Dentist

How could one simple dentist appointment turn into complete chaos??? Let's see... since I make our 6 month appointments one year in advance I have NO idea what I'll be doing a year from then, or what our schedule will be like... Well, yesterday was dentist day!! Matt and I had our appointments - one at 11, and the other at noon. I had two options:

1. Take the 11:00 and bring Caleb with me. Mom could pick up Katherine from pre-school at 11:30 and then meet up with us for lunch; or

2. Take the 12:00 and bring my mom with me to the dentist with the "plan" that she'll watch the kids. Since Katherine doesn't get out of preschool until 11:30, there wouldn't be time to run back to mom's house and drop off the kids.

Given the fact that neither of these were great options, I chose #2. Taking Caleb with me alone while I'm getting my teeth cleaned, just didn't sound like a great idea... Unfortunately Matt wasn't an option either... Since he left today for Canada for a week for that CFA prep class, he couldn't leave work any earlier to take the kiddos....

So anyway ..... after I dropped Katherine off at school, Caleb and I went home to pack a bag full of goodies. I found this nice BIG black back from Archivers. I had gotten it free ages ago because I had spent a certain amount of money in the store. Big surprise there! LOL!! It was a perfect size to hold all of Caleb's big Sesame Street books, random balls, an assortment of toys that he could tinker around with, and every snack the kids could dream of. I felt good. I had everything covered... or so I thought!

As soon as we arrived in the parking lot Katherine was thrilled. She couldn't WAIT to have her teeth cleaned. Uh-oh! I immediately start explaining to her that her appointment wasn't today, it was next month... But she'll hear none of it! She breaks down, tears spilling all over her face. She loves the dentist, she loves Cindy (our hygienist), and she "needs" a new toothbrush. I can't rationalize with her... She doesn't care that she has 6 toothbrushes at home; she still needs another one. When this passes, Caleb and I head inside equipped with our big black back of tricks. Katherine was wearing a little green polo dress (Crissy - it's the one you got her) and since it had gotten cold, my mom was going to change her clothes in the car.

Cindy comes right out to get me, so I bring Caleb back to the room... Now -- about this dentist office... it's super nice and really modern. All of the rooms are "open" and you could walk in between them if you wanted. I'm not sure if this makes sense or not... but the rooms aren't closed with doors like a doctor's office. They are open but with dividers so you can't see the patient next to you....

I sit down in the chair and Caleb happily sits on my lap. He's watching everything that's going on and chatting away with Cindy. A few minutes later, my mom and Katherine come and join us in the room. As soon as Caleb sees the bag of goodies, he decides that he needs a snack. My mom pulls out little cups and and divides a package of Yo-go's between them. Caleb wants down to play with Katherine, and they decide to start dancing and singing at the top of their lungs. Remember the "open rooms"??? LOL!! I tell them to have a good time, but use their "inside voices". That works for about 2 minutes, and then Katherine decides that it'd be a great idea to use the end of my chair as a slide. What??? I have Cindy poking around in my mouth with metal instruments and Katherine rocks and spins my chair. Holy cow! Let's just say I was about in tears!! And then on her way down, she kicks the little paper cups of Yo-go's all over the place. So here is my mom, crawling around on the floor -- on her hands and knees trying to retrieve these little pink balls. The poor woman -- she even had to crawl into the next room to get some of them. Unfortunately for her, that room was occupied -- by a guy in a suit getting his teeth drilled. Ay-yi-yi....

Right after that, she takes both kids into the waiting room, and about 30 seconds later I hear her say, "Caleb NO NO NO"!! He discovered the water jug and thought it was great fun to turn on the spicket. Within a few seconds, the carpet was soggy, and he was soaking wet....

My sister showed up a few minutes later so that we could all have lunch, and I was more than ready to get out of there!! So after I cleaned up the mess that they left behind we went out to lunch at Panera's. On the FIRST bite, my mom's temporary crown falls out, so guess what??? Back to the dentist we go! This time, the kids and I waited out in the car......