Think: "You think you can, You think you can, You think you can" & one day say: "You thought you could, You said you could, You knew you could" & thus, at least: you thought you did.

Posts tagged ‘teeth’

Now, Who’s Responsible for Gum in Grandma’s Hair?

Mica Bella Grace Brooks electronics box gum - edited

Grandma recently had the unfortunate misfortune of innocently sitting down on the bed and leaning back onto the baby-proof padded foam wall lined with poke-a-dots.  She didn’t notice the wad of chewing gum blending into the background until she sat up and felt the unmistakable, sticky, cinnamon scented goop stuck on a very prominent part of her recently cut and straightened hair.

It was easy enough to remove, using the old peanut butter and fine-tooth comb trick. But Who, but who, would have carelessly and irresponsibly stuck gum to the headboard of a bed?  Let’s examine possible suspects:

  1. Bella:  She knows what gum is, can identify and say the word gum, but is not know to try to chew it.  Culpability Probability?  slim-to-none
  2. Brooks:  He’s been know to slip gum from mommy’s “electronic’s box” (box where she keeps her remote controls, phones, camera, and baby monitor, oh, and also gum – all in one place so she can reach it while holding two squirmy 18 month olds), but Brooks is not know to actually spit the gum out, much less stick it to the wall.  Culpability Probability?  possible, but not likely
  3. Mica:  She’s always getting into mommy’s gum but from a young age has always been responsible; spitting it out when done and putting it in the trash can.  Culpability Probability?  doubtful she’s responsible
  4. Hope:  Totally something she would do.  Only one problem:  Although Hope has no problem chowing down on super-spicy Mexican food, she can’t handle mint or cinnamon flavored anything, the taste being too strong.  And since the gum was not fruity flavored…Culpability Probability?  not completely outside the realm of possibility, but almost.
  5. Amor:  As an adult, you’d think he’d know better.  Well, let’s just say, I’ve had a similar issue on his side of the bed.  Problem is, he hasn’t been near the bed recently.  Therefore, Culpability Probability?  maybe 1% chance it was him
  6. Mommy Belle:  The mom who religiously insists on good oral hygiene, makes sure all kids brush well twice a day, has even written a song and blog post about teeth, but who also has a not-so-healthy habit of sneaking a snack (night medicine triggers huger) after finally getting the twins to sleep but then is too afraid of waking them to actually get up to re-brush teeth, so she chews xylitol-laced gum to ease her conscience but still too worried about waking two sleeping toddlers to throw the chewed gum away, sticks it to an innocuous place until morning when she gets a chance to clean it up, but may have forgotten this time…Culpability Probability?  hummm, you know what, it was probably Mr. Nobody.

Double Talk Quote:  “You’re going to grow up to be an awesome person!” – Me to Mica  “Like you!” – Mica to me (be still my heart!)

Verse: “ Take my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.” Proverbs 8:10-11

Term that has Earned its meaning: sticky situation

Relatable Lyrics:  “Weird Al” Yankovic – First World Problems

“Uh, I had to buy something I didn’t even need just
so I could qualify for free shipping on Amazon”

Bella Mica and Brooks with gum

toothbrush ditched for gum

Brooks with gum

Category:

Bipolar Mommy, Drum Roll Please, Life With Twins, Uncategorized

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Time to Brush Your Teeth

Mica Smiles

 

Amor has heard me tell Mica time and time again that it’s time to brush her teeth. Apparently, being from Mexico (where dental hygiene education is not stressed in the schools or by the government like it is in the USA) and from a family with nine children of a single mom, this was not something he heard a lot while growing up. Also, Mica’s cousin, Hope (whose mommy is also from Mexico and from the same family) has had serious dental issues. For this reason, I’ve always stressed the importance of oral hygiene to Mica (out loud) and explained why she needed to brush, floss and rinse and what would happen if she didn’t. I even wrote an English/Spanish song about it to sing to Mica and Hope each morning and night! I have found that educating my children out loud is a very good method of educating the adults around me without offending anyone or sounding preachy. (Uh oh – I’m giving up trade secrets here).

Mica and Amor know where bad breath comes from. They’ve heard me talk about good germs / bad germs enough to make them sick! So naturally, after the babies were born, rule number one was: wash your hands or use hand sanitizer before handling the babies. But people don’t just handle babies, especially people in my family. Their little baby heads, cheeks, hands, neck and feet get kissed all over. It wasn’t long before we noticed some visitors and family members whose breath was less than desirable. Theorizing that bad breath equals bad germs, Amor announced that anyone handling babies not only needed hand sanitizer, but also must brush his or her teeth first.

This turned out to be quite an impractical demand. I would be alone with the babies and get stressed out. By the time I would ask for help, I usually needed it immediately. Grandma or Mica would say, “Okay, but I gotta brush my teeth first!” Then I’d be there with babies both needing something and me being unable to help them for another two minutes. Two minutes may sound trivial but it is an eternity in “double baby crying” time. Finally, I told Amor we had to get some gum with Xylitol. We put a little bowl in each room and by the front door (replacing the value pack toothbrushes purchased for visitors) and began to simply offer people gum.
I even had to resort to chewing gum instead of brushing a time or two. There have been days that I literally did not have time or available hands for brushing. Other days I’ve brushed multiple times because I couldn’t remember if I’d brushed them earlier or not. It gives new meaning to the phrase, “Time to brush your teeth.”

Double Talk Quote: Baby Brooks was choking, and Amor was going to use an aspirator called the “Snot Sucker” (sounds gross but it does have a filter!). Amor had just woken up and was obviously not thinking clearly. Before he started to use the aspirator, he said “Wait – should I brush my teeth first?” “Don’t you think we should get him breathing again first!?!” I snapped. It was such a serious situation but at least we can look back on it now and find some humor in it.

Relatable Lyrics: “Turn, Turn, Turn” by the Byrds https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKP4cfU28vM

Verse: There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. Ecclesiastes 3:10

Word that has lost its meaning: Free Moment

(written at 6 weeks)

Category:

Cultural Differences, Life With Twins

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