Picnics, Books, and Bad Attitudes

Yesterday was my birthday celebration picnic in the park, and it was so lovely--a significant improvement upon the gas station burrito on my actual birthday.  Jeff made chicken and veggie kabobs, Joseph and I made an amazing salad with strawberries, almonds, gorgonzola, and red onion with a balsamic & olive oil type dressing that makes eating salad more like eating, well--something way yummier.  (Yes, I am a bit prejudiced against "the salad" as a category.  It is one of my short comings as a grown woman.)  Tara made a beautiful trifle that I finished eating out of the beautiful trifle dish yesterday with a giant serving spoon.  That's pleasure.  

 
We waded in a little creek running through the park, played paddle ball, ate lots of food, drank some champagne to celebrate Tara and Jeff's recent engagement---What!  Yep!  Congratulations Tara and Jeff!  I am happy for you two and happy to see my sister in such a good place in her life.  Love is beautiful, isn't it?

~ 

Joseph just bought two boxes of books for school from a graduating med student.  He got a great deal on them which is terrific.  However, they are not even all of the books he will need.  Then he got many that aren't required, but will be very helpful.  So there they all sat, on our living room floor.  We are just looking at these books, both thinking the same thing.  So I said, "Go ahead, learn that stuff."  Seriously, we are just trying to fathom the amount of information he is going to have to absorb come August.  Open head.  Insert knowledge.  Perrin, being of stronger character than her parents, was not brought up short even for a moment.

We already had more books than bookshelf space, so to Home Depot we went.  As of today we have a brand new six foot long book shelf above our tv in the living room.  We now own riveting titles from, "The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics" to "Rapid Interpretation of EKGs."  Man, I can't wait to get into those.  This is me not being jealous of Joseph.

~

Last night Perrin woke at 11pm and wouldn't go back down without eating.  She has been having some random (but sadly increasingly regular) nighttime wake-ups for the last couple of weeks.  It is generally making me grumpy.  So when the cats started loudly begging for breakfast this morning at 5am, thus waking up Perrin, I was NOT NOT happy.  I hadn't even set my feet on the floor and I had already dropped the F bomb--"Those f!@#$%* cats...grumble, grumble, curse, curse..."  

I don't want to be that angry person.  Cursing at the cats before even getting out of bed for the day seems like a good--let's stop and take stock--moment for me.  Yes J and I have been varying degrees of sleep deprived for 10 months, but, PULL IT TOGETHER.  Anyone with advice on living with sleep deprivation and not turning into a complete A!@#$%^, let me know your best tips.  I really don't want to be that angry cranky person.

 

Amazing news!!

Last week we got the news we had been waiting and hoping for...Joseph got into Anschutz Medical school here in Denver!!!!!  This is thrilling for lots of reason, but mainly- we are going to med school at our top choice school, it is in the top 10 for pediatrics, which Joseph is interested in, and we get to stay in our lovely little home.  We are feeling so lucky right now, but I know it was not just luck.  Joseph worked so hard- getting up the will to go back to school, starting back at our local community college, working full-time and going to school full-time.  He earned this opportunity for sure.  I am really proud of him.  

 Now after all that work, he gets to do many more years of work!  But at least he knows now what the outcome will be, instead of just having the hope to drive him.  

Training to do something you are passionate about--that is it.  Of course he will have the double challenge of being a father & husband on top of school...  We have already been connected with a second year student with a family to give us information about what that experience is like, as well as practical things like insurance and childcare.  This guy wrote us back a full page email with lots of useful information--that ultimately is pretty discouraging.  He said that everyone he knew on campus with children had a spouse that worked.  This is because there is a federal limit on loans; so it sounds like my time as a stay-at-home parent is going to come to an end this summer.  I guess I have known that this would be necessary, but was sort of in denial about it.  Come August, it will truly be all three of us getting used to a new phase of life. 

Why are my parents so tired?  Today is great!

A couple of nights ago we lowered the level of Perrin's crib since she will be able to start pulling up on it soon.  Weeeeell, evidently that was a very upsetting thing for her.  She woke up at 2:30am very upset, then wouldn't go back down to sleep.  The following day she wouldn't nap, just laid in her crib complaining for the duration of both nap times.  Wow.  We were just beat and cranky most of the day.  But, the day was saved by...the installation of our new microwave!  Our old one had the decency to die the week we got our tax return money.  We actually installed it after Perrin went to bed; we were using the drill, making all sorts of noise but thankfully P decided she had come to terms with the level of her bed and slept right through it till 5:30 this morning.  Being moderately well rested and with the ability to reheat my coffee with the touch of one button, the day is a bit rosier today.