Matchmaker, Matchmaker, make me a Match

Today is the initial match day at Medical College of Wisconsin (and most schools in the nation) for our 4th year medical students (Cody being one of them).  I am happy to say that the weather, gloomy and rainy, does NOT match our moods. This morning at 10:55 a.m. Cody got an email from the NRMP saying, "Congratulations! You matched!"  What a relief.  I was still driving home from my Zumba class when I was called by Cody and told the good news.  I must say, my face looked like the weather.  Yes people, I started crying, tears of joy, of course.  All that hard work, time, stress, worry and money that went into Cody's education is finally going to pay off.  When I got home I had to tell Cody, "I told you so," because I've been telling him all along how amazing he is and that he would get it.  He never could quite believe me, and now he finally believes it himself.  The reality that he will be an orthopedic resident is still sinking in though.

It is a guarantee now that one of these locations is where we will end up living: (Granted we do not find out EXACTLY WHERE until this Friday 16th, sometime between 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.)  

(alphabetical order)

Albuquerque, New Mexico
Detroit, Michigan
Erie, Pennsylvania
Fresno, California
Huntington, West Virginia
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
New Orleans, Louisiana   
Phoenix, Arizona

Well there you go...in 4 days we will update and let you know WHERE we are going to end up.  For now we can just breath, knowing that Cody has a job.

Pullin the Plug

We all have been sick little dogs around here (like most people at this time of year).  Our illnesses have lasted weeks, feels like months.  Just when we would think we're getting better, we're hit with another sore throat, cough, stuffy nose or pounding headache.  Talmage got a fever of close to 103 degrees and was just not himself the last few nights.  Cody pulled out his doctor bag and did the heart and lung check, felt for shotty lymph nodes and looked in his throat and ears.  He was pretty much fine, besides a fever and chills accompanied with runny nose, so we didn't take him to the doctors.  I don't mean to make fun of Talmage in this next part of the story, I just found it so cute and a little heart breaking (and kind of funny).  I had put him in the tub with his toys and letters like usual and he seemed happy to be in there at the beginning.  I stepped out for a few minutes to talk to Cody and didn't hear anything, so I went back in the bathroom and found him like this.  Laying in what remained of his warm water with this sad expression.  He pulled the plug, let the water drain and didn't even get out.  How sad, now that is a sick child. I blurred the risqué parts of the photos no worries. 

  

 He was bundled and held for a long time, then given some tylenol and put to bed.  Poor dude.  

Cookie Monster

Before breakfast conversation with Talmage......

"Talmage, did you just eat a cookie?"

"Cookie?  What Cookie? I didn't eat a cookie."

"I don't think I believe you."

"Trust me mom...I didn't eat a cookie before breakfast."

"If It wasn't you, then who took the cookie?"

"It was Daddy."

Exhausted Birthday Boy

I wanted to do something spectacular for Cody's Birthday.  Life just got in the way.  We were all sick and Cody had to work until 9 p.m. on his actual birthday.  So we celebrated at home, with just the three of us.  Cody prefers it that way anyways.  Talmage stayed up to watch Daddy blow out his candles, even though Cody officially hadn't had dinner yet.  It was a triple chocolate cake.  Too much for the three of us so if you want any come on over.

Before Cody got home, I was trying to keep the lasagna warm, and the salad cold, then suddenly the power went out (which was so bizarre, considering there wasn't wind or any strong storms at the time).  Tal and I realized we had no candles in the house, the upstairs girls brought us down a candle, which we stared at for awhile until the power came back on.  Good thing too, we wanted Cody to have a warm dinner on his birthday.

Here is the Birthday Boy.  Happy 29th!  He looks exhausted, well, because he is.  Cody made sure to tell the attending he was working with, that it was his birthday, but even after a full day of work (7a.m. to 6 p.m.), the attending still gave him a 2 hour power point presentation before he was okayed to leave.  It was also a one hour drive home.

Tal was glad to stay up for the candles.  We only had 24 candles too, I know... ghetto right?  It made Cody feel better though when he counted them. He kept asking me his age, he stopped counting.

I should've thought through putting the oreo crumbles on top of the cake, because they flew everywhere when these boys puffed out the candles.

I love both their faces in this one.

Me and Tal went and got Cody some of those Dansko shoes from The Walking Company.  I have heard a lot about them being the number one shoe for surgeons and nurses, because they give you tons of support after being on your feet all day or standing in surgery for 14 hours or more.  Cody deserved something really nice, he works very hard all the time.  He is a great father, a wonderful husband and we love him dearly.  Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

Posing

We cut Talmages hair again.  He still doesn't have a whole lot of hair, but it was starting to get scraggly looking on the sides.  This time we didn't accidentally nick the top ending in a bald look.  Cody used three different buzzer lengths and I think he did a great job. Short on the sides and long on top.  Each day he looks more like a little boy then a toddler.  I had to post these next several pictures because I found them hilarious.  I just wanted to get a picture of his haircut, but he kept posing.  I was laughing so hard.  As you scroll down you will see his creative poses.

