I started this post, oh, 6 weeks ago? Maybe longer, I'm not sure. Time to get it out there and move on with my life!
Neal is on call (hard to believe?) and I've already stayed up much later than I wanted to working, so what is a few more minutes? Every time Neal is on call I intend to blog, end up catching up on reading blogs instead, and then go to bed feeling grumpy with myself. Enough of that. Not tonight.
There should be pictures to accompany each section, but I don't want to stay up quite that late! I suppose that will have to wait for another post. It won't be long before Neal is on call again!
So, without further adieu, the Peterson top 10 of 2010:
Austin joining the family:
We are so blessed to have Austin in our family. He is so happy, smiley, easy-going, and energetic. I love his laugh, the ways he makes us laugh, his big happy grin, his curiosity, his big blue eyes, and his very kiss-able cheeks (I probably over-do the kisses, but I can hardly help myself). He is growing up so fast and getting so independent and capable. A little of what he is like these days:
He is fast becoming a walker. He can walk across a room if he feels like it, but is mostly content with walking 4-5 steps and then crawling to his destination. He’s been taking steps since he was a little more than 10 months.
He loves to climb up onto things and is quite good at it. He has lately learned how to safely climb down, as well, which is a big relief.
He likes to give kisses and hugs. He will give kisses on command most of the time.
He still has only two teeth, but knows well how to use them.
He likes to hide under blankets, be chased around the recliner, and share his binky and food. He thinks it is hilarious to shove his binky into Neal’s mouth.
He is very vocal and is becoming more so almost every day. I can tell that he really wants to communicate.
He loves to put lids on things. He can amuse himself for quite some time by simply putting a lid on a container, taking it off, and repeating over and over again.
*Changes since I wrote this--he's been a full-fledged walker for quite some time, and he has 2 more teeth. Also, the day after my post about Austin's illness, he bounced back. It only took a few days for him to be back to his old self. He must have really missed food while he was sick, because he's been eating double ever since!
A visit from my parents and sisters in the spring:
I had a wonderful time with my family when they came out for Austin’s blessing. It was a rare treat to have nearly my whole immediate family together (Spencer was sorely missed) without me having to make the trek out to Utah.
A Neal and Emily getaway:
In November Neal got to go to an anesthesia conference for work and decided the he wanted me to go along for the ride. He made arrangements with his sister Cookie to watch our children, bought me a plane ticket, and promised me a good time. I was excited but reluctant to go, especially when the week before the conference Austin got sick and wanted me to hold him almost every waking hour. Thanks to Austin recovering and Neal’s faith in everything working out, I decided to go.
I went and didn’t regret it. The conference was in Phoenix at a mountain resort with lots of pools and hiking opportunities. We had fun swimming, hiking, relaxing, and visiting our friends Travis and Cami Austin. We also visited the Mesa temple, went to a dinner and rodeo event (hosted by the conference), ate at a fun Greek restaurant, went to an art fair, and experienced a delightful treat knows as a “Bahama-rama-mamma” (a cross between a snow cone and an ice cream cone).
Neal was right that everything would work out fine. Austin and Sally both did very well while we were away, and we pickup up right where we left off when we got back.
Neal starting his anesthesia training:
In July Neal completed his intern year in internal medicine and entered the world of anesthesia. Quality of life instantly improved. I love that he is off on the weekends (unless he is on call, which unfortunately has happened quite a bit lately), doesn’t have to do discharge summaries every evening, gets home early on pre-call days, and likes his job…all of which leads to my next item:
More dates and family activities:
Neal and I have gotten out together on our own a lot more this year than we have since Sally was born. I think it is due to a combination of us being more comfortable with getting babysitters and Neal having more time. We have also been asked a few times by some friends to swap babysitting with them, and that has helped, as well. A few of my favorite dates: Beauty and the Beast at the Starlight Theater (even though it was the hottest night of the year, we had a great time and a memorable snow cone), dinner and shopping at the Country Club Plaza (thank you anesthesia department for your generous Christmas gift), hiking at the Overland Park Arboretum, and basketball, skee-ball, and air hockey at Power Play.
We have also been able to get out more as a family. I suppose in addition to Neal having more time, this is due to Sally being able to do more, and my purchase of a Happenings book to give us some good ideas and a little push to get out and try new things. We’ve enjoyed eating out here and there, but mostly we just enjoy taking walks, visiting parks, shopping, and doing errands together.
