8 Month Update

Next Wednesday will be my 8th month with braces! WOW! I can't beleive how fast time goes by! In four months it will be a year! I feel like I need to celebrate big when my dang grill comes off!

Sorry I've been incognito these last few weeks, I've been so busy with work and also visiting friends and family on the weekends...actually this weekend will be my first weekend home since San Diego! It's not that I don't have anything to do...I'm just flat out tired! I need rest! I want to sleep in! I've been having tons of fun though...I feel like I won't even know what to do when I'm home! hahaha! I went to Vegas a couple of weeks ago and usually I take a vacation day after I come back from Vegas because....Well I need the day to recoup! This time I didn't take a day...I actually flew back home at midnight and made it into the office at 8am! The one good thing is that my baby-bug will be super excited to be home with mom this weekend. Usually my sister will house/doggy sit for me while I'm away or I will take my baby with me. He's gotten pretty used to riding in planes...In fact he's the talk of the plane when we're on! :) Ok enough of me and Bug!

Back to my grill...I'm in pain :( Everytime I wear my bands my teeth are in a lot of pain :(((( I'm over the back brackets bothering the insides of my cheeks, the assistant was right in that eventually I would stop biting my cheek skin once my teeth moved. I no longer have a sore on the back of the insides of my cheeks!! Yay!

I know my ortho is going to be very very upset when I go in and he realizes I haven't been wearing my bands 24 hours a day like he ordered. I just honestly can't help it...I CAN NOT wear them while I'm giving training sessions. (which is taking up the majority of my days at work right now). I'm litterally teaching a class for 8 hours a day. I'm talking the whole time...how can I? Am I over reacting? Am I being a baby? Sometimes I feel like I am because I should just wear them and deal with the pain and the spit and the slurring of words etc. LOL I just honestly can't wear them in the day because of my job...I can't quit to get my teeth to allign quicker, so I don't see any other option. I do wear them the minute I get home and wear them throughout the night...eventhough it's very painful. I take an ibuprophen and put them on and sleep! :)


Hope all is well with everyone! Keep me posted!

xoxo,
C

A little...

Update to let you guys know my mouth feels better today! Not in massive pain today I can eat my banana! So excited! I knew it would get better...I was just being negative-Nelly on my last post :)









xo,



C

7 Month Update!

OK...so here's my update: Rubber bands and Braces suck! The End













(That's me venting!)







OK...The real update:

I went in for my fourth followup appointment and it was brutal! I'm in soooo much pain right now I could cry :( I think I'm in more pain now than I was when I first got them! I went in yesterday at 2:30pm. I remember them telling me the last time I was there that they were going to remove and re-arrange some brackets and check my bite etc. So the appointment was going to take longer than the usual it took about an hour and a half from start to finish.

They started by removing some of my brackets which included most of them. Once they removed them they gave me the opportunity to floss and brush minus the wires and most of my brackets...this was VERY exciting because I got to see most of my teeth without brackets or wires! The glue was still on my teeth, but I got to see the overall picture of what my new smile would look like! It was very exciting! So exciting that I took a bit longer to brush and look in the mirror because I couldn't stop looking at myself smile! :D I know I'm a bit of a nerd...but I soaked every second in!

Once I was done brushing and flossing I jumped back into the chair and the assistant started polishing the glue off my teeth...It felt like my teeth were being filed down to nothing! I must admit I was a bit scared of her polishing a bit too much! I know I was being over dramatic but I only have one set of teeth! I can't grow anymore or go out and replace them like it's no big deal.

Once she was done polishing, the orthodontist replaced my brackets. It was like getting a new set on...Once he was done with that the assistant put a wire in (she said it was a thinner wire) and did the usual push on teeth, tie, etc. PAINFUL!

When everything was set and done, the ortho came back to see me and said "Have you been wearing your rubber bands?" "Yes...kinda" I said. "And the front set at night?" I nodded.

Truth is I've only been wearing both sets (side, and front) only at night. I'm supposed to be wearing the side ones all day and the ones in the front only at night. Well I've been good about wearing my gear at night...most nights! And he obviously knew I wasn't telling the truth!

He said "Well, your teeth arn't moving as fast as I'd like them to with wearing your bands only at night, so I'm going to ask that you wear both sets 22 hours a day." I about cried in my chair! I just nodded my head and went on my way out the door.

