Top 5 Friday

I'm not calling this Top 5 Friday because I intend to make this a recurring thing (though you never know!), but I do just so happen to have five things to share with you before the weekend. Hopefully when things slow down after Christmas, I'll have more time to actually sit and write. In the meantime:

1)This is a little video I put together that will help you see how much my little man lives up to his nickname. His nickname was serendipitous. Cause how could I have known a year ago just how much of his Dad's percussion gene he had inherited?



2)Green Shake Recipe.



We've become enamored of green shakes lately. They taste so delicious and it's one of the only way to get Tiny to eat lettuce of any sort. My fabulous sister gave me her recipe to try, and it's a hit with all members of the househould. I attribute this in large part to the fact that it tastes like a pina colada. Type 'green shake' into pinterest, and you'll get lots of ideas, but here's what we've been drinking:
2-3 handfuls of spinach
Some water or OJ as a liquid base
Frozen mango and pineapple
1 tsp Vanilla
1 T Coconut Oil

Blend and enjoy! I don't have a fancy blender, and it still blends the spinach completely. I think I'm partly drawn to green shakes this time of year because I'm looking for anything with immune boosting effects. Oh, cold and flu season!

3)My new favorite Christmas Album. I just discovered this today. Design Mom mentioned it and I went and checked it out. I listened once and SOLD! I knew Rockstar would love it as soon as I heard the pianist has been compared to Vince Gauraldi. The featured vocalist, Acacia, has a fantastic jazz voice.

My other new favorite Christmas Album. Rockstar bought this for me last week, and it's been in near constant rotation. When I first heard Zooey Deschanel's voice in 'Elf', I remember thinking, "Why isn't this girl making music?? I'd so buy her album." I googled it, and found out that at the time, she was popular on the Hollywood party circiut as a singer. I'm glad that she's made albums now that we can all enjoy.

4)This article is worth a read. A good friend and I were talking this morning about what parents can do to help kids grown into more respectful teenagers. She pointed me towards this article, and I thought it made so much sense. I really believe that the kind of love, generosity and respect we model in our marriage will be pivotal in our children's behavior. Just last week we had a family night lesson about being nice when other kids aren't(geared toward the preschool set). Afterwards, Tiny was playing with her toys while I recounted a story from the day to Rockstar, including a semi-sarcastic thing someone had said. Tiny pipes up, "Mommy! You can't talk to Daddy like that! We just had a lesson being nice, and you need to be nice!" We were cracking up as I explained that I was just relaying a story, but holy little pitchers! These little ones don't miss a trick. It was a good reminder to make a more concerted effort in the generosity department.

5)DIY Chandelier



I don't really consider myself a DIY'er, but I was helping out with the Halloween party for our church this year. The main planner came up to me while we were setting up and said, 'Hey, do you think you could build a chandelier in the middle of the ceiling with all these paper lanterns?' And because that is just precisely the kind of nebulous challenge that I love (the kind where I don't really know what I'm doing out the outset), I said yes. An hour and a half and a lot of fishing wire/masking tape/twinkle lights later, my friend Jen and I felt pretty pleased with our efforts. I'd give you a step by step on how we did that, but I'm not really sure!

Happy Weekend!

This and That

**He may be off dairy, but cones are fair game!**

*When I'm tired, I put off blogging. I love to write and organize my thoughts around a particular topic, but it takes energy. And I've been staying up too late to have enough energy for that this last week. I should probably go re-read my post about going to bed early. In the meantime, here are a few scattershot thoughts/links I wanted to share:

*Only watch these hair videos if you are prepared for your world to be rocked. Seriously, the trick in the first video has revolutionized my hair routine. I'm a night-showerer (this started back when I was rising pre-dawn for hospital rounds and couldn't tolerate getting out of bed one milisecond before I had to.) So now I just let it air dry most of the way in the evening, then take 4 minutes to flip it around a headband before bed. I sleep on it and wake up to curls that really stay all day. Fabulous.

I also figured out after seeing a picture of a hairstyle like this:



that I could just use a similar technique to rock a renaissance look during the day. It's crazy simple, but looks kind of fancy. I love it.



*I've been on a crusade against diet soda for years. Maybe crusade is too strong a word. Let's say I always caution my patients against it. This article just adds fuel to my fire. I've always believed that we wren't really tricking the body with such a super-sweet stimulus--of course it spikes the blood sugar!