New friends:
Neal and I have made several new friends this year through both church and work. I won’t mention any names—hopefully you know who you are! We’ve had a lot of fun playing games, celebrating holidays, and just getting together to let our kids play together. While we will have to say good-bye to some of these friends in the near future, I’m sure (or at least I hope) that we’ll stay in touch for years to come. I feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends (both old and new) that share my values and care about me and my family.
House projects completed:
In January we got new carpet in our house, and I absolutely love it. Not only does it look 10 times better than our old carpet, it is softer, thicker, and more durable. This year we also got a new fence (a while picket one made from scratch by Neal), a new cabinet in our laundry room (stained and installed by Neal, of course), and new leather furniture (it was intended to go in the family room, but since it won’t fit through the door, it is in the living room).
Christmas at home:
For the first time in our marriage, Neal and I stayed home on Christmas morning. It was a lot of fun and may become a new tradition. We did things on our own schedule (rather, Sally’s schedule—she slept in late), didn’t have to haul gifts around, and just enjoyed being together. It was so much fun for Neal and me to set things up the night before, to see the excitement on Sally’s face when she came into the living room, and to see Austin enjoying the excitement in the comfort of his own home where he is at his best.
Street improvements:
Since we bought our house in 2006, the city of Overland Park had been promising improvements to our street, including sidewalks, storm drainage pipes (as opposed to the ditch), new streetlights, and new pavement. Well, in 2010 it finally happened. It was at times painfully annoying (at times workers worked round the clock with loud machinery, and more than once I was denied access to my house in the summer with sleeping kids and icecream in the car). But all that is behind us. The work is done, and the result was worth it. Kind of silly that this made the top 10 list, but I LOVE our sidewalk, and the absence of the ditch has made mowing so much nicer for Neal. I’m a huge fan of anything that will make it easier for us to sell our house later, and I think this will help a lot.
A beautiful friendship:
Sally and I have always had a good relationship, but in 2010 she matured and grew in so many ways that have made our relationship even better. Sally is such a sweetie, and I have so much fun with her. She is a great companion: helpful, talkative, thoughtful, polite, fun, and obedient (most of the time--she is 3, afterall). She often amazes me with how much she understands, how much she remembers, and how much she notices. Sally and I have a lot in common, which sometimes results in us butting heads, but also makes for a great friendship.
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Sunday, October 17, 2010
So I don't forget...
Tonight I made a pumpkin pie for dessert. It was a bit more labor intensive than making your typical pumpkin pie because I used a pie pumpkin rather than canned pumpkin. While making my pie I was simultaneously making dinner, and it was getting a bit busy in the kitchen. To make a long story short, the pie crust wasn’t as lovely as I had envisioned, and I had a lot of pie filling left over (I think I was supposed to use a deep dish pie plate rather than a regular pie plate—just one of the details that I overlooked while multitasking). As I took the pie out of the oven, I commented to Neal: “This isn’t exactly the perfectly beautiful pumpkin pie that I had envisioned, but oh, well!” Sally then piped up: “Well,” (she commonly begins sentences that way), “I envisioned the pumpkin pie falling from the ceiling and landing in a plate of spaghetti!” What a silly girl. I don’t know where she comes up with things like this!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
The Lost Petersons
Neal and I enjoy watching a good series together. During the Christmas season right after Sally was born we had a lot of free time and a little baby that slept a lot. With the help of Neal’s family, we discovered the “Horatio Hornblower” series (a BBC work) and dove in. It was at times cheesy and predictable, but fun just the same. We enjoyed the down time together, and would work together to get things done around the house and with Sally so we could start each next episode. The next Christmas season we got into season 1 of “24”, which I initially resisted but ended up getting hooked on. Over the past few years we have also taken on “The Lost Room” (a short series, something that Neal’s mom lent to us), “Crusoe” (an NBC mini-series), “The Winds of War” (an ABC miniseries from the 80s), “The Flame Trees of Thika” (a British miniseries) and “Love Comes Softly” (from Hallmark, and the only series we never finished).
