A Trip to the Dentist

The girls had dentist appointments yesterday, and man, was it an adventure.

First off, the appointment was originally scheduled for 1:45 for Julia and 2:00 for Madeleine.  With COVID and whatever else, the appointment times got changed, so when I received a request to confirm appointments this week, Madeleine was listed at 2pm and Julia at 2:30.  Julia also had a swim practice in Wellesley at 3pm, so I called the dentist to ask if I could switch the order of the girls to ensure Julia was done by 2:30.  The office informed me that they would have both girls come in at the same time, but would have Julia's cleaning done first.

The protocol for this appointment was strict.  I was to arrive 15 minutes early, having already received at text from the office 15 minutes PRIOR to arriving.  Upon arriving, I was to respond to the text and then wait in the car with the kids for further instructions.

1:45pm

ME: (texting "5" to indicate I had arrived to the parking lot)
MADELEINE: Can I roll down the window?  I'm afraid I'm gonna get really hot in the car and they'll think I have a fever.
ME: Sure. (opening all the car windows)
JULIA: Well aren't we gonna wait inside?
ME: No, it says we have to wait in the car for further instructions.

1:50pm

JULIA: But how will we know when to go in?
ME: They're supposed to text me, I think.
JULIA: Well, did they text you yet?
ME: Not yet.
MADELEINE: Mommy, maybe you should check.
ME: I did check. I haven't gotten a text.
MADELEINE: Well, Mommy, remember you might not be able to hear it.
ME: I've got my phone right here.

1:55 pm

JULIA: But aren't we supposed to start at 2?  Maybe we're supposed to go to the door.
ME: It says to wait for further instructions.
JULIA: (drops both her retainers on the bottom of the car floor)
ME: Uh oh, you better pick those up.
JULIA: (wrangles herself around both her pool bags to try and get at the car floor)
MADELEINE: Any text yet?
ME: Not yet.
JULIA: But I'm going first, right?  Because I have to leave?
ME: I called to make sure they'd put you first.  If they have you get your teeth cleaned at the same time, I'll be able to drive straight from here to swim.  If they do Madeleine AFTER you, I'm gonna text Daddy and he'll come pick you up and take you to swim.
JULIA: But how will we know when Daddy's here?
ME: He'll text me.
JULIA: (drops both her retainers on the bottom of the car floor)
ME: Again??
JULIA: It was an ACCIDENT!

2pm

JULIA: Maybe we should just go wait by the door.
ME: It says to wait for further instructions.
MADELEINE: Just keep checking your phone.
ME: They haven't texted yet.
JULIA: But we're supposed to start at 2.
ME: They're probably running behind.

2:07pm

I received a text saying to come to the side door.  We made our way there, to find it locked.

JULIA: Why don't you knock?
ME: I think there's probably someone coming to open it for us.
JULIA: Just text them and say we can't get in.
ME: (texting to ask how we should get inside)
JULIA: Text them again and say the door is locked.
ME: I already texted them.  Let's just wait.
JULIA: But -

The dental hygienist opened the door and let us in.  We were led to a table at which we were all given hand sanitizer, and I was given forms to fill out.

JULIA: Mommy? I dropped my retainers under the table.
ME: Julia! Seriously?
JULIA: It was an ACCIDENT!

I looked under the table to see Julia's retainer case open with her lower retainer sitting on the dentist office rug.  EW.  And this is SO not how we're supposed to be doing safe hygienic dentist visiting.

Julia had to crawl under the table to pick up the retainers that she for some reason could not seem to stop dropping.  Another hygienist came out and reprimanded me for not waiting outside until she came to get me.  Apparently the hygienist who had let us in was actually supposed to be with a different patient.  The hygienist assigned to US sent Julia off with another hygienist to get X-rays, made Madeleine hold Julia's retainers (thankfully, since Madeleine managed NOT to drop them every two seconds) and gave me forms to fill out.  I sat down on the bench and was reprimanded for sitting down and had to stand back up to fill out forms.  They hygienist told me she would walk me out and I would have to wait in my car.

When I got to the car, I realized that since I was banned from the building I wouldn't know when Julia was done, and therefore wouldn't know whether or not Ethan needed to come and drive her to swim.  I called the front office.

