Set, Match

I can't complain, February has been pretty good to us thus far. We had eagerly awaited the official DO "Match" day for months to see what destiny had in store for us. Well, the morning of the 11th, destiny came knocking. About 8 a.m. Jamie received a rather non-climatic email from the national matching service informing us that he matched at the urological surgery (urology) program in Charleston, WV. Even though the delivery was pretty bland, excitement escalated all day as reality set in and Jamie spent (literally) the entire day on the phone talking to/texting classmates and family members. West Virginia was Jamie's #1 choice, so we feel blessed to have been granted a spot there. He loves the program and the camaraderie among the residents, and I love the family-friendly appeal of Charleston. Jamie interviewed at programs all over, with most of them centered in Michigan or Illinois. To be honest, I wasn't too excited at the prospect of living in a tiny inner-city apartment in Chicago with 2 kids or moving to run-down Detroit with its long commutes, so I was keeping my fingers crossed for West Virginia. Neither of us has lived so far east, so we're excited for our 5 year backwoods adventure in Appalachia!  It's weird to think that in just 3 months this med school journey will be through. It feels like we've been on a non-stop roller coaster for the past 4 years, but it's gone SO quickly! I'm sure residency with its 80-hour work weeks will be no cake walk, but we're excited for this next chapter of life!

Nothing says "congratulations" better than an over-sized chocolate-chip cookie!

Eating a celebratory "all you care-to-eat" salad bar dinner at Hy-Vee. We're just so fancy!

Earlier in February our poor Marlee got put through the ringer. Illness has been rampant this winter, and Marlee got hit hard. She kept getting sick and wasn't improving, so after a spout of high fevers, I took her to the pediatrician where they poked, prodded, and x-rayed her. It was sad to hear her screams as I helped the doctor pin her down on the exam table, but my heart broke even more as she later laid listless on the same table as they drew her blood, admitting defeat. She was diagnosed with pneumonia, double ear infections, and eye infections. Her doctor said she had one day to improve or else she would need to be admitted to the hospital. Luckily, she took all of her medications like a champ and started feeling better.

Time for her "puppy" (aka-nebulizer) treatment

Marlee's thoughtful Grandma Olsen sent her a get-well/Valentines package with a "fun" pair of boots included. Here's a little video of her strutting about in her new shoes:
  

Also earlier in the month when Jamie and I were in a zombie-like stump (due to Marlee's sickness and not sleeping for weeks), I decided we needed a little break and left our sickly child with my Mom while we went on a "real" date. The roller-derby happened to be in town, so I dragged Jamie out for a night of entertainment with Norfolk's finest. It was a fun date (especially when participants got tackled or clothes-lined). I've always been a little aggressive when it comes to sports or competition, so I could totally see myself getting into roller-derby one day:)

In final news, I have just one month of pregnancy left. Oh boy, am I ready for it to be over. I forgot how uncomfortable the last trimester can be! I'll spare everyone a belly picture. However, if you wonder what I look like, just go to my blog archives from 2 years ago, look at me when I'm 41 weeks pregnant, add a little more belly and overall puffiness and there you go! Enjoy!

January Doldrums

Anyone else suffering from the January blahs? January has always been one of my least favorite months...cold weather, no fun holidays to look forward to, pale, dry skin (although honestly, my skin is always quite pale). I wouldn't mind one bit if we skipped directly to Spring after December. My motivation hit rock bottom today, so instead of working on homework, cleaning, or painting my neglected toenails, I'll post a few pictures from our Puerto Rico trip we took in December. Jamie and I had a great time bumming on the beach, sleeping in, and enjoying our general lack of responsibility.

Soaking up the sun

One day we took a catamaran tour and got to snorkel off this "private beach"

Some pregnant lady who didn't want her picture taken in a swimsuit

The charming cobblestone streets in Old San Juan (walking up that hill 6 months pregnant was quite the task!)

One of the forts we toured: Castillo San Felipe del Murro (yes, I had to google that)

Bustin' out the big guns

Baby or cannon ball?

Wearing white after Labor Day is so scandalous!

Don't worry, we didn't support animal cruelty

 
We didn't get any pictures, but one night we also went kayaking through the bioluminescent bay at Fajardo. The flagellates living in the water cause it to glow in the dark. It was a really neat experience, and we felt slightly rebellious because pregnant women weren't technically allowed to participate due to the physical nature of the tour. Therefore, I slapped on a baggy shirt and spent most of the night "sucking it in" and holding a sweater in front of my abdomen so we didn't get kicked off the tour.

