A Tale of Two Teeth

Jaclyn has sucked her thumb since birth.  Well, if you want to get technical, she even sucked her thumb en utero.  We caught her sucking her thumb during an ultrasound.  All that thumb-thucking in her first 4 years made her front teeth look like this:

and like this:

Needless to say, we figured braces were going to be in this girly's future!  Well back in July, Joanna and Jaclyn were running wild at great-grandma Ramsey's house and had a pretty nasty head-on collision.  Joanna's head met Jaclyn's front teeth.  Not only did Jaclyn have a bloody, puffy top lip for a few days, but the top front teeth were knocked loose.  Within a week we noticed that the teeth were also starting to turn greyish. 

So I took her in to see the dentist who took an x-ray. Sure enough, those teeth were gonners.  The roots were dead.  The dentist said we could wait 4-6 mon. and let them fall out on their own and risk infection, or we could extract them.  So we opted to have them extracted.

This was taken in the dentist's chair just prior to all hell breaking loose.  (note the greyish teeth)

Now you may remember that Jaclyn's nickname is banshee.  And for good reason.  This girl is a screamer!!  You can imagine the fun we had as she had her gums get pricked with a needle, as they covered her nose with the nitrous mask, and then yanked her teeth out with a metal instrument!  There was much weeping, wailing, and knashing of teeth. 

When it came time to actually pull the teeth out, it took me, two dental hygenists, and the dentist to hold her down long enough to finish the procedure. 

Oh, that poor, poor child. 

Here's what she looks like these days:

Isn't she cute without those front teeth?  What's really endearing is the way she's forced to pronounce many 'th' and 's' words that she used to be able to say perfectly.  My speech pathologist mom could immediately hear the difference in pronunciations while talking with Jaclyn on the phone.  Of course, she's got an ear for that sort of thing!  Jaclyn will be thspeaking like thisth for a long time becauseth the dentistht thsaid that judging by the xth-raysth, she'sth not going to get her new teeth for at leathst two more yearsth!!

mine! mine! mine! mine! mine! mine! mine!

A couple Saturdays ago we went to a wedding in Sequim. In order to get to Sequim from Ellensburg you need to drive to Seattle, take a ferry to Bainbridge Island, and then drive the rest of the way.
As we arrived at Pier 54 in Seattle, the ferry was just leaving. We had an hour to kill before the next ferry came along, so we parked the van and took a casual stroll down Alaskan Way. (You know, the street that's got Ivar's and Ye Olde Curiosity Shop.) Stomachs were growling so we decided to grab lunch at Ivar's. Mmmmmmm. Clam Chowder. Fish & Chips....

Ok, so for those who've been to Ivar's before, you know that if you eat outside there are two options:

#1.  Grab a seat in the awning-covered picnic table area and peacefully eat your fish & chips while watching the ships come and go from Pier 54; Act as an innocent bystander as you witness all the stupid humans who chose the #2 dining option.

This is the covered picnic area at Ivar's.

I STRONGLY suggest that you choose this dining option the next time you hit up Ivar's.

Why you ask??? Oooooh just keep reading....

That Saturday was a GORGEOUS day in Seattle.  Sunny and 75 degrees.  Perfect weather for outdoor eating, thought Jolie.  I wanted the kids to really take in the scenery and enjoy the nice weather.  Now since I. AM. the neck of this family, despite the head's insistence that we choose dining option #1 (eating in the covered area), I overruled the head (and muttered a comment about how the head never likes to try anything new) and led the family toward option #2:

#2.  Find one of the many surprisingly empty tables located near the Pier's edge and eat your meal while taking in the sights.... the majesty of the Olympics mountains in the distance, the waves rolling into the Puget Sound, passing tug boats.... and OH MY GOSH what is that dive-bombing toward my head......

SEAGULLS!!!!!

I can read his thoughts.  He's thinking, "Lady, if you don't hand over that piece of fried fish in 0.7 seconds I will snatch it from your hand." 

This is how close the vultures...err....I mean, seagulls were to our table.  Our table was right next to that guard rail where SWARMS of hungry (and fat!) seagulls perch to beg for food. 

Can I just tell you how unnerving it is to put food up to your mouth when, at any moment, a bird with a sharp beak and talons could rip it from your hands?  After the first kamikaze seagull snatched food from Jaclyn's hands, all 3 kids were pretty nervous about our little eating venture.

As we were getting up to leave a vulture dang I keep doing that!  A seagull buzzed our table one last time, spilling the basket of leftovers out of my hands and onto the ground.  I was mad!  As we all loaded into the van to board the ferry all of us agreed on four things:

1. Dad "may" have been right about eating in the covered picnic area
2. Having Ivar's fish & chips for lunch still outweighs the perils of eating in close proximity to seagulls  (You ain't had fish & chips until you've had Ivar's fish & chips. So good!!)
3. Our family now understands the hungry seagull reference in Finding Nemo.  Mine!  Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine!
4. All of us were still hungry because we'd fed the birds and had the rest spilled on the ground

It also makes me think of Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds".  I felt a little like this lady: