The Dental Floss Bandit Strikes Again!

I awoke this morning and discovered a multitude of dental floss strewn throughout my house.  There were piles on tables, sinks, in garbage cans and on door knobs and suddenly I realized that the dental floss bandit had struck once again.  There was only one person to whom I could attribute this mess, my oldest son, Alex.  Yes once again we have another loose tooth.

Now in my family growing up every loose tooth came out via a long strand of dental floss.  One end securely attached to the loose tooth and the other tied to the bathroom door.  While Alex is thoroughly intrigued with this method he is absolutely terrified when it comes time to execute.  We have tried several times to yank a ripe tooth but to no avail as Alex chickens out at the last minute.  Every now and again when he thinks we aren't looking Alex takes out the dental floss and tries to yank it on his own.  So far he has not yet met with success and I am beginning to think we should by stock in Johnson & Johnson.

Hello my name is Oscar

I have spent the better part of my day awaiting a call back from my doctor's office.  A call I should mention that I placed on Friday.  All of this waiting has put me in a very cantankerous mood so much so that I think I'm now channeling Oscar the Grouch.

The waiting is bad enough but the inane conversations with the receptionist are by far the worst.  I feel so helpless pleading my case to what is often a young girl on the other end of the telephone who is more interested in filing her nails than taking my call.  Then the minute I hang up the phone the panic sets it.  Did she actually take down my number correctly?  Will my message actually make it to the doctor or will that hot pink message slip be used to dispose of the gum that she has been cracking the entire time we've been on the phone?

So as I sit here typing I am overcome with many emotions: anger, frustration, annoyance and helplessness.  I can only hope that the nurse whom I just spoke with can take a better message and that I might actually speak to my doctor sometime this year.

Luke & The Sith Lord

I am constantly asking myself how my two children can be so different and have yet to come up with an answer.  I should probably just stop asking.  Right now they are currently in a Star Wars phase.  Everything centers around Star Wars including their nicknames.

Alex (Luke) is six.  He is smart, compassionate, loving and such an old soul.  He is a loyal friend, son, classmate and mediator.  He has already mastered the art of communication and can make friends with just about anyone.

Max (The Sith Lord) is three.  Need I say more.  He can be sweet, loving and down right adorable when he wants to or he can easily turn to the dark side.  He preys on the weak including his brother and shows no mercy as he smiles while jumping on your back, chest or vital organs.  He doesn't believe in playing with toys but rather enjoys taking them apart or watching them break.

I often stare at my kids in amazement and wonder how the same set of parents could produce such different offspring.  Love it or hate it they are who they are and I love them to pieces.

Die Germs Die!!!

As I sit here typing, I'm secretly wishing I could stick my house in a giant autoclave.  Seriously, I need to find a way to kill all of the germs that are continuously infecting my household.  For several days now I have been in bed with the latest virus attacking the greater cleveland area which incidentally I picked up from my eldest son.  The symptoms of which include: high fever, coughing till your lungs explode and general lethargy.  I don't remember being this sick in almost 10 years.

Unfortunately this has been a hard, cold winter.  We have had several bouts of vomiting, asthma attacks brought on by respiratory viruses, strep throat and the newest bug.  If that wasn't bad enough, my oldest son came home yesterday with a sore throat and a notice from school that one of his dear classmates has exposed him to strep throat yet again.  Yippee!!!