Our most recent series of interest is “LOST”. I’m not sure why we started, but after just one episode of season 1, we both wanted to continue. While we didn’t watch every night, most evenings we’d watch at least one episode (and sometimes two or three). It was fun looking forward to that time together in the evenings, and fun to talk about the story and characters together. We were both motivated to take care of our responsibilities as quickly as possible in the evenings so we could have more time to watch together. After season 1 was over, we took a few months off and then tackled season 2. While we both really enjoyed seasons 1 and 2, we’ve decided not to continue with the rest of the seasons. In addition to feeling guilty about spending so much time in front of the tv night after night, I didn’t like turning a blind eye to the raciness that was starting to creep into the show just because I wanted to see what happened next.
So now, without watching “LOST” in the evenings, our evenings feel a bit, well, lost! They are certainly a lot less fun and a lot less predictable. It isn’t that we currently do nothing together in the evenings—we do. We enjoy crossword puzzles, working on our finances, playing games, or just talking, but we also commonly get pulled into our own responsibilities and interests and spend less time together than we’d like. I work quite a bit for my job in the evenings, and Neal always has things he can do for work—such as reading the millions of medical journals/anesthesia textbooks that the department would like him to read. I suppose we are just in a bit of a rut right now and the solution is just planning (or a good dose of fun spontaneity, which neither of us have ever been great at), but often lately while I’m sitting at my work computer realizing that the evening has slipped away without much spouse time, I long for the evenings with LOST on the tv, Neal and my side, and a bowl of ice cream in my lap.
While I could take the easy route, (cave in and go get season 3 from the library), I’m looking for ideas and suggestions about other series that are not quite so long (or addicting, or racy), but more especially about other ways for Neal and I to spend time together in the evenings that we’ll be as excited about as we were about “LOST.” Any ideas? (Ideas involving exercise are especially welcome. Goodness knows I need more of that!).
Our most recent series of interest is “LOST”. I’m not sure why we started, but after just one episode of season 1, we both wanted to continue. While we didn’t watch every night, most evenings we’d watch at least one episode (and sometimes two or three). It was fun looking forward to that time together in the evenings, and fun to talk about the story and characters together. We were both motivated to take care of our responsibilities as quickly as possible in the evenings so we could have more time to watch together. After season 1 was over, we took a few months off and then tackled season 2. While we both really enjoyed seasons 1 and 2, we’ve decided not to continue with the rest of the seasons. In addition to feeling guilty about spending so much time in front of the tv night after night, I didn’t like turning a blind eye to the raciness that was starting to creep into the show just because I wanted to see what happened next.
So now, without watching “LOST” in the evenings, our evenings feel a bit, well, lost! They are certainly a lot less fun and a lot less predictable. It isn’t that we currently do nothing together in the evenings—we do. We enjoy crossword puzzles, working on our finances, playing games, or just talking, but we also commonly get pulled into our own responsibilities and interests and spend less time together than we’d like. I work quite a bit for my job in the evenings, and Neal always has things he can do for work—such as reading the millions of medical journals/anesthesia textbooks that the department would like him to read. I suppose we are just in a bit of a rut right now and the solution is just planning (or a good dose of fun spontaneity, which neither of us have ever been great at), but often lately while I’m sitting at my work computer realizing that the evening has slipped away without much spouse time, I long for the evenings with LOST on the tv, Neal and my side, and a bowl of ice cream in my lap.
While I could take the easy route, (cave in and go get season 3 from the library), I’m looking for ideas and suggestions about other series that are not quite so long (or addicting, or racy), but more especially about other ways for Neal and I to spend time together in the evenings that we’ll be as excited about as we were about “LOST.” Any ideas? (Ideas involving exercise are especially welcome. Goodness knows I need more of that!).
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
5 Years!
A few weeks ago Neal and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. After many grand ideas and schemes we decided to have a quiet, simple celebration--we dropped the kids off at a babysitter's house and went out to dinner. We enjoyed a quiet and tasty meal and good uninterruped converstaion at Lidias, an Italian place downtown. I can't remember the last time I had freshly made pasta, but I'll sure remember this pasta (not to mention to Ceasar salad and gnocchi)!
Here's a look back at the last 5 years:
Year 0: Just married and ready to take on medical school and my first real job. We had no idea what we were getting into!
Year 1: Reunited in Utah (for Sarah and Greg's wedding) after Neal's journeyings to Alabama for 5 weeks for comissioned officer training and 10 days in El Salvador for a med school research trip. Ready to buy a house and tackle year 2 of medical school.
