And the Winner is…

 …Matthew! Daniel was in braces for just over a year. Nathan’s took a year and a half. Matthew sped through his in 9 months. And today was liberation day! Kevin and Matthew stopped on the way home and my fifteen-year-old very happily gobbled up some Starburst. For him, it was like getting back a long lost, always reliable, food allergy aware best friend. He was also introduced to a super tasty new friend. Between the time he went into braces and now, the cross-contact info on hi-chews has changed and they are no longer a potential threat to his life. We were super excited when we discovered that a few months ago, and today was tasting day. Matthew loves them. Pretty much the only downside to the braces coming off is that it is going to take him a little time to adjust his embouchure so he can play his trumpet again. 😉

PAW: Repeat

Matthew liked the pikelets so much and was so grateful to finally be able to chew something that he requested the pikelets again for breakfast this morning. I remember the pain of having braces and was happy to comply. I was able to fine tune the recipe a bit and they were every bit as tasty, as well as a little fluffier, than they were yesterday. This is not the first time I’ve received a request to repeat a pancake recipe, but this is the first time I’ve made a particular pancake two days in a row. We are definitely going to have some new recipes to add to the pancake rotation when we tire of this round of experimentation.

PAW: Australian Pikelets

Unlike our awesome Polish apple pancakes two days ago, I can actually pronounce pikelets. Pikelets are a Australian mini pancake that is often eaten for a snack. Matthew’s teeth are a bit less sore today and I decided that they just might be tender enough for him to eat, so we made pikelets for lunch. The little bite sized beauties were very nice, delicious alone or with a bit of jam. Each one used only a tablespoon of batter, so they were perfect to pick up and eat with your fingers rather than a fork, which is the way they are traditionally eaten. I have a big two burner griddle and despite the fact that they cook very quickly, my kids were eating them faster than I could cook them. Matthew ate his own body weight in pikelets, but he has a great reason for that seeing that he is a fourteen-year-old boy who has not had a real meal since breakfast on Tuesday due to the brand spanking new braces. Kev and I loved them as well. I pretty much had to fight to get any, so the pikelets are definitely a success. They are also the cutest little pancakes ever. 😉

Pikelets Rating: five thumbs up, one attached to a blissfully full belly

 

PAW: Polish Racuchy Z Jablkami

As part of our pancake adventures, I’ve consulted the internet to learn how to pronounce the names of the various pancakes we’ve tried. I’m not an international linguist, but with google to help me, I can usually get at least a passable imitation. Today was the exception. No matter how many times I listened to the pronunciation, I simply could not wrap my brain, or my tongue, around the Polish “racuchy z jablkami.” I never intend to slaughter someone’s mother tongue, so I gave up my attempts and played the google translation pronunciation for my family.

The translation of “racuchy z jablkami” is “pancakes with apple.” They are a yeasted batter filled to bursting with lovely little chunks of apple. They are traditionally served with cream and dusted with powdered sugar. They taste a bit like a Utah scone and a bit like an apple fritter without all the sugar. All my crew, except for Matthew, enjoyed them immensely. In Matthew’s defense, he got his braces on yesterday and can’t really chew anything right now. We’ve made homemade dairy free ice cream twice this week and he ate some of the super tasty orange creamsicle ice cream for dinner. We did tuck some racuchy in the freezer so he can taste them when the pain has abated, and I suspect he will give them a positive rating. So while I can’t pronounce it, I can definitely cook it and I’m more than happy to eat it.

Racuchy Z Jablkami Rating: five thumbs up with one abstaining until a later date

What’s the First Naked-Teeth-Only Food to Eat Post-Braces?

Caramel apples, of course. 😊

How Do You Turn a Mediocre Day into a Spectacular Day?

You go to the dentist for your semi-annual cleaning and checkup and the dentist decides it is time for the braces to come off.

He’s teeth (and everything else) have come a long way!

August 2016

Here We Go Again

I have a very small jaw, small enough that even after wearing a palate expander for a year, I still had to have a full set of molars pulled because there was no space for them. Unfortunately, all of my children have inherited the small jaw. All three boys have finished with the palate expander. Daniel’s braces came off a year and a half ago. Nathan got his braces on today. And the countdown to completion begins…for him at least. I still have two children who will need orthodontic work done, unless Malia totally lucks out and has inherited Kev’s teeth and jaw. He never needed braces and didn’t have any wisdom teeth. Sometimes I feel a bit bitter about that. ;-)

Slimy Whites

After just over a year in braces (although he started orthodontic work when he was 6) Daniel is finally done! As all of you who endured orthodontics know, it is a huge deal! He has been anxious for the last month or so because the dentist started saying we were close to being done. Two weeks ago he got almost all the brackets off but had to wait for the retainer to arrive before the dentist pulled off the last four. After waiting another week, he was finally officially finished.

This has been a long journey for Daniel. He started what our dentist calls phase 1 of his orthodontics when he was six. Unfortunately for them, all my kids have inherited by small jaw. (Even after the palate expander, they had to pull my whole last set of molars because there was no space for them. I only have 28 teeth.) As Daniel’s permanent teeth started coming in there was no space and there were teeth coming in almost directly behind other teeth.

In addition, due to years of thumb sucking His two top front teeth were poking out at a pretty significant angle. When his jaw was closed, you could stick a finger up in between his top teeth and his bottom teeth. Our dentist was afraid that if he fell he would break off both his front teeth so he was anxious to get started in order to prevent bigger problems.

So here is what the last seven and a half years have done for his smile:

That’s one handsome kid with a great smile. When asked how it feels, Daniel will tell you that it no longer feels slimy. And he’ll be able to really enjoy corn on the cob this summer.

Another perk: we finished paying for the braces in the same month that they came off. That’s a definite bonus. However, we’ve told them to keep billing us every month because as soon as Nathan’s permanent teeth finish coming in he will be ready for his braces.