So Big!

Every single day we hear the ice-cream truck driving around. He drives up and down EVERY street. We could all hum the song for you. One day we were feeling nice and decided to let them get an ice-cream. The kids are sitting outside, patiently waiting for the truck. Today was the day that he mysteriously never showed. The kids were so disappointed. Luckily we had ice-cream cones inside the house and all was forgiven. Notice how Halle has her little pink purse. She HAS to take it EVERYWHERE! I have never coaxed her to bring it. One day, as we were leaving she just ran and got it. She has been doing it ever since. And if she can't find it she throws a fit and claims she can't go without her purse. "whe my pur!" Probably because I always have mine.
We checked out a local farmer's market, that turned out to be lame so we just played at the park. I thought Halle looked so cute with her glasses.
I just can't believe my little red headed blob is now so big and hanging on gyms at the park. Payton is talking a lot! And time just keeps on flying by. We will only be here another 10 months and when we first got here it seemed like forever. Luckily we have made some great friends and are enjoying the time we have in crazy NY.
This is a typical picture. She is always climbing or hanging on something. And next week she will turn 21 months! Crazy!

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

This Sunday is my Grandpa Huntsmans 99th birthday!!! Can you believe it! He doesn't look a day over 80, and still as sharp as they come. I am so sad that I won't be there to give him a big hug and a pile of 99 balloons. I wonder what I could send in the mail that I could send 99 of??? Hmm, I'll have to think about it. Anyhoo, I just love him so much. Besides the fact that he is gorgeous, he is one of the best people I know. He has the Huntsman trait of hissing when he laughes and you can count on him always saying, "yes sir" or "fiddlesticks". He can't remember but he taught me to play poker when I was just a little kid. I grew up with him as a father figure and I couldn't have had a better dad for real. Not because of the poker but because I can always talk to him. He used to take me everywhere when I was a kid. Rides in the truck with Grandma, eating mush for breakfast, watching Matlock, checking on the cows, or sharing stories and jokes. I love to hear his tales and trials of the 'olden days'. He has had a great life so far and we figure and can give us another 10 or so. He used to hold us down for spankings on our birthday. Do you think giving him 99 would be inappropriate? We'd probably get wacked with a cane. Guess we'll stick with kisses. We love you so much Grandpa!

Sherlocks Birthday

Today would be the 6th birthday of our dog Sherlock. Andy got him for Christmas the first year after we were married. It was a first dog for me and it took a while to get used to since I am allergic to dogs. He and Andy were best buds though. Sherlock was a hunting dog through and through. Andy took him to competitions and on every hunt he went. He was a good dog even though I yelled at him all the time for being so energetic. He could always find a way to get out of the yard no matter what we did. Sadly the day we moved to NY he got hit by a car. He had managed to get out the night before we left and didn't make it back. We were really sad but I was thankful that Andy didn't have to bury him. Since we were gone my uncle was kind enough to do it. We all miss Sherlock and I'm sure he's running around in dog heaven trying to find a way out. :)

Zoo pictures, yet again.

As I mentioned before we have a zoo pass to all the local zoos. The kids love it and we haven't been since we got back from Utah. They have made some fun new additions for a kids center. My friend Reagan came with us. Her little boy Jack is in the middle.
Aren't you glad our kids don't come out this way?

We were feeding the goats and the pigeons kept trying to steal the food. The kids got scared and were trying to hide from them. Thank goodness for sanitizer.

Excuse me Madam?

Oh, I can't forget to put in this pic of Payton and Halle pitching Derek Jeeter. This is an exact figure replica...Of course he struck him out. What were you thinking?

If I had my old hair cut we could be bro and sis. Ha ha
Dude, Jennifer Aniston is completely giving him the wax shoulder! Doh! Denied. Better luck later maybe? Andy tried all of his pick up lines--she was not impressed...

Star Struck

Maybe some wives would be a little offended if their husband said, "dang that girl is hot, she's gonna melt any second.." I got over this a long time ago. Since my hubby speaks Spanish and I've known of his Shakira crush forever. In fact, on his mission he taught her relatives a few discussions. The plot thickens!! JK
Yesterday was supposed to be a boring day of watching the BYU game on tv but Andy woke up and said he wanted to go to the city so we packed a bag, grabbed a necessity here in NY (Dunkin Donuts) and took off. We went to the Madam Tussauds Wax Museum. It was pretty cool.