Year 2: Pleasingly pregnant with Sally and enjoying a family get-together with the Dicksons. Abby had just gone through the temple and was ready to head out on her mission.
Year 3: Happily together again after Neal's rotation in Philmont (New Mexico) and enjoying some KU action before sending Neal off to San Antonio for yet another rotation. Sally spent her first day with a non-family babysitter. It was big for us (me).
Year 4: After two more away rotations, Dr. Peterson (yes, he was done with medical school at last and in the midst of residency) joined me for 20 hours (5 of which were on our anniversary) in Utah for Abby and Scott's wedding. Austin was baking but not very big, and Sally was talking up a storm and conducting a self-guided tour of temple square.
And here we are (sorry, no picture--I had some taken by a friend but they aren't ready yet, and sadly all of our snapshots lately are of our children), with two mobile children, still in our same house (much improved, might I add), and in year 2 of residency. Life is good, and the future looks even better. Thanks, Neal for a great first 5. I can't want to see what another 5 will bring!
Here's a look back at the last 5 years:
Year 0: Just married and ready to take on medical school and my first real job. We had no idea what we were getting into!
Year 1: Reunited in Utah (for Sarah and Greg's wedding) after Neal's journeyings to Alabama for 5 weeks for comissioned officer training and 10 days in El Salvador for a med school research trip. Ready to buy a house and tackle year 2 of medical school.
Year 2: Pleasingly pregnant with Sally and enjoying a family get-together with the Dicksons. Abby had just gone through the temple and was ready to head out on her mission.
Year 3: Happily together again after Neal's rotation in Philmont (New Mexico) and enjoying some KU action before sending Neal off to San Antonio for yet another rotation. Sally spent her first day with a non-family babysitter. It was big for us (me).
Year 4: After two more away rotations, Dr. Peterson (yes, he was done with medical school at last and in the midst of residency) joined me for 20 hours (5 of which were on our anniversary) in Utah for Abby and Scott's wedding. Austin was baking but not very big, and Sally was talking up a storm and conducting a self-guided tour of temple square.
And here we are (sorry, no picture--I had some taken by a friend but they aren't ready yet, and sadly all of our snapshots lately are of our children), with two mobile children, still in our same house (much improved, might I add), and in year 2 of residency. Life is good, and the future looks even better. Thanks, Neal for a great first 5. I can't want to see what another 5 will bring!
Monday, July 12, 2010
The Petersons Lately: A Survey
Just a quick look at a few highlights of the last few months:
Back in April, during Neal's final vacation week of intern year, we took a spontaneous road trip down to Houston to visit Neal's sister Sarah, her husband Greg, and their adorable baby boy Luke. Neal's sister Bonnie was there, too. The car trip there was not fun (both kids were well-behaved but both were unable to sleep at night, so less than 2 hours from our destination we forked over $100 for a few hours of sleep and a big dose of sanity--totally worth it!), but the visit was. We enjoyed playing games, eating Sarah's good food, watching movies, talking, going to the temple (thanks, Bonnie, for babysitting!), and going to the park and beach.
Sally, Sarah, and I made glamorous jewelry out of some pop beads. I'm totally getting some when Sally is a little older (and if she doesn't play with them, I will!).
We loved the park and had fun feeding the ducks, playing Frisbee, and swinging.
Despite losing Sarah and following the wrong car (it was just like Sarah's!), we made it to the beach in Galveston. Sally loved it. Thanks, Sarah, for your patience!
Austin loved the beach a little less than Sally, but he didn't complain.
Back in KC, we checked out the free Clifford exhibit at Crown Center. Sally was so excited to meet Clifford! I thought she would be scared, but I guess she was expecting a big red dog, afterall.
The best family picture we could come up with.
Sally enjoyed dressing up as the mail carrier on Birdwell Island.
Austin outgrew his bassinet. After I took this picture, I couldn't in good conscience keep him in there at night. Unfortunately the crib in Sally's room is the only alternative. Having two kids in the same room has been a trial, but we are figuring it out, one night at a time. Things are getting better.
Sally decided to kick the pull-ups (more like I decided to be done with them). She loves her undies and has had very few accidents in the past few months. She also loves her dress-up shoes and pretend-talking on the phone.
Sally loves Austin, and Austin seems to like Sally, as well.
Both kids are looking at the camera!
