Hip Hop 5K Erie

     I'm excited to say that I've been away for a variety of exciting reasons; planning a 5K, prepping for my little sister's wedding, buying our first home and planning vacation.
     You read that right! The Hip Hop 5K is coming to Erie, PA! It's this coming weekend but it's not too late to donate or sign up to participate! Any donation helps and just think, if 50 people were to donate their $5 coffee for just one day that would be $250! If they rounded their donations up to $10 that would be $500! You get the point, small amounts add up quickly!
     Do me a favor and if you aren't able to participate, consider donating. The proceeds all go to the International Hip Dysplasia Institute so that more cases of hip dysplasia can be caught and treated. Together we can, together we will!
     Find the link to the website here, there are options to register yourself or a team as well as to make a donation. Hip Hop 5K Erie registration Website.

Happy Birthday to Me!

     As a mom you start to focus on everyone else's birthday instead of your own and this year Hubby was supposed to have some work stuff to do and was going to miss my birthday. This didn't happen though because his schedule changed and so we had a nice dinner out even though the kids had already picked out a gift for me a few days prior (a stuffed Toothless from "How to Train your Dragon" and a Starbucks card), hubby showed up with some truffles and more Starbucks for me and I got to pick out a Pittsburgh Pirates Jersey since I had been wanting one.
     We had a cake and the kids sang to me at work which is always a blast! Some of the preschoolers also made me cards in the morning which was adorable!

Blowing out my candles!

Froggie having some of my cake!

Big Brother showing off his icing face!

     It was a great birthday and I have (less than) 365 days until I'm 30 - at some point once I'm feeling more caught up I will post my list of 30 things to do this year!

First Visit to the Dentist

     Tuesday I took Big Brother to his very first trip to the dentist. We had been mentioning it to him since my last cleaning in April and had bought a book about visiting the dentist. This book was cute and Big Brother seemed to like it, I think it's always nice to give kids a heads up before you ask them to do something new. If you want your own copy here's the link to it on Amazon.

A great book for preparing for the dentist!

     We got there and Big Brother was a little grumpy since he had woken up from his nap not all that long before we got there. (Neither of the kids are "morning people" and take quite a bit of time to readjust to being awake). He was pretty excited to head back and get into the dentists chair and he was polite with the hygienist. We decided we would try to do a full appointment and just get as far as he would let the appointment go. I had low expectations for him letting her clean his teeth since it is like wrestling an alligator to do it at home. 

a little unsure, waiting to get started.

     He made some faces about the light and so the hygienist offered him a pair of sunglasses to wear which made him pretty excited. He was such a good listener and did GREAT letting her clean and floss his teeth. She let him hold the suction tool and he seemed to enjoy that. After his cleaning we took a trip down the hall to try to do an x-ray but after trying to adjust it and get the protective apron on him it didn't work out. The apron was too heavy and he just wasn't quite tall enough to fit within the machine's reach. 

     After the x-ray we headed back to our little room and the hygienist let Big Brother pick out his new toothbrush (A superhero one with Thor on it!), some kid's toothpaste, Buzz lightyear floss picks and a roll of floss. She even gave Froggie her very own princess toothbrush for being so good while her brother was getting his teeth cleaned. 

being a champ and getting his teeth cleaned

We had to wait a little bit for the dentist to finish with another patient before he came in and Big Brother started to get bored and lost interest in the novelty of the dentists office so he played with the car he had brought in and investigated his goody bag some more. Once the dentist came in he was back in his chair and let him check everything out. He counted all of his teeth again and told Big Brother that they looked very nice. We were complimented on how well taken care of his teeth are (which is not what I was expecting given my previously mentioned Alligator wrestling-like experiences)

Showing off his nice clean teeth!

     On the way out of the office Big Brother was able to pick something out of the treasure chest. He thought long and hard about what he wanted to pick and ended up choosing a GIANT bubble wand. Hubby and I had also picked up a set of duplo blocks that came with a book as a reward for a successful appointment and let him pick what he wanted for dinner. He picked Chic-fil-a so that he could play and have ice cream. The girl at the counter even let him go back and make his own ice cream cone!

     Over all it was a pretty awesome experience, he'll probably feel like he needs such a big ordeal after every other appointment but at least he'll want to go back to the dentist!

He made his ice cream all on his own!

Where, Oh Where has Froggie's Mommy Gone?

     Sometimes life just seems to get in the way. For whatever reason I have stalled out on the blog and it has been over a month since I've posted. I realized the other day while I was starting yet ANOTHER draft that I haven't actually FINISHED any of the drafts that have been waiting. (There are AT LEAST 10!)
     I'm going to be making an effort to "catch up" on finishing my drafts and getting them out into the land of Facebook and Pinterest. Here's a picture of Froggie before her tumbling class this morning.

Dancing before class started.

Daddy Snuggles

     Froggie typically snuggles with me in bed, or takes up an entire half of the bed, but she rarely snuggles with Hubby. Recently she's been loving her daddy and will walk around the house screaming "Daddy" until he does whatever it is that she wants him to do. The other night she really wanted to snuggle with Hubby and so this is how she spent most of the night.

Daddy makes a good pillow

Feeling Froggie?

     Froggie was rolling around on the carpet in my classroom and I thought it was a good opportunity to take a picture of her laying on the Frog spot - just for fun.

Ribbit, Ribbit

Egg Hunt Part One

     Next weekend is Easter, but this weekend we had a couple egg hunts to head out to. We started the day at the Egg Dash, which is the egg hunt sponsored by my employer. Last year was the first year we went but it has been a ton of fun. There are always bouncy houses set up along with games and face painting all to do before  the dash begins.

