The Tale of the Tooth

Anyone who has known me for more than 10 minutes knows how I feel about going to the dentist. In fact, I just had to have a piece of chocolate just for WRITING the word dentist. I have tried to NOT pass on my fear (which I did not have until a dentist at a dental school where I went for a discount root canal burned the inside of my mouth and than put his hand over my mouth to keep me from screaming so he wouldn't get in trouble ... but I digress...) I don't want Hannah and Liz to fear the dentist, so I take them twice a year for cleanings and a few more times (in the beginning) to get cavities filled. Dentistry has changed a lot since I was a kid. And one of those upgrades is the use of lasers. Yes, LASERS.

Lizzie's dentist was concerned that one of her front teeth wasn't coming down. We waited about a year and it still wasn't moving into place. So he decided to do this laser procedure where he cuts open the gum with the laser and then the tooth slips into place.

Here's Lizzie the week before the procedure (or the entire year before the procedure). 

The procedure was pretty painless for Lizzie, but I have to admit that I asked if I could have some of the happy gas. They said no, in case you were wondering. This tool is new at our dentist, so pretty much everyone was standing around watching and Lizzie was happily in some SpongeBob episode in her mind (the dentist sings the spongebob theme while he works...)

It took all of about 10 minutes to get the work done, with very little blood.

By the afternoon, this is what the tooth looked like:

The next day it had slipped down even more:

Come on down, Mr. Tooth! This was the day after that:

And the next day ....:

The was about a week later. It's hard to see, but the tooth is almost fully in:

And here is the tooth now ... it really only took about 10 days to grow almost fully into place. It was pretty astounding and now Hannah wants them to do it to all of her teeth (but that's because I bought Lizzie a milkshake after the procedure because she couldn't eat for three hours) but since her teeth are in (albeit in the wrong places) she'll have to earn a milkshake some other way.

I hope you have enjoyed this stroll through the marvels of dentistry. I assure you that every word is the tooth. :)



Spaaaaaaaaa!!!

It's been a week since my spa weekend with my sisters Terry and Bean and my sister-in-law Ann. Which means that I've completely forgotten that I ever was at a spa. Luckily I took a few (like TWO) photos to help remind me. That, and my bright pink toenails (Flirty Fuschia!)
This year we went to a spa in Lancaster County near Kitchen Kettle Village. Here we all are AFTER our spa treatments. Don't we look relaxed and refreshed. In fact we were SO relaxed and refreshed that we only complained bitterly for about 10 minutes when we realized that Kitchen Kettle Village closes at 5 p.m. on Saturdays and we had only begun to shop at about 4:50. Luckily I am a speed shopper and was able to secure my pickled beets, several different jams and several pounds of fudge from Pepper Lane Fudge.
So all's well that ends well. Here are the four of us with (what I am hoping is) the Kitchen Kettle Village mascot -- a giant gingerbread cookie.

So, back to the spa. Here's my ONE photo. I took it of Terry because it was the first time in her life (and trust me, that's a long time!) that she ever had a professional pedicure. Even I in my neglect of all things beauty related have had several pedicures. So Terry opted for the spa manicure and pedicure. Here she is with the leg wraps/paraffin thingie:

The spa is small so we were basically the only people there. But since we were not the ONLY people there we (and by we, I mean me) were asked to keep it down so as  not to disturb the other patrons. It was not my fault though, as Ann had me laughing with her Internet Twitter stories. And it is NOT my fault that my lovely lilting laugh carries through solid walls and ceilings.

Everyone was really nice though and we didn't almost get kicked out, although I'm thinking they all breathed a small sigh of relief when we went next door to have our lunch.

