Dental Hygiene

I took Rose and Anne to the dentist this morning. They both had cavities that needed to be filled.

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Being the granddaughter of a dentist, I make sure that all members of my family have a regular cleaning and check-up every six months. So imagine my surprise when, while sitting in the waiting room, I heard the following conversation. It took place between a middle-aged couple and their elderly mother was being seen. The mother lived in a nursing home and was brought to the appointment by a nursing home staff member.

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Woman: This dentist said he can do everything in the same day. So we see him this morning and he'll have it ready by this afternoon.
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Mom: Oh good.
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Man: Yeah. We sure are lucky to get in. You know Joe had to have seven teeth pulled.
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Mom: Seven?!?
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Man: Yep. Well, I guess that's what we get for not taking him in for a check-up for the last eight years. He had to have two from the front pulled and the rest from the back.
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Woman: He must have had such a hard time eating.
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Man: Yeah. We just didn't even notice. His front teeth looked fine. It never occurred to me to pry his mouth open and check the molars. They were so bad that an infection had started. He had stitches from where they had to dig the teeth out and then he had to be on medication for a good long while to combat the infection.
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Mom: Oh the poor dear.
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Man: Yep. You know he just kept eating his biscuits and you really have to use your molars to chew those up.
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Mom: Biscuits?
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Man: Oh he loved to eat biscuits. They were his favorite treat. Boy! It sure shows how much he loved those biscuits that he would still eat them even though he must have been in so much pain.
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It was at this point that I realized they were NOT talking about another elderly relative in their care, but were, in fact, talking about their dog. :S

DUN-dun-dun...

It has begun...

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My OB appointments will now be every two weeks for the next few appointments. Then I move into the every week appointments. Because I am "so close" the receptionist went ahead and scheduled all remaining visits up to my due date. I had a little panic attack as she made the appointments. I'm 28 weeks. Technically, I have a full twelve weeks left. But I could go as early as nine weeks from now. Nine. That's a single digit number. SINGLE. DIGIT. That is freaking me out a little.

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I am such a planner. I have so many things left that I need to do. My hospital bag isn't packed at all. I don't even have people lined up to take care of my kids when I go into labor. I have people in mind, but I've been to nervous to actually ask them because really... How do you look someone in the eye and say, "You know those SIX kids that I have? Would you mind watching them for an undetermined period of time? Would you mind making sure they get to school on time, feeding them, and trying to keep them from fighting too much while I labor and attempt to deliver what could, potentially, be a ten to eleven pound baby? Oh, and the little foster boy...he likes to scream at the top of his lungs for reasons that we have yet to determine. We have been working on it and he screams a lot less than he used to, but I just wanted to give you a heads up."
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Seriously! Who in their right mind would say yes to that. I did have a sweet lady volunteer to come over in the middle of the night to sit with the kids if I happen to go into labor then. But she'll need to be to work by 8:00 the next morning.

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If it was just my four kids, I wouldn't even be stressing. My kids are nice, well-behaved children. They wouldn't be a burden to anybody. In fact, if you just asked, Rose and Anne could do all your laundry, cook your family's dinner, and help entertain your children. Joe could sweep and mop all your floors, feed your animals, and help fold your laundry. Even Cakes can help out. He is an excellent helper for loading and unloading the dishwasher, washing machine, and dryer.

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Even Miss Q would be easy to place. Heck! She's seventeen! She can feed herself, ride her bike to school, and deal with anything else that could possibly come up.

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My problem is Mr. J. I just don't know what to do with him. He doesn't do well with new people. He will probably fall apart into a terrible fit, crying and screaming. OR he could completely surprise me and show that all the training Hubby and I have done has paid off and he act like a perfect angel. It could really go either way.

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Ey-yah!

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Anyhoo, the point of this ramble is that I have nine to twelve weeks left and lots to do. OH! And I still haven't found a name! Grrrr. I really like "Tom" for a few weeks. It's a good solid name. Very masculine. But I'm not thrilled with "Thomas". The "ssss" sound at the end has thrown me off. Kind of goofy coming from someone whose name starts with a "ss" sound. Oh well.

