An Update

It makes me sad that it has been so long since my last post. When I first started this ole' bloggy, it was with the intention of documenting our life, not only for my friends far away, but also as a way for us to look back from the future. And now I'm disappointed that I have been unable to keep it up. Life just gets in the way sometimes, ya know?

That being said, a lot has happened since my last post.

My child turns 8 months old in 5 days. 8 months old! I can't even believe it. He has turned in to the sweetest little man - with quite the temper, of course - and I just love him to pieces! 

He now has 3 teeth, all on the bottom. I keep worrying, "what if he doesn't have any teeth on top?" My mom tells me I worry about the weirdest things. Hehehehe.

Declan started officially crawling in Disney World. Oh wait, you didn't know we went to Disney World? Ooops! I had a research project to present in Orlando in October, so we decided to make a family trip out of it. See?

And here is my little peanut crawling around at home:

Don't worry, he didn't have a stroke. That's just a new face he's doing these days.

I just returned from a 24 hour trip to North Carolina. No pictures of that, as I was busy interviewing and touring the hospitals. That's right...I'm interviewing for residency. It's crazy stressful, but crazy fun. I have 9 interviews scheduled from now until January. All over the country. From Colorado to North Carolina. Pray for me.

And here's my little pumpkin, with a pumpkin:

And what does a 7 month old do when surrounded by a pile of leaves?

Well, he eats them of course.

Declan was a dinosaur for Halloween. The most precious, green with irridescent scales, dinosaur in the world. Mommy didn't take any pictures. She's still trying to convince Daddy to dress him up again and take some pictures. So hopefully you will see some soon! ;)

So that's all I've got for now. Hopefully you will hear from me again sooner than later!

The Delta Fair and a Celebration

Every year, the Delta Fair comes to the Agricenter. I thought this would be something fun for the three of us to do, especially since it has cooled off so much outside.

It was not exactly what I expected, but it was still nice to spend some time with my boys doing something new.

 {Declan dressed up for the occasion}

 {Me and the boy}

 {Declan meets a goat}

 {This man tried to guess Patrick + Declan's weight. He guessed 160. Really?!?!}

 {So we won a stuffed snake}

 {And then we had ProntoPups}

 {And you can't go to a fair without having Fried Oreos}

{They look better than they tasted}

We also tried to attend the circus they were having. Declan was not having all of those loud noises, so we had to leave. We did meet the "tiniest woman in the world." I don't know why, but we were expecting an optical illusion, and not a real woman. She was real, and it was sad how she was on display.

{Overall, I think he had a great time!}

After the fair, we went to Swanky's for Susan's birthday, and a celebration for Heather, who just finished her first round of tests in medical school.

 {Declan hanging out with Jason and Aaron}

{Our sweet (and crazy) Susie Q - the birthday girl}

Not bad for a random Wednesday afternoon!

Goodbye Facebook!

I have officially deactivated my Facebook account. With residency interviews looming, I would rather programs not be able to use Facebook to get a "picture" of me before I visit. Be assured, I will be back after March 15, match day!
See y'all on the flip-side!

My little room

This is where I've spent 3 nights in the last week:


Yes, it looks like a prison. Yes, it's the med student call room. And yes, it is creepy - it used to be a patient room before the new LeBonheur was built.

I have worked every day since last Monday, and 3 of those days have been 30 hr shifts.

To say that I am tired is an
understatement. I have developed a twitch in my left eye. My face looks like I'm a hormonal 16 year old with all of the cute zits that have appeared. And I've gained 3 lbs because I don't have time to work out, and hospital food is not healthy! This is not an easy life!

And worse of all, I miss my sweet boy sooo much!! I did get a chance to take a nap with him the other day:



That is quite possibly my favorite thing to do. He is just such a joy in my life, and thinking about his sweet face keeps me going!

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Back to Work

I went back to work this week. And I LOVE it. I thought it would be hard, and it was. But now that I'm back, I'm thankful to have this as my future profession. I love taking care of my own baby at home, and I now realize how hard it is to be a SAHM - power to you ladies!! But I also love taking care of other people,too. I love coming home at night to my sweet baby, knowing I made a difference in someone else's life.

This week was Patrick's first week at home with Declan. I received this text this morning:
"He is a professional stay awake artist. And I am losin it. Come home please so I can clean this house." Haha!! I think it's so funny, bless his heart! I know he will get the hang of it soon!

I'm looking forward to a weekend with my boys!!

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Big Day

This is a big day, people...HUGE!!

I am officially a 4th year medical student! While I still have one more tough month in August, 4th year is significantly easier than any other year. And besides that, I'm one year away from being Dr. Alicia!

I have a love-hate relationship with medical school, but I am SUPER excited about being so close to done!

Yay!

Alicia, M3...M4

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Study Day

My baby is being so good, just watching mamma study!

It's definitely a whole different experience studying with a baby, but I think we will do just fine! :)






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Holiday Break

Top Ten Reasons Why Holiday Break Was Wonderful (in no particular order):

1. We were invited to lots of fun parties

{Tacky Christmas party, 2010}

2. I got to spend lots of time with some of my favorite ladies

3. We saw our precious baby's face, hands, feet on ultrasound, in 4D! I may be biased, but he is the cutest thing I have ever seen!

4. We shopped for family and friends for Christmas. In Christmases past, we were always both in school, so we didn't ever get to buy for our loved ones the way we wanted to. This year, we had so much fun buying for the people we love!

