Finally...almost finished

I've had Christina's quilt for ages and finally over the break we finished up the last of it. I've always hand-stitched the final border, but since time was of the essence (I was heading back to PA and Stina to MN) mom put a blanket stitch on it.

Quilting Beginnings

My mom found the cutest dinosaur material and wanted to make a quilt with it, so I showed mom how to put together a "simple" baby patch quilt. I think it's adorable- I love the bright colors! Good job Mom- welcome to the world of patchwork quilting. :)

Happy Day

My sister Christina went through the temple for the first time on Saturday. It was a wonderful family event.

Christmas Meditation

I've been following a "12 Days of Christmas" scripture study my mom gave me and today the challenge is to write down your feelings about the Savior. I thought I would share what I was thinking about.
We had the Sister Missionaries over for dinner tonight and they talked to us about Enos and how he knew that God could not lie. It got me thinking about all of the blessings we've been promised and how they've been made possible by the atonement of our Savior. I know because they have been promised that they will actually occur if I am doing my part, and all of this is made possible because of Jesus Christ. It gives me such peace and reassurance that there is someone who loved me enough to suffer on my behalf and then provide the way for me to have the most amount of joy possible in this life and the next. I am truly grateful for Christ's atonement, His life (His perfect example) and His love.
This time of year always reminds me of the real reason why life is so wonderful and it warms my heart.

Blonde Review

Joel and I went to "Legally Blonde" the musical this past week as a sort of belated Anniversary gift to ourselves. I was a huge fan of the movie and had heard good things about the musical, so I was excited to see it. A lot of the same jokes were used, but Joel and I both felt they were trying a little too hard to be funny. At intermission we both thought it was ok, but nothing to be ecstatic about, but then came the UPS Man and the Cabana Pool Boy in the second act and I was in tears several times. They were hilarious!

• Little funny side note: Warner the III was played by none other than Jeff McClean (those of you familiar with Pop culture of Mormon music will know him as Michael McClean's son). I hadn't seen him since college. He's definitely grown up, but still slightly awkward on stage with the same gorgeous voice he had before.

Anyone else see the musical? Thoughts?

Last Interview

duPont Hospital for Children

Initial Thoughts:

Pros: Close to Thompson Grandparents & about same distance as now to Stuetz Grandparents. Complete electronic medical records. Only major children's hospital in Delaware. You get a very broad patient base with this program.

Cons: Not a big children's hospital and it competes with the Phillie hospitals. Housing is expensive and pretty much unaffordable for us. Not all that exciting. You have to commute into Philadelphia for several rotations.

Bottom Line: Meh.

Our current rankings:
1. Pitt
2. Nationwide
3. Rainbow Babies
4. Rochester
5. VCU
6. Syracuse
7. duPont
8. Penn State

Big Week

Tuesday Joel and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary, & on Wednesday Nathan turned 6 months old.  We celebrated by taking family pictures and taking a quasi-day trip to Pittsburgh to check out the lay of the land.  The pictures went great- Nathan smiled and giggled the whole time.  The travel to Pittsburgh Tuesday night also went well.  Nathan slept for the majority of the trip.  However, the stay at the Days Inn was not so great.  Nathan wouldn't go to sleep and then when he finally did he ended up waking up about every hour or two - all night long.  Don't be fooled by the innocent smile on his face........it was a long night.  We've decided he needs his own bed as much as possible, so it's going to be only day-trips for a while.
Secondly: Now I realize that Days Inn isn't exactly luxury accommodations, but when someone says Continental breakfast, what do you think of?  We went downstairs and took one look at what I believe were mini-muffins and fruit loops and headed straight to Denny's for breakfast.  I'm not usually much of a Denny's fan, but it was heaven compared to the "Continental" offerings at the hotel. :)

Happy Turkey Day!

Reasons why Thanksgiving with the Thompsons rocks: (not all inclusive- merely giving a few examples)

1. Great company
2. Great conversation
3. Great Food (yes, I love my Food Network quality eating- take a look at that beautifully-brined turkey)
4. Great times
What more could you ask for?

Interview #8

Penn State

Initial Thoughts:

Pros: Super close to Thompson Grandparents It's a known quantity- he knows the faculty, the facilities & residents, so the adjustment would be minimal.  New children's hospital has been approved to be built.

Cons: Facilities are sub-par.  ER rotation is two hours away.  Shopping is far and housing is expensive.  Joel really wants out of central PA.

Bottom Line: We would prefer not to match here.