Blue Steal

Seductive

Monkey

Over the Shoulder

Downward Dog

Spiderman (my favorite)

The Crawl

I Give Up

Hear No Evil

Narcissist  

Getting Caught Admiring Himself in the Mirror

Look at that Haircut!  I love it.

Happy that Mommy's "Forget Me Not" flowers are starting to sprout.

He has a pretty prominent dimple in his left cheek when he smiles. I love that too.

February Wrap-up

Quite a few happenings going on around here for us this February.  I managed to get a few pictures.  Cody has been doing his Internal Medicine rotation this month and his hours are pretty much working every day (with 3 days off for the month) from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. or if he is on call 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. and some over night shifts as well.  Needless to say, it has mostly been me and Talmage at home and a few random moments with a tired/ornery Cody (can't blame the guy).  Topping things off, we have passed back and forth to each other all month long; colds, coughs, stuffy noses, muscle aches, sore throats, pains and headaches (yes, even headaches, they are contagious). Tal and I kept busy running errands as usual, going to playgroup; Library rhyme time, Valentine Party (which I hosted at my house), Monkey Joe's bouncy house, and a delicious lunch with friends.  There has been a plethora of Zumba classes that I taught this month as well as some fun girl outings, and I even attended book club.  Yes! I am taking part in book club with my friends.  It has been so much fun being able to discuss a book, amongst other things, with a bunch of ladies who actually care about dissecting everything in a certain character or plot.  Unlike Cody who could care less to hear my ramblings or thoughts on a "chick-fllickish" book.  I have forgotten how much I enjoy reading.  We (me and Tal) have also been babysitting for friends.  It works out great though, because most the time it's an exchange, allowing us to save some money and have some freedom from the toddler.  Talmage loves it too, because he gets to play with his friends, it wears him out and he ends up sleeping great at nap- or bed- time. 

Talmage and Cadel

 Penny and Talmage

I didn't get pictures of others that we have played with but you know who you are, thanks for watching/playing with Talmage.

I can't remember if I already wrote about this or not, but we decided when we do buy Tal a new bed, it is going to be a twin instead of a toddler bed, and since we're moving in a few months we don't want to buy new furniture just yet.  So he has been sleeping on his crib mattress on the floor.  It works out good though because he can't fall far if he rolls off.  You may be wondering why he is sleeping in only a diaper in the middle of winter?  Well, we have a space heater in his room and turn it on at night for him, plus we put him in his pajamas don't worry.  I always check on him after he has fallen asleep and before I go to bed.  I found him like this one night so I had to get a picture.  He had turned the heater to full blast hot air and must've gotten hot, unzipped and taken off his pjs and fell asleep (also with the lights on).  What a turd.

On one of Cody's earlier nights off we went out for a family valentines dinner.  Chiles! YUM!  We all got a little spiffier looking than usual, so I set the camera timer and took some shots of our family.

Only shot that turned out decent.  Don't mind the shiny picture behind us.  I really need to get some REAL family photos taken of us and disperse them among the Grandmas who have been waiting for REAL photos for a long time.  Sorry.  Maybe this spring.

Happy February.  Onto March and soon......match day. AAAAAaaaaahh!

My Thoughts on The Matter

I can't believe how fast the time is flying.  It seems like yesterday I was driving across country to Wisconsin, with Cody (and my mom) in our rental Budget truck looking for a place to live.  That was almost 4 years ago.  Now in a few, count them (3), short months, we will be loading up all our worldly possessions again (add a toddler to the mix) and heading hopefully west, to start our lives ALL OVER again!

I hate the amount of time they (the ones who planned the dates for medical students and residents to graduate and then start working) give us to  adjust our whole lives around.  We find out EXACTLY where we are moving on March 16th (that is in 19 days).  We graduate and basically plan on moving out at the end of May (that is in 95 days).  That gives us from the day we find out where we are going to the the actual moving out part, 76 days to get our affairs in order, just a little over two months.  In that time, we hope to buy a house as well.  I am VERY excited about this, just not the quickness that it all happens in.

The other part, that I hate the most, is the good friends we are going to have to say goodbye to.  Being far from home and family, we have really built ourselves a little "family" here in Wisconsin.  Some of those friends are also moving to other states and some are staying in Milwaukee, but all in all they are friendships that I know will be eternal.  Whether we get to see them in person again in this life or not I know we will be great friends in the next.  I will miss them the most.

