Cleveland Rocks!

The wait is finally over but even after waking up this morning, we had to wait a little longer.  The email Bill was to receive, letting us know where he matched for his Urology residency has historically been sent between 1-3am.  We chose to go to sleep instead of waiting up for it so we could fully digest the news in the morning and let our brains go crazy.  Getting up at 6am was painful but after a night full of a stupid reoccurring dream about the match, I was ready to find out.  With our stomach in knots and feeling slightly nauseous, Bill logged on to his email and....nothing.  No email.  This wasn't supposed to happen so we actually didn't know what to do with ourselves.  We decided to start getting ready for the day and kept checking the email about every 15 minutes or so.  Finally, 7:30 rolled around and Bill had to leave for work - still no email.  We were DYING.  He was able to come back home at 9:15 (I had taken the morning off from work) and ta-da!  The email was there.  It had arrived with 2 minutes to spare at 7:58am.

I think we both held our breath as he opened the email and we quickly scanned through the text.  He matched at...........Case Western in Cleveland!!!!  He's really excited because he had a great interview there, liked all of the guys he met and feels there is a lot of opportunity for him to excel and make a great name for himself.  I'm excited because I have family in Cleveland and surrounding areas - my parents and brother are 2 hours away.  Columbus is a little over 2 hours away - not only are some of my closest friends there but I'll be able to see my Buckeyes play!!  Audrey will be able to grow up going to Cedar Point - the world's BEST amusement park....no seriously, I believe it's won this title a few times.  Cleveland itself has a ton to offer too - a great zoo, museums, pro sports teams, Lake Erie, great shopping, and an amazing food scene.  Foodie friends - I anticipate a lot of good eats in Cleveland!  I heard about this open market today that I can't wait to learn more about.  Exploring the different neighborhoods and restaurants is going to be very, very fun - we can do a lot of damage in 6 years.

Anyway, I'm sure you can tell that I'm pretty excited.  The number of things we have to do now is somewhat overwhelming.  We have to get a realtor and then only have a month or so until we have to put our place on the market and pray to God that it sells, buy a house in a good school system by squeezing in weekends to Cleveland on this already tight schedule and find a new daycare that's as great as the one Audrey's at now.  Oh yeah, and pack and move and Bill still has to focus and graduate, while I work.  I think I'll actually thrive on all of this because I love a good project.  :)~  Get ready, Cleveland, here we come!

Bill's Residency Interviews

Normally I try to come up with some creative title for my blogs but this subject is overwhelming my tiny little brain so much that I just can't think of anything fun.  So just imagine something funny that has to do with pee.....smiling?  Or perhaps confused??  Good.

Bill is currently in his 8th and last year of med school.  Why 8 years?  Because he flunked a few times.  :)  He usually thinks my blogs are funny, he might not anymore.  It's been 8 years because he's completing 4 years of med school and 4 years of graduate school so he could get his PhD in Immunology.  He'll finally graduate this May.  What this really means, however, is that he'll be moving on to a residency program in his desired specialty - Urology.  Yes, he's going to be a pee pee doc.  Get your jokes out now. 

I've been along for this ride since the beginning.  We were dating when he interviewed for and started med school, got engaged after year 1, married after year 2, and all the while speculated on where we might end up after year 8.  As far away as this moment seemed, we CANNOT believe that it's finally here.  And it's actually very bittersweet.

The first "end in sight" moment came when he defended his PhD thesis last March.  Once that was done, we knew he only had until the following May.  Then in August, he needed to post his resume and letters of recommendation in the residency match system along with picking the programs he hoped to get an interview with.  After that, we waited almost a month to see which programs would grant him an interview.  We didn't start hearing from programs until late September and it went through late October.  Then the interview season really began as he tried to jockey 14 interview offers over the course of 6 weeks.  Programs only offer about 2 interview dates so you can either take the interview or you can't.  Unfortunately due to conflicting dates, Bill had to choose between some programs and ultimately went on 12 interviews literally coast-to-coast.  He traveled by car and plane to 10 cities beginning the last weekend in October through Thanksgiving and the last 2 were after Thanksgiving.  In 7 days alone, he went to 4 cities in 3 states.  Audrey and I didn't see him much but we were cheering him on from Iowa.  We were fortunate that a few of his interviews took him to Ohio so Audrey and I were able to go with him and visit my family.  It was fun to go along for the ride. 

