December just began!

We haven't posted much. This month is one of the craziest one every year. So here are some pictures of this month. Ian waiting for Nicky last day at school before her vacation. That's right he was smelling his sucks...that's my boy. In Nicky's last day of school they made them wear their PJ's and gave them hot chocolate and cookies while a teacher read them a story. Here is Nicky with her teacher Mrs. Kappulea.

My niece's b-day was also in December. My sister threw a fun party for her. Nicky got to hit the pinata for the second time. It was actually her first time enjoying this. Ian on the other hand had his first time to hit the pinata and he LOVED IT!

Then Christmas Eve. You see in Mexico we do the big feast on Christmas Eve and on Christmas we open the presents and re-heat the same feast. Nobody gets stressed, and everybody keeps their PJ's on. We kind of do the same thing in our little family. I made the table very fancy and I cooked Smoked Turkey (well, Glenn did it). I made the rolls, apple pie, fruit, vegetables to dip, and funeral potatoes. We also had eggnoog, and floats. My sister brought mexican beef to make some tacos (I was craving them so badly) and empanadas with caramel inside (she knows those are my favorite). We also had sparkling grape juice. We ate like it was the last dinner of our lives. Then we built the ginger bread house and train with the kids. We (the ladies) made the house. The boys on the other hand made a train. The kids were decorating and eating the masterpieces. We had so much fun doing this. After that we put on the traditional Nativity play. Nicky was an angel, Ian and Merary were shepherds. I was a very preagnet Mary and Glenn was Joseph. My brother in-law Beto and my sis Dina were the 2 wisemen (we kind of missed one of them). After that Glenn opened his present from me early so everybody could play the Wii; it was indeed a very good hit that night. The kids looooved it. Glenn and Beto had a blast. My sis and I were cleaning up and you know separating meals to go etc. After that the kids went to bed and my sis and her family went back to their house.

Next day we opened the presents. Ian was the most excited with his new table. He got lots of trains and trucks, he also got a bike. Nicky got a huge house for her and also her dream princess bike. She got lots of fun things like dolls, clothes, necklaces, a princes game to play in dadys Wii, a cd player, and a karaoke princes machine so she can sing and EVERYBODY CAN HEAR HER. Both of them got new dishes of their favorite movie characters, puzzles, guns that shoot disks and also tents of their favorite characters too. That same day after putting everything away and eating we went to visit my sister in-law in Forth Worth. We got the chance to met baby Sabrina, who is by the way so adorable. We let our kids play and get to know each other a little bit better. Nicky had thrown up when we arrived to the house. She was so embarassed, she told Glenn she didn't want to get in the house because she didn't want anybody to see her like that. So I changed her into her PJ's. Nicky does care about her looks.

We returned home just on time to celebrate our annivesary. 5 YEARS! YIPPY!!. These five years has been the most important and happy in ALL MY LIFE. THANK YOU BABE FOR BEING THE BEST HUSBAND EVER. YOU ARE INDEED MY OTHER HALF AND EVERYDAY I'M SO HAPPY THAT WE ARE WORKING AND GROWING OLD TOGETHER (TE AMO NENE, ERES EL MEJOR DEFINTIVAMENTE EL MEJOR. SOY MUY AFORTUNADA AL TENERTE A MI LADO).

Glenn made a special fancy dinner for the both of us right after we laid the kids down. He also got me a very nice card and a funny movie. He actually surpised me with the movie. He knows it's one of my favorites because I laugh so bad everytime I see it. I would never buy it. Why should I? They show it on tv all the time. I was laughing so bad when I saw he bought it. He also bought some strawberries dipped in chocolate. They were just perfect to finish the dinner.

Well, until next time, and I hope all of you had a great Christmas and we wish you a very Happy New Year!

Inspiration or Competition?

I know my son Ian is a competitive child. I knew it since day one. Nicky on the other hand never showed interest or that "talent." I know some people must think competitive children are the best. Well in my case I think we should always do the best we can just because we want to be better and not because we want to brag that we are better than somebody else.

A few days ago Glenn and I took the kids to

the neighbors' houses to give some treats. Nicky wanted to sing a song by herself so she did it. That night was just very Christmasy I guess since it was freezing. When we stopped at the Galloways place,Amanda was so nice that she let us get into her house so Nicky could sing inside instead of outside. Nicky was happy to do it like that. Then their oldest girl Taylin was so happy because she was now officially a big girl since she took a bath ALL BY HERSELF! We all told her that she was indeed a big girl and how proud we felt to have her as a friend. We finished the visit and kept going on with our lives.

