The Month that Was: March

I've been quiet here on the blog for almost an entire month!

And it has been a very full month!  Here are some the highlights- started with the brightest and shiniest of all:

Andrew got his braces off!  This poor boy had to deal with teeth getting pulled out of his head, metal twisted into his mouth, plastic fake teeth and retainers, months of pain and frustration and about a gazillion orthodontist appointments.  And that was after having to deal with extremely wonky teeth for several years.  And March marked the end of the torture. (For now, anyway...)

Papa took the day off work to come with us as he got his braces off.  Which was special enough, in and of itself.

before the appt.

after the appt.

His goofy 'before the before'. 

Not only did he have two 'extra teeth' come in at the gums and roof of his mouth- but after having them pulled, the true tooth came in exactly perpendicular to all the other teeth.

In about a year, six months of waiting for teeth to come in and six months in braces, he has a whole new mouth.

Mouths and teeth are kind of amazing.

So is the boy.

Happily for all, the braces coming off coincided with tax return season so Papa and I decided to *really* go hog wild.  We took the kids- brace yourselves- out to a RESTAURANT!

And then...as if THAT weren't enough....BOWLING afterward!

Yes Lady behind Matt's shoulder- I AM taking a picture of my family in a restaurant.  Because this doesn't happen.

Andrew, in disbelief that he is not an ignoramous!

Braceless came close to winning...

but he still had his Mama to contend with.  ;-)

And a few more March things, willy nilly:

~ One day my sister in law asked to take all my children to her house for a bit of a playdate.  It was a week when Matt was away.  She gave me specific orders to do something special with my time.  Something out of the ordinary.  Something luxurious.

It didn't take long to realize that the thing I would find most luxurious would be to have my fingers in flower petals after a long, stark winter of none.  So I headed to Wegmans, bought three of my favorite $4.00 flower packets and came home to touch them, smell them and look at them while listening to Jane Eyre on audiobook.  

I made a bouquet for myself and one for the girl who made it all possible.

Luxurious, yes.  Uplifting?  Absolutely.  Therapeutic?  That too.

Flowers do that to me.

 ~ We had a surprise calf show up in March.  The Mama cow, Acorn, had a butcher date already set because she never seemed to 'take' in breeding.  And then, a few weeks before the butcher date arrived, she started to bag up to everyone's great surprise.

Meet Winston:

Animals seem to gather round to greet the new calf and check things out.  First the cats.

Then the chickens.

 I was at first dreading the calf and milking cow situation because I am ALLERGIC to cows and with Matt away as often as he is, I have always had to do milking chores.  Even shoving tissues up my nose and wearing gloves would not help prevent me from being a swollen, draining, itching, sneezing uncontrollably allergy face for the rest of the day.  But, WONDER OF WONDERS, this time around I have children who are old enough and capable enough to do it for me!  Andrew is quite the milk man and even Corynn has taken over when needed.  Not to mention, Acorn (the mama) is a really good cow- unlike her pesky, ornery sister Ellie.  That helps too.

Needless to say, I am a bit more excited about it than I was in the beginning.

*
~ Many hands make light work... it also adds just a smidge of chaos.




~ Spotting wildlife is one of Andrew's passions.  Spotting an entire flock of turkeys down the road is pure gold.

~ This monkey has some sort of sheet-changing radar superpower.  I don't know how she knows when it is time but it only takes seconds of my starting the process before she bounds up on the bed and gets herself properly in my way.

In honor of my troll girl.

 I know you probably think this child never gets her hair combed...but I promise she does.  I just kinda love her crazy troll hair and take pictures of it of it to remember when she is vain enough to fix it.

Another major milestone has been in the works since March, but that deserves a post all its' own.

Another day.  

(Hopefully before another month has passed...)