raise your hand if you thought i'd been gone from the blog for so long because i was pregnant. well, you folks with your hands raised are right...not about that, but certainly about something in life.
not pregnant. seriously. not.
i've been gone mostly because jesse and i revamped our family excel budget after 9 years (7 joint) of doing it the same way. this switch-over has eaten up most of my computer time (after the requisite 13 day dukes family shutdown as we tried to agree on a new system...TOPICAL ZING!) as i adjust to my new spreadsheet glory. this is not a complaint. i love excel and i love budgeting and it temporarily became more gratifying than blogging.
i'm actually reading an awesome alexander hamilton biography right now, and so all thing fiduciary are at the forefront of my brain as i try to be as awesome as him (i wonder if aaron burr ever called him a fiduciary-bag? because thats a solid burn to drop on an economist).
i'm actually reading an awesome alexander hamilton biography right now, and so all thing fiduciary are at the forefront of my brain as i try to be as awesome as him (i wonder if aaron burr ever called him a fiduciary-bag? because thats a solid burn to drop on an economist).
moving right along in utterly unrelated fashion...
the kids are going for their first ever dentist appointments today. for some reason i thought you could wait until they were way older, like school age, but then i started hearing friends saying they took their 1 or 2 years olds and i was all, "AHHHH DECAY!! I"M ALREADY TOO LATE" an immediately felt like a horrible parent.
nevertheless, that was like 6 months ago and i just finally did something about it today. if only action and overreaction came from the same parts of one's brain...i'd be invincible. i think the remembering of, "oh well, this is basically just their practice set of teeth...i'll be better about the permanent ones" was mostly to blame for putting their cleanings off so long.
so they are going to one of those kiddie dentistry places that is pretty much 6 flags but with smaller water guns. this is super comforting to me as a parent knowing that it will entertain and make my kids feel at ease. however, it is upsetting to me as a grown up who had to deal with and overcome the sterile terror that was visiting a normal dentist when i was a kid. i already feel like our generation of kids is WAY too coddled about pretty much everything, so this tickles that same sensor a bit.
oh, but you better believe i still asked on the phone when i made my appointment, "now, yall have video games and friendly mascot-type murals, right?"
my middle name is integrity.
how old were yours kids at their first dental visit? yay or nay on the cutesy little kiddie dental offices? am i ruining their moral fibers while strengthening their gums?!?!
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12:23 PM
I would love to know what ya'll are using for budgeting. I have an old Dave Ramsey inspired sheet that I have modified to suit my means but I am always curious how other people do this. Would you be willing to share with made up numbers or blacked out numbers?
ReplyDeleteWe went at 12 months and 18 months. I hate the dentist and I'm determined to help her know the dentist is your friend. It's fun and you get prizes and stickers. She had already been as an infant for oral surgery and they had iPads and toys. Love it!!
ReplyDeleteI am not a parent yet so no comments on what I would want for my kiddos, BUT I just want to brag about having the best childhood dentist experiences ever. he was (is) not a kid-specific dentist, therefore my whole family went (still goes) to the same dentist, and by whole family I also mean my mom's siblings and their kids... because our dentist was friends with my mom and her siblings growing up! AND he used to be a clown! (not the scary kind... I keep telling myself.) and is just a super nice great guy, and all the hygienists in his office have always been just the nicest too.
ReplyDeleteI feel like it was a good balance because there were many kid-friendly things (like getting to play Game Boy or that infuriating little water-ring-game [anyone know what I'm talking about? ...anyone?] while getting fluoride on your teeth, or getting your picture taken with a Polaroid and stuck up on the "wall of kid patients" so you could see everyone growing up) but also it wasn't a pediatric dentist so it was nice knowing my mom went there too and everything, and I never had to STOP going there. actually I would still be going there except now I live 700 miles from St. Paul and my family... sad face :(
Violet was 3. We go to a regular dentist office, no fun and games there. Although I let her bring the portable DVD player and watch Lion King. And of course, there is a requisite treasure box at the end.
ReplyDeleteIf your appointment is at "My Kidz Dentist" in Newnan, CHANGE IT! Horrible first experience for Madison there. Long story I can tell you later...but we took Madison at 3 and we have took Kendall at about 18 months.
ReplyDeleteFirst dental visit for my boy was at age nearly-5....BAH #parentFAIL. So seriously - DONT feel bad. He checked out PERFECTLY & if we're being honest here, I'm a total slack parent on brushing. UGH. We've gotten better though because I would feel totes responsible if he had to get a filling. He doesn't go to a child-specific dentist - I have (had) HUGE dentist anxiety but finally found one that I loved that is just a family dentist - so that's where he goes as well!
ReplyDeleteI'd also LOVE to know your budgeting method. It's always nice to see what others are doing & what's working for them in that area! Cause I'm just about as bad at budgeting as I am at kid teeth brushing!
Just took my 16 month old yesterday cuz I felt dr./peer pressure. We went to a regular dentist (the same dentist that did his tongue/lip tie surgery at 10 weeks old. He was fine until the hygienist put a mask on and then he freaked out. The treasure box wouldn't even entice him...he kept looking at the staff like they were up to something. We will likely not go back until he's around 3 or 4.
ReplyDeleteOur kids start around 3 1/2. They go to our fluoride and mercury free dentist. I have always loved going to the dentist, even with having needed a filling around age 5. It's like a spa for your mouth!
ReplyDeleteIs your fluoride and mercury free dentist in Fayette County?
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