tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75839906176026816042023-11-16T10:56:53.174-05:00You'll Never Know EverythingIn medicine as well as in motherhood, they say that you'll never know everything and to calm down already. I think the lawyers told them to say that.Katie!http://www.blogger.com/profile/00795555425849436787noreply@blogger.comBlogger538125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7583990617602681604.post-14602249557500558262015-10-13T11:10:00.002-04:002015-10-13T11:10:25.900-04:00A New Home
We moved to a new house about a year ago, a big, old, beautiful house just north of the city. We have plenty of space, a good sized yard, and have bedrooms to spare for our friends and family. I could go on for days about our home, but I am preoccupied today because my old house is still for sale.
The walls have a few nondescript items, but it is obvious no one lives there. There are Katie!http://www.blogger.com/profile/00795555425849436787noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7583990617602681604.post-76806181927285277122015-09-22T15:59:00.001-04:002015-09-22T15:59:16.664-04:00One Free Pass
Like most mothers with sanity as a priority, I swore that my kids would not be overextended while they were young. I played basketball as a child starting at age 2, but that was once a week after age 8. There was a brief period of piano, then dance class, neither of which lasted because they were inconvenient for my family, specifically my young sisters who required an early bed time. Even as a Katie!http://www.blogger.com/profile/00795555425849436787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7583990617602681604.post-61021706198279915902015-09-08T15:10:00.001-04:002015-09-08T15:10:20.083-04:00Buried
As is usual when a person graduates to the next level of the heirarchy, I had NO EARTHLY IDEA how much paperwork and general minutia would be a part of my everyday life as an attending. My first schedule had a few half days with no clinical activity assigned and I thought WOO HOO! This attending life is amazing! Little did I know that those times are built in not only for professional Katie!http://www.blogger.com/profile/00795555425849436787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7583990617602681604.post-55341026719396347542015-09-04T14:58:00.002-04:002015-09-04T14:59:01.487-04:00Volun-ToldColin, being a bad ass first grader now, has joined Cub Scouts. The pack is brand new, this is the first year. We're trying to get things off the ground and Colin loves being a part of it. He looks forward to it every week and was obscenely quick at learning the Oath, handshake, laws, Pledge of Allegiance, and the other required learning. It is a neat group of kids and provides fun, adventure, Katie!http://www.blogger.com/profile/00795555425849436787noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7583990617602681604.post-86270057514660590792015-08-31T12:26:00.001-04:002015-09-04T14:59:11.377-04:00All Grown UpThe best part about being an attending physician is being able to act like a grown up.
I get to make my own schedule! I get to say when I need a day off or want to work more. They ask me what kind of patients I want to see, and then they schedule those patients. I have some actual control over my life. I don't really know what to do with that kind of power.
Studies show that a Katie!http://www.blogger.com/profile/00795555425849436787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7583990617602681604.post-78840109174462215722015-08-20T23:52:00.000-04:002015-08-20T23:52:36.894-04:00Re-introductionsIt has been four years since you've seen my kids and you would NOT EVEN BELIEVE how big and old and grown up they are. Let me re-introduce you! Have a seat friends, the flood gate of kid stories is opening.
Colin, who was once The Turnip.
Colin is now 6, almost 7, and in the first grade. He reads and writes, loves to be outside, and makes friends easily. Already he is an impressively Katie!http://www.blogger.com/profile/00795555425849436787noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7583990617602681604.post-65012678933435797632015-08-14T15:53:00.000-04:002015-08-14T15:53:22.236-04:00AwakeningIt has been a long, long time since I've been here.
I read through my last few posts and it was like reading someone else's writing, glimpsing into a different family, reading a blog written by an acquaintance. When I last visited here, I was a new doctor, still learning how to work the computers and OR instruments. My kids were babies and, while I can feel the fatigue in the words written, the Katie!http://www.blogger.com/profile/00795555425849436787noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7583990617602681604.post-16070159830184894482012-11-02T13:39:00.000-04:002012-11-02T13:39:37.709-04:00Gratitude: Fodder for StoriesHalloween is arguably the most kid-centric holiday in existence (Christmas is fun for everyone, New Years is for adults, Easter is... not really that "fun" in the classic sense.) and I tragically had to miss Trick or Treating. Owing to my current nights rotation, I left for work just as the kids were getting home from school and thinking about getting dressed up. I love Halloween and was feeling Katie!http://www.blogger.com/profile/00795555425849436787noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7583990617602681604.post-30131209640948745202012-10-24T00:38:00.000-04:002012-10-24T00:38:07.963-04:00Roses PersistThere are two rose bushes that live on the east side of my house that were there when I moved in. They are beautiful and strong, they live on and grow high despite their neglectful current owner. I don't know anything about plants, sadly, but I know they are not knock-out roses. They are pure and simple, white-streaked pink blooms. I love them.
