Love Lately {Books, Candy & the Weekend!}

Happy Friday everyone!

Let's just jump right on into what I'm loving this week.

{ONE}
Teamees Blankets. I have been in love with this blanket from the moment I saw it, which was actually a couple months before C was born. I had visions of it being his "blankie" and could picture him dragging it across the floor on his way to his room. Well, flash forward to now and he doesn't have a "blankie" but he still loves to use his baseball blanket. It's super soft and holds up well in the wash. Now that's worth it's weight in my book.

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How adorable is baby Cruz? 

{TWO}
Reading...and good books.  I'm pretty excited to dig into the Revenge Wears Prada book. Yes, I'm one of those girls who loves a good fiction book - one that doesn't require me to think too much and just zone out.  Please try to tell me you didn't love Devil Wears Prada - book or movie? It was bomb.

{THREE}

Halloween costumes. Especially this one.  How much fun to dress up as Carrie from SATC for one of my favorite holidays?? I think so.

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In other costume news, I have Cruz's costume finalized and seriously cannot wait to reveal! I think we are going to nail it this year. Plus, I have a family costumer as well, there is a chance Nick will be gone training for a new job, so that would put a wrench in our costume plans, so we will have to play this one by ear.

{FOUR}
Justin's Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups. Can you say delish? Love the dark chocolate + peanut butter. Plus, I also try to justify that they are 'healthy' for me because I buy them at Whole Foods. =) (Isn't everything you get from WF good for you??)

{FIVE}
Here's to the WEEKEND!  Our weekend is starting early...the hubs, kiddo and I are heading to a wedding, but going up a day early to hit up a pumpkin patch, swim in the hotel and just chill. Granted the wedding is only two hours away, but we are going to make a little getaway out of it.


Have a great weekend you guys!

Hi. My name is Katie. And my son wore a Helmet.

Yes. I was a helmet baby mom.

My helmet baby

I have been getting questions from other mamas about our experience with Cruz wearing a helmet, so I thought it best to jot down our story and my thoughts in one fancy, little post.


If you haven't dealt with this personally or know someone who has, chances are you don't know much about those babies you see with helmets on their noggins. The misconception is that kiddos have to wear them because their parents never pick them up and/or because they've been on their back too much, so they have a flat spot that needs fixed.

Could that be true in some situations? Absolutely. And prior to being forced into learning more about it, I thought the same thing (shame on me).

Was that true in our situation? No.

Our story. When Cruz was born, we noticed a slight indentation in his left jawline. Our doctor said this would correct itself in a few days and was nothing serious, but that when he was on the inside, the left side of his face was shoved up against my pelvis bone. Little did we know that this also caused his head to be pushed facing right for a good majority of the last trimester (we think). But we weren't led to believe anything was wrong.

We recognized early on in Cruz's life that he preferred to lay with his head to the right - whether he was sleeping, on his floor mat, you name it. Or with his head resting on his left shoulder.

Normal sleeping position, head leaning on his left shoulder

Head resting on the back right side of his head (eventually causing a flat spot)

We also started noticing a slight flat spot at the back/right of his head. At his two month check-up, we mentioned this to our pediatrician and after checking his head, she referred us to Omaha Physical Therapy to meet with a PT and get some exercises to do at home to work on his neck's range of motion. We did these a full two months before we were told that while they were working, he would still need a helmet to fully repair the flatness.

Cruz had Torticollis (tightness in the muscle that connects breastbone & collarbone to the skull), which caused severe Plagiocephaly (which is essentially flat head syndrome). Because of that tightness he suffered from Torticollis in his left side of his neck, he didn't have full range of motion in his neck and whenever he was on his back he only rest on the back right of his head which caused a flat spot. For children with full range of motion, they rotate from sleeping/laying on the left, right or center, which reduces flatness in one specific area.

PT recommended making him sleep with his head to the left.
You can see its uncomfortable for him & not full range of motion.
He couldn't turn completely to the left because of  his Torticollis.

Lots of tummy time - head to the left only to stretch out his tight neck muscle.
The mirror helped to keep him occupied.

Had to prop his head to the center in his car seat, otherwise always fell to his left shoulder.

Our first question, of course, what would happen if we didn't get the helmet? The answer: he could have problems with his jawline & being able to eat properly, his face could be slightly deformed because the flat spot essentially pushes everything forward so the right side of his face was not in line with the left. It could result in issues with his sinus cavity and issues with his eyesight.  Well, we weren't going to risk any of that if it was in any way preventable.

