Let's PRETEND for one moment this is a real situation...

A patient comes in because of a chief complaint listed as fatigue. When asked by the doc to describe the problem the patient starts from the top; "Well doc, I go to bed at a decent hour, and get a good nights sleep. I wake up feeling completely refreshed, and ready to start the day. I shower, get dressed, have breakfast and a cup of coffee then continue on my way to work. Then, everyday, without exception, I suddenly become exhausted. I fight sleep the entire drive to work. The entire day at work. And then even into the evening, then before bed I start to feel a little better, but then it's bedtime again. I have had to pull over because of falling asleep at the wheel. My daughter even drives me to work now because I am too nervous to drive myself." So, the doc runs through the whole gamut of questions such as: Do you notice yourself waking up at night? Do you snore? Are you falling asleep or losing consciousness? Do you have a history of seizures? Does you have a family history of sleep disorders? No, no, no and no.

So the doc movies on to what medications are you taking? In the extensive list of medications, the patients mentions Ambien (a pill solely meant to aid in sleep). So the doc asks, are you taking the Ambien a full 8-10 hours before you go to bed? And the patient's reply: "Well, of course not doc! I take it in the morning with all my other pills."

Pink and Lace

Two exciting Katie developments over the past week include:

The marriage of long time friend, team mate and competitor, Katie Yevak. She and Malik got married in Wichita, KS at a beautiful Greek Orthodox Church (got to witness the whole traditional ceremony, crowns, prancing around the alter, kissing, lovely.) Cheers!

Katie & Malik Idbeis
October 17th, 2009

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The other Katie, my cousin, had a beautiful little girl! Scheduled c-section, no complications, and lots of happy family. This makes grandchild number 3 for my mother's sister (my aunt) Maliea.

Nolah Jeanne Gillihan
October 20th, 2009
7.01 lbs - 19.5 in

Vampin' it up.

As you may, or may not have noticed, I had changed the blog background a few months ago. I gave it some time, thought it might grow on me, but nope. It remained ugly, uninviting and LOUD. So I have gone for a softer look. I think I like it. Hope this will enhance your viewing pleasure.

I am also hoping to clean out links that don't work, and finish my Ireland/Denmark vacation notes before the baby wakes. Please, feel free to let me know if you have noticed any inconsistencies on the blog.

Please note, I have updated the post below, "Proof" and had published a post last week that is actually posted in September. Wouldn't want anyone to be left out of the loop.

-Erin

Proof.

All our footage of Brock attempting to walk for the past couple of months is on the video camera that has no cable to transfer the videos...so I grabbed a quick sample of his skills tonight using the little camera to throw on the blog. (No making fun of his outfit, it's "Daycare clothes" which means, anything I can find under $2....I mean RE-CYCLEBOT 2.0? I don't get it either.)


First 2 steps: August 8th
Consistently...
...walking between furniture: September 18th
...walking around the house: October 5th
...walking everywhere: October 23rd

I see why they call it baby steps. People seem to always have a date or age for when their child started "walking". I would like to know how that is determined. Brock had the strength and capability to walk since August, but seeing as crawling was still the quicker and more efficient method he chose this route 99% of the time. The 99% slowly decreased, day by day, and today I would say it is more 30% crawl, 70% walk. So, for me, officially "walking" should be when he crossed that 50% mark somewhere between September 18th & October 5th. Therefore, for the record book, I guess I will say, Brock took his first steps at 8 and started walking at 10 months. Final answer.

Bath time is cute, everytime.

Out-of-towners

Two of my long-time friends, Maureen and Katie, picked the perfect weekend to come hang out in KC for a bit! This was my first "dead" weekend in a few months. Maureen got to join us for game night (which I'd rather not talk about...) and they both got to see Brock in his finest. I just love, love, love visitors.

Ok, I'll mention game night. Only because Snuggies were involved, definitely not because I was dominating the game, then lost in the end - the cards were rigged, I know it. EVERYTHING is more fun when a Snuggie is involved (right G & C??)

Catch 22

I have no time to blog, therefore, all the events and thoughts and things I feel need to be recorded have been piling up, therefore, making it even harder to find a time slot big enough to complete a post. And my ability to create well-written, interesting, funny and/or gripping articles waxes and wanes (despite popular belief, the magic doesn't just happen, I must wait for my creative streak to surface.) But muse or no, I have finally decided I must spew it all out, so that perhaps I can get back on track.

First, the congrats are in order:

Molly & Matt Groebe
September 26th, 2009

Jamie & Chad Jacobsen
September 19th, 2009

I appreciated these two weddings for many reasons. With Jamie and Chad I got to experience a true "country" wedding. The food felt and tasted like a home-cooked meal, and the guests all just settled right in and appeared comfortable with one another, as if they'd all known each other all their lives. With Molly and Matt, the tone of the wedding culminated in a completely smitten groom serenading to an overjoyed bride before the first dance. The atmosphere was one truly filled with love (and not to mention, my goal was met: I got to dance to Lady Gaga, Poker Face - by god, I was not going to make it through wedding season without that one! And I have 2 weddings left go...) And lastly, I loved them both for their excellence in color coordination.

Other notable events of September include:

The Plaza Art Fair

Bonne Sante
Northland Health care Access Fundraiser

The Hospitalist's group I rotated with in September bought tickets for Matt and I to their annual fundraiser. This included a wine tasting, wonderful food, silent and live auctions, as well as a great opportunity for some social networking - never can know too many people, that's what I always say...