They were planted by a man who lived in my house Katie!http://www.blogger.com/profile/00795555425849436787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7583990617602681604.post-58172436911129159602012-08-06T11:00:00.000-04:002012-10-24T00:38:25.350-04:00GrayWhen I was younger I loved to dye my hair, but my hair never really took to the color. I tried to go blonde, but it turned out just slightly lighter brown. I went red and kept it that way for a long time, but it was really just reddish-brown. Even when I dyed it purple, you could only tell if you looked really closely that it wasn't just an unfortunate color of brown. Brown is where my hair staysKatie!http://www.blogger.com/profile/00795555425849436787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7583990617602681604.post-51268661128714637242012-07-03T23:20:00.000-04:002012-07-03T23:20:35.801-04:00Moving on UpShortly after I wrote my last post, I started on my nights rotation, a six week block of time during which I worked 14 hour shifts five days a week overnight. It was an incredible experience; since I did this rotation last of the year, I was the most prepared, the most confident I could have been. I knew what I was doing a lot of the time, which is not a feeling an intern experiences all that Katie!http://www.blogger.com/profile/00795555425849436787noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7583990617602681604.post-42480465956553514592012-05-17T09:54:00.003-04:002012-05-17T09:55:12.585-04:00CancerDisclosing someone's diagnosis of cancer is a morbid privledge. There is tension that hangs in the air as you sit with the patient and their family, all gathered to hear what news you have, waiting for you to confirm their fears. And you will, but not yet. First, as you've been taught, you ask them what they understand about the situation, what they are worried about, how they are feeling. Katie!http://www.blogger.com/profile/00795555425849436787noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7583990617602681604.post-90965979319188995122012-03-26T12:05:00.000-04:002012-05-17T09:55:27.069-04:00A Tongue and Standing Photo EssayI now present: Caroline's tongue:
And now, Standing!
There aren't many good photos of Colin these days, because all I ever see of him looks like this:
But still, there's this. (Still with some tongue.)
Katie!http://www.blogger.com/profile/00795555425849436787noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7583990617602681604.post-45626059458737736302012-03-24T14:46:00.001-04:002012-05-17T09:55:35.986-04:00Update from the FrontCaroline crawls now. She pulls herself along with the strength of a woman with a mission and gets herself into fabulously perplexing situations. Nothing makes her happier than getting herself stuck under the table or smashed behind the couch. Squeals and peals and laughter, which all inevitably evolve into shrieks and screams and pleas for rescue. Once rescued, she returns to her previous Katie!http://www.blogger.com/profile/00795555425849436787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7583990617602681604.post-3871126654083614722012-02-19T14:13:00.002-05:002012-02-19T14:13:59.096-05:00Morning DramaI had to go in to work this morning to round and, while I was glad to have the rest of the day off, it is still unhappy to wake up before dawn, pry yourself out of your warm bed, and go bother people who also don't want to be awake. This particular morning was even harder to walk out the door, as the kids woke up just as I was getting ready to leave, making my departure even more annoying and Katie!http://www.blogger.com/profile/00795555425849436787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7583990617602681604.post-89197072907366026732012-01-19T16:52:00.001-05:002012-01-19T16:52:56.554-05:00Dear ColinDear Colin,
Your life has been completely turned upside down the last six months and while I'm not going to apologize for it, I do want to applaud you and tell you that you are a peach. You handled all the turmoil and stress of a new baby as if you were expecting this all along, just waiting for her to show up. You continue to deal with your parents both working all hours of the day and night, Katie!http://www.blogger.com/profile/00795555425849436787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7583990617602681604.post-66696853160515945952012-01-03T16:24:00.000-05:002012-01-03T16:24:48.009-05:00New YearHappy New Year! Guess what one of my resolutions is this year?