Yesterday we were running late for the kids' picture appointment. I told Glenn that while I was showering the kids he could go and make a light breakfast for them. Well to my surprise Nicky refused to receive help. She told me she wanted to do it ALL BY HERSELF. So I let her do it. While I was pouring shampoo on Ian's head Nicky was doing the same and while I was foaming his body Nicky was doing the same too. She was just following me step by step. At the end I guess I saved like 10 minutes. Then Glenn came upstairs and wanted to help Nicky to dry and get ready. Nicky again refused it and wanted to do it all by herself. She was done and Glenn and I told her we were so proud of her that we weren't expecting her to do that until she was older. She answered us back with this sentence. "YEAH I'M A BIG GIRL TOO. NEXT TIME I SEE TAYLIN I'LL TELL HER THAT I CAN TAKE A BATH BY MYSELF TOO." Glenn and I looked at each other, then later talked about it. I told him that I was glad and impressed that she wanted to do it by herself. She is indeed growing up. But I wasn't expecting her to say she was doing it because of somebody else. Glenn told me that it is interesting since we had never mentioned that subject at home or anything like that. We had no idea. Then I realized how important being competitive has always been to Ian being behind as "the baby" (that's going to change very soon). He loves being at the same level as the older children, especially boys. He is always competing with Nicky in everything. Nicky never showed interest in this because she is always ahead of Ian, so why should she worry? Since she started pre-k she has been progressing in the language and other things, too. She has never mentioned, though, "OH I'M DOING IT BECAUSE SO-AND-SO CAN DO IT TOO." Now I get it. She has been talking about how she can't wait to be 5 because she is barely 4, and how big she is going to become when she turns 5 etc., etc. I'm assuming that she just barely noticed that Taylin is 5 and she is just 4 and wants to do what her friend can do? ... I don't know, I'm still trying to resolve this puzzle. One thing is for sure: Even though I never have liked competitive people, I'm so glad that Nicky wanted to do this. She can brush her teeth, put her clothes on, go potty, and bathe herself; and all this just right before I have another girl ... YAY for her and YIPPY for me! I just need to teach her how to pour cereal in her bowl and she is ready to survive in this house lol (J/K).

We have done lots of things. I'm so glad my wonderful husband has posted some of the latest tidbits that we have done.
I think my husband forgot to mention that my princess ran a race. She probably was last, but she got a medal. She was so happy with her medal and so proud of herself. She kept telling me "MAMA, I RAN VERY WELL." Poor girl, though, because we didn't have time to train or anything. I wasn't feeling well at that time. However I did what I could to let her have that experience. Glenn couldn't be with us that day. She also participated in the Christmas program at her school. She sang three songs and she did magnificently. The only problem was that I could tell she was sad since she didn't see Glenn and Ian with me (I was in the first row taking pictures and videos). As soon as she saw them she was so happy. I had promised her that Glenn was going to be there, and he was. We also had the opportunity to go as a family to the Christmas activity at church. They did a terrific job this year. Everything looked great and the food MMM! Wonderful. Santa had the perfect spot, and it was very well decorated. Nicky asked Santa for her much awaited PRINCESS BIKE, while Ian was assuring Santa that he had been "good" all year. I love when Ian wants to behave all tough. We asked him to say hello to Santa and with his tough voice repeated, "HELLO, SANTA." After the questions, if he has being good, etc. etc., we asked him to smile for the camera and he was holding back his smile. He is such a silly boy.

Anyway, as everybody knows, I'm feeling very good. So we decided to make some cookies for the neighbors and some candy canes with reindeer's faces. My candy canes looked more like cats or chihuahuas with two antennas, not reindeer at all. The cookies, well, I didn't want to abuse my good health, so Glenn was the one who made them (kind of...I bought the dough in cut shapes already). He actually just needed to cook them.

Yesterday we went to our friends' and also neighbors' apartments and gave away the treats while Nicky was singing solo "WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS." She wasn't shy at all. We are so proud of her. Ian on the other hand was the one who would give the treats. The night was very cold, but we really enjoyed doing that as a family home evening. Nicky said she loved the experience. Ian just kept making his noise when he gets cold: BRRRRR!

We finally got our vacuum back. We'll see if is working correctly tomorrow. We went to Killen and let the kids run around Toys R' Us. It was funny when I asked Nicky, "SO NICKY, WOULD YOU LIKE TO BUY THIS (pointed to a toy)?" Then she would answered me back, "MMM, IT'S VERY PRETTY MOM, BUT I THINK IT'S TO EXPENSIVE." Glenn and I were laughing about it. Then she saw something that she really wanted (and it was also very expensive), and told me "LOOK, MOM! LOOK AT THIS! ISN'T IT BEAUTIFUL? AND IT'S NOT EXPENSIVE AT ALL." She definitely cracks me up. She thinks she can be very subtle lol.

Ian has started to ask "BUT WHY?" for everything, and then after lots of explanation he always says the same, "WHAT?" It doesn't matter what, for example I'll say, "IAN IT'S TIME TO GO TO SLEEP." (Ian) "BUT, WHY?" "IAN STOP BOTHERING NICKY." (Ian) "BUT WHY?" "SHE IS YOUR SISTER, SO YOU SHOULDN'T BOTHER HER." (Ian) "WHAT?" I don't think he knows what "what?" means, but he surely tries and uses it well.

I'm getting tired. Anyway Have a MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL. I'll be posting later about ours.

