last night while he was brushing his teeth before bed. It started officially wiggling in mid-March! It was loose but clearly not ready to come out all through April and into the beginning of May. For the last 2-3 weeks, though, I kept thinking "today is the day," and it just never was.



Finally this evening, I hear "tooth alert! tooth alert!" from the bathroom. He literally brushed it out. It was bleeding slightly, so we got him cleaned up and the tooth safely rinsed, wrapped the tooth in a paper towel, and stuck it in his pillow, which is now hanging on the foot of his bed. He was all smiles as he climbed under the covers! LOL I believe the Tooth Fairy had change left over from breakfast on Friday, so Luke should be a happy little boy in the morning.

Currently feeling: missing something

Fit To Be Tie-Dyed

All week long, Luke has obsessively reminded us that he needed to bring a white t-shirt to "school" (summer daycare) on Friday. He had no idea what they were going to do with them, but I did. I was intensely curious what the end result would be.



Not sure what I was expecting, exactly, but it wasn't this! First off, it looks exactly the way I think of tie-dyed shirts when I imagine them, in that two-tone center swirl pattern. I know they had help with that part, and I don't know why I'm surprised that they could create that pattern, but it did surprise me that it turned out *so* perfectly.



Secondly, his color choices were a huge surprise! I would have expected blue to be involved somewhere, along with red, green, or (if they had it, though I doubt they did) black. I have a suspicion that his choices were influenced by a certain friend at school, but that's okay. I think it looks phenomenal! And he is so very proud of himself. He's dying to wear it (no pun intended), but I want to be sure and wash it once or twice before we let him do that. Just in case! Don't need a psychedelic colored child on our hands.

Currently feeling: groovy

Wordless Wednesday - June 1, 2011

Credit for this shot goes to my father.

Currently feeling: hanging ten

May 2011 Round Up

Click mosaic to biggify. Created using Big Huge Labs Mosaic Maker.

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?
Spent most of the month on The Rough Guide to Boston. I feel like I'm cramming for an exam! LOL

What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?
* TV Time: Pretty much everything! That's what May Sweeps gets you. So not only were all of our regular shows finishing up, a couple of our "off season" shows got started, like Law & Order: Criminal Intent and In Plain Sight.
* New Films: Thor (okay; had terribly silly moments but some good ones as well; seen better and seen much worse), Kung Fu Panda 2 (okay to good, though not as good as the first; darker, more intense, more serious, but visually stunning), Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (I liked it (more than DH); better than 3, on par or better than 2; well done for a "reboot"/redirect), Eat Pray Love (okay; nothing stands out about it, but it was perfectly fine), The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story (excellent documentary about this truly legendary musical duo, who wrote most of my favorite childhood Disney songs)
* Old Favorites: Steel Magnolias, Ferngully, Sweet Home Alabama, Julie & Julia, Pleasantville, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, The Great Mouse Detective, The American President

What special days did I celebrate and how?
Actually spend Mother's Day with my mom, though that wasn't the original plan. Also went down to visit our families in south Georgia over Memorial Day.

What gifts did I give and/or receive?
Tea towels from my friend Joy, all the way from the UK! Now I just have to figure out what to make with them. Maybe a yest something, so I can precisely follow the "cover with tea towel and let rise" instructions.

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
Luke and I were both sniffing and coughing as the month dawned, but it went away on its own without getting any worse by the end of the first week. I'm betting it was allergies. Then the dermatologist called to say the mole I had biopsied came back as melanoma. It was excised the following week, and the pathology came back with clear margins, so that should be all done. Luke has come home for two weeks straight with at least two new bandaided injuries. They are mostly minor and heal in 2-3 days, but I'm waiting for the school or daycare to start charging us a bandaid fee.

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?
We finished up the spring soccer season with the usual pizza party and bounce house place. Made our annual pilgrimage to the Georgia Ren Fest. We also took Luke to the beach when we visited my parents.

Not sure this counts as fun, but it was definitely exciting. We drove through some awful weather trying to get out of town for Memorial Day. First, there was torrential rain and pea sized hail, then we stopped for dinner and watched the lights flicker (like in the movie Twister) as more wind, rain, and hail swept through Jonesboro. I was ready to crawl under the table! It passed with no damage other than debris all over the interstate, but it was scary there for a while.

