Dana Daily

Well, today was the day - Sarah got her braces! I think she looks cute. I think she feels a little self-conscious. She's usually laid back and takes things in stride so I'm sure she'll forget she even has them within a day or two. Her appointment took approximately two hours, and I'm sure she was bored out of her mind. I, however, used that time to read a good book ( Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive .) She has to brush her teeth carefully, and the ortho recommended using an electric toothbrush, which I ordered on Amazon. Flossing is now a requirement, and she needs to rinse with a "total" mouthwash. He had coupons for ACT in his office to I took one. If she takes care of her braces and her teeth, she could be done with these anywhere from 12-18 months. Her dad and I decided to pay for the braces upfront, which got us a 10% discount, making my half of the cost "only" $872. It's expensive, but not the thousands o...

Happy fourth birthday to our little guy! Seth is so smart, so funny, and just so loved. We received a mid-year report from school, and he's exactly where he needs to be academically. He knows all the letters of the alphabet, capital and lowercase, and their sounds. He knows which are consonants and which are vowels. He can do basic addition, 1+1=2, 1+2=3. We're working on hopping on one foot, and standing on tiptoes. He also needs to be dressing himself. He's can put pants on no problem, but long sleeve shirts can be challenging. Seth's birthday fell on a Saturday this year, so of course that's when we scheduled his party. He wanted a "Marshall" (from Paw Patrol) party so I had in mind a black and white dalmatian theme, but then he saw blue dog bowls at Dollar Tree. I made it a bright and colorful dog party. I ordered his cake from a friend of mine in Dormont, and kept the menu simple - salad from Olive Garden, pulled pork (which my mom made and br...

My cousin, his girlfriend, and their son are visiting from Germany so we met up with them today. We had a delicious lunch, and didn't leave until 6pm. We had a good time. Sidenote: The groundhog didn't see his shadow so Spring is right around the corner.