While pre-heating the oven for these cupcakes:
I melted Sally's plate in the oven (I often use the oven as a drying rack, and I thought I had removed everything). Imagine my surprise when I opened up the oven to see flourescent green slime!
We had a fun time as a family swimming at the local swimming pool. We love it when Neal has a day off and can go out and about together. Austin napped in the shade while Neal and I took turns swimming with Sally in the big pool. We'll definitely go again.
Sally discovered that Austin can fit in her baby stroller (please pardon the purple crib bumper--it was temporary until the blue one arrived in the mail). And no, she didn't put him in there. I did at her request.
I discovered that Austin can fit in a baby swing (and LOVES IT!). Going to the park is so much nicer now!
Austin discovered his toes (quite a while ago, actually, but I couldn't resist including this picture).
We got to spend the 4th of July together (and the 3rd and the 5th, too!). We had a breakfast with friends on the 3rd, went to church and then to Jim and Cookie's house for a bbq on the 4th, and went to the Legends and had our own picnic bbq in our family room while watching Toy Story 2 on the 5th. I was so excited for Neal to have a 3 day weekend. It was so refreshing. Our post-church 4th pictures turned out okay.
A few happenings of the last few months that are also of note:
Neal and I both got new callings. Neal is the Deacon's Quorum advisor and assistant Scout master, and I am the 1st counselor in the RS presidency.
Neal completed his intern year in internal medicine and is now being trained as an anesthesiologist. It was worth the wait (at least from my perspective). He doesn't have to work on weekends unless he is on call (which he will be every 9 days), which means...WE CAN GO TO CHURCH TOGETHER AGAIN! Also, no more short call, night float, or discharge summaries after he gets home!
Austin can almost crawl. He gets up on his knees and rocks back and forth. He's been rolling around for over a month now and can move himself pretty well without crawling, but he's ready to move onto bigger and better things. I'm excited but scared.
Sally can jump. Sally is quite a smart and capable little girl, but for some reason she had a very hard time learning to jump. She can now get both feet off of the floor simultaneously.
Kind of random, but I guess that is my blogging style these days. Until next time!
P.S. In case you don't know where the title of the previous post came from, it is from Nacho Libre.
Back in April, during Neal's final vacation week of intern year, we took a spontaneous road trip down to Houston to visit Neal's sister Sarah, her husband Greg, and their adorable baby boy Luke. Neal's sister Bonnie was there, too. The car trip there was not fun (both kids were well-behaved but both were unable to sleep at night, so less than 2 hours from our destination we forked over $100 for a few hours of sleep and a big dose of sanity--totally worth it!), but the visit was. We enjoyed playing games, eating Sarah's good food, watching movies, talking, going to the temple (thanks, Bonnie, for babysitting!), and going to the park and beach.
Sally, Sarah, and I made glamorous jewelry out of some pop beads. I'm totally getting some when Sally is a little older (and if she doesn't play with them, I will!).
We loved the park and had fun feeding the ducks, playing Frisbee, and swinging.
Despite losing Sarah and following the wrong car (it was just like Sarah's!), we made it to the beach in Galveston. Sally loved it. Thanks, Sarah, for your patience!
Austin loved the beach a little less than Sally, but he didn't complain.
Back in KC, we checked out the free Clifford exhibit at Crown Center. Sally was so excited to meet Clifford! I thought she would be scared, but I guess she was expecting a big red dog, afterall.
The best family picture we could come up with.
Sally enjoyed dressing up as the mail carrier on Birdwell Island.
Austin outgrew his bassinet. After I took this picture, I couldn't in good conscience keep him in there at night. Unfortunately the crib in Sally's room is the only alternative. Having two kids in the same room has been a trial, but we are figuring it out, one night at a time. Things are getting better.
Sally decided to kick the pull-ups (more like I decided to be done with them). She loves her undies and has had very few accidents in the past few months. She also loves her dress-up shoes and pretend-talking on the phone.
Sally loves Austin, and Austin seems to like Sally, as well.
Both kids are looking at the camera!
While pre-heating the oven for these cupcakes:
I melted Sally's plate in the oven (I often use the oven as a drying rack, and I thought I had removed everything). Imagine my surprise when I opened up the oven to see flourescent green slime!
We had a fun time as a family swimming at the local swimming pool. We love it when Neal has a day off and can go out and about together. Austin napped in the shade while Neal and I took turns swimming with Sally in the big pool. We'll definitely go again.
