This is week 2! Carey survived the 1st week and they let him keep his job (oh, and he still wants his job!). So I'll begin with updates on what he's been doing then move on to everything else. Hopefully my computer battery won't die...
Today Carey left the house at 5 a.m. and didn't return until close to 8 p.m. I didn't hear a peep from him most of the day and I'm starting to get used to that. I'm not sure if they are actually that busy or if he's still too overwhelmed to remember us at home :) Inspite of the long day he came home in a great mood and eager to tell me that he got in on 3 surgeries today. He said that it felt good to use his hands again and to be challenged. Knot tying is still a priority and he comes home and practices most evenings so that he's better for the next day. AGW usually has to get in on the action right along with him!
This month Carey is on a rotation through a private hospital. He has a Q3 call schedule which means that he is on-call every 3 days. His 1st call is this Friday, so he'll leave for work at 5 a.m. Friday and return hopefully before noon on Saturday. Then he is off Sunday and Monday. My goal is to keep AGW out of the house so that he can sleep all of Saturday afternoon and then spend the evening with us. In my perfect world, he'll be able to get up and go to church on Sunday and pick up right where he left off, but that's a pretty good shock to the body and we all know how Carey likes to sleep!
At this private hospital he is pretty much the only one there when he is on-call. He will be responsible for general surgery, ICU, and colorectal surgery. Of course, he can call his chief if there is an issue or question, but for the most part, they are throwing him in and giving him all responsibility. Carey is glad to admit that he is nervous about this, but everyone knows he'll do great.
We got his schedule for the year last week. We were assigned vacation (yay!) the 1st two weeks in November and the 1st two weeks in February. We will not be going anywhere in November because Baby Hayes will only be a few weeks old. I hope to go back home for the 1st time in February so that everyone can see Baby Hayes! This means that he is not off for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year's. In fact, he has night float all of December (he works nights) so we definitely won't be going anywhere and it may even be difficult to have company.
Speaking of Baby Hayes, Carey has a slight disadvantage in October: that's his month of pediatric surgery. Because he has a strong interest in pedi surg, he was hoping to be able to devote lots of time and energy to the rotation. Not to mention the fact that 4 out of the 7 new interns have an interest in this specialty as well. It's highly competitive (only 34 spots in the nation each year!!!!) so he really wants to do well and learn lots during that rotation. However, October will be the month that Baby Hayes makes his grand appearance and it may make things a little more challenging during the rotation. I feel like I can handle things at home with the kiddos (easy to say now) so we've asked for visitors to come in November instead of October so that Carey isn't dealing with a new baby and a houseful of guests while attempting this rotation. I'm also hoping (as of now, this WILL change) that Baby Hayes holds off until the end of the next week to enter the world, giving his daddy a head start on the rotation. Because this is what I want, Hayes will probably come early :)
Ok, battery is fading fast. More updates tomorrow!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
He survived!
Carey was out the door at 7:50 this morning and I didn't hear a peep from him until he left the hospital at 6:00 tonight. All day he met new people, filled out paperwork, and kept pigs alive. All day I I prayed that the program and department staff where as awesome as he had hoped. So far, I believe my prayers were answered.
This is how the Department of Surgery Chairman began "This will be the hardest year of your life... I expect you to strive to be perfect...". He also stressed the importance of balance at home, proper nutrition, rest (ha!), and exercise.
The Associate Program director advised against getting a pet if single (hint: you won't be home. The poor animal will suffer) and a fellow intern respond "Just stop by the Watson Zoo"!
I'm recognizing a part of Carey that I haven't seen in about a year. I had hoped the first day would end this way; he came home passionate and excited about surgery. That fire was back and he had an eagerness to be challenged and to rise above the challenge. He thrives in situations like this. The next 7 years will be tough, but he has such a love for this game. This is his calling.
Home...was a different story. We moped and were lost. I was uncomfortable and out of place, out of routine and left alone. It was weird. Of course I had AGW to entertain and the animals to love on, but all of a sudden things were different. I didn't think about how his going to work would affect me. I knew AGW would take it rough and that Cash would be devastated. I forgot that I would wake up to a new house and new city on my own. It wasn't bad, just different. Kind of lonely. So I gave myself today to sit around and be in shock. From tomorrow on, I will be proactive.
This is a new chapter and challenge in my life. I was a stay at home mom from November until we moved, but I was busy doing residency research, trying to sell a house, and preparing to move. Before that, I worked. Now I'm not exactly sure what to do with myself! For the last month I had to drag Carey out of bed every day and and supervise home improvement projects (rough life, huh?) now I'm a full-time soccer mom without an agenda. It's unnatural for me. I read briefly about this in other medical mom blogs. Their advise: stay busy, get involved, create your own life. That was a lot easier in Lubbock where I grew up and had all of my family and friends. New city, new life, new adventure. I hope I have the energy! :)
Tomorrow Carey starts a little earlier and has course training all day. Then he has to come home and study for the course to be able to pass his certification test next week. AGW and I are going to story time at the local library in the morning and the petting zoo in the afternoon. The neighbor Elen who is 15, is also coming over to spend some time getting acquainted with AGW tomorrow. She will be babysitting for us Wednesday so that Carey and I can go to a social function with the other new residents and chiefs. The babysitting thing will be interesting, poor Elen.
