How We Have Been Enjoying the Holidays

 It has been a fun month.  I haven't posted in a while.  I don't really have a good excuse.  The weather here has been cold, really cold, with the wind making it too fricking cold.  Patrick hates it.  I get cold but not angry like he does.  I hate the heat.  Yesterday while we were out and about the temperature was 8 degrees.  I think that it feels more like Christmas with it being cold.  We have gotten some snow which was pretty while it lasted.  

 We have been listening to the Christmas radio station whenever we are driving.  Mikah can't get enough and I on the other hand have had enough.  It has been fun listening to him sing along.  He has a few of the classics memorized and sings them where ever we are.  I should have been smart and put him out front of the stores with a collection can while he belts out the songs.  People eat it up and stop what they are doing to listen to him (not because he is great at singing or anything, it is just pretty cute to see a 3 year old totally oblivious to everything singing away in La La Land).  

 Asher and Mikah bought each other gifts at Target's dollar section.  Mikah is stoked about his present and has been carrying it around.  They have been good at leaving the presents alone.  Or maybe they just haven't even noticed them (there are just two).  I am off to do laundry now.

 

Merry Christmas!!!!!!

  I can't believe that tomorrow is Christmas Eve. We are very excited and almost ready. This is the card I made this year and finally got printed and had them sent a few days ago.  

 Asher is quite the walker these days. He looks so cute walking around the house.  

 I think that I might have just heard someone knocking at my door.  Hhhhmmm... gotta go.

Bre's Home

She was discharged today around 3:30 pm. The boys and I were happy to have her with us. Let's hope they're as good for her in the days to come as they have been for me. This whole week, they haven't woken up before 8 am. We'll see. She hurts a little, but nothing requiring medication. She's sleeping now. I love her and hated seeing her in so much pain. Lessons learned: Anatomy came in useful after all! I knew what the doctors were talking about the whole time! Woo hoo. 8 more years or so and I'll be able to say that about almost any diagnosis. Also, I'm constantly amazed at how much can go wrong with our bodies, especially at no fault of our own! Finally, Radiology has jumped a few spots on my list of possible future careers. It took a CAT Scan to ID the inflamed pancreas... Anyway, she should be just fine from here on out (with regard to this pathology, at least). Hopefully no more hospitalizations until the kids can take care of themselves. The boys were so much fun this week. I wish I could stay at home every day! Have a good weekend, everyone.

BreAnne

I posted this on my blog yesterday, but figured more of you would be reading this one anyway, so here's what I wrote: Most readers know by know that Bre is in the hospital. But in case some details have been lost in translation, and in the interest of keeping everyone consistently up-to-date on her condition, I'll be posting some short notes on how she's doing. We went to the ER Sunday at around 6 p.m. while our wonderful friends David and Megan watched Micah and Asher (who ended up staying the night at their place while we stayed the night in the ER). Bre was diagnosed with pancreatitis, an inflammation of her pancreas. The doctors think the inflammation was caused by backed up pancreatic fluid as a result of an obstruction of her pancreatic duct, which was most likely obstructed by either remnants of gallstones in her common bile duct, or newly precipitated granules that have settled down into the hepatopancreatic ampulla, where the two ducts come together before they go into the duodenum, the short first section of the small intestine after the stomach. In any case, it was a pretty serious inflammation, but it's well under control now. Bre hasn't eaten since Sunday afternoon. They have her on a saline drip to hydrate her, and will be performing a short procedure tomorrow (11th) in which they will guide a small camera and cutting tool down to the opening of the duct into her intestine and cut it, effectively making it larger, allowing the obstruction to pass and pancreatic fluid to resume normal flow. She will (tentatively) be released on Thursday, although a Friday or Saturday release is very possible. The deciding factors are completely subsided pain and inflammation (i.e. not needing pain meds any more) and how well she tolerates food at that point. She spends the day resting and loves visits from the boys, who love visiting her. I miss not having her here, and I wish I could be there during the day (and night) to hang out, but I love having so much time with the boys. It's fun waking up with them, getting them ready for the day, eating with them, playing, and getting them in bed at the end of the day. But they miss their mommy, especially Micah, who keeps asking about her and saying we need to wait for her to eat, bathe, etc. It's sad. She's had a great team of doctors, nurses, and residents taking care of her and she really likes them. They seem to be managing her pain well and keeping her as comfortable as possible.

