What a Week!!!

Whew...I'm glad this week is over!!! It seemed like it went on forever. Monday morning I finally made a visit to the dentist. At first the hygenist thought I would need root canals on both teeth, but the dentist was able to do a "build up" on them and fill them both. I made an appointment in May for a cleaning and whole mouth exam. I know there are other cavities that need to be filled. So, if you haven't gone to the dentist.....GO!!!!

Last week was National Week of the Young Child. We had various activites going on throught the week at school. On Friday we had a trike/bike-a-thon for St. Jude Children's Hospital. The kids had so much fun and we raised a good amount of money. Kristin managed to have only one minor crash! Also the Quality Approval lady made her visit on Wednesday. She arrived a little after 8:30 and stayed until 4:00. She watched us all day, took lots of notes, and we will find out in 3-4 weeks how we did. I think we did great, even when the toilets backed up while we were brushing teeth and getting kids ready for nap. Luckily the plumber was right down the road and made it to the school in about 5 mintues!!! It ended up being a great day. It was supposed to storm all day, but God was smiling down on us and sent us sunny weather!

Kristin at the trike-a-thon (going the wrong way!)



On Thursday evening Kristin and I went out to Ozark Adventist School to meet her teacher. She fell in love with Ms. Pam immediately and cannot wait to go to "big school." While Ms. Pam was talking to the kids, she told them that she really wants them to come to Kindergarten there in the fall. Kristin told her, "But I'm not 5, I can't go to Kindergarten yet!" Ms. Pam told her that she can come to kindergarten there even though she's 4. (They combine the pre-k and kindergarten kids; they are called Kinders). Kristin looked at me with wide eyes and said, "Mom, is this KINDERGARTEN?" I told her yes and she said "WOW!" She really is excited and so am I! The first day of school in August 13th--the countdown has begun!!!!

Ozark Adventist School Gentry, Arkansas

STRESS

Ok, anyone who knows me knows that I have huge issues with the dentist and will avoid going even though I know I should. I have not been to the dentist in years and now I'm paying for it. I've had a back tooth that has been bothering me for quite awhile. My insurance kicked in at the beginning of the year and I actually did call the dentist about the tooth, but since I was a new patient, it was going to be a month wait before I could get in. Well, the tooth quit hurting and I forgot about it. Thursday on my lunch break I was eating a fortune cookie and apparently the tooth that was hurting, part of the filling came out. I didn't know it and was chewing and bit down on the part of filling that came out. I felt like I'd bitten a rock--it hurt so bad and I have a high tolerance for pain. I spit everything out of my mouth, saw the filling and .....part of a tooth!! I think I kind of screamed at that point....I have recurring nightmares about my teeth falling out, so I was freaked out. I ran to the bathroom looked in the mirror and discovered part of my top tooth had broken off when I'd bitten the filling piece. The tooth that the filling came out of was on the bottom. So now I have two teeth that need work. I did a lot of calling to several dentists and found one who could squeeze me in Monday morning. So, I'm off to the denitst. Luckily we have great dental insurance, but I'm still dreading it like I've dreaded nothing before. I absolutely HATE going to the dentist!!!!

On top of all that...at school we are going through the process of getting our Arkansas Quality Approval. If you don't know what that is, it's a set of standards for preschools by the state of Arkansas. To get Quality Approved the school has to meet certain professional, educational and health standards. Also someone will come observe us all day to make sure we are meeting these standards. It's very stressful and a pain in the rear!!! Anyway, we are due to be observed this month, but we aren't told what day, so we just have to be prepared. With our luck she'll come on Monday---I'll be gone for the morning to the dentist, I'll come back in pain...next week is national Week of the Young Child and we've got all kinds of activities planned and it will be a hectic week. But if she waits until the last day of April to come...that's just mean. Oh, the stress!!!!!!

Holy Moses!!!

We have a new family member--Moses, a 4 year old Basset/Beagle mix we adopted from a family in Joplin. He is pretty funny and just fits right in. The poor dog has been called Charlie Brown all his life, but Kristin insists on calling him Moses. So, I guess he figures we are complete idiots and will keep calling him the wrong name! He really is a good dog--housetrained, doesn't get on the furniture, and is great with Kristin. Kristin wanted a baby or a dog, so we went with dog!!!

Not much else is going on, which is a good thing. We've about decided to let Kristin finish preschool at Ozark Adventist Academy, a small private school in Gentry (about 5 miles from Siloam). I'm thankful I've been able to have her going to work with me, but having her in my class is just too much. It's hard being her mom and teacher--there's jealousy issues for her and it's just really stressful. Anyway, Ozark has a great elementary school. The pre-k and kindergarten class is combined and the teach Montessori style through third grade. When I asked Kristin if she wanted to go to a new school in the fall and went on to tell her that I would not be there, her eyes lit up and she said "YES"!!! Freedom for both of us!!!