Will I wear them 22 hours a day?? Probably not...who am I kidding?! I mean he has to understand that I work in the day and do a lot of public speaking and he can't possibly expect me to wear my front bands while I'm doing it?! Come on! Let's get real! I'm a working adult who has to do these things...If I were younger and didn't have a job and only went to school...perfect, but my reality is I'm not. I've come to the conclusion I will double up on my bands at night and not wear them in the day. I will also wear them as soon as I get home. So in theory I should be without my bands for no longer than 8 hours per day. I do promise to make a better attempt these next 10 weeks...because the last thing I want to do is prolong my treatment.

Not only did I get a bunch of brackets replaced...I also got brackets put on my last top and bottom molars. I didn't have brackets on those before, and I wish I still didn't since having them on makes me chew on the back of my cheecks on the inside...know what I mean? It's hard to close my mouth and not pinch the inside of the skin in the back of my mouth...All I have to say is "Yay Wax!" I'm going to have to start using more of it!

I'm still in a lot of pain, I can't bite, let alone chew for long periods of time :( I'm hoping all this pain will go away soon since I will be watching the Superbowl in LAS VEGAS with two of my best freinds! I'm so excited to escape from my home town for a while! But I'd like to be pain free so I can enjoy awesome food with my girls!

Here's a few pictures I took in my bathroom as soon as I got home from the ortho...trying to lighten the mood.

Hope all my fellow bracers are doing wonderful! Just remember everyday we're that much closer to a corrected jaw and a perfect smile! :)






































xoxo,
C

Update...

Hi All!
I've been under the radar these last few weeks...I've been so busy with work and visiting my freinds on the weekends! Hope everyone had an amazing New Year! New Year for me was a success! Celebrated with 7 other friends and had the time of our lives! I live in Washington state and the winters here are hard! Snow, ice, no sunshine, the whole 'winter' experience! I must admit I love it...but at times I just want to feel the warm breeze run through my hair...San Diego was just that! Nice 72-75 degrees the whole time I was there! It was just amazing to think that back home it was no warmer than 30 degrees! Coming back after a week was quite an adjustment!

Part of the group on NYE:










While on vacation I broke one of my front hooks that supports the small tiny rubber bands I wear at night time! So I went ahead and pulled the other one off with my tweezers...It would have looked way too funny if I didn't...plus, one hook wasn't going to do me any good I would have to get both replaced! These small hooks/rubber bands are supposed to allign my bite...I'm like 1 cm away from having them all perfectly meet! I swear that before I got braces my front teeth met with my bottom teeth when I would bite down...but all of a sudden they didn't and I had to get the hooks/bands.
When I came home from vacation, I called my ortho and booked an appointment for that same day. It took no more than 10 mins to get my hooks replaced! That night I wore my bands and then next morning my teeth were killing me! They hurt so bad :( Must have been because I hadn't worn them for about 5 days. Amazing how one day can set you behind!

I go in to see my ortho on Feb 1st...I'm excited to go in. I guess I'm excited every time because it means I'm one step closer to getting this grill off my face! It also means that the closer I am to getting my bands changed the closer I am to being able to have MUSTARD!!! I absolutely love mustard and before my bedazzles I used to have it all the time! Post-Grill...I've had mustard 3 times! :( I can't have mustard because it stains my clear bands! Turns them yellow, and frankly that's the last thing I need! It's bad enough to have braces...but to have yellow, musty, gross looking ones: Worse! So I wait until the night before I'm getting my bands changed to indulge in mustard! LOL

I hope when I go in he tells me I no longer need to have the hooks on my front teeth. Because one: I don't like them, two: They hurt! and three: I just don't like them!!! OK...enough of me complaining! LOL

Here's some pics of my baby...it just makes me feel better to look at his sweet face! (I know I sound like a crazy dog lady!) LOL

Getting home from the groomers:











He was too cold after the groomer choped most of his hair off! He had to wear his little shirt to keep him warm!













xoxo,
C

First Christmas with the grill!

My very first Christmas sporting the grill! Must admit sitting down and eating Christmas dinner was a bit intimidating. I couldn't eat many of the things on the table because either one: I couldn't (like corn on the cob) or two: I didn't want to risk it (Greens and red wine) But other than that I stuffed my face with other goodies, turkey, duck (kinda), potatoes, stuffing, tamales! Tons of other choices. Kept my talking to a minimum because I didn't want to scare anyone with food in my gear! And of course embarrass myself! LOL In one of my earlier posts I joke about wearing the green and red bands on my grill for the holidays...good thing I didn't follow through!

xo,
C

A lot to be thankful for!

