Wonderful Day

We had a wonderful day today. It started off with the three kids and I going to my dentist appointment. I had thought about asking someone to watch the kids, or at least Molly, but never got around to it. And so, the three kids crowded around the chair as the dental hygienist cleaned my teeth. Dom had remembered from a previous appointment that she referred to plaque as "sugar bugs", and asked if she was going to get all of the bugs. William, naturally, perked his ears and became extremely interested in exactly how she was going to extract this bug. Molly, for the most part, sucked her thumb and watched with wide eyes. Occasionally she would yell out just to let us know she was still there and would only tolerate being strapped in the stroller for so long.

The kids did great. And a bonus was Dom's disappointment in not having an appointment himself. For the first time, he was not completely terrified at the prospect of seeing a medical professional and I attribute a lot of this to having taken him to several appointments and having such a friendly hygienist and dentist.

For a reward, we got donuts which basically became our lunch. Molly fell asleep on the way home and the boys quickly started playing, so I found myself with a 30 minute lull in activity when I could sit and drink a cup of coffee and just read the newspaper. I kept looking around thinking I didn't deserve it, but I quickly squelched those thoughts and enjoyed my quiet time immensely.

For school, lately, I'm having Dom practice his letters by writing brief notes to people he knows. This is more enjoyable to him than just repeating the letters over and over, and he gets to put a cool Pixar stamp on an envelope which he then gets to put in the mailbox. I let him choose whether to write with capitals or lower case. He only recently has shown an interest in learning about the lowercase letters, so I'm just excited when he throws them in. Therefore, his words are a mix of lowercase and capitals. For the record, he is very proud of his lowercase 't'. Should you ever be so lucky as to receive a note, you'll have to check that out!

I don't know why I hadn't thought of this before. A bonus is that Will is very intrigued with the whole process and will sit and practice his letters also. To put a little perspective on all of this, Dom could not write his name a year ago at 4 (he just wasn't interested so I never pushed it), but William can already write his name at 3. Granted, if I don't tell him where to put the letters, he mixes the letters up so his signature is generally an anagram of his name and the letters are often all over the page. Still, he knows what letters should be there and how to make them.

Once Molly woke up from her 3.5 hour nap and ate her lunch, we went outside. Because Dom and Will have learned the basics of "tag" I no longer need a gym membership to get in exercise. They have me running across our backyard constantly for about 45 minutes. And just like Dom writing letters, it is much more enjoyable to chase two giggling boys than to run on a treadmill staring at a wall. Maybe I should try and sell a membership to our family...

For supper I made a cheese souffle which I have never done before. It really tasted great paired with a salad and fresh bread (and wine, of course). The boys weren't as impressed, but I didn't let that get me down. It just meant more for me.

After dinner we took a walk around the block (Eric pulled the wagon with Will and Molly) and then Dom and I raced around the block. (See previous paragraph about not needing the gym membership any longer). It was beautiful out and none of us really wanted to come inside, but bedtime loomed larger and larger as a couple of children started to show signs of meltdowns. We ended up only praying one decade of the Rosary (vice 4). There was a slight hold up when Dom couldn't find his small decade made of brown beads - from Assisi! He told me it was in the classroom and went to look for it. He was taking a while and so I sent Will to bring him back. We overhear Will say "It got bigger!" And as is Will's custom, he repeated this all the way down the hall and excitedly tells us once again when they got back to the room. Eric and I look up to see them holding a full size Rosary made of brown beads. But, before you call the Vatican, the apparent miracle deflated a bit when we found the actual decade on the bookshelf. Though the enthusiasm with which the boys said the Rosary and the lack of tears was a miracle in itself. (William is generally very particular about who says which prayers, and when, the order we ask for intercessions from the saints.)

All in all, it was a great day. One of those days where you know you accomplished something (all laundry is washed and dried!) and everyone enjoyed each other's company. And best of all, Eric has been doing the dishes while I've been upstairs typing this. Win-Win-Win!!

Oh Man! And Tomorrow is Pi Day...Win-Win-Win-Win!!!