Oh! Tonight AGW and I went and toured the preschool down the street. It was great and I love so many things about the program. I believe that we want to enroll her in the 3 day afternoon program starting this fall. I can't believe that my baby is starting preschool. She talks about friends so much everyday and is really missing socializing with other kids so I have to remind myself that it's good to let her go. I'm definitely going to take it harder than she does!
Carey is suppose to have tied 10,000 knots to be ready for surgery on July 1st. He has 8 days to do so if he hasn't already. AGW thought that she should be tying knots too. I'm betting that she'll be better at it than her daddy pretty soon!
This is how the Department of Surgery Chairman began "This will be the hardest year of your life... I expect you to strive to be perfect...". He also stressed the importance of balance at home, proper nutrition, rest (ha!), and exercise.
The Associate Program director advised against getting a pet if single (hint: you won't be home. The poor animal will suffer) and a fellow intern respond "Just stop by the Watson Zoo"!
I'm recognizing a part of Carey that I haven't seen in about a year. I had hoped the first day would end this way; he came home passionate and excited about surgery. That fire was back and he had an eagerness to be challenged and to rise above the challenge. He thrives in situations like this. The next 7 years will be tough, but he has such a love for this game. This is his calling.
Home...was a different story. We moped and were lost. I was uncomfortable and out of place, out of routine and left alone. It was weird. Of course I had AGW to entertain and the animals to love on, but all of a sudden things were different. I didn't think about how his going to work would affect me. I knew AGW would take it rough and that Cash would be devastated. I forgot that I would wake up to a new house and new city on my own. It wasn't bad, just different. Kind of lonely. So I gave myself today to sit around and be in shock. From tomorrow on, I will be proactive.
This is a new chapter and challenge in my life. I was a stay at home mom from November until we moved, but I was busy doing residency research, trying to sell a house, and preparing to move. Before that, I worked. Now I'm not exactly sure what to do with myself! For the last month I had to drag Carey out of bed every day and and supervise home improvement projects (rough life, huh?) now I'm a full-time soccer mom without an agenda. It's unnatural for me. I read briefly about this in other medical mom blogs. Their advise: stay busy, get involved, create your own life. That was a lot easier in Lubbock where I grew up and had all of my family and friends. New city, new life, new adventure. I hope I have the energy! :)
Tomorrow Carey starts a little earlier and has course training all day. Then he has to come home and study for the course to be able to pass his certification test next week. AGW and I are going to story time at the local library in the morning and the petting zoo in the afternoon. The neighbor Elen who is 15, is also coming over to spend some time getting acquainted with AGW tomorrow. She will be babysitting for us Wednesday so that Carey and I can go to a social function with the other new residents and chiefs. The babysitting thing will be interesting, poor Elen.
Oh! Tonight AGW and I went and toured the preschool down the street. It was great and I love so many things about the program. I believe that we want to enroll her in the 3 day afternoon program starting this fall. I can't believe that my baby is starting preschool. She talks about friends so much everyday and is really missing socializing with other kids so I have to remind myself that it's good to let her go. I'm definitely going to take it harder than she does!
Carey is suppose to have tied 10,000 knots to be ready for surgery on July 1st. He has 8 days to do so if he hasn't already. AGW thought that she should be tying knots too. I'm betting that she'll be better at it than her daddy pretty soon!
back to work
Yesterday we began our search for a new church family. We went to a local Methodist church because they seem to have lots of activities for children and a good preschool. At first we were a little put off by the size and amount of people. There are 5 pastors and 4 sermons each Sunday. This is very different from Lockney United Methodist Church where on some Sundays we were lucky to have 5 families in the congregation. We decided to skip the contemporary service and stick with our roots at the traditional service. We could've been the youngest couple there, but we did enjoy the hymns and the familiarity of the service. We aren't positive that this is our new church home but during the service I knew for a fact that we were where God wanted us to be. Sometimes we (I) get so wrapped up in ourselves that we pretty much have to be hit upside the head with God's word to listen to Him. He spoke loud and clear to both Carey and me yesterday. So clear that the pastor even used a doctor as an example. It's at times like that when you can't help but throw your hands up and a say "ok, ok! I'm listening! You have my attention!". In our car after the sermon I asked Carey if God spoke to him this morning. His response was a strong "Yes". You see, surgeons aren't exactly the most calm and laid back people. They have to have certain personality traits in order to survive the stress of their training and the hospital. Rarely does this allow you to have a "weakness" such as faith in something other than yourself.