After his wirlwind tour of the US, he submitted his preference list after New Year's day.  And now we're waiting again.  We find out on Monday (sometime between midnight and 8am) via EMAIL! where we're heading.  I'm not going to divulge the list on this forum but I will tell you that Iowa is on the list so there's a chance we won't be moving.  It's crazy to think that something of this magnitude is shared over email.  Maybe it's because most students moving on to their residencies are only 26, unmarried and no kids??  I don't know but I feel too old to be relying on an email to tell me where I'm moving.  At least make it formal with a phone call.  I need more stability in my life!  Anyway, depending on the program, we'll be in the next city for 5 or 6 years.  And thankfully, in terms of my job, the plan is that I will keep it and work from home wherever we move.

My stomach nerves are going to be the death of me before Monday, I'm sure of it.  The decision now is whether to stay up and wait for the email or just go to bed and see what Monday brings.  We've heard that last year's email went to students at 1:00am.  I'm thinking we should try to sleep because once we get the news, I know my brain is not going to stop.  I'll need to be up for the day thinking of all the things we have to do.  Wish us luck!

You'll Shoot Your Eye Out!

Audrey was born before Christmas last year but she was so incredibly spitty, we didn't dare take her to go see Santa.  "Hi Santa, bleh!"  It wouldn't be a pretty sight.  Plus, she was so new to the world, we didn't think the germy mall was the best place for her to be.  So this year, with her spitty days far behind us, we thought we'd take her to meet the big man.  We tried going over Thanksgiving to the St. Louis mall but were really turned off by their Christmas display.  It's color scheme?  Mauve and silver.  Plus, we didn't like the looks of Santa.  Instead, Bill took Audrey on the mall's 2 story merry go round!

I think it's so cute that she automatically hung on to the pole!

I love this photo but doesn't it look like Audrey has antlers?

Once we got home after Thanksgiving, we took Audrey to our mall here and found everything to be much better, including Santa.  While Audrey wouldn't smile for her picture, she only cried a little when we first put her in his lap so we were able to get a nice picture.  And a bonus?  She didn't spit up on him!

Where's Audrey???

Oh, Oh, it's Magic!

You know how sometimes you watch an infomercial and you cringe because it's just THAT bad?  Okay, maybe ALL the time.  The real question is, have you ever actually purchased an "as seen on TV" item?  If not, you will after reading this.  Yes, I'm about to write a blog dedicated to....the Magic Bullet! 

You've likely seen it - the infomercial shows a group of friends waking up one morning and congregating in the kitchen after, what I would guess, was some hard partying.  Suddenly the hosts whip out their Magic Bullet (MB) and everyone's problems dissolve away as they eat chips and guacamole, chicken alfredo, pesto, smoothies and yes, more alcohol for breakfast.  It seems to good to be true: just 1 - 2 - 3 seconds! and you have a myriad of food and beverage options (nevemind that they seem to pause for a second or two while counting).  We received our MB as a Christmas present and never even took it out of the box for quite some time.  I think Bill wanted to start making quick protein shakes and finally opened it.  Ours came with the blender base, two blades (I have no idea what they are called or are supposed to do but I know that we really only use one of them), one small container, one large container, container lids, four handled cups with four tops, a lid with holes in it (for your freshly grated cheese) and one recipe book.  I think newer models come with even more gadgets and containers.  We quickly found that the MB is really all that it promises.  It has actually replaced our fancy schmancy Cuisinart blender!  (To be honest, the Cuisinart was so loud and so big, we rarely even used it in the first place.)  The MB is really small but can still be loud depending on what you're blending. 

So what do we use ours for, you ask?  We use it to make smoothies, protein shakes, malts, pesto sauce, romesco sauce, peanut sauce, other random sauces from recipes, baby food, salsa, waffle/pancake mix, and we use it to shred our parmigiano-reggiano.  Just cut up the cheese into cubes, drop them in and 1-2-3 (okay, cheese takes a little longer) and you're done!  We shred up the whole block and store it in the fridge, ready for use.  The beauty about using it for drinks?  Just use the cup as your ingredients container, blend, put the top on and start drinking! 

Here's a super simple, yet super tasty and nutritious smoothie that I like to make with the MB.  It takes about 1 minute to make from start to finish and makes a great breakfast:
1 banana, broken into a few pieces
1/3 c. frozen blueberries
5 frozen peach slices
1/4 c. orange juice
1/4 c. pomegranate juice
--Add everything to MB and blend.

