21 weeks

21weeks!! Waahoo more than half way. At 21 weeks the baby is about the length of a carrot (10.5 inches). But I'm pretty sure mine is a huge monster! You can see the kicks from the outside now, and micheal can for sure feel the kicks! They are REALLY strong already. We had our detailed ultrasound this week, which was AMAZING! We went to Coquitlam, which seemed like the best of the best, for ultrasound clinics. They had big screen TV's in the room which the tech used to show us the baby. And it was the clearest ultrasound viewing I have ever seen. She took time to show us each limb and each bone, even the lips and the brain. Was SO GREAT!!! I needed this great experience, since my last one was less than great! it was one that I don't care to remember, but still remember it like it like it just happened. Anyways, I felt So comfortable in the room with the tech, we talked about everything. hahaha yeah I just kept talking. so weird I know. and she thought it was weird that scott road doesn't have doctors that check the ultrasound before they send you home. Well, lesson learned, never GO there, EVER again! and you guys make a not of that too :) anyways, we decided that we wanted to find out the gender this time, cause we never had and also I want time to adjust to the idea of a boy or girl. So since our tech was the best in the business, we saw the gender clear as day!! hahahaha it was very very clear! ultra sound pics to come at a later date! anyways the next set of photos were taken by a friend Lori Currie can been contacted and seen at https://www.facebook.com/LoriCurriePhotography She did such a great job in such short time. I think the photo's display the story perfectly. it is just a proof thats why its so small, but I couldn't wait. 

Hahaha If you didn't understand the photo, well a blue balloon means BOY!!! hahaha yes, a 3rd boy. life is gonna be crazy and fun! We had a 50/50 chance, and the boy won, again. hence the punch! hahaha we are truly happy. his profile picture is SO cute, you'll see it eventually. I was reminded/encouraged by great friends and family they said that God must think i'm a pretty awesome mom to give me 3 boys to raise up in him. Cause we all know that we need more honourable men in this world. This is gonna be a hard but fun task, and i'm sure when he is done laughing at me, AGAIN, for trying to plan, he will help me through it.

Anyways, it is way past my bed time, and I have to wake up for work after a nice 2 week stay-cation. oh man, morning will come so early. Anyways, hope you enjoyed to photos, I know we had a lot of fun doing them.
xoxo

20

20 is just a number to some people, but to me it is more than that. It means that we have made it half way through this pregnancy. There has been some ups and downs along the way, but mostly just crazy happy fun. How could you not have fun with 2 crazy little boys around all the time. It started off a little bumpy because fraser Health declared a pertussis outbreak which forced everyone working with babies or kids to get a pertussis booster. This left nurses with the choice of either getting the shot or being deployed to another unit, which really isn't a choice. Just sort of felt like we were being bullied into doing something. Anyways, Myself and a few other co-workers did not take the shot option as we are pregnant and therefore we were deployed to other areas of the hospital. Areas that we as maternity are not familiar with. So needless to say, there was a lot of stressful situations and discussions but we made it! Today at 20weeks my manager called to see if I wanted to go home (to FBU), I didn't hesitate to answer with a YES!! I've been waiting for this to happen. I knew if I waited it out everything would work out, and it did. I'm not gonna lie, I'm going to miss my new friends on N2B (Er overflow) and my great duties I had there ;P hahaha but it is for the best. I get to go back to where I'm comfortable and where I actually like to go to work. It will take a while to adjust back to the busyness off our ward and the time change from 7am -730, but its not for long. Mat leave is just around the corner. So for those of you that are just a little bit curious at 20 weeks my baby is now roughly the length of a banana, and she/he is practicing swallowing amniotic fluid, which is good practice for his/her digestive tract. Hope you all have a great weekend!! I sure am looking forward to date night tomorrow night, I don't think we have been out since Disneyland :)

