Open For Business!

Although we haven't had the official 

"Grand Opening Celebration and Candy Buy-Back" 

yet, 

(we're saving that for Nov. 1) 

Doug's office is open for business!!!

Would you care for a before and after tour?  (I personally LOVE seeing before and after pictures.)  Okay!  Here we go...!

Front Desk Before:  Many clashing shades of green.  No love.  No help.
(One day we'll have the money to replace the green cupboards...but that day is not today.)

Front Desk After:  Neutral color tones down the green.
My mom's painting adds a splash of retro color and awesomeness.
The awesome NEW STAFF adds a splash of HELPFULNESS AND PRODUCTIVITY!  HOORAY!!!

Have a good visit?  Earn a quarter for prize from the machine!  No cavities?  Extra quarter!
Machine from Gumballs.com.  Cute retro clock from Target.  Shilling Tin Toys on the counter (too small to see.)

Open Bay before:  Every shade of blue/green/turquoise imaginable.  A different color on each wall.
I'm so happy the previous Dr. took his water blue cabinet with him!!!

Open Bay after:  Walls all one bright happy color!  New flat screens on the wall (for staff) and ceiling (for kids).
Wall art from Pottery Barn Kids.
Happy patients, Happy Doctor, Happy Teeth!!!

Parent Waiting Room before:  Dull gray/green wall, old stained gray/green carpet.

Parent Waiting Room after:  Pretty green walls, Faezer's art, and super comfy mid century modern furniture.
(And cute throw pillows for Halloween.)

Mini chairs across from the long couch--these sit under two windows that look into the kid waiting area.

This little boy is the epitome of what my mother would have called a "Mud Hen" when I was a kid.  She used it as a term of endearment, but only when we were really grubby and disheveled!

Kid Waiting Area before:  I don't have pictures, but the kid area before was VERY dark.  We lightened the paint and added two windows that look into the parent waiting room.  The TVs were replaced with flat screens and new game systems were added.  Adorable tiny red chairs were purchased at Home Goods and red storage bench was found at a consignment shop.  It's a skinny little area, but I like having it separate from the other room.  In theory, the parents can have a little peace while they wait!

Wall art from Land of Nod.  The storage bench is filled with toys and vintage Little People.
(Not to be confused with Little Village People.) 

Doug hates the wagon already because Gray cruises around crashing into things with it.
I still think it's cute.  All the books were found at nearby thrift stores.

Quiet Room before:  Not my style...

Quiet Room after:  Much better.  (Wall art coming...)

And last but not least, I wanted to show you one last Consignment store find.  When I saw this table, I knew we had to buy it for...somewhere in the office.  Turns out, it's perfect for the employee lounge.  (Which, if we get super busy in the future, will be another quiet room.  Sorry employees.)
Presenting...

my table.
Please disregard the hideous folding chairs Doug bought at Costco.  Clearly, he has no respect for the 60's!  (Trust me...it's even cooler than it looks in the picture.  I can't wait to pick the perfect piece of art for this room.  Low priority though...)

So...that's about it.  It's still a work in progress.  We need a few more pictures and things, but for all intents and purposes, we're ready to go.  I personally love how it turned out but...

What do you all think?  
Would you take your kid here?

Many many thanks go to our talented advisors:  Laura, Kris E., Steph, Beth and lastly, our web designer Shawn who said "If you don't buy those couches, I'll kick you in the face." THANK YOU!

A Silly Gabey Story and a Sad Sammy Story

Gabey:
We have a lot of cute little kids in our neighborhood.  Lately, Gabey has gotten into the habit of going outside, finding the nearest kid cluster, and insinuating himself into the group.  He is very social and friendly and usually doesn't have a hard time finding someone to play with.  However, many of these kids are a few years older and when he plays with or near the big kids, he comes home with LOTS of fascinating new information.  Today I stopped cooking dinner just to jot down a few of his comments--and then added to the list as the evening went on...
"Mommy did you know there's a girl that eats
flowers!?!
And grass!?!
And pennies!?!?!"
"Mommy, one of da girls is from CandyYand and she has a candy car and a candy house that yooks yike gingerbread!"
"Mommy, did you know dat Maffew changed his name?
And he got 'boo'd'* wif a dead wat?
And fwrow-up?"
--two hours later--
"Mommy, is der a CandyYand on dis earf?"