Based on this, we were referred to Trust Orthotics to learn more and get fitted for his cranial remolding helmet. On April 12th, we got out helmet. To be honest, it sucked. The first day was especially hard, but the first week was rough. That's the transitioning period from getting used to wearing it for a couple hours a day (the first day) to wearing it 23 hours a day by the end of the first week.

Check-ups. Throughout the four months little man donned his helmet, we had regular check-ups at Trust. Mainly to perform his scans and check progress, but also when we noticed the helmet was getting tight in some areas and needed adjusting.

Cruz started at 12 1/2mm variance which fell into the "severe" category and the goal was to get him to 3mm or less.  He had great progress early on, seeing 5mm improvement after the first month! But then as our Orthotist said, there would be good months and bad in terms of improvement. The month he only had 1mm improvement was rough.

He's not too sure about this. (Getting a scan at Trust Orthotics)

  

First scan (left pic) - check out the flat spot on the back of his head (bottom right of pic). April 2, 2012

Mid-point scan (right pic) - flat spot already rounding out. June 25, 2012

Little man was officially helmet free four months after first getting it. This was August 2012.


A couple of things about this helmet business:

Have fun with it. Or as I like to say: when life gives you lemons, make lemon drops...with lots of vodka. Something like that.

I made some fun onesies for little man to wear during his helmet days. If anything they were super cute and showed that we were having fun with this little situation we were in. And you know me, I love a smart ass message on a t-shirt.

"Just fixin' my melon. Not quite ripe."

"You should see the other guy"

Accessorizing his head gear. Personally, I had known from early on that I wanted to do something with little man's helmet to make it unique. I had found shops that had stickers and appliques, but they weren't really what I was looking for. I stumbled across the Wrap Buddies organization in Dallas, who voluntarily help create custom wraps for cranial remolding helmets and prosthetics. By day they are a graphic design company and by night they help make this situation a bit easier to handle for families who have a child with a helmet...and for free. The cost of a helmet is quite expensive and most often insurance doesn't cover it because they consider it "cosmetic", so Wrap Buddies is an awesome organization that recognized this and wanted to do their part to make it easier on families and the children. They partnered with other companies across the US and we were able to find Sign + Graphics in Sioux Falls, SD to help us with Cruz's helmet.

Bad ass baseball design they created.

Posing with our stylin' little dude

My tips:

• Yes it sucks. And it's inconvenient and uncomfortable. But it's not that bad & definitely not the end of the world!  Put it into perspective. Some mamas and babies have to endure much more serious diseases and illness. It's a small blip in your kiddo's life and they won't even remember it. Heck, I barely remember it these days.
• The helmet will SMELL. Really bad. Wash it thoroughly every night (during the hour they are allowed to take it off each day). I never thought my cute, little guy could smell so bad, but it was something like a teenage boy's sock would smell after two-a-day football practice in the 100 degree heat. And the sweat, poor little man would sweat so bad in that thing. Just the nature of the beast unfortunately. Especially since he wore his in the hottest months of summer.
• You're not the only one - more and more babies are having to get helmets for many different reasons.  I found comfort in approaching other mamas who had a baby with a helmet for advice and just to chat. I also have made sure that when I see them now, I stop them and comment on just how cute their helmet is and tell them we went through it. I remember a woman doing that to me in Target and reassuring me that it will go quickly, that really helped at the time. I also found a Plagiocephaly group on Facebook and took comfort in relating our stories with theirs.
• People will stare. And they will ask rude questions. And make their own assumptions. Just don't let it bother you and be prepared with a smart ass remark (oh, wait, that's stooping to their level, you say?). Ok. Never mind about that last part. I can remember a punk kid at the mall asking me what was wrong with my kid's head. It caught me off guard and I wish I was prepared to kick his ass, err I mean, with a good comeback.

I hope this helps. Whether your little has to get a helmet or you just never realized why kids have to wear them. I know that I'm much more educated as a result and it has definitely helped me have such a different level of compassion for mamas who have to go through anything that's "not the norm" with their children.

Linking up

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Read more about our helmet journey below...but let you warn me, there was a lot of 'woe is me' going on back then. Don't judge. Evidently I thought it was the end of the world. =)

Physical therapy - 1 / 2

Leading up to the helmet - 1 / 2

Getting used to the helmet - 1 / 2 / 3

Accessorizing our helmet - 1 / 2

Progress - here / here 

Weekend In Pictures

Another great weekend in the books. I am loving this weather and all the fun activities going on in the city. Here is a little snapshot of our weekend.

