Yes: Monkey was a gem at the dentist yesterday, and charmed the pants off of the entire staff. (Note: That’s hyperbole. I’m pretty sure everyone was still wearing pants when we left.)
No: Apparently our craptastic dental insurance will consider itself maxed out for the year as soon as we submit the orthodontist bill, which means we get to pay for all cleanings and anything else for the rest of the year. And by the way, the dentist recommends cleanings FOUR TIMES A YEAR for children with orthodontic devices.
Yes: It’s not snowing.
No: It’s 35 degrees out and pouring.
Yes: Chickadee wisely decided to get out her rain boots.
No: Flipper Foot strikes again; her worn-twice boots (purchased big! right before we moved!) are too small. Does anyone in town carry rain boots in her size? No. Go ahead, ASK ME HOW I KNOW THIS.
Yes: Parents are allowed to attend the next round of the oratorical competition this morning.
No: Someone (and I’m not naming any names) (ahem) had a major FUHREAK-OUT over what to wear today for the competition and then a smaller, accessory meltdown over the importance of her braids being in the RIGHT PLACE, because otherwise HER HAIR WILL RUIN EVERYTHING. (Hello? Midol development team?)
Yes: Even a very surly little girl looks the perfect mix of adorable and businesslike—and can’t stay pissy—when wearing a ruffly corduroy blazer that JUST HAPPENS to precisely match her glasses.
No: I managed to click in the wrong place and lose an entire post this morning while BWC (blogging without caffeine). Doh!
Yes: Once I was situated with a large mug of tea I was instantly cheered up by the apt cartoon image of my animalized children, and struck once again by how completely awesometastic Leanne Wildermuth is for having drawn them so perfectly for me. (I would like to give Leanne a pony. Since I am fresh out of ponies, perhaps you could go visit her, instead?)
No: There wasn’t an extra zero on that bill from the accountant. Ouch.
Yes: The house in New England is rented. The first check came yesterday. And the angels rejoiced.
No: You know how you can sustain denial for a while, maybe even a really long time, and then one day it just disappears with no warning whatsoever? (Or is that just me?) Yesterday, the house was fine. Today, I cannot believe how filthy the house is and that we actually live here. As I doubt even my children’s ability to generate filth that quickly, I suspect the curtain over my eyes has fallen away at an inopportune time.
Yes: Now that the house is rented, maybe we can afford a house cleaner?
No: Now that the house is rented, maybe I could just shut up and pay the mortgage without crying and clean my own damn bathrooms.
Yes: I seem to have finally shaken off whatever bug (bugs?) I’ve been fighting the last week or so.
No: Who piled up all this laundry while I was busy neglecting everything?
No wonder Chickadee’s pissed. The clothes she really wanted to wear are probably in that overflowing hamper.
Yayyy! The house is rented. Woo hoo! Maybe you could have someone come in and clean just this one time. As sort of a celebration. I mean, this definitely calls for a celebration!
Oh, man. The “we live in filth” feeling seems to attack me most often when a bunch of other stuff is already piling up. As in, “…. AND, on top of EVERYTHING ELSE, the house is DISGUSTING, and we’re never HERE so how does that HAPPEN and when am I supposed to have time to FIX IT?” And then I have a nervous breakdown.
I hope you’re feeling better! And “break a leg” to Chickadee for the competition!!!
*hug* everything will be alright. At least it’s not snowing. ;)
Um… I was going to go glass-half-full and concentrate on just the yes’s until I realized that you’ve mixed ’em up on me! Dang it can’t even be lazy on a Friday. So… hoorah on the rental, impressed that you admired the adorableness of the surly child (please tell me you did it through gritted teeth! Please?? I need to feel better as a mother)and glad to hear you’re feeling better. Me, I caught the Local Flu so I’ll just wave from waaaaaay over here.
the mug I bought from you just came back into use (I cycle my coffee mugs) and as I type this I’m looking at an angelic (with a bit of a smirk?!) Chickadee and a cheeky Monkey. (better therapy through blogging, indeed!)
I am drinking coffee from my Chickie-n-Monkey mug RIGHT NOW! (Okay, well right NOW I’m typing, but you know what I mean.)
Oh, and Yes: reading your blog always makes me feel better.
Wait til she turns 14. That magical age. It really makes a far far away college seem doable. Only 5 more years to go. She just started drives ed. oh, my, god !
Our dental insurance will only cover $1000.00 family lifetime total for orthodonture, which my son as kindly used up and then some. Now the rest of us are left out in the freezing rain. Maybe my girls can clean house for the orthodontist and work off the bill. :o)
I took of the blinders this week and looked at my house too. Yikes! I have some aerobic house cleaning in my future. The sooner the better!
Both of my boys have (or have had) braces. Neither of them got their teeth cleaned more than twice a year, and neither of them has ever had a cavity. Just make sure the kids brush/floss diligently.