I sure love my little Gabey!

*Getting 'boo'd' is when someone leaves a treat on your porch with a poem and ghost picture for you to hang in your window.  After you get 'boo'd', you're supposed to 'boo' two more neighbors and share the love.  Matthew found out that we are the ones who boo'd him and let us know he does NOT like pumpkin bread.  Even though it was chock full of chocolate chips!!!  I mean really!  It's got to be more tasty than the dead rat and throw-up doesn't it?!?

Sammy:
A few weeks ago, Sammy was trying to find new ways to earn money.  Mind you, he didn't want to do anything too strenuous--like taking trash out.  No heavy lifting for this kid.
I threw out a few ideas, he shot them all down...
Finally, he came up with folding laundry.  He asked if I would pay him a nickel for each thing he folded.
Of course I immediately said "SURE!"  (Since we all know how much I H.A.T.E. folding laundry!)
Little did I know it would become a slight obsession!  He asks to fold laundry almost daily now and he's been slowly racking in the quarters, nickels, and dimes.

So yesterday, he got out his Phineas and Ferb piggy bank and BEGGED me to take him to Target.  He's been wanting to spend some of his hard earned cash on a new Lego set (for himself) and a birthday present (Lego set) for his BFF Micheil.  (Who now lives in Korea.)  Since I had to get some groceries anyway, the five of us (yes, all four boys came with) went to Target.  After a good 15 minutes spent in the toy isle with a million other little kids, Sam found the two toys he wanted to buy.
It was then he started looking for his little tin bank.

It was lost.

We checked the Lego isle.
We checked the neighboring isles.
We retraced our steps and checked the lost and found...three times.

It was gone with all 23 of his hard earned dollars.

It is STILL gone.

There were lots of tears.  And lots of hugs.
But there was no bail out from mommy.

(For one thing, I had no cash on me--I've given it all to my kids in exchange for crappily folded clothes.  Otherwise I may have caved in the face of his huge sad and teary brown eyes!  For another thing, Doug told me I wasn't allowed to bail him out.  Natural consequences and all that.  And for the last thing, I'm not the U.S. Government for cryin-in-the-night!)

BUT, you'll be happy to know all is not sadness and despair!  Yesterday, he was pretty inconsolable.  Today, he is back on the money-making horse.

He folded 14 items and got 70 cents.  He found a dollar in the laundry room and I let him keep it.  He gave me a (pitiful) back rub and I paid him a whole dollar.  (Max was outraged at the injustice of his past low paying back-rubs!  All two of them.)

Then I told Grandma Fae his sad, sad story...and she said she was going to put $10 pity money in the mail immediately!  (That cheered him right up...!)

So, with a little charity and some determination, he'll be back at Target losing more money in no time!!!
 --The End--

Just another day in the life of my boys!

Life Happens

Because clearly life around here isn't exciting enough what with the trans-continental move, new dental practice, etc., I figured now would be the perfect time to make another huge life-altering change for our family.  (NO, I'm not pregnant!  Quit looking at my stomach!  I told you I've been stress eating!!!)

No--no new baby.  Something even bigger and more time consuming:

I've decided to pull Max out of public school and home school him.

Yes, I realize many of you who know us, or maybe only know me through this blog, are yelling 

"WHAT?!?!?!?!?!" at the computer screen right now.

Because let's face it:  We all know I'm not the home schooling type.
i.e.--

*I'm relatively lazy and occasionally impatient.  

*My house has chronically cluttered surfaces.  

*I've never once cried sending my kid to school on the first day,

*I generally just look forward to the noise level decreasing when two kids leave the house.  

*I've been known to call Home Schoolers "Crazy People" and "Saints" alternately, and have never had any desire to join their number.  

In other words, while I fully appreciate the benefits of home schooling, I've never wanted to do it.  And I've never thought I'd need to do it.  

HOWEVER,

Public school is just not working for us.

