Rocks and Hard Places

I went to the dentist.  I hadn't been since we were trying to get pregnant the first time around and Zoe is now three, so...I know a lot of people go a lot longer than that, seeing how UNcommon it is for people to have dental insurance, but the last time I went was because I was concerned about a sensitive tooth and I was supposed to go back 6 months after that for a follow up...four years later and halfway across the country and I finally went.  The verdict is somewhere in between my best case scenario, which I figured was that my sensitive tooth was something I couldn't do anything about and was going to have to live with (in other words, $100 for a cleaning) or worst case, at least one root canal or cap or something (several thousand dollars).  The result was middle of the road....a cavity (a few hundred dollars). She also recommended that I get my WISDOM TEETH PULLED.  Ugh!!  Thought I'd dodged that bullet when we decided I didn't need them pulled as a kid....Anyway, I paid few hundred dollars for the full mouth scan (xrays) and a consult and I was sent on my way with an estimate for the cleaning and cavity filling.  I didn't make an appointment right then so that I could talk it over with Nathan and figure out a good day and time for me to go get that done.  What's crazy is that, considering the cost I actually didn't want to go back for ANY of it...even though my tooth has been bothering me for at least 4 years, and I am definitely due for a cleaning.  Not to mention the fact that getting a cavity filled isn't exactly FUN (am I the only one whose childhood dentist didn't give them novocaine until they were old enough to ask for it??) Why is it that dental work is so easy to sweep under the rug?  Even more mysterious and frustrating is why it's so rare for people to have dental insurance, and when they do have it, it's usually crappy?  At any rate, I'll go back and shell over the cash for the cleaning and filling but will just have to wait on the wisdom teeth and hope for the best.

On the kid front, we've had some interesting bedtimes lately.  When Zoe was an only child, she--for the longest time--insisted that ONLY MOMMY could put her to bed.  It was frustrating, but I kind of just went along with it because I didn't feel like dealing with the tantrum that ensued any time we tried to let Daddy do it.  Okay, looking back, I can admit that it probably made me feel good that she wanted ME so I obliged....When I got pregnant though, all I could think about was how that was not going to fly when the new baby came.  For the past couple of months though, Nathan has been putting Zoe to bed in her room and I've been putting Owen to bed in our room and she's barely complained.  Then when we started the sleep training with Owen, Nathan and I switched kids, and now that both kids are in one room, Nathan and I decided we should take turns putting them to bed.  On Daddy's first night of this, Zoe threw an absolute FIT.  I was at a complete loss as to what to do because, unlike when she was an only child, I have absolutely no interest in being the bedtime parent every single night, but it's a huge challenge making that a reality.  It's not that I feel bad for her when she's melting down, it's that she makes it impossible to ignore her...she follows me around screaming and crying and won't lie down in her bed.  So, anyway after some great advice from a friend, Nathan and I decided to go the route of not letting her get to us (which will involve Nathan physically restraining her, safely of course, in his lap while calmly reading and pretending everything is normal) and finding the humor in it all, which is why I took the following video at bedtime last night (by the way, the little twinge of guilt I feel when watching this today is attributed to the fact that we discovered today that Owen has ANOTHER double ear infection...ugh!):

In case you can't understand her, she is saying "I WANT MOMMY TO PUT ME TO BED!! I WANT MOMMY TO PUT ME TO BED!!"  Ah, these little buggers keep us on our toes that is for sure.  I've never had a more confusing job in my life.  Of  course, if it weren't for all of the entertainment they provide they would be in big, big trouble.  Zoe has been into putting on shows for us lately, and she teamed up with her friend Hunter (who is another show biz at heart kid) the other day...

I don't know if you can make out anything they are saying, but my two favorite parts are in the beginning.  Hunter tells Zoe they have to take a sip of water, so they do and then he says "Ready, steady GO!"  So silly.

Here they are checking themselves out...

Anyway, it took a really long time, but our little glue and bead sun catchers finally dried and are hanging in our window.  I'm really happy with the way they turned out and recommend the project to children and adults of all ages.  I enjoyed making mine and it was simple enough that Zoe stayed interested the whole way through and I didn't help her with hers at all.

Mine

Hers

Finally, I just wanted to share this picture of our patio because it makes me so happy.  Spring has sprung and even though we are still getting the cold weather mixed in with the beautiful, you can't ignore the flowers that are popping and the fact that I can almost always hang my laundry outside these days..  Yay!