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Wish me luck. I'm going to need it. ;)

There's No Pleasing Some People

One of the things that is great about knowing the sex of your child is the ability to immediately refute "clever" comments made about your belly. For example:

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I'm walking in a store, minding my own business. A man comes up to me, looks me up and down, and says, "You're sure carrying wide. You must be having a girl."

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I did not respond by saying to the man, "You are carrying extra wide too. You must be having a girl too." Because that would have been rude.

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I just said, "Nope. You guessed wrong. I'm having a boy."

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To which the lady who was with the guy gave him a sharp elbow jab to the rib.

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I'm not sure if people think they're being clever or if they are trying to subtly tell me I'm fat. I've had comments that could go either way.

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One lady just "knew" I was having twins. Nope, sorry. Just one baby in there. (actually I'm not sorry. I'm really, really happy that I'm not having twins. twins are a ton of work!)

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Another lady really looked me over, commented on several different parts of my body being large then declared that I'm having a boy. She was right. But did she have to say my rear was "quite pronounced". I mean, I know it is, but you don't have to point it out.

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And here I was, thinking I looked pretty good. Haha.

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The ironic thing is I don't like comments stating that I'm "thin" either. They drive me nuts more than the chunky comments.

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I have a wonderful lady that I visit teach. She works with the babies and mommas at our hospital, so she's seen a few pregos in her time. I ran into her at a store a couple days ago. Her comment, "Oh! You're finally starting look pregnant. You've been so thin for so long."

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My response, "I've looked pregnant for months now! I'm huge!!" I then pulled my shirt taut to prove my point. She just smiled indulgently and quietly agreed with me. Haha! She knows better than to argue with an emotional pregnant lady. But she had a look in her eye that let me know she still thought I looked thin and great. I was so perturbed. Haha! What a goofy thing to get upset about.

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This is a picture of my belly from a few weeks ago. I usually hate these pictures, but that's because my neck usually grows thicker as the size of my belly grows larger. This time, so far, no double or triple chins. Hooray!! ;)
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Oh Yeah! I almost forgot to mention...I got a perm. The hormones have been making my hair super limp. Need proof? Just look at the pictures from Anne's baptism. The hair just clings to my head and looks so thin. The perm has made my hair look so much better. Although, I will never go back to the lady who gave me the perm. She burned my neck, scalp, and forehead, which is funny because I went to her in the first place because her salon advertised "expert perms". ;)

Desert Ears

It has been raining in my little desert town for four days. It's amazing! I love when it rains in the desert. The aroma of rain mixed with cactus and the other desert plants is one of my favorite smells.

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There's only one drawback...the sound of the rain pounding against my house in the middle of the night.

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When I lived in Kansas, rain and wind were constant things. I was accustomed to sleeping through them and would rarely wake, no matter how hard the rain pounded or how loud the wind howled.

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But I've been living in a quiet desert for a year now. My ears adjusted to the quiet sounds of the desert. So when the rain started pounding last night, I could not sleep. At all.

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As I lay awake, my mind started drifiting. I remembered an old episode of "I Love Lucy." Lucy had just moved from the city to the country. She was used to sleeping in the city. Cars driving past, sirens blaring, people talking, none of that bothered her sleep in the slightest. In the country she was met with a different kind of night noise...crickets chirping, owls hooting, wind blowing, walls creaking. The country noises were, in fact, much quieter than the city noises, but her ears weren't able to cope with the new sounds. Lucy had city ears.

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And as I listened to the rain pounding outside, my desert ears unable to cope with the sound, I had to laugh. I've only been out of Kansas for a year and I already can't sleep through the rain.

An Open Letter

Dear Bio-Momma, *

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If you are an indulgent Momma from day one... If you give in to your child's every demand because you don't want to upset or disappoint the child... If you are lax in making and enforcing rules... If, in short, you are more interested in being your child's "friend" than their parent...