xoxo

The 1st anniversary

After

Before 

Hawaii 

It's December 1st everyone, which means it has been exactly 1 year since my jaw surgery.  Its been a crazy year of ups and downs, lost and founds and a whole lot of FUN!!!!! Since I had the surgery I have taken on a new way of looking at life, or at what life throws my way. Usually nothing is worse than the surgery/recovery, which means there is nothing I/we can't handle. I'm not gonna lie, the first 6 months of the year was rough and felt like it lasted an eternity. It started with the surgery, which I would never wish on my worst enemies, well if I actually had enemies. It was a long healing process, and just when I starting feeling good about myself, we had a miscarriage right before Hayden's first birthday. Yeah, not many people know, cause really how do you bring something like that up. Anyways, it was the worst feeling and again I was not wanting to wish this on any of my imaginary enemies. But through this I learned a great verse and my new favourite song by Jesus culture, "You make all things work together for my good". Its hard to see it at the time, but as you come out of the fog you begin to see the good in all things. And again, once I thought I had no more tears left in my body I lost my wedding set. Yes, it's lost, gone, never found. I put up signs, put in a police report and searched every day for it. Finally one day I just got this feeling of peace. Like I was to let it go and move on. Once I did that, I called our insurance provider and learned that our content insurance would cover my lost rings. Which was a blessing. Micheal and I got to pick out a new ring. This new ring reminds me of new beginings and a fresh start. I learned you can't dwell on the past, no matter how hard it is, you just have to move forward so you can experience all that God has planned for you. Soon it was June, which came the sun came out, literally, haha as we took our kids to Hawaii, which was amazing. Plus I was in the best shape of my life and was feeling pretty good about myself, So what was there to complain about. Next was my cousin's wedding, which was a long time coming and amazing. For those who know me, know that I love WEDDINGS. I love everything about them, the dress, flowers, food and all the love in the room. What makes a wedding even better is being a bride's maid, because you get to help out behind the scene and get to eat first :) I was just telling Micheal earlier today that I would remarry him every year, just so I can go through the whole process of finding the perfect dress and planning every little detail. Yeah, I'm kinda crazy, but everyones got their THING! Next came our trip to Disneyland, which was SO fun! I hadn't been since I was 11, so it seemed new again. It was so fun to be a kid again, staying out late, not worrying about getting back for nap time, or bedtime or carrying snacks and diapers around. We were free and it was GREAT :) When we got back from california we announced to our family that we were expecting baby #3 who is due May 2, 2013. waahoo which is pretty exciting, and scary at the same time. hahaha we are entering new territory, not many of our friends have more than 2 kids. we will soon be out numbered by little turkeys, crazy? maybe! Fun? Always! I love babies! I love them like I love weddings. Micheal says its a good thing that I work where I do, with babies. hmmmm now all I have to do is plan weddings on my days off! how perfect would that be? my 2 favorite things : ) Now it's december and we have lots to look forward too. Christmas, then the Caribbean in Feb, then baby!! It's gonna go by SO fast. So that has been the year in a nut shell. A lot happens in a year, and I can't wait to see what this year brings. oh, and my jaw, its perfect!!! sometimes it aches but nothing to write home about. Micheal and I look back at pictures of me before the surgery and OH man, do I look different. My whole profile and jaw line has changed. This was proven at my cousins wedding. One of my cousins and one of my uncles didn't recognize me, hahahaha they were wondering the entire ceremony who I was standing up with Cindee! crazy! anyways, that's how the first year with my new jaw went! not too shabby I say. Have a great night and a wonderful sunday. xoxo

Hayden Turns 1

My baby is 1!!! I can't believe how fast he grew. One year went by WAY too fast, but I love watching him grow. He is such a smart, handsome little guy. I knew he would GROW up fast than Hudson, because of the way he was doing things before the average milestones that kids noramlly follow. He sat early, crawled early, talked early, fed himself cheerios early and walked early. CRAZY, I say, but it's a good thing. This just means that Hudson had a playmate sooner than later. Anyways, He turned 1 on March 28 and we celebrated his birthday on April 1st ( which happened to be his due date). This was a great day, and we had a lot of people come celebrate with us. It is sooooo awesome to see all the love this boy gets. He is very blessed. We did an owl themed party (well more like I did) and I think it turned out pretty well. We were also blessed with a great sunny day, which allowed us to open up the doors and create a space for people to hang out outside as well. Here are just a few pics from the best day of April so far:)

Daddy and the birthday boy

Cute little owls made out of lanterns

Great cake made by my friend Thea from box of dreams custom cakes and cupcakes

Cutest birthday boy, shirt made by his momma :)

Tree of owl candy bags, which were featured in a previous blog post

My Grandma went crazy with the owl theme!!

Cutest owl cupcakes made by yours truly

Hope you enjoyed the pics! There are a lot more but it would take all day to upload them! and who really has time for that. It is a gorgeous day outside, go outside and play! thats where i'm headed. xoxo

It's been a long time!

