Just a few pictures

Little Otis, 9 weeks old. He is the cutest puppy EVER! (and the easiest puppy I've ever house trained, and there have been a few!

Beautiful Angela. Nuff said!

Dean with a lap-full of dogs!

Watching the Superbowl Commercials! ROFL

Just cuz

I just LOVE to watch kids sing!

The Palate Expander

The one they showed me looked just like this one.

See that TEENY TINY HOLE in the middle of it? That's where the key goes. I don't know that I can even get her mouth OPEN that far! LOL

See where the brackets go around the teeth? That's where they have to put rubber spacers in to make ROOM for the things to even GET around her teeth. I can't remember...those stay in for 1, 2 or 6 weeks. I've totally forgotten already. LOL

The key goes into that hole in the middle (which involves having her lay with her head on my lap, mouth open so I can get in there, and you turn it. Millions of kids do this every day, so it's not unusual. But new to us so a pain in the neck. There is NO WAY her dad will EVER do this, so that will slow the process down a bit.

Angela's mouth is SO TINY! They showed me her impressions, then the impressions of an average child her age. OMG! Her mouth was about half the size! And her teeth are all just crowded in there. We still don't know what we're going to do with the area that has no permanent teeth. So far the baby teeth are good and solid, but that could change as we expand her palate and there's more room for them to move. (cuz it's so crowded in there.) Some orthos will go straight to implants, then do the implant with the braces in place. Others prefer to leave the baby teeth as long as they'll stay, and allow them to keep the space open. Ours prefers the later. Why remove something now if that space will eventually be needed? Implants can't be moved, so let the baby teeth move around. It's possible they'll loosen with the braces. So, we're just going to kind of wait and see what they do. She said most likely at some point over the next couple of years she'll need to have implants put in. If it was just one tooth they wouldn't need to, but it's several teeth right next to each other, and above/below each other, and with nothing there the bone will collapse after a few years. Yeah, they said her articulation would go downhill big time (just what she needs.) but thankfully it's only for about 3 months.

Did you watch it?

So how many people watched the interview who said they were going to boycott it? NOT ME! 

How will you finish?

Even if you've NEVER watched a video on my blog, please watch this one. You'll be glad you did.

I am T-I-R-E-D

First, I sat up until 2:00 a.m doing absolutely nothing productive, except monitoring Angela who was VERY awake and talking all-night-long! So, I really had no sleep.

Then I took her to the orthodontist to go over Angela's care plan, and here it is:

March 3rd she goes into the dentist for a regularly scheduled cleaning, which works great since her last 2 teeth to come in can grow in the rest of the way. They're *almost* done. They're in, just have to come up further.

The following week we'll go in so they can put spacers between her teeth.

The week after that we'll go back to have the palate expander put on. This has to be cranked on once a day for a couple of months to widen her palate. This should prove to be interesting!

Once the weekly cranking is done, they will solidify the expander and leave it for a month so the new bone can firm up. 

When it's time for that to come off she'll get a different kind of thingy tthat looks regainer-is, but I don't remember how long that stays on. Once it's time for that tome come off, she'll  get her braces on. 

What a long process. They did warn me about swallowing difficulties with the expander in place. Lovely, Angela already has a compromised swallow, so I'm sure this will help just a ton! (was that dripping with sarcasm like I intended?)  We'll have to watch her really close for aspiration. Lovely!

That done she and I headed over to the Mall of America to get a one year pass for the park. This allows her PCA's to take her and, while it's expensive now, it will ultimately save me money, as they take her there a lot! I also need passes for the Children's Museum, the Minnesota Zoo, Underwater world, and Cascade Bay which is a waterpark near us. Her PCA's should have no trouble keeping her busy this summer!

So that's my day so far. The behavior specialist is due here in 1/2 hr. I don't know if I can keep my eyes open till she gets here. If I allow them to close I may never wake up! Then I have a PCA coming while I leave to take Roman to dog school. I'm thinking it would be a good night to call in sick for EVERYTHING and just go to bed early!

