Altoid & Other Cuties' Thread

[piqaboo]

Youse guys play rough!

[piqaboo]

Altoid went to Disneyland on Monday, and "California Adventure" on Tuesday. That place needs a Grunion Hunting experience.
Altoid has decided that the Matterhorn is the best, followed by Thunder Mountain. Space Mountain is ok too.
Driving on the Autopia is da bomb, and Tinker Bell's magic in the "World of Color" show left her self-proclaimed 'speechless'.
There was 1 line > 1 hour, and only about 5 that were > 30 min.
Amazing weather, short lines, happy people, Disney service and attention to detail. It was all its cracked up to be.

[Shapley]

"...left her self-proclaimed 'speechless'."

How is that possible?

[Haggis@wk]

When we lived in the High Desert we found going in about 17:00 was the best time. But it meant a terrible drive back up the Cahon at night.

[Schmeelkie]

we have tenative plans to do Disneyland with the Papua New Guniea cousins next Christmas time. They figure they usually fly into Cali on their way to Argentina - might as well hang out for a few days and see the US relatives somewhere fun and not cold. figure lines won't be quite so painful as Bella will be 5 and Pumpkin will be 8 so might better understand such things. (fingers crossed)

[piqaboo]

"...left her self-proclaimed 'speechless'."

How is that possible?

You caught it! Made me laugh when she said it.

[Shapley]

"...left her self-proclaimed 'speechless'."

How is that possible?

You caught it! Made me laugh when she said it.

I can see that now:

Altoid: "I'm speechless!"

Piqaboo: "Obviously not!"

[piqaboo]

Ok, now that I've laughed at her, I'll defend her.
She actually was silent thru most of the show, and at the end said "that was so beautiful, it made me speechless for part of it".
Still, she's mine and OT's kid. Speechlessness doesnt come naturally.

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

"...left her self-proclaimed 'speechless'."

How is that possible?

ASL lessons, parallel to the Mandarin vocabulary. That'd do it.
OR, field signals learning in obedience training Bella the hound. Altoid would learn 'em faster than the dog...

[Schmeelkie]

Bella's (4 yrs old) idea of an April Fool's joke - wearing the crown her brother got in 1st grade that says, 'Alex 6!' on it, and his button that says, 'I'm 6'. Thinks she'll fool her friends at daycare.

Pumpkin put a paper spider on his dad's head as he was waking up. Husband really hates spiders - so good reaction from him! He also kept telling us he saw deer or people outside...I'm glad it's a school day, otherwise it would have been a VERY long day!

[jamiebk]

Bella's (4 yrs old) idea of an April Fool's joke - wearing the crown her brother got in 1st grade that says, 'Alex 6!' on it, and his button that says, 'I'm 6'. Thinks she'll fool her friends at daycare.

Pumpkin put a paper spider on his dad's head as he was waking up. Husband really hates spiders - so good reaction from him! He also kept telling us he saw deer or people outside...I'm glad it's a school day, otherwise it would have been a VERY long day!

Kids learn by example Schmeelkie....so I'm just sayin' that he must have learned that devious behavior from somewhere....hummmm. LOL

[Haggis@wk]

The New York Times reports that there’s a whole new type of bullying happening just outside Philadelphia schools.

Tatyana Gray bolted from her house and headed toward her elementary school. But when she reached the corner store where she usually gets her morning snack of chips or a sweet drink, she encountered a protective phalanx of parents with bright-colored safety vests and walkie-talkies.

The scourge the parents were combating was neither the drugs nor the violence that plagues this North Philadelphia neighborhood. It was bad eating habits.“Candy!” said one of the parents, McKinley Harris, peering into a small bag one child carried out of the store. “That’s not food.” The parents standing guard outside the Oxford Food Shop are foot soldiers in a national battle over the diets of children that has taken on new fervor.

Well, isn’t that wonderful. Wild packs of hysterical parents yelling at kids trying to get a morning snack. But kids aren’t the only target of this bullying. The school’s principal recently asked store owners to refuse sales to kids during school hours and threatened a boycott for noncompliance. That certainly puts store owners in the awkward position of refusing patrons and criticizing their customers’ choices. Another group is pressuring these convenience stores to offer healthier foods — with some pretty depressing results, for the suppliers and store owners.

[jamiebk]

Ya know....sometimes I think we really just need to "start over".

[piqaboo]

Even tho we dont let Altoid take candy to school, I think I'd feel the need to take her little hand, march her into the store, and watch as she stocked up on sugar-based glory, then hold her little hand and march her back out thru the parents, and up to the school.
(I might go round a corner at that point and get the bag to take back home.) Let them bully me.

[Haggis@wk]

Let them bully me.

They only have to bully some to win.

[Schmeelkie]

sheesh - it's not the STORE's fault that kids are making poor nutritional choices! Parents should have a better handle on this and, hello, kids will buy candy given the chance - they're kids! These people are bullying the wrong targets.

It's like the folks who want to sue McD's for giving away toys with the happy meals - because that MAKES the parents HAVE to buy it for the kids! I'm prefectly capable of generally avoiding fast food for my kids. Heck - Pumpkin will choose a subway sandwich at the mall 9 times out of ten. Otherwise, he's going for pizza (and we take the cheese off for him, so it's relatively healthy). And when we do go to fast food, the big ones do have healthier options - will get apples and juice with the hamburger or chicken nuggets. I don't HAVE to buy the fries or soda. Isn't it a free country? If we educate people, won't most of them make healthy choices? And if they don't, isn't it their problem, not ours?!? Yes, I realize obesity leads to health problems, thus raising costs of medical care and insurance, but come on....

Education is the key here - for the parents and kids. Not bullying... again I say, Sheesh!

[piqaboo]

Heck, I can buy fast food and still not buy the happy meal.


On another topic - tooth sealing. Who had this done for their child/ren and who didnt, and why?
Dentist says Altoid's adult molars have deep grooves on the biting surface and therefore recommends the biting surface be sealed to reduce risk of cavities.
I have a couple months to think about this, which is good, because this is an entirely new concept to me.
They sandblast the surface to rough it, pour on the liquid goo (aka plastic polymer), then UV activate it to harden.


(Mom brag - Altoid had no cavities and got a 'very good' on teeth cleaning, which she's been doing for herself since preschool. Goal for next year will be 'excellent', I guess.) (The no cavities brag is silly, because Altoid scored on the genetic lotto for hard teeth. She could probably go 40 years w total neglect before getting cavities. - But I dont want to test that hypothesis).

[dai bread]

I have distinct reservations about unnecessary dentistry. It was standard practice in our School Dental Service many years ago to grind teeth flat. The result was that decay bacteria got in more easily and, in short, it was disastrous for a generation's teeth.

Sealants have improved of course, from non-existent to pretty good, so maybe things are different now, but I'd most certainly ask around.

BTW, what's the fluoride content of your tap-water?

[DavidS]

For a long time I would keep inadvertantly biting my tongue and cheek while eating, and painful mouth sores would develop. My dentist slightly ground down some of the sharp tooth edges and things have improved.

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Flouride content of Sandy Eggo tapwater: none. We do use flouride-content toothpaste but that doesn't do as good a job of making hard enamel as West Texas water does. (That was a non-random example, citing a known population.)

Tooth sealing works. It is a mechanical barrier to the plaque and bacterial deposits in the tiny fissures and grooves in the teeth where the toothbrush bristles don't reach. It's been around long enough that I had Fishie and Deb's adult molars sealed - and they have far fewer problems with 'em than their mother. I have root canals, crowns, implants, and a fixed bridge. Seal the teeth.