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PLEASE do not complain when said child hits the teenage years and thinks the world revolves around them.

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PLEASE do not act surprised when said child, after you take away their cell phone and attempt to ground them, lashes out verbally, decides that living with their boyfriend is better than living with you, and takes off to find comfort in their boyfriend's arms.

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PLEASE do not complain that you don't want the police and CPS involved in your life when YOU are the one who called the police to go fetch your child because you "just couldn't deal with it." Because, here's the thing...if YOU call the police, the police will come. That's what they do. They show up when called. And if you thought they would just fetch your child and NOT file a report, you were mistaken. You have gone down this road before. PLEASE stop acting surprised!

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PLEASE, when your child who is already in foster care, shows up at your door for their weekly visit, do not emotionally vomit all over them. That child has enough to deal with already without having to convince you that you are a good parent and that really none of this is your fault.

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PLEASE, as the child who is already in foster care tries their best to comfort you, do NOT threaten to run away like your other child just did. I mean Really!!! You are not a teenager. You are a grown-up. Please start acting like it.

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Sincerely,

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The Foster Mom

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*Disclaimer: This post of course has nothing to do with any children in my care. Nothing whatsoever. :S

What's in a Name, Part 2

Two other considerations when naming your child:

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1) How will the name look written out?

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2) Does this name, or any of its nicknames or derivatives, have inappropriate/embarrassing connotations or rhyme with inappropriate/embarrassing words?

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1) It is important that a child be able to write their own name. A name that is too long or has an odd configuration can hinder the child. Also, some letters just don't look good next to each other.

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For example, Atticus and Matthew.

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These names have the dreaded double T. When typing, the t's look nice and neat. When handwritten, the t's blend together to form an H, turning "Atticus" into "Ahicus". You could cross the t's on different levels, but that looks odd and I really don't want my son to have a name that looks odd when written.

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And yes, I realize that is a bit obsessive to cross all names that have double t's off my list for such a small reason, but Come On!!! This is who I am. A crazed, planning-for-the-future-obsessed lady. And those natural tendencies are only amplified by the pregnancy hormones. ;)

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Also out: "IL" names. When written, the Il can be mistaken for two l's or two i's, depending on the child reading it.

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2) Let's face it, kids on the playground will find any reason they can to tease another kid. Given mine and my husband's crazy growth patterns (Hubby was six foot one in sixth grade), our poor kid is already likely to face teasing based on stature. We don't want him made fun of for his name too.

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So, we are also considering connotations, cultural references, and rhyming.

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This consideration crosses out names like:

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* Bart (fart)

* Bruce (I really like this name too. but for the last ten years it has been culturally referenced as the quintessential gay man's name.)

* Tucker (mother f...)

* Mitch (b...)

* Chester (refers to perverts and molesters)

* Edward (people will think I'm naming him after Twilight. btw Joe's favorite name for years has been Isabella. he first heard it from "Bring a Torch Jeanette, Isabella." that name is out too.)

* Hussein (the name means "small handsome one" and really does sound cute. too bad a dictator had the name. Adolph is out for similar reasons. seriously! who still uses these names??)

* Hyman (hymen. this rhyme also crosses out Hyrum for me. those names are just a bit too similar for my liking.)

* Ichabod (Crane. he was the biggest wuss of them all)

* Peter & John (have you seen "Nunsense"? you won't understand this cross off until you do.)

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I could go on, but I think you get the general idea.

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*sigh* I've just about given up on my name books. I've read them through multiple times, but still haven't found "THE" name. I've started searching online. Wish me luck!

The Natural Order of Things

My kids were watching a show about penguins. The narrator detailed how penguins live, what they eat, and why it's important to help them. The narrator really emphasized the importance of eating a natural diet. As I listened to the program, I started to wonder...

Aren't penguins the natural diet of killer whales?

I've seen a few killer whales at Sea World. Usually they're being fed fish. I'm pretty sure fish aren't their natural diet.