It Has Been Too Long

 I don't know where to begin because it really is fairly boring. Patrick finished anatomy and started ISP (refer to Patrick's blog for an explanation) November 27th. That was a wonderful day. No more being gone all day long. Now he is home every day by 5:30. It is so nice being able to eat dinner with him and hang out before the boys go to bed. Patrick loves school and has even met a little friend. Said friend's name is Dave. Dave is also doing ISP. Dave has a cool wife, Megan and a cute little boy, Harry. We have had some fun together the past few weeks. It is nice having people to talk with that are in the same place we are.  

 Halloween came and went. We were at the Muhlestein's hanging out and eating all sorts of good food. Crystal, Jordan, and Clara (Dave's brother, sister-in-law, and niece) were also there. Crystal made this really good pumpkin roll. I couldn't stop eating it. Micah and Asher looked adorable in their little puppy costumes. We took them trick-or-treating for a little while. They got quite the load for only going on one street. Every house we went to Micah never forgot to say thank you. What a polite little man. They were quite a hit at all of the houses. I am pretty sure that every one gave them extra candy because, and I quote, "They are so cute". We got to carve pumpkins too (courtesy of Dave and Megan). I have never carved a pumpkin before. Pathetic, I know. I enjoyed the experience immensely. What is also pathetic and well, quite sad is our children have also never carved pumpkins. Why might you ask? I have no idea, this year we kept telling Micah we were going to buy one and carve it or "kill it" like he says (he learned this from "The Great Pumpkin"). For some reason or another we never got around to it. Good thing our friends pulled through for us, thanks guys. Micah took over the job of passing out candy. He was a little slow for the older kids rushing from house to house, but he did a great job and had a lot of fun.   

 Asher took his first step October 28th. Oooohhhhh, that is what I said. It was that cute. He was proud of himself. He is sick of bottles and fights us to take them anymore. Something I am happy about. As I was trying to feed him the other night and I was becoming more and more annoyed at his protests, I realized that he is almost one year old and it wouldn't be the end of the world if he started on whole milk a few weeks early. I am giving it until he finishes off his last can of formula which we opened today.  

 Micah has been drawing a lot of cool pictures lately. He drew his first person a couple of months ago and then this week I found his first drawing of an airplane. I cried. I love finding all of the pictures he draws at the end of the day.  

Puppies

Tonight the boys got to wear their Halloween costumes to our ward party. It was a fun night. Patrick studied in a quiet house while we went. There were lots of cute kids. The boys costumes are nice and warm. It was a pretty brisk night for the trunk or treat. Asher and I handed out candy and Micah went with Emily and her Dad, Doug trick or treating. He got some good candy and had so much fun. Doug and his family live right by us and Micah loves to play with Emily and her two siblings, Joseph and Cecile. Here are a few pictures of our little puppies.

The New Do

                                                               

                                                                            Before:

                                                                              During:

                                                                              After:      

                                                                     

Finally, an Update

The weather here is beautiful. The leaves on all of the trees are orange and red. We have been spending a lot of time outside in our yard. A few nights/days it has been cold enough for the heater to be on. The boys look pretty cute in their winter hats. Micah has become a pro a riding his bike. Asher as well. For now he is just able to go backwards.

We got a few errands ran this afternoon so Patrick can have a good study day tomorrow. He spent last night giving the neighbor kids rides on his scooter. They were all sorts of giddy. Our neighborhood is full of kids. It has been fun for Micah.  

Asher is as happy as ever. He claps whenever he is feeling emotional, be that happy or sad. He has been standing on his own. 

I will end this post with some new pictures of the boys. 

Time Flies

My mom saved us and flew in last Saturday. It was fun having her here. We didn't tell the boys Oma was coming. On the drive to pick her up Micah fell asleep. She woke him whispering in his ear. It was so funny. He must have thought that he was dreaming. He was confused and oh so happy to see Oma. They both chatted her ear off the whole time she was here. 

My surgery went well on Tuesday. It was so nice not worrying about finding a babysitter to watch the boys at the butt crack of dawn (I had to be to the hospital at 6:15 am). I was home at around 2 that same day. She took good care of us. She cooked, cleaned, and entertained the boys the whole time she was here. Asher got really attached to her and would cry when she would leave the room.

Happy Birthday, PatE!

