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