OFFICE: Dental Associates, how can I help you?
ME: Hi, my daughters Julia and Madeleine are both in there right now having a cleaning.  I wanted to know if they're getting cleaned at the same time or if it's one after the other?
OFFICE: They're doing one after the other.
ME: Okay.  I had called a few days ago to make sure Julia could go first, since she has a swim practice, so when she's done she can just walk out to the lot.  My husband will be here to pick her up and I'll wait in the lot for Madeleine.
OFFICE: Did you communicate this to the hygienist?
ME: (thinking: "no, because she was too busy reprimanding me and shooing me out") Uh, no, it was really rushed.  But I called the other day and they said they'd make a note to be sure she went first.
OFFICE: Okay.  Let me pass this along.

A few minutes passed and my phone rang.  It was the dental office.

OFFICE: Hi, unfortunately it wasn't clearly communicated that Julia needs to leave early, and they've already started on Madeleine, so Julia won't be finished until at least three o' clock.  I don't know...can you take her late to her practice?
ME: Uh, well, I think I'm gonna have to.

I then got to sit for 45 minutes in the hot car in the hot parking lot on a 95 degree day.  The girls came out together at 3pm and I immediately started up the car, only to be told by Julia that the hygienist needed to talk to me.  I got out of the car, put on my mask, and listened to all the extra appointments I need to make for sealants, orthodontics, and a tooth-pulling, then herded the kids into the car to drive Julia to swim, arriving late despite my best intentions.

I don't even want to think about the hoops we'll all have to jump through to manage the three other appointments I have to schedule!

Turtles

Last night, we saw my faithful blog-reader Lily and her family, (from a social distance) and Lily's brother and Madeleine were discussing turtles (from a social distance.)  Madeleine began what seemed to be a rambling and meandering story that took a sudden, unexpected turn:

MADELEINE: One time, I was out on a run, and, like, there was this truck parked on the sidewalk, so I had to cross the street, and, like, I crossed back and forth a couple of times, and I was like, running, I don't know, maybe like, crossing the street again, and, like, I ran by...I, like, thought I saw something, so I turned my head, and it was a TURTLE that had been hit by a CAR-

ALL OF US: (gasping)

MADELEINE: And, like, its shell was broken, and, like, it was SQUASHED and its GUTS and BRAINS were FALLING out all over the place!

Oh boy.

This was NOT where I had expected a story about Madeleine running to go.  But then again, I suppose I should know that with Madeleine just about any subject can contain a sudden dark twist!

More Classwork

More of Madeleine's classwork from this past year: her ideals if she were to become President:

I am all for getting us back in the climate change agreement thing!  And I admire her push to stop putting immigrants in jail or Juvi.  Madeleine for President 2020!

Classwork Collection

I'm finally going through Madeleine's bag of classwork we picked up in June, and I came across this:

I'm not sure how I feel about getting a blank box.
Madeleine claims she ran out of time. Good thing she made sure to write a box full of superlative compliments about her own self, though.

Music Challenges

I have been emailing the kids musical notation challenges for the past few days to see if they can name that tune. 

Here are a few examples:

Today's challenge proved insurmountable for both kids, DESPITE THE FACT THAT THEY BOTH SIGHT-SANG IT PERFECTLY.

I video-recorded Julia singing it and had her listen to it to see if it rang a bell.  Still nothing.  I mean, she could not have been singing it more accurately, but she had NO idea what it was.  Neither did Madeleine when she performed the same feat.  Maybe you readers will be able to Name That Tune!:







*******SPOILER ALERT****************


I mean, come on kids.  Our own LAST NAME is featured in this song.

More Musical Escapades

So, living in a household with FOUR musicians means hearing a LOT of musical practicing.  At any given time you might hear someone singing, playing the piano, playing the flute, singing WHILE playing the piano, playing the flute while someone else plays the piano, and so on.  Some days both girls decide to practice their flutes at the same time, in their own rooms, and I get to hear this:






I wouldn't change it for the world, as cacophonous as it can sometimes get. Without everyone's efforts to practice, we wouldn't get put small ensemble pieces together while we're social distancing from the rest of the musical world.

This weekend, Ethan, Julia and I attempted to make a recording of the only remaining not-yet-videoed movement from the Handel Triosonata we've been working on.  At first, I had Madeleine holding the camera, but Julia just COULD. NOT. HANDLE. IT.

ETHAN, JULIA AND I: (performing our music)
ETHAN: Wait, stop. We're off.
JULIA: (snapping at Madeleine) Madeleine, can you STOP doing the thing where you MOVE THE CAMERA ALL AROUND?
ME: She's just trying to make sure she shows all of us on the video.
JULIA: Well, it's too DISTRACTING and it's making me MESS UP.

