Dillon and his Daddy making some pretty rockin' music together. This was taken a few years ago but remains one of my favorites!

So much for ripping that band-aid off fast!

This morning we were scheduled to go have Dillon's root canals.

I'm sure there is absolutely no greater morning greeting to a ten year old boy than to sweetly whisper in his ear, "Wake up, sweetie.. It's time to go get your root canals."

The 10 year old boy summons all the saracsm the morning will allow, looks at me with his sleepy green eyes and says "you realize I'm in no way looking forward to this!".

Neither was his daddy. "Any chance they will cancel on us!"

"Nope... the appointments already been confirmed. We're going and getting it over with. In no time, we will have this whole dental drama behind us. It's like pulling off a band-aid... Just do it so you can quit thinking about it. Now everyone get dressed!"

Everyone got dressed and we headed to this dentist whom we had never met before.

First problem: We were told we would not be able to accompany the 10 year old boy to the back office where he would have major dental work done by a dentist we had never met before (did I mention that?)

Why was this such a problem?

Two reasons... one mine and one Jim's.

My reason - when I was a little girl I was ushered into the back offices to have my teeth cleaned by one of the most evil dentists in all of dentistry. I'm fairly certain Sir Lawrence Olivier used this particular dentist as his inspriration for his portrayal of the Nazi dentist in Marathon Man. Any way, this dentist asked me not to gag.. but as reflexes go, I didn't have a whole lot of control over that. Gag, I did... and then SLAP! Right across the face. My face. Because I gagged. I've not been a big fan of dentists since then. So I will be with my children at all times.. just in case a gag reflex causes another slap reflex.. or something worse.

Jim's reason - Simple. He promised Dillon he would be with him. And Jim does not, will not, not now, not ever, break a promise to either of his boys!

We explained our side of the story and told them that while we were sure most children did do much better without their parents in the room, this was not most children.. this was in fact our child.. Unique is many different ways. It was not long before they let Jim take his place beside the young patient who had already been x-rayed and given a good dose of laughing gas. At least someone was laughing.

Jim met the dentist and they had a good talk. The dentist told Jim if he were the dad he would feel the same way and that Jim was welcome to stay. But by then, there was no point.. there would be no root canal. The teeth simply were not ready. Doc wants them to have some more time to implant back in the gums.. like 6 to 8 weeks worth of time.

So, we go back at the end of November to check and see how stable the teeth are. And Dillon gets to continue to "look forward" to the dentist visit and Jim and I get to continue to see his chipped teeth that take us back to that night and how we wished we had the power to turn back time and make things all right again.

As I said.. so much for ripping that band-aid off fast.

The dental drama continues.....

To the tune of " I Will Survive"

So for some unknown reason, surely not having to do with any anonymous commenting on my blog, I was thinking of my college days. We had so much fun, it's a wonder that I even graduated. Oh, wait.. I didn't! That's right. I STILL have to run 3 MILES. Way to bring up a touchy subject!

Anyway, that touchy subject aside, I well remember some of the hijinx that used to ensue when we would all get together. I'm speaking, of course, of the famous Solid Gold Dancers, Fletch and ZMan. Oh, they were so talented they didn't need a singer.. but every once in a while, I would fill in with the most passionate performance of Gloria Gaynor's "I will Survive" you have ever heard. Ok, to be fair, what you would be hearing WOULD BE Gloria Gaynor because I was far too tone deaf (still am) to sing myself.. but man, could I lip sync.

If you look very closely at this photo.. you just might see someone who has contributed recently to my blog. He looks a little startled. It's either from a difficult Solid Gold move or perhaps he's just had too much java!

I sure did hang with a class act of friends! So many have gone on to such great things. My best friend and name sake and her hubby (who was one of the gang) just had their third little girl. Another friend has written a great book that had my hubby laughing till he cried. Still more friends wrote a little movie that was recently released. Even me... I've had my work published one or two or even more places.. and look forward to more success in that realm.

But my greatest production has been my family. Cody and Dillon are great works in progress and I expect great reviews when they are released into the world. My production partner/hubby is simply the most talented being God ever created and I know it won't be long until the world knows this as well!

I can't wait to hear all about old friends and their new lives. If only there were some way to find out what Z-man has been up to.. I mean, besides drinking java, and doing a few solid gold moves every now and again.

To the anonymous commenter

Heavens yes! It has been ages since Lomov came calling on Natalia but that certainly narrows down the scope of possibilites! I think I may need just one more hint... or was the use of the word "robust" in your original comment a bit of hint in itself?

Quick Dental Update

9 out of 10 readers of this blog prefer Dentyne AND would like me to update as to the state of young Dillon's chompers. Due to a terrible cold and or allergies, Dillon was coughing way to hard to have any kind of dental work last Thursday.. so his appointment will be this Thursday. Say a prayer!

