I just updated the section about my clinical experiences by adding thoughts about my Medicine rotation. It was my very first rotation, and my least favorite so far, for a variety of reasons. Read more

Tags: school

We took a little road trip (6 hour drive) to my brother's wedding this weekend, and are still trying to recover from the chaos. In order to avoid having to make frequent stops along the way, we did some marathon night-drving soon after the kids fell asleep at night (9pm to 3am). It worked well, but we're pretty exhausted. We also offered to help photograph their wedding, which made the trip even more chaotic. It was a beautiful wedding with a smashing banquet (though I left a bit early to put the kids to bed). R was absolutely gorgeous and V cleaned up nicely as well. Congratulations you two!

We're out of town for a few days, but will be home soon, with lots of photos of my brother's wedding to share. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Tags: holiday

One great thing about having so many photos of the kids is that I have an infinite supply of current photos to use as the desktop on my computer. What I really need to do now is put together some wallet photos to carry with me so that I don't feel like such a slacker mom when people ask to see photos of my kids.

Tags: M

A has been in daycare for two weeks now, and you'd think that I would have more time to catch up on stuff and update this site. Strangely, it's the opposite effect - now that I don't have A at home during the day, I feel like I have less time to write. I think it's because when he was home with me, I had no expectation of getting anything done (productivity was a perk). Now, I have a list of tons of things I need to do (productivity is expected). In any case, I'll try to add photos when I can, and I have a few book and toy reviews in the works that I'll post soon.

In the meantime, here's A wearing another adorable outfit with ears.

Tags: A

And who wouldn't be? He's a funny looking stranger with a scary white beard. Here are 2004 and 2005, as promised.

Tags: holiday, M

The hospital has a house staff Christmas party every year, and the coordinator brings in Santa Claus for the kids. M has taken a photo with Santa every year and with the exception of the first year, he's been a bit anxious. We've read books that have Santa in them and he knows that Santa says "Ho Ho Ho!" so I thought he'd be pretty excited about seeing Santa in person. And when we were on our way to the party, I asked him if he wanted to see Santa, and he seemed pretty eager. However, when we got to the front of the line and walked up to Santa, M immediately got behind me and peeked out from behind my knees, clinging to my pants. And he made sure that no matter which way I turned, I was always between him and Santa. It was a funny sight, and Santa said, "This is new!" In any case, J snapped the shot anyway and here's what we got. I'll post photos from previous years this weekend.

Tags: holiday, M

Shoebuy.com is currently having a 20% off special when you use the code BLOWOUT06 at checkout. I previously posted about another special, which saves you $10 if you use the code SAVE10. Depending on if you spend over $50 or not, you can choose the better coupon to save you some money. We have had a terrific experience buying from Shoebuy.com, especially now that we have kids. They have a frequent customer program (it is automatic), where if you purchase shoes within 30 days of your last order, you save an additional 10%, even if the items are on sale or you used a coupon. We don't buy lots of shoes ourselves, but have found that we buy much more frequently for M (his little feet grow so fast!).

J's current everyday work shoes are getting so beat up that the originally black color is nearly undetectable (they are completely grey and the soles are entirely worn). Since he wears them so often, they need to be comfortable and lately, he's enjoyed Ecco brand shoes. They can be quite pricey though, and that's where Shoebuy is so great. I decided to get him these Ecco Casual Classic Slip-On shoes as a replacement for his old Clarks (not sure where we bought those). Luckily, it's been less than a month since we bought M's rain boots, so we were eligible for the additional 15% off. They retail at $130, but Shoebuy sells them for about $98. With the 20% coupon and the 15% discount, the total came to about $70 and change, nearly $30 off the web price and almost $60 off retail (that's another pair of shoes!). They have free standard shipping, no tax, and free return shipping as well, in case the shoes don't work out. Unless we need the shoes right away, we can't really go wrong buying here.

With the rainy season already here, J also mentioned it would be nice to have some rain shoes. Depending on my rotation schedule, he often drops off the kids at daycare, leaves the car there, and walks or Xootrs (more about that another time) to the hospital (~15 minute brisk walk). I decided to try to find him some warm shoes that could keep his feet dry. Turning back to Shoebuy, I found these Merrell Thermo Moc shoes. Priced at about $84, I ended up paying just over $60 for them.

I'll post an update when we receive both pairs of shoes. I'm not sure how long their 20% off sale is going on, so check it out soon if you need to get some shoes.

