One Day...

One day, I'll get to bite into a delicious steak or sandwich. But, as I found out yesterday, it won't be for a while. Yesterday I was driving and found that something just didn't feel right in my mouth where all my surgery occurred. I was right. After checking things out, I found that one of my grafts had come off.

REALLY???????

So, after calling the Periodontist, we found that there is nothing that can be done and that the doctor isn't in till Tuesday. (which is when my scheduled appointment is anyways) I'm suppose to go in to get my stitches removed, but due to trying to remove them last week, I have swelled up a bit again and that hasn't gone away as of yet, so I don't know what they'll do.  They said over the phone yesterday that they'll have to just redo that tooth. Yep, you heard me, MORE SURGERY.

I went to bed last night with a pit in my stomach and this morning woke up with a boulder in my stomach. This has been such a traumatic situation and i'm so ready to be done with it. With this additional surgery will come the same diet i've pretty much been on since my wisdom teeth came out mid December. Very soft foods and liquids.  Wahoo!  I'm pretty annoyed.

If it wasn't for the fact that my blog has become my journal, I wouldn't spend this much paper space on this annoying subject, but for posterity sake, you all get to endure my rants. :-) Apologies all around.

A little Rant...

So, I had to call my regular dentist this afternoon, on the way to my periodontist.  I had to call him because I have something sharp sticking out of my gums where my wisdom teeth were removed a month ago. My sister in law who is a hygienist, said it was most likely a piece of tooth that broke off or a root that is stuck. Awesome. It hurts. So, I made an appointment to go in and have that checked.

Back to the part where I was on the way to the periodontist. He checked my stitches and couldn't take some of them out due to all the crazy swelling I had. He also told me that my swelling and bruising (which extends all the way down my neck) is something he has NEVER seen before. Awesome. My kids call me shrek. Nate told me I shouldn't go to church yesterday because my face was SO green. Also, due to the swelling, I have to go back in next week once the swelling is (hopefully) completely gone so he can TRIM the gum graft. Apparently, the graft moved a bit so they have to do some cosmetic stuff to my gums. Awesome.  

I am still on the soft foods and liquids diet for a few more weeks at least. That includes the fact that I cannot bite into anything. At. ALL.    

I just want to go to Outback and have a steak already!!!!!!!!!   I'm STARVING for some REAL food.

A Little Slice Of Heaven

I was privileged this past week to take pictures of my new little nephew. He is absolutely adorable. I can't get enough of him.

Love you baby Benson!

Jay Leno Called...

"He wants his chin back!" was amongst the many jokes I heard this past week. Let me explain.  I went in for Gum Graft Surgery last Tuesday the 10th.  I've known about the fact that I needed this sugery for about 5 or 6 years now but have been dreading it.  Finally it came to the point when I needed to just bite the bullet and do it.

Note: Graphic information (if you don't want to hear it, skip the next sentance)

Basically, they had to scrape the gums away from my bottom teeth, then insert some donor flesh, yes, I said donor flesh, then sew it all back together after stretching my gums up over the new insert. 

I was awake the entire time and even though I couldn't really feel much, I could see it and HEAR it. I almost threw up a couple times and I swear that if I were to do it again, heaven for bid, I would pay the $500 cash and let them knock me out.

They hooked me up to a heart monitor, put scrubs over me, pulled my hair up in a shower cap type thing and put surgical glasses on me. Then, the surgery began. They shot me up about 20+ times in the mouth to numb it and off they went. Pretty sick.

By the time they were done, I was numb and a little swollen. They gave me two prescriptions. One for an antibiotic and one for Ibuprofen 800.  When I got my wisdom teeth out, it was the only pain killer that didn't make me sick.  It doesn't work fabulously, but it takes the edge off. I got a bottle of some cleaner they wanted me to dab with a q-tip in the effected area and some ice packs.  

Thanks to my sweet friend Megan for bringing my family dinner that night and to Megan and Kristi for my trashy magazines & flowers and to my mom for being here through this whole mess and helping me out at home. I'm blessed to be surrounded by awsomeness. :-)

That night, while putting the girls to bed, Addy swung around and whacked me right in the face. I'm not gonna lie, it hurt like no other.  I took a deep breath and continued with mommy duty.  The next morning, Hailey jumped on my lap, quickly leaned back on me and in the process threw her head right into my chin. Yep! That hurt too.  By the end of that afternoon, my face swelled up so big I couldn't talk. I did get some free ice cream out of it though.. the owner felt bad for the elephant woman in his yogurt shop. Why I went out in public, I don't know, other than that I promised the girls some ice cream. I should get the mom of the year award or something. 