It truly takes less than 10 seconds to blend most items and the recipe book is actually helpful to give you ideas of what you can make with it.  We honestly use our MB almost every day and if you think you have any need for something like this, I highly recommend that you get one.

Letters to Audrey

When I was still pregnant, on the night I went into the hospital to be induced, Bill and I wrote letters to "baby."  We also video taped a message and had our parents video tape messages too.  Since that first letter, I have written Audrey about 5 more.  I fill her in on what she's been up to, what's going on in our lives, what I'm thinking and feeling, and just my overall thoughts on things.  I'm doing this so she'll have a look back into her life from a time when she doesn't remember anything and I'll have forgotten everything too!  Bill and I have both said we wish we knew more about our parents and families from when they were younger so I'm hoping this will help fill that gap for Audrey.  That's also why I do this blog - not only to fill in our family on Audrey's latest and greatest trick (shout out to the Cali readers!!) but to document her life for her too.  There are companies who will turn your blog into a bound book, pictures included.  I'm not sure how the video entries will work but maybe I can swap in a picture or something.  Anyway, I have yet to get a book made but I plan to soon.  We are also planning to video tape another message to her.  This is mainly to show off my young, girlish looks before it's too late.  KIDDING!  I would DIE to have a video message to me from parents when they were this age.  I mean, think about it, how cool would that be?? 

So I plan to continue writing letters to Audrey and eventually our future children - not sure if I'll keep them child specific or write one letter to all.  Hopefully, one day when they reach the appropriate age to read the letters, they'll appreciate them and find their content to be insightful, helpful, humorous, reflective and most importantly, overflowing with love.  So in the event something happens to me and Bill, please keep these letters in mind and make sure Audrey gets them.  They are stored on our computer.

Living Peanut Free

So some sad news - Audrey was diagnosed with a peanut allergy on Friday.  She had peanut butter for the first time when we were at my parents house over Christmas and developed a horrible rash, vomiting and swollen hands.  We rushed her to the emergency room where they gave her meds and she was fine after a few hours.  Back in Iowa City, we met with a pediatric allergist who tested her sensitivity to eggs, shellfish, peanuts, walnuts, almonds, cashews and pecans.  Peanuts and eggs caused a reaction large enough to be considered an allergy.  Eggs weren't as severe and since we've given Audrey baked goods and quiche (she LOVES quiche!) without any side effects, the doctor said to keep doing what we're doing but to be aware that she could have a reaction.  The more raw the egg, the more likely a reaction could occur. 

I realize that this isn't the end of the world but I'm really shocked and upset.  I thought we did everything right while I was pregnant and we're not allergic to anything so I was convinced our children would not have any allergies.  The only thing I can think is that I ate peanut butter everyday for breakfast while pregnant.  You'd think that this would have given Audrey enough of it so she wouldn't be allergic but maybe it was the exact opposite.  Whatever it was, I told Bill that I'm not touching any peanuts when baby #2 comes along.  I'm scared for Audrey's future - group functions, going out to eat, going to a friend's house, getting coffee at a coffee shop and not realizing they crushed up a candybar and sprinkled it on top (this one hit me as I was enjoying coffee!).  I think I'm also mourning the fact that she will never have the pleasure of eating a Reese's Peanut Butter cup, delicious Thai food, Buckeyes or a yummy PB&J with a nice cold glass of milk.  20% of kids outgrow peanut allergies by age 4 so I'm hoping she's in that 20%.  I've also heard of a few medical studies now where children are given increasingly larger doses of peanuts until they become immune.  I would not be opposed to getting her into a study if we could find one.  Until then, we are Epi-Pen carriers and I will be constantly worried that we'll actually have to use it.  :(

I'll Have the Surf and Turf

I tagged this as both Family and Foodies because I think it will be appreciated by all audiences.  For Halloween, I really wanted Audrey to go as something cute and girly - a flower or butterfly, perhaps.  Bill was flipping through one of the catalogs that we are now inundated with (curse the company who sold our name!!) and came across an outfit that we just HAD to get for Audrey.  I was not sold but figured I'd let him win this one.  :) What did Audrey go as, you ask?  A LOBSTER!  Of course it only made sense for Bill to pull out his old porterhouse steak costume (that he sewed BY HAND) and for me to pull out my old fork costume.  Put it together and voila!  Surf and Turf!