So I have my braces on! Woohoo!
Without getting into too much detail here, just know it went well.
I have posted a few YouTube videos detailing my experience.
I did NOT edit the first video…I will go back and correct that this weekend. But I did get a chance to edit the other videos. So I apologize in advance for the two encounters with my children while filming.
Questions and comments are always welcome.
I have a few upcoming book giveaways so stay tuned!
Book lovers, please excuse these personal blog posts covering my journey with braces. Unless, of course, you are interested!
A few months ago I committed to correcting my teeth. Many never would have thought that my teeth were a sensitive subject of mine but they are and have been from a very young age.
Take these school portrait pictures for example.
Up until 4th grade I had a massive cheese going on. 5th grade I was like, “nope, not happening again this year”; maybe the crazy vest made up for it though? Couldn’t find my 6th grade picture but I was back to a big toothy smile in 7th grade with my little sister Jennifer. By then I seemed to have grown into my large smile but still had issues with showing too much gum.
I have since mastered that issue by controlling just how much I smile. That is not fun and no one should feel like they need to limit their smile for fear of showing too much gum or funky teeth but we still do. I am 31 and I have had enough with feeling bad about my teeth and smile.
Many people have vocalized their confusion as to why I think I need braces. “Your teeth are fine.” they say. The simplest answer is because I do. 😛 I need it for myself. It is not a want, it is a need. I need it for my emotional health. Yes, there are also physical health benefits as well such as correcting my bite. I also have a slight issue with TMJ that braces will help fix once my bite is realigned. I also have overcrowding on top and bottom, which cause the hated issue of food continuously getting stuck in my teeth causing a whole other issue I hate dealing with in public. But mostly I need to be able to feel comfortable with smiling. I need to feel good about my teeth. Because right now I do not.
The orthodontist I selected was based on the location of offices and word of mouth. Dr. Toothman of Toothman Orthodontics is based in Frederick Maryland but also has an office in Hagerstown. They offer a variety of orthodontics but I have selected to go with the Damon System utilizing the Damon Clear brackets on my top 6 front teeth and the metal Damon brackets on the remaining teeth. I initially wanted to do Invisalign but since they are removable I decided I did not want to potentially waste my money because I am a known quitter.
I plan to do vlogs (video blogs) to update my progress with the Damon braces. I hope to start them after my braces are put on and monthly or so afterwards.
My braces go on Friday, January 09, 2015 at 8:30 am. I am excited!
Here are my before braces pictures. Click to see a larger picture! Wish me luck!
Today I went and got 10+ inches of my hair cut off!
I’m super excited that I get to donate my hair to Locks of Love though!
Here’s a super short video slide show of before, during and after photos!
To all the mother’s out there, Happy Mother’s Day! I hope you had a great day spending it as you wished. Hopefully that was with your children surrounding you if they’re at home or at least spending some quality time with them.
Today I had a great day with my two beautiful children and my amazing husband of almost 10 years! I couldn’t have asked for a better day.
I stopped by my parents house and spent a couple hours with my mom just catching up. We live in the same town and you’d think we saw each other a lot more than we actually do. We both live very busy lives working full-time and taking care of our families. I’m just glad to be able to take the time to visit when it’s most important.
Hello my lovely followers!
I need to write up my current In My Mailbox, only got a few books so no big deal. I’ll try to do that tonight.
Any who, I’m posting today to let you know that I’ve created a new blog!
Yes, reading is my passion. But do you know what else I enjoy doing? SHOPPING! Trying the newest and coolest products!
Therefore, I decided to create a Blogger blog dedicated to just reviews of products (read: anything that can be bought and used) I’ve used, either by purchasing, borrowing, or promotional copy.
Cents and Sensibility is up and running. I went back to some of my Amazon.com reviews and copied them over. I have a bunch more product reviews to transfer over but it’s been slow going.
I also have quite a few recent purchases I want to feature too.
Today’s review is of Trend Micro’s Titanium Maximum Security software.
I’d be honored if you’d hop on over there, read a review or two, comment, and follow me via Google Friend, Twitter or even Facebook, all 3 would be amazing! I don’t have a blog button yet so please follow the below link!
I realized that I haven’t posted about my little man for quite a while now!
He’s 5 months and 2 weeks old today.
Thought I’d compare the last 3 months of pictures, even if he’s not smiling!
Such a cutie!
Here are some from yesterday!
I’ll be working on my current In My Mailbox post shortly! I’ve been slacking.
Goodness it’s been forever since I’ve updated you guys! I have a few reviews written, they need formatted, so I’ll be sure to do that soon. I have at least one blog tour coming up and a giveaway so stay tuned!
Obviously by the title of this post you’re here to see some pictures of my newborn son, Riley Shane. He made his appearance just minutes after Easter Day. My water broke around 11:30 am on Easter, April 24, but we had a whole day’s worth of awesome to attend to and I wasn’t having contractions, nor was I Strep B positive so we went about our day.
Some people, mainly women that have had children before (mother-in-law Kim) thought I was crazy for not going to the hospital ASAP but I knew I wasn’t progressing and from my first birth knew it would be at least 6 hours before anything major happened and that it was safe to just hang out with family and friends before heading to the hospital.
