Partial to the bean…

Oh man, here it comes. Last week we got the “Special Rehearsal Schedule” handout at Alice’s ballet class, and I just sat down and entered everything into the calendar. May I just say, this is gonna suck.

In place of the normal schedule, which is a class every Wednesday from 6:30-8 (time before for unwinding after school and eating a good dinner, time afterwards to unwind and get ready for bed), this is how things will be when we get back from spring break (which is the first week of April):

Tuesday, April 10: class 6-7
Wednesday, April 11: class 6-8

Tuesday, April 17: class 6-7
Wednesday, April 18: class 6-8 (Alice has to miss an important school function here, as she does every year)

Tuesday, April 24: Rehearsal 4:30-7
Wednesday, April 25: Dress Rehearsal 6-8

Tuesday, May 1: Dress Rehearsal 5-8:30
Wednesday, May 2: Dress Rehearsal 5-8:30
Friday, May 4: Final Dress Rehearsal 4-7:30

Saturday, May 5: Recital – Dancers at venue by 3:15, show 4-5:30

Okay, notes on this: Alice’s school lets out at 4:00. Any dress rehearsal that starts at 5 means that I either need to pick the kids up early from school, or have take-out in my car when I pick them up at the regular time so Alice can scarf dinner on the way home to change. (Remember: dress rehearsal = my nemesis, the ballet bun.) The girls have dentist appointments in the morning on Tuesday the 24th, so there’s really no point in them even going to school that day. I’m going to have to pick them up by 2:30 on Friday the 4th in order to have time to eat and prep for that final rehearsal, which incidentally always runs later than the stated end time. I’m planning a nervous breakdown for Alice and me on Sunday, May 6.

All day Tuesday, I kept thinking it was Wednesday. So when Wednesday came and I didn’t have to go in to work at the school, it felt like I got a whole extra day to get stuff done at home, which was great. But now today I feel like it should be Friday, and I can’t convince my brain that I have to work today. If anyone can figure out how to sync my mental calendar up with reality, I’d appreciate a hint.

Diastema.

After 13 (lucky) turns of the key, Sammi’s top front teeth have a noticeable gap between them — a gap that is widening perceptibly with each new day’s turn. We’re just about at Lauren Hutton levels right now. With 17 (or so) more turns to go, that gap is going to get a whole bunch wider. Like “big enough to fit another whole tooth” wider, at least. Apparently the gap should close gradually over the next few months, once we’re done with the daily expansions and the appliance is just chillin’ in her mouth and holdings things open, giving her teeth the room to jostle each other around a bit. In the mean time, it’s a more than a little freaky.

Happy Pi Day!!

Alice made a custard pie and a coconut custard pie (from this recipe) to take to school for “8th Annual Pi/Pie Day”. I supervised, but not very well, since I forgot to make sure the pie pans were greased. Ah well, let’s all cross our fingers and hope they show well nonetheless. We haven’t placed since we won Most Beautiful Pie 2007 for a chocolate truffle pie with a pink Pi symbol piped on top. Also cross your fingers that neither of my children eats herself literally sick on pie today. There were some upset tummies last night and other disturbances that made for a bad night’s sleep for all four of us, and the next few days are going to be exhausting.

Number of robins sighted today while out and about: 3

At this risk of this blog turning into Partial to the Palate Expander… Here’s what’s up with Sammi:

• After 7 turns of the key, her front teeth no longer overlap.
• I bought her one of these, which is very helpful in getting food out from under the appliance.
• She’s eating more foods, but still prefers soft things. She can’t bite very hard with her front teeth, because it hurts. She loves mac ‘n’ cheese, but can’t manage ramen-type noodles for some reason, which is unfortunate because she had us stock up on ramen and was looking forward to the indulgence of eating lots of it. She isn’t great with chunks of meat, which is also unfortunate because she’s been subsisting almost entirely on carbs for the past week.
• Her speech has gotten better, but she still has trouble with some sounds, like “ch”.
• She still hates it, but she’s coping.

Counter to Sammi’s wishes, she went back to school today.

She stopped in to school for a visit yesterday afternoon because I had to come in for a quick meeting, and it was stressful for her to be around her schoolmates when she felt like she couldn’t talk. So it was her preference that she continue to stay home for the foreseeable future (possibly for as long as six months, thanks). She was also anxious about going back today because the whole school was going on a hike, and they were going to be eating lunch al fresco. She wasn’t sure what she could bring that she would be able to eat, if microwave soups and noodle cup thingies weren’t an option.

In the end, I didn’t think continuing to stay home and wait for the palate expander to disappear was a healthy strategy, and I really needed a day alone to get some work done and clear my head a bit. So she took a little cup of leftover mashed potatoes, a little cup of leftover mac ‘n’ cheese, and a juice box thing of chocolate milk. She also brought a microwave soup for after the hike, in case she was still hungry.

The eating thing is definitely the main source of her stress right now. One of her brackets is giving her a sore spot, but she’s got the ortho wax to help with that. She’s irritated that she is still talking funny, and she (understandably) doesn’t enjoy the feeling of me turning the key. But the thing that’s causing her the most misery is food — she’s getting kind of sick of pap and purees, and I’m struggling to get enough protein and fiber into her when it seems like pretty much all she can handle is the carby stuff like noodles and milkshakes. She doesn’t care for yogurt, and attempts at ingesting a bit of meatloaf last night were largely unsuccessful.

Those “in the know” say that she will get the hang of all of this within the next day or two. She’s definitely much improved from Monday. But she is not a patient person, and she’s had the thing for TWO WHOLE DAYS NOW and she’s afraid she’ll NEVER be able to eat real food again!!!

She’s had a milkshake, an iced coffee (decaf) and some cream of chicken soup and she’s no longer wishing for death, but she can’t manage any solid foods, not even little noodles. And she’s talking funny, which is really pissing her off. We went to the grocery store and I bought a bunch of liquidy foods like Haagen Dazs and cream of wheat and breakfast shakes. I’m trying to cook things she doesn’t like for the rest of the family to eat…

Sammi sez: “I don’t want to talk. I don’t want to swallow. I want to die.”

Here we go!!!

Sammi gets her expander in tomorrow at 11:00 and she’s very anxious about it. Please think of her tomorrow!!!