Hey, race on over to Flea's world and wish her a happy birthday, wouldja? The gal deserves lots of well-wishes.

Yikes, what a freakin' day. The baby is still fussing at night; some nights are better than others but it's safe to say we're not getting much sleep, and the early morning hours belong to me since that's DH's deepest sleep mode. The other two woke early this morning, so DH and I passed the buck back and forth while attempting to ready the entire family for our first JT Force Five outing on public transportation. We dealt mainly with Jake this morning, who is suffering an intermittent case of I Think I'm A Teenager Therefore I Act Like A Snotty Asshole.

I Bjorned the baby and we trudged through the uncleared, somewhat icy sidewalks to the purple line, and then switched to the red line so we could take the kids to the dentist. The boys were not thrilled about the dentist, but a few goofy pages of the American Dental Association's web site prepped them well for sitting in the big chair, seeing the instruments of torture, and such exciting elements as the Magic Straw. And luckily, we go to the greatest pediatric dental practice I could imagine. Everything just went so smoothly, I could hardly believe it.

By the time I'd finished the paperwork, both boys were called back. There were open areas on either side of the main hallway, with small walls to provide just enough privacy. The boys were on chairs facing one another across the hall. Dr. Mary (seriously) showed Danny all the tools in the least scary way possible, and all I could think was how cool it would have been if that was how everyone was introduced to dentistry. They even do the cutest thing -- she asked Danny to touch his own nose, which would make the chair move. He wasn't fooled but kept touching his nose to get her to make the chair go up and down and recline. It was pretty darned cute.

DH and I switched kids halfway through, and I walked in to see Jake sporting way-cool, multicolored ski shades in his dentist chair. I guess the dental light is pretty strong for some kids, so they keep funky shades on hand to help them. The hygienist was prepping flouride trays, and I calmed Jake's discomfort by telling him it was just like getting mouthguards for playing a sport (something else we read about last night on the ADA's site). I wish I had a picture of him reclining in the chair with the ski shades on, blue and white trays in his mouth, and with the green Magic Straw sucking crap out from between his clenched teeth. It was awesome.

Within 45 minutes, Jake had a complete cleaning and x-rays, and Danny had had a basic exam and about three teeth cleaned (all he'd tolerate). Both the boys were told they did well and that their teeth looked good. Danny has lots of space between his teeth, but Jacob is going to have some crowding issues, so we were told to start saving now for orthodontia (insert hysterical laugh here).

We shlepped home and I managed to feed everyone restaurant-style (seriously, within 30 minutes I made chicken with rice, mac & cheese, crackers and cheese, Lunchables, half a package of Crab Delights, and a few drinks). Then I collapsed on my bed with the fussy baby. Danny insisted on taking his nap with me, too, so soon I was out cold with the two youngest. Within the hour, DH had shut down his laptop and crashed, too. Jake was jealous and bored, but was convinced to climb into bed shortly after that. So there we were, the dynamic JT family .... passed out cold on a sunny Saturday.

Now I'm exhausted and DH and I both have awful headaches. I still haven't gone to Costco, Target, or the grocery store (none of which we can really afford, but fuckit). So all that has to happen tomorrow, after breakfast with my folks, after my dad gets to the airport, and while DH finishes work on someone's web site. And at some point, I'd love to unload the dishwasher and put away three baskets full of clean laundry. All with Fussy Man permanently attached, since he only calms down now when he's touching me.

YAWN. It's almost enough to make me want to go back to work. Almost.