It's actually a little freaky when you first walk in because many of them look extremely real. Their eyes just stare at you and it takes a little time to get used to. Payton was scared at first but by the time we found all the athletes and singers, he thought it was neat, Michael Jackson is in the background...he looks better in wax I think...
So I just have to say that though I've never seen any of these people in person, they are supposed to be exact replicas and J.Lo is not fat!! Dang. Don't know what all the talk about her rear end is because she looks daaanng skinny to me.
The museum wasn't too big but it took up several floors. Andy laughed at me because there were so many people that sometimes it was hard to tell who was real and who wasn't. Everyone had camera's and I was looking at the Rachel Ray and walked in front of someone with a camera taking a picture. I apologized for stepping in front of them and noticed it too was wax! Embarrassing!
Surely I could beat a pile of wax!
We were just at the end of the museum when we saw it.... Miley Cyrus. Payton was shy and weirded out yet very intrigued and wanted to stare. "mom, Halle wants to go look at Hannah Montana again!" (and again, and again)
It was definitely better than I thought it would be. I wonder what it would be like to have a wax figure made of yourself. Don't think I'd really want to see it. Guess we'll just stick to life size cut out boards. They fit away quick in a closet if anyone comes over. Wouldn't want people thinking we're weird!

Quick Thanks!

Yesterday I noticed we had received a package on the front door while we were out. I was very curious since no one had said they had sent anything. The kids and I became very excited...who doesn't love to get mail? I opened it and Andy's cousin had sent me a gigantic stack of sheet music for the choir! It must have taken her a very long time to copy everything and I immediately went from nothing to a whole lotta. I can't wait to get to work! Thank you so much Sandra!!!! And everyone else who has offered advice for the organ. Thankyou, thankyou!!

Medical Minute...however long it takes you to read this...

I"m not sure how many medical people there are out there who reads these, but I've decided every now and then to write on this blog some of the "events" that happen in Manhatten, and maybe to illustrate the differences in care in the few places I have been. A "house" pt for those who don't know are pts that must be presented to your attending, the pt is not under anyone else's care and you will be doing all the following up, plan of care etc--know the case b/c you will get drilled on everything you can think of later--there will be questions like the tx for blastocystosis hominis is? You can guess, you can research it, but you won't get it, the answer is not scientifically proven. On the other hand, a "private" pt doesn"t have to be presented so you have time to put everything together and you can relax. Between the 3 of us we carry about 23 pts, all INfectious Dz/HIV. Yesterday started about like this from the night resident...

So Mr G, here's an 'undomiciled' (gotta love that word)37 yr old pmhx HIV (CD4 count of 8), Hep a/b/c, heroine addict, necrotizing fasciitis to L arm, alcoholic, 2 skin grafts w/ MRSA and abcess presents w/ fever, chills, SOB, CP, weight loss, night sweats, unproductive cough, and pain to the skin graft on the L upper arm. Oh, by the way, he's house, oh...and...we're rounding in an hour...oh, MR. G ---with the PCP px, he's got a bactrim allergy... And Mr G, the lab doesn't do too much on sat, so we'll need you to do another ABG, serum cxs, another 12 lead EKG, another set of labs, and see if you can get a sputum sample. Get his other records from his last 3 hospitalizations, order another xray if you get around to it...by the way, change that dressing...and try to get a second IV line...If you need anything, just give us a hollar.....Oh, run the plan and assessment by us before hand....oh, and don't forget to glove/gown up...Be careful, and above all have fun!!

