My Dentist's Name is Crentist

Any Seinfeld fans remember that one?  I really felt like telling M and N their new destist's name is Crentist, but I refrained.

Because they would think it's hilarious and call him Crentist.

For the rest. of. his. life.

So we call him Dr. M., his name.

I prepped the kids for a week or so, reading library books about going to the dentist, focusing on brushing twice a day (as opposed to at only bedtime) and talking about mommy and daddy's visits.

M seemed okay with it and ready to go.

N was worried about the shots.  Because of course the dentist library book showed a kid getting a Novocaine shot before his filling.  And he badgered us about getting our own shots before fillings.  He was fascinated with my "fake tooth," my crown, and questioned me relentlessy.

I took the kids by myself while Hubs worked from home and C napped.  But I got a nice surprise when we walked in, Great Grandpa and Great Grandma S were in the waiting room!

Surprise!  Great Grandma S has the same dentist!

So while Grandma S went to get a filling with Dr. M., Great Grandpa S came with us - the two hygienists each took a twin using the divide and conquer mode.  I went with N and Grandpa sat with M, which worked out really well.  (I wasn't made aware of the change of plans, since we were going to have M go first and N watch).   The rooms were next door to one another, but N was so wiggly, and the lines of view obstructed, I only got a few shots.

N tests Mr. Thirsty

I ran over to snap a pic of M but he was already engrossed in his cleaning, and Grandpa was watching carefully on:

I ran back to N where I knew he was okay because the hygeinist gave him teeth to clean:

Then wouldn't you know it, the fellas were rounded up for x rays, the camera and stuff got left behind while I was left trying to gently coach N to sit still from behind the half wall while the X rays floated about M. It was a whirlwind, but the boys were more excited and curious than worried and scared, the appointment itself went well and the kids are excited about their new toothbrushes.

Dr. M. then showed me the x rays, where he discovered several cavities and referred us to a pediatric dentist for filling them.  Needless to say, another disappointing end to an otherwise pleasant visit - remember, this is the guy who made my crown last month!  But it's not his fault.  It's likely mine and my blase attitude toward brushing at the end of  long days of parenting many small, challenging children by myself.  Boo me, right?

The bright side is that Great Grandpa and Grandma were still there to wrangle the fellas in the waiting room and ooh and ahh over their "goodie bags," wherein they discovered their first ever flossers (oh, my gosh, do you know how much I hate flossing my OWN teeth?  NOW I have to floss 40 more!) while I made pediatric dentist consultation appointments and 6 month cleaning appointments.

Maybe I will call him Crentist, after all.

Future Olympians

We kept M and N up on Saturday night to watch the Olympics.  What a hoot!
The coverage started with hockey, so we had to educate them on what a puck, net, stick was...that the Americans wore dark blue and we cheer for them to score.

What we didn't expect was for the kids to get SO into it!  The only sport we watch here is football, and they couldn't care less about it.  Imagine our surprise when, each time the Russians scored in the shootout, N would pound his fist on the blanket and cry, "Oh, pistachios!"

Pistachios?  We don't swear here, but neither do we use the term "pistachios" when we are upset.  We cracked up laughing, more each time he did it.

Or when he would put his face in his hands in exasperation when the Russians scored.

Then he would cheer, "GO AMERICA!" each time we scored.

Imagine his delight when America won the game.

SO FUNNY!

Then skeleton came on and we had to explain that.  Two Americans were competing against each other for the bronze, one named Matt and the other named John.  M immediately chose Matt to be "him," and each time Matt was on the screen, he would shout, "That's me!  I'm going next!"

Of course, you know N chose John to be "him," because that's his middle name.

It was all very entertaining and cute for a few minutes.

Then John's sled bobbled off the course and his time was poor, knocking him out of medal contention.  N was very upset by this.

Then the unthinkable happened: it was Matt's turn.  And he won the bronze.

M was cheering him on, gloating when "he" won because, you know, M did all the work.

N was crying by now, no...sobbing...extremely distraught that he didn't win the gold medal.

