{ here we go again..... }

Hip surgery #2 was this past Thursday, exactly 6 weeks after surgery #1. While there were many things that were the same (doctor, pre-surgery routine, etc.) there was one thing that was not.....the pain! I either had it really easy the first time around or a higher pain tolerance.

After meeting with my PT on Friday at my post-op appointment, I found out the real reason why. The surgeon had told Chop that the tear was bigger, meaning there was more to repair/stitch but he didn't fully explain that the extent of bone shaving was more this time around. Instead of just shaving bone off my femoral head, he also had to shave bone from two other areas (acetabular rim/socket). She said that would cause me to be much more sore but doesn't expect that it should make the rest of my rehab much different.

The worst pain was for about 4 hours on Thursday late afternoon as the nerve block wore off so hopefully it should be "easier" from here on out. I've spent most of the last few days on the couch with my feet up trying to be semi-productive in getting our holiday cards out.

PT on Friday again included a short spin of the legs on the bike. I laughed at this pic since it is identical to the one six weeks prior, glazed over eyes and all!

Oliver and Stella once again headed with Grandpa and Grandma C to the Lodge right from preschool on Thursday. It seems that Stella's worry isn't quite as bad this time around and from the reports we've received, they are doing well!

And keeping busy.....G & G have done an awesome job of planning different things for them to do. They visited the local church to play, had a movie afternoon, went outside (brrrrr!......Grandpa is a trooper!), coloring/crafts, and have kept up the advent activity slips and Emma the Elf hiding. There is no doubt they are in good hands (and probably having more fun there than they would here)!

3 weeks, 5 days until I'm on two feet again. But who's counting :)?!

{ it's beginning to look..... }

......a lot like Christmas!

{ cinderella }

Stella and I had a special date on Sunday to Cinderella. Needless to say, she was excited!

Cinderella is showing at the Minneapolis Children's Theatre and I was hearing rave reviews about it. But with ticket prices at $50-60 it didn't seem worth it. They sell a very limited number of $10 tickets the Sunday before shows and I went down and stood in line an hour before to make sure we got them. And we did!

A friend and her daughter joined us and we all had a wonderful time.

The girls stood like this the entire show and never seemed to lose interest. And neither did I....the show was amazing!

Hoping to make this a yearly tradition!

{ dancing fools }

Oliver and Stella attended their first wedding ceremony and dance this past Saturday. And since Minnesota ruled last year that "love is the law", it was a same sex marriage of two friends of mine from my running group.

We were surprised by how well they sat quietly during the 15 minute ceremony. Both loved the singing and dancing during the hymns but both Chop and I breathed a sigh of relief that they made it through the whole thing calm and quiet!

After a quick bite to eat, they were ready to hit the dance floor. Literally!

They had an absolute BLAST dancing.

I wish the lighting wasn't so bad in this video so you could see their moves!

We all had a wonderful time celebrating Maggie and Rebecca's renewal of vows and the fact that after seven years (since they took their original vows in CA) they are now recognized in Minnesota as a legal couple. Oliver and Stella are still talking about it so hopefully we'll have another one to attend soon!

{ oh christmas tree }

It didn't take long for us to find "the one".

Oliver and Stella were not very interested in the search but much more interested in this.

And these.

And then icing on the cake. A horse drawn hay ride.....they loved the horses so much that I couldn't even get them to turn away from them to get their picture taken!

And to top it off, Santa was awaiting our arrival back to the tree lot.

As we said last year, maybe next year we'll attempt a bigger outing to cut our own tree down :)!

{ november rewind }

The last two weeks have flown by and alas, it is December! A few things that wrapped up the month for us.....

Rehab continues to go well. Since my last post I have weaned off the crutches and am standing on two feet. And swimming!

I still feel like I walk with a little hitch and can feel it if I've been on my feet for too long but overall I am pleased with my progress. I continue to ride the bike, now with actual resistance on it. O and S love joining me, mainly to listen to music.

But all of this changes in one day when I have surgery number 2 on Thursday. I'm not sure if it's better or worse to know what I am getting myself into! Although I felt like I took it easy after this past surgery, I'm going to have to be even more diligent in keeping my feet up after this one. I've been putting weight on my left leg for almost two weeks but it isn't nearly as strong as it was before and it is now going to be the sole weight bearer for 3 weeks. Once again, hoping for the best and planning for the worst!

We haven't had much snow except for a dusting a few times. Stella couldn't stop herself from eating it every time!

We tried a new haircut on Oliver. Very "Dennis the Menace".

I finally used one of our Gopher football season tickets and made it to the Gopher/Badger football game! It was a COLD day and not the outcome we had hoped for. With that said, it was a good game and we survived with lot of layers and hand/foot warmers!

Oliver was getting mixed signals all day about who he was to cheer for. Can you tell by the hat who was babysitting (Grandma C)?!

It's been nice to be on two feet for many reasons but one of them is being able to take O and S out and about again.

We hit the pool last week for a swim lesson evaluation. They seem legitimately excited for swim lessons so hopefully they will continue the enthusiasm when lessons start!

SO many things to be thankful for again this year and we were able to celebrate the holiday with a lovely dinner surrounded by family. Not many pictures from the day but we enjoyed heading a few doors down to the Christensens for play and food. Kyle and Elizabeth treated everyone to turkey and roast beef and lots of fixings. The kids enjoyed playing and heading to the water tower to "slay dragons".

Here is a great quote to end this post. Pretty much sums it up!

