The Doctor Is In (but rarely home)

The Mrs. has been on me for some time now to post about work. She says that she's even had a couple of requests. For those of you hoping this was going to be a list of items that I have pulled out of various body cavities, I am sorry to disappoint you. This won't be that sort of post. Residency so far has been such an amazing (and exhausting) experience for all of us. The 80-hour weeks, 30 hour shifts, not sleeping in my bed for days at a time, it hasn't been easy to get used to. However, the thought of being out on my own in 3 years practicing medicine without any supervision scares me enough to understand why I have to spend so much time at the hospital.

In the past month I have delivered ten babies and pronounced three people dead. I've shocked two people with paddles. I've done more pelvic and rectal exams than I would care to recall. I've watched a wife and her two-year-old son come to visit her husband in the ICU every day and spend hours talking to him, just hoping that maybe someday he'll be able to say something back to her. I've seen people's lives change, sometimes for the better, but usually for the worse. I've saved a schizophrenic man's life when I used my shears to cut the bed sheet that he had used to hang himself with from the ceiling of the emergency department. I've learned that a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the chest isn't always fatal, particularly if you use bird shot. I've learned that some people are going to die no matter what you try to do to save them, and I've seen other people make it through things even after everyone had written them off.

Finally, I've learned that being a doctor's wife can be very lonely. Once I asked a friend in medical school who's father was a physician what it was like having your father being gone all the time. She told me that it was difficult. He couldn't always make it to school plays, or athletic events,and he even missed a birthday party or two, but then she smiled and said that what got her through it was knowing that her father's patients needed him more at that moment than she did. While I plan on having plenty of time to be with my family when I'm done with residency, I hope that we can have that perspective while I'm in residency and not able to be with them as much as I like. I love what I'm doing and looking back, I don't think I could feel nearly this fulfilled doing anything else.

Check out a video that my residency program put together when you get a chance. Hope everyone is well. I'll post again sometime when I have a chance.

http://emergencymedicine.iusm.iu.edu/

Funny phrases and homemade words

Some of my favorite lines the last few days:

Mom: "Search, please don't hit your brother."
Search hits his brother.
Mom: "Ok, Search, time-out". I pick him up and take him to his room.
Search: "I'm going to put you on a time-out".
Mom: "You can't, I'm the Mommy."
Search: "Yes I can. I'm the Search (insert real name here)!"


On the way home from the store Destroy was having a tantrum.
Mom: "Change your attitude, Destroy, or you're not watching a movie today."
A few more minutes of whimpering, then the whining stops.
Destroy: "Mom! My attitude is gone!"

My mom and I went to Target the other day to buy stuff to organize the boys' art stuff. Apparently Search heard the word "organize". So the whole way home we heard, "organize, organize, organize" varying in pitch and intensity from the back seat. It made me think about what a strange word it is, especially when he made it into a song and wouldn't stop singing it.

Destroy has recently become enamoured with "Little Einsteins". It's a cute little show that teaches a variety of things. Included are musical terms such as staccato, diminuendo, allegro, etc. I noticed Destroy doing the pee pee dance while watching one of the videos and told him I would help him go to the bathroom really quick so he could get back to his movie. While we are zipping him up he says, "Hurry up, Mom or I'll miss the crescendo!"

Does your child ever use homemade words? I wish I would have written them down, but Destroy makes up words all the time. He has recently added a substitute word for "stupid", which he is not allowed to say, to his vocabulary. It's sounds something like, "stukedadie". Yes, among others are "chutty", "tash tash", "pencinal", and "go go". Nancy, do you remember any others? I am able to figure out what some of them mean, but others I think he uses just to perplex me.

My Love/Hate Relationship

Have you ever bought something for hundreds of dollars that you absolutely hate? Well, I have. Our very own Nordictrack treadmill. We've been thinking of getting a treadmill for a while now because running outside here is the pits. In the summer it's too hot and muggy and it's just way too cold in the winter. So my mom called me the other day telling me that there was a sale at Sears for treadmills. On top of that, she said they would give us our Christmas early this year and pay for it. How could we resist? So, thanks, Mom for the treadmill. I hate running on it but how else am I going to keep up with my after-the-kids-go-to-bed-sweets-binging? It calls to me every other day but I pretend not to hear it until it's really yelling. We put it up in the loft so I can run and keep an eye on the kids while they watch a movie. It's also nice to have the freedom to shed clothes at will. And the treadmill is complete with a built in fan, and a grade function so that you can run up a really steep hill if you want. But I don't. I'm good for two flat miles in twenty minutes and no more. And that's about all the boys are good for too. Aaron usually runs twice what I do, in half the time and tells me that I need to step it up and run more and faster. Why? I'm perfectly content running 10 minute miles. Besides, I hate the treadmill and I don't want to spend any more time on it that I have to. 2 miles, 20 minutes. That's it.
Of course the boys have to "run" on it too after I'm done. But mostly they like to repeatedly lay on it and get shoved off the end. It's a series of giggles, more giggles and then someone usually ends up injured.

