Root Canals

So, yesterday I got a root canal and for half the day whenever I smiled only half my face would go.  Anesthesia is a funny thing.  I think I laughed at myself in the mirror for 5 mins before the procedure while Dr Tanner was getting ready/finnishing up with another patient.  It looked weird, it felt weird.....but it was cool.  I was kinda nervous, cuz the last few weeks (after I scheduled the root canal and before it actually happened) I hadn't been feeling the pain I had felt initially.  So I was wondering-did my tooth fix itself?  Do I really need to pull its insides out?  And Fortunately, when he got in there, yes, it did need the insides pulled out.  We weren't just doing it cuz I was paranoid.  Usually a tooth's nerve fiber stuff is all white, but he showed me mine and it was red and brown and ugly.  But, still kinda facinating.

Why might I have needed a root canal might you ask?  And why might I have been paranoid about it?  Short story-Liam hit my tooth with his head, it was still hurting from time to time a few months later, and I got paranoid when it started looking blackish grey.  NOT happy, as it was my tooth right up front.  But, after the root canal he bleached out the inside of the tooth and all is well.  And I get bleach trays for all my teeth-woo woo!

Not much

So, as you may or maynot have noticed-not much has been happening.  Sorry if my posts are boring, thats just the pattern of my days lately.  Except the occasional adventure.

Excitement in my life consists of the small and simple, like bouncy balls made of rubber bands-or the little brother and naptime adventures.  He is just too funny!
Check it out:

Where's Baby?

I hadn't heard him get out, and he was shut in the room so when looking around-I was relived to find this

he really is under there

Isn't he just too cute?  

I love how he ALWAYS curls up with his bum in the air

Home again Home again

I've been home for a grand total of 4 days, so I figured its time to write

Coming home always has this odd feeling about it, because it always changes....yet somehow maintains this sense of home.

Somethings never change-like the clutter, or the never ceasing jokes from Rulon, or mom's exhaustion, or my desire to get stuff done and my total lack of motivation to get stuff done upon arrival back home...

And other things change, like gaining a roommate(at home I haven't had to share a room since we moved into the remodeled house when I was in 5th grade!) and that roommate being tall enough to climb out of the crib

Its always amazing to me to discover things such as Elyse's nonstop chatter flourishing into big kid conversations-or how pathetic the cats look when we have to shave their fur off due to Liam's and my allergies...

And hard to adjust to things such as Robin stealing my bathroom shelf and space in the medicine cabinet-or being roommates with a 1 yr old who can climb out of the crib....  (Have you caught on to how blown away I am that he can do that!  That little guy is so strong!)

But then there is always still that sense of home, and that special way that we come closer after returning and reuniting.  Today Robin, Elyse, Liam, and I went out side and danced in the rain.  This morning I woke up and took Elyse walking around the block so she could splash in every puddle she could find.  I was soaking wet, and muddy, but its those simple things that bring us close.  I don't know if Elyse will remember that 10 years from now, but I will.  Last time I came home from a trip, Elyse was splashing in puddles (to my dismay) and she feel and ripped a hole in her pants.  I picked her up and told her she'd be okay, and forgot about it, till 2 months later Elyse reminded me "Melanie do you remember I fell and you picked me up?"  Now I'll remember that always.  Those little things are what make our lives with our families special.  That we know we can count on them and that they can come to us is what its about.  And that trust and love is built in the little moments that bring us a ray of sunshine each day, no matter how wet or how heavy the downpour.

I just want to echo the words of John Bowring who said "A happy family is but an earlier heaven."  And add that I know its the truth.  I love my family and I love being home.  I wish Amanda and Jordan were here with us more often, but look forward to their big adventures-including the family expansion this October!  


