When your child starts kindergarten, you begin to notice the differences and similarities in kids. With Avery, I noticed that he was shorter than some others … I noticed that he was shy, yet popular … and I noticed that he hadn’t lost any baby teeth. While others began doting toothless grins around Christmas time, we remained perfectly aligned and no wiggles in sight.

In first grade, it seemed that we were the only ones that still had our baby teeth. A trip to the dentist confirmed that all was well. X-rays showed a beautiful set of permanent teeth that were formed, just not yet ready to ascend. My fears were eased … especially when our dentist mentioned that there should not be a need for braces. (Little sister, on the other hand, will buy a local orthodontist a new home!)

First grade came and went … as did the summer following. Then it happened. The first day of school, Avery said that his lower gum was hurting. I looked inside and there was a permanent tooth that had popped through behind his baby tooth. I felt the baby tooth assuming that it would wiggle, but it was tight as could be.

I called the dentist to see if we should wait for it to come out naturally or come in for a visit. The nurse assured me that we did need to come in, but the dentist was on vacation and we couldn’t get in for two weeks.

And so we waited.

Waited for the dentist …

And waited for wiggles.

Nothing.

Today was the day of the dentist appointment. My husband agreed to go, so that I wouldn’t have to miss any more work than necessary. I called to make sure that he was going to make it on time to the appointment (sorry, babe … I was just checking). All was well and the next text I got was “The dentist is going to pull the bottom two teeth ”

Suddenly, my baby boy’s short little life flashed in front of me. Those two teeth were the first to make an appearance in his mouth six-and-a-half years ago. So cute and so precious. I couldn’t imagine them not being there any longer.

Like any overly-emotional mother, I called Don and asked him to take one last picture of Avery with a mouth full of baby teeth. It’s not like I don’t have thousands (literally) of pictures of him with these same teeth. But there was something about knowing that it would never be the same that just hit me.

Thankfully, he took the picture … and didn’t even say “Are you kidding me?”

I appreciate that.

Within 5 minutes, I was receiving pictures of my little boy … and the teeth were gone.

Avery did great. He didn’t realize that there were shots to numb him (thankfully!). The dentist even put a glove on Avery’s hand and allowed him to help with pulling it out. He was so proud … and didn’t shed a tear.

So, tonight, the tooth fairy comes. Our tooth fairy has a lighter pocketbook than some other fairies in our neighborhood, but it doesn’t seem to matter. We broke out the tooth fairy box – loaded it with teeth and wrote the dates on the bottom.

And all was right with the world.

And another milestone is completed.

I’m loving the idea of meal planning. It really made the nights last week much much easier.

Here’s what we have on deck for this week:

Monday: Fiesta Chicken Enchiladas (recipe from Kraft foods)

Tuesday: Sloppy Joes

Wednesday: Chicken Parmesan

Thursday: Salad with Tuna and fresh veggies

Friday: Homemade Pizza

Saturday: Steak and baked potato

(If there are a lot of leftovers, we’ll scrap eat them along with salad on Thursday.)

School Snack Plan -

Monday: Carrots

Tuesday: Chex Mix

Wednesday: String Cheese

Thursday: Carrots

Friday: Cereal (Trix)

Last week, I wrote about meal planning and how I’m really making an effort to get on this train! As I’ve thought more about this, I’ve come to the conclusion that I need to plan at least 2-3 weeks ahead. Since I’m a compulsive coupon user, I need to be able to look ahead to see what ingredients I’m going to need. Along with the meal plan for the week, I also will be planning school snacks. (Our after school care provider includes snacks for after school as part of our tuition.)

In thinking one week ahead … Here’s our plan for the week of August 23:

Monday: BBQ Pork Loin
Tuesday: I’ll be trying a new recipe. I’m giving Creamy Pasta Primavera a try!
Wednesday: Hamburger Helper
Thursday: Fiesta Chicken Enchiladas
Friday: Meatballs (possibly Meatball Subs)
Saturday: California Chicken Salad
Sunday: At some point, we’ll need to have a night of leftovers. Once that point comes, all recipes will shift and take care of Sunday!

School Snacks: I have compiled (with your help via comments), 18 different options. With an average of 20 days per month, that is AWESOME. (PS – We are a peanut free school, so you won’t see any “peanuty” options on my list.)

Monday: Carrot Sticks & Ranch (I’ll put the ranch in a snack bag.)
Tuesday: String Cheese
Wednesday: Pretzels
Thursday: Go-Gurt (I’ll have to confirm this will work when I find out snack times. If snack is in the AM, it will be fine. If it’s in the PM, we’ll have to do something else.)
Friday: Carrot Sticks & Ranch

I’m repeating carrot sticks and ranch, because I’ll buy a bag of mini-carrots. I want to make sure that they all get eaten before they go bad. On fresh items with a quick life, I’ll repeat them during the week.