Tagged by Nicole

10 years ago I: was a sophomore in high school! I had just learned how to drive a car and drive my parents crazy by seriously dating my first real boyfriend and being your typical flaky teenager.

5 years ago I: had just gotten married a few months before and was blissfully kidless. But not without responsibility, Aaron and I left the house at 7 am, went to classes and work until 6 every night. But it was a lot of fun being newly weds!

1 year ago I: lived in Verano and hung out at the playground all day with the Gardener and her kids, going to the beach, Disneyland, playgroup and the awesome library. I miss those times!

Yesterday I: went to swim lessons where I watched my oldest swim by himself! I went shopping at 6 stores because I had coupons at each and I played online boggle last night. I love boggle.

5 snacks I enjoy: wheat thins with cream cheese, cookie dough, tomatoes with salt and pepper, graham crackers and milk, salad with homemade ranch dressing.

5 things I would do with a million dollars: pay off student loans, start our retirement because we're still students and have none, build a wicked cool playground and pool in the backyard, donate to charity, add to the boys' college funds.

5 places I would run away to: Italy to eat, my craft room to finish J & A's stockings, a spa for a full body massage, a cabin in Sunriver with Aaron, visit family.

5 TV shows I like: LOST, 24, Gilmore Girls, Lingo (is that even on anymore?), cosby show.

5 Things I hate doing: cleaning bathrooms, weeding, grocery shopping, disciplining, having to
come up with ideas for dinner.

Biggest joys of the moment: get to watch conference today, have two cute little boys who do new and funny things everyday, my mom comes this week, Aaron is home today, almost done with J & A's stockings.

People to tag: everyone but only if you want to!

The Week of the Unmade Bed

So, Aaron has been working nights for the last two weeks from 6 pm-7 am. He has been on OB/GYN and he was required to get 10 baby deliveries in those two weeks. He got all ten and the last few deliveries he did all on his own! I told him that maybe he could deliver our next baby but he said he'd rather play Dad than Doctor. I'm not arguing. I'd rather have him looking at my blood vessel broken face than other places anyway. So between my sleeping and night and Aaron sleeping a good chunk of the day in our bed, it hasn't been made once until this weekend. That's two weeks of messy bed. On top of that, Destroy has been sick and sleeping in our bed during the day when Aaron isn't in there. He's been sleeping a lot this week, and now even though he isn't sick, he still wants to take naps! And he still goes to bed at 7:30! Keep it up! Right. Poor little guy was so sick that he fell asleep out on the lawn while Aaron and I were planting new grass. And he even fell asleep on the windowsill. Comfy.

When we were feeling up to it, we played school. My in-laws gave us these great step stools that can easily be converted into school desks. Destroy is very good at playing bossy teacher and Search is great at listening. They are very intent on cutting. We even put name tags on the desks.We also made fall crafts. I love the JoAnn dollar section. They sell a craft in a bag for a buck. We tried at first to use glue sticks but that wasn't working. So, I had to bust out the glue gun. Even though the GLUE-GUN sounded like a lot of fun to the boys, after burning themselves, I pretty much finished them myself because they were too afraid of the glue gun. But, I burned myself too. And if you look closely you'll notice that the scarecrows were burned too because they are crying. Or maybe that's just glue that dripped. And I had to get a patriotic shot with the fireworks behind them.

The only way I could get them to take this picture was to let the scarecrows stand on their heads.While Destroy slept his life away this week, Search and I ventured into some cooking projects. We made yummy potato soup and homemade wheat bread. Unfortunately we had some expired yeast because it wouldn't rise and even after it was cooked it was the size of the bread they serve at Outback and about as dense and a tree. But, surprisingly, it still tasted good. Or maybe that's just what Aaron said so that I didn't feel like the afternoon spent in the kitchen was a total waste of time. Do you think Search had fun? I came back into the kitchen after a few minutes and found him grabbing handfuls of flour and dumping onto the counter. The kid has a thing for flour. He's spilled it on the floor more than once. I didn't get a picture of it though because I didn't want him to think it was funny. This picture is just of him helping me.

