Almost Dead

Adlani: “What’s that?”
Me: “A mole.”
Adlani: “How do you get one?”
Me: “They just grow sometimes.”
Adlani: “Will I get one when I’m older?”
Me: “Probably.”
Adlani: “But I don’t want to die!”
Me: “You’re not going to die just because you have a mole.”
Adlani: “How old are you anyway?”
Me: “41.”
Adlani: “41 is almost dead.”
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It’s That Time Again…

Just when I’m getting back on track with a sensible diet, another holiday arrives to push me off the path. Why do all holidays involve food that adds inches to your hips, rots your teeth, and calls your name from 3 rooms away? “Lori…I’m on top of the refrigerator in Adlani’s Easter basket…one little bite can’t possibly hurt you and I won’t tell Maura that you didn’t write it down in your food journal.”
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I’m hoping the Easter Bunny brings only Peeps this year, because if I use all of my Supermommy powers I can resist them. Those marshmallow eggs too. But definitely not the chocolate-covered peanut butter ones.

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Good luck to everyone who is trying not to eat Easter candy!
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Triple Crown

Today I had a dentist appointment. It was only for a cleaning, so I didn’t feel any particular anxiety about going. The realization that Motrin/Tylenol would dull the sensitivity in my teeth has changed my life, at least when it comes to dental visits. Why do they have to use such cold water??

The anxiety should have kicked in when the hygienist mentioned that part of a filling was gone. Or when she said that she thought I had a cavity and that one of my old white fillings probably needed to be replaced. But I was lulled into a false sense of security by the knowledge that the most painful thing I’d have to endure today was the sharp edge of the x-ray film.

After the cleaning, she stuck me in another room for a half hour which I really enjoyed because I got to read about 4 articles in the September issue of O magazine. Then Dr. Arora arrived (photo above – she’s nicer than she looks in the photo). I love Dr. Arora and I drive all the way to Worcester to see her, since she moved from the Natick office of Gentle Dental to one closer to home when she had her twins. She has seen me through at least 6 fillings, 2 crowns, and 2 root canals, so I know she’s a talented and compassionate dentist. I saw her at the mall once with her screaming toddler, so I know she’s also a regular mom like me.

Dr. Arora took one look in my mouth and asked what I’ve been doing. Was I stressed? Was I grinding or clenching? Apparently in addition to the missing piece of filling, I also have another broken filling and a fractured tooth. Plus the cavity and the filling that needs to be replaced. And one tooth may need a root canal and another may need a “gum procedure” and I’m pretty sure she wasn’t talking about Bubblicious. So I guess I’ll be seeing a lot more of Dr. Arora. Thank God we have double dental insurance – through my work and Ben’s.

Oh well, I can’t get a cavity in a crown so this puts me closer to my goal of replacing every tooth with a crown. I already have 4 and will have 3 more by the end of the year. I can’t prove it but I REALLY think that the problems with my teeth stem from my bad habit of chewing pens and pencils from childhood until I was about 25. I remember cracking the clear plastic Bic pens, and the taste of the metal ring that holds the eraser on a #2 pencil. Also the taste of earwax on an eraser – eeeeewwwww! Kids…don’t make the mistakes I made. Go get some Bubblicious. Sugar-free of course.
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Weekend Update

It was actually a fairly quiet weekend around here, at least by Greenabderrazak standards. First and foremost, Adlani has recovered from Norah’s attack on his eyeball and we now realize that we should have enjoyed the quiet time last weekend. He’s definitely making up for lost time. He opened his eyes last Saturday night in time to see the Pussycat Dolls on the Kids Choice Awards, or maybe it was the presence of the Fonsecas that motivated him. Either way, we were relieved that he stopped walking around with his eyes closed. He missed out on the gymnastics event for Blocks, but I took the girls and we won a free session. Grandma Ginny was here for the weekend so we dragged her around to all of the usual weekend events.

On Monday Ben took Adlani to Children’s for a follow-up visit and I met them there. We saw the same resident, Dr. Chang, as well as an ophthalmologist. The exam was pure torture. Ben left halfway through to go meet Aliya’s bus and it spiraled downhill from there. The doctor needed to look at Adlani’s eye and he wouldn’t cooperate so I finally had to put him into a Full Nelson and she flipped the chair back so I was flat on my back. Dr. Chang held Adlani’s hands, I had my legs wrapped around his legs, my arms around his arms, and my hand on his head so he wouldn’t head-butt me under the chin, and the doctor pried open his eye and looked at it. He is certainly strong-willed. He wouldn’t cooperate during the vision test, so now we have to go back in 2 months because the doctor thinks one eye is weaker than the other and he may need a patch. Personally, I think it’s just that he has a bad attitude and wouldn’t identify the damn shapes. Anyway, I’ve got until the end of May to get him used to doing the vision test. Bribery will be involved.

The week flew by as they all do, and at midnight on Thursday night I realized that Friday night was pajama night at Blocks and I really needed to put up the new wish list board before then. I did that after school on Friday and I was SO RELIEVED to have it up. I won’t have to do another one this year. Yay! Pajama night was fun, except when the performer pointed to Adlani and said, “Will the parent of this child please come up and get him?” Oy. He’s really going through a bad phase right now – not listening, roughhousing…I guess it’s all part of being a little boy but I’ll be very happy if he ever comes out the other side of this phase.

Saturday morning was the usual…Zumba for me and indoor soccer/swimming for Ben and the kids. I had a wicked headache and spent a few hours on the couch. After I recovered I took Aliya to see Monsters vs. Aliens in 3D which was actually pretty good. Ben took the little monsters to visit his mom who just got back from Holland. This morning we finally replaced the bathroom window, and Aliya had a dance workshop this afternoon. Auntie Monica and Uncle Brady brought dinner and we had a nice visit with them. The kids were all a little crazy so Brady & Monica got their quarterly dose of birth control which I think is the main reason they came over.

Bedtime couldn’t come soon enough!
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