Residency Match.

I realized I never posted about our Residency Match. Back in December, Rick matched for a Urology Residency at the University of Texas, San Antonio. It was our first choice! We are so proud of Rick for working so hard during school and being such a good interviewer at the various programs. Rick will be at the military hospital in San Antonio for his general surgery intern year,  and then at UT for four years of Urology. We will be moving at the end of May, right after Rick's graduation. I can't think about leaving Winston-Salem too long or else I start to get teary, but San Antonio will be a great fit for us. 

Ever since we found out where we're headed, I have spent wayyy too many evenings in a delirious state of clicking around the internet looking at San Antonio schools, neighborhoods, realtors, houses, etc. We sort of alternate between the house search and the minivan search each night. Yes, we are buying a van (finally!) and a house at pretty much the same time! Yikes! It will be nice when the van is purchased and the house is chosen (I will fly down to hopefully pick a house at the end of March), and we can think about other things... like packing! 

Without a camera (can you see why I haven't bought a new one? Saving for a van and a house!), here are some pictures from our computer. I had to ask Carson how to use the photobooth thing. Apparently he's been taking pictures daily.

Carson's latest read. 

I must explain the cards taped to the wall in the pictures. I have been soooo lazy about doing activities and crafts with the kids. Recently I started having them get into more of a morning routine (eat breakfast, get dressed, make beds), and then when Faye goes down for her morning nap, we do "learning time." I usually just make up something on the spot, like today I wrote short words on papers and scattered them around the floor. Carson and I would call out a word, and Everett had to find it and "rescue" it with his rescue helicopter. Carson usually does a workbook or something.

During this learning time, they put together these cards that their Grandma had sent them. These are great! They spell three-letter words, and there is a noun on the front and an adjective on the back. This was great because both boys learned something: Everett had to identify the lowercase letters and try to sound out the word, and Carson learned about nouns and adjectives. They love the new wall decor; I am having a hard time leaving it up! (I just tried to look up the cards to post a link and can't find them... they are Eric Carle though.)

Playing football with dad.

This video shows the kids' cute little personalities so well. Carson takes the game seriously, trying to do his absolute best. Everett never wears pants and has his own idea of what the game is. Faye and her big belly walk around, just keeping busy. (And then she takes care of her dolly, below. So cute!)



Since our camera won't work (again!), sadly videos are all I have to share. It drives me crazy to have cute little moments happening every day that I can't capture in pictures; life without a camera is no fun!

Valentines.

Everett's doggie valentines.

Carson's valentines. (He got a little creative with that one with seven legs.)

Faye's pigtails!

The boys at a playgroup Valentine party.

We didn't let her have any candy, but she was happy to wander around and bug everybody.

Especially babies. Faye doesn't talk much, but her best word is baby. She can even control her excitement now and doesn't bite or hit babies that much anymore, which is definitely good.

Everett doesn't care about a thing in the world when he's got some candy. (A candy bracelet here.)

Making Valentines with the kids sure makes the holiday fun, since Rick and I don't do a thing for each other! I'm glad we are both content with pink pancakes in the morning and an extra hug and a kiss when he gets home instead of a big date and gifts. He's a good husband.

bubbles, books, etc.

One night last week, the boys grabbed the baby soap while I was out of the bathroom and decided they needed a nice bubble bath.

They seriously had SO much fun playing in the bath for a long time. Maybe it's worth it to lose a whole container of baby soap if I really need them entertained in an enclosed space for an hour?

Carson really likes the Magic Treehouse series. He often listens to the books on CD during his quiet time. I told him if he keeps practicing reading, pretty soon he'll be able to read the Magic Treehouse books all by himself. Oh, turns out he can actually already do that. It is pretty cute to see your four-year-old immersed in a chapter book.

Rick gets the credit for a creative Sunday breakfast. Carson's is a CTR 4 for his Primary class at church, and Everett's is a Sunbeam, because he wishes he was in that class. Everett is off throwing a tantrum because he changed his mind and wanted oatmeal. Surprise, surprise.

Pappy and Grandmama just left from a weekend visit. They brought along Brooklee this time.

Can't get enough of "Don't Eat Pete!"

The big plan was for the boys to have a much-anticipated camping trip with Pappy in the backyard. It was too cold though, so we just roasted hot dogs and made s'mores for lunch instead.

Not pictured are the amazing thai chicken tacos that my mom made for dinner last night. We were going to get NC barbeque like we usually do when my parents are in town, but my frugal and creative mother whipped out her recipe magazines and got to work. I feel so inspired to make creative dinners instead of my usual boring rotation! I cannot get over how good they were. Here is the recipe.

Rick's boo boo.

Soo I guess I'm a fashion blogger drop out. I skipped out on the last three days of the 10 day challenge. Oops! Interestingly enough, the last day's prompt was supposed to be "wear something that scares you." I didn't follow the prompt, but I thought Rick's appearance might suffice to scare other people.





He got an elbow or shoulder to the face during a basketball intramural game and sustained a nice cut all the way through to his teeth. A "family friend" did a beautiful job sewing up both the inside and outside of Rick's lip. (Very convenient that his basketball team is a group of doctors.) His minor concussion wasn't half as bad as waiting in the ED from midnight til 3 a.m. to get him checked out. Luckily by then he had stopped acting crazy and was fine!