An Ode to the Dentist

Once upon a time in a country far,far away...
Lived a little girl named Mary, who said, "I'm going to the dentist today."

I've been brushing and flossing my teeth every day.

Rinsing and spitting, I've been taught the right way.

A big girl, am I. Not a tear in sight.

I sat in the chair. Man, that light was bright.

I loved the cool glasses, the mirror, the pick.

The brushing and flossing and exam were so quick.

A slight under bite, no cavities were seen.

A few helpful tips. The dentist wasn't mean.
So that was my trip to the dentist. I hope this story wasn't a bore.

"Mommy, there wasn't any reason to be nervous." I said, as we walked out the door.

**A huge thank you to my girlfriends that lent us books about going to the dentist, so we could be well prepared. Thank you to Nicole for posting a pic of Jessica at the dentist so Mary could see that her friend wasn't scared. And a big shout out to the wonderful staff at the pediatric dental clinic. It takes a special person to be that patient...esp. when it's not your kid.

Siblings

I know there will come a day when they fight like cats and dogs. There will be screaming and pushing and crying, not to mention hurt feelings, resentment, anger and frustration. But for now, I am enjoying the fun times. The big sister who will do anything to make her little brother laugh, give him a toy so he won't cry or feed him snacks so she can pilfer a few for herself. Sometimes I just have to smile and wonder how I got so lucky.

Mary started running in the hallway and in the living room tonight. For some reason, this cracked Adam up and in turn, cracked us all up and made us encourage Mary to run more. I don't know if it was because she was running, the fact that she was wearing her ballerina bathing suit or that she kept falling in the hall and running into the recliner chair. Good way to burn off a little extra energy before bedtime.

And the always entertaining peek-a-boo. Mary started a bit too close to the couch and kept hitting her face everytime she bounced up. Crazy. At least she didn't cry. I seriously love his laugh.

Thankful Thursday

Once again, I decided to dedicate a compilation of pictures to describe how utterly thankful I am with my life.

I am thankful for kids who help with chores (the swiffer and the rake. One day I'll figure out how to attach a swiffer cloth to Adam and he can clean as he crawls).

I am thankful for finding an adventure in the simplest of things.

I am thankful for the humor of the "I can't believe you just fed me peas" face.

I am thankful for beautiful, healthy, happy kids.

And I am thankful for the innocent sound of children laughing and the crazy man that makes us all laugh.

From the eyes of a 3 yr old

Big sister entertainment

Adam's everywhere now. He crawls on his own to Mary's room (his favorite). Today, I was in the kitchen getting ready to make dinner when I heard Mary and Adam just laughing and laughing and laughing. I HAD to go investigate. Of course, I grabbed the camera to hopefully catch a great moment. I did. Yes, afterward, I had to have a chat with Mary about safety, since I knew Doug would probably have a heart attack watching the video. She kept taking big breaths and for some reason it would crack both of them up.


I can't decide which video I like best, so I put them both up for all to see. Enjoy.

It makes me tired just watching

I always put Adam down in his crib while he's awake and walk away. This is supposed to teach him how to put himself to sleep and to self sooth if he wakes during the night (according to all the parenting books and magazines). I frequently hear him in there bouncing around, babbling or what not. This is when I seriously wish for one of those video monitors, but I know I wouldn't get anything done. I'd just sit and watch him the whole time and my blog would go down the drain. Ahem! Those of you in the family that haven't posted in like, forever. You know who you are. Anyway, today I gently cracked open his door, slid the camera around and hit "record" on the video setting. You can tell he saw the camera, but since he didn't see me, he didn't get upset. This is what I saw:

Nap time today

It worked. Now it's my turn (not the jumping, just the napping).

An Eggcellent day at the museum

A small playgroup today. Nicole and the girls met us at the zoo for a morning out. We made a quick, motherly decision to head to the museum where there is air conditioning and then we could go to the rides. You know, those animals really don't like the summer heat and they go inside and sleep if it's too hot. *wink,wink* Guess we'll have to come back in the fall when it's cooler. Mary and Jessica had a good time, Adam and Michelle were allowed to explore and Nicole and I didn't have to push our strollers up that massive hill to see the animals. It was a good morning.

Hands-on exhibits

The favorite ride: "The Mary going round"

Bye-bye Zoo!

The many faces of Adam

Inquisitive

Exuberant

Bashful

Articulate

Entertaining

Thankful Thursday

There are so many things that I am thankful for...my wonderful husband, my two adorable kids... my relaxing days of lounging on the couch eating bon bons and reading a good book. What?!? Oh that's my fantasy. My reality is...if I lounge on the floor, both kids decide I'm fair game and tackle me. One grabs my hair and chews on it all the while trying to half scoot/half crawl on my face and the other decides it's time to tickle mommy. Oh boy. Life is fun. I am truly thankful for all my little blessings.

I'm thankful for sunny days, cheesy smiles and a too small backyard pool.

I'm thankful for free water.
I'm thankful for mischievous looks.
I'm thankful for the joy of waking up.
I'm thankful for the pure bliss of a simple swing.
And I'm thankful for a healthy baby whose growing up way too fast.

