Visiting the Medical Professionals . . . thank God for good healthcare coverage

This past week the little ones all had medical appointments and it was a very interesting experience. Our first trip was to the pediatric dentist. I have a general fear of the dentist (and the eye doctor) and I hope to avoid passing my phobia(s) along to the children. I plan to follow the recommended guidelines for visiting, particularly with the amount of money I pay out in healthcare premiums each pay period.

Anywho, the dynamic duo have actually visited the dentist before but this was Nic's first ever visit. He did surprisingly well with having someone other than me (or himself) digging around in his mouth. They all actually did really well and I don't anticipate any issues in the near future. And I am also proud to report that all the boys are still members of the NO CAVITY CLUB. WOO HOO!!!!!! At least they're doing something right with their haphazard brushing.

Nic and hygienist, Wanda

"open wide, buddy"

Dylan with "Mr. Thirsty" and hygienist Hunter

Dr. Caroline checking Dylan's gorgeous smile

Drew hanging out with Dr. C

Drew and Wanda

And I don't have pictures, but Davon actually went to both the orthodontist and the dentist in the last week as well. He got his braces in March (thank God for supplemental dental coverage because have you priced that lately? It costs a pretty penny for a beautifully straight smile) and had his first official dental cleaning since the install. While his monthly orthodontic appointments have been going swell and well, Dr. V (our primary dentist) let Davon know he needs to do a much better job in brushing. Hopefully with her advice and my pestering he'll take heed. And I am stressing that I would hate to invest all this money in his mouth for the braces to come off and he have a straight yuck mouth. That is not a good look. Hopefully in six months, she'll be able to see a difference in his dental diligence.

The dynamic duo also had their annual checkups with Dr. Kelly. Nothing unusual to note and they both are extremely healthy. The funniest thing to me was the small differential in their size. As most of you know Drew and Dylan are only 22 months apart and because of Drew's late birthday they are only one grade level apart in school. Well, it appears this proximity is going to rule in their lives as well. Drew weighed in at 54 pounds . . . Dylan was an even 50 pounds. Drew is just an inch shy of 4 feet tall . . . Dylan is only 3 inches shorter. Now you can better understand why is sometimes feels like they're twins, although I can't imagine how much crazier my life would be if they were in fact twins.

Dr. Kelly checking out my baby Dylan

Drew posing like he's on a photo shoot or something

Drew answering Nurse Daisy's questions

Dylan and Nurse Daisy taking his blood pressure

the boys in their very fashionable disposable robes

I am thankful for the benefits of this good gubment job I hold. With the talk of universal healthcare and all the stats about the number of uninsured Americans, I can totally appreciate having the luxury of being able to visit the doctor and other medical professionals on a regular basis, and not just in case of an emergency. With the number of dependents I have, I need all the help I can get. It is truly one of those things that you don't realize the importance of unless you are in need of it and don't have access to it. And while my life is far from perfect, I thank God for all that He has blessed me with - healthy kids, access to healthcare, etc. As a parent, I worry about enough. Thankfully, knock on wood, I don't have to worry about their health. I pray it stays that way.

this might have to be my new theme song

(because you know every superhero has to have a theme song!)

One of the faithful members of the NNN (inside joke) sent me this in honor of my special day and I don't think I could verbalize it better myself. THANKS PAM!

Although this is more traditional shout out from LaShawn and I like this one too

Forty and Fabulous . . . and Free!!!!!

me, circa 1975 or so

I can vividly recall when somebody said they were 40, me and my friends would be like "WOW, THEY'RE OLD!" Well, looking at it now that I have officially made the transition from my thirties to the milestone of 40, it doesn't quite seem as old and I once envisioned it was. Not to say that I haven't lived a whole bunch of years and had a whole bunch of experiences, but I really don't feel old. And thankfully, people say I don't "look" 40 - whatever that means. What am I supposed to be walking around hunched over and waving a AARP membership card or something?

Now I'm not of the mindset that "40 is the new 30" . . . it's the same damn 40 but I am grateful for the many days (and experiences) that have brought me to this day. I don't feel any different and still resemble my young self so I'm good. You know they say good black don't crack and so thanks to the melanin that makes that my reality - no wrinkles and no gray yet. And hopefully kids help keep you young and since I do have quite a few although sometimes I feel like they're aging me exponentially.

