Birthday Celebration Number One

If you've been around the blog a while, you know that we like to celebrate birthdays big over here. I feel as if a birthday is a special day and should be celebrated big...sometimes if not the whole month. Whoops. :)

Even though my official birthday isn't until next week, we spent this past weekend celebrating with my friends!

They took me out to Walk Ons for dinner. It seems as if Walk Ons has become a birthday tradition over here lately, because we've eaten there for the past few special occasions!

Prior to leaving for dinner, I took a picture of Brayden in his outfit and he was telling me he was "all done", even though he hadn't yet smiled for a picture. Silly kid!

I decided to stray from my usual and order the ahi tuna salad. It was just ok, but I don't think I'll order it again. Next time, I'll stick with my usual favorite.

Dessert did not disappoint, however! My friends knew my favorite - chocolate cake with peanut butter icing! This. Was. Delicious!

After dinner came gifts!

How adorable is this shirt for my upcoming cruise?! I can't wait to wear it!

Jason and Brayden gifted me with a pair of Fitbit bluetooth headphones and sadly, they didn't work for me. I was debating between the Aftershokz Trekz and the Fitbit ones and I definitely made the wrong decision with the Fitbit Flyers. I think I just have weird shaped ears because they do not stay in place. Thankfully Best Buy allowed Jason to return them and I'll order the other pair soon.

What's a birthday dinner out if the wait staff doesn't sing to you?!

My friends really are the best! We had a blast at dinner as usual!

Along with the shirt, they also gifted me with a certificate to have my nails done before our trip as well as a couple of face masks!

 For my actual birthday, we will celebrate with brunch at Palo on the Disney Fantasy and I cannot wait!!

Do you like to make a big deal about birthdays or is it just another day?

Weekend Recap - Birthdays, Family Time, & Yummy Food!

Although this past weekend had a lot going on, I didn't plan much of it and just decided to go with the flow and see what happened! It was so much fun!

For starters, my sinus episode did not get better, it got worse and by Saturday morning, I couldn't breathe through my nose. A little sudafed helped somewhat, but needless to say, I decided not to run at all. I am feeling a little better this morning but I have a doctor appointment this afternoon after work, so we shall see what he has to say.

On Friday afternoon, I took Brayden in for another haircut. His hair grows so dang fast and he had his 18 month pictures scheduled for the following day!

My dad's birthday is this week, so we celebrated with my brother and his wife on Friday night.

I had to laugh at Brayden's fortune!

Happy birthday, Poppy!

Brayden's fall pictures/18 month pictures took place on Saturday morning. He was in a super happy mood and did SO well! We also took the pictures at an antique store that's owned by Jason's uncle & his wife.  The old cars and props were perfect for the images...I can't wait to see how they turned out!

This cracked me up - he was supposed to be taking his Saturday afternoon nap, so when I heard the sounds of his baby piano on the monitor, I knew something was up! Apparently he decided that his toys were way more fun than a nap.

Once he fell asleep, I left him in Jason's care and headed to a local build-your-own salad place for lunch with my sister in law. It was such a gorgeous day, we sat outside to eat!

After lunch, we walked next door for coffee at PJ's and sat outside again! It really was a lovely afternoon!

Jason's grandfather and sister will be celebrating birthdays this upcoming week too, so we had dinner with them at a local Seafood restaurant on Saturday night! I had the shrimp and crab gumbo and it was SO good!

Happy birthday, grandpa!

Sunday was very low key, with a trip to church, lunch after, and taking care of a few odds and ends around the house that evening. Breakfast began with Mickey waffles and coffee, and I reminded myself that it wouldn't be much longer before I was eating Mickey waffles every day for breakfast! YES!

On Sunday evening, I had the opportunity to record a podcast with Relay for Life! I recently served on a 5K work group initiative where we created a Relay 5K packet on how to put a 5K together from start to finish, so they had me on to discuss our work. I was honored they asked if I would be on their podcast!

The rest of the weekend was spent getting things together for our upcoming vacay. I can't wait!!

I hope you all had a fantastic weekend! Happy Monday!

Birthdays & Awards & the ER...Oh My!

WOW...what a weekend it's been, as I'm sure you can tell from the title of this post!

It all began on Friday with a luncheon and an awards presentation. For the past two months, we've had a summer program at my hospital where high school seniors have rotated through various departments in the hospital.

The program is an amazing one as it gives each student a chance to see what areas of medicine they might be interested in and what areas they might not be interested in. I sure wish a program like this one had been around when I was in high school! Fun fact: As a junior/senior in high school, I volunteered at the very same hospital where I am currently employed! Fun times!

Each month of the program, the students voted a favorite physician and an employee of the month. For the month of July, I was nominated as the employee of the month! What a fun honor!

On Friday night, my brother and his wife came into town for a little birthday celebration. My mom's birthday fell on Friday and my brother's birthday is this week, so we combined the two celebrations!

Two birthdays means two cakes!

So good!

Jason worked this weekend, so my friend Kim volunteered to watch Brayden while I went out for my Saturday morning long run. I wanted to add a few extra miles to my long run to see how it would go. I've been keeping at 6 miles on Saturdays since May, so I added a few extra for a total of 8 miles.

