The Monday of Medical Mayhem

We survived!  It has been an interesting two weeks at the Lloyd home.  Here are some "notes" about it...

Two weeks ago, Travis and I took Nathanael in to an oral surgeon to have a tooth exposed that was not coming up.  The orthodontist said that they had done all they could do with his braces without that tooth.  When we got to the office of the surgeon, he recommended that Nat get all four wisdom teeth removed because he had to be "out" for the exposing anyway and it is much better to do this procedure when the wisdom teeth are there- but not totally developed and have large roots.  We ultimately left the decision to Nat and he decided it would be better to get it over with and have it behind him.  Everything went well.  When Nathanael woke up, he kept claiming that he was fine and kept insisting that we take him back to school.  He claimed that his brain was sharp and that he just couldn't talk. Really???  Then when we got home, he jumped out of the van, went inside the house, and ran down the stairs before Travis or I could help him.  He just kept telling us that he was fine!  Of course, the medications wore off and reality set in later.  Anyone who has had their wisdom teeth out can relate to how miserable one can feel.  Despite the pain and not really being able to eat, Nat was a fairly good patient.  He took his medications when he was supposed to and kept himself hydrated and rested.  He is finally doing soooo much better and we are all grateful that it is behind him and he can enjoy the holidays!

That same day, I had scheduled a dentist appointment for four of us to have some dental work done.  What a pain!  I did not know when I scheduled the appointment that Nat would have his wisdom teeth out that morning.  Lindsay needed a small cavity filled.  Poor thing!  She takes such good care of her teeth and yet she is the one whose teeth are not as strong as the others.  I felt like I had to keep the dental appointment because it is so hard to schedule that much time.  Anyway, she got her cavity taken care of and I don't need to worry about it anymore.

Ethan needed one tooth extracted.  It needed to come out to allow for some other teeth that are coming in and must have space.  His teeth don't come out!  Almost all of them have had to be taken out by the dentist.  When we see the teeth after they come out we realize why they don't just fall out on their own.  The roots are unusually long!  His teeth look like talons!  Ethan handled everything well and I don't think he complained at all.

Clarissa also needed to have her teeth extracted as well.  She had to have four little baby teeth pulled.  I overheard the dentist saying how easy it would be to pull out those little teeth. He was surprised when it took a little more effort because, like Ethan, Clarissa has roots that are extremely long!  Unfortunately, that night, Clarissa's bottom lip was extremely swollen and continued into the next day.  I wondered what in the world was going on because I had never seen this with any of my other children.  It ended up that because her lip was numb and she had never experienced that sensation before, she bit her lip over and over-hard and caused many canker sores as well as a giant cold sore.  It took several days for her lip to heal and be normal.  Even though she was in pain, Clarissa did not complain!  She was awesome!

While we were waiting during Nat's surgery, Zachary was breathing funny.  It wasn't so obvious at that point that something was wrong and I debated whether or not to call his doctor.  I finally decided that he needed to be seen, so that evening after the dentist, I took Zac into his pediatrician.  By that point, it was obvious that he was having trouble breathing.  The doctor gave us an inhaler and put Zac on an antibiotic and told me to come back in two days.  I took Zac back to the doctor and it was determined that he has asthma-triggered by a cold.  I had juvenile asthma but grew out of it and so I hope that Zachary grows out of this too!  I just need to watch him close every time he has a cold now.

As you can tell, it was quite a day, but I am grateful that it is behind us and that we can enjoy the holidays.  My "moment of joy" was when Nat was changing his cold packs on his cheeks every thirty minutes.  He asked Clarissa to go get the frozen one out of the freezer for him and take the one back that he had just been using and put it in the freezer.  She told him that she would be happy to and was a cute little nurse!  When she gave the ice pack to him he said, "Thank you sooo much Clarissa!"  I really thought their little exchange was so sweet!

Cathy

The Lloyd Characters

Once again, we have celebrated Halloween...already? Well, here are a few "notes" from the Lloyd home...