The first thought that went through my mind was--I wish I was back in St George...not b/c the hospital there is a paradise with nurses who you don't get mixed up with your homeless pts, or because the nurses actually help with the care, or actually give the medications, or order procedures, smile at you with dentition intact--no bling----they tell you when your pt has a HR in the 30s seizing, not noticably intoxicated, actually might physically check a BP, can recognize their pt out of a line up of all the people in that pts room, will give the guy who has never had a shower in his life a good scrub, speaks understandable English, have less than 9 patients, and will actually check the labs for you!! No my medical amigos, I thought of St George mainly because I like the scenery of the mountains out the west window.......j/k. So, when those checks seem a little lower than your pal who is traveling all over--seeing the world in their RV talking of "great things"............ don't be jealous y'all..... you could have 100 of us interns, students, and young docs runnin' the show... ............and how many residents does it take to put in an IV?? Just one--to call the nurse.

So the day did go OK mainly because the attending was fashionably late, but the Doc got me on the appropriate methadone dose for a guy who uses 10 bags of heroine a day--although I guessed and got the price of a bag of heroine at $10...Interesting cases...Oh well, we'll see how tomorrow goes...

"House"

This is a picture of the fence located about 50 yards behind St. Vincents hospital where I am on rotation. I noticed all the tour buses stopping from the 16th floor and came down to take a look before the 9/11 anniversary. Because St Vincent's was the closest hospital to the Twin Towers, it got the majority of the survivors. Nurses said this was the fence where people put pictures of their lost loved ones for months after the towers came down. Today, it has ceramic tiles with uplifting quotes that were tied to the fence from all over the world that were sent to comfort those families who constantly came by the hospital to see if their family members had been admitted. It's a good place to go and read these uplifting tiles when you have one of those "days". The hospital that day in 2001 opened to its 900 bed capacity, but only treated 497, almost all first responders. It was a normal day for most of the staff on Thurs, they're used to the dramaby now. Our Infx dz attending took about an hour to talk about events before and after of what happened that day as far as treating so many people so fast...

PoTTy CeLEbrATioN!!

Well a semi-miracle has happened in our home. Payton has been going Pee in the potty for a long time but not the other. He has refused, to say the least. We have tried stickers, goals, treats, etc. but nothing has led him to budge... until now. On a recent trip to Costco the other day we walked past the toy section. Besides the fact that his hands were full of yummy sample foods he managed to catch his eyes on a large stack of cars and trucks. I have to say that they were very nice. Fire engines, airplanes, garbage trucks, street cleaners, and helicopters. The make sounds, flash light, and talk. My children of course said, "mom, should you get that??" I said, we should when he goes poop in the potty. He whined and said no until the next time we went and I noticed that half of them were already gone. I decided that I would get one and take it home, still not letting him play with it until he went poop in the potty. No whining this time. He said, "I can play with it after I go pee in the potty." NO, poop dear.. "ok."
We walked in the door and the fire engine went right up onto the TV console. He walked into the bathroom and sat on the potty. WHAT!!! His poop was just a little one but the fact that he actually sat there and tried and did 'something' is a big deal for him. So.....he got his fire truck. I called Andy and we later went out to eat Pizza (Payton's Fav) with our friends to celebrate. They were good sports to come to a poop party. I wanted to make it a big deal so he'd keep trying. When we got home and he pooped again, and no arguing. ??? That is also another miracle! Of course he did finish it off in his diaper the next morning when he woke up but oh well. At least I can finally see a light at the end of all that streaking dark poop!!

