Spreng....whaaa???

So we had our appointment with the Pediatric Orthopedic Doctor today about Gavin's shoulder. It has been abnormally elevated with a noticeable lump. His range of motion is slightly limited and he favors the other arm. I did what I always cringe when my patients tell me they did it: I Googled it. Most of the results were about broken collarbones but I kinda dismissed that immediately. He never seemed to be in any pain or completely cease using it, so I wasn't buying that. I finally came across a not so well known congenital deformity called Sprengel's Deformity:

"Sprengel's deformity (also known as High scapula or Congenital high scapula) is a rare congenital skeletal abnormality where a person has one shoulder blade that sits higher on the back than the other. The deformity is due to a failure in early fetal development where the shoulder fails to descend properly from the neck to its final position. The deformity is commonly associated with other conditions, most notably Klippel-Feil syndrome, congenital scoliosisincluding cervical scoliosis, fused ribs, the presence of an omovertebral bone and spina bifida. The left shoulder is the most commonly affected shoulder but the condition can be bilateral, meaning that both shoulders are affected. About 75% of all observed cases are girls. Treatment includes surgery in early childhood and physical therapy."

We took him to our Pediatrician, who seemed really convinced it was an old fracture that had healed incorrectly and dismissed my suggestion that it had similar qualities of Sprengel's. I know we medical people can be very know-it-all when it comes to self or familial diagnosis but I'm also a mother and feel I would know if my child broke a bone....after a negative X-ray, he finally made the referral to the pediatric Orthopedic Doctor.

Soooooo.....basically the orthopedic doctor confirmed the diagnosis but made us feel better when his feeling was it was not a severe case. In those severe cases, children have extremely limited mobility and their necks can be fused as well, which requires surgery. Phew....it's a very serious procedure with a huge scar. The entire scapula has to be disconnected from the surrounding tissue, muscles, nerves.... There is a slight concern that especially during growth spurts and adolescence, when the majority of growth happens, it can worsen and potentially require surgery. Until then, it's PT and annual visits to check progress.

 I don't know how people deal with ill children...even these little scares make me realize how fortunate we are to have generally healthy children! Thank God for answering our prayers that it was nothing serious! 

Summer Vacation!

Hey, let's take Vacation time during the hottest part of the Summer and go do something outside....all day. No, Garret and I did not have this actual conversation but I fear we should have. Unfortunately, although Garret is a teacher (counselor, whatever), he does not have the good fortune of having Summers off. One week. During July. That's the only option. But we were lucky enough to have accumulated a ton of reward points through our bank so we were able to get  tickets to Busch Gardens and a hotel for a couple of nights for almost nothing. It's not cross country trip in a Winnebago (my dream vacation!) but hey, we got to get away with the littles and, blazing heat and all, had a blast! Linda even got to come with us (hey, I ain't getting on a roller coaster) so Garret had a fellow-crazy-coaster-loving riding buddy!

I made some collages since there are a zillion pics (who, me?!) of our adventures. The hotel was right on the beach so we got to really enjoy it with the kids....

They were really well behaved...I was super nervous about skipping naps and the heat etc etc etc but Gavin slept in the double stroller my friend Jen so graciously let us borrow and they dealt with the heat just fine (I'm sure the tons of fun activities distracted them).....

And some randoms not in the collages (that were too cute not to include):

"Nina" was able to come for the day too! It was so nice to have her! Gavin (and we!) adores her....plus Garret had a pal to ride the roller coasters with (cause no WAY I was doing it!).

Quite possibly the best weekend of Maddie's life....

This kid is sooooo spoiled. Now to keep her from getting the "rotten" part. I fear I may be too late.

This past weekend we did, well, everything I'd wanna do if I were four. 

We were invited to join a friend for The Little Mermaid play at our local Theater. It was great....it's a dinner theater, so the ticket included lunch. Since it was a "children's" show, lunch consisted of Mac and Cheese, chicken fingers, Jello...it was awesome!

Maddie really enjoyed it. I was worried she'd get bored but it was well done and held her interest juuust long enough to make it through!

She was super excited to meet the cast and get their autographs!

The next evening, Daddy took heron her first Daddy/Daughter date. Every time we go on a date she gets all bummed and says she wishes she could go on one too. Smart Daddy that he is knew he oughtta sweep in before the real boys do! They sure will have quite the standard to live up to. Flowers, door opening and paying for everything...sheesh. Good luck Fellas.

Here's to hoping kissing on the first date is reserved for Daddy only...

And if that weren't enough....

A local kids' spa/salon had this Frozen event that sold out in like 20 minutes, so yeah, we didn't make it. Buuuuuuut, they did have separate meet and greet with Elsa and Anna tickets you could purchase that a friend happened to have one extra of and YAY! she invited us!

SCORE!

