On Brushing Kid Teeth

Here are my deep and very controversial opinions on...kid teeth.  How simple, yet how incredibly difficult it can be sometimes.

Hannah was put completely under anesthesia at age 3 to have some issues with her teeth taken care of.  She had 6 caps and several other tooth-colored fillings done.  IT.  WAS.  AWFUL.

I'll never forget the devastation and incredible guilt I felt when we found out exactly what was going on in her mouth.  It was a huge blow.  We brushed twice a day.  We let her do it on her own in the morning and we would make sure she had a thorough night brushing.  She has never had excessive amounts of sugar (although, the girl does love cake and cookies...she is mine after all)!   We thought we were doing it right and were on top of things.  Apparently, we were wrong.

The dentist we saw was incredibly comforting.  He assured us this was probably nothing we could have prevented.  She has super soft baby teeth and according to him, it was bound to happen.  Several of his own kids had the same issue.

Still.  There was that guilt.

Especially on the day she got everything corrected.

We walked in to the office first thing in the morning.  Since she was so young, she was first on the list.  The anesthesiologist came out, gave her a shot that was supposed to knock her completely loopy and sat with us for about 10 minutes.  Hannah was still begging to go home and seemed aware, but at the same time was completely out of it.  Like she was a more than drunk 18-year-old at their first college party.  That was terrifying for a me to see as a parent.  I was starting to panic watching her unsual behavior and inability to focus.  It was very unnerving.

He asked if I wanted him to give her more because he had never seen a kid fight it like Hannah was fighting it.  I immediately told him NO and to take her back to see how it went.  Turns out, even though she was answering our questions and forming complete thoughts, she was definitely out of it.  He didn't bring her back to me, but got her all the way under without a fight.

It took them over an hour to correct everything.  When it was over, they wanted me to be the only one with her as she woke up to make it "easier".  I spent 20 minutes in a room alone with her wrestling to keep her safe as she very angrily came out of her anesthesia.  Anyone ever fought to hold and keep a 40-lb kid safe as they came out of anesthesia?  It was not fun.  I was also 8 weeks pregnant with Logan at the time and was terrified that she was going to (very unintentionally) kick me right in the stomach. Luckily, we all came out unharmed, but completley exhausted.  They sent us home before she could even stand up on her own.

We always tell her how lucky she is to have special shiny teeth.  Parenthood lie number...I'm not even sure what number this was.  It's not a big deal and we didn't want her to feel different, so we tried to make it seem fun.  She didn't really buy it.

It was a rough afternoon.  Hours later, she tried to walk for the first time.  It was very unsuccessful.  I had to hold her under the armpits to keep her on her feet.  She finally came out of it, but I vowed to never see one of my kids look like that for teeth again.

The next month was a nightmare of her screaming in pain every time we brushed.  The toothbrush came out bloody every time.  We saw 3 different dentists.  It was the third dentist who (while still not locating the problem) sat us down and showed us how to properly brush.  This didn't fix the problem (as she had cement from her work left in her mouth at the gum line causing the irritation...we found this out 2 months later at a routine dentist visit), but it did help with the pain and bleeding.

He showed me how to lay her head down in my lap to have the best view of all of her teeth.

It's also super easy to pull the cheeks gently back to really get a good angle on those back teeth from here, which I couldn't do successfully here since I don't have a third hand to hold the camera.

He explained that scrubbing with the toothbrush did nothing but spread the food around.  He showed how to do VERY gentle circles to get the food out because that is what the brushes were designed for.  We had a happy camper again!  Seriously!  No pressure needed on those sweet little teeth!  I always thought that was the way to get teeth squeeky clean. I was wrong!

Love this sweet smile!

She also has a very sensitive gag reflex.  Telling her to open her mouth as wide as she can while I get those back teeth has alleviated this particular problem.  We still implement this method for brushing those pesky molars.

We sing songs as we brush, as well.  That makes her more involved in the nightly brushing and helps time go faster.

She is in charge of her own morning brushing.  She does a great job and accepts guidance without a fight.  She's a pretty awesome little lady!

Sometimes you are just born with good teeth genes.  Hannah happened to not be.  I hadn't gone to the dentist in an embarrassing number of months (Ok, fine. Years.) and neither had Heath.  After we moved to Santa Fe, we decided it was time for us to get on the tooth exam train that we forced the kids to be on.  I literally flossed the day I went to the dentist...for the first time in several years.  Heath had been flossing every day for a long time.  The denist told him to floss daily since he clearly wasn't doing that.  I was told to keep up whatever I was doing because my teeth were in great shape and had obviously been flossed regularly.  I was happy.  Heath....not so much.

