Long time no see.

Wow. I just wanna start of by saying, sorry. A lot has happened since July 2013. In the past 3 years and a few months, there have been a few life changes. First off, we moved. Yup, for all of those who don't know, we finally moved out of the townhouse seen and into a detached home. A detached home people!!!! This is huge. This means we have to mow our own lawn, do our own gardening, complain to the city about crazy parkers, ect. With more space has brought way more responsibility, but we love it!!! With this move, we also did some huge renovations, which was so awesome to see. For before and after photos, go back about 2 years on my instagram feed42likes9comments :P lol, i'm way to busy to post them on here, well for now that is. I may or may not choose to do a before and after post....  The second life change we made was hiring an aupair. This in its self should be its own blog lol. i would call it something like "to aupair or not to aupair", or maybe "what not to do: the aupair diaries" lol. oh the challenges we had. Anyways, it was a great decision for our family at this time. It is very helpful having someone here all the time helping out. It makes grocery shopping and appointments less stressful to organize. oh and by challenges, I just mean it is hard to pick someone without actually meeting them. Sure we Skype and ask all the questions we can possibly think of. But there is still the problem of what are they actually like in real life (in person). We have found that you can say a lot over Skype, but when it comes down to actually coming and here and actually doing it, it is a different storey. So needless to say, it has been a learning experience.  The third and final life change is the best one by far. Well I think so and i'm sure micheal and our family will agree. This past July we welcomed our newest addition to the family. A baby girl!!! yeah!! She is finally here, and we are so happy. Her name is Penelope Emilise Pahl, and she is just a little sweetheart. She is so easy going and happy to just sit and watch the brothers play. Some people ask how we make it look so easy. lol. well, its not easy. Some days it is chaos, and other days are just.... well there just days like everyone else. I've learned to let the little things go, and that just chilling is okay sometimes, or all the time. Kids can entertain themselves with practically nothing. Don't get me wrong, they have a whole toy store of toys, but still choose the most random thing to play with for hours. I've also learned that kids are weird. lol. Yup, i said it. They are just strange little people, that are unpredictable and needy, but if you play your cards just right, you will some how learn to understand each other. For example, what kid doesn't like pizza or pancakes. Or who wouldn't love to go swimming or play in the snow or go to disneyland. (eye roll) Well, I could keep going on and on about what we've missed in the last 3 years. Most of which is just hilarious, but i think I've caught you up as much as needed, and the rest is history. So, here's to new memories and stories that are bound to happen. And I might just add in a few oldies that you've missed along the way.
xoxo

Enjoy this cute video :)
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I survived!

           I know, sounds like something crazy happened, but I'm just talking about the weekend. It was very eventful in my eyes, considering I have not done too much since Mason has arrived. It started on friday. Micheal and I decided to go to north vancouver to see Olivia's boy friends band play at the outdoor market. So we got my mom to take the older boys and we took Mason to North Van. It was fun, they had all these food trucks and live music set up at the shipyards. we ate some really yummy street tacos. I got the fish taco and Micheal got the jerk chicken. ever since then he has been dreaming about them and trying to find a close enough recipe to replicate the taco he had. haha we shall see if he is successful in that. So we left Van around 815pm stopped for some groceries and got home at a decent time. The whole while I thought I had my phone in the truck in the diaper bag. hahaha not sure why I thought that. We searched high and low and it was no where to be found. I learned a valuable lesson. Babies make me dumb!!! lol fine, probably just sleep deprived, but still where could it have gone. I have thought about it and I now think that I probably left it on the BACK bumper while loading the stroller into the trunk. haha why haven't I learned. this is the second valuable thing I have lost back there! geez! when will I stop putting stuff back there! there are pockets for a reason. oh dear. Anyways, on saturday micheal was up and out of the house at 830am. hahaha I  guess no sleeping in for us. but he accomplished a lot. he went to ikea to get some shelving to finally finish our basement and to rogers to get me a new phone and was home by 1030 :)  He must love me haha. So I went a whole 14hrs with out a phone. at first I was a little lost and panicky hahaha, but once bed time came around I was used it and felt free. weird I know, but that phone had everything on it. The good thing about an Iphone is I just plugged it into the computer and it restored everything the way it was! perfect, and it's a good thing I just synced it the day before, which is rare for me, just like checking the mail! hahaha So saturday Micheal dropped me off at amanda's house at 140 as I was going to a stagette. it was a fun night of islly games, dinner in english bay, a musical under the stars at stanley park and desert and lingerie. Oh yeah, and of course the party bus!!! hahaha. the bus was pretty interesting and and lets just say we were all praying that we would make it there in one piece. we came close to crashing into the car in front a few times. eeekk. I got home at 130am, the latest night ever and morning came way too fast at an earl 630 am haha gotta love these kids, they just missed me so much :p. It was a fun evening and I was glad that Micheal had a good time with the boys all day. I'm a very lucky lady, and I'm glad that the kids are always so good for him, and Mason only ate 2 times, which is awesome, so now he isn't afraid to watch them all alone again one day :) maybe sooner than he thinks. hahaha I wanna go to the JT and JZ concert july 31. ;) So thats all for now, the couch cleaner is coming soon. I'm so excited to finally get the stains off the couch, at least for a little while.
 xoxo (sorry no pics, the iphone 5 has a different cord, and the only one I have is up in my room with a sleeping baby :) )

