The C's

Lazy Days

2011-06-05T13:57:00.009-04:00

I came home from work on Friday to discover summer in full swing on the kids' first day without school.

When did I become a mom to such big boys?

Micah hosted a "pool party" for the neighbor girls (who happen to own a real pool complete with waterslide, etc.).

The Farmer's newly developed masonry skills were showcased in the cookout.

It was so much fun hanging out with the fam eating hot dogs and veggie dogs (Eli), watching fireflies, and chillin'. Love summer!

Summer haircuts ensued for all (except me).

Only the most dramatic one was captured on film.

Nursery

2011-02-17T10:38:00.010-05:00

That's right. We've hit the 18 month mark and church will henceforth be more enjoyable. Besides nursery, we're dealing with horsies, horsies, horsies, books, balls, bikes, baths, 40ish words including all our names and a couple of two-word sentences, a strong will, outdoors, milk, shoes and socks, arm-folding, chasing, and only 7 teeth. Here are a few catch-up images:

10 months

11 months

11 1/2 months (the chimpanzee phase)

12 months

12 1/2 months

12 2/3 months

13 months

14 months

15 months

16 months

16 1/2 months

17 months

17 1/2 months

18 months

I must add that this child is a pleasure to parent (despite the look on his face in that last picture). He's funny, smart, affectionate, and handsome. I'm in love with him.

Nauvoo and the Talented Elder and Sister C.

2011-01-06T10:59:00.007-05:00

We had the good fortune of visiting AlTam in Nauvoo last week. It was a privilege to see them at work in their various missionary responsibilities. We had a great time visiting the sites and learning some church history as well--we heard many inspiring true stories about the early days of Nauvoo and we came away with respect and appreciation for what those early saints endured and accomplished. We definitely want to go back for a longer stay.

A few pictures from our visit: (Unfortunately, thanks to a mischievous toddler, our camera was acting up during "Rendevous in Nauvoo." I was really hoping to capture some images of AlTam singing and acting!)

He's Nine

2010-12-14T23:21:00.002-05:00

"He's nine" is a phrase my mother uttered many times one year to excuse my younger brother's sister-perterbing behavior. During this past year, I have found myself in my mother's shoes. For example, the following conversation occurred at Seth's sleepover half-birthday party.

Eli (in reference to Seth and his friends): They're so immature.

Me: They're nine.

Around the dinner table tonight, I teased Seth that he is a walking oxymoron:

1. He's a tough cool guy, yet emotional and sensitive and good with babies.

2. He's a speed demon on the field, yet a dawdler getting ready.

3. He's responsible--gets up and gets ready to his alarm and keeps track of his own homework, etc., yet absentmindedly misplaces things, like a certain one of his parents (not me).

Around the dinner table tonight, Greg teased Seth that he was starting to look like the prince on Shrek, tossing his beautiful long blond hair around in the wind.

Around the dinner table tonight, we all said what we like/love about Seth. Micah likes that Seth is his friend and is funny. Eli likes that Seth doesn't complain too much when he punches him. I love that Seth still likes to cuddle with me and dance with me. Greg likes how Seth dreams big: future big inventions, future FIFA world cup soccer player, etc. Kai likes to give him kisses.

Here are a few images from the "he's nine" phase, including the various hairdos.

Now I'll be moving on to "he's ten." If I'm remembering correctly from my mother, that one works too.

Extreme Halloween Makeover

2010-11-07T11:20:00.007-05:00

We won second place.

Before

A Closeup

. . . and the kids:

basketball playing dragon

skeleton with a sweet tooth

white werewolf acting cool

Huckleberry Finn (the book)

Nine Moons, Four Denticles, and Locomotion

2010-05-25T10:22:00.002-04:00

p.s. that turned out not to be a nose boogie, just a piece of grass

It's Farmin' Season

2010-04-25T19:45:00.004-04:00

As demonstrated below, The Farmer's been a gardening maniac these past few weeks. Although I get out there when I can, I mainly hold down the fort so that he can garden to his heart's content. It's in his genes after all.

