My Current Quandry...and the Week in the Life of a Mom of Three Boys

Just in case my tens of followers thought with my last post I had left behind my witty side--fear not, I'm back.  Lindy greatly prefers my serious, larger purpose posts but I just tell him that I'm a multi-faceted person.  I can't be limited to just one type of blog post.

So, here's my current quandry...I cannot seem to pare down the number of lip colors I'm carrying in my purse.  I tried yesterday and most of you will probably think I'm a little whacky but I could only pull one lip gloss out of the rotation.  I like to have a variety of lipsticks, glosses, balms, etc. so that I can match whatever I'm wearing and I have fun mixing it up and trying different ones together.  I know, I know if the whole world had problems as big as this this one we would be in quite a fix.  Here's what I'm carrying around currently in no particular order:

Bare Minerals lip gloss in Jelly Roll
Merle Norman Berry Kiss double-ended lip pencil
Avon Glazewear Sparkle lip gloss
Avon Glazewear Shine lip gloss
Bare Escentuals Buxom Lips in Candi
Mary Kay lip gloss in Pink Pearl
Bare Minerals lip pencil in Shell
Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm
Avon Glazewear Intense lip gloss
Mary Kay lip gloss in Frosted Rose
Bare Minerals lip gloss in Sugar Plum
Bare Escentual lipstick in Berry Cordial

That's all.  Really, is that too many?  How many is too many?  My favorite one is the double-ended lip pencil from Merle Norman, but I have to keep it sharpened so when I'm lazy and don't sharpen it I use other colors.  I like it so much that I bought one for my Mom and she loves it too.  I was at a meeting in Fort Worth last spring and the girl who sat across from me all day had one question for me before she left for the day.  She had to know what lip color I was wearing and it was the Merle Norman lip pencil.  She stood right there and typed it in her iPhone so she could find it later--and she had never even heard of Merle Norman.  Never heard of Merle Norman??  What planet has she been living on?  Merle Norman is old school and she was my age.  I think she was from Georgia.

Also, depending on what I'm wearing I need to have all of these so that I can have the right color and the right texture--matte, glossy, shiny.  You know what I mean.  This issue kind of reminds me of when I was little and I didn't want to ever leave one of my dolls out of the play rotation because I couldn't bear the idea that one of them might feel left out.  I'm not looking for suggestions or help because, honestly, I believe I'm beyond help.  Just letting you in on what's in my purse and what's on my mind.

On a completely different topic, here's a look--not into my purse--but into a Week in the Life of a Mom of Three Boys.  This will actually focus on the two younger boys.  Jac's had a pretty uneventful week.  So, Ethan had one of his front teeth that was loose for at least a couple months.  He had been wiggling it and working it with no success.  A couple weeks ago he went to the dentist for his regular check-up and the dentist told him that if he didn't have that thing out in a week then she was going to pull it for him.  Nothing like putting the fear of God--or the dentist--into an 8-year-old to get him motivated to pull his tooth.  He was eating apples, wiggling it, his Dad was using a towel, wet paper towel, pliers...you name it, they tried it.  No success until last Saturday morning.  Lindy finally got it out.  The permanent one had already poked through the gum so it was definitely time.  That day was a great family day and we went to Forest Park and the Omnimax.  Guess who, or what, came along with us?  That's right.  Ethan's tooth was along for the ride.  In actuality, the tooth had a front row seat in my cup holder.  I know, yuck.  I didn't put it there.  One thing you must know about Ethan to appreciate this story is that he is very sentimental.  It's like pulling teeth to get him to part with anything.  Pun intended.  The next morning I was ironing the boys' clothes for church and Ethan and I were chatting.  I asked him why he didn't put his tooth under his pillow for the tooth fairy and he didn't really have a good answer.  I could tell he was having some issues parting with this tooth that served him well for eight--well, really, seven years.  (Ethan didn't get his first tooth until he was nine months and his second tooth when he was 12 months.  We honestly doubted whether the kid would have all of his teeth before he went to Kindergarten).