What about those whales' natural diet? Those majestic animals are being fed fish ALL THE TIME! Doesn't their natural diet consist of penguins, polar bears, seals, and the occasioal baby blue whale? If everything the National Geographic says is true, then YES. That is exactly what they eat. Yet no one seems to be advocating on behalf of the killer whales.

And what about polar bears? They're being fed fish too. We've seen many polar bears in various zoos across the country. At each zoo, these great mammals are being fed fish. Doesn't their natural diet consist of seals?

Really, if it's so important for penguins (one of the lesser animals on the food chain) to have a natural diet, it stands to reason that it would be vital that the larger, more intelligent animals be given the same opportunity.

And so I propose a change. I propose that a few penguins be sacrificed each month for the overall well-being of the killer whales. I know, I know. Some penguins are endangered and who wants to fly down to the South Pole on a regular basis and try to catch them. That is why I propose we only take penguins from the zoos.

It makes more sense when you think of it in terms of salmon. Not all salmon comes from the ocean and lakes. Salmon is hard to catch and fishers don't want to deplete the supply. So they have salmon farms! They raise salmon in an environment that mimics their natural environement. Studies have shown that there are variations in the nutrutional value of farm-raised versus wild salmon, but the variations seem minimal.

The same could be true of penguins!

Think of every penguin display you have ever visited at a zoo. Doesn't it seem a bit overcrowded? The penguins have hardly any room to move. That hardly seems fair those tuxedo-wearing birds! By sacrificing a few penguins each month, you would not only be helping out the killer whales...you would also be helping other penguins have more room to move around. It's a complete win-win situation!

(except for the sacrificed penguins, but really, is living in a overcrowded area where people stare at you all day and knock on your glass such a great life? I think not.)

Winter Reading

I love to read. It is one of my favorite things to do. In fact, it is kind of an obsession. As a child, teenager, and young adult, I would become so engrossed in reading that everything else would fall to the wayside. My Mom used to use this obsession against me as a punishment. When I hadn't completed tasks or if I'd done something truly awful, my Mom would take away my books. It was a truly horrific punishment for me! I became emotionally invested in every book I read. The characters came to life in my mind and I had to know what happened to them next. It seems like my Mom would always take away the books right when some character's life was in danger or when they were at some major crossroad in life. I don't know how she did it, but it seems like she always knew the optimum time to use this particular punishment.

As a youth I was a very eclectic reader. Novels, biographies, history, sci-fi, fantasy, and classics. I would read anything. I usually read by author, if I liked the first book they wrote. An example, after reading The Three Musketeers and loving it, I read every other book that Alexandre Dumas had written.

When I entered college, I had to prioritize my reading. No longer could I pursue the novel or biography of my choosing. I had too many other things to read. Friends of mine were confused as to why I couldn't read both. The answer is simple...I am one of the few people on this planet who actually read every single word in every single textbook I was ever assigned, including the optional texts. I read from the title page to the index and bibliography. Even when teachers would say, "We'll only be using chapters 3, 6, 10 and 14", I would still read every single other chapter. I had to. Weird, I know. And very time-consuming!

After college, I was burned out. You would be too after reading all those textbooks! Haha! I've stuck mostly to children's stories, which I read diligently to my children. As they've grown and their reading skills have expanded, I've started branching out again in my reading. (I average about two to five adult books per year. that is a low number compared to what I used to read.) I am thrilled to say that my children love to read as much as I do. We have wonderful conversations about plots and characters. Theorizing the author's thought process and reasoning out where we think the story might lead.

This winter break provided a wonderful opportunity for my family to read. I am still stuck trying to think of a name for my baby boy. I confined my personal reading to baby name books. I also read stories to Joe and Cakes.

Joe's current favorites are the Black Lagoon series written by Mike Thaler, illustrated by Jared Lee. Joe gets the biggest kick out of these stories! He especially likes The Cafeteria Lady from the Black Lagoon. That one makes me a little nauseous to read. ;)

Cakes' current favorite is Curious George. He loves that little monkey.

