A decision has been made

I know this is not not adoption or Igor related... I feel like I must share since I've droned on and on about my tooth and the "great pain". I appreciate the comments on my blog and via e-mail. They have given me another picture of tooth extraction, one not so scary.

This morning I was in the shower (where all my great thinking happens), when my dear dentist Dr. R popped into my head. He was my dentist for many, many years before we moved down south. He knows my teeth and the troubled tooth very well so I decided to give his office a call. To my surprise the receptionist connected me to him right away. I said I was having a problem with a tooth. Dr. R said, "I've been waiting for this call." He knew this pesky tooth was going to cause more trouble, he just didn't know when. It was so great to talk to him and KNOW he was giving the straight scoop. After discussing the last week's activities he said, "Don't spend another dime on that tooth. Have it pulled. Be thankful that you've had it this long. It's time to say good-bye to this tooth." I needed to hear this from my trusted dentist.... so, I have distanced myself from the pesky tooth. I will not refer to it by number any more, it's just a pesky tooth. (yes, I really am this weird)

I met with my local dentist this afternoon. He agrees that the tooth should be pulled. Tomorrow, I will cancel the apicoectomy which was scheduled for next week. Thursday I have a "consult" with a periodontist. Since the tooth and root is oddly shaped, it must be pulled by a specialist. There are many more details such as; bridge or implant, but I am trying not to get ahead of myself. I will take it one day and one dental bill at a time.

Easter, referrals & tooth #13 & 14

We had a lovely Easter. After church we went to Rob's aunt's house for dinner. She made mac and cheese for me! It's easy to chew. Igor had his final egg hunt with his cousins. It's funny because he doesn't like candy but he loves to look for eggs!


Playing with Great MeMe (Rob's grandmother)



The "great pain" finally reached a manageable level on Saturday night after a second antibiotic was prescribed. Today, I was able to weasel my way in to see the Endodontist. (I had an appointment for April 1 but I couldn't wait!) The endodontist prescribed a third antibiotic (stronger) to help save the bone above my tooth. He said 14 and tooth 13 are in cahoots. The endodonist checked 4 molars and he says it's 13 that's causing the infection 14 is causing other trouble! He recommended having a second apico on 13. There is a 50% chance that the apicoectomy would be successful. ugh, 50%?? I want more than 50% chance... Other options are- pull the tooth and get a bridge or pull the tooth and get an implant. None of the options are great or pain free.



My mother and husband think I should have the troubled tooth pulled and move on. I have thought about it.... There is something about having a tooth pulled that is, well, just plain scary to me. Picture drills, pliers, a whiskey bottle, you know, you've seen tooth extraction in cartoons and in old westerns. SCARY!!! Have you had a tooth pulled (other than wisdom teeth)? If you have, please tell me, was it as scary as I think it is?? It's okay to say "YES"! I need to hear the truth.



Yes, for those of you who clicked on the apicoectomy link, I know that an apicoectomy isn't a walk in the park but I've had an apicoectomy so it's "known" to me. There is a 50% chance of it being successful. I have to make a decision quickly or risk bone loss above the tooth. I have another dentist appointment tomorrow. I hope to make a decision in the next few days. I have scheduled the apicoectomy for April 2 in order the "save the date" .



Right now I need to check out some blogs! My friend and adoption pal Susan called to say 3 referrals were issued today! Yippee!! I cannot wait to read more. Details to follow.

Egg Hunt, 14, Spring's birthday and Maundy Thrusday

Our church's Easter Eggstravaganza was last Saturday. There were lots of fun things to do including a Egg Hunt. Igor loves to hunt for eggs. We invited our neighbors and children from Igor's nursery school. The children and parents had a wonderful time.






Creating an Easter bonnet. Dad is a great sport for wearing the bonnet!


Hunting for Eggs

14's Last Harrah

14 must know that the time is up; 14 is doing all he can to make me miserable. I called the pharmacist this morning because I had another sleepless night and I still feel "great pain". The pharmacist said I must be on the antibiotic for at least 72 hours before I begin to feel relief. He said an abscessed tooth is the hardest infection to treat. 14 should be calming down tomorrow. Today will be another day of protein shakes for me. Please pray that the antibiotic will work quickly and I will feel sweet relief.

Spring's Birthday

At Nursery school we said good-bye to winter and hello to spring. The children sang songs welcoming in spring time. (my camera batteries were dead so I don't have any pictures of the program!) The children made a carrot cake from scratch. It smelled sooo good but I didn't/couldn't have a bite. Igor happily ate cake for both of us!

For several weeks each child has been very busy at nursery school. The children painted heavy paper which was cut, folded and glued into a basket. Eggs were blown and dyed; then soil and seeds were added. Each child made a bunny from sheep's wool. They are so cute! A baby chick and flower seeds were added to finish the basket.

