Friday, March 21st

Friday, March 21st is a day that I have been dreading since Zach first started medical school. "Match Day", as it is called, is the day that you find out where you will be working in residency after you graduate. For the past four years it has seemed like a day in the future that was so far away, it might never come. However, in September of last year, Zach had to submit his ERAS (his application to residency programs), I could no longer ignore the imminent event. 

 To most people, including myself, the residency process is absolutely bizarre. You submit your application and apply to as many residency programs as you'd like. Zach's specialty is Radiology which is a bit more competitive. Therefore, he applied to 30 different places; I have heard of others applying to as many as 90! Once you submit your ERAS, you get to sit impatiently and wait for the interview offers to come in. When all was said and done, Zach interviewed for 22 different slots! It was 3 very long months of flying, interviewing, primping, and impressing. My poor introverted husband was utterly exhausted by the end of the process. Not to mention, you have to pay for the flights, hotel, rental cars, and everything in between! We are forever indebted to Zach's parents for making the entire process possible.

At the end of February, we had to make the difficult decision of submitting our rank list. Therefore, we listed each place that Zach interviewed, in order of where we'd like to go. At the same time, the residency programs are ranking the candidates that they interviewed. Then some lovely little computer programs uses a nifty algorithm to determine where we spend the NEXT FIVE YEARS OF OUR LIVES.

I had myself fooled into thinking that these would be like normal job interviews, but (haha) no. Zach is competing against all the other 4th year medical students who want to go into Radiology. Also, the program can not offer him a job, nor let him know their exact standing. Therefore, this whole process is riddled with follow- up e-mails and thank-you notes full of inuendo and hints.

Which brings us now to Friday. Match Day. We will go downtown to a hotel with the rest of Zach's medical school class. They will hand us an envelope at 10:00 am MST. Every other 4th year medical student will be handed an enevlope at the exact same time. We will all open them together, and our fate will have been determined. It will say a location and residency program on the card, and that is where we will go. It is a legal binding contract. There is no switching, no changing, no begging, no pleading. 

There is only one Radiology residency program in the state of Colorado. Our chances of staying in-state are a little frightening. I know some people may love change and adventure, but I surely am not one of them. I love that our families live within 20 minutes to an hour of us. I am blessed that I get to have lunch with my mama (who is my best friend), several times a week. My amazing in-laws take Livy on all sorts of adventure and fun. Our friends are like our family and support us in incredible ways. I am not ready to lose that and I am not ready to go. It brings such joy to my heart to see the close-knit relationship Livy has with her grandparents, aunts, and uncles. I love that they are woven into her heart; and she into theirs. 

I know that no matter what happens, we will be fine. We are a family, we love each other, and that is enough. The Lord has the map of a bigger plan for us, and everything that happens is because He makes it so. I know the plans that He has prepared for me, and I know that He has plans for me to thrive, prosper, and be happy!

At this current time I do feel very sorry for myself. However, I do have a clear enough head to see that people go through things far worse than this, every single day of their entire lives. Families in the military are relocated constantly, and with very little notice as well. Therefore, this pity party that I'm throwing will only last a little while. :)

I am absolutely grateful for the love and support that has been shown to us through this time. We absolutely your prayers, well wishes, and kind words. Thank you for caring about our little family!

Story Time!

Every Monday morning I take Liv to dance class in Parker, and our favorite thing to do afterward is walking next door to the Parker library for story time! The Parker library has an awesome group of ladies who are super enthusiastic about reading, singing, and dancing! They make each session extremely fun and exciting for the kids. 

One of the best parts is that they have a variety of times available during the week; based on your child's age (baby, toddler, preschool)! I would absolutely recommend taking your little one! It's a great way to break up your week and enjoy some free fun! Go here for their story time schedule!

Tiny Tots Love Music!

Livy and I have had a little bit of cabin fever due to being stuck inside from all the snow we've been getting! I subscribe to Colorado Parent magazine, and each month they come out with a great calendar that talks about all of the different activities happening in Colorado for the month! So, I noticed that yesterday there was a concert happening at a church not too far from our house. I jumped on the opportunity to break out and I'm so glad that we did! 

The concert was put on by Denver Brass; a quintet of brass instruments! Their theme for the concert was "Around the World in Music". At the beginning, the emcee explained the different continents and described their unique characteristics. 

 

Being two, Alivia could have really cared less about that portion, but thankfully she sat quietly! Then they went through the different instruments (names & sounds).

Finally, the quintet played about 11 songs, picking one or two songs from each continent! The emcee had different dances and movements for the kids to do which were great and kept Liv entertained! She had a lot of fun marching, jumping, singing, and dancing!

 

I would definitely recommend this concert series to anyone with younger kids! Some of it might not apply, but the music and dancing is fun for even babies and toddlers. They have a few more shows coming up if you want to check them out!

 

Pretty Princess Nails!

Now that Livy has moved from baby-hood to toddler-ness, she has become quite the independent! One example would be the time she decided to PAINT HER OWN NAILS! 

I am in no way-shape-or-form a morning person, however, I am so very lucky that Zach is the opposite of me! He gets up with Livy in the AM while I grab a few extra hours of sleep! Anyways, a few mornings ago Livy and Zach were playing together in the living room. She told him that she'd "Be right back", and then scurried along to her bedroom. A few moments later she bounded back out shouting, "Wook! Daddy, wook!! Wook what I did!!". That's when Zach discovered that she had found some nail polish and set right to work on her own nails!