We had lunch at the B&B inn next to the spa and it was a chicken salad with dried cranberries on wheat bread with some salad, some pieces of fruit (strawberry, mango, pineapple and orange slices) and then a little walnut/orange shortbread. It was served with a glass of cherry iced tea and water with lemon, in a beautiful dining room on lovely china. You know what I mean if I had taken a picture of it -- but I didn't. :(

Dinner wasn't quite as elegant because Ann's meal looked sort of like it had been formed out of a small cardboard box, but the corn fritters were good and it all became wonderful with the ice cream sundaes and apple crisp and apple dumplings we had for dessert. And fudge.

Of course things at home went great because Rob is a wonderful, conscientious father. Oh, and he took the girls TO THE TOY STORE while I was away. THE TOY STORE. I mean seriously -- how is anyone supposed to miss me and appreciate me when they are AT THE TOY STORE.

Especially when Dad lets you buy a giant duck.

And serves you spaghetti tacos when you don't like scampi (these were the leftovers -- Rob didn't take pictures when I was gone): Luckily, my children knew enough to tell me that they missed me -- even if it was AFTER they told me how much FUN daddy is, and how much FUN they had. And by the way, did you see the BIG GIANT DUCK I bought?

 We did have some other visitors on our trip as Tommy and Brenna (here with Bean) came along for part of the trip to make us laugh, but didn't stay with us or have spa treatments. My brother did buy Tommy a sling-shot though, which is almost as bad as a big, giant, duck. All in all, a great time was had by us -- lots of laughs and silliness!

Talent Show 2011

Time to get back to business on the blog -- which means we need some cute kids!

Here's a talent show the kids did when we were all in New York. New Yorkers, please ignore Hannah's Phillie's shirt. I blame their elementary school. Oh, and everyone ignore my terrible videography -- these moving pictures are all new to me... ;)

Mom's Eulogy

My mother passed away Feb. 28, 2011. The picture above (one of my favorites!) was taken during a trip to Florida a couple of years ago.

I had the honor of giving my mom's eulogy at her funeral and I'm sharing it here:

***

Good morning. I’m Tracy Garrity Rasmussen, Joanne Garrity’s second child, the one she affectionately (usually) and loudly (once in a while) referred to as Tracy Ann.
I think everyone here either knew my mom or heard stories about her. There were lots of them. Many have been shared in the last week via email, letters, phone calls and facebook and our family appreciates that.

They noted her accomplishments – and there were many. There was the Somers School Board and the BOCES board. There was the county school boards association, the State school board association and the National school boards association. Mom was a CCD principal, girl scout, active in the League of Women Voters, busy with local clubs and organizations like the historical society and the friends of the Somers library.

And that was all before she moved to Florida, where again, she got busy with school issues, active in the League again. She belonged to book clubs and bridge clubs and played Bingo and Dominos and lots and lots of golf. She had tickets to the Rays and the Lightning and the symphony and made annual treks to Dartmouth football games to renew friendships more than 50 years in the making.

She was, as her dear friend and colleague Dr. George Port wrote to us: not only a wonderful School Board member but a wonderful friend as well. A nicer person I never met, he wrote. A more wonderful wife and mother I have only met with my own wife.
But really to us, she was just mom. The woman who would wake us in the middle of the night to bail out the basement which always seemed to flood when Dad was on a business trip. The woman who taught her daughters to be strong and independent and her son to be sensitive and compassionate. She was a woman who would shun the title feminist, but who wore an Equal Rights Amendment bracelet until it broke in two and who lived her life as an example of what women could and should do.

Mom was a woman who was a really bad poker player, who was saddened by the demise of the light brown M&M because that was her favorite flavor, who once during a spirited discussion about Michael Jackson let us know that no matter how weird WE thought he was SHE thought he was a great ..... basketball player. And that is what we will miss, but also celebrate. Her irreplaceable smile, the deeply frightening and always must be obeyed Mom Look.

I didn’t get to a lot of school board meetings, but I do remember one particularly contentious meeting where mom silenced a whole room with a few words and the Mom Look. It was a beautiful site to behold, as long as she wasn’t directed it at you.