Win on happy teeth genes.  Fail on realizing my kids might not be so lucky!  Now I know, though!  The other two Lynch babies have passed their dental exams with flying colors...so far.

On Our Happily Ever After

9 years ago today, at 2:30 in the afternoon, the ceremony that would define the rest of our lives began.  One of the coolest moments was that on a perfectly clear day, there was a huge clap of thunder the second we kissed and sealed the deal.  There was a short little rain shower and then the rest of the day was sunny and beautiful.

We actually missed that happening, but had quite a few people tell us about it at the reception.  On our way to our hotel that night, we laughed about it and wondered if God was happy and clapping or if He was thundering mad about us being married.

9 years later, I think it's safe to say He was happily clapping.

So, here are my thoughts on marriage.

1.  Marry your best friend.  Marry the person you can't wait to talk to at the end of the day.  The person you want to immediately share every joy, struggle and sorrow with.

2.  Laugh together as often as possible.  We joke around with each other all of the time.  Sometimes people don't know how to take us.  They can't tell if we are having a great time or are about to rip each other's heads off.  It's fun for us to make people uncomfortable.  Sorry people!

3.  It's going to get rough sometimes, but don't stop fighting for each other.  We are (hopefully) on the other side of a rough patch.  Luckily for us, it only lasts a few days and then all is forgiven and forgotten.

4.  Forgive and forget.  The forgive part is easy.  The forget part, not so much.  The only person you are hurting by hanging on to anger and resentment is yourself.  We are all human and make mistakes.  Give your spouse the same grace you want them to give you.

5.  Try not to fight.  Some of you who thrive on conflict are laughing right now.  We don't happen to be aggressive people.  I personally hate conflict.  I can probably count on one hand the number of times that we've had actual fights.  That being said...

6.  It's OK to get irritated and upset.  Just make sure you talk about it.  It took us several years to get to the point where we could be completely honest about how we were feeling.  We didn't want to hurt each other's feelings or make the other person feel unloved.  We have a lot more trust now that we are completely honest and open.  We know we are safe coming to each other about not so pleasant things because we know we will still love each other once it's been said.

7.  Try to put each other first.  I know in the craziness of life, especially for those of us with kids, it can be really hard.  They don't have to be big things, though, guys.  Make them their favorite meal.  Help them clean up something that you don't normally take responsibility for.  I love taking Heath Starbucks when he's been at work for a few hours and I have some free time.  It's an easy thing for me to do that let's him know I'm thinking about him and appreciate the hard work he does for our family.

8.  Hug and touch each other.  Heath can't walk by me without smacking me on the booty.  It makes me laugh every time.  I told him once that I'll know something is wrong in our relationship when he walks by and doesn't give me my love smack.  I like to get in his way and hug him when he's in the middle of something.  One because it irritates him in a "I'm going to roll my eyes, but would really miss this if you stopped" kind of way.  Two because I just can't help it.  Sometimes I just really need to hug him.

9.  Be selfless, not selfish.  One of the biggest things that we do that helps when things get tough is to take a step back and look at things from each other's perspective.  As humans, it's very easy to get wrapped up in our own needs and wants, but it is important to see things from the other side.

10.  Just love each other.  

We are by no means experts on marriage and love, but whatever we are doing is working...so far.  I love that man more and more every year, day, minute that passes.  So, Heath Lynch, just remember that I love you with all my heart and will for all of our days.  I meant what I said when we took our vows.  You are everything...until death do us part...and beyond.

On Back to School

Just a few short months ago, I was wondering what on Earth I was going to come up with to keep us busy all summer.  I was sure it was going to crawl by.  Guess what?  It FLEW.  The girls had orientation today and school starts for real tomorrow.  What?!?  Where the heck did summer go?

We had big plans to hit a water park, go to the zoo, go to the Children's Museum, Library, and play at the park every day.  We did almost none of these things.  The days flew right on by!  We did make it to the park about once a week.  We went to a water park when we were on vacation.  We made it to the library once, too.  The girls each had gymnastics once a week.  That was it...all summer.  Most days, we were happy right here just enjoying our yard and all of the fun toys we have in this house.

Looking back on summers growing up, we didn't rush from one thing to the next.  Our days weren't planned full of activities, yet we still had a great time.  I have wonderful memories of playing outside, reading all day, playing goofy games with my brothers, and spending time at the pool.  We didn't rush from place to place and thing to thing to fill the hours.  We just enjoyed the time relaxing at home.

