Random Friday . . .

This post should really be titled:

The Retainer, Chicken Potpie, Toe Nail, and that's Weird of the Al variety!!

But I didn't want to scare you off . . . so I kept it Random Friday, because let's face how much more random does it get than that.

What you are about to read is a true story. The names have not been changed to protect the innocent, because let's face it, that wouldn't be any fun :o)

Well on Monday, I got the distinct privilege of going to Lowe's with my friend C. She and her husband are building a new house and she needed to pick out paint, and she wanted me to go along. Given the fact that I am pretty home bound (not complaining ~~ I like home, but still) right now, it was so nice of her to invite me along . . . thanks C.

So we went to a town about 5 or 6 miles from my house to pick out the paint, and we got almost to Lowe's when my phone rang and it was Dak and the conversation went something like this.

Me: (Answered phone) What do you want? (hahaha)
Dak: Can I wear my retainer?
Me: What?!!??????!!
Dak: Can I wear my retainer? I'm tired of crooked teeth.

Me inside in my Spirit: OH PTL!! PTL!!!

This retainer issue, and oh yes it has been an issue, has been going on for at least a year and maybe even two. Dak has a tooth that is very small and sits back behind his other teeth. So in order for it to come up to the front lines and do combat with the other teeth, he had to wear a special retainer with a spring in the back for a while. And when that didn't do it (stubborn tooth) he had to wear braces. So once the braces came off he got a new retainer that he is suppose to wear ALL THE TIME!!!!! Well for the first oh maybe month, he did. But then after that he decided since the tooth was straight that he didn't need to wear it. Well all mama's with retainer wearing kids know the importance of wearing the thing, but when they get so old they do need to make some decisions on their own (Oh do they have too? :O), and he started NOT wearing his retainer. Well, I tried griping, nagging, complaining, whining, anger, not talking . . . and on and on, and guess what NONE OF THAT WORKED!! What? Yeah I know shocking . . .

So I gave up and decided that it was a HUGE waste of A LOT of money and live and learn, and I would be a mom with a child with a small tooth that would never grow up (the tooth not Dak). And then Monday, out of the blue, Mom, Can I start wearing my retainer? And what was my answer . . . no you have to deal with a crooked tooth ~~ JK'ng ~~ YES OH MY STARS YES!!!!!

And every day AND NIGHT since, he has been wearing his retainer. I am really proud of you son. Does this mean I have to stop nagging if I want to actually make head way with my teenager? . . . moving on . . . :o)

So then on Wednesday evening I made Chicken Potpie for supper. It is one of my hubs favorite and perfect cool fall weather food. (I'll try to get the recipe posted here later today. It is the best recipe I found, adapted it and YUMMEEEE!!!!!) Well, normally I would make that for Dick and I and then Dak something else (yes I am one of those moms, don't judge me :-) But Wednesday, since I'm not eating things like pie crust right now, I modified mine and had veggies over brown rice. Dak had friends over and I didn't fix him anything else to eat. So when his friends left he asked, "hey mom what am i going to eat" (yeah I no I've spoiled him), I told him almost kidding, but secretly hoping, "Chicken Potpie". To which he replied, "I'm not eating that." To which I replied, "Then I don't know what to tell you." (look at me being all bold). I told him he could eat the CPP and just pick the carrots out. And guess what? Next thing I know he walks in with a "little" bit of CPP. The verdict? He loved it!!!!! What? I know ~~ so great!!!!! And then he went back and got a second plate ~~ full!! Oh we are getting somewhere with this teenageness ~~ Oh Yes We Are!!!!!

Okay then to the toe nail. Okay so take a deep breathe and maybe even a puff on your inhaler (if that applies to you), before you read this next bit of randomness.

