Filling the Days

I'm finally settling into my new routine.

Which means that I don't feel overwhelmed and can actually start doing things that feel fun.

The last several evenings have been full of games.

We pulled the train track set out last night. Blaise is finally old enough that he doesn't spend the entire time knocking the track apart, so we can actually all play together. It also helps that he discovered Roman's motorized Polar Express train, which completely fascinates him.

Blaise watching the train
(Well, he was, and then he started to get tired.)

The boys were content to watch for a while, and then spent the rest of the time placing things in front of the train and laughing as it crashed into wooden roosters, people, and trees. At least it is safer than placing pennies on real tracks.


This night was spent is a competitive game of Twister. Which I nearly always win (only because I have a wider wingspan than Roman and Keith is one of the least flexible people I know.) We do prefer to add to the difficulty to the game by trying to remain upright when Blaise jumps on your back when you are in an awkward position.

I took the boys to the Utah Museum of Natural History. It is one of the best deals. I still have my student ID, Blaise is less than 3, so we pay $3.50 for Roman, and get hours of entertainment. We always start with the rotating exhibit downstairs (which, by the way, currently has the most amazing display of photographs about the birds of the wetlands. Worth the visit.) Then we stroll through the mineral hall and the vertebrate hall. We always finish with the paleontology hall. Can you get better than giant ground sloths, mammoths, and of course, dinosaurs?

Roman is the best person to go to museums with. We've go the the museum a couple of times a year, and every time, he is just as excited as the last time. He wants to look at everything, have me read nearly every plaque, and examine every detail. And every once and a while, he will give a little happy squeak and say, "Museums are awesome." I tried to bypass the Native American anthropology hall and he almost cried. (There is also a fabulous "Bugs Alive" exhibit which I also highly recommend. Roman wouldn't get with in three feet of any of the bug containers. But that is what he has talked about the most.)

Blaise was also good. He didn't climb in to any exhibits, lick any windows, or fall into crevices behind exhibits (yes, I speak from experience.)

Now I need to come up with more family friendly activities. For days and nights.

I think I could get used to this.

Slowing Down

My schedule has changed dramatically.

I don't have classes anymore. I'm finished traveling. I won't have any overnight call until (hopefully) July. I have a small research project that consists of chart review and data entry.

But for the most part, I'm home.

Things haven't been like this for 2 1/2 years.

The boys still go to daycare 3 days a week, so that I can have time to do my research (and run errands, and catch up on some much neglected projects). But in the afternoons, we are all home together.

And Thursdays and Fridays during the day, it is just Blaise and me. The last time it was just Blaise and me was when he was 5 months old, and Roman when to preschool for 2 hours 3 times a week.

Blaise by himself is a completely different child. He is still silly, and spunky, and likes to lug ALL of his toy boxes into the middles of the living room and dump them out. He still likes to see if he can get away with drawing on the side of the bookshelves.

But he is quieter, softer, snuggly-er.

On our last day home together, the sun was coming in the patio window, and looking amazingly inviting. I took a blanket, and pillow, and my book, and laid on the living room floor in the sun. Just so cozy and relaxing.

Blaise was playing with the train tracks a few feet away.

As I'm reading, I suddenly notice Blaise standing over me. He has gotten his blanket out of his crib. He lays it over me, pats my shoulder, and say, "It's okay, Mommy. Take a nap."

I love this time together, just us.

Sledding

We haven't been sledding in a very long time.

That's because the last time we went, Roman sat by the car and cried the entire time. Okay, he was three or four, and didn't like anything cold, or wet, or fast. So obviously, sledding wasn't going to be right up his alley. But we tried. And then never went back.

Until Friday.

No matter how much I dislike winter, I can't stand being coped up inside. So I arranged to meet up with my mom and take my boys and her girls sledding.

We bundled them up as much as we could. And then we chose a nice, small hill.

I took Roman down once with me. And then he agreed to go with my little sister.

Galilee (my little sister) and Roman,
about to set off on their first run of the day

There they go!

After we got the inner-tube pumped up, he agreed once again to try it out with me. And then, to my amazement, he spent the rest of the time there, sledding down the hill on the inner-tube. By himself!

The look of a brave six-year-old

And then the look of happiness!

And every time Roman got to the bottom, he would jump up off the inner-tube, stick his arms in the air, and yell at the top of his lungs, "That was totally wicked!!." Every time.

I took Blaise down, and like expected he laughed the whole way down. At the bottom he immediately wanted to go again. However, one more ride down the hill, and he was done.

Like I said, he was done.
(My mom thinks I'm mean for taking and posting
pictures like this.
I think they're funny.
What do you think?)

Since he is only two, we can still "make" him go down. Which we did. I mean, I can't just leave him up there at the top of the hill by himself.

Blaise, getting a ride back up the hill with Grandma

When the sun set, it was time to go home. Blaise was crying and Roman was laughing.

And today, they both think they had a wonderful time.

Once There was a Snowman

I don't like winter.

It's cold, the boys and I are stuck inside, and we can't do a lot of our favorite things.

Despite all this, even I can't help occasionally getting in the mood for some snow fun.

We've gotten quite a bit of snow lately, mostly the powdery kind.

But yesterday there was a new fall of soft, squishy snow. And the temperature was a little bit warmer.

All of this, of course, adds up to the perfect snowman making conditions.

So after school, I bundled Roman and Blaise up and we went outside to make "the biggest snowman ever."

All bundled up and happy
With a smile that breaks through all the cold

Yep, perfect snowman snow.

