Happy Birthday Dad!

Happy Birthday Dad! Here is a little letter from the kids.
Payton: Because I love dad! Because he's fun. Daddy likes to wrestle with me. I like playing toys, I like playing basketball. Andy makes me popcorn. I like eating ice-cream. I don't know, because I love dad!!!
Halle: Yeah, I love daddy. I want a yogurt! I love Cindy.

Well, they can't focus for too long but either way, we love you and hope you have a wonderful birthday!!
The big 29! Dang we are getting so old. I can feel the Botox just around the corner.
Here are a few things we love about dad. Random ramble here, so be patient. :)

I love that you try and teach me the things you love. (Except Xbox thank goodness.) You're a great outdoors man and I love that ruggedness about you. Makes me feel safe. We'll never starve, that's for sure. I love how excited you get, just by seeing or hearing the sound of a goose. Cracks me up. I love and hate at the same time how when we are fly-fishing you tell me where to cast and when I can't get it you do it in one little swoop.
I love that you are sensitive. Great men are a little ya know. You have a feisty side too and I love that too cause I like your honesty.
I love that no matter how ugly, fat, or dumb I feel sometimes, I always feel good about myself because you are always telling me how great I am. Even when I was preggers you told me I was hot. Liar, but a good man!
You are great at your work. You're co-workers love you cause you make them feel respected and you are a positive person. You have worked your tail off this past 2 years and I am so proud of you! Almost done babe.
I love that you dream. As expensive as it can be sometimes. :) I admire that you set so many goals for yourself and work to achieve them. I love that you urge me to do the same.
I love you more, but the kids are climbing all over me as I type. :)
Happy Birthday! Love, Kris, Payton and Halle

Just Like Dad.....?

I love the little things that kids choose to listen to and then hang on to. Ya know, not the things like, we always pick up our toys after playing, but the Lion spits out his water on Madagascar and then they decide to do it too...all over the TV.
The other day, Andy and I were talking about the rotation he just finished in OB. He was able to participate in a lot of C-sections and repairing surgeries. He was telling me about the doctor giving him the knife to do the cut and so on.
He then continued to tell me about how much he loves his new/current rotation of Ortho. His second day he did a knee surgery and he was explaining how many saws and tools actually go into a replacement.
This of course is 'normal' dinner talk at our house for some strange reason. Payton looked up and asked him, "Dad, why do you cut babies?"
Dad, "what?"
"Why do you cut the babies?"
Andy just started laughing so I told him that sometimes, the babies are too big so they cut the mommies belly to take out the baby and then put a big band aid on it. :)
"Oh" he said.
The next morning, Payton kept asking where his Handy Manny saw was. He said, "Cause I'm a doctor and I have to cut the babies!! I get my cut and then my hammer and go bam bam!" Basically he's an all around doctor who can do childbirth, plastic surgery and knee replacements all at the same time. I know we should be so proud. He just doesn't listen to what we say now. :) Luckily he's only seeing Halle's dolls as patients for now.

Limit, shminit..

I've been trying to get my blog private but since both of our extended families are large, it's been difficult getting everyone in at the 100 limit. I fixed a few things and then I had the number down to like 93 people or something. Blogger kept telling me it couldn't add because the limit was 100. What? It would not budge. Those of you who've gone private, how do I get this right? Much appreciation. :)

Special Deliveries.....memoirs

Well, Bill Cosby once said giving birth was like a man grabbing his bottom lip and pulling it over his head, or like that rich man getting to heaven...you know the whole needle/camel thing (ouch!). I know most of y'all have been through labor or held a leg or two, but what makes it interesting is when you find yourself in those situations with different religions, cultures, ages, pain levels, etc, sometimes very entertaining. I just finished OB/Gynechiatry (I call it) last week at the Labor and Delivery in Richmond Hills about 10 miles east of Manhatten. Though I saw things I hope I never have to see again, in the contest of the both evil and benign, here are 3 of the finalists.

Bronze Medal goes to: Luke ch 2. Around the 23rd of December the L&D floor was packed, many people wanted to Induce and get home before Christmas with a new baby. We had a hispanic couple come in late--all we had was one of the small triage rooms till-- we could get a decent suite. While doing the history her name was Maria (Mary) and the husband's name was José (Joseph). Wow!! And the baby's name? You guessed it------Alejandro. Either way there were no complications--and I did get the baby some nice Aveeno oil from the nursery. On a side note...God always prepared men to do his special work by showing them visions of the work being done, then the finished product. I hope before Joseph got to bethlehem he had one of the visions of the birth, and he didn't faint, and he knew about the placenta too, and uterine atony, and sterile technique episiotimies. Of course, in bethlehem, there were lots of experienced animals around as well who had all been through it.

