The Doctors Wife

Rain, Rain, Go Away

It has been gloomy and rainy today, and there is rain in the forecast everyday for the next week. We are feeling a little cooped up, not being able to go for a walk, or outside to play makes the day long. I am ready for the sunshine to be back!

We're ready to be back outside so we can play with side-walk chalk!

And play in the sand box! (love the wind-blown hair!)

Rain, Rain, go away! (also, not fond of the wet dog smell!)

In Pursuit...

Of A Smile

My little man is such a happy, smiley guy! But trying to get his sweet smile on film? Argh! It's impossible- I end up with many pictures of strange, silly faces and smirks, but oh one day, one day I will get a smile!

Medical Mondays- Do You Build Your House?

Proverbs 14:1 says, "The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish tears it down with her own hands." This verse has a lot of meaning, but today I'm going to focus on how it applies to us, as wives of doctors. (really this applies to everyone!) Most doctors work very long hours, and especially as interns, residents, and fellows have very little control over the hours that they work. In turn, this means that as a wife of a doctor, there will be times when you will find yourself putting the kids to bed by yourself, going to social functions alone, tackling the to-do list on your own, etc. You can accept this as part of your husbands career and make the best of it, or you can tear down your house, your husband and your marriage by "pouting and punishing*" your husband over things that he cannot change. So how can you build your house?

• Understand that there are going to be times when your husband will have to work long hours, miss important events, or get called in at the last minute, and plans may be unexpectedly changed.

• Be understanding about this, your husband is probably frustrated too. He would probably rather be home with you, not stuck at work. You can be frustrated at the situation, but don't take it out on your spouse.

• Acknowledge how hard your spouse works, and how much you appreciate what he does for his family. Remember that acknowledging his hard work is not saying that you don't work hard too.  It is highly likely that you both work long hours (whether you work at home or out of the home, or both!) You appreciate it when you get a little acknowledgment  for all of your hard work, and he does too!

• Don't berate your husband for missing things/ being late/ etc. to your children. Talk respectfully about your husband to your children. 

• Explain to them the importance of what your husband does- helping people is a noble calling. We talk about our "hard-working Daddy", and how lucky we are to have a Daddy who works so hard for us. (remember that acknowledging that someone else works hard, doesn't mean that you don't!)

• Don't just acknowledge this to your children, tell your husband too!

• Have realistic expectations- know when your husband is going to be working. Put it on your calendar so you know his schedule when you are planning things.  

• When your children have events that your husband must miss, include him by video taping the event, taking pictures, and having your children perform an encore performance for Daddy. 

• When long hours interfere with family time- get creative! Can you have a lunch date with Daddy? Maybe a phone call or video chat? Not as good as time with Dad, but make the best of it! 

These are just a few ideas to help "build your home". It's not easy when your husband's long hours at work translate into more responsibility for you, but punishing your husband for something he cannot control is not going to help things. Build your home, and your husband with positive and encouraging words. I hope you come back next week for more Medical Mondays! 

Hannah's Favorite Activity

Yesterday I mentioned the creation of the craft closet. Besides general craft supplies, it also holds different activity bins (some general, some specific). Right now Hannah's favorite bin is the bean bin:

This has got to be the easiest (and cheapest!) activity ever, and Hannah LOVES it! Dried beans are a great tactile and manipulative play activity that is excellent for fine motor skills. I have a plastic shoe box that is full of beans, another box holds measuring cups, funnels, sieves, etc. I add a tray and large bowl and Hannah has a blast transferring them from the box to the bowl, and back again. She is happily entertained with this for a long time! We also have a box that contains rice, and she plays with it the same way. (the cups, funnels, etc. are also used to play with water and sand-outside!) I purchased all of the cups, beans, boxes, etc. at the dollar store so this was super cheap!
(This should be supervised- the last thing you want is your child choking on a bean!)

I hope this gives you some ideas for cheap and easy tactile play! I'll share some more activities- so be on the look-out!

Taming The Two's

One change I made before David was born was the creation of a "craft closet". I knew that I would need to have an organized area to keep the growing  number of activities, craft projects, supplies, etc. so I could easily get Hannah started on an activity. It has been a huge help! Because everything is pre-organized, I can get Hannah set up even if I'm holding David. And Mike appreciates it too- he knows where everything is and does not have to hunt anything down! I have activities pre-organized as well as a pretty decent supply of craft supplies. We have had a lot of fun trying out new things- Hannah is at such a fun age and just loves to color/ paint/ glue/ etc! Here is a peek into my "craft closet":

Later I'll share some ideas for easy projects, and Hannah's FAVORITE activity! 

Trusting My Instincts

Hannah has been unusually fussy lately. It could be explained as the terrible two's setting in, but in my gut I knew that something was going on. I suspected a UTI and took her to the pediatrician on Monday, we got the lab results back today, and sure enough she has a bladder infection. I am so glad that I trusted my gut. She is now on an antibiotic and will hopefully be feeling better soon!

