Losing a Tooth... Literally

According to pediatricians, you can expect your child to lose their first tooth around five or six years of age.  This is considered the “norm”, however, my children have never fit into this category.

My first child managed to lose her tooth less than a year after she got it!  We never found the tooth, but she was so young that The Tooth Fairy could hardly be summoned because she would have swallowed the tooth and any coins that would be under her pillow.  She didn’t even have a pillow at this time!  She went so long without a front tooth, that the skin got calloused and tough… so tough that the permanent tooth could not break through.  It was decided that they would cut the gum to give the tooth a chance to make an appearance.  When it did come make its way to the service, the tooth was covered with a splotch of what looked like white paint.  The dentist explained that this was a type of bruise to the tooth from when she hit it so many years ago.  I am happy to say, she has a beautiful smile today, thanks to cosmetic dentistry and the use of veneers.

My youngest daughter lost both of her front teeth at the age of two, and within a couple of weeks of each other.  The first was lost while tickling her brother… he kicked it right out.  The second was lost when she fell on the driveway.  This particular daughter doesn’t normally scream,  (I mean, when she got her ears pierced, she simply said “thank you” and was on her way.)  but she would not stop screaming.  Finally, I got from her warbled cries “I lost my tooth!”  Yes.  Yes.  We know.  Then we understood the reason for her cries.  She LOST her tooth!  She was having a fit because she didn’t know where the tooth was and needed it for the tooth fairy!  We all made our way to the driveway and didn’t come in until we found it.  And we did.

And we have the time where we tried to pull our daughter’s loose tooth, but gave her little brother a black eye instead?  We wanted to do the old trick of when you tie one end of a string to the tooth and the other end to a doorknob.  Just slam the door and the tooth will pop out.  Just as the door slammed, my daughter stepped forward, and her little brother came through the doorway.  She saved her tooth, but the door knob hit him straight in the eye.  We did have a successful do over, but the tooth went flying and was never found.  We had to write a note to The Tooth Fairy.  She brought a little extra this time… to her brother… for pain and suffering.

I am participating in a blogger campaign by Bucks2Blog and was
compensated. However, the views and opinions are my own.

A Shaving Memory

One of my favorite pictures of me as a little girl is one where I am sitting on the side of the tub, shaving my legs.  I was maybe six years old.  I truly look like I am having the time of my life.  And I was.  I still remember everything about it.  I got to use my Mom’s razor.  She took the blade out of course, but I didn’t care because I got to shave all by myself.  She let me use her shaving cream too.  Next to driving a car, I can’t think of anything that made me feel more grown up.  As I sat on one side of the tub and stretched my leg as far as it would go, so I could get my foot on the other side of the tub, I was just like Mom.  I was glamorous and beautiful, getting ready for an exciting date with my husband.  I wanted to shave my legs everyday. 

Boy, how time changes everything.

Now, at 50 years of age, I will do just about anything to avoid having to shave my legs.  Summer is a little tricky because there are times where you just plain have to do it.  Swimming is a big one.  You can wear capris or clam diggers to help hide a hairy leg, but swimming?  Shaving is your only option.  Although, I have gone to the pool, stayed in the pool the entire time, and then jumped out and drove straight home.  But all in all, swimming, you have to shave. 

Now when fall comes around, this makes going shave free very easy.  Pants, long skirts, and tights and you can kiss that razor good bye.  I’ll even wear panty hose if it means I can get away without shaving.  I guess I should be glad I’m not a guy.  They have to shave everyday and there is no hiding their faces with pants, long skirts, and tights. 

I think at the age of six, feeling grown up can be fun.  I’m 50 years old now, and I prefer to feel like a kid.

I am participating in a Bucks2Blog campaign about shaving soap and was compensated.  However, the views and opinions are my own. 

It's All About The Dress

Formal dances at the high school are always a big deal.  When you have a daughter, it’s all about the dress.  And believe it or not, with a son, it’s all about the dress too.  Let me explain.

Naturally, the first thing that crosses a girl’s mind when asked to a dance is they get to shop for a dress.  We all can remember what excitement there is to trying on formal dresses.  What color?  Long or short?  Straight or ball gown?  So yes, it is all about the dress.  And with daughters, you can guide them to a modest dress.  Fortunately, my daughters were more comfortable with a modest formal.  Sometimes it was next to impossible to find a dress with sleeves, but we improvised with jackets, and our own sewing techniques.   Quite often, their date’s mother would thank my daughters for wearing a modest dress, or even thank me.  We never fully appreciated this until we had our sons start to go to formal dances.