Silver Medal goes to: A nurse. My second day we had a muslim patient that I was assisting in delivery. I was doing the enthusiastic/dramatic coaching, and after about 3 hours of pushing, the baby finally was delivered--prayers were pronounced immediately and the nurse slapped the father's bracelet on my hand--- ya know the one the father gets so he can take the baby to the nursery and security clearance. I looked at the nurse somewhat cockeyed, she said, "You're not the father? but you were so into it...wow!" I replied with a red neck twang, "Well, mam, if that's what it'll take to git a gud grade on this rotation, I just could be--whatever u want. But--- you might want to give it to Achmed, the dark skinned guy with the long white robe and the turban shaking his head over there on the couch---before things get too crazy." The nurse agreed.

Gold medal goes to: Tight sweatpants. While not considered a trend setter or used for attraction, sweatpants do save lives. Last monday a few minutes before coming on shift I was the only one not in the conference room for shift change (for some odd reason). I hear a man's voice yell down the hall "Ya viene el nino. Ya viene el nino!!! (The baby's coming!!). And I knew this was not a weather pattern change. I sprinted down the hall, watched the woman collapse in her husband's arms, and he slowly lowered her to the floor in the middle of the hallway. Again, I was the only one there. I pulled down the sweatpants (and a thong) and quickly heard a loud cry from the middle of the woman's sweat pants on the floor. I yelled for some gloves--that another patient threw at me from a room, I shakingly picked up the perfect little thing out of the sweat pants, reduced the chord, and gave him to mama. By then the word got out... and nurses were scrambling...then the doc clamped and cut the chord and she was able to walk into a nearby room. We all took pics with the family. They said they were thinking of naming the baby Andres (Andy)Wow!! But my question is, how did the baby get past that thong? and----I'm glad she wasn't wearing a dress...

Anyway, now on to Orthopaedic surgery.... all men---a stable environment. I won't have to instruct women on how to breast feed, how long they have to wait till they can be intimate again, bleeding, crying, the funny flatus question, whining, yelling, cramping, pushing, etc. OB was fun, but it is a job for women or men who pretend to be one...not for me. Studies say that every 10 seconds there is a woman giving birth somewhere in the world............she should be found........ and stopped! FYI: The above pic is one I pulled off the internet, not an actual patient.

PG ?

Today we were watching our recordings of American Idol. Payton was getting excited for those who could sing really well. This one lady came on. Payton stopped, stared and said, "Mom, she scares me."

"She scares me too bud."

He did what?

My mom sent this to me and I laughed so hard. Mainly because Andy hates shopping, well.. not the sporting stores, but Especially at Walmart. I could see this situation happening to us.

This is why women should not take men shopping against their will. After I retired, my wife insisted that I accompany her on her trips to Wal-Mart . Unfortunately, like most men, I found shopping boring and preferred to get in and get out. Equally unfortunately, my wife is like most women - she loved to browse. Yesterday my dear wife received the following letter from the local Wal-Mart:
Dear Mrs. Samsel, Over the past six months, your husband has been causing quite a commotion in our store. We cannot tolerate this behavior and have been forced to ban both of you from the store. Our complaints against Mr. Samsel are listed below and are documented by our video surveillance cameras.
1. June 15: Took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in people's carts when they weren't looking.
2 . July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in Housewares to go off at 5-minute intervals.
3. July 7: Made a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading to the women's restroom.
4. July 19: Walked up to an employee and told her in an official voice, 'Code 3 in Housewares. Get on it right away.'
5. August 4: Went to the Service Desk and tried to put a bag of M&M's on layaway.
6. August 14: Moved a 'CAUTION - WET FLOOR' sign to a carpeted area.
7. August 15: Set up a tent in the camping department and told other shoppers he'd invite them in if they would bring pillows and blankets from the bedding department.
8 August 23: When a clerk asked if they could help him he began crying and screamed, 'Why can't you people just leave me alone?'
9. September 4: Looked right into the security camera and used it as a mirror while he picked his nose.
10. September 10: While handling guns in the hunting department, he asked the clerk where the antidepressants were.
11. October 3 : Darted around the store suspiciously while loudly humming the ' Mission Impossible' theme.
12. October 6: In the auto department, he practiced his ' Madonna look' by using different sizes of funnels.
13. October 18 : Hid in a clothing rack and when people browsed through, yelled 'PICK ME! PICK ME!'
14. October 21 : When an announcement came over the loud speaker, he assumed a fetal position and screamed 'OH NO! IT'S THOSE VOICES AGAIN!' And last, but not least .. 15. October 23 : Went into a fitting room, shut the door, waited awhile, then yelled very loudly, 'Hey! There's no toilet paper in here!'

Oh, they got it too!

You're only as strong as your weakest link. Yep. This was so funny. Maybe Mel will post her video. JK :)

Go Jack! Lead Doodlebop/Rocker

Our Groupies??

We can Rock!

For Halle's birthday we adults decided we could either sit and watch the kids play or we could pull out the rock band. Uh, hard decision. As soon as we got it out, the kids had to join in. Being the good parents we are, we of course told them, it was our turn first... We eventually let them play though and it was a lot of fun. I love the seriousness and concentration of Payton's face.
Most of us stunk of the drums but our solo's and guitar rocked! Even the little kids could hang....well, for a little while. The only thing I don't like about Rock Band is that you have to sing it exact. I like more of a Karaoke where you just have to say the right words.
Oh yeah, my girl can sing.