Miss Q is new to the whole "reading for pleasure" concept. I assigned her a book to get her started. And what better book is there for a young girl to read than Anne of Green Gables. She had a hard time getting into, but after a few chapters I couldn't pry her away from the book. This was one of my favorites as a girl. :)

Rose is a goosey reader. She will often be reading three books at the same time. I could never do that! I always had to finish the one before I started another. Over the winter break she finished Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and started Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It has been so much fun to talk to her about these books. She was pretty upset about Severus Snape killing Dumbledore. But when Snape cursed off George's ear, Rose was livid! Her funniest reactions have been about Harry and Ron though. She couldn't believe it when Ron abandoned the quest. A few chapters later, she kept muttering to herself that Harry is an idiot. Hahaha! I know exactly where she is in the book just from her reactions and comments.

Anne began The Lightening Thief before school let out. She is currently reading The Battle of the Labyrinth. She has really sailed through the Percy Jackson series. She is loving the Greek Mythology. The name pronunciations are a bit confusing at times, however this has not slowed her down in the slightest. In fact, she and Rose (who already read the series) checked out Greek and Norse Mythology books from our local library...just so they could learn more about the stories! We have all decided that if we were to choose any of the gods to worship, we would choose Thor. My girls stated that Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, and the rest of the Greeks are just to selfish to make good gods. Thor seems like the most caring in the group. Haha! Studying the Greek gods has made both girls very happy to have Heavenly Father as their God. :)

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We are counting down the days until the movie version of The Lightening Thief opens. We are super excited! After seeing the trailers and listening to Rose and Anne talk about the series, Miss Q decided to start reading the series too. That is a big deal!

Just a side note, we saw Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel over the break. We were excited to again see the trailer for Lightening Thief. We were even more excited when a trailer came on for How to Train Your Dragon! We first discovered good old Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third last year. We listened to most of the series via Book on Tape/CD. (this is why we are also interested in the Norse Gods) I would highly recommend these books, especially for young boys. They are hilarious, with just the right amount of adventure, mayhem, and gross. Haha!

The final book worth mentioning is To Kill a Mockingbird. Hubby decided to re-read this book. This is one of my all-time favorite books. I even considered naming Joe and Cakes "Atticus". (I'll tell you in a later post why that particular name was cut from the list.) Hubby first read this book as a class assignment in high school, or, as he puts it, "a long, long, long, long time ago." I was going to wait for him to read it first, then steal it and read it again myself. However, due to work reading assignments, it is taking a long time for Hubby to finish. If I wasn't stuck on names, I would have stolen it by now and read the whole thing already. Haha! Luckily for him, I have to keep re-reading the name book instead. ;)

I'm always on the hunt for a good book. What have you read lately??

Mexican Star Wall Hanging

Early December brought this year's Homemade Gift Exchange party. I've known about the party all year long and have thought and thought about what I wanted to make. Towards the beginning of the year I seriously contemplated making a twin-sized quilt. Haha! That would have been too, too much.

I decided to make what I thought was called a Mexican Wedding Star. I made one when I was first married from materials that I thought were beautiful. The material was beautiful, but too many dark colors all together. I pieced the star on my own and it shows! Haha! I was quite the novice. The seams are all off. Squares that should be the same size are 1/4 to 3/4 inches off from one another. My borders are not straight at all. But hey! My points all lined up. :)

"Mexican Wedding Star"

I've wanted to redo this wall hanging for twelve years now. However, I was just too nervous to give it a try. So I kept putting it off. The reason? I wasn't sure what colors I wanted to use and this is a very special quilt pattern to me with a lot of history. I wanted the next one I made to be perfect and look gorgeous hanging in my home.

The Gift Exchange provided the answer. I could make a wall hanging, experiment with colors, and then give it away to someone who would love it. Kind of a practice round. :)

I made a master drawing of the block, then began figuring out what size the pieces were supposed to be, as opposed to the sizes they actually were. Thank goodness Geometry is one of my strong points. However, consistency was not a strong point of mine when first quilting. My pieces were so wonky! Haha! After slaving away on my master drawing, figuring out most of the pieces, but still wondering if I was on target, a light bulb went off in my head. And I felt really dumb.

