On the playground

When I picked up Lily from school today, she hadn't finished eating her lunch yet. She was still sitting at the table, with her chair pushed back about a foot or two, and half of her sandwich sitting on the table in front of her. At first I thought she was in a timeout and I wasn't sure what was going on.

And who knows if that has anything to do with anything else.. but it's the first time that it's happened in the 2-plus months she's been going to school. I was even a little bit late picking her up, which happens sometimes. (Okay, more than sometimes.) So, I was surprised.

She said she was done, so I encouraged her to head off to the bathroom. And she did. When she came out and back over to me, she started talking about a boo boo she'd gotten. I said "what?" several times, as I was a little confused. Part of the confusion was because one of her teachers (an assistant?) was standing 3 or 4 feet away and didn't interject. At all.

The other part of the "confusion"? Lily was telling me that a girl had thrown a ball at her outside and then was laughing at her! And some point in between Lily had fallen. I think I said something like.. "what?!" And I don't even know what my face looked like, but it included some really, really widened eyes.

I was just about to ask her for more details (like, uh, what happened to the horrid brat that injured ma pwecious wittle munkin) when the teacher finally spoke up to say that Lily had tripped over a ball outside and that that was what my child was trying to tell me.

Hmm.

The two stories were sort of similar (both involving a ball and my child meeting the pavement harshly) and yet not similar enough. I had no idea if this teacher was even outside with them when it happened and I wasn't interested in arguing with anyone (because also, I'm pretty certain they already think I'm nutso) so I didn't say much in response. I believe my comment was "oh!".. like 'gosh, aren't children so silly and amusing.'

In the car and once we got home the story was more along the lines of Lily tripping over a ball (but I couldn't determine if it'd been thrown at her or not).. then someone ran over (in a ride-on toy) her arm!

So, I don't know. I think something happened TO her, not just 4 year old clumsiness/inattention, but I don't know what. And I'm never going to know, really. Because whichever teacher or teachers were out there probably didn't see the incident from start to finish.

But she told me she cried, that a teacher picked her up to hold her, and that she got a bandaid. So.. that.. at least that.

A day like yesterday

Yesterday was a day like.. there are a bunch of errands (outside the house) to be done and I'm home alone.. with 2 children under the age of 5. Who knows when Jason is going to be home.. so I just need to grit my teeth and try to get as much done as I can. With my children.

Yes, even I thought I'd lost my mind.

We went to the bank. And that was fine. Thank goodness for drive-thrus where children can remain strapped down. In their car seats I mean.

Then I needed to return something (and buy something else) at Old Navy. Which meant unstrapping wild children and walking into a mall. On a Saturday. And I could either park very far away and walk from the other end of the mall OR walk past an arcade/food court or walk past a bunch of ride on toys. And I started to realize these people's clever plan.. and hate them.

I chose to walk past the rides. BUT I cleverly used the stroller to block Lily's view while I pointed out a Christmas wreath in the window of a store on the opposite side. I won that round. But oh, she certainly won all the rest of the rounds on that visit. She had a small tantrum in the store because she didn't want to try on a jacket for next year because it wasn't red. She spotted the rides on the way out of the mall and I had to drag (yes, actually drag) her out. She was crazy in the parking lot, refused to get in the car, and I'm pretty sure there was screaming of some sort. Why is there always people around when the screaming happens?

She promised she would be good in the next store. And I believed her.

Target. I returned one thing and bought more formula for Noah. She was okay for the most part in the store, riding in the large part of the carriage. Yes, I'm one of those parents. But I don't let her stand up- she has to sit down at all times.. on her butt, not her feet. She leaped out about 7 or 8 months ago when I was paying and Jason next to her but not watching. Etc. (Another story for another day.) So now I have to tell her about 25 times a trip to sit on her butt, not her feet. It's awesome. Not really.

She started acting up on the way out because she wanted pizza. And she saw they had pizza. But I told her no. She started yelling as we went through the doors. With no other arsenal in my bag of tricks, someone must have been looking out for me from above. Just as we got outside, a police car drove by slowly- and I told Lily they were looking for the little girl that was screaming, so she better be quiet before they think it was her. And she was. Miraculously.

