Noah's first painting!

For preschool all the kids bring a backpack with certain items - scissors, glue stick, sitting mat, paint shirt. Noah has been most excited about the paint shirt. When I picked him up from his first day of preschool he told me all about it on the way home. Then he said, "But mom, we didn't paint!" His one dissapointment. Luckily his second day of preschool did entail a paint project. The mom who taught that day told me Noah was more excited than any of the other kids and wanted to go first (they were taking shifts). But then he realized that the teacher needed to trace his body onto the poster first - he flat out refused. So they traced another little boy for Noah and Noah still got to paint a picture of himself. He was so proud we went right home and hung it in his bedroom. When I asked him why he didn't want to get traced he said, "I thought it was pretty scary." I said, "That's not scary." Noah started giggling and admitted, "I was too shy!"

P.S. Notice that Noah is holding one leg of his shorts up. Remember that scraped knee he got on Labor Day, while I was running the 5K? Yep, that's it. It's been an ordeal for the past 2 weeks! He wants a band-aid on...now he wants it off but he screams and cries because it hurts to take it-off...he's re-opened the wound several times and caused it to bleed again which totally freaks him out...and, most importantly, he cannot STAND for any piece of clothing to touch band-aid or scab (he reminds me every time I help him dress/undress). So, yes, he's been walking around with his shorts held up for 2 weeks. There's hardly any scab left but he's obviously not going to stop until it's completely healed. What a weirdo - he always looks hilarious walking around in public with his shorts pulled up almost to his underwear, his white thigh exposed : )

Noah Paul Gunn, Future MD

Noah loves wearing this scrub cap Paul brought home

Another Perfect Day (almost)

Saturday was great...Another crisp cool, fall-like day. Since our kids have nothing but shorts, tank-tops and flip-flops we decided to head to the outlets and get the kids outfitted for fall/winter. Those of you who have ever ridden in a car with my 2 children will understand and appreciate how much courage this took on our part...It is a 45 minute drive. I was so proud of Paul for being willing to take a family outing all in the same car : ) The kids did miraculously well on the way there. We headed straight to Baby Gap, caused a little bit of a scene and a very big mess, with the kids pulling everything off hangers and shelves. Noah wants to pick out his own clothes now and Alex is obsessed with shoes (she gets that from her dad...really). Noah kept trying to put something in my shopping bag and I kept taking it out without paying much attention and he finally snapped at me, "Mom, I want to buy these undies for Alex!" I have no idea why, but yes, he did have a package of little girls pink panties. What a helpful brother : ) After spending way too much money (growing kids are ridiculously expensive) we headed over to Stride Rite - Alex was happy as can be to try on hundreds of pairs of shoes - Noah, on the other hand...after bribing, pleading, threatening and cajoling we finally resorted to chasing him through the store (which he of course thought was hilarious) and holding him down just to hold a shoe up to the bottom of his foot. After that the kids and I headed off to the playground while Paul looked for a shirt and tie to wear with his new "interview" suit. No luck for Paul, unfortunately.

We drove through Wendy's and raced home (with Alex screaming half the time because she didn't want to share the Sprite with Noah) just in time for babysitting group. The family we swap with wanted to go test-drive some cars and the dealreships are closed at night...so we were scheduled to babysit from 3-5 and then we'd take our kids to their place from 6-8 for our date night. Alex was talking a nap, their little boy Caleb was falling asleep in my lap, and Noah and Ammon were coloring...at least that's what we thought they were doing. We could see them sitting in the dining room with the paper and crayon box out and they were laughing and having a great time together. Noah walks in a few minutes later with a look I know all too well - that guilty smile. I think he's thinking something like this: Mom, I want to tell you what I did because I'm so proud, but I know you won't be. Here's how our conversation actually went:

Noah: Mom, I've been cutting
Me: With your scissors?
Noah: Yeah
Me: What have you been cutting?
Noah: Ammon's hair!

I thought I was going to throw up. I raced over to Ammon who proudly showed off his new haircut...I brushed the top of his head with my hands and big chunks of hair fell to the floor. Panic. I was sure his parents would never trust us with their kids again or even want to have anything to do with us. Luckily, that was not the case. They thought it was pretty funny actually. I have to admit, I was relieved he'd cut a little boy's hair, who can get a buzz cut, and not a little girl's (like Alex)!

An hour later we were dropping our kids off and heading out for date night, just me and Paul. Considering what we'd spent on the kids clothes that day Paul suggested we head to McDonald's. We probably would have if it wasn't in the ghetto : ) Instead we treated ourselves to a shared burritto at Chipotle and a stroll through the book store. It was great! I don't think we'd have made it happy and sane through med school without date night.

