Scheduling Conflicts

Randy is a fun-loving-goofy guy. He very rarely gets mad at anything. HOWEVER, you'd best stay out of his way when he's HUNGRY. I'm serious. He becomes this whole other person. I try to have dinner ready before he gets to that point, but you know, sometimes it just doesn't happen. After he eats, he returns to the fun-loving-goofy guy we all love.

Well, it seems that Joshua has inherited this trait from his dad. Every evening, he's impossible! He throws himself on the floor, he screams and he wails. In the past, I could usually appease him with a peanut butter sandwich or string cheese, but tonight, noooooo, he was having none of that. He wanted a warm meal on the table - NOW! And just like Dad, once dinner was served and he got a few bites down, he was all smiles again.

I'm thinking we need to move dinner time a little earlier...

The Power of Praise

I tried the Grocery Game today which turned out to be a small nightmare, but I learned something very powerful in the process.

As I was trying to find the sale items on my list (which were either out of stock or not actually on sale), my kids were losing their patience with me, and I with them. I was on the verge of breaking into "mean mom" mode. You know, when you're sentences are clipped, you use phrases like "QUITIT!" or "STOPIT!," you threaten to put them in time out, take away a privilege, or take their lives. My favorite phrase I use is "You're driving me crazy!!" I hate when I see other moms treating their children impatiently, but I find myself doing the same more than I'd like to admit.

But before I got to that point, a woman said to me, "You're doing a good job, you know. I've been watching you, and it's nice to see parenting done right. I know you don't think you're doing a good job, but you are."

She stopped me dead in my tracks. I wanted to be that good mother she thought I was. As we went to the next store, I found myself treating my kids with more paitence, and they actually did better!

I'm glad that woman took the time to give me a pat on the back.

Soccer, Revisited

Last year we put Andrew in little league soccer. It didn't go over too well. We lasted four LONG weeks, and decided to try again the next year.

And here's our soccer star today:

He loves practice time when the kids get to run and kick the ball aimlessly:

But when it comes to the actual game-playing time, he pretty much looks like this:

When he's called in to play, he'll go out there, but he's crying the entire time. I think the first game he played scared him when he ran into another player pretty hard.

Watching Pre-K little leaguers is quite entertaining. They've got their hands down their pants half the time and they each have crying bouts at least once during the game. One of his teammates carries her doll while playing. Another teammate forgot her shorts today, she just had her socks and jersey on. Pretty funny.

So far, we're undefeated. That might have something to do with player #8-the kid is amazing!

Go Green!!

Flashback Fridays: Back Next Week...

....I know, I'm such a slacker. But I have some good, embarassing stuff to share, so be sure to check back next Friday. My lovely, generous, fabulous friend next door scans my old pictures for me, and I just keep forgetting to ask her to scan my latest Flashbacks. Fridays are sneaky that way. One day it's Monday, and before you know it, it's Friday!

Growin' Up

Josh is 15 months and I am loving it!! I love babies, but I REALLY love the toddler stage. Josh took his first steps two Saturdays ago (a week shy of 15 mos.). We were watching Andrew's soccer game--I guess Josh didn't like the feel of the indoor grass field because he decided to skip the whole crawling thing and take the 5 steps toward his granola bar. He gets better and better everyday, although walking is mostly for recreation--he gets around much more efficiently on all fours.

A toddler toddling...melts my heart!! Here he is with cousin Ammie.

He's just too cute. This is why I get nothing done during the day.

Doesn't he look like Andrew? Andrew liked sitting in this basket as well.

He HAS to feed himself these days. Mealtime lasts an eternity and I need a Shop-Vac to clean up the remains.

Look Ma! No Hands! He's everybody's baby. He flirts with the ladies in Relief Society. He likes to say "whassaat?" He is adventurous and keeps me on my toes all day.

Good Thing For Aunties

My Aunt Maranda helps me hunt for eggs....

...and gives me loves...

...and squeezin's.

I am one lucky baby.

Bunny Sightings 2008

Yep folks, on this sunshiney yet chilly day, the Easter Bunny once again made his appearance. If you see him hopping around your neighborhood, don't be alarmed. His intentions are only to spread cheer and tooth decay....


Good thing he had his Bunny helpers with him. I'm not sure he would've made it without them.

He's like black jelly beans. Either you love him or hate him.

We love him.

Drumroll Please.......

Rice Eccles Stadium, Scholarship Room

Thursday, March 20, 2008, 10 a.m. (sharp)

Congratulations Class of 2008!!

(We're happy, relieved, ecstatic, and grateful. And yes, we'll still live in student housing and be glad about it.)