With sons, it is definitely all about the dress.  You have no idea what their date is going to wear, and worse yet, you have absolutely no control of it whatsoever.  This may seem like not that big of a deal, but when you send a hormonally charged, teenage boy, to spend the entire evening with a girl dressed in next to nothing, it becomes a very real concern.  When the dress is very low, or strapless, or even both, it’s just not the ideal situation you want your son to be in.  And when the dress is extremely short, this can be equally disconcerting.  I understand the mothers of sons thanking the girls for wearing a modest dress now.  It certainly makes it a little easier sending your son out the door.

So it is all about the dress… the modest dress.

I am participating in a blogger campaign by Bucks2Blog about modest dresses and was compensated. However, the views and opinions are my own.

I Eat Carbs

I was talking to my grandpa long ago and asked him what types of things are strange to him today.  I wanted to know what new ideas there are now that he finds peculiar from his day and time.  The first thing he said was “dog food”.  He went on to explain how it was crazy that people actually bought special food for a dog.  Nobody ever used to spend their hard earned money on food for a dog.  Dogs at scraps.  It was a dog.

Then he went on about the crazy things people eat and pay money to eat.  Caviar is nothing but fish eggs.  Fish eggs.  People buy water in a bottle when they’ve got water right inside their house.  And then he got started on diets.  Cookie diets.  No carbs diets.  Cleansing diets.  In his day, if you wanted to lose weight, you ate less, worked more.  Simple, but true.  I completely agree.

I’m just going to say it, “I eat carbs.”  My whole life I have been taught that carbohydrates are your energy foods, so it stands to reason that if you are not eating any carbs, your energy level will be low.  And I can’t imagine what a diet of all protein must do to your heart.  I have a friend who is only eating meat.  And I’m not talking about low fat meat like fish and chicken.  Any meat.  He’s eating sausage, bologna, pork chops, hot dogs.  It’s disgusting.  His carbohydrate count may be low, but his cholesterol must be out of sight! 

I had another friend who was doing the “cleansing” diet.  He was drinking tea, with lemon, cayenne pepper, and molasses.  He threw it up everytime.  I think we just need to listen to our bodies.  There’s not a body out there craving this concoction.  Not my kind of weight loss diet.

And it’s not rocket science.  If you eat more calories than you burn, you will gain weight.  Simple.  We are a lazy people.  Just get up and move.

I am participating in a blogger campaign by Bucks2Blog and was
compensated. However, the views and opinions are my own.

The Best Part of A Long Distance Move

I’ve asked a few friends on what they think is the best part of a long distance move.  All have agreed it is the use of a moving company.  Sure… it’s easy to do it yourself when you are only moving a short distance.  You don’t even need to rent a moving truck.  You get your friends together, naturally you need one with a truck, promise them pizza and the move begins and ends one very long Saturday.  But a long distance move is more complicated.  The use of a long distance moving company is wonderful and justified by the length of the move.  I agree that the use of a moving company is a luxury, however, it is not the best part of a long distance move. 

My family has moved across the country twice in my life. 

When I was in the 4^th grade, we moved from Annapolis, Maryland to San Diego, California.  Although I was devastated to leave my very best friend, and the very best climbing tree (located in my front yard), the adventure was thrilling.  My Dad got out the map of the United States to show us the distance.  We were going to drive from completely one side of the map all the way to the complete other side of the map!  I was dumbfounded.  Could a car go that far?  And does that mean we will be eating out every single day?  And staying in hotels?  Wow!  We listened to “It Never Rains in California” all the way.  Ironically, we crossed the California boarder in a down pour.  We still laugh about that to this day.

While in college, my brother and I helped my Mom and Dad move from San Diego to Newport, Rhode Island.  This time we got to pick the route.  I chose to see New Orleans and Mount Rushmore along the way.  Obviously, I had not paid attention in geography.  I learned to play the harmonica on this trip.  This second time was extra fun because both my brother and I got to take turns driving.  I’ll never forget my driving in Pennsylvania with all the narrow bridges, turnpikes, and tunnels.  Right as we were entering another tunnel, I casually said, “Again?  Narrow is my worst thing!”  My brother couldn’t decide which was worst;  the harmonica when I wasn’t driving, or having me behind the wheel in Pennsylvania where narrow was “my worst thing”?  Ultimately, I got some harmonica practice in throughout the east coast.

