Thursday, December 27, 2012

All He Lost for Christmas Was His Two Front Teeth.....

We've really been trying to crack down on the boys running on the stairs.  Usually it's the speed they come down that freaks me out.  They figure since they've got both hands hanging on the banister, they're good.  (It's just what if the banister comes loose from the wall??)
Last week Nathan decided he needed to run up the stairs for something, tripped, and barked his shin pretty good, ending up with a rather impressive bruise.
Yesterday, we're only wishing it would have been his shin.....
He was running up the stairs to get a toy to show "Uncle" Seth, and tripped near the top.  Apparently his teeth took the brunt of the fall.... He left one laying on the stairs, and the other was pretty much just dangling. He also bit a pretty good chunk out of his bottom lip.  He really wanted us to pull the other tooth (it was moving around every time he opened his mouth), but I couldn't get a grip on it (baby teeth are so tiny!), so I took him to the dentist this morning (they were closed yesterday).  They removed it with no problem.
The x-ray showed no apparent injury to his permanent teeth, but we better get used to his toothless grin, because it's looking like it'll be that way for a while.

Photo: ♪♫ All he lost for Christmas was his two front teeth.....  (Ouch.)
Love him!  He was so brave.  Other than the initial injury, he really didn't cry that much - even at the dentist, when they were digging around in his mouth and bumping his very swollen lip.  We treated him to ice cream and onion rings afterwards (first food he'd had since breakfast yesterday), and apparently that cures all!

Saturday, December 22, 2012

You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch......

I'm getting so I hate Christmas.  Not what the holiday represents, as how people celebrate it.  Watch TV, and you'll see the pathetic emptiness of it all:
Christmas is about STUFF!  This is your last chance to buy STUFF!  If you buy STUFF your kids will love you!  You need to buy STUFF!  You don't even need money to buy our STUFF - just finance it!  Aren't there a few more people you need to buy STUFF for?  Make up for the emptiness in your life by filling it with STUFF!  You deserve STUFF!  People will love you if you buy them STUFF!  We're going to stay open late so you can buy EVEN MORE STUFF!
I mean, I'm all for buying gifts for those you love.  But our society has really gone overboard.  I don't know if it's gotten worse in the last several years, or if I'm just more aware of it, but I hate it.
Part of our not going crazy at Christmas is the fact we can't afford to.  But even if we had the money, what is the point?  Are your kids going to love you more if you buy them $500 worth of presents?  Does buying your wife a diamond automatically fix your marriage?  (Let's not even talk about the problems all around that putting Christmas on a credit card causes!)
I mean, really.  People trampling each other for stuff?  Spending money they don't have for stuff?  Is this really what Christmas is about?
What is Christmas all about anyways?  Jesus was born on this earth.  It's His birthday!  His sole purpose in coming to Earth was so that he could die to pay the penalty for our sins, so we wouldn't have to.  He has given us more than we could ever imagine, and we in turn give to others.
We only have a few days to refocus our priorities, and determine to focus on the real reason we should be celebrating.
May his joy and peace fill your heart.

Friday, December 21, 2012

Clearing the Air

Paul and I had to have one of those discussions to "clear the air" last night.  I've been wanting to say something for a long time, and I've been stewing on it at night when the lights are off and he's asleep, or when he's gone at work - when I can't say anything to him.  I have worked myself into a frenzy, getting angry, and I know that when I'm angry it's not the best time to bring something up.
So last night, after the kids were in bed, I decided it was time to stop stuffing it and get it said.  If I put it off, I knew I was going to blow at a bad time, or in a bad way.  I could already feel the pressure leaking out in little snippy things I was saying to him, and the way I was treating the kids.
I hate how even though these things need to be said, and I think I did a good job expressing myself without getting [overly] accusatory, I still feel like the bad guy for even bringing it up.  But I guess that's better than feeling smug and victorious "because I put him in his place," or feeling angry and bitter.  I cried, of course.
It took us until 5 AM to work through it.  I brought it up and blindsided him, and when I had said all that I needed to say, he wouldn't say anything, so we turned on the TV and watched a movie.  I fell asleep, and woke up at 2:40 to a silent house.  I found him in front of the fire, "thinking."  I prodded and prodded, and finally he started talking and explaining his side of it.  We sat on the couch and talked, and I cried some more, and finally, the air was clear.  We reached an end.  No more stuffed emotions, no more silent sulking.  We laughed at some stuff, and then went to bed.
I hate it when people just assume we can't relate to having marriage problems.  Just because we don't have fights, doesn't mean we don't know anything about problems in marriage. We've dealt with plenty of serious issues.  We just don't fight.  I think, in 8 years, we have maybe yelled at each other once.  And it was like a sentence, then we were done.  And I don't go telling everyone about our problems.  I mean, yes, I tell my sister and Mom, maybe one or two close friends, but I'm not constantly railing on him behind his back.
I mean, really?  Would you rather for advice go to someone who is constantly cutting down their husband, or someone who knows how to work out their problems?
I am as tired as all get out today, but I am so much more relieved that everything got said.  And I'm even happier that I pressed and got him to talk it out.  I could have gone to bed, telling myself, "Well, now he knows where I stand," and pretend I didn't know it was bothering him and that he was upset.  But now I know where he stands as well.  I think it was a pretty good end to the biggest "fight" we've had all year.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

I Love My Family

I have a pretty awesome family.  We are so weird, and I love it!  Any family dinner conversation with my parents and siblings can flow from movie quotes, to childbirth stories, to spiritual matters, to neighborhood genealogy, and beyond.  We are so loud, and I'm sure it's intimidating to an outsider, but I think it is awesome.
As I was nursing Zadie to sleep, for some reason I was thinking of one of my brother's favorite things to say. Mom, Lurenda, and I will be in the kitchen putting the final touches on the meal, and we'll get on a roll about something, not even paying attention to the food situation, and JC will yell from the other room, "Hens!  Get in here!  It's time to eat!"

I'm sure it totally stokes his ego to have JC be the first mention in my new series, but when I thought of it, I about started giggling out loud while I was up there.  It's the "Hens!" part that gets me.... Such a perfect description of I'm sure what we sound like.  I'm going to make mention of my awesome family on regular occasions now.  (Regular, meaning, whenever I actually think of something and have the time and motivation to go to the computer.)