I see that Mom Look in my sister Terry once in a while. And it makes me realize that as much as Mom is gone, she lives on not only in the progressive accomplishments of her volunteerism, but also in the children she raised. In Tally I see her ability to get things done, her organizational skills and her direct approach to problem solving. In Terry I’ve seen the Mom Look, but also her compassion and empathy. Tina shares Mom’s defense of the underdog and her tireless work ethic. TA (or Tom as most of you know him) carries on my mother’s legacy for community service and her love of a good story.
Me? I got her gift of gab, and I’d like to think her abilities as an advisor. I also share her inability to easily leave a party.

My dad often says that my mom NEVER had an exit line. They’d go to parties or political obligations or, you know, the supermarket and my mom would keep chatting with friends until my father would gently – or not – guide her to the door and tell her it was time to go home.

I think God probably had the same problem. During the past year of my mom’s life and even a couple of times before that we thought He was calling her home. We sat by our phones, called each other and her to get those last wishes of love in, those last words of wisdom from her.
Only to hear her on the phone the next day or the day after saying, “Hi Tracy Ann, I’ll be home from the hospital in a few days.” She didn’t leave the party. She couldn’t leave. There were domino games to be played, arguments to be soothed, political discussions to be had, Republicans to be voted for. Life, in fact to be lived.

And so it went. Until last Monday night when, after 79 years of service to her community, her church, her family and her friends God gently took her by the arm, guided her into the light and said “It’s time to go home, Jo.”
So rest in peace mom. No one has earned it more than you.

The ABCs of JMG

Happy birthday Mom!! Today my blog's about my mom

and I'm starting with this rhyme

Because today she's celebrating her birth

for the 79th time.

Most of you know my mom either personally or through me, but here are the facts and only the facts and probably some non-facts, too, to celebrate her 79th birthday.


Advisor. My favorite piece to this day, “You’ve got to learn to ignore those children…”

Bridge player. I think she’s pretty good, although you’d never know it from the Sunday dinner arguments following the Saturday night bridge games. However, the left over bridge mix left on the tables were always a treat for my siblings and I – so it was all worth it!

Catholic. If you went to church with Mom you got there early, sat in the third row and had to pay attention. If you went to church with Dad you got there late, usually had to stand and had to pretend you didn’t know him when he started snoring. It was a toss up every week.

Domino player. Mom doesn’t always remember the rules (although she does) when we have our annual Poconos tournaments, but she still wins.

Elephant lover. She collects them AND she’s a lifelong, diehard, Reagan-loving Republican.

Fair. Mom always says she loves us all the same. Except that I’m her favorite.

Gracious. My mother still sends me mail addressed to Mrs. Robert Rasmussen.

Hip. Mom drove a car before nearly all her peers, took five kids halfway across the country all by herself in the late 1960s and drank Manhattans instead of foofy drinks like whiskey sours and frozen daiquiris.

Intelligent. Seriously. I had to be very crafty with my stories as to why I never seemed to make it to Geometry Class, because she was usually on to me and my stories.

Joker. Mom has the best sense of humor. And she doesn’t even know it.

Knitter. Mom knits mittens and pot holders for her children and grandchildren. And pretty much JUST mittens and potholders. But we LOVE them.

Loving. Well of course she is. She’s MY MOM!

Menagerie. That’s what our house looked like with five kids, two dogs, three or four cats, hamsters, gerbils and once, for about 10 minutes, a couple of chameleons and birds that I was giving away in a Muscular Dystrophy Carnival.

Negotiator. Suffice it to say you don’t want to be sitting across the table from her at a budget or contract negotiation. Or as a teenager in a ‘can I get a new (fill in the blank)’ negotiation.

Optimistic. Mom still thinks the Giants can win the Superbowl. And the season is over.

Pretty. I always thought my mom looked like Liz Taylor, who, by the way, is only about a week younger than my mom and isn't nearly as pretty anymore.

Quiet. When she’s sleeping.

Respected. Continues to be one of the most respected people I know.