Greens and roots

Rhubarb, raspberries, gooseberries, and future site of tomatoes

Asparagus, cabbage, and beans

Fuzzy little peaches

Blackberries, grapes, and blueberries

Future cucumbers and zucchini

Strawberry patch

Orchard

We've already eaten a few things from the garden, some things will take two or three years to harvest, and many things will be lost to grubs, turtles, fungus, and weather. The battle's on.

A Love Letter

2010-04-11T20:22:00.011-04:00

Dear Laundry,

You are relentless.
You are water leaking into a boat, ceaselessly scooped with a bucket, lest all the inhabitants sink and drown.
I can never escape you. For a family can function with dusty shelves and unscrubbed sinks, but not without something to wear. You stick with me like a tick in a scalp.

And yet.

In the quiet of the afternoon, when I sit surrounded by you on the couch, gently folding your Spring Breeze-scented articles, I realize I love you.
For you are the fullness of life.
You are chocolate ice cream dripping from a cone.
You are sweet potatoes and turkey mixed with fortified rice cereal.
You are grass stains after an awesome slide toward the ball.
You are sweat from an invigorating run.
You are soil and compost and manure.

In two decades hence when you have grown frail and thin, I will miss your abundance. I will yearn for the liquids and semi-solids you hold from sweet-cheeked babies. I will long for your mud, your paint, and your spilled milk. Thoughts of your sawdust and dog hair will bring a wistful smile to my lips.

I love you, Laundry. You are my number one chore.

Yours Truly

Does Anyone Else See a Resemblance Here?

2010-04-09T19:54:00.002-04:00

I knew Kai reminded me of someone, with his downsloping eyebrows and cute little round chin.

I figured it out when he woke up with hair sticking up in the shape of ears.

Bye-Bye Night-Night

2010-04-04T18:10:00.009-04:00

The "night-night" has been a part of our family for the past four years, since Micah was about nine months old. He wasn't much for sucking on a pacifier, but he sure liked a mouth full of fleecy goodness (the surged edges to be precise) to lull himself to sleep.

"Night-night" (pronounced "nie-nie" initially) was his first word. And besides bringing suck-induced sleep, the night-night provided comfort during times of separation, injury, or fear.

It is now half its original size and has lost most of it's fleecy-ness, but no other fleece blanket would do. Must be something about its distinctive smell. (I used to wash it in its very own load to prevent said smell from rubbing off on our clothes.)

(Not sure what happened to Seth's eyes here.)

Last year, I declared a new rule that the night-night had to stay on Micah's bed. He obeyed but would occasionally go up to his room for a quick suck. Recently, I've been encouraging Micah to just snuggle it and not suck on it at night. He always replied, "I won't do it."

But one night about a week or two ago, he declared, "I'm not going to suck on my night-night tonight." And he tossed it under his bed. He's tossed it under his bed ever since.

And at the same time he's suddenly into letters and writing words and counting and even started reading a little.

I think Mommy's realized she was a little attached to night-night too.

Happy Half Birthday

2010-02-11T15:54:00.004-05:00

Time sure flies when you have a baby!

On the one hand, it seems like Malakai was just born a couple of weeks ago. On the other hand, it feels like he's always been part of our family. We love having him around. Happy 6 months, kid!

Acting for a Good Cause

2009-11-24T19:42:00.011-05:00

If you want to know what Eli has been up to for the last three months, here's your answer. (And if you don't want to know, you may stop reading.)

Our stake put on a musical production of Savior of the World. Eli was approached by the director and asked to try out, at which time we discovered he can act and sing! He played the part of Ezra, a temple boy and helper to Zacharias and Elizabeth. The performers and crew worked hard and sacrificed their weekends for the past few months. I thought they did an excellent job (despite some glitches with the sound system.) It was apparently a testimony builder for many people, including cast, crew, and audience. The stake members were encouraged to use it as a missionary opportunity.

We weren't allowed to take pictures during the performance, but here are a few behind the scenes shots.

Eli was excited about the makeup--not.

Elizabeth and Zacharias.
These sweet people drove Eli to and from practice, thus saving our family from a massive headache.

