Dentist and other visits

Our friend Jen from Georgia has come to visit Indy, and she stopped by to have lunch yesterday. Instead of going somewhere nice, for sanity's sake we went to a McDonald's with a playplace so Arabella would play without interrupting or galloping about upsetting other patrons. Sabine fell asleep almost as soon as we got there, so we had a good long visit. Jen has a daughter, Evie, so she understands the dining restrictions of motherhood. After lunch and some hanging time at home she headed off to visit other friends. She will be back Saturday evening.

Jen was Arabella's babysitter from 8 weeks to 6 months, while I was teaching full-time. She moved to Georgia about 3 years ago, and though she has seen Arabella about once a year, it has always been at large gatherings, so it was amazing to see how much she has changed and grown. She was also amazed to see Sabine, who looks so much like Arabella did, yet acts so different.

Michael came home last night, and almost immediately took a nap, but when he got up he had a pained look on his face, and admitted he has a toothache. Six years ago in California a dentist did a root canal on one of his rear molars and said he would eventually need the same done on the tooth next to it. Apparently that day is today. I knew things were bad when he dug out the bottle of gin (the only alcohol in the house that I won't drink. Gin tastes like aftershave to me) and drank about a quarter of it. This is the man who can have a six-pack sitting untouched in the refrigerator for a month, who has one drink and feels tipsy.

But add to the equation a baby who won't go to sleep and a prerschooler who thinks bedtime = playtime, and it was a rough evening. I had to threaten Arabella with a weeklong tv ban before she would settle down and pretend to sleep, and at nearly 11 pm Sabine gave up and fell asleep, too. Michael was asleep on the sofa when I got up this morning, and now he's headed off for a 10 am dental appointment. Lets keep our fingers crossed that all will go well and he'll be feeling better when he returns.