My Mom has the actual pattern!!! With the exact sizes!!!

After kicking myself for a few minutes, I called my Mom. Turns out the quilt is called "Mexican Star". My Mom called it the Mexican Wedding Star because she made them for all of her nephews when they got married. The pattern was designed by Georgia Bonesteel. (It doesn't look like any of the Mexican Star patterns I've seen online. I like Georgia's pattern best.) It's made using templates. I don't like templates unless I'm doing applique'. Oh well. My Mom, bless her heart, measured each piece for me. Most of the measurements she gave me matched up with the measurements I had figured out. That was a relief. And here it is:

The pieces all laid out, ready to be sewn.

(That's Mr. J's arm trying to grab my pieces.)

The Finished Top with Borders

The Finished Back

I tried to machine quilt it, but just made a mess. After unpicking and trying again four times, I opted to hand quilt it. I could have added more quilting to the borders. Maybe next time. Overall, I think it turned out very good.

Since we're back in Arizona, I made Carrot Cookies with Orange Icing as my treat to share at the Gift Exchange. They were delicious! I love Carrot Cookies.

At the end of the Gift Exchange, I came home with this cute item. I plan on hanging it in my girls room. They are thrilled with that decision! :)

Dumb Angels

Our family had a low-key Christmas. Months before the actual celebrations began we kindly informed "Santa" that his services would not be needed at our house. Any presents he had for our kids should be taken to the local shelter to be given to children whose parents couldn't afford to give them presents. As a family we have discussed on many occasions whose birthday we were actually celebrating. We decided (as a family) that since Jesus received three gifts, that was the most we would receive.

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We also decided that since it was Jesus' birthday HE should receive presents from each of us. Our Savior is an easy person to get a gift for. He has told everyone over and over which presents He most wants...service & love to others and our wills to be more in line with the Father. Each member of our family chooses two things they will work on for the year as their gift to the dear Savior.

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We have followed this same pattern for a few years now and we always have the most wonderful Christmas celebrations. The focus is always on Christ and we always have fun trying to think up which acts of service would be most appreciated by our Savior and which bad habits He would most like to see us give up.

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(I need to note here that I have nothing against Santa. He was a lovely man who lived many years ago. His actions, while on earth, were charitable and kind. But he is dead now. And the elves I want my children to believe in are more in line with Tolkien's ideas than the North Pole version. I know...I am a very mean Mom and a horrible person. Sorry.)

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But this year was different.

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Angels got in the way.

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Our family has participated in the Christmas Angel program before. We felt that it was a wonderful program that truly benefited children in need. That was before the Angels came to our house!!!

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I haven't mentioned it on the blog before, however it must be mentioned now so you can fully understand the situation. In addition to Miss Q (our 17-year old foster daughter), we have a 16-month old foster son. He has been with us since Veteran's Day. He is a darling boy and his Momma is working very hard to get him back. I will refer to him as Mr. J.

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My caseworker called in November to get information on both foster children. She wanted their clothing and shoe sizes, favorite colors, and any ideas of items they would like to receive for Christmas.

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"How Sweet!" I naively thought.

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I already had Miss Q's Christmas gifts ordered (her own set of scriptures & some clothes) back in October. I knew her Mom and Aunt were planning on giving her a few items each, so she was taken care of. Since we only got Mr. J in the middle of November, I had no presents ready for him. Now I wouldn't have to worry about it. The Christmas Angels would take care of his presents.

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Ey-yi-yi! Those rotten Angels!

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I know they were probably sweet people, just trying to do a bit of service around the holidays. But this is how I think they chose their gifts...

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"Hmmm. This item sings songs, talks incessantly, and honks. I bet that darling boy would love this!"

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"Oh Look! This item makes loud wind noises and popping sounds, all controlled by the infant. How wonderful!"