*I decided to do some mild color-blocking for work today. I paired my large pink rose earrings with a bold red sweater. I thought, "Some people are going to think this looks stylish, and the rest are going to think I got ready in the dark." But that's half the fun, right? :)

*Much is made of women being mean to each other. I was just reading a few articles about how women can be so cruel to each other. But you know what? Women also get each other's backs. While Tiny was in preschool last week, I stopped by Nordstrom Rack with Drummer. I tried on a few items, then raced to the register before Drummer could start protesting. I was standing in line when I heard a woman whisper behind me, "Um, m'am? Your sweater is on inside out." She was so quiet at first, that I almost didn't hear. I turned around. She leaned in and said it again in a whisper. I appreciated her attempts at discretion.

I thanked her and switched my cardigan back around. The two women in front of me in line smiled. One of them said, "Honey, don't be embarrassed! That stuff happens to me all the time, but no one ever takes the time to tell me!" We all laughed about it and I left the store happy for the moment of solidarity I'd experienced in an unlikely place.

*Have you listened to Patty Griffin? Her voice cuts straight to the heart of the matter. I love it.

Hope you all had a lovely Monday!

This and That

**This is your health article for the week. If you Zumba, do it safely!**

**It takes a lot of this...**


**...to get to that.**


But really the point of those pictures is my sweater. As it turns out, sometimes I swap style secrets with my patients. I've owned this polka-dot skirt for a few months, and really love it. I'd tried it with a few different tops, none of which did it justice. Then my patient walks in wearing the same skirt with the pictured sweater. It perfectly matched the orangey-red stitching on the skirt (which you probably can't see in the picture). I told her how I'd been styling it, she told me where she bought the sweater, and we both left happy. :) Now hopefully we won't both be wearing it at her next office visit.

**This boy's cheeks get more and more delicious. True Story.**



**That was a total 'mom moment'. I'd been playing dressup downstairs with the kids in the morning. Around lunchtime, I came up to see that I'd had this on my head for hours. And, I mean, why not?**




**I love how this shot makes it look like a host of angels were blessing our McDonald's Ice Cream Cone. Tiny's face even mirrors corresponding awe. I've taught her well the value of these cones.**



**That was my first foray into fancy little girl hair. I know it's a messy attempt, but can I get a round of applause here? Cause I was the girl who couldn't do a french braid to save her life while growing up. I finally got around to looking at the blogs with tutorials a friend had sent me, and realized I might not be as hopeless as I'd thought.**




**This was our first visit to the American Girl Doll Store, which was a hit. We'll go back on a less crowded day to get Samantha's hair done, etc., This trip? Tiny was thrilled that she got to pick out whatever she wanted from the bistro dessert case. Which ended up being a pink lollipop.**




**We had a great Independance Day, celebrating with family. This:**


**led to this:**


**then this:**


**and finally this:**


I love the Fourth.

Happy Weekend!

This and That

**Drummer appears to have his dad's percussion gene. Hence why I call him Drummer. If he has maracas, he will walk around shaking them until the cows come home. Luckily my in-laws stock all sorts of instruments to feed his fascination.**

*This week we're having an ice cream social to welcome our new class of interns. We'll feed them yummy treats, give them a pep talk,and then proceed to take them over body and soul come July 1st. Mwahahahaha... I kid! Sort of. ;) If you want to read what I wrote right before starting my intern year, lo these many years ago, go here.

I tell you what, I kind of get palpitations just thinking about it.


**First Harvest! Tomatoes taste better when you grow them. Or maybe it's my imagination.**

*Have you heard about this? I think it's a good thing that they are trying to attach some reality to the habit of smoking habits by posting these graphic pictures on tobacco prodcuts. Some people fear that smokers will get annoyed at a perceived government intervention, and stubbornly keep smoking. Perhaps. But I think if it can give some of the younger smokers pause--if it can make them contemplate consequences they'd rather ignore, then I say kudos. It's worth a shot.


