Got Words

If you have been reading this blog for a while you know the mystery that is the Magic White Board.  You probably also know about the wonderful notebook that Haley received from our neighbor for Christmas. 

The notebook has become the traveling Magic Notebook.

Haley loves her notebook.  It goes everywhere with her.  Except school.  Otherwise, everywhere.

Haley loves to write in her notebook and draw in her notebook. 

She has started drawing faces in her notebook, which I particularly love.

She really likes me to write in her notebook.

She brings it to me and dictates.  I write what she tells me.  She usually dictates one word at a time, thinking about each word.  At the beginning of this process I spelled the words out loud as I wrote them.  I thought that maybe she could learn to spell that way.  She seemed to like it a first, but then she got impatient with me and just wanted me to write the words.  Sometimes the words become little sentences.  I have started to encourage that.
 
Sometimes when she gets quiet and I go to check on her I find her tracing her words.

She also likes to circle them.

She brings the notebook to church and writes in it during Confirmation class.  Sometimes I cheat and add words that she didn't dictate.   Words like Jesus and Baptism and Sacrament.  Pastor always give the kids paper and pencils and encourages them to doodle or take notes during class.  Haley does that too, but she also uses her notebook.  I think it helps her to focus and listen.  I hope.

Sometimes she brings the book to me, but she doesn't want me to write anything.  She just wants to talk about the words on the page.  I usually make her read the words to me.

I am sure you have noticed a theme.  A few words that are repeated.  Words like tree farm, Grandpa, Grandma, tractor ride, tent, trees, fire.  Haley still wants to go camping at the tree farm.  She brings me the notebook on a fairly regular basis and starts a new page.  The words vary little. 

It is her way of telling me what she wants.

Not so smooth...

Haley had her last sealant appointment.  The dentist suggested that we do each section of her teeth separately so it wouldn't be too big of a deal for her.  I think it helped.  She had done so well on the previous one that I wasn't worried about this one at all.  

I thought everything would go so smoothly.

Little did I know.

Her appointment was scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on a Friday.  She also was scheduled to go to Yoga that Friday at 5:30 p.m.  My plan was to take her to the dentist and then bring her home.  Our cat had recently had some surgery and I had made an appointment for him to get the sutures out at 5:00 p.m.  

I was going to take the cat in to the vet and Haley's Dad was going to take her to Yoga.  

Just before Haley got home from school I went upstairs to talk to her Dad.  We decided that I should have plenty of time to do everything I had planned, but if worse came to worse he could take the cat to the vet.  After Haley got off the bus I gave her a drink and a snack.  When she was done I explained to her that she had a dentist appointment and then we brushed her teeth and headed out the door.

We got to the dentist's office a little early.  Haley went straight for the the big button on the wall that allows her to operate the train that runs around the ceiling of the waiting room  She loves that train and she loves that big red button.  I checked her in with the front desk and took a seat.  There were a couple of other kids and their parents in the waiting room.

Those kids were called in one by one.  I didn't really pay attention to the time, but it did seem that there was a lot of time between each kid.  Eventually I decided to look at the time.  We had been waiting for almost an hour.  I could tell that Haley was getting impatient.  Actually truth be told she was being amazingly patient, considering.  I walked over to her and talked to her about some of the things on the shelves.  A movie had been playing since we walked in to the office.  

The movie was over.

I started to investigate.  To see if I could get the movie started again.  The nurse came out and apologized and said it would be another twenty minutes.  I texted my husband that we were not in yet and that it was looking like he might have to take the cat to the vet.

Finally Haley was called in.  The hygienist asked her if she wanted to watch Spirit, she remembered that was the movie she had chosen the time before.  Haley said "Yeah."  She handed her the case with the DVDs in it and Haley dutifully turned each page until she found the Spirit DVD.  After that the hygienist got the video glasses and headphones all set up and laid Haley back in the seat to watch.

We waited some more.

The dentist was obviously busy in another part of the office.  I could hear a little kid screaming and crying.  I hoped that Haley didn't hear it over the sound of her video.

Finally the dentist came in and greeted us.  She laid Haley back some more and Haley opened her mouth.  She got right to work - again without the "happy air" that she used the first time.  After a few minutes she stopped and looked up at me "She has a cavity, we are going to have to fill it."  I nodded.  She showed me the whole in Haley's tooth.  Haley got a shot of Novocain.  She didn't even flinch.  The hygentist offered her a popsicle.  They told me to watch her.  They didn't want her to bite her cheek.  So we sat there and waited for her to get numb.  I realized that this was going to be a long one.  