Sally discovered that Austin can fit in her baby stroller (please pardon the purple crib bumper--it was temporary until the blue one arrived in the mail). And no, she didn't put him in there. I did at her request.
I discovered that Austin can fit in a baby swing (and LOVES IT!). Going to the park is so much nicer now!
Austin discovered his toes (quite a while ago, actually, but I couldn't resist including this picture).
We got to spend the 4th of July together (and the 3rd and the 5th, too!). We had a breakfast with friends on the 3rd, went to church and then to Jim and Cookie's house for a bbq on the 4th, and went to the Legends and had our own picnic bbq in our family room while watching Toy Story 2 on the 5th. I was so excited for Neal to have a 3 day weekend. It was so refreshing. Our post-church 4th pictures turned out okay.
A few happenings of the last few months that are also of note:
Neal and I both got new callings. Neal is the Deacon's Quorum advisor and assistant Scout master, and I am the 1st counselor in the RS presidency.
Neal completed his intern year in internal medicine and is now being trained as an anesthesiologist. It was worth the wait (at least from my perspective). He doesn't have to work on weekends unless he is on call (which he will be every 9 days), which means...WE CAN GO TO CHURCH TOGETHER AGAIN! Also, no more short call, night float, or discharge summaries after he gets home!
Austin can almost crawl. He gets up on his knees and rocks back and forth. He's been rolling around for over a month now and can move himself pretty well without crawling, but he's ready to move onto bigger and better things. I'm excited but scared.
Sally can jump. Sally is quite a smart and capable little girl, but for some reason she had a very hard time learning to jump. She can now get both feet off of the floor simultaneously.
Kind of random, but I guess that is my blogging style these days. Until next time!
P.S. In case you don't know where the title of the previous post came from, it is from Nacho Libre.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Something Old, Something New
Here’s a post I started about a month ago. Life has changed for me lately: Sally has stopped napping during the day. I now work whenever I can, which is often in the evening (when I used to have more free time). Thus, blogging has taken a back seat.
Sally is not even two yet, and I’m rather devastated that she won’t nap anymore. It all started when she chewed the tip off of her binky (the pink one—not the original green one). The green bink got lost at Grandma Peterson’s house, and I decided that that would be the end of the bink for Sally. After 30 minutes or so of screaming that night, I gave in and offered her a pink one as an alternative (one that she refused numerous times in the past). She took to it and used it for nap/bed time until the day she bit right through it. Thus ended both the era of the binky and the precious afternoon nap.
It isn’t like I don’t still try to give her a nap. I certainly do—every day! She just won’t go to sleep. I end up just letting her play in her room with her toys for about an hour or so so I can have some time to work. Not ideal, but at this point I’ll take what I can get.
Anyhow, here’s what I wrote on September 20. It doesn’t seem too important or exciting now, but at least it is something to post.
******************************************************************
Neal likes to tell people that we are boring, but I don’t necessarily agree. Despite the fact that Neal has started residency and has been quite busy lately, we’ve still managed to do quite a few fun things together as a family. Here’s some of what we have been up to (starting with the most recent):
Stake Preparedness Fair: a new stake center was just completed in our stake, and on Saturday they had a “grand opening” type of event—a preparedness fair. The events started with a 5K in the morning, which the whole family participated in—Neal pushed Sally in the stroller, and I ran by myself.
Neal had a great run and finished in 27 minutes (and it should have been less, but he started late because he was waiting for me—getting a drink in the building—and had to stop a few times to attend to Sally). I surprised myself by running the entire time and finishing at 35 minutes. Being 4 months pregnant, I planned to run the first half and then walk, but I felt pretty good and really wanted to finish strong. I was proud of our performance. The rest of the morning was filled by a pancake breakfast and various workshops and displays. We had fun. 
KU vs. Duke: we left the fair and went straight to Lawrence for the KU football game. It was Sally’s first football game, and she did quite well (until she saw the Jayhawk mascot and got really scared).
We only stayed until half time because we were all tired and ready to get out of the sun. KU won and we got to see some good plays, and it was fun for Sally to experience the excitement of a college football game.
