The Saturday 7ish

1. Let me tell you the story of the time I freaked out at the dentist. I've actually told this story before, but it was six years ago, and I doubt those of you who have been following me for that long actually remember my dental escapades. Plus I have new readers who need to hear this riveting tale. 

I have never feared the dentist. I'm genetically predisposed to good teeth, and when I had my first cavity as an adult, the filling was super easy. When I had to get another cavity filled a few years later, I expected to have the same experience. They hook you up to the gas and you start to feel warm and sleepy. They rub some numbing gel on your gums, give you a shot you can't feel, make some loud noises with a drill, then send you on your way. The worst part is having a sore jaw afterward. But that fateful day in 2017, the gas wasn't as strong as it was my first time. And the numbing shot didn't take effect as easily as it had before. So the poor, unsuspecting dentist gave me another shot to get me good and numb . . . and I lost my mind. Started sweating and shaking and trying to take my clothes off because I was so hot. Started freaking out that I was choking on the wedge they put in my teeth, exclaiming that I was going to pass out. I was a real delight. They turned off the gas, helped me get my sweatshirt off, gave me some oxygen, and set up a fan. After a few minutes I calmed down and they proceeded as normal, but since then I've definitely developed a fear of dental procedures. 

Funnily enough, I had a very similar reaction during my epidural with Levi. The anesthesiologist gave me the numbing shot, but I jumped when he tried to start the epidural, so he gave me a second numbing shot and I freaked out. I've since learned that most of the time, when lidocaine is used as a local anesthetic, epinephrine is added to it. And apparently I have a low threshold for epinephrine.

This big long story is all to say that I had more cavities to get filled this week - four in fact, because apparently those "good genes" can only withstand so many years of a Dr Pepper obsession and lackadaisical dental hygiene. Because of my past experiences, I was nervous about having so many teeth filled at once. But I popped a xanax on my way to the dentist and reassured myself that I would just have a nice, nitrous-oxide induced rest while they went to town on my sugar-laden teeth. This is the first time I've ever had dental work done at my new dentist, however, so imagine my surprise when the assistant told me I couldn't have the gas because I didn't specifically request it ahead of time! Cue the panic. 

I warned her that I was feeling anxious and have had issues in the past, so she put the heavy x-ray vest on me, told me to imagine it was a weighted blanket, shoved that wedge in my teeth, and basically said, "Suck it up, buttercup. Raise your hand if you're going to freak out." Lol. The numbing gel didn't work super well, so I felt the needle every time he stuck me with the anesthetic. It was a lot of times. And then, I could still feel my teeth so he said, "I'll just give you another shot," and I thought, "Here we go again . . ." Lol. But the xanax must have been working, because I held it together. I mean, my heart was definitely racing above its recommended BPM, but I kept taking deep breaths and counseling myself to "get a grip." It was an uncomfortable half an hour without the comfort of an intoxicating substance, but I kept my clothes on and didn't create a scene. I'd call that a successful trip to the dentist.

2. Justin's soccer team played in the district(?) championship this week and won for the second year in a row!

We went to the game, but I watched from my van, because I'm a literal "fair weather fan," and it was a little too cold for my comfort. The kids thought it was hilarious that I honked the horn every time our team scored. And Justin got drenched with cooler water afterward, which was a delight to watch from my warm, dry vehicle. 😁 They have one more tournament next week, and then soccer is done for the year, and we can try to be a normal family who eats dinner at the table together for the first time since last spring (since I was working evenings all summer). We did have one late dinner this week where I made everyone come to the table, and Levi insisted on having candles with our meal. Last year, Lena went on a field trip where she made a candle, but it had to cure for a full year. We broke it out this week, but couldn't find a candle holder small enough to support it . . . enter the marshmallow wedge. #genius

3. I saw a facebook post this week that said, "What trend are you totally over?" I know it probably meant fashion trends like skinny jeans or Birkenstocks, but I immediately thought of Taylor Swift. I will never understand people who "fangirl" over celebrities. She's just a person who happens to be a talented performer. I am so over the "Swiftie" thing, people spending thousands of dollars on concert tickets, and the obsession with her love life. Facebook and Instagram were all abuzz with Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's joint appearance on SNL last week. "News" sources were sharing hard-hitting reports about how "Swift and Kelce appear holding hands leaving SNL," and I even saw one article from a "body language expert" about the "truth behind the hand holding." Seriously, people! Enough!! I try to scroll past those posts as fast as possible, so the all-powerful algorithm doesn't think I'm actually interested. 

