Chellisms

Girlies

I have been meaning to post a picture of Taylor's new haircut but got sidetracked by Tim's colon. Ew, I know.

 

I had my doubts about letting her cut off that much hair but, eh, it's just hair. And it went to a good cause, this was her third hair donation. The childs hair grows incredibly fast and she has a ton of it.

When we went to see Joseph she knew exactly what she wanted. Joseph promptly talked her out of it. She wanted it cut right below her ears, all one length. I love that man. With the thickness of her hair she looks a bit mushroomy with it that short. He managed to persuade her that layers were the way to go. This is the first time ever, with the exception of bangs, that her hair hasn't been all one length.

I love to take a flat iron to it and a little texturizer and make it a little messy but she gives me the stink eye and flattens it back to how she likes it. One of these days...

A Tale of Taylor's Troublesome Teeth

Once upon a time Taylor had two troublesome teeth. The troublesome teeth are adult teeth that have yet to breakthrough, their sweet baby predecessors are still in place even. The angle that they are coming in at is just as scary as can be, one big yikes. There is a definite possibility that those teeth could push out an adult tooth. Or two.

See those top two adult teeth with the lines drawn through them? Those are the troublesome two-fers.

 

Taylor had her first appointment with an Orthodontist today. She got her first set of spacers. She goes back next week for her impressions so that they can make her "appliances". I hate that word, "appliances". Sounds like she's getting a damn dishwasher in her mouth.

She will be getting a nice new shiny set of expanders in about a month, they make them in New York and I guess it takes a while. She will be getting top and bottom, lucky girl.

 

Oh, they no longer have to be expanded with a key. They are spring loaded. Doesn't that sound like loads of fun??

Unfortunately, Taylor was given quite a shock in the form of a No-No list. A list of foods she can no longer eat. She was also instructed to try to avoid soccer balls to the mouth.

Check out the last item on the list, with the WASL coming up we got a huge laugh over that one but I am sure it is an anxiety thing for some kids. (Click on the pics to make bigger.)

   

A lot has changed since I had my braces on in, um, well, hmmm... a long time ago*. They now do multiple phases with orthodontic treatment. She started Phase I today with the spaces and will get the expander in about a month. She will wear that for about 6 months then go into braces for about 12 months. Then retainers at night for the duration. Then at about 14, or whenever she has all of her permanent teeth and the wisdom teeth out (all 4**, sorry babe) they will start Phase II. Phase II is another set of braces for 12 to 15 months and another set of retainers. The second phase is to fine tune any changes in her teeth and to compensate for any growth that has taken place since phase I.

Bottom line, her mouth is too small for her teeth. Who would have thought that a child of mine would end up with a small mouth? I know, I am as shocked as you are.

Want to take a guess as to the cost of Phase I?? 

$3835.00

Oh yeah, that's just Phase I. Our dental insurance covers $1500 lifetime for orthodontics, so she can kiss her coverage goodbye. Phase II runs about as much as Phase I.

There went my Disneyworld fund. Wait, I didn't have one. Crap.

It's Bailey's turn next, as soon as her 6-year molars finish popping through. She has a cross bite. And crowding. And a small jaw. Someone pinch me, doesn't that sound expensive and way over $1500?

I hate teeth.

*Holy shit, I think I got mine off in 1991 or 1992.

**Wisdom teeth, when they did my braces way back when, I was told I didn't have have wisdom teeth. My mom had none, ever. When I was 24-ish we discovered I did have wisdom teeth, but just the top two. I still have the top left. There's your useless knowledge for the day.

Slash Dot This

If you are an elementary school teacher/elementary school parent or have been either can we talk for a minute?

About slash dot math.

Can someone smarter than me please explain this technique?

Taylor came home with Accelerated Math homework, which she thoroughly enjoys (so not my child), then proceeded to show me how she was taught to subtract. The slash dot way.

Erm, what happened to borrowing and carrying? Ashley and I were a bit confused. Okay, if I am totally honest the dots confused the hell out of me. The slashing I understood, but the damn dots made no sense.

I showed Taylor how I learned to subtract. Borrowing and carrying. She understood it (I think), we came to the same answer so I guess that is all that counts.

Then I slashed stuff and drew dots all over everything. She was not amused.

He plays basketball, right?

We had the most interesting conversation this evening. It left all of us adults, I use that term loosely when I consider who was in the room, feeling considerably older than we should.

Ethan was in bed and Bailey was in the shower. That left Tim, Ashley and I in the living room with Taylor. Ashley was fooling around with her lappy and her Tilt, Tim was next to me on the couch with his lappy, I was loading songs on my MP3 player using the pc attached to the TV and Tay was sitting on the floor at my feet with her MP3 player on listening to songs she had just uploaded. As I was uploading different albums we were listening to different songs and remarking on their age.

Michelle: *starts Alien Ant Farm's cover of Smooth Criminal* I like this so much better than the original.

Ashley:Who sang this originally?

Tim: You're joking, right?

Michelle: Um, Michael Jackson.

Ashley: Oh, I knew that.

Taylor: He plays basketball, right?!?

Tim: *keels over*

Michelle: That's Michael Jordan.

Taylor: Oh, they make shoes named after him.