I usually don't blog about anything on here besides my braces, but I wanted to take a moment to blog about what could be the best thing that has ever happened to me on Christmas.

This morning I woke up, fed Bug, and got ready to drive to the local mission to volunteer for their yearly Christmas dinner. I showed up not knowing what to expect, since I don't usually volunteer unless I 'have' to do it for some reason or another.

This year has been different, I promised myself I would make more of an effort to help others when needed, not spend as much money on silly things, don't talk bad or judge others, go to church more often, be more understanding, and overall become a better person.

When I arrived I signed in and took a spot next to the other volunteers. There were about 20 other volunteers, many families, and groups of people. On the other hand I was standing there alone. The organizer was asking for volunteers to do specific tasks...I quickly rose my hand and volunteered to serve desert.

As I was waiting for 1 o'clock to hit, a little boy about 8 or 9 ran up to me and said 'Can we eat yet?' 'No, not yet in about 10 minutes'. He ran off and said 'OK Thanks!' I stood there watching him run away and I couldn't help but feel extremely sorry. A feeling of sadness covered my body. I thought to myself 'God, when I was 8 or 9 I could care less about the food...all I wanted were my presents and I wanted to make sure I got exactly what I asked for' I guess I never really thought about food because I just automatically assumed it would always be there. I mean as an 8 year old girl, I didn't think about those things all I was thinking about were my toys and when the next sleepover was going to be.

1 o'clock came around and I was on a mission! I wanted to make sure everybody had at least one piece of desert. Pecan pie, cupcakes, pumpkin pie, apple pie, and chocolate cake was on the menu for desert. It was sweet potatoes, ham, mashed potatoes, carrots and green beans for the main course. Salads, coffee, milk, water was also available.


When the doors opened and the ok was given, people swarmed in. Lots and lots of people. I'd say about 200. People of all races, ages, kids, seniors, males, females, they were all there. People got up when they were finished and their spot was quickly taken by someone else.

After an hour and a half, and almost breaking the coffee machine people were starting to clear out so I started cleaning tables off. About 5 minutes later, in through the door came a man and a young girl maybe about 10. I'm guessing it was a father/daughter. Volunteers imediatly seated them and handed them plates of food. A family who was also there volunteering asked if they could have their daughter (about the same age as the girl who walked in with her father) take desert. I nodded my head stood back and watched the little girl take two plates of desert to the table. I watched the two girls side by side. One wearing jeans, warm boots, and a Christmas turtle neck. The other wearing old jeans, flip flops and an old worn out jacket.

I wonder what went on through those girls minds? Did they even see what I was seeing? Could they tell they were from two complete different worlds? I don't know, but that moment made it clear to me, that life isn't always fair...and that I need to be grateful for every little thing that I have...because Yes...I sometimes complain! Why? Why do I do that? I have everything in the world...EVERYTHING! What else could I even dare to ask for? For crying out loud I drove there in my BMW!!! How much more selfish could I become?

Now that I've had some time to look back this experience has not only made me a more grateful person, but I honestly believe this was a life changing experience. I mean, how could this not change a person? Looking at people...human beings, that don't have a home to go to for Christmas and cook a warm meal makes me truly thankful for everything that I have. I have a home, a warm bed to sleep in, a job, food, friends and family

<--- This folks is the TRUE meaning of Christmas. Next time you get the urge to yell at someone in traffic, complain about not being able to have the latest and greatest game for your xbox, or getting annoyed at the young girl behind the counter because she can't get your order right...think about it twice. You don't know what kind of struggle people are going through. If you can eat, breath, walk, talk, have a warm bed, can put your own socks on consider yourself blessed and be thankful for what you have. Thank God for all of the little things He has given you and go out there and try to become a better person. The inner peace that you find within yourself when you do it...is the best feeling in the world.


Hope you all have a blessed Christmas and a very happy New Year!


xo,
C

Happy 6 month Anniversary!

Not yet...but only a few days away! On Christmas Eve I will also be celebrating my 6 month anniversary with braces :) Braceversary! It's crazy how fast time goes by! Thank goodness!

I will be spending New Years in San Diego with a few friends! Super excited to get some time off...maybe squeeze in a little shopping too! That's right...the grill and I will be traveling and going through airport security! Wish us luck! :)

Hope everyone has a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!



xo,
C & Bugsy!