Tooth Crisis

(Please excuse the lateness of this post. Mrs. Mowery was out of town over the weekend and did not have access to post what is happening with Chloe. But here it is. Tooth Crisis!)


Now for a little commercial before Chloe's adventure continues. Please stick close. The Adventures of Chloe Ann Parker - First Grade is almost ready to release. Soon the cover will be revealed which features a first grade version of Chloe. Mrs. Taylor's first grade class excitedly approved of the cover and two inside illustrations.


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I finished my breakfast and skipped back upstairs to brush my teeth. As the toothbrush slid over my lower front teeth something was different. Hmm, weird. I brushed the top and back. When I ran back over those lower front ones, it happened again.

After rinsing my mouth, I leaned close to the mirror and stuck out my teeth. "Oh, no!" I touched the tooth with my finger and it wiggled. "Momma!" I ran back downstairs.

"What is wrong?" Momma met me in the living room.

"Look." I moved the tooth with my finger. "A loose tooth."

Momma smiled. "It was bound to happen sooner or later. You can't keep those baby teeth."

"Why not? They've worked for me so far."

Momma chuckled. "Of course they have. But from now on you'll need to grow in your big teeth."

"But I don't think I want to."

"Sorry, it's something everybody has to go through. You'll be fine. Haven't any of your friends at school lost teeth?"

"Well, yeah, but ..." I shivered. "Sometimes they bleed."

Momma patted my back. "It's okay. Now time for school. Preston!"

She called for Daddy. She seemed so calm about this crisis. I needed to get to school and ask my friends about this teeth losing thing. Momma probably didn't remember what it was like anyway.

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At lunch time I stared at the triangle of pizza on my tray. How could I eat with my loose tooth? Surely it would hurt.

"Chloe, are you feeling sick or something?" Belinda said.

"No, I just don't know how I'm going to eat this."

Leonardo shrugged. "What do you mean?"

"I have a loose tooth. See?" I moved the lower tooth a tiny bit with my finger.

"You'll be okay," Ryan said.

"But won't it hurt?"

Angela shook her head. "No. It will get looser and looser and then plop. It will come out."

Didn't sound too good to me.

McKenzie leaned around Ryan. "Don't worry. Just wiggle it. When it gets really loose, Mrs. Watkins can pull it. She's an expert."

"Pull it?"

McKenzie nodded. "You have to. You have to make room for the big tooth that will grow there."

I swallowed.

"Don't be afraid. And anyway, you get money from the Tooth Fairy."

Curiouser. "The Tooth Fairy?"

McKenzie smiled. "You put your tooth under your pillow when you go to bed and then in the morning there's money."

I sat up a little straighter.

"I got ten dollars for this one and this one." McKenzie opened her mouth and pointed.

I was beginning to feel better, especially about getting money from the Tooth Fairy.

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Later at home, I sat on the stool in the kitchen and wiggled and wiggled my tooth.

Momma leaned closer and studied my wiggling. "Do you want me to pull it? It looks mighty loose."

I shook my head. "Oh, no, Momma. I'll let Mrs. Watkins do it. She is a professional."

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Why was Chloe so afraid about her loose tooth?

Her friends tried to help her by sharing their experience with loosing teeth. Have you lost any teeth? Were you afraid? Explain about a tooth you lost.

One Hundred Today

"Momma, tomorrow is the one hundredth day of school. We're supposed to dress up like we're a hundred. "

"That sounds like fun. Let me think." Momma tapped her finger on her chin.

"I thought since Mrs. Brooks is an old person, she might be able to help me."

Momma cleared her throat. "I don't think that's the best way to approach it."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm just saying, you don't want to offend Mrs. Brooks."

I shook my head. "Naw, Mr. and Mrs. Brooks get me."

"All right. You walk on over and I'll give them a call, letting them know you're coming."

"Okay."

I hurried across the back yards and stepped up onto the Brooks' back porch.

Mr. Brooks slid the door open. "Well, hello there. Hear you're needing some help in dressing up for tomorrow."

"Yep. I thought Mrs. Brooks could help me look one hundred."

Mr. Brooks chuckled. "So your mother said. Come on in." He pushed the door closed behind us. "Louise, I mean, Mrs. Brooks is in her study, already pulling stuff out for you."

"Great." I took off toward the library.

