Hurray! I have my Christmas cheer back! My thyroid medication was in yesterday and I'm already feeling more normal. I took half a dose last night and a full dose this morning. For the first time in almost 2 weeks, I actually feel alert enough to get something accomplished this afternoon! Now if Big Boy and Little Girl will just take a nice long nap for me, maybe I'll actually get caught up on all my work! It's SO NICE to feel like myself again. I have been a grumpy, tired, grouchy mama for way too long. Despite the overwhelming exhaustion I've felt the last week, I've managed to get a decent amount done. I finished my Christmas shopping today. Well, there's one more person I really need to find something for, but I think I can get a home-made Christmas ornament made between now and tomorrow afternoon when I'll see her next. I got the gifts I need for Big Girl's bus drivers, therapists at school, school aid, and special instructor (unlike most parents, I have about triple the number of people to get gifts for!). I found a bunch of stuff on clearance at Michael's today, so I was able to get gift bag, votive candles, and a little votive holder for each person for about $3.50 each! I'm really pumped about that. I'm especially excited that I have everything ready a day ahead of the holiday party at school and actually sent in the therapists' gifts today so they get them before break. Some of them have offices in different buildings.
Isn't this the cutest photo? I plunked Big Girl down next to Big Boy Sunday afternoon while I ran to get her hair bows. They were watching "The Toy That Saved Christmas" on TV and Big Boy stuck his arm around her while they watched. He is too sweet. I got the three kids a big group gift today. I was poking around Target looking for something for Scott when I found the snow sleds. They had some nice big plastic toboggans for $15, which I thought was pretty good, considering I'd seen them for $50 at Meijer! So I got one, even though I had Big Boy with me. I think he knows what it is, but I told him it was for Daddy and Grampa (which it is - they will be the lucky ones pulling the kids around in it!). I'm telling him to keep it a secret cuz it's a gift, because I'm hoping he'll forget all about it until he sees it under the tree Sunday morning. I'm really excited - I think Big Girl and Big Boy will LOVE racing around in the snow. Since this winter looks to be a serious one (we're having January weather a month early!), it will be good to have some outdoor activities for the kids to do.
My home-made projects are coming along. I have one almost done - I hope to finish my part of it today. I finished a scarf for a friend and gave it to her on Sunday, so that's done. The hat for my niece is slow, but I haven't had much time to work on it. I also don't need to have it ready until New Years', so it's a low priority. the big push right now is to complete the project I'm working on for Scott and make a few ornaments to include in those gift bags for the kids' teachers.
I went to the dentist yesterday and told him I feel like my teeth are shifting. I can't get my molars to meet when I close my jaw because my front teeth hit and get in the way. He made me a special bite plate a couple years ago that has really helped my jaw pain, and he said that would continue to help me control the pain. However, he looked at my bite and said that if I want a permanent solution, I need to get braces again. I had them for about 3 years during high school, so I know what I'd be getting into. But my teeth have definitely moved, and he said that in about 6 months he could correct my bite and I might not even need the bite plate any more. I like that idea, but I DON'T like the idea of braces again, even if they are the white/transparent kind. We have to see what the insurance situation looks like and what our out-of-pocket expenses will be. I'm also not sure if I should be having this work done by a dentist instead of an orthodontist. It seems fairly straight-forward, and maybe dentists are qualified to do some basic corrective stuff - I just don't know. But I'm not going to worry about this until the new year.
The possible expense of orthodontics especially stinks because I am really starting to feel cramped and crowded in our little house. We had a long-term goal of being in the financial shape to sell this house and buy a bigger one in 2006. I'm not sure that we'll be able to do that, especially if I end up in braces. I'm really praying hard for wisdom and for God to provide contentment for me while we're here, and for the right house for us whenever it's time to move. It's going to be tough to find a place that will meet Big Girl's needs. We'd love to build, but I am about 99% sure that we can't afford to build in this school district, unless Scott gets a super-mondo promotion and raise really soon. It's possible, but then I might never see him! Yet another reason to put it all in God's hands and not stress about it.