When it was all over and Eli was receiving many compliments, I asked him if he would like to do something like this again and he replied, "Not in the near future."

Quarter of a Year

2009-11-18T19:44:00.008-05:00

I'm three months old now. These pictures were actually taken a day after my three-month birthday, since my mom forgot to take my picture on the actual day.

My mom likes me because I let her snuggle me and I sleep through the night quite a bit.

I'm very smiley, especially in the morning, and I even laugh occasionally.

Everyone comments on what a chunker I am.

I find my fist quite fascinating. I'm really not cross-eyed.

I like a good bath.

And a good milk coma. I hope to have a neck some day.

Notice my post-bath fuzzy hair.

Mini-Me

2009-11-13T17:23:00.006-05:00

This is how The Farmer and Malakai roll when they're together. They don't sit in the house gazing into each other's eyes. They farm. When Kai was just two weeks old, Greg had him out in the pasture and the baby stuck his fist way up into the horse's nostril. We joked that there may be some Spiderman-like reaction, and he would turn into Horseman.

It may have been a mistake to choose another "M" name for our child, since The Farmer can't stop calling him Micah. I'm guilty of it too, I'll admit.

Getting dressed up and high on sugar.

2009-11-01T18:18:00.008-05:00

Mo-Tab

The Farmer and I dressed up for the first time since newly wed days, thanks to our fun friends who had a fun party for grown-ups. We're already planning next year's get-up.

TV reporter in TV

I told him that he was getting too old to go buy or make fancy costumes complete with swords and stuff and he needed to come up with something creative that we could put together. This was completely his idea. Greg helped a little with the box.

Daniel Boone

Seth ate his last piece of Halloween candy from last year just minutes before leaving to go trick-or-treating yesterday. I'm not making this up.

I've been calling this a leopard, but Eli informs me that, based on its color and spot pattern, it's actually a jaguar.

Monkey boy

He wore this outfit for about 20 minutes, just enough time to spit up all over it and leak pee on it.

I like the idea of making Halloween really fun for my kids, i.e. throwing a fun kids' party, making great costumes, decorating the house awesomely, making donuts like my mum did, etc. But I'm actually a pretty lame Halloween mom. And today I've thrown out a couple of half-hearted "Better stop eating so much candy" statements but haven't followed through on them at all. And that's the other thing: what should be done with all that candy? Better moms have come up with good solutions involving the kids trading in most of their candy and such, but I've never heard one that would actually work for our family. The best I can do is to slowly sneak Micah's candy over a few days, thus diminishing his stash without him noticing. I know: lame. I suppose there's always next year.

Stats

2009-09-17T19:22:00.006-04:00

Kai had his one month check-up last week (on his 5 week birthday.) In other words, another excuse to post cute pictures of my rapidly changing child.

Here is the report:
Weight: 12 pounds (97th percentile)
Length: 23 inches (90th percentile)
Head: 38 3/4 centimeters (50th percentile)

I don't get to have little babies for very long.

And he sits up!

Seven Milestones

2009-09-09T20:10:00.009-04:00

1. We have smileage from Malakai! Also, acne and cradle cap and an oily head.

2. Micah is riding sans training wheels.

In an effort to make me a bit crazy, he's already acting like Mr. Stuntman Daredevil.

3. Seth had his first car accident, involving an out-of-control wheelie and the van in the driveway.

4. Eli baked and decorated his first birthday cake, which he described as his greatest cooking accomplishment yet. I don't know; I thought the Mother's Day pull-aparts were pretty good. (I just noticed the stray hand picking at the front of the cake.)

5. Greg turned 38!

I included a second picture, because it's so cute.

6. This thing weaseled its way into my house, despite the fact that I clearly forbade indoor pets. I'm not sure how it happened, but it had something to do with the eldest animal-loving son, multiple attempts to trap a stray kitten in the barn, two big dogs outside that like to chase and eat small animals, etc.