So, today Patrick turned 26. Micah helped me decorate a cake for him. It was fun. We used frosting pens to color it. Micah licked his clean every time he would draw or write something. He is at school until I have no idea. I am guessing that he will pop in early to see us. Here is to hoping that he does.

Biliary Colic

 Last Saturday I paid a visit (with my family) to the er. I had another fun gallstone attack. If you are not too familiar with the pain that comes with having gallstones, let me tell you that it is horrible. It takes your breathe away, you feel like you are quite possibly dying. The time of each gallstone attack varies, sometimes it will last for 20 minutes, other attacks last hours. It is hell. The good news is we are in America.

 While in Germany I had the treat of going to a german er with the same problem. After waiting hours or so and me almost dying, I was seen by a doctor and he gave me 3 prescriptions. He said that they should really help me. Who was he kidding? I found out after I filled them, days later, of course, that one was for acid reflux, one was for "pain" (it was some crap liquid homeopathic placebo, which never worked), and one was an anti-inflammatory. He said that it "could be gallstones". He sent me home, still in pain. I couldn't get any of the prescriptions filled because it was so late.

 I was so relieved when my latest attack happened because I knew that instead of taking a taxi to the er, my husband could drive us. The service was great. They got me in, took my vitals, got my history, and then not too long later I saw the doctor and he got the nurse to start my i.v. shortly after and they pumped me full of pain medication and anti-nausea medication, and then I was off to ultrasound. He then informed me that I indeed had many gallstones and I need to get my gallbladder removed. He referred me to a surgeon, and gave me a prescription for pain (smart guy).  

Road trip to KY

 I have some great parents. They (my Mom, Dad, and Step-Mom) are always thinking and 

worrying about us. They call us and check in on us. We know that they love us and support us. They are also really great grandparents. They never miss a holiday or a birthday. 

 One of the latest acts of coolness bestowed upon us was a Piaggio 50cc scooter (courtesy of my Dad). When My Dad and Jane were here helping us move in (they also drove Micah in our Passat here) they noticed that the city wasn't very bike friendly,and after much thought and Jane worrying about poor Pate getting potentially killed on a street bike making his way to school, they decided that they needed to get the Piaggio to Patrick. My Dad drove with Danny (his wonderful friend, who probably ended up driving my the whole way) from Joshua all the way to Bowling Green, KY. We, on the other hand only had about a 12 hour round trip drive. My Dad hooked us up (and when I say hooked us up, that really means spent his time and money) on a little trailer for our Passat.

 It was a nice little day trip. It was fun driving through new cities. It was also nice seeing my Dad again. We ate at Logan's Roadhouse and then made our way home. Micah got to go on a ride with Opa in the parking lot. He spent a lot of time riding on the scooters with him while visiting the farm. The boys did well on the road trip. We hope it is the last one for a long time.

 Needless to say, the scooter has been great for us. No more early mornings for the boys and I to take Pate to school. It gets great gas mileage too, 70-100 mpg! Another perk of driving a scooter is the parking he gets at school. It is right across the street from the medical school. Oh, and a parking permit is only $15.00 (for the whole year)!

The White Coat Ceremony (August 11)

Some faculty gave a few short speeches and then they all of the med students lined up and when their name was called they made their way to the faculty and put on their white coat.  It is quite funny because it really just means "I just spent $50,000 so that you throw a ceremony to give me a white coat that I will wear in a couple of years to get puked and crapped on". Notice that they are short, real doctors wear long white coats. He will get one of those in four years. It was a neat night and Graeter's ice cream hosted the social afterwards (really good, and it is made in Ohio).

The Big 4

Today is our wedding anniversary! We have had the best adventures together. In the past four years, we have lived in 10 different places, we have visited 4 countries, have had 7 of our own apartments, have owned three different cars, have had two cute boys, lived abroad for a year, have traveled to 25 U.S. states, have owned 5 laptops, sold our first car, got Patrick through undergrad, started medical school, we have eaten a lot of ice cream (probably too much), and we have laughed every day. The time has flown. I love being married to Patrick. He is an amazing dad and husband. I am the luckiest.

We Are Back

After much traveling we finally arrived in beautiful Columbus. We have had enough of packing, moving, and traveling. We love it here. It felt like home as soon as we pulled in our driveway. 

Our townhouse is perfect and we have lots of space. We have everything unpacked and organized. The boys love their play room downstairs. 