Our current rankings:
1. Pitt
2. Nationwide
3. Rochester
4. Rainbow Babies
5. VCU
6. Syracuse
7. Penn State

Note:  We have eliminated Akron from the rank list as Joel REALLY doesn't want to go there at all.  We would rather scramble than go there.

And the winner is...

So, after discussing Pittsburgh vs Columbus, we decided to rank Pittsburgh #1.  Every time Joel talked about Pitt he would light up and get so excited.  I finally said......."Why are we still debating this when it's obvious how much you loved Pitt?"  And in classic Joel form - he says with a sheepish grin, "I like Pitt."  Who knows, we may end up matching at Ohio State anyway, but Pittsburgh as of now is getting ranked #1.  I mean, just look at that Children's Hospital (yes, all of that is a Children's Hospital).

Interview #7

Well, we've come to the end of the week long road-trip of interviews.  Only 2 more interviews to go........

Rochester, NY Children's Hospital

Initial Thoughts:

Pros: GEOGRAPHY- an hour from Stuetz Grandparents, next to the Palmyra Temple, home of Wegmans!, affordable place to live, fabulous schools.  Solid program with high passage rate.  The residents all love the program and the location.
Cons: The facilities are a lot older and the records aren't completely electronic.  It also doesn't have the patient flow that the bigger programs have.  5 1/2 hours from Thompson Grandparents.

Bottom Line: We would be fine with matching there.

Our current rankings: (tie breaker TBD)
1. Pitt
1. Nationwide
3. Rochester
4. Rainbow Babies
5. VCU
6. Syracuse
9. Akron (no, the #'s not a typo) :)

Interview #6

Nationwide Children's Hospital (Ohio State)

Initial Thoughts:

Pros: PECS and RISI programs are huge positives (programs to go out in the schools & practicing in a private practice).  The residents are really happy - they love both the program and the city.   There's a temple in Columbus.  The city is affordable.  Even though the hospital is older it's still a very nice facility (a new facility currently being built).  Offers great benefits (sick days, they move you, insurance is good).  Complete electronic records.

Cons: Geography- far from family (7 1/2 hours from Stuetz Grandparents & 6 from Thompson).  Facilities are below Pitt and Rainbow in terms of niceness.

Bottom Line: Loved it there!

Our current rankings: (tie breaker TBD)
1. Pitt
1. Nationwide
3. Rainbow Babies
4. VCU
5. Syracuse
6. Akron

Interview #5

Akron Children's Hospital

Initial Thoughts:

Pros: It's a nice children's hospital.  The residents really enjoy it there.  There's a new program director that seems to be changing things for the better.

Cons: Passage rate for Peds boards is only in the 50th percentile (ouch).   Serious NICU cases get sent to other hospitals.  Lack o' Culture in Akron (that's my way of saying there's not much in way of the arts).  They don't tend to draw the strongest of candidates.  Poor electronic records.  5 hours to both sets of grandparents.

Bottom Line: Ehhhh- let's just say we'd rather not end up there.
Our current rankings:
1. Pitt
2. Rainbow Babies
3. VCU
4. Syracuse
5. Akron

Interview #4

Cleveland Rainbow Babies

Initial Thoughts:

Pros: Beautiful hospital that offers a lot of specialties.  The residents are all really happy.  The faculty is really involved with the residents.  Cleveland is an inexpensive city to live in. 

Cons: 5 hours to both Grandparents.  Old electronic system - mediocre.  Emergency room is tiny and not the greatest.

Bottom Line: A great program that Joel would be happy with if he matched there.

Our current rankings:
1. Pitt
2. Rainbow Babies
3. VCU
4. Syracuse

Happy Day

Today Joel and I went to the Palmyra Temple.  We hadn't been back since our wedding day.  It brought back a flood of memories.  I was just reminded how much I love my husband and how wonderful it has been sharing our life journey together (so far).  I wouldn't want to do it with anyone else.
When we walked out of the temple there was a couple getting their wedding pictures taken and it just made me smile.
(November is a good month to get married)

Interview #3

Syracuse Children's Hospital 

Initial Thoughts:

Pros: We love the area (Weggie's anyone?) and the housing is really affordable.  It's basically in the backyard of the Stuetz Grandparents (although my dad claims that could also be seen as a con) :)  An innovative, flexible curriculum with an education expert on staff.

Cons: Residents were unhappy or talked negatively about the program (unprompted).  It's not entirely electronic, similar to Hershey.  There are barely any fellows, and the program did not know how to sell itself well.  It did not come across as a very good program.  5 hours to the Thompson Grandparents.

Bottom Line: The program was underwhelming and Joel was not impressed.

