I have lost count of how many times the Beazers have invited us over for dinner. Seriously…we bring nothing, they do everything - and I’m not talking about boiled pasta and jar sauce. It is ALWAYS a gourmet meal. Is it coincidence that they always catch us at a time when we haven’t been to the grocery store in 2 weeks? I can’t even offer to bring a salad because the only vegetables in my fridge at the moment are wilted lettuce and peppers that used to be red, but now are turning a nice shade of brown. I guess good friends just somehow know when the Sunday dinner you’ve got to look forward to consists of chips and salsa and a can of tuna fish.

While I was brave enough to venture out with the kids by myself while Nate was gone, I had to draw the line somewhere. The grocery store is no-man’s land for an out-numbered parent. So thanks again, Beazers, for another fabulous Sunday dinner!

We dined al fresco on spinach and mushroom enchiladas, and then took our desert in the dining room. Q made some type of mexican chocolate and strawberry matzo drink… delicious! Sam especially loved the chocolate.

Magei and Sam playing in the backyard before dinner:

I knew the three of us would go crazy if we didn’t get out of the house Saturday, so we tried to pack in all that we could. I let the kids watch a little Reading Rainbow in the morning (oh, LeVar…I still love watching you even though you now have that ridiculous earing) so I could get some laundry done.

Around lunch time we took off for Honeybaked Ham for sandwiches and pickles. The Stuffed Clucker is a favorite!

After lunch we went over to Polaris Fashion Place Mall so the kids could play in the soft sculpture playground. The picture taken with my phone is terrible, but Magei and Sam both had a blast playing their little hearts out. We lasted over an hour before Magei had to go potty and we made our way over to GAP. While we didn’t go to the mall to shop that day, I was glad I stopped at the GAP for a potty break. I found some great deals. I got Magei an Easter dress for next year, a knit school dress, 2 pairs of tights, a pair of leggings, and a head band - all for $9! As a side note, some nice lady thought Sam was a girl. She tried to help me find matching dresses for Magei and Sam. That’s what I get for putting him in a pink shirt and thinking he was man enough to pull it off.

After we got home, we decided to take a walk to the library and lounge around on the floor pillows and read books in the children’s area. Magei found a book that illustrated the song “Five Little Ducks Went Out to Play” and since she knows that song by heart, she took over the story time. She had quite the little audience gathered around her by the end, and she was giving it all she had! Of course, she chose that book to take home with her and has been “reading” it to Sam non-stop.

We got home from the library just in time to pour a bowl of Cheerios and call it a day!

Since Nate was busy in Cleveland, I enjoyed a date night with Magei and Sam. Friday night we headed down to Hilliard after work and went to Famous Footwear. Magei was in need of some summer sandals…and it is tradition that we do a little mother/daughter bonding over shoe shopping whenever Nate is out of town. Unfortunately, Sam also has a shoe fetish and subsequently destroyed Famous Footwear. Magei would only agree to these:

if I also got her these:

wait…there’s more:

Is any jelly shoe really complete unless is lights up with each step you take? I think not.

2 seconds before we were about to be asked to leave and never come back, we made our way over to Chick-Fil-A for dinner…

…and then it was over to the Buxton’s for movie night! The girls were in heaven as they watched Barbie and feasted on Ruth’s awesome caramel popcorn.

Things Magei says:

• I can’t wait until I grow up and am a mom so I can be bossy just like you.
• When I’m a mom, I’m going to let my daughter stay up as late as she wants to and watch as many movies as she wants to.

Recent conversation while we were on a walk last Saturday:

Magei: I’m tired of walking.  Can we go back and get our car?

Laura: No.  It’s so nice to be out enjoying the sunny day and all the fresh air!

Magei: We can just roll the windows down.

Latest stuffed animal name: nipple.  I’ll spare you the story behind where she learned that word, but she now has a stuffed bunny rabbit named nipple.  Ah, so lovely.

Latest rumor spread by Magei:  pregnancy.  Magei started telling everyone at school that I was having a baby.  I finally caught on when a little boy asked me if I was having a baby boy or a baby girl.   Apparently all the teachers were waiting for me to announce.  I have set the record straight…no, I am not pregnant.

Most recent accomplishments:  Magei can now recite the alphabet backwards, count to ten in spanish, do addition math problems, and tell time on her very own princess watch…it is now nine, three, four o’clock!

Thank you, Mags, for never letting things get dull and being a constant source of entertainment!

It was such a fabulously sunny day today that the kids and I decided to go to the zoo on the way home from work and school. Highlights include gorillas, the shark in the aquarium, and brightly colored tulips and daffodils adorning every nook and cranny.