**My in-laws also stock their own costume collection and this one has been deemed 'sleeping beauty'. Boy does she put on an amazing show in their living room. Dancing faster than a speeding bullet!**



**She signs autographs. And it is serious business.**

*That P.9-0.X is a real doozy, eh? I tell my patients that they need to be in an exercise routine, so at some point I needed to start taking my own advice. I mean, I've always been intermittently active, but the routine? Therein lies my struggle. So I started attending this weekly boot camp class a while back, which was fun. Then our instructor moved, so another friend offered to lead us in P.9-0.X. Have you tried this? Exceptionally effective stuff, but I tell you what, I busted my shoulder the first day. Which means exercise is bad for you I am now under my own doctor's orders to rest up. I think that's one prescription I can most definitely follow through on. :)

(I intentionally mistyped the name of the exercise program to avoid it coming up in what I'm guessing is a frequent google search!)

*This year, So You Think You Can Dance is especially awesome. I love that show.

Doctor Thoughts and This and That

One of my good friends told me that one of the things she most appreciates about her pediatrician is that she makes her feel like she's doing a good job. "Every time I leave, I feel like she has affirmed me as a mom." I loved that. I wanted to give that gift to my patients. I hope I always have, but it's something I've been more conscious of since she said that. This last week I've had a bunch of families coming in for their kids' physicals. It's really so much fun. I love seeing the sibling interaction and talking to the moms about their concerns and their successes. Frequently I'll pick up some new parenting tip from the moms. I admire the families I take care of for so many reasons and I'm grateful to get to be part of their lives. And, hopefully, I communicate that so that they leave my office feeling like they are capable.

I have my own story to share sometime about what I appreciated as a patient, but I'd love to hear yours. What does your doctor do that you appreciate?

**This is the recipe for the black bean burger that my friend Kyra sent:

"THE BEST BLACK BEAN BURGERS!
what you need:

•1 1/2 cups cooked black beans (a 15 oz. can very well drained)
•1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (very well drained, and there is a typo in the magazine, it calls for a 4.5 oz can, but that is incorrect)
•1 cup fresh cilantro or parsley (we used cilantro)
•1 teaspoon ground cumin
•1 clove garlic
•2 green onions
•2/3 cup shredded carrots
•1 3/4 cup rolled oats

Put all these ingredients in the food processor and turned it on. It helps if you pre-chop the veggies, smash the garlic, and really drain the tomatoes. Use a big dough scoop to make 8 patties, and press them flat on the tray. Bake on parchment paper or a silpat at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, carefully turn them over and bake another 15 minutes. Eat right away or let cool and freeze.

Eat on a whole wheat bun with lettuce and a little chipotle sauce, which is chipotle puree mixed with either ketchup, sour cream, or mayonnaise."

My notes: I used the cilantro, which I thought was great. Chipotle puree eluded me, so I went with a sour cream/salsa mix and avocado slices as a topper. Delicious. Also, if you have a convection oven like me, you may only need to cook them for twenty minutes total. Enjoy!

*That is how we spent last weekend's rainy day. An extended tea party at my in-laws. Today was similar-- tea parties, extended naps, and a little spring cleaning.



*This is a new discovery--she'll eat hardboiled eggs! Hooray for the egg-dyeing that led to this discovery.



*That (pulling the CD's off the shelf) is one of his favorite activities. That and climbing things. Heaven help us.



*This is where we were a year ago. How was that seriously a whole year ago, and yet, how was Drummer not there? Know what I mean?


**image by the amazing Nancy**


*That is my little girl last Easter.



She has grown up so much. I love this holiday. I love all of its fun traditions--eggs, Easter Bunnies, and candy. Most of all, I love the chance to celebrate that He is Risen.

Happy Easter Weekend!

Office Talk: Dehydration and This and That

**You mean these viruses are still going around??**

Question: My child was just diagnosed with a stomach bug, and I'm wondering the best way to keep her hydrated.

Answer: There have been a lot of stomach viruses floating around these parts in the past few months, and summer will surely bring its own crop. When a child is losing a lot of fluids through vomiting or diarrhea, it can be hard to keep up. The best way to get fluids in a kid (or an adult for that matter) is to use small, frequent amounts. Small as in 1 teaspoon (5 mL), frequent as in ever 2-5 minutes. Being dehydrated can get a person pretty thirsty, but filling the stomach with too much liquid can trigger vomiting. So keep a small and steady stream going.

