Dillon Ice Castles

It's no secret that our lives are very different now. Trying to navigate our new lives with a new addition who depends on me for literally everything is exciting and scary all at the same time.

Being on maternity leave has it's perks, mostly that I am tied to a little thing that cries, sleeps, poops and eats, not always in the same order, but he is dependent on me for everything. That's a lot of responsibility!

Any ways, all over my Facebook feed I saw posts about these magnificent Ice Castles, that are only located in 6 places. Go figure, Colorado was one of them! I knew I wanted to see the Dillon Ice Castles. Dillion is about 2.5 hours away, located about 20 minutes away from the infamous Breckenridge.

I ordered our tickets online and got a confirmation code, I'd suggest doing it this way because it's $3 more if you buy it in person, plus if they're sold out online, they are sold out period.

On Friday and Saturday nights at 7 and 9pm there is a fire show, if you can get tickets, I'd suggest going to see it! I was only able to get tickets for 4pm, and to be honest, all you really need is 2 hours there. So by 6pm I was cold and ready to go. Waiting another hour for a fire show didn't sound great to me.

The "castle" is in the town square. What really stinks is that there are no bathroom available once you are inside of the castle, AND you are not able to leave and come back in. So once you leave you're done. Which stinks when you've got a little baby. But over all it was nice to get lost in the maze of ice. I felt like Elsa!

TIP: If you have a LO wear him/her. Strollers aren't allowed inside, and to be honest you wouldn't want to bring a stroller inside. 

The castle is set up as a maze, make sure to wear your snow gear, you'll be climbing around with all the kids! There are so many places to stop and take pictures, so make sure to bring your camera!

There are only 6 castles in the USA, we were so lucky that Colorado is one of the locations. Go check it out. It's the perfect winter activity, even if you had a 6 week old! 

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Birth Story | Baby J

I can't believe I'm writing this. Baby J was born almost 3 months ago. Where does the time go?

People say to enjoy this time because it's going to fly by and they're right.

Baby J was born November 26, 2017 @ 10:37PM at 8lbs 1oz.

I was exactly 39 weeks along when he made his debut. The reason he came early wasn't because he was ready, I was induced due to complications. At 36 weeks I was diagnosed with gestational hypertension, i.e. high blood pressure. Of course this was the week that my doctor was out of town. I was sent to the hospital for monitoring and and immediately put on bed rest, I was not happy about this. I think this actually caused more stress on me.

Luckily I was discharged from the hospital and sent home, but I had to go in twice a week for monitoring, they needed to make sure baby J was doing alright, which thankfully he was.

My next apt, didn't go se well. My blood pressure had sky rocketed to about 160/100 (normal blood pressure is 120/80) and I was sent to the hospital again, with another doctor saying that we should have the baby that day. I'll never forget how I laughed at the doctor turned to my husband and said "We're not having a baby today." So we were sent to the hospital again and luckily my blood pressure went down. Now I wanna say that I in no way disregarded what the doctor said. I felt perfectly fine, and if the lab work came back I would have definitely had the baby that day. But it came back fine.

Fast forward to the next week and I was being seen 3 times a week. We had an induction scheduled for when my doctor came back and was on call, but I had a feeling in my gut that it just wasn't time for baby J to make his appearance. So I waited until my doctor came back and got her advice. I cannot stress how important it is to have a OBGYN that you are comfortable with. I knew I didn't want to be another number on the military base, so I opted to have another doctor and I am so thankful that I did.  My doctor was so understanding and supportive. But my doctor was adamant that I shouldn't more like wouldn't make it to 40 weeks. We had two dates to choose from, if I was dilated we'd pick the earlier date, if not the later one. Needless to say, I wasn't dilated, even at 39 weeks.

So Saturday, November 25th at 9pm, I checked into the hospital to get induced. I wasn't dilated and I wasn't even effaced. I was induced using cervidill, it's a little pill thats inserted to help stimulate dilatation. I only needed two dosages, about an hour after the second dose, I needed to pee, 39 weeks pregnant and my bladder was the size of a pea.

Funny thing, as soon as I got up to use the bathroom, a huge gush of water came out. At 4 in the morning, I yelled for Drew telling him that something was wrong, needless to say my water broke. My nurse said that it was a good sign and that labor should come on it's own. It did. By 7am the contractions were in full force and I was dying. I was only dilated 1 cm!! My doctor started me on the pitocin, and said that I could get the epidural when I was ready.

