Last ditch effort

Poor 'Shroom decided to wiggle too little, too late. Here he is sitting in the dentist chair trying to see if he can get the tooth out himself. I don't know if that's a look of desperation on his face or a look of trepidation....or both.

wiggle....wiggle....wiggle....

...unfortunately that didn't work...

....so we resorted to the professional teeth-puller-outers.

I don't understand 'Shroom sometimes. Last month when he had is bi-annual cleaning, he squirmed around in the chair a lot, had to be coaxed to open his mouth several times and was clearly uncomfortable and afraid. Today, he took the shot (two actually - one for each tooth) without any tears, fussing or squirming.

He was a trooper. For someone who was afraid to wiggle his loose teeth because of the anticipation of pain, he did amazingly well in the dentist's chair.

I told Air Boss that had I been there (I wimped out and was relieved Air Boss was more willing to go), I would not have been able to watch, let alone take pictures.

Well, two teeth down....18 more to go....

The new look

Well - here he is. Sans baby front teeth. You can see the divots in his gums where the teeth used to be and how the new teeth were pushing out the old ones.

Air Boss has refrained from posting the more gory photos on flickr. He mentioned that for the 45 degree angle tooth, the dentist used what looked like a flat head screwdriver to pop the tooth out. For the other tooth, the pliers were needed. There was no way that tooth was going to come out without tools. Air Boss and I, after looking at the second baby tooth, are wondering if part of that tooth may still be in his gums. The tooth is jagged - not a clean break and not how a loose tooth would naturally fall out.

Anyway, 'Shroom is sleeping right now. His pillow is resting on top of two baby teeth to see what the Tooth Fairy will bring.

I don't know what the Tooth Fairy will bring either but I don't think it will be LEGO's...

What's that sticking out of your mouth 'Shroom?

Christmas stegosaurus
Originally uploaded by radioflyer007

Betcha you can't close your mouth and have one--just one--tooth sticking out like this. It takes talent. And a 45 degree angled tooth.

This photo was taken on Christmas day with 'Shroom's favorite Christmas gift: a remote-controlled stegosaurus.

$50 for a tooth from the Tooth Fairy?!?!

All I want for Christmas is to pull out my two front teeth.
Originally uploaded by radioflyer007

'Shroom has yet to lose his first tooth. And he's the ripe old age of 7. For the past month now, both his front eye teeth are loose and the new adult teeth have already emerged. He has two rows of teeth with one of his old baby teeth jutting out of his mouth at a 45 degree angle. A bit disturbing to see.

During the Christmas holiday, Air Boss has tied countless things to his protruding tooth in the hopes that he (or 'Shroom) would be able to yank it out. We didn't have the heart to tie the string, thread, floss (we've tried it all) to a doorknob. Didn't want to make the loss of the first tooth that traumatic and emotionally life damaging.

Well, scrap that idea. Today Air Boss will be taking him to the dentist to get both his front teeth extracted. Yes - baby teeth extraction. I'm so cheap that I've offered 'Shroom $50 if he pulls out his own loose tooth. Just one. Not even both. When he didn't even balk at the proposition, I offered him the incentive in LEGO's (he probably doesn't know how much $50 is). Before you think I'm jumping on the bandwagon by offering cold hard cash for useless baby teeth (and I'm not the sentimental type and I'm even less for keeping up with the Joneses), $50 worth of LEGO's would be a win-win situation.

Since baby teeth extractions are NOT covered by our dental plan, it would be cheaper for me to pay 'Shroom in LEGO's than pay the dental fees for pulling out these teeth.

"Why don't YOU do it?" you're probably wondering.

I'm his mom.

I have to face this kid every day. Need I say more? (I'll also add that I'm a wuss when it comes to pain...and yes, I think it will be painful for 'Shroom, too!)

Maybe we'll have pictures tonight of a big gap in 'Shroom's mouth if all goes well at the dentist office today . . .

$50 for a tooth - that's not so bad . . . right?

The calm before the storm

This is my first post of the new year - of the new decade. Perhaps it may be my last - at least for awhile. In a few short weeks, I'll be student teaching at a local high school and to say that I'm freaking out about it would be an understatement--a grossly understated statement.

I thought I would be proactive and resourceful by reading up on "student teaching advice" on the internet. While many of the websites and advice offered are quite helpful and insightful (and some even lame and "duh - that's just common sense!"), reading about "the top ten mistakes of student teachers" and "how to minimize the truckloads of paperwork on your desk" and "how to get to school on time after completing 27 tasks" and "how to enjoy student teaching despite the stress and craziness of it all" may not be mitigating the stress level. In fact, I think my stress level has gone UP as a result of trying to prepare myself.

Anyway, I thought I would share my fears of this upcoming semester with you all (not listed in any particular order):

1) I'll forget all my math (and worse yet, I'll teach incorrect math)

2) I'll walk into the classroom on Day One and be laughed right out of there by the students

3) my master teachers will secretly talk behind my back and say how horrible I am

4) I'll look schlumpy and not professional at all

5) the students will have no respect for me and be on their worst behavior

6) I'll have to duck flying desks, books, and other projectiles thrown my way

7) I won't even make it to the President's Day holiday (um, that's like two weeks after I start teaching)

8) I'll need to go to the bathroom more often than I have time to go

9) the principal will stop by on my worst day of teaching and observe me

10) my kids and husband will forget who I am

11) I won't have any boundaries (or bad priorities) and bring trunkloads of work home each day

12) I'll fail and have to do student teaching all over again

Well as many of you are making your New Year's resolutions (or have already given up on them), I think my lofty goal of staying alive and maintaining balance is all that I can hope for at the moment.

Hopefully, I'll be able to post some updates of this adventure before June 2010!