One year ago today

One year ago today Angela were in a spa (her first ever spa experience.) Getting beautified for her Make A Wish trip!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

What kind if kid were you?

This was both right and wrong. Anything it says about excelling in school, etc is WAY OFF BASE! Seriously, I don't know how I graduated from high school. It didn't have anything to do with my ability, but in my interest. I just hated school, it required too much energy and ambition, something i didn't have a lot of.

I had lots of friends, with two that were really close. None of my friends were "serious", and were all pretty out-going. I was extremely shy though, and would use my friends to get me through new social situations where I didn't feel comfortable.

You Were an Achieving Kid

When you were a kid, people often remarked on how mature you seemed. You acted quite adult. You excelled at school, and you actually enjoyed it to a large extent. No one had to ask you to do your homework. As a kid, you were probably a bit picky. You liked structure, schedules, and organization. You had trouble being friends with regular kids. You probably were only friends with other serious children.

What Kind of Kid Were You?

I'm boycotting Octuplet mom

So, she did it. She finally did an interview with Ann Currey, which will be broadcast on February 9th.  I'm sorry, but I just cannot support this woman. Not only is she nuts, but what the heck was the doctor who treated her thinking? And the other day she made a statement that she wants something like $2 million dolllars for a book deal and she wants a parenting show (something along the lines of "Supernanny".) What, because her oldest child is 7 she has tons of experience? I DON'T THINK SO! 

She says in the interview she was on disability because of a back injury that happened at work. (she was injured while working in a psychiatric unit.) But right after that is not only pregnant, but pregnant with EIGHT? She can't work, but she can carry EIGHT babies?

She's single an unemployed. Who do you suppose is paying for all those kids? The state of California is having enough problems paying for illegal aliens, I'm sure there are a few people ticked off about this one. Gee...to be 33, single with FOURTEEN kids, and living with Mom and Dad. What a wonderful role model for her kids! I just feel bad for the 14 innnocent victims! 

So, I'm boycotting watching the interview. How much did the Today show pay her for it? I think they need to loose ratings on this one. Anyone else care to join me?

\

Q & A time

 Ok, it question and answer time, so ask away!

Stitches

Don't worry, nobody here is getting stitches. I'm just trying to occupy my time while Angela is at the dance! LOL 

Earlier today my friend Bethany posted about an incident in their house last night, which reminded me about our experiences, so I thought I might as well blog about it! LOL

Lets go back to the time Noah amputated his finger. 

I was a very young (20) new mom, and about 4 months pregnant with #2. We were out at my sister's house in a rural area. Our toddlers were all playing in another room, but within our sight, when Noah started crying. It wasn't a "scream", but crying like he might be hurt.

I went to see what was wrong, and he was holding up his hand. I didn't even really look, just ran with him to grab a paper towel. By this time Noah WAS screaming. I lifted the paper towel to look at his hand and just about passed out. "OH MY GOD HE CUT IT OOOOOFFFF!"

"He cut WHAT off?" everyone yelled.

"He cut is finger OFF!!! OMG HE CUT IT OFFFFFF". By the time those words were out of my mouth, my sister, her husband, my husband Noah and I were already in the car. Except that a football game had just ended across the street and we couldn't even get onto the road. We were all arguing about what to do, while I was hyperventilating. Noah, on the other hand, was shocky and silent.

We got to the RURAL hospital, and because he was in shock Noah was brought back right away. Somewhere in there my sister called my mom to tell her what was going on. My mom was an hour away from where we were, and she was already in bed for the night. When I got on the phone she asked me, "Do you want me to come down there?" I looked around at all the people I had there with me already, and felt silly when I said "Well...I really want my MOM here, but..umm...I guess you don't really NEED to come."