I wasn't ready for the epidural. I was given the impression that I could get the IV injection to help the pain, BUT what they didn't tell me was that my cervix had to get checked every single time. So because my water had broke, I was at a higher risk of infection if they checked me so often. So two hours later, at 9am I said screw it and begged for the epidural.

What they don't tell you is that you have to wait for the anesthesiologist to come and then you have to stay extremely still, and then once the epidural is in you CANNOT move. Oh and here's the kicker, it usually takes about 45 minutes for the epidural to kick in. It took mine almost 2 HOURS!!!!! I was drying.

Let's fast forward throughout the day, I had some scar tissue and was stuck at 1cm, but once my doctor came in to examine me, she broke through the scar tissue and I went from 1 to 4cm. He moved so slowly, I didn't continue to dilate the rest of the day. At about 5pm my doctor came in I was at 5cm and my doctor decided that we needed to talk about a C-section. Luckily after the increase of pitocin to the max dosage baby J started moving. And I felt him moving. The epidural wasn't working, because I'm pretty sure J was sitting on my spine. Back labor is no joke, but at least he was moving.

At 10pm, I had just fallen asleep when I woke up suddenly because (TMI) I felt the need to poop. HAHA. The whole day, my nurses kept telling me I need to let them know ASAP if I ever have that feeling, because it meant that the baby was coming.  Drew called my nurse to let them know, and sure enough he was coming.

I was pushing for less than 40 minutes and at 10:37pm my little miracle baby made his appearance. Unfortunately he got stuck three times, twice on head and once on his shoulder which he dislocated, because of it he took in a lot of fluids amniotic fluid. Luckily after some skilled work the nurses got the fluid out of his lungs and he cried for the first time and hasn't stopped since. 

After giving birth I didn't feel well. The nurses gave me my baby but I told Drew that he had to take him because I didn't feel well. I was told my blood pressure sky rocketed and I was in and out of consciousness for 5 hours. But Drew was with baby J and they got some bonding time in. I was finally stable enough at 3am to be moved to the recovery room. 

Unfortunately baby J had low blood sugar levels and all he wanted to do was sleep. I was told that's not good for babies, so the next day he was brought to the NCIU and put on an IV line and after more testing he needed to be put on oxygen. That was pretty much the worst feeling in the world. I remember all I wanted to do was cry, thanks hormones. But luckily baby J responded quickly and only needed oxygen for one day and finally got his appetite back. 

Overall we were in the hospital for 5 days, but here we are almost 3 months later. I've got this healthy, happy, little baby who I didn't think I would ever get. I can't wait to see what this next adventure brings! 

***This photos are courtesy of Shay Middleton Photography. I opted into getting a birth photographer and it was the best decision I ever made! If you're in the Colorado Springs area, she's your girl!!

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Sedona, Arizona

On our way back down from Kingman, we drove through Willams because I forgot my Kindle at the hotel. Luckily the hotel found it, and we made a slight detour. Since we rerouted our plans, after a quick stop in Williams, we decided that instead of taking the highway down to Phoenix, we would take a detour, and drive the scenic route down 89A to Sedona to check out their famous Red Rocks.

We drove through Slide Rock State Park, it was one of the best views I've ever seen.

If you’ve heard of Sedona, then you know that it’s considered a sacred place, one revered by New Age thinkers and lambasted by skeptics. I may not have had any earth-shattering realizations or resolved latent emotional issues, but Sedona did make an impression on me.

One of the most popular things to do is to take a jeep tour. We were told to take a Pink Jeep Tour, You’ll see these pink jeeps all over town. Pink Jeep Tours hosts off-road expeditions through the Red Rock region (and other Southwestern cities), and if you’re OK with a very bumpy ride, you must sign up for one of their tours. When we finally made it back, we went with A Day in the West, because they had a great deal on Groupon and Pink Jeep wasn't in our budget.  But don't let that get you down, there are so many FREE things to check out in Sedona, if anything walking around the city looking at the pretty red rocks will make you feel better.