On Sunday evening, Dak got a phone call (after we went to bed) so he got up to get his phone and has he was jumping (yes jumping) back into bed, he caught his left big toe on the heel sole part of his right foot and lifted up his BIG toe nail. Yep lifted it up!! How does that happen? He showed it to me on Monday morning before practice and seriously, gross ~~ it had blood all around the toe nail and it just looked well, GROSS!! So he went on to practice, yeah that was fun, and got it to bleeding again and I looked at it that night and then I didn't hear anymore about it until Tuesday night. During the meet on Tuesday he runs by me and is wincing, and after the race said his toe was really hurting. When he got home later that night I had him take his shoe off and show me ~~ YUCK!! GROSS!! BLAHHHHHH!!!!!!! OUCH!!!!!! ~~ It was not pretty. It was gray and dead looking to me. So I did what any child-lovin' mother does, calls her husband in to look at it. Well he came in and took a look and told Dak that it was going to have to come off of there. Well, I asked Dak if he wanted me to take him to the doc and have them deaden it and then pull it off (because it was still attached on the bottom sides and cuticle) or if he was going to give it a try. Well he didn't like the whole idea of the needle in toe thing, but he didn't want to pull it off either, so I think he decided just to wait for it to fall off . . . Ummm okay ~~

So on Wednesday evening hubs looked at it again and told Dak he needed to try and get that off of there. Well Dak started working on it. And let me just tell ya, it was not for the faint of heart. Have I expressed how gross this whole process has been? . . . okay moving on . . .
So he starts pulling, tugging and grossing his mother out. At one point I had him show me and then yes I backed off of that. So finally he got it off of there, but had to tear it at the bottom, and so it was still attached to the cuticle (is anyway spitting out their Sonic at this point . . .Heather :-) Then he gets the tweezers out to get that out of there ~~ I am not even kidding!!!!! Finally, S-U-C-C-E-S-S!!!!!

So now I am thinking this whole thing is over and we'll doctor it and watch it and make sure it doesn't get infected until the new toe nail gets nice and hard like, and the whole mess can get cleaned up and on with life . . .

uhhhh have I mentioned that fact that I am the only girl in a household of boys and that we just think differently. This next part if you are a girly girl like me will have you shakin' your head, just like me.

So I told him to throw away the old toe nail and get the tweezers picked up etc, and he looks at hubs. Well, I'm not sure what part of that was hard to understand, but hubs said, "Are you wanting to keep it to show your friends?" Okay seriously I thought they were joking. I said "The toe nail?" To which Dak replies "uhh Yeah" What? Boys I don't understand. Why keep an old toe nail ~~ gross ~~ So hubs said just wash it off and you can show it to your friends. Okay I must intervene, He is 16 and doesn't do show and tell anymore . . . breathe, just breathe Dawn, it's okay :o)

So yesterday I was thinking about all this and wondering if he really kept it, so I went in his bedroom and couldn't find it where I thought he might put it, so I breathed a sigh of relief, and then . . . oh the horror . . . there it is on his dresser of all places!!!!! Yep that will make a nice conversation piece, I guess I should just be grateful it's not on our family bookcase in the living room :O) Yes I am picking my battles, and this one is not one I'm gonna tackle :-)

So have you noticed so far that every random part of this post has been about Dak? Well the last part is no different. And the That's Weird of the Al Variety, yes also has to do with said 16 year old ~~ quite a week you've had son ~~

Last night he updated his I-Pod and a lot of times he wants me to listen to his music (I love it that he likes to share it with me). So I stood at his door and listened and he said mom listen to this. So he put on Michael Jackson's "Beat It" and was dancing to it. Yep kickin' it old school!!!!!Dak is very musical and is a really good dancer. So as he was getting his groove on he said okay now listen to this. And he put the Weird Al version of it on his IP "Eat It" It had been so long since I'd heard that version. Still cracks me up and now apparently there are many songs he's done this kind of a spoof too. So funny. So that was a funny thing to hit-the-hay too. Thanks for the great teenage fun this week son. You are truly a joy.

Well, I hope you all have a fun and eventful weekend. Hubs is picking-up Sky on the way home (be still Grandma's heart) and we'll get to play with him this weekend. So I'm sure more stories will come.

Blessings to you,
Dawn