{ wi visitors }

Last weekend we welcomed visitors from Plover......Grandpa and Grandma K and Aunt Sharon and Shelley came for a visit (oh, and Oscar the dog too)! They arrived Friday afternoon and we were able to get outside to play and then hang out inside for a bit before they went to watch the UW-Stevens Point Pointers hockey team take on St. Thomas. Nephew/cousin Tyler is on the team and they pulled off a 3-0 win.

Saturday morning was kicked off with special doughnut treats. As you can see, Stella's was almost as big as her head!

More of the family (Jeff, Sheri, Hannah, and Travis) came over on Saturday to watch the Badger game and visit. Unfortunately it was a rainy, chilly day so we were pretty much stuck inside. But that just provided the perfect opportunity for the kids (and adults) to use the bounce house!

As well as do some visiting and reading.

We are so thankful they made the trip to the cities to visit and hope they come back again soon (and thanks to Sharon for sending along the pictures!) See you in a few weeks at Christmas!

{ preschool conferences & more }

Last week we had preschool conferences for Oliver and Stella. And yes, you read that correctly........conferences for preschoolers! It really wasn't as formal as it sounds and it was fun to meet with the teachers and touch base in regards to how they are doing in the classroom. After all, I drop them off for three hours there and can never get a straight answer from either of them about what they do the whole time!

I can't remember if I shared their school pictures yet so here they are:

That is a smile that I have never seen from Oliver so I'm not sure how he came up with it on school picture day. Too cute!

The teachers didn't have anything earth shattering to say about either Oliver or Stella. Both of them actively participate in activities and follow instructions (or at least average for a three year old!). Stella had became instant friends with one of her classmates and the two are inseparable so the teachers are working on trying to get them to play with and include other classmates in their play.

They said that they can tell Oliver is the cuddlier of the two and that Stella is the more independent one. Both teachers said that they don't necessarily "play" together during class but they definitely don't let each other get too far from their sight and are always keeping tabs on where the other one is.

It was also fun to see pictures they had taken of them to show us what they like to do while in the classroom.

In other news.......

We celebrated Grandpa C's birthday a few weeks ago. There was no shortage of hot air to help blow the candles out.

Maizy paid us a visit while Uncle Shawn was out of town. Stella had a lot of fun pretending to dress up Maizy (and yes, that's a potty chair).

A peek at a nice outfit that Chop and Stella put together a few weeks ago.

Eat mor chikin, ya'll! We checked out the new Chick-fil-A that just opened in Bloomington. Kid approved. 

IKEA on a Sunday for one item.....never again!

If Chop ever decides to quit his day job, he might have a future in nails.

I'm still on crutches, though as of last Thursday I am able to bear weight on my leg. Trying to keep with doing PT exercises a few times a day and still getting on the bike trainer to spin my legs for about 20 minutes, 2 times a day. Walking still feels a little strange and not "good" but hoping to see improvement with that as I regain strength in my leg. Thursday this week will mark 4 weeks since the surgery and I will hopefully be cleared to get rid of the crutches (until the next surgery!).

As you can see, Oliver and Stella are now told to hold crutches instead of hands! 

Cool fall temps mean that these cookies are back in the rotation. Seriously friends, easiest pumpkin cookie recipe that yields the tastiest treats.

Pretty sure I've blogged about and posted the recipe in the past but in case you missed it, here it is in all its glory:
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 box spice cake mix (just the powder, no added ingredients)
1 15 oz. can of pumpkin
2 cups chocolate chips

Mix together and drop by rounded spoonfuls on a cookie sheet. Bake at
350 for 17-20 minutes.

Enjoy! 

{ life on crutches }

I am over a week post-surgery and have had a full week of Oliver and Stella back at home. While they had a kind of rough time getting back into the routine/schedule of being home (sobbing about going to preschool on Tuesday, etc.), it seems they are adjusting to life with me on crutches and having other caretakers here during the week (Grandma and Grandpa C).

They have gotten to do a lot of fun things that are out of the norm. Oliver went on a special outing to Uncle Shawn's house last week to meet a plumber there with Grandpa. He insisted on wearing his boots and then when I said he needed to put a coat on he said "no, I think a sweatshirt is okay". It was then that I realized that Grandpa was wearing boots and a sweatshirt. He was very proud of getting to go along to "help" and got to assist in snaking the pipes.

G & G Christensen did an awesome job all week of keeping them busy so that I could rest. They shuttled them to and from preschool (and me to and from PT!) and did lots of playing and other activities. I am now off the pain meds so driving will be an option next week - yay! I told Chop I am basically like having a third child in the house as I'm limited in my ability to get myself a glass of water and food, amongst getting other things. One thing is certain, this surgery and recovery would not be possible without them here helping all of us!

I've gotten a lot of quality sofa time with both of them over the last few days. Stella likes to pretend she is icing her hip with me.

 And some iPad and reading as well.

Oliver and Stella also went to their first movie in a theatre this morning with Chop. He took them to see The Lorax at the MOA free family movie time. We were a little worried they wouldn't sit still but they sat through the whole movie and had a great time!

Overall I'm feeling pretty good. Still tired and needing a nap everyday and being out for too long is hard so I'm mostly home bound. The worst part continues to be how uncomfortable my leg is from not moving. I'm trying to foam roll each night, do all my PT exercises religiously, get on the bike a few times each day, and ice. It helps but I really just want to be able to put weight on it and take a step! Don't worry, I won't :).

My two week post-op appointment is Wednesday at which I will get my stitches out and the doctor will okay me for the next surgery based on my progress. Hoping he will also okay me to get in the pool to just move a little which will help with any swelling I still have and the atrophy I'm feeling in my leg. Fingers crossed!