Things to do in Sedona:

Hiking Trails: Devils Bridge (most popular), other popular trails Bell Rock, Cathedral Rock

Take a tour Jeep Tours: A day in the West

Red Rock State Park

Oak Creek Canyon

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Hello New Adventures

It's been a while since I've posted, looks like life got it's grips on me. 2017 was such a magical year. Towards the end, my LO made his grand entrance after some complications, but we'll get into that later. We have so many adventures planned for 2018. But until then I will try to be better about updating. We did a lot of cool things in 2017. I just haven't posted. Haha. 

I'll just leave you with this adorable picture of our newest adventurer. 

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Maternity Shoot

I haven't blog much about my pregnancy, or at all. I thought I was going to be that girl who documented and shared everything, but unfortunatley life got a way from me.

 But I wanted to share how things have been going. I am currently 36 weeks pregnant and loving every minute of it. I've been busy,  and tired, but things couldn't be better!

I couldn't wait to get Maternity photos done and now that I look back I should've waited a bit, but I'm glad I didn't. At 32weeks, my wonderful and talented friend MaryKate Romagnoli was able to fit me into her busy schedule and snap some photos of us at Garden of the Gods.

I love this place. It just screams "COLORADO" to us!

Here's a few of my favorites! 

 

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El Santuario de Chimayo

El Santuario de Chimayó is a Roman Catholic church in Chimayó, New Mexico, United States. (Santuario is Spanish for "sanctuary".) This shrine, a National Historic Landmark, is famous for the story of its founding and as a contemporary pilgrimage site.

Situated in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the village of Chimayó, New Mexico is just 40 minutes from Santa Fe along The High Road to Taos Scenic Byway. This special place has known for its historic church also features several weaving shops and delectable food.

By then it will be time to reconnect and see why so many journey to Chimayó. El Santuario de Chimayó, is known for its side chapel where the dirt floor is reputed to have healing powers. You’ll want to see “el pocito”, the small pit of Holy Dirt many people claim possesses remarkable curative powers. Every Good Friday, tens of thousands of pilgrims make their way to this “Lourdes of the Southwest.” The santuario is open to visitors 9:00 am to 5:00 pm (October-April) and 9:00 am to 6:00 pm (May-September).

Legend has it that a guy found a shiny crucifix in the dirt and took it to the local friar. The next day, it disappeared from the friars place and reappeared at the same location where it was originally found. This process repeated itself several times until the man and friar decided to just build a chapel/shrine/church on the location where it was found. 

Later on, legend has it that miraculous healings happened in the area of the church. A room to the side of the church was built with an approximate 2 foot diameter hole in the foundation. 

In the hole, is dirt that is supposed to have healing powers and people/pilgrims can scoop up some to take with them. From what I read, the dirt is replaced several times a day and over a year, 25 to 30 tons of dirt is used.

It was such a cute stop off . If you're ever in the area it's something I would suggest stopping off at, if only to grab some healing dirt.

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Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, CO

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is the only mountainside zoo in America. It is located southwest of downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Cheyenne Mountain it has an elevation of 6,800 feet above sea level. 

The zoo covers 140 acres, only 40 of which are in use. It is located west of The Broadmoor resort along the slopes of Cheyenne Mountain's lower north end. The animal collection includes more than 750 animals, representing nearly 150 different species, with more than 30 endangered species. 

The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo was founded in 1926 by philanthropist, Spencer Penrose to house his growing collection of exotic animals. In 1938, after substantial development, Penrose incorporated the Zoo as a non-profit public trust to the people of Colorado Springs.

I'm not really a big fan of zoo's. BUT when searching for things o do in Colorado Springs, visiting the Cheyenne Mountain zoo, is a MUST. On Yelp or Tripadvisor it is in the top 5 of things to do. So after almost a year here, we decided to visit the zoo. I have to admit, it was worth it. I wish I would've waited until the "off" season, only because it was expensive. But the views from the zoo are totally worth it. 

My favorite part of the zoo was being able to feed the giraffes. Although you pay $3 for a little bit of lettuce, the lettuce looks just like the iceberg lettuce you can buy for $0.99 at the grocery store, we were told that the zookeeper's make sure the lettuce is washed properly without all that extra residue. It might just have been a ploy to make money, but I didn't want to risk the health of the animals.

 If you're visiting Colorado Springs, make sure to visit this zoo, after all a trip to Will Rogers Shrine is included with your admission!

Location: 4250 Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Rd, Colorado Springs, CO 80906

Hours: 9a-5p Daily

Cost: Depends on time of the year, Click Here for More info

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