Claudia

The Rivalry Begins and British Frustration with Elmo

Two quick cute stories from our most recent adventures:

1. Background- Ian is very competitive, and Nicky, though very sweet, is still the little princess and likes to get her way. Nicky has learned and is still practicing 3 Christmas songs for her preschool Christmas presentation. We all know them by heart now, too. :) She also sings a song about a firetruck that isn't too exciting, which we're sure she learned at her evangelical preschool as well, (lyrics, "I love the firetruck" repeat three times, ended with "of the Lord!"). We're still wondering where this sacred fire station is. Ian loves the firetruck song because he sings along with her, mostly the end part "of the Lord!" Are our children blasphemous? We're working on it, but anyway, on the way back from a trip the other day, Nicky was belting out her chorus of Christmas songs for the 9th time. Ian asked her, then told her, then yelled for her to sing the firetruck song. Nicky, the little princess, did not want to sing the firetruck song again and continued another round of her Christmas songs. Ian then pulled out his "momma's boy" card, and cutely turned towards Claudia, and in his super-cute-little-boy voice mumbled, "Mama, gibberish gibberish Nicky no gibberish gibberish, FIRETRUCK peese [please]." Ah, yes, let the rivalry begin. Nicky didn't care either way and just kept singing.

2. Last night Ian struggled to sleep well and so Claudia brought him to sleep with us. He sometimes mumbles a bit in his sleep. He is also picking up a bunch of vocabulary from the Thomas the Train show, including little British phrases, his favorite of which expresses frustration, saying, "Bother, [name of someone]!" He does this to just about all his toys, and occasionally us. However, he had a cross over of t.v. shows during his sleep, mumbling, "Bother, Elmo!" He has just recently seen a few episodes of Elmo, and loves him, but apparently in his sleep Elmo got on his bad side. Oh, well. Hope you're not finishing this entry by saying, "Bother, Glenn!" (Ian does say "Bother, daddy!" quite a lot, but hey, I'm changing a lot of his diapers now). Take care, Merry Christmas everybody!

Just one little thing.

I have nothing more to say but I'M FEELING GOOD! YAY! first pregnancy ever that I'm enjoying.

Thanksgiving, so count blessings, stop whining

In honor of the great holiday that has just passed us by (nothing like getting yourself real grateful in preparation for receiving gifts, eh?), I'd like to stop my whining about the loveliness of residency applications and interviewing, and count some blessings. First off, we had a great Thanksgiving at the Chapman's ranch. We ate great food, played a bit on a Nintendo Wii (sweet!), shot .22 rifles and handguns (my 5 month pregnant wife packing heat...welcome to Texas!), and got to visit with some good friends. Thanks for the invite, Chapmans!

Now, on to the thankfulness/gratitude. I consider myself extremely fortunate and blessed. I do not at all consider myself deserving of the great life I have and all the joy I experience. I lack nothing, absolutely nothing, and have been helped along in my life every step of the way and continue to feel the Lord's helping hand continually in my life. To name a few blessings:


1. My testimony of Jesus Christ, Heavenly Father, and Their true Church
2. The most fantastic, gorgeous wife in the whole world
3. Two beautiful, healthy, and challenging children with another one on the way
4. Health, strength, daily necessities
5. Live in a great country where I can enjoy #1-3 freely
6. Loving parents and extended family...well, most of the extended family (you know how it is) :)7. Opportunity to study and work in a field that I find fascinating and satisfying...now, I just have to match into a residency spot!
8. Friends who are supportive and understanding...even when I whine (and boy, am I good at it!) 9. Texas: affordable cost of living, socially conservative, and hey, you can shoot guns!
10. Being happy because I have all of the above in my life


And many, many more. Really, life is full of things for which we should be grateful. Even those who have so much "less" than we think give thanks to the Lord for their abundance. What a great holiday! To be grateful and count your blessings. Even when things are hard, it's such a sure fire way to feel better and take things in with the right attitude, that being, an attitude of gratitude (thanks, President Monson, for the couplet). :) Thanks to you all for your help and encouragement. Happy Thanksgiving, hope yours was great, too, and let's all look forward to this great time of year when we remember the Savior's birth.

"Be the next lucky emailer, and you could get a residency spot!"

Hello, all, and welcome to our crazy world of awaiting residency interview offers. I will follow the example of my lovely wife in keeping our family and friends up to date through a blog entry (with a catchy, but true, title). Claudia has been incredible throughout this, and very supportive...the kids just keep making sure I'm not going to a hospital "far, far away" every morning that they see me. It's nice to be wanted (and to be on an easy radiology rotation). :)

Quick review of how this works: a residency is the specialized training after medical school, in my case 6 years of plastic surgery training (or, plan B: 5 years of general surgery hopefully followed by another 3 years of plastic surgery training...yes, that's why it's plan B). Plastic surgery is cut-throat competitive, and I'm going up against some of the most annoyingly competitive applicants in country. There are only 45 programs in the country with a total of about 95 spots, and usually there are over 215 applicants...yup, you read that right: more than half will NOT match into plastic surgery (that's why we're told to get a plan B). So, I've applied to 36 (didn't apply to all as we can't afford and don't want to live in certain cities in the country), and went on 3 away rotations to Washington University in St. Louis, Las Vegas, and Utah (on the job interview type things, usually get you an interview). The hospital I'm at, Scott & White, has a program that takes one applicant a year as well, and is a place we would love to get accepted to. In general, you're pretty awesome in plastic surgery if you get more than 10 interviews, though getting over 5 is also something to be positive about.

