How could I forget?

I can't believe I forgot to take McKenna for her school photos. I feel so terrible! She usually goes to school on Thursdays but they were doing photos on Monday so I was gonna bring her in. I completely forgot. I didn't forget that she was supposed to get her picture taken, I just didn't realize the entire day that it was Monday. Then last night I was thinking "I'll have to update my blog after McKenna's dentist appointment and .... her....pictures...crap." Completely missed it. Oh well. It's not like it will be her last, right? *sigh*

Her dentist appointment was a giant success. For you Mom's who have mentioned that you think your kiddos might be ready for a dentist now, I say GO! Take them while they still think of it as a positive experience and (if you can) take them to a pediatric dentist. Did you know the AAP recommends that children start seeing a dentist as early as one year old? And here I thought I was getting a jump start by taking her at 2 1/2.

Anyway, we had a great experience. McKenna was so excited. She brushed her teeth 4 times before we went. She didn't seem the least bit nervous or apprehensive and LOVED the office. This is her dentist so you can see how fun it's decorated when you click on "office tour". As soon as we walked in, there was a big sign welcoming the new patients and McKenna's name was on there! How fun! Made me INSTANTLY regret not bringing my camera so I could scrap the event. I was afraid if I was snapping pictures I'd either make McKenna nervous or annoy the dentist. But it was definitely something that would've made a cute LO.

The assistant called McKenna in who happily followed her to the treatment rooms (being excited for the dentist is such a foreign notion to me! LOL!) They weighed and measured her and let her pick out a sticker. The nurse said "You probably don't know who the princesses are yet." And I said "Oh no. She does. She knows her princesses well!" And so it was a Cinderella sticker that McKenna chose. Then she climbed into the chair and they invited Erick and I (and Kyla) to stay and watch. I had no problem with leaving if they thought it would be easier but they were so great and thought it would be fun for us all to watch. They let McKenna pick a movie (she chose Cinderella of course) and then laid her chair back. I think I've mentioned (?) that McKenna HATES changing tables. She feels like she's gonna fall off. So I think she got nervous about that and kept trying to sit up. But she kept her cool. No meltdowns or whimpering even. I could just tell she was weary about it. But then she saw they had painted clouds on the ceiling so she said "Look!! Clouds!!" And Dr. Lee told her that she was now going to turn on some "sunshine" (the medical lamp) and asked McKenna if she'd like some sunglasses. Well of COURSE she did! So she got to lay back wearing sparkly sunglasses and bask in the "sunshine". Dr. Lee had her stick out her tongue and then asked how many teeth she had. McKenna said "five". So Dr. Lee counted and said "You have TWENTY teeth! If anyone asks you how many teeth you have, you tell them twenty!" (And she has since been asked that 4 or 5 times and she remembers! Go ahead, ask her some time!) While Dr. Lee was examining her teeth, the song "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" began on the movie. And there's McKenna, mouth full of dental instruments, singing with all her might. LOL! Dr. Lee and her assistant were just laughing because it was so cute that she could not resist the urge to sing. And Dr. Lee said "Wow, she sings on key even! What a pretty voice!" Erick was quite proud of his girl. Dr. Lee told us that McKenna is very articulate for her age and couldn't believe how well she was doing. She said her teeth look great. Really clean, she does a good job brushing. She was glad to hear that we don't allow middle-of-the-night snacks or drinks. We've always had that rule but for some reason, don't you just feel proud of yourself when a medical professional affirms your parenting decisions? LOL! It's silly, right? She said we can start using floss and that we can almost guarantee that McKenna will need braces. That's no surprise. Crooked teeth are common on my side of the family and I have always assumed that all my kids will probably need braces. We'll get it taken care of in the Jr. High/early high school stage so that she'll have her nice straight teeth in time for all those important high school photos - prom, senior pics, etc. ; )

That was pretty much the gist of it. McKenna got a goody bag with a toy, a toothbrush, and floss. She was pretty excited about the floss and has already started practicing. I'm so glad she had such a great experience. We'll go back in 6 months for her first cleaning.

After the appointment, we went to visit my in-laws. They hadn't seen the girls in awhile so we were telling them how well the dentist went and that McKenna is now fully potty-trained. They were so proud and asked what her reward was. I said that I had been looking into getting tickets for Disney on Ice, which will be in Anaheim in mid-March. My MIL mentioned that she thought that would be so fun so we invited her and my niece Jesseca to come along. Erick decided it would be better if he stays home with Kyla (LOL can you blame him? Princesses and ice skating? Not his thing). So now it will be just MIL, Jess, McKenna and myself. My MIL said she wanted to buy the tickets (a-woo a-hoo!) and that she wants us to get seats as close as we can (double a-woo a-hoo!) And Miss Emily went last month and so we know from her experience that we MUST make sure McKenna is dressed in her best princess attire since that is apparently what all the little girls do. So we'll be sure to do that. ; ) Thanks Emmie!

Hmm...what else. Our rodent problem (I'm hesitant to say) seems to have improved. We haven't seen one or evidence of one in several days. We sealed up all our food in plastic containers, scrubbed down every surface and have glue traps, snap traps, poison and box traps set up all over. We haven't caught anything. But we haven't seen anything either. So I'm hoping that they've moved on, probably because we've taken away all the food sources. And every single morning I take Clorox wipes and clean off our counters "just in case" they've been there. The pest control guy said that if they smell that other mice/rats have been somewhere then they consider it a safe place. So I guess maybe the wipe-down every day assures that they aren't being allowed to feel safe here? I don't know. But just pray that we don't have anymore. They've already ruined both my sofas by tearing a hole in the tops to steal stuffing for their nests. Little bastards. $800 worth of furniture down the drain. Nice.

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Recent LOs

Cake
This is McKenna with Julie's son, Matthew at Lukey's bday party. They're such good friends. : )

Credits: Cotton Candy" kit by Dani B.; Scripted Brush/Stamp by Katie Pertiet; Font is Petrascript.

Paging Dr. Tater

Credits: "Fresh Linen" kit by Dani B.; Photo filter by Photoblast; Fonts are Century Gothic, One Fell Swoop, Mom's Typewriter.

Born 2 Cook

Credits: Ashley Olson's "Trendsetter" kit; M. Shefveld's copper dots (recolored); Fonts are Century Gothic and CK Mama O.

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Lastly, don't forget to change your links! My blog name is no longer "Being a Mommy" and my blog address is different. New address is http://shannonbieger.blogspot.com and if you want to put a blog name, it is currently Bibbity Bloggity Boo!