A Good Day After Some Bad

Today was a good day.

I'm probably just saying that because, after three days of staying on the wrong side of Mama Law, Jones acted like his old, sweet self again, but that's enough. He even got up from not-napping and sweetly said, "Mama, I need to cuckle you."

Of course, Son.

Like I said, it was a good day.

I'd planned to spend it shaping up the disarray that surrounds me in my house right now, but then Mom called and wanted to meet for lunch. You may not know this about me, but I next-to-never turn down lunch invitations - in fact, I'm meeting a friend tomorrow, too - so off we went.

"Who are you gonna be for Halloween?"
"I be like ZUUUUURRRRGGGGG!"

When I told Jones where we were going, he did this cute little chuckle thing that he does and said, "She's a good girl, and I love her."

When Mom got there, Freddie and I were sitting on one side of the booth, and Jones was opposite us.

She sat down, and about ten seconds later, Freddie shooed me away. He wanted to sit beside Mayme. Mom joked about it making me feel bad - like she and Daddy felt when Sissy and I used to pitch fits when they tried to pull us away from where we'd attached ourselves to Mayme's hip - but no. It didn't bother me at all. In fact, I'm glad he loves his grandparents so much.

They didn't hold hands on their own.
I make them do it whenever
they walk in a parking lot
without me in the middle,
but y'all. Look how cute.

From there, we went to Wal-Mart. Jones has started doing this thing where he doesn't want to hold my hand as much - "I walk all by myself," he'll tell me - but he ends up holding on to my skirt instead. I kind of love it, to be honest, this inventive form of dependent independence that he came up with all on his own.

We got home, and I laid the boys down for later-than-usual naps. I'm not sure if Jones even went to sleep, but I DO know that we had this conversation when I went in to get him up. Oh, and Jones refers to thunder as "Lightnin' McQueen." I have ZERO intention of ever correcting him.



He and I then went into the den. He sweetly said, "I need to cuckle you, Mama," and after the few days we've had together, I was happy to oblige, so we wasted another little while, playing on SnapChat and waiting for Freddie to wake up.



We finally had to pull Brother out of bed. He then joined in the SnapChat fun. All along, I was thinking, "I need to get that load in the washing machine. I need to get the dishes in the sink. Poor Jeremy deserves to come home to a cleaner house than this," but we were having so much fun that I just sloughed it all off and enjoyed my baby boys, guilt-free.



After the Snapping stopped, Jones got his balloon from the dentist's office (I DID let him have THAT, though he most CERTAINLY didn't deserve it) and said to Freddie, "Freddie, grab this, and I can take you for a ride." He then proceeded to drag his brother all around the house. His brother, in turn, took JONES for a ride.



See what I mean?

Today was a good day.

Anti-Dentite

Jones went to the dentist today.

It went every bit as horrifically as I'd imagined it'd would. Scratch that. I think it went even WORSE than I'd imagined it would, because I'd prayed that God would SHOCK me with miraculously good behavior from Jones, so I had a mustard seed-sized faith (and that was all) that He'd come through with something so astonishing only He could do it.

But alas, it was not to be.

I hadn't told Jones where we were going. We just dropped Freddie off at the Pressleys', and I told him he and I were going on a ride. When we walked into the Great Beginnings Waynesville waiting room, he was enamored with the toys - and it's a good thing he was, because we waited FOR FORTY MINUTES.

FORTY.MINUTES.

Thank God Jones is ALSO enamored with SnapChat filters, because we spent a good chunk of that time playing around with them, which was really fun.

When the wonderful hygienist (Brittany) came to take us back, she apologized profusely for the wait, which I appreciated. Soon enough, though, I was the one apologizing to HER, as my three year old acted as I'd imagine he'd do if I'd set his hair on fire or made him take a bath in cubes of ice.

It was horrific. "I'm gonna spank you," he repeatedly told Brittany (and, later, Dr. Bill - his daddy's childhood dentist). Brittany was awesome, though. She was one of a handful of people who could deal with him and not leave me feeling like he wouldn't act that way if I'd just TRY HARDER as a mom (Ashley, his "stylist" at Snip-Its is another).

I will love her forever, as a result.

The news from Great Beginnings was all good, thankfully. Dr. Bill said Jones's teeth are in great shape and, at this point, he doesn't see us heading towards orthodontia in the future.

As we left, I told Jones he couldn't have the surprise they offered, because his behavior didn't warrant it. I also told Brittany that I hope we see her again next Tuesday, as I have a feeling Freddie's appointment will look COMPLETELY differently - and, maybe, her opinion of my parenting will be improved.

Maybe.

Freddie wore his beloved school bus
shirt today. Seriously. It's my favorite
he's ever owned.

When he came out of the Pressleys' wearing that helmet -
BACKWARDS - I couldn't help but wonder
"who wore it better?"

Because we got so held up at the dentist's office,
we ended up having lunch at the Blach Bear, which
I love. I noticed his hair as I sat across from
Jones. It reminded me of the poem Mayme
always used to tell me:
"There was a little girl, who had a little curl
right in the middle of her forehead.
When she was good, she was very good indeed.
But when she was bad, she was horrid."
I love a little boy about whom
the same might be said - though never
by Mayme. She'd think Jones
was perfection on the grounds of
her daddy's name alone.