Given Ethan's penchant for keeping things I knew what was required in this situation.  So...we had a little "goodbye" moment for his tooth.  Not a funeral, mind you, we're not weird after all--just a little parting ceremony.  Ethan and I thanked the tooth for being so nice and straight and white.  We thanked his tooth for helping Ethan all these years with his biting and chewing and we said goodbye.  Goodbye to the tooth.  That night he put it under pillow and the tooth fairy brought him a dollar.  He was hoping for more because it was his third lost tooth, after all.  I'm not sure what the going rate is in today's economy but I think the tooth fairy thought a dollar was sufficient.  Now the tooth is in tooth heaven with Ethan's two other teeth and an abundance of Jac's knocked out and regular teeth.

On the Gavin front, we had an unexpected trip to the ER this week.  Now, going to the ER is not a regular occurrence for the Carnetts.  Jac's only been once when he was about a year old and had bronchitis.  I still get flak for that one for driving 90 mph to get him to Children's Hospital.  I know, not my most brilliant moment.  Ethan's been once--for 6 or 8 stitches a couple years ago.  This was Gavin's second time.  The first time he was about 9 months and just had a viral infection but his temp was 104 and he was having retractions.  Scary!!  So, this 4 1/2 year old who's never even required an antibiotic in his life had his second trip to the ER on Wednesday night.

I was teaching his Rainbows class at church. I have to pause here and say that I'm really glad I was the teacher that night and that it was my kid that got hurt.  I had three little boys in class and they were playing musical chairs.  Gavin wiped out and hit his head on a metal folding chair--which wasn't even in play for the game!!  So, big gash, blood pouring down his face, my mother-in-law helping me to get the bleeding stopped because I had already lowered myself to the floor.  I told myself it was so I could be closer to his level but I think it was really so I would be closer to the floor in case I passed out.  I know, I know. I'm a registered nurse  and I have a real issue with blood and seeing people in pain.  Don't worry.  I sit behind a desk, people.  I'm not out there actually taking care of patients.

Since it was hard to tell with all the bleeding whether it needed stitches, off I went to the ER with Gavin.  Lindy was speaking in the main service, and church must go on, so he met us there later.  (I do think if one of our children poked out an eye or was missing a limb he would leave church to go to the ER.  As it was, my mother-in-law broke the news to him after church).  On the way to the ER Gavin was talking a little, mainly saying that he didn't want to go to the hospital, but talking nonetheless.  By the time we got there he suddenly clammed up and didn't hardly utter a word or shed a tear.  Every question that was asked by the nurses or the doctor would result him in pointing at me to answer the question.  He was still wearing his Rainbows vest which resulted in a lot of comments from all of the ER staff but he was having none of it.  He just stared straight ahead and avoided eye contact at all cost.  He turned down popsicles, a teddy bear--even chocolate.  I was beginning to wonder if his head injury was more serious than originally thought since he was turning down chocolate.  But, alas, in the final analysis he didn't even need stitches or glue.  I have to admit I was a little disappointed in my assessment skills but it's seriously hard to tell sometimes whether stitches are needed.  Right?  Lindy and I were showing Gavin all the scars he and I sustained when we were kids and I can guarantee you that neither of our parents ever took us to the ER to be checked out.  Seriously.  We left with some antibiotic ointment and a bandaid.  Better to be safe than sorry, right?  I'm telling myself that, but then I haven't gotten the bill yet.

In the end, Gavin did get his voice back long enough to leave with a popsicle from the doctor, long enough to tell me twice that he was NOT going to ride in the wheelchair sitting outside his room, and long enough to tell his Dad he wanted Buzz Lightyear as his special prize.  I saw that one coming.  Lindy told him he would take him to Wal-Mart and let him pick out a toy.  He had one word, "Buzz."  He's been eyeing Buzz ever since he saw "Toy Story 3."  I've told him repeatedly that this was a Christmas or birthday type of toy since it it's $35.00.  By the way, he didn't get Buzz.  Lindy came to his senses by the time they made their trip to Wal-Mart.

On Thursday, Gavin didn't want to leave the house because he said his head was "broke."  He's fine now and I've sufficiently recovered from the trauma myself.  Selfishly, I hate seeing him hurt but it sure was nice for him to need his Mama for a couple hours.

Just a week in the life....