Not us, just an example of what the bio bay looked like

Also not pictured is the plethora of food we ate. Don't worry, we didn't go hungry. We sampled some of the local fare and also frequented the Subway near our hotel. They had a $2 special on chicken subs, so we probably ate there at least once a day. It's really kind of embarrassing, but you can't beat $2!

After a week in the sun, it was hard to come back to the cold. The night we flew back there was a horrible blizzard that we foolishly decided to drive 5+ hours through. It was quite a white-knuckle, panic-inducing drive. Luckily, we survived and so did our marriage. This cutie pie was waiting for us at Grandma and Grandpa Olsen's house when we got back...we're not sure if she missed us, but we sure missed her!

"Your mom goes to colllege"

I hope it's not too uncool to quote Napolean Dynamite anymore, because I just did. Well, I'm at about the 2 month mark since my last post, so I decided I should write an update for the ol' bloggity blog. One reason I've avoided blogging is because, well, life has been a little hard lately. Also, I tend to be a complainer (I'm working on this) and no one wants to read complaints. Anyway, here's what we've been up to:

I started school full-time at UNMC in August, so I've been busy trying to balance school, motherhood, working, church duties and being a supportive wife. Unfortunately, I've never been the greatest at balancing, so one or more of these areas often gets neglected. My education hasn't exactly played out as I planned it would when I was a 18 year-old freshman at BYU many eons ago, but that's okay. I'm grateful for the training I've received thus far and that I've ended up in a field where I can easily find a job and support a family. So after 5 years of attending 4 different colleges in 3 different states and being in school during 2 different pregnancies and 1 marriage, I will finally graduate with my Bachelor's degree of Nursing this spring (I currently just have an Associate's degree in Nursing). School has never been particularly difficult for me, but throwing a toddler into the mix definitely makes things a bit more challenging. Luckily, most of my classes are online, so with the help of daycare, my mother, and Seasame Street (bless that dear Elmo), I've been able to survive thus far. Next semester makes me worry a bit however, as I'm not sure how everything will balance when I'll have a newborn to care for during my last month of school. One day (and Diet Pepsi) at a time I suppose. Needless to say, I've been a tad stressed, and if Marlee could talk in complete sentences, she'd say my favorite pants to wear lately are my "cranky pants" (which come with an elastic wasteband- FYI). Even though I often feel stressed, being in school has been a blessing in more ways than one, and it really makes time pass quickly with Jamie being gone.

How I feel sometimes....:)

Jamie, lover of my soul, is currently on an audition rotation in West Virginia. Due to having to travel for either his "core" rotations or "audition" rotations, he's been gone for a total of over 6 months since April. Overall, his rotations have been going well and he's been working very hard. He's getting slightly burnt out in the homestretch as months of working 12-16 hour days are starting to wear on him. We have really missed each other and are counting down the days until our "long-distance relationship" will be over. He's also gone on a few Urology interviews already and has some lined up in the near future, so it's exciting to see his hard work (hopefully) pay off. Marlee sure misses Jamie as well and I often find her looking out the window saying, "Daddy? Daddy?" That girl loves her Papa. When we started this med school journey, we promised ourselves that when all was said and done, we'd take a nice graduation trip; however, with Baby #2 coming this spring, we decided to reward ourselves early. I found a great deal on flights to Puerto Rico, so we took the leap and planned a week-long Marlee-free trip mid December. If any of our family or friends feel like getting away too, we'd love company:)

Love these two cuties

Marlee continues to grow and be my sweet, spunky toddler. When she's acting especially toddler-ish I like to call her Hurricane Marlee because she can leave quite a path of destruction. I have talked before about her pacifier addiction, so a couple of months ago after one too many nights of crawling around on the floor by her crib at 3am looking for her lost binky, we decided to cut her cold turkey. Initially, it was a rough few nights, but we all got through it. I think Jamie and I were more attached to her binky than she was. The downside of ridding her of the binky is she no longer sleeps until 8 am. That was nice while it lasted. Now I debate if I even want to introduce one to baby boy. I'm sure I will, but I think I'll take it away much sooner 2nd time around. Marlee looks and acts more and more like a little lady each day, and sometimes I find myself missing my chunky little baby. Here's a couple of pictures from Halloween. She had 2 costumes this year. Jamie found a cookie-monster costume at the Goodwill (because we're classy like that) and got so excited about it that we decided to get it even though I thought she looked like a little boy in it. So that's what she wore on Halloween night when I took her to a few houses in the neighborhood (because the neighbors don't know if she's a boy or girl anyway...) However, when I took her trick-or-treating at my work Halloween party, I quickly threw together a ballerina outfit because I didn't want my co-workers to think I cross-dressed my child:)