If your child won't eat anything, water alone just isn't enough. Remember that commercial oral rehydration solutions (like Pedialyte) really do have good science behind them. They have enough carbohydrate in them to keep the body going, without so much as to cause worsened diarrhea. Drinks like tea, fruit juice, sports drinks, and soft drinks actually have too little sodium and too many carbs in them, and can worsen diarrhea and put people at risk for sodium imbalance.

When you are starting back on food again, make sure to stick with the BRAT diet at first. That would be Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Tea/Toast. These are bland foods that are easy for the body to digest.

And always check with your doctor if you see signs of dehydration: decreased urine output, lethargy, physical signs of dryness (lack of saliva, decreased skin turgor, lack of tear film over the eyes etc.,) or if you have an infant with vomiting/diarrhea.


*This is how I wear my Coco Penny:


*That little teaser of spring is all I need. My Azaleas are almost in bloom!



*This is how we spent last Saturday. I'm not sure how we turned into gingerbread house makin' fools, but thus it is. We do Easter, Halloween and Christmas. Halloween Houses are the best.








**Tiny favored a high frosting to candy ratio**


**My MIL wins the prize for most candy on a house.**

*That little chica didn't get the memo about not talking on pretend cell phones while driving.



Happy Weekend!

Wanderlust (and this and that)

As I left the office today, the sun was still relatively high in the sky, and the weather was warm. I hardly needed my coat. I started the car, and a catchy, summery tune came on the radio. Driving down the road, where signs of life are starting to emerge from the barren shrubbery, it seemed Spring had actually decided to arrive. It was then that I felt a familiar high coming on.

Spring unleashes my wanderlust.

The winter months bring with them the urge to hunker down. To drink hot chocolate, read stories, and sit by the (usually metaphorical) fire. They bring the gathering of holidays, comfort foods, and coziness.

But the spring and summer months? Oh, they bring on the urge to take the scenic route, to go on an unexpected weekend trip, to explore something new and to let my favorite music provide a soundtrack to the whole thing.

During my second year of medical school, I found myself exploring some of the quaint streets near my row-house with good music as company. The touch of warmer weather had awakened that adventurous spirit in me, and I recall that I wanted so badly to just fly to London and wander. To see, to experience, to think. Finals, be darned! "How," I would think, "will I manage to keep myself on lockdown in a hospital for the next bazillion years, when all I want to do is go outside and wander?"

I never have liked to feel too boxed in. It is no wonder that the medical training road (which is very rigid) chafed against that part of myself. But I should thank it for teaching me mad amounts of self-discipline. After Lil' Drummer's birth, when we were still in the every-two-hour-waking phase, I remember thinking that I just needed a good road trip. I needed to get out of dodge, and then sleep or no sleep, all would be manageable with the world.

On the evenings when the prospect of another sleepless night brought on those new mother anxieties, I would strap Drummer to my chest, and wander the neighborhood with my ipod in. "Cheaper than prozac" I used to say to Rockstar upon returning home(a line I shamelessly stole from Robin Williams after his Oscar win). It felt so good to just be out there with my thoughts. And my baby. :)

And I guess that's how my wanderlust has changed. Back in the day, I was a solo explorer, content to go it alone. Now? I can't imagine going on life's adventures without my family.**

What about you...how does the change in seasons affect you?

**(a baby-free trip here or there excepted). :)



*This week was 'Observation week' for Tiny Dancer's ballet class. It's fun to see them up close and personal, but the parents serve as a constant distraction. Tiny is now one of the two oldest dancer's in the class, and she is begging me to move up to the older class.

*That little yellow pinafore is adorable. They make the cutest costumes for the girls.


*This Lil' guy has been a champ sitting through big sister's dance classes.

*That certificate of achievement made her so happy.


*This is what a table looks like after two toddlers, two mamas, and one baby boy are done with it. I love Nordies cafe, and I love lunch out with friends.


*That article gives me one more reason to love fish more than I already do. It's good for your eyes!

Happy Weekend! xo

This and That

*This morning was gray and rainy. Tiny woke up and crawled into bed just a few minutes before my alarm went off. And since there would be nothing better than letting her snuggle between us for an extra half an hour of sleep on a rainy morning, I was more disappointed than usual when my phone went off moments later. Especially since I was supposed to be in half an hour earlier than normal to staff the walk-in clinic.

