Complications of a Recessed Jaw

Sleep Apnea can be caused, or at least exacerbated, by a jaw that sits too far back. My sister in-law has a jaw that sits far enough back that it obstructs her breathing when she’s sleeping. Because she’s not overweight, her insurance won’t cover the cost of the surgery she needs. I think the mindset of the insurance company is that this should’ve been taken care of in childhood (it has to do with orthodontics [actually she said it's a medical problem... my mistake... it's the orthodontist who can tell with an xray if the jaw is recessed.] ) and if she’s lived with it this long, it must not be a big deal. She needs this surgery because of sleep apnea and severe tmj issues. Golly. I wonder if she gained a couple hundred pounds, if they’d cover the jaw surgery and the gastric bypass. Can you say “NONSENSE”??

Mrs. Nicklebee Answers Your Questions

Q. What does ‘pendulous excrescence’ mean? (Can you believe I spelled “excrescence” wrong even with the dictionary spelling right there???)

A. This phrase was taken out of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

Fun with Food Allergies - the Drama

Almost everyone who knows me knows that my style of eating is somewhat cramped.  To put it another way, there are certain common ingredients that cause me to become somewhat cramped.  I often feel like a freak at gatherings where food is one of the main attractions.    I dread potlucks, picnics, luncheons, parties and pretty much every other gathering known to western man because it seems like there’s a question about everything on the table/menu.  “Was this cooked on the same surface as eggs?”  “Is that served with turkey gravy?”  “Are there eggs in that pasta?”  “Is the white stuff a dairy product?” 

September 11, 2006

Sitting here watching the news, it is refreshing (?) to see some attention focused on the Pentagon. Certainly the lives lost in NY and Shanksville need to be remembered but it seems like there is very little attention given to the equally valuable lives lost in Arlington, VA.

The kids and I stuffed ourselves onto the loveseat this afternoon with the laptop and looked at various memorials. I didn’t realize until just today that the Unnamed Nicklebee Blogger was too young to remember 9/11. He had questions like, “Why would someone fly a plane into a building?”

The first time Mr. Nicklebee went somewhere via airplane after 9/11, Dub was terrified, almost to the point of near hysteria, that the pilot was going to crash the plane into a building. I had to explain to him the difference between a United States Air Force pilot and a terrorist and then we asked the Creator of the universe for Mr. Nicklebee’s safety and for Dub’s comfort. Mr. Nicklebee made it to his destination and back again safely and Dub calmed down, for which I am thankful to God. That said, none of us is guaranteed another breath.

And now the day ends on an anticlimactic note. It’s a rainy day and it’s very muddy in our back yard, a.k.a. the puppy potty. She has spent more time than usual in her crate because she has been to wet to have free reign of the house. When she comes out of her crate on days like this, she is very excited. The puppy, being in transition between Stoopid Un-bladder-controlled Puppy to Valuable, Welcome Family Dog, piddled about a hundred times in five minutes and here I sit, contemplating the quickest way to clean up the biggest area without actually getting urine on my hands. Why, oh why, are puppy parts so … uncontrolled?! *sigh* She’ll be a good girl someday.

Olympians - sorting through some thoughts …

It’s early Sunday morning and I can’t seem to fall asleep. I’ve been thinking about something and I think I need to “write it down” in case any of it makes sense tomorrow when I’m wide awake.

Who am I kidding? I’m wide awake NOW. There are no demands on my attention at the moment and I can’t stop thinking about a certain aspect of Olympians. I’m going to run this past the younger Nicklebees tomorrow to see what they think but until then, I’m going to try to pull my thoughts together here.

In Olympians, the kids have to meet certain requirements to achieve certain levels (first bronze then silver and finally gold). Among other things, they have to perform acts of Christian Service (”CS”). The list of options is quite ample. No child should miss out on their medals for lack of CS opportunities. Even the most devout atheist couldn’t argue with most of this list.