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?
Honestly, at this point, I do not remember. That whole melanoma thing really threw off my month.

What special or unusual purchases did I make?
I've bought (or had purchased for me, thanks Mom and Dad!) several new sun protection items in light of my diagnosis. Tried a couple of new sunscreens, bought a few new hats (two of which Mom kept because they didn't work for me), and the best find in the world: Coolibar sun sleeves (no affiliation, just a happy customer). I'll talk a little more about my new finds in a later blog post; I have a couple of things I still need to try before I'm ready for that one.

What were this month's disappointments or frustrations?
Finding out I had melanoma was certainly an unpleasant shock, and dealing with the aftermath of any surgery, no matter how minor, is always frustrating. Not being able to do things for myself, like change my bandage or tie my shoes, was extremely aggravating, but thankfully short lived. I was *really* hoping Luke's top right front tooth would come out this month. It's been loose since mid-March, and it was extremely loose by the end of this month, but it's still hanging in there. I'm starting to wonder if it will ever come out!

What were my accomplishments this month?
I was diagnosed with and cured of melanoma! (Actually, that would be my doctor's accomplishment, but still.) We are current so far on our summer movie schedule. Really thought we would be behind already, but we unexpectedly managed two movies over Memorial Day, so we're up to date for now. Woo-hoo! I also "changed my hair style." I'm now parting it on the left instead of the center. I know, wild and crazy, right? (I'm so sad.) And I was complimented on my skill at reading aloud during a training class at work; the facilitator had us read key concepts out loud from the book to keep us "engaged" in the training. I was a bit embarrassed by it, but she meant it sincerely and asked if I could read all of the sections from then on! LOL

What were Luke's accomplishments this month?


Luke finished Kindergarten!! I'm not sure who is more relieved, him or us. Not that there was a chance he wouldn't finish, just that we can have a break. That was *so* much more stressful than I ever imagined. If that was Kindergarten, I am not at all looking forward to the next 12 years. Sheesh!

But Luke did very well in Kindergarten! There were only three "objectives" where he was still "progressing" instead of "achieved," two in writing (persuasive and something else; all other forms of writing were achieved), and making change with coins. He also qualified for gifted for next year (in math; no surprise there).

We also wrapped up the spring soccer season, as I mentioned earlier. After not scoring any goals at all in the first 5 games, Luke rallied during the last half of the season and scored 5 goals in the last 4 games. He'll move up to the next league in the fall, playing 4 on 4 instead of 3 on 3, graduate to the bigger field (which is about 1/2 the size of a regulation field, instead of 1/4 the size like this league), and they'll have a referee for the first time (usually a teenager from some of the older leagues). There will also be practice twice a week instead of once, and games on Saturday or Sunday, instead of just Saturday. Quite a change!!

Anything else noteworthy to record?
My best friend gave birth to her second child. Diana Violet Sierra was born Tuesday, May 31 at 8:10 a.m. 8 lbs, 8.4 oz, 19 3/4 inches long. Great end to the month!

Monthly Round Up courtesy of Katie the Scrapbook Lady.

Currently feeling: worn out by this month

Memorial Day 2011: All Objectives Achieved!

When we departed for our long weekend away, I had five main objectives: see grandfather, see MIL, plan Boston trip, go to beach, go to movies. I thought surely at least one of those was not going to happen, maybe two. But miracles of miracles, we achieved all 5!

The movie times aligned perfectly Friday night to allow us to get in two movies by Midnight! Kung Fu Panda 2 was okay to good. Not as good as the first, of course. This one was darker, more intense, and more serious, but it was absolutely beautiful, visually speaking. Pirates of the Caribbean was pretty good, too. Better than 3, on par with or somewhat better than 2, depending on whether you ask DH or me, respectively.

Saturday we made the grandfather/MIL sub-trip, but I forgot my camera, so not too many photos there. Dad took this one. (I should have asked to take his camera with us as we went to MIL's, but I forgot.)



My grandfather is not doing well. He is having more frequent trouble putting words together to form sentences, and his memory is just completely gone. He has even started asking about my grandmother; she died almost 5 years ago. :-( I'm not sure he knew who I was when I left, but I know that during lunch, he not only knew me, but he knew Luke by name. He had trouble asking about him and getting the words out, but he knew who Luke was.