July = so much change

WOW, so sorry. didn't realize it has been 4 months since I last posted. To be fair, I have been a little busy since then :) Hayden turned 2 at the end of march, so of course we had an awesome party, with awesome family and friends who love him dearly.

We did a sailing theme, which seemed fitting since we had just recently came back from a wonderful sailing adventure. Daddy made the fun sailboat cake in the picture. In april came my 30th birthday, which we decided to hold off on a party until after baby, because he was due to come any day. And he decided to come may 4th, 2 days late!!!!! My babies have never been late, so I knew he was gonna be different. He came fast and furious on May 4th, with labor starting at 1230am and he was born at 415am weighing a whopping 8.13 pounds!!! my biggest baby to date!!! A whole pound bigger. 

8.13 pounds of snuggley goodness. he has got the cutest little baby cheeks you have ever seen. and they just keep on growing, hahaha. so he continued to be a different baby then my other 2 by being very gassy from the start, forcing me to give up dairy all together. I started slowly, leaving just a teaspoon of cream for my morning coffee, even that would upset his tummy! so out with the cream, but black coffee is just not the same, and hard to get down. Good thing my dad reminded me a few weeks later that the international delight creamer didn't have dairy. How genius, of course its doesn't have dairy, how else could it last in your fridge forever without going bad. So needless to say, this momma was back on coffee in no time :) and this baby was starting to sleep better at night. Every body wins. June came which ment party time. I was getting nervous, cause I was still "fat" and didnt think I could find a costume that fit. Yes I said costume, Micheal planned a wonderful Great Gatsby themed party, complete with everyone having to wear costumes. In my head I was going to be thiner and rocking something great!! haha not sure why I thought that, must have been really sleep deprived or something. everyone knows that for 40 weeks you are gaining weight, so obviously its gonna take some time to shrink back down. And this time around lets just say I gain A lot more. hahaha number isn't important. needless to say, my mom found a perfect dress for me a swanky thrift store in white rock for me, that did the trick. just added some fringe to the bottom and added some jewellery and voila! a costume was made. 

Micheal and I were so impressed that every one dressed up. they all looked fabulous. I couldn't have asked for a better way to celebrate the start of my 30's. 

Cake by box of dreams custom cakes

no party is complete without and awesome candy bar :)

the venu was done up perfectly. Thanks to my sis Amanda for hosting :)

So once the party was over, it was time for summer to start. The weather started getting warmer which means many trips to the beach, friends pools, and camping in our trailer up at green lake. I was a little skeptical going with 3 little kids, but they are such good travellers, not sure what I was worried about. they all slept really good at night, and Mason slept all day too! must have been the altitude :) So I think that brings us up to date for now. I promise I will try and post more often, to prevent the long posts lol. I will leave you with some picture of some cuties :) have a great weekend. xoxo

If anyone knows Hudson, then you know that he is typically nervous of water and swimming was out of the question. He hates water in his eyes and face. but since the swimming season has started he has not been fearful at all. He has overcome his aversion to water  and is always the last one out of the water. It's a miracle :) 

back yard fun, these boys love their brother.

