Recession

I suffer from what is called "Advanced Periodontal Disease". Aka, I have receding gum lines and I need to do something about them or I will lose my teeth. Cool, huh? And you thought I was going to talk about the economy, didn't you? :)

Anyone who knows me, knows that teeth are really important to me. I brush and floss....a lot. I would say, on average, I spend 10 minutes on my teeth 2 to 3 times a day. Obsessive Compulsive anyone? I know. I hear ya. It is a problem. But there could be worse problems, I guess. Like maybe, a fear of toothbrushes or something! I have gone as far as setting timers to try and quicken my routine. All for naught. But I digress.

Gum Recession.

I blame my Dad. Well, his whole family really. My lazy gums are genetic and it is something that he and his siblings suffer from. It seems such a waste to have inherited my Dad's charming and sparkly smile, and also his lazy gums which may ruin said sparkly smile.

I went to the dentist on Tuesday and she said something has to be done or I will start losing teeth...soon...like within 6-12 months soon. Can you imagine me not having my gorgeous smile anymore? Yeah, me either.

Here's my issue. I have always been told that in order to really fix the problem, I need braces to correct my bite. But if I get braces, my gums will get worse because they won't be stimulated. Meaning, I will probably have to have several gum replacement surgeries while the braces are on, to correct all the gum recession that will happen because of the braces before the braces can fix my teeth/bite enough so that the gums won't recede. Did you catch all that? In other words, it has always been a catch-22. Things would have to get much worse before they could get better. 

In talking to the dentist, I have several treatment options:

1. Have gum replacement surgery. I have actually had this done to two teeth already and it suuuuuuucks. They extract gum tissue from the roof of your mouth and then basically stitch it onto your existing gums hoping it will regenerate. Horrible. Painful. I looked like I had Frankenstein gums. Well, let's be honest, I I DID have Frankenstein gums. And the worst part is, it isn't a long-term solution. Those two teeth I had done? Yeah, they have to be done again.

2. Get traditional braces and deal with the catch-22 for around $2,000 + the gum surgeries.

3. FINALLY there was an option 3! In 15 years there has never been an option 3! Option 3 is Invisalign. Since these come off, I can remove them to brush and floss, therefore stimulating my gums and hopefully avoid making the recession worse! They have even seen gums GET BETTER ON THEIR OWN! *Halleluia* Oh, wait, there's a catch. It is SIGNIFICANTLY more expensive because these are the "braces" people get to avoid the ugly hunks of metal traditional braces consist of. Booo.

I don't know what I am going to do. Probably get a job to pay for the Invisalign. Either way, I am sort of excited to enter the not-so-exclusive club of people who get their teeth fixed. I can't wait to be a frumpy mother of 2 with a plastic-in-my-mouth-induced lisp. Maybe I will sound like the sloth from Ice Age! I can only hope to be as funny. Wish me luck!

A Hard Day and Mormon Misfits

Today is the day most SAHM's dread.

My kids woke up almost every hour last night. Leila woke up at 6:45 screaming bloody murder and woke the whole house. It wouldn't be the end of the world except my kids usually sleep until AT LEAST 9:00 am, so waking up this early means complete and total crabbiness.

And boy oh boy have they have been crabby!

The icing on the cake is that today is Jared's 12 hour day. Fan-freaking-tastic.

I love the screaming and crying and whining. Leila has taken to following me around while screaming like a banshee this morning. It is now 1:00 pm and I FINALLY got her down for a nap. I put on Cars for Christian and let him eat Cap'n Crunch. Mother of the year award, I know. I am now blogging instead of showering. Fail.

But you know what? I am also listening to the latest Podcast from Mormon Misfit. Not only is it making me laugh, but it is reminding me that I am so grateful to be a stay at home mommy. If you haven't listened to them yet, you definitely should. Today's is great because the host has his wife as the special guest. I have known them both for a while now and I am sitting here wishing that I had kept in better contact because they are awesome.