Another benefit of me finding all kinds of things "free" is that I have signed up for nearly every free birthday club offer that I can find so I have received a lot of random "happy birthday" messages that come with benefits. My list is looking good and I will definitely be cashing in on this birthday . . . literally. Sign yourself up too to reap your BBs - birthday benefits.

• AMC theaters (http://www.amctheaters.com/) Movie Watchers get a coupon for a free large soda (at least that's what I got) that is valid for the 30 days following your birthday. And with the price of a large soda and the fact that you can get free refills on large sodas (and large popcorn) I'm definitely going to enjoy this (a couple of times if I can).
• Baskin Robbins (http://www.baskinrobbins.com/) birthday club members get one free scoop with a coupon that's valid for 5 days after the special day.
• Cold Stone Creamery (http://www.coldstonecreamery.com/) birthday club members get a coupon for free a "Like It" size ice cream for their special day that is valid for a week following.
• Famous Dave's (http://www.famousdaves.com/) sends an email that you have to take in to see what your prize code gets you - from a free dessert to a free all-American buffet. Kids aged 10 and younger get a free 'Lil Wilbur meal for their special day.
• Rita's Water Ice (http://www.ritasice.com/) birthday club offers a coupon for a buy one get one free deal that's valid for a week following your birthday.
• Old Country Buffet (http://www.buffet.com/) birthday club members receive a coupon for one free buffet meal with the purchase of one adult buffet meal. We have used this coupon once already and me and all the little people (although Davon would dispute that he is one of the "little people" so I guess I should say me and all four of my kids) ate for less than $20. By far the biggest bang for your buck on this list I think.
• Pizza Hut (http://www.pizzahut.com/) sent me a coupon for a free dessert pizza with a pizza purchase.
• Kids who are members of the Chuck E. Cheese (www.chuckecheese.com) birthday club get a coupon for 20 free tokens for their birthday. Combine this with the other coupon offers and you can get a really good deal for a day of fun for the kids.

Also keep in mind that many restaurants will comp you a dessert if you mention that it is your birthday. Last year, Drew and Dylan mentioned that it was my birthday when we were at what used to be our Saturday routine of lunch at Lone Star Steakhouse (http://www.lonestar.com/) after basketball class because 2 kids could eat for free on Saturday until 4pm (this offer does not exist anymore on Saturdays but 2 kids eat free with adult purchase all day on Tuesdays). Our waitress came back with a dessert that was large enough for all of us to share. Oh how I miss those days (man, I'm sounding old with that one aren't I?).

With all these freebies, I should really enjoy the next few weeks until they all expire. Y'all know me and free go together like peanut butter and jelly. So how am I celebrating my milestone birthday? Well, I got treated to lunch by some of my friends at work twice this week and am looking forward to a free meal this weekend from Davon. So while I'm not officially having a party, I'll be having a good time celebrating turning the big 4 - 0, especially with all the free hook ups I have found.

An interestingly unusual "petting zoo"

Those of you who know me know that I try to keep the boys busy. Life can be challenging with four boys. And you also know how I love FREE so we took advantage of yet another free e activity in the Washington area this past weekend (September 12th) by attending the Kennedy Center open house arts festival. The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is a living memorial to the late President John F. Kennedy and is a beautiful building located on the brink of historic Georgetown and near George Washington University. Another free activity available at this beautiful venue is the Millenium Stage - which offers free live performances daily at 6pm. For more info, check out www.kennedy-center.org/programs/millennium/. Anyway, as for the open house, our trip to the Kennedy Center started off rocky as we searched for nearly 45 minutes for a parking space on the street. If we didn't have somewhere to be afterward I definitely would've done Metro there. Despite the rocky start, we had a great time.

The boys seemed to enjoy seeing the various performers which included a moving piano player. I mean literally the piano on wheels moved as he played. Macadam Piano was definitely an interesting sight that we saw at our arrival.

Macadam Piano

enjoying the outside view of moving piano

Then we ventured inside and were able to see some performers singing snippets from the opera, The Barber of Seville . . .even if you don't know this opera I know you know the song "figaro, figaro" from Bugs Bunny fame . . .

Drew and Dylan checking out the opera scene from the Barber of Seville performers

Then we ventured upstairs to the multicultural book fair and got one of the books we own (The Champ: the story of Muhammed Ali) signed by the author, Tonya Bolden. She was extremely gracious and signed it to Drew and Dylan, even though I don't think she was supposed to. Thanks for that one.

