The Tooth Fairy Came Early

Mady lost her first tooth! AH! Yes, I know she is only 2. On Sunday, we woke up and she kept saying "Bump, bump" and pointing at her mouth so I took a peek in and WOW, her bottom front tooth was really loose. So I ran around like a crazy person freaking out trying to figure out what to do. It was Sunday and she didn't have a dentist yet (Again, she's only 2!) so I called our pediatrician emergency line and one of the nurses called me back. She advised that I take her to an Emergency Dental place or Urgent Care and have them look at it. They are worried with kids this age that they'll swallow it and choke on the tooth.

Devon called an Emergency Dental place and they said they could pull it but they don't have x-ray machines for a 2 year old so that's all they could do for us. I wanted a dentist to look at it and see if they could save it and an urgent care place would probably just pull it too so I just watched her and woke up all night every hour making sure she wasn't choking on it and was still breathing.

Monday morning first thing I called around and was looking for a dentist for her to get in to. While I was on the phone, she must've lost the tooth. I was taking her upstairs to get dressed and she was talking to me and I *GASPED* noticed her tooth was gone. We ran back downstairs and looked all over for it but no luck. I bet she swallowed it. :(

Thanks to my friend DeAnn, we already had a tooth fairy pillow so we put that out and the fairy found it. Mady came running to me the next morning and said, "Mommy, look! Monies!" She's been carrying the pillow around (with money still in the pocket) ever since.

So, it was no longer an emergency so she had her first dentist appointment today. After lots of explaining what everything in the dentist's office was (light, dentist tools, etc.) and showing her the tv on the ceiling turned to her favorite cartoons, there was still some blood curdling screaming involved when they went to do the x-ray. She didn't think it was so bad, however, when getting to pick out her prize (playdoh) for being "good."

Luckily, I found out I am not a bad mother and didn't let her eat too much candy already in life. She got her first two bottom teeth at 2.5 months old. The dentist said that when they get their teeth that early, they hardly have any root to them (he showed me this on the x-ray.) So if they barely get bumped, they can come loose and fall out. Turns out she bumped it last week on some kids' head - but it wasn't that loose then. But nothing to worry about, just sad that her tooth is gone!

Almost Halloween

Tonight we carved our pumpkins finally. It was Mady's first time. She liked pulling out the goo. Devon did a really fancy job on his pumpkin that has the Cheesecake Factory logo on it. It looks pretty cool. Nice job honey!

Some People...

I cannot even believe they posted this crap on the homepage of MSN, even temporarily:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27197571/?gt1=43001

How stupid is that? What a freakin' whiner. I have no sympathy for that woman. If you get a healthy baby, you're lucky. This woman got two healthy babies! Don't complain cause you didn't get a girl. You don't choose what you get!

And the advice from the doctor/writer about having a mock funeral for the daughter you never had is ridiculous. Just a slap in the face for those who have had a real one.

Then she writes that she wanted the baby to die when they found out their second baby was a boy as well. That woman needs to go in a mental hospital.

Some people are totally clueless - and should be glad that they are.

Names in the Sand

There's this family in Australia that has a memorial website (thanks Trish for the tip.) - they write the names in the sand and take a picture of it for you. They wrote Carter's name in the sand today. It's gorgeous and I will cherish it always.

Adventures in Chicago: Lesson #5: I Love You, JOEY!

The title of this post is for you, Tish.

What can I say? New Kids on the Block still have my heart.

After our new friend, Bobby, the weird guy at the hotel (there for his brother's wedding), took our picture and got a cab for us, we arrived at the Allstate Arena, psyched for our first ever NKOTB concert. (Well it was my first real concert ever and I don't need to go to another after it - it surely won't be as good.)

Natasha Beddingfield was the opener and she can sounded good live. (You know how some people just don't sound the same?) I love her New Zealand/British accent.

The boys (now grown men) put on an awesome show. I couldn't have imagined better. Jordan and Joey can still hit all the high notes. But there is still just something about that bad boy Donnie! (Hence my new "Property of Donnie Wahlberg" t-shirt.)

We had so much fun singing and screaming. I hardly have a voice. The atmosphere was so incredible. So many fans (97% female), around our age, mature enough to not be annoying like little teenage girls would be, all eager to hear their boy band from their early youth. So fun! Here is a picture of us glowing after the concert (this was before our mile walk to the hotel obviously. Haha.)

It was a dream come true!

Adventures in Chicago: Lesson #4: Wear Good Walking Shoes for Shopping on Michigan Ave

We took the El train into downtown just to say that we rode it (It is on ER after all.) Some odd ducks on the train...

We started our full day of shopping at the bottom of Michigan Avenue. The first good store we got to was Forever 21/XXI Forever. Some thoughts about the stores on the Magnificent Mile: HUGE, GINORMOUS, OVERWHELMING. I recommend going on a Monday/Tuesday and not on a weekend. It takes 10-15 minutes during the mid-day weekend rush just to stand in line to try on clothes and then you have to wait another 10 minutes or so to check out. Speed shopping is NOT possible. Do NOT attempt!

If you have a daughter, I highly recommend the American Girl Place. So freakin' cute. The girls can bring their American Girl dolls to get their hair done, go to the doctor, eat lunch at the cafe with them, etc. The entire place is red and pink, even the bathrooms have toilets and sinks that are kid sized. So adorable!

By the end of the afternoon, we were shopped out. H&M was our last shopping stop and none of us bought a thing!

We did get to do one touristy activity by going to the top of the John Hancock Observatory to get a view of the city (see pic). We got our picture taken with Sears Tower in the background. It was a nice clear day. Now... on to the CONCERT!!!

Adventures in Chicago: Lesson #3: Don't Lock Your Keys in the Car!

So by this point, you're probably wondering where Tish is during all this. She originally was supposed to take a later flight around 7pm from Omaha to Chicago because she had to work during the day. Around 6pm, I received a call from her saying she was lost and couldn't find her way to the airport. Obviously she was running a bit late as well and was worried about missing her flight.

Poor Tish. She has bad luck! She made it to the airport and parked and then somehow locked her keys in her car! Devon to the rescue - he drove to the airport, got her keys out and car unlocked and helped her work with the ticket counter to get her on standby for an early morning flight Saturday.

I hope it is something that she can now laugh about. But it sure wasn't funny at the time!