First one gone...

I swore I wouldn't let it happen...

It never happened to me.

It sounded so barbaric...

but, yet, it had to be.

Caitlin got her first loose tooth about 5 weeks ago, discovered at the dentist's office. They said it would take about 3 weeks. Well, it took 5, and even then, one little tooth needed a little "help."

We spent the weekend at Grandma Nancy's and Grandpa Don's while dad golfed in a family golf tournament. The gold tournament ended with a picnic catered in at one of the golfer's houses. Caitlin was excited to go, but when standing in line for some bbq, she told Grandma she didn't want any b/c her mouth hurt. I thought she bit her cheek or something, but she chose some pickles and cuddled up in a cushioned chair. She looked awful. She rested there a bit, pet their puppy and went outside. She came back in, still after eating nothing, and sat down. Jon and I took Macy outside and soon after, Grandma came out with Caitlin, who was in tears. She looked so pitiful, and after rummaging through my medicine-less diaper bag, we exited early. By the time we reached the car, Caitlin was screaming in pain. We high-tailed it home, while being pulled over by the faithful Wichita police. I cued Caitlin to cry again, and luckily, the officer must've been a dad b/c he let us off with a warning. We hurried and purchased the only pain reliever left on the shelf after all of the recalls and gave her a dose. It worked quite quickly and later, Caitlin mentioned her ear hurt, as well. Who knows if it's 6 year molars or an earache from going off of the high dive the day before, but by morning, all she had was her 2 loose teeth...

And that's when I saw it. The decision-maker. The big one. The little bitty thing that made this event possible - the tooth behind the tooth. This morning while out on the porch, I asked to wiggle one of those little teeth. Upon wiggling it, I saw something right behind it - her permanent tooth halfway in already! I asked Jon to look - and immediately he said, "We've got to get the other one out. That's coming in behind and crooked." I looked at Caitlin, who had just endured major pain the night before. I sighed, knowing Jon was probably right.

Jon looked at his dad, who informed Jon that was a fatherly duty, not a grandfatherly one, and pointed Jon in the direction of the pliers.

I tried to keep myself busy and wondered to myself, hadn't I promised we wouldn't do this? Won't it just fall out like all of mine did? Surely, we can't do this to her while she just got over whatever her problem was the night before?

Jon got the pliers and looked at me and said we had to do it now. I held her and she screamed and put her hands in front of her mouth. I told her I'd buy her ice cream later. Jon pulled once - no tooth. He pulled a second time and it came right out with minimal bleeding. Caitlin stopped crying soon after, especially after we all discussed how much money the tooth fairy might bring her.

All was good, it wasn't that bad...until somebody mentionned the other loose one must come out in a few days to make more room for that crooked one back there...

Oh well - MORE ICE CREAM!!!

Gold

I remember the old girl scout song that goes, "Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold!" and I think of that song when I think of our good friends, the Ogdens. Johnnie and Dianne lived across the street from us in St. Joe for the 2 years we lived there and after we moved, they moved to Arizona. They get back to the KC area once in awhile and fit us in and we are so blessed to get to see them because we miss them terribly!
We first "heard" of Johnnie as the "Bud Light Guy." He was with BL in St. Joe and dealt with pretty much everyone in town and was the second guy to the owner. He must have been very good at that job b/c he's an extremely giving and nice person and can get along with anyone.
Dianne is a very good friend of mine. I miss every single day I (or she) came home from work. We'd head over to each other's driveways and park our chairs and watch Ethan and Caitlin play together. Dianne is such a friendly person and a great mom. She loves my kids so much and I can count on her to listen to any of my stories and concerns and I am so grateful to have her as my friend!

Ethan remains a good friend of Caitlin's. They just picked up where they left off. They played and played the whole time they were here - I was particularly intrigued by their "older play." I walked down to the basement and found them playing a game of organized operation - they said things like, "Oh, you almost got it, Caitlin!" and "Good try, Ethan!" It was so cute! We went the bounce house, played in our pool, jumped off the pull out to the giant bean bag, tickle monster (courtesy of Dianne) and throw the ball down the stairs to Johnnie!
Joey and Macy got into it once in the first hour they were here, but other than that, ZERO fights! They were fabulous! Ethan and Joey are such well-behaved and very polite boys - and they just love to play. I still remember Caitlin looking out our front window in St. Joe and shouting Ethan's name at the top of her lungs, in hopes he would appear and they could play together. We miss them so much, as neighbors, but more so as friends. They are definitely the gold kind.

