My Public Service Announcement

I posted this on my other blog, so if you read both, sorry for the repeat, but I really think it is important.

I had a very little adventure today and I wanted to share it with all of you. I called Poison Control.As a Pediatrician, I've called them countless times. It was our policy to call with any intoxication or envenomation. I actually called three separate times for the same dumb teenager who liked to hunt rattle snakes. But this is the first time I've had to call as the Mommy. Myra got into some Silica Gel. It's that stuff in the little packets that they put in shoe boxes with "DO NOT EAT!" printed all over it. Fortunately, it is non toxic and biologically inert (which means that I don't have to worry and she'll have interesting diapers tomorrow.), but it could have been worse.

So, my plea to you - if you don't already have it memorized, please memorize the number to Poison Control. Ready, say it with me. 1-800-222-1222. See, easy! And that number works anywhere in the USA. I'm sure they would be happy to help international callers, too. They are unbelievably nice. Now write it down near the phone, so that when you are freaking out about what your kid (or dog or hubby or friend) just ate, you'll be ready.

I'm really, really tired of the heat

And I'm also tired of living 1500 miles away from my family.

After a 1 week vacation, my folks left today, Heather to California, my parents to Palatka, Florida. Opposite sides of the country. It was great to have them here, and great to see that Logan was able to interact with my half of the grandparent set. I think all involved loved it.

Hard to see them go, however, knowing that it will be months at best before they can return. Once I have finished my fellowship I have hopes of gathering all the family together to within some reasonable distance. Katie's family is incrementally moving to Seattle, and somewhere in the Pacific Northwest may be a good spot.

Also, we are suffering through record temps here in Temple. 102, yesterday, projected to get to 105 today, with heat index greater than 110. In fact, it is so hot that not only can I not go outside, but I really can't tolerate being in the garage for long. And when the garage, which is "my space" in which I have all my personal hobbies/projects arranged, is off-limits then I go a little crazy. I have a long list of stuff I want to do, and can do NONE OF IT.

This is way hotter than Houston. Granted, Houston stayed in the 90s, but rarely cracked 100. Perhaps this is why:


Temple is in the Texas desert. Little rain, lots of heat. Houston was moderated by the costal climate, so it never got as hot (nor as cold).

Let's compare, for example, the Portland, Oregon area:


Or the Seattle, Washington area:


A study in contrasts, don't you think? Now I'm cheating, of course, because both these pictures are of mountains some 1-2 hours drive from the respective cities. Where we are, a 2 hour drive means...you are still in Texas, and it's still HOT.

Turns out that the average HIGH temps for Seattle and Portland are nearly identical to the average LOW temps for Temple. And frankly, my ideal temperature for outdoor fun is about 55-65 degrees. A good fraction of the year is that temperature at some point of the day in the Northwest, whereas here that time of year may be best measured in seconds.

We're leaving. It won't be for at least 2 years, maybe longer. But we are leaving. And we are going to either the Pacific Northwest or something so similar that I can't tell the difference. And there will be mountains. Mountains sing to me. They pull me towards them, and up them. And now that I may have some options in selecting where I will live, I will no longer live without them.

Hello Yellow 'copter!

Look what we got to see on Wednesday!Mitch met the owners of one of the StatAir air ambulance services one night in the ICU, and told them now much Logan enjoys seeing their chopper landing on the Scott & White helipad. So, they invited us up for a tour!! As you can see, Logan was over the moon.This is Vanessa. She is one of the nurses who takes care of the patients while in flight. Pretty awesome job. She was so nice and showed us the helicopter and let Logan climb all over the place. Thank you, Vanessa!
Myra thought it was OK, but I think she was glad when it was over and she could get out of the heat. It was over 100 degrees that day. Whew!
Logan and Mitch contemplate the 'copter.
Logan in the patient care area. Not very big!
We had so much fun!! Logan was sad to leave.

