Sunday, June 12, 2011

One Week Down, Seven To Go

Only four classes this summer.  Clinical Medicine, Epidemiology/Statistics, Human Behavior, and Genetics/Immunology.  Despite starting Genetics before school started and having no class Friday, I still find myself struggling to keep up.  There is A LOT of reading this semester.  And while I devoured books as a teenager, it is not something that comes easily to me anymore.  I'm not sure if my attention span is lacking or if I need to visit the eye doctor or a combination of both.

This semester I will have two presentations to give.  We were told to select our topics by the end of the first week.  No pressure.  I'll be doing a Genetics presentation on the genetic variations of monozygotic twins.  Should be fascinating to try to get to the bottom of how it's possible for Amelia to have a little birthmark on her right hip while Julia doesn't.  My other presentation will focus on maternal and fetal safety of cesarean sections versus vaginal delivery, or something like that.  I haven't quite nailed it down yet.  While part of me wants to sigh in exasperation at the amount of work I will be doing over the next seven weeks, another part of me that ADORES research is thrilled.  (If anyone has a link to any research on either of these two topics that would be much appreciated)

Now if someone could just tell me how to be in two places at once over the next seven weeks so I can enjoy the Summer with my family AND study, I would be forever grateful.

Friday, June 3, 2011

My Summer Vacation

We got three weeks of Summer vacation from school.  Three glorious weeks.  Our longest break yet.  Last semester was rough - really rough.  So a vacation was most-certainly needed.  And boy was it eventful.

Our first week off, the girls and I hosted a tea party for some of the ladies of my family.  We dressed up and invited my grandma, my mom, my sister-in-law and my two nieces over for cupcakes and "tea" (apple cider).


The next week was our big trip to DisneyWorld.  We went about the same time last year, but this year we had a nicer hotel room much closer to Magic Kingdom.  The highlight of the trip for the girls was the pool and the character meet and greets.  Of course they still had their old favorites, Dumbo and the teacups and found a new favorite in Kali River Rapids at Animal Kingdom.  Amelia was really into the show in front of the castle.  She is still talking about how Maleficent tried to steal her dreams.



We got home last Sunday.  The plan for Memorial day was to take care of a few things around the house, do some grocery shopping, and take the kids to my parents' house for swimming and dinner.  We had an unexpected change of plans.

Jonathan was out mowing the yard when I decided to leave the girls watching Cinderella so I could take a shower.  Just before rinsing, I heard one of the girls crying.  I called for them a couple of times and no one came.  So I hopped out of the shower, threw a towel on, and ran off to look for the crying kid (thinking something horrible must have happened).  Amelia was still playing with her doll while watching Cinderella, but I heard Julia crying in her bathroom.  I darted in that direction and just as my still wet foot hit the tile of the entry and I was rounding the corner, my foot slid out from under me and my head hit the corner of the wall.  I sat down hard on the entry rug and just held my head for a few minutes until I realized my hand was getting warm.  Blood.

Amelia and I were both in our birthday suits (she had her princess dress taken away from her before my shower because hitting her sister was not very princess-like behavior), so I sent Julia in her leotard and tutu outside to get Jonathan.  After a mad dash of getting all four of us dressed and ready to go, we dropped the kids off with my parents and Jonathan and I headed to the ER since urgent care wasn't open due to the holiday.  Two staples by a very nice PA later and we were ready to resume our day.

So after all my years of ice skating and gymnastics, it wasn't until I had children that I injured myself severely enough to need a medical professional.  The good news is that Julia is fine.  We never found out why she was crying.  We also still made it to my parents house for dinner and I even had enough time to make the (amazing) pink lemonade cupcakes that I promised to bring.

The rest of this week has been less eventful (praise the Lord).  We picnicked at the park on Tuesday with a friend and her kids.  Wednesday we made it to story time at the library.  Today the girls will be spending some time with their aunt and I will be running errands and reading Genetics for my class on Tuesday.

Eight more weeks of classwork and then we begin rotations.

I'll leave you with a few pictures from one of our early days of vacation.  The girls' first time waterpainting and playing outside.

Amelia

Julia

I got to read Fiction over my break!