     The kids had a blast and got a TON of candy. On top of that it was a beautiful day in the middle of our gross weather.

Picking a sucker

Climbing the bouncy house

Look at all those eggs!

Eggs EVERYWHERE!

Ready to get some eggs

Froggie wasn't sure about it… 

And they're off

Finding some eggs

Filling up his bag

Check out all those eggs!

     After we headed back towards home we headed to the college campus and did another egg hunt there. Froggie got the hang of egg hunting pretty quickly and Big Brother is already a pro!

Big Brother and the bunny

Ready to get more eggs

Froggie and the bunny

waiting to go get some more eggs

Big Brother and his bucket

Froggie and her bucket

Hopping Down the Bunny Trail

     To kick off our weekend we decided to head to the mall for their Easter trail of treats and to meet the Easter Bunny (since this was his big kick off for bunny pictures). We waited to see the bunny before doing our walk to collect some candy in our Easter buckets. Big Brother was so excited and Froggie kept peeking through the gate at the giant egg and would point and get excited again. She was so cute, even the photographer from the mall took some pictures of her!

Peeking at the Easter Bunny

Checking everything out

too cute!

     This all ended as soon as we went in to see the bunny though. Big Brother wanted to sit on the decorations and Froggie cried every time Hubby put her down. We ended up just saying hi to the bunny and going to follow the line with the promise that if the kids were able to listen well while they collected their treats.

Big Brother with his bucket

Playing peek-a-boo

checking out her bucket.

trading eggs for treats

trading eggs for treats

     The kids had fun collecting their treats and we did end up going back to try a picture with the bunny with the understanding that there would be no sitting on the decorations. Froggie cried but Big Brother sat so nicely with the bunny. I don't really buy into perfectly posed pictures, I've never cared if my kids have a binky or a toy to keep them calm and I feel that needed to be said as an explanation as to why I paid for a picture of my son sitting so nicely with the bunny while his sister cried on the bunny's lap. That being said, here's the picture of the kids with the bunny:

Mommy, Daddy, Big Brother Date Night

   It was a pretty last minute decision but we took Big Brother to the movies to see The Muppets Most Wanted. He was pretty excited and did well with the movie even though it was a pretty late showing for a 3 year old. He worked on his snack box and drank his blue icy. When the movie was done he wanted me to take his picture with some of the stand ups in the hallway. He got a little cranky at the end but it was a fun little date night for the three of us while Froggie stayed with my mom.

Holding our tickets

One of the Most Wanted

Captain America

Posing with Toothless

The Wait is OVER!

     The wait is FINALLY over… We made it to Froggie's appointment and headed back to have her X-ray done. She was really upset to even be laid down on the table and was even more upset that I left her with the technician and stood behind the wall while her X-ray was taken. She calmed down pretty quickly and was happy to go back out to the waiting room and play with Big Brother.

Playing in the waiting room.

     She weighed in at 18 pounds and we headed back into an exam room to wait for the doctor to read her X-ray and come let us know what that meant for Froggie. A nurse came in and reviewed Froggie's previous treatment with us before the doctor came in. The staff there are always so nice and genuinely interested in interacting with our kids.

Waiting to be seen

laughing with Big Brother and Hubby

Showing off her boo-boo's

Such a climber

     Froggie's doctor came in and said her hips were perfect! He said that we wouldn't need to return and that her treatment was officially over. He wanted to see her walk a little before he let us go and Froggie got pretty upset with being asked to preform for the staff but she walked across the exam room and then we headed back to get a copy of her X-ray since I keep them with her medical records.
     While Froggie and I were waiting we met another family who was going through treatment for Hip Dysplasia and I spoke with them about the Hip Hop 5K that I'm working to bring to the area. I spoke with the girl's mother for several minutes about the new policies at the hospital where I had Froggie and that I hoped her daughter's treatment was successful. I left my Healthy Hips For Life bracelet with her to show her some support and walked away feeling even more dedicated to the Hip Hop 5K and it's cause.
     My wrist felt naked for the rest of the day without my bracelet but we had a fun filled day after work. We went to the mall and I let the kids play in the play area there for awhile. We also went and picked up some chocolate and small stuffed animals as a celebration for our good news.
     While we were walking in the mall Froggie dropped her new toy (a small stuffed piglet) and when we turned around to check for it on the floor and with the shop we came from it was gone. After checking with customer service and security Hubby and I decided we were suckers for Froggie and went to buy another Piglet. The woman at the Hallmark store where we bought it was so nice, she gave Froggie the Piglet and thanked my husband for his service (since he had met us at the mall after leaving his office). We tried to pay for it but she refused to let us and after talking with her for a few minutes we found out that she was related to another sailor who Hubby has worked with.

Counting Down the Days

     Tomorrow…. Tomorrow morning we head back to Shriners, first for an X-ray and then to see the doctor once he's reviewed it. I have mixed feelings about tomorrows appointment because, much like her first X-ray, this appointment may be her last. I'm excited that her journey with hip dysplasia may finally be over but I'm also nervous that her X-ray may be abnormal or her doctor may not be happy with how she distributes her weight on the joints, or any one of a thousand things that would make tomorrow just the start of a new journey.
     Today, however, we went outside and enjoyed the clear sky. The kids ran around and played with a ball. Froggie did a lot of falling down but she was so excited to be able to explore outside. Big Brother loves to be able to run around and was sad that we had to head back home when Froggie started to get tired. (By tired I mean she was laying on the ground kicking her feet and would giggle and fall back down whenever she got up.) So tomorrow is another day but today we had lots of fun!

Froggie loved being outside today

playing ball

Love this little girl

They're so stinking cute!