Sheeeeeesh.

I put the camera tripod over the rung of a chair instead.  You can see how well that worked as you watch the video below.  At least the sound remained consistent!





Nothing the world needs more than a video of feet set to music, right?

Reading "Renegades"

Madeleine asked for a snuggle while she was reading this evening.  I slid next to her in her bed as she was reading the book "Renegades."

MADELEINE: Mommy, you know what BUGS me about this book?
ME: What?
MADELEINE: Like, everybody's NAME, like, MATCHES their ability.
ME: Oh yeah?
MADELEINE: Yeah.  Like, "Red Assassin" is Ruby: well, her grandmother was a jeweler, or something, so everyone in her family is named for jewels, like she has a sister named Emerald, but, like, all the jewels were stolen, and there were only rubies left, so she just picked up the rubies and ATE them-
ME: Did she poop them out?
MADELEINE: No.  And, like, "Queen Bee" is named Honey.
ME: Yeah, I can see how that's a little annoying.
MADELEINE: And "Captain Chromium" is Hyoog, and, like, "hyoog" sounds like "HUGE"-
ME: Where does it say Hyoog?
MADELEINE: (pointing to "Hugh Everhart")
ME: That's "HYOO."
MADELEINE: (indignantly stunned) WHAT?!?
ME: It's pronounced "Hyoo."
MADELEINE: It IS?  But I've HEARD of "HYOOG" before.
ME: No, honey, Hyoog is not a name.


I mean, maybe it is, but if it is, I've certainly never heard of it.  Maybe she's thinking of Hugh Grant, whose name *might* sound like "Hyoog" when eliding it with his last name?

The Scarn

The girls are big fans of "The Office" and have recently discovered a video of character Michael Scott's home-made movie "Threat Level Midnight."  Their favorite part of the movie is a dance called "The Scarn."



This morning, Julia and Ethan recreated the Scarn for the world's enjoyment:






Rowe Household's got TALENT!

Drawing and Role-Playing

Ethan introduced the members of the Rowe Household to an online game called Drawasaurus.  It's pretty much just Pictionary, without teams.  Instead, players accumulate individual points based on how many correct pictures they can guess.  We four Rowes were all able to play a game together from our own cell phones or computers.

In order to play together, we had to create a private room and then join, under our self-appointed Nicknames.  I mistook "Choose a Nickname" for "Choose a Nickname for the Drawasaurus App" and so I typed in Drawasaurus.  Then I was in a Private Room with my family and these were our names:

Eth
Maddog
Juliaaaaaa
Drawasaurus


Whoops.  Turns out it's not even an app anyway, just a website you can go to to play.  But I couldn't figure out how to change my name so I was stuck being Drawasaurus the whole time.  Perhaps the most amusing moment of the game was when I chose the word "drawing" to draw.  At the end, when the site revealed the answer, the top of the screen said: "Drawasaurus Is Drawing Drawing!"

Drawasaurus as a name came in handy when Madeleine designed a mandated family Role-Playing Game.  She even sent us a Google Form to fill out before the game began.  We had to create a character and enter a Code Name for our Character.  Mine was, OBVS, Drawasaurus.  This evening I got to join Serenity (Code Name "Interstellar"), Cadence (No Code Name), and Special Daddybot (Code Name Unclear, but the actor role-playing as Special Daddybot referred to himself as "Tony the Pirate.")


Madeleine decided that a part of the adventure our characters would embark upon would be finding four keys, hidden around the house or yard.

MADELEINE: So, I'll make the keys, and hide them, and then we'll have to wait, like, THREE days while I *force* myself to forget where I-
ME: Why don't we each just hide one and we can look for any key but the one we hid?
MADELEINE: (brightly) Oh!  Yeah, let's do that!

Madeleine made the keys this evening, so we LUCKY DUCKS got to role play this evening!


Madeleine was ALL-IN with her character.  While Tony the Pirate, Cadence and Drawasaurus sat around shooting the breeze, Interstellar was hiding around doorways and performing martial arts moves.  The rest of us rookies weren't really sure how to proceed in this game without its creator, so we finally managed to get Interstellar to join forces with us.  Our problem, laid out for us by Madeleine before she turned into Interstellar, was that there were certain objects being touched that then disappeared.  Or the person who touched them disappeared.  There were varying interpretations on this, but either way, we needed to SOLVE THAT PROBLEM!  Part of the problem also seemed to be the fact that some sort of invisible object on the fireplace was blocked off by four chairs, so we couldn't access the invisible object and use it for some unknown purpose.