Next step after dishing out the $600 in application fees and getting all the wonderful paperwork together? WAIT...and wait...and wait. Interview offers didn't start until late October. I did get formally interviewed at Las Vegas while I was there in October, and it went very well. I hoped the interviews would just start rolling in after that, as I felt and was told by the program director at Las Vegas that I was very competitive. However, after 3 rejection emails in about 5 days (my first Ivy League School rejection! I was so honored! say it with me, "Haaah-vud"), and seeing on a webpage that has a forum updating what programs have already offered and NOT getting offered by those same programs, reality started settling in: I was going to have to wait patiently, maintain faith, and take what I could get. I have received 3 other interview offers so far (total of 4 with Las Vegas). The most interesting offer started like this:

After checking my email every hour last Friday and seeing nothing, I took a nap. Unfortunately for me, during that nap, I received an interview offer (explain in a sec). It went something like this, "Due to the high quality and competitiveness of applicants this year, to further facilitate our interview process, we are offering 70 applicants an interview for 40 interview spots. The first 40 to respond to the dates listed below will be interviewed, and other applicants will be put on a wait list in the case of any cancellations. Thank you...and GO!!!" I added that last part in for humor. As the title states, the lucky first 40 to check their email would get an interview. I was unfortunately emailer #42, and am wait-listed for the date I chose...lame! Can you believe that? Is this a radio call in show to win 2 tickets to a High School Musical 3 private viewing at your local theater? What the heck happened to professionalism? This is a process to decide our futures and it's "FIRST TO CHECK THEIR EMAIL?!" Anyway, I was grateful for the interview offer (which was followed by 6 other no offers then one more interview offer to make it 4 total including Las Vegas), but the manner in which they did it seemed infantile.

Anyway, that's our crazy world of checking email accounts and my application account webpage AND the chat forum page every hour that it's possible. Tomorrow I'll start my general surgery interviews...we'll see how that goes. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers and for reading through this. For those curious enough to have read this far, my interview spots so far are: Scott & White, The Ohio State University, Wake Forest (North Carolina), and University of Nevada School of Medicine at Las Vegas (NOT UNLV). I'm happy with that list, but there are still a few other schools I'd like to at least get offered to go interview at to have a few more eggs to put in a few more baskets...though I'd prefer one of these places to wink-wink-nudge-nudge me...nah, just kidding, that's not allowed. ;) Wait, did I just wink? I'm in trouble...

The ultrasound is in and we're going to have a...

...you thought it would be that easy, in the title? No, we like suspense and will let you search through the post. We got back a little while ago from the radiology department at S&W Hospital after dropping Nicky off at school. Ian was tranquilized with a lollipop and subsequent candy. :) Claudia changed into her gown and we watched intently as the technician went through the measurements and showed us all the different body parts...one thing was for sure, the little baby in Claudia's tummy (as we explain to Nicky) was sure active! All the dates put Claudia at exactly 18 weeks and 2 days. All we saw for a few minutes were legs and arms and a back flying all over the place. Anyway, the long awaited moment was here... thoughts about our future addition to the family crossed our minds, changes, etc. etc. Claudia had a dream months ago when we were deciding to get pregnant one more time before residency started, and in the dream she saw a little girl who came up to her and asked her why she didn't want to have her and why she didn't love her. This dream had bothered Claudia for some time, and she had hoped that the answer would come during the ultrasound exam. I had guessed it was going to be a boy, Claudia felt it was probably a girl, and hopefully the girl from the dream. The moment finally arrived, and as the technician zoomed in a bit and focused, it seemed quite clear and he confirmed it, we would be having another girl! We were both very excited, and Claudia was relieved that perhaps the girl from the dream would join our family. We're looking forward to the new addition and that Nicky and Ian will be happy with a baby sister. We just hope that all the wiggling around isn't an indication of any fussiness. :) If it is, we'll love her all the same, but our house will be more than full of over-active children. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the announcement and had to read through everything to fin it.

Glenn is back!

YAY!!! My hubby came home on Saturday. He missed halloween and my b-day, but he made it on time to celebrate Nicky's b-day.

Halloween started for Nicky at 8:00 a.m. on the 31st when she had her school costume parade. She had a blast, and so did Ian. He kept calling all the kids "pider man" (spider man), and he loved the parade.

Later on that day I took the kids to the ward trunk or treat. We were way too late so we missed it. The kids were so excited. I felt bad telling them it was over. So I took them to the neighborhood near the church. It was their first time asking for candy by knocking doors. They loved it. After that we came home and I let them eat 2 candies each. The next day Glenn came home and everything was so happy and full of laughter and hugs and kisses. The next day was so crazy. Nicky turned 4 years old, and Glenn and my brother-in-law Beto bar-be-cued hamburgers, chicken, and beef for us. On the other hand my sister Dina and I could visit and played with the kids. Nicky loved having other kids over specially if those other kids are realtive to her. Nicky didn't want a cake so instead I made my famous trifle and my delicious pear pie.The kids were eating everything especially the whipped cream. We sang for Nicky and let her opened her present. She was so content and so nice to share all her new toys.Next day at her school. She got to wear the crown for turning 4 yrs old. She felt really special. We got to stay and wait for her happy b-day song.

I'm so happpy to have Glenn back. He will be on vacation for a week. The kids and I are enjoying him SO MUCH!

