Michael's New Look

Michael has a new look! He got his braces today. Steven took a before braces picture and a during braces picture.

Poor Michael is afraid to eat anything. Every thing he goes to put in his mouth is the question, "Can I eat this?" He is finding he doesn't like the wax to protect the rough spots of the brackets or bands hitting his jaw (which we will go to the Ortho and have taken care of).

The procedure of braces these days sure has changed since the days of Mom having braces. I had the bands around every tooth and had the wire poking me in the jaw with balls of wax wadded in my jaw to keep my jaw from hurting. I also didn't get pretty, different colored bands of my choice (Michael chose red and black bands), or the cool flossers, rechargable toothbrushes, or the paper of what you can't eat done in a rhyming poem.

Michael stated he is the only boy and second person in his team at school to have braces. And he was able to comfort a couple of kids at school who thought they are going to have holes drilled in their teeth when they get their braces.

There are a few things Michael will have to give up for a while which are his favorites are: ribs on the bone, pizza crust, corn on the cob, Laffy Taffy, Air Heads and Star Burst. Mom knows the trick around the corn on the cob. But he is excited of the beautiful smile he will have.

Our little boy is growing up. Today as Michael and I were out doing errands after getting his braces on, I realized he has grown taller in the last few month and is up to my mouth. Steven and I are looking forward to the exciting things Michael will be experiencing this summer. Scout Camp, going into 6th grade, expanding his interests, and helping out at home as he is doing more and more without much "bargaining". Michael had to clean his room on Saturday, and I figured I would get the usual bulking. I didn't. Michael cleaned his room, he vacuumed, and even dusted. Michael is very good with watching Jacob if I need to run a quick errand. He's also a great secretary and dependable when I have messages.

And so, another chapter begins in the life of Michael.

Sun Worshiper, Sort Of...

Today the temperature got up into the 80's. One of our cats decided to go out and do some sun bathing...

She lasted maybe 10 minutes in the sun, and then came back in the house for shade! :-)

I always know it is spring when I see the swans on the pond near my house. Near my house is a pond called, Mosquito Pond (nice name, huh?) I first spotted the swans' return on, Saturday, the 6th, as I was going to the grocery. I was so frustrated as I didn't have the camera with me. Saturday, the swans did this same pose but they actually came close together and made the heart shape with their heads and necks. This picture is from the Thursday, the 11th. I thought the swans were going to do the pose again of the heart. But they turned right as I got this shot (I'll take what I can get and keep trying 'til I get the pose I saw, Saturday).

On Thursday, the 11th, the boys and I had been out running errands (they were out for in-service). As we were coming home, we passed the pond which is on the turn we take to get home. We squealed with delight and all insisted that we go get the camera and return to the pond to watch the swans. Michael and Jacob each took turns taking pictures (and trying to keep Jacob from falling in the pond- a repeat of when he was 3).

I haven't figured if the swans have a particular time and routine daily but will start setting certain times to see. I can go by the pond after I take Jacob to school and from school. I am eager as the weather gets warmer to getting more pictures.

Along with the swans on Thursday, were common mergansers but they were staying far away to the point even the telephoto lense wouldn't capture them. I think we even saw a common loon. We will keep watching to see.

Michael has found an interest to watching the birds in our backyard. So, it maybe a time to get a scope to get a better look. I'm hoping this interest will stay so we can do a hobby together. And hopefully, Jacob will come along as well. Plans this summer are to go birding at the sanctuaries. Is there a belt loop for birding?

More to come...

Spring Is Here To Me

I came home from being out about 2pm, from being out with my good friend, Sherry. We had enjoyed a morning of roaming clear to Northboro, to the fabric store, the Christmas Tree Shoppe (oh my goodness- I could have bought everything in there) and to a couple of other places. It was warm enough in the van to have the windows open and still sweat. According to my very loved temperature gauge in the van, it was 47. It made me wonder if Steven's bees were taking a chance to enjoy some Spring weather. Sure enough, they were. Along with taking pictures of the bees, I walked around the yard to see what else I would see on this wonderful, wonderful, Spring day. Checking out why my bird bath was tipping so far in the mud revealed the ground was very soft and next to it revealed the bulbs that I had planted last fall. I went all around the yard and I saw tulips and daffodils buds peeping their tips greeting us with a reminder that Spring is truly around the corner. I saw buds on the trees at Jacob's school and was, I must say, thrilled. I looked at my forsythia bush and only saw tiny buds. But it lets me know the winter wasn't too nasty. We have really had a pretty mild winter. It may be doing the winter thing of going out like a lion and coming in like a lamb, there is hope. So, hang in there dear friends. It may seem like a cruel joke today to have this snow and rain mixture with the high winds. Our cat, O'Malley, is really feeling very confused today as well. He was loving the fact he could roam without having to watch where he stepped so he wouldn't get snow on and in his paws. But today, he has been looking longingly out the windows and growling if you tried to give any sympathy to him. But I guess one thing we will have to endure are the winds as it is March and more rain for April.

Meanwhile, it is time to be thinking of what you might want to grow in your garden this year (and don't forget to re-pot your indoor plants). May 1st is the last frost date this year for our area. Steven and I are doing square foot gardening this year. I am having hope we will have a decent garden this year with not having to use the poor soil that our yard has. I am looking forward to planting in the square foot boxes and not having to deal with weeds or less weeds. The first thing we have to do is determine how much vermiculite, peat moss, and compost we need, build the boxes, and get the plants. Steven and I have already determined how many boxes and what/how many plants we will need. I have had no luck with seeds but since you directly plant the seeds in the boxes, I won't have to deal with starting them. We are also going to be reading about how to plant in the way that will provide vegetables throughout the summer without a break. For instance, growing lettuce all summer.