I mean, could she be any happier?!

Afterwards, we went to a nearby kids event and the face-painter obliged her with a "Frozen face". It turned out pretty cute!

And, after lunch, the girl found herself a stage. But of course she did.

The girl's 5!!

So if you have a girl (or boy for that matter) that is between the ages of 3 and oh, I dunno, 10 you've heard of Frozen. If you're anything like me, you've seen the movie enough times to consider cutting your eyes out with a rusty butter knife. Dramatic, you say? Not if you live in my house, I assure you. 

Now, don't get me wrong, I loved the movie...probably one of my favorites but kids have a way of  making you abhor something you once enjoyed with their incessant rehashing of said thing be it a song, movie, game, phrase....they're just nuts. 

I thought, nay, hoped after about 6 months, the chaos would die down but alas, here I sit with a bajillion photos of Elsa and her party of Princesses surrounded by a faux winter wonderland (in July no less). Maybe after she and Bella force me to make them Elsa and Anna costumes for Halloween they'll be over it. One can only hope.

Let me just pat myself on the back for a hot second. Maddie wanted an Elsa costume and I was not about to spend 60 bucks for a cheapy one that fell apart after a couple months so...I thought, sure I'll just make one. Buy some cheap fabric, customize it a bit....sounds great, right? No. She must have caught me when I was halfway through a bottle of wine. It was a horrible, awful, terrible idea. Why? A: I don't sew and my sewing machine that I never use, broke just before I began the blessed project. B: I don't know how to follow a pattern (I'll just "wing it", I say...). So, stupid masochistic fool that I am, proceeded to not only make it once but then, for this party, revamp it...again.

But, it did turn out purdy darn cute. I found great fabric for about $20 and came across some old Christmas window cling-snowflake thing that I used for the cape (score!) and viola. She was thrilled. I did nix sleeves cause, well, I don't sew and let's not get cray. Plus, it's Florida and 465 degrees on her birthday so, are sleeves really necessary??

We did all themed, wintery food...I let Maddie pick what she wanted to do. Well, I did it all, obvi while she sorta bossed me around. So, like every day.

I had these cute food labels but forgot them the day of the party. Whatevs. It was chaos so choose my battles, right??

Marshmallow popcorn balls...."Snowballs"

PB&J..."Anna and Hans' Sandwiches"

"Anna's Frozen Hearts", "Olaf's Noses" and "Kristoff's Ice"...

Oh, the cake. I love it. I think it's so cute...and it will have to do. Let's just say, it was the THIRD cake I made and I finished it at 1am. I was suuuuper excited to try this Pinterest one I saw:

I made rock candy and the back is a chocolatey mountain...it was gonna be epic. It was....Epic FAIL that is. As soon as I stuck the rock candy in, it started to wilt....I wish I had a pic of it. Pa-thetic!, And, being a glutton for punishment, I tried, and failed again. So I whipped up the one above and threw some figurines Mo had on top (thank the sweet baby Jesus) and it was fine. Cute even. Shoulda just started with that one. Lesson learned. Cake making and sewing...not my bag.

Ahhhhh, decorating...now that I can do without tears....usually.

The girls decorated tiaras and made little marshmallow snowmen...

We pinned the carrot on Olaf....

Then they went in the pool....just what Maddie wanted! A "princess pool party"...

She also wanted to do water balloons and we filled a few with shaving cream (snow!). They were a huge hit! 

And...presents. Man, did she ever score! Let's just say she has more cash than I do currently.

Our family has always released balloons to Heaven for Caleb...kind of our way of including him in the party. 

Oh, and her other requests? Skyzone and ice cream. She's pretty low maintenence...well, when it comes to birthday wishes anyway. She took a nap in between cause well, it was her party and she cried (and snarked and fussed) if she wanted to. Not sure what happened but she was foul for the first part of the day. In true "ice queen" fashion she was in time out three times at her own party. Hey, we told her the party would be cancelled if she misbehaved leading up to it. Guess she figured, party's here, what are gonna send everyone home? Well played kiddo. She has however, been an angel as I type this two days later. I secretly hoped she'd just wake up at 5 and boom! be all sweet and docile. Yeah, not so much. 

It was Gavin's first time jumping and some friends met us there...so fun!

The last two pics sort of imply their insanity....the wide-eyes and goofy grins....it was a big day. Bella slept over and they got to bed at, oh, 11-ish. Let's just say Mamma was in bed before they were.

This child makes me so mental but man, did God bless me with her for a reason. She is my child. She's high-strung, sassy, strong-willed, independent...all the things her mother before her can be described as only lacking a few years of maturity and fore-thought. I understand her but still learn everyday to practice patience and tolerance. She was given to me and I to her. She is my amazing and beautiful child and nuts as she makes me, I wouldn't change a thing about her.