Halloween and Hair Loss

Update on sweet Sydney, she is doing great! She had some cranky days over the weekend, but she is pretty normal now. So so grateful. 

Last week, pre concussion, I got my hair cut. It was the same day actually. I hadn't told Chris so when he showed up at the hospital, he hugged Sydney and then was like, "Your hair!"

HAHAHA. It was rather drastic.

Before.

After. 

I am donating to Pantene's Great Lengths Program which makes wigs for cancer patients. 

On Saturday, we had perfect weather for Trick or Treating. As usual, we had Kyle and Danielle over with their kiddos and my dad drove us around in style.

But first.

Watermelon Comparison.
Maddie - 2012
Sydney - 2015

Sisters so excited!

It's amazing the second one survives.

Ready to go!

Feeling good after a bad Thursday night.

Lined up- minus Sloane.

Lined up - ready to go!

Burning off some energy!

Jazzed about their ride!

The kids got a ton of candy, too much actually! We're going to donate it to the Troops overseas, via Operation Gratitude. Chris's company is collecting the candy this week. I will let the kiddos pick a few pieces out but I need this stuff OUT OF MY HOUSE! I work from home so the fewer temptations, the better! :)

The Flu Clinic Turned Bad

Thursday started out as a good day. But, it took a turn for the worse in the late afternoon. 

I picked the girls up and we went to the flu clinic at their pediatrician's office. They had run out of the flu mist so both girls had to get shots. I thought that was going to be the most traumatic event of the day. Boy, was I wrong. On our way out the door, I missed a step. My ankle rolled and I fell face first on the concrete. I was holding Sydney (who was still sad from her shot) so I did my best to land on my left side and protect her. But, her head still smacked the concrete. 

I was in shock for a second and literally had to be picked up by two other people in the waiting room. Sydney, meanwhile, never lost consciousness, thank God. But after a few moments of being disoriented, she started screaming. She was making these terrible noises and clutching her head. I held it together while the nurse checked us out and sent us to Baptist ER. I was doing ok until my mom called. And I lost it. I was literally a basket case. My mom immediately jumped in her car and met us at the ER. 

Sydney rotated between screaming and periods of lethargy. We got triaged ahead of the rest of the waiting room and were seen by the doctor who ordered a CT scan. She was still in pain but was her fiesty self. It took four of us to hold her down for the doctor to look at her. Which meant, we had to give her Versed so she could sit still for a CT scan. The medicine calmed her down enough for us to get her strapped on this board.

She went bananas again during the CT scan. I'd never seen one before, and in the eyes of a 2 year old with a throbbing headache, it is totally terrifying. Little red laser beams and a loud, whirling, whirring machine. I  got suited up so I  could be with her and just sang to her while she was being scanned.

A bit later, we got the info from the doctor that the scans were clear. No internal injury or bleeding. PRAISE GOD! He said it didn't rule out a mild concussion (those aren't picked up all the time) so we had to monitor our little one for the next 24-48 hours. By this time, we were 4 hours post-fall and Sydney was really starting to act happy again. I told Chris to take a picture in her gown and she looked up and smiled.

You can see my face here. I had been crying for about 4 hours and all of a sudden she busts out this smile like nothing happened. 

 She  came home and slept great. Today, she was somewhat irritable but overall, pretty typical Sydney. Chris and I were getting ready while her and Maddie were watching a show. I came out and she was straddling the back of the couch. Chris was like, "SYDNEY MARIE, get down." Good grief, she makes me nervous. I told the girls we were going to take it easy today and Maddie said, "Oh ok, can we go to House of Boom?" I was cracking up and said, "Absolutely not." So anyways, we laid low for the most of the day. As "low" as I could get Sydney to be. There's a reason we have to use her middle name a lot. 

I woke up really sore today. In the events of last night, I kind of forget I fell too. I am moving pretty slowly but feel so very lucky that everything was ok for my sweet little Sydney. Never a dull moment around here!

Weekend Recap

 Saturday morning, Chris was out the door at 6:45 to go run 13 miles.

My neighbors had given us a huge bag of beans when they moved so the girls spent some time making noise makers to cheer on the runners.

 

Side note: everything was under control so I ran to finish getting ready. While I was gone, Sydney spilled the entire bag of beans (we're talking THOUSANDS of beans) on the kitchen floor. 

Of course she did. 

So, AFTER we got all the beans cleaned up we picked up Tara and drove to the finish.

Now, it's well known that I'm a tomboy but my kids are not. Hence their finish line attire. I asked them to pick out their clothing, appropriate for a race.