{Friday}

Morgan & I met up after work for a some outdoor spinning at Village Pointe.  Beautiful weather and people watching, plus it was right outside the Bravo Italian patio, so we had a captive audience. I have to say there were times I would've traded places with them to be enjoying some breadsticks and vino.

After I got home it was time to play, so little man and I made a fort. We spent a good hour in there laying on our pillows reading books and spelling our names in the air with different colored glow sticks.

{Saturday}

Cruz's newest online shopping purchase had arrived the night before, so we had to model his new dinosaur slippers. I love getting new pieces of his fall wardrobe almost daily in the mail. Can you say online shopping addiction?

While he napped, I finally put up our wall collage. Two of the frames house Halloween prints & one his Halloween costume from last year - I will swap these out with each season. Nick calls this our Cruz shrine, but who else would I rather stare at on our walls?

My parents came to town for a couple hours that afternoon, so Cruz and I met them at the St. Patrick's school carnival. He loved it because he got to play games, bounce it out and see Papa, Grandma Dianne and the Lynch's. 

Later that night, we had a big 60th surprise party for Nanu. Suffice it to say he was surprised when he showed up to a basement full of his friends and family. 

The birthday boy and the brothers.  A handsome group if I do say so myself. (Being that I'm married to one, I should say that!)

This mama is not cut out for partying like she used to.

 {Sunday}
We woke up bright and early and headed to the Henry Doorly Zoo for the Zoo Run. It was a gorgeous fall morning and the backdrop made for a great run.

Afterwards we took in some of the sights. Cruz was obsessed with this gorilla who followed him everywhere.

Cruz also seemed to pick up a new phrase this weekend...."how yoouu doin'?" he will ask. We may watch a few too many Friends reruns around here.

We had a really great weekend. How about you?

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Love Lately {Wine, Spinning & Fall}

The happiest of Fridays to everyone! If we are getting technical this isn't my "Friday" per se, but let's pretend I'm just like the rest of you lucky folk and I don't have to work weekends. Mmm, kay? =)


{ONE}
Cupcake Wine. Oh, weird. My first love of the week is vino. Surprise, surprise. And Cupcake is the bomb y'all (and I'm not even southern). I'm a believer that you don't need to spend a ton on wine to find a bottle you'll love. Personally, I prefer the Cabernet Sauvignon or if I'm getting crazy the Chardonnay, but they have a ton of flavors, even for you ladies who prefer the sweet ones.

And, come on, please tell me that everyone grapples with the daily decision of "should I or shouldn't I" like I do? Sometimes the stress of the day just requires it...

{TWO}
TJ Maxx. One of my fave stores went legit online this week.Yet another reason I can just lazy shop from the comfort of my couch. I have to say thank you from me, TJ Maxx. And probably a big no thank you from my husband...and my credit card.

{THREE}
Fall activities. Pumpkin patches, apple orchards, craft fairs, oh my! I don't think I have enough days off to take in all I want to with little man this fall. How did I not know this all existed? I swear my life before child was spent working, partying and sleeping in and I literally missed everything going on around me. Here is our list of 'must sees' this year:

• Vala's Pumpkin Patch...the biggest and best in the area if you ask me. We took Cruzer last year (here) and while it was a great time, he wasn't walking yet, so this year is where it's at. Can't wait to let him run wild and just play.
• Dittmer's Apple Orchard - gala apples. Need I say more. Yum. I'm not the girl who's going to make fancy crisps or pies, but I do keep an apple in my handbag (basically at all times) in case of a bind. Like last night when C and I needed a snack on the road. That apple in my bag came in handy. That's what I do. =)
• Bellevue Berry Farm - berries, pumpkins and at night it turns into the terror ranch. This is my kinda place. Cruz may not like the scary part, but I think we would have some fun with the rest!
• Farmer's Market Downtown - we've been to the farmer's markets out west all summer and we're both fans, but the big shebang is the one downtown. I'm going to make sure we hit that up before the end of the season.