Interstellar did not offer up any solutions for these problems, so I thought maybe I'd kick-start the action a little bit.

DRAWASAURUS: I have a feeling that we need to find FOUR KEYS in order to get past those chairs!

Madeleine was not a fan of my cutting to the chase, but it was too late, I'd spoken up, so before I knew it, we were hunting around the house for four cardboard keys cut out of an old granola bar box.

It took a long time for us to find them and we had to give increasingly more obvious clues to each other until they were finally all located.  Then we used the keys to unlock the chairs, and we were FACE TO FACE with the invisible thing on the fireplace.  I'm not really sure what the thing was.  Interstellar did not make that clear.  All I know is that we needed to find some way to vanquish the thing.  Interstellar first tried dragging an asteroid down from space and throwing it at the thing.  Next she tried pulling a black hole out of space, but that didn't work either.  Tony the Pirate tried sitting on it and burned his butt cheeks and he and Cadence went off to sit down and make jokes and get into shenanigans while ignoring this whole VERY SERIOUS MATTER.  So I, Drawasaurus, took matters into my OWN hands and used my musical powers (which weren't allowed to be real magical powers, even though Interstellar and Tony the Pirate were allowed to have magical powers) and sang to the invisible thing.  Whatever the thing was, it was gone when I was done singing, and I SAVED THE DAY!!!!!!!!!!!

I feel so seriously super accomplished now.  DRAWASAURUS OUT.

Heads Up

Last night the girls and I played Heads Up, the game in which a player must guess the word, name, or action on a cell phone held up to her forehead, based on clues given by the other players.  Here are some of our most amusing rounds of guessing:


ANSWER: FRUIT OF THE LOOM
Guesser: Me

JULIA: Oh, I think they make, like...baby stuff...
ME: Pampers?  Babies R Us?
MADELEINE: Uh...you EAT a PLANT...
ME: Huh?  Gerber?  Baby food?

TIME UP

JULIA: It was Fruit of the Loom.
ME: Oh.  Honey, they make underwear, not baby stuff.



ANSWER: AUGUST ALSINA
Guesser: Julia

MADELEINE: (blank look) Uh...
ME: Um, my birthday month.
JULIA: August.
ME: Yeah. And then...a weird sounding last name that I've never heard of.
JULIA: ...
ME: ...
JULIA: Um...
ME: Just skip it.



ANSWER: NBA
Guesser: Me

MADELEINE: Oh!  Baseball!
ME: Major League?
JULIA: No, Madeleine, that's BASKETBALL.
ME: Wait, what?
JULIA: Never mind, just skip it.



ANSWER: Tylenol
Guesser: Julia

ME: It's like Advil, but a different brand.
JULIA: Oh, um, Aspirin?
ME: Another brand.
JULIA: ...
MADELEINE: It's kinda like..."Ty..."
ME: Honey, you can't say part of the word.
MADELEINE: It's kinda like the name "Ty..." Ty's a name, right? Is it a name?
ME: It is, but you can't use that as a clue because it's part of the word.
JULIA: I have no idea.

Even with that much of a giveaway, Julia failed to guess Tylenol.



ANSWER: Hip-hop
Guesser: Me

JULIA: Hamilton is this...
ME: Musical?
JULIA: And rap...
ME: Music?
MADELEINE: Eminem, Jay-Z...
ME: Rappers?
JULIA: (jutting her hip out and pointing at it)
ME: Butts?

Renegades

Madeleine started reading a new book this week, called "Renegades."  It's a book I ordered for her, per her request, from her school's Virtual Book Fair.  So far she's really enjoying it.

MADELEINE: Mommy, "Renegades" is SO good!  I'm already on page 42!  I'm hoping that maybe "Renegades" can be my NEW thing to be obsessed about, instead of "Keeper of the Lost Cities," because...obsessions can get really TIRING.