We rolled the balls around until they were too heavy for us to move. Which also lead to the problem that I couldn't lift the snowball that was supposed to be the middle. So, being the clever mom I am, we made a snow ramp. (And woke up with sore shoulders. It was that heavy.)

Blaise helping Mom push the snowball for the bottom
and just being cute

Roman, pushing his snowball all by himself
(To show how "strong I am!")

Viola, the "biggest snowman ever!"

Roman with our masterpiece

And yes, it probably is the biggest one we've made.

And the happiest.

A New Project

Since I am now done with both school and residency interviews, I found myself with nothing very demanding on my schedule.

But if you know me, you know it was too good to last.

I just signed up to be a student research assistant for a project with my school's Department of Anesthesiology. Nothing exciting really, just chart reviews. But considering I somehow fanangled my way out of doing any research during medical school, I figured this was a good time to start.

It's nothing too demanding, just a few weeks worth of input. But an incredibly valuable experience.

Unfortunately, it comes with its requirements, such as IRB training. (IRB stands for "Investigation Review Board, which is a panel that makes sure the research people are doing about people is safe and humane, etc, etc.) The training up to this point has entailed of at least 6 hours of reading thrilling passages such as:

"If an IRB has been given the responsibility to consider HIPAA in research issues and if the research potentially falls under the purview of HIPAA, an IRB will be applying not only the 45 CFR 46 exemption categories but also determining if HIPAA applies."

If anyone knows what this means, please let me know.

Backward Glance 2008

This post really should have been done in December or the first week of January. But better late than never. And I feel that 2009 is still young.

2008 was a year of big changes, small adjustments, and high hopes.

Here's a glance at what 2008 held for us...


I switched specialties. I had been planning on becoming a pediatrician, but had a horrible experience, combined with a wake-up call, and decided to do anesthesiology. And have never regretted the switch.

Roman turned 6!

Blaise turned 2!

Keith decided he wanted to go to dental school. This was a huge change for us. Keith had graduated with a double major in math and physics in Spring of 2007. We thought he was done with school. But dental school meant prerequisites and that meant back to school. Big change (but I couldn't be happier! or prouder!)

Roman started first grade! A true elementary school student! I'm still not sure how he grew up so fast. He also went from kind of reading to reading full books.

We decided to enroll Roman in tennis lessons. Roman found a sport he loved and could do, and we found a new family activity.

The boys switched daycares, which was hard. We still miss their old one. Blaise adapted almost effortlessly, as he is so friendly and happy. Roman...Well, we're still working on it.

I graduated from medical school! So, officially, I can add two initials to my signature. M and D.

Keith and I, after celebrating our 7 year anniversary, took a trip, just the two of us, to Florida with a day in the Bahamas. We snorkeled on a coral reef, saw alligators in the wild, and spent a ridiculous amount of time on the beach. Loved it, sunburn and all.

We decided to try pets again, and killed half a dozen neon tetras before getting a goldfish named Rosy (because "she looks like a girl.") The fish has survived for 5 months and is huge.

I started this blog, and then another. And have become fanatic about them.

Many other things happened, including hiking, museums, other celebrations and births. Everyone grew a little bit and got a little bit older.

And, we hope, a little bit wiser.

Spokane and Portland: Trip Recap #4

This will be the final trip recap. (And for the record, there are more than four. I just didn't start labeling them as such until January. But the trips can be found here: Trip 1, Trip 2, Trip 3, Trip 4a, Trip 4b, and Trip 5).

I have done 6 separate trips, stayed in 11 cities in 9 different states (not counting two overnight stays in airports!), and interviewed with 16 different programs.

I'm glad to be done.

This last trip took me to the Northwest.

My first stop was Spokane, WA. I have to admit I was just glad to get there. Spokane has been in the middle of an inversion and has had freezing temperatures and lots, lots of fog. I've had friends that warned me of grounded flights and long waits. So just making it in and out of Spokane without any problem was a relief.

Spokane was a surprise. It was bigger than I had anticipated. The area actually reminded me of the major city closest to where Keith grew up in Western Montana. (Which shouldn't really be surprising, considering how close they are.) The city definitely has a unique feel. One of being older, slower, but homey.

The fog was thick when I got there.

Church tower in the mist

Later, the temperatures dropped and the moisture in the fog froze to everything, creating some of the most beautiful winter scenes I have ever seen.

The frost covered everything in a thick layer

Magical, frosty winter scene
(Click on this picture to see how amazing the frost was!)

I then left the foggy, frosty scenes in Spokane to head to Portland, OR.

My grandmother lives in Portland, this wasn't as new as other trips. What was new was the beautiful clear weather that greeted me when I arrived. The sky was blue, and Mt. Hood stood sparkling in the distance.

Mt. Hood over Portland
(Courtesy of the Internet)

(Since I didn't get the chance to take my own pictures of Mt. Hood, Keith is still convinced that it isn't there, since we were there for a week and he never saw it. You know, rain.)

I stayed in the most fantastic hotel, Hotel Lucia. (I have to admit, I've been looking forward to this particular stay my entire interview trip. And it didn't disappoint.) I don't have any pictures, other than this one of a door knob that reminded me of doorknobs my grandmother had in her Reno home.

Beautiful, antique doorknob

It was a nice trip, but, WOW, it is nice to be done, and home.

Now the next adventure, deciding which of these trips was the winner, and where we would like to go for my training.

I will keep you updated on that later.