Medical Mondays, Vol. 1

This is my first Medical Mondays post. Linking up with this month's hosts Your Doctor's Wife, From a Doctor's Wife, Home with the Boys, and The Life Unexpected.

First a bit of an introduction for anyone who might be finding this via the link-up. My husband, Charles, is a 3rd year osteopathic medical student here in Phoenix. I think he will end up going the Family Medicine route, but I know that there are no guarantees in the wacky, wonderful world of medicine.  We were married in July, 2011, between 1st and 2nd years and had our first daughter, Clare, one year and one-day later, about a week into his first 3rd year rotation. Luckily, he had an extraordinarily understanding preceptor! Suddenly, 1st birthday parties and 4th year are looming, and the realities of the residency application process are getting more and more real.

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Generally, I try to be a glass-half-full kind of girl. I have learned that true joy comes from God. As such, I seek, and generally find, contentment in the present.

My RealSimple quote of the day last Thursday. It seemed pretty apropos.

It can be hard, at times, to make that work when you're in the medical world. Lately, it seems that we're constantly in the midst of third year's "plan your life" angst, figuring out away rotations and electives, making and re-making tentative application lists. Angst that I know is unlikely to go fully away until we have a Match list. Or a Match. Or have moved onto residency. Or . . . this is the kind of thinking I hate. "Plan your life already" and "be happy in the present" don't mesh well. Not for me at least.

I'm not good at angst. Even in my angsty teen years, I didn't see angst. I saw life. I found good in what I was experiencing. Only looking back do I see the struggles and pain and ickiness of the teen years. Only now do I see how hard I was working to find myself, and how the real authentic me was simultaneously totally there and totally buried. As a result, I find myself fighting -- not to survive medical school, but to survive the angst.

I digress. I'm blessed. I get to watch my husband live his dream, even as I am able to stay home with our beautiful little daughter. I find myself considering lives that I would never have imagined in places that I never could have guessed. I know that we'll be happy wherever we land, because we are together.

But if someone could just let me know where that will be, it sure would be swell!

7 Quick Takes, Vol. 22

I'm seriously running out of ways to say that I'm linking with Jen. There I did it!

1. Charles' aunt gave us an amaryllis bulb during 2011 holiday season. His green thumb and my knowledge of the ones my dad give my Nanny every Christmas nurtured that thing and nurtured that thing. It grew three big, long leaves. One leaf died, but the other two have lived on, strong and happy and healthy. The thing never bloomed though. Imagine our surprise early in the week to notice a blossom sprouting (and seemingly growing right before our eyes!). We're going to have a bloom! Finally! Yay!

The bud stalk is in the middle.

2. I mentioned in my 5 Faves post that I love plastic tumblers with straws. Well, as a side note, Clare is always trying to steal mine. Yesterday, I gave her her own straw sippy (actual sippy cup) to 1) work on her straw drinking skills and 2) Leave mine al-one already! Imagine my surprise when #1 happened way too fast and she downed a cup and a half of water over the course of the day. It was a total bittersweet baby girl is getting too big moment.

3. A just plain sweet baby girl moment has been developing. Every morning when I get her up, I point her to the Crucifix in her room and tell her, "Say, 'Good-morning Jesus! Thank you for another beautiful day Jesus!'" I would love to instill a habit in my kids of starting the day with a prayer, even if it's just a brief, kid-friendly one. Heck, I would love to instill that habit in myself! Anyway, the last few days, she's been turning herself to the Crucifix, waving and saying "gee ga do oooh beh doo!" It is undeniably adorable.

4. She's also obsessed with the Holy Water font by our front door. We instruct her in proper use, but she's ready to dump the stuff like an over-excited priest during a Sprinkling Rite. (I've up, never gotten a direct hit or anything). Pretty sure we have some sort of religious prodigy on our hands.

Oh, how I long for that water.

5. Somehow, Charles managed to receive the Sacraments of Baptism, First Holy Communion, and Confirmation on May 5 of three different years. I mean, plenty of converts receive all three on one day, but it's pretty impressive to receive them all on the same day of different years during the normal course of things. He used to half-joke about receiving the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony that day, but it wasn't meant to be. Regardless, we'll be doing some celebrating this weekend.