He WILL Be a Pathologist

We received word via email (as did all 4th year medical students across the nation) that Randy has indeed matched into a residency program. I'm not a very patient person so the suspense is killing me. We find out our fate on Thursday. Here is a conversation Randy had with a patient's daughter today:

Patient's Daughter: So, what field did you choose to go into?

Randy: Pathology.

Patient: That explains what kind of person you are.

Randy: (No comment)

Patient's Daughter: Oh, too bad you won't be working at the clinic. You're so good with people.

Randy: (No comment)

How I wish I could see Randy at work. I know his flagrant comments about detesting patient care are half-truths, but still, I'd like to see him in action.

Sidekick

Josh wants to do everything that big brother does. Here he is watching Andrew playing a computer game:

He just learned how to drink from his cup without help, he doesn't use his hands.

We attempted to sleep the boys in the same room. Andrew was all for it. We set up the Pack 'N Play, which was probably my mistake-Josh has never really liked sleeping in it. We did the whole bedtime routine with extra stories and songs. I then put Josh in his bed, turned out the lights, and ran out of the room. Josh, of course, put up a stink.

Then, something magical happened. Andrew started singing to him. He started with the Itsy Bitsy Spider, then I Am a Child of God, then Silent Night. Josh went silent. Josh soon discovered that it was pretty fun to have a bedtime companion and began squawking and squealing to get big brother's attention. An hour and one very wide awake baby later (Andrew actually fell asleep), I separated them and Josh went back to the storage room. He fell asleep almost instantly. Andrew awoke early the next morning and started crying and asked where brother went.

I think they'll do fine...once I'm brave enough to try it again...

Snow Day

Finding entertainment for two children on a cold, snowy day, in an 800 sq. ft. apartment; not a simple task. We've recently discovered read-along audio books from the library-sure beats the hours of TV watching and Computer Game playing that usually occur on such days...

The Cure for the Wintertime Blues

Swim lessons, three days a week for 5 weeks. A fun diversion during this exceptionally snowy winter. It got us out of the house and we made some new friends...

Jake was his first instructor

They're playing 5 Little Monkeys. The little girl in the pink looks like she has to pee. She probably did, she had to go every 5 minutes. I'm pretty sure Andrew just went in the pool.

His 2nd instructor, James.

Andrew LOVED swimming lessons.

Joshers was good to watch brother from his stroller

Or on Dad's lap. Oh, what a sweet little guy.

Stop with the pictures already!!

My Two Cents

This time last year, I became an American Idol addict. I was already glued to our La-Z-Boy chair anyway with a hungry/grumpy/colicky/adorable baby in my arms. I watched every bit of it and I loved it! I thought Blake Lewis was the best.

Fast forward one year: I'm not much of a TV watcher these days. Rather, I find myself wasting time on the computer or mp3 player. Then, we bought this:

I've been gently coaxing (read:begging) Randy into buying an elliptical machine. We even went shopping for one, but in the end, we decided they were too big and too expensive for us right now. I found this bike on craigslist.com-we got the deal of the century.

So now I have an excuse to become and Idol addict once again.

Here's what I thought of last night's performances. It was the first complete show I've seen this season, and I must say, I was very impressed. I also agreed with the judges 100%.

*Note: I have no musical expertise whatsoever. I base my opinions on whether or not I'd like to listen to them on the radio:

Syesha Mercado - Eh. She has tons of talent, but I thought her performance was cheesy.

Chikezie - Awesome. He did a great job and he was adorable after hearing what the judges had to say.

Ramiele Malubay - I tuned her out.

Jason Castro - I'm not a fan. He looks & acts like he's smoked one too many you-know-whats.

Carly Smithson - I really like her, she's one of my favorites.

David Cook - My favorite performance last night.

Brooke White - Beautiful and so sweet. She's going to be a star.

David Hernandez - Yikes.

Amanda Overmyer - She's got talent, but not my style. She looks way older than 23.

Michael Johns - I want to see more of his performances before I make a decision.

Kristy Cook - Double Yikes. What was she thinking with that song? And I like country music.

David Archuletta - Okay, he forgot the words. He was still adorable. And dang talented.

Flashback Friday: Round Two

After surviving Andrew's first year, I just didn't think I had it in me to have any more kids. It's something that I fretted about since the time we brought Andrew home from the hospital. How can I handle two?!? Really, truly, I worried. Then all of the sudden, when Andrew turned 18 months or so, I was ready. That Spring, Randy and I did the calculations, and we decided if we got pregnant the next month, the baby would be due during Randy's Christmas break; and somehow, magically, we got pregnant that month.