(We're trying to curb the screaming before it gets to be a habit. We tell him "no" when he does it. Mary likes to tell him, "It's not funny!")

Wordless Wednesday

A busy day

Today was jam packed with excitement and activities. The summer reading program at the library had their end of the season celebration party at the community center and we were heading there for some face painting, balloon hats and plain ole' fun (not to mention free hot dogs and ice cream). On the positive side, there are LOTS of avid readers on base and it was great to see how many came out to support the library. On the negative side, there are LOTS of readers on base and it was way too crowded. They had various games set up throughout the building and as your kid participated, they would get a stamp on their card (issued at the door) and once it was completely filled (10 stamps), they could take it to the "prize table" and pick a treat. Doug and Adam found a small uninhabited corner while Mary and I walked around. It was too crowded for either of our tastes. She played 2 games, colored at the coloring table and got a balloon hat. The lines for everything else were just way too long. We ended up with an impromptu, but much needed trip to the commissary. No free hot dog or ice cream and no face painting, but she did walk away with a free sample cookie at the grocery store. Not a complete bust.

This afternoon, we headed over to our friend Jaiden's house for his 3rd birthday party. Mary and I made it a "girl's only" outing and had Doug stay home with Adam. Good idea, since there was a crazy amount of people there. Nicole rented this huge water slide/bouncer. It was awesome! Mary had a fabulous time, as you see from her face. I have more pictures posted on Facebook, but here are a few of my favorites.

Priceless "in-action" shots.

With friend's Nick and Mae.

How does it not break your heart?

We go to the playground and Mary's the youngest by a few years. This doesn't bother her in the least. There are 4 big girls- age 6-8. They play a secret game of cat and mouse. They go to one area. Mary follows. They run away and congregate somewhere else. She follows, again they scamper. She doesn't seem to mind. It's a game. To me, it hurts. I just want to grab her and shield her from all the rejection in life, but I know it's a part of growing up. I can't protect her forever. The girls crawl in a tunnel. Mary politely asks, "Please, may I come in there with you?" They scoot over and make room. She's so happy. She looks at me and smiles the 100 watt grin of hers. I'm thrilled that she used good manners. She wedges herself in, they crawl out. She smiles and follows. The game is back.

Cosmic bowling?

No, here in Okinawa, we have Psychedelic bowling.
Ha,ha. Just kidding. This week, we took playgroup out of the house and into the bowling ally. I don't know if it was the combination of excitement for me, excitement for Mary or too much coffee this morning, but I had a hard time getting clear pictures. Good grief, she wouldn't hold still for 1 sec., so I decided to relax and "go with the flow." Mary had a blast bowling for the first time. I must be 1) old (verdict is still pending on that) or 2) haven't been bowling in a long time (true) because they have the coolest invention now. When you type the bowler's name in the screen, it asks if you want bumpers or not. If you say yes, the bumpers automatically rise from the gutters when it's that person's turn to bowl. How amazing it that? The only downside? You have to be 10 yrs. old or younger to use them. Dang, my game could have gotten exponentially better in a snap. There's also a cool ramp for the kids to use to "help" the ball gain enough momentum to get down the ally. Did I mention Mary had a blast?

You know, if I had bumpers and a ramp, I'd probably bowl pretty well too. Do I sound bitter that my 3 yr old scored better that I ever have?

Unfortunately, we did have one minor altercation amongst friends and Mary had to have a little one on one time with the corner. I know a lot of it was due to excitement and hunger, but it was still inappropriate. So later this afternoon, we were in the car talking and this was our conversation. Mary: Mom, I really like bowling. Me: Me too. It was fun. Mary: I fight with Jessica and went to time out. Me: Yes you did. Next time you feel like you're going to fight over something with your friends, you walk away and come find me or one of the other mommies. That way, you won't get into trouble. Mary: I'll try that next time, all right? Me (chuckling): All right.

I know she was hungry, when we all headed to the refreshment area to have lunch and she scarfed down 2 slices of mushroom pizza! I've never seen her eat that much.

So the playgroup was a hit, probably not the most relaxing morning, but with 6 toddlers, 4 infants, 6 mommies, the noise of bowling pins crashing, blaringly loud obnoxious music and marines, it was fun. And I have to give a big THANKS to Nicole. Because of her (and her deployed spouse card) everyone's bowling and shoes were completely FREE. A fantastic perk, but I would gladly pay for my game if Matt could come home tomorrow. She is one amazingly strong woman.

One of these days...

we'll break down and buy a rake. On the other hand, we've been here 2 yrs with 1 more to go and haven't gotten one yet. Maybe we can hold out a bit longer. I know I look pretty funny using Mary's toy rake. I'm too embarrassed to use it in the front yard for fear of criticism, incredulity, or flat out hysterical laughter from the neighbors. ( I will say that our neighbor's 6 yr old son saw me and he just stood there staring...and staring...and staring). Luckily, this week the front yard didn't need it as bad as the back. Here's what I looked like from the eyes of a 3 yr old.

Mary kept telling me to say "Cheese!"