Settling into life with two young girls has been little
trouble. Bed time happens with fair
regularity. Chores have been divvied out
and get done. Mothers of the regular age
may be stunned to learn these two take care of the kitchen after supper AND
sweep the floor. Just get up and do
it. Janice is in charge of her kitchen
and I don’t intend to look into her methods.
Laura’s room is so tidy and organized that some familial OCD
genes may be popping out. Emily’s room
bears testament to teen age occupation, however, so there’s hope for
Laura.
When they changed last July from house guests to house kids
we scrambled a little to get them up to snuff.
They can recite the number of past due vaccinations they were stuck
with, I know, and we made sure there was enough underwear in the drawers, clean
socks, new sneakers, stuff like that.
I did play office tag with their dentist before I was able
to nail down an appointment earlier this month.
I met Dr. Bob, and he came right to the point. Dental hygiene was in short supply in those
two little mouths. We knew our final
evening admonition, “Brush your teeth,” probably was not well followed, and we
were too right.
All teeth got a good cleaning, and Dr. Bob called in grandma
and explained his findings. A far better
job must be done on both accounts.
Proper tooth brushing had been demonstrated and was required morning and
night. Dr. Bob told them their attention
would become a good habit in less than a week.
Ah, good intentions.
They can leave like the morning dew.
Over the last couple weeks the old people in the house prodded and
prompted, but young people evaded us as effectively as they evaded tooth
brushing where they used to live. As
grandma parted with three hundred dollars to spring them from Dr. Bob’s office,
and that was only for annual x-rays and semi-annual cleaning, grandma was not
pleased.
After we all were seated and ready to eat recently, I opened
the discussion again.
“There is a shortage of tooth brushing happening, as we all
know. We also know it’s a good habit
waiting to be developed. So, here’s how
we’re going to do it. You two will brush
morning and night. Before you go to school
you will breathe toothpaste breath and dental rinse breath on the adult of the
morning. Before you go to bed you will
breathe toothpaste breath and dental rinse breath on me. If you fail to do this
one morning or evening between now and October 31st, there will be
no trick or treating.”
Emily grinned, and Laura’s eyes grew round. But now they both smell like tooth paste at
bed time, and I’m sure they will sail on through and past Halloween. Going for the habit. And the candy. Both of them laugh so hard about breathing on
grandma, who tells them they smell better than Dewars on the rocks, that I told
them I would write a blog about them and toothpaste. And I have.
Emily will read it, as she is one of my fans.
Two housekeeping notes: Thank you to everyone for reading and
commenting. I enjoy your thoughts more
than you will ever know. I am going to
Wisconsin for a week and probably will have dogs and cats and friends to talk
about when I come back.
You are doing one heck of a job with those girls.
ReplyDeleteWell done! You are lucky Hallowe'en is around the corner ;-) Have a safe journey.
ReplyDeleteAh how I miss the smell of Dewers in the evening!
ReplyDeleteI hope they keep up the brushing, because missing Hilloween would be horrible.
I'm guessing they will.
I'll be waiting to read about your grand adventures in Wisconsin.
ReplyDeleteYou are truly amazing. Have a wonderful trip - we will all be anxious to hear of your adventures.
ReplyDeleteYou are the perfect grandma and in years to come the girls will thank you for the insistence on tooth brushing.
ReplyDeleteI only wish my parents had taught us better. (So many Aussies have poor teeth). We never even saw a dentist unless we had toothache that aspirin couldn't fix.
When will they get curious about the taste of Dewars, I wonder....
ReplyDeleteI felt hard done by as a child because though I brushed night and morning I always seemed to need something doing on the six monthly dentist's appointment....until we moved house and changed dentist who wanted to know why I had all those unnecessary fillings....
I can see I will be looking to you for words of wisdom as I try to cope with just one grandchild! Congratulations on a job well done!
ReplyDeleteEmily- you have a good grandma, now brush your teeth :)
ReplyDeleteListen up girls! The best way to avoid the prodding and poking of the dentist is to keep your chompers lovely. I had a hygenist visit on Monday, my hygenist sighed and said,"Jane I never have anything to do because you keep your teeth so clean"... I have my teeth polished to make them shiny and I'm in and out of that office so fast!
ReplyDeleteBrushing is great but try flossing..it's fun.. I have a mini brush called a proxa brush which has a little brush like a Christmas tree..I poke in between my teeth with it after I've brushed and before floss. I'm my own dental hygenist!
Jane x
Using Halloween as a motivator is genius!
ReplyDeleteNothing like a good reward at the end of the road to make the travel easier. Best wishes to the kids and their new habit and you and your trip. I'm looking forward to the next post about dogs and cats and friends.
ReplyDeleteYou two are doing so beautifully with these girls. They will thank you for good teeth later on I am sure. When I married Joe he was much the same(due to his frugality). I had him at the dentist in a jiffy where it cost thousands of dollars. He thanks me now and is aware in this instance his being frugal was stupid.
ReplyDeleteI just came from the dentist, two hours in the chair, needles and enough tools in my mouth to fill a garden shed for a bit of decay starting under a crowned tooth ($1500 to clean it up and replace the crown). And I've been doing a good job on the hygiene. May their lovely breath breathe new life into Grandma! Hooray!
ReplyDeleteI was surprised and sad to hear that my grandchildren don't brush their teeth every day. They told me when the slept the other weekend. I got them into brushing but you can only do so much and once they go home...
ReplyDeleteGood habits make life easier - they allow you to do what you need to do, automatically, so you can use your brain power for more interesting things :) Good going, grandma and girls!
ReplyDeleteIf they slip, you can always institute group brushing, everybody brushing at the same time, adults included.
ReplyDeleteWhat a good grandma you are! Found your blog from Susan Kane.
ReplyDeleteMy methods in the kitchen...how hilarious. You don't do your share, you don't EAT. No really, it's still your method, people RISE to your expectations just as easily as they can sink to them. I prefer rising.
ReplyDeleteWhat an excellent idea, regarding the candy. :-) And what a wonderful grandma you are. Those children are lucky to have you. I find that children respond well to boundaries, and regularity in a house only does them good.
ReplyDeletePearl
good for you!!!!! i think this post is inspiring ..because the girls will feel good about themselves by helping with chores and better about themselves by taking care of themselves...and you are teaching them that.
ReplyDeletehave fun in Wisconsin!
Enjoy the trip and the scenery Ms Joanne :)
ReplyDeleteThat's too funny. I'm surprised no one has eaten garlic right before they breath on you. Or now I may have given Emily an idea?
ReplyDelete