That night, was excruciating.  I don't even know how to describe that night. I couldn't sleep, watched a couple things on Netflix with my Nook, tried to sleep, read a book, tried to sleep and something snapped. I was in so much pain and agony that I ended up in the shower...  at 3am.  I was shaking and had the water turned SO hot that my skin was bright red, but I was still shivering. Nate brought me some water and all I could do was cry. I didn't know what to do to make myself feel better and even worse, neither did Nate. He felt awful and I could see he was trying so hard to figure out what to do. I was really close to having him take me to the ER because I felt like my face was going to explode or get stretch marks or something. It was swelling so fast and so bad that I could feel my skin stretching and it was AWFUL!

Two days later, I ended up back at the doctors office. My swelling had gone down minimally, and it scared the doctor. He didn't expect it to be that bad and told me it was at a point of dangerous swelling due to trauma. He asked me to think back to the day of surgery and try to remember if I had bumped my face AT ALL.  After I told him about the incidents with my kiddos, we quickly realized that the extreme swelling had a reason. Later that day, I had to run to the store for some groceries and Addy was in the cart. She stood up and elbowed me right in the chin AGAIN! Seriously???

Now, i'm down to a fat chin and lots of green and yellow coloring. My entire chin and neck turned into a bruise. My lips are completely purple and I look like a circus freak! Good times.

Day 1

Right after surgery

Day 2

The next morning

That afternoon 

(after my nap)

Day 3

 (this is what I would look like with a horrible lip job)

I was so swollen, I couldn't close my mouth. Look how huge my bottom lip is in comparison to my top lip. EWE!

Day 4 

(Bruising begins)

Day 5 

(swollen + green chin & neck = attractive)

It's a pretty scary sight, it's true, and it hurts like no other, but at least I don't look like as much like an elephant anymore. :-)  It can only get better, right?

Welcome Home!!!

Carmen and Ben were finally able to bring little Benson home on Friday the 13th of January.  We were all too excited to see him again, that we had to go be part of the welcome party. Besides, Nate hadn't had the chance of meeting the little guy yet, so he was super excited as well.  The girls had seen him through the window at the hospital, but this was their first time holding him and they were SO excited.

More on why I look like a freak on the next post.

Aunt Rachelle

Uncle Brett

Uncle Nate

Vegas Cell Phone Pictures

The girls and I took off for Vegas last week. If you read my previous posts, that would be obvious. Aside from waiting for little Benson to arrive, we spent some time in the Sun.  One day we decided to go meet my dad for lunch. My dad works for Otis Elevator and is stationed at the Palms Hotel. This hotel houses one of the very best Mexican Restaurants, Garduños.  It's great because my dad knows all the cooks and they definitely take care of us when we are there.

After an amazing lunch, us girls (mom, Hailey, Addy and I) decided to go walk the strip a bit. We've never taken the girls down to the strip. In fact, WE never go down to the strip. Once upon a time, the strip went through a few years of being extremely family-friendly. Now it's back to it's old trashy self. Since my parents live there, we don't ever go to the strip. We are too busy doing other things when we visit. This time, I thought it would be fun to show Hailey my very favorite place on the strip, the Bellagio.  Across the street from the Bellagio is Hailey's favorite thing, the Eiffel Tower and the Paris Hotel.

waiting in line to ride to the top of the Eiffel Tower...

It was a pretty freaky ride to the top, all glass walls on the elevator, but the view from the top was breathtaking.

That night, I told my dad what we had done, and showed him the pictures. He proceeds to tell me he's actually worked on those elevators before and even CRAZIER, he has had to ride on the very top of the elevators before. He said when riding on the top, its all open and you feel the open air as you are riding hundreds of feet into the air. What the? Who in their right mind does that? I've heard a TON of crazy elevator stories over the years, but that made my stomach jump for sure.l

After the Eiffel Tower ride, we walked down in front of the Bellagio to enjoy the water show up close. When I lived in Vegas, I use to go there ALL the time with my friend Cassandra and we would just sit for hours and hang out enjoying music and the atmosphere.

The girls were in love with this crazy sparkly horse inside the lobby at the Bellagio.

Great Cell Phone Pictures, eh?