Mr. chubs 

such a content little baby 

March came way too fast

So, i've noticed some time has lapsed since my last post, so i'm gonna bring you up to speed. Since recovering from pneumonia in January, I worked 4 days and then got sick again. This time it was crazy sick. I ended up staying the night at hotel surrey memorial for 4 nights, yeah I old you it was crazy. I had a kidney infection that did not want to leave. So I spent most of my time in the hospital getting morphine and gravol Q4hrs, strong antibiotics and sleeping. Not gonna lie, besides the tremendous pain, it wasn't a bad stay. I happened to be in when it was my team working, so it was like being with family, so that was sure a bonus. When I finally got to leave the hospital, I spent another week on the couch, dizzy and motion sick. Not fun, I blamed the antibiotics for the slow recovery. Anyways, while I had a lot of time with my thoughts, I realized that new years for us doesn't start till Feb or March. Crazyness always seems to happen in the first few months of the normal calendar year, which is fine, since our calendar is less than normal. This year our year started on February 2, 2013. This was when we packed up our family and left the crazyness behind us. We headed of to the British Virgin Islands were we got plenty of rest and sunshine. Well, my description of plenty of rest will be different than others. Hahaha as we still had our kids with us, meaning early mornings and lots of interaction, but it was still good to get away from the business of life and all the sickness that surrounded us. The sun and salt healed all our sickness. And like any vacation there were some bumps, one in particular was that Micheal ear got plugged and put him in bed for a whole day with the worst ear pressure and head ache imaginable. I tried to help by getting some ear drops from the dive shop, which just made things worse. I have never seen him in so much pain, he looked like his head was gonna explode! WOW for a second I thought it actually might, and i was freaked out. Lesson learned, just leave him to die alone, hahaha cause i will just make it worse. Anyways, the boys loved every minute of our time away. I think their favorits where riding fast in the tender to shore, swimming in the pool, finding treasure and throwing stuff (rocks, sand, toys, ect) into the ocean. plus, it was a bonus getting to see nanny and grandpa everyday, whats not to like.  It was good for our family to get away just the 4 of us before we add another little character to the mix. The boys got our undivided attention and grew a lot. Watching them play and think and learn got me curious to see what the next little buddy will be like. Hudson and Hayden are total opposites, which is really funny to watch. Maybe this one will be a great mix of the both of them. hahaha only time will tell. So we got thrown back into reality February 21, which was not too fun. Our house was an icebox. It was colder inside than it was outside, lets just say I slept in a hoodie, sweat pants and wool socks that night. brrrrrrr it was cold. since we got back life has been in full swing, which isn't a bad thing, as I only have a few weeks left until my next bit of vacation prior to mat leave. :) oh the perks of having babies! hahaha so the countdown is on, 2 more weeks and counting! Life is good. I've added a few pics from our trip, there are many more on FB, most of them are under Micheal's but he did his best in tagging me in most of them :)

ARRRR the dingy captain

hahaha I put his hair in clips so the wind wouldn't blow it in his eyes

Becoming such a poser 

brother time

snorkling, such clear water

little tree climber 

sting ray 

the best spot on the boat, the "bow" 

