I got up earlyish again this morning despite not being due at the dentist until 11.15am. I fear the kids and I have drifted too far back into late nights and late mornings and quite aside from the fact I know my parents are observing this slatternly behaviour and judging us I don’t think it’s a great habit anyway.
So we were all up, just the four of us in the house which was all lovely and chilled out, drinking tea, watching Christmassy TV and making a start on a festive email we wanted to send out to all our WWOOF hosts this year in lieu of a Christmas card when for some reason I just thought I’d check my appointment time again. Our dentist sends a reminder by text 48 hours before the appointment but I had not actually read it when it came through on Monday, so I checked my phone and realised that this morning’s appointment was actually at 10.15am not 11.15am at all! Fortunately it was just before 10am when I made this discovery which was sufficient time to grab my coat and drive along the road and arrive on time :). My previous appointment a couple of weeks ago had been at 11.15am and for some reason I’d assumed this one was at the same time again.
I paid my Dad’s dentist bill (which was a bargain, £17 paid for him to write off £25 that I owed him as he reckoned it saved him a journey!) and the receptionst who always remembers us for our Home Edding and more recently our travelling – she was thrilled to see us again and hear about our adventures was really taken aback – ‘So David Davies is your Dad?’ said with incredulous tones. And then a few seconds later ‘So Frazer Davies is your brother?!’ I didn’t like to ask why she tied us all up or had quite such a good memory for who was who but I’m kind of glad Mum isn’t a patient there 😆
I’d been faintly dreading this appointment as the last one was quite hurty and took a while to feel better but I was in and out in about 10 minutes. The crown is gold – I had said I had no preference but actually I guess gold is nicer than silver, for all I think it looks nasty just for not being tooth. Both my parents have had gold crowns and like the flashiness of them, I just think it looks like a Bond baddie or a Spice Girl but fortunately it is far enough back that it doesn’t show when I talk or laugh really anyway. The dentist was pleased with it and urged me to look in the mirror which was very funny as I was also wearing the tinted goggles so I looked like I was all about the bling 😆 She offered me the choice of being numbed so I would not feel the sensitive bit of removing the temporary crown and fitting the new one but said that meant it would be harder to test the bite as it’s tricky to do when you’re numb. I said I’d be fine without a jab and although it was indeed very sensitive it was only momentary and was pleasing as it means the tooth root is still alive and healthy which was another potential concern. I like the feel of the crown, it is slightly lower than the tooth had been which always felt wrong so this feels better against my top teeth.
I nipped into Lancing hoping to pick up a big tub of plasticine each for the kids from a toy shop which sold them last year only to find they don’t sell them anymore. I know from last year that they were almost impossible to track down so I resorted to paying next day delivery from amazon in the end. Which I am now regretting partially as something due to arrive today didn’t and partially because I thought of at least two more things I should have added to the order to fully justify the £6 next day charge!
Back at home everyone was feeling quite tired and sorry for themselves – I think a cold combined with camp come down has hit us all hard. Ady popped up to Sainsburys for some bits for lunch after which I spent a couple of hours shut away in the bedroom sorting out presents and wrapping. I had a last minute wobble that although we’ll have spent about the same on them Scarlett will be getting a couple of very magical gifts this year and I wanted to up the ante slightly on Davies’ pile to create that same element of suprise and ‘oh wow’. I know my kids have had a fabulous year this year but they have also had a lot of doing without and facing the harsh reality of life and people and stuff. All good but it does mean sometimes I fret the magic and uncomplicatedness of childhood has gone a bit so a pile of wrapped magic, even if it is way smaller than in previous years will make me feel like I’ve given well. (To which end I’ve just sneaked off mid post and added another amazon order in!)
Ady fed the kids early and then we ate with Mum & Dad a little later. We were supposed to be going for a drink with Frazer and Kat tonight but they cried off (unsurprisingly, we were sort of expecting it really) so Ady and I ended up hitting the 24 hour Tescos at 10pm when the kids were in bed, getting the Christmas beers and picking up a couple of dvds for Davies.