Put to the test..

This is the first moment I have had to relax from quite a chaotic morning. I say that this blog is my therapy so here it goes... Landon had a delay at school and since I was planning to pick him up a little early for his first dentist appointment, I decided not to send him to school. Landon's dentist appointment was scheduled at 11am which is about the time that Jordan wakes from a nap. The plan was to make a quick run to the grocery store at 9:30am and pray that Jordan would take his morning nap in the car. He did, one point for mommy, and once he woke I got both boys bundled with coats, hats, pulled the stroller out of the car, grabbed a blanket to wrap around Jordan since the weather is only in the single digits today and pushed Jordan in the stroller up a small hill to get to the front door from the parking lot while holding Landon because I wanted to get them inside as quickly as possible. Now, where is office where we need to be? The kind woman at the Pregnancy Resource Center informed me that the office I was looking for was upstairs but that I had to use the back parking lot because the only way up there was steps. I was so tempted to fold up the stroller and take the steps but was informed that there are several flights to walk up. So, back outside we go. I buckle the kids back into their seats, put the stroller and blanket back into the trunk and drink the car around to the back of the building. Get the kids back out and luckily this time we are close to the door so I carried Jordan, pushed the stroller (I needed to have some place to put Jordan if Landon had a hard time) and Landon walked into the dentist's office. We walked in the room to an empty waiting room with a secretary who looked as if I had several heads. I knew it wasn't a good sign. This was a pediatric dentist's office but not the right one. ***sigh*** I called the correct office to let them know that I was at the wrong place and to please give me an address as to where they were located. Apparently the insurance company did not have the correct information on the website. I ended the call with a new scheduled appointment feeling incredible frustrated. As I drove home, I called the office to see if we could get there shortly (by this point it was 11:05) if the dentist would still take us, he would. Yay! As I happily drove to the correct office, I realized a few things: the office is located on a busy road which meant that I would have to find parking, it's 7 degrees outside, and I do not have the double stroller. I found a parking lot because no one wants to see me parallel park on a good day, let alone a day when I'm feeling rushed, stressed and anxious. There was a small hill to walk up and a busy road to walk across. I knew that I was not going to move quickly pushing the stroller and carrying Landon all this way so had Landon stand on the stroller (where Jordan's feet touch) facing Jordan and to hug him. Landon does it to be silly but I thought it would serve another purpose this time. It did. It shield both boys' faces from the cold and got us inside pretty quickly, plus the boys laughed the whole time. We waited quite a while once we got into the dentist's office but I was so appreciative that they were still seeing us that I didn't mind. I had snacks and Jordan's milk and the room was filled with toys that kept the boys occupied. Then it was Landon's turn... They had a miniature chair for him to sit in which seemed pretty exciting at first. Once the napkin was clipped around his neck I saw on his face that he was nervous and scared. I asked him he was feeling excited and he told me yes, then I asked if he felt nervous and he said yes and put a big, fake smile on his face. I reminded him that it would not hurt and that the dentist was just going to make his teeth shiny and pretty. I told him that I was proud of him for sitting in the chair and that he was such a brave big boy. The dentist came in, and to my surprise, gave him a full cleaning. I really didn't know what to expect with a 3 year old, but he did it all. If I would have known this, I would have bet that Landon would not last the whole cleaning. It uncomfortable, there are tastes and sounds and feelings that are not pleasant. The dentist was so wonderful and guess what, my big boy made it through the entire cleaning and was SO cooperative! My eyes watered as I watched him because I was so proud of him. I would have been thrilled if he was unphased by it all and did it, but seeing that it was a struggle for him and that he had to use his coping skills to get himself through it and to allow the dentist to do his job made me so proud. The dentist said that he did such a good job and that kids aren't often cooperative during their first visit and that he was so cooperative. I responded that he was such a good boy as I hugged him tight and told him that I love him and that I am so proud of him for being so brave. It certainly was a chaotic morning, but situations like these serve as reminders that both of my boys are so good, so resilient and that I am so blessed. So, so blessed.