Cruising through January

It is hard to believe that we are already over halfway through January.  My goodness how time flies.  Little Letty Bean is now almost a month old.  We are finally, finally getting some times where she doesn't demand to be held.  That is nice.  Though I do enjoy holding her.  Sleep is still pretty rare, though that is mostly because of her being up every 3-4 hours to eat.  Can't really blame the Bean on that one, what with her tiny baby tummy.

This is the face I look at almost 100% of the time at home :D

Forrest is adjusting really well.  He likes being a big brother now, and there are no further requests to "take her back".  We had a pretty good snow right after Christmas that allowed for some fun sledding:

Our hill out front gets the job done for our three year old.  I think in the next couple of years he might outgrow it a bit.  We also had a fun father/son afternoon at the Children's Museum in Peoria.  Mandi's mother (Gigi) gave us a season pass for Christmas.  Very fun to get some use!

In other news, there were some HUGE developments for Titan Games - we opened another store in Peoria!  Titan Games PIA is now open for business, check out our facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/titangamespia/ Here are some pictures of our board meeting where we made the final decision (Bean was present).

And finally, a fun picture of the newest gaming obsession.  For Christmas I made use of my store access to purchase and distribute some sweet gifts for my buddies:  Starter sets for Star Wars: Armada.  Its a table top miniatures game that basically mirrors a game we used to make up on our own with Star Wars Micro-Machines.  Only this time my buddy Hart can't just cheat and make up rules as we go.  Here is a pic of some of the sweet loot:

My friend Wes and I have been playing 1-2 times per week.  Generally during Mandi's rest time when its just Bean and I.  Nothing helps passing the time like some table top strategy games, Beers, and Cowboy Bebop on the plasma.  Good times!

Letty Bean!

Hello world, meet Charlotte Rose, or "Letty Bean" as I have taken to calling her:

Yay!  Letty Bean arrived late in the night in late December, in time for Christmas.  Mandi was a trooper.  Around 6 hours of labor, with only the last hour being described by Mandi as "a little rough".  Pushing for less than 15 minutes and then a new person was here :)  The whole experience, without an epidural or any meds, was described by my tough-as-nails wife as being "Too easy".  Mom and baby are doing well.  Bean is a great eater, and a prodigious pooper as the best babies are.

Forrest is making the adjustment well.  He's an exemplary big brother.  He quiets down when he needs to be quiet, and is very gentle.  He's definitely not a fan of less attention, but he's toughing through it.

We also managed to have some great Christmas time fun. Forrest got a new trampoline, and a ton of other fun things.  As I am sure everyone understands, things are busy so today's post will be short.  Enjoy!

Happy New Year!

Holiday Fun

As we near the end of 2015 I have found myself with some more fun pictures and vacation time.  The flexible nature of my position lets me arrange my days as such that often times I don't need to use vacation days to get time off.  This blessing leads to extra days at the end of the year where I get to do a little more relaxing.  This has been especially fun as it has given me some mornings and afternoons with Forrest.  Generally, Mandi takes care of the shuttling of the little man back and forth to school.  Sometimes you never really understand what you're missing until you experience the joy of a thing:

When we drop him off at school John, the gentleman who runs the school greets each student, helps them out of the car, and sends them on their way.  The kids then walk on their own around the back of the school and to the door.  Watching Forrest take this walk is fun in the most melancholy of ways.  But before we know it he's back in the afternoon, and this is when the fun begins.

Forrest loves to build.  In this picture we had begun building "houses" (as he calls them) from some Jenga blocks.  The actual game of Jenga is only fun for Forrest for the first... oh... 5 minutes.  After that though, we had quite a long bit of entertainment from stacking the blocks and building a house.  This one he built all on his own, arranging the blocks to support each other.  I was struck by the resemblance to Mr. Frank Lloyd Wright's "Fallingwater".  Forrest thought so too.

I promise this picture isn't as ominous as it appears, though it is as tall as it appears.  One of the father-son activities we enjoy is an afternoon trip to Monkey Joes.  This place is awesome for helping the little man get out some pent up energy.  By the end he was going down even the biggest slides on his own.

