Make Your Own Hummingbird Nectar!

In March our family moved from Massachusetts to Western New York for my husband's career. My dad was really sad to see us go, even though we are only 6 hours away, he was certainly melancholy about it. The day we actually moved he gave me the MOST beautiful hummingbird feeder I have ever seen. It is actual red glass. It's got a hummingbird etched on it and it just brightens up the yard.



When I got it to my new home unscathed, I realized it had no fluid or food to put into it. I couldn't find any at the store. I asked my dad about it and he said you can make your own. Off to trusty Google, to search for a solution I went. Turns out it is REALLY easy to make.

It is simply 4 parts water to 1 part sugar. So for every 4 cups of water, I added 1 cup of white granulated sugar. I heat it on the stove top, stirring occasionally, so that it is completely dissolved, allow it to cool, and then fill your clean bird feeder. It takes 2 batches to fill the feeder, however you should really throughly clean these things each week to ensure that the birds do not get sick, as yeast and bacteria grow really quickly, especially in the heat of Summer. Because of this I will only half fill it from now on. On a side note, Artificial dyes, honey and sugar other than white table sugar should not be used in nectar feeders.

We have seen a hummingbird on 2 occasions so far, which to me is really impressive since we just put it out a few months ago.

Rental Headaches

Well, we have been having some landlord issues. We are renting a beautiful home in WNY, on of three Queen Anne's in a row, right across the road from Lake Erie, and while I NEVER thought I would live in such a house, it's been a headache in the last couple of months. Apparently, the owner's realtor was in a hurry to get a commission and did not carry out their wishes properly, and they did not have proper communication with their own realtor.

Unfortunately, said realtor did us just as much of a disservice as he did his own client. We are dealing with the ramifications of the landlord not wanting to provide what the lease states such as snow removal, water, and trash fees. We had a budget in mind while selecting houses, and these items being included was a major rental point, and had they not been included, this location would have been taken off of our potential rental list.

Also, the landlord hates cats and after we had lived here 3 months brought the issue up of my two cats, and it's been brought up since. We wrote down on our rental application that we had two cats and a little dog. I feel unwelcome here with all manner of issues being brought up such as the cats. They are part of our family and I am not abandoning them for a 2 year lease. Not. Happening.

There are many more issues like her antiques being stored in the house, wanting to come in more than I think necessary, etc,... I am just used to paying my rent and minding my business and that is the end of it. I am not accustomed to having to deal with so many issues, nor do I think I should have to because we are paying GOOD money to live here.

Since she wants to break our lease by refusing to pay for the snow removal (and it is a super long driveway, nothing we could possibly shovel ourselves) I am believing that will free us from the lease as well. She is so nervous about my cats, perhaps she would not argue the case should we decide to move.

This all really is too bad because it's a dream house, and we just moved almost 5 months ago!! The company provided professional movers which we will not have again, so we would be completely on our own as usual. I never dreamed something like this would happen. Not only that, but my kids are all set for school, and one son already started school and I can't move him, what a disruption!!! This is a school he REALLY needs to be in, I can only hope that continuity of schooling would not be an issue if we move out of district. He has an out of district placement, which the current district is paying for. Mike is trying to find out about that today so we know what we are dealing with.

Hubby just got approved for a mortgage today, which I totally did not think would happen for quite some time. What a surprise. The approval, and *supposed* interest rate sound way too good to be true. Are they really that desperate to get people to stop moving out of the area and move in instead? I don't know what to believe. It would certainly be nice to have our OWN house, and one that cuts our rent in HALF at that, as the calculators online are claiming. I guess we shall see where this all takes us, for now I am having a hard time believing what I am hearing. :P

UPDATE-7/31:

The way I see it, we either have a binding lease or we do not.

If we do, then the landlord is breaking it by refusing to honor the provisions as laid out in the lease we signed. We need to have a free atty consult to be sure on NY state law, but I am thinking this *should* free us from any obligation.?

If we do not, because of the landlord not signing it (as she recently conveniently mentioned, which we had not even noticed) then we also do not have a lease.

I mean it can't be both ways right? We can't be obligated yet the landlord not be obligated on their end right?? hmmmmmm......I'll keep ya posted.