Mrs. Brooks looked up from a pile of stuff on the couch and motioned me over. "Come on in. Let me show you what I found." She held up a dark pair of glasses that almost looked like cat eyes. "Look at these. This are perfect for an old lady. I took the lens out of them but they will still look the part. Here, put them on."

I pushed them up on my face. Mrs. Brooks grinned and nodded. She flung a shawl around my shoulders and pinned it together in the front with a big round jewel-looking thing.

"What is that?"

"That's called a brooch. Not many people wear them nowadays."

"But you wore it back in the olden days?"

"Yep. All you need to do is wear a dress under this shawl. Then you can wear saggy socks and some tennis shoes. You can top off the look with this." She held up a stick. "This is a cane. I had to use it when I had knee replacement."

I took the cane and held it the way I had seen old people do. "How do I look?"

Mrs. Brooks giggled. "Perfect. I told your momma on the phone that she can make your hair look white by putting baby powder in it tomorrow morning."

"Thanks Mrs. Brooks. I'm gonna look just like an old person."

"You'll come over after school and let me see you, right?"

"Of course. I'll have to tell you about our special activities."

"Please do."

I sprinted across the yard and modeled my shawl, glasses, and cane for Momma.

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The next morning Momma stood me in the bathtub and sprinkled my hair with powder. I sneezed. Then I put on my dress and shawl with the big pin to hold it. I shoved on the glasses and pretended to hobble down to the kitchen using my cane.

Momma turned around and burst into laughing. "I love it."

Daddy rounded the corner and his eyes got big. "Well, who is this visiting us, Honey?"

I rolled my eyes. "Daddy, it's just me. Do I look one hundred?"

Daddy pursed his lips and studied me. "I'd say you look pretty close."

Since Momma's middle has grown, Daddy drove me to school. I waved as I shut the car door. Daddy blew me a kiss.

I could hardly wait to start this school day. Stepping into the gym, I carefully made my way over to where my class sat.

Bryson pointed at me. "Hey, Chloe, that's a great costume."

I plopped down on the bleacher. "Thanks. My neighbor helped me."

Soon we filed down the hallway to Mrs. Taylor's classroom. The first grade hall had streamers hanging down and a large sign that said: Happy One Hundredth Day of School.

Mrs. Taylor explained the stations we would go through and then paired us up. My partner was Amy.

"Amy, I'm glad we are partners."

"Me too. Let's start here with the 100 cups."

The two of us worked with as steady of hands as we could to stack the cups. Then we had to link 100 straws.

A loud crash boomed from the stacking cups. Dylan and Weston laughed and started stacking again.

With our first two activities done, me and Amy started counting out ten of all the things on a table. There were different kinds of foods like cereal. We collected all 100 items and set out to make a picture of some sort.

"Ah ha! I'm going to make a princess out of mine." I arranged the pieces and started gluing.

"That's a good idea," Amy said.

When our masterpieces were complete, me and Amy joined some others working on two one hundred piece puzzles.

After a few minutes of placing pieces, I sighed. "Whew, I didn't realize this would be so hard."

"I know. One hundred pieces is a lot." Amy nodded.

The fun activities went by in lickety split time.

After school I raced over to Mr. and Mrs. Brooks' house and knocked on the back door.

Mr. Brooks opened the door and his forehead crinkled. "Hey Louise, are you expecting a friend?"

Mrs. Brooks walked into the kitchen. "Not that I know of."

"It's just me. Chloe Ann Parker." I stepped inside and spun around. "Do I look one hundred?"

Mr. Brooks crossed his arms over his chest. "Not a day over ninety-nine." He laughed. "Would you care for some cookies?"

"Chocolate chip?"

"Why, of course, ma'am. Is there any other kind?" His eyebrows rose.

I turned on my old lady voice. "No sir, no there ain't."

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Why did Momma say that Chloe might offend Mrs. Brooks?

What type of school activities do you get excited about? List some and tell about your most favorite.

Aw, No Pink!

"Chloe, are you ready?" Momma called up the stairs.

"Yeah, Momma. I'm coming." I skipped down the stairs.

During breakfast Momma and Daddy talked about going shopping. I've always liked seeing the latest fashions. But Momma had mentioned looking for baby things. That part didn't excite me too much. Again, this kid isn't even here yet, but the kid's room is getting filled with all kind of stuff. I rolled my eyes.