And to a certain couple who is moving to Idaho soon to attend BYU-I, David and Jaycee and their family are too. You guys should be friends :)

Okay, plug over.

I am grateful to be a member of a church and community that has such wonderful people for me to learn from. I have meaning in my life because I know why I am on earth and I know that my purpose as a mother is divine...even when it seems like all I do is feed them and clean up the tornado's they cause. I matter. The work I am doing matters. And that's exactly what I needed to be reminded of today.

Happy Birthday Party Leila!

For Leila's birthday party, Jared and I decided to have a family-only shindig. Luckily, just with our local family, we had 21 people there! And yes, I know how blessed I am to be surrounded by so many people I love! I am a pretty low-key party thrower. I like it easy and simple because otherwise I get really stressed and overwhelmed and all of the fun of a party gets sucked out. So we had family over for hamburgers, hot dogs, salads and soda. What more do you need, right?

Before the party, I did a little photoshoot of the birthday girl in her cute little dress.

Christian giving her a "hug"

Trying to eat her birthday bracelet.

I didn't get any pictures of dinner, but here we are opening a few presents. She got cute outfits, shoes and some books!

I don't think that outfit will fit you brother...

Dad and sister

Leila just wanted to eat the paper. No surprise there.

Her new favorite toys!

After gifts, we did the customary birthday cake for the birthday girl!

Daddy "Helping" put her hand into the cake

And she tastes it!

Still not sure...

A little encouragement from Aunt Jamie!

Oh! But she hates the messy fingers!

And a belly-laugh from Jared!

She leaves the cake behind to crawl around the table!

Oooooh, but a spoon is brought to her. Now we're talking!

She starts to dig in

But NOTHING makes her happier than watermelon!

Well, except a fork in one hand and a spoon in the other!

Mmmmmmmmm!

Messy fave.

And the classic "ugly-pretty" pose

The aftermath

Thank you to my family for coming and help her celebrate her first birthday!

13 months

I was sitting in church today...husbandless (Jared is still in L.A. with his brothers) balancing Leila on my lap as she jumped and screamed and blew bubbles and basically went crazy! Ordinarily, I might be a little overwhelmed, but she was so beautiful....so ALIVE! I couldn't do anything other than be grateful to a God who would grant me such incredible children. Don't get me wrong, everything is not all sunshine and flowers, but I live for days like today. Where the stars align, Mr. Sandman shows up, and when the dust of life with kids settles long enough for me to see what an absolute blessing they are. 

I also realized that Leila is officially 13 months as of two days ago. Amazing! I remember telling people that months 6-12 were my absolute favorite with kids. I am realizing that months 6-12 were my favorite with CHRISTIAN. Maybe it is because she takes her time in most things, but I feel like the last few months Leila has just come alive. Her personality is finally starting to shine through and I feel like I am falling more in love with her everyday. Here are my recent favorite pictures of her.

Why yes, that is a funnel cake topped with ice cream, strawberries and whipped cream. She kept digging her fork (the wrong side, of course!) into the whipped cream and LOVED it.

After a 3-4 month hiatus, I finally broke down and took CJ to McDonald's. I think Leila loved the playplace more than he did!

This one is my new favorite. My friend Emily watched Leila this morning and then brought her to church and this is the picture I got when I asked how things were going. SO CUTE!

This month she took a few steps on her own and is doing a really good job of standing unassisted. She is still really cautious, so she hasn't started walking yet, but she is getting close. She has learned to blow raspberries and loves to do it to make us laugh. Her new favorite thing is blowing through the straw on my water cup and making bubbles. Eating has come a long way this month! She is finally eating enough to justify the weaning of 2 of her feedings (HALLELUIA!). I am still nursing 4-5 times a day, but at least the end is in sight! Oh, and more good news, she seems to have moved past her dairy allergy. I am still easing her into it, but so far, so good!