That boy is rough on teeth

It was a beautiful, breezy wednesday evening. The boys and I had gone to spend time with Jim at the shop and they decided they needed one last race before calling it a night. Jim and I were the "finish line" and we standing at attention when our boys rounded the shop corner. Suddenly, Dillon was down and screaming. Jim and I were trying to run to him, and Cody was doing his very best to comfort him where he was. I just couldn't seem to run fast enough and my mind was racing with just what I would find when I finally got to him. I have never heard him scream like this before. When I finally got there, I saw his mouth was bleeding. At first I was relieved that his arm wasn't broken and figured he must have just cut his lip open. But when I saw the amount of blood we were dealing with, I knew it was bigger than a busted lip. Jim immediately took him to the hose and began to wash his mouth off. We still did not know the extent of the damage but when Dillon was able to say he couldn't feel his teeth, I began to panic. Jim reasoned, hoping against hope, that he had just hit them so hard they were numb. I told Dillon to open his mouth wide so I could get a better look. My worst fears were realized. His front two teeth were no where to be found.

This was not the first time he had done something like this. When he was two, I had just come home from my first homeschooling meeting of my homeschooling journey. When I pulled up, Jim and the boys were outside playing and Dillon ran to the truck and tried to crawl in. He slipped and broke his front tooth exposing the nerve. A root canal and a crown fixed it until he slipped getting out of the bathtub and knocked is crown out. That crown was replaced until it fell out again thanks to a piece of Starburst candy. The dentist finally gave up and suggested we just pull what was left of the tooth. He walked around with a missing tooth for about 5 years when his permanent tooth finally sprouted.

And now, that permanent tooth along with its partner was simply not where they was supposed to be. Jim put the boys in the car while I ran to the back of the shop and got on my hands and knees in the dark until I found those two precious teeth. All I saw were the long roots and felt the littlest bit of relief. At least they didn't break off. They were whole and could be put back in... (I didn't realize until I saw them back in Dillon's mouth that they were in fact, quite chipped) Jim and I discussed briefly the best course of action to help the teeth survive until we could get to the ER. Ideally, they should be put in Dillon's mouth, but that wasn't really an option. He was bleeding too bad and needed to keep his mouth open. Option number two would be milk, but we simply didn't have time to go to the grocery store.. so Jim did what has now earned him DAD OF THE DECADE AND BEYOND. He put the teeth in his OWN MOUTH! Never underestimate what a dad will do for the good of his kids!

We pulled up to the ER entrance and just got out of the car, leaving it running at the door. We quickly got Dillon registered and put the teeth in a cup of milk. Dillon made it through triage and back into a room before I even finished the whole insurance / billing portion of the evening. Jim stayed in the room with Dillon while Cody and I waited in the waiting room. At one point, Cody, who might have been the clearest thinking Walenciak that night, reminded me that the car was running and perhaps we should park it.

Mom and Dad came out and helped quite a bit. They sat with Cody in the waiting room, who refused to go home without his brother, while I went back and forth sending messages. Dillon, through his swollen mouth would tell me "Tell Cody hi" and Cody would continuously want updates. Through all the trauma and awfulness of the night, I saw how much my boys love each other and my heart has melted many times over thinking of that night. The one good thing.... and if you look hard enough, you will always find one good thing.

So, by 2AM, the teeth were back where they belonged, a little worse for wear. They were still very loose and there were no guarantees they were going to stay in their sockets... (They fell out several times before we could leave the ER) but we went home. We didn't sleep. Jim and I watched Dillon for the rest of the night until we saw the dentist at 7AM the next morning.

Thursday (my birthday) we will visit another dentist and see if Dillon's teeth are tight enough to undergo the root canals the dentist says he will need. He says that due to being cut off from the blood supply, the nerves will die and there is nothing we can do about it. We're pretty sure God can restore blood supply to nerves He created in the first place, but we also know that Dillon will need caps or bonding to fix his chipped teeth and make them useful again.

One thing is for certain... We are investing in some mouth guards for Dillon!

But it's even cooler when you do it yourself!

OK, you've seen the movie.... but you really have to experience it to get the full effect. It's like 3D... ONLY BETTER!

This pics were taken at earlier this school year when we were studying chemical reactions. (and I"ve been meaning to post for quite a while!)

The first picture is the definitive proof that Diet Coke makes a much better fountain than regular Coke. The other pictures show Cody and Dillon loading the Mentos into the Diet Coke and making their get away! You have to appreciate the fancy "broadway slide" Cody is performing. Although Dillon made every effort to get away from the spraying fount... he could no long resist temptation and jumped right through the syruppy stream. I felt the need to get him home before ants attacked.

Everyone must do this once in their lifetime. Drop a bunch of Mentos in a Diet Coke and run! What could be more fun!