Residency is trucking along relentlessly and so does everything else. The kids are getting older by the second, holidays have come and gone, and I am living and breathing work. I can't believe how different I feel in just a few months, though I don't know if my confidence is premature and based only on blind hope that I am doing the Katie!http://www.blogger.com/profile/00795555425849436787noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7583990617602681604.post-50290864022100736472011-11-09T23:20:00.002-05:002011-11-09T23:43:11.368-05:00Bad Mommy
We've been told by Colin's teachers that he is an exceptionally bright boy, eager to learn and quick to master new challenges. He demonstrates, we are further informed, a love of learning that "makes teaching him a joy", a quality that makes my heart sing with pride.
This eagerness and quick mastery, however, has not yet extended to potty training. The joy certainly does not.
We were pretty Katie!http://www.blogger.com/profile/00795555425849436787noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7583990617602681604.post-47300017435122772932011-10-19T15:00:00.000-04:002011-10-19T15:00:13.746-04:00DistanceAbout a week ago, I got home while it was still daylight and got out of my car to find the kids at my neighbor's house. Colin was running joyfully around the backyard, in a furious lightsaber battle with the older boys. Caroline was carrying on a very deep conversation with my neighbor, telling all about her day. I sat down and scooped Caroline up into my arms, breathing in her sweet baby Katie!http://www.blogger.com/profile/00795555425849436787noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7583990617602681604.post-48270426086927758632011-10-02T21:35:00.001-04:002011-10-02T21:35:39.166-04:00My LovesEvery night, usually between dinner and bath time, we have the following exchange.
COLIN
Okay! It's time for me to go to work!
KATIE!
Colin, we just finished dinner! Let's play for a bit and take a bath.
COLIN
I'm sorry, Mommy I have to work! I love you though! Can you help me find my keys?
He tools around searching for his plastic Lightning McQueen keys, puts his shoes on, and then Katie!http://www.blogger.com/profile/00795555425849436787noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7583990617602681604.post-74674197301020801972011-08-08T20:11:00.000-04:002011-08-08T20:11:39.260-04:00Trainable IdiotToday, I started residency. I put on my long white coat, walked into several patients' rooms, and said, "Hi, there! I'm a doctor, as you can see by the length of my coat. You can tell I'm an intern by the way my hands tremble and by the sweat stains on my shirt. My goodness, is it hot in here?"
That's not entirely true. Actually, I mostly stuttered today. I tripped all over my words when I Katie!http://www.blogger.com/profile/00795555425849436787noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7583990617602681604.post-28614310241519824742011-08-06T00:57:00.000-04:002012-01-19T16:54:41.735-05:00A Lovely DrinkIn trying to do what I thought best for her, I may have done Caroline a disservice.
Colin had a bottle of formula very early in his life, in the hospital on his second night of life, in fact. I don't remember the details - probably better that way - but it was something about him not having made enough urine and needing supplementation or something. After that, I didn't supplement much again Katie!http://www.blogger.com/profile/00795555425849436787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7583990617602681604.post-78093102265139582622011-08-03T00:57:00.001-04:002011-08-03T01:00:04.710-04:00GrowingHow has it been a MONTH since I wrote to you last? You will not believe what has happened in that time: Caroline has turned into a little person. She is awake and smiling at us for long parts of the day, which make the parts of the night when she's awake and alternating between smiling and screaming much more tolerable. She still isn't sleeping much and since she is still, for this moment at Katie!http://www.blogger.com/profile/00795555425849436787noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7583990617602681604.post-48169389303359696552011-07-04T17:28:00.000-04:002011-07-04T17:28:43.276-04:00LearningOn the whole, things continue to go swimmingly around here, largely due to the fact that Colin is a good kid and is taking this whole thing like a champ, as well as the fact that babies seem so easy compared to a two year old. I mean, not only do they not talk back when you tell them to do something, they don't even move. Caroline's fits are a short "Wa!" and then she looks around to see if Katie!http://www.blogger.com/profile/00795555425849436787noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7583990617602681604.post-91256557330047642732011-06-29T23:42:00.000-04:002011-06-29T23:47:39.013-04:00Dramatic Improvements
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