Medical Mondays- When Is The Timing Right?

In the medical journey there are lots of things to consider regarding your family. One topic that comes up very often in emails I get is, "When is a good time to have children?" Surprise, surprise! There is no easy/ right answer to this question. There are so many things to consider and each consideration is going to be unique to your family's circumstances. That being said, here are a few of my thoughts on this...

There is no perfect time. If you are waiting to have all of your ducks in a row, you will wait your entire life. While there are certainly times that may be better than others, medical school, residency, fellowship, and private practice can all be great times. I have lots of friends who had babies in medical school and thought the timing was fantastic. Hannah was born right before Mike started his internship, and that worked really well for us, and David's birth during residency has been great! We have friends who have had children during both fellowship and when they were in private practice and that has worked out fantastic for them. The thing about planning your family, is that the plan is not going to be perfect! Different seasons of your life will offer different opportunities, challenges, and benefits. I think the two biggest considerations besides the whole "Are we ready?"thing, are time and money. Some times you may be rich on time, but cash poor, while other times the opposite may be true. Time and money are two things that hardly anyone feels that they have enough of, and you can always have more of.  I think it just comes down to prayerfully, and thoughtfully considering when things are the most right for you. (not perfect, because it will never be!) Don't let being in medical school/internship/residency/fellowship/setting up practice be a reason to put your life on hold. Live your life, no matter what phase of the medical journey you are at. Make the best of where you are and live your life so you can look back and not have "wasted years" that you regret.

What do you think? Is there a good/ better/ best time to start a family?

Food Waste Friday

I have to say, I am pretty happy with how things went. There are weeks that I feel like I throw so much away, and it really bothers me when my lack of planning leads to so much waste. It is like throwing away money, and we work too hard to throw away money. So while I know that there are some of you out there who may think this is a lot, this is good for me. So here it is, here is what I tossed this week:

Not as bad as I have been in the past! The ricotta was almost empty, the oranges were a Hannah thing (ie I want oranges, oh wait, but not to eat), the cucumber salad was tasty, but gave me heartburn (peppers) so I never finished, and the cheese, well that's just gross!

And I guess I'll  count this:

What is this you ask? It was my attempt to use up a bunch of apples before they went bad. 

I found a recipe for crock pot applesauce- needless to say it is not a keeper and the apples were not salvageable.

I have to say that this really helped- I was much more aware of all of the leftovers in the fridge and did a better job planning my meals to use up the ingredients that we had. Thanks to Kristen at The Frugal Girl for this great way to be accountable! If you want to see what other people tossed or do a quick clean of your fridge and join in, head over here to check it out!

*Edited to add- this does not count any "table-scraps" from meals throughout the week. Unless there is enough of something to use again for another meal, eat as leftovers, etc. I don't count it. I do not want to feel compelled to eat every scrap of food- I eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm full! This is to help me me more accountable at using up ingredients/ produce, etc. that I purchase each week, to be more thoughtful in planning out meals so I can utilize leftovers and the ingredients that I have on hand. There have been times when I have thrown out things that were never opened, used, etc. and that is a terrible waste! I have been working on cutting back on waste, and I thought this would be great in keeping me accountable! And as far as Hannah goes- I toss a LOT of what I fix for her! She is a toddler and I know this is normal, I will save something and try again if it is appropriate, but again, I do toss a lot of what I put in front of her!

Stop And Smell The Flowers

Sometimes you just need to stop and smell the flowers!

The Children...They Take Over

Before I had children, I thought that my home would never become a sea of brightly colored plastic. Boy was I naive. There is not one room in my home that does not have evidence of children.

Here is one corner of my living room- don't the bright colors add a touch of class?

The Bar-top 

The Entryway

The Guest bath

Even the pantry has a toddler friendly section (I think we have every flavor of bunny there is)

Having kids will be evident even out of your house, even if I don't take the diaper bag, there are always a few essentials that make it into my purse (here is a nursing cover, diaper holder, wipes, and random toy, and my car? Don't even get me started!)

Yes, every room of my house, my car, and even my pockets (which often have a paci in them) have all been taken over by my kids. I actually have pictures of every room of my house (including my closet) but I am running out of nap time and battery power, so you'll just have to use your imagination. And if you have kids, that shouldn't be too hard! It's crazy to think how much my life (and home!) have changed in the last two years. Sometimes I find myself getting annoyed at the clutter (and we do a pretty good job of keeping things picked up), but I also know that years from now my home will feel empty without all of their things. So I try not to let it bother me and try to enjoy this season, even if it means my countertops are the permanent home to a drying rack with various pacis, sippy cups, bottles, breast pump parts, and other toddler/ baby gear. 

Because these two right here? Totally worth all of the clutter and chaos. 

(And don't you love the look on David's face? "You're not going anywhere are you Mom? You're not really going to let her hold me, are you Mom?"