Our current rankings:
1. Pitt
2. VCU
3. Syracuse

Interview #2

Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
 

Initial Thoughts:

Pros: Joel's impressed with the city; it's inexpensive to live in & family-friendly.  In Joel's words "the hospital is GORGEOUS inside & out." (state of the art with pristine facilities & free-standing peds hospital).  Even the hospital is family oriented (ex. fold out beds for parents in in-patient rooms & dedicated children's library). It has complete electronic records, residents all seemed nice and appeared to love it there.  Faculty has an interest in education; close relationships with the residents (most on first name basis).  Only 3 1/2 hours away from Thompson Grandparents.

Cons: Geography- Still in Pennsylvania (Joel kind of wanted out) & lots of Steelers fans. :) It's 5 1/2 hours away from Stuetz Grandparents. Thruway fare is over $13 each way to visit Thompson Grandparents (that adds up).

Bottom Line: Joel was shocked at how much he loved it and would love to match there.

Our current rankings:
1. Pitt
2. VCU

Interview #1

I've decided to chronicle Joel's experiences as he interviews. If this bores you, feel free to skip these posts. :)
Today was his first interview: VCU in Richmond, VA. It was kind of fun for him to return to his previous stomping grounds from when he was at University of Richmond for undergrad.

Initial Thoughts:

Pros: Joel LOVES Richmond, a very nice facility (really nice PICU & NICU), complete electronic records, residents all seemed nice and appeared to enjoy it there, they appear to have lives outside of residency as well

Cons: Geography- 4 hours away from Thompson Grandparents & 9 hours away from Stuetz Grandparents. (That's too far for a weekend trip home to Syracuse) & it's slightly more expensive to live there (although the foreclosure rate is on the higher side, so we might be able to find something).

Bottom Line: Joel walked away really liking it and would be happy if he ended up matching there.

Residency Process

Prior to meeting Joel the world of medicine was very foreign to me. In fact, I rarely if ever even went to a doctor- school physicals were just about it. The process of applying for residency is another one of those mysteries of medicine. I get asked a lot how it works, so I thought I would take a minute to explain its inner workings.
Ok, so you have 4 years of medical school. The last 2 years of medical school you rotate through many areas/specialties- this gives you the chance to experience tons and get an idea for what you are interested in specializing. In the case of Joel- he's known he's wanted to do Pediatrics since before medical school started. He's just been playing around with what specialty within pediatrics.
At the beginning of 4th year (this past summer) we started making lists of where he wanted to apply for residency. The decision of how many places to apply to is somewhat of an art as well. It depends on how marketable you think you are and what type of places you're applying to (if your specialty is extremely competitive & the ranking of top schools). Some people can apply to over 50 places. We're lucky because Joel did really well on Step 1 & 2 of his Boards, and had high grades. Pediatrics is also not a very competitive specialty (Dermatology being one of the most competitive). We were looking at applying to about 15 places, but his adviser told him 11 would be enough. We went with 13 to be a little more on the safe side. (I've heard too many horror stories of not matching).
The application is due Nov. 1st, but you really want it in by September because they start interviewing early. Your goal is to hear from about half to two-thirds of the schools requesting an interview with them. We were incredibly blessed to hear back from all 13 of our schools, but will probably choose not to interview at all of them.
Now the fun part begins- you go to each of the interviews and see which places fits you. You interview, meet the other residents and tour the facilities. After all the interviews you rank all of the schools in order of where you would prefer to go - #1 being your first choice. The schools also rank all of the students they interviewed.
This is where the magic and a little bit of voodoo occurs. It all goes in a computer and it tries to match up everyone with their highest rankings to the school's highest rankings. On the 3rd Wednesday in March ("Match Day") everyone assembles and opens a letter that informs them where they'll be going for residency. It's quite the event.
It is possible to not match and then you have to scramble and find any openings there are - they may not even be in your specialty. I'm hoping to avoid that step.
Now you understand when I mean it's a long, complicated process. If you want to further specialize then you have to go through a similar process for a fellowship. So, after this year we're looking at 3 years of residency and then a possible 3 more years of a fellowship.

Chocolate Death

I'm in charge of the treat for Young Women's in church today. I went with a chocolate lovers paradise- if this looks gross to you then you probably prefer fruity things to chocolate things (like Joel). It's quite simple: Brownie Mix, M & M's, Snickers on one half and 3 Musketeers on the other with 2 layers of melted chocolate chips. They're called Goblin Bars- probably because they will take away your soul - or at least cause a serious sugar rush.