The Farmer and I had a discussion as he was petting the kitten on our bed. I told him that I like to look at animals in a zoo or read about them in a book; I just don't like to touch them or have them touching my bed. He replied that he didn't understand how someone wouldn't want to pet and hold their animals. Apparently, I wasn't born with the animal-loving gene like everyone else in the family.

7. I slept for 6 hours straight!!!

Thanks baby.

Bear With Me

2009-08-23T20:28:00.006-04:00

I've been camera-happy during the past 12 days.

This is the big brother that can't wait to start playing catch in a few years.

This is the brother that wouldn't hold the baby at first, but now does so eagerly.

This is the brother that's actually a big help to me, at least during the one day since Grandma left to go home.

The aforementioned grandma. We miss her big time.

We call him "finger-toes." Or "monkey-toes."

I have a dad-zonked-out-on-the-couch photo series with all the newborns; (you know how exhausting it is to have your wife get up several times each night to nurse the baby). With all the stuff that's been going on with the other children and with work, this has been the only chance this dad has had to zonk out.

Check out the cowlick.

Chillin'

Bros.

I'm Not Pregnant Anymore!!!!!!

2009-08-12T17:06:00.017-04:00

But more importantly, we welcomed our precious son, Malakai Bradford, into our arms at a hefty 8 lbs 2 oz and 22 inches long. According to my obstetrician, approximately 5% of babies are born on their due date. Malakai decided to join this elite group and, as The Farmer likes to point out, he came at high noon--You can't get it any closer than that. Would mid-day on your due date be considered your "due minute?"

BEFORE

Here is a picture of the baby and me walking into the hospital.

I don't want to post the profile shot.

Okay, fine. I will.

The fetus seemed to me to be growing rapidly during the last two weeks, but I was still shocked at my size when I saw this picture.

AFTER

Three hours later, here we are:

Sorry if this is too much information, but I want to document the slightly funny labor story. Don't feel obligated to read on. The evening before the birth I felt like I was going into labor and started having strong contractions every 3-4 minutes. Then they kind of fizzled out for a while and just came irregularly through the night. I was able to sleep here and there. When Greg's alarm went off at 6:00, he asked if he should go to work or not and I told him that since I'd been asleep for the past 1-2 hours, he was probably fine to go. I called him back an hour or two later and said he didn't need to rush home, but I thought things were still progressing. He got home around 9:00; we decided to call the doctor's office and were told to go to labor and delivery. At that point, I didn't really think I was in full blown active labor yet, but was hoping at least something had happened and they wouldn't send me home. Turns out my cervix had dilated to 8 cm. So apparently, it was the real thing. Having been induced with Pitocin for the first three babies, I had a much different (i.e. slower and less intense) experience this time around. Greg was glad his nightmares of me delivering at home didn't come to pass.

I forgot how much I adore my newborns. I'm not quite so fond of them when they're still inside me.

MONKEY D

Each of our boys has been given a special nickname by their father: Monkey A, Monkey B, Monkey C, and now Monkey D.

He did look quite monkey-like right when he was born, but, as you can see, he is quite cute on day of life #2.

Awake for a minute.

A decent amount of dark hair.

We're not sure who he looks like. He changes quickly and different people have said he looks like Greg, Eli, Seth, and Micah. One thing we do know is that he doesn't look like me.

FOUR PEAS IN A POD

Monkeys A and B are thrilled. Monkey C isn't quite so sure yet.

A proud mama with her four peas.

I like my boys.

A WORD ABOUT GRANDMAS AND HUSBANDS

I feel sorry for women who don't have an amazing mother to come stay with them for two weeks at baby time and basically handle all aspects of the family members' lives with ease. I am so lucky.

The best husband and father in the world. And becoming a decent farmer.

THE WHOLE FAMILY

We feel extremely blessed to have four healthy, beautiful children and that our baby made it into the world safe and sound.

