Following in his Mom's footsteps!

Boy, time does fly by! Dr. Deb's oldest child, Steve, is a junior at Colgate (kind of ironic he goes to a college that has the same name as toothpaste!) and he spent a day at the office checking out what exactly his mom does for a living now that he has to decide his career path. The last time he posed for a picture in the office was when he was a year old! This photo was printed in the office newsletter 20 years ago! Katie Sodders is holding of gubernatorial proclamation heralding February as National Children's Dental Health Month. She is pictured with her brother, Brian and Dr. Deb holding "Stevie" (nice hair Dr. Deb!!)

Who says old ladies can't keep up!?

Dr. Deb surprised us when she came to work one day sporting purple hair! She is a little worried, though, that the staff will now follow suit (our clinical assistant, Carrie has been wanting to get pink hair forever and Dr. Deb has always put the brakes on that!). Dr. Deb has brought new meaning to the phrase,"When I'm an old woman, I shall wear purple"!

The power of love and family

Family fall fun! My kids are shown helping my parents with some Fall clean up around the house. More than just helping their grandparents, they are enjoying their presence for a while. (I never get too old for mom's cooking either!) It always amazes me how much kids remember their family, even if they don't see each other all that often. The last time my folks were here was nearly 6 months ago. While the kids speak periodically with my parents, they never hesitate to miss them, ask for them, and love them like mad when they are here. The power of love and family - awesome.

Pumpkins,pumpkins, and moooore pumpkins!

Have you ever wondered where all the pumpkins come from for our annual pumpkin decorating contest (this is our 20th year!)? A farm delivers them to Dr. Deb’s house in huge cardboard crates on pallets and then she and her husband (she used to coerce her sons into doing this before they went to college!) divide them up into bushel baskets and load them into her car. It is really pleasant when a rotten pumpkin gets accidentally packed up and putrid pumpkin rot gets all over everything. Our team then schleps the baskets into the office. We develop big biceps in October so don’t be messin’ with us!!

The social hierarchy of the homo studentus universitatus

I have observed that the HSU species gathers in groups and their social hierarchy is complicated. When together the alpha males are attached to video game controllers, totally focused on annihilating their cyber enemies, others are mulling around playing pool, watching the alpha males make their kill, while others are ripping open bags of chips and making popcorn…what intriguing social structure. There is also a select few, usually the females of the group that are intent on rapid communication via texting on their cellular devices. I think they may be socially stunted but who am I to comment?

Dear God....please help my kids grow up to be socially capable and productive members of society (or I will have to change my last name!!)

I can't believe I've been in braces almost a month!

I can’t believe it; I’ve been in braces for three weeks! The first three days after they were placed, although my teeth were sore, I thought this is a piece of cake! But oh boy, after the third day my teeth started to feel like they were set in sponges and over time it started to feel more “spongy”! I could really feel the movement!



(Getting my braces on...the point of no return!)















(This is my daughter, Charlotte. She was by my side while I got my braces on.)



I recently went to visit my son in South Carolina. I ate something that I wasn't supposed to (lesson learned) and broke a bracket! No worries, I just secured it with some wax until I as able to get back to New Hampshire and have it clipped off.

(Did I mention that wax is my new best friend?)