Just what I needed

It seems very much like heavenly father always knows just what I need, when I need it. Such was the case this evening.
Tonight was the General RS Broadcast. I went by myself (tried to convince Melissa to come along, but no such luck! Next time I am calling Dana so we can go together.), and I wasn't in the best frame of mind. I got there and it was packed...had to hunt for an empty chair and as a result, felt very uncomfortable sitting all alone by strangers. I have been dealing with a lot of anxiety lately, so I really had to make myself sit there and not get up and leave.
I sort of half listened through the first few talks and songs. They were nice, but my heart just wasn't in the right place for listening. When President Uchtdorf got up and spoke, I felt as if he was addressing me, and all the feelings and thoughts I have been having. He talked a lot about women's tendencies to feel inadequate when in reality, we do so much to help others and other important things. It felt good to hear him speak about those things and made me realize that it is ok to have some flaws, and not be perfect. I can't wait for his talk to come out in print. I want to read it again.
I left feeling better. Knowing that what I do makes a difference and is important. I needed that little lift.

Here is the audio stream link to the broadcast. President Uchtdorf's talk starts at about 56 minutes in. Scroll down on the page until you see the "Audio Streams" section, and click on the English MP3 option. It will play on Windows media player.
http://www.lds.org/broadcast/grsm/0,6220,285,00.html

My favorite quote from his talk is: "The number of prayers we say may contribute to our happiness, but the number of prayers we answer may be of even greater importance."

Dentist

I think that we have decided that Steve chose the wrong profession. He should have been a dentist.
We have had Kaiser dental insurance for the past few years because it was a lot less expensive. Well, after several bad experiences, I finally convinced Steve to switch back to our old insurance.
I mentioned before that Rachel had fun at the tooth doctor. Well, today the older kids went. I don't think that I mentioned how this dental office is. It is a pediatric office, so I knew it would be geared toward the kiddos. The whole place has an "island adventure" decor to it. Waterfalls, fish, boat stuff, tiki torches, you name it. They have toys, a tv playing movies, and two game cube systems in the waiting room. There are tvs above the chairs where you lay so you can watch a movie while they are working on your teeth. The hygienists wear heelies, and skate around the place. Today they were all wearing princess crowns. They had princess crowns, pink feather boas, top hats, fake moustaches and walking sticks out for the kids to play with. The staff is all super friendly, it really is an awesome place. Heck, I want to have my teeth cleaned there.
Because of our poor quality treatment at Kaiser, there are problems that I never knew about. One of Jake's molars never formed completely, and as a result, he has a big hole in the back of it...that has to be filled. The dentist said any longer and he would have had to have a root canal! All of the sealants that Kaiser put on have cracked and fallen off, so those have to be replaced. Neither one of my kids has enamel on their back molars, so they both have two little cavities that need filled. Neither one of them has ever had a cavity before. Poor things.
Then we went into the orthodontic treatment plan. Becka needs two of her permanent teeth pulled, an appliance on the roof of her mouth to correct her cross bite and then braces, Jake has to have 4 permanent teeth pulled, 4 baby teeth yanked, and the appliances for spacing until he is old enough for braces.
Yeah, not fun! Poor kids never had a chance between Steve and I. Both of us had braces, Steve's teeth are fairly soft. My mouth is really small. I had 15 baby teeth and 4 permanent teeth pulled before I had my braces put on. Heredity isn't very nice sometimes. At least Rachel seems to have been blessed with a bigger mouth than I had or the older two have. Hopefully her stuff won't have to be as extensive.
So, tomorrow, Becka is having her cavities filled, her sealants re-done and impression work done to prep her for braces. All of that is almost $1,300.00! I only have to pay 10%, but that is still a lot of money. Jake's appointment is in a couple of weeks and his will be almost $1,600.00!
Tonight at bedtime Jake was asking me a million questions about teeth, and since I didn't know all the answers, he said he was going to be a dentist when he grows up so that he can see what cavities look like. I wish him luck. Maybe he can buy Steve and I a beach house when he grows up, because I will still be paying off his dental bills!!!!

