Notes from the Burrow

Thursday, January 29, 2009

I was seeing three and four moves ahead, weaving in and out of lanes like an Olympic skier on a gold medal run.

The theme today is all about sacrifice.

The sacrifice began when my alarm went off 1 hour and 30 minutes earlier than usual and I didn't just hit the snooze button.

It continued when my husband had to be dropped off to work at 7:30 instead of 9:00.

My Christopher sacrificed by getting his brothers all ready for school--clothes, outerwear, bookbags--all by himself. That is a real accomplishment for a 10 year old.

Alisha, Kimberlee and Rebecca sacrificed their morning tending 17 children ranging in ages of 3 months to 6 years. That's right--17. Rebecca also sacrificed her clean house. And possibly her sanity.

Seventeen children sacrificed having mom home with them this morning.

The good people of Bloomfield Hills sacrificed their right to not be hit by a 12 passenger van careening down their roads attempting to make it to the session on time. I literally blew off 3 stop signs.

The members of the 10 am session sacrificed a prompt start so that 8 extra sisters could join the session 10 minutes late.

Anna, Carol, Janet, Jennifer, Melissa, Rachel, Stacie, and Valerie sacrificed their morning so that eight precious souls would be blessed.

All the sacrifice was not in vain. Thank you, Plymouth Ward Sisters, for your sacrifice. I was humbled and honored to be with you at the temple.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Spencer and Grammy Playing Wii

You know the difference between a dentist and a sadist don't you?

Spencer getting cleaned.

I found a new dentist that I would like to recommend to anyone looking for a good dentist. His name is Dr. Bozell and his practice is in Canton near the high school. I got the recommendation from Geri Aldrich whose husband is an oral surgeon. I figured he would know who the good dentists are in the area. He does. The first thing I noticed about Dr. Bozell's office is how nice his staff is. The receptionist, the hygienists, everyone is super nice and friendly. They helped me understand my insurance coverage and no one made me feel stupid for having 12 cavities. Yes, that is 12. Dr. Bozell, himself, is funny and friendly and professional. He teaches at U of M's dental school. (I forgive him for being affiliated with U of M.) :) He took time with me to make sure I understood how good of friends we are going to become over the next few months as he fills all of my cavities and takes up all of my free time. He was also great with Spencer and patient with Cameron's lack of interest in having his teeth "counted." The staff took up with Lizzie right away and it was like being surrounded by 3 grandmas. I didn't have to worry about her one bit while I helped calm the boys in the dental chair. One of the hygienists is wife of local Plymouth judge, Ron Lowe. He happens to be my very favorite judge in the area because he is lenient on my views of speed limits as "optional." All in all, my visits to the denist recently have been wonderful and I highly recommend Dr. Bozell for all your dental needs.

This was as close as Cameron would get to the dentist.

Relax! You can't screw up her hair. Just tease it and make it look like a brown football helmet.

Should I start dyeing my hair? That is the question of the moment. I have so much gray hair right now that I can see it and it is driving me crazy. I am only 34 and that is way too old to be going gray. My mom was gray at a young age but I thought it was because she was sick. I figured that her illness manifest itself in giving her gray hair, but maybe that wasn't the case. Maybe I'm fated to be almost completely gray like her at age 38.

So here's the problem: if I choose to color my hair this is a choice that cannot be changed in 2 or 5 or 15 years. This will be my hair for the rest of my life. A person cannot start coloring her hair and then give it up cold turkey in years to come. It will have to be always colored.

I don't know if I want to do that. Shouldn't I be secure enough with myself that I can have gray hair and still feel young and pretty? I should, but I don't. I don't feel young with all this gray hair sprouting in. It grows amazingly fast and coarse. I hate it.

I would really like to do highlights and lowlights but I can't afford the $$ to go to the salon every three months or whatever for this service. Should I go the home color route? Is it effective? I did it once in college and ended up with a very strange shade of burgundy. Or should I just go gray? Dear Faithful Readers...tell me what you think.

E.T. Phone Home

It is an understatement to say that I don't like to be touched. I hate it. I don't ever want to get a professional massage. I know I am probably the only person on the planet who feels that way. I have people tell me all the time, "Just try it. You will really love it. It is so relaxing." I will not try it. I will not love it. It will not relax me. I barely like to be touched by my family. I can stand hugs from my sister and kids and other family but other than that...don't touch me! I don't like it. If I were stranded on a desert island with anyone, even Tony, I would sleep with my head on a rock rather than on the other person. I remember once I was sitting somewhere upset about something and talking to someone about it and she kept stroking my arm. Her stroking my arm started to upset me more than what was upsetting me in the first place. If I could sleep in my own bed all tucked in with blankets completely tucked around me, I would. I'm just not touchy-feely. Maybe there is something wrong with me.

There is a commercial out right now for Kleenex. A woman goes around and touches stuff and you hear in her mind, "touch door," "touch paper," "touch car," etc... I feel like this woman all day long except all I hear in my mind is "touch Mom." I wake up in the morning to being tapped three times by Emily that she is ready to go. Then I actually feed another person from my body like 8 times in the day. It doesn't get much more touchy than that. I have a toddler constantly touching, pulling, poking, pushing and riding on me. When any of the older kids want to talk to me, they poke at my arm, "Mom...mom...mom." Can I tell you how much I DETEST being poked in the arm? I really do. More than most anything. Sometimes I feel like my body is not my own. There are no boundaries for my body. It is just open to anyone poking or prodding at it at any time.

So when it comes time for "touch wife," I am usually totally spent and agitated and ready to just be tucked into bed, covers over head with no more touching. What can I do about this? Is there some touch training I can go through to become less sensitive to the kids touching and more open to the husband touching? Is there anyone else like me out there who knows how to help me?