She Talks My Head Off

I love it. Yes Gabbi is a talker. Actually she'll have a conversation with you and it shocks people. I know I am surprised at how well she talks at only two. I am not sure if my other girls did. I just don't remember. My next youngest is 8 years old. Gabbi however picks up EVERY word you say and I mean every.

I feel like she has a memory like almost photogenic. Not quite, because she doesn't necessarily remember everything the first time, but practically. One night I decided to test this memory of hers. It seems she picks up on things so easily and then later repeats it back to me and it never ceases to shock me. She'll remember things I didn't think she even heard.

So one late night Cheers came on. She loves music and commented on the theme song. She talked about the music and just said "Mom, music? Mommy song?" And I agreed. I then decided to tell her the name of the show. I just said "It's Cheers Gabbi. That is Cheers."

Well I forgot about it. Two nights later the show comes on and I think nothing of it. Gabbi comes up to me tapping me on the shoulder smiling devilishly and says "Cheers mom. It's Cheers."

Yeah. One time I told her what it was....two days later she tells me when she hears the song. Yep. My genius baby. :) haha

Two Wisdom Teeth Gone Today

In other words, I had them ripped from my head. It felt that way anyway. I never liked to hear the horror stories about wisdom teeth extraction. So I will start with the good news. I am still alive. During this procedure, I wasn't sure. It started with the numbing gel. I accidentally swallowed just a tiny bit. I don't know if it made a difference but boy I could not swallow. It felt like my tongue was HUGE and I just couldn't swallow very well.

After the numbing gel they did the injections. I had several on my upper left...then in the roof of my mouth on both sides...and of course more injections into the upper right gum. I was good and numb. They took me into another room. I had a small cavity. I have not had a cavity since I was 16. And those didn't even need any anesthesia because they were so small. I was shocked I had one. My teeth have always been so healthy and I am a person who always brushes her teeth. I love nice white, shiny teeth!

So after that little hit to my pride I faced the fact my wisdom teeth need to come out. They've needed it for a long time. My bottom wisdom teeth are just under the gum, growing in sideways. You can see the tops...but they are impacted so they'll be surgically removed. I'll be put to sleep for that thank God.

They filled the cavity then went to work on the wisdom tooth. I closed my eyes and kept them that way the whole time. She pulled my cheek so far over I thought my skin would turn inside out. She pushed down so hard it felt like I was being punched. Then she began the extraction as she pushed harder, pulled harder until my eyes were pouring tears. I wasn't really crying...but my eyes were watering from the pain of it. A few times I moaned in pain. Could NOT help it. The extraction itself wasn't that painful....it was the breaking of my face that hurt.

Now I have a prescription for codeine and I can't eat any good solid food. I had chocolate pudding for supper. I might try some kind of soup tomorrow....but nothing chunky. I can't open my mouth very much at all...so chewing would be a major problem even IF I was ok with something getting inside the holes where my wisdom teeth once were. I hope I don't wake up in MORE pain. =/

Gabbi Grabs the Vacuum Attachment and Sings

Bad Storms Yesterday

(The above pic is outside my front door. I took this pic.)

There were varying degrees of intensity depending on where you were but I heard about tornadoes touching down in various places. I haven't heard of any significant damage. I heard about quarter sized hail.

The local fire department then posted these pics these to their facebook page. It was a little ways outside of town!

A Pep Talk in the Morning

For this post, I am addressing moms. Mothers who have put aside their dreams while they are taking care of the home or the children. Maybe you didn't think you could go back to school and finish that degree or start it. I know for a fact there are many of you NOT doing what you want to do and now you think it's impossible right?

Let me tell you MY story. In 2005 I was going to turn 30. That's right, the big 3-0. (Just a note for those keeping track it was December 29th of that year!) I saw myself raising at the time three little girls and me with no career. I had no paycheck of my own. Yes there is a lot of reward in raising your children but I tell ya, there is a lot to be said about going to school, knowing you can do it and finally SEEING yourself as that smart person you know you are inside. I wanted to do it, just to show myself I could.

I had had HUGE plans of going to college. I was actually always going to go into Radio and Television Broadcasting. That was the big goal for me. I was told by speech teachers I had a strong and clear speaking voice. They all encouraged me to go this way so I had it all set up. Well life took a turn as it usually does and I got married when I was 19. I was young for sure. I was pregnant by the time I was 20 and had my first baby at 21 years of age. From there on, I was 100% mommy. I did nothing else, I thought of nothing else.

Fast forward to 2005. My youngest was three. I put her in preschool and signed up for the local college and took prerequisites to be a dental hygienist. I quickly realized I wanted to be a nurse and changed my goals. I took classes all the way up until the end of the Spring 2007 semester. I hadn't been feeling well. I wasn't breathing very well at all. I was coughing up blood among other things and was diagnosed with cancer. Oh and I was pregnant again on top of that.

So I spent 2007 having chemo treatments every 2 weeks. Then giving birth. Then I took out the year with radiation treatments daily. That went into January. I spent 2008 taking care of my newborn baby girl. I recovered from the harsh treatments and all that they put my body through. Bed rest is very hard on a body.

Then in the early part of 2009 I applied to my dream nursing college. I had a few prerequisites left but I had heard there was a long waiting list. By May of 2009 I got my approval letter. I started summer school in 2009. I picked right back up where I had left off. I went Fall of 2009 then started the January 2010 semester at the Nursing College. I just finished my first semester there and now I am on summer break.

I have done all of this with 4 kids (one just 2 years old) after all that my body has been through and I have to say if I can do it? Anyone can! So do not let anything stop you from achieving your goals. The sky is the limit. Go back to school. Get that degree. You can get a degree and still be a mommy. It may be hard, but it can be done!