The Glass Castle

You know how every once in a while you read a book that you absolutely love? Well, I read "The Glass Castle" two weeks ago and 4 books ago (that tells you what an exciting life I have right there) and I still think about it. It's a memoir about a family and the parents are just unbelievable. You would not believe some of the crazy things that happens to this family. I won't say any more but I definitely recommend it!

Splurge vs. Skimp

My friend Nicki asked what kinds of things I splurge on and what kind of things I skimp on. So here goes.

10 SPLURGES
1. Tillamok cheese. It's simply the best. I was devastated to come out to Indianapolis and find that the local stores carry only Kraft or store brand cheese. But, with further research I've since learned that Costco once more saves the day and carries Tillamok. Too bad it's a half and hour away.
2. Produce. If it's on sale, great. If it's not, I buy it anyway. I am known as the fruit and vegetable Nazi in our house. If my kids will eat it, and produce being the best thing you can put into your body, I'll buy it no matter what the cost.
3. Car Insurance. I pay a little extra for a dependable auto insurance who have been highly recommended. The cheap-o auto insurance companies scare me a bit.
4. Jeans. I'm not talking Lucky or Diesel, but I have to admit that if I find a pair of jeans that fit me like a dream, I'll pay $50 (I guess that's not as bad as some).
5. Shoes. The boys wear Stride Rite (unless we're at church) and I always buy Adidas for running shoes. My Mom taught me never to mess with your feet because they are the only ones you get. So take care of them!
6. Sensodyne toothpaste. Unfortunately I have pretty sensitive teeth so I have to pay a couple extra bones to help me out in the sensitivity department so that I can comfortable eat ice cream.
7. Education. Duh. I didn't care what the cost of Destroy's preschool was going to be, I just found the one I thought would work the best for him and shelled out the dough.
8. Pizza. Papa John's is the best. Sorry, Nicki, I'd have to disagree with you and say that pizza does not all taste the same. I'll spend a couple of extra bucks on tastier pizza.
9. Face wash. I only buy the Clinique foaming face wash. I love the stuff, what can I say?
10. Electronic things. If we're going to buy something expensive, we might as well spend a bit extra so that we can insure that it lasts, right? Computers, DVD players, etc.6.
11. Huggies wipes. Why do my kids have nasty, giant smears of poo when I change them? I use about 12 wipes every time Search goes #2. Why can't it be a nice little clump? Oh, because I'm the fruit Nazi. That's why. No other wipes can compete with Huggies as far as cleaning those little bums.

10 SKIMPS
1. Almost all food items. I buy either what's on sale or the store brand for just about everything. I don't buy store brand ice cream (Dreyers, Breyers and B&J's only but only when on sale).
2. Clothes except for jeans. I spent $40 bucks for the boys clothes recently at this huge baby re-sale and got most of their winter clothes. I buy shirts from no-name stores and Target because they are cute, cheap and usually end up with stains or holes in them anyways.
3. I have to agree with Nicki on the sunglasses thing. I lose them or the kids break them way too often to justify buying expensive ones. So, until I get a brain and my kids grow up, the Target dollar spot is where it's at.
4. Kids toys, in the rare event that I buy them. The only time a buy a semi-expensive toy is for Christmas or birthday. For some odd reason, my children rarely play with toys. They like to search and destroy, watch movies, draw and play outside. So the only place I buy them toys, if at all, is once again the Target dollar spot or Joann dollar spot. They have all kinds of great art stuff at the Joann dollar spot.
5. Shampoo, lotion, soap, paper towels, etc. I usually wait until the Costco coupons come around.
6. Medicine. Never buy brand name if there's generic. Having a medically inclined husband, it's nice to know that, yes Nicki, they really are the same thing.
7. Southwest Airlines. Living a long ways from family now it's expensive to fly home. So, we go with unassigned seating, cheesy, singing flight attendants and long lines. It's worth the price cut though.
8. Tithing. Just kidding!
9. Wendy's dollar menu.
10. Everything else not mentioned in the splurge group.

What do you skimp on and what do you splurge on?