Corporate Woods Pancake Breakfast: the company that I work for is located in a business park called Corporate Woods, which sponsored a breakfast for all of its tenants. Although I never actually go into the office, I thought it would be fun to go to the breakfast and take Neal and Sally. Neal had just finished his last night shift and wanted to try to stay awake, so we took off as soon as he got home for breakfast and shopping. After breakfast we headed to some outlet stores to take advantage of the last of the Labor Day sales on children’s clothes. We got a ton of cute baby boy clothes for great prices. It was great to shop with Neal, who attended to Sally so I could focus on shopping.
Price Chopper Neighborhood Block Party: a major grocery store in the area hosted a block party that was free to the public. I heard about it on the radio and thought it would be fun to check it out. Sally got to see the Trix bunny and Chester Cheetah (unfortunately she was deathly afraid of both of them, but got free stuff from them), and got lots of free stuff--a balloon, a stuffed cow, granola bites, and other food samples. We all got a free lunch and ice cream. The main reason I wanted to go was for the free pony rides, but unfortunately the line was too long—but at least Sally got to see the ponys!
Aristocrat Motors Carnival: Neal saw an advertisement in the paper about a free family fun carnival at the local Aristocrat Motors, so we decided to head over and see what it was all about. Sally loved looking at the animals in the petting zoo,
bouncing in the inflatable jumping tent,
and eating the free ice cream. We loved seeing her having so much fun and not having the make lunch. The free food was actually good—Hy-Vee catering provided it. All-in-all I was impressed.
Misc.: Numerous trips to parks and outdoor shopping malls (Zona Rosa, The Country Club Plaza, etc.).
Sally absolutely loves going to the park, and I love being within a 5 minute walk of two great parks, and within a 5-10 minute drive of several others. Just one thing I love about living in Johnson County, Kansas.
So, we do a lot of free things, it is true, and maybe we are boring by some peoples’ standards. But I can’t say that I’m bored. Not with Sally around!
Sally is not even two yet, and I’m rather devastated that she won’t nap anymore. It all started when she chewed the tip off of her binky (the pink one—not the original green one). The green bink got lost at Grandma Peterson’s house, and I decided that that would be the end of the bink for Sally. After 30 minutes or so of screaming that night, I gave in and offered her a pink one as an alternative (one that she refused numerous times in the past). She took to it and used it for nap/bed time until the day she bit right through it. Thus ended both the era of the binky and the precious afternoon nap.
It isn’t like I don’t still try to give her a nap. I certainly do—every day! She just won’t go to sleep. I end up just letting her play in her room with her toys for about an hour or so so I can have some time to work. Not ideal, but at this point I’ll take what I can get.
Anyhow, here’s what I wrote on September 20. It doesn’t seem too important or exciting now, but at least it is something to post.
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Neal likes to tell people that we are boring, but I don’t necessarily agree. Despite the fact that Neal has started residency and has been quite busy lately, we’ve still managed to do quite a few fun things together as a family. Here’s some of what we have been up to (starting with the most recent):
Stake Preparedness Fair: a new stake center was just completed in our stake, and on Saturday they had a “grand opening” type of event—a preparedness fair. The events started with a 5K in the morning, which the whole family participated in—Neal pushed Sally in the stroller, and I ran by myself.
Neal had a great run and finished in 27 minutes (and it should have been less, but he started late because he was waiting for me—getting a drink in the building—and had to stop a few times to attend to Sally). I surprised myself by running the entire time and finishing at 35 minutes. Being 4 months pregnant, I planned to run the first half and then walk, but I felt pretty good and really wanted to finish strong. I was proud of our performance. The rest of the morning was filled by a pancake breakfast and various workshops and displays. We had fun. 
KU vs. Duke: we left the fair and went straight to Lawrence for the KU football game. It was Sally’s first football game, and she did quite well (until she saw the Jayhawk mascot and got really scared).
We only stayed until half time because we were all tired and ready to get out of the sun. KU won and we got to see some good plays, and it was fun for Sally to experience the excitement of a college football game.
Corporate Woods Pancake Breakfast: the company that I work for is located in a business park called Corporate Woods, which sponsored a breakfast for all of its tenants. Although I never actually go into the office, I thought it would be fun to go to the breakfast and take Neal and Sally. Neal had just finished his last night shift and wanted to try to stay awake, so we took off as soon as he got home for breakfast and shopping. After breakfast we headed to some outlet stores to take advantage of the last of the Labor Day sales on children’s clothes. We got a ton of cute baby boy clothes for great prices. It was great to shop with Neal, who attended to Sally so I could focus on shopping.
