just us.

Pick and Choose

As much as I would like to just lay on the couch and watch everything saved on my DVR (Wahlburgers and Tiny House Nation are favorites right now), my time could be better spent with my girl and the things she does everyday.  

Every Wednesday at CDC (the before and after school care program she goes to) is Book Sharing Day, and the kids bring a book from home to share and read with friends.  Her teacher Mrs. Dulce had invited me a little while back to come one day and visit.  And today was that day.

It wasn't anything huge and showboat-y, but just kindergarten story time.  Keira didn't know I was there initially, but once one kid sees me (and they know I'm "Keira's mom"), my presence is no longer unknown.

I'm grateful for the opportunities to see Keira in her element, to be a part of her life at school.  Mike and I both work full-time, but I have the kind of schedule that allows me to devote 1 day a week to volunteer in her class (I'm assigned to reading and literacy).  I don't remember my parents volunteering a lot in school while I was growing up (they both worked full-time and not close to home), but they were there at all the concerts and baseball games and swimming lessons.  I hope I can do the same for my kid.

 

It's a goner!

Before...

...and after!

This would be her first "official" tooth lost!  The original first tooth was almost 3 years ago exactly, and we never got a visit from the Tooth Fairy because Keira swallowed it.

I showed her a video a few week's back of a friend's son doing the whole "string around the tooth and a doorway" to pull out his tooth, and she wasn't amused then.  But for some strange reason the stars aligned, and she asked Mike if she could try it herself.  And if you know Mike and his fascination with conducting medical procedures on oneself, he was all over this one.  Thankfully, he didn't rush Keira into her decision and said whenever she was ready, he would be too.

His first attempt using dental floss didn't work, and Keira needed a break.  The next attempt involved fishing line and again, she dictated everything.  "Go! No, stop! Okay, now go!"  Mike went for it and the tooth was out!  He never mentioned the b-l-o-o-d because no good would've come from that, and she went about her merry way.  She called me at work to tell me and you could hear the joy in her voice.

 

We celebrated with dinner at Red Robin (her choice), where she wrote a note to the Tooth Fairy thanking her for picking up her tooth.  It's never too early to teach a kid some manners.

I told her the Tooth Fairy was like Santa (they're good friends I'm sure) and if she didn't go to bed, the Tooth Fairy would never come.  She placed her note, with the tooth in a baggie taped to the card, under her pillow and within minutes, she was out.  I even camped out on the bottom bunk to see if I could catch a glimpse of the Fairy myself!  But she must've waited until I fell asleep too before she came, because I never saw her.

I woke her up this morning, so we could both see if the Tooth Fairy left her anything.  Bedhead and all, Keira lifted up her pillow and found herself a 5 dollar bill!  (She thought it was a dollar, but I had her double check the number on the bill.)  I told her she can either spend it or save it for something bigger, so we'll see what she decides.  We're trying to teach her to save rather than instantly gratify, but at this age it's not a concept she grasps just yet. 

January 2015, thus far

I got an email from Typepad recently about resolving to blog in 2015.  I've let this thing go silent one too many times, and I hoping to get myself back to it at least twice a month.  Back in 2013, I aimed to hit the gym at least once a week and 2 years later, I'm still at it with 2 or 3 visits per week.  So if I can do that, then I can certainly blog a few times a month!

2014 ended much the way 2015 started: quiet and uneventful.  I had to work New Year's Day, so there wasn't going to be any staying up until midnight for me.  We celebrated East Coast New Year's with our neighbors, had cake and champagne and then hit the sack.

We renewed our Disney passes for yet another year, and have made 2 visits so far.  With Keira being in "real" school now, we don't have the luxury of going mid-week like we used to.

It's a good thing we have health insurance because Keira has already taken advantage of it!  The cold that she had before winter break (which involved a trip to the nurse's office, a call to 911 and a firetruck and EMTs!) never resolved itself when she returned to school 2 weeks later.  I gave her another week and the cough never went away and was sounding pretty wet (how's that for medical terms) which called for a Saturday morning visit to urgent care and amoxicillin for 10 days.  This girl can't seem to a break in the sickness department.

We started a bit of a home project that involves us being without our washer and dryer for a few weeks.  If I said that it was all starting off very smoothly, I'd be lying.  I realize that there is no construction project that doesn't have its hiccups, but when a major one occurs 2 days in, it makes for some really pissed off homeowners (that would be Mike and I if you couldn't figure it out).

This little bugger is turning 6 in a matter of weeks.  In keeping with the theme of her party, we have $32.40 worth of rubber bouncy balls.  We managed to get both carts to the car and fill up my trunk with them.  I had other favors in mind, but that would've involved spending a minimum $150, and I wasn't down for that. Besides, what kid doesn't love a ball?

Back in June, Mike had a cardiac ablation done that would hopefully take care of his arrhythmias.  He told me recently that it doesn't race anymore, in particular, after he has coffee or alcohol.  Which is a great thing!!  I guess it was a common occurrence, and was the main reason why he stopped drinking both at one point (not that he was an alcoholic or caffeine addict to begin with).  His doctor took him off the blood thinner a month or 2 ago, and he couldn't have been more excited about that.  He had just started playing hockey when the doctor started him on the warfarin, and he was told he couldn't do contact sports while he was on it.  He has another check up in a few months, and may be able to discontinue his other heart medication for good!

So that's that from our little corner of the world.  Let's hope I'll be back before long!