I got two dresses and no tennis shoes. Maddie has been picking out her clothes since 2. Now Sydney likes to pick hers out well. And they only wear tennis shoes on school days, when it's a rule. Not for lack of trying on my part, though!!

They shook their maracas and yelled for all the runners.

Dave and daddy stocking up on post-race fuel: Panera bagels, bananas, chocolate milk, and gatorade.

Feeling good after 13.1. Next up: 26.2!

Chris came home and promptly passed out on the couch. While Sydney napped, Maddie and I made a some Halloween cards for family and friends. We had paint and glitter going so we sat on the back porch.

Saturday night, we headed to church and to Kidablou - our church's Halloween party. It rained, so the festivities were moved indoors. It was chaos! But fun!

The "trunk or treat" moved to "table or treat" but the kids didn't mind. They walked to every station collecting a lot of candy!

Little miss watermelon.

 

Look closely and you will see a three headed dog. Ha!

Then we moved into the auditorium for inflatable fun!

Our "Elsa" chose to go down the taller, steeper slide on the Blue Ice inflatable.

Enjoying the free food. Maddie wanted to sit in the top row of the auditorium and people watch.

Observing the madness. Maddie and Chris went back into the fray to do more bouncies, while Sydney and I kept watching. More than 4,000 people came out!

Early Sunday morning pancakes amidst the Halloween cards.

Sydney's first time in the bar stool - feeling like a big girl!

Sunday, we continued our crafting with pumpkin carving.

Then we all rested! We were pooped!

Our week in pictures...

This week flew by! We've had a lot of fun!

Daddy worked late one night so I let the girls have a picnic supper in the living room and watch one show.

 

They think this is super fun. 

Sydney is loving her "Wednesdays with mommy." This week I was doing dishes and she asked me to come sit with her while she ate breakfast. Well, of course, my little Syd.

Sydney has such a gypsy soul, she just wanders. Maddie is a pretty focused kid, but Sydney truly takes time to just explore and play. Every time we leave the Y, Syd swings on each individual piece of the bike rack. 

Friday, we went to the zoo with our neighbors. We are wearing out our zoo pass this year!

We did something new this time and watched the Tiger training.

VERY COOL!

Friday night, we met up with Stella Murph at the YMCA Fall Festival. 

 Doc McStuffins and Elsa

Oh boy.

Riding with a princess out to the pumpkin patch.

Relaxing when the party was over. Chris took Sydney home early but we let Maddie and Stella stay up "late" so they were whooped!

I did start packing this week for my Florida trip. A few months ago, mom and I decided to take a long weekend to go visit my sister. We knew she needed some mom and sister loving. I originally planned to leave both kids at home, but ultimately decided to take Madeline. Her and tia have a pretty close bond and Maddie would be truly devastated if she didn't get to go. The other night before bed she told me, "It's different here without tia." Sweet girl. We are both counting down the days until we leave! I can't wait to be in a place where it's appropriate to wear these!

Speaking of Madeline, she's discovered books on tape. We read to Madeline A LOT and now she is enjoying listening to books in the car while we go.

She knows to turn the page when she hears each chime. 

We are gearing up for a busy weekend. Chris is running a mini marathon, so we'll be up early to cheer him on. 

Yo Ho Let's Go!

 Cousin Charli had her 4 year old birthday party this weekend. I took Maddie (Sydney was napping) to the Jake and the Neverland Pirates party. It was a blast!

The kids followed a treasure map...

First they threw water balloons at Tic Toc Croc.

They walked the plank...

They played ring toss.

  After a few more tasks they found the treasure - a pinata treasure chest!

 All of the kids took some swings until candy flew everywhere!

Grace and Maddie

There was also a gender reveal for Charli's new sibling, coming in 2016.

She opened a box and blue balloons flew out. 

It's a boy!

What a fun party!

On Sunday I went to an early spin class while Chris built the girls a big fort in the living room. They thought it was awesome.

Maddie went to see a movie with grandma and grandpa so Syd and I went to get her picture taken. We got Maddie's a few weeks ago and plan to get them both passports. We have no international travel planned for them but may end up doing a Disney cruise if I can convince my husband something in the next few years so we are being proactive.

Little miss REFUSED a picture. . I kept telling her she couldn't go on a Disney cruise if she didn't stand still and look at the camera. Didn't work. But, I had one more trick up my sleeve. I knew what would entice her. Applesauce did. We went and bought a box of applesauce and then I let her hold one while she took her picture. 

She was all smiles after the pics when she had her applesauce. Thank goodness.

The girls closed the weekend with a little spa time. We painted nails and enjoyed some foot soaks.

 

Love my little girly girls!