This is going to be  a very bittersweet next couple months.  A lot of changes, for good and bad, but mostly good.  I am just excited and impatient, to finally get some answers to where we start the next phase of our life (5 years for Ortho residents).  I am excited for Cody to have a "real job" after all the years of school and hard work.  Cross your fingers, mmmmm, scratch that, PRAY, that we match and get a job, even though I feel like we will, it never hurts to ask for a little help.

Those are my thoughts about every 5 minutes of every day.  I have been keeping pretty busy to keep my mind off of it all.   I will try and post some random pictures soon of this last months events.  I've just been a little preoccupied and stressed to worry too much about blogging.  I know the people who read this are family and close friends anyways and mostly know what is going on in our lives.  But that is that.

Ranking Schmanking

Here we are in life, interviews for Cody are over, FINALLY!  At first, we (Cody), thought that because we didn't have 13 or more interviews, things weren't going to go so well for us (him).  After interviewing at our 8 wonderful choices - Huntington, WV, New Orleans, LA, Milwaukee, WI, Detroit, MI, Erie, PA,  Fresno, CA, Albuquerque, NM, and Phoenix, AZ - we decided, we'd be happy and excited to call one of those places home for the next 5 years, but, that we have saved thousands of dollars and many days of extra travel by having fewer interviews.  Me and Cody decided it is WAY harder to rank these places than we thought.  We are still a little uncertain on the top 3, because EVERY one of these interviews went so well.  Cody had very interesting, very positive comments from most of the chairman's, attending's, and residents during his interviews.  One told Cody he "oozed goodness."  One said that Cody's personal statement was like a, "beautiful piece of literary work and he had to read it over and over again he liked it so much."  Cody was told that he would be a, "unique and diverse candidate, which they are looking for [more diversity]" (Cody has never been classified as diverse, being male and caucasian. I thought that was interesting).  He had other comments such as; "You interview very well." "We are pulling for you to be ranked at the top of our list." Once asked, "Did you apply to San Antonio?" (coming from one of the attending's who was moving the following year to San Antonio, liked Cody so much, was hinting at and wishing Cody was coming to Texas with him). He was also invited multiple times to different homes after interviews. 

I know I am totally bragging on Cody, but I cannot even tell you how utterly PROUD and HAPPY I am of him and for him!  His whole life he has worked so hard, paying for every cent of school the entire way himself.  He has told me he is not a natural genius, a great test taker, or even a good memorizer, he has spent many days of his life studying extra hard to keep up with the geniuses, reading textbooks galore, putting straining effort, energy and thought into each of his subjects. The kicker is that during all those years of schooling, he also had other pressures; always keeping one or more jobs to pay for the schooling, having callings in EQ that required hours of attention and dedication, and of course keeping his girlfriend (me) happy and wanting to marry him, despite his crazy future of a life.  Then during med school keeping a lot of those same responsibilities and add on ten more, including having a son. 

Well! My dear, sweet, hard working husband ... you made it!  You will soon have a career! As a Doctor!!!!  

  I believe he WILL match at one of those place.  I feel it in my bones, but we find out for sure on March 16th this year.  Six short weeks away.

Here are the possible places we could end up.  These are not in order of preference, we haven't decided how we will rank yet. 

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Pros and Cons of living there: Closer to family (5 hour drive from Monticello), great Ortho program with many specialty options, moonlighting is available (which allows Cody to earn more money every month if he chooses).  Beautiful weather year round, 4 seasons with comfort, meaning never TOO cold nor TOO hot.  

                                                      All kinds of fun, family-friendly things to do right in Albuquerque.  All kinds of outdoor activities year round (big one for us); hiking, biking, camping, skiing, hot air ballooning, lakes close by.  Only one hour from Sante Fe, one and a half hours from Santa Rosa.  Lots of exciting history, museums, and of course, YUMMY foods. (Our favorite food is mexican, so this would be a huge selling point for us too).

The housing market is very affordable, allowing us to purchase there.  Easy commute to the hospital for Cody, good schools for Talmage, and best of all, we got a temple right in our backyard.  No more all day trips to visit the temple. 

Phoenix, Arizona

Pros and cons of living there: Close to both family, (5 hours to Monticello and 6 hours to St. George).  There is the possibility that Heather and Clay end up working there too, having family in the neighborhood. Phoenix has a major airport hub, cheaper and fast flights home and more direct flights.  Weather wise, I have heard 6 months of warm, comfortable weather and 3 months of extreme heat, but at least there is no snow to shovel. Another great Ortho program with lots of great educational opportunities. There is also a great reputation of schools for Talmage to attend.   

Pools and water activities year round.  A lot of fun indoor activities to escape the heat during the summer.  Within a few short hours of many famous landmarks and interesting places to see.  Vegas, Disneyland, Lake Powell and Flagstaff being a few. 