Test 1, to be continued

Yesterday was a pretty fun day. We had a play group with some good friends in the ward and it's always so nice to let the kids just run around. I think we only had to get after them a few times so that's always a bonus.
I realized I still have yet more laundry to do since our bug stint. I had some things I had packed away when we first got here and they all have to be washed and re-packed again. Plus my kids both keep wetting their beds so I'm constantly doing sheets it seems. I still don't feel like we've officially moved in and got everything where I want. Oh well.
Yesterday I did go through a few things though cause our ward had a goods exchange. You donate anything you aren't using or don't really need such as clothing, toys, kitchen stuff, etc. We met at the church and organized it in piles and then we all get to take whatever we need. The rest is then put in boxes and then taken to our stake goods exchange to be held in two weeks where the same thing goes on but for the entire stake. Anything left over is then donated to the Good Will. I didn't go last year and I'm really glad I did this year. I actually can't wait to go to the stake one. I didn't find anything for Halle yet but I got some great clothes for Payton. Most of them are Gap and other name brands I don't know, including a very nice church suit. I'm so excited. Also the big exciting news is that I found a football helmet and pads! My son LOVES football. Everyday he asks what time dad will be home so they can go outside and play. He has wanted a football helmet since last years superbowl and we couldn't ever find a little cheap plastic one. I could NOT spend money on the nice ones cause they are several hundred dollars and he just wants to mess around. Andy couldn't believe it when I told him I got some last night. They will be a tiny bit big but he will love it. I just can't decide if I should give it now or wait until Christmas. I'm so excited for him. Oh the stress of my life! JK
I also attempted to play the organ last night. I actually didn't think it would be that hard just a little different but I was proven wrong. I wanted to keep pushing to sound pedals like the pedals on the paino and had to just put my feet under the bench to cure the temptation. Any mistake you make is doubled on the organ and I surely need to practice more before I will attempt it in sacrament. One of the missionaries there who is the only other person who can play in the ward said he's played it a few times. I asked him for critique and he said, "I'm just here to be a positive infuence." I cracked up laughing! Some songs were better than others though. :) I appreciate all of your comments and help some of you have given. Keep em comin!

First Day

We don't have a first day of school here, YET. But today was my first day playing for sacrament. I didn't play the organ since I haven't been able to get in to try it out yet but I have to say it was a great day. Andy had to work today and I was a little worried about getting there on time and in fact early to play prelude since we have to leave by 8:15 but we made it. Yahoo! And my husband says I'm never on time. hmm.
I sat the kids down on the bench with their cute little church reading books and the little angels just sat there quietly!! I was so proud and happy! In fact, they were good through all of church until the last few minutes when Halle dumped her crackers but hey, it was a good day.
It feels really good to be playing again. I didn't realize how much I missed it. Not that I have much of a choice since I am the only one in the ward who can play besides a missionary who thankfully didn't get transferred. I hope to get to practice the organ this week because I'm feeling up to the challenge. Also as music chairman I've been instructed to start a ward choir. Did you ever picture me playing the organ and leading the choir?? nope but so far I'm excited about it. Plus, if I'm being honest, it will be nice to let Andy worry about the kids for part of church. hee hee.
I haven't seen what our ward has in the library. Normally it's not much but if so it will be fun ordering music and such supplies. Luckily I have several of you family members who have experience, whom I can call I hope. :)
And I'm also happy to report that I now get the bench next to the organ! Yep, I'm just gonna take it! And I also now have the Power to say, "get your kids off the organ lady!" (Just gotta be there to understand)
So if any of you come out to visit. Just plan on singing in the choir. :)

Fun at the Beach

I wanted to post these pictures because it was Halle's first time swimming at the beach. Now she has of course been to the beach but only for walks and not playing in water. Come to think of it, I think it was Paytons also. Yahoo for them. They had such a great time.

Labor Day weekend was a lot of fun. Andy had the weekend off because he had just finished a rotation and would be starting a new one on Tuesday. So just just played, played, played.



Saturday our ward had a BBQ at a local park. We
had the same thing last year but this time proved a lot more fun. Halle was just a baby when we moved here and now she can run and play all over. We were able to participate in a volleyball game with our friends, the missionaries and even the Bishop. (He's always a great sport.)

After the picnic we had enough time to take a quick nap and then get ready for the first BYU game of the season. My hubby was so excited. We even switched cable companies a few weeks ago so he could watch the games.
I know BYU won but I didn't really watch the game. A bunch of our friends and their kids
came over. Basically the men all watched the game and us ladies chatted and solved all the worlds problems. (Of course)

After Sunday relaxation we were ready to hit the beach on Monday. It wasn't too bad considering it was a holiday. A recent storm had flooded a part of the beach leaving a great big puddle for the kids to play in. Actually I think they spent most of their time in that and not the ocean.

It was so fun to see them play and get excited. If I can just figure a way to get them not to throw sand.


The beaches are free after Labor Day and we really need to go back. Hint girls, lets go! :)

Even after playing all day we had yet another get together for dinner at a friends house. We played tennis and basketball while the kids ran around and tackled each other. Our friends are just so cool what can I say. We hate to be separated. JK.
Luckily the kids were so exhausted they went right to bed. If I could only exhaust them everyday!