If Madeleine is getting tired of her own obsessions, um...think about how the rest of us in the household feel.  Not that I didn't enjoy playing "Keeper of the Lost Cities Hide and Seek" the other night, mind you.  I'm just not sure how successful Madeleine will be getting over this particular obsession, given that she spent ALL morning yesterday in eager anticipation of the unveiling of Shannon Messenger's new cover art for her upcoming "Keeper" book.  It was such an agonizing wait until 1pm when the cover appeared on Instagram that Madeleine went to ridiculously great lengths to pass the time.  One minute I was reading peacefully on the couch, the next minute I was dodging Madeleine as she snaked her way around the coffee table with one dish at a time to take the most circuitous route possible whilst unloading the dishwasher.  Lifting my legs from the table every few minutes as she slithered by with a bowl or a plate was not distracting at all.

Luckily, we got a new American Girl catalog in the mail yesterday, so that has given Madeleine something un-Keeper related to peruse.  This catalog was a source of some serious stress for Julia, given how JAM-PACKED our days of sitting home doing nothing have been.

JULIA: (at 5:48 pm) Oh, I forgot, I was gonna practice my flute!
ME: Do you wanna practice with me and I can give you a flute lesson?
JULIA: Sure, but I also wanted to watch tv and then I was gonna look at the American Girl catalog, so I'm afraid I'm gonna run out of time. (with disappointed resolve) I guess I just won't look at the catalog.

Good choice.  I don't think she could have possibly fit in flute, a tv show, AND catalog viewing in the 4 or so hours before bedtime.

We're living in a fast-paced environment around here for sure.

Hamilton Viewing

Yesterday, the girls and I settled in to watch Hamilton on film:

Julia and I went to see Hamilton onstage in Boston a few years back, but Madeleine has never seen nor listened to it.  Let me tell you: it was a HIT with her! 

Clapping with delight after each song, Madeleine really lived up to her virtual audience potential.

Here are some highlights of the viewing:


MADELEINE: (anytime King George came on) Oh, good!  It's the creepy king!  I *love* the creepy king!

***

LAFAYETTE AND HAMILTON: Immigrants: we get the job done!
JULIA: One time in elementary school, at recess, me and Lily were doing that part, and we missed each other's hands like five hundred times.


***

ME: This Eliza Schuyler is a lot better than the Eliza we saw, huh, Julia?
MADELEINE: Wait - it's not the same people?!?

Oh, yeah, no biggie, Lin-Manuel Miranda and the original cast are just permanent fixtures at every performance.

***

ME: So, Madeleine, what was your favorite part?
MADELEINE: Uh, the THRILLING part!

Oh, that part.  Got it.


***

ME: Madeleine, can you believe you used to think you hated Hamilton?
MADELEINE: No!
ME: Turns out you're really into it!
MADELEINE: Yeah.  Well, I guess fourth grade is just the HAMILTON grade.

I'd like to point out that she's technically a fifth grader now, but whatevs.



Anyway, I'm glad it was enjoyed so thoroughly by both girls, although Madeleine has made a promise: "I really LIKED it, but I'm not gonna be like Julia and get, like, all OBSESSED with Hamilton."

That's a relief, because if there's anything we don't need, it's yet ANOTHER obsession for Madeleine.  I'm barely keeping up with her, between Harry Potter, The Dark Crystal, Keeper of the Lost Cities, and her own creation, Founder of the Timeline Barrier!

Message for the President

Madeleine asked me if she can send this to the President.  If anyone has in an in at the White House, let me know, because I'm sure he'd personally take the time to read it.

Hi world. My name is Madeleine Rowe, and I am here to demand change. I’ve noticed that our planet, especially the United States of America, is going through a lot of hard times recently, and even right now. So can everybody please just dial back on the hate already?

First of all, I find it undeniably unfair to be treating people differently because of their race or the color of their skin. If you think about it, the United States literally had a whole war over a color. Why? What’s wrong with a certain color? Don’t tell me about the meanings behind the colors, because humans came up with those, and that means they’re not the real meanings of them. Humans weren’t even the first living beings to walk this planet. But since we are human beings, and we’re walking right now, how about we make our world be actually equal? We are all the same species, so why can’t we act better than animals?

I would also like to inform this planet that another need for change still rises upon us. A climate change. Scientists have given the exact information we need to know that climate change is real, and we need to cool temperatures down if the human race is going to survive for a long time. And I am completely, one-hundred percent sure that scientists are made up of all different parties. So can we please listen to them and try to at least create less plastic waste?

I know there are plenty more changes in the world that need to be made. But for now, that is all I am writing in this to say. So please, listen to me. Listen to the world. What does the world want? Make that change.