eagle ray 

Mr. Turtle 

Enjoy the rest of your week. xoxo

Mango's

Mmmmmm Mango's are so delicious, which is a great cause at 23 weeks this week the little guy is weighing about the size of a large Mango, and is as long as a green onion. Magical I know, comparing babies to fruits and veggies, what will we think of next, tools, exercise equipments, the comparisons are endless. Well, I like the food, i think I can relate to it the most, since I like to eat, especially fruit :) So anyways, christmas and new years have both come and gone and so has the sickness that we had living in our house for 2 weeks. Micheal had some sort of stomach flu over christmas, he had it pretty bad, bad enough that he wouldn't even leave his bed for christmas dinner. The dinner he waits for every year. Oh well, at least there is another christmas to look forward to this year, and many years to come! hahaha as for me, well I had a different sickness, pneumonia to be exact, but like any person it took me a few days to actually see a doctor, and by that time there was not enough air in the world to fill these lungs, well, at least it felt like that. Being sick for 2 weeks is not fun, especially when your best friend and partner in crime is just as sick. hahahaha who watches the turkeys!!! Let's just say, we went a little house crazy and more! hahahaha but we made it through it and now we can look back and laugh. we are also proud at how well we conquered the craziness of the season. we make a GREAT team :) On another note, it feels as though I havn't been at work for forever, since I had a 2 week staycation prior to being sick, I think I worked 1 day in the last 4 weeks. If we weren't sick that would have been some fun time off :) hahaha don't get me wrong, we enjoyed christmas with our family, just differently. Our boys were spoiled of course and we can't thank everyone enough for that! These kids are truly blessed to have so much love in their lives! They don't know how lucky they are. I can't wait to see what 2013 has in store for us! There are a few exciting moments I know of that we are looking forward too this year. But the unknown is what is even more exciting. Today marks the 30 day countdown to our Caribbean trip, waahoo, and to start it off I joined the squatting challenge. hahaha Why Squats you say? well, Because they make your butt firm, toned and strong! Squats use your glutes, quads, hamstrings and core when done properly, and January is squatting month!!! found here : https://www.facebook.com/fitnessfreakscanada?ref=stream&__req=f 
It's the perfect way to get ready to wear that bikini :) Micheal and I have also decided to cut out sugar from our diets to prepare for the warm weather and for the glucose test for me :P (don't wanna be gestational diabetic this time around) 
 Anyways, what are your goals or plans for January? Think about it. 
xoxo 

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

3 weeks past

The beautiful gingerbread house Micheal made

It has been 3 weeks since I had jaw surgery. I can now say that I have retired my syringe to the drawer, as I can eat my soup with a spoon and drink my drinks with a cup! Woohoo, things are looking up. I still have swelling, the left side is more swollen than the right. It's weird, I look lopsided. the left side is also more numb than the right so when I smile, it looks like I had a stroke or bels palsy. Kinda crazy! One more thing to add to the plate of discomfort is that my face is breaking out. Which is weird, cause my face is never like this. It is filled with red sore bumps every where, which isn't fun cause my face skin already hurts to touch. yucky :( I don't really know what thats about, maybe my diet of soup and yogurt drinks. It could be all the dairy I have been drinking, I normally stay away from dairy, well besides cheese. I LOVE cheese. What ever the case, it better go away soon. Anyways, I can almost open my mouth wide enough to fit my pinky finger, hahaha which doesn't seem like much, but it is improvement for sure. As for eating mashed potatoes at Christmas, it might not happen, but my Micheal's mom is making me some pumpkin curry soup for me, which sounds yummy. And my mom is making strawberry mousse (she got aunty Connie's recipe), mmmmmm so yummy! Aunty Connie makes the best strawberry mousse. Hopefully I can get it though the opening in my mouth. I'll find a way, I know it :) As for being ready for Christmas, we finally are! Micheal helped me finish wrapping all the gifts, and He bought hooks to hang our new stockings on. I finished up the last of the shopping yesterday, and I bought the boys some cute shirts to wear to church on christmas eve, and hopefully to some after christmas parties too! They are gonna look so handsome, I'll try and take some pictures of them all dressed up. As for me, no pictures till I'm good and healed. Maybe I'll do a before and after type photo montage. So tomorrow the christmas festivities begin. It is Christmas eve with my family, where we will watch movies and eat yummy snacks, well not me, but the others will. Merry Christmas every one! See you after the holidays :) xoxo

Post op day 17

30 screws and 6 plates later, I have a perfect bite!

