The Wednesday News, July 7, 2010

Tootsie Pop

Do you remember this commercial from the 70s?  It's actually still being run on either Nickelodeon or Disney Channel, but not in its entirety.  I guess 30 seconds is too long for modern-day greed advertising.

Mom

Anyway, I'm going to begin with me today.  My kids have been enjoying Tootsie Pops as treats this week.  After they went to bed, I thought, "Why not.  I'll have one, or two or thhhhhrree."  I can't remember which one did it, but one of them broke TWO OF MY TEETH!  I guess at my age, I shouldn't be biting such things, although Mr. Turtle was probably older than me, but that's beside the point (don't turtles live for like 200 years?).  I couldn't believe it!  I even took many more licks than thhhhhrree, so I didn't even think it could do any damage.

Luckily there was no pain, but my dentist had to do two new fillings.  I swear I've never had my teeth drilled so much in my entire life (and I've had a lot of cavities in my day as well as 2 root canals in the same tooth and several crowns...so I know what I'm talking about!).  Are you familiar with the drill bit the dentist uses that makes your whole skull vibrate?  I swear I was going to pick up a TV show to view on my glasses I was vibrating so much (in SPITE of the digital age!).  Then, there was the numbness.

Now, I was hungry on my way over to the dentist.  He fit me in at dinnertime so my husband would be home from work to watch the kids.  I thought it would be gross to eat on the way when my dentist was going to examine my teeth so I didn't.  Then, my mouth stayed numb for HOURS afterward so I coudn't eat without biting my tongue by accident!  I tried to eat a sandwich anyway and chew very carefully on my left side.  After all, I didn't want any more medical treatment today!

In other news, my Blogoversary is fast approaching!  13 more days!  I can't believe it's been almost a year already!  I would like to thank all of my friends and family who follow as well as all of the new people I've met in the blogosphere!  I am thoroughly enjoying sharing our life with you!  More comments would be nice though (hint, hint)!  If you have a blog, please let me know and I'll follow you!  I love reading blogs just as much as writing mine!

It was great to have Dave home for an extra day on Monday for the Independence Day holiday.  I got a LOT of rest and we had a blast going to see fireworks.  To me, July 4th is NOT complete without fireworks!

Probably the best part of my week though was meeting a friend for dinner who I haven't seen in 26 years!  She lives in a neighboring state (about 1 1/2 hours away from me), but was passing through close to my area.  It was terrific (and weird!) to see her after all of these years!  High school graduation, college, grad school, marriage, kids...all happened in that time period where we had lost contact for awhile!  She found me on Facebook.  We swore to each other that we were NOT going to let another 26 years go by again!

Here's another shameless hint, just because my blog posts import on Facebook (eventually), doesn't mean my Facebook friends can't follow my blog here too!  :)

Harrison

Harry and Malcolm got a big kiddie pool for their birthday!  Thanks, Grandma!!!  It's 3 feet tall and 10 feet across, so it's suitable for the older kids too!  We've had a heatwave in the Northeast this week.  The kind where you know your air conditioner's on, but you're still sweating.  It hasn't rained at all either, so every afternoon, we were out splashing!  A couple of our neighbor's kids also fit in it.

Harry loves playing with the neighbors and the older kids' friends.  They dote all over him (piggyback rides, underdogs on the swings) so who could blame him for enjoying it?

Harry and Malcolm had their 6-year-old physical on Wednesday.  They are exactly the same height and Harry weighs a whopping 1/2 pound more than Malcolm.  I'll have to check the sheet to see if they had the same exact blood pressure!  They did a few physicals ago.  Our pediatrician said that even though she has many patients who are identical twins, these guys take the cake for "identicalness" in terms of being so close in height and weight.

They're both healthy and growing great!  Yay!

Lillian

Lilly had the opportunity to spend over 24 hours with a school friend this week.  A playdate turned into a sleepover which turned into swimming at the friend's grandparents' private beach.  I missed her!  That night, Andy had baseball practice right near the same friend's house so she and Lilly played together for at least another hour!

I love to watch my kids bonding with their friends.  It's also good for Lilly to get out from under all of the "maleness" around here!  She's been enjoying the new pool too.  So far, she hasn't been missing going to the lake even though it's much deeper, of course, than the kiddie pool and she can really practice her swimming there.

Dad

Dave has next week off!  All four kids have full-day camp for five days!!!  That's right, he arranged his week off at the same time.  We won't be doing a family vacation again this year due to the budget, but that's OK!  We have so much fun doing local things and day trips, we don't miss it!

So, we're going to tear this house apart and GET ORGANIZED!!  It will be so much easier without the kids here for many reasons, but most of all, we can stay focused and keep a good schedule for the work.

Dave spent the majority of the July 4th weekend installing the pool.  It is a permanent (summer-only) pool with a filter so it's a little involved.  We also found out that our state requires a fence to be built around pools that "deep".  Even though the law may be overkill, we thought it was best to build one since there are so many wee children in our neighborhood.

So, in 95+ degree heat, Dave was out in the sun with a rented post-hole digger and tools putting up the fence with a gate and a good lock.  I helped a little with the labor but mostly brought out drinks and kept the air conditioners cranked so he could come in and take breaks.  The fence looks terrific!  THANK YOU DADDY!!! 

The yard was not as "level" as it looked at first, so the pool is lopsided.  That is this weekend's job!  When it looks like it should, I'll show you a picture!

Malcolm

Mal is loving the pool just like everyone else.  He also did great at his physical even though I couldn't convince him that he was not going to get a shot this year.  He enjoyed the tooth fairy money he received.  Since last I wrote, Malcolm lost a second tooth during an excursion to the grocery store!  Of course, the floor was a beige color, but we did find it!  We're very fortunate though.  Our tooth fairy comes regardless of whether or not you actually have the physical tooth "evidence".

Both he and Harry are excited for camp next week!  I think they'll do fine with the full-day schedule.  You cannot tire my kids out!!

Andy

Andy had his first baseball practice on Wednesday evening.  The summer league is different from the regular season.  There is more of an age range and they focus mostly on skill-building.  He was happy to see some familiar faces on the team.  He did find it unbearably hot though, even at 6pm, it was still in the 80s!  Ditto on the pool enjoyment for Andy!