The best part of a long distance move?  Getting there.

I am participating in a blogger campaign by Bucks2Blog and was
compensated. However, the views and opinions are my own.

Winterize?

It’s that time of year where we “winterize” our homes.  I really had no idea what this meant.  Close the windows?  Get out the blankets?  Turn off the swamp cooler and turn on the heater?  This all seems pretty logical and certainly not noteworthy of a specific term such as “winterize”.  Unfortunately, I know better now.  To “winterize” your swamp cooler is a little more than just turning it off.

Last winter, I did just that.  I turned it off.  With my keen homeowner’s senses, I picked up the first problem right away.  When you walked through our hallway (where the swamp cooler is located) it was freaky cold!  Aaah!  That big, square, boxlike, canvas cover?  Where is that?  In no time, we found it, and shut off the cool draft coming straight through the ceiling.  All is well.  Winterize?  Just a bunch of men making something sound so much harder than it really is right?

Winter went fine.  No problems.  We stayed warm.  We baked.  We slept peacefully beneath all the down comforters.  And then we began to yearn for spring.  And spring came.  And summer.

Obviously, we remembered that we had covered the swamp cooler.  Piece of cake.  Just take the cover off and we are good to go!  I’m sitting at work when I get this frantic phone call.  My daughter is screaming, “The bathroom is full of water!”  I’m trying to understand.  “What?  What do you mean?  Which bathroom?  Where is the water coming from?”  She then explains, although still screaming, “There is water pouring out from the ceiling fan in the upstairs bathroom!  I don’t know when it started, but the bathroom is flooded with water!  And it keeps on coming!”  Naturally I jump in the car to rush home.  I get another call, “The water is coming through the ceiling lights in the kitchen!”  “What the?”

Those of you who “winterize” and know what it means to “winterize” understand that I never drained the water from the copper piping of the swamp cooler.  The copper pipes burst when the water inside froze during the winter.  Aaah... frozen pipes?  Summer came and my daughter turned on the pump of the swamp cooler and the water flowed from the broken pipes, filled our attic, flowed right through the ceiling fan in our bathroom, and then made its way to the kitchen ceiling lights.

Yeah… “winterize”… it means something.

I am participating in a blogger campaign for Bucks2Blog about plumbing
repair and was compensated. However, the views and opinions are my own.

The Stigma of Bankruptcy

Nearly everyone will experience financial difficulty at some point in their lives.  Whether or not you will have to file for bankruptcy is not an easy decision.  There is such a cultural stigma associated with bankruptcy that most hesitate from this desperate answer to their financial situation.  These misconceptions make the decision to file even more difficult, despite it possibly being the best solution for certain financial hardships.

We automatically assume that people filing for bankruptcy have credit card debt for frivolous unnecessary purchases, when in reality, this is rarely the case.  It all comes down to our placing judgment.  We place judgment on people who file for bankruptcy that they’re lazy and should work harder to pay off their debt. 

It is interesting to know that of all bankruptcies filed, more than two thirds of these are a result of medical debt.  With the rising costs of health care, it is no wonder.  Who can control this type of debt?  All it takes is a serious injury, a cancer diagnosis, or surgery… all beyond our control.  In fact, who can possibly prepare for such expense?  Health Savings Accounts are great, but when you receive a bill for over $200,000, I doubt anyone has planned for this type of a debt. 

Filing for bankruptcy is not a moral failure.  Filing for bankruptcy does not make you a bad person.  Over 15 years ago, we had to file for bankruptcy.  We had an overwhelming stack of medical bills.  We could have made payments for the rest of our lives and still never put a dent in the balance owed.  After talking with the many of the billing offices, the recommendation was always “file for bankruptcy”.  I admit it was strange to hear this solution from the very people we owed money.  It was difficult.  It was embarrassing.  In the end, it relieved us of the pressure of overwhelming debt.  We had a fresh start… debt free. 

I am participating in a blogger campaign by Bucks2Blog for a Las VegasBankruptcy Lawyer and was compensated. However, the views and opinions are
my own.