The Y Chromosome Wins Again

2009-08-02T18:14:00.010-04:00

One night last week, the family felt a little hungry after a veggie dinner from the garden and we decided to go out for apple cobbler and ice cream. The waitress, pointing at my mid-section, asked, "What are you having?"
Me: "It's a boy."
Waitress (with all the children listening): "I'm SOOOO sorry!"
Me: "We're excited!"
Waitress (incredulously): "Are you REALLY????"
Me: speechless
Waitress (after a pause): "Well, of course you are; it's a baby."
Me (after waitress leaves): "That was the rudest thing EVER!"
Waitress (the next time she comes to our table): "I feel like I owe you an apology. I mean, I would like to have any child--I only have a dog."
Me: "We like our boys."
What I wanted to say: "Of course--Look how handsome and sweet and funny they are, and they didn't even take offense to your thoughtless words. Girls shmirls!"

I will admit that after the gender-revealing ultrasound, I shed a few tears for my daughter, the one that will never be. But I've had 23 weeks to smile about what it means to be a mom to boys. And much of it centers around bodily functions.

I know that there are little boys out there that have been taught to aim well and lift up the toilet seat and clean up dribbles with a small wad of tissue. I, however, have not been able to achieve this with my sons, despite my best efforts. Hence, the repeated need to do a little clean up at the front of the toilet seat before I sit. But there are advantages to raising standing urinators, particularly on hikes and long road trips. No scrambling for that elusive potty, carefully balancing TP all over the seat to cover germs. We just find a well-placed tree and we're good to go. My boys have taken to heart the phrase, "The world is your toilet."

lizards and reptiles and bears, oh my

And furthermore, I now know that it's possible to fess up to a gaseous odor with no shame. The years of being surrounded by maleness are getting to me. In fact, I can personally--on occasion--burp with pride, despite my modest and proper nature. Even at the dinner table.

born knowing how to vroom and shoot and drive

Sons are sensitive. Not in the same way as girls. I mean in a sweet way when it comes to their moms. (Sometimes.) I do enjoy getting all the girly attention in the family. Christmas and Valentines Day bring boxes of carefully selected jewelry, with hearts and diamonds being the distinct themes of choice.

He's a poet . . .

. . . and he can plug his nose with his upper lip.

bros

One blessed advantage of sons over daughters is that boys enter puberty, on average, later than girls. This means that I get to have my little boys longer. I'll have man sons for years, so I'll take them little and hairless for as long as I can get.

still smooth-skinned (for a while anyway)

my men

Rapscallions

2009-07-25T10:12:00.004-04:00

Someone is stealing our ripe, juicy, delicious tomatoes. Someone rascally with sharp teeth and no footprints. Apparently our dogs aren't doing their job, but are hanging out lazily in the garage sleeping all night. Beetles and bugs, fungus, torrential rains, horses, ice storms, and thieves; the gardener's battles never end. I was going to try canning today. Very small thank you to the rapscallions for getting me off the hook.

The Farmer in the Dell (a clever reference to where we live)

2009-07-12T17:04:00.012-04:00

Uncle Doug told me on a recent visit that Greg and I would have been good pioneers. The death of both our air conditioning and our washing machine in the past couple of weeks have proven this to be false on my end--it wasn't pretty. It's a different story for The Farmer. After 14 years of marriage, I'm finally seeing him in his true element, spending every spare minute out on the property. He can't stay away.

His hard work in the garden has been paying off.

Most of the ingredients in the dishes we've eaten this week have been from it. Zucchini pie, zucchini quiche, stuffed zucchini, zucchini bread, zucchini sticks, green salad, sauteed green beens, green been casserole, BLT's, cucumber balsamic salad, cucumber tomato salad, sauteed kale, kale butternut stew, just to name a few.
Here's tonight's dinner for example--all from the garden:

I don't know if he's trying to make it so the children will never allow us to move, but here are some of the boy-friendly enhancements he's created:

Tire swing.

Rope swing.

Sand box.

The tree house is apparently next.

He gets many shoes and clothes dirty.

He also gets many chigger bites.

I've got to go. The Farmer is pulling his fresh-baked bread out of the oven.

The Flowers are Blooming, and So am I

2009-06-28T14:18:00.010-04:00

Well, things are definitely growing here in this part of the country. The Farmer has been talking up the irises and lilies in our yard, since he witnessed them last year before the rest of us arrived. And now they're here for us to enjoy.