It's easy to get caught up in the anxiety and pressures of the hospital and become bogged down with negativity. Because of all of the terrible things he sees and experiences each day, it's natural to become harden and almost cold. Yesterday the passage was Psalms 23. One that everyone knows but takes for granted. We both felt that God was saying "hey! Seek stillness in Me. Find peace in Me. Refresh your spirit in Me. But you have to spend time with me to do so". Hmmm.
So, please keep Carey in your prayers. The next 7 years will be tough. I know that it will be a great opportunity for our family to grow in our faith and for God to work in our lives.
Having said that, I'll let you know how Carey survived his first day :)
It's easy to get caught up in the anxiety and pressures of the hospital and become bogged down with negativity. Because of all of the terrible things he sees and experiences each day, it's natural to become harden and almost cold. Yesterday the passage was Psalms 23. One that everyone knows but takes for granted. We both felt that God was saying "hey! Seek stillness in Me. Find peace in Me. Refresh your spirit in Me. But you have to spend time with me to do so". Hmmm.
So, please keep Carey in your prayers. The next 7 years will be tough. I know that it will be a great opportunity for our family to grow in our faith and for God to work in our lives.
Having said that, I'll let you know how Carey survived his first day :)
Friday, June 18, 2010
AGW updates
AGW update:
odurt=yogurt
budda=butter
her baby doll=baby Hayes
she asks for Baby Hayes to come home
favorite game=hi da ti (high in the sky) this is when she jumps high into the sky like an airplane and cracks herself up falling down
ask her what she's doing, she says "nuttin", "stuff", or "playin da wadda" (even when she's not playing in the water!)
she loves GO DIEGO and sings/claps along with the movie
she has an unusually strong obsession of shoes. she loves shoes and has at least 1 pair in every room of the house. I'm not exaggerating one bit. I count the pairs when I put them up each night. Last night I found 5 pairs and 2 more down in the basement. She wears a pair until she finds a new pair to put on. I try hiding them but it's useless. ;)
Here are the pictures promised earlier! Enjoy!!!
Before:
After:
The following are pictures of the park and our evening of live music along with AGW playing at home.
More before and afters to come in the days ahead!
odurt=yogurt
budda=butter
her baby doll=baby Hayes
she asks for Baby Hayes to come home
favorite game=hi da ti (high in the sky) this is when she jumps high into the sky like an airplane and cracks herself up falling down
ask her what she's doing, she says "nuttin", "stuff", or "playin da wadda" (even when she's not playing in the water!)
she loves GO DIEGO and sings/claps along with the movie
she has an unusually strong obsession of shoes. she loves shoes and has at least 1 pair in every room of the house. I'm not exaggerating one bit. I count the pairs when I put them up each night. Last night I found 5 pairs and 2 more down in the basement. She wears a pair until she finds a new pair to put on. I try hiding them but it's useless. ;)
Here are the pictures promised earlier! Enjoy!!!
Before:
After:
The following are pictures of the park and our evening of live music along with AGW playing at home.
More before and afters to come in the days ahead!
Cleaning, clearing, preparing
The day has come: time to put down the drill and paint brushes and get ready for real life to begin. I feel like we've been on an hgtv reality show and the host is yelling "5 more minutes!" as everyone scrambles to finish one last coat, hang the last cabinet, and fluff the pillows. To be honest, I wish I was at that point but the bedroom only has one painted wall, agw's room still has tape around the walls, and the bathroom has a huge gap in the paint where the cabinet used to be. We can't sit at our dining room table because it's covered in tools and you still have to climb over boxes to get down the hall. As terrible as all of this sounds, we have made major progress in the last 3 weeks. Agw has an adorable bedroom, my kitchen is bright and cheery, and my living room is a calming shade of vintage blue. We spent lots of time working outdoors and I'll post before and after pictures this afternoon to justify my time :) we've also taken the opportunity to sit on our front porch and drink coffee every morning and watch the fire fly show in the evenings. Although we didn't get nearly everything done, life is good for the Watson Household. Finishing our projects will be a weekend priority and adjusting to being a surgeon and single mom will move to the front burner. Carey begins orientation at 8:00 Monday morning and is a full day of activities for a week and a half. After that he is on his own. I can tell that he is shifting gears because he is starting to ramble about studying for his ACLS training and preparing for skills lab (we should probably finish his office!)
As for agw and me, I think I'll enjoy settling into a routine finally. I have plans of walking to this awesome park down the street, going to storytime at the library, and enjoying the free music and events around town. I want to take advantage of the last 3 monthsthat I have alone with my little monkey before my new little monkey comes along.