Wow, its been a long time since I last posted something about my wonderful life :) I don't know about you, but I have sure been feeling the affects of our miserable weather. I have just been lazing around the house feeling down and not knowing why!!! But alas, today this beautiful weather has got me out of the funk! Hayden and I went outside and drained all the rain water from the sandbox and dug out the worms. It was magical! Some how the 30mins of warm sunshine shining on my back changed something! All the vitamin D flowing through my body

made me happy! Happy, whats that! last week I probably couldn't have told you, but today!! Today is a new day, and it's a good day! So anyways, It's been 3.5 months since my surgery, and everything is almost back to normal. Well, I eat mostly everything except for a nice juicy cheese burger! I stretch my jaw all day long, in hopes that I will soon be able to eat the most yummyburger from 5 guys! oh man, thats the goal, those burgers are delicious, so fresh and yummy! so other than Days full of jaw-cercise We have been keeping busy going to preschool,

playing pirates, planning Hayden's first birthday, finding a nanny

and i've been working on a few sewing projects! Thought I should start using my christmas present! I thought now would be a good time to look at some before and after pictures, I have to admit, my phone has erased a lot of my photos so the selection is minimal, but you can kinda see the progress.

Before! Hard to see though cause i'm not really smiling

8 weeks after, I wore glasses a lot cause I thought my some what swollen face looked better with them on. Kinda balanced everything out.

This is what I look like this week! Not bad I say! cheek bones more pronounced and my eyes look like they open wider! hahaha, promise they didn't do anything to my eyes!

Hope you go out and enjoy this beautiful day!!! Some vitamin D will do you good! It sure did for me :)

xoxo

The start of week 8

Week 8 is off to a good start, well I can't complain thats for sure. I can now fit 2 fingers into my mouth, and I have a great long list of items to eat now. Still mainly soft things, like pasta, chicken and bread. Not too many veggies, even when cooked they are too tough to chew or bite, so I do sometimes eat SOUP to get the veggies in. The thought of soup is boring to me, but if I didn't do that I would probably turn into a carbohydrate. Well that or a yam. Hahaha they get nice and soft when baked in the oven and are SOOOOO tasty with some spices and olive oil,probably my favourite thing to eat right now. The swelling in my face remains in my cheeks and through out the day it descends from the cheek to my lower jaw. Its is minimal, but you can still see it. My smile is not too lop sided any more, and my teeth touch in the back now!!! So Ifinally have a pretty normal bite! It's wonderful. There is still numbness to my upper lip and bottom part of my cheeks, but can't complain, there is no more pain! So to celebrate this new found acceptance of myself I took a picture and posted it for the world to see. I do have my glasses on int he picture, as I think my face looks better with them on. I know it sounds crazy, just go with it. hahaha my brain may perceive things differently than others :)Also to celebrate, Annie and I got our ears pierced. You may be thinking, what!!! you don't have them pierced. It is true, I went almost 29 years with no holes in my ears, and now I have 2 in each each! hahaha What got into me you say, well I thought "if I survived jaw surgery I can do anything"! and it's true. The whole piercing part didn't hurt at all. I'm not gonna lie, the whole way to the mall and sitting in the chair I was so sick to my stomach, and when the 2 ladies where standing there ready to shoot the gun, I didn't know if I was gonna faint or throw up. None of the 2 happened, instead I replied "that was it, hahaha that didn't hurt at all, I will forsure get the second onenow"! so thats how it happened. Now something magical happens when I look in the mirror, no matter what I'm wearing I see a pretty lady! I know, your thinking, ah weirdo, but it's true, earrings change you, they change your overall look. Even if you are all grubbed out in sweats and a hoodie they make you feel like your put together and ready for anything, or any random stranger that may knock on your door. On that note, enjoy your weekend and put some earrings in those empty wholes of yours and be ready for anything. xoxo

Half way through week 6

So, look at all the snow. This is just crazy, it leaves me to fantasize about living some where warm. Some where I can go out side without putting a jacket and gloves and boots on, that being rain or snow gear. Some where that my bones don't hurt when the temperature drops. well, only in my dreams it seems. Anyways, last monday I went to the oral surgeon and he took my splint off. Wow, getting it off was amazing. It opened to door to SO many new adventures of eating. Without it in I had 2mm more room, just enough room to fit a tooth brush in to brush the backs of the top teeth. 2mm also aloud for a little more food choices, like bread, fries, forks. So yes, I have now graduated to a fork, hahaha little steps I know. At the surgeons office he gave me some stretches to do, after I heat it up. So I am very glad that my mom was able to get the very last heat wrap made by Kim Gladman from the yellow honey house christmas fair. Yes, it is the perfect size to wrap from one ear to the other, warming my whole jaw. Heat does help, after it is heated, I can open my mouth significantly wider. Amazing :) So, thursday I went to the orthodontist and he changed the wires and gave me a new way to wear my elastics, annoying yes, but worth it in the end I guess. While I was there I asked him when I get these lovely braces off. Hahaha, yes, I'm just about finished with them. The mom at preschool that also had braces, got hers off before christmas, not fair I say, she only had them on for 6 months. Geez, something about that does not sound fair to me. Anyways, He said summer! Oh my, that could mean anything, summer is 3 months long. Well I'm hoping for June. June sounds good, that would be just over 6 months after surgery, so it's only fair. And my cousin is getting married at the end of July, and I definitely want them off before then! Just saying, I know it's not my wedding, but it's good to have goals to work towards :) So on that note, be safe and enjoy the snow. xoxo