Bragging Rights

I figure if I'm not allowed to brag about my husband, who is? Joel just received interview request #12 & #13 which means that ALL 13 schools he applied to asked him for an interview. This includes the #1 pediatric hospital in the country (CHOP- in Phillie). I don't think he actually wants to go there, but it's fun just to see if you can get an interview, and he did!! I'm so proud of him- what a smarty pants!

Germies

I don't consider myself much of a germ-a-phobe, but when our principal gave us the fabulous news that 5 kids had been sent home with the Swine Flu I began to be keenly aware of the germ situation. During chorus a kid on the top riser sneezed (mouth open wide) down onto the 4 risers below him- the sneeze was visible if you know what I mean and all I could think of was - "Where is my hand sanitizer? I need to drench myself in it."

In Memory of Ruth Slovacek

August 1982 (Joel & sisters with Grandma Slovacek)

4 Generations

Last night Nathan met his great-grandma Slovacek for the first and most likely last time. As we sat there with four generations in the nursing home I couldn't help but think about one life just beginning as another was ending. Joel's grandma is slipping away. She's been suffering from Alzheimer's for quite a few years and this past week she fell and broke her hip. You could argue that she's been gone for a long time and that her body is finally being put to rest. Her moments on this earth can now be measured in days and possibly hours.
Since last night I have been pondering about the topic of death. It sounds morbid, but there is something so mysterious and complex about death and yet it is so simple at the same time. When someone dies that we love or have known there is always a sense of loss. Even when we don't know them personally, stories of people losing their life touch us. We focus on it a lot- if you watch the news there are always stories detailing a natural disaster or accident, and the number of lives lost are always listed as almost a measure of the significance of the event. When someone else dies it reminds us of our own mortality and how quickly we can lose it. It makes us (hopefully) want to make our time here on earth more meaningful and live it to the fullest. It reminds us of how much we love those around us. I felt the same way when my Grammy Stuetz died when I was a Freshman in high school.
In cases such as Grandma Slovacek & Grammy Stuetz it's kind of an odd feeling to want them to die quickly without pain and yet still be holding on. You know that it is for the best and wish them well, but somehow their missing presence leaves a vacancy in your life. I think that the knowledge that they are going to a better place to be with their family that has already passed on makes the sense of loss not only manageable but a calming, peaceful reassurance.
I was listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing "Come, Come Ye Saints" today in conference and because of these previous meditations the last verse really touched me:

And Should we die before our journey ends, Happy day! All is well!
We then are free from toil and sorrow, too; With the just we shall dwell!
But if our lives are spared again to see the Saints their rest obtain,
Oh, how we'll make this chorus swell- All is well! All is well!

#11

Joel just scheduled with school #11- Ohio State! This is in Joel's top 4 choices, so we're pumped about this one. He's pretty much going to be gone for a huge chunk of November interviewing, but then he'll have most of December and January just to enjoy himself with little Nathan.

Sleep Deprivation

After what felt like the zillionth time Nathan woke up last night (I actually lost count at some point)- I began to contemplate the evasiveness of sleep. I'm always tired. It's been so long since I've felt well-rested that I don't honestly remember what it feels like. I started thinking about it and for one reason or another I'm always running a deficit in the sleep column. I've been pondering just how amazing our bodies are that they can deal with such things.
Because I'm slightly sick and twisted, when I'm driving to work in the mornings and I feel like I've been run over by a semi, I chronicle my years of sleep deprivation.
I think I can trace it all back to Early Morning Seminary in high school. I was involved in too many activities with too few hours in the day. I would go on 4-5 hours of sleep a night and then usually sleep excessively on the weekends if possible. This extended to the college years- I pulled quite a few all-nighters trying to get assignments completed on time. Most of the time I simply went to bed too late and then had some required class early in the morning (one painful 7:30 am class comes to mind). The mission came along and that proved to be a new level of tired. By the end of my mission my body was giving out on me- I could fall asleep anywhere at any time. The spirit was willing but the flesh was weak. :) After undergrad I had 3 jobs at once and often found myself up talking to Britt for hours on end. We talked about anything and everything and yes, we were always tired. Then came Grad School. The all-nighters started again - although I will say that it started getting harder to stay up all night the older I got. I did still sleep in most weekends when possible though.
I think it comes down to a key flaw: I've just never been good at going to bed early enough to match what time I needed to get up. I try but it rarely if ever occurs.
I started teaching school and I spent hours doing lesson plans, putting together materials, grading stuff - you name it and I was up late doing it for school. And then I got pregnant.......Sleep becomes that elusive thing people talk about but you're not quite so sure exists. I was teaching, doing the musical, taking 2 college courses, had 2 callings in church - all while I was growing larger and larger. I thought I had won the tired award, but sadly I was mistaken. I had Nathan and at about 2 or 3 weeks the word "exhausted" took on a whole new meaning. I argue that a couple weeks of sleeplessness could break the strongest of individuals. And there is no such thing as sleeping in on the weekends anymore. In fact, I'm convinced Nathan gets up earlier on purpose.
One could argue that I'm continuing this vicious cycle by staying up to write this instead of going to bed. I'm just truly impressed with our body's ability to endure and function with such little rejuvenation. On that note- I think I'll try to catch some zzzz's before the all too soon morning arrives or Nathan wakes up (I believe Nathan will be the winner of that one....several times- which is how I got started on this whole diatribe of mine to begin with). Good night- happy sleep to you all.

