Metal Mouth

Jared began the adventure of getting his braces on a couple of weeks ago…he has four braces on his top front teeth. Next month they’ll finish putting the braces on his top teeth and will probably start on the bottom in two months. I have to digress and say just how very much I appreciate and like our orthodontist – for taking the time to work with Jared and helping him adjust to this huge change in his life. Jared is adjusting quite well, all things considered…from having been adamant that he was not going to get braces six months ago to now we’ve come pretty far. But it’s going to be a long road ahead! I’m feeling mother’s guilt though…I’m feeling bad for his pain (and I’m personally very familiar with the type of pain he is experiencing) and I’m also feeling bad that I should have been able to anticipate at least some of his questions, especially since Justin (and Jeff for that matter) went through this whole process about five years ago. One thing I definitely tried to avoid was the subject of pain – I didn’t want to give him any preconceived ideas. If he’d asked I would have been honest, but thankfully before this adventure began he did not ask. But I still should have anticipated some of his questions…the first question he asked after getting them on was if he’d ever be able to eat. Shortly thereafter he asked the question of whether or not he could take them out to go to sleep. Followed by the question of how long he’d have braces. Of course he’s already asking how they take them off too. Some of these questions I could have and should have anticipated, but others I couldn’t have begun to foresee. Overall, he is adjusting extremely well. He’s learning what he can and can’t eat and figuring out how to eat the things he really wants to (break up the cookie rather than just biting into it). Thankfully, the pain issue has diminished as well – as it does…of course it always goes away just in time to go back to the orthodontist!

Ahhhh-wooooooo

That’s me howling at the moon…last Saturday we had a full moon, happens every month as you know. Well for me it usually means a week of less sleep. I can be completely unaware of when a full moon is, on the calendar, but my body always knows. The rest of the month I’ll sleep like a rock, but for a few days each month when the moon is full I sleep less.

This month the full moon was known as a Super Moon, as it was closer to the Earth than it has been in almost 20 years. Great Falls decided to be cloud covered so we were unable to see any of the moon's glory. We were kind of bummed, as we wanted to catch a glimpse and perhaps a photo or two, but no such luck this time around. Apparently the next chance to see a Super Moon will be in 2016 – so I’ll have to be sure I’m awake (no problem there) and ready to watch it! In the meantime I'm getting ready for a good night's rest...keep your fingers crossed that tonight is the night!

The purple dinosaur

I'm a bit embarrassed to share this story but it'd make a great Reader's Digest story...it's so comical and typical Jared I have to share...

For many years Jared has been a humongous Barney fan.  Many parents get irritated about Barney after just a couple of years, we had the joy of having Barney videos played in our house for close to two decades.  When Jared was somewhere between 15 and 16 years old we finally managed to convince him to donate his Barney videos.  There have been times over the years that Jared has asked to purchase new Barney DVD's to which we've reminded him that Barney is a baby show and he is not a baby anymore.  So we've managed to live Barney free, for a few years...

Jared recently discovered Google, or as he refers to it "Doogle".  With that discovery he found that he can look up many of his favorite shows, from Arthur to Winnie the Pooh.  Of course it wasn't long before he found Barney!  He has proceeded to watch many episodes, old and new, and has been enjoying himself.  As we sit at the dinner table Jared likes to tell us about the shows that he's been watching.  Not long after he discovered Barney he mentioned specific Barney episodes that he'd been watching.  I reminded him that Barney is a baby show and that he is not a baby and I have no interest or desire to hear anything about Barney - as I have watched every single episode almost as many times as he has.  What is so funny and typical Jared is that when I reminded him of the fact that I did not wish to hear anything about Barney he sat quietly for a moment and after giving it a bit of thought and with a sly smile on his face he casually stated "So, that purple dinosaur..."