Obviously, many many things play into this decision and I've been thinking about it for a long time; but here are a few of my main reasons:

1.  Max and Sam both have ADHD.  They are both easily distracted and work immeasurably better in small groups or ideally, with one-on-one attention.  Especially Max. (Here in CA, they have HUGE classes.)

1a.  They both have some mild PTSD issues from living through the 3/11 earthquake and aftermath--which was also extremely detrimental to their schooling last year.  (Max was behind in math pre-3/11 and got farther behind after!)

2.  They both have IEP's for additional services required by law and provided by the school district.  Despite this, they both struggle and Max just isn't catching up.  (Sammy's services helped him a ton the last two years, whereas Max's speech therapy has helped him...not even the tiniest bit.)  (And furthermore, I think Max will still receive the same services...?)

2a.  Although I tried to get in to see the Principle to discuss the above items with her before the school year began, I was not allowed to speak to her, and she has still not bothered to meet or contact me.  (Clearly, I'm still a little ticked about that...)

3.  Homework, which I do not believe should be required after a 6.5 hour day, takes us hours of pain and tears.  (And leaves me feeling Max still doesn't "get it".  This is a bigger issue for Max right now.  Sam's issues are more social/emotional.)

4.  If I'm going to spend hours helping Max with school work, I want it to be at 9 or 10 a.m.  NOT the "Witching Hours"--from 3-5 p.m. (With all the neighbor kids playing happily outside the window...)

5. Ultimately, I feel like when it comes down to it, their education is my responsibility.  If the school isn't doing a good enough job, or if they are not doing a good enough job in school, I can expend hours of effort trying to get additional help, like I did last year, only to find that it was mostly wasted effort, or I can quit whining and take matters into my own hands.  It's my job.  So I'm going to do it.

With that said, I've been reading up on this for months.  Here are a few quotes I've found along the way that made a lot of sense to me:  (Since the objection I hear most often is that home schooling isn't good for kids socially, a few of these deal with that.)

The far end of the Family Room:  Our new class room!

"Our modern system is a fairly recent development.  Only in the last seventy years has it become the predominant system."

Found another desk at a consignment store here. 

"Almost everybody in America today is getting the kind of education that has historically been reserved for those who simply had no other options."  (i.e. the poor and lower classes.  The rich were generally taught at home by tutors or sent to expensive private schools.)

What about their social life?

"If parents are so-called "backward and strange, chances are their kids will be also--even if they are in public school.  At least in home school, their confidence is supported and they have a strong chance of getting a good education without their love of learning being destroyed by an artificial social and class structure ...those who tend to struggle socially may be better off in a homeschool..."

In my experience teaching pottery to home schoolers, the above is entirely true.  I found the vast majority of home schooled kids to be sweet, intelligent, polite, and happy to see and socialize with all of their fellow home schoolers.  (And neighbors, and friends, and public schoolers...)

"If your children are educated at school, you still need to give thought to their socialization.  Are they perhaps being socialized in bad ways?"

Aren't all parents worried about negative peer pressure from school friends?

"Public schools also have numerous socializing failures."

(Source for previous five quotes:  A Thomas Jefferson Education)

"What about my child's social development?  Doesn't he need peers?"  Children need friends.  Children do not need to be surrounded by large groups of peers who inevitably follow the strongest personality in the crowd.  The question for any parent is: Do I want my child to be like his peers?  Or do I want my child to rise above them?"

"When I taught school, I was convinced that parents couldn't teach their own children.  But twenty-five years later, I can look back and say: The experiment was a success.  I was the best teacher my children could possibly have had because I was their parent."

(Source for previous two quotes: The Well-Trained Mind)

So do you think I'm completely crazy?  Or just partially?

What do you think about home schooling in general?

By show of hands, who thinks I'm going to crash and burn?

NURSERY!!!

Sure, birthdays are special and exciting.
But around here we get REALLY excited when our babies turn 18 MONTHS!
Why?
Because that's the age our extremely...energetic...children FINALLY get to go nursery at church.  That means, for 2 out of the 3 hours of meetings on Sunday, we actually get to LISTEN without interruption.  (Unless a diaper needs changing.)

I was so excited for Gray-Gray's first day, I made Doug take a picture!

Hooray for NURSERY!!!!!!!!!

Party Planner Please?

