Thursday, November 2, 2017

Hershey Park Happy June 2017

June started by our family heading out to Hershey Park. Levi has been to Chocolate World oddles of times but has only been in the Park once, which was over Christmas last year. As you can tell from the pictures he didn't have any fun. ;-) 

First find out you are the height of a Reese Peanut Butter Cup! And then let the rides begin!! Levi and I hung out for a large part of the day and let Daddy and Uncle Ben ride roller coasters. We met up later and rode rides together. 



Sometimes we rode the same ride over and over and just picked a different vehicle... 



Hershey Park Entertainment...


Despite the fact that they both look bored to death, Levi was thrilled to be able to ride multiple rides with Uncle Ben!! 


Who had more fun Levi or Mommy?! 


All in all, the perfect Hershey Park Happy Day!!


Levi hung on for half of the ride home but finally feel asleep with his blanket over his head!


Wednesday, November 1, 2017

DC Zoo in May

I really can't believe how long it's been since I've done any posting around here. So I'm going to attempt to throw a few posts together of mostly pictures and not many words(and more than likely misspelled words). These pictures were from a trip to DC Zoo in May. It was Memorial Day so we were able to spend the day with some friends who went along. It was a pretty warm out and the animals weren't moving around a whole lot but it was still a fun day! 





Thursday, July 20, 2017

Mother's Day at Green Meadows Petting Farm

**Warning** This post is going to include TONS of pictures!! Because I took tons and I love them all which means you'll be seeing pretty much all of them. ;-)

I learned about Green Meadows Petting Farm after a friend on Facebook shared pictures of a field trip they took there. I can't believe in all our trips to Frederick that we didn't realize this farm existed! It's such an amazing find and if you have kids you have to add it to a list of things to do with them. It's not cheap ($12 a person unless you are 2 or under - then you are free). Also, by going on Mother's Day I actually got in for free. So that was an added bonus. You can spend a great deal of time here, the animals are well taken care of and the stalls are clean. All important things to us! 

After arriving we caught the end of the pig race that they do(it's pretty cute) which was follow up by a hay ride. So we jumped in a wagon and the tractor pulled us along the edge of some fields and through a beautiful enchanted forest. Ok, so maybe it wasn't exactly enchanted - but it was very pretty and so peaceful. 


Then it was off to explore... And there was so much to see! Levi loved the horns on this guy!


Pot Belly Pig



Adorable baby goats - such a highlight of the day!


Sweet baby duck - my favorite animal!! If only they could stay this size...


Truth - I've been working on this post for awhile and was really having trouble narrowing down the pictures that I wanted to share. I finally figured out how to make a slide show (you can even make it full screen to see the pictures better!!) and now I can share ALL the pictures! And I'm happy because I managed to get this post done before Mother's Day 2018!! And you can tell that we had a blast! So much that we may have gone back again on Father's Day... Stay tuned...

 









Friday, June 2, 2017

Cloud Island Nursery Products

(Note: The links in this post are affiliate links, and we will be compensated when you make a purchase by clicking through our links. Thank you for supporting my blog!)  


So when you are expecting a baby one of the fun parts is buying ALL the baby things. It was always so hard not to buy everything!! At least for me anyway. If you know me then you know that I LOVE Target. Since I work practically just beside one I am pretty much there several days a week (sometimes just for coffee). Target has taken way too much of my money all in the name of a 5% Red Card discount. ;-) 

When shopping for a baby Target was always one of those places that had so many adorable things that it was hard to pick just one. And apparently they haven't changed a whole lot... They just came out with a new line called Cloud Island which is only available at Target and is the CUTEST!! Everything is absolutely adorable and there are tons of different styles to choose from so there is something for everyone!

CLOUD ISLAND 

You can choose from styles like By The Sea collection, Floral Fields collection, Adventure Awaits collection, Pink Triangles collection and so many more. You'll have the sweetest nursery around and I'm totally jealous of anyone who gets to pick some of these items for their nursery...