Babysitting

This summer my principal asked me if I could babysit her 2 boys for 2 weeks for a little extra money over the summer. Cade and Cole have provided lots of summer fun and the "brother experience" for Caitlin and Macy!

Never underestimate the power of a simple swing set

The underdog...made a little harder with a couple extra inches of height added since 3rd grade!

Macy is our swing-a-holic...she swang for over an hour while Jon mowed, and after he mowed, she requested he swing her some more. She swings and wants you to push her from the back - every time while happily yelling, "Higher! I going pretty high!"

"Congratulations to the future class of 2022!"

We all attended Caitlin's Kindergarten graduation on Thursday, May 27th at 2:00pm. Her teachers recited a poem they wrote, the kids sang songs and the principal addressed the audience. They received "diplomas" and my tears came when they announced the "future class of 2022!" It sounds so far, but at the same time, too close.
Mrs. Baker is (was) Caitlin's Kindergarten teacher and we never had a single complaint - in fact, she was unbelievable. She taught Caitlin so much and was so helpful and informative and communicated with us often. She had started hard shoes to fill as each teacher after her will always be compared to her.These are a couple of Caitlin's friends. She developed a really nice group of friends. Pictured here are Katie and Brooke. Obviously Caitlin showed what she learned in Kindergarten by not realizing her diploma is upside down.

The end of season 4...

This season was Caitlin's 4th in soccer. Boy, did it show...

I must brag about my little girl, so beware... she showed toughness, athleticism and teamwork this year. She got the superstar award today, and we were so proud. Her coach talked during the "Awards Ceremony" about her performance on offense and defense, and her ability to pass the ball so others could score, too. We couldn't have been more proud of Caitlin this season!

I don't know if this will lead to more years of soccer, or she will be part of the band. Maybe she'll be in math club or on the cheer squad. I really don't care either way, as long as she's having a ball. Right now, she is, and so are we...

I Made It!

I ran my first (and pretty sure my last) 1/2 marathon on Sunday, May 15th, 2010. I don't really have a bucket list, but if I did, running a 1/2 marathon would be on it. My time was 2 hours and 15 minutes. I didn't think that was too bad for my first one. There were plenty of hills, which explains my limp today.

The quote that kept me going was from a 60-some year old man as I was going up "Leavenworth's Pike's Peak." I had just gone up 3 hills with virtually no downhills to rest and I was trucking up this one steep and long hill. I thought, "let me just walk a little." I started walking and walked 2 sidewalk lengths (about 6 steps) when this man slowed slightly and said, "You can go slower, but never walk." I said, "Yeah, ok," and immediately picked up my feet. That quote stayed with me the whole run and I wish I found him after the race to thank him. I ran the whole thing minus 6 steps, so I felt proud.

Jon and the girls met me every 3 miles and welcomed me with cheers! They braved wet puddles and chilly weather but they cheered me on every step of the way! They spent 2 hours driving around Leavenworth catching up to cheer me on and take pictures! They were so supportive and gave me something to look forward to as my running partner had slowed on mile 1. I had no one to talk to and I was so thankful my family was there cheering me on so much!

The end of the race brought many smiles as it was over. The hills were many more than I had realized, and I vividly remember on Mile 12 praying to God to not let the increasing pain in both hips be a precursor to them breaking (yes, they hurt so bad I really was concerned they may break right before the finish line and I'd have to sign up to run another one of these insane races again)!

After the race, we went with my running partner and her family to a breakfast buffet at Granite City. On the way there, both feet cramped up several times and my hips were a constant bone stabbing pain. Today, my knees barely let me move, but I'm glad I did it. I finished, and that was it. Good-bye 1/2 marathon! See ya - wouldn't wanna be ya! It's over!