Pearly whites and the 3 dwarfs

Note: Just in case you were wondering, my April 1 post yielded no success. Life went on as usual. Surprise. But it is healthy to cultivate and keep a good imagination.
My children have kept the dentist and the tooth fairy busy lately. I'm not the only one they keep on her toes, at least. Marissa had to have two teeth pulled a few weeks ago -- again -- because not a single one of her teeth has gotten loose or come out on its own. SO glad to keep our peds dentist fed and clothed. Brianna even had to have one tooth pulled because teeth were growing in behind two other teeth. One was pulled because it wasn't loose at all, and the second tooth was loose, so it was spared the humiliation of being unceremoniously yanked. It fell out this week while she was eating. That meant that she was instantly finished with dinner because it became uncomfortable to eat.
Cami, not to be outdone, is growing in a new tooth, its baby counterpart at least a little loose. It didn't start off very loose, but after the other girls' dentist visits (can you say $80 per tooth?), we insisted on getting some movement going on our own. We did a little not-so-gentle wiggling and then reminded her to put hand to mouth to nudge it herself. It's still in there, but it should come out eventually. This will be her first lost tooth, which will earn her her first tooth fairy visit. Brianna, at almost 12, isn't majorly eager to have the fairy drop by of an evening. She's rather attached to her teeth, so for the past few that have come out, she has chosen to keep them as souvenirs rather than lose her mementos to the tooth fairy in exchange for the pittance of 50 cents or something (she's got a nice savings account going and four bits wouldn't make a big change in the ledger). I don't know where she's keeping them. She was going to give up this week's tooth just because it still had some food embedded in its ridges, but she ended up keeping it, apparently. I saw her in the bathroom sticking it with a toothpick to clean it out.
Charlotte hasn't been left out in the cold. She has also sprouted a new tooth, the same tooth that Cami is just now trying to get rid of. So no visits from the tooth fairy for her yet; simply lengthy stays by the drool and booger witches.
Meanwhile, I'm staying busy playing Cinderella. I've been cooking, cleaning and doing dishes like crazy, and keeping the dirty laundry at bay. I've felt like I've been living in the kitchen. But my family has eaten well lately. Today was just a day for leftovers. That's it.
I've also been living with the incarnation of three dwarfs: Sneezy, Sleepy and Grumpy. This three-headed creature (a truncated Hydra, perhaps?) is otherwise known as Marce, my husband. It's April and springtime, at last, here in the South. Spring is by far my favorite season. You can picture me in a pretty little floral dress, tiptoeing through the tulips, frolicking in slow motion in a breezy wonderland of flowers and trees. I'm happy and light-hearted, singing and tra-la-la-ing. The coating of yellow dust that settles onto everything around me doesn't bother me at all. I merrily skip as I sing and breathe in the heady scents of flowers and grass that is being mown in neighbors' yards. Oh, it is almost heaven!
Cut to Marce. He is beset by his yearly nemesis, ALLERGY season. He would otherwise enjoy spring, sure. But thanks to his body's reaction to the allergens in the air, he is miserable. His eyes are itchy and watery and red; they are puffy around the upper and lower lids. He is sniffling and sneezing and generally looking like death warmed over. He is truly misery incarnate for a solid month. Grumpy is not my favorite hubby. I notice Marce morphing into Grumpy at the start of allergy season and start asking him, "What's got you in such a bad mood?" I ask this every year several times (you'd think I'd learn after 15 years!) until it hits me that I'm dealing with Allergy-ridden Evil Twin Marce. I am trying to be patient and kind with him, knowing how bad it is to be miserable, but I am probably not doing so well. I also am thinking, you know, I should be sympathetic -- it's only fair since I am PMS Evil Twin Cathy once a month for maybe a week. His 1/12-th of a year is actually less than my 1/4-th of a month. But I suppose I'm less charitable than he. So while he is Grumpy right now, I do have to remind myself that he is much more often Long-Suffering Man, the kind, forgiving guy who I am always thanking heaven that I have in my life.
Now if we could just get Doc to move in for a while to take care of the dental and ENT issues, I think I'd be free to go outside as Happy and do some slo-mo frolicking.

Fools' Day

I've never been much of a practical joker. I hate being on the receiving end, so I'd never dream of being on the giving end of a nasty joke. I have a hard time even with really minor pranks. No imagination for them, apparently. So I have nothing to share today that would be at all jokey.
I can, however, dream. ...
My day is perfect. My children are all absolutely, completely obedient and helpful. They play happily together, providing background noise of gentle, cute giggles. My baby isn't clingy -- instead, she watches her older sisters play and participates in what she can without making them say, "Mah-uhm! Charlotte's messing up our stuff!!"
I go to the gym for my daily workout and find that, unwittingly, I've lost 10 pounds overnight. I can fit into some nice pants that have previously been too tight. I look in the mirror and find my skin is absolutely clear and beautiful, no zits in sight.
I sit down at the computer and find that the text for my next great American novel is springing to mind completely formed, and lining itself up on my monitor with almost no effort from my fingers. Writer's block is gone, ideas are ingenious, poignant, at times gently humorous.
I don't have to worry about what to cook because a top chef is coming today to make a scrumptious meal everyone will love that is healthy and low in calories.
After dinner, my husband and I are able to jet out of town for a few days to Europe, for a quick, romantic getaway. The Concorde is still flying, so we can arrive in just a couple of hours without any jetlag. Our energy is high, and fireworks light up the night sky just for us.

... apparently I still have a little imagination left. Here's to life, love, and foolish dreams!