That was our almost perfect Saturday - minus the haircut and I'd have called it perfect! Sorry to bore you all with the details, but for me it was one of the funnest days we've had as a family recently and I want to remember it (ok, I know "funnest" is not a word but I like it). Hope you all had a great Saturday too!

Residency applications

So I sent my applications to anesthesiology residency programs in this week and these are the places we applied:

University of Washington
Oregon Health and Science University
Stanford University
UC Davis
UC San Diego
University of Arizona
University of Utah
University of Colorado
University of New Mexico
University of Minnesota
Mayo Clinic
University of Wisconsin
University of Iowa
University Hospitals of Cleveland
Cleveland Clinic
Duke University
Wake Forest University

Now we just wait to be invited for interviews. We won't find out where we'll going until March 20.

Today's quotes from Noah

I was giving hugs to Noah and Alex and Noah said, "We love alls each others!"

I overheard Noah say to Alex, very seriously, "Alex, daddy is a superhero"

The Perfect Day

I've been feeling a little guilty...I think I talk/blog more about the rough moments I have with my kids than the good ones. Let's be honest, the bad days make for much more entertaining stories! But, I wanted to have it on the record that the kids and I had a great day together this week. It was as close to perfect as you can come when you're broke, your husband is an over-worked med-student, and you have 2 toddlers : ) It was just a regular day - nothing super exciting or out of the ordinary...morning jog to the lake, afternoon trip to target, fhe. The kids were just so happy, sweet, and enjoyable to be around...THE WHOLE DAY! I think Heavenly Father knows I need those days every once in awhile - they keep me going. So, for anyone who's been reading my blog and wondering...I absolutely love my kids!

AAHHH, Fall

Today was the first day that has felt like fall - and I loved it! I took the kids to the JCC Park today - Noah was so excited he actually agreed to wear pants! I love getting out the warm clothes. Speaking of which...my Roots sweat suit. I'm sick with a cold so after playing at the park with the kids this morning I came home and threw on my sweat suit...I instantly felt better, healthier, happier. Ok, slight exaggeration, I was not instantly cured, but it felt so good! This is the best sweat suit ever, I think everyone should have one. Oh, the simple pleasures in life...like a comfy Roots sweat suit. Does it count as a "simple" pleasure if it's not free/cheap? Maybe the word I'm looking for is "splurge." Either way, thanks Mom and Dad!

Dinner/Dessert

So I was craving something sweet tonight and was about to whip up a homemade chocolate cake with chocolate frosting (a new favorite in our house) but I felt a little guilty - I've only been running once this week. I decided to make crepes instead. Noah had a blast filling them up with butter, jam, and 2 kinds of sugar. Bon Appetit! Did I mention this was his dinner? Oh well, it's better than chocolate cake, right?

Sticker Removal

Just for the record, Alex did not stick her finger in a light socket, get struck by lightning, or take a ride in Grandpa's porsche with the top down...this is just what her hair looks like when she wakes up from her nap. She goes to bed a pretty little girl with pigtails and wakes up looking...well, scary. Poor Alex, we love you!

Stickers

My kids love stickers. They always make a huge mess, no matter how many times I say "Stickers are for hands and paper!" It just doesn't sink in. Today, I found Noah feeding them to Alex, who was happily gobbling them up. After scolding them, and telling them both that it was dangerous I came back to find Alex covered head to toe in stickers (oh yeah, and my dining room floor, chairs, and table). This is not the first time this has happened but it is the first time that they have ever "stickered" her eyes shut. Alex seems to enjoy this game...the problem comes when it's time to remove the stickers. She screams her head off! Come on, she doesn't even have any hair on her body, it can't hurt that bad! You'd think she would learn, but this happens every couple of days.


I had already begun removing some stickers from her when I thought to take a picture. Noah, thinking that Alex was crying about getting her picture taken ran over to her and said, "Oh, you don't have to be alone baby!" He sat down next to her and said "Cheese!" That, and her trusty blanky, cheered her up.

First Day of Preschool!