Oh!!! A house cleaner … I used to have one … but then a tax increase came along and my first pay check of this year told me I had just had a salary de-crease, so, of course, I couldn’t afford her anymore … I miss her!! :(
Buuuut, cheers for the house been rented and the best of luck to Chickie :)
My husband swore by his WaterPik to clean out his various orthodontic devices, which he had the extreme pleasure to wear as an adult. It’s pretty easy to use, even for kids, and then you can stretch out the time between dentist cleanings. They can usually be had for ~$30 (less than one single cleaning, and both kids can use it!)
As long as you are a mean mom like me and inspect their toothbrushing efforts.
Congratulations on renting the house!
The grubby house syndrome has become more apparent here as the sun is repositioning itself to shine through the windows. Dust and piles (and piles!) of stuff that were safely hidden by winter’s darkness are being revealed–aargghh! Had to bust out the vacuum yesterday.
It seems you’ve got the perfectly balanced life, Mir, with enough yesses to go with the nos (noes? noses?).
I find that cleaning the house is way more fun when I have some other priority that I’m dreading and want to avoid. Got anything like that?
If you buy Leanne a pony, you must buy ponies for all the Leannes (I believe that is the 8th Rule of Being a Leanne). I promise I’d take good care of him, and I’ll hug him and squeeze him and call him George!
That flu that you have gotten over (mostly) is over here in Chicago and has morphed into strep.
However, that guy I like took a night off work so he can visit me at mine.
I won’t be there, but hey, I still see a silver lining.
I hope your balancing act continues to …. balance.
I’m ignoring the cleaning comments in the hopes that it will enable me to ignore the cleaning that needs to happen over here.
The “we live in filth” announcement hit me hard when I was laid up after foot surgery. I had to look at the dust and spiderwebs, but I couldn’t do anything about them. Not that I wanted to clean, but we needed to clean. So…enter cleaning service, a buget item I will never eliminate. I’ll stop buying groceries first.
Congratulations on the renting!!! What a partial relief that must be.
We, too, in Florida and Tulsa, have never heard anything about four cleanings a year. My dentist and orthodontist are darn lucky we make it twice a year. What? The Dental Police are going to come drag my child in for a cleaning? I think not.
Poor Chickie. Plastic grocery bags over the shoes, secured with rubber bands. Probably get poor traction. Don’t try it in the rain. But do head to your closest Whole Foods and have a confab with the People Who Know What They’re Talking About concerning young girls and hormones. Who knows?
Sorry. Having my own bad day. Seriously pissed at people who tell other people what to do. Probably making your day worse. Will shut up now. Really. Now. Right. Now. Okay. Really.
Ummm… btw, how DO you know that no one carries her size rain-boots?
Good luck with renting. I rented out my old house one time and although it was a pain, I had decent renters. It ended up being a wise move in the end because the value of the house went up a lot while it was being rented.
I’d brush my kids teeth myself every night before I would take them in FOUR times a year. Our dentist didn’t recommend that, though my orthodontia challenged child is much older.
Yes: It is snowing here at my house.
You and I are having similar weeks; except the moody one is my TWO YEAR OLD! Lord help us all when she hits 9, I don’t think Earth will still be here by the time she’s 13(if only we can get her to use her powers for good…)
I’ve been sick all week (and laid out w/back issues the week before) so um the filth that is our house…I try to make sure the kids aren’t sitting directly on the floor right now & have eliminated the 5 second rule for the time being…
Can you find a renter for our town house now??? My husband finally agrees I can be a SAHM (for 3 yrs) and the renter (of 7 yrs) goes and buys his own damn house!!! The nerve of people! So now I need to get the place filled before I feel comfortable quitting. BAH!
Good Luck to Chickadee, but she could wear a trash bag & I bet she’ll kick arce anyway! It’s your words honey, just like your mama.
I don’t know why there can’t be a dental insurance that’s like other health insurance – say, pay a deductable, then after that just the co-pays plus 10 or 20%? Those dentists have got a good scam going.
We don’t even bother buying the dental insurance, because the cost of it is already more than what we’d just pay out-of-pocket for our cleanings and x-rays anyway. Maybe when my daughter becomes eligible for orthodontics, it will be worth it . . BARELY.
sounds like you have the same thing going for you as the rest of us,this is the thing if was not for bad luck you probly would not have any luck.Just my opion though.
Ya know, a pant-less dental staff might make a visit much more BARE-able. I know. I’m funny.
Blogging without coffee is like walking a tight rope without a net.
hey, did you ever find chickadee some rain boots? do you still need them? i know where you can find them (although not in your town…in mine). living in rainy portland does have its advantages. :) lemme know if you need some. i have it in with the store (i’m the buyer for them).
Oh! The veil lifted here too… I can’t believe the chaos in our house and I can’t take it any more!
Your dental insurance sounds pretty standard. I’m not denying the craptastic part.
Mir! You… you…. you linked me! And just when I was affectionately reminiscing over your toon, thinking how I’d love to update it now that I’m all upgraded with this sweet adobe creative suite and stuff that makes my head spin!
I would kinda like a pony, too, you know – not to be greedy or nothin’, but I’ve always wanted a pony. :snickers:
xoxo