And here's me at my biggest/heaviest ever (with 6 weeks still to go):

My gut looks even bigger in real life.

But that's okay. I think my body's doing a good job. The less mature maternal me would have stressed about such things, but the me of advanced maternal age appreciates what's happening. Way to go body! I'm proud of you.

I temporarily came out of a pregnancy-induced coma and planted some porch flowers:
I'll set my sights a little higher next year and attempt to actually weed and plant the front flower beds.

Twilight Zone

2009-06-24T19:58:00.007-04:00

I must have been in a time warp or something because this kid was born just a couple of weeks ago and he's already graduated from elementary school.

Singing a number with the fifth grade choir.

This delicious cake made the presentation of diplomas in a hot gym on uncomfortable bleachers so worth it!

These two won't be in the same school next year:
In fact, we'll have a middle schooler, an elementary schooler, a preschooler, and an infant. Phew.

Typical.

i've been spying

2009-05-20T17:35:00.028-04:00

26 days ago, Micah discovered this on my window sill:

The next day there was this:

And a lot of this:

After 12 days, this is what we found:

And the next day:

Notice the egg shells are all cleaned out of the nest.

Mother bird was pretty on top of things. Daddy bird was quite involved as well, bringing worms for the babies and such.

I got a little carried away with taking pictures . . .

It's just that these guys seemed to double in size every day.

(Much like me lately.)

Practically spilling out of the nest:

Yesterday, the two big guys got out of the nest. Last night they flew away,

leaving this one all alone.

Getting ready to take flight this morning:

I thought that they might take a few practice runs and come back to the nest, but once they were gone, they were gone. We actually saw the second one take his flight. He just got brave on the window sill, flapped his wings as hard as he could, and successfully landed in a tree halfway down the yard. Pretty impressive considering that just 13 days ago he was the size of a whopper and could barely hold up his head long enough to get a bug.

Seeing the empty nest, I wondered how the mother bird felt today. Was she relieved that all the intensive work was over, anxious to have her freedom back? Was she stricken with grief that her babies were gone? Would she see them again out in the tree?

It stirred up emotions in me,

considering that mine seem to be growing as fast as those birds,

and are flapping their wings,
getting ready to fly the coop.

I hope my nesting instinct kicks in soon.

There is much to do before this one hatches.

A Person Bright and Lovely is My Grandma Dear

2009-05-10T17:47:00.006-04:00

Eli serenading his darling grandmas on their special day. Press play to enjoy!

Sorry about the garbage cans and nostril shot at the end. I don't know how to edit these.

We're Ticked

2009-05-03T20:12:00.007-04:00

There are some perks of living on "the farm." Some special discoveries, in other words. One of my favorites is:

finding a tick on a squash. In the house.

Also, finding a tick burrowed in Micah's head,
finding 12+ ticks in the dogs and horses,
finding a live tick in the dryer lint,
finding one crawling on my pajamas (!),
one on the hall door,
the inside window,
the kitchen floor,
etc.

All within a week or two.

Another fun one is having "the farmer" covered in this--all over the body:

Thanks poison ivy.
There's nothing as romantic as rolling over to snuggle your "farmer" and finding him scratching multiple swollen, weeping pustules.

Here's one for the Princess Bride fans:

A mini ROUS.
Or opossum on deck,
eating dog food.

You've Got to Be Kidding

2009-04-27T10:46:00.008-04:00

(click to enlarge)

Basketball and Battle of the Books

2009-04-13T07:26:00.015-04:00

This post is to illustrate the very different competitive interests of my two oldest children this past winter. Despite having the same two parents, none of my children look alike and their personalities and interests are quite different too.

First, here's Seth in his basketball glory. Well, since his team only won one or two games, maybe the word "glory" isn't the best choice . . .

Seth dribbling down the court.

Seth always "gave it his all" during games and here he is pooped after a game.

Here he is receiving his award from the coach, who called him the best defender and "by far the most aggressive player on the team." (Is that a good thing?)

Soccer season, here we come!