Father's Day

It's pretty awesome to be a dad.

I delayed having kids for a long time because I felt that they would destroy the "me me me" lifestyle I enjoyed. Well, I was right, but there's nothing like being a dad. Nothing like having your kids faces light up when you come home. Nothing like "Love you daddy" and a big hug from your little boy. Nothing like "Da Da Da!" from your little girl. It's worth darn near everything to me.

I was looking forward to my traditional father's day tie, and Katie did not disappoint, although I have heard that these ties are becoming more difficult to find. While they are here, though, I love them! I'm planning on wearing one during my Plum/CC interviews, and if folks don't like them, the program is off the list.

We also welcomed my folks from Florida, introduced my dad to his granddaughter, and ate the traditional Deshazer Sunday afternoon Breakfast, which today was bacon, eggs, and biscuts. I ate way too much, which is not surprising with the quality of food, and enjoyed it all.

Lastly a big thank you to my wonderful wife. What would I be without her? Shriveled up inside, methinks. iLy, Katie.

Father's Day!

I won't tell you all about our Father's Day - I'll leave that to Mitch, but here are a few pics of the kids that went in to Mitch's Father's Day gift.This one was featured on his card.
And this one on a tie I had printed.

The picture tie has become a tradition with us. I started it with Mitch's first Father's Day, thinking it would be just a cheesy thing he would laugh at and put away - never to wear. What a surprise when not only did he wear it, but all the time! And got compliments on it constantly! So, for his second Father's Day, he didn't even hint, just told me that he was really hoping for an updated tie. This year I had already ordered it before he said anything. I also got the kids both dressed in I Love Daddy tee shirts. I bought Myra's, but made Logan's myself. The kids were very cute, as you can see.

Yum!

Logan got to pick treats for Family Home Evening yesterday, so naturally, we had "green" ice cream. Mint chocolate chip for those who do not speak Logan. It is his favorite. Apparently, Myra likes it too.Our activity was bathtime.

TWA: A Perfect Summer Day

This is my assignment for this week at The Dressing Room. This week we are blogging about our idea of the perfect summer day.

What is your idea of a perfect summer day? In my mind a perfect summer day would be warm, but not too hot, around 80 is just about right. I like a little sun, but some cloud cover too, so that it isn't oppressive. Lots of cool breezes and plenty of greenery blowing in them complete the picture for me.

What do you enjoy doing on those days? Absolutely nothing! I like to just hang out outside with my hubby and the kids playing in the yard. An afternoon BBQ would end the day perfectly.

Is this the norm for summer days in your area of the world? No, but it is the norm for the spring, so I take what I can get. Texas summers are hot and dry. No clouds, no green. These pictures are mostly from the spring!

Sharing

Logan is such a sweet, thoughtful brother. He knows how much Myra loves pudding pops, so when he was done with his, he gave it to her.I was in the kitchen at the time. She managed to soil quite a bit of carpet before I caught on... This is the "after" picture. After I moved her onto the tile floor in the kitchen, that is. I let her finish her pop though. I mean, the damage was done!

Loves me some ICU

I've finished my last night float in the ICU, and I'm already missing it. Mostly because my circadian clock is flipped and I can't sleep. But also because it's the most fun I have in my residency. I get to do exactly what I love to do, with little to no interference. Admittedly it's rough on the family, and I really hate leaving the house and saying goodbye to Katie and the kids. Logan, in particular, seems to have a rough go when I'm on nights. But frankly I hate saying goodbye when I am on days, and by comparison the rest of my rotations are a little like sanding my eyeballs out. At least I enjoy the nights.

Lots of great cases, rare stuff, people sick as stink, dying right in front of your eyes, their survival dependent on your actions over the next few minutes. There are several patients that would clearly be dead had I not done what I did on nights. That aspect of knowing what to do, and having the courage to do it, is characteristic of all doctors but particularly important in certain fields; ER, ICU, trauma surgeon come to mind. I love that aspect of the ICU--I am one of the few medicine docs I know that actively enjoy chaotic and high pressure situations.