{FOUR}
Spinning. Outside, in front of Lululemon at Village Pointe. That's what I'm going to be doing with my girl Morgan tonight and I'm stoked to try it out. Sweat, Cycle & Soul is bringing their bikes and we are going to ride in the fresh air, outside, in the middle of an outdoor shopping mall. Can you say perfect? Looking forward to a little girl time and exercise. Maybe I can talk her into hitting up Kona for a couple happy hour drinks afterwards. Defeats the purpose? Absolutely. Do I care? No, not really. =)

{FIVE}
Five on Friday. I am only three weeks into linking up and I've loved all of the people I've connected with and new blogs I've found. A BIG shout out to 'hello happiness', 'the good life blog', 'carolina charm' and 'a. liz adventures' for putting this together and showing up each week! Nice work, ladies.

Ok, now I need to tend to this little. Obviously, he doesn't want me on my computer any longer.

Now get out there and have a great weekend, would ya?! I know we will!

Running in Fall and Fall Fun Runs

{Running in Fall}
It isn't news that I enjoy running and if I'm going to run, I definitely need to be doing it outside. Enter the start of fall and what I would call the best time to be an outside runner. Whether you are a die-hard marathoner, couple times a weeker (like me) or just starting out. Now is the time. The weather is beautiful and the views are gorgeous. And if you can talk someone into running with you, bonus points.

Check out my fave place in the world to run and unwind - Lake Zorinsky in Omaha. Not only are the views gorgeous but the trail is a perfect length, approximately 4.5 miles with an additional 3.5 miles on the other side of 168th street if you want to tack it on for an extra long run. And when the trees start to turn, be prepared for your mind to be blown from all the beauty.

{Fall Fun Runs}
And with the great weather, brings the best time (in my mind) to sign up for some fun runs around your area. Bringing this closer to home, here are a couple of great fun runs that I'm either planning to check out or would if I didn't have plans.

• This weekend, yes THIS weekend, is the Tap n' Run Omaha on Saturday, Sept 28th. A 4k run with three beer chugging stations. Um, tell me this doesn't sound awesome? Running and drinking? Sign me up (except I can't, some of us get to work Saturdays). Someone go for me. Please? {Details here}
• There is also the Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo Run on Sunday, Sept 29th. Not only will you get to enjoy the beautiful outdoor weather but you also get to run through the zoo, which provides such an amazing backdrop. {More details here}
• And if beer or zoo runs aren't your thing, this one has to be: Jones Brothers Cupcakes 5Cake Run on October 19th. At every mile of the 5k, you have to eat a cupcake. This one is right up mine and Cruz's alley! {Check it out here}
• Omaha's Great Pumpkin Run on Oct 27th {which, by the way, if you are thinking about this one, do me a favor, click here and  use code GOBLINS at checkout for 40% off entry fees! All thanks to Liv, Laugh, Love} 

Which one would you do? Or better yet, which have you done that you recommend in your area?

Maybe I will get crazy and sign up for the Commitment Day race again this year - nothing better to wake you up then running in the freezing cold on January 1st!

Discover many more ways to enjoy Fall in Omaha by visiting these other great local blogs!

Oh My! Omaha - Fall Foods in Omaha Restaurants

Coolest Mommy’s Coolest Thoughts - Incorporating Fall into your family activities … making memories during Fall

Liv, Laugh, Love - Apple Jack Festival

The Walking Tourists - Vala's Pumpkin Patch offers fun for all ages

Family Fun in Omaha - FREE Fall Family Activities in Omaha

Bolton Carley's Blog - What's your favorite season? quiz

LPO Beauty - Changing Up Your Look for Fall

Weekend Recap

Another weekend come and gone....well kind of. I actually have today off and get to spend it with my guys, so you won't hear me complaining.  I won't bore you with all of the details, but here is a little snapshot of what we were up to this past beautiful fall weekend.

{Friday}
Cruzer went to visit my parents on the farm {like one of his favorite places in the world} and I got to meet Bret Michaels and listen to him belt out some 90s Poison ballads. Not a bad little Friday for either of us.

Papa & Cruz - tractor time
'She gets it from her daddy' as in my flat butt and it's not a good thing in my case.

Excuse the iPhone pic. You gotta love a star who wears his OWN shirt to perform.

{Saturday}
Was really nothing too eventful, except that this little dude visited me at work. Always a nice way to break up the work day. Oh, and I ate kangaroo filet at our steakhouse later that night at a customer dinner. Kangaroo, as in the cute, little animal that hops around down under. And it was surprisingly good. Delicious actually. And this from the girl who never used to eat much meat or seafood. Look at me getting all grown up.