By The Sea Collection

Floral Fields Collection 

Adventure Awaits Collection 

Pink Triangles Collection



 Happy Cloud Island Nursery Shopping!! 



Saturday, May 27, 2017

Peripartum Cardiomyopathy

A year ago today this was my Facebook status:  "The saga of The Browns versus 2016 continues... So today I went to the Urgent Care for a bladder infection. Turns out my pulse was abnormally high. So they did a EKG which ended up being abnormal from there they took me to the ER for more testing. I am now in observation at the hospital for what the Dr believes (by process of elimination) is postpartum myocardial myopathy. Easiest explanation is that my heart is weak which in turn is causing tachycardia. They are putting me on three different medications. And we are currently praying that this was diagnosed correctly(it was a little difficult to figure out) and that the medicine will help my heart have a full recovery. I appreciate your prayers!!"




Suddenly, faced with a serious medical condition, life was flipped upside down for the second time in 2016. The BAD news: My hearts EF (ejection fraction) was at 35% and we were told that I had heart failure due to pregnancy. The GOOD news: this is something that with the proper medication you can recover from. The BEST news: just 4 months after being diagnosised my heart EF was at 55 - 60% which means my heart did indeed recover. And I am extremely thankful for that! For some people recovery takes years...

There are no known reasons as to what causes PPCM. At first I thought after losing Abby that maybe I had a broken heart (it's a real thing which has similar symptoms) but the doctor said that wasn't the case. I've voiced over and over that I had no PPCM symptoms after having Abby. However, I did have several symptoms after Levi's birth (swelling and high blood pressure). However, even then none of my symptoms were overly obvious nor as intense as many that I've read about and I will never know which pregnancy caused the PPCM. My PPCM was only caught because I thought  knew I had a UTI and the doctor noticed my abnormal heart rate.

However the point of this post isn't really to talk about me. It is to bring more awareness to Post Partum Cardiomyopathy. Per the American Heart Association this is a uncommon form of heart failure. It happens during the last month of pregnancy and up to 5 months after. About 1,000 to 3,000 women develop this condition in the United States each year. Because it's rare it can be mis-diagnosised and depending on the person if left untreated can (and does) lead to death.

Places you can find more information and support are:

Myheartsisters.com Pregnancy Induced Heart Failure

PPCM Network 

American Heart Association 

John Hopkins Peripartum Cardiomyopathy

Facebook Group:  Peripartum Cardiomyopathy (ppcm) Survivor Support 


Below is a Heart Failure Quiz that is a great idea to take during the last trimester of pregnancy. Especially if you are experiencing abnormal symptoms.
Heart Failure Quiz (Source – Dr. James Fett ) Please note: that with all tools, there is always the possibility of a false negative or false positive, so if in doubt, please see your doctor and order the relevant blood tests or echocardiogram.
 1. Orthopnea (difficulty breathing while lying flat):
     a.) None = 0 points;
     b.) Need to elevate head = 1 point;
     c.) Need to elevate upper body 45º or more = 2 points
 2. Dyspnea (shortness of breath on exertion):
     a.) None = 0 points;
     b.) Climbing 8 or more steps = 1 point;
     c.) Walking on level = 2 points
 3. Unexplained cough:
     a.) None = 0 points;
     b.) Night-time = 1 point;
     c.) Day and night = 2 points
 4. Swelling (pitting edema) lower extremities:
     a.) None = 0 points;
     b.) Below knee = 1 point;
     c.) Above and below knee and/or hands/face = 2 points.
 5. Excessive weight gain during last month of pregnancy:
    a.) Under 2 pounds per week = 0 points;
    b.) 2 to 4 pounds per week = 1 point;
    c.) over 4 pounds per week = 2 points.
 6. Palpitations (sensation of irregular heart beats):
    a.) None = 0 points;
    b.) When lying down at night = 1 point;
    c.) Day and night, any position = 2 points
 Scoring and Action:
 0 - 2 = low risk -- continue observation
 3 - 4 = mild risk -- consider doing blood BNP and CRP; echocardiogram if BNP and CRP are elevated
 5 or more = high risk -- do blood BNP, CRP, and echocardiogram
An echocardiogram is an ultrasound of the heart and diagnosis is made usually with an echocardiogram.
The B-Type Natriuretic Peptide (BNP) blood test is used to help diagnose heart failure and to determine the severity of that heart failure


Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Mothers Day Pictures 2017

Just a couple pictures of me and my little man on Mother's Day! 

