Friday, August 6, 2021

7 Quick Takes about Potty Talk, Mining for Diamonds without Leaving the Comfort of your Own Home, and the Ongoing Dentist Search

It's 7 Quick Takes Friday! How was your week?

1


Is anyone else's 5-year-old unable to communicate in anything other than bathroom humor? Because mine currently is. Everything is "fart" this and "poop" that and if I ever again hear a euphemism for a rear end, it will be too soon.

Just yesterday, Phillip heard the 5-year-old yelling about butts in the next room and said, "Hey! No 'butt' talk!"

The 9-year-old came in and said, "Who are you calling a 'buttock?"

The thing is, she wasn't even trying to be funny. She genuinely thought he'd been calling someone a buttock and I could not stop laughing.

2


On Tuesday I had a really rough day that involved cranky children, a chastising phone call from the library informing me of a block on my account, a dead van battery (surprise!) and a series of unfortunate events that led to us being late for everything all day and the house a total mess.

It seemed almost too perfect an ending to the day that as I was doing one last load of laundry before bed, I hit my wedding ring on the rim of the washing machine and the diamond flew out of the setting and got lost.

There's supposed to be something in those prongs.

3


We shook out all the clothes multiple times, looked inside the washer and the dryer, got down on our hands and knees with flashlights, swept the floor and sorted through the dustpan, moved the machines to look under and behind them... no tiny diamond.

It was late so I put a "DO NOT USE" sign on the washing machine and Phillip promised he would take it apart after work the next day to see if the diamond had fallen through the little holes in the drum.

I thought there was virtually zero chance we'd ever see it again, but I came home from a church activity that night, and there it was on the counter:

He found it!

I'm so glad, not just for obvious reasons but also because it might have driven me literally crazy to know there was a freaking diamond  somewhere in the house but I couldn't tell you where.

4


This week in The Educational Summer Vacation, we're "visiting" Afghanistan. (When I did a Google search for "things to see in Afghanistan," the first result was a travel warning from the state department about the extremely high risk of kidnapping and/or murder so don't worry, it was just a metaphorical visit.)

Anyway, I was working on my weekly write-up about our week learning about Afghanistan, and I was looking for stock images to use on Pinterest. I was having trouble finding ones I liked, so I typed in the search term "blue burka" (they're kind of an iconic sight in Afghanistan.)

And I think I won the award for most bizarre stock photo ever found online.

5


After eleven years of living here, I think I finally may have found a dentist I like. 

I've asked everyone I know for recommendations. I've tried out four places myself, and right now I have kids at three different dental practices (I'm trying to cast a wide net and use our numbers to my advantage.)

I really thought I'd found my dentist match last time I switched to a new place... but then he left the practice a few months later. 

On Monday I went back and saw some other random guy in the practice, and my hopes are up. He thoroughly explained everything, listened to my concerns, and provided medical information to help me make informed decisions without acting all "I smart doctor, you dumb peasant" about it. Best of all, he let the visit take as long as it needed and didn't start backing out of the room while we were still talking (that's actually happened before.)

So while it may be too soon to say for sure, I think this dentist might be the one. Fingers crossed.

6


Phillip and I were going to watch the movie Where'd You Go, Bernadette?  and asked my teenager if she wanted to join us. (I read the book and saw the first half of the movie adaptation on a plane in May and have wanted to finish it ever since.)

"What's it about?" she asked.

"Well, it's about this quirky, kind of weird lady"

"All  your favorite moves are about a quirky, kind of weird lady," my 17-year-old observed. "Unless they're about a quirky, kind of weird man. Preferably one who's a writer."

Well, she's got me there. 

7


Speaking of quirky ladies, my 15-year-old daughter texted me this out of nowhere:


This is why I like being a mom: I get feedback in all sorts of interesting forms. I bet Phillip's performance reviews at work are downright boring in comparison.

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Unremarkable Files

6 comments:

Ellen said...

Now I'm curious what other movies you like that fit that description

Donna said...

I so enjoyed your daughters texted message. Made me giggle.

Ann-Marie said...

Ummmm - that's quite a picture collection! I'm so glad you found your diamond. What did you think of the movie? I really enjoyed the book, but the movie was eh for me. So much of what made that book great was all the backstory on her - I don't think it translated well onto the screen.

r0b0d0c said...

So glad that you found your diamond! What a stressful day!

Jenny Evans said...

Ann-Marie: Ha! I didn't realize there were other, possibly weirder pictures down below it!

I liked both the movie and the book, but probably just because it's been too long since I read it. The book is always better.

Jenny Evans said...

Ellen: Some of my favorites like Big Fish and Stranger Than Fiction come to mind. Oh, and Midnight in Paris. But since my daughter said that immediately I'm sure there are more I'm forgetting about.