And while they weren't quite as cute as the owl costumes from last year, they are pretty funny costumes! Because they aren't just simply a unicorn or a dinosaur, they look like they are riding them. Without further ado:
Saturday, November 2, 2013
{ boo! }
As it seems every year, Halloween was a week long event. I should also back up and say that the talk of Halloween has been months long with Oliver and Stella. It started weeks and weeks ago when they would talk about what they wanted to be. For a LONG time Stella wanted to be a princess (usually Sofia) and Oliver wanted to be whatever his cousin Owen was going to be (ninja, power ranger). Once the Halloween costumes hit the stores we went on a stroll through the aisles at Target. Stella laid her eyes on a unicorn costume and that was the end of the story. I had no idea she even knew what a unicorn was! There was a similar dinosaur costume and Oliver decided that was "the one" as well.
And while they weren't quite as cute as the owl costumes from last year, they are pretty funny costumes! Because they aren't just simply a unicorn or a dinosaur, they look like they are riding them. Without further ado:
The festivities kicked off early in the week with a visit to Kowalski's for the Boo Bash. The kids "trick or treat" through the aisles of the store and they give out non-candy items (chocolate milk, kid's Cliff bars, apples, etc.). They were excited to go and to top it off got to go with their cousins.
Thursday morning at preschool they got to wear their costumes for a Halloween parade, during which they paraded through the 1st through 8th grade classrooms. It was fun to see them and all of their classmates!
Then Thursday night was the grand finale. It ended up being perfect weather to head out trick or treating. Even though I was on crutches, I managed to make it the whole way with them. Much needed fresh air! We went along with our neighbors and their 3 year old Viv (aka Batman). They lasted about 45 minutes and then they had all had enough. No pictures of the actual trick or treating as they were too fast and it was too dark!
Post trick or treating they had to dump out their candy and take inventory. About half from each bucket went to work with Chop and the other half is slowly depleting as they get 1-2 pieces or so each day (and ask 50 other times for a piece!).
Happy Halloween!
And while they weren't quite as cute as the owl costumes from last year, they are pretty funny costumes! Because they aren't just simply a unicorn or a dinosaur, they look like they are riding them. Without further ado:
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Monday, October 28, 2013
{ hip surgery recap }
Surgery day has come and gone and I'm finally coherent enough to blog about it!
First, I will give a little background because I have had a lot of people ask me exactly what it is that I had done. I had a labral tear, along with CAM FAI (Femoroacetabular Impingement). Most people say "What?!" when they hear that because it isn't a well-known condition. And most think that hip problems are only for "old" people :). The interesting part though is that since getting this diagnosis, I now know four other people in my circle having the exact same surgery in the next two months (a twin mom friend, a high school friend, my PT, and a fellow Mpls blogger). Luckily for us, Minneapolis has one of the top three hip surgeons in the nation performing this surgery locally at Twin Cities Orthopedics.
I found a fitness blog that did an awesome job of summing it up details around the condition/surgery and will put that information below (feel free to skip if you don't care to know technical details!). Information courtesy of Fitness is Delicious.
Q: Before we begin, would you explain what FAI or Femoroacetabular Impingement is?
A: FAI is a geometric misshaping of the hip joint itself. The hip joint is a ball and socket type joint. It is supposed to be a round ball and in round hole. FAI is when the ball is more like a square peg in a round hole. When there is a misshape in the two it can impede/injure the internal structures of the hip, including the labrum and articular cartilage.
Q: There are multiple types of FAI, can you explain them for us?
A: There are three types, including CAM, Pincer, and Mixed (a combination of the two). CAM is when there is overgrowth of bone on the femoral head and Pincer is when there is overgrowth of bone on the acetabular rim or socket.
Q: If I explain FAI to someone, they usually ask if people are born with it. How does FAI come about for most patients?
