Day at the Dentist

I went to the dentist today for my 6 month check-up.  Everything looked good, no cavities despite the excessive amount of junk food I tend to consume.  That made me happy.  The hygienist scraped my teeth to the point that I thought they'd disappear...in turn, my legs hair grew cause I kept getting cold chills.

After my cleaning, the dentist come to take a look and talk.  I told him about my ear issues and the dizziness and that I had noticed sometimes it felt like my jaw was sore when my ear was hurting.  He - get this - stuck his fingers in my ears and made me open and close my mouth.  Leah was totally grossed out that he put his fingers in my ears when I told her.  He said that it was my muscle in my jaw, due to my huge overbite.  First of all, I never knew I had a huge overbite???  But anyways.  He also pointed to my temple area and forehead on my right side and said that I probably had a lot of headaches there.   YES!!!  Just this week I was alternating Tylenol and Motrin due to a headache that wouldn't go away.  He also made me touch his cheek to feel his jaw muscle because he has the same issue.  Uh huh - me and the dentist are getting all "touchy-feely"  LOL.   He told me that he had an easy solution for me - a mouth guard.  A new version that has been on the market for around a year.  He showed it to me on the little clay teeth model.  Fancy.

Well - with all of my issues - I am willing to try anything at this point to help myself.  I would hate to add up how much money I have spent on doctors visits since last May.  Ear infection, follow-ups, physical therapy, more doctors appointments for ear aches, MRI, blah, blah, blah.

I realize that this might not be the miracle fix, but I am up for any improvement at all!  If this will help, them I'm all for it.  Even when they told me they weren't sure if the insurance would pay for it or not, I told them that it didn't matter - I need help!

So, now I wait three weeks...my impressions are done (and I must say that my gapped front teeth made a great impression!  LOL)  Three weeks and then I get my trusty mouth guard.  We will see how it does and I am sure I will be updating you all :)

See my smile - it is going to be even bigger if this mouth guard can ease some of my ear ache issues!!!

Ms Margo

Dear Ms Margo,

I am writing to let you know that we miss you terribly and really, really want you to come back home to us.  I'm not sure where you are, how you got there, or what, if anything, happened to you.  I have spent hours looking for you and even more hours worrying about you.  The kids are sad that you haven't come home and we are all getting discouraged.  

I know you used to drive me crazy, every morning, scratching on the door that goes from the garage to the kitchen, wanting your food.  It didn't matter that I would fill your bowls up with food and water before going to bed, apparently all you did during the night was eat!  I miss hearing that sound of your nails on the door.  The mornings seem to be missing something now.

I also miss the crazy way you'd see our car coming down the street and you'd greet us in the drive-way.  Yep.  Right smack-dab in the middle of the drive-way so that I was unable to pull in for fear of running you over.  Leah would get out and get you so that I could get the car parked.  The last time you did this, you followed it by jumping on the hood of the car while I was trying to pull in.  You gave me and the kids a good laugh that day...

As far as cats go, I can honestly say that you are one of the best.  Never mean, unless you are at the vet, and always ready to be petted and loved on.  At the vet a week ago, I asked him about your drooling when you purr and he said that it was a sign of contentment.  I so wish you were here to drool on us now.  

Such a sweet girl, loving the warm spring and summer days when you would stay out and I'd have to catch you to put you in the garage at night.  When the cold weather come, though, you were most certainly ready to come in the garage and sometimes wouldn't go out, even if I opened the door for you.   That's one reason I worry about you now.  You don't like the cold, the rain, the wind, or the snow.  I pray that wherever you might be, that you have a warm place to curl up and that you are out of the cold and snow.   

People keep telling me that you will be back.  I know that you cats are strange creatures sometimes (sorry - but you are).  But this just isn't like you.  We've had you for 7 1/2 years and you have never done this...ever...That worries me.   Since we haven't found your body anywhere, I still try to keep some hope that you will be back home, but as the days go by, my hope is turning to grief.  