#8, 9 &10

I've fallen a little behind- this week has been killer in so many ways it's not even possible to delve into all of the tumultuous details (yes, I'm still in quite a dramatic- woe is me- mood). Anyway, enough sob stories- the point is that Joel got three more residency interview offers this week and I haven't gotten around to posting them.......
They are Akron (OH), Buffalo (NY) & St. Christopher's (Philadelphia, PA)

#6 & 7

Joel heard from Rochester (New York) and Dupont (Delaware) today!! These were his top 2 choices, so we're thrilled. He could go to these interviews and absolutely hate the programs, but for now things are looking good. We've now heard from a program in every state we've applied, so this is great! It looks like November is going to be a busy month.

Pirates Beware

Today is international "Talk like a Pirate Day." There is an online pirate name generator (you can find anything online these days). Joel's name is Bob the Pink. Apparently they know about Joel's masculine acting past. My name came out to be Kathryn the Engorged.....are you kidding me? How did they know about Nathan?! Nathan's was Isaac the Badly Burnt. This raises a few concerns for me as a mother, but I'm not sure where to begin with that one.
Anyway, Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day!! Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

#5

Joel was offered an interview today with Rainbow Babies Hospital in Cleveland, OH. We're still trying to figure out when to schedule this one. I think we may wait a couple days and see if we hear from some others first since it's not at the top of our interest list......... and so the maneuvering and strategies begin.

#3 & 4

Joel just scheduled his 3rd & 4th interviews- Syracuse &Penn State! This is getting to be fun! (Of course I say that because I'm not the one who has to interview)

Stina's Quilt-in-progress

Well, after a 6 to 3 vote (and Christina's approval of course) I put together the front of her quilt. She wanted something to wrap up in while watching TV- I think this is plenty big enough for that.

#2

Joel got his second interview request yesterday from VCU in Richmond, VA! Of course he's going to this one, because he loves Richmond so much.

Residency Interview Season has begun!

It's official- Joel got his first interview request today!! I thought we would be waiting a lot longer to hear back from residencies, but he's already heard from 2 schools. CHOP sent him a confirmation and said he'd be hearing from them probably by the end of September, and he set up an interview with Pitt for the first week of November!! YEA!!

Oh my GANGA! (aka- steal of a deal)

So we went to Kohl's to go shopping on Labor Day- Joel needed to get a suit that actually fit him for his residency interviews- and we came out serious winners! He found a suit he liked (I personally thought he looked quite hot in it, but that's just me). When the cashier rang up the normally $80 pants it said $8. I looked at it again and made a comment to Joel that I thought there must be some kind of mistake, so we asked the cashier to make sure the price was right. I don't want to pay extra, but that seemed a little too good to be true. Well, it turns out that it was red-tagged clearance, but was never marked so it WAS $8. We then had a 15% off coupon, so Joel's suit pants cost a total of.....wait for it..........$6.80!!!!!!!! (somebody check my math for me) With a price like that those are definitely the best looking pants I've ever come across!

Residency Time!

Joel officially applied for a Pediatric Residency today! We applied to 13 schools- 4 in Pennsylvania, 4 in Ohio, 3 in New York, 1 in Virginia & Delaware. Now we just have to wait for interview calls- probably starting in November. We're so excited it's ridiculous.

Baby Ethan's & Baby Nathan's Quilts:

These were my baby quilt projects before the little tykes came- Ethan is jungle themed and of course Joel wanted a baseball themed quilt for Nathan (only RED would do).
It's kind of fun that the cousins are only 3 weeks apart. They'll be partners in crime when they get older.

Christina's Quilt

So, Christina requested a quilt that has both her alma maters (BYU & University of Minnesota). As you can see the colors aren't exactly the same, so please vote below which pattern you prefer for the quilt (realizing that the pattern continues)

Welcome to the World of Blogging

Ok- so we've officially been sucked into the world of blogging....I know...I know- you can only fight it for so long, but you have to give in.