No pregnancy tests in the Albertson's bathroom this time. Actually, knowing that I'd spent a small fortune on tests while trying to conceive Andrew, I ordered a package of tests from the internet at a much lower cost. As I was walking back up the hill from picking up the tests from the mailroom, I thought to myself, "I'm pregnant." That hill just about killed me.

I took the test, and what do you know, it was positive. It was the faintest of faint lines, but there was a line. I then proceeded to take the four other tests that were in the package. When Randy came home that evening, I gave him the good news. He said something like, "Well, that was quick." I went to the MSA cooking club that evening, and kept my sweet little secret to myself. It didn't take me long to blab the good news, though, I'm horrible at keeping happy things like that to myself.

Having a winter baby suits me very well. I had very little swelling this time. I was able to exercise up until my 37th week. I felt so good the whole time. It almost felt like I was cheating somehow because I never got too uncomfortable. I relished the somersaults and cartwheels that made my belly lopsided and bumpy.

I was sure we were having a girl, even though, deep down inside, I wanted a boy. Randy was sure it was a boy. When we found out we were indeed having another boy, I was giddy for weeks.

This pregnancy went quickly. Taking care of a toddler will do that to you. Maybe that's the reason why I only took the time to take two pictures...

31 weeks

34 weeks

Flashback Friday: Andrew the Artist

It's been a busy week around here, so for this week, I'm going to post one of my favorite pictures of Andrew:
I love this picture because it shows Andrew's obsession for the color red. Also, this was taken during potty training last summer. He spent his days either in the buck or in his character-clad undies. So cute.

This picture was taken yesterday. The love for red is still going strong, but as you can see, he will occasionally venture out. He designed, printed, colored, and hung these pictures with absolutely no assistance from me. I was busy neglecting him while finishing up a last minute project. I was pretty impressed that he made such good use of his time while being ignored.

How to Get Through the Day with a Fussy Baby

#1

Visit the pediatrician for the 2nd time in 10 days, get a prescription for antibiotics (ear infection).

#2

Go out to lunch.

#3

Go window shopping and try on shoes (even better if you have the funds to buy a new pair, but not necessary)

#4

Go home and take a nap.

To Our Future...

The decision to pursue Pathology was so tough for us that I just didn't have enough worry left in me when it came time for us to rank our residency programs. I think I was in denial about the fact that Randy changed his rank list about 5 times a day. I know I was in denial because when Randy came home from school earlier than usual today and started off with an, "Ok........," he threw me for yet another loop. We had less than three hours to finalize our decision--talk about last minute! Well, at least it was only three hours of agony. As of 7 pm, our rank list is finalized; and it is out of our hands. Believe you me, March 20th won't come fast enough for us.

If you're interested, here is how the residency match works. And don't worry, we're just as confused as you are...

How the Matching Algorithm Works

The NRMP matching algorithm uses the preferences expressed in the rank order lists submitted by applicants and programs to place individuals into positions. The process begins with an attempt to place an applicant into the program indicated as most preferred on that applicant's list. If the applicant cannot be matched to this first choice program, an attempt is then made to place the applicant into the second choice program, and so on, until the applicant obtains a tentative match, or all the applicant's choices have been exhausted.

An applicant can be tentatively matched to a program in this process if the program also ranks the applicant on its rank order list, and either:

• the program has an unfilled position. In this case, there is room in the program to make a tentative match between the applicant and program.
• the program does not have an unfilled position, but the applicant is more attractive to the program than another applicant who is already tentatively matched to the program. In this case, the applicant who is the least preferred current match in the program is removed from the program, to make room for a tentative match with the more preferred applicant.

Matches are "tentative" because an applicant who is matched to a program at one point in the matching process may be removed from the program at some later point, to make room for an applicant more preferred by the program, as described in the second case above. When an applicant is removed from a previously made tentative match, an attempt is made to re-match that applicant, starting from the top of his/her list. This process is carried out for all applicants, until each applicant has either been tentatively matched to the most preferred choice possible, or all choices submitted by the applicant have been exhausted.

When all applicants have been considered, the match is complete and all tentative matches become final.

Baby For Sale

$1 o.b.o.

Andrew's First Scripture

Andrew was assigned to give a scripture in Primary for the first time. We picked a verse that would be easy enough for him to memorize and then practiced all week. Here's what Andrew learned:

John 14:15 - "If ye love me, keep my commandments."

Field Trip: Utah Museum of Fine Arts

Our preschool class went on their first field trip last week. We went to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts. We took the shuttle:



Miss Kathy gave us a worksheet. We had to find works of art that were red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black, brown, and white. Then we had to find something that started with the letters J & G. We had to find 16 of something and something in the shape of a hexagon:

It was a lot of fun.