Price Chopper Neighborhood Block Party: a major grocery store in the area hosted a block party that was free to the public. I heard about it on the radio and thought it would be fun to check it out. Sally got to see the Trix bunny and Chester Cheetah (unfortunately she was deathly afraid of both of them, but got free stuff from them), and got lots of free stuff--a balloon, a stuffed cow, granola bites, and other food samples. We all got a free lunch and ice cream. The main reason I wanted to go was for the free pony rides, but unfortunately the line was too long—but at least Sally got to see the ponys!
Aristocrat Motors Carnival: Neal saw an advertisement in the paper about a free family fun carnival at the local Aristocrat Motors, so we decided to head over and see what it was all about. Sally loved looking at the animals in the petting zoo,
bouncing in the inflatable jumping tent,
and eating the free ice cream. We loved seeing her having so much fun and not having the make lunch. The free food was actually good—Hy-Vee catering provided it. All-in-all I was impressed.
Misc.: Numerous trips to parks and outdoor shopping malls (Zona Rosa, The Country Club Plaza, etc.).
Sally absolutely loves going to the park, and I love being within a 5 minute walk of two great parks, and within a 5-10 minute drive of several others. Just one thing I love about living in Johnson County, Kansas.
So, we do a lot of free things, it is true, and maybe we are boring by some peoples’ standards. But I can’t say that I’m bored. Not with Sally around!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Match Day Results
Neal's graduation is in two days, and I can't believe that med school will be a thing of the past. If only I could say the same for residency...
Match day was two months ago, and I didn't do a great job of letting people know the results. Neal matched at KU for both his preliminary year in internal medicine and for his 3 anesthesiology years, which means we are staying put right here in Kansas City. We are mostly happy about this , but there are some downsides which I will not elaborate on because I don't want to be a whiner. Never mind that KU pays its residents less than almost any other residency program and that the Kansas legislature is trying to decrease their pay...we don't have to sell our house! Never mind that our house is kind of small...we love our ward and the area where we live.
Alright, I wasn't supposed to elaborate, but at least I'm trying to be positive (anyone wanting to hear more of my complaints will have to contact me personally). All-in-all we are really glad to stay here and we are very grateful that Neal matched in a competitive specialty.
Just a quick update on my own job situation: I accepted the job and will be an independent contractor for 1 year, and then will have the option of becoming an employee of the company. I'm starting June 22, and I'm excited.
Match day was two months ago, and I didn't do a great job of letting people know the results. Neal matched at KU for both his preliminary year in internal medicine and for his 3 anesthesiology years, which means we are staying put right here in Kansas City. We are mostly happy about this , but there are some downsides which I will not elaborate on because I don't want to be a whiner. Never mind that KU pays its residents less than almost any other residency program and that the Kansas legislature is trying to decrease their pay...we don't have to sell our house! Never mind that our house is kind of small...we love our ward and the area where we live.
Alright, I wasn't supposed to elaborate, but at least I'm trying to be positive (anyone wanting to hear more of my complaints will have to contact me personally). All-in-all we are really glad to stay here and we are very grateful that Neal matched in a competitive specialty.
Just a quick update on my own job situation: I accepted the job and will be an independent contractor for 1 year, and then will have the option of becoming an employee of the company. I'm starting June 22, and I'm excited.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Mother's Day
Today is Mother's Day and, as I am a mother, I received some extra special treatment. Neal made me pancakes for breakfast, Sally was rather better behaved than usual during sacrament meeting, I got a vase of fresh cut flowers from my front yard, and Neal got me a cool kitchen scale (something I had requested) and made me a card. Not exactly a day where I got everything I wanted without having a lift a finger (as my bro. in-law expressed the day should be in his sacrament meeting talk that he proudly shared), but a nice day nonetheless.
I love being a mom and I am so grateful that I get to raise Sally (and hopefully other children in the future). Being a mom has enlarged my capacity to love and serve and is teaching me lots of valuable lessons (such as how to be patient when I feel my patience has already been tried to the max, how to laugh when I feel like crying, how to cook one handedly). My attempts to describe how much I love being a mom sound really cheesey, so I'll just say that I'm so glad that I get to spend each day with Sally and watch her learn and grow.
I wanted Sally and I to match today, and I think that we looked cute.
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