Guess who is 28 today?!!

Yup, he finally caught up to me (its so hard to be the older and wiser one in the relationship).

Andrew, you are the finest man I've ever known and I mean that in EVERY possible way.

So please remember to wish this man a Happy Birthday (unless of course you are in labor, because I think about 40% of my friends are overdue to have a baby right now).

Good Book for Moms

Have you read this book? I'm almost done and have really enjoyed it. Truthfully, I'm not a mother in a hurry. I sometimes wish I was. Besides the time I get to spend playing with Luke (which is really quite fun) my life is full of the mundane. I feel like I spend so much time cleaning and organizing spaces that will return to disarray within only a few hours or trying to think of something somewhat healthy that Luke will eat (multiply this process by 3 for breakfast, lunch and dinner) only to end up throwing it away. These are the parts of mothering/homemaking that I struggle to appreciate. I finish the day feeling exhausted, like I have been fiercely busy, only to look around and realize that I seem to have accomplished very little.

I read this book with a hope that maybe I could learn to appreciate my unhurried life a little more. I certainly will get more busy as the years go by and, maybe, the ordinary boring day will be something that I crave at some point. Although I don't know if all the good thoughts and ideas in this book will ever really fly with the personalities in our family (including my own), I do feel like they are concepts that are necessary to think about and try to incorporate in our own way.

I'll confess, I usually avoid reading books about parenting because they stress me out. There are too many ideas with too many do's and don'ts....I can't even keep them all straight. Perhaps I need to change my attitude, but I often finish and feel overwhelmed and completely confused. This book, however, makes me feel rejuvenated and peaceful....like I really don't need to make things so difficult all the time. I highly recommend it. It is a quick read with very short chapters...perfect for mothers who are actually in a hurry. It is helping me appreciate the small things and not deplore the mundane so much.

3/4 Dr. Stacey - The Wedge-Buster

When Andrew played football, he was a linebacker and also played a position on the kick-off team informally known as "the wedge-buster". There are two members of the kick-off team who run directly toward four opposing football players and "bust the wedge". In every game, the wedge-buster has a 25% chance of being injured. That is one manly job.

Needless to say, most of our dating life, Andrew limped. There were more separated shoulders (5), concussions (3 - after one of them he forgot how to get home and had to call his roommate to come find him), episodes of whiplash, separated sternums, pulled hip flexors, deep thigh contusions, sprained ankles (2), and sprained toes ... than I care to ever re-live. Nowadays, Andrew always complains that I walk too slow, but for many many years, my pace was just fine for him. He was always beat up.

(Here is a picture after one of his shoulder separations. Can you guess which one it is? ... and that's WITH the ice pack on top. He is only smiling because the cortisone shot hasn't worn off yet)

Despite the pain, this position really fit Andrew perfectly. To the core, he subconsciously must always take the hard road. Some call it masochistic. I would agree. If something is easy, he really wants no part of it. That is why I know this whole med school route is perfect for him. Even though there are many frustrating days when he comes home and tells me he is going to quit and go be a high school football coach or statistician, or chef (I've heard it all), I know that deep down inside he craves adversity.

On Friday, Andrew finished his 3rd year of med school. That means there is only 1 year to go until he is officially a doctor (and we are almost 1/3 of the way to having a real job/paycheck ...but who's keeping track?). I am very proud of his persistence and patience. I'm grateful for his "wedge-buster" attitude that allows him to attack insurmountable odds for a good purpose. Good work Stace. And you only had to pay the hospital about $16/hour to work for them!

SYTYCD - Luke Style

Luke loves music and dancing. I love watching his dance style because it kind of reminds me of my nephew's impression of a T-rex. In about 12 years, watch out! This kid is going to be hitting the dance floor with some wicked moves!

(I'm even willing to let you see my messy house because his dancing is so cute).

Luke likes dancing to all kinds of music (he always steals my ipod when we go on walks) but he especially loves this song by Jon Schmidt (you can watch it below). I know that when he goes to the laptop and starts tapping the keys, that he wants me to pull up this video. He likes to watch it and dance around the room. He even pulls at my hand and says "dance, dance!" (or something that kind of sounds like that).

We finally found the water spicket!

Okay, it wasn't that hard to find, but I wasn't really expecting there to be one in front of our house. Most of the apartments in our complex don't have one, because to be honest, nobody really waters their yard in the Midwest. People don't even have sprinkler systems because there is a rainstorm pretty much every week (this was a crazy concept for a Westerner to understand).

Anyway, today was soooo hot that we got out the sprinkler (only used for play). Luke would run through it with me, but wouldn't get close on his own unless it was smaller.

Some neighbors joined us, but after a while, Luke started to get more interested in roaming around (which he can spend hours doing each day). I looked over and found him a few houses down just sitting on the lawn, picking the grass. This was so weird because he normally doesn't sit still for so long. I'm imagining tee ball games in about 4 years ... I think this might be Luke in the outfield...picking the grass and watching the cars go by.

A Day in the Life

[Andrew]

Ever wonder what it is like to be a medical student? This video is only a very slight exaggeration.

a breakthrough

Sorry, not a lot of time for blogging these days.

We had a breakthrough last week. Luke finally ate spaghetti. The only pasta he ever ate before this was lasagna and even then it was never a guarantee he would eat it. The fact that Luke added something to his food repertoire instead of outcasting it was such a relief...you have no idea. I had to take pictures.

Don't you just love how Luke's hair is wildly curly except for his straight bangs?! But I recently cut it and I think its looking a little less 80's now.

and some other pictures...

Marshmellow mateys have never been outcasted from his "list". Notice that he only eats the marshmellows and leaves the rest in a nice pile on the table.