A couple nights later, we met up with my brother Jared and his family for dinner at my favorite restaurant, Sweet Tomatos.  The girls were so excited to see their cousins. They were pretty awful the whole time at dinner because of their excitement.

Preston, Marley & Addy

 

Hailey & Gavin

Baby Girl Macy

It was just a great getaway from the cold air. I'm glad I got to spend time with family and friends.

It's the perfect winter vacation.

More About Benson

Sunday, the 8th, I went back to the hospital to see Benson again only this time I took the girls with me, along with my mom and dad. We were all so excited to see him.  The adoption papers were signed Sunday morning and Carmen and Ben couldn't be happier.  I really am not sure I've ever seen Carmen so happy. Even though I was able to hold him once already, I figured we would just be seeing him through the window at the NICU, but the adults were all able to go in and snuggle his little cuteness. He was in the NICU due to a few spurts of Sleep Apnea, but he is now healthy and was discharged from the hospital yesterday, Monday the 9th.  

Hailey and Addy absolutely adore their Uncle Ben.

Everyone getting a little peak at the superstar.

Pure Joy

LOVE yawning pictures of babies

My favorite look of Carmen's... And Valerie's. :-)

All the girls present

I don't think I have many, if any, pictures of my two moms. 

Aren't they beautiful?

We are so glad that things went well this weekend and we are so happy to have Benson join our family.

He's the perfect addition.

Benson

Today I had the honor of meeting my new little nephew Benson.  Through the wonderful miracle of adoption, Nate's sister Carmen and her husband Ben are able to hold this little GEM and call him theirs. He is absolutely beautiful and precious.  I got to sit and hold him and love on him today for which I am so grateful. It's amazing how immediately you feel that family bond with him.  He was a whopping 19.5 inches and 9 lbs.  I am so excited and proud of Carmen and Ben for all their diligence and hard work in welcoming this little guy into the world and into our family. 

I can't wait till they get to bring him home and I can love on him more. I'm sure there will be more pictures to come soon, but for now....

So Sleepy...

Opened his eyes long enough for a photo-shoot with Aunt Tiff.

Congrats Carmen and Ben!!

Pumpkin Anyone?

My family has a tradition of making Pumpkin Pie Cake for Thanksgiving. Well, since we spent Thanksgiving alone, I didn't want to make a huge pan of it, since there is a lot that goes in to making it. So, instead I made it for Sunday dinner at my inlaws.  Ok, well, I went to the store, bought what I needed and made it. It looked beautiful, then, we had a little problem on the way to the oven...

I almost swore, I was so mad. Nate could tell, so he quickly ushered the girls upstairs for bath time.

After 2 rolls of paper towels, it was finally cleaned up and I was on my way back to the store to buy more stuff to make it again.

Why would I do that, you ask?

BECAUSE I WAS IN THE MOOD FOR IT

& 

I WAS GOING TO WIN

the pumpkin pie cake battle.

It turned out great for the next day.

Christmas Morning 2011

Christmas morning was the BEST!!!  I absolutely love Christmas morning at home. There's just something magical about being in your home with your tree and your stockings hung where they've been all month long, etc.  It was so fun to wake up and have our own little Christmas morning with our little ones.  We started off at about 6:45ish.  The girls came in our room to wake us up, but we were already awake.  I was getting myself ready for the day since we needed to leave extra early to get to church in Orem by 9am.  I came downstairs to turn on all the lights and get the video camera rolling.

See, when I was growing up, our stockings were STUFFED full.

 It was one of my favorite parts of present-opening.

Empty Plate and Note from Santa

There is nothing more magical than KIDS on Christmas morning. Nate and I agree that we are both more excited for them on Christmas than anything else.

Hailey's Santa gift she asked for was an Easy Bake Oven and 

Addy's was a Build-A-Bear Gift Card.

We met up with Nate's family at his parents ward for Sacrament Meeting, then on to the house to finish opening presents. A Johnson Family Tradition is to read the story of Christ's Birth before opening presents.  After that, it was INSANE with wrapping paper and cardboard covering the floor. It was such a fun mess.  Valerie made her famous waffles with ice cream and strawberries. I ate way too much, but it was so good.

We draw names among the siblings and also among the grandkids and this year we drew Carmen & Ben, Spencer and Regan.  After all the opening, everyone kind of went their own way, took naps, played with new toys, etc. It was a great day.