So here's my goofy kid on his first day of preschool. He was so excited! He was running circles around Alex this morning chanting, "I'm going to preschool! I'm going to preschool! I'm going to preschool!" Noah was especially excited to use his backpack. He helped me pack it last night with all the necessary preschool supplies and then he wore it around the house the rest of the night. Among his backpack items were 2 of his most cherished possesions - toy airplanes, which he brought for show and tell because the letter of the day was A. Noah had asked me several times if I was going to stay with him at preschool and I explained several times why I wasn't - so I wasn't sure how he would react when I dropped him off. Well, Noah marched up to the front porch and was ringing Madison's doorbell before I even had Alex out of her carseat. He seemed a little unsure about things once we were inside but as more kids arrived and sat down at the play-doh table with him he warmed right up. Next thing I knew he was waving at me saying, "Bye mom, bye Alex!" Well, that was easy...sort of...I'm a little embarassed to admit this but I got a little teary on the way home. Now, at the end of the day I'm feeling a little teary again but for the opposite reason - does anyone want to adopt 2 naughty, screaming, crying, fighting, defiant, smart-mouthed, tantrum throwing children? No? Ok, ok, I guess I'll keep them. : )

Alex's reaction to Noah's first day of preschool was funny as well...When we came home, just the two of us, she had a silly grin on her face. She kept pointing back and forth saying, "Momma...Alex!" and giggling. I think she was excited to have some time alone with Mommy. But when I told her it was time to go pick up Noah she ran for the door chanting his name.

Yes, that's really me at the sewing machine

So Noah needed a "sitting square" for preschool. Normally my motto is "If you can't buy it, we don't have it. If we can't afford, we'll live without it." I don't do crafts. PERIOD. But it's not like I could go out and buy a "sitting square" (official definition - a mat to sit on during circle time). I thought about finding a scrap of carpet or just a piece of felt but I wanted it to be something meaningful for Noah, to help get him excited for preschool. He's been a little nervous and apparently had some misconceptions. I was talking to him about all the things he was going to be doing at preschool and when I mentioned circle time Noah started whimpering and said, "I'm scared of circle time!" When I asked him why he said, "Do we have to go really really fast?" I have no idea what he was envisioning, but obviously not anything close to what circle time actually is. When I explained it to him he was very relieved. So, back to the sitting square. How hard could it be to sew 2 pieces of fabric together with a little bit of trim around the edges? This, from the girl who hasn't touched a sewing machine since 8th grade and who has a major anxiety attack anytime she walks into a craft store! But I decided to tough it out...ok not really. On the way to the craft store I called my friend Jen for backup - luckily she was willing to come with me and Noah to the store and I roped her into helping me with this project. And thank goodness! I honestly couldn't have done it on my own. So, after showing Noah about 20 different fabrics with bugs, balls, cars, and anything boy you can think of he settled on the dinosaurs. But when we took it to the counter to be measured and cut Noah got upset. When we got home I said, "Show dad what you picked out for your preschool mat!" Noah took the fabric and ran and hid. I found him crying in our room. He kept saying, "I didn't want her to cut the dinosaurs!" I reassured him I would sew it up for him but this holds no meaning to my kids, who have never even seen a sewing machine. To make a long story short, I took my supplies over to Jen's house who helped me measure, cut, and iron the batting to the fabric. She set up the sewing machine for me but I am proud to say that I SEWED THE WHOLE THING BY MYSELF! Noah was very happy with the finished product and I must say, so am I (just don't look too close)! But let's be honest...I'll probably never touch a sewing machine for another 12 years.

Sick? How about some red licorice for dinner

On Saturday afternoon Noah started acting sick - the telltale sign is that he's not constantly bouncing off the walls. He complained of a headache and he seemed to be running a fever. All he wanted to do was lay on mom's bed - with mommy of course. Paul had some friends over to watch the BYU game that night so there was dinner and treats out on the table. Noah was supposed to be watching a movie on the portable DVD player in my room. I went to check on him and found him asleep in my rocking chair with red licorice all over his hands, chest, and face. I'm sure that really helped! He woke up when I tried to take a picture of him, and when I tried to clean him up he got annoyed with me: "Mommy, I don't feel good and I'm really tired. I need to take a rest in your chair." And eat candy.