Eli got to participate in a district-wide competition known as Battle of the Books. The students were given a list of 10 books to read and then they took a test on the details of the books. The top 5 or 6 students in the fifth grade were chosen to represent his school at the district level. Eli, of course, with his love for reading and his mind for details, made the school team. There were 10 teams and each team battled the other nine teams.

The team was given a question, like "in which book did such and such happen?" and they had a few seconds to huddle together and confer with each other. Then the team captain gave the answer, including the title and author of the book. If they got it wrong, the other team had a chance to steal it.

Eli's team was the only boy team. Overall, the competition was very heavy on the girls.

I had no idea how fierce the competition would be. But Eli had a complete blast! It was fun to see how his team really depended on him. His team won an honorable mention (meaning their score was somewhere in the bottom half :) ).

And now moving on to the study of cryptozoology. Yes, I know what that means now, do you?

Happy New Year

2009-01-31T18:08:00.004-05:00

Now that it's the new year, it's time to start scrapblogging. I thought I made up that word, but I just googled it and apparently it's already a term in use. My definition is slightly different, however, meaning keeping track of the family and things on this blog, not blogging about scrapbooking or using a blog to help you digitally scrapbook. The biggest news is that Seth got baptized! This occurred December 27, 2008. He decided to do this when we were visiting Utah for Christmas, so that all the grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins could come. We were so proud of him! What made the day extra special, was that his baby cousin Blythe got blessed then too. Seth really wanted to wear a black suit for the day. Doesn't he look handsome?

I'm a doctor, but I don't play one in real life.

2008-11-10T21:41:00.003-05:00

I went to prison for the first time today. Okay, it was for a job interview. And I realized that being a prison doctor, wouldn't make me cool like the doctor on Prison Break, and the job wouldn't be quite as exciting as hers either. I got to walk through the "yard" with the inmates and wasn't at all concerned. I did have one guy point at me through a window and slash his finger across his throat. Whatever.

It's unfortunate that I can't keep my current job, in which I'm getting paid for doing next to nothing. Too bad those kinds of jobs don't sustain themselves for very long. It's time to find a real job and I'm having a hard time getting into it. (Don't tell my future patients or employer that.)

To Wii or Not to Wii, That is the Question

2008-10-31T09:27:00.005-04:00

I've never had any desire to obtain video games in our home and the kids haven't really seemed too interested in them in the past, other than Grandma C's old Nintendo. However, several of the new neighbor friends have systems and the kids are now begging for a Wii. I don't know much about them, other than that we played Dance Dance Revolution at my brother and sister-in-law's house and it was fun. On the one hand, I don't want another thing for the kids to fight about or to have to set rules and time limits around. Also, one child has a bit of a weight problem already. On the other hand, I want our house to be fun so the gang will want to come here and I hear that there are a lot of active games you can play with these, so it's not just purely sitting around. One more thing; when I was assisting with laparoscopic surgeries and endoscopies during residency, I discovered that my lack of video game playing was a disadvantage and I was pretty bad. I think I've decided that if I can find one before Christmas, I will purchase it.

A glimpse into the future.

2008-10-29T04:02:00.004-04:00

I'm calling this an insomnia entry. (Note the time--and I've been working on my blog list and eating toast and hot chocolate for the past hour and lying in bed awake listening to a fire alarm periodically beep due to low battery for an hour before that.) I felt like I had a little glimpse into the future while dreaming; (I was able to sleep earlier). I had a dream that the boys were doing most of their trick-or-treating online. People would drop little online treats into their "baskets"--things like small redeemable gift certificates. They still wore costumes and did a small bit of traditional trick-or-treating.

Lying in bed thinking about this dream made me remember bits of a conversation I had with my dad years ago when the internet was first starting to become mainstream. He said that there was some concern that the world wide web would fill up, or there wouldn't be room for anymore fibers in the web, and then it would basically explode.

First Entry

2008-10-24T23:47:00.001-04:00

The nice thing about having a less common first name is that internet names, like email addresses and blog titles, are usually available. Thanks mom and dad.