So thankful for this little man who made me a Momma!! <3



It's so hard to believe how much this little man has grown in 4 short years!! 

The last five Mother's Days


Note to self: Take more pictures with your kiddo!!

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

This Is Us - Mike and Melissa Visit Alexandria

Every year we try to slip away for a couple days for some US time. We may not be able to do this forever but it's always nice to be able to spend quality time together over a date weekend. Last year we went to Alexandria in April and it rained a good bit of the time. So this year I suggested we wait until May and.... it rain a good bit of the time. It was POURING when we packed the car Friday morning and continued to rain as we made our way to Virginia. However as we pulled into our destination Friday afternoon the skies cleared and it turned into a beautiful afternoon and evening. Our first stop was lunch at Mount Vernon. We visited here last year and enjoyed the restaurant and tour. Since we did the tour last year we skipped that part and solely focused on stuffing ourselves!

You can tell how much we hated the cornbread that came in the skillet and was served with a vanilla bean honey butter. Delicious!! I went with the cob salad while Mike ordered the fish of the day stuffed with crab meat. Dessert was delicious. I don't remember what Mike had (maybe pineapple upside down cake) because I was too busy stuffing my face with enjoying pie! Go ahead and drool!


Next up we decided to head over to Woodlawn where we wanted to do a home tour as well as see Frank Lloyd Wrights Pope-Leighey house. Unfortunately we only had time to do one so we picked Woodlawn which at one time (the land) was part of George Washington's Mount Vernon before he gifted it to his nephew. 




After our tour ended we checked into our hotel and then headed off to do some shopping at nearby outlets and then spent the evening at National Harbor. Beautiful weather, more food, an awesome view from a Ferris wheel and ice cream was a perfect way to end the day. 







Saturday morning we slept in until 8:00 (!!!!) and then leisurely got ready to head out to Jackson 20 for breakfast (brunch?!) where I of course chose french toast. It's always my go-to when we eat breakfast out. I love it so but always feel semi-guilty for the carb overload! You wish you could dig in, don't you?!


The rest of the day was spent wandering around Old Town. In and out of shops (The Lucky Knot and Torpedo Factory Art Center) and walking along the water, ending the afternoon with lunch at the Chart House. It was a lot more rainy on Saturday so our umbrellas were out most of the time. We still enjoyed ourselves though!! Love spending time together and a welcome break away from work. 




Of course when you go away and leave your kiddo behind it's always nice to bring back a cookie as big as his head. Apparently eating it was quite the challenge and exhausting enough to put him to sleep on the drive home!! Thanks Aunt Lizzy for watching our little man!! 


Friday, May 12, 2017

Levi Turns Four (Two Months Ago)

One post I've been meaning to do forever. I find the more pictures I have to sort through and pick from the longer it takes me to get a post done.

Grammy and Pappy took the birthday boy out to Dunkin Donuts for a birthday doughnut. Always a hit! Although he looks depressed in the third picture here. Haha!


I did my best to make his favorite meal and let him pick out special treats. This means we had cheeseburgers, Gibbles cheese puffs and watermelon.


He also picked out cupcakes that had little ducks on them. 
P.S. taking pictures of a 4 year old seems to be too challenging for me... 


He had a blast opening his presents... Although there was no trombone. A trumpet will have to do.  


And ended his day with a bath bomb. This is the life! 


But the birthday fun didn't end here. 
All the Grandparents came over for a little party a couple of days later. 






Happy 4th Birthday Kiddo!!