Then we ventured outside for another performance by Béron, a miming magician or something, who was very entertaining with juggling and a very Mr. Bean-ish performance. We enjoyed him for a while.

the boys checking out Béron

more Béron

Maestro Mouse - the mascot

Then we got in line for the National Symphony Orchestra instrument petting zoo - a hands-on experience with orchestra instruments. The boys got the chance to try out several percussion instruments, the saxophone, the french horn, the clarinet, the flute, the piccolo, the violin and the cello. The boys really liked this part of the entire day. And I can definitely see school band in my future.

Nic in the percussion section with a shaker

Drew and Dylan checking out the different percussion instruments

Drew on the conga drums (that DC go-go vibe coming out)

Nic trying out the clarinet

Drew on the sax

Dylan giving it a try

Dylan on the french horn (video below)

Drew on the trombone

Dylan channeling his inner Yo-Yo Ma

Drew trying to show him up

Dylan getting instruction on how to handle the violin's bow

Drew and his turn with the violin




Dylan on the french horn



Drew Bug "Satchmo" Robinson on the horn

As we were leaving because we had another engagement to attend, we walked through the Washington Chalk Festival and the boys wrote their names on the sidewalk and we admired some real chalk art on large canvases. En route to our car, we saw our final performance of La Voile, an aerialist who was literally hanging by a string (well, a lot of strings since it was cloth) in front of the Kennedy Center performing to music. This part, while breathtakingly beautiful, scared me because it was a bit windy and there was no net. But he seemed to know exactly what he was doing and the boys were fascinated.

Overall, it was a wonderful afternoon of exposing the boys to the arts. I hope to take them to some Millennium Stage performances and hope to make it back to the Open House next year.

Reading is FUNdamental . . . and the library is FREE!

If you're a child of the '70s like I am you'll remember that slogan and bookmobiles which were literally a library on wheels. And that marketing strategy must have worked extremely well since I still remember the slogan to this day. And y'all know how I feel about free . . . so this entry is an homage to our local library.

a RIF promo ad featuring author Eric Carle (one of my personal faves)

I think I have a healthy love of reading . . . many of you will attest to seeing me walk to and from the metro reading a book (I often hear "that must be a good book" as I amble along) and know that I have been a regular at our local library. Fortunately, we have a really well run public library system. And I have and continue to take advantage of the programs offered. Besides, now with four kids and a mortgage, I don't have a lot of disposable income to spend on purchasing books, especially given the fact that when it was just Davon and me I went overboard and we have plenty of children's books in the house.

Our local branch has hosted "family storytime" on Thursdays evenings for as long as I can remember. Davon and I have been regulars since the time he was about 2 years old (until our branch closed for renovations for about 2 years) and he is now 14. We continue to go regularly as we expose the three musketeers (Drew, Dylan and Dominic) to what has now become our family tradition. This program also helps us out as Drew and Dylan are required to read at least 20 minutes daily as a part of their homework. They both are slowly becoming independent readers (which is so awesome to witness) and I like to think that our weekly trip to the library helps encourage their love of books (although "love" may be a bit strong some days).

We are fortunate, also, to have two very dynamic librarians in our children's section that alternate hosting our interactive family story time - Mr. James and Mrs. Aisha. Mr. James is like the energizer bunny and is extremely animated. He has an enormous amount of energy and enthusiasm and he really makes the half hour a lot of fun - with his acting out for "guess the nursery rhyme" game, his animal sounds in books that require it, his selection of interactive songs (he introduced us to Billy Jonas . . . go to http://www.billyjonas.com/ for more on this exceptional family friendly folk artist).

Mrs. Aisha, on the other hand, is mellow and comes at us with a different vibe that I really love too. With both of them, you can totally sense their love of books and their sensitivity to the needs of the kids. Regardless of who is hosting storytime, we enjoy each week that we spend at the library. I was sad to learn that this stagnant economy has also affected my family's routine.

With budget shortfalls, our local library system is cutting hours (instead of staff so I am grateful for that) and beginning in October, we will no longer have Thursday evening family storytime because our library will be closing at 6pm rather than the current close time of 9pm. I am saddened by that change but am happy to know that in November family storytime will begin again, but on Wednesdays.

Mr. James in an animated moment

Mr. James mid-story (check out Dylan intently listening)

Mrs. Aisha reading "Otto grows down" at the final Thursday storytime

alright, Dylan, give me some space buddy