Out and About

This last weekend we visited the booming metropolis of Clarkston to go to the Martin Harris Pageant.  Since my kids are old enough to actually know who Martin is and the pageant only happens every other year we decided it was as good as time as any to venture out.

The drive out to the middle of nowhere was really quite beautiful and the kids did really well.  It was a late night, but a good experience.  

The kids go back to school is just over 2 weeks.  They are ready to go back even though they may not think they are.  I would probably be a real fan of year round school, but we've never lived in an area where that was an option.  We have been busy this summer, but somehow the kids always find time to tease each other to the point of tears.  Every once in awhile I find Adam teasing one of the kids a little too much and I can't help but think, "Aha! That's where Britton got it!"  I know for a fact Adam teased his sisters a lot while growing up so is it a nature or nurture phenomenon?  A sibling rite of passage, or something to we need to crack down on?  Let them toughen up, or do whatever we can to keep the peace?  All thought provoking questions. I'll let you guys weigh in on this one.

Britton is ready to get his Phase II braces.  The orthodontist was going to take his front braces off for a few years to wait for his permanent teeth to all come in before getting the full braces, but now that Phase I is over he could see that Britton already has all of his teeth (an anomaly for a kid his age) and is ready to just go straight into full braces.  Part of me is glad that we can just charge ahead and get them over with, but the other part of me is sad that I won't get a break before another 2 more years of braces. (At Britton's age I spend a lot of time and energy being a tooth brushing Nazi-Mom) Not only that but Britton has some major overcrowding and the ortho recommended he get 4 teeth pulled.  Britton had 4 baby teeth pulled last year and it was a super traumatic experience for him so I've been exploring different options this time around.  (Somehow I've gone from nap times and pacifiers to trying to decide which orthodontic plan is the best for my child.  Wow. Time just seems to slip by.)  I think we are going to have the extractions done by a pediatric dentist where he can be sedated.

Once we get this all figured out with Britton we'll get to do it all over again with the girls.  Early indications are that they will also have braces in their futures. Yipee, skipee.