Paying for pain

So, those of you who know me, know that, thanks to PCOS and heredity, I am a hairy person. There, I said it. We all know it, now it is out in the open.
Well, for years now I have been wanting to get my eyebrows waxed. I am not one for much pain, so I have conveniently been putting it off. Now that I have been growing my bangs out, my eyebrows look even more like two fuzzy brown caterpillars, ever seen Bert's uni brow on Sesame Street??? That's where I was headed.
So, when Melissa mentioned that she could get me an appointment with her hair/eyebrow lady, and it would only be five bucks...I figured I could do it.
I was a little nervous about it, but I figured, hey, I have had three c-sections, surgeries, given blood countless times, been poked and prodded with needles for other things, so I should be able to deal with some hair being pulled off of my head.
Everything was going fine until she pulled off the first strip of wax. At that moment, I wondered, is it really worth it? Am I going to look beautiful enough that this searing, burning pain is worth it???
I was brave, didn't flinch or cry or anything...my eyes were watering a bit. To tell the truth, I had to be brave because Rachel was standing right next to me watching the whole process and I didn't want to freak her out!
The whole time I am sitting there thinking...women have this done to other, more tender, "intimate" parts of their bodies...ARE THEY INSANE????????
I spent the rest of the day sporting a lovely puffy pink section of skin right above and below my eyebrows. I'm sure the people around me in the store and at the kids' school activity that night wondered what sort of strange disease I had.
I wonder if I will do it again????

Catching up

I know, I know! I have been home from Forks for almost a week now and haven't posted about it yet! Sorry! Life has been really busy for me. Melissa and I are working on a blog of our trip and when it is finished, I will post it here. I am hoping to have it done by sometime next week. You can see our pictures at www.dropshots.com/FDP. Well, my pics anyway, Melissa still has to load hers.
Just to fill you in really quick...it was SO MUCH FUN!!!!!! We left Thursday evening, got to our motel by about 11:30pm...it was SCARY! Can't wait to go into more detail about that! Friday we spent the day in Port Angeles and La Push, Saturday was spent in Forks for Bella's birthday party and then back to La Push for a few more pics.
I promise more detail asap!

Forks or Bust!!!

The day is finally here!!! This evening, Melissa and I are leaving for our girls' trip to Forks, WA! If you have read the Twilight books, you know why we are going there, lol! It is almost embarrassing to admit how excited I am. I have been needing a break from the kids, church, PTA, life in general, so this will be a welcome relief.

I am lucky because Steve is being so nice about me going. Also I am sending a big hug and thank you to Dana. She is watching Rachie for me tomorrow because Steve forgot to schedule the day off. THANK YOU AUNTIE DANA!!

I will return with tons of pictures and hopefully feeling refreshed and not so stressed out! See you later!

Operation: Bye Bye "bibi"

Well, last night was the first night of no binky for Rachie. It went A LOT better than I had anticipated.
She gathered all of her binkies up and put them in a bag. We hung the bag on the front door knob for the "binky fairy" to find. Rachel wasn't very thrilled with the idea, but she cooperated anyway. She only cried for about ten minutes when she was in bed and slept through the whole night! I was certain that Steve and I would be up all night with her screaming.
This morning, she was very happy to see a new purse with a small Care Bear hanging on the door knob. She was so excited about it all until I read her the little card that the binky fairy had left. Then she put all the stuff back into the purse and told me she wanted to give it back to the binky fairy so she could get her bibis back. Smart cookie!
She was sad for about a half hour after that, and hasn't complained since. I know the days will be harder...especially at church tomorrow. It will be a tough few days for sure.

First day of school and the tooth doctor!

Well, yesterday was the first day of school for Becka and Jakey. They both loved it and were really excited. Becka had to leave early because she is doing safety patrol and had to be at the crosswalks by 8:10am. Rachel and I walked Jake to school. He was so excited to finally be a "grader!"



After that, Rachel got to go to the "tooth doctor" for the first time. She loved it, except for the part when they told her that she has to get rid of her binky. So, Steve and I decided that this Friday is the day. That way we can move Becka into the office to sleep and we can take turns sitting with her if she decides to scream all night. I will have to keep you updated.

Birthday pics!

We had a photo shoot last Saturday that the people forgot about, so we took advantage of the time and did a few pics of Rachie for her bday. It was chilly and the wind was blowing, so poor baby was so cold! She was a trooper though! Here are a few that I have had time to edit. I will post them all on the website when we get them finished. She looks like a princess in her fancy ballerina dress that Nana got her. I have had to hide the dress so that she doesn't insist on wearing it 24/7. She has had it on every day since Saturday.