Housing is the most affordable here, getting us more home per dollar.  There is a bit more traffic here, but not horrible. We also have a Temple in Mesa and the Phoenix Temple is in the works of being built.

Mesa Temple

Fresno, California

Pros and cons of living there: Well, it's California!  Still closer to family (12 -14 hour drives) than anywhere on the east coast or midwest.  Beautiful weather year round.  The program in Fresno is new and growing, giving Cody experimental and leadership opportunities, with hopes of incorporating moonlighting into the program soon.  Again, great schools available for Talmage.  

It is a very agriculturally rich city with tons of farmers markets selling all sorts of delicious produce.  It is 45 minutes from the mountains and Yosemite.  Few hours drive from other major cities such as; Sacramento, San Fransisco, Los Angeles San Diego, Oakland, Las Vegas etc. 

Housing is pretty affordable, not quite like Phoenix or Albuquerque, but we could still purchase.  Perk of owning in Fresno....we could have a garden in the backyard.  Commute is not bad at all, it being a smaller city in Cali. Of course there is a Temple there too. 

New Orleans, Louisiana

Pros and cons of living there:  The atmosphere and excitement.  Never a dull moment.  Lots of fun things to do, although I am not sure it's very kid friendly.  Far from family, but a fun place to visit might win us more visitors.  The program was a home run for Cody again, very impressive, with very profitable moonlighting available.  

Do I even need to mention the music, art and food?  We would definitely get fat living here.  It is close to all kinds of beautiful beaches, 3 hours from Seaside, Florida (where I worked one summer at a restaurant), they have gorgeous, clean, white beaches.  

The houses are so beautiful and the detail so intricate, it would be an activity in itself just walking the neighborhoods and towns.  Housing is affordable, but flood insurance alone is the biggest expense (but worth it if you consider the weather there on occasion).  

They have a Temple in Baton Rouge which is our next door neighbor, so good news in that department as well. 

Baton Rouge temple

Erie, Pennsylvania

Pros and cons of living there: Smaller town, less headache of a big city, easier commute for Cody.  The program again is a hit.  Really got along with all the residents.  Far away from family again, but not even a days drive to New York and other exciting east coast cities.  

There is a huge peninsula that juts out for 12 miles that has tons of warm sandy beaches to play on in the in the summertime, or to go biking or running on in the other seasons. Lots of fun sailing on the Lake (no sharks...phew).  

Housing is  affordable with lots of family friendly, beautiful neighborhoods to live in.  I think the nearest Temple is the Palmyra Temple (few hours drive, but gorgeous). 

Palmyra temple

 Huntington, West Virginia

Pros and Cons of living there: Very similar to Erie, a small town and far away from family, but non-the-less, very close to the East Coast and a lot of other major, fun, exciting cities to visit.  It is beautiful country with rolling hills and rivers and lakes.  Surrounded by trees and has all four seasons.  The program is a bit newer also, but very impressive to Cody and has a lot of great residents to work with.  

Lots of trains, which Talmage is infatuated with right now, that would be fun to go check out.  Don't even get me started on the adorable houses (which are very affordable) and the cozy feeling neighborhoods.  All around safe, clean, environment.  Fast and easy commute for Cody.  Good schools as well.  

Nothing like living in a quiet, small town and relaxin a bit.  The closest Temple I believe is the Columbus, Ohio Temple (few hours drive, another beauty though).

Columbus, Ohio Temple

Detroit, Michigan

Pros and Cons of living there:  I know! Detroit, and they just went through a horrible recession, leaving tons of people out of work and a ton of abandoned buildings with all the windows broken through.  The city was very dirty with trash all over the highways too.  Doesn't sound too good yet does it?  Well take a 15 minute drive into the suburbs surrounding Detroit and you got very pleasant, very affordable houses, with nice schools, and good communities.  

The program has a lot of perks to offer, including profitable moonlighting, new car (Henry Ford is the program, makes sense), and a lot of specialty programs.  It is close to Canada and other major cities.  They actually have a Detroit Temple too. Who woulda thought?  

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Pros and cons of living there:  I don't need to go into too much detail about Milwaukee.  I have been blogging about all the things we have done here for the last three years.  The Ortho program here is great like the others and could offer us a lot.  I actually think Milwaukee is a very beautiful city with a lot of affordable, nice houses and good neighborhoods to live in.  There is a lot to do downtown and a lot to do a few hours out of town.  Madison, Chicago, Wisconsin Dells, and even Nauvoo, etc. 

 It would be an easy transition to live here again.  We have our friends here and would be happy to call it home again.  Our closest Temple is the Chicago, Illinois Temple (1 1/2 hour drive).  

Well, that's it folks, an hour later and you have heard it all.  If you want to reply, explaining which place you think would be best and your reasoning, it wouldn't hurt us to hear some of your opinions.