The Next Big Pet

Yesterday, Robben, Kurstin, Elissa & I went out to Reedley Beach with Robben's early intervention program. It was nice to be outdoors with the cooler weather we are finally experiencing. I expected the girls to enjoy the relaxation time, but I wasn't thinking they'd really have much fun. Oh, how wrong I was! The people putting the event on were giving out teensy little pails with shovels and scoops and rakes in them. And goldfish crackers. Can't leave out the crackers... Robben ate 4 packs! They said the girls could have a pail, too, but I said, "Oh, they're big, they don't need one." Again... wrong! The girls each took a pail and headed down to the water (a trickle of a river, but quite a beach!). They were down there for at least an hour, squatting down, digging around by the water. When it was time to go, they came running proudly to me, each with their pails a-swingin'. They had collected tons of itty bitty "clams", and had decided to make a "clam farm".

They are quite serious about this endeavor, I must say. They were sure to collect various sizes of shells so that "when the little clams grow out of their shells, they have bigger ones to move into." And when faced with the querry, "How are they gonna eat?" Kurstin exclaimed that she would research it on the internet... "I'll type in, 'What do clams eat?'" And before we left for dance, they were sure to "check on the clams." I'm not really sure what they expected them to be doing?!? Maybe throwing a clam festival? In any case, we are now the proud owners of a thriving community of clams. :) :) :)

What's Your Perspective?

Various perspectives on life...

Todd's Perspective:
"You know why the phone is better than email? #1, you know the person got your message. #2, you don't have to type!"

Kurstin's Perspective:
"When I'm pregnant, like really close to my due date, I'm gonna wear sweats all the time, cuz I wouldn't want my water to break when I'm wearing jeans."

Elissa's Perspective:
"What are those things called?... Macarenas?... Yarmulkes? (pronounced: yah-muh-kuh) ..."
"Maracas?" suggests Marianne (how I know what she's talking about is evidence of the power of God).
"Yeah, Maracas!"

Sure Sign You Have A Toddler #8

Your 15-year-old son has to make a video for a class project. The only time his group can get together is at 6 o'clock in the morning on a day when school starts late. The group arrives only to realize that the dvd's for the camcorder have mysteriously gone missing. The entire family is out of bed in search of the all-important discs. By 7:15, we activate Plan B. All pile into the car and head into town to purchase more dvd's. 3/4 of the way there, a phone call comes in notifying the group that the original discs have been located... on top of the dog cage behind the couch.

Sure Sign You Have A Toddler #7

There are feminine hygiene products scattered about your living room... and no one seems to notice. (All in a day's play:))

Sure Sign You Have A Toddler #6

The contents of the training toilet are paraded around the house to the tune of wild praises and congratulations from each family member.

(Kurstin did it, not me. I would have though...)

Sure Sign You Have A Toddler #5

You find a brand new roll of toilet paper floating in a full-to-overflowing sink.

Sure Sign You Have A Toddler #4

The song stuck in your head for 4 days straight is titled "Barbara Manatee", sung by Larry the Cucumber.

Sure Sign You Have A Toddler #3

You go on a date with your husband and don't realized the orange handprint (thank you, cheetos) on the shoulder of your black shirt until you arrive at the restaurant.

(This one hasn't happened to me yet. This happened to Tara a couple years ago.)

Sure Sign You Have A Toddler #2

You find a 5-day-old chicken nugget in your purse.

Sure Sign You Have A Toddler #1

You may be somewhat surprised to find that you are dancing to Christmas music very animatedly and with sheer joy and excitement on your face in your favorite restaurant, where everyone knows you (superficially, at least). You are willing to make a fool of yourself in order to infuse the experience with joy and happiness for your child. But what a fool you do appear when your baby was left home with Daddy.

Another Series: "Sure Signs You Have A Toddler"

Okay, I know I haven't been very good about writing lately. Yes, I know that's an understatement. I have so many stories to add to my "Hiester Classics" series, and I promise, I will. Eventually. But I have inspiration for another series. Having a very active 21 months old gives me lots of new and... exciting?... experiences on a daily basis. They are sometimes very funny and I think they should be shared.

So stay tuned for the new series: "Sure Signs You Have A Toddler"

Delayed Dental Decisions

Well, I have good news and bad news...

Let me back up. I waited until Monday (of last week) to call our regular dentist, Dr. Peter Giorgio. Though he doesn't work on Mondays, he was in the office, so took my call. He recommended we contact a pediatric dentist, as it can be very difficult to work on 1-year-olds. Ha! He's never met my wiggle worm!!! So Tara spent some time researching pediatric dentists in our area. She found the one with the very best reviews (happy kids, happy parents) and gave me his number. (Thanks a million!!!) I called Dr. Jelmini's office and made an appointment for tomorrow - a full week and a half from the incident itself!! So long to agonize! But, in an obvious ploy to earn MY good review, they called me back the next day to tell me they had a cancellation and could see him the following day, which was last Wednesday.