So, on to my sister’s Easter Egg Hunt we went. Madison had some fun, we had a few bites of food, well hubby and Madi did, I was holding out for dinner with hubby’s dad’s family. 🙂 We left there and I was comfortable, dripping a bit but comfortable. We dropped Madison off with hubby’s mom because we knew we’d proceed to the hospital from the dinner.
The dinner was great. I told myself to not eat too much because I knew I’d probably get sick at some point of the labor, and I did, but it wasn’t terrible.
We arrived at the hospital at about 5:00 pm. I was given Pitocin because I wasn’t contracting and they start to get worried if you’re not in labor within 6 hours of your water breaking. At about 9:00 pm I was in some pretty bad pain and they started to get me ready for my epidural. I requested some IV drugs to hold me over until the epidural was given. Stadol is my new friend.
I have no idea what time the epidural was actually given. I remember being so hot right before it was given and sweating profusely, so much so that the EKG pads wouldn’t stick to my chest and spray adhesive was used on those as well as the sticky tape that holds the epidural in place. The epidural was amazing. It worked so well that I couldn’t feel my entire right leg. I couldn’t move it to save my life. I had to ask several times during pushing for them to adjust it, the nurse was holding that leg and would put it down during contractions in the stirrup things but I could feel it wasn’t in there right. Any who, I only pushed through 4 contractions and Riley was born at 12:17 am on April 25, 2011. He weighted 7 lbs. 9.3 oz. and was 21 1/4 inches long. He cried so much when they were doing all they do to newborns I felt so bad for him!
It was such a great experience compared to my first labor and delivery. It’s amazing how much kind nurses, awesome doctors, and amazing drugs will do to make a situation so much better that you’d actually think about doing it all again. Only not really. 😉
Without further ado here are some of my favorite pictures. Please feel free to see the rest of Riley’s pictures in his Facebook album. And I just took this video a few minutes ago. He’s been doing a lot of grunting and throat clearing, or something, yesterday and today so I tried to capture the moment but instead I got him getting the hick ups, which he hates. Enjoy!
In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi of The Story Siren.
Here’s what I got this week! And some baby stuff too!
 What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen
416 pages, Viking Juvenile, (2011-05-10) $11.75 (Amazon.com) |
And I already have an author signed copy of this one, so look for a giveaway soon!
 Where She Went by Gayle Forman
208 pages, Dutton Juvenile, (2011-04-05) $9.99 (Amazon.com) |
 Retro Demonology by Jana Oliver
St. Martin’s Griffin, (2010-12-13) A Demon Trapper’s bonus story. |
I told you last week that I ordered some things from Old Navy, well they came! I ordered 3 sizes of the middle outfit because I LOVE it!
We also picked up his furniture and spent all day Saturday putting it together. I LOVE it. I can’t wait to buy some accessories to finish off his room. We have a few final touches to do: install closet doors, paint touch ups, paint the mural, install new ceiling fan/light combo, install new blinds, buy a soft rug for the middle of the floor and paint the door white. (Click image for larger picture.)
Kitty Cookie Monster approves. We’ve caught her sleeping in the crib several times already. The other cats have been checking this out too.
I’m 30 weeks pregnant today. I’m hoping to delivery the week of April 11th, but not the 14th cause that’s my birthday and I want him to have his own special day; so about 6-7 weeks to go! I’m so ready for him too!
What did you get this week?
I got a few books this week! And a few baby things too!
As always In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi of The Story Siren.
 Bloody Valentine (A Blue Bloods Book) (Blue Bloods Novel) by Melissa De La Cruz
160 pages, Hyperion Book CH, (2010-12-28) $8.99 (Amazon.com) |
 Angel in My Pocket by Ilene Cooper
288 pages, Feiwel & Friends, (2011-03-15) $11.23 (Amazon.com) |
A signed copy of this showed up on my door step with 5 little pins too! Thanks so much to Razorbill and Beth Revis!
 Across the Universe by Beth Revis
416 pages, Razorbill, (2011-01-11) $9.89 (Amazon.com) |
 Raising the Dead by Mara Purnhagen
pages, Harlequin Teen, (2011-01-17) |
I pre-ordered this one:
 How To Marry a Millionaire Vampire with Bonus Material by Kerrelyn Sparks
384 pages, Harper Collins, Inc., (2011-02-22) |
I took a trip to Target and got a few frog themed items. I’m afraid that the things I see available for purchase now will disappear before people buy us anything for him. So, yeah, I’ve spent quite a bit on some clothes. Just last night I ordered a lot from Old Navy because, I <3 Old Navy, and they have some adorable frog outfits! Here’s what I got at Target:
See? Too cute! I’ll be sure to post the Old Navy purchases in next weeks IMM!
You can see our current baby registries. We have one on Amazon as well as Target. Both are pretty much the same but Amazon has some other items because they have the Universal Wish List option, where you can put items from any website on your list. I like that feature. Plus Amazon is usually cheaper than Target.
We also picked up his changing table from JCPenney yesterday but haven’t put it together yet. We were supposed to take home his dresser too, but it arrived damaged so we asked them to ship it back and try again. They were really great to work with and gave us 10% off the replacement dresser. I wasn’t there to see the damage, I was busy taking a 3 hour Glucose Tolerance Test, which sucked and ruined my day. I planned to paint his room but I had NO energy to speak of after I got home from the test. So, we’ll be trying to paint his room today. 🙂
What did you get this week?