My half (from Glenn):

After being in the barren wasteland that is the University of Utah medical center for two weeks, and then driving once again across a real desert to Las Vegas, I happily returned to my lovely wife and adorable children this past week. It was a wonderful feeling to be back home and in the arms of my family and in the warmth of our home (apartment). :) Those away rotations really take a lot out of you, especially when you realize that neither party is really interested in each other...on the second day! But anyway, to stay positive, I'm home and we're together. Nicky's birthday was a fun experience, and being with family and bar-be-cueing was great (and delicious). I still feel bad that I missed Halloween and my wife's birthday, but again, stay positive...I keep telling myself that a lot lately! I wonder why? Anyhow, seeing the kids and seeing their smiles was great, and being back with my sweetie pie is the best. The kids have gotten so much bigger since I left, or at least it feels that way. Ian is talking so much and Nicky is speaking so much more. It's just great to be back.

Happy b-day to me!

Yep, that's right. Today it's official: I'm a year older.
To be totally honest, it all started kind of lame. Glenn is not here, and well the kids are too little to understand that on a day like today I was born. Nicky is SO excited about her b-day that she doesn't care about other people's b-days. Anyway, I woke up and got ready then I woke up Nicky to get her ready. While I was doing it I told her that today was my b-day and the best gift I could ever ask from her would be a happy b-day song. Then she asked me "IS IT MY B-DAY TOO?" I told her that her b-day would be in 3 more days, but today was my b-day.
I guess I gave her the wrong answer because she looked at the floor and her eyes all of a sudden were full of tears. I hugged her and told her that her b-day will be very soon and I had a great present for her but I needed to see a big big smile. She did what she could and I decided to forget about the subject.
I took her to school (5 minutes late as usual), so I helped her to get into her class room. Then she told her teacher I was there and she invited me to get into the class room. I told her I was in a rush (Ian was waiting for me), then I waved good bye and out of nowhere a little kid came to me and hugged me. The teacher introduced him to me. I felt kind of awkward as I'm not used to strange kids hugging me. Well all of a sudden all Nicky's whole class room was hugging me! I was touched by that since my daughter didn't want to sing or hug me a few minutes before (I guess she was mad for not sharing my b-day with her). The teacher was surprised, too and didn't know what to say. Then I told her that this was great since today was my b-day, and when the kids heard that, they all screamed, "HAPPY B-DAY!" The teacher asked Nicky if she knew this and Nicky said yes. I thought she was going to hug me or something but nada.
Anyway I came home expecting to hear a message from Glenn but nothing not even telemarketing called this time. I check my e-mails and cero. I went to pick up my mail and there it was a beautiful card from my mother in-law with a letter in it. It was the most touching card I've ever had from her. A 3 page letter ALL ABOUT ME! Just what I needed! I really needed to hear that I'm a good person, mom, wife and in conclusion an awesome human being (you see Glenn tells me this all the time, but he's my husband. What else can I expect from him?) I was so happy to read this letter that I read it more than once. It really cheered me up. I decided to go to Target to buy some drawers for Ian. When we came back there it was, Glenn's e-mail explaining that he had been calling all morning but for some reason the phone card didn't work very well and that's why he couldn't leave a message and then he went to the romantic private section of the e-mail. Oh that e-mail made me the happiest wife on earth.
Then I checked my older account and all my friends from Monterrey wished me the best and my sister-in-law Laura sent me a beautiful e-card. They all remembered it.
Well the morning passed quickly and it was time to pick up Nicky. I picked her up expecting a hug or something...nothing. Oh well I guess I can't have it all. My sister called me and I couldn't talk much. I wasn't feeling good to talk so I decided to disconnect the telephone for a couple of hours (beside the kids were asleep).
However, I made dinner. The kids ate it and loved it. I sat in the living room to watch my show and rest while the kids were playing and from nowhere Nicky came to me and told me "MAMA CAN YOU TURN OFF THE TV PLEASE?" I asked her why, and she said she needed to tell me something important. So I did it, and she went for her little microphone and sang the long awaited song, "HAPPY B-DAY TO MOMMY, HAPPY B-DAY TO MOMMY, HAPPY B-DAY TO MOMMY, HAPPY B-DAY TO YOU!" Then she came and gave me a hug and a kiss. I won't lie to anybody, THAT TOTALLY MADE MY DAY! I had started to feel that b-days were a waste of time. I was okay with my day, but not happy at all since Glenn is not here and my kids wouldn't tell me anything. I even told one of my friends that my b-day was like another day just officially older.
I'm totally grateful for the surprise hugs and kisses and letters and e-mails and phone calls, don't get me wrong, but well we all know Glenn and my kids are my number one.
It is a pity that I don't feel good. Yesterday I was actually having a decent day, I thought today could be the same.
I can't wait to celebrate my b-day with Glenn. He is coming on Saturday. The kids and I are SO waiting for his return YAY!
(Lindsay, I didn't mention your gift because your gift arrived a few days ago and this post is about today but you know I love my gift :)

Another day has gone!