It's been 5 WEEKS

It's hard to imagine that 5 weeks ago I was lying in a hospital bed trying to sleep. Crazy, that it has gone by so fast. Not gonna lie, 5 weeks ago it felt like time was standing still. It took forever to get out of the hospital, and then at home I would just wait for night time because that meant that I was one day closer to it all being over. At day 3 I thought it would never end, but luckily on day 4, I started believe that one day it would be over. Now at week 5, I see the end in site. There is still some swelling in my cheeks and I can now fit one finger into my mouth!! Progress, I know so exciting right :) this means that I can fit a bit more stuff into my mouth to eat. Stuff like; Kraft dinner, yam fries, pancakes, eggs, bread and soft cake. My appetite is still pretty much the same, small, and I do normally still only eat yogurt and soup, but that is partially due to the fact that its all I have in the house that I can eat. I usually indulge in the good stuff listed above when I go out the a restaurant or to someones house. And by eat, I mean chew it once or twice before swallowing. I think after monday when the plastic splint comes out, I may be able to chew more efficiently and it wont feel so weird. As for pain, it has mainly all subsided unless one of my kids or micheal hits my face by accident, or if I yawn or smile too much. My smile is kinda funny actually, cause it looks like I had a mini stroke, because one side is more numb than the other so when I smile it just stays put, as the other side smiles. I find it kinda funny when I smile at myself in the mirror. Its hard to say if my profile or face has really changed due to the remaining swelling and numbness. But I'm pretty sure you all will still be able to recognize me when you see me. On that note, I'm sure I will see you when I see you. xoxo

Happy New Year - 4 weeks post op

Let me just start with a big HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Hope your christmas was as full as mine was. We had day after day of fun family gatherings starting on the 23rd and ending last night, New Years Eve. We are so blessed to be surrounded by so many loving family members. We even had the chance this year to celebrate with some family members from out of town, which was lovely. My parents stayed here for the holidays instead of heading down south, which added more fun and enjoyment to the mix. This just meant, that we actually celebrated Christmas with everyone else instead of in early December, like usual. It was also nice for a change to see them on New Years Eve, instead of talking to them over the phone 4 hours early. Micheal

mentioned yesterday that it had been 3 years since we brought in the New Year with them, and that was when we were down in the Carribean with them. Just an interesting tidbit. Anyways, my kids were blessed with some great gifts, Hudson plays with his transformers everyday, he went from having 1, to having a collection of 4. He is pretty happy about that as well as, his sweet new game collection. So if any one is looking for something to do, you can always come play a game or 2 with him, he would love it! We haven't opened them all up yet, but his favorite one so far is Hungry Hungry Hippo. hahaha so much fun. As for Hayden, he likes playing with the toys Hudson got, which is typical, but I must say, his Baba got him a pretty awesome pair of Toms that he can't wait to wear. Micheal got a sweet pellet gun, which hopefully help with my spring time bird problem. haha, here's hoping they closed up the ventthe right way this year so I wont have to use it. And I got a sewing machine and some other lovely things. A sewing machine you say? haha I know, what am I gonna do with it? Well I hope to have time one day to actually take it out of the box, and maybe the creative juices will just start to flow. I do have some unfinished projects that I could work on, like Hudson's quilt, or Hayden's bench seat. But maybe there is something new out there. Something simple and can be finished in one sitting so I can feel a sense of accomplishment. We shall see I guess. Enough about gifts, whats new with my jaw? Well, it has been just over 4 weeks since I had jaw surgery to fix my bite. I now take the elastics off too eat. Eat you say? Well I guess mainly soup, but I have recently tried some whole wheat flat bread dipped in some yummy dips, which just melted in my mouth, as well as, finely cut pasta and pesto Alfredo sauce, which was like a party in my mouth. Oh my, I am afraid of what will happen when I can finally eat food normally again. Will I gain back all the weight I have lost in a day? I hope that I will take it easy, and eat healthy and Indulge only every once and a while. I am happy with the weight I am at right now. I can finally fit My jeans, and they fit perfectly, not too tight or too big, just right. I can't wait till I can get back to the gym to get some muscle definition and for summer, to get my tan on. I haven't set any New Year's goals persay. I just want to get all healed up, get my braces off, and enjoy a normal life. Well, how normal is my life really? xoxo

My new indulgence, It is just thin enough to fit into my mouth