Last night we enjoyed live bluegrass at the park (going to school near Austin, I am a HUGE fan of live music) and intoduced agw to a splash park. She loved watching the other kids run and play but is still very timid and didn't participate.
So basically this weekend will involve cleaning, clearing, and wrapping up odds and ends so that we can get back to reality. We've been spoiled with carey's time for months and I'm afraid agw will have a tough time with the transition. Wish us luck!
As for agw and me, I think I'll enjoy settling into a routine finally. I have plans of walking to this awesome park down the street, going to storytime at the library, and enjoying the free music and events around town. I want to take advantage of the last 3 monthsthat I have alone with my little monkey before my new little monkey comes along.
Last night we enjoyed live bluegrass at the park (going to school near Austin, I am a HUGE fan of live music) and intoduced agw to a splash park. She loved watching the other kids run and play but is still very timid and didn't participate.
So basically this weekend will involve cleaning, clearing, and wrapping up odds and ends so that we can get back to reality. We've been spoiled with carey's time for months and I'm afraid agw will have a tough time with the transition. Wish us luck!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
We're slowly getting settled in. Each day is full of painting, repairing, unpacking, and arranging. We are counting the days until Carey goes back to work and trying to finish as many projects as possible while also taking time to enjoy ourselves before we are thrown back into the real world. Carey has had lots of at-home training to do and has spent hours and hours learning the new computer system and who knows what else. AGW is starting to adjust to her new home but still isn't comfortable going to sleep at night in her new room. That will just take time. I found a preschool down the street that I'm hoping AGW will attend 2 mornings a week this fall. I think she is desperately in need of playtime and independance.
Baby Hayes!
AGW is very excited about Baby Hayes coming. She knows that all of the baby things are for him and makes sure to kiss my growing belly several times a day!
We took time out to visit the local aquarium and got season passes so that we can go back as many times as AGW wants. She had a blast with the "tutles" and "buds" (birds).
We've also enjoyed our new house and backyard:
Baby Hayes!
AGW is very excited about Baby Hayes coming. She knows that all of the baby things are for him and makes sure to kiss my growing belly several times a day!
We took time out to visit the local aquarium and got season passes so that we can go back as many times as AGW wants. She had a blast with the "tutles" and "buds" (birds).
We've also enjoyed our new house and backyard:
Monday, June 7, 2010
We made it!!!
I'm back! There are so many updates to give and it will take several blog posts to do it, so tonight I'll start by playing catch up with pictures.
a pit stop on the way to Cincinnati!
My future Bobcat!
"Camping"
Camping fun!
This is actually how they all slept:
Checking out her new backyard
New hiding spot!
Breakfast on the front porch
Poor Emma!
Best buds!
Sharing cheerios!
Helping
Exhausted
Kisses
Spoiled at the garden center
Sprinkler
Waiting on Daddy!
Everything is going very well us up her in Cincy. The drive was as good as a cross country move with 3 animals, toddler, and prego could be. All of our belonging arrived last week and were still good shape. Now we are in the very slow process of organizing everything. It was confirmed that we have way too much stuff to squeeze into our cozy 1300 sq. ft. home, but fortunately there is a basement that we have nick named "the junk drawer". For now we are working on painting, changing lighting (no overhead lighting in these older houses we've learned), landscaping, and unpacking. Carey only has 2 weeks before he is jolted back into reality and I'm guessing it won't be very easy on me or AGW either. He's been off duty since March 26th, and we've been very spoiled with his company. I'm predicting that the sudden change will take awhile for all of us to get used to. We have plenty of work to do around the house until then and I'll be posting my more before and after pictures once we actually get to the after part!
a pit stop on the way to Cincinnati!
My future Bobcat!
"Camping"
Camping fun!
This is actually how they all slept:
Checking out her new backyard
New hiding spot!
Breakfast on the front porch
Poor Emma!
Best buds!
Sharing cheerios!
Helping
Exhausted
Kisses
Spoiled at the garden center
Sprinkler
Waiting on Daddy!
Everything is going very well us up her in Cincy. The drive was as good as a cross country move with 3 animals, toddler, and prego could be. All of our belonging arrived last week and were still good shape. Now we are in the very slow process of organizing everything. It was confirmed that we have way too much stuff to squeeze into our cozy 1300 sq. ft. home, but fortunately there is a basement that we have nick named "the junk drawer". For now we are working on painting, changing lighting (no overhead lighting in these older houses we've learned), landscaping, and unpacking. Carey only has 2 weeks before he is jolted back into reality and I'm guessing it won't be very easy on me or AGW either. He's been off duty since March 26th, and we've been very spoiled with his company. I'm predicting that the sudden change will take awhile for all of us to get used to. We have plenty of work to do around the house until then and I'll be posting my more before and after pictures once we actually get to the after part!
Sunday, June 6, 2010
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