We're Alive!!!!

"Finally!" you're saying, "I don't have to look at a picture of that kitten anymore!!!!" I am SO sorry I haven't posted in ages. It's been so long that I forgot my Blogger password and it took me several tries to login! Here, in a nutshell, is what has been going on with us:

- I have discovered Facebook. 'Nuff said!

- This past summer, I went through a bad bout of clinical depression. Nothing brought it on, but life was a daily struggle for awhile. I truly didn't care about anyone or anything. After some medication and lifestyle changes, I am finally back to 100%!

- As if that weren't bad enough, soon after my depression set in Hubby lost his job due to the economy. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as he was there to help me cope everyday and took over all the major household duties. I don't know what I'd have done without him! Please pray for him, though, as he hasn't found work yet. He is looking for a management position in Health/Safety/Environmental or in Quality. We would prefer to live in the southeast if at all possible. If you know of any such openings, please let us know!

- Drama Queen and Pete will be in a play soon, "Hansel and Gretel". They will be playing a brother and sister who get lost in the forest. I am proud of both of them: Drama Queen for being so expressive, and Pete for having his first major role and memorizing his lines so quickly. I am in charge of costumes, which is SO much fun!


- We're still homeschooling and loving it! Drama Queen is especially loving math, thanks to Teaching Textbooks. Wonderful program! Here the kids are modeling the Egyptian costumes I made for them:


- Pete is thriving in Taekwondo. He recently earned his purple belt.

- Pete tried to scam the Tooth Fairy and received this note (created by a most clever fairy), which was later found wadded in a tight ball in the outside trashcan. (It was MIGHTY unusual that he offered to take the trash out by himself for the first time ever!) Any fairy communication was vehemently denied.



(You can download a blank copy here!)

- As you can see, Screech is still Screech! Yes, she's eating with her feet.


She is cracking us up lately with her affinity for bugs, dead or alive. She lets the live ones crawl all over her, then she plays with them for hours until they die. Here she is holding a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach. The people at the nature center had to beg her to get it back!


The only reason she is petting this LARGE tarantula so delicately is because we bribed her. She'd have grabbed it out of the man's hand otherwise!


Here she is playing with dead beetles in lieu of dolls:


Last but not least, Sylvester the cat is growing like a weed! He's no longer that tiny kitten, but he's as sweet and cuddly as ever!


That's it for now. I promise, I'll update regularly now that my love affair with Facebook has begun to wane!

Tooth-Tugging Tip for Terrified Tots

Drama Queen is a chicken when it comes to getting loose teeth pulled.

A yellow-bellied, lily-livered, gutless wonder.

This is a gross understatement.

A couple of weeks ago, she had a tooth that was so loose it flapped when she talked. It kind of reminded me of the door my cat uses to get to her litter box in the garage. Except upside-down. I kept expecting to hear it squeak when it flopped back and forth: eeh-ooh-eeh-ooh-eeh-ooh . . .

But, I digress.

She complained that it hurt when she ate, but the mere suggestion of pulling it (either by herself or me) sent her into a tizzy.

Another gross understatement.

We're talking screaming.

Hyperventilation.

Shaking like a bowl of Jell-o during an earthquake.

Flinging her body from wall to wall.

(This is why her blog name is Drama Queen, y'all.)

You may think that I must have pressured her.

(sweet, sympathetic Mommy voice) "Honey, do you want Mommy to pull it for you, or do you want to pull it yourself?"

Sound like pressure to you?

Well, you say, maybe she had some traumatic incident with a previous tooth being pulled.

Nope. Unless you count the Tooth Fairy forgetting her. For two nights in a row. (I have a sneaking suspicion that the little winged pixie discovered blogging.)

After many meltdowns, Drama Queen came up with the fantastic idea of having me pull it while she was asleep. I thought this was brilliant, because the anticipation seemed to be the worst part.

She changed her mind before she put on her jammies.

Later, after Hubby tucked her in, he came down and said, "Drama Queen told me to tell you to PLEASE to pull her tooth."

All righty then.

A few hours later, I snuck into her room to do the deed. Drama Queen, still mostly asleep but vaguely aware of my presence, shook her head vigorously, her brown hair slapping the sides of her pillow.

I didn't pull the tooth.

(I am firmly against telling my child that I won't pull her tooth and then surprising her by suddenly doing it anyway. I figure I'm giving her enough reasons to need therapy as it is.)

The next night, we went through the same thing:

"Pleeeeeeease pull my tooth!"

"Mommy, I changed my mind. Please DON'T pull my tooth!"

"I really mean it this time. Pull my tooth!"

"Nooooooo!!!!! Don't pull it!!!!!!!"

On it went for two hours, ending with, "NO! Don't do it!!!!!!"

When I stole into her room that night to get the writing journal we share (I'll post about this another day), I read this note:


Okey dokey. I guess that settles it.

I grabbed a Kleenex and got a grip on the tooth. Drama Queen's eyes flew open and grew wide. (Imagine a startled owl being choked.) I tugged lightly (it was hanging by a thread, for Pete's sake) and the tooth popped right out.

There wasn't even a drop of blood.

Drama Queen remained dazed and silent for a full 3-4 seconds. Then, as what had just happened seemed to sink in, she started to whimper. I asked if it hurt, and she half-moaned a "yes". (I knew good and well that it didn't, but this is Drama Queen we're talking about here.) I left to get her some Orajel. When I returned seconds later she was fast asleep.

In the morning she had absolutely no recollection of anything.

After I recounted the whole story of how I pulled her tooth, she happily announced that she would like for me to ALWAYS pull her teeth this way.

Works for me!



(For more WFMW tips, visit Shannon's blog.)

Here are some of my previous WFMW tips:

Handy Earache Relief

Uses for Leftover Bread

Leaky Diaper Fix

Snack Mix Recipe (at the end of the post)

Awesome Stain Recipe

"FUN"damentals of Family Life

Wite-Out Woes

Public Service Announcement

When NOT to Save Money