5. I spent lots of time with my mom

{We even accidentally wore matching shirts}

5. I spent even more time with my amazing husband, who I grow more and more thankful for every day

{Christmas Eve at Patrick's parents, 2010}

6. My belly finally started to get big! It seemed like forever before I looked pregnant, instead of just fat!


7. We worked on baby boys room a little bit. I have been planning on refinishing my great aunts dresser for his room, and we finally got it started!

{Before}

{Me and Courtney working hard}

{After - still needs handles and some touch-ups}

8. We decided on a name for our baby boy! More to come in the next post!

9. Baby boy got so many sweet presents from his favorite aunts, grandparents, and great-grandparents

{Opening our Co-sleeper from Patrick's parents}

{Cute little tennis shoe booties from his Aunt Allie}

10. I was able to rest so much. While it feels like we were really busy, I really did sleep a lot. I needed that so much having just finished my surgery rotation, and about to start Ob/Gyn!

Show Us Your Life - Favorite Bible Verse

This is an exciting post for me, because in the last year I have definitely discovered the power of "letting go and letting God."

When I was anxious about my boards, one specific verse put things in perspective. I had it hanging on the wall where I studied, and read it every day.

Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Medical Humor

Happy

I am happy to announce that I did well on my boards. I really did it, and I still can't believe it. Considering the panic that followed the 3 weeks after that beast of a test - I am relieved to say that I succeeded and reached my goal.

On a different note...
For the last 3 weeks I have been working with a practicing family physician, and it has been an emotional and amazing experience. Seeing patients on a day-to-day basis helps me realize why I am working so hard - to help people feel better.
I am surprised by how rewarding it is to celebrate with a diabetic who has worked hard to maintain low blood sugars and see the effect that it is having on her life. I am so excited when an obese young adult takes the first step and asks about diet and exercise programs. I am relieved when a man's Hepatitis test is negative, and eager to discover what is causing his symptoms.
I have discovered that medical school really is so much more than books and board exams - and this makes me happy.

Peace,
AW

10 Things...

...I'm totally loving right now:
10. John Mayer - we went to his concert a few weeks ago (has it really been almost a month?), and he is amazing live. Yes, he may not have the best reputation with women, but who doesn't love a bad boy?
9. This weather - after a freezing cold winter in a house built in the 1920s, my bones have been ready for this heat.
8. My house - I adore. I cannot get enough of it. I love every inch of it. It just feels so homey, and so us!
7. Yard work - I dream about my yard, literally. I love making the front of the house look pretty. And thank the good Lord I have amazing parents-in-law that make it happen for me! (I'm spoiled)
6. Parenthood. On NBC. Watch it. It will make you cry out of sympathy and laughter all in the same hour. If you would like to see the last five episodes, you can watch them here. You won't regret it, I promise.
5. Highlighters - now this is not a new thing for me, but spending all day every day studying would be entirely too boring if I couldn't color code everything on the page.
4. Cooking Light: The Essential Dinner Tonight Cookbook. The best recipes - so yummy, healthy, and easy for the hubby to shop/cook! Find it here.
3. LOST. I am so glad it's almost over, but it is getting really good! So relieved to finally get some answers.
2. I'm done with Step I Boards and M2 year in ONE WEEK! I'm hoping all this studying pays off, and I totally rock Boards! *Wish me luck* Oh, yeah, and did I mention it's 98 degrees in Costa Rica right now? Books (for pleasure), beaches, and banana daiquiris - here we come!
1. My hubby - he has so much patience, and I don't know any other man who could deal with his wife being gone ~7 days a week, 13 hours a day. He does the cleaning, laundry, shopping, cooking, and painting (yes, he surprised me with a painted bedroom one day). I am really, really blessed!

Love you all, and will tell you about our trip when we return!
See you on the flip side!
Peace, AW

Hi!

Well, hello there! Yes, it's been a while. Glad to see me? I hope so.

The last couple of months have been busy, busy!

We moved into a house. It's the cutest little craftsman bungalow with creaky wood floors and big thick door frames. I adore it.

Patrick got a job! (Yay - and thanks to those of you who prayed to the big man for us!) He's working in Cardiovascular Intensive Care - Step Down. He works 3 days a week, and gets the rest of the week off. And yes, this is considered full time. Can you believe that?

Most importantly - I have 3 weeks left of 2nd year!! I take my last assessment next Friday, and a comprehensive exam the final week, and I am finished! This is the month I have waited for since I first decided to go to medical school - finishing my career in a classroom.

At the end of April (following my national boards exam), I begin my second half of medical school - clinical rotations. Goodbye library, hello hospitals! Now don't be fooled, I will be more exhausted than I am now. More nights, more weekends, more hours - but I will have actual human contact.

Oh, and did I mention that the hubs and I are taking a "second honeymoon" to Costa Rica in a couple of months? : )

Now, if I can just get through this last stretch! Wish me luck!

xoxo

Kassa village of Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria

I recently returned from a medical missions trip to Nigeria, Africa. It was an absolutely amazing experience that I will never forget! We flew into Abuja and traveled to Jos (where we stayed a night) and finally ended in Zing (where we had our medical project for 5 days). While in Jos, we visited the Kassa village, where a riot had left most of the men dead, leaving many widows and orphans. We delivered food and clothing to the women and children, and it was an unforgetable experience. Here are a few pictures from this adventure:

Many of the women listening to a speech on why we are visiting:
Children professing their love and belief in God:
Some of the sweet mothers: My friend from school (Dave) and Kaio passing out food:

Hope you enjoyed, and there will be more from my trip soon!

Peace! -Alicia