Last week as we rushed through store after store filling the school supply lists and stocking up on uniforms, I was ready for the craziness of having three kids at home all of the time to end.  I have been looking foward to back to school more than I should.  I'm ready for a minute to sit and breathe and not be constantly filling kid needs.  Having just Logan here is going to feel like vacation.

I feel a little guilty and selfish saying that, but it's true.  My patience level is going to jump tremendously starting tomorrow.  I won't be nearly as tired at the end of the day.  I'll have a little time just for me again.

I sat down last night to plan out what I'm going to do with my new found freedom.  I'm going to finally get this house all the way clean all at one time.  I'm going to sit in the silence while Logan naps and read.  I'm going to eat lunch before my food gets cold.  I'm going to play just with Logan.  I'm going to get in a routine of working out.  And then I ran out of ideas and realized what I'm going to miss even more than a quiet, clean house.

I'm going to miss the girls.  I'm going to want to do puzzles and hug them in the middle of the day.  I'm going to drink chocolate milk in the afternoon and wish they were here drinking some with me.  I'm going to plan their favorite meals for dinner so that they know I was thinking about them all day.  I'm going to get bored during Logan's nap.

As much as I'm looking forward to the freedom that sending them to school grants me, I'm sure going to miss their laughter and their sweet little smiles during the day.

I'm conflicted today, guys.  I am very much ready for school to start for selfish reasons, but for some different selfish reasons, I'm not at all ready for school to start.

So, for the rest of today, I'm going to make my last weekday with all of my kids count.  And when tomorrow hits, and I only have one little sweetie here with me for most of the day, I'm going to fill the time with things I've been longing to do all summer.  I'm sure going to enjoy this first week with the girls at school, but I'm going to be more than ready to have them back with me all day Saturday.

On Taco Tuesday

I spend way more time than I should searching for recipes that I think the whole family will love.  Thank you, Pinterest, for making it way easier than having to dig through cookbook after cookbook!  I like to meet the needs of everyone in one meal so that I don't have hungry, cranky people on my hands.  The kids love simple, cheese filled meals. Heath is working his butt off...literally...and likes a healthy meal that fills him up.  The man has lost over 30 lbs in the past 4 months or so and is looking amazing.  I don't want to sabatoge that!

Know what meal everyone agrees on that we have weekly?  Tacos!  So why not on Tuesday?  It has a nice ring to it.  It helps that I know exactly what to make every single Tuesday.

I have spent way too much time making time consuming meals that I don't particularly love just to try and please everyone.  I am not a foodie.  I am a picky eater with simple taste buds, so putting extra thought and work into something I'm not really going to appreciate seems a bit pointless...unless everyone else likes it.  It is then worth it's weight in gold.

Heath is a man of few words and doesn't praise a lot of things.  Not because he doesn't appreciate them.  I know he does, but he doesn't typically show it through words.  Want to know the only meal I make that he will look at the kids and say, "Did you thank Mommy for a delicious dinner?" about?  TACOS!  Say, what?  The meal I put the least effort into gets the biggest praise!

So, here you go!

TACO TUESDAY TACOS

1 lb lean ground beef or ground turkey
1/4 cup taco seasoning mix (or a pre-packaged taco seasoning pack or your own pre-made
      taco seasoning mix...that would be awesome!)
2/3 cup of water
Tortillas
Shredded Lettuce
Shredded Cheese (we like the Mexican cheese mix)
Tomato
Avocado
Onion
Salsa and/or guacomole
Sour Cream

1.  Brown your beef/turkey.  Add 1/4 cup of taco seasoning and your water.  Let simmer until the mixture thickens.

2.  Chop up your avocado, tomato, and onion.  Make your guacomole if you are a make it
     from scratch kind of person.  Heath is, I am not.  When I "cook" we use pre-made stuff.

3.  Do whatever the heck you want with the above ingredients.  
           *  For the kids, I mix ground beef, smashed up avocado, and cheese together.  I
              give them that in a bowl with a warm tortilla on the side and they down every
              bite.
           *  Heath and I usually eat ours taco salad style with a big bed of lettuce and
               and all of our toppings piled on top.  If we have healthy tortillas, we'll do things
               soft taco style like a normal person.

I'm not sure why such a simple, every day recipe works so well, but let's not question it too much.  It's a perfect weeknight meal for a person like me who isn't a great chef and doesn't really love cooking.  You can really do whatever you want with it.  Sometimes we have chips and guacomole on the side.  Usually we just put the guacomole on top of our taco salad with salsa to give it a little more taste.

I always feel good about myself and give myself a pat on the back on Taco Tuesday.  Everyone eats.  No one complains.  No one goes to bed hungry.

