I have been thinking about starting a blog here for awhile, and since lately I can barely keep up around here, a blog seems like a good idea.....maybe it will force me to sit and reflect every so often. Going back to work in my chosen profession after 11 years at home has been a BIG change......I think keeping track of how this year goes will help me keep my sanity.

I have to start with a funny anecdote from the wonderful world of medicine, and then jump into a description of my life.....

DH was on call last night and around midnight found himself returning a page to a place called "The Wild Cherry"......a strip club. Apparently, a newly pregnant patient who works there had paged him and was complaining of being dizzy and light-headed. DH gave her appropriate instructions and got off the phone. This morning, as DH signed out to his partner, his partner said he should have told her to take it easy the next time she was on the pole! DH really has had quite a few patients who have worked as strippers early in their pregnancies, both here and when we were in TX. I guess they are trying to take advantage of the hormones......I know my "girls" never looked better than they did when I was first pregnant!

We went to Chicago this past Friday with our kids. We picked up my mother on the way up there, and my in-laws joined us at the hotel after they arrived from KS. We went to see the musical "Wicked" (second time for DH and I) and took our parents as birthday presents. DH and I had been wanting to take the boys for quite a while, too. It was great.....everyone enjoyed it very much. We saw a matinee on Saturday afternoon and then headed back home. My in-laws came back with us because they had some business meetings in Indianapolis early this week. I had attempted (with DH's help) to get the house to a respectable point of cleanliness before leaving on Friday, but it is none too clean, believe me. We spent Sunday after church just hanging out......well, everyone else hung out, read the paper, and watched football while I frantically did laundry!

Sunday night, as I was about to get in bed, I heard something under my bedside table (a cheapo round table that is covered by a cloth). I figured it was one of the cats.....they had been acting crazy all day, and I thought it was because we had been gone Friday night and all day Saturday. I absent-mindedly flipped the tablecloth and then went out of the room to get some clothes out of the dryer. Shortly afterwards, I heard DH calling me (quietly, so he wouldn't wake the boys) and laughing. My in-laws heard him too, and came downstairs to see what was up. Apparently, DH heard the noise by my side of the bed again after I left the room, so he went over and looked under my bedside table to make sure a cat wasn't stuck under there somehow. When he picked up the cloth, a CHIPMUNK launched past his head and started running around our bedroom and bathroom. NO WONDER the cats were stirred up! So at that point, the four of us (DH, me, MIL, and FIL) started working on catching the chipmunk. We eventually trapped him in the bathroom and then caught him inside a box. I would love to have video of all four of us crawling around my bathroom floor. We took the box outside and set Mr. Chipmunk free......he promptly ran under our deck, where he has been living all summer. Our best guess is that he got in the garage once when the door was open while the kids were playing, and then one of our cats eventually got him and brought him into the house via the cat door. We did find some tiny bloody footprints in our tub but it must not have been a major wound because he was moving fine when we let him go outside. It was 11:30 when that was finally over, and I was exhausted, but I had a hard time going to sleep after all that excitement!

My boys didn't have school Monday or Tuesday, but I did, so it was lucky my ILs were here.....they were able to watch the boys Monday morning while I worked, and today, DH took the day off to be with them. Monday, I got home after teaching in time to meet with a contractor who was here to do an estimate on some repairs we need done on our house. After that, the in-laws were all set to take the boys to a movie, and wanted me to go too, so I went to be polite, taking 30 seconds to make and eat a PB&J on the way, but not taking time for a potty stop.....after all, it had *only* been 6 hours since I had gone! I fell asleep during the movie and dropped my youngest son's popcorn container.....luckily it was empty by that time. Today after work I got a much needed haircut and some highlights. We are getting ready to go get some mums to plant, and then it is off to meet the in-laws for dinner.

Tomorrow, I will work and then drive 45 minutes west to make my regular trip to my aunt's apartment. She is 88 and in kidney failure.....not on dialysis yet, but it is in her future. She also has a conditon called Padgett's (sp?) disease, which has caused her left leg to get bigger and bow out, which obviously affects her balance. I go over every other week to change her cat litter and do anything that she has trouble doing. We run errands and I take a basket of her laundry home with me. It is hard for me to watch her get older. Because of her balance issues, it is hard for her to carry anything. She fell about 2 months ago as she was carrying in some groceries, and knocked herself out for a few seconds (as close as I can tell). She was tickled that her groceries all fell onto the grass, so nothing broke. She ended up with a bad bruise on the back of her head and a broken toenail. The worst part, to me, is that no one saw her fall, or saw her lying in the grass in front of her apt. building. She came to, crawled over to a light post, and used it to hoist herself up. I just can't get the picture of her lying there out of my head. There are not many services for the elderly in her county, and she never had children. She has learned to compensate very well for her limitations.....when she needs to take her trash to the dumpster, she takes it to her car and drives it to the dumpster. But last time I was there, her car was full of trash bags. I think it is just too much for her to drive, park, walk around the car, get the bags out, and throw it in the dumpster. I wish my Dad (her younger brother) would step up......but my aunt has always taken care of HIM, and apparently he can't fathom that he could reciprocate.

After I spend time with my aunt, I will drive back here in time for my oldest's soccer game. Luckily, it is a home game, so I won't have to drive across town in rush hour traffic and pay admission to watch 11 and 12 year olds play soccer! Thursday, I give three private lessons and then have an eye appt. before I need to pick the boys up from school. Friday, so far, is relatively open......after I get done teaching at 11:15, I am hoping to just stay in my classroom and get caught up there. The school recently bought me a new digital piano, a *very* nice one. I can play on it (duh!) but I need to spend quite a lot of time to really learn to use all of its features. DH is on call this weekend.......blah. Six weeks of school down......thirty more to go!
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Wife of an OB/Gyn, mom to three boys, middle school choir teacher.

"I don't know when Dad will be home."