My girl turns 5!

Happy Birthday to my favorite-est girl in the whole wide world!


She's my first-born, logical, realistic thinker who loves doing school workbooks and having structure, yet has the messiest room known to man. (Probably 'cause her mom likes to think she can keep an organized house, but she can't.)



She weighed in at 7 lbs., 15 oz. five years ago today, and we were in love from the moment we knew she was growing inside of me.



She loves her little brother to pieces, and she loves to talk about her littlest brother who is waiting for her in Heaven.


We have never had a birthday party for Danae where she could invite other children...until today.


It began with "apple bobbling", as Danae kept calling it...

(sorry, Jenny...I just had to post it. Your son "helping" you made me crack up!)

...continued by with some outdoor play and a pinata...





...then on to lunch and cupcake decorating. Yeah, you read that right. I didn't realize how insane I am until we had 10 kids sitting at my kitchen table with icing and sprinkles.



All-in-all, a very fun day for all of the kids and for Danae, which was the goal of it all. Despite my lack of detailed organization, we pulled it off with the help of the other adults that stuck around to laugh at help us and keep my head on straight (thank GOD you all stayed!).


Next up: naptime, followed by figuring out where the last 5 years went and loving on the little girl who makes us smile every day. :o)

Going to the dentist with #1

Today was another "first" in our house: Danae's first trip to the dentist.


Oh, boy.


I've been meaning for months to make the phone call, set the appointment, and get this done. But, alas, just like everything else, it got pushed aside and forgotten. UNTIL...


A few days ago I was doing the nightly follow-up brushing (you know...the one where you check their mouths and actually do the brushing after your kids ate the toothpaste off the brush and thought they brushed really well), when I saw a small something in Danae's mouth. Thinking it was food, I brushed harder. I flossed. I brushed again. Then, realizing the thing didn't move, I called Hubby in for a second opinion. Yup, our girl had a visible cavity.


*Groan*


Seriously??? I barely give this kid candy, juice is given on special occasions, and I feel like I try to feed my family well! Where the heck did I go wrong to make my soon-to-be five year old have a cavity already?!


Well, come to find out that some kids just have softer teeth and are prone to cavities. I guess Danae gets that from me...I'm pretty sure I was born with cavities, I have so many.


Moving on...


The news of owning her first cavity sent Danae into hysterics. Literal sobbing and screaming at 9:00pm. She knew enough about a dental visit from a Dora the Explorer book that we own, and she knew needles were involved in cavity-fixing. She begged me to find a dentist that didn't use needles. (Oh, honey...if they existed, I'd be the first one in their chair!)


This morning came, and Danae announced that she was no longer worried about the visit...she said she thought about it and decided to be my brave girl. Sometimes I think this kid is so mature for her age that it scares me.


Turns out that she didn't even need to be brave. The hygienist, doctor, and everyone in the office was incredible. The hygienist explained every . little . step to Danae before she did it. (Really, I think the explaining took longer than the exam, cleaning, and fluoride treatment.) But that was exactly what Danae needed. She likes to understand what's going to happen, and it put her at ease.


I think the cool purple glasses that they give to kids helped some, too.





Overall, she did really well! Now, if I could just get over the fact that my little first-born laying in the dentist's chair is growing up, maybe we can all get through this in one piece. ;o)

streams of consciousness

I went through my inbox this morning, and there are at least 16 flagged emails (I started to lose count) that need a response or some sort of my attention, still sitting there unanswered. I better get on that today.


In "The Comeback" post, I mentioned having only one job starting the middle of this month. Well...things changed again, and I'll spare you the boring details, but I will still have just one job...it will just be a super, super part-time job, still 2-3 miles from home, and still very do-able. Meaning more time at home to care for my babes and wrap my head around the clutter that's clogging things up around here.


It's been a rainy few days here in PA, and so cold that I almost expect to see snow falling! (it's not in the forecast...just in my thoughts) Last week's major rain and flooding made the entrance to our town's park (just down the street from us) look like this:




See, Mom and Dad...I told you it was kind of crazy out here!


We had no where in particular to be today, and the kiddos looked so darn cute in their footie pajamas that I just didn't feel like dressing them today. Heck, I didn't feel like dressing myself, but I did manage to pull on some running gear and get in a 4-mile training run on my neighbor's treadmill. The kiddos? They just played inside with all the other kids that my neighbor babysits. Did I at least dress them to go over there? Nope.




And really, when my little Buzz Lightyear is riding around on his motorcycle with a baseball helmet on, who would even try to tell him he needs to change? No need for the battle, no need to wash more laundry, and keeping the boy happy and cute all day...that's more like it!