Even more joys of residency

Today at work, the more senior residents presented a plan to turn a nice rotation for the second years to yet another crappy one. All in the name of following the law. What a load of garbage. The truth is, it's to make their lives better, and ours even worse than it already is. What part of the law involves making Mike work all day, all night, and all the following day? That is most definitely illegal. And it's happened twice. Nobody cares if the twos work ninety hours a week, never get the required 24 hours off a week and work more than 24 hours straight. All of that is against the law, and all of that happened countless times over the last three months. I don't think Mike had twenty fours hours off in the last three months more than two or three times.

I am so angry and frustrated right now. I was really looking forward to that rotation. Now I have nothing but never ending work hours and no weekends to look forward too.

Avery's first day of joy school

This last Tuesday, Avery went to her very first day of joy school (a co-op style preschool class where the moms take turns teaching). She has been waiting for this day for what she thinks is a long time. After watching Bailey leave her behind all last year, not she has her turn.

She was so excited, and had her Hello Kitty backpack full of her very own school supplies. That little girl is adorable- doesn't she look so much like Mike? She too, was not sad to leave her mom behind. However, she did tell me that I could play with her toys while she was gone. What a sweetheart!

Later that day, she got to go to her first Ballet and Acro classes. She was in love. She had such a great time, she asked me this morning if today she had ballet again.

Bailey's first day of Kindergarten

Last week Bailey started a new adventure- Kindergarten. She was so excited to go- she has been waiting to ride a school bus from the time she first saw one.

That little stinker saw the bus, and got on without even looking back. I'm guess that's better than her getting on with tears, but I would have liked to feel like she would miss me at least a little bit.

When she got home, she was definitely a little bit grouchy. Or more than a little bit. When we asked her what she did that day, she replied acidly, "Why do you keep asking me all of these questions!" She fought with Avery, refused to talk to us, and went to bed early. As Mike was putting her down, she finally opened up and talked about her first day away from mom and Avery.

After the second day of school, Bailey told me there was a girl in her class whose name was Show-and-Tell. I was confused, and asked her if a girl had brought something for show and tell. She replied with her new I'm-in-kindergarten attitude, "No! I think her name is Show-and-Tell." I know there are some crazy names out there, but surely this girls name was not Show-and-Tell. I thought for a moment. "Do you mean Chantel?" I asked her. A light went on. "Yes! I think that's it!"

Bailey also has had a little trouble eating her lunch. I'm not surprised. She eats her blueberries by peeling off the skin with her fingers carefully, eating the skin, and then, only then, eating the berry. It drives me absolutely crazy. It can take her an hour to eat a bowl of cereal. I tried telling her that she needs to eat faster to prepare for school, but it just went in one ear and out the other. Needless to say, she hasn't finished her lunch yet.

And I must admit, I miss Bailey. She is gone for seven hours every day, and I miss having her around. Avery misses her too, probably even more. She is having a hard time without her big sister. She has been throwing enormous fits, crying about everything, and asking me all day if it's time to get Bailey from the bus stop. Poor girl. I am trying to keep her busy, but I am no replacement for Bailey.

We are only five days in, and I'm betting that things will get better. Bailey does really like school, and I'm sure we will all adjust to our new schedules.

Avery turned three!

Last week our little girl turned three. I can't believe it. She is finally old enough to do all the things she watched her sister do- preschool, dance, swimming lessons. I'm not sure I'm ready for her to be that independent!

This year, she wanted an "A" cake. If you can't tell, she is really into learning her letter right now, especially if they are in her name:

She had also requested cotton candy ice cream- so her cake and her ice cream looked exactly the same.

Avery was lucky enough for Mike to be off work, and to have her Grandpa Scott visiting. At lunch time, she decided she could wait no longer. She was ready for birthday presents. She had been waiting and waiting, pretty much since Bailey's birthday, to open her presents. However, because we still haven't got her sleeping past six thirty, she was not a happy present-opener. The wrapping paper frustrated her, and we got a lot of grouchy faces from the birthday girl:

Poor thing. She didn't really enjoy opening her presents, and was sent for a nap as soon as she ate some cake and ice cream.

Yes, more band aids. (:

 

 

She got lots of stuff for her bike- a helmet, a basket, a bell. She has become my little bike rider. Her grandparents spoiled her big time this year!

After our little sleeping beauty got up from her nap, we took her to a bounce house where she had a phenomenal time. We bought the girls balloons on the way out, and we went happily home. However, when we got there, Bailey ran into the grass and promptly popped her balloon. This proved to be too much to her over tired self (she had started school this week) and proceeded to scream like we had chopped off her arm. This, in turn, caused Avery to scream. A few minutes later, Bailey was pacified by a generous Avery offering to share her balloon. Unfortunately, Avery's balloon soon met a similar fate. This caused serious tears by both girls and an early bedtime. Luckily, Grandpa Scott saved the day by heading out to the local Wegman's and returning with two harder-to-pop and smiling mylar balloons.

Right now:

• Avery is getting more and more independent- she gets herself dressed and puts on her shoes everyday
• She is a very hands-on little girl. She loves puzzles, legos, and really anything that she can sit and down and play with
• She loves reading- especially the Llama Llama books
• She is finally getting old enough to have little friends of her own
• She loves dancing, somersaulting and playing with Bailey
• She is a little ham who loves to make her family laugh
• Avery tries really hard to be a good little girl. She gets very sad if anyone corrects her who is not mom or dad
• She loves music
• One word to describe her: love

Happy birthday Avery! We love you!

Soccer Star- Sort of...

This summer, Bailey took a break from dancing, and did soccer. I thought that she would love it. She has so much energy. If you know Bailey, you know how she runs every where instead of walking, and is bouncing off the walls all day. Soccer seemed like a great sport for her- lots of running, lots of playing. But she really surprised me.

She was so shy. That little girl would not kick the ball for anything. The first game she had, she just stood in the field and cried until I pulled her off. The next week, she was a tiny bit braver and decided to play goalie. It was the perfect position for someone who just wanted to stand there. She did great. She even stopped a goal.

The next week, she decided she wanted to try a new position, so the coach put her on defense. And she just stood there. Game after game she played in the spot. Never moving. Never kicking the ball. So much for getting all of her crazy energy out. A few times the ball even rolled into her foot. Did she kick it? Nope. She just stood there.

The last game was kids against parents, so I was out in the field with her. With me out there, she was finally brave enough. She ran after the ball. Then, she actually kicked it. And then, she scored a goal! Who knew that she needed me out there on the field to give her the confidence she needed. Just in time for soccer season to be over.