Halloween last year, my how she's changed

Ballerina outfit

My little cookie monster

Baby boy has been doing good. I'm about 21 weeks along and feel pretty good in my 2nd trimester. I felt like I've been so busy I've kinda ignored this pregnancy, so it's been flying by. With Marlee everything was new so I always read the week-by-week development charts, etc... and this time around I sometimes forget I'm pregnant. That is until I try to put a pair of non-stretchy pants on, then I'm quickly reminded. I have no boy things whatsoever, so I'm afraid our little man may get dressed in a girly outfit or two during the first month of his life until I'm done with school and can get my life on tract once again.So that's the latest and greatest around these parts!

Changes

Well, we have some exciting news around these parts! Our little family will be increasing by one come March! By now we're pretty much experts at this parenting thing so the second time around should be a piece of cake, right!? Anyway, we're SUPER excited and just a tad nervous for the craziness that will ensue!
And since I don't feel like taking the time to write anything else, I will end this post with a picture of a dirty-faced Marlee and a giant pile of cheese. Enjoy!

A long, less depressing post...

Summer just seems to go by faster and faster the older I get. This summer has been no exception. Much of the bustle was caused by the hair-brained idea Jamie and I crafted in May. We had been causally searching for a new place to live since our apartment required 1 year leases and we do not plan to be in Norfolk for a another whole year. Well, after searching and not really finding anything that would make moving worth it, we were over at my mom's one night and got the idea that maybe we could fix the upstairs apartment of her house and move in for the next 10 months, thus saving ourselves a little money and possibly improving the value of her home (she was trying to sell it, but there was little/no interest). Little did I know how much time and effort our "small project" would take! Luckily, we knew a really great handy man (aka-Jamie's dad) who helped us quite a bit by laying new carpet (the pre-exsisting red and green shag carpet had seen better days/decades....)

Handy man in action

Loving the new carpet!

Now I'm once again living under my mother's roof, which ups my coolness factor by at least 50! Actually, after our BYU years, we moved into my in-law's basement for a year, so moving into my mother's house is just bringing things round-circle. Is this called failure to launch!? I'm unsure....
While Jamie's parents were in town helping out with the re-model, we decided to hit up one of the local rodeos like real country folk do. I can't wait until Marlee turns 3 so I can strap her to the back of a sheep and turn her into a real motten-buster (jk)!

The day after Jamie's family left, we headed up to my mother's small hometown to visit with some relatives at the town festival. Marlee got to experience both bounce houses and lip-syncing nuns for the first time. She was luke-warm about the bounce house, but the nuns received some of her most enthusiastic cheers.

Jamie jetted off to Philadelphia for a couple days to take his physical examination boards while I packed up our old apartment. Talk about perfect timing! That lucky duck once again missed out on helping pack for a move! Five moves in five years of marriage, four of which I packed myself. Who needs Two Men and a Truck when you have awesome Amber armed with packing tape!? Jamie did a little site-seeing while in Philly and also fulfilled his life-long dream of witnessing the NBA draft in person. I was, however, extremely disappointed to hear he did not eat a cheese steak while in the City of Brotherly Love. Complete waste of a trip I tell ya!

Blurry picture....he must have been shaking with excitement!

The Italian Stallion and my Dreamy Dane

As we moved into our new place, my sister and her family flew in from Seattle to visit for a week. It was fun to visit with her and her cute family. Wish they lived closer!

After our visitors left the morning of the 4th, Jamie, Marlee and I headed to the 4th of July parade. It was pretty lame parade with mostly antique cars and rodeo queens. Marlee's face is telling of how exciting it was.

The weekend after the 4th reality began to set in; I was going to have to say goodbye to Jamie again. Luckily, his school required all the 4th year students (he's finally a 4th year!) to return to Des Moines for a week of testing. I sent him packing Sunday night and then Marlee and I drove over Tuesday to celebrate his birthday and spend a few more days with him before he left for Detroit.

The Fab Four

Jamie's siblings and parents drove a long way for a quick birthday dinner! So fun to see them!

He got some very useful gifts!