Dear Friends,
I need to throw a Grand Opening Party for Doug's office.
Now, I love me a good party, but I'm no professional party planner and I don't feel qualified to throw this caliber of shindig.

See, for MY type of party, I buy some yummy desserts, invite a bunch of people over, we hang out, listen to music, and possibly play a really long strategic game like Settlers.  (If my guests are the type of people who like Settlers.)  Sometimes we watch Brian Regan clips on-line.

I don't do themes and I've never created a custom center piece in my life.  (Although I've made some epic birthday cakes.)

Therefore, clearly, I need a party planner.

One catch:  I can't pay you.  Except with my love and adoration.
Doug can though!
With FREE DENTAL CARE FOR YOUR KID FOR ONE YEAR!!!!
(Is that worth a party?  I dunno...I get free dental care for my kids.  Do I need to sweeten the deal with a shoulder rub?)

If you come from out of state, I'll even throw in room and board in our guest room (or garage depending on if I've met you before...)

In exchange, you would plan and throw the party (with a tiny budget provided by us) and then a bunch of people would show up, think it was awesome, and give us their unwavering loyalty (and business) for life.

One other catch:  We should probably do this thing in the next three weeks.  

No pressure though...!

Sound good?

Great.

And hey, I've already made a huge contribution!
I bought...

Tooth shaped tooth-picks.

You're welcome.

So do I have any takers?

Anyone?

Hello?


echo...echo.....

--

(And before you ask, YES I'M SERIOUS!!!!)

(Why does no one ever take me seriously?)

(Don't answer that!)

Trip to Utah over Conference Weekend

The first weekend of October we took a last minute quick trip up to Utah.  Doug's dad is in the middle of radiation and chemo for cancer in his throat.  :(  So we wanted to visit and give him some love!  :)
A bonus was being in town for Conference and the blessing of our brand new niece Baby T.  (Daughter of Dave (Doug's bro) and Laura.)

We had a great weekend seeing everyone and had to go home too soon.

On our way out of town, we had breakfast with all of my Utah family.  Unfortunately, the pics are on a different camera for which I've lost the cord.  But it was good to see all of them too!

Baby T meeting Baby Gray

My boys LOVED Aunt Krissy's seeing-eye dog.
I wanted to boil them after they touched it (her), but I restrained myself.
*Dog hair!  Shudder!*

Cute cousins who were born only days apart.  Clearly, they're kindred spirits!

Aunt Bethy with cutie "I"

President Uchtdorf:  always a crowd favorite!

John and Faezer came up and "watched" some conference with us.
If you missed anything, I'm sure you can borrow their notes!

Sammy LOVES babies!

Baby Gray with Grandpa W.

These two haven't seen each other since they were babies.  But it didn't take them long to catch up!

Proud Mommy Laura, Baby T, and Sammy

Beautiful Family!

Ah, the cuteness!

Doug with his Dad and Mom

Their Favorite Child!

A Sticky Situation

Today got off to a rocky start.

I was in the downstairs bathroom when Gabe tried to push his way in. 

“Gabey, go out!  I’ll be done in a minute!”  I said shoving the door closed and locking it this time.

“Mom, I need to teo you someting!”

(Me through the door)

HONEY!  Mommy is going potty!  Leave me alone for a minute!  I’ll talk to you when I come out!

We went back and forth like that a few times until finally Gabe gave up.  I read a page of my book (just to prove a point) and then came out.

Gabe was standing in the hall.

“Mommy, Gway-Gway is making a mess with da peanut butto.

Ahh.

Okay, so maybe today wasn’t the day to take a stand for quiet bathroom time.

This is what greeted me in the kitchen:

I personally don’t think it would be very comfortable having Peanut Butter packed into all my face holes, but Gray was enjoying himself immensely. 

Just in case you’re wondering if you ever find yourself with a similar mess on your hands (and on your table and floor and child…)

Plain water doesn’t work. 

Adding baby soap only makes the peanut butter soapy, but doesn’t do anything to move or remove it.

A fingernail brush, however, proved most effective at scouring the peanut butter off the surface of Gray's head. 

Just so you know for future reference.