We tried explaining that it was a man named John, not him.
We tried explaining that neither won a gold.
We tried to make M stop gloating.
We tried consoling N for his loss.
We wound up crying it out for poor John and his loss...consoling N that John, too, was sobbing uncontrollably in his mother's lap due to his loss.  We are all skeleton fans, now.  Who knew?


Then skiing!  Oh, the skiing!

Hubs has been teaching the boys to ski this winter at Bintz' Apple Mountain.  Which is a hill, for those of you out of the area...way smaller than Buck Hill.

So they were really into the ski jumping, saying cute things about how they are going to jump tomorrow at Bintz (there is no jump there) and ski in the "E-lympics!" For the first time this season I suited up and went out there with them to take photos for our future "Thank you, Mom," commercials P&G runs.

Look how tiny the skis are!

N gets some help putting his skis on

N hams it up before his first run

M's action shot, running the bunny hill alone

N's disappointed he has to go in

Uncle A arrived for second shift

Up up and away, N (red helmet) holds towrope alone, M in dad's arms

All the guys going up!

N takes a spill

After I left and the guys had had several bunny hill runs, they were rewarded with some rides on the "Cherry lift," as N likes to call it.  It's his favorite thing!  The twins are really getting a feel for skiing - M is already asking to snowboard, much to his dad's chagrin.  We shall see, maybe we will let them stay up to watch the snowboarding tonight.

 I can't help but wonder if my 3 future Olympians might sweep the medals stand someday?  

Can't you just see it? 

Graduation of Sorts

Sunday C turned 21 months.  Monday he graduated out of his high chair. 

These graduations are never planned, never thought out - they just happen.  They almost always involve a struggle in which my child wants to be "big," freaks out on me until I can't take it anymore, then I make the big thing he wants to do happen. 

Sweet things that ended in an inglorious graduation of sorts:

Nursing
Baby Food
Bouncy Chair
Jumparoo
High Chair

Cribs ended that way with the twins right around 24 months.  So 3 more months in the crib, hopefully more.  He doesn't have a naughty little twin brother in there initiating escapes, so we might make it last a little longer (please God please).

Here he is eating a cookie and milk with his big brothers at the table yesterday, buckled in the booster seat now attached to the chair.  

It's about time you figured it out, Mom.

That cookie he's eating?  Banana flavored cookie dough, decorated with cherry flavored cookie dough  (sounds delicious, huh?)  Everything in my house really is decorated by a preschooler.  You should see how we began decorating for our Valentine's Day dinner this morning!

Pirate Party Post

Friday night's pirate party was a success!  Much fun was had by all.  The boys' eyes were as wide as saucers walking into the decorated gymnasium filled with pirates, princesses, a DJ, and lights!  After surveying the crowd while noshing on pizza and carrot sticks, we jumped in and danced the night away!

 Here is the official A Family Pirate Costume Picture!

 One little girl in M and N's preschool class, who is adorable and was dressed as a princess of course, seems to have taken a liking to M. She quietly approached me and M while we danced and reached out her hand, so we took it and danced in a circle together. It was so cute we tried to get M and the little girl, M, to dance together, but my guy wasn't having any of it.  But little girl M wasn't giving up,either, so I wound up dancing with the two of them together for a while!

Below, a close up of M and his pirate goatee, wearing off a bit after a couple of hours!

Little pirate N pooped out quickly, around 7:30, begging us to go home.  We convinced him to stay until 8:00, when the costume prizes were being awarded (for no other reason than to stay for more than hour, really).  However, upon NOT winning the costume contest (sorry, N but you weren't really in the running....it took a bit of convincing to get you to wear that shirt and cut off pants!) he lost it, sobbing "I DIDN'T WIN!" only to be let down again 5 minutes later when Mom and Dad didn't win, either.  Poor fella.  How do you explain that the guy who won had a head to toe Pirates of the Caribbean costume?  We were sporting loaners and a Goodwill blouse!  Try telling an overtired 4 year old that the fun is in playing, not winning.

A cupcake and the Electric Slide solved the problem, followed by a quick exit.  We didn't win the costume booty, but we still took home our treasures!

A special thank you to Ms. K. for costumes and to Grandma K. for C's childcare, making the Pirate Family Dance a success for us!