Super hero birthday

For weeks I was gathering ideas for Bubba-do's 5th birthday. This was the first time we had done the whole deal with party games and favors etc. He decided that the theme should be super heros. Now I don't like to be super literal when it comes to themed things, so here is what I came up with. Hubby assumed the character of "Evil Dr. Gynostein" (I know...he and the kids actually came up with the name..hilarious) First he dropped bombs (black balloons) that they had to destroy (pop). Then he scattered kryptonite that they had to pick up with tongs and drop in a "safe box" at the other side of a simple obstacle course. Finally, after I revealed the evil doctor's only weakness (silly string) They attacked him with their own cans of the stuff! After each game they earned one part of their super hero costume: Wrist band, mask, and cape. They loved having a cosutme. The masks were bought as is, the wrist bands were those slap on bracelets that I covered in gold glittery foam paper, and the capes were just black fabric with a star sewed on the back. It all turned out so cute! After the games we just had cake and opened presents...simple...fun...fairly easy. Bubba-do just beamed when his big present rolled out...his first big boy bike. He just said "Thanks Daddy!"

Happy birthday buddy. You are now 5 and kindergarten is just around the corner. You are one of the most generous, caring, clever people I have ever encountered. A real super hero.

My first 5K

Ok...I did it. One week ago I actually ran a 5K. To many of my very fit friends (I have more than a few) this sounds like easy peasy...not for me.

If you have read anything from me lately, you know that I have always hated running and have recently become a convert to it. I signed up for this race to motivate me to keep going. I gave birth to our third child 4 months ago and I'd really like my regular size body back.

When I got to the race and picked up my t-shirt I realized that because I signed up soon after having a baby, I had over estimated my shirt size. I gladly exchanged the large for a medium :0)

I felt ready for this race. I had run this course at least once before and it seemed fairly pleasant. It started just blocks from my house...went through some shady parts of a neighborhood..over the I-80 bridge...down a pretty long hill..through a park.. down a tunnel under I-80..up a steep but shortish hill...with a flat road toward the finish. Well, that is what I thought. When the race started I realized I had practiced the route backwards...yep. All those down hills were now up and the shade didn't come until the end.

I had no delusions of winning any prizes for my speed, I just wanted to finish. The heat that morning was stifling...and the humidity...near 100%. I dug in and finished in a respectable 37 minutes. I felt proud of myself and I will proudly wear the t-shirt...but next race I do will have fewer hills......much fewer :0)

Residency support group

There should be a support group for the families of resident physicians. I am so glad to be able to say we are on the home stretch...one year left. Last night we attended the somewhat anti-climactic good-bye dinner and roast of the graduating 4th year residents in hubby's program. After all it takes to survive these four years it seems like they should do something more formal than a buffet dinner at a cheesy athletic club...but I digress.

I am grateful for all the personal growth we are gaining here in Iowa. I am thankful for a great program, great insurance, and great people....but there are a lot of things I will not miss. I will not miss putting nearly all of my interests on hold because this is the season to support hubby and be there every second for our kiddos because he can't be. I listened to the musical "Kiss Me Kate" the other day and was singing along....I thought, "Wow, I'm not bad." I miss performing so much. It is like I have had to become a new person for this season of our lives...and I miss those other parts of me.

I will not miss the humidity or the -35 degree winters. I will not miss the feeling of being in a temporary place. I will also not miss living somewhere that, generally speaking, doesn't observe Sunday as the sacred day I do. Everything happens on Sunday here! It drives me crazy.

Now I know that life after residency won't be always rosy and perfect, but I have it on good authority that it improves dramatically.

I won't miss month long rotations when hubby works at night. I won't miss wiping tears from my 4 year olds face when I tell him Daddy is on call again this weekend and won't be home until tomorrow. I won't miss feeling like a single parent.

So if you ask me if I'm glad we are almost done with residency...Don't be surprised if I tear up...we are almost there. Let the 4th year begin!!!!

swimming lessons

Everyone needs to learn how to swim. I took lessons briefly in 3rd grade, but I didn't learn all the cool stuff like all the different strokes. Someday I would like to learn more...For now it is their turn. Pooka-Shell is so much braver this year, and she is a great example to Bubba-Do.Can she pose or what?! And you've gotta love the froggy goggles. I also love all the Mommy chat time with some friends who also sit and watch their kids swim. It's a good summer so far.

Run Forrest Run!!

I can't believe it. I ran. Not for 5 minutes....or 10. I ran for 16 minutes straight!!!! More importantly... I didn't feel any pain, or the least bit like I was going to die.