Attack of the Cleveland Ant

The other day Paul the kids and I were driving home from a friends house. We'd just barely left when Paul suddenly swerved and muttered something under his breath (he denies it was a swear word). I screamed and Paul said, "Something bit me!" He was wearing flip-flops and something had gotten his toe. "What was it?" I said. Paul said he wasn't sure and we kept going. Seconds later, another yelp and swerve from Paul. He's swatting at the car mat and trying to drive, I lifted my feet onto my seat and started yelling, and both of the kids started sobbing! "Well what do you think it was?" I said. Paul kept insisting he didn't know, so I of course assumed the worst and said, "Was it a rat?" Paul thought that was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard - what I meant though, was a little baby mouse. That could live in a car right? I'm sure it would have plenty of food to survive in our car. So, after bite number 2 Paul pulled over and shook out the car mat - still no sign of the culprit. I kept my feet up on the seat while trying to console our terrified children and Paul got back in and drove with one foot. A few minutes later Paul yelled, "There it is! Give me the wipes! No not one wipe, the whole package!" I'm scrambling and screaming, the kids are bawling all over again and Paul throws the package of wipes at the ant crawling across the dashboard. He missed. Paul and I proceeded to argue about the wipes. I didn't want to give him the whole package because I didn't want bug guts on it. He said, "If I'm doing the killing I get to choose the weapon!" Fair enough. A few more minutes, we've finally calmed the kids again, and out of the corner of my eye I see the ant crawling up my window. Chaos erupts. Paul yelling "Get it!" me screaming hysterically and throwing the wipes package at the window, kids now screaming like they're being tortured. Missed again. We arrived home with no further incidents but we never did get the ant...The next day I drove everywhere with one foot up on the seat. Great parenting, huh? Our kids will probably be afraid of ants for the rest of their lives

This may sound like a ridiculous story to anyone who's never seen a Cleveland ant...those of you who have know what I'm talking about. This picture is the closest thing I could find : )

All About Noah

The preschool kids are playing a get-to-know you game next week for their first day of class and I got a list of questions to ask Noah. Here are his reponses:

1. Favorite toy - My airplanes
2. Favorite color - Green
3. What I want to be when I grow up - A Doctor
4. Favorite food - Fish
5. Name of pet(s), or pet they would like to have - I want a fish named Norman

Interesting that the pet he wants to have is also his favorite food...I was thinking about getting him one but now I'm a little nervous

Strip Tease

We came home from the library yesterday afternoon and I put Alex straight to bed. I headed out to the living room to check on Noah and what did I find? A trail of clothes. First it was his shoes...a few feet further were his shorts...a few more steps and there's his shirt...all leading to a naked Noah asleep on my chair. I guess I should be grateful he left his underwear on this time. Paul's response to Noah's desire to always be naked: "Hey, I don't like to wear pants either." Wonderful.

This nap turned into a 3-hour event. Noah doesn't usually take naps but when he does he's comatose. Waking him is futile - he doesn't even open his eyes, just sobs hysterically until you let him go back to sleep. So yesterday he finally woke up on his own at 7pm. What time did Noah finally go to bed last night? 1am. Frustrating, yes - but I have to say, when he wakes up from these naps he's the sweetest little boy you've ever met! But the night wasn't over for me...Alex is teething and woke up sobbing hysterically at 5am - I didn't get her back to bed until 6am. I fell back asleep, praying the kids would sleep in, but no such luck. Noah was up at 6:45am. Paul was on call last night and when he came home this morning he thought it was pretty funny that he got more sleep than I did. Oh, motherhood...

5K!!!

I did it! On Labor Day I ran a 5k. I've never been much of a runner but this summer I've been going 3 days a week with the kids. I throw them in the Bob (our wonderful double jogging stroller, and one of my most prized posessions) and we make our 3 mile loop around the lake. If I'm feeling really tough we even make it around the second lake, adding another mile to our roundtrip total. I'm actually starting to enjoy it! At least, when the kids aren't fighting in the stroller and driving me nuts! That's when I turn up the i-pod and ignore them...although I do feel sorry for anyone within a one mile radius who can hear my kids screaming! This was my first race and my best buddy Jen did it with me. We turned out to be great running partners! Our goal was to make it in under 30 minutes. We kept a nice steady pace (even on the uphill sections!) and crossed the finish line at 28min 30 sec! Hurray for us! We got a nice surprise along the way too...Just after the second mile marker we spotted Jen's husband DJ, Paul, and the kids cheering us on. We were pretty tired at that point but seeing them gave us a little adrenaline rush, enough to keep us going. However, things did not go so well for Paul and the kids after we passed. The kids broke down, both crying for their mommy and Noah fell down and scraped his knee. Jen and I were waiting for them at the finish line and I could hear them before I could see them. Noah was sitting in the stroller sobbing about his bloddy knee and Paul was carrying Alex, who was also crying, while pushing the double stroller. Paul says next time they'll just see me at the finish line.

Jen and I had a lot of fun running together but we're obviously not in that great of shape because we were to out of breath to carry on a conversation. Our conversation over that 28min 30 sec run went like this:

"You doing ok?"
"Yeah, you"
"Yeah"
"How's the pace?"
"Good"
We're doing good"
"Keep it up"
"One more mile"

And that's it...Thanks for keeping me going Jen! Next step...10K!