I Eeyeor'ed my way through my get-ready routine, and kissed the family goodbye. I tried to keep my pack mule self (laptop bag, lunch bag, Medela pump bag, gift bag) dry as I darted through the raindrops to my car.

When I walked in to my office, I was surprised to see that no one waiting to be seen. I guess the rain, or rather the dramatic forecasts for the rain, had kept them all home for an extra hour or two. So, my nurse and I put our feet up and talked about life, her upcoming move, and the office happenings.

I'd rather have snuggled my littles, but a slow start and a nice conversation with my nurse, were good consolation prizes on this cozy day.

*That photo shoot with my talented friend, Tab, was a lot of fun. As a mom, I feel like I rarely end up in the shot with my kids, so I'm so happy to have some of me with them.




*This week a lot of patients have been asking me what I think of the Atkins diet. Seeing as I don't think much of it, I should direct them to this article. The Mediterranean diet has much to recommend it--including good science!

*That Lil' Drummer is a sweet natured little guy. He is particularly sweet natured when you don't try to prevent him from the following types of activities:




*This weekend, Rockstar and I have two dates planned, and I'm pretty happy about it. I figure we're just making up for lost time, since those first six or seven months after a baby are kind of a wasteland that way.
Happy Weekend!

This and That

**If you want to talk to my mom, you're going to have to get through me first!"


1)This week I realized how much I appreciate the support of the people I work with:
Not that I don't love all of my patients, but there are certainly ones who tax more of the office staff's, um, resources.

And this week I was in the position to see one of those patient's. This patient had taxed about as much as he could tax without people (in every department) getting pretty hot under the collar. So when he was coming in on my schedule, and a certain foot needed to be put down about office policies, I had more back up than I could've hoped for.

It started with a text from one of our front desk people: "Hey, just a heads up, but so and so is on your schedule today." I was glad to know I wouldn't be blindsided by it that afternoon. Then as I walked in, the two unit secretaries let me know that they'd adjusted my schedule to help me deal with what would probably be an extended appointment.

As I stood on the nurses station, a few employees came over and rehearsed with me the best way to handle the situation. A fellow physician saw one of my patient's for me so that I had more time to get my game face on. My nurse offered to come knock on the door at an appointed time to see if I needed backup (I hope you are sensing that this was not a typical office visit...in fact, I don't think I've ever seen a patient who was so widely known by the staff!). Etc., etc., It felt like I was a gladiator being prepped for battle. And so by the time I was sitting across from the patient, I didn't feel stressed or anxious at all. Because it felt so good to know that outside my office door, there were dozens of people pulling for me and hoping it was going all right. That I had on the armor of goodwill and solidarity, and that everything would be just fine.

And it was.

2)That is how we spent our morning.

Both kids had their well-child visits today. Lil' Drummer didn't make a peep while his ears were examined (I enjoy this victory since I know how hard it can be to be the examiner) and Tiny Dancer impressed the doc with her knowledge of fairy tales. He declared Tiny dancer precocious and Lil' Drummer a lightweight. We need to get more meat on that kids' bones. And you know what's funny? Even though my office feels like a second home, I still have some of the same anxieties that everyone else does when I'm on the other side of the coin. I'll have to write more about that sometime.

3)This little darling is pretty fun to take shopping. I had a couple returns to make, and she wanted to carry my bags, and stop at every.single.bench (of which there were many) on the way out, to snap iphone pictures. I'm glad that her mall fascination right now centers around their escalators, and not their product lines. This is something that I know is bound to change in the coming years.





4)That article about dirty shopping carts makes me feel better. I mean, it makes me feel worse about the state of shopping carts, but better about my slightly OCD habits. Because you better believe that whenever I schlep the kids into Target or Trader Joe's with me, I wip out my personal supply of anti-bacterial wet wipes, and scrub the handles down. I try to do so as unobtrusively as possible, always wary that people think I'm some kind of crazy. But then I read this and I think, "I am NOT the crazy one!" So, ponder that next time you are at the grocery store, okay?

5)This dress that she's wearing?



Well, it's actually a tanktop, but the company accidentally sent me a size 6-7. I said to her, "Sweetie, It's too big. It's for a six year old." "No, Mom, it fits perfectly and it's for a three year old." She was devastated that I might exchange it for the proper size. And they're sold out of it now, so it's either, go with it as a tank dress, or abandon it altogether! What would you do?

Happy Weekend!