A: There is a familial or genetic component to FAI, however the incidence is unknown. Most patients develop impingement overtime, especially if they were/are extremely active in the younger years of his/her life. For example, we see many people between the ages of 25-40 who were very active in their youth and even continue to exercise. Athletes who put severe stress on the hip joint (ie: hockey and football players) have higher incidence because that stress over time changes the contour of the bone.
Q: I’ve heard various incidence rates and also discussion about certain athletes, specifically baseball, soccer and hockey players, which might be more susceptible to this condition. Can you weigh in on this?
A: Soccer, hockey, football and dancers seem to have higher rates. Heavy weight training can add to the increased incidence, especially with football. Otherwise the repetitive motions (ie: twisting) with dancing and soccer, cause stress on a hip with impingement.
Q: Can you explain some of the symptoms a patient with FAI might experience?
A: Most have “C” shaped pain, extending from the groin, around the hip and to the buttock. The hip is deep in nature, not something you can put a finger on. Typically sitting for long periods is painful because of the compression of the labrum in a seated position (a labral tear is commonly associated with impingment). The pain can be achy or sharp of both in nature. Some patients exhibit atypical pain, such as pain the low back or deep in the buttock.
Q: I have read that there are multiple treatment options to pursue once someone is diagnosed with FAI; some of which include injections, physical therapy, etc. Can you explain a little bit more about the treatment options offered?
A: Treatment is usually based on the severity and length the patient has had pain. Typically, more acute pain (less than 2-3 months) is treated conservatively with anti-inflammatory medications (Ibuprofen, Aleve) and physical therapy. A lot of times, physical therapy can strengthen the muscles surrounding the hip joint, which in turn, with allow for better mechanics of the joint and relieve discomfort.
If a patient has been treated conservatively and has experienced several months or years of pain, other measures are typically taken. Such as, steroid injections, which can decrease the inflammation in the hip. These are temporary fixes, but may allow a patient to have enough pain relief to do physical therapy and strengthen the hip.
Once a patient has failed conservative treatments, surgery is the option. The surgery includes repair the damaged labrum with stitches and excising (or shaving) down the excess bone on the femur neck and acetabular rim, changing the hip shape, relieving the pressure on the labrum.
Q: If someone does opt for surgery to repair FAI, what is the approximate recovery timeline?
A: All surgeons differ on post-operative protocol. Dr. Maiers protocol has patients on crutches for about 3-4 weeks and doing basic physical therapy stretching and strengthening. At one month patients are increasing activity, riding a stationary bike and performing more intense strengthening. Most patients are returning to exercise (ie: walking, stair master, elliptical, light weight lifting) at 3 months. Returning to sports and running comes between 4-6 months after the surgery.
There is a spectrum of patients’ recovery. Some do not fit into the average. We have some walking into the first post operation appointment without a limp and crutches and playing basketball without pain 6 weeks after the surgery. But we have others who experience muscle soreness and stiffness for several months.
Prior to surgery, I said goodbye to running with one final loop around Lake Harriet on Wednesday morning. Sniff, sniff.
I stocked up on baggy sweatpants and scrubs, knowing that it would be uncomfortable to wear anything up against my incisions. I also joked that I "nested" around the house......cleaning, organizing, and taking care of things that have been on my list for months. All of this because I knew I would be laid up for awhile.
Friday morning I learned the hard lesson of making sure to take pain meds with food. I had taken a dose at 3:00am and didn't eat any food with them. When I tried getting out of bed at 7:00am I almost passed out and threw up. I spent the next few hours trying to get rid of the nausea. Then we were off for my first PT appointment.
I should rewind a bit......I was pretty much helpless at home. To begin with, they had given me a nerve block in my leg that didn't wear off for 24 hours so I couldn't feel anything in my left leg and could barely move it. And even if I could move it, I am on strict restrictions for three weeks to not externally rotate it. On top of all that, I have crutches. So I had to rely on Chop to make food for me, help me go to the bathroom, help me shower, everything! I told him he might have a new career in the home care field if he wanted. He went up and down our stairs no less than 50 times, as well as making a mean frittata and learned how to prepare kale.
