Smell My Teeth

It always amazes me how differently the Ladies can act in situations outside of our home, or with people other than their parents.

For instance, the Little Lady refuses to wear a barrette in her hair if I put it in, however, every Tuesday when I come home from work, her hair is pulled out of her face in a cute little hairclip because the sitter and not her mother put it in.

The Lady also has dual personas, she is the "school Lady", who is apparently a pleasure to have in class and who never gives the teacher any problems. The Lady who is shy about asking one of the kids in her class to move over a little because he is sitting on her "letter" on the circle rug in the classroom, but who will in a heartbeat kick her sister in the head if she is encroaching anywhere too near to her pillows or blankets or couch cushion.

She is also the little girl, who has selective hearing when it comes to listening to her parents. For months, I have tried to get her to brush her teeth more consistently and with greater vigor. Her father and I are convinced that the two of us alone will be giving our dentists kids the future education they deserve with the amount of times we are in that office. I know I am pregnant, but every three months? Come on--I promise I will floss. But the Lady is less than diligent with her dental hygiene.

I tried getting the Lady an electric princess toothbrush. She likes to press the button and put it in her mouth, but for the longest time refused to put any toothpaste on the actual brush. She also gets bent out of shape if you wet the toothbrush first. It has been a hassle. Her little sister however, is more than happy to stick an Elmo toothbrush in her mouth any time it is suggested, pretend to spit into the sink from as far away as three feet, then drop the toothbrush on the floor somewhere for me to step on at a later date.

Anyway, on Tuesday a dentist came to the Lady's school and they apparently watched a video, she was given a goody bag with a blue sparkle toothbrush in it and has since then brushed her teeth no less than 15 times. With toothpaste!

Yesterday after I picked her up from school, she told me the schedule for when we got home was "Brush teeth, milk, big girl show." She then informed me that I had to stand outside until she was finished brushing her teeth. Not outside the bathroom door, but outside of the house. Normally, I would just go along with her suggestions, but the Little Lady was passed out in my arms, the door to the house was locked and required me to actually open it, and I have been battling a sinus infection for over a week. Needless to say there were some tears shed (hers and mine), but in the end some teeth were brushed.

The best part about the entire process though is that after each brushing session, the Lady runs over to us with a big smile on her face and says "Smell my teeth!"

And even though there is pink toothpaste smeared all over the hand towels, and the occasional cup of water is spilled I have to say they smell delicious, Lady, they smell delicious.