Glenn is in Las Vegas. It is hard for me too hear Ian asking for his dad. Nicky is a good supporter. She always answers him, "IAN, DADDY IS IN THE HOSPITAL FAR, FAR AWAY." Glenn and I think that perhaps that is why out of the blue Ian has been asking to watch Shrek. I know I might be biased, but honestly my kids are just so darn cute. Every morning while I'm dropping off Nicky to pre-school, she tells Ian the same thing: "THIS IS IT IAN, THIS IS MY SCHOOL. PLEASE BE GOOD TO MOMMY. REMEMBER, SHE IS SICK!" It's even cuter the way the he answers, "AWRITE, NICO! BYE, NICO!" They are just so cute. I know I'm sucking as a mom right now because I can't give my 100%, but they are so sweet to me. They make me feel that I'm the best mom ever. I had a "good day" a few weeks ago so I decided to make some meatballs. Since I can't stand to the smell pretty much of anything it is hard for me to cook as I normally do. The kids have been eating frozen meals or nuggets, mac and chesse, noodles, etc. Well they were very happy the first month, but little by little got tired of the same things. Anyway as I was saying a few weeks ago I had a "good" day and made meatballs filled with hard boiled eggs. It sounds crazy, but it tastes good. Anyway, I seasoned just with salt and pepper and the sauce was very simple. I just opened a can of diced tomatoes and added it to the blender with salt and pepper. Then I added the sauce to the meat balls and waited until they were cook. I made also a white rice. The kids loved it. Nicky told me I was the best mom in the whole world and Ian had seconds. Even Glenn told me that it tasted very good. It normally tastes awesome, but of course I normally add more ingredients. Anyway, I ate it and it was good. I could keep it down so there you go, another thing that I can eat for the short menu that I have. However I do feel blessed that the Lord is giving me enough strength to hold up. Waking up early to drop off Nicky has been hard for both Nicky and me since we are the laziest of the family. Although Nicky is very happy with school, she gets very tired, too. Two days ago she asked me for 3 more minutes before she had to get ready for school. My almost 4 year old acting like a teen. Should I be scared? Maybe, but right now I'm enjoying the command of the house while I can. Glenn and I have told Nicky that when we give her an order she needs to answer with a nice, "Yes, mom." or "Yes, dad." and do it. Well she got the message and wasn't late enough that she wanted to communicate this message to Ian. It goes like this:

Nicky- "IAN, CAN YOU GIVE ME THAT BALL?" Ian - "NOPE." Nicky - "IAN! LISTEN, WHEN MOMMY TELLS YOU SOMETHING, YOU SAY, 'YES, MOM.' WHEN DADDY ASKS YOU FOR SOMETHING YOU SAY, 'YES, DAD.' AND WHEN NICKY ASKS YOU TO DO SOMETHING YOU SAY, 'YES, NICKY.' UNDERSTOOD?" Ian- "MMM, NOPE." Nicky of course was disappointed at his answer. Glenn and I well we were just laughing. Now she knows what we feel like when she disobeys.

Glenn will be gone for another 3 weeks. Then it'll be time for interviews. It will be hard, too, since he is going to be travelling. At least it will be just for one day or two. I've got to say I was very inspired to write, but I just had to put the kids to sleep and that is another battle. I'm tired now. Until the next time that I feel like writing.

Katie, Emily, Emily, Cassidy,Elise,Amanda you are tag now!

I forgot to add the names of the ones that I am supposed to tag, so here they are:
Katie (Logan)
Emily Martino (Gracie)
Emily Trefeten (Maddie)
Cassidy (Carter)
Elise (Ava)
Amanda (Tylin)
I thought about you girls because most of you have had a second child, and you know the older one needs some mommy thought time. Trefeten in your case it was just because I know Maddie is growing so fast that soon enough she will be a teen, and, well, you know it is always hard. Anyway, enjoy and I hope to see your tags soon!

Something that you didn't know about Nicky!

I have been tagged again, but the the one who tagged me was my cunada (sister in-law) Laura and this time it's not about my ABC's. This time is about one of my favorite subjects. My favorite daughter NICKY!
Name & meaning: Claudia Nicole.

Claudia means: Vain.
Nicole: Victorious
Age: 3 yrs old (4 in november)
Nicknames: Nicky, Nicoleta, Princess
Favorite Activities: Swiming,coloring, dancing, playing outside, singing, cooking, riding her bike, going to the park.

Favorite Foods: All kind of Veggies, Chicken, Quesadillas, oranges, grapes, mac&cheese, noodles, spaghetti, white rice, roast beef, and of course PICKLES!

Least Favorite Foods: Depends on if it tastes good and who makes it
Favorite Music: Primary Songs (cd number 4), and all the walt disney cd's
Favorite Toys: her little oven, her babies, her princess castle, her princesses

Favorite Book: Chronicles of Narnia, and Princess stories (all the Disney ones).

Favorite Item of Clothing: her princess blouse or her princess dress.

What Makes Her Happy: Hope. Example "MAMA CAN I HAVE A HORSE?" Me: "MAYBE SOME DAY, NICKY." Nicky: "YAY! MAYBE LATER I CAN HAVE A HORSE." and on and on and on

What Makes Her Sad: This is a hard one.

I'd say when I say NO to something that she wants to do or eat like candy or ice cream, etc.

Additional things I love about Nicole: She has such a precious heart. She forgives and forgets really easily when somebody has hurt her. She cares about others, especially me. She melts my heart when she tells me, "MAMA I'M GOING TO BE A DOCTOR SO I CAN HELP YOU. DON'T WOGGY!" She is very sensitive of others pain and suffering. She loves her family more than anything. She was known in her first class in nursery as SWEET NICKY! She is always taking care of others. I guess I could go on and on, she is a wonderful girl, very easy to love.