The girls and Robben LOVED the office. There were games and toys and trains and books. My favorite part were the funhouse mirrors near the bathrooms :) And when we left, Robben got a balloon. Robben enjoyed the dentist's office so much that he actually screamed when we left!

So here is the good news: Robben's tooth is definitely repairable.

The bad news: They are going to wait 12 weeks to make sure there is no nerve damage. Dr. Jelmini will go in and make it look just like it did before. But if the tooth starts to discolor, he will know there is something more going on under the surface. In this case he would have to treat the tooth differently. Rather than putting Robben (and our bank account) through two procedures, he is just going to give it some time so all the evidence can come in. His next appointment is on December 8th. What's special or significant about December 8th? That's right! It is AFTER Robben's birthday. So he will get to have his second birthday party with a chipped tooth. Let's not even think about the pictures!! Oh well. Memories, memories. One day they'll be fond :)

And how about a little shout out for Dr. Georgio? He called me the day after we spoke to check up on Robben and make sure we were able to get him seen somewhere!!!

Speaking of High Fives

One of our kitties, Cloe, is sweet and loveable, but can be very cantankerous and moody. She is the quintesential female. She embodies my own spirit in a cuter, slimmer form. She is known to slap people on occasion, which is perfectly acceptable if you are of the superior sort. And quite the strong paw does this feline have. Quick as lightning, too. The other morning, Robben was standing in front of her with his hand held high saying, "five, five". Cloe would then slap his hand with sharp, rapid-fire blows. He'd look at his hand, squint his eyes, scrunch up his mouth, and say, "ooooohhhhh," then request another high five. I don't recall who tired of the game first. (Probably the cat.)

A Tooth Tragedy

Oh my baby!! He's so sweet and beautiful in so many ways. One of my (and the rest of the family's) favorite features of his are his teeth. Especially the top ones. He has 12 altogether. 4 on the bottom front, 4 on the top front, and 4 molars. Wait, wait. Let me do a recount... I'm sorry, I was mistaken. There are 4 on the bottom front, 3 2/3 on the top front, and 4 molars!

While I was giving him a bath, he was playing with my shampoo bottle. It is the large kind with a pump on top and he had it on the edge of the tub, trying to push the pump down. The bottle slipped, as did Robben, and his face hit the edge of the tub really hard. I yelled and frantically began the search for damage. There was no blood. Initially, I thought he had hit his nose, so I was expecting a bloody nose at the very least. It didn't take a private investigator to solve the mystery. He had hit his mouth, not his nose, and broke off the bottom 1/3 of his precious baby tooth. Top left. His tooth is broken...my heart is broken. I take such pride in those darling little teeth.

Amidst my sorrow and regret, Tyler says Robben looks like Lloyd Christmas (from Dumb and Dumber), and Todd reassured me that he can always get silver teeth!!! My angel boy will NOT have a grill!!! Monday morning, bright and early, we will be beating down the dentist's door. I will update the masses on this delicate situation...

A Blog Derailed

Soooo, what do you think, should I begin with the usual apologies and excuses, or just cut to the chase? Oh, I have an idea. If you're interested in my justifications and rationalizations for the negligence I have exhibited in relation to the blog, please see former entries. If you've had enough, read on.

Why don't we start with the current happenings... I've been in my baby boy's room trying to get him to sleep. See, he can climb out of bed now, so the napping process is much more complex than in the days of yore. I sat in the rocking chair next to his bed, reading my book and sipping my chai and basically acting as an accountability agent. For a time there was some "hi mommy"-ing, then kisses through the slats and finally he put his "bink" (blanket) over his head and lay down and fell asleep. I softly closed my book and made my way back to the living room to endeavor to recap the summer in the briefest, most descriptive way possible. As I exited Robben's room, I began to smell smoke. A putrid smoke. Rounding the corner of the hallway, I began to SEE the smoke hanging in the air and swirling around the Guitar-Hero-playing-figure that was Tyler. In a panic-stricken voice I exclaimed, "Smoke! Tyler! What's burning? Look at the smoke!" Smart as he is, Tyler is not real speedy, but he jumped up at the realization of the source of the offensive odor. Prior to sitting down with his video game, Tyler had started the process of boiling his toothbrush, because Robben, on one of his little excursions out of bed, had selected it as a good candidate for his own oral hygiene practice. Not wanting baby saliva and dust bunnies on his brush, Tyler elected to sterilize it. Then forgot. Now his toothbrush looks much like a marshmallow that was left roasting over a campfire and dripped from the stick into the sea of dancing flames. I can't even begin to fathom where the bristles went! In any case, we are now one pot and one toothbrush short. And I have a headache from the Oral-B fumes. I had planned to update you on the Hiester Summer, but will have to postpone for fear of brain-cell-loss. A serious condition when you are already running so low and demanding so much of what you do possess!