So it has been just over 2 weeks since the surgery. I still have swelling in my cheeks and have numbness from my top lip to just under my eye. The pain is under control, still have occasional lightening bolts of pain, but they leave as fast as they come. I only have to use the syringe for cold thinks like milk shakes and booster juice, because they are too cold for my front teeth. My main utensil is a mug. I can sip anything from it; soup, tea, coffee, juice, any thing liquid, I can sip it :) I just started sipping my soup from the spoon, I'll have that mastered in no time. I tried stuffing some perogie filling through the tiny gap in my mouth, haha didn't work too well as I can only open my mouth about 2mm. Still progress right. Maybe next week I will be able to down some mashed potatoes and candied yams. mmmmm that would be so delish, a change from my regular diet of drinkable yogurt, juice and soup. As for my activity level, I can say that I do not spend my days lounging around the couch anymore. It's sad, I know, I was starting to like not ever leaving my house. That was until I saw the Surgeon on tuesday and he said I should get out more. Part of the reason of staying in was because I didn't want people staring at me. But now I have been out to the musical White Christmas, the mall, to church and to 2 restaurants. And I must say, people only stare when I talk. Hahaha some have a hard time understanding and others just look at me in wonder or pity wondering what happened. I've gotten over it now, people can think what they want. Soon I will be able to eat and talk better than ever. I dream of the day I can eat a sandwich with lettuce on it, pizza with the toppings on every bite, not just the first bite, and bite into an apple instead of cutting it up. I know this day will soon arrive, I think that is what moves me forward each day. Well incase I don't get to blogging between now and Christmas, as it is in 7 DAYS!!! Have a merry Christmas! xoxo

Post op day 11

So it has been 11 days since my surgery. I can officially say now that the worst is behind us. I don't spend my days dozing in and out on the couch all day. I don't take med every 4hrs, and I don't need to use the syringe all the time. Everyday gets better :) I still don't find myself running around the house or climbing the stairs. But I do drink my water with a cup now, and I can change my own elastics and brush my teeth. Well the fronts of my teeth, still can't open my mouth wide enough to get the backsides, but I think some is better then none. I can also Pour myself something to drink or eat and read a magazine. I can now say that I can see myself looking back at me in the mirror. Sure it is still swollen and lop sided, but the swelling has gone way down. Let's just say I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Each day the tunnel gets smaller, which is good because for a while I thought it was never gonna end. I still have bad thoughts towards Langley hospital, it might be because I can still feel the exact place the nurse jabbed me with the numbing needle. I can feel the whole path the pain took down to my calf. It's a weird feeling, it's always there in the background adding to the other pains. I am pretty happy with the level of pain. It is tolerable during the day, so I'm drug free in the day. In the quiet of the night is when the pain monsters hit me. starts with throbbing and then gradually gets to sharp pain. Tylenol doesn't seem to cut it, so I reach for the codeine, which also helps me sleep. So all in all it's better, not perfect but better. I just hope that the lop sidedness is because of swelling and not because he was just focused on my bite and not the the whole picture. I guess time will tell, I just don't wanna do it again cause he messed it up. But maybe it wont be as bad the second time?? hahaha I'm gonna try not to think of it for now. xoxo

