There are certain activities that fall under the category of things you should or will do with your children, but one time should be enough. 

I call it the Mommy Bucket List and today I can check off one of them.

Taking all three children to the dentist by myself. 

I hadn’t actually planned to do this particular task on my own, but my dear husband got home very late last night so I decided to let him get more than three hours of sleep by taking the kids by myself. I had been dreading the outing mainly because Baby E had never been to the dentist, and I was pretty sure he would have a total meltdown.

Much to my surprise he actually enjoyed the visit to the dentist. He marched in there like he owned the place, went straight to the dental chair, crawled up, and sat down in it like he knew exactly what was going on. For a boy who usually shies away from strangers, he was happy and chatty with all the ladies in the office and sat still while they cleaned and examined his teeth. I’m pretty sure he thought the water squirting tool was purely for drinking, as he sat in the chair as the dentist shot streams of water into his open mouth and he gulped down as much as he could. When he was done, I let him choose which sibling would go next (he chose Big E) and then he spent the rest of the visit asking when it would be his turn again. After we left he kept asking to go back to the Dentist House.

Big E did great and didn’t squirm or complain. C was not nearly as amused by the visit, and she was visibly nervous, though she held it together pretty well. It helped that they gave the kids balloons and stickers for being so patient.

The good news was that we were cavity free across the board! Wahoo!!

With that said, let’s play a game. Count how many things you can check off of the Mommy Bucket List and total them up. Then let me know what your number is!

1. Dentist visit with all of your children at once.
2. Grocery shopping with all of your children right before dinnertime.
3. Picking your child’s nose because you couldn’t find a tissue.
4. Getting pulled over with your children in the backseat.
5. Using a public restroom while your child is loudly announcing a play by play of your bathroom activities.
6. Take all of your children to IKEA, bonus point if you go at nap time.
7. Go out to a nice restaurant with the entire family.
8. Play monopoly with small children.
9. Cave and give your children dessert before dinner. (Trust me, they will remember the next day. And the day after that. And all the days into eternity.)
10. Wipe someone else’s bum until wiping someone else’s bum no longer has shock value.

There you have it. I scored an 8. How about you??? What’s your score? Also, anything you would add to the list?

 

 

Going through old pictures today and found this one and decided to show it to the kids…

 

“Ew!! Yucky! You guys are kissing!!! Let me be the first one to say that is disgusting!!!” Big E said as he ran away, pretending to make vomiting noises as he went.

“And let me be the second one to say that is disgusting!!!” C added as she wrinkled up her nose in revulsion.

And Baby E, who thinks the only use of the word ‘Yucky’ is in reference to diapers, just sat there screaming “Poopy! Poopy!”

Hmmm. I pictured that playing out differently in my head!

I heard the noise before my eyes opened. As I came slowly to, I felt the heavy weight of my blanket pressing me down, but the ceiling looked unfamiliar and the lighting seemed foreign. I laid there for a moment trying to make sense of my surroundings as the heavy fog fell away. I’m on the couch. A thought that was confirmed as I glanced over to the window. The blinds were drawn, but the sunshine peeked around the edges. What time is it?? I felt around for my phone. It was 3:30. I had been asleep for two hours, but it might just as well have been two days. I can’t remember the last time I slept that heavy, and would likely have slept longer if I hadn’t heard Baby E’s gleeful screams from his bed as he noticed his cousins playing outside.

I’m looking forward to the longer days and warmer temperatures that should be coming soon. It will make the weekends more fun, as the kids will get to be outside more, playing with their cousins and running off their energy. I’m ready for winter to be over. It hasn’t been particularly cold or snowy, but it has been long, dark, and germ-filled and I am ready for it to be gone. I am so very ready.

 

These are my children… playing with the same toys, with the same rules, at the same time. This next to never happens. I’d say it is usually Baby E that puts a damper on things as he often tries to steal their toys and hide them behind his back. He doesn’t want the other kids up in his face and he often yells at them even if they are just passing by. The big kids bicker constantly, which is enough to drive one mad. C likes to control most of the games, and Big E likes to make large, grand gestures that often backfire and end up injuring himself or someone else. But every once in a while a moment like this happens, and I want to bottle it up and save it for later, you know, when they are all at each other’s throats!

I pulled up to my house last evening as the rain was starting to fall in earnest. The temperature had been dropping and the sun was already down. As I put the van in park, I peered through the streaks in my windshield at my darkened front door.

I don’t have a key.

The thought flashed quickly through my mind as I replayed my chaotic morning. I had made the mistake of taking the key off my keychain over the weekend, and it had not yet made its way back on. But perhaps Tim had left one for me. I hesitated, but finally stepped out into the rain and scoured for a hidden key. The water was running through my hair, soaking through my clothes. I could hear the children bickering and fighting in the van as they waited for me to open the door. To no avail, there was no key.

I ran back to the van to find Baby E in full out wailing, and the other kids glancing at him nervously as I got in. What’s wrong with Baby E?

We were playing a game with this, C responded as she held up a bright orange tie down rope, the kind you use to attach something to the roof of your vehicle. From the end dangled a large metal clasp of some sort. I was trying to throw this to Big E… But I missed. 

What did you hit?? I asked.

It accidentally hit Baby E in the head. It was an accident. 

I looked over to Baby E, tears soaking his cheeks. My goodness that must have hurt. I rubbed his head and looked for a bump and tried to comfort him as I contemplated both his bruised head and our locked door. When he finally calmed down, I began making phone calls in search of an extra key. Thankfully only about ten minutes passed before I actually got a hold of one, and I was grateful that my sister in law was around and could let us into our home.

Once inside, dripping wet, our evening only went downhill from there. With everyone overly hungry and tired, there were plenty of tantrums and outbursts before finally getting everyone in bed.

With last night fresh in my memory, I opted that we stay in this evening and have a quick dinner and early bedtime. Surprisingly, the evening went smoothly, and the children and I had a wonderful time. Here’s to hoping another good night’s sleep will keep the tantrums at bay.

 

 

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/hesitate/

 

 

The world is big, but he is still yet so small. Sleep well, my love. 

Big E has been sporting a John Denver haircut for months now. I’ve asked him time and again if I can cut his hair, but he has always insisted that he likes it long. In recent weeks he developed a full on mullet, so I started finding creative ways to broach the subject. One day I heard him talk about how cool it would be to have brown hair. I mentioned that the tips of his hair were blond, but nearer to his scalp the hair was brown. I suggested that he consider cutting it to make it look more brown. That seemed to do the trick, and this evening he finally let Tim cut it!

And once Baby E caught wind that his big brother was getting a haircut, he begged to have his done as well. So this evening, Baby E had  his very first haircut. It was hard to see the pile of blond curls sitting on the ground, and I admit that his new haircut makes his head seem even larger (is that even possible?!?!) but he does still look pretty adorable (and a little less homeless!)