P.S.  A few hours after these photos were taken, we took a spontaneous road trip.  We're in Utah!

Office Progress and Shopping Spree! Yipee!

So, we're shooting for mid-October to open Doug's practice.

The paint is on the walls and the new carpet is on the floor.  The equipment is arriving and being installed and the security system is secure.

The couch and chairs are on the way and should be here late next week.  And although I've gotten some art, I need to order a few more things and put things on walls.  (I want the couches and all equipment in before we hang anything.)

We've hired an office manager and are (just now) looking for two dental assistants.

Oh, and I've subscribed to a bunch of magazines using YOUR suggestions;

Highlights for Children
The Children's Friend
Family Fun
National Geographic for Kids
National Geographic (not for kids)  (Doug picked the N.G.'s!)
Newsweek (for me)
People
Entertainment Weekly
and maybe a few more I can't remember.
Vegetarian Weekly perhaps?  No, probably not.

(And now I see I need to add Reader's Digest to this list.  Yes, it may be a tiny bit nerdy, but I love it and I've loved it since reading it at Kristen Atkins house in high school!)

Yesterday, we had a meeting with our super hip web designer about Marketing.  (He tells me we don't say "hip" any more.  That's how hip he is.  He knows stuff like that.)  We're going to put new (awesome) signs on the building.  Possibly do a one-time mailer announcing our "Grand Opening", plan some contests and campaigns, and give away some cool stuff.  (Like a Wii or something.)

Things are coming together and it's getting exciting!  Hopefully, it wont be too long before Doug has a full schedule and enough income to pay the lease!  (Without accruing more debt.  Which seems to be a specialty of ours.  Dave Ramsey not withstanding.)

So anyway, today I realized:  We've ordered a bunch of different stuff.  But we haven't purchased a single  TOY for the kid waiting room!  So I went on a little shopping spree.

Since we have a vintage/retro theme going, the first thing I thought of was the old school Fisher-Price toys they've re-released at Target.  Target doesn't seem to have any currently so I checked Amazon.  Unfortunately, when I started reading reviews, it seems that the new versions have replaced wood with plastic, now require batteries, and are basically junk.
So I went to e-bay and bought this:

A vintage (used) Fisher-Price record player and a vintage (used) Fisher-Price "Let's Go Fly a Kite" music radio. (The exact one I had as a kid.)
And, it's possible that I have a bid in for the Fisher-Price Music Box T.V.

Yes, my nostalgia got the better of me, but I'm pretty sure the little kiddies will like them as much as I did.  (I would have gotten the F.P. Tick-Tock Music Box Clock, but didn't want the Office Manager to hate me.)

Of course, I bought some new stuff too.  (Mostly from Amazon.)
2 different Schylling retro style wind up robots:

and wooden nesting blocks from Educo.  (I like that they're not cardboard (slobber resistant) and not plastic (more vintage feel):

I WANTED to buy the Embossed wooden blocks;

 and the Radio Flyer push wagon but didn't buy them.

I think the blocks would just be dumped out and left out and the wagon is $99 so I have to run it by Doug.

I'd ALSO like some wooden animals with wheels (I've found some on Etsy) but they're expensive and I haven't seen any I LOVE yet so I need to keep looking.

Now for the older kids, I think it would be super cool to get an old school Pac-Man arcade game.  And maybe we will when we're rolling in dough.  But for now, we're getting two Play Station 2's and some games.
(There will also be a T.V. playing Phineas and Ferb in the kid area.)

So now please tell me--what do we still NEED??!?  
What am I missing?
What should I send back?
And is it an unwritten LAW that all dental offices have a wire/bead/maze thingy?  Should I buy one immediately???

7 Hours of 72 Hour Stress

Of course moving is stressful.  Everyone knows that.  I just never thought that 72-hour-kit location and placement would be at the top of my list of stressors.

And yet Thursday the 8th I went to a friends house for a play date and told her I was stressed that my garage wasn't yet unpacked and organized.

New Friend:  "But if all you have left is the garage, you're doing pretty well..."

Me:  "It's because I don't know where my 72-hour-kits are.  I know they're somewhere in there, it's just too crowded and disorganized so I can't find them quickly.  I told myself that would be the first thing I'd do when we got here--put the 72-hour-kits next to the garage door..."