After a rough first week of single-parenthood (see last blog post), my mother-in-law must have sensed my desperation because she invited Marlee and I up to Estherville for a couple of days to play while she tended Marlee's cousin Addyson. Those two little girls sure had fun together!

While in Estherville we took my in-law's boat, The Iron Maiden, out for a cruise. About 20 minutes into the ride ominous clouds appeared, so we docked the boat and watched a beautiful thunderstorm from the car.

Perfect boating weather

Now I've got a couple days to settle down until we head out to Utah for 2 weeks for my brother-in-law's wedding festivities. T-minus 5 days til I see Jamie! Woot woot!

Hi, I'm Crazy, and you are....?

For the past week I feel like I've been suffering from a mild case of insanity. The extreme heat compounded with the fact that I'm once again a "single parent" of a toddler has been quite a challenge for me lately. Jamie got home from Michigan in the middle of June and after a few busy, passing-too-quickly weeks, he left again to rotate at a different hospital in Detroit and then Chicago. Life without him around just isn't quite right. Sigh, I miss him.

So back to my craziness.... Here are a few snippets from life lately. This post is a self-indulgent pity fest, so feel free to stop reading now if you want to maintain your rosy outlook on life. Have I mentioned it's hot outside? It's been in the upper 90s/low 100s every day for a while now. This means that Marlee and I have been cooped up inside for much too long as it's too hot to let her play outside for more than a few minutes. We still go on little daily outings, which are great distractions, but when we get home, Marlee turns the whine factor on high. The only things that stop the whining are a continual source of snacks, or constantly holding her, letting her bounce on me, etc... Those things aren't necessarily bad, but I'm anti-childhood obesity, my arms quickly grow tired, and my bladder can't handle the stress of continual bounces (due to previously birthing a child and all). I try songs, dancing, toys, and games, but their effects are fleeting; so needless to say, Marlee spends a great deal of her day whining and tugging on my pants (I have the snot marks all over my legs to prove it). Does this make me a bad mother!?

I consider myself a fairly patient person, so normally, I can handle whining. However, when I'm tired I turn into Mr. Hyde (Jamie can verify this fact). For some reason, Marlee has been waking up screaming multiple times during the night since we moved apartments 2 weeks ago. Most nights it's 2-3 times, but a couple nights ago it was SIX times! I don't know if it's night terrors, teething, or what!? The one thing I do know is I'm oh-so-tired during the day, and therefore a little less enduring. Also, due to my own error and failure to turn in my availability on time, I haven't worked at all this week. I generally look forward to working a few hours each week and the needed break it provides, so I'm definitely feeling its absence.

Now please don't get me wrong. I love being a mother, and I love, love, love my Marlee. In fact, I just went to go check on my sleeping beauty, and as I watched her rest, I actually missed her and wanted to pick her up so I could cuddle her sleepy body. It's just that sometimes parenthood is HARD. It's not always peonies and butterflies. A lot of times it's full of slobber, boggies, messes, clashing wills, and days that just never seem to end. However, I know that one day I'll miss my whiny toddler with her runny nose, jack-o-lantern smile, perfect little Buddha belly, and slobbery kisses. And if history continues to repeat itself, those days of "missing" will be here sooner than I think.

That belly was MADE for raspberries!

And then there were two

Friday afternoon I sent lover boy packing. He loaded up his trusty rusty Acura and headed to Michigan for the next month to embark on his first Urology audition rotation. (For those not familiar with med school lingo, audition rotations are as they sound. During the end of 3rd/beginning of 4th year, med students do externships at different hospitals around the country in the specialty of their choosing and do their best to impress, hoping that they can land interviews in the fall, and subsequently "match" to a residency spot in the spring.) We've looked forward to and prepared for this day for a long time as it means we're getting closer to the light at the end of the tunnel, but it was still hard to say goodbye. It was a warm day, so as I watched Jamie pull away, my eyeballs began to sweat, which to some may have looked like I was tearing up a little, but I totally wasn't;) I will most certainly miss him and his jar-opening skills while he's gone.

It's a good thing I have this cute little girl to man the fort with me while he's gone. She's pretty good company. She doesn't mind if I spend the greater part of the day in lounge clothes or eat a form of breakfast food for practically every meal. Plus she's super helpful. She loves to help me unroll toilet paper rolls, take her shoes off after I put them on, develop my seeking skills after she hides the car keys, and increase my strength during our daily car-seat pin-down battles.

Between working, spending time at grandmas, church duties, a few little projects, and a continual supply of Diet Pepsi, the time should go quickly. I think the two of us will be just fine.