Ashley: *laughing and snorting, more snorting than laughing*

Tim is still keeled over here on the couch. He might have hurt himself laughing, at some point I might start to worry but right now we just keep looking at each other saying Michael Jordan and laughing.

Wii Fit: Not As Intended

Somehow I do not think this is what the creators of Wii Fit had in mind when they designed the system.

She fell over shortly after this was taken.

So did I, but my feet weren't over my head, I was simply laughing too hard.

A New Room

Right after Tim and I found out that I was pregnant with Bailey we started picking out big girl furniture for Taylor. We had an idea of what we wanted but didn't find it before the September 11th attacks and Tim was deployed. I got to pick out her first set of big girl furniture by myself and she/they have been using it ever since. I bought a loft bed set that suits them both fine and looks fine when split up. Up until moving to WA they shared a room.

Fast forward 6 years.

Yesterday my mom and I went out looking at furniture for Tay as I was pretty sure she needed more storage space. Since she doesn't have a closet in her room, she has a built in desk instead, she needed more drawer space. Well, we didn't just look, somehow the furniture followed us home!

The mattress is blue! It is a Memory Foam mattress with topper, the pillows are the same and are as flat a can be. Supposedly they puff up after a few hours but right now they would count as a deadly weapon in a pillow fight. The mattress also came in lime green or pink. Had it been Bailey I of course would have picked pink, Tay said she would have chosen green I told her that was why she stayed home.

 

Doesn't the room need look bare?? We had to take everything out of it for delivery. I know, I know, we paid to have it delivered. Our bedrooms are all on the 3rd floor. Heh.

That space under the bed is perfect for storage. Tim and I already warned Taylor that she isn't allowed to stick Bailey under there.

When Mom and Pete were up this morning I tried to stuff Pete under there but he is too big for me to maneuver. I guarantee that I will keep trying though, that might be my new mission in life. Hey, everyone has to have something to live for.

The best part is the mattress and its magical abilities.

When you sit on the mattress you leave an imprint of your butt and then it fades when you stand up. Some take longer to fade than others. *ahem* Taylor thinks this is the coolest thing ever except that she and Bailey are not heavy enough and so I keep getting yelled at Mom, come put your butt on my bed! I think that means she likes it.

Thanks mom!

Twins no more

Taylor went with me last time I got my hair cut and Joseph cut her bangs. Considering the fact that her hair has always been one length I had a bit of a hard time with her decision but then I realized it is just hair and it will grow back. Well, that, and I threatened to disown her if she whined about them.

She loves them especially because no one has asked if she and Bailey are twins since she got them cut. I haven't got the heart to tell her it isn't because of their features or hair but more because of their stature. They are the same height and that leads people to believe that they are fraternal twins.

Oh well, as long as she is happy. Right?

Rocks That I Got

There are currently 25 fist sized rocks in the master bathroom tub. They are drying off, once I collected them from around the neighborhood in the rain I had to wash them off. They are for a school project in Tay's classroom and I can't very well take in dirty rocks. I may have used my Dove body wash to clean them with.

What? Don't look at me like that.

The whole time I was collecting them I kept waiting for a rampant HOA board member to pop up and scold me. It never happened but I was prepared, with what I am not sure but I was kind of looking forward to to it.

Tim says I have an aggressive streak but it takes someone else to initiate the conflict, I am not quite sure where he got that idea.

Indignant board members need not comment.

I was framed!

That is such a corny title when I think about it. Then I stop and think about how long I (okay, actually Cynthia and I) have been working on these frames and decide that that the corniness factor really doesn't matter. Neither does the beer* factor.

1 class art project

25 kids x 4 frames per student= 100 frames x 2 due to a template error=  fun all around...

I love Taylor's teacher, however I did ask that in two years when Bailey is at this stage if she could pick a different year end project. Or perhaps we could start this one in September.

*Only one beer was harmed during the making of these frames. I really don't like beer, it took about 3 hours to drink 3/4 of it and then it was warm and got poured out. A lush I am not.   

**No comments on the tablecloth. That is my Valentine's Day tablecloth, and yes, I know it clashes with the wall. Everything does. I had a very variegated green one that went with the green diamond *** on the wall (shut it) but it had an accident in the form of Tim and a rotary cutter.

***Why yes, there is a green diamond on that wall. There are in fact, two, a grayish green and a lime green. Whose idea was this? Not mine.

Killer!

Taylor and the rest of the Scorpions had their last game on Saturday and their pizza party this evening. The kids had a blast, ate a ton of pizza, wasted a ton of quarters on games and received their trophies from Jimmy. Taylor got her trophy last and I think she was a bit anxious thinking she might have been forgotten.

She needn't have worried.

Jimmy was saving hers for something special. She holds the Killer title for this season. Jimmy said she brought the most tenacity to the team, gave it her all and took some major hits during the season but never once gave up.

I can attest to the major hits this season, I thought she might have had a sprained ankle after one incident but she came away with some major bruises instead. 

I loved her coach this season. This is her 3rd season in soccer and Jimmy has been my favorite coach so far. Taylor loved him, he was great with the kids. He has more patience than I will ever have, especially since he is only 19, well he will be 20 in a few days.

He did drive me nuts as a mom, I wanted to follow him around and pull his skinny jeans up!