6. Of course, May 5 is also Cinco de Mayo. Don't get me started on Cinco de Mayo. I can barely tolerate St. Patrick's Day and its everyone's-Irish-so-let's-drink thing, and it's a legitimate Catholic-y holiday. Cinco de Mayo is nothing. A commemoration of a battle. I just hate fake drinking holidays. I do love Mexican food, though, so there's that.

7. I can still want tacos, though, right?!? I mean, every day could be Taco Tuesday in my world. Mmm...tacos...and chips and salsa and....

Theme Thursday, Vol. 1

I haven't been playing Theme Thursday at Clan Donaldson for lots of reasons, the first and foremost being that my photography these days is all via slow point-and-shoot or iDevice. Neither is known for it's great quality. The inner year of high school photography and dark rooming cringes

But I took this cute shot this morning while I drank coffee:

 

And when I saw the theme, well, I couldn't resist joining the fun.

I mean, everything is play to this little munchkin, and that's just how I like it. I know I can't protect her from the big, bad world forever but I want her to play her little heart out until then,. She has an exuberance for life that I find infectious. 

5 Favorites, Volume 7

Wednesday link-up 5 Favorites Style.

1. My iPhone. Of course. I need not say more.

Via AT&T website last week

2. Touch and Feel books -- Clare loves them and that, in turn, melts my pathetic, book-loving, easily meltable heart.

3. Kindle App -- I'll never enjoy reader-reading as much as I enjoy reading real books, but the convenience is undeniable. As such, I've actually found myself reading again! A reading Ashley is a happy Ashley.

Too lazy to resize my screen shot. Forgive me.

4. Living close to family -- In one week, I've gotten the chance to see lots of family: my in-laws, my cousin and her kids (twice), my aunt, and I hope to see my dad and his SO in the next few days. I'm spoiled and I'm taking it all in, 'cause I know it might not last forever.

Clare playing at Grandma's and Grandpa's

5. Straw cups for Mama -- It's getting hot 'round here, which means that without an IV, you're probably not getting enough water. I do better with the straw, and I know other people who feel the same. Anything to avoid dehydration.

Via

Visit Hallie for more.

Pics or it Didn't Happen

It happened! Okay, it happened in September, and I wasn't even blogging then, but I am so overwhelmed with gratitude to my mother-in-law for sending these to me this weekend when she found out that I didn't have them. I seriously almost started to cry when I found out that she did.

Clare was baptized on September 9, a day shy of her 2 month birthday. It was the best we could do juggling the schedules of 1) student doctor Daddy, 2) The Godfather who lives out of state, 3) the church.

She was baptized after a Sunday Mass. Of course, she was a perfect angel for Mass, but as soon as Mass ended and the baptism began . . . so did the screaming. (She was quite the screamer in the beginning.)

We have a video, but it is not very pleasant to watch, because of said screaming. Then, because we were so stressed out from the screaming, we failed to take any pictures with the priest or of the family in the church or anything. We were so sad when we realized that later in the evening.

Screaming in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Screaming and making a run for it as she's anointed.

Screaming as she receives the Light of Christ from her Uncle Godfather Zak.

The whole thing was kind of a disaster in our minds, and we just kept telling ourselves that the important thing was that she was baptized, the Sacrament of Baptism doesn't depend on a happy baby, and other, similar attempts as consolation. Which are all very true, but . . . you still want things to go well. Or at least better than they did.

We hosted lunch at Charles' aunt's house (more space and close to the parish) afterwards and got some pics there, but my camera was MIA. All I got were a couple of texts on my old phone (!!) that wouldn't let me do anything more with the pics than look at them on a 2 inch square.

Anyway . . . I have pics now and can prove that it happened! It did! Praise be to God (for the gift of the Sacraments more than anything)!

The Godfather takes his role much more seriously than the cup would have you believe.

Charles' fam

BG and Grandad (my fam)

Our little fam.