Nathanael decided to be Dr. Doofenschmirtz from Disney's "Phineas and Ferb" for Halloween. He really enjoys watching that show. It gives him time to laugh and "chill out" from his crazy schedule. Every year, our family carves pumpkins for Halloween. Nat really does not like cleaning out the pumpkins! When he was little, he would cry and cry when we tried to get hime to pull out the pumpkin "guts". It is so interesting that still after all these years, he carves out his own design but refuses to clean it out!

Lindsay was a "goth" this year for Halloween. She looked pretty convincing! At a ward Halloween party, an elderly woman came up to me and told me that Lindsay looked so much like me when she was all "dolled up" like that! I really was not sure how to take that compliment? Was it the black lipstick or black eye shadow? I know, it was the nose piercing! Ha! Ha!

Ethan was Harry Potter this year. He was perfect for it with his new glasses! We were lucky because we already had a costume that some of our other kids had worn. It seems that every year we either have some character from "Harry Potter" or "Star Wars". This year we had both! Ethan really is into Harry Potter this year and has already said that he wants the Lego Hogwarts Castle for Christmas.

Clarissa was soooo cute this year as Junie B. Jones. She loves those books and I can often hear her laughing out loud in her bed as she reads at night before she goes to sleep. Clarissa took quite awhile to decide what she wanted to be for Halloween-but when she did-it was perfect for her! She was quite entertaining quoting phrases from the books. I loved it!

Finally, Zachary was Yoda from "Star Wars" this year. I had always promised Travis that we would have one of our little ones be Yoda because the baby/toddler costume was so cute. Since Zac is our last little one, it was kind of now or never! He loved Halloween!!! This was the first year that he got to go trick or treating. Travis took Ethan, Clarissa, and Zac this year because it was his turn. He dressed up as a Sith Lord to go with Zac. Zachary was his "little green friend". Travis asked Zac if he wanted to walk or be carried and Zac kept saying "walk". He walked for over an hour and did not want Daddy to carry him! I guess candy is a pretty strong incentive for him. Hmmm. Good to know for future reference! Because it was Travis' turn this year, the weather was fantastic- so just be aware that next year, the weather will be miserable because it will be my turn and the pattern has never failed! I don't really like trick or treating. I didn't even really like it as a child! I remember one year in which it rained and rained and I was so cold that I begged my dad to take us home ( I think it was only after one street). Anyway, he encouraged me to continue and as time went on, I noticed that my hands were turning blue and I told my dad that I was so cold that my hands were turning blue! He took me home and I realized that my hands were blue from the dye that was on my witch's hat! (I really was panicked that it was a permanent condition!)

Well, my "moment of joy" was when the pumpkins were all carved and set out on the porch. For some odd reason, I get a lot of satisfaction out of making sure each pumpkin is scraped very clean before a face is carved in! I know it is weird but that is just the way I am- a little weird!

Cathy

Nostalgia

Here are some "notes" from the Lloyds...

Nathanael sang in a concert for Lone Peak High. It was their fall concert. I couldn't go to the first one and so I was excited to go to this one. I really enjoyed the concert. They sang a couple of pieces that I sang in my junior year. The concert really took me back to some great memories-although I can't believe that it is now my son making those high school memories!

I was helping Lindsay pull a costume together this last week for Halloween. She has decided to be a "Goth". I remember in eighth grade that I dressed up as a flapper for Halloween. I think that that was the last time that I really dressed up for Halloween. Wow!

When I took Nat and Lindsay to the orthodontist this last week, I had Ethan get a free consultation. He needs A LOT of orthodontia work! I felt so bad for him! I remember having so many lovely problems with my teeth growing up! Oh, well! At least we can get them fixed and he will be even more handsome than he is now!

Clarissa has told me who she has a little crush on and how when she sees him, she gets a little shy and embarrassed. I thought back to my crush in elementary school-really it was one boy throughout all my years. However, I regret to say that I was not very shy or embarrassed around him, I probably frightened him off!

Zachary has learned the names of all the animals in the book, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? It made me think of how many times I have read that book over the years...again and again and again....

My "moment of joy" this week was when I saw Zachary in nursery take his little cup for his snack and throw it in the garbage without someone telling him to do it! Yeeeaaaah! (Unfortunately, it probably won't last!)

Cathy