There's also a lot of heartache, as it's really difficult to sit down with a family you have just met, gain their trust, and then tell them that their loved one is dying and there is nothing we can do to prevent it. That may be my favorite part of the job, however, because I'm good at it. The Grim Reaper and I are old friends, and speaking of his coming is not quite as scary to me as it is to most docs. I take special joy in helping families get through that part of life called death. It's one of the reasons I thought hard about oncology before settling on critical care.

So now it's on to med consults, which is probably the worst rotation for me outside of the CIMR outpatient month. I hate being ortho's whore. But in the words of Dr. Eric Prime Walker, "You can hurt me, but you can't stop the clock."

8 Years

Mitch and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary today. He was so sweet! He is working nights in the ICU right now, so we aren't seeing much of each other, and he is pretty wiped out all the time, but he took the time in the morning to stop and pick up flowers and breakfast. He brought me Shipley's doughnuts. Yum! All my favorite flavors!

Myra liked the Death by Chocolate one, but she only got a few bites. That baby was mine!

Then just after dinner as Mitch was getting ready to go to work, the UPS guy came and left THIS!Yay! Weekend sewing! I have seen some beautiful things made from this book out here in blogland, and I've really wanted it. I was so excited about it, I stayed up last night to read it, and made a pair of pants. You can check them out on the sewing blog.

Best 10 bucks ever spent!

It has been SOOO hot here already that I have had a hard time playing outside with the kids. Logan loves being outside, and I'd much rather that he run and play than watch Elmo for the 47th time. So, I decided to get a cheap pool, so that they could play in the water. Logan was all over that! He jumped right in! Myra wasn't so sure about it, but I think that may have been in part because Logan was a bit boisterous.

She preferred to hang out poolside.

Logan splashed and played to his heart's content.

And, of course, drank from the hose. All kids drink from the hose... gross

Thanks you!

Logan just said "Thank you." spontaneously, appropriately and with no prompting from me. This is a first. I guess he really appreciates pudding pops!Of course, he followed it up with a kick to Myra's chest, which resulted in a time out. Back to normal...

Duckies!

While we've lived in Temple for 2 years, and I've even taken Logan to this park several times, we finally made our first visit to the duck pond at Miller Park.

Logan wasn't so sure of it at first. Those geese were pretty aggressive! And loud! I brought some crackers to feed them, which Logan thought was cool. He's all for anything that involves throwing.

This bold gander even ate directly from my hand, but Logan wasn't up to trying that.

He loved watching them swim, and throwing crackers into the water. Splash!

On our way out there was a photo op I couldn't miss.
And while Myra slept through the duckies, she was still up for a post-park Dreamsicle. Yum!

Example

Logan has been teaching us lately about the powerful influence of example. He is quite verbal these days, and the influences from all around him are sometimes embarrassingly clear. Some choice phrases from the mouths of babes (or this babe, anyway)
"Daddy, I'm soooo cute!"
"Stupid Cat!"
"Go, man!" (usually said while driving to the vehicle in front of us)
"Shoo!" (accompanied by a kicking movement in the direction of the cat)
"Hello, Princess!" (to Myra)
"Silly Logan!"
"Speed, I am Speed." (from Disney's Cars movie)
"Try again."

"Is that so?"
"Go to your bed right now!"
"Thank you so much!"
"Whatcha got there, Logan?"
"OK, OK, OK!"
and my favorite from today - "Thank you for shopping at Walmart."

Bubba

Myra LOVES her brother and fortunately, the feeling is generally mutual. They play well together most of the time and he generally will include her in games. She always wants to do whatever it is that he is doing. So, it is no real surprise that her 4th actual word is "Bubba", which for those lacking a Southern heritage is redneck for brother. That's my girl.