Are you a meal planner? If so, share what your cookin’ up for the week. I’d love to see what you’re fixing!

If you want a recipe for something that I’m making, let me know and I’ll post it. (The recipes that I found online, I’ve linked above!)

I’m beginning to think that the Tooth Fairy has something againist my kids. They are 5 and 6 and guess what … we have a full set of beautiful teeth.

Perfect, cute … baby teeth.

We’ve been to the dentist and had x-rays done. Avery’s permanent teeth are ready and perfectly aligned. Typical for him. Piper’s permanent teeth … well, let’s just say, the dentist told us to start putting away money for the major orthodontia that the child will require. Also typical.

In the past, I’ve shrugged off anxious comments with a phrase like “Your teeth really must like it in there. You’ve got some great gums!”

Now, we’re reaching the stage of “Feel this, Mom. It’s wiggling.” Of course, it’s stuck so tight. Kids lose teeth at different ages, so I’m not the least bit concerned. I think my children are starting to believe otherwise.

The worst part is that Avery will FREAK OUT when a tooth comes out and there’s blood. Piper, too, for that matter.

Until then, I’m savoring those cute little child-like smiles and keeping our Tooth Fairy box at the ready, as well as the ATM card. Teeth are going for a lot more these days!

I’ve been so good this week and I’m really seeing results. I started slowly and have built up speed. I can honestly say that I truly think it’s because of this that I feel like things are taking shape (no pun intended … well, maybe a little).

Here’s the low-down. The important part. I’ve lost 10 pounds. Whoo Hoo. This morning I fit into jeans that I haven’t worn in 6 months (actually 1 size smaller). HOORAY!!!

I’ve gotten a lot of messages today asking how I’ve done it. It’s been a complete life change, but seeing the pounds melt away is making it worth while. Here’s what I’ve done:

1. Week One – Cut from 3 Diet Cokes per day to 1. Also cut out all fried food. (Not easy. I struggled, but I did it.)

2. Week Two – Cut out Diet Coke all together. Began drinking Crystal Light and Iced Tea with Sweet N Low.

3. Week Three – Used an online food journal (Sparkpeople). Watched what I ate and only ate when I was hungry. I substituted cereal for a dinner a couple of times. Also ate a protein bar each day for breakfast. I was down calories most every day. I’ve only exercised twice, and made a conscience decision to not exercise on days that I was under 1,000 calories. Something about that made me think it might put my body into shock.(Definitely not what I’m trying to do.)

I’m shooting for 1,200 calories per day; 163 carbs; 32 fat; 60 protein. My averages are way under that … but with the exception of one time on Saturday, I really haven’t felt hungry. I totally attribute that to drinking 6 glasses of water (or water-like substances) per day. I’m shooting for 8 glasses, but considering I used to drink “no” glasses that’s pretty good.

Aside from the protein bar at breakfast, I’ve had a Lean Cuisine or Weight Watchers Smart One at lunch. For dinner, I’ve either had cereal with a banana; a salad (iceburg lettuce, banana pepper rings, goldfish, 1/2 breast of grilled chicken, and Kraft Light Italian Dressing); or Grilled Chicken and steamed vegetables. {I’m really getting tired of chicken. I’m a red meat kind-of girl … I could seriously “cluck” at any given moment.} I haven’t snacked, because the only time I’ve gotten hungry is close to meal time. If it’s within a 90 minutes of a meal, I drink a bottle of Crystal Light and wait it out.

If you want to see my calorie breakdown for each day … click here! I really do feel better. I could kick myself for waiting this long to start!

The ear saga is SOLVED. A quick trip to RediCare offered a diagnosis and a cure. Hallelujah.

The culprit … Cleaning my ears with a Q-tip. Over the course of time, I’ve pushed wax back into my ear and it eventually formed a very tight seal over my ear drum/some sort of important membrane.

The solution was this weird ear rinse (can’t remember the technical name) where they shot hot water and peroxide into my ear to disolve the wax. Eventually, it breaks down and starts coming out. At first, it felt really good because it was warm, but by the end when it’s actually hitting nerve endings – not so much. It also made me dizzy. The Physican’s Assistant said that happens because it is changing the temperature inside your ear rapidly. Thankfully, it wasn’t a nauceous-dizzy … more of a rollercoaster-dizzy.

So, careful with Q-tips friends! Take this as a lesson.

My ear has been blocked up for several days. I can only hear about 60% of what’s going on, so life is highly annoying. I’ve tried ear candles in the past and since I think/thought that this might be a clogged ear wax issue {disgusting}, I decided to go the candle route.

If you’ve never used an ear candle before, you’ll enjoy this video showing my experience. Please disregard that I’m wearing pajamas – it was a last minute decision to chronicle this venture.