The same day, a few short hours later, the dryer turned off suddenly.  I went outside and flipped the circuit breaker for the laundry room.  It didn't work.  Then I  noticed the power was off in the whole house.  I went outside and flipped all the breakers.

Nothing.

I figured we (Doug) missed a bill in the chaos of moving.

But that wasn't the problem:  The whole neighborhood was turned off.

Later, I learned it wasn't just the neighborhood.  The blackout extended into Mexico, over to Arizona, and up to Orange County California.

I may OR MAY NOT have had several minor panic attacks after acquiring this knowledge.

I will say that I pulled all the wet clothes out of the dryer and spread them through the house to dry as well as hand washed all the dishes due to lack of faith that power would ever, EVER be restored.

(And it's possible I started scheming up ways to go completely "off grid" and turn all pioneer-y.)

Clearly, moderate action needed to be taken to prevent major craziness.  SO...

Last week, we cleaned and organized our entire garage.  72-hour-kits have been located and placed in an easy to grab spot.  Online orders have been placed for additional needed supplies.  (I'm replacing our 72-hour backpacks with rolling backpacks, getting a few more lanterns, and adding a box of MRE's to our food storage.)  Soon, Doug will be purchasing one or two 55-gallon water tanks to fill and stick on the side of the house.  The under-stairs space has been cleaned and filled with shelves which will gradually be filled with cans of food.  (And hot chocolate mix.)  The can safe has been located and will soon be refilled with cash.  (It was removed for safer travel.)

And once again, we are--mostly/sorta/a little bit--prepared.  And I can go back to stressing about whether or not this new dental practice will bankrupt us.


How about you?  Do YOU know where your 72-hour kit is?
Had any blackouts or earthquakes in YOUR neck of the woods???

(I feel like much of this applies to my feelings after 3/11/11 as well...!  Really great article from The Washington Post)

9/11 destruction allowed us to spiritually rebuild

By Thomas S. Monson
The calamity of September 11th, 2001 has cast a long shadow.  Ten years later, many of us are still haunted by its terrible tragedy of lost lives and broken hearts.  It is an episode of anguish that has become a defining moment in the history of the American nation and the world.  This week, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, along with Tom Brokaw, will pay its own homage to the unforgettable events of September 11, 2001

There was, as many have noted, a remarkable surge of faith following the tragedy. People across the United States rediscovered the need for God and turned to Him for solace and understanding. Comfortable times were shattered. We felt the great unsteadiness of life and reached for the great steadiness of our Father in Heaven. And, as ever, we found it. Americans of all faiths came together in a remarkable way.

Sadly, it seems that much of that renewal of faith has waned in the years that have followed. Healing has come with time, but so has indifference. We forget how vulnerable and sorrowful we felt. Our sorrow moved us to remember the deep purposes of our lives. The darkness of our despair brought us a moment of enlightenment. But we are forgetful. When the depth of grief has passed, its lessons often pass from our minds and hearts as well.

Our Father’s commitment to us, His children, is unwavering. Indeed He softens the winters of our lives, but He also brightens our summers. Whether it is the best of times or the worst, He is with us. He has promised us that this will never change.

But we are less faithful than He is. By nature we are vain, frail, and foolish. We sometimes neglect God. Sometimes we fail to keep the commandments that He gives us to make us happy. Sometimes we fail to commune with Him in prayer. Sometimes we forget to succor the poor and the downtrodden who are also His children. And our forgetfulness is very much to our detriment.

If there is a spiritual lesson to be learned from our experience of that fateful day, it may be that we owe to God the same faithfulness that He gives to us. We should strive for steadiness, and for a commitment to God that does not ebb and flow with the years or the crises of our lives. It should not require tragedy for us to remember Him, and we should not be compelled to humility before giving Him our faith and trust. We too should be with Him in every season.


The way to be with God in every season is to strive to be near Him every week and each day. We truly “need Him every hour,” not just in hours of devastation. We must speak to Him, listen to Him, and serve Him. If we wish to serve Him, we should serve our fellow men. We will mourn the lives we lose, but we should also fix the lives that can be mended and heal the hearts that may yet be healed.