This is a classic Payton. This boy LOVES to sing. He actually has a nice voice. He's more of a Pop, Disney, Soul kinda guy though. Metal/Rock is not his forte.

Gotta start em while their young. They didn't like that if you mess up, you get booed off the stage.

Happy Birthday Halle

Last week our sweet...well, temperamental but sweet little girl turned two! I can't believe how much she's grown. When we moved to NY she was just 6 months old, a little blob on the floor. By 9 months she was walking and fighting to keep up with Payton. She can hold her own now and does a lot of teasing herself. She is notorious for taking something you want and running away laughing. If you chase her it may take a while but ignore it and she comes back with a smile saying, "here ya go!"
She talks so much. She can sing her ABC's, several High School Musical and Christmas songs, I am a child of God, and our song, "I love Halle."

We had a little party with our friends while Grandma was here visiting. It was a full house and so much fun. Thanks you guys for coming in a snowstorm! Halle was so excited for her birthday. If you told her Happy Birthday, she would say it back to you. Didn't quite understand it was just HER day.

She is just the cutest little girl. I can't say enough good things about her. Yes, she makes a huge mess of our house and rips the flaps off the books but she brings so much excitement to our home. We love you so much Halle! Here's to another exciting year.

City Lights

So it's probably not the best idea to see the city lights the week after Christmas. But we finally had a warm day and just had to go. Though my hubby said he would, and I quote, "never, never, never.never,ever, ever, never, ever, ever,ever, etc,ever,ever...." you catch where I'm going? "Ever go there again!!!" I think he had about 25 more ever's but who's counting. The kids and I loved it and had a great time. My mom was here so we took her up 5th avenue to see the store windows and such. It was so interesting to see all the different displays. There were millions of people, everywhere! We made it to Rockefeller Center but sadly for Payton, couldn't get to the ice-rink. He was really upset. He loves watching the skaters. We got right next to the tree but since we got separated we didn't have a camera for a picture. ugh! Mom got lost and since she forgot her phone we spent about an hour looking for her. This added about 10 more ever's to Andy's list. Thankfully we re-united and was able to enjoy a few things before heading home.

My snuggle bug!

The kids just plan on seeing Elmo and Cookie Monster when we go to the city. This time they also got their picture with Shrek. Some Santa wanted to take a pic with the kids but Payton told him he wasn't the 'real' Santa. Luckily the creepy guy walked off. :) Sometimes ya just gotta love when they say inappropriate things.

In front of Macy's (one of our Favorite stores). They have the BEST sales!

Somehow, our house seemed not quite as festive when we got home.

Home for Christmas

Contrary to the look on her face, she had a wonderful Christmas. From the moment we put up the tree and lay the first present beneath, it's been a constant trial to keep them from opening the packages. They would literally sit and stare at them asking if it was time yet. And each day we would mark another flap on the calendar, smiling and jumping the days away.
We had our first Christmas alone as a family. It was definitely different but nice. Andy worked a 24 hour shift the day before and since the kids and I had to take him back and forth, we all spent a lot of the time sleeping and playing in our pj's. In fact, we took the kids for a ride to see some Christmas lights and by time we reached the end of our road, they were asleep. We didn't get to bed early though since the kitchen took forever to put together!

Halle is a tough chick and a fireball to say the least, but she LOVES all things girlie. Dolls, make-up, princess, pink. Thanks to grandma's and grandpa's she got a kitchen, doll set and princess dress. Though Payton loves the kitchen too, he was excited to get a camera, puzzles and some train accessories. (It will be nice not finding pictures of random things on my camera. I one time found 40 pictures OF pictures on the computer.??)

"I'm just like dad!" Thankfully the stethoscope really works.

Halle pushed this around ALL DAY. I'm glad we didn't buy much because she wouldn't have known. She sleeps with her babies and when she walked in to see a NEW baby, she immediately threw her 'old'one. Poor doll, good thing they can't really talk like 'Toy Story'. Who knows what would really go on at our place.

Payton wakes up early so Andy and I set little 'booby-traps' to hear him wake up. We didn't want him snooping around before we all got up. We piled a bunch of stuff in front of the bedroom door, everything except a pit and a lion. Didn't stop him though. We of course didn't hear him and he came in to wake us up. He told us everything that was out there and gave us a tour when we came out to look for ourselves. The funniest thing was when he found a bell in his stalking. He looked at it, shook it near his ear and then staring at it again said, "I believe!"

Nice to meet you!

Last week while Grandma Lori was visiting, we made a trip to the city to see the lights. The kids love riding the train, especially since it's been 'Polare Express' season.

Halle kept hugging and kissing Payton. She'd say, "Nice to meet you!" Then hug and kiss him. Hopefully they aren't quite so friendly the older they get.