We are so blessed to have wonderful friends here. Especially the kind who are fun and creative enough to always find something entertaining to do.

New York City Day Life

They call it New York City because they say nothing ever gets old, but I must say somethings definitely could----really fast. I was flipping through the radio stations on my mp3 player on my way into manhatten the other day when a man dedicated a song to his same sex partner and followed it by saying, "sorry I stabbed you." Interesting, I thought...how penitent...... Then I thought, I wonder if I'll meet that guy today at the hospital.
I just began my new rotation at the St Vincent Hospital at 7th ave and 12th st. Let's just say, it's an intersting commute. Because I leave at 5am before the buses run, I get picked up by a "carpool cab" that takes me and a neighbor from Melbourn, Australia to the Long island Rail Road where it takes 45 mins into the city to Penn St at 34th, then the #1 train down to 14th, then I walk the short block to the hospital. With a 900 bed capacity on 16 floors, it was quite intimidating at first. I was assigned to the Infectious Dz and HIV team that consists of 2 other interns and a resident and an attending that tries to mimic the show "house" for at least 4 hours a day...we follow him around like storm troopers behind darth vader...or like the president and his measly press staff...kind of funny watching us move down the hall, answering most of his questions with "interesting, I'll get back to you on that." He's got long hair pulled back into a pony tail and a beard...he knows his stuff, and makes sure we never look "too" impressive.
We are assigned mostly to complicated HIV cases with advanced infections, mostly homeless, from the ER, MICU, etc. We get all the pneumonias and rare infx dz cases. We start at 6:30am and usually finish around 6pm. Me being the new guy, I get to do all the ABGs, blod draws, cultures, etc that no one else wants to do...I catch the 3 train expres back to Penn, then the LIRr, then Kris picks me up fo a nice end of the day. But I must say it has been an incredible first week, lots of "interesting" characters. Except I didn't meet the guy with the stab wound.....yet. And I bet you were wondering the song he was dedicating....you guessed it--Abba--- "Dancing Queen--the remix."

Nice Try

Ever watch those "Behind the Music" things on TV. The other day I was cooking dinner and had a funny thought pop in my head. I pictured myself being interviewed by them because Payton was a famous singer. I'm explaining to them what a miracle it is since he could barely talk and how he just knew he wanted to be a singer since he was 3. No I don't really dream of him being famous but it's so funny how much he LOVES music. He would sing all day if I'd let him. My mom bought the Camp Rock cd and he knows all the songs by heart. I'm glad he's passionate about something and I actually really do think it's helped him with his speech. It's just so funny to see him acting out like he's so cool. I have to keep our windows shut so the whole neighborhood doesn't hear. At least he actually really does have a cute voice and can sing on key. Could always be worse I guess.
Sorry this picture is sideways. I wasn't paying attention and I'm too lazy to fix it right now. Payton got in trouble and had his garbage truck taken away. (He loves the garbage truck. He can tell you the days they come and he HAS to watch them.) Anyway, I put it up on the kitchen cupboard and we laughed as this is what he stacked to try and reach it.
The two containers I get but then he put a book and a few pieces of paper. Hello, paper! He even tried a bag! Needless to say, he didn't reach it and had to finish time out before he could get it back. Funny that he was screaming until I pulled out the camera.

Future Tennis Pro's

Since our new place has a sweet park across the street, we decided to make the most of it. There is a fun playground, tons of grass, a pool and several tennis and basketball courts. We've always liked tennis but never really had a place to play so now we can finally learn. Well, to the best of my ability anyhow.
I found a good deal on some kid racquets and they just love it. Payton is actually starting to get the hang of it. It's nice because they are fenced in and we can play without worrying about them running off. This particular court is at our friends place though.
Andy says I stink at tennis but oh well. I'm getting better. He's not pro either though so I don't feel too bad. In fact it was funny because our first time we went to play, we invited some friends to come. We knew he like to play but didn't know he was an actual tennis instructor! Doh! We got our butts kicked but it was fun.