Soon after, the doctor came out with Noah's xray. The growth plate was damaged, and he was going to need surgery to re-attach the tip of the finger. We were sent on to another hospital in the cities to meet a hand surgeon, so that the nerve endings could be saved. So, at 2:00 a.m. Noah was strapped into a papoose, given some anesthetic, and had his finger re-attached. He came out with a big 'ole turkey leg bandage on his hand, but by the next day you never would have known anything had happened to him. Noah, as a 21 year old adult, the finger nail still grows crooked, and he can't feel the tip, but other than that his finger functions fine.

And then there was the day Tyler got 90...yes NINETY stitches in his head. But I have to leave to pick up Angela now, so I'll post about that one later. ;-)

She's at the dance

Angela is at the dance, and she very politely put her hand up in a "talk to the hand" manner, and said, "Ok mom. You drop me off. I go to the dance. See ya later!" and took off running for the school gym.

I did go watch from the windows into the gym...just for a minute... and she was slapping her rear end as she danced. LOVELY!!!! 

I have to add though, that I was thrilled to death to see all the girls who came up to her individually and said hello, giving her one of those tween girl squeely hugs. What thrilled me was that they went up to HER to say hello. She gave a hug back, and said a nice hello, but I could see her eyes on the pizza line! 

Product Review: Acne Free

Years ago, when Proactive first came out, I wanted to try it for my son who was really having a hard time with Acne. At the time, Proactive cost $30, which was a lot of money for us back then. I was  new to the internet, and didn't feel safe buying anything online. At the same time, my skin was breaking out more than it did when I was 15! I always wanted to try Proactive on myself, but just never got around to doing it. 

Then last June I was in Walgreens, and saw Acne Free, and decided to give it a try. It comes with three bottles: Purifying Cleanser, Renewing Toner, and Repair Lotion.

Step 1: Wash face with Purifying Cleanser, and rinse well.

Step 2: Apply renewing toner, and allow to dry air dry.

Step 3: Apply Repair Lotion. (this can stay on under your make-up.)

At first I was a little worried. I started using it while on my Epic Journey, so I wasn't sure if my extremely dry and peeling skin was from windburn, or from the Acne Free, but it does say that your skin will be extremely dry for the first several days using the product. 

By the end of my 7 day trip, my face was not only completely clear, but the texture was starting to change as well! Three months later, Dean laid his hand on my face and commented how smooth my skin is lately. 

People, this stuff WORKS! 

Since I've started using it, there have been a couple of times when I've gone out of town and it at home. By the time I got home the difference in my skin was very noticeable! It's now become one of my "don't leave home without it" items. 

I do NOT know how it compares to Proactive. The one thing I do know is while staying overnight at my sister-in-law's I once used her proactive cleanser. (equivalent to my purifying cleanser.) Hers had a lot more exfoliating particles in it than mine has. Since then I've noticed that with Acne Free, how much exfoliating product is in the cleanser is VERY inconsistent. But, it still works well!

About 3 months ago I ran out of the toner, but still had a lot of the other products left so I didn't buy more. Within days I noticed another improvement in my skin! Hmmmmmm When it came time for me to buy another kit, I tried the toner again and my skin started breaking out that night, worse than it had in months. I no longer use the toner at all, and my skin is perfectly clear. Occasionally I get ONE blemish on my chin, but this is far better than what I used to have. When I do get a blemish, I put a dab of repair lotion on it and it'll clear up right away. (unfortunately I can't leave anything alone and tend to pick at things, making the problem worse. ) The large pores that used to be visible on my nose have all shrunk down to being invisible again. 

I will stay with this product for a VERY long time! The only thing I would suggest is if the company would sell the bottles individually. While the kit is supposed to be a 30 day supply, it takes me about 3 months go to through the cleanser, but only about 2 months to go through the repair lotion (it's a MUCH smaller bottle!) and I don't use the toner at all and get a little crabby that I have to buy it in order to get the other stuff.