Back to PT - I was nervous to even be moving my leg but knowing that she is the best in the cities, I trusted she knew what she was doing. Most of what she had me do were small leg movements and ankle pumps to get things circulating again, as well as muscle abduction in my abs, hamstrings, quad, glutes to get them to remember how to activate. Then she did what most people think is crazy, she put me on a stationary bike. Granted there was little resistance and it was only for a few minutes but still it was 24 hours post surgery! It felt a little weird at first but no pain and it was nice to get my legs moving. This week I will start going to PT two times a week.
The rest of Friday,
Saturday, and Sunday were more of the same - REST. I took over the
living room with pillows, blankets, ice machine (if you're reading
this and plan to have this surgery, get the ice machine!), electronics,
magazines, crutches. This was my view for days:
O and S continued to
stay with G and G Christensen at the Lodge. Can't begin to tell you how
helpful that was as I'm convinced my recovery the first
few days would have been dramatically harder, if not impossible, with
them around. We talked on the phone with them and did Facetime so they
could see that I was okay. Stella especially had a really hard time the
first few days, as she repeatedly asked "Do
you think my mommy is going to be okay?". Looks like we might have a
worry wart on our hands
Worrying aside, I think they both had a lot of fun at the Lodge! Grandma and Grandpa kept them busy with tons of activities: story time at the library, a trip to Farm and Fleet to walk through Toy Land, carving pumpkins, a trip to a Halloween festival, making ghosts to hang in the trees, and countless games of Candyland.
Right now the tentative plan is to have the same surgery on my right hip on November 25th - eck! It will all be dependent on how far along I am in my rehab on the left hip. Right now it is hard to believe that I will have enough strength back to be ready but I have come a long way in a few days so we'll see.......stay tuned!
And, with all that said, it's 8:45am and I'm ready for a nap. No joke!
First, I will give a little background because I have had a lot of people ask me exactly what it is that I had done. I had a labral tear, along with CAM FAI (Femoroacetabular Impingement). Most people say "What?!" when they hear that because it isn't a well-known condition. And most think that hip problems are only for "old" people :). The interesting part though is that since getting this diagnosis, I now know four other people in my circle having the exact same surgery in the next two months (a twin mom friend, a high school friend, my PT, and a fellow Mpls blogger). Luckily for us, Minneapolis has one of the top three hip surgeons in the nation performing this surgery locally at Twin Cities Orthopedics.
I found a fitness blog that did an awesome job of summing it up details around the condition/surgery and will put that information below (feel free to skip if you don't care to know technical details!). Information courtesy of Fitness is Delicious.
Q: Before we begin, would you explain what FAI or Femoroacetabular Impingement is?
A: FAI is a geometric misshaping of the hip joint itself. The hip joint is a ball and socket type joint. It is supposed to be a round ball and in round hole. FAI is when the ball is more like a square peg in a round hole. When there is a misshape in the two it can impede/injure the internal structures of the hip, including the labrum and articular cartilage.
Q: There are multiple types of FAI, can you explain them for us?
A: There are three types, including CAM, Pincer, and Mixed (a combination of the two). CAM is when there is overgrowth of bone on the femoral head and Pincer is when there is overgrowth of bone on the acetabular rim or socket.
Photo courtesy of: www.hipfai.com
Q: If I explain FAI to someone, they usually ask if people are born with it. How does FAI come about for most patients?
A: There is a familial or genetic component to FAI, however the incidence is unknown. Most patients develop impingement overtime, especially if they were/are extremely active in the younger years of his/her life. For example, we see many people between the ages of 25-40 who were very active in their youth and even continue to exercise. Athletes who put severe stress on the hip joint (ie: hockey and football players) have higher incidence because that stress over time changes the contour of the bone.
Q: I’ve heard various incidence rates and also discussion about certain athletes, specifically baseball, soccer and hockey players, which might be more susceptible to this condition. Can you weigh in on this?
