Latest Happenings

Last week was busy. I took the 2 older children in to have their cavities "fixed", Clifford had his week full of singing and finishing up the Spring term of Sounds Choir, mud has finally come to the back yard and into the house which signifies Spring (at least I tell myself it's mud), and we are getting all the details ironed out for our Easter Trip down to Utah.
Some things of interest:
Nadia decided she wants bangs again. So Nadia and I had a girls' afternoon and had haircuts. Long story short, I will never complain about my lack of hair cutting abilities again. Her bangs remind me of when Nadia was 5 and decided she needed to cut her hair by herself for Aunt Lauren's wedding. At least they will grow out, and she seems to think they look fine. She decided she wanted bangs again because then I don't have to fix her hair every day. She can brush it out all by herself. How unfair is that? I only get one girl, and she won't do girly hair. Sigh.
Brandon has been having a hard time lately. I wasn't joking when I called him Anti-Change Boy. He suddenly decided that he couldn't go to school or Primary without a Sharp (Mom, Dad, or Nadia) being there with him. His teachers at school noticed, and we had a chat. It was kind of embarrassing, being told that I needed to stay after so the teacher could talk to me. I told her we had a new baby at home, and the routine had changed, which I was sure was causing Brandon's anxiety issues. Brandon now has a chart that he fills every week. Every day that he goes to school without crying, he can put a sticker on the chart. At the end of the month, he gets a prize. I knew he was doing better when he got his first prize, a Club Penguin membership card for 1 month, and asked if he could go to Toys R Us and pick out a $70 remote controlled Red T-Rex instead.
Benjamin now talks like Cookie Monster. I love this stage. A few cute sayings: "Me want pay compooter." "Gainkoo" (Thank you) "Me yike pancakesh a yunch." (I would like pancakes for lunch.) Sunday, he came downstairs to get in the bed after Cliff went to take a shower. He climbed over onto Cliff's side, pulled up the covers, and said, "Ah. Dis is de yife." (Ah. This is the life.)
Caleb is doing wonderfully. Yesterday was his 2 month appt, and he now weighs 12 lbs 2 1/2 oz. and just a little over 24 inches long. He is hitting all his milestones, and the doctor thought it was kind of funny that Caleb only had eyes for me. I'm not surprised at all. He likes his siblings, and will smile and coo to them, but Mama is definitely the favorite. We used to joke that Caleb is a lone twin, because he would only sleep when someone was touching him. He's doing better with that, and sleeps beautifully in his crib now.
Our biggest accomplishment was on Sunday, when the entire family made it to church together. Never mind that we were half an hour late, we were all there. Now let's see if we can make a habit of it. Just not the late part.

Caleb's Faces

My dad believes that babies don't really smile at people for the first 3 months. They simply make faces because of gassiness. Some of the faces they make simply look like they are smiling.

This isn't gas.
Not when he does it every time he sees me or one of the kids or my mother.

This is a smile.

Shell Shocked

We received our tax return not that long ago, and were feeling rather flush. There was money to finish the kitchen, fix the muffler on Cliff's car, and pay off a credit card. I should have known better.
I took the children in for their dental check ups. The actual check ups were fine, but both Nadia and Brandon have a cavity. While making appointments to get these fixed, I had the following conversation with the office lady:
Her: What dental insurance do you have?
Me: None. We have a Flex Pay account.
Her: Okay, so you're paying on your own. Here's the estimate for the work to be done, but be warned that it is just an estimate.
Me: (going pale) You do realize we're just getting two small fillings, not a root canal and crown put in, right?
Her: Oh, I see that the fillings will be done on your first born child as well as your first born son. Since we usually take one of these as payment, I need to know, do you have other children? Can you have more if our estimated work is above and beyond what is outlined here?
Boy, am I bummed. Guess it's a good thing I didn't bring in Ben to discuss his thumb sucking and tongue thrust issues, or I might have to steal some fertility drugs and have triplets.

Revenge of the Tooth Fairy

Welcome to another entertaining and incredibly true post, starring my amazingly energetic children and their sleep deprived parents. You may be wondering what that Sharp family has been up to for the last few weeks. Well, let me tell you.
Benjamin has become a computer genius. He can now start up the internet, navigate on to his favorite sites, and play games or find videos. In other words, he is now more computer savvy than me. He turns 3 in April. Hopefully, he waits to start his own computer company until he can read.

Brandon has had a very interesting couple of weeks. Have you noticed the change in his smile? That blasted tooth caused a bit of drama, unfortunately. It is a common fact that most children will wiggle a tooth that has become loose. What they will not do is yank on it in the hopes that the Tooth Fairy will come sooner.

I have problems with the yanking of teeth. Being a former dental assistant, I have seen the horror stories in action of people not taking care of their teeth, or causing damage by being impatient. I told Brandon not to yank. I explained to him why we don't yank. I even threatened him if he continued to yank. So what happened? After another explanation of broken roots and possible grounding if the yanking continued, Brandon went to his room. He came back shortly with a bloody mouth, hand, and tooth.

That's right, after all the talks and threats, Brandon pulled out his tooth on his own because he needed to feed Piggy (his piggy bank).

Cliff was not amused, and I was furious, especially after examining the root and seeing a little hole and crack in it. That tooth had not been ready to come out, he pulled it out anyway, and worst of all, he disobeyed.

When Brandon told us he was going to put his tooth under his pillow, I said no. I told him that the Tooth Fairy doesn't take teeth that aren't ready to come out. He was very upset, but there was no way I was going to reward that kind of behavior.

By the way, why is it that my kids believe in the Tooth Fairy, and not Santa? Another post for another time, my friends.

Nadia has been enjoying Achievement Day girls. She keeps asking me on Mondays if they are having a meeting the next day, because she doesn't want to miss any. Saturday is the Mommy and Me party, and she is very excited. Nadia is also doing a great job with piano and school, and we have finally solved the problem of finger nail biting by having a manicure day every week. Thanks to my good friend Krista for the wonderful idea!

Cliff has been a wonder. He is silly with the kids and plays with them after work, even though I know he is tired and would love a nap instead. He is very patient with me and my grumpiness, and poor Caleb's colic/indigestion. Who would have thought that the poor thing would have such a hard time whenever I ate chocolate? Of course I had to give it up, but let me tell you, between little to no sleep AND no chocolate, Karma is going to be getting a nasty email from me.