So, to recap: AWESOME product for a low price, but packaging needs to change! (edited to add: After posting this, I found that you CAN buy the bottles individually online on the site linked above. YAY!) 

How do I become a fly?

Tonight is a first for Angela. The 6th grade dance! She's had "dances" at her elementary school, but parents were required to stay. They were more like a lot of silly kids jumping around and being...well...silly! (and Nate, if you're reading, you'll find I always use elipses inappropriately!)

But this is a REAL dance. Where you drop the kid off, and pick them up two hours later. She is going to have a BLAST, but I'm a little sad about the fact I won't get to see her having it. I'm thinking of sending her camera with her, but then she'll be busy taking pictures and not participating. One of her teachers will be there, maybe I can send the camera with her, and she'd take pictures for me? 

Oh, how I want to be a fly on the wall tonight! 

Tis the season for snot!

*Gross post alert!*

On Friday morning last week, Angela, who had gone to bed appearing 100% healthy, woke up quite stuffed up. Then she spent the weekend at her dads. 

Monday morning she woke up with snot plastered over her entire face, and all of her hair stuck in it as well. I told her, "Ohh you'll have to take a shower to get that off!" It was one of the very few times she willingly got into the shower. LOL She RAN to the bathroom yelling, "I have to get this snot offa my face! Eeeewwwww".

By Monday night the snot was green. I'm so very lucky that our pediatrician trusts my diagnosing abilities, and was willing to call in a prescription for her. While she's not yet 100%, at least she's not oozing snot anymore, which is a good thing since there's a school dance tonight!

Speaking of the test

Thanks for the reminder Alyssa!

Well, here's what happened. I needed 150 to get in, and I scored 149. Can you believe it? I scored 89% on the writing portion, but only a 48 on the math. The math score is no surprise to me really. 

I called my admissions contact and he said there was another guy who tested the same day, and got the exact same score. (hmmm was he sitting next to me?) He came back the very next day and re-tested, and scored a 179. It would sure be nice if I could do the same thing! Even if I get a couple more of the writing questions right, I'd be eligible. But, remember only the top 20 scores of those who want to get into this program are accepted, so the higher my score the better. 

I'll be retaking the test on Tuesday of next week. Of course, right after I took the test I cleaned my office, and threw away the practice test. So, I'll need to get a new copy of that, and find someone who has time to teach me AGAIN how to do the math! I'm thinking it should be Monday night, right before I go test! 

Meet Otis

Isn't he a doll baby? (and no, this has nothing to do with my previous post.)

Something I know that you don't

I know something that I'm not supposed to tell yet, but it's going to drive me CRAZY! I promised Dean I wouldn't tell yet. Not anyone. Not. Even. One. Person. Not. Even. My. Siste. I figure if I drop little hints, it's not REALLY like telling, right? I mean if someone GUESSES what I know, I can't help that now, can I? 

How does this make sense?

The movie "Twilight" was a huge hit, and the sequel is much anticipated by millions. But it strikes me funny how the casting for the sequel was done. You see, they needed "Native American" actors, but the casting call was held in Vancouver, CANADA. Ummmm is "America" the same as "Canada"? Or were they thinking "North America" as in the continent? I guess it doesn't really matter, as they received more submissions than they will ever be able to get through, but still...this made on sense to me! But, then again, that's just me.

That said, who saw the movie? From those who've seen it, I've heard nothing but great things about it. I chose NOT to see it, because I don't agree with some of the things, not so much in the first book, but particularly in the 3rd. I don't mind it FOR ME, because I'm an adult, but I don't know that I'd want me tween reading the 3rd book! 

If you could choose

If you could wake up tomorrow with a new talent, what would you want it to be? 

I would want to be able to be an artist of some type. I wish I could draw or paint something that would truly move people. Something that would make people ask, "Did YOU paint THAT?" 

I also wish I could cook. It's another talent I was born without. LOL So, what would YOU choose?