I am thrilled Steven has taken an interest in gardening. All the years we have been married and able to raise a garden, Steven has not been too interested. But I wonder with the past few years of seeing my discouragement with a poor garden, he took pity and is going to teach me with his ability to read and totally understand a concept and join me in an endeavor. Possibly it also has something to do with the helping the bees too. But with us each having one of these interests, we have joined together as a team and I think it will be fun. I don't know if Michael and Jacob will show much interest. But they will be involved in the process. I think Jacob will have a great time doing it as long as there is a dirt pile as compensation. He and his friends talked about literally trying to dig to China, last year. They built deep volcanoes and were able to jump down into their holes that resembled fox holes. I'll have to get pictures this year of their endeavors.

A Delayed Christmas Present...

For Christmas Tracy got me a Home Depot gift card. But I had a hard time finding something to buy. I didn't need any small tools that the card would pay for; but the card wouldn't pay for more expensive tools I maybe wanted.

Then this weekend I thought of something I could use which was in the price range. So I present to you:

My new garage florescent light!!

Yea, I know - kinda lame. But in the garage, where I do some woodwork-type stuff (when the car isn't there), the only lights are a couple of CFL bulbs high in the rafters. I mounted this light low enough that it is overhead when I am doing some work. There is a pull-chain I use to turn it on and off. Woo-hoo!

Merry Christmas to me!!!

My latest craze

My favorite song lately- And the video is quite cute...

Lyrics | Michael Buble lyrics - Haven't Met You Yet lyrics


It's a good song to dance to while cleaning house.

Happy New Year 2010!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy New Year! We have sure enjoyed our Christmas break. Unfortunately, it is ending too soon. It's times like this I really cherish. We all had a great Christmas. Michael and Jacob got all the Lego's a child could ever want. Steven got money mostly(what else do you get a guy who has it all?) And I didn't have any expectations so I didn't have my heart set on anything. But I got plenty of cool things including a knitting kit (don't expect a sweater or potholder anytime soon). But Steven is teaching me how. Steven has so many talents! And lots of patience!

It has been so nice to sleep in most mornings until 9 or 10am. That will be a real kicker when January 4th, at 6am, comes. It has been great to veg out and do whatever we wanted for the most part. Michael and Jacob had friends over to play. No strict schedule has been enforced but will start again tomorrow night, the 2th.

While everyone has been home, we have been doing some cleaning and everyone has been jumping into help. And for the most part, without any complaint. That's a nice treat! We have had a family movie night and watched the new, "Star Trek". Yeh, we are a boring family. We did go to Burlington Mall on the 28th, and had Chick-Fil-A, for dinner and went to the Lego store. That was a real treat for us. Chick-Fil-A is a restaurant that we had in Georgia. It serves the best chicken strips, soups, sandwiches, cheesecake, and ice milk ice cream.

For New Years Eve, we just stayed home and watched the ball drop on TV, from NYC. There is no way we even wanted to be out in a crowd of a million people and in the frigid cold, not even in Boston or Worcester. The boys were happy to be on the Wii, making noise with the noise makers, and eating wonderful ribs sent from Steven's brother, Ryan, from Cincinnati. If you have never tasted Montgomery Inn ribs with their famous sauce, you are missing out on a lot. Even Jacob tried the ribs (without the sauce) and said they were so good. They were also happy to be eating Laffy Taffy's and telling jokes that came from the wrappers.

Tonight, the 1st, at church, we had a fun night with Jacob meeting his new teacher for his Pri-
mary class this year. He is in the 9 year old class. Still the same classmates, just a new teacher and new lessons. There was pizza, veggies w/ dip, and cookies for dinner there. On December 9th, his birthday, Jacob earned his Wolf rank in Cub Scouts. Jacob has grown so tall this past year. He is in heaven with his Lego's.



Michael is no longer in Primary. He turned 12 in October and is Young Men's now. It seems so weird this year not seeing Michael move up in Primary. Michael earned his Tenderfoot rank in Boy Scouts, on December 30th. Makes me know the boys are growing up so fast. It won't be long until Michael is taller than I am. Michael is doing so well playing the alto sax in the school band. He still wants to play the drums.


The Christmas decorations come down tomorrow, the 2nd. Had enough of green and red around the house. We are tired of all the boxes of lights, and ornaments hanging around. It's time to have a house looking clean and get rid of the clutter. I will start working on that tomorrow. I worked on more of the organization of things today. The coupon binder used weekly was in need of some cleaning up so when Steven went to the store, he wouldn't be ambushed with expired coupons. I also put tabs in the binder so it is easier for him to find the categories. I also found more recipes for my recipe box. I love collecting recipes. I got new cookbooks for Christmas. And have already tried a fun recipe out of one of the books. One of my hopes this new year is to cook more from scratch and be better at not going out to eat so much. That is one of my downfalls.

I'm looking forward to the new lessons at church this year. The book in Relief Society is more on the gospel principles and I'm excited to see what the new theme of our Relief Society is this year. I'm excited to help the boys learn more on the lesson from the new Primary theme this year, "I Feel My Savior's Love". With that theme, I am excited with the format of the book to teach Family Home Evening lesson from it.

I don't know if we will travel much this year. That won't be happening until this spring anyway. But there is so much to see up here in New England. Michael and Jacob often ask about going to the ocean, especially up in Maine. Maine is such a beautiful state. We are definitely going back to Scituate and Plymouth. Gotta go to Cupcake Charlie's for their wonderful cupcakes. With the family sort of homebodies, we are bound to be found here painting the inside of the house and fixing things up around there. The outside light fixtures are rusted shut so they must be replaced. There will be new garden beds, new plants, and hopefully we can get the brown hive of bees up and going again. And hopefully honey from our hives this year.

May you all have a prosperous New Year!