At least I try...

Well since I'm not feeling any better, I thought that I'd blog some videos that could cover pretty much what my kids have been up to. After all this blog is to remember their grace and funny things. Ian is a talker: he repeats pretty much whatever we ask him to repeat. Nicky was so happy to receive a letter from her best friend, Jay. They both dance pretty well (or funny, whatever). Life is good, even though I don't feel good the baby is developing well and is already very active. I'm starting my 13th week and hopefully I will start feeling better anytime. If not, well, I'm used to that...with Nicky and Ian I got sick for the 9 months. Anyway Glenn will be leaving on Sunday to las Vegas for 2 weeks and then another 2 weeks in Utah. I hope October goes fast because I remember it was a nightmare not having him here during September. Anyway I'll try to download the videos in our page in youtube. Here it's just impossible to download them. Until next time...

This is our life!

Create your own family sticker graphic at pYzam.com

Old news about us... or new ones?

I haven't actually announced the news formally because I'm very sick right now. Blogging is not one of my priorities. It doesn't seem to come as much of a surprise to anyone I've told, but we're pregnant again! My due date is April 6th, 2009. Everything looks fine so far. It has been hard without Glenn. Fortunately he will come back on Saturday. The kids will have their dad again and I'll have a husband and be able to cry on his shoulder...man, I really need that cry. I'm just so sentimental lately...I know, hormones.
(Lindsay I did write back, but I haven't finished it yet. It's not that long, don't worry. I love you girl! You know you are the best.)
(Cassidy please feel free to call me anytime. If you need a place to stay count on us, no matter what! Even if I'm out of town we can always make things work out.)
(Polly thank you so much for the note under my door. That was so nice of you to do. I can't talk much because it makes me nauseous, but as soon as I feel better I promise to touch base with you.)
(Aubrey, thank you very very much for helping me with my kids. Thanks to that I could actually put to work my only neuron left that is working to understand everything. Please think about having a date with Erik. Glenn will baby sit! :) )
Really quick, because I'm feeling sick again, NICKY WILL START PRE-SCHOOL TOMORROW! She is looking forward to it and so am I.

Far, Far Away (St. Louis, Missouri)

I've got a break from reading about nonsyndromic craniosynostosis, and thought I'd add a bit to our family's little blog. I've been in St. Louis for two full weeks now, doing a 4 week away rotation at Washington University School of Medicine's hospital, the widely renowned Barnes-Jewish Hospital (top 10 in the country, or so the many billboards say).

I

don't have official estimates, but it's about 3 times larger than Scott & White Hospital in Temple, and spans a much greater distance. It was intimidating just trying to get around the hospital at first, but at least they had signs up (much like an airport) telling how to get from one wing/campus to another. They have about 5 different operating rooms, too, which makes it even more challenging. After two weeks of that, I more or less know how to get around to where I need to be. Could you imagine if this were just a 2 week rotation?

I unwisely accepted the offer to stay with an LDS couple (MD/PhD student) for the 4 days before my sublet apartment opened up. Unwise in that I didn't ask where they lived in relation to the hospital and how they commuted. Turns out that since he's doing his PhD years (i.e. not strict hours), he takes the bus for 45 minutes each way to and from school. This is fine, except that to round at 5:30 in the morning, I had to be at the bus stop at 4:45 in the morning, and that meant waking up at 4:00AM. The couple was more than generous, but that time frame led to very inconvenient circumstances for both sides (can you imagine someone getting up at 4 in the morning in your house to get ready?). I'm very grateful they helped, but it was not the wisest decision. I'm now subletting from a 4th year student who is also doing an away rotation. Her 1 bedroom apartment is 15 minutes walking from the hospital, which is perfect. It was not cheap, but it's better than renting a car! I'm just glad that I'm so much closer.

Well, what's the experience been like so far? Aside from the heart break and the depression of being away from my awesome and loving and gorgeous wife (te amo bb) and also my rambunctious and super cute kids, it has been good overall. Phone calls home every night just don't cut it, do they? I had some bumps to get over at first, as the coordinators didn't get me a password for the electric patient medical records until about 5 days ago (after I went and raised heck). Another complication has been that Texas A&M's "wonderful" new email system for some unknown reason BLOCKS all Wash U's emails...can you imagine this?! I was getting updates and the such and had NO idea! That has been interesting, in a not so great way. Anyway, back to the rotation: there are some big-hitting names in the plastic surgery department here, and they do some incredible cases and procedures I had never before heard of (bridging intercostal-sural nerve grafts to restore function to the brachialis?). The head of their department is the biggest name in peripheral nerve repair in the country, and some of the other faculty are some important people as well. All the staff I've worked with so far have been surprisingly open and welcoming, except perhaps the residency program director who's a little more dry than I'd like. We'll see if I can win him over with these last few weeks. :) It's been hard to impress too much given I didn't have a password, and many times there is a fellow AND a resident in on a case, so I don't get as much "face time" as they say with the attending surgeon. I've done call twice: once was incredibly tough and 32 hours straight of work, and the second one was quite light (I'll do it twice more). Overall, though, the people are very helpful and cordial, and I'm hoping they're liking what they see in my effort, personality, abilities, and overall contribution. This is a program, I believe, that pushes people to excell and be their best, but does so in an appropriate fashion. They are family friendly, and the residents have shown me that they really support each other quite a lot, especially when tragedy occurs in the live's of their families. Most of the residents have warmed up to me, at least from what I can tell, though some are more lukewarm. I hope to win them over, but you can't please everybody all the time, right? I think I could be happy here in their training program. Too bad they're doing away with the 5 year plastics programs (all programs must be at least 6 years now).