Also, we saw a pretty little house in a very CUTE neighborhood yesterday and it was love at first sight! I want it soooo sooo bad!! Not a bad price at all, and there should be plenty of kids on that street for my boys to make friends with, unlike here. Oh please please, I want it sooo bad!

UPDATE 8/3:
The very pretty home? We are buying it! The only downside is that it has no garage to get us thru these Brutal Buffalo winters, but we LOVE it. It's very charming and in a cute neighborhood.

Also after a late night phone call with the landlord (she lives in AZ), all is settled and we are free to move without legal hassle. In the meantime we are open to their realtor, possible showings, plumbers and electricians at a moment's notice. God is good! Now once we move, we can stay put for a good while. =)

Our Summer Thus far and the Fourth Of July!

At the end of June my daughter, Autumn came up to visit with her boyfriend and my mother. It was a GREAT week, just like old times and it was sad to say goodbye. In a few short weeks she and her boyfriend will be parting as well to go to colleges in a state apart from each other. While they were here we played in Lake Erie, and checked out Niagara Falls, attended my youngest daughter, Felicia's moving up ceremony which was a graduation from middle school, and had many a cookout.

Around the end of that week, my dad came up and stayed until July 10th I believe. He had a good time looking at the architecture in Buffalo and bought a wide angle lens as well as a telephoto lens for his camera which he had fun playing with.

Mike's brother and nephew came up for a few days during this time. Justin's long time 29 year old girlfriend, and mom of our 7 year old nephew, died suddenly and unexpectedly during an illness. From what I've been told, she had a flu-like illness and choked/aspirated on her vomit and never came conscious again. She was in ICU with a cooling blanket trying to minimize damage, to no avail....ended up with a major heart attack. Mike had gone down for the service, and Justin and Tyler came back home with him. We sent them home on a train on the 3rd, since they had plans for the fourth they did not want to miss. They had a good time and that made me glad. We hadn't seen them for 6 months. We went to a few Lake beaches, explored the cool rocks and shells, and went back to Niagara Falls so they could experience that, made S'mores, and rocked the grill for some more cookouts!

On the fourth, we went to our FIRST Fourth of July parade ever in Lancaster, NY with my dad!!! It was fun, and I had a feeling of nostalgia with the whole thing. We had a cookout at home, played outdoor checkers on a cool mat checkerboard, and later attended fireworks in Orchard Park. It was nowhere NEAR as crazy as fireworks back home in MA. Yes, it was crowded but it was much easier to get in and out so we were very very happy with the whole experience.

Here are some pictures from our day:



The band of the high school Felicia is to start in September











Some other pictures from our time with family:



~My girls, before Felicia's moving up ceremony, June 23rd 2010

shucking corn for a cookout!
First time at Niagara falls, American side:



Second time to Niagara Falls, S'mores and other random fun:






The American Flag:

You’re the emblem of
The land I love.
The home of the free and the brave.
~George M. Cohan

~Summer is in Full Bloom~

The beautiful Spring has that you saw just a few photos below has withered away, and early summer is now in full bloom. Take a look:

My baby left high school....forever!

On Saturday, May 20th, 2010 my first born child graduated from PVCS highschool!!! We are so very proud of her and blessed to have her for a daughter.
<3 <3 <3
I am excited to watch this momentous moment in her life and eager to watch her take the road ahead! She is entering a community college this fall to work on her core courses while awaiting entrance into the RN program.

Here are some pictures of the special day:

last time in the school bathroom, after the graduation

singing The Prayer (she is front row middle in white)

we wrote "seniors" using a '10' in place of the 'io';-)

receiving her diploma

Her entire graduating class, yes, all 35 of them!!

Mommy's Day 2010

Mom's day was a sweet day. We had ordered pizza the night before for Mike's birthday dinner, so breakfast in bed consisted of Mike handing me 2 slices that were leftover. haha Which actually worked out GREAT because I am an early riser and love to putt around and make my coffee etc,.. and normally when they try to cook me breakfast I feel tortured, banished to my room and waiting, waiting waiting bored. Sorry! That is just how I am. This was great..haha

Then all the children had printed me out cards and coupons for various chores as gifts. Mike gave me a huge hanging pot of flowers, which is on our front porch. It was all very sweet. We went to church and enjoyed the service, came home and relaxed. I watched the Bridges of Madison County while the kids played together. The movie, not what I normally watch, was a good movie and it broke my heart on SO many levels. :( Then my man and I enjoyed a couple glasses of Adesso wine with a few bites of dark chocolate. It's red and very sweet, dessert like. It was a tame day, and nice.

