Friday, June 25, 2010

The Second Week of Summer.

Now, that's what we're talkin' about!

You can't beat staying at the Disneyland Hotel, but apart from that, the Second Week of Summer kicked the First Week of Summer's butt!

Middle Girl and The Boy did soccer camp every morning this week, and loved it! The coaches were all 19- and 20-year-olds from Britain, and they played games, did drills, staged a mock World Cup all week (the kids wore the colors of their team, researched the countries, made flags...), and generally put together a great experience for the kids. They wrote a personal note to each kid about their strengths during the week, which really impressed me. I especially love seeing The Boy when he comes out of his shell, which happened very quickly. They are looking forward to doing it again next year!

Big Girl and I had some time alone together. Times like this are really good for our relationship. We did a little grocery shopping (she wanted to buy every single sweet she saw), visited the library, bought some new music from iTunes, played with the new DSLR camera, and just generally enjoyed each other's company.

In the afternoons we had playdates with friends nearly every day. Three of those were at our house, spending hours in the pool! The kids are already sporting tans despite the SPF 85 we are lathering all over ourselves multiple times a day. (Me, I sit in the shade. I am a shade-loving plant.)

One night we went to a concert in the park. It was the local historic marionette troupe, and we try to catch their show about every other year. I reconnected with a college friend there, who has a busy three-year-old daughter and she was always running off. I remember those days, when you were lucky to string four words together! His second baby is due in August, so things are about to get chaotic-crazy-wonderful!

After the concert, we stopped by the brand-new frozen yogurt place. It's one of those serve yourself places, where you can add any amount of crazy toppings because you pay by weight. That's right, this summer has brought FroYo within walking distance of our house. Dangerous.

Second Week of Summer FTW!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

The start of summer

Very uneven start to our summer.

Picked up the kids from their last day of school (early dismissal), then headed straight to an orthodontist appointment. I thought it was one last consultation, so I thought it would be quick and we would be on with our day, which included a sleepover with Big Girl's best friend.

But I was wrong.

The brackets were glued onto Big Girl's teeth, to her horror.

She was completely taken by surprise, and her reaction? DEPRESSION. Many tears. She still wanted the sleepover, since she was feeling so sad and wanted her friend to comfort her. I felt bad for her friend, who really rose to the occasion but didn't have much fun. I hope we can make it up to her.

In Big Girl's mind, she was now hideous and a freak. She was terrified by the though of anyone seeing her. She went to dance class the next morning and refused to open her mouth. At her rehearsal that afternoon, I bribed her to smile. I told her we could make a $5 bet about whether the teacher would say anything about the braces. Big Girl chose the side that the teacher wouldn't even notice. So the bet was: if she smiled during the whole rehearsal, and the teacher didn't say anything, I had to pay her $5. If the teacher did say something, no one would pay anyone.

Good deal for the kiddo, huh? In the end, I had to pay her the $5!

Then we went to a Summer Kickoff party and all of her school friends saw her new metallic smile. She was worried they wouldn't like her anymore. Of course it was fine and none of her friends teased her at all.

Definite highs and lows. They continued.

After the fun party, we went to Disneyland to stay overnight there. It was Big Girl's birthday wish, and it was fun for everyone! I REALLY enjoyed getting to stay there.

During the rest of the first week off from school, there were some errands and playdates, and Big Girl had to have four teeth extracted.

That was a doozy.

The ortho and dentist planned for the dentist to do it. When I made the appointment, they asked if she would need nitrous. "At the very least," I said. "Yes," she said, "I see a note here that she has a lot of apprehension over procedures. Okay, see you Wednesday."

The Hubby and I wondered how the dentist was possibly going to remove four teeth from her head while she was conscious.

We took her in. She refused to sit in the chair. She cried, gnashed her teeth, and wailed.

The dentist didn't even come in. He sent for us to come back out to the front. He told us to go to an oral surgeon, because this kid would need a general anesthetic.

I was able to get an appt with the surgeon for that same afternoon.

No food for the girl.

Success at the surgeon. (Gasp) at the price tag.

Interestingly, she recovered quickly. She was back to normal the next day. Time for our summer to get better! Off to the library we went.

COMING SOON:
Well, barbra, that was a strange way to celebrate the start of summer. How are you marking the second week?