On the quieter afternoons we will poke around with some crafts, including building a Play-Dough snowman that Forrest received as a gift from his teachers at the Montessori school.

On one of our weekend nights we decided to get the whole gang together for some bowling at Uncle Buck's (Bass Pro Shop).  It was crowded, and crazy... but a good time.  LMC managed to win the day with an amazing performance... 5 strikes I think.  At least 4 and three of them in a row.  None of us could compete!  We fled the scene for dinner though, it was too crowded.  River1000 offered us all we could eat in Asian food buffet and Sushi.  That place has definitely improved.

Last but not least was the annual UnityPoint Holiday Party.  A big thank you to both UnityPoint for hosting, as well as to Gigi and Poppy for taking care of Forrest for the weekend.  Mandi and I enjoyed our date weekend :)  Friday night we got all dolled up for the party, with a trip to Monticello and Champaign on Saturday.  We got to enjoy all of our favorite places to eat, see family, and enjoy adult conversation without interruption.  No doubt Forrest is a blast to have around, but sometimes a break from the 3 year old is just what the doctor ordered.

December 2015

December is here and the snow is falling.  November seems to have flown by.  If there can be said to be a downside to this job it is that time seems to go by too fast.  I believe that my ever changing schedule and irregular hours prevent me from getting into a routine that slows me down.  Anyway, on to a recap of events and of course, some pictures.

Occasionally Mandi gets a day off.  She's the hardest working lady I know, and her job is almost 24/7.  When I am off, I encourage her to take some personal time... time away from the house, from me, and from her motherly duties.  Its hard for her, I know.  Forrest is her absolute favorite (I'll settle for second fiddle, he is cuter than me after all) and leaving him behind is tough.  But its also an important mental health check :P  Her time away generally involves time with her sister, or bebopping around town.  This means the little man and I get some Daddy/son time.  Its always a little awkward.  My ways are not mommy's ways.  So I try to keep us on the move.  This past Saturday that meant meeting up with Great Grandma at the mall :)  Forrest enjoyed riding the "escayator" and a "Bob the Builder" ride.  

I'm going to take a brief moment to brag on my son.  He's funny, he's cute, and he's smart.  He also thinks about others, a lot.  He's thoughtful of his mother, other children at school, and of course Gigi. If I could be said to have one concern it is his picky eating.   This kiddo is terrible at trying out new foods.  In his defense, he comes by this difficulty from me, and I came by it from my mother.  Hes the latest in a long line of picky eaters.  I now know, intimately, the struggle my father and mother had with me.  I fear for his nutrition.  He likes to eat: cookies, ice cream, donuts, strawberries, and bread in that order.  That about covers it.  Mandi and I have read the books, the blogs, and talked to his pediatrician.  I have done the research myself, and scoured medical journals.  None of the advice has worked, and the best we can do is give him vitamins as we can, and hope that he gets enough protein.  Well... pictured above is a little bit of victory.  This is Forrest after devouring a piece of french toast... which as you likely know is covered in egg!  GOTCHA LITTLE MAN!  Heh Heh.  He not only ate it, but he wanted seconds.  It took powdered sugar to do it, but hey, protein is protein.  He also tried and tolerated beef toasted ravioli, which while not a great food, at least has beef.  We will keep working, and from my own experience I know his diet will expand with time.  But at least we have a way to get some eggs into the boy :)

Thanks to one of my staff members at work, I came into 4 free tickets to a Rivermen game.  It was decent hockey with 2 fights (Peoria came out on top for both).  Almost won a free biscuit.  Noah, Helton, and Wes tagged along.  Good times had by all.