Our Maundy Thursday service was the Passover Seder. A Messianic Jewish Pastor from Israel shared the Passover Seder tradition and the last supper. You may learn more about The Chosen People Ministries or the Passover by checking out their website.

Fire drills and a referral... but not the kind I wanted

Monday there was a fire drill during speech. Igor was so scared. Yep, it was worse than the last time. The twenty minute drill felt like hours watered with tears. Igor's speech teacher was wonderful. She gave him head phones so the noise would not be so loud. After the fire drill she took him to the playground. She did this to reinforce that school isn't a scary place. I was certain Igor would refuse to go to speech today. To my surprise he did not object (too much). However I had to promise it would be a day without a fire drill.

Last night I couldn't sleep. I had a terrible toothache. By morning three teeth were aching along with my sinus cavity. Thankfully, the dentist was able to see me first thing this morning. The verdict- I have an infection in tooth #14. I wanted to cry but I was too shocked to cry.
I thought, not tooth #14 (aka "14")!! This tooth is BAD NEWS!! 14 and I have a love hate relationship. I love having a tooth in this spot but over the last 6 years 14 has caused trouble. Every couple years 14 gets infected resulting in great pain. Along with pain, 14 impacts our cash flow. 14 has had a several filings, two root canals, a crown and an apicoectomy. I thought I was done with 14's high jinks. I was wrong. It appears that 14 has one root left and it is infected. No one understands why this tiny root was not previously removed. The fact is it's there and it must be removed or 14 will continue to cause me great pain.

I wanted to have a talk with 14. I wanted to say, "14 don't you know we are adopting?? Why are you acting up now? Haven't you caused enough trouble over the years?" But then I remembered 14 is a tooth not a person. heavy sigh...

Today, I was given a referral. However, this referral was not an adoption referral. I was given a referral for the endodontist! On April 1, 14 and I will be meeting with the endodontist. I'm quite certain that a second apicoectomy will be scheduled after the appointment. Perhaps this will be the "end" of 14's mischief. Here's hoping the next referral we are given is for a child, our son, not a specialist.

A game of tag

Well, I have been "tagged" my by adoption gal-pals Susan and Jill. Yes, that's right, I was tagged, it's like the children's game... but they did it via my blog. So the rules are - I am to tag 5 people and I can't tag Susan or Jill. I am to tag my friends by leaving them a comment on their blog letting them know I tagged them and why. Also, I'm to direct them to my blog for instructions. I'm to notify the tagger (Jill and Susan) when I post my list so that they can enjoy reading the responses.

Here are 10 things about me:
1. I love watching the TV show LOST with my husband
2. I don't allow Igor to watch TV because I don't want him too be exposed to it yet... cruel, I know
3. I love waking up without an alarm clock
4. I was born in Nebraska
5. I miss my Freddie Mac friends (sniff, sniff)
6. I do not have any first cousins
7. I would love to go back to Japan
8. Yikes, coming up with 10 things is hard.... I love saying "yikes" and it cracks me up when Igor says it.
9. My in-laws got us hooked on the game Quiddler
10. I'm not sure who to tag....

Well, this tagging business is work! I must ponder who to tag....

Igor's friends visit and making a "cake"

On Monday, Igor's best friend and his brother from up north came for a visit. I think this picture sums up the day.



Yes, that is the ceiling right above their heads. There is something about playing on the top bunk... it's so much fun.


On Tuesday Igor wanted to cut the grass. I thought he wanted to pretend to cut the grass but no, he really wanted to cut some grass. We got out his scissors and he cut grass for about 30 minutes. The grass was an important ingredient for the "cake" he was making. Other ingredients included; a sprinkle of sand and leaves, golf balls and dozen toy cars. We "baked" it over night.

On the adoption front: we heard that 9 children were moved to our agency's transitional home! This means referrals might be issued as early as this week. We won't be in this batch of referrals but we are looking forward to some dear families receiving news of their little ones.

Conference Call, Easter Eggs, and Caramel Corn

The conference call with our agency was very informative. Our agency hopes to have relationships with two more orphanages by the end of the month! We learned that our wait may be longer than we thought. I have an e-mail into our Family Coordinator in order to learn more.

I received a huge order for caramel corn last week. I made 5 gallons of caramel corn over the weekend. I should have taken a picture. Imagine 80 cups of popcorn, it's a lot of caramel corn.



Saturday we dyed Easter Eggs. Nana sent Igor a gourmet Easter Egg kit. I have never seen anything quite like it. It includes markers, ribbons, appliques... this is not the PAAS Easter Egg kit I grew up with! In order to use all of the cool stuff in the kit we will be making Easter Eggs again this week and next. Do you think Igor understands that he will be eating boiled eggs everyday for lunch over the next few weeks??