I miss you Ms Margo. The kids miss you.  And Brad misses you.  I hope that you know how loved, wanted, and missed you are.  Come home soon!!!

Love,

Your Family

Cereal, anyone???

After trying to find a suitable topic to blog about, I opened my pantry and actually took a good look at the enormous amount of cereal the Johnston's have stashed in there.  The kids like certain kinds, the hubby likes certain kinds, and I (most importantly) have my favorite kind.  

I drug out all of our cereal and lined them up for a picture.  

11 boxes of cereal.  Oh my.

Logan is going through a kick of wanting to try new cereals.  Who am I to hold my child back?  The Pops are his newest cereal to try, which he does not really like.  As were the Lucky Charms his choice - I did manage to finish these since he didn't like them either.  The Cocoa Puffs were also his choice but he and Leah like them decent enough.

What I love about cereal is that it is just a good ole' universal food.  You can have it for breakfast, you can have it for a snack, you can have it for lunch or dinner.  Cereal is a tasty treat that is good anytime of the day.  Some cereal has sugar in it...some cereals, as you can tell in the picture, are a good source of Fiber.  Fiber is important.  

I have been trying to do better with my eating, which I feel like I am failing at miserably because my willpower is at a ZERO right now.  Anyways, here are my current cereal choices:

Tasty and crunchy makes me happy!

One of my favorite things about cereal, in addition to just being wonderful, is that lots of boxes have the Box Tops for Education on them!  I have an obsession with box tops and soup labels.

Box tops are the one sole reason that I will choose name brand over generic.  The money savings doesn't give me as much of a thrill as clipping off that precious box top!

So tonight - I salute you, CEREAL, for your variety of flavors, your crunchy goodness, and the way that you flavor my milk when you are all gone.  

My Granny...five years later

Tomorrow is going to be 5 years since I lost my Granny.  Even though I know that the anniversary is coming, it always seems to take me by surprise when it actually gets here.  Every year, I feel a little different.  The first year, I was still struggling with the fact that she was gone, and it was terribly hard.  The next year, I find myself being happy by thinking of her and all the wonderful times we had together.  Another year, I might have a really hard time with it again.  Grief is a work-in-progress I have learned and seems to constantly be changing.  All I have thought about today is what thoughts were on her mind before she died...

Granny - 5 years ago today is the last full day of your life...I wonder if you knew that it was your last full day?  I wonder if you knew that you were going to your Heavenly home so soon?  When you couldn't speak anymore, I wonder what was on your mind...When we talked to you, I hope that you could hear us.  When I played the CD of hymns and bluegrass/gospel music, I hope you heard it.  When I wasn't able to be there with you and hold your hand at the end, I hope you knew that my heart was with you.  When you took your last breath and left this world, I know that Heaven rejoiced when you got HOME.   

So many things that I wonder about...my heart still aches for the wonderful woman that she was...I miss the letters and cards that she used to send...I miss the Godly wisdom and advice that she was able to give.  I miss the way she'd bob along to her favorite Elvis songs and sing...I miss her lead foot in the car and how she would tell us, "You don't have to worry about Granny, Granny knows what she's doing."  I miss the sound of her laugh...I miss the feel of her arthritis-ridden hand in mind at church...I miss her singing...I miss her fussing at Grandad and keeping him in line (or at least trying to).  I miss her referring to my brother as "Little Jason."    I miss her talking about Flossie Naylor's "little dog."  I miss the dedication that she had to her family, her faith, her friends.  I miss hearing her say, "Adam was such a good baby."  

My dear Granny, you are gone, but you are most certainly NOT forgotten.  Love you forever...

Granny on her last birthday...so thankful to have had her in my life!

The Power of the PJ Pants

My PJ pants.  I sure do love them.  The one thing I love about winter, probably the ONLY thing I love about winter is the fact that I get to wear my fleece PJ pants.  I love them all, but my zebra print PJ pants are my absolute favorites.  

