Multi-Tasking...

When Daddy has time to talk while on call at the hospital, you take the call...no matter what!

A Day For Daddy

I am wondering if there are ever any pictures of Matt in regular street clothes?! The truth is these pictures show that Matt is a wonderful father. He rolled in this Father's Day morning around 10am to complete his on call that began the pre-dawn hours on Saturday (which really means working non-stop for almost 30 hours). Last night he took a 3-hour break from the hospital to attend the orthopedic resident roast with me, and got a total of 2 hours of sleep that entire stent of call that were actually split into 1-hour "naps." After all of that, he still came in the door with a smile on his face excited to see the boys! He anxiously opened gifts...handmade keepsakes the boys made at school (Blake is showing Daddy how he made his foot), a St. Louis Cardinals Tervis Tumbler, and a very special gift.

The picture Matt is holding is an embroidered prayer that his Mom, Audrey, did before she passed away when he was a teenager. The work she did is gorgeous and he is so proud to have it framed. We are now able to hang it in our home to admire every day. I hope this will be a memorable Father's Day for Matt. He is such an amazing husband and father, and there is nothing the boys and I could have done to express how proud we are of him and how much he means to us. None of you see first-hand the schedule and amount of work he has to deal with on a daily basis. If you did, you would be in awe at how he is a master at juggling it all with grace and a smile on his face. We are extremely blessed!

Matt and I also want to acknowledge our wonderful fathers. We miss being able to be with them this Father's Day and hope they know how much we admire them and love them. They have shown us so much support over the years and continue to help us in many ways as we travel through life. Thank you both for all you do for us!

Happy Father's Day to all the great Dads we know and love!

June

My apologies for not posting lately, but June is such a hectic month! Here is what has been happening and what the rest of this busy month entails...

• School finishes and Blake begins summer "school" at Little Folks of Fourth @ Fourth Presbyterian with Dane.
• Go to dentist appointments and other random doctor appointments we don't get to during the school year.
• Blake continues private speech therapy and occupational therapy.
• Matt is in his last month of ER rotation, a not so enjoyable rotation for him or us.
• Ortho resident roast and final hoorah to the 5th year residents on June 19th.
• Ortho resident family picnic and welcome to new incoming residents on June 26th. Here is the main reason for not posting...we are hosting this soiree.
• Matt and I will attend the "trauma dinner" hosted by attendings as a recognition of survival of the ER/trauma rotation on June 29th.
• And last, but certainly not least, Matt finishes 2nd year of residency June 30th!

As we reach mid-month it is nice to have Blake adjusted to summer school, to feel like a responsible adult having gone to the dentist (yuck!), to have fun events to look forward to the remainder of the month, and for goodness sakes leaving the two hardest years of residency (or so we've been told) behind us! Happy June & Happy Summer!

Conquering the Fudgesicle

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I couldn't help but post a slideshow of all the pictures of Dane eating this fudgesicle (certainly in his own way!). It was too difficult to choose one or two. This is a time I wish I could put them into a flip book...one that the pictures change slightly, but as you flip quickly it tells the story. He wouldn't hold the stick at the bottom, so he found a creative way to consume this yummy treat after lunch today! It was what Matt came home to after being on call all night...certainly a light-hearted moment after a long night :)

Making Progress

It has been almost 6 weeks since fencing off 3/4 of our yard for intense seeding and fertilization. We have now seen the reward! Behind the plastic fencing in the picture is the freshly mowed grass that we have successfully grown. In front, though, is the newly fenced-off area where we start the process again. We have 4 weeks until we host the big ortho resident picnic, so we are hoping to see similar results. It has been tough to grow grass here, but after 2 years we are finally making progress...

Virus..Be Gone!

So, I am not at all a homebody. I HAD to get out of the house today regardless of how I felt. Let me back up...remember what I posted earlier about the boys being sick? Well, they were kind enough to share it with me, and let me tell you the virus was (and is) a doozy. I was off work AGAIN Wednesday and Thursday in what felt like an incapacitated state. I have no clue how my children got to and from school, although I was the one driving. I hurt all over, my skin hurt, my head hurt so bad that it radiated into my neck and upper back. My most comfortable position was supine with no pillow with a heating pad on my back and a bag of frozen peas on my forehead. The virus also included the variety of GI surprises. I still hurt today! And, as I write this my poor husband, who was on call last night when these same symptoms began for him, is upstairs asleep after leaving work early (which is a huge rarity!). I just hope and pray it doesn't last as many days as the boys and mine did since he is off until next Tuesday.

Since I had to get out of the house and Blake's last day of school was yesterday, I decided it was time for an adventure to the park to enjoy climbing, the slides and watching the diggers since some of the park is under construction. Then...after getting all sweaty we splashed through the fountains at Falls Park. Our first time this summer! It was a nice break from being confined to home, although I will definitely need to nap when they do...and under the influence of more Advil. Hopefully this virus will exit the Hollenbeck home soon. It has been almost 12 days for goodness sakes!

Pool Party!

Our first pool party happened today! Boo to Daddy being on call and missing it :( and Boo to the developer of our neighborhood who went bankrupt and left the lot for the pool sitting in foreclosure :( But, the silver lining is Wal-mart sells a great little pool for $10 that the boys absolutely love! They don't even care about not having a neighborhood pool and I truly believe life is what you make it and my children will appreciate bigger and better things in their future (that is, if a neighborhood pool or backyard pool counts for a bigger, better thing at that point in their lives). Plus, they can swim a bit...then jump on the swingset...then kick a ball...then drive their car around all contained in our fenced backyard. Who can beat that for toddlers with short attention spans?! Meanwhile, Mommy enjoyed lounging and reading a magazine :) and the lawn got watered when the pool was emptied. Anyway, we really enjoyed our day in the Carolina sun today and captured some cute pictures. Hope all of you had a great weekend!