This progress is unbelievable to me. I have been working at running regularly for about 4 weeks. When I started running, 3 minutes was a huge battle. Every joint was sore and weak. My hips and ankles and even my toes felt like they were just flopping around with every step. I am super encouraged. So much so that I have decided to do my first 5K...I have about one month to prepare. My goal is to run the entire time...that, and sign up early enough to get the t-shirt :0)

4th Fest 5K Run / Walk
2011 Race Information
Kick off your 4th Fest with our annual 5K Run / Walk! The 2011 4th Fest 5K will be held Saturday, July 2. Same-day registration will be from 7:00-7:45 am, with the race starting at 8:00 am. Registration forms will be available online, at Running Wild in Coralville, and at the Coralville Recreation Center one month prior to the event. Registration for the 5K is $15 if postmarked or returned to the Recreation Center by June 24, and $20 on the day of the race. The first 75 entries are guaranteed a t-shirt.

It gets better

So, my last post sounded like I was going to pretty much explode from how hard things have been with our 3rd baby....it really did feel like that. Then the last three days...heaven!

Savvy seems to have figured out an actual schedule. She has slept 6-7 hours on the first stretch, wakes to eat, then goes back to sleep for another 3-4 hours. She will then be awake for the day at about 8am, eat, be awake and so cute for a couple hours, and then take an actual morning nap (2 hours) She will repeat this and take an afternoon nap 2-3 hours.

It had been a pleasure to finally feel like I am getting to know her...rather than tolerating her craziness. I have the cutest kids.

My life is a Sitcom

Here is how my Mother's day went. It will sound funny to someone who did not experience it first hand, but I wasn't laughing this morning....
First off, our 2 month old slept for 6 hours! I thought, "Wow, this is going to be a pretty great day." When she woke up at 3am I fed her and put her back to bed assuming she would sleep another 3 hours or so. An hour later she was awake again. I changed her poopy diaper while she cried then....it began....the comedy of errors. She peed on the new diaper that she was sitting on while I was throwing away the dirty diaper. It didn't all make it onto the diaper so at 5am I was changing a soaked infants clothes while she screams...now she is too worked up to fall back to sleep.
(Side note: she got vaccinations a couple days ago and one was for the rotavirus...they said to be very good about washing hands after changing dirty diapers for the next two weeks because the live virus can be in the poop!)
Ok, so to calm her enough to sleep again I nurse her once more. All I wanted was to sleep until my alarm went off at 6:30 am (we have 9 am church) Soon after I laid back down our almost 5 year old opens my bedroom door to inform me he has wet the bed....welcome to Motherhood! I had him change his clothes and go back to sleep on the floor, vowing to wash his sheets in the "morning." By this time it is 6:15 am and baby is crying again. I get up to check on her and she spits up on her sheets...more bedding to wash.
Well, so much for waking to the alarm. Did I mention that hubby is on call today so he is already at work? Baby is very fussy and nothing I do is working to calm her....so I make sure she is safe etc. and turn on the baby monitor full volume so I can listen to her cry while I take the worlds fastest shower. While in the shower, the alarm I neglected to turn off comes on blaring the song "Dirty laundry", as if I needed a reminder that there is pee an puke on my kids sheets!....I couldn't make this stuff up.
I get sort of half dressed and then I get baby all dressed for church (she looked super cute) I now make my first attempt to wake up the "big kids". They assure me they are awake and I make sure they are sitting up so they don't fall back to sleep. As I am blowing dry my hair I am simultaniously putting a binky back into baby's mouth about 25 times (so she can go back to sleep) and re-awaking my two oldest who have decided to complicate the morning by falling back to sleep about 7 times. Multi-tasking is over rated.
I don't have time to use the curling iron I turned on for myself earlier so hair goes back in a pony. I have a horrible time trying to find something flattering to wear that I don't look still pregnant in. Not feeling the hoped for relaxation on Mother's day. Luckily the big kids finish breakfast without incident.
8 am I have to wake the sleepy baby to feed her one more time before church so she doesn't need to eat in the middle of the meeting where I am the one who has to lead the music.....I don't feel like breast feeding in front of hundreds of people...not today :0). By 8:30 am we are out the door..amazing, we are on time. When we get to church I get everyone settled and then I go up to put the Hymn numbers on the board for the congregation to see. When I get back to our seats baby is fussing. I pick her up to calm her and notice, a split second before cuddling her against me, she has had a BLOW OUT poopy diaper. For you who are not familiar with these parenting terms...that means the diaper did not contain the mess....hence you see me hurrying out of the chapel with our infant held at arms length.
I now have to change her out of the cute little church outfit into her standby change of clothes from the diaper bag. She is cold and screaming....I am rushing to finish before the meeting officially begins (because I have to lead the opening song)....and there is the matter of the viral poop...must keep it away from everything and wash thoroughly. We made it back to the chapel just in time.
Let's hope the other half of this Mother's day is a little less "eventful."