The Doctors Wife

All American Boy

I love my All-American boy!

Something's Fishy

We saw this guy swimming around at our local aquarium, (In case you can't read it, it's a Doctorfish) and I had to get a picture. Hannah loves to go and look at all of the fish, and it's so hot outside it makes for a great air-conditioned way to spend a morning!

(what you can't see in this picture is the little girl who was trying to get in all my pictures, (and made it into a few) it was so funny! Her mother was so embarrassed when she figured out what she was doing, but it was cracking me up!)

David likes to look at the fish too, I think his favorite are the jellyfish with the black light.

He is so mesmerized by them, I wonder where I could put a jellyfish tank in my house...

A Completely New Way For Me To Waste Time

So I caved and joined Facebook. My parents have been trying to get me to join for forever and I have resisted because I have heard it is addictive and will suck up your time and turn your mind into friend request mush, but I decided I'd take my chances. And my good gracious, it is addictive. But it's nice to have something besides Etsy to spend some mindless time when I'm up at ridiculous hours with the little man. And can I say that I have been up about every two hours with him over the last couple of weeks? The last two nights have been better, but in some freak coincidence, when he would go over the two hour mark, Hannah would randomly get up and start crying. I'm not sure what that is all about, unless they are trying to tag team their Mama so that she is so tired her strict tv rules go out the window and it's Blue's Clues for everyone! But luckily (Thank you Lord!!) my Mom is coming up for a few days and I am so stinkin' excited I can hardly wait!! I see a nap in my future, that is unless I end up spending that time on facebook...

Yuck!

After reading this, you'll think twice about eating fast food. Yuck!!!! We eat almost all organic at home, but we do occasionally eat out or grab a quick bite of fast food, and this just makes me want to never eat fast food again. (oh Sonic happy hour, you lure me in, you're like a siren!)

Upside Down

Right-Side Up

Eight Years Ago...

I married the man of my dreams! And eight years later I would do it all again, I love you Mike!

Random Recap

Where have I been? Has it really been a week? What have we been up to? Ahh bullet points, how I love you so.

• The kids and I headed to my parents house. They have been remodeling and their house looks gorgeous!! It is weird because it is the home I grew up in, and while the furniture/paint/ etc. has changed several times, this has been the biggest change. It's weird because it's like their house, but not their house. But it is beautiful and I am officially in love with their living room rug.

• Hannah is fascinated with their cat, Benny. After we arrived she wandered around the house going,"Cat? Cat? Where are you?" Then when she would find him she would excitedly say, "There he is. Ooooh he's pretty. He's cute". It was adorable.

• While I loved seeing my parents home and getting to visit with my brother and nieces (who live near my parents) it will probably be a long time before we go back for a visit. Unfortunately David is not a fan of the car, and unlike every other baby I've ever known or heard of, he does not sleep in the car.  He will cry and then scream and get himself incredibly worked up, and I have tried just about everything I can think of to keep him calm and happy in the car, and nothing works. I can stand a little crying driving in town, but being in the car for a couple of hours with Screechy McScreamerson will make you think twice before going anywhere.

• I (finally) had Hannah's two year pictures done, and it was a disaster. It was an incredibly irritating experience and while Target has lured me back after a less than stellar session before with their cheap, cheap prices, I can say that I cannot do it one more time and will happily and willingly pay more money to go somewhere else. 

• We got back David's three month pictures (from a local photographer who also did all of Hannah's baby pictures, he is expensive, but worth every penny. Unlike Target, we have always had very good experiences with him I LOVE all of the pictures that he has done of Hannah and David's have turned out just as fabulous) and they are adorable!! I need more frames so I can display them all!

• My parents and Mike's parents came up for the weekend. It was a busy but fun weekend. Hannah and David enjoyed having four extra adults around who are happy and completely willing to pay complete and total attention to them.

• We went to the end of year dinner/ awards for Mike's residency group and it was lovely. It is nice to meet his colleagues and put names with faces. Mike also received an award for the highest score on the test that all the residents have to take. I am very proud of him, he is such a hard worker!

That's all that's going to spill out of my mind for now, Medical Monday is going to take a little summer vacation for the next couple of weeks. But it will be back, I am just needing to cut back a little computer time during the next week or so to do a little re-grouping at home, and some of my computer time will be spent trying to get my email under control. It is a nasty beast, you turn your back for a minute and your inbox is overflowing with hundreds of emails. Sigh. Every time I think I get it under control, it comes backing swinging. So I will be in and out over the next few days and hope that you all are having a perfectly lovely summer!

Medical Mondays- You Can't Have It Both Ways

I remember when Mike was in medical school, and I watched  an episode of Dr. Phil that has stuck with me to this day. It was about a couple who's marriage was having troubles, and at the heart of the issue was the principle, you can't have it both ways. The husband was an ER doc and worked a lot of hours to provide a lifestyle that his wife wanted. She wanted the big house, nice cars and the ability to shop and buy whatever she wanted. Her husband put in lots of hours and his wife slowly but surely began to feel resentful of all the time he spent at work. She became lonely and shopped to fill the void that she felt. Her husband would get the bills and pick up extra hours to cover her spending, in turn she became more resentful and lonely and spent more money. And the cycle continued and both were miserable. I've had acquaintances that spend their husbands paycheck before it's in the bank- they have a list of all the things that they want, and often their husbands are willing to pick up an extra shift or two to make it happen. But then they turn around and complain about the extra hours, never making the connection that they are inadvertently asking their husbands to work those hours. They haven't made the connection that those things that they want cost money that is outside of their husbands salary, and picking up those extra hours is what provides for those extras.

 Now there's nothing wrong with wanting a big house or a nice car, to send your kids to private school, or sign them up for various lessons, or to go on vacations, or shopping, or whatever. And if you have children it can be really hard to resist the urge to "give them the best of everything". (which can have a pretty steep price tag) The problem comes when you sacrifice the kind of family life you desire for material things. I think it is all about finding a balance that works for you and your family. Depending on what stage you're at in your life/marriage/parenthood/career, different things may be more of a priority. And that is fine, as long as you and your husband are on the same page and you are making priorities so you can afford the things that you enjoy and will enhance your family time instead of falling into the vicious cycle of trying to have it all, all at the same time. Or worse, paying for a lifestyle that you don't really want to keep up appearances. It sounds silly, but it happens. It's easy enough to do if you don't sit down and clearly prioritize what you want for your family, because society certainly has a "value system" and even if it does not align with what you want, it's easy enough to start to believe and live like it is. 

So I want to know, how do you prioritize? I have a friend who loves to travel and so they save in other areas so they can afford a nice family vacation each year. We have a list of the things that we want to do, (including vacations, new furniture, etc.) the list is prioritized and we just go down the list. How about you?

One Year Ago

It is amazing how much a year can change your life. This time last year, we were in the midst of  unpacking and preparing for Mike to start his new job. And even bigger, I found out I was pregnant with David.  I was starting to experience nausea, but I think I smiled for days. I was so excited, and could hardly wait to share our news. (I waited for several days, and I'm not sure how I didn't burst!) It is amazing to look back and see how different things were, how far we've come, and I can only imagine what the next year will hold. Last year I was dreaming of holding my sweet baby, and today I am so lucky to have such a sweet, healthy, chomp-able little sweetie!

I could chomp those little cheeks and thighs all day! 

A New Tradition

When we went to the zoo last week, Hannah rode the carousel. And can I just say how much she loved it? The next time we go I will have to take the video camera, because this little girl's face lit up and she grinned and had such a good time! I down-loaded pictures from my camera tonight and had to share this one! I think we have a new zoo tradition!