moonlit

I spent the weekend with Kyle on his small town ER shift. He may be blaming me for the busy Friday night

(which never happens... He finally got to bed at 3 am.), but I think he enjoyed having a buddy to explore all the sights with the remainder of the weekend.

I forgot my camera. Boo. So the iphone pics will have to do.

Breakfast in his lovely room, which doubles as a sleep study room during the week. Not too bad.

Highlight was having to walk down the hall to an empty patient room to shower. :)

We found plenty of places to fish. If only that pager would stop going off.

 

We ate dinner at the two fine dining establishments in town.

Nothing on the schedule. Bliss.

Lots of relaxing, reading and driving through some of God's beautiful country.

We also met some cows... lots, actually. And when's the last time you rented a movie from the one gas station in town?

Sure was a nice change of pace. 

Thanks babe for letting me tag along.

a mommy needs attention too, right?

because I can't always be here...

I've been cleaning out closets, drawers... getting rid of all of the excess. A fresh start for the new year, I suppose.

I've never been one for New Year's resolutions. But I have been thinking about some changes I want to make. So call it a resolution, if you must.

Every mom gets to a point where the focus shifts completely away from her, sometimes losing sight of who she is. And that's ok for a bit, I guess. But I don't think it's healthy for a long period of time.

My focus has been shifted for too long.

It's time to start taking care of myself too. And not feel bad about it.

All I have ever really wanted to do is stay at home, take care of my husband and babies. So this isn't a complaint. I wouldn't change what I'm doing for anything. It's just that this residency life hits from all directions. The stress, the loneliness, the frustration, seeing your husband exhausted beyond what he should be.  And I'm afraid that if there's not some sort of balance, there won't be much more of me left to give.

So, I'm thinking about ways to improve and really, just nourishment for my soul.

Efficiency is a big one. Time, how I spend money, keeping up with the house. I've started to watch how we spend money, knowing how much things cost, making smarter decisions. So empowering. More time with God, not just giving Him my leftover time, if there is any. Taking better care of my body. My skin. I just bought my first eyecream. :) My poor, neglected wardrobe (if you can even call it that) needs some attention... no more just looking in the children's section. More dates with my husband. More girls' nights out. More than two haircuts a year. More red wine... for ya know, a healthy heart and all. More time for reading. And maybe even a pedicure or two.

If I do these types of things, it's going to make me a better wife, a better mom. More fulfilled. Motivated. Encouraged. Happier. And we all know the phrase... if Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.

 

how's the conversation at your dinner table?

There really isn't such a thing as post-call day lately. You know, where you work all day, stay the night at the hospital and then come home and rest after your shift. It's more like you work all day, all night and then all day... going on 36 hours with little, if any sleep. Poor guy.

better late than never...

Back: Katie, me, Joy, Desiree

Front: Darrica, Cindi, Allison

Girls Night Out #1

Each of us has a husband on the physician path in one way or another. Whether it be residency or medical school, we're all going through this together. These girls (and a few more that weren't able to join us) have been such a blessing to me. They know exactly what it feels like to see your husband exhausted from long hours, stressful expectations and little pay. :)

Thanks girls for making this time in our lives a little easier to understand and not so lonely. Love ya!

I was meeting a few of these girls for the first time in person. Even though I felt like I already knew them online. It was a great night... hopefully, there will be many more to come!

swanky digs

We brought Daddy dinner tonight since he is on call. I thought it would be fun to show you around his home-sweet-home away from home. Don't be hatin'. And if you're wondering about Hayes' get-up...Wacky Wednesday at school in celebration of Dr. Seuss.

You will notice we have the sleeping quarters over here to the left. A snazzy chair for relaxing to the right. Here, let's take a closer look. So luxurious.

There's a bathroom (sans shower) between the bedroom and this little nook.

Fridge station. Someone apparently fancies tabasco sauce. Is anyone else noticing the monitors in every corner of the room?

And of course, the lockers. But wait! Where's Kyle's locker? Oh, that's right. He doesn't have one. What's a boy gotta do to get him one? Looks like wait until one becomes available or take matters into his own hands and roam the hospital in search of one.

As lacking as this room appears, do we really expect anything else? Even though I am rearranging, decluttering and decorating in my head the whole time I'm there, I guarantee you Kyle (and the other guys, most likely) don't give a rip what it looks like... as long as they have a place to crash.

quack

It's been somewhat of a rough week around here. I think we all miss Daddy. Embry and Ellie haven't seen him since Monday. Hayes has seen him maybe a total of two hours. At least it is the weekend and we can relax and catch up, right? Uh, not when you're starting a case this evening and on call tomorrow. Looks like we'll catch ya on the flip side Daddy-O!

Have I mentioned that residency is awesome?

There is a little light around the corner... Kyle is taking next Thursday and Friday off. There will be relaxing. There will be double kid control. And there will be one very lovely date night. Eyes on the prize baby.

May your weekend be quack-fabulous!

2 Corinthians 4:17

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

have you ever...

... been so tired that you fell asleep in the car wash?

on call, again

Getting this off my chest... Waiting around to make rounds is ridiculous. Especially for HOURS with nothing else to do. A person's time is important, regardless of pay grade. Thank you and have a nice day.

******************************

We'll miss you tonight Daddy.

Love you.

thanksgiving break

Kyle is working tonight and gets off tomorrow morning for a nice long Thanksgiving break. Like over a week break. I know. Crazy, right? Trust me, he'll get to make up for it with working Christmas. We'll take what we can get. We can't wait to spend time with him. He has been gone way too much lately. He has worked overnight three nights in the last week.

I guess we should be thankful at this point that he still has a place to work. Kyle said something last night that stuck with me. He said he can't let himself worry about the hospital drama, he can only focus on the things that are certain... like taking boards in December and improving his surgical skills.

I'm tellin' ya, God has really been working on our faith in the last year. How liberating it is to turn your worries over to him and trust him with your future. How comforting it is to have a husband who reminds me of that when I let the worry begin to creep in.

fun fact... I snapped this picture of Kyle while he was scrubbing the garage floor with gasoline.

change of scenery

Kyle decided he doesn't want to be a doctor anymore. Just kidding. Wouldn't that be somethin'? It's been finalized that his residency program won't be at OSU Medical Center beginning next summer. As for the hospital actually closing, no one has given specifics. Kyle's program is being moved to St. Francis, some others to Hillcrest. Hopefully, he will get to work at St. Francis South some, which is pretty close to our house. He will also be working quite a bit at the Muskogee VA.

This month and next month's rotation is plastic surgery. The hours still are not my preference (who am I kidding? they never will be!), but he seems to really be enjoying it and is glad to be back in the OR. He was excited to have done half of a breast reduction by himself today. The attending did one boob, he did the other. Pretty cool, huh?

There have been a lot of changes since that first day of medical school.

Graduating this past May.

And the picture that last day of residency? Hayes will be 9!