It is constancy that God would have from us. Tragedies are not merely opportunities to give Him a fleeting thought, or for momentary insight to His plan for our happiness. Destruction allows us to rebuild our lives in the way He teaches us, and to become something different than we were. We can make Him the center of our thoughts and His Son, Jesus Christ, the pattern for our behavior. We may not only find faith in God in our sorrow. We may also become faithful to Him in times of calm.

Thomas S. Monson is president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

No Sore Bums. Got it!!!

Okay, okay.  You do NOT want the "Modern" red couch if it's uncomfortable.  And I'm guessing (don't know for sure, mind you) that it's uncomfortable.
And the second couch was evidently hideously ugly.  (Who knew?)

So.

We found another one!
See, the Wes/Tami family were here for Labor Day weekend.

You may remember them as "the family who moved in with us after the earthquake and then left Japan way before us and broke my heart".  (I REALLY need to think of a good pseudonym for you guys, H's!)

While we were driving home from PIPES* one day, Doug had what you might call a gastro-intestinal emergency brought on by too much candy at the previous day's Padres game.  (Or maybe by the Padres performance?)  Anyway, he needed to use the little boys room a.s.a.p.  (Is this T.M.I.?  I'm notorious for over-sharing!)

We pulled into a random shopping center and parked directly in front of a random furniture store.  It just happened to be A MODERN furniture store called "Grounded".  While D was, eh-hem, busy, I ran inside with Tami.  I started sitting on couches.  Too hard.  Too low.  Too silly.  Too incredibly rock-like as to not even resemble a couch-like.

I did a circuit around the room and tried them all.  When I got to the last one, I let out a startled cry!
My bum sunk into the cushion!
I leaned back and gasped!
My back was comfortably supported!

Could it be?  A comfortable Modern couch?

Yes.  Yes, it is indeed true.  Tami agreed.  Doug joined us and he gave it two thumbs up.
Now for the final test...

What do YOU think?
(crossing my fingers that at least two of you like it so I don't have to keep shopping...)

This couch...

but probably this color.

And three or four of these chairs.

Yes, I know most of you did NOT want to share a couch with a stranger.  The individual chairs are for you.  The couch is for the mom with the baby, and toddler, and purse, and diaper bag/backpack/random jacket/book/grocery bag and child on her arm.  Plenty of room to sprawl comfortably.

Anyway, assuming the entire readership of this blog doesn't boo the above, we'll be ordering them shortly.

Last night I bought some of the Land of Nod wall art and two book shelves from P.B. Kids.
The paint is up and the carpet is in.  Things are coming together slowly but surely!

More pictures soon, but in the mean time, COMMENT and let me know what you think!  Unless what you think is that I'm an empty headed animal food trough wiper who's mother was a hamster.  Just keep that to yourself.



*Yes, this IS intended to make your mouth water and make you want to come visit.

Pediatric Dental Office Decor

We're working on decorating Doug's office.  It's being painted this week.  After that, new carpet will go in.  Then we'll need actual furniture.

Green is really tricky!!!

The theme that we've come up with is...
*drumroll*

vintage modern.

Vintage because I love it.  Modern because it's "in".
(This part has all been decided, so don't try to change the theme.  It's TOO LATE!)


So, here you have our logo.  Very modernish, right?  Say right.

(And no, you still don't get to know my last name, Creepy Stalker.)

Then we have the following as options:
THIS is where I need your input.  Let me know what you think about the following items:

1.  Super modern couch by Herman Miller.

2.  or this Ballard Design more classic couch.  (Comes in many colors.)
--or something else entirely...???--

3.  Wall Art from Land of Nod.  I really love these but they're $89 each!  (But that includes the frame.)

4.  Also from LoN.  $129 on stretched canvas.  (I really love this...it includes so many places I love.)

5.  What about a giant bouncy ball machine?  Is this a need or a want???

What do you think?  Which couch would you choose?  Which art would you want to see as a parent?  What magazines do you want to read and what would make YOUR dental experience better???
What are your thoughts?
HELP!!!

(For my full "wish list" see my Emily Dub Pinterest board titled "Office Decor Wish List")