At 13 months she loves: music, clapping, high fives, blowing bubbles, making noise with her mouth, cheerios, playing with Christian, swimming or any water time, whipped cream/ice cream and veggie fries.

At 13 months she hates: Being forced to do anything, yogurt, bedtime, dresses (because she can't crawl easily enough), and getting knocked over by Christian.

Happy 13 months Leila, we love you!

A Word About Patriotism

John Quincy Adams: “Posterity — you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it.”
 
Anyone who knows me knows that I am extremely patriotic. I love America. I come from a long line of military men, and also spent my high school years as part of the ROTC. I truly believe that God preserved this land for the freedoms that we enjoy. And I also believe that we are losing these freedoms due to complete and total laziness as well as pride and the ever-present "all about me" attitude that seems to be permeating our society. When did this feeling of entitlement start? When did we start believing that OTHER people should sacrifice so that we don't have to? That we DESERVE things like houses, cars, iPhones, healthcare (and any form of birth control we can think of!), food, clothes, etc...without actually working for it? 

I remember having a heated conversation with my little sister. She was moving out and wanted to take my DVD player with her. I had another one, so the nice thing would have been to let her have it, right? And maybe I would have, until she said, "...you should give it to me because you have so much and I have so little.". I don't begrudge her thought process. What infuriates me is this feeling that because I worked hard and had more than her, that I was in some way obligated to give her my things so that we could be "even". How did we get here? 

Grover Cleveland: “A truly American sentiment recognizes the dignity of labor and the fact that honor lies in honest toil.”

At church on Sunday, we started to sing a hymn that I have heard about a million times. But this time, I let the words fill my soul and I got to a point that I was so emotional, I couldn't even finish singing. And no...it wasn't because I was overwhelmed with love and pride for my country. I was devastated to realize how much we have lost.

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for pilgrim feet,
Whose stern impassion'd stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America! God mend thine ev'ry flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

O beautiful for heroes proved In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved,
And mercy more than life!
America! America! May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness,
And ev'ry gain divine!

O Beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam,
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
  
Have you stopped to read these words lately? The founders of this nation sacrificed money, land, status, and even their lives to grant us the freedoms we take for granted. But that isn't what made me cry either. 

It started in the second verse "America! God mend thine ev'ry flaw. Confirm thy soul in self control, thy liberty in law." We have turned away from a God that can mend our flaws. Instead of humility, our society promotes pride. We see flaws as human nature and instead of trying to be better, we accept and justify them. Self-control seems to be an outdated idea. Why control the natural man? Eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die! right?

The third verse was poignant for me too. Do we have any heroes left that love the country more than themselves? Do we love mercy and righteousness more than life? Are there any political leaders (who supposedly represent the people) left that don't let personal interests and groups control them?

May God refine us until all of our successes are noble and until we recognize that every gain we have comes from Him. 

The truth is, I don't know how to fix it. I don't know how to do anything beyond just loving my own kids and teaching them what it means to be an American and how to be refined by a loving Father in Heaven who knows what is hiding behind our natural selves. I want them to know how important it is to fight for what is right, even when it isn't popular (and getting less popular every day, it seems!). And yes, I DO believe that there is such a thing as a definitive and ultimate right and wrong, even though it may not be politically correct to say so. 

We live in an amazing country and we are letting our values and beliefs be thrown to the wolves. We are being divided by the minority and convinced that we are the ones who need to change and that our beliefs are "backward" and "old school". 

In my church, we have something called Articles of Faith that outline our fundamental beliefs. Number 11 of 13 says, "We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may." You can view all 13 here. 
I wholeheartedly believe that we can allow people to have their own beliefs, without being convinced that in order to support them, we have to give up our own. We can be loving and kind and charitable and still voice our own views. Maybe by returning to our own passionate beliefs, whatever they may be, can America return to a place of freedom, hard work and tolerance.