We love Cleveland...well mostly

Paul has spent most of this week putting the finishing touches on his residency application and it is almost ready for submission. And since it's already September we've got less than 9 months left in Cleveland! Not that I'm checking out early...in fact I'm starting to appreciate Cleveland even more. So here are some things I will miss about Cleveland and some things I wont...

Things I love about Cleveland:
The trees, green in the summer and colorful in the fall
Flower cookies at Stone Oven
Awesome library system
Book Group
Dr. Reider, my ob (no, I'm NOT pregnant)
Jogs to Shaker Lake and The Nature Center
JCC Park
Squires Castle Park
Dewey's Pizza
Lightning bugs in the summer
Summer rainstorms
Great friends!
Our little apartment

Things I Don't:
The 6-month winter
Grey skies
The customer service (if you can even call it that)
The pot-holed roads
Our "dental student ward" (no offense dental students, on an individual basis I think you're great!)
A 20-minute drive, no matter where you want to go
No direct flights to visit family (at least not on Southwest)
Living 2 blocks from the ghetto
No one wanting to come and visit
Our little apartment

I've had a love/hate relationship with Cleveland, especially this past year...but as you can see I've found more things to love about it than not too. Overall, we've had a great time here in Cleveland and I plan to live it up over the next 9 months! Hurray Cleveland!

Samurai warrior or Sumo wrestler?

On Sunday I put all of Alex's hair back into a single ponytail for the first time. I coudn't believe how much chubbier her face looked! Paul thought it was cute but I couldn't figure out if she looked more like a samurai warrior or a sumo wrestler. You decide...

Preschool Picture

So Noah starts preschool next week and I can hardly believe it...I can't believe he's old enough for this and I can't believe I was crazy enough to sign up for this! I'm doing a co-op with 7 moms/8 kids (one set of twins). We take turns teaching and swap babysitting for our younger ones. I think it will be great but to be honest I'm a little nervous (for me, not Noah)! Anyways, we were each supposed to provide a picture of our preschooler to go on the preschool board. I searched through every picture taken of Noah in 2007 and could not find a single picture where he looked normal - does this make me a bad mom? He's either doing his scrunched up face, squinty eyed, "scary smile" screaming "CHEESE" or he's wearing nothing but underwear. Speaking of which, I can't seem to convince my almost 4 year old to keep his clothes on! A little nerve-wracking considering preschool starts in 5 days! So back to the point...I needed to get a decent picture of Noah for the preschool board. I told him this morning we would go get a "flower cookie" at one of our favorite cleveland places, a little bakery cafe called The Stone Oven. I had to use this outing to my advantage, so Noah and I made a deal. He would let me get a picture of him for preschool before we went to get cookies. A simple request right? Well it turned into a 30 minute, crying, writhing around on the floor, 3 time outs ordeal. When it was time to take his picture he was suddenly sick to his stomach, had a headache, couldn't stop coughing, and oh yeah, his legs wouldn't work. When he was finally well enough to sit still for a picture he was red and puffy faced from all the crying (see first picture). By this time I had a headache and wanted to writhe around on the floor crying as well! Luckily I calmed down enough to get him smiling and giggling, with Alex's help. I think the second picture will have to do!

Journaling...

So I've recently been inspired by my friends blogs to take mine a little more seriously...well it's not exactly mine, it's the family blog (which Paul created). The point is I'd like to treat it more like a family journal. I'm hoping this will inspire me to blog more - not just pictures but the daily experiences of our family and my own personal thoughts. Of course this could backfire. I've never been consistent with my journal writing because I don't particularly enjoy it. Hopefully this doesn't ruin the blogging experience for me! We'll give it a shot...

Running and Stretching on Mommy's treadmill

Attachment issues...

Red blanky...check

Pink blanky...check

Pink bunny...check

Froggy pillow...check

Alex's first pigtails!

Storytime

Cheesy...

This little girl can't resist posing for the camera. If she sees you with it she follows you around saying, "CHEEEESE!" until you finally take her picture. This is her right after her bath.

Noah's version of "This Little Piggy"

Noah to Alex:

This little piggy went to market, this little piggy went to Costco, this little piggy went to Target, this little piggy went to the grocery store, and this little piggy went wee wee wee all the way home!

Kisses

Noah's annual "Buzz Cut"

Noah's response: Mommy, why do I look funny?

Then: Daddy, I look just like you!

Well, we think he's handsome

Noah, Alex, and cousin Jack

Words of wisdom from Noah

"Mom, I just need coke everyday. When Daddy goes to work, I need coke."

Noah and Alex love popsicles.  Alex can't hold her own, so Noah feeds them to her