Swelling and Spring Break

I know that many of you, my few, faithful readers, have been waiting during my long absence to see how my teeth extraction went. I did take a couple of pictures, but they're not as gruesome as I was expecting. But that could be a matter of opinion. Here is a before and after sequence:
Before

After

If you look closely, you can see the bloody drool lines. Gross. And what's up with my lopsided eyes in the before shot? Do I always look like that? Anyway, this is a disclaimer to anyone who is squeamish because I am going to describe the procedure in all it's local anesthetic glory. If you don't want to read about it, feel free to skip ahead to the next picture.
So, the whole process ended up taking much longer than I expected. Just waiting for all the anesthetic to kick in took forever. I sat through an entire episode of The Price Is Right, a whole Law & Order: SVU, and two Ten Years Youngers before they actually started drilling and cracking. Being all numb but being totally awake was weird. I was really paranoid about accidentally biting my tongue off. I'd test it with my teeth knowing that I could bite all the way through and not feel it. Creepy, eh. Plus, I was drooling all over the place. After a while, I stopped worrying about it. I'm sure they've seen worse than a little drool on the chin.
Anyway, right as the second Ten Years Younger was wrapping up and A Baby Story was starting, they began. It didn't hurt at all, but it messed with my mind because they were obviously drilling and tugging and pulling and what not. The oral surgeon was this eccentric old guy who would warn me when I'd be about to feel "some pressure." Which was nice of him, except that I know that teeth were being pulled out. They were really good and quick though and I never saw a single fragment of tooth. I barely even saw any blood. Just a little splatter on the assistant's glove. Probably the worst part was when the surgeon would be sticking a weird tool in my mouth and say, "It's just like rice krispies. You like crunching?" crunch. crack. crunch. I would like to make it clear to everyone that the cracking of teeth does not really sound like rice krispies. It was just such a strange sensation to be fully aware that you should be feeling pain but you're not. Anyway, it all went smoothly. Apparently one of my roots was close to being locked around the nerve, which would have been bad. He warned me that I might feel numb there for a while, but I didn't, so I'm assuming that means he did a good job.
On the way home, I was feeling fine, so I suggested to my dad that we drop by the Asian food store. Except I had kind of forgotten that my cheeks were big and that I had gauze crammed in my mouth. I tried to keep my face hidden in the store, but I'm pretty sure they all knew. Then, I got back in the car and my dad's like "Uh, you're bleeding." Really, I was drooling, but it was really bloody. Gross. So then I figured I should probably take it easy. The rest of the day consisted of changing my gauze (which tastes gross) and waiting for the anesthetic to wear off so I could stop worrying about my tongue. I was never told that I would drool bloody saliva onto my pillow as I slept, so I might have ruined a pillowcase.
I think that's pretty good for details.
Here are the things I have learned:
1. Gums taste gross. I kept thinking there must be some gauze left in or something because I'd taste that weird dentist feeling. Then my dad said it's probably my gums. Gross.
2. The recovery has taken longer than expected because a) I am older than your average wisdom tooth extraction victim, or b) People have rosy recollection about their own recovery as a teenager. For example, it has now been 15 days and I still cannot open my mouth all the way. I keep working on it, and I am making progress, but I didn't expect that. Seven days after the procedure, my mouth was still clamped enough that I had a lisp, couldn't smile, and couldn't fit a peanut M&M between my teeth.
3. The pain that I experienced (and I definitely did after I stopped being numb) was not from the gaping, bloody holes in the back of my mouth. All the rest of my teeth ached like crazy and gave me a major headache. Why? Were my teeth moving and enjoying the newly created space? Was it just jawbone trauma? I don't know. Oh, I also had green bruises for over a week. Just in time for St. Patrick's day.
4. An obscene amount of food gets stuck back there. I still rinse at night and continue to be amazed at what was hanging out. Gross.
Alright. I'm done now.


Before all the bloodiness, I was able to meet week-old baby Thomas. He was a cute, big baby who didn't cry much. The one time I remember him crying, it upset Dane enough that he kept screaming. That was funny. But Dane loves his new little cousin. I'm sure one day Thomas will teach Dane how to fly a remote control plane and Dane will teach Thomas how to wriggle out of a half nelson or something. It'll be fun to see their personalities develop.
Also, for my last meal of solid foods for a while, we went to Ted's. (That one's for you, Kristen.)
Three days after I got the teeth out, we headed out for a drive to Utah. I was kind of miserable. The pain medication made me kind of sick and then I would also get carsick. Blech. That was not fun. But Dane was a pretty good little traveler, and no one seemed too bothered by how it would take me three times as long as everyone else to finish my meals.
In Utah, Dane was happy to see his Daddy again and snuggled with him for longer than he probably ever has. After that, he pretty much just reveled in all the attention from Jiichan and Baachan. He loved to play outside in the nice weather. He blew bubbles with Jiichan,

Got stuck in the splits,

And tried on Baachan's boots (backwards).

We also visited Gardner Village and got a few cute pictures


(doesn't my dad look super skinny?)

We visited a couple of quilt shops, and my parents got me some pretty fabric for some curtains in our living room, so stay tuned for those. I'm excited to get them up! Rika also got a whole quilt top put together, and we got it all ready to be quilted in the car. She should send me a picture to post it.
Here is Dane modeling a diaper cover that my friend made for baby Thomas:

If any of you are interested, here is a link to her etsy shop.
We also had a great time at Kenji's junior recital, where he did a great job. And we did a great job with the food. It was yummy.
Then, all too soon, the week was over, and it was time to say goodbye.





We're so glad we got to spend so much time with them. Dane especially misses Jiichan and Baachan. Thanks so much for driving all the way out and for all the fun stuff we did. We can't wait to see you again!