Daddy let me and Momma out at the mall entrance. He soon returned after parking the car. He smiled. "Where shall we start?"

Momma grabbed his hand and motioned to me. "Let's go to the kids' section."

We passed by the most beautifulest pink shirt and pants set. I stopped in my tracks. Noticing Momma and Daddy kept walking, I whisper-yelled. "Hey, wait a minute."

They whirled around.

"Look at this. Isn't it divine?"

Momma glanced at Daddy and then looked at me. "Honey, we're here to look for things for the baby."

"Is he coming tomorrow?"

"Well, no."

"So why does he need clothes and stuff now?"

Daddy knelt down next to me. "We have to get ready for him to come."

Momma nodded. "Yeah, we did the same thing for you."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "I'm guessing since it's a boy that means no pink."

Daddy chuckled. "Yep. Boys don't normally wear pink. They wear blue."

"And you're sure it's a boy?"

Momma smiled. "Yes, we're sure."

"How can you be so sure? If I were ordering, I would have ordered a girl."

"That's not the way it works. You don't get to order babies. But you can find out what it is by the sonogram test. They move this thing over my stomach and they can see the baby." She motioned for me to follow. "Let's find a cute outfit for me to bring him home in."

"Okay."

We walked down the aisle and turned right into the baby section. Daddy stopped and held up a hideous shirt with a goofy animal on the front. I shook my head. This kid really did need my help already. I needed to make sure he wouldn't be embarrassed with the clothes they picked out for him.

Momma held up some kind of sweater-type all in one outfit. Oh, no. That one would embarrass more than just the kid. 

I marched over to a rack and shuffled through until I found the perfect thing. "Momma, Daddy, what about this?" I held it up.

They turned around. Momma's mouth formed into a big O and she put her hands on both sides of her face. "Now that is just precious." She swiped under her eyes.

"If it's precious, why are you crying?" I shrugged.

Daddy patted my back. "Mommas get a little bit emotional when they are pregnant."

"Oh. So, you do like it?"

Momma wrapped her arm around my shoulders and squeezed. "I love it. It's perfect." She held the garment up and read the words out loud. "I'm the Little Brother."

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Do you think Chloe might be starting to accept that she will have a baby brother? What makes you think that?

Can you think of other ways Chloe could help prepare for the baby's coming? Make a list.

Friends, Can you believe it?

I rushed to the gym and scanned the crowd for my friends. Plopping into a spot next to Jill, I huffed out a big breath. Others from my class turned around.

"Hi, Chloe, how was your Christmas?" Kelly said.

"Just wait until you hear this. My life is over." I shook my head.

Jill patted my back. "Oh my, what's going on?"

"My momma announced on Christmas Day that she is going to have a baby." There I had said it.

Jill nibbled her bottom lip. "Chloe, I kinda guessed that."

"What?"

"Well, when you told us about the room being painted blue and all, it just sounded like ..."

I cut Jill off. "I guess I should've known. I just didn't want to go there." I folded my arms across my chest. "And, get this, it's a boy! What do I do with a boy?"

Emalie whirled around in her seat. "I thought the same thing when I got a baby brother. But it's not that bad. In fact, my mom told me that he would end up standing up for me when he grew up, since I'm a girl."

I thought about that but still wasn't sure I was convinced.

"I have a little sister," Efrin said. "You could be like friends and do stuff together."

I hadn't thought about it that way.

"But there are times she cried, keeping me up at night." Efrin shrugged.

Brayden nodded. "There are times they can get on your nerves and bug you too."

I remembered something Momma had told me the night before. "Momma told me that she is going to a party for this boy baby. This kid isn't here but he's already having parties and getting presents. Good grief!"

"First grade, line up," a teacher said.

I grabbed my backpack and coat and shuffled down the hallway toward Mrs. Taylor's room.

After talking with my friends about this baby boy situation, I wondered if there really would be some good things involved with having a little brother. Then on the other hand, not everything sounded particularly positive.

I guess in a few months I'll know for sure. I shivered thinking about it.

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If you have a brother or sister, what would you say to Chloe? What good things could you tell her about having a sibling? What bad things might you tell her about having a sibling?

What might you tell Chloe about how she could be a good big sister?