I've also gotten to do some cutting, sewing, and casting that I didn't get to do before (and gotten some pretty good tips on how to best do it, which is great), and hope that I continue to improve so as to impress the remaining surgeons I haven't worked with yet and my other aways (and of course Scott & White). It's been a very intense learning experience, and I hope these last two weeks are positive and beneficial. I'm hoping to get a letter or two of recommendation, but we'll see how all that rolls out. :) One thing's for sure: I really, really, really wish that this didn't take the whole 4 weeks to come to fruition. Being so "far, far away" as Nicky told me on one phone call, has been very hard. I feel so bad that I can't be there for Claudia in her struggles with the kids and all that she does...it's truly been a sacrifice for her. I call them every night, but we can only talk for a few minutes. My heart goes out to them, and I can't wait to get back in 12.5 days. I love them so much, and can't wait to get back to Temple. I think I'll appreciate a medium sized hospital a LOT more now. Time to go, so much to read and study, so little time!

Monterrey, Mexico!

We just got back from a whirlwind 5 day trip to Monterrey, Mexico. We decided to go since I'll be leaving for Missouri soon and we wanted to spend some fun time together as a family...oh, and Claudia was wanting some authentic Mexican food. :) We drove down on Saturday, made good time, and we just skipped over the border (though we did get stopped twice they took one look in the van and let us go; I guess kids watching DVDs isn't very suspicious, is it?). If you haven't driven across before, you won't appreciate this, but border Mexican towns are intimidating and don't look very nice, i.e. they're "ghetto." We had been telling Nicky about our trip to Mexico for a few days, and as we crossed through Nuevo Laredo (border town), Nicky asked us, with a quivering voice, "I-i-is th-th-this Me-me-xico?" We told her it was the border, but to not be afraid or think that this was like the rest of Mexico (which it's not). Claudia promptly took over the driving duties from the border on, and did great manuevering around traffic in the city. We were a bit tired when we arrived, but were able to visit some with family and a few of Claudia's friends. Of course, we had to eat some delicious food, and got some tacos from our favorite taco restaurant in Monterrey, "El Rey del Taco" (the king of taco). They tasted great, but Claudia was disappointed in the spiciness of the salsa. Oh, well, we can't have everything.
On Sunday we met up with our old friend Tono, and later that night got to meet his fiance, Graciela. They are a cute couple, but Tono got a little too lovey-dovey a few times...reminded me of us when we were engaged...of course, we weren't 30. :) We're happy they've found each other and know they'll be happy together. We also got to visit some with our good friends Fernando and Gloria, who have a little 2 year old boy, Fernandito, with another one on the way.
On Monday, Claudia ran some errands with her mom to help her uncle with some purchases. Claudia took advantage of the time out to stock up on some of her favorite mexican candies. At night, we had a great get together with all of Claudia's friends from law school and their spouses. We introduced and played Clue for a few rounds, which they hadn't played before. It was a hit, but by the time it was midnight, everybody was a bit tired to keep thinking. Claudia and the two Glorias brought some yummy hamburgers and tacos, and a few gringas (which is the name for a taco with carne asada and pork al pastor, two different meats, with oaxaca cheese...mmmm). We had a blast visiting everyone: Milton & Gloria, Yovana & Yeraldo, and Fernando and Gloria.
On Tuesday, we ran a few more errands, and visited Claudia's Aunt Gloria (who helped out so much during Claudia's pregnancy with Ian) and Claudia's brother Dan. The kids loved Dan's place, as he has 3 kids and lots of toys at their house. The most popular thing was Dan's eldest son's electrical car, which Nicky kept driving around their front patio (not very well, but she had a great time until we told her it was time to go). Ian was a surprisingly calm passenger. We were running all over the place on Tuesday, because we wanted to be packed and ready to go by Wednesday morning. We did get one last night in of visiting with Claudia's law friends, as we all ate at "El Torito," a fancy Mexican restaurant in Monterrey. The food was great, we ordered a parrillada for 3, and Claudia ordered an appetizer of Mojella, which is something I tried but left to Claudia to enjoy (something from chicken, but Claudia doesn't want to know what it is because she likes the taste and doesn't want to be grossed out). We were sad to say our goodbyes because everyone is so busy with work and kids or pregnancies. We sure hope they come and visit sometime this year while we're still close. We spent the night at Aunt Gloria's house, and left the next morning. Aunt Gloria and my mother-in-law were nice enough to take care of the kids once we put them to sleep. We made the trip in good time, and dropped off my mother-in-law at Claudia's sister's house, as she's 40 weeks pregnant and set to deliver any day now. Aunt Gloria came with us back to Temple. We had a great time, and though Claudia brought a lot of great food, we still miss our friends and the fun times (and great food, again!). We're glad that we got to spend some time there and that everything went smoothly. Viva Mexico!