Zach quickly went into her bedroom to survey the damage, and the craziest part was that there was no damage?! She had painted her nails on top her little pink Mini Cooper and there was a tiny little smudge of paint, but nothing else. Praise the Lord! 

We are so proud of how our little munchkin is growing, but sometimes we sure wish she'd slow down!

We might have a little beautician in our future!

Little Livy-isms!

Our little pumpkin has been talking like crazy for the past year, but now that she's 2, her vocabulary has just exploded! Lately she has been saying the funniest things! My sister brilliantly advised me to keep track of the hilarious phrases she says so that we'll always have them to remember! 

Here are a few snippets from the last month! 

1. My mom came over during her lunch hour to spend time with Livy and I. We were hanging out in the living room and Zach was working in our bedroom. 

   My mom: "Where's Daddy?"

   Livy: (without hesitation and with lots of shrugging!) "I dunno, bafroom...poopin'...peein'...I dunno.""

2. I was cooking dinner a few nights ago and was trying to set the table, but Livy had dumped her crayons all over the dining room floor. 

   Me: "Alivia, you need to come pick up your crayons and put them in the bucket."

   Livy: "NOT TODAY, MAMA!"

**That little gem of a comment got her swiftly sent to time-out, but it sure was hard to keep a straight face!**

3. Livy and I were hanging out in the living room today and I stepped out for a minute to put something back into her room. 

   Livy: (yelling) "Mommy, come mere!!!"

   Me: (ran back into the living room as fast as possible"

   Livy: "Wook! I'm swimmin'!"

...eighteen months old...

Oh me, oh my! Our little Alivia Rain is growing up wayyyyy too fast! She's going to be 19 months in a couple of days, but I thought I should share a few facts about our one & a half year old (yikes!), sooner rather than later!

This is the sweet face that Livy has most of the time! She's extremely sweet, and loving! However, she also has her sassy streak! :) She can throw down with the best of them, but typically she's happy as a clam! 

If you haven't spent any time withour little Liv, you have not heard what a gabber she is! Our girl can talk!! She loves to go on and on about anything and everything! Some words in her vocabulary are: puppy, kitty, no, mine, Mimi, bye, hi, go, what is that?, ummm...no, car, book, duck, sock, shooooooooes, choo choo, & many others! 

Alivia loves: animals, singing, coloring, playing with friends, bath-time, watching Yo Gabba Gabba, going on walks, playing at the park, running up and down hallways!

Alivia does not love: eating, napping, people leaving her, the vacuum cleaner!

Our prayer for this beautiful blessing we've been given is that she continues to grow happy & healthy! She is still in feeding therapy & our hope is that one day she won't need it anymore! We ask that anyone who has a moment, lifts her up in prayer for her weight to continue to increase, and that her body gets the nutrients it needs for her to be ok!

We love you, Alivia!

Confessions of a New Mama!

I recently had to fill out a questionnaire which asked me if I was a "first-time, or experienced mother"...huh? I never thought about it too much, but I guess I am very inexperienced in the journey of mamahood! Alivia is 17-months-old now; each day we are faced with new experiences and challenges! Zach nor I have previously been around a baby for an extended period of time so we have no idea what is going to come flying at us!

Lately, I have struggled with trying to be that "perfect, experienced" mommy. Zach likes to call it my 'Pinterest-Mother' syndrome. The Pinterest-Mother wakes up, styles her hair in a new do, dresses in an adorable outfit, works on memorable crafts with her baby who is clothed in a hand-sewn bubble dress....and it top it all of, she has a delicious homemade meal waiting for her husband. 

OH MY WORD, HOW DOES SHE DO IT?!

Therefore, instead of driving myself crazy trying to do it all, I've come to the conclusion that I must...drumroll...be ok with the mommy that I am! So, in an effort to follow this new promise I have made to myself, here are some of my new mama confessions. No, I am not a perfect mother, but our daughter is taken care of, and loved beyond measure. 

Deep breathe....

Here they are....

1. In the adorable picture of Livy above, she is in her pajamas. IT WAS 4:00 PM. Will she ever get out of them? Probably. But I don't see that happening anytime soon.

2. If I can get my teeth brushed before one o'clock in the afternoon...it's a really lucky day! 

3. Alivia was sleeping through the night up until about a month ago. She got very sick & subsequently started getting up at least once. Our pediatrician told us to just let her cry it out. Probably the best idea. I do highly respect the woman. Do I do that though? Nope. Our beautiful little pumpkin comes into our bed & snuggles with us almost every night around 2:00 am. 

4. I truly don't see the point in getting ready for a day of staying home with the Livinator. I would say that 80% of my pants are sweats. Sadly, yes, that is the truth. 

5. My house gets vacuumed maybe every two weeks. And that's being generous. I know, it's frightful, but Livy is scared to death of the vaccum cleaner & by the time Zach gets home to console her while I use the "death machine", I'm way too lazy. 

So, to myself and all the other mamas out there: CUT YOURSELF SOME SLACK! Because as a wise woman once told me, "all those mothers that say their kids eat and sleep great are just lying"! Remember you're not alone, and you are doing a great job!