Finding a meal that the whole family will devour is a definite win!  Please pass on any recipes that your whole family loves.  We are always on the look out for yummy and popular meals here!

On Bedtime for Toddlers and Preschoolers

Bedtime with toddlers can sometimes be just about as fun as having all of your teeth pulled...one at a time...without numbing medicine.  I have never understood why little ones love to fight sleep so much.  I cannot wait to hop into bed most nights.  Some days, it's my absolute favorite time of day.  Having a little one interrupt that for me makes me crazy.  Mainly because I know that without my quiet time and good sleep, I'm going to be a cranky, irritated, impatient mess the next day.

We have been relatively lucky with our kids at bedtime.  The girls were wonderful sleepers almost right from the start.  Hannah was sleeping 8 to 8 by 12-weeks-old.  Camden was very close to that, as well.  Logan was a different story.  He didn't sleep through the night until he was 7-months-old.  That's a long story that has nothing to do with toddlers going to bed, so I won't get into it.  He's 16-months-old now and sleeps from 7 until 7 most days, so luckily, his poor sleep days seem to be over.

His bedtime is simple.  We give him a bath, he has some milk, we brush his teeth, change his diaper, snuggle him in for a quick prayer, and then stick him in bed.  Some nights he may cry a little, but it's usually less than 5 minutes before he is quietly sleeping.  The crib is a life-saver.  I have a feeling when it's time for a toddler bed, he will be a hard one to keep in bed.  My fingers are crossed that he loves his crib until he is at least 8.

The girls have definitely given us some moments of frustration with bedtime.  When Hannah was 3 1/2 and Camden was almost 2, we went through the ringer for several months.  Camden was still in a crib, and this is when she started learning to cry it out.  I remember nights when she would wail for an hour before she finally fell to sleep.  She would also wake up through the night.  Around this same time, Hannah decided she wasn't going to stay in bed or fall asleep until at least 10 pm.  That was not OK.  Heath and I are early to bed kind of people.  Most nights we are in bed before 9 and asleep shortly after.  Dorks, right?

We have never rocked our kids to sleep or put them in bed with us to get them to sleep, so we were determined not to start something that would require her needing us to get to sleep.  After a month of trying everything we could think of short of putting a lock on her door (which we almost did), we gave in and would lay down with her at bedtime.  Laying there for 20-30 minutes until she fell asleep was easier on everyone than fighting to keep her in bed for 2 hours.

I should mention that she was also getting up in the middle of the night during this time.  The fights at bedtime and seeing kids in the middle of the night every night was exhausting us and was turning into a nightmare.

We finally had enough and decided to put them in bed together.  It was an almost instant miracle.  They stayed in bed at bedtime and they started sleeping through the night again.  They just wanted a warm body close by.  That was all it took.  They have shared a room ever since.

We've had other issues since then with them getting up in the middle of the night and not staying in bed at bedtime, so here are some things we've tried and had success using.

*  If you have kids that are close in age, try putting them in the same room or even the same bed.

*  A sticker chart.  We would give them a sticker every morning that they stayed in bed at bedtime and through the night.  If they got a full week of stickers, they would get a prize.

*  Threats worked wonders.  We are that kind of parent.  Yay, us!  The first threat was that we would shut their door.  This worked for a bit until they realized that with their door shut, we had a harder time hearing them.  They would get up and play even longer.  We caught on quickly, so then the threat became that we would open their door.  Stinkers.  We have also threatened to take away their favorite stuffed animals and to move them to separate rooms.  They tested us on these...once.  They were not happy campers when we stuck to our word.

*  I've had friends who have had to resort to putting a lock on the outside of the door that would lock their child in.  I've heard of using baby gates at the door for this same reason, as well.  We never tested this one with our kids, but whatever works!

*  Set a routine if you don't already have one.  I am a firm believer that routines for kids matter big time.  We have always had a set time that they go to bed.  We try to follow the same bedtime routines as far as brushing teeth, saying prayers, and reading stories, as well.  It helps get them in the right mindset and helps them wind down from the day.

The most important thing you should know is that this won't last forever.  I know it feels like it when you are in the middle of it and frustrated and exhausted, but it will be a distant memory soon.  Pick a method to try and stick with it for a few weeks.  Changing a routine doesn't make a miracle happen overnight.  Be consistent.  Stick to your word.  And good luck!

Mini-Pennant Banner Tutorial

My Mom is in town this week.  Yay for Gramma!  Look at how happy these guys are together.

There was a huge snuggle session going on here.  I, of course, was just a fraction of a second too late getting the camera.  Little man doesn't sit still for long!