I texted my husband "Plan B - Go!"

After a while the hygienist came in and then left again.  I heard her talking to the dentist in the hall.  She was pleading our case.  I heard her say "They have been here a long time."  

No kidding!

So the dentist came in.  She put one of those rubber dam things in Haley's mouth and then got to work.  She showed me the space that she had made for the filling.  I had never seen that before, it was interesting.  Then she filled the tooth.  Haley was perfect.  She sat so still.  She was gripping the arms of the seat throughout the whole procedure.  I patted her hand and occasionally rubbed her leg.  I felt her legs tense up a couple of times, but that was the extent of her reaction.  When they were done they took the rubber dam out of her mouth and as they sat her up she put up both of her hands for High Fives.  

I looked at the clock on my phone.  She had had that rubber dam in her mouth for forty five minutes.  Not only did my husband need to take the cat to the vet.  We were going to be late for Yoga.  I tried to text my husband, but he wasn't answering.  I realized that my phone battery was going to die.  I sent an email to the Yoga instructor.  Between the slow internet connection I had and the fact that my phone was dying I didn't think that she would get it.

We left the dentist's office at 5:30 p.m.  I drove straight to Yoga.  Haley was making funny sounds from the back seat.   I looked in the rear view mirror and realized that she was not liking the way that her face felt.  She was touching her face and whining.  I tried to explain to her that it would get better soon.  She started crying.  

I looked in the rear view mirror again and it was quite a sight.  She had her mouth open crying, but half of her face was slack.  It was disturbing.  I realized that between the funny feeling in her face and the panic I was projecting about being late, she didn't know how to react.  I tried to talk calmly.  I told her that we would soon be at Yoga.  I reminded her how much fun Yoga is.  She calmed down a little.

When we drove up the Yoga instructor looked up and smiled.  When we walked in she told me that my husband had called and that she got my email.  I was amazed.  I explained the situation to her and she said that she would take it easy on Haley.  She removed the hardest Yoga poses from Haley's schedule, especially the ones where Haley would have to be upside down.  

She told me that once she had done Yoga after a dentist appointment and that she had had an anxiety attack.  Her instructor had told her that Yoga causes increased blood flow throughout the body and that the Novocain that was shooting through her system caused her anxiety.  

So Haley had a very laid back relaxing Yoga session, by the end of it she seemed to be feeling a lot better.  I asked her if her face felt better.  She said "Yeah."  

When we got home I made her a smoothie.

Lemons to Lemonade

I have gained weight.  I could go in to detail, but I won't.  It's not about me.

Really.

The point is that I have a closet full of clothes that I can no longer wear.

Up until yesterday it was a major bummer.

Haley has gained weight as well.  What I mean to say is that she is growing.  She is almost as tall as I am.  She is filling out.  She is 14, but she is not a size 14 (girls.)

I have to retire a different pair of pants every week.

On one of the recent nice days we have had Haley's Big Sis came down the stairs in her swimsuit carrying a towel and headed out the back door.  Haley immediately went upstairs.  Soon she came down wearing her swimsuit trunks and carrying her swim top.  I helped her into it.  She had outgrown it.  I just bought this suit last summer.  I looked at the label. "S" was all it said.

I went up to her room and looked through her drawers for summer outfits.  Most of the shorts that were in her drawers were girls size 8, 10, 12 and one 14.  None of them fit of course.

A couple of days later I was at Costco and saw a tankini swimsuit that I thought looked like it would fit Haley.  It was the same size that I would buy for myself.  When she got home from school she saw it sitting in the entryway and immediately wanted to try it on.

It fit perfectly.

I was curious, so I asked her to follow me upstairs.

I keep a measuring tape in my closet.  I measured her.  She is basically a size 6, the size I used to be.  So suddenly my closet full of useless clothes has become Haley's drawer full of cute summer shorts and capris.

Lemons to Lemonade.

Sing, Sing a Song

Sing out loud!  Sing out strong...

Haley loves Hannah Montana.  I caught her singing along with her iPod the other night, so I caught her on video.  Actually I couldn't do anything else.  It was so loud we had to pause the show we were trying to watch.