three milestones in one day

Wow, it is only 1pm and so much has happened today I am already worn out.

First: The refinancing loan on the house funded yesterday. We are finally done with all of that paperwork and now just get to pay it off. phew!

Second: First thing this morning I went off to "the new school" by myself (sigh, so nice to be able to focus only on the task at hand) to get J's class assignment and write the first of many many many checks to the PTC for my own child. I have written many for the neighborhood children through the years (they knew we were soft touches). I ended up writing 3 - one for gear, one for the yearbook and one for membership.

Third: The dentist! Ugh. I have been dreading taking J to the dentist for awhile. Sitting still, lights, noises, people poking in his mouth while wearing gloves. Hey, normal people don't enjoy going there. But kids on the autism spectrum tend to be overly sensitive to many sensory stimuli it could be a meltdown in the making. But these people made it as painless as possible.

We specifically went to a Pediatric dentist and informed them upfront that things could get ugly. From the receptionist to the hygienist to the dentist, all of them were nonchalant and had a "we'll just do what he will let us do attitude".

X-rays were a disaster. He could not figure out how to just let the film sit where she put it and stay still long enough for her to step out of the room to take the picture. BUT, she was sweet and kept complimenting him for trying and he had no idea that he didn't get a single one taken. He kept smiling and saying cheese and got a Cars sticker for his efforts.

They didn't even try to clean his teeth with the machine - no one was sure what the noise would do, so she just brushed and flossed them, AND HE LET HER WITHOUT FUSS! Ditto for letting the dentist check his teeth. He loved sitting in the big boy chairs. He liked taking a nap under his blanket (the bib) and watching the movie on the TV screen on the ceiling. They kept the overall exam short and it was happy and positive throughout. In 6 months we are going to try again.

For a reward they gave him a Cars Spinbrush toothbrush (all new patients get one). We didn't even get to the car before he was begging to open it. He thought it was fun that it wiggled and made noise and played with it all the way home. SCORE!

A rather expensive day overall, but in the end it will all be worth it. Home paid off in at most 15 more years, happy times at school and good dental health. Happy contended sigh! Is it naptime now?