We left from there to visit MIL. The road between the two takes you right past the entrance to the Okefenokee Swamp, which has been battling fires recently, including sometimes closing the very rode we were traveling! As soon as we got on the road, we could see the smoke in the distance. (Sorry about the cell phone pics. It's all I had on me.)



Before we get to the photos of the damage, for comparison, this is what the roadside should look like:



Not this:



It was all black on both sides for miles and miles. Here they intentionally burned the median to keep the fire from potentially spreading from one side to the other:



We stayed a few hours at MIL's house. Luke didn't quite know what to do with her new completely hyper puppy, and she (the puppy) didn't really know what to make of Luke either! I didn't get any photos while I was there.

Sunday was outdoor fun day. Well, it was for Luke. You know how much fun I have being outside (note dripping sarcasm); it was bad before the melanoma, and it's even worse now. But Luke loves it, so I do it for him when I can. I let Papa handle photography duties while they did bubbles and I watched from a window inside. I also took that time to work on the Boston plan, which I think I have mostly ironed out (will save that for the Boston recap post later in the summer).



I do feel compelled to go to the beach with him, though. Capris, long sleeves, big hat, and sunscreen, and we didn't even go until about 6:30 PM! In my "old life," I'd have probably gone in shorts and short sleeves with no hat or sunscreen that late in the day, but not anymore. I even made Luke wear sunscreen, though I did let him go without a hat or shirt.



I noticed that Luke had made a footprint right behind one of DH's. So hard to believe they are so close in size!



Some group earlier in the day had made quite an impressive sand castle, decorating it with things they found around the beach.



Well, we can't have that, can we? We must make our own!



Complete with functional bridge over the moat:



I played with the camera and the lighting while I waited.



Finally, they were ready to fill the moat! Thus began the bucket brigade:



It didn't get very full (kept absorbing the water; not a surprise), but it served its purpose. It failed its load test, though. Not even the bridge engineer could do that with just sand!



But as fun as it is to play in the sand, visits to the beach are really all about the water. And boy, does that child love the water!



Luke was asking for a snack when we left (actually, he was asking for more chicken, which he had for dinner). Only thing on the island right now is Dairy Queen. That'll work! They had chicken, too, but when given the choice between chicken and soft serve "white" ice cream, the ice cream won.



Sitting in the back corner of the restaurant with damp swim trunks and wet hair (and a mostly dry swim shirt), he was shivering before he was half way done. I ended up giving him my sun shirt to try and keep him warm. (I had a tank top under it!) He and Nana huddled for warmth while he finished. A great end to a great weekend.

Currently feeling: accomplished!

Wordless Wednesday - May 25, 2011

Currently feeling: so grown up

Now I lay me down to sleep... or not

If I felt more creative, I'd whip up a sonnet to my mattress, but lack of quality sleep is hampering my mental faculties. Hopefully, I will be caught up soon, since I am finally back to sleeping in the bed! Don't get me wrong, I am grateful the recliner sleeps as well as it does, but it was starting to get old.

After getting my stitches out Thursday, I didn't even try the bed. It was just too sore. I felt pretty good Friday night, so I gave it a shot. Fail! It didn't work at all; I lasted all of 5 minutes. The pillow hit right on the incision (is it still called an incision when what you had was an excision?) when laying on my back, and it didn't support my neck enough if moved it up high enough that the bottom edge wasn't touching my shoulder. Laying on my right side didn't work, because when my left side rolled forward to try and lay my left arm on the mattress or pillow, it pulled too much on the wound. I can't lay in the bed with my body fully on its side (without rolling forward so I'm more on my stomach); I need something supporting my back to do that. I can manage that type of support on the sofa, but my hip will start killing me after a while. And laying on my left side is out; too much pressure directly on the wound (yes, I even tried it rather than simply assuming). ::sigh:: So it was back to the recliner on Friday.

Again, I felt pretty good Saturday, but after Friday's experience, I didn't even bother. Sunday, it hardly bothered me at all, so I did a trial run at nap time. I was able to lay on both my right and left sides in my "usual positions" without any trouble. I wasn't sure if it would hurt after a whole night like that instead of a couple of hours, but all I could do was try. Finally, success! Ahh, I love my mattress.

Currently feeling: ready for some good sleep