{Don’t you love how YouTube always picks the best screenshots? Yikes.}

PS – my ear is still blocked up. However, there is ZERO wax in it. Q-tip came out completely clean. Tomorrow starts Sudifed/Advil in massive amounts. After that, I think I’ll see an ENT doctor.

Several weeks ago, I was selected to review an Oral-B Professional Care 1000 Rechargeable Toothbrush. Reviewing a toothbrush was not #1 on the list of products that I’d “love” to try, but I use one everyday – so after thinking about it … I decided to see what the “big difference” was.

The toothbrush I received was an electric toothbrush. I’ve never used one in my life, so I was excited to try it. However, upon doing some initial research, I discovered that this Oral-B rechargeable brush retails for around $80. As thrifty as I am, I absolutely could not EVER imagine spending $50 on a toothbrush. Since starting The Grocery Game, I’ve stocked up at least 30 toothbrushes and I haven’t paid more than a quarter for any of them!

I’ve been using the toothbrush for about 3 weeks now. Since they sent two different brush heads, Don has been using it as well. We both LOVE it. The charger is relatively small and sits on our vanity without being obtrusive. I haven’t left the brush off of the charger yet, so I can’t comment on how long it stays charged.

You know how your teeth feel after the hygienist cleans them during an office visit? That’s how your teeth will feel after using this brush. Both Don and myself have commented that we are brushing longer. I don’t know why that is, but we are …

If you are in the market for this type of toothbrush or if a dentist has recommended that you go to an electric toothbrush, I HIGHLY recommend this model. I have a dentist appointment in a couple of weeks and I can’t wait to see if my dentist notices anything different.

My gums feel fabulous … and I guarantee, I’ve never said that before!

Disclaimer: I was not paid for this review, however I did receive the product free of charge. This is my true opinion of the Oral-B Professional Care 1000 as of 1/9/2010.

Many of you know that Don and I have a long history with the Marching Arts. He still teaches competitive drumline and I, after teaching color guard fulltime for 18 years, now just dabble in it on occasion.

Last weekend, I began seeing many Facebook posts from former students saying things like “Pray for Hodge”. I finally put enough information together to know that he was a Page High School student that played in the drumline, but couldn’t ever get any additional information.

Today, almost by accident, I found a link to his CaringBridge site. CaringBridge is the most incredible website for conveying hospital information. Parents and family members can update friends around the world of breaking information and there is a place for photos. It’s such an amazing way for people to stay on top of current patient news without crowding the waiting room … which can sometimes be a problem.

Today, as I was looking at Matt Hodge’s CaringBridge site which is written and updated by his dad, I was able to see Matt’s picture. In his snapshot, I saw hundreds of drummers that I’ve taught before. His accident could have happened to anyone and it could have been one of my former students.

The thing that struck me more than anything else was … he was someone’s son. That could be my child laying in that hospital bed one day and I would be begging people to drop to their knees and pray for his health to be restored.

That’s what I’m asking you to do today. Pray for Matt Hodge.

Last week, I wrote on being intentional when you pray for your child. Tim Hodge, Matt’s father, tells of several things that students are doing to be intentional about remembering to pray for Matt. I wanted to do something myself, and I didn’t have to go far before I knew what it would be.

Tim Hodge works for BigIdea. Yes, the same BigIdea that does VeggieTales. He’s been a longitme writer/director for them. Every night as he’s drifting off to sleep, my son Avery listens to the VeggieTales CD “Boyz in the Sink – Live from Paducah!” I bought this CD because I used to live in Paducah … now I know that God is using this CD, that my son treasures, as a reminder for me pray for someone else’s little boy.

Let’s all join together to lift up this entire family!

I wish I had something extremely clever to write, but alas … I do not. I’m too blah-ed out thinking about the overwhelming need to take better care of myself and guess what … It’s time.

The next couple of weeks, I’ll have more time on my hands than usual. I’m taking this break to try to work in a good dose of exercise.

You all read about The Shred (click here if you missed it!). I’m telling you … I admire those that can commit to 30 days with it. But, I think I’ll die first.

However, I do realize that a 30 day committment is important, so I’m just going to change it up a bit. Here’s the plan:

• Monday – Walk at night (minimum 1 mile … and following The Bachelorette!)
• Tuesday – Shred in the morning; 20 minutes of Wii Fit at night
• Wednesday – Shred in the morning; Walk at night (at least 1 mile)
• Thursday – Wii Fit in the morning; Walk at night (at least 1 mile)
• Friday – Shred in the morning
• Saturday – Wii Fit and Walk at some point during the day
• Sunday – Shred at some point during the day

Boredom is my key enemy, so I’m hoping that this will help battle it!

What do you do? What works best for you?