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"Oooo. This item would be such a good learning tool. It sings the alphabet over and over and over at an un-holy pitch. I'm sure he'll love it."

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I can just picture the sweet people who picked these gifts. Thinking how much Mr. J would enjoy them. I just wish they would have thought of his poor Foster Mom having to listen to all those toys the whole day long. *sigh* Of course, each person only bought one item. They had no way of knowing that the other Angels would also give noisy toys.

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And yes, I am the same Mom who bought our family a drum set last year. But that is totally different! Drums are a musical instrument. And the pitch of them is fine for my ears. However, the un-holy pitch on Mr. J's toys is at the gratingly high level. The one that just eats away at your ear drums until you go insane.

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There is good news though. I have a screw driver. And I know how to use it. After the first week I removed the batteries from every toy I could find.

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There is bad news too. Joe knows how to use a screwdriver. He also knows where the batteries are kept. And he felt very sorry for Mr. J when his toys mysteriously stopped working. He put the batteries back in the two main toys.

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I am doing my best to cope. As soon as Joe goes back to school, the batteries will be coming out for good!

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In the meantime, Mr. J and Cakes are having a blast making as much noise as possible. I guess I should consider hearing their deep belly laughs as a good consolation.
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Nah! Those batteries are coming out...SOON!
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Restored Toy #1

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Restored Toy #2

Naive Dr. Who Fan

After many days of searching the internet, I found the links to watch the final episodes of Dr. Who starring David Tennant and written by Russell T Davies. I'll provide the links first then my review. I don't want anyone spoiled before they can watch. But be warned, the review will contain SPOILERS!!

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Dr. Who End of Time Part I

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Dr. Who End of Time Part II

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The End of Time was magnificent! So many wonderful story lines all coming together in the most brilliant way! When I first saw Timonthy Dalton on screen I was both confused and ecstatic. Ecstatic because he's such a fun and talented actor. Confused because what is he doing narrating Dr. Who??? I would never have imagined that Davies would actually show us the end of the Time Lords. Holy Guacamole!! That was such a big surprise!

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We got to see more of Gramps. I knew Donna (Catherine Tate) would be back from watching the trailers. I just assumed that Gramps would be secondary to her storyline. That caused quite a bit of concern for me. I like Donna. A lot! I really didn't want her brains to get burned from remembering. I was most pleasantly surprised that Gramps turned out to be the companion for the End. It was marvelous! Bernard Crippins was a complete joy to watch. He was a perfect companion for Dr. David to end his tenure with. Perfect! And I must say my heart just about leapt out of my chest when dear old Gramps knocked four times to be let out of the nuclear holding cell. "He will knock four times and you will die." What a kick in the bum for poor Dr. David!

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I loved that the Doctor returned to visit all his old companions. I wish that he had spent more time with Martha. That was a bittersweet moment for me, and her! Her poor Hubby had to comfort her a bit after the Doctor just walked away. Again! Sheesh. I loved that the Doctor attended Donna's wedding. That he saw his best friend happy, safe, and loved.

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But the best companion visit was to Captain Jack. It was the best because of Hubby's reaction to the Doctor's set up of Jack and Alonso. And I quote:

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"Wait...What?? Captain Jack is a flamer?!?!?!"

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Hahahaha! Can you believe my poor naive husband? Hahahaha! I just about had an asthma attack laughing at him. I pointed out that when first introduced, good old Jack had come onto the Doctor. Hubby doesn't remember that. I then pointed out that Captain Jack made eyes at every single living creature he met. Didn't matter the gender, species, size, color, or temperature of the creature. Good old Captain Jack would be making googly eyes at him/her/it, trying to get him/her/it into his bed.

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So, No, dear Hubby of mine. Captain Jack is not a flamer. Dr. Frank-N-Furter is a flamer. (and a gorgeous one, I must confess!) Captain Jack is... Well, Good old Jack, He is SO.  MUCH.  MORE!!! Hahahaha!!!