Post op

Thought it would be a good time to write, since I can't fall asleep. It seems as though childrens tylenol puts me to sleep and children's advil has the opposite affect. which sucks cause I could use a nap, but soon it will be wearing off and I'll get some tylenol on board. Anyways, I just read my first post about surgery, its crazy that I could have even written that, hahaha I was barley awake, but Micheal said my followers needed something. This time will be a bit better I'm sure. So its day 6 post operation today and I'm feeling a bit better. Well, lets just say better then sunday thats for sure. Sunday I was nauseous and couldn't eat anything. I felt like I should be re-admitted to the hospital cause I was in pain and worried about my electrolyte imbalance. Yeah I know, who cares about their electrolytes, but I was throwing up and feeling like crap and thought I would end up there anyways. But here I am, it's Wed and I'm not puking and my pain is pretty much under control. So lets take a step back and go back to the hospital. Let me just remind you that one of my fears of surgery was having to spend the night in the hospital, especially Langley hospital. SO, when they were wheeling me to my room, there was this strange familiarity about the hall and the ward. They stopped int he hall while they cleared a space for my bed, and it came to me. I used to work there as a nursing aid while in school. I only worked there a handful of times cause I was either busy with school or had way more fun at my BC ferry job. being pulled into the room brought back memories. Memories of why I decided I wanted to work with pregnant ladies and families. They aren't normally sick, they are just having a baby, and are usually well after they give birth. This pace was gloomy and smelly. The nurse before she left to go back to the recovery room said "you might want to keep your mask on". haha that is an understatement. I could still smell the sickening smell of the elderly lady beside me going to the bathroom on the comode by her bed. and I could smell the ODOUR BE GONE that they spray to mask it. I was screaming inside. I knew it wasn't gonna be good, and I was wondering the whole time if they secretly did have a private room available but was just holding it. hmmmmmm SO my lovely neighbour was in for hip surgery and wasn't with it. She slept most the day, but when ever the nurse would come to help her or give her meds she would freak out. using words I didn't nice little ladies knew. And when it got to be around 8pm she just started talking to her self. My friend suggested that I mumble back to her and maybe she will understand me in her head. So I tried that and it seemed to calm her down for a bit. it was kinda humorous, but she got louder the later it got, so around 1010 they brought her bed into the hall way as to not disturb the rest of us int he room. There was 2 more people in the room, nothing to write home about, one lady had a tumour removed from her mouth and the other guy had a colostomy bag put in. changing that was pretty smelly too. Oh geez, I guess my nose is really sensitive right now, I can smell every little thing. Wow, this might be a long one, another thing I observed was the nurses. Haha I know, I'm a nurse and I know the tricks we use and all, but I don't think I'm as mean as mine were. It was like pulling teeth to get them to bring me pain medication. I would call when the pain was around a 3-4 so it wouldn't get higher, so they would say, oh just wait a bit more the codeine should kick in soon. I don't think it takes 1hr for codeine to take effect. SO I would ring the bell, they would come back and say "oh your still in pain", ummm duh, what the heck is codeine gonna do, my jaw was just broken into different pieces. SO finally she said she was gonna bring me something. It took forever, so of course I range the bell, an it still took FOREVER, they just let it ring and ring and ring. I was pushing it over and over knowing it would do anything but it felt good to do something. I remember telling Micheal that I wanted to punch her int he face. Really how long does it take to draw up some demerol. geez, Finally she brought me some demerol and I had relief for 4 hrs. Then the whole scenario started again, but with a different nurse cause mine was on break. Geez, they should just bring me something every 4hrs or something. I know it can get busy sometimes, but when I was calling I would look over and I could see nurses sitting there charting or planning their breaks. Oh my goodness, I am so thankful that having a baby is less work to be a patient. AT least after having a baby you feel pretty good, well besides your aching body there is nothing really you need the nurse for urgently. Well I didn't at least. I could take my own meds, walk to the bathroom, eat. I was pretty independent after having a baby. Being a patient dependant on people is hard work, especially if you have nurses that don't know you or don't care. Lets just say the day I got to go home wasn't the best either. I went for x-ray in the am and they took off the machine that was continuously massaging my legs. ohh that felt soo good through the night :) ANd the machine and it's pieces stayed on my bed ALL day. I would have taken them away by now, who wants all this stuff at the foot of their already small hospital bed. Again with the medication slowness. Does it really take that long? Am I missing something??? I don't think it takes me too long to get meds out of the cupboard at work. After lunch the nurse said I can go when ever I want, after she gives me a shot of steroids. So again I waited forever for her to return with it. When she gave it it looked like she hadn't given many shots before. I killed going in, but that was the least of it, after she pushed it in an walked away it stung and ached more than any pain I had felt all night long. The pain went down to my calf and I could barely move my leg. Tears just started pouring, and wouldn't stop. I was surprised that she actually came back to see how I was, well she was probably seeing why I hadn't left yet. I told her it killed, and that I couldn't move my leg and other stuff, but she prob didn't understand cause who can with my mouth shut. She brought me some ice, to help the pain. Oh my gosh, I typed to micheal that I thought she got it int he wrong spot and that she doesn't know what she is doing. The ice helped a bit and the pain finally subsided after 30 mins. Micheal found me a wheelchair and left. No one gave us instructions at the hospital of what to do. No kind of teaching or anything, it was kinda weird just leaving. I brought all the stuff they told me to at the oral surgeons office cause they said the nurses will go over it with me and show me things. Haha that never happened. So, my fear of spending the night in the hospital was true. don't get me wrong, I did get some sleep and rest, but thats about it. Not sure if I was at a different hospital if it would have went better, but I would like to think so. I am thankful that I don't work there, I like to think that I am a nice nurse, I seem to answer the bell when it first rings even if it is not my patient. I know that care is more important than charting, and that charting will get done, especially on a night shift. If I ended up working there who knows if I would have become like them, I saw a lot of nurses, none of them seemed bright eyed or happy to be there. Didn't seem like they loved their job or people. So why?

xoxo