Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Two fun new things in the kitchen.

First of all, why did no one ever tell me to roll my pizza dough in cornmeal before? It totally bumps up the quality of the pizza crust. Maybe even restaurant quality, except healthier. Even Everett, who is on an eating strike, ate a lot of pizza. This is the pizza dough I like.

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And also, since Carson is in love with popsicles, I invested in these. They're silicone popsicle molds, and we've been doing them with a yogurt/banana/strawberry mixture. My kids are eating plain yogurt and fruit, and they think they are eating popsicles. Totally fooled them!

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Friday, August 6, 2010

Third year stinks.

The first two years of med school were fun. Really fun. We absolutely love it here, have great friends, and Rick sometimes had long days or weeks at school, always followed by a celebratory weekend when the test was over. Well. Then third year started. Then Rick’s surgery rotation started. After seven weeks of living the life of a surgeon’s family, I can now see why people say the medical school thing is challenging. The past couple of months have been extremely stressful on our marriage, on our family, on my emotional stability, on the organization of our home, etc. etc. etc. I thought I could handle a busy husband, but for whatever reason I am struggling.

I’m trying to learn to keep my expectations low. (When he tells me when he’ll be home, add two hours.) I’m trying to learn to keep the house clean enough during the day so I’m not staying up late doing dishes. I’m trying to learn how to show love to my husband in 30 seconds per day. I’m really trying to learn to go back to sleep after his alarm goes off at 4 a.m. I’m trying to learn not to take it personally when virtually all of my husband’s time at home is spent fulfilling his church assignments and studying instead of listening to me talk about my day.

I’m grateful for my two little boys who keep me company while I’m trying to figure out how to live happily in a situation like this. One Monday night during the first weeks of this rotation, the boys and I sat down to do a family night. (We usually sing a song, say a prayer, have a short lesson from the scriptures, and then a family game and/or treat.) I was tired from a long day and perhaps a little emotional (surprise, surprise). As I started to tell the boys what we were going to do for family night, Carson quickly interrupted and said, “I’ll be the dad.” Then I really got emotional when I realized how perceptive and caring my little two-year-old was being. Carson welcomed us all to family night and led us in the song and the prayer. It sure is nice, at times like this, to have a little miniature of your husband.

Blueberry Picking

was a success! Especially since we didn't quite make it to fill the whole gallon bucket, so the girl only charged me for a half gallon. Definitely a good deal, and we've been enjoying blueberries on our Sunday morning pancakes.
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