With that, I'm off-to mingle with mother!  :)

April Showers make me happy

This week was kinda an awesome week-despite its rough start.  On Sunday, my first disaster was at Branch Conference, I'm the choir director and we had planned on singing this awesome arrangement of "How firm a foundation" but 10 mins before the meeting I still don't have my violinist or pianist.  So, the show much go on and we sang a number from the hymn book with Chelsea (life saver) as our Pianist.  That is every choir directors worst nightmare.  Anyways, still recovering from that and a few other personal crisises which also happened during church, I was in Northpole with Travis and I got a phone call from my family that Liam went into the hospital because of breathing problems.  Oy.  So the next few days were busy busy as I played mom and chauffer to Lysie and a friend whom I take to doctor appointments-all the while I also finnished a group project for Sociology and got to all my classes on time.  Tuesday evening, things started calming down.  Liam got to come home, and Travis had a birthday!  <--That was actually all day but I didn't see him till after I was done chauffering and running errands and all that jazz

I must say I was pretty happy with myself, I got travis an icecream cake from Coldstones, his mom made dinner (steak and potatoes, yum!) and I also got him a fun electronic monopoly game and a lightsaber (cuz every jedi needs a lightsaber) and bubbles (Who doesn't love bubbles?).  After dinner we went for a nice walk in the beautiful sunshine and blue skies and 65+ weather, and played 2 hrs of Monopoly and watched an episode of Stargate.  It was a good night.

Wednesday, not much happened, except those creepers at work-see post titled "creepers" if you want that story.

Thursday, after I went to my Chem class and helped my friend get to and from her meetings, I got to go hiking with Lisa Anderson and  Stephanie Dayton-we went to Angel rocks.  We were kinda worried because on the drive we got pelted with rain, but while we were there it was beautiful.  We were all sweating by the top where we enjoyed the veiws and turned around.  By the time we left it was starting to rain again.  After making it back into town, I went out to North Pole to finish the monopoly game with Travis-and he kicked my trash!  He had a total of 69.9 Million at the end and I only had 6 million-the last move I made, I was holding my breath hoping to land on chance and not on his times square property--The most expensive one next that sits right next to go-- he had a hotel on it and the 8 million dollar rent would surely bankrupt me.  So I rolled and sigh of relief landed on chance.  The card read: "Celebrate New Years in The Big Apple, advance to Times Square."  Game over. But, fun way for it to end I guess.

Friday, not much excitement either, but still a good day-went to meetings in the morning, then classes and work was quiet-ish.

Saturday, it was still rainy but it held off while I did the Chena River run with my family.  I made it in 45 minutes, a 5K.  I pushed Liam the whole way while he slept in a stroller. Rulon ran, finnished in 25 minutes, and my Mom and Michelle walked it in 58 minutes with Elyse in a stroller also.  After that, I got some chores done-the world is always jsut a bit better when my room is clean and laundry is done.  Then I got to spend another evening with Travis-we had chicken enchiladas at my house and enjoyed some more stargate at his.  I know it sounds like we're lame watching this show all the time, but I'm in season 6-and almost done, and tomorrow his complete series is supposed to get here-and we're gonna try and have a marathon before we go to Cali. Still, may sound like we're geeks, but I promise we're not.  If you would just give it a chance and watch the show-you'd be just as hooked.  Its hilarious!

Anyways, today was also a productive and relaxing Sunday-Testimony meetings were really good, and its awesome how many new people are showing up for choir!  And I got my temple Reccomend renewed-I plan to go on the Branch Temple trip the 14th/15th-my choir pianist Catherine, and her beloved Jack are getting hitched the same weekend and they asked that I be there for pictures outside the temple since I can't go into their ceremony.  That was special.  I'm so happy for them.  And I'm glad I got to be a part of their coming together-I didn't do much but invite Catherine to come to church in October and be the choir pianist (that one week only-I was begging) but apparently that was all she needed to be called as my pianist and then to become more active and to meet Jack.  Jack always greets me with a Hug and a big "Thanks for finding me my wife" -AGain, I don't think I did much but it means alot to me that I meant that much to them.  Also, about the temple, how exciting that This summer, I'll be just about an hour away from the Oakland Cali temple!  YAY!!!  I've missed the temple so much-Fairbanks really needs one closer to home.  When I was in Rexburg I got to go every week!  I hope I can do that this summer-at least every other week (sing I won't have a car myself....)  And also, today, Travis and I bought our plane tickets to Cali and made some other plans for the summer.  I'm so excited!  We leave in 16 days-which are going to be some of the busiest days of my life, but I'm oh so excited about it!  YAY summer, YAY life!!!