Having Wisdom Teeth Doesn't Make You Smart!

I'm not a big fan of pain. Realistically, I don't think anyone strives to be in pain. Of course, some handle it well, and others not so well. I'm of the impression that I usually can take the pain fairly well, but I was still scared when it finally came time to get my wisdom teeth removed. (NOTE: Just because I can take the pain well, doesn't mean I don't complain about the pain. Wait, maybe that means I don't take the pain well...whatever.)

It had been several years since they grew in, and I had been putting off the procedure for about three when I finally ran out of excuses, and the dentist scheduled them to come out. I'm not going to lie to you, I was terrified.

Pain...metal pulling on my tooth...the cracking, the breaking, the suction, the pain. What it I got dry socket?? I nervously smiled at the receptionist as she gave me a reminder card.

"Don't worry," she said, "I just had mine out a month ago, and it was fine. They'll give you the Nitrous, and it won't put you out, but it'll make it so you won't even care what's happening."

Even though I wanted to be reassured by that, I wasn't. I still feared the extraction. When the time came, I had called up all of my courage, and I entered without showing my fear. I was going to conquer it head on, to hell with the pain!!

I watched a video on oral care and the doctor numbed my mouth. They put the Nitrous on me. Amazingly enough, the receptionist was right...I found that I just didn't care what was happening. The dentist came in, and quickly yanked the first one out. I couldn't believe it was that easy!! The second one required him to rotate his pulling motion in a circle. After punching me in the face about 10 times with the circular motion, the second tooth came out.

"Halftime," the dentist said. I closed my eyes and smiled.

The third tooth broke, but I still didn't care. After a little drilling and some work, it was gone. The last tooth broke as well. But there was no pain. In the whole procedure, there was no pain. I feared that it would come, once the Nitrous wore off.

But, alas, it did not. I was eating chicken noodle soup that very night. By the next day, it was Mac and Cheese and mashed potatoes. On the third day, I took Becky to Red Lobster for her birthday. The only fear remaining was getting food in the gaping holes where my teeth once were. Now, only a month later, the holes have closed for the most part. I still have the occasional bit of food to rinse out, but nothing major (I remember, early on, rinsing a full mac and cheese noodle from one of the holes!!)

And, most importantly, there was no pain!!

June 28th

Welcome back to a Special Edition of Extreme Home Makeover!! Watch as we transform this ordinary office, into something extraordinary!!

(CLICK ON ANY PHOTO TO ENLARGE)


(Before: Corner of the office shows the dark blue bottom wallpaper below, and the green paint above a dark, brown chair rail. NOTE: For all you ghost theorists out there, Becky just swept, hence the inclusion of "orbs.")


(Before: Just down from the last picture, you can see the rest of the wall and the old CD rack on the right side...)


(Before: Here is a frontal view of the CD rack and wall.)

Now the "demolition" begins. I use the term loosely, as the only thing we tore down was the wallpaper. (NOTE: By "we" I mean my mom and I. The homeowner, Becky, was not allowed to participate in this project. Hey, wait, I'm a homeowner, too!! I guess this is less Extreme Home Makeover, and more While You Were Out, except Becky knew about it...whatev.)

Here are some pics of the walls sans wallpaper. I kinda dug the pink at the bottom, but alas, it didn't fit in with the designers scheme, so we had to paint over it.







As you can see from the below photos, the job was coming along nicely, once we added the primer to the walls.






(Our Super Supervisor, D-Bear, watches the action from the open window.)

And then, the paint went up.







We added some border, and a few accessories, and voila!!! We actually colormatched the blue from a bib, and the green from an outfit to get the colors (both were a part of the Carter's John Lennon Collection.) Most of the below items actually came from the Carter's John Lennon collection.


(After: Corner of new nursery includes crib, wall hanging, quilt, rug, and huge turtle.)


(After: Close up of the wall hanging.)


(After: Close up of the quilt.)


(After: Here is a photo of the bookcase which houses some of the stuff we've acquired. Detailed photos at the bottom of this post if interested!)


(After: We framed some John Lennon artwork up, to add to the John Lennon feel in the room.)


(After: This is a poem that I wrote that Becky framed along with a few ultrasound photos.)


(After: Entry Rug.)


(Photo of the walker, stroller, and bouncy seat.)


(Photo of the Pack-n-Play.)


(Photo of the lamp, night light and diaper stacker. The bear just matches, but is not a John Lennon. Still cute!!)


(Two Diaper Bags.)


(Bookends, pacifiers, booties, and elephant rattle.)


(Heirloom Pillow)


(Music playing Elephant.)

For those of you not in the know, and haven't figured it out yet, Becky and I are expecting our first child on June 28th. We are having a boy!! We are super excited, of course, but still a bit nervous. What better to shake off those baby nerves than lots of presents via a baby shower, am I right?!? If you are interested in attending, or just want to send us cash or, you know, whatever, let me know!!

(PS, I'm only kidding about the gifts and cash and stuff...but Becky's not.)