Patrick is at his third day of school. He loves it. It is much more interesting to hear about than physics. There are all sorts of families with kids attending with him. We got to get to know a lot of them last week during orientation.  

Asher cut his second tooth yesterday. He is so freaking cute. He and Micah are having fun wrestling with each other. They have fun chasing each other around.  

That is about it for the time being. I will post some new pictures as soon as I feel like it.

Going Offline

 I'm almost there! Tomorrow I fly into SLC. Since I need to send our wireless router back to our internet service provider, I won't have any (or at least very limited) contact with any of you until I get to Salt Lake. Then I'll have a cell phone and I can call anyone with AT&T as much as I want. I'll be calling Bre mostly. I'll be staying at Clint's, getting my driver's license, then loading up the truck and heading out. We'll start posting once our internet is up and going in Columbus! Bis dann.

My new blog

 I finally did it.  I've made my own blog.  I did it mostly to have a place for my own rants and thoughts without distracting from updates on the boys, life in general, etc.  I'll still have plenty of pictures of the boys, BreAnne, and our activities as a family, but it will also be a resource for pre-meds, other medical students, and hopefully a sort of open forum for discussion on issues large and small.  I haven't posted anything yet, but check it out if you would like.  Until then, I am officially stopping any non family-related posts on this blog (so no more random Batman and Beck posts, you'll have to visit my new blog for that).  If you just want to know what we're up to as a family, you can stick to this blog for the most part, with occasional excursions to the other one.  I have the same links to our friends and family on my blog, and mostly the same links as I've had here, too, with a few extra ones.  It will be open, so you won't need to be an invited reader for that blog.  I'll see some of you really soon!  I'm excited.  Oh, here's the new blog's address:

  http://ellsworth-patrick.blogspot.com

I love my boys!

 I talked to my boys on Skype and I decided that it's basically necessary for me to dedicate a post to them now.  Asher has made a lot of progress in the short time they've been away.  In the last 17 days, he has gotten a new (his first) tooth, started saying "Mama" to BreAnne (I saw it on the computer and thought it was so cute!), and (finally) started crawling.  Mikah was giddy to see me and started laughing when he saw me and told me how excited he was to watch Herbie, which he hasn't watched in a while.  His English seems to be getting very good, although I'm not the best judge since I still just speak German with him.  

 I can't wait to hold you boys again!!  See you in a week and a half!

Graduation?

 This post is just to thank you for your congratulations on my graduation (assuming my application is accepted).  I won't actually have a diploma for some time, but finished is finished.  Five years down, 7 to 13 to go (hopefully something like 8...).

Beck is back!

 Most of our blog's faithful readers know that I'm not one to play favorites, but that I just tend to feel more strongly about a small sampling of books, bands, movies, etc. than others.  With that said, Beck is, and has been for some time, quite possibly my favorite artist.  Before you go calling Beck a band, he only plays with one when he has to (on stage, etc.), so I consider him as much a solo artist as anyone.  Referring to Beck as a band is like referring to Johnny Cash as a band.  He had one, and mostly the same two guys on bass and drums for a good part of his career, but the music was his.  Why am I going to the trouble of detailing my love of Beck (i.e. his music)?  Because he just released another album.  

 Today I was bored and decided to see what my favorite bands, artists, writers, and other people are up to.  When I googled Beck, I was completely surprised to find that he released Modern Guilt last week.  So, I excitedly got my hands on a copy and listened to it.  I love it.  The Information was a solid album by any standard, but after Sea Change and Guero, it left me somewhat disappointed (yes, to any of you other Beck fans, I loved Guero).  Modern Guilt is a somewhat darker, more mildly depressing album than his last two releases.  Not depressing in the Sea Change I-just-ended-a-relationship-and-can't-think-of-anything-to-do-except-write-really-good-songs-about-it sense, but rather in a germane, reflective, collectively introspective sort of way.  I was impressed with the album overall and would recommend it to anyone, fan or not.  The first few tracks and the last two are some of my favorites on the album, with Orphans and Chemtrails standing out as some of his best songs from any album, in my opinion.  Walls and Volcano were also very good tracks.  

 Great, so, that alleviated some of my loneliness, but it's a short album, so I had to make a post about it to fill up a little more of my day.  If anyone has any other recommendations, post a comment so I have something to do other than clean, eat, and anticipate my journey home.