The Contents of My Brain

This could get scary.

Sadly though, there just isn’t a whole lot going on up there today.

I am eagerly anticipating our first true snow storm of the season.  They’re saying that tomorrow up to 18 inches of the white stuff may fall upon this little blue house in the middle of our little town in our cold little state, even though my friends in Virginia are experiencing temps near 70 and are already breaking out the swimsuits and sunscreen.  (I’m not jealous. I’m not jealous. I’m not jealous.)

After my daughter wakes from her nap we are headed to the craft store and grocery store to buy some supplies, junk food, and ingredients for a healthy soup. It’s all about balance I say.  I have a list of things I hope to accomplish in the next two days while I’m stuck at home and I am so excited about it!  We’ll see how much gets done.

Chris is in Alaska this week attending a conference.  He sent pictures yesterday of a sled dog competition he was able to watch.  He was having a good time. I wasn’t quite so zealous to tag along with him on this trip!  My Dad took the boys today to head to their house for a few days to whether out the weather.  That’s fun to type. Is it just as much fun to read? 

So, it’s girls time here. 

We’re headed out for some barbeque tonight to start things off right.

This morning my dear father, who turns 64 fabulous years old today, spent his time coming down here to help me take three little rascals to the dentist. 

They all had staggering appointment times, and I wasn’t sure how I would juggle leaving a child or two unattended in the waiting room, so it was great to have some extra hands.

This was a new dentist for all the kids, and Adelyn’s first visit.  This is the place where Chris and I go, so we thought it would be nice to have the whole family at the same  place.  I love this place.  This past summer they were offering a deal for new patients to get a free electronic toothbrush.  That was the main draw for Chris and I.  They also give a $25 gift card for each person you refer to their clinic.  So three children = shopping spree!  (They said it was legit, and even gave me the cards and the idea, so I’m not experiencing too much guilt over this one!)

Adelyn was not so sure about that dentist, as you can see from the pic above.  She did end up giving him a high five before we left though, so I guess you could say she came around.

The boys did great.  They loved those glasses and going for a ride in the big chair.  Cool stuff.  Their teeth both look great however two things need to happen:

1. Begin flossing.

2. Stop sucking thumbs.

Oy.

This should be fun.  The flossing thing – not a big deal…just need to work it in to our routine and have them lay still for a few minutes.

The sucking thing.  Nooooot going to be fun.  The boys love their “bookies” (burp cloth).  When they have their bookie they have their thumb in their mouth. Simple as that.  So the solution should also be just as simple right?  Take away bookies, no thumb sucking.  I think we’ll do it in baby steps. We’ll start with just allowing them to have their bookies in bed.  Right now they go with them everywhere.  In the car, downstairs to play, to nap, etc.  They don’t use them all that often during the day, but it seems like it is a security for them to know they are there.  I would love to hear advice from any of you who have been there/done that with thumb sucking or pacifiers or something similar.  Is it best to just go cold turkey?  Mail the bookies off to China or Santa Claus or something?

After the dentist we ran some errands and then took Bapa to a birthday lunch at IHOP.  Who doesn’t love IHOP?  It was really nice and they even gave Bapa a huge hot fudge sundae to celebrate.  As you can imagine we needed five spoons on hand to share that!  The only mishap came at the end when I went up to pay and left Grandpa in charge of the rest.  From the front of the restaurant I heard my child scream and cry.  It wasn’t an “I’m hurt” scream.  More of an “I’m annoyed” cry, so without even investigating I knew that Bapa could handle it.   I like to share my children like that.  Upon returning to the table I discovered that the fight was over some scraps of food that were left on the table and who was going to eat them.  This older couple sitting nearby (Gray haired people at IHOP?  That doesn’t usually happen does it? ), was glancing over at us smiling.  I apologized for the distraction.  They just laughed and said it was fun to sit there and watch Bapa blush and want to crawl under the table.  My Dad told them they should have come over to help.  They said that it was much more fun to just sit back and watch!  Been there, done that I guess!

Isn’t my Dad just the most handsome man?  He is such a gentle, kind soul.  He has such a giving heart and truly LOVES my children (and me I think too!  And my Mom And my brothers. And his other grandchildren.  Okay, this man just loves a lot!).  They know it too.  They run to home with no abandon, arms open, smiles spread wide, soaking him in.  Adelyn says hi to him every time he enters a room.  When he leaves she puts her little hands up and says, “Where Bapa?”  I love you Dad!