Going to the Dentist = GREAT IDEA

So the past week or two has been pretty intense. I had a fun round of exams which kept me pretty busy. Meaning that even with Laura out visiting, and her, Elijah, Jenny, Lizzie and mom coming down to Richmond, I was busy hitting the books. And it's a good thing that I did. I needed as much info in my head as possible, seeing that the average on this round was the lowest so far because the material was so dense and crazy. But now it's over and we're on to a new wave of stuff.
The family visit was apparently a lot of fun. So much fun, that Abby was crying when they all left. Now she is always talking about Lizzie and "Baby Elijah" and saying how they are coming over tomorrow.





On Saturday, Abby went to get her first real haircut. Jodi has trimmed her hair once or twice (emphisis on trimmed) but her hair was getting a bit ratty at the end. So we went to a place that specialized in kid's haircuts just because we didn't know how she would react. She was a bit timid in the beginning, but it went quick and she was great the whole time.



And she loved the results.
So now I ask: How did Jodi get so unlucky with me? I had an echocardiogram last week, and we thought the results were fine (based on the preliminary things we saw with it). However, my cardiologist pulled her aside at work and let her know he really needed to talk to me. So apparently, the pressure gradient across my replaced valve has doubled in the past year and the velocity of the blood flow has increased. Which basically means that the valve is thickening up and might not be working so great. So I'm going to need an esophageal echo, which is where they sedate me and stick a tube down my throat to take pictures of my heart from the inside. Not much fun, I'm thinking.
Then last night I was flossing and a decent sized chunk came flicking off one of my teeth. I started screaming. What in the crap?!?! Teeth don't just do that. I freaked. Jodi kind of freaked. Why are my teeth rotting out of my head? I've never even had a cavity!! Needless to say, I found a dentist that could see me today, avoinding eating anything even remotely hard. Luckily, we've got a great mashed potatoes recipe. So I told the dentist what was going on, he took a quick look and quickly relieved my worries. It was tartar. Huh? Okay, that's good, but kind of gross and scary. I thought I took better care of my teeth than that! So visits to the dentist will be more of a regular thing for me (my last one was more than three years ago - sorry mom!) Jodi is no longer freaked and is relishing the hard time she can give me for it. I was so worried - the money it would have cost us to fix a broken tooth, the time, the problems. I was cursing Mountain Dew, sure that it was the cause. Luckily, I have kicked that habit. I think I'll just avoid sodas for a while.
Here's an Abby serious look to leave you all: