Since Adlani and Norah didn’t have preschool/day care on Thursdays, we signed up for a music class in Spanish to tire them out so I could work in the afternoons. My friend Viviana, the mom of Adlani’s friend Diego, was the extremely creative, fun, and patient teacher. We had a lot of fun and we all learned learned what “la clave de sol” was (see right) and how to say “Who ate the bread at Juan’s house?” en español. I’m pretty sure this is the only way I’m going to learn Spanish – with preschool-level classes full of songs, giant balls, musical instruments, and a parachute.

Gracias Viviana! Tu eres una maestra muy buena!!

One unexpected outcome of the class was that when you ask Norah what her name is, she says it with a Spanish accent (“Nodah”):

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viuMSS9gx14&hl=en&fs=1&]
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After weeks of cold, rainy weather, I appreciate the sunny days even more. I took this cloud photo while laying on the dock at camp a couple of weekends ago. The kids took advantage of an afternoon without rain by splashing around in the lake with Devin while Sherry and I kept half an eye on them. They never seem to get tired of playing in the water and digging in the sand. There are a couple other boys around Adlani’s age that share our beach and they love to play together. In a few years they’ll be setting off firecrackers and conducting panty raids together, but until then we’ll enjoy the sandcastles and sunfish.

Adlani asked me to get rid of his curls for the summer so he’d be cooler (not that it’s been very hot so far). I obliged, mostly because I thought it would be fun to give him an interim mohawk. He got SO UPSET about the mohawk! He ran off crying and hid in his room, saying that he looked like a freak and his friends would all think he looked like a jerk. I was shocked! Since when does he care about how he looks? I guess it had to happen eventually but I wasn’t expecting it until at least middle school. I hope I didn’t cause permanent psychological damage.

Before:

With the interim mohawk:

Debut of the new buzzcut at the 8&Under heat of the July 4th pie-eating contest at Old Sturbridge Village:

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In case anyone wants to see a larger version of my new profile picture, here it is. It was taken by one of my fellow campers in 1997, when we stopped for a break while traveling through Botswana.
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This morning I took all 3 kids to see their new dentist – Dr. B., who is Dr. C’s partner. They took us all into the exam room where we watched a cartoon about – what else? – going to the dentist. Then the kids each had a turn in the chair, where Dr. B took their photo with a web-cam to put into their record, counted their teeth, measured their spacing, checked their bite, etc. As each of them finished he pressed a button and a hygienist magically appeared to whisk them upstairs. He spent a little extra time on Norah since it was her first visit, but she was very cooperative for an almost-3-year-old.

While I was downstairs with Norah, all hell was breaking loose upstairs because Adlani didn’t like the taste of the toothpaste. ANY of the flavors. He was pushing the hygienist’s arm away, tearing off his bib, and jumping out of the chair, while crying actual tears. I did what I could to help and then Dr. B took me aside for the discussion about caring for my kids’ teeth. He told me that the condition of my teeth affects the condition of my kids’ teeth, which doesn’t bode well for the future since I just had my 5th crown with another 2 scheduled. He gave me a food journal to fill out for each of the kids for 5 days before I come back (alone) for an appointment to discuss the plans for their treatment. Aliya has a crossbite and will need braces, which they sometimes put on as early as 9 years old.

Everyone had x-rays with no major mishaps or equipment breakage, and Norah did SO WELL with her first cleaning. She didn’t cry and she followed all the directions. Aliya did too, but that’s to be expected. Adlani…well, that’s to be expected too. They all left with goody bags filled with loot – Disney-themed toothbrushes, floss & flossers, dental mirrors, timers for brushing, stickers, rings – they were better than some birthday party goody bags we’ve received! The whole office is a really warm, casual atmosphere, and everyone is SO nice. We met Dr. C but I think we’ll usually be seeing Dr. B, which is just fine by me. Eye candy can’t give you cavities, right?

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