I put everything in the car except my children and we walked the cart to the nearby cart receptacle.  Then Lily wouldn't get out and there were feet and arms everywhere. When I finally did get her out she didn't want to stay still, and not run over, while I got Noah out. Then when all that was done and we somehow hobbled to the car, she didn't want to get in. Familiar? Except this time she was actually laying on the pavement. I can't even..

I can't remember how I got all of us in the car. Probably threatened to just go home and not on to anymore stores. Which.. I don't know.

The last stop was actually the one I was most afraid of. And after the middle two stops, I really must have been an idiot to try what I assumed would be the final and most difficult stop of the day my life. I tried to prepare myself and Lily. And when we got off the highway.. and she saw the McDonalds.. that was it. THAT was her motivation. And I took it. Even though.. I don't care for fast food.. especially for my children. But sometimes.. as a mother, we have to take things like this.. and just.. deal with it. For our own sanity and the sake of eating other meals with food bought at that grocery store we really need to get to.

And she was good. She was really good. Sat in the grocery cart the entire time, just playing around with items that I was stacking around her. Sat there quietly while I paid. It was craziness. Noah was actually the only problem the whole time.. started crying as I was checking out. But I just replaced the binky that he'd taken out of his mouth himself, and everything was right with the world again.

Then we went to McDonald's. Because I kind of had to. And although she changed her mind 10 times about whether she wanted a cheeseburger or chicken- it was fine. Until she got home and got upset all over again because she had wanted chicken not a cheeseburger. Ohmagoodness kid.

what we did this week

1. Just studying nature on the way to get the mail.
2. A drawing of Lily's nightmare. Which is not at all what she called it, but after she told me the whole story.. I don't know what else you'd call it. She didn't seem bothered by it.. which.. kind of bothered me. Because.. it was pretty awful.. especially for a 4 year old. Unless.. she's just really aware that it's not real.. and therefore isn't something that she should be scared of? Ya, that actually sounds a lot more like her. (Relief sigh.)
3. I voted on Tuesday. But, I mean..
4. Just as the nor'easter was set to arrive..
5. Oh, like a week or so after Halloween Jason and Lily carved one of the little pumpkins we had. But you think we actually had any (real) candles to stick in it? Heck no- we have 2 little kids.. and also we are beyond paranoid about fires. So.. Lily's clever mother (me! it was me!) thought to use a birthday candle. And it worked perfectly.
6. It was a little windy here this week. And I totally did not take this picture while I was driving. (I was stopped at a red light.)

Morning denistry

After 5 hours of sleep, I went to the dentist this morning. At like.. 8:30? Who the heck invented such early dentist appointments? And do you know that they actually have them even earlier than that? Craziness.

It was only my second visit to this particular dentist- the first was for a "consultation." During the consultation they took some xrays (did you know that some dentists don't use film anymore? they have a device that is shaped the same as those little film pieces that go in your mouth, but they just move it around and take multiple pictures. and it pops right up on a screen behind your head!), they took some picture of my teeth (with a pen-looking device. actual pictures of the top of my teeth, so I could see what they were seeing), and measured the depth of my cavities with another pen-like device. There was also a tv on the ceiling. Craziness.

But back to today. I took my jacket off and sat down in the chair- just as I started to feel cold, the assistant immediately offered me a blanket. A blanket! And obviously I took her up on the offer. I snuggled up, watched some Today Show on the ceiling, and waited for the dentist.

My mouth has started to turn against me in my old age and suddenly I have 200 cavities every time I visit the dentist. Also, I've had bad experiences the last two times I had cavities fixed. I won't elaborate, but I now have a paralyzing fear of cavity repair. Hence, trying out a new dentist.. that turns out to offer.. wait for it.. air abrasion!

I had never heard of such a thing before the initial consultation. Since a few cavities were so shallow, they weren't forced to drill. And now that I've had 4 cavities taken care of with it.. it was not so bad.  No drill, no Novocaine.. I barely felt anything.. just a little bit of the sand shooting onto my tongue occasionally.

I still have to go back for 2 more cavities (and 1 broken filling redone) with Novocaine, drilling, and all kinds of advanced dentistry to help me not freak the F out, but.. at least it's not 7. Yet..