I wanted to get a picture with myself and each of the children alone. I thought they may appreciate that some day when they are grown, yet I only succeeded to get two taken that way. We can only take pics outside until I buy my external flash and it was SO COLD that day!!

Sometime in April we learned of a Mother's Day contest on WGRZ, thru Westermeier Martin Dental. The grand prize was really far out: pick up in limo, free dental work, limo for the appointments and back, spa, total makeover, night out etc,... etc,... followed by a big reveal.

Well, I found out that everyone who was entered, won the "second prize" which was a free tooth polishing, free bleaching (to be done at home) and a goodie bag, prize worth $450+ How fun!! It's a half hour drive from home, but I have to drop the kids off at Mike's work in order to go anyway, so it's half hour to Mike's work, then it's half hour from there.

The dentist office was the NICEST one I had ever set foot in, no joking! Everyone was uber friendly, leather chairs, smile photo albums with before and afters, the whole 9. I had my cleaning with a super friendly hygienist. After that she made molds to my teeth. What a fast yet WEIRD procedure, and this stuff feels very strange coming off your teeth as it hardens relatively quickly. Then it turns into stone and they chisel and fix 'em up, eventually making bleach trays by using the molds. What turns out is a perfectly fitted silicone-like tray which you put the bleach solution in, and then put on your teeth. This way you can leave the bleach on for 30-60 minutes and still talk, and have a pretty normal routine. I have done two treatments so far at home. SO COOL! I didn't think I was going to even do this at first, because for the most part I am into natural ways, and there is nothing less natural than whitening your teeth with a whitening solution. However, I threw caution to the wind and say hey let's try it! It's mom's day and this is a WICKED COOL free gift. Yes, I am from New England, hence the "wicked cool". ;-)
Here is a picture after two "bleach" treatments:

Birthday Times

Today was Mike's 36th birthday. We took a drive to his office early this morning. I know what an exciting way to celebrate a birthday, huh?!! While there with all the boys, I noticed the horrifying shape their two spider plants were in. They had about 100 babies on them between the two, and I am NOT exaggerating, I wish I was. Tips were brown, lots of yellow, really appalling! I took them down, removed the dead leaves, clipped the ends at an angle with scissors, and removed all babies but one. I mixed up some plant food that was available with water and fed them. I took these babies all home in a box. It is an outlandish amount I have here. I need to find a container big enough to allow them to fit into while keeping the ends in water until they root. I only have 5 pots to put them in, so I will have to work on accumulating some more. At this rate, we can have both our porches lined with these things once they take root and can be planted!! I actually made the mistake of potting about 35 or so of them in 5 pots, only to get a twinge of a vague memory of having to root them first in water. After looking it up on the net, LOVE the net! I now need to remove them and do it right. ;-) Maybe now I can save more because I still have a box FULL even after the 35 were potted.

Anyhoo, it is So stormy here today. On our drive this morning, the lake was unusually violent! The waves were strong and coming fast. The waves were crashing against the walls spraying up to the road in a couple spots. I was pretty impressed because there is a beach down there, so for it to get to the wall like that, wow, the strength was something to see! There is a lake shore flood warning in effect as well as wind warnings. Boy is it whirling around out there causing a ruckus.

This afternoon I made our usual birthday chocolate fudge cake with my daughter, Felicia. We ordered the area's famous steak and cheese pizza. It's so unique and yummy, the obvious, steak and cheese! but also jalapenos and I'm not sure what kind of cheese but I want to say and asiago?? A real winner! We also ordered a cheese pizza for the kids, and some hot buffalo wings. You just can't get boneless around here like we used to get from Quicky's in Chicopee, but it'll do. ;-) We also have some adesso wine for later with some dark chocolate. Here are a couple photos from the day.



Happy Birthday honey, and a prayer for MANY more!! I thank God everyday for your love and kindness, good nature and generosity. For loving me even when I don't deserve it. Loving our children the way that you do.



Felicia was not yet up in the morning when we took this shot, I'll have to take one of her and daddy later when we have the cake...