4.  Lucy and Lena both stayed home sick on Tuesday. Lena was visibly ill Monday evening, and had a fever over 101. I think Lucy was probably over-exaggerating/playing me, but since I had to go to the dentist on Tuesday anyway, I let Lucy stay home so she could watch Lena. Lol. (#momoftheyear) However, I'm sure you can imagine how Levi felt about being the only one going to school that day. He made me take his temperature three times before we even got out the door. And then I got word that he went to the school office four times throughout the day begging to have his temperature taken and insisting that he didn't feel good. 🤦 He never had a fever, though, so he just had to tough it out. Everyone was healthy enough to go back to school on Wednesday, and it wasn't until yesterday that I started to get it. Just a mild cold - throat scratchiness/head stuffiness. I'm already feeling better today than I was yesterday, so at least it's fast moving. Here's hoping Levi doesn't get it for real next week and I have to take off a day of work to stay home with him!

5. I read two books this week: A Convenient Fiction by Mimi Matthews (clean historical romance) and A Ceiling Made of Eggshells by Gail Carson Levine. The latter was a pre-read for the school library. It's marketed as a middle grade novel, but is set during the expulsion of Jews from Spain during the Spanish Inquisition. 😬 Honestly, I didn't know such a thing even happened. In fact, I have very little knowledge of the Crusades or the Spanish Inquisition. But I had no idea that the Jews were forced to leave Spain during the time of Christopher Columbus. I thought their oppression was limited to Biblical exiles and the holocaust. Shows what I know. Anyway, it was a clean read, but kind of slow and depressing. I can't imagine 4th, 5th, or 6th graders being interested enough in the subject matter to slog through to the end. The author did a good job of treading lightly around the horrors of war, Inquisition, and expulsion, but she did hold true to historical fact where she could. I was shocked to read that Jewish kids as young as 12 were getting married and having babies. I physically could not have gotten pregnant at that age. I wonder how many 12 year old girls thought they were barren, when they just hadn't gone through puberty yet! There's also a part of the story where just before the Jews were expelled from Spain, fathers were marrying off their daughters to anyone they could to afford them protection of a man in case the father died. For some girls that meant marrying old men. For some older girls who hadn't gotten married for whatever reason yet, it meant marrying 12 year old boys. (#awkward) Anyway, I don't think I'll recommend it for our elementary library. I think it would just gather dust. And certain parents would probably be angry that the Christians are the bad guys throughout the whole story . . . even though that's technically historically accurate. The Crusades weren't our proudest moment. 

6. Well, this is already quite long, and I don't have anything else to pull out of the dregs of my brain, so I'll leave you with everyone's favorite part of my blog entries: the memes.

I could tell you the middle name and birthdate of every person I graduated with literally twenty years ago. But I couldn't tell you what I just wrote on my grocery list three hours ago.

At least Dr Pepper gives me pee and joy . . . and cavities . . .

Have I told you about my depression? Or my stomach issues? 😂

It's not 38, so far

This one kills me. Someone actually "bit her lip" in that romance book I read this week, and all I could picture was the character biting her upper lip. 😂 (P.S. I know you just tried it.)

Seriously, though. What is this from? I'm thinking either Taco Bell or Tasty Treat's cups.

Sorry about the swear word, but my IT brother just gave us a spiel about how October is "Cybersecurity Awareness Month" and this is all I could think of.

100% Levi

Is it magic? 🤷