A: Soccer, hockey, football and dancers seem to have higher rates. Heavy weight training can add to the increased incidence, especially with football. Otherwise the repetitive motions (ie: twisting) with dancing and soccer, cause stress on a hip with impingement.
Q: Can you explain some of the symptoms a patient with FAI might experience?
A: Most have “C” shaped pain, extending from the groin, around the hip and to the buttock. The hip is deep in nature, not something you can put a finger on. Typically sitting for long periods is painful because of the compression of the labrum in a seated position (a labral tear is commonly associated with impingment). The pain can be achy or sharp of both in nature. Some patients exhibit atypical pain, such as pain the low back or deep in the buttock.
Q: I have read that there are multiple treatment options to pursue once someone is diagnosed with FAI; some of which include injections, physical therapy, etc. Can you explain a little bit more about the treatment options offered?
A: Treatment is usually based on the severity and length the patient has had pain. Typically, more acute pain (less than 2-3 months) is treated conservatively with anti-inflammatory medications (Ibuprofen, Aleve) and physical therapy. A lot of times, physical therapy can strengthen the muscles surrounding the hip joint, which in turn, with allow for better mechanics of the joint and relieve discomfort.
If a patient has been treated conservatively and has experienced several months or years of pain, other measures are typically taken. Such as, steroid injections, which can decrease the inflammation in the hip. These are temporary fixes, but may allow a patient to have enough pain relief to do physical therapy and strengthen the hip.
Once a patient has failed conservative treatments, surgery is the option. The surgery includes repair the damaged labrum with stitches and excising (or shaving) down the excess bone on the femur neck and acetabular rim, changing the hip shape, relieving the pressure on the labrum.
Q: If someone does opt for surgery to repair FAI, what is the approximate recovery timeline?
A: All surgeons differ on post-operative protocol. Dr. Maiers protocol has patients on crutches for about 3-4 weeks and doing basic physical therapy stretching and strengthening. At one month patients are increasing activity, riding a stationary bike and performing more intense strengthening. Most patients are returning to exercise (ie: walking, stair master, elliptical, light weight lifting) at 3 months. Returning to sports and running comes between 4-6 months after the surgery.
There is a spectrum of patients’ recovery. Some do not fit into the average. We have some walking into the first post operation appointment without a limp and crutches and playing basketball without pain 6 weeks after the surgery. But we have others who experience muscle soreness and stiffness for several months.
Prior to surgery, I said goodbye to running with one final loop around Lake Harriet on Wednesday morning. Sniff, sniff.
Surgery day was bright and early last Thursday morning with check-in at 5:15
am for a 6:30
am surgery.
Grandma and Grandpa Christensen had come to Minneapolis on Wednesday and
planned to pick up O and S from preschool and take them back to the
Lodge for the weekend (whew!). There
isn't much to say about the actual surgery as everything went according
to plan - my orthopedic surgeon went in and fixed the tear in my labrum
and shaved down my femoral head bone. The only semi abnormal thing was
that my bones were soft so I have to be on
crutches an extra week compared to the norm. My PT had already warned
me she thought this would be the case so it was no surprise. I have no idea what these images show but evidently it is my hip. The surgery is arthroscopic so I have two small incisions - no idea how they get instruments in to stitch the tear and shave the bone through the two tiny spots!
Chop
was there during the surgery and when I was done in recovery, we headed
home. I found out quickly that the pain meds they give you in the IV at
the hospital are much stronger than the pill form. By the time we got
home, I wasn't feeling quite as pain free as I did in the hospital. By
mid-afternoon
I seemed to be back ahead of the pain and feeling okay. I did a lot of
relaxing, okay that's all I did, on Thursday. That night was fairly
restless as I was only able to sleep on my back.
Friday morning I learned the hard lesson of making sure to take pain meds with food. I had taken a dose at 3:00am and didn't eat any food with them. When I tried getting out of bed at 7:00am I almost passed out and threw up. I spent the next few hours trying to get rid of the nausea. Then we were off for my first PT appointment.