Along the way, I spotted lots of beautiful flowers and a few yard ornaments, too! These birds scared me at first because I thought they were real!

They were kind of hiding behind the brush and the flash of pink made me do a double take!

The humidity and heat kicked my TAIL on Saturday. I felt gross by the time it was all said and done and my legs were so sore. Thankfully, I have plenty of time to train before January and Dopey Challenge but I'm not gonna lie, Saturday's run worried me a little bit...

It'll all pay off in the end, though!

After the run, I brought Starbucks home for my friend Kim and I to enjoy.

Not long after we ate, Brayden was walking down the hallway and wiped out. His feet got tangled beneath him and he hit the ground HARD and lost consciousness. It all happened so fast (pretty sure it was no longer than the span of 30 seconds), but after re-evaluating the moment, we think he actually held his breath and passed out. I was on the phone with 911 when he came to. I did a quick neuro check on him and although I knew in my heart and mind that he was 100% ok, I still wanted another set of eyes on him and maybe even a CT Scan. (I told the 911 operator that we would be driving him to the ER instead since he was screaming by that point.)

My friend Kim rode with us to the ER to keep Brayden awake in the backseat because (of course), all of this took place around nap time. After being evaluated in ER, we were told that the fact that Brayden lost consciousness warranted a non-contrast CT Scan (non-contrast meant no IV)! He also didn't have to be sedated as they allowed me in the room with him (with a lead apron) and they had all of the equipment to strap him to the table.

Brayden cried from the moment they attempted to put the hospital bracelet on him until we walked out of the door. I thought it was funny that we were put in "room 5" aka the room at the VERY end of the hallway!

Within a very short time frame - seriously it was less than 90 minutes from start to finish - we were given the green light and were discharged home.

Am I glad we went? Absolutely. We were given excellent care and the peace of mind knowing everything was ok was completely worth it.

After we returned home, we watched a little Lilo and Stitch and hung out for the remainder of the afternoon.

On Sunday, the bow tie returned as we had church to attend! 

These two crack me up! What a pair!

After church (and during Brayden's nap time), I watched the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony with my second favorite Astro, Jeff Bagwell!

It seems so crazy that just two short years ago, we were in Cooperstown to watch as my all-time favorite Astro, Craig Biggio, was inducted into the hall! I was so excited to watch Jeff's induction via the MLB Network this year! Such a fun time to be an Astros fan! :)

Well, that was my weekend in a nutshell! How was your weekend? Any exciting things happen?

Weekend Fun!

Hello and happy Monday! This weekend was a busy but fun one and I really enjoyed spending time with my little boy! :)

On Friday night, we attended a going away party for one of Jason's cousins. They are moving overseas for several years and had a "bon voyage" party to say goodbye!

The sunset was gorgeous, too!

I also spent time with my running buddy Heather for her birthday!

We had sushi and I ordered fried rice because I wasn't sure what I could and couldn't chew (#mouthtroubles). 

With the leftovers, I managed to make three meals out of that fried rice!

What's a birthday without cake (cupcakes)?!

Even though my husband worked the weekend, I still managed to get my long run done! Our running group didn't meet on Saturday, so Heather and I decided to try a new running group in town. A new running store recently opened, so we met up with their group and enjoyed a six mile run. It was HOT and we got started a bit later than we like but we know better for next time! Even though our running group didn't officially meet, a few runners from the group graciously set water and Gatorade coolers around the area! It was really nice, especially when we weren't expecting it at all!

I am incredibly grateful for my friend Kim who offered to watch Brayden while I ran!

On my way home, I stopped by Starbucks to grab a to-go breakfast for both Kim and I. :) I always order an iced non-fat caramel macchiato and when I got to the window to pick it up, it was in a "hot" cup. I guess the girl saw the look of disappointment on my face because she asked what was wrong. I told her it was all my fault and I meant to order it iced....whoops. Even though I said it was totally my fault, she took the drink back from me, said "no biggie", then made an iced version instead! It was SO very nice and much appreciated...especially since I was so hot after the run!

This clip on (and portable) mobile is GENIUS! It attaches to anything and Brayden loves it! Win/win!

On Saturday afternoon, my mom and I attended a wedding shower for one of my cousins. Her theme was "fiesta" and included quesadillas and a taco bar with all the toppings! YUM!

Y'all....this sleeper came from Target and it was on clearance for super cheap! I do love a good bargain! :)

On Sunday morning, I made Mickey waffles out of banana nut bread mix. Did you know you can add just a little extra water to the box mix and use it in a waffle iron? They were delicious!

After church, we had lunch at Newks with my parents. The margherita pizza reminded me of the pizza on board the Disney Cruise Line in Palo. I also had a bowl of their squash soup which sort of reminded me of butternut squash soup on DCL. Newks squash soup had a bit more cinnamon flavor to it, though. 

Hey....look over there! :D

We had a fun weekend and once again, it flew by way too fast! Here's to another fun week ahead! Hope you have a great Monday!! :)

How was your weekend?