The First Tooth

Back in August shortly after school started the kids and I were eating dinner one evening when out of no where Emma starts crying. At first I couldn't figure out what was going on but finally Emma was able to tell me through her tears that her tooth hurt. After some investigating I figured out it was loose. As soon as I told Emma this the tears stopped and she was so excited. Last year Emma was the only kid in her class that didn't loose a tooth so this was a big deal.

A few weeks went by and Emma refused to wiggle her tooth or pull it out even though by then it was barley hanging on. The Sunday morning before Labor Day Emma was taking a shower. I told her to finish washing and get out. Within seconds of hearing the water turn off Emma came running into the living wrapped in a towel, soaking wet, and yelling it came out,it came out. It took me a few seconds to realize she was talking about her tooth. Emma spent the rest of the day carrying her tooth around in a baggie and asking how much we thought the Tooth Fairy would bring her.

That night was the easiest bed time with her I have ever had. I tucked Emma in and placed her tooth under her pillow. After I left her room I told Dave that he would need to take the tooth and put money under Emma's pillow since he stays up the latest. Around 2am I woke up and realized I had forgot to tell Dave to save the tooth for me so I got up and went in search of it. When I couldn't find it I had a thought that just possibly Dave forgot to play Tooth Fairy. Being the good mother and best Tooth Fairy I grabbed some money and tip toed up to Emma's room. I reached under her pillow and instead of feeling money I felt the baggie. I was so glad I had grabbed the money before I went up their and was able to place it under the pillow and make a quick escape. I can't imagine how heart broken Emma would have been if the she would have woken up to her tooth and no money. Instead I got a 7 am wake up call from a super excited Emma showing me the money the Tooth Fairy left for her.

So far this is the one and only tooth to come out or even be loose. I think I will be staying up late for the next one to insure the Tooth Fairy leaves a prize.

Birthday

Birthdays in my family have always been a big deal. Even as an adult my family treats your birthday like a second Christmas for you. I've always loved celebrating my birthday until this year.

Next Tuesday I will turn 29 and for the first time in my life I have been dreading this birthday. For the last few weeks I have had these uneasy feeling anytime someones mentions my birthday but I didn't know why. I did know it had nothing to do with the age like some people might think. Getting older isn't something that has every bothered me. In fact I like it because I know there are so many great things that come with getting older.

Last night Dave and I were watching Deadliest Catch which is one of a few shows we actually watch together. If any of you are fans of this show then you know the last few episodes have been documenting the last few days of Captain Phil Harris life. Captain Phil suffered a stroke while they were filming this season of the show. At the end of last nights episode Captain Phil passed away. Anytime there is a story about a father passing away I tend to get emotional because it always reminds me of my death. During one of the commercial breaks I was thinking about my dad and his age at the time of his death popped into my head. He was 29 years old at the time of his death and it was at that moment that I pieced everything together.

I'm not sure why but I am pretty sure that my uneasiness about my 29th birthday has something to do with the fact that my dad was 29 when he passed away. I don't know exactly why this is bothering me because I am healthy and he wasn't for years before he turned 29. I think it may just be fear and fear isn't always rational. I just know that I don't want to turn 29 and would prefer to go straight to 30.

So for my birthday this year I will keep myself as busy as possible. Dave and I are taking next week off and on Monday we are taking the kids to Kings Island. We decided to stay at a hotel that night and then go to the Newport Aquarium on Tuesday (my birthday). At some point either this weekend or one night later in the week I will have to have my family birthday dinner but I'm hoping not doing it on my birthday will make it all easier for me. I am also hoping that once my birthday is over this uneasy feeling I have will disappear. I guess only time will tell.

Cancer Survivor

Hallelujah, praise the Lord my sister is officially a Cancer Survivor!



On Tuesday afternoon Steph had her final scan to make sure the radiation treatment got rid of all the cancer cells and it came back clean. I am so thankful that Steph found the tumor early and that the surgery and radiation went smoothly but I'm even more thankful that my sister can go back to living her life.

Steph has always been that person that everyone wants to be around. She is the life of the party and every ones best friend. The moment she found out she had cancer life changed for her. Between the stress and depression that goes with learning you have Cancer and the fact that her doctors didn't want her doing much Steph ending spending large amounts of time at home. For her that was difficult and while it taught her that she can be alone and stay home it's not who she is. Of course she did take it easy for months and not do much because she new she needed all the energy possible to fight the Cancer but now she doesn't have to.

When I talked to Steph today I could her the difference of attitude in her voice. She seems to be more of the old happy, always upbeat, constantly going sister that I love. Until today I didn't realize how much I was missing the old Steph but hearing her voice just made me smile.

I couldn't be prouder of my sister for how strong she has been throughout all of this and while she feels funny calling herself a Cancer Survivor I don't because that is exactly what she is and that is an amazing accomplishment.

Huntington Park

Here in Columbus we have the farm team for the Cleveland Indians, the Columbus Clippers. Last year they were given a new stadium in the arena district downtown but we never made it to a game. This year we have made it to two games so far and I hope to go to more. The new park is beautiful and lots of fun.

The first game we went to was at the end of May for a goodbye party for my friend Shanna who has since moved to Texas. It was a very sunny, very hot Sunday afternoon but we still had a great time and I got these awesome pictures.







The second game was last night for Ian's baseball league. The players all got to walk out on the field while there teams were announced. On of the older kids was able to throw out the first pitch which had to of been a pretty cool feeling for him.



Ian is the tiny little guy with the number 10 shirt on. This time not only did we have Jenn, Tim, Andrew, and Tyler with us but my sister Steph flew in from San Diego yesterday and came to the game with her best friend and my sister-in-law. The weather was perfect last night for the game and the Clippers won.







There is nothing more American than a sunny day, cloudless night, hot dogs, beer, peanuts, cracker jacks, ice cream, and baseball so I think this was the perfect week to take it all in.

Landscaping

During this very busy spring and early summer of t-ball, t-ball, gymnastics, t-ball and more t-ball Dave and I were able to spend a little time re-doing the landscaping in our front yard.

When we moved in our front yard looked like this



It was all builder grade plants that had the same feel as an apartment complex. I am not a fan of anything in the pine or evergreen family. I'm sure it doesn't help that I'm allergic to them but beyond that I just don't like them. I was so happy the day I came home from work and Dave had them dug up.

That same evening we took a trip to Home Depo to check things out and finalize our plan. We picked out most of the plants we wanted to place in the front and we found some nice stone edging. After a little convincing I was able to talk Dave into the new shape of the flower bed.

Finally on Father's Day (Dave's idea not mine) we purchased all our supplies. The edging, a couple of boxwood's, a hydrangea bush, hostas, and a few annuals that I can't remember the name of. After 4 very long, very hot hours we finally finished everything. After adding some solar lights and a flag we have this.





I think Dave said it best "now it looks like a home and not an apartment complex!"