I should rewind a bit......I was pretty much helpless at home. To begin with, they had given me a nerve block in my leg that didn't wear off for 24 hours so I couldn't feel anything in my left leg and could barely move it. And even if I could move it, I am on strict restrictions for three weeks to not externally rotate it. On top of all that, I have crutches. So I had to rely on Chop to make food for me, help me go to the bathroom, help me shower, everything! I told him he might have a new career in the home care field if he wanted. He went up and down our stairs no less than 50 times, as well as making a mean frittata and learned how to prepare kale.
Back to PT - I was nervous to even be moving my leg but knowing that she is the best in the cities, I trusted she knew what she was doing. Most of what she had me do were small leg movements and ankle pumps to get things circulating again, as well as muscle abduction in my abs, hamstrings, quad, glutes to get them to remember how to activate. Then she did what most people think is crazy, she put me on a stationary bike. Granted there was little resistance and it was only for a few minutes but still it was 24 hours post surgery! It felt a little weird at first but no pain and it was nice to get my legs moving. This week I will start going to PT two times a week.
Worrying aside, I think they both had a lot of fun at the Lodge! Grandma and Grandpa kept them busy with tons of activities: story time at the library, a trip to Farm and Fleet to walk through Toy Land, carving pumpkins, a trip to a Halloween festival, making ghosts to hang in the trees, and countless games of Candyland.
I started weaning down to one, instead of two,
Percocet pain pills every 6 hours on Saturday and continue to feel little pain. Getting out of the house equated
to going for a stroll to the end of the block and back. We watched A LOT of the
Showtime
series Homeland.
There is no doubt that I have watched more tv in the last four days than
I have in the last year. Not exaggerating. Also trying to get the blog
books completed (finally!!).
Today
is Monday and Chop headed back to work and O and S are returning shortly. With G
& G Christensen here, we'll attempt to return to a semi-normal
routine and
schedule. I'll be partial weight bearing on crutches for 3 weeks and
then another week of full weight bearing with crutches. The crutches
make it nearly impossible to do much of anything so it will be an
interesting 4 weeks! Thankfully,
friends have signed up to bring us meals so that is one less thing to worry about most days (thank you to those reading
who have signed up - can't tell you how much we appreciate it!!).
Right now the tentative plan is to have the same surgery on my right hip on November 25th - eck! It will all be dependent on how far along I am in my rehab on the left hip. Right now it is hard to believe that I will have enough strength back to be ready but I have come a long way in a few days so we'll see.......stay tuned!
And, with all that said, it's 8:45am and I'm ready for a nap. No joke!
{ two harbor getaway }
Two weekends ago six "MoMs" (mother of multiples.....aka: twin moms) hit the road and headed to a cabin in Two Harbors, MN.
The cabin is family owned by one of the moms on the trip and it was perfect. I mean, how could it not be with this view?!
There isn't much to say about the weekend other than we did a lot of sitting around, relaxing, and catching up. The weather wasn't great so the 6 mile hike we had planned never happened. But we did manage to get out and visit Gooseberry Falls.
As well as Palisade Head. Simply stunning.
And went out for dinner one night at the well-known New Scenic Cafe.
I have never been past Duluth or visited the North Shore but I texted Chop while we were there and told him we must get back up there sometime!
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
{ october happenings }
We've had a fairly uneventful but fun first few weeks of October. The weather had been perfect and we got out to enjoy it as much as possible with creek adventures for O and S.
And bike adventures for me.
There was also some fall baking mixed in including Downeast Maine pumpkin bread and this super easy Apple Mosaic Tart by Smitten Kitchen.
Last weekend on Saturday we kept O and S busy in an attempt to skip naps so they would go to bed easy for a babysitter that night. First we went to a free pumpkin patch event at a nearby park in Edina. It was kid heaven with free face painting.
And free pony rides. You can guess by the smiles below how much they liked it! And guess what Stella asked for for Christmas? Yup, a pony.