School Board Goddess. Seriously she ran the schools when I was a kid and we were all very popular because she was the second person to know if there was going to be a snow day. Of course she was also the second person to know that I skipped school on Senior Cut Day.

“T” lover. She married a guy named Tom and named her children, Tally, Tracy, Terry, T.A. and Tina. And the dog was Tammy. 'Nuff said.

Understanding. Mom was usually pretty understanding when we (and by WE, I mean I) had to call and tell her I’d smashed the car, racked up 147 parking tickets. Or smashed the car.

Volunteer. I inherited the “don’t know how to say NO” gene from my mother. I could list her accomplishments, but I don’t have the bandwidth.

Washer Woman. Mom took the laundry and her infant twins to the Laundromat just about every day we lived in a small cottage while our new house in NY was being built. And with five kids – two still in diapers BEFORE disposables had been invented – that is quite a lot of laundry. I wouldn’t really know, though, because it’s not like I ever offered to do it.

Xylophonist. She’s not, but she noticed my incredible talent with this instrument when I was a mere tot and thus it became the first instrument I ever played. Also, there aren’t a lot of X words out there.

Yankee Fan. At least it's not the Mets.

Zillions and Zillions. That’s how much we love her.

Highs and Lowe's

First of all let me say that the title of this blog post is probably my favorite title EVER. And that's just one of the things that has made me happy this week. Other things that made me happy? Let me tell you about the high points of our week!

First, Hannah has brought her reading up TWO levels since the beginning of the year. She went from the lowest Tier Group to the highest Tier Group. There is still work to be done, but I'm just so so so proud of her because I know just how hard she has worked on her reading. Lizzie is doing well, too, as she got a "4" on her oral report. A "4" in our school district means that you've exceeded the grade level expectations. Lizzie's report was on the Wright Brothers. Lizzie also had been struggling in math a little bit, but managed to get a high 3 on her mid-year exam. Hannah's managed to bring her math scores up to a solid 2 (which means she's approaching the standard for the grade level) and that was pretty fantastic for her, too. We haven't gotten her oral report grade back yet, but I'm sure (I) she did well on that, too. Her report was on Susan B. Anthony. Here's happy reading girl with Rob at Dunkin' Donuts.

And now for the Lowe's.... I signed the girls and Rob up for this past weekend's Build and Grow workshop at Lowe's. It's entirely free and the girls each got an apron, a patch, goggles and the project. Since free is Rob's favorite price point he was happy to do the projects with the girls. They made music boxes and they came out great. The music box plays music from "Swan Lake" and the lid is a giant heart. Perfect for Valentine's Day. Here they are in their Lowe's do it yourself garb:

Here's a close-up of the music box. I think it's a pretty cool program if you've got kids and an hour to spare on a Saturday morning:


So as you can see lots of highs and Lowe's here this past week. In fact, things were SO GOOD that even the vegetables were smiling at dinner last night...

Superbowl

Hannah, Lizzie, Rob and Cash enjoying their favorite part of the Superbowl:

My absolute favorite moment of the Superbowl came just before half-time. Here's the exchange between Lizzie and I.

Lizzie: Which team are we rooting for again?

Me: Well, it doesn't really matter because none of the teams we root for are in the Superbowl. Not the Eagles or the Giants or even the Jets.

Lizzie: What about the Wedgies?


Me: The Wedgies?


Rob (always helpful): The Wedgies would be a great name for a football team.


Lizzie: You know ... the Wedgies ... Aunt Tina's favorite team!


Me: You mean the Yankees?


Lizzie: Oh yeah, the YANKEES.


I'm still laughing (and I know that my parents are probably crying as this gross lack of football -- or really any sort of sport -- knowledge.


Hannah just came right out and TOLD me she wasn't really a fan of baseball. Except, of course, we were watching FOOTBALL.


Lizzie also wanted to know if the players wore underpants under their tight shorts -- so at least she's showing SOME interest in the game.