And finally, a little Christmas spirit.  Those of you who know me know that I don't care for Christmas.  I traveled quite a bit as a teenager (often going to Florida for the holiday), and because my parents are split the Christmas tradition was always a little haphazard.  I have very fond memories of the Holidays to be sure, and my Mom and Dad always did a great job.  But it wasn't the idyllic tradition I think my wife had.  As well, I don't particularly care for the pagan symbolism, commercialism, and materialism that comes with it.  The music is nice, but the bottom line is that Jesus was probably born in the spring.  And kneeling before a pagan symbol (a burning tree at Beltine) and exchanging material gifts is not something I think Christ would approve of.  The whole thing is just backwards.  Family, Yukon Cornelius, giving, love, etc... those things are great, of course.  But it just rubs me the wrong way.

BUT, I lose on this argument.  My wife wants a tree, so we have a tree.  And if its going to be there, I am certainly going to enjoy a glass of Malbec in my Laz-E-boy chair and bask in the glow.  Merry Christmas, and bah humbug.

Augustana, My Amazing Friends, Fun at the Orchard, Happy 8th Anniversary

First, I need to point out that I have a lot of work to do getting good at this blogging thing.  If I want to chronicle my adventures, I need to be better about taking pictures.  Pictures that anyone would want to see anyway.  I find I use my phone's camera more for reminders, references, and jokes than anything.  Kind of a waste.  I'll try to do better in the new year.  It's not even Jan 1 and I have some resolutions ahead of me.

Next I'll actually move on to some of the fun I had!  In late October my friend Ethan and his parents hosted a "Nerd Weekend" for some of my college friends. We gathered to play nerdy games, eat good food, and drink good beer.  I started the weekend off by meeting my good friend Nate at our Alma Mater: Augustana College in Rock Island.  We enjoyed a stroll around campus, marveling at just how good the kids there have it these days.  It was a beautiful morning all around.

I have a lot of great memories from Augie.  I met some amazing people there, people I have carried forward the lessons I learned, and the people I love from that place.  That said, there are many parts of Augie I don't miss.  The overwhelmingly liberal culture (as evidenced by the "Feel the BERN 2016" graffiti that was... everywhere) which pervades most campuses, and the abandonment of their Lutheran principles.  Still, it was nice to be back, even for just an hour. The rest of the weekend was also a ton of fun.  A shout out to the hosts with the most, the Essers!  

Very early in November the official service for my grandfather was held in Mahomet. He passed away in October.  We had a small family service, which was lovely, but this memorial was for his friends.  What I wanted to share here was the amazing tribute that MY friends, some of whom had never even met my grandfather, paid to him with this lovely arrangement.  It moved both me and my grandmother.  I couldn't ask for better people.

While in Mahomet, we also met some of my other friends, Matt and Jenny for a meal at my absolute favorite spot: Filippo's Pizza.  Filippos is a small, family owned chain of restaurants based out of Monticello IL, with branches in Mt Zion and Mahomet.  Each branch is owned by a son or daughter of the original Filippo Galbo.  The pizza is truly the best anywhere.  I am a sucker for the Thick, Extra-Sauce, Meatball variety (pictured above).  It was a great meal, with good people. I hope I get to go back soon.  And if I do, yes there will be more pictures.

As we cruised into November we managed to get in a trip to Tanner's Orchard, out near Bradford IL.  It is always a fun time.  Mandi was asked by Forrest to join her on the spring-riders. She got going, though not quite as fast as he did:

Heh Heh.  Kid loves those little spring-riders.  

Lastly, I'd like to note that Mandi and I had a wonderful 8th anniversary. I brought her a single red rose, a fun mini-cake she had commented on a while back, and a card.  It was a quiet night in for us, but sometimes that is best.

My wife can blog, and so can I.

For any of you who don't know, my wife blogs.  And she is really good at it.  Her talent for crafting has helped her do wonderful work cataloging our life together for the past... many years.  Anyone who wants to follow her can, and should at:

Mandi's Musings

Me on the other hand?  I struggle.  I would love to chock it up to the ADHD, and maybe that plays a part, but really I just lack the discipline and dedication.  I work a lot as well, so that doesn't help.  Still, I need a journal, and a forum to express my joys, my concerns, my love, and my faith as much as the next fella.  So I'll try to do a better job.  If not for me, then for my kids to have something