We then moved on to an open house at a local fire station where O and S had plenty of fun climbing in all of the vehicles and tractors.
All of that was in an effort to tire them out so that we could go enjoy an early dinner at a "pop-up" restaurant, called UMAMI, with our friends Mark and Kate. The deal is that you buy tickets in advance but they sell out fast. So when they invited us to join them we were excited for the chance to go! It was a super yummy meal with all kinds of creative spins on Asian food. Here we are showing off part of dessert - pears that they freeze dried in front of us.
This week has brought lots of gloomy, rainy, chilly days. O and S are not used to being inside this much and every afternoon ask me "where are we going?" or "what park are we going to?". I'm wondering how long it is going to be until they realize that it isn't summer anymore.
We did manage to sneak out for a brief amount of time with their friend Lena one morning.
And a little porch time outside one night to get the crazies out. Oliver's got moves.
The weather has required me to try to get some projects planned for them. That would be an easy task if it were just Stella since she has the patience to sit down and work on things. Oliver, not so much. For example, here was a painting project that we tried. You take q-tips, dip them in paint, and use them to "dot" leaves onto a tree base. Less than two minutes in and this is what Oliver decided to do instead.
In other randomness, Stella must be getting influenced by her Olivia book in which Olivia tries brussel sprouts at a friend's house and finds out she likes them. She decided that mine looked so good at lunch one day that she was popping them in her mouth like candy!
Trying to get in as many runs as possible before surgery which means in the rain. T minus 8 days and counting!
We did manage to sneak out for a brief amount of time with their friend Lena one morning.
Monday, October 7, 2013
{ marathon morning }
We spent this past Sunday morning bundled up along the Twin Cities Marathon course. It was an absolutely beautiful morning......cool, crisp, and dry (well, at least for anyone finishing in under 4 hours). I went for a short 5 mile run early in the morning and this was the scene at Lake Harriet. Absolutely breathtaking!
Guess that is why it has the reputation as the most beautiful urban fall marathon.
Just like last year, Oliver and Stella loved dishing out the high fives.
And the runners equally enjoyed them. I can't tell you how many runner's faces lit up when they saw them standing with their hands out. In fact, there were a few almost collisions when runners cut from the middle of the road over to where we were just to give them high fives.
We made a pit stop at Starbucks on the way home to warm up with some hot chocolate.
I'm pretty sure I said the same thing last year - I leave thinking I should sign up for a marathon. I just get SO inspired by the men and women out there accomplishing such a feat. I had truly hoped that 2014 might be my year for TC Marathon but with my first hip surgery coming up on October 24th and the other hip surgery on November 25th, I don't think I will be ready to go for it next fall. Big goals in 2015 though.....1/2 Ironman or marathon?!
Just like last year, Oliver and Stella loved dishing out the high fives.
{ corn mania }
We recently visited the corn capital of the Twin Cities. Okay, there really is no such thing but we did go to Sever's Corn Maze in Shakopee where there was all things corn (and other fun kid stuff).
Our first stop upon arriving was the giant bouncing pillow. Lets just say that there was some serious crying when they were told the time was up for that round and they had to get off.
We quickly diverted them to the giant corn pit. I have never seen so many corn kernels in my life! I can't imagine the number of ears of corn that were used to fill it.
They had corn everywhere. Pockets, underwear, shirts.....everywhere!
Then we moved onto the giant slide. They insisted on going down alone and if it weren't for the fact that each time down was $2, they probably would have stayed for hours going up and down.
The animals were hungry so we were off to feed them. I was surprised by the variety and number of animals they had - goats, horses, kangaroos, lemurs, camels.
We managed to steer them away from the camel and pony rides (in an effort to avoid shelling out another $10-20) and to the exit where we stopped for an obligatory picture.
A fun fall outing that we will return to next year!
Then we moved onto the giant slide. They insisted on going down alone and if it weren't for the fact that each time down was $2, they probably would have stayed for hours going up and down.
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