The boy can eat

Oh, and I can't forget about the nice little feature I had on The Daily Tay on Saturday. I have been loving her blog for some time now so it was fun to see Yellow Mango splashed all over it.

{Sunday}
We had a little family meet-up at Sicily & Emma's softball game and then I had to high-tail it home to get myself all dolled up for our, well my, first ever Omaha Bloggers meet-up. It was one of those things where I was a bit nervous to meet all of these awesome bloggers I have recently "met" through their blogs, but it was such a great get together! And whoa, mind totally blown at how much I didn't know about blogging and other opportunities out there. Not only did we all have different focuses of our blogs, but everyone seemed to be in different stages of their blog life. Some were so, so advanced so it was great listening to how they manage their blog and then you have someone like me who has recently started getting more involved in this blogging world and loving every minute. Not only that, but Whole Foods had been celebrating their five year anniversary in Omaha, so they gave us cake. Cake and new friends? Can you say, um yes please?

The girl who hates to receive flowers, now requires fresh flowers in her house. White hydrangeas are my fave.

Then I headed home to sneak in some play time with Cruz and we made yet another kick ass array of chalk art on our driveway. He said, "mama, dat's cool" after we finished our rainbow. I love how he can make me feel so good about my subpar skills.

This is his 'I'm over pictures' face

And today will be spent snuggling on the couch, catching up on some posts, doing a little work and taking Cruz for a run and some park time. Now you understand when I don't jump on the "I hate Mondays' bandwagon when you have a line-up like this to look forward to.

With that I say, goodbye summer you were a great one and welcome fall. Please exceed my expectations and give us some good weather to enjoy for the next couple months, minus any thought of snow. What did you do this weekend?

Love Lately {fun t-shirts, soup & coffee - loads of it}

Happy Friday morning everyone...or in my world today a big "Happy Bret Michaels in concert at my work day"! I can't hide the fact that I'm excited. Excited to meet him. Excited to hear him sing some Poison songs (junior high slow dance, anyone?). And I'm excited to enjoy our last outdoor concert of the year.

But....before all of that, let's talk about what I'm loving lately.

{ONE}
Solid Threads. If I love anything, its great shirts with super fun sayings/pictures. Every shirt  we've gotten from Solid Threads has not disappointed {see below for a few of our faves}. Not only do we get tons of feedback and laughs from people, but the material of the shirts is just the softest ever and it holds up well after multiple washes {which as we know is important with dirty, little boys}.

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{TWO}
SOUP! It's that time of year. The weather is changing and that means it's time to bring back some of our favorite soup recipes, or if I have my way, go pick it up from somewhere tasty so I don't have to make it myself. Wednesday night after work we headed to pick up some new shoes for little man and swung by Paradise Bakery for a quick dinner. Lo and behold its that time of year and they were featuring their Autumn Squash soup. Um, yum. It's as delicious as it sounds. If you like the idea of eating soup that tastes like dessert for dinner...you will love this.

{THREE}
Elf on the Shelf.  It seems with these little guys people either love 'em or hate 'em. I'm on the "I absolutely freakin love 'em" bandwagon and cannot wait to start seeing the posts on social media showing where creative mommies are hiding their elf each day.  Even more, I can't wait to do the same for Cruz! I think we he will get a kick out of finding the elf all over the house this year, now that he can understand what it is. I have to admit I almost started last year....but he was only one and that would've been just plain silly.

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{FOUR}
Folgers Gourmet Selections - Caramel Drizzle. I have to admit I've been a Green Mountain Coffee snob since the Keurig came out. I ventured out and tried most of the mild flavors - and some of the bold by accident - and loved them. That is until I tried this...

Coffee goodness in a k-cup. It's amazing and definitely worth checking out. I like to mix mine with


{FIVE}
Blogger Meet-Up. I can't even tell you how excited I am to partake in my very first blogger meet-up this weekend. I found a group of Omaha bloggers just in time for the Sunday get together. And it's at Whole Foods. How convenient for me. Not only are we going to get together with other local bloggers, but I can get my shop on after we part ways. Eeek, I'm nervous and excited and anxious all wrapped into one.


Now if you'll excuse me, I have some Elf on the Shelf hiding ideas to start pinning. According to many of my other mommy friends I'm waaaay behind the 8-ball on this one. I mean some even have entire Pinterest boards dedicated to this. I need to step up my game. Big time.

Have a great weekend!