Gramma and the girls!

My Mom is basically super Gramma.  The kids won't let me near them when she is here.  We are all OK with this.  Gramma gets to spoil them rotten, and it gives me a lot of time to do things I don't normally have time to get around to in a day.  Like sew!  I am pretty sure I have not had my sewing machine out since we moved....10 months ago!  It was definitely time to break out my machine and give it some love.

The girls room is sadly lacking in the decoration department.  I love fabric pennant banners.  I've made a few large ones in the past, so I decided to make a much smaller version to hang on their dresser mirror.

Wouldn't it be nice to snap your fingers and have a finished product?  It was almost that simple!  It was a quick and easy project that took a little over an hour start to finish.

First things first.  Pick your fabric.  I raided my scrap bin and came up with these colors.  I was hoping to find a few more to add, but this was all I had that worked together, so I went with it.

You'll have to excuse the awful picture quality.  It was an overcast day and my lighting was terrible.

Cut a 4 inch tall strip out of each fabric.  I doubled mine up so that the layer would be a little bit thicker and hang better.

The top of each pennant was 3 inches wide.  I started at the top, measured 3 inches over and made a little mark.  I did that every 3 inches across the top.  On the bottom, I made my first mark 1.5 inches from the edge and then every 3 inches after that.

Cut your diagonals mark to mark.

Cut all of the triangles for all of your fabric choices.

Sew along the edges.  I sewed down one side, left the needle in the fabric, turned it, and sewed up the other side to keep it uniform.

Grab some ribbon or some binding tape and start sewing your triangles to the ribbon.  I've used binding tape in the past for larger banners.  I didn't have any on hand, so I grabbed some ribbon that I had laying around.  It worked great!

You could certainly pin all of your triangles to the ribbon to hold them in place as you sew, but I am too lazy for that, so I just stuck them on as I went.

Voila!  All done!

I really should have waited for a sunny day!  I'm cringing inside at the poor color quality of these pictures.  You forgive me, right?

On Missing Life Before Kids

I have a confession.  I'm not supposed to say this because I'm a Mom and we aren't supposed to say this, but I'm going to.  In a minute.  Deep breath.  Alright.  Here it goes.  I, Casey Lynch, miss life before kids. 

I miss sleeping in past 7 on weekends.  I miss a clean house.  I miss being able to watch whatever I want on TV.  I miss days when I only had to do laundry once a week (instead of 3 or 4 times).  I miss cooking without the stress of hearing kids fighting, crying, and screaming.  I miss date night.  I miss being able to read a good book all in one day.  I miss using the restroom and taking a shower without an audience.  I miss being able to walk out the door to run errands without needing to pack up the whole house to take along with me.  I miss the ability to be spontaneous.  I miss me-time.  I miss being able to focus on my husband.  I miss a life where the only person I have to worry about is myself.

I asked quite a few of my parent friends to weigh in on this, and the answers were all pretty consistently the same.  Thanks for your help, guys!  I am a stay-at-home Mom.  My good friend Anna, works and admitted that she misses being able to do something for herself after work without feeling guilty about missing time with her little man.  My heart broke just a little about this.  The guilt is insane.  I miss not having guilt about doing things for myself, too.

I miss life before kids in the same way I miss being little, miss high school, miss college.  It would be fun to go back for just a day or two.  That's all it would take until I wanted to be right back where I am because this family, these kids, are the best part of my life so far.  They have taught me who I am.

Because who needs to sleep in when you get to get up and snuggle with sweet little sleepy baby bodies?  Who needs a clean house when so many memories are being made?  Who needs TV when you have a sit-com happening in your house 24/7?

Date night means a lot more now that they are so few and far between.  I get to focus on my husband and reconnect with him then.  It's fun to learn that we still really enjoy each other's company.

There will be a day far too soon when I have all the me-time I can handle.  I will once again be able to do whatever I want whenever I want.  I have a feeling I'm going to very desperately miss having kids under foot "stealing" all of my me-time.  I've come to really cherish the few minutes I do get to myself, but if I'm honest, I get so much more joy out of giving them my time than I do out of having all of my time to myself.  

I will forever worry about my children.  Isn't that kind of the point of life, though?  Having people that you love so completely that you can't help but worry about them and pray for the best for them?

So, yes, friends, go ahead and miss life before kids.  We all do from time to time for one reason or another, but don't forget to hang on to every moment of right now.  It's going to be gone before we know it.  Once I've changed the last diaper, wiped the last nose, had the last dinner-making dance party, snuggled the last early morning little body, I'm going to want it back if only for a day or two.