UPDATE: J loves his new Eccos, but thinks that the Merrells are a bit snug in the toe area. He's going to keep them anyway and hope that they stretch out with a few more wears.

Tags: shoes

We haven't built the kitchen set that we got for M yet, but I have been thinking about the accessories he'll need to play with it. He already has some Melissa & Doug wooden pots and utensils that we bought a while ago for only $12 from www.creativebrainsonline.com (it was 50% off, daily toy deal). They have free shipping over $30 and occasionally have coupons, so we got a few things for a great price. I picked up some plastic play food from Costco on a recent grocery run as well (I think it cost about $11). Those should cover the accessories for now. He loves to pretend to cook and eat (he says "num num" when he pretends to eat something). I can't wait for him to open his present, since I'm pretty sure he's going to love it.

Tags: toys

We decided to get him this Kidkraft Primary Island Kitchen set for Christmas, so that he can pretend to cook while we're making meals. It's smaller than most kitchen sets out there (which is good for our tiny place) and cost about $120 shipped from Costco.com, beating the next best price that I could find by at least $20 when you consider the free shipping (and it's a big item too). I like that it isn't pink and flowery like many play kitchens out there (what kind of message is that sending?) The primary colors seem pretty gender neutral. We haven't assembled it yet, so I will add an update once that is done. In any case, I am pretty sure he'll enjoy playing with it since he loves to imitate what J and I are doing. And hopefully it will last many years so that A can enjoy it as well. My only problem now is where to hide it once we put it together, and where to put it once he opens it (the best place to put it is where the Christmas tree currently resides).

Tags: holiday, toys

We picked up a Christmas tree over the weekend, and for the second year in a row, Target was where we found it. I was surprised that they had trees, but on a shopping trip last year, I noticed a family coming out of the Garden Center with a tree. I don't have too much experience buying trees (we've only gotten trees for the past 3 years), so I don't know how to judge if they are good trees except by how they look to me. The needles look fresh and the trees look like normal Christmas trees, and that's about all I really need. The first time we got a tree, we bought it at one of those seasonal set-ups on a local lot, and it seemed pricey ($80, but it was a huge tree). Target carries 5-6ft Douglas fir trees for $19.99 and they help saw the bottom off and wrap it up in netting for the car. It's a smaller tree but appropriate for our small apartment. A nice tree stand is about $15 (reusable). In any case, it smells nice and seems reasonably priced. Last year, we picked up a set of shiny red and silver ball ornaments at IKEA (while standing at the check-out line) which cost $10 and we are using them again (plastic, not glass). They are just simple shiny ball ornaments but they actually look really nice together with the lights. We bought the colored lights from Target a while ago before we ever had trees, and those are pretty inexpensive as well (I think they were under $5). I guess now that I am listing everything, it seems like the cost adds up a bit, but the decorations and stand are reused. It's so nice to come home and smell the pine and see the twinkly lights on the tree.

M really likes the tree (and lights) too and it looks very festive in our now-even-more-cramped living room. Now all we need is some snow...

Tags: holiday

We finally got the email that A can start daycare (huge waitlists in this neighborhood), and today is his first day. I'm feeling a bit sad about not getting to spend all day with him anymore (boy was that a treat!). It just reminds me that he's growing up, even though he's only about 3 months old. And it reminds me of all the work and reading I need to catch up on so I am not totally incompetent when I get back to my rotations in January. But I am looking forward to having a little bit of a break so that I can focus my energy on something else for more than an hour or two a day. I think M will like knowing that he's not the only one who has to go to "school" (even though he loves it) and now he can show A the ropes. Time really flies by when you have kids growing up right before your very eyes.

Tags: A, daycare

M is starting to get a bit old for this toy, but he still likes to play with it anyway. We got the LeapFrog LeapStart Learning Table for him when he was about 8 months old, and it has consistently been one of his favorites since. We're hoping A will love playing with it too. Brief Review

12/4/06 update: Looks like Amazon.com has sporadic stock inventory on this right now, but there is a very similar (and apparently bilingual) version which looks almost identical this this table (maybe a newer model?) here (it is sold by Target, so shipping charges will apply). I'd also consider this one if I had a bit more space.

Tags: toys, Amazon

A few days ago, I posted this pop quiz.
Answer: A is in the top photo, M is in the bottom one. How did you do? Have you tried pop quiz #1?