Sam enjoyed all the festivities from the comfort of his stroller. Once I got him strapped in there was no way I was going to let him out.

Nate leaves tomorrow for Cleveland at the agonizing time of 4:30 a.m. Four years of dental school has lead up to this moment…the WREBs.

Getting ready for boards has been (and continues to be) quite the stressful experience for Nate (and therefore me). He took the written portion yesterday, and now it’s on to clinical. He has had to find two patients for restorative (cavities), one for periodontal, and then he will have to do his endo stuff on extracted teeth. Plus the cavities have to be class II, which means (I think) that the decay had to get into the tooth a certain way in order to qualify. So in order for students to convince their patients to go through boards with them, they have to pay them. And even then, we have heard horror stories of patients getting there and then demanding more money - basically holding themselves for ransom. We have also heard of other students stealing patients by offering them more money in the waiting room. Oh, yes…we will be glad when it’s over. So, Nate - your family wishes you GOOD LUCK! May your patients show up, and may their lesions qualify! We will miss you and will be crossing our fingers like mad from now until Sunday!

On Saturday, Nate continued with day 2 of the Boucher Conference. He came home early so that I could go to my last Dental Wives Club gathering. All the dental wives from the class of 2008 met at Bravo! for a farewell lunch.

The group is split about half and half with those specializing and those doing general practice. There is one other family that will be staying here with us, specializing in endodontics.

Saturday night Nate and I went to Riverdance at the Palace Theatre. I was 89% thoroughly entertained and 11% bored. I didn’t know there was so much singing involved in the show. That part wasn’t exactly my taste. There was one song I really enjoyed, but the others had me yawning. However, the actual dancing was really amazing!

Another noteworthy event from this weekend is that Magei and Sam have officially begun their sibling quarreling. To be fair, I’d have to say the whole thing is Sam’s fault. Magei goes happily about her business, but Sam follows behind and demands everything - make that EVERYTHING - that Magei has.

But it’s as I explained to Magei - life is not fair right now. I can only handle so much of Sam’s insistent and persistent screaming before I just make Magei hand over whatever it is that she’s got. I suppose I’m enabling his behavior, but I like to think I’m just promoting peace and harmony in the home…even if it is faux. Magei has resorted to sneaking off to her room and shutting the door for what she calls “a little Magei time.”

Finally, the weekend wouldn’t be complete without the Sunday pancake breakfast. And since Magei was involved, Sam had to be right in the middle of it too!

As I’ve returned to school to get this graduate degree, it has reminded me of my OCD personality. I don’t know why school exacerbates this defunct trait, but as I look back at undergrad, I can see that it does. Why did I torture myself with summer school? Why did I take 21 credits a semester? Why did I feel the need to graduate in 6 semesters instead of 8? Monday nights are usually restless nights because I get home from school and then lay in bed replaying that night’s class in my head. Poor Nate – he always greets me with a hearty hello when I walk in the door, and I always say a quiet hi and walk straight back to the bedroom not wanting to talk. I think of all the things I could have done differently, why I was right and the professor was wrong, what I wish I would have known before I turned my assignments in, and so on…Each class presents its own unique set of challenges, and while I’ll admit this law class isn’t as loathsome as my economics class, it is almost more frustrating. I do quite well on the assignments, so I don’t really have much to complain about, but… Last night I got three cases back and I got .5 taken off on all of them. 19.5 out of 20 is a good score, but I hate seeing the comment scribbled across my paper, “so close!” I got 59 out of 60 on my test from last week, and the comment was, “great job for being under pressure.” Hmmm – it’s kind of like, “nice throw…for a girl.” (Okay, I know it wasn’t meant that way, but it was my first reaction.) Now, I’m quite sure I’ll get an A in this class, so why do I even care or let it bother me? Is .5 really worth losing a night’s sleep every Monday night? I’m trying to gain some perspective here: What am I really going to use this degree for? It is 51% for my own personal satisfaction and 49% so I can help Nate run the business side of his practice. So what I need to do is be personally satisfied with the job I am doing, regardless of the fact that it’s not perfect, thus satisfying the personal satisfaction requirement. I also need to realize that as Nate’s wife, he has no choice but to hire me, regardless of whether I get straight A’s, thus satisfying the helping Nate run his business requirement. So my goal for this week: stop stressing out!

Read for yourself:

Congrats, Nate, on being outstanding! Dr. Campagni presented Nate with the plaque at dinner tonight. We all clapped and cheered for him and several people took his picture.

Here was my favorite part…the check! The doctors told Nate he had to use part of it to buy a new suit. Apparently the one from our wedding isn’t cutting it anymore.