I have no shame in wearing my PJ pants.  I wear them to take Leah to school in the mornings.  I wear them when I walk the dogs in the late afternoons.   They are my source of warmth on the cold days.  They keep my legs warm and toasty.  To me, fleece PJ pants are the greatest invention in all the land.

The hubby isn't too fond of the zebra print PJ pants, but I don't let that stop me from sporting them around the house.  And just between me and you, sometimes the zebra print PJ pants work better than saying, "I have a headache!"  

Today - I salute you, zebra print fleece PJ pants - for all the pleasure and warmth you add to my life.  You are truly an amazing creation.  

7 years

I can't believe that seven years have passed since one of the most emotionally challenging events in my life happened...when I lost my baby at 11 weeks along.  While the pain has faded, I still think about my lost baby often and wonder what he/she would have been like.  I find comfort in knowing that my two lost babies are together and most certainly being spoiled rotten by my Granny.  Seven years is a long time, it is amazing how truly blessed I have been, even through great loss.  My Leah has grown to be such a beautiful and smart girl.  If it weren't for my losses, I also wouldn't have my Logan.  My little wild man.  I can't imagine my life without my kids in it!  So while I still wonder and miss my lost babies, I do rejoice in the ones that I have here with me.

Cold is NOT my friend!

It is cold.  I don't like the cold.  Granted, I don't like the intense heat either.  I am searching for a happy, warm medium.  It seems that we don't have 4 seasons anymore.  We are either in summer mode or winter mode.  I miss Spring and Fall.  I have some very valid reasons for disliking the cold.  Read on as I point them out...

1)  It's cold.  Reason enough.

2)  Leg hairs.  I am sort of mixed on this one.  I like the fact that I don't have to shave as often in the winter because my naked legs are never shown.  I don't like it when I finally break down and shave and 5 minutes later my leg hairs start growing back due to cold chills.  Of course, with my fatness these years, I don't frequent the shorts - so even in the summer I can sometimes get away without doing a really in-depth leg shaving.

3)  Electric Bill.  Ugh.  Our last electric bill was  $358'ish.  NOT FUN.  I don't enjoy paying bills, but especially when they are that amount.  Don't get me wrong, I am thankful that we can pay our bills, I'm thankful for my home, and most certainly for my heat.  I just wish the heat didn't cost so much!  Think of all the clearance items I could spend $358 on!

4)  Sinus problems.  The woes of my sinus issues.  Will they ever end?!  The cold flares them up.  The wind flares them up.  Moisture outside flares them up.  Granted, the heat seems to flare them up as well.  Maybe I just have non-stop sinus problems.  But for now, I am going to blame it all on the winter and cold season.  In the Spring, I might write another blog and blame my sinuses on it.

5)  Snow.  I think snow is pretty.  I don't enjoy, however, going out in the snow.  I don't like to drive in it.  I don't like to walk in it.  I don't like to play in it.  I don't like to take the dogs out in it.

6)  #5 brings me to another point.  Dogs.  The dogs don't stop having bodily functions in the winter.  They still have to go out and be walked and do their business.  I dislike walking the dogs in the cold.  I am usually so bundled up when I take them out that it is a wonder the cops haven't arrested me for looking like a terrorist!

7)  Cabin fever.  The cold prevents us from going outside often.  The kids get insane when we are cooped up in the house.  The endless energy they have usually results in a very messy house and lots of bickering between them and with me.  At least in the warmer months, we can go outside and run off some energy.  Sigh.  I miss going for strolls through the neighborhood, all warm and carefree.

The one good thing about the winter, for me, is the lack of frizzy hair!  Of course, I have bad hair, we all know that...don't even pretend you haven't noticed my pitiful locks of corn husks.  However, the winter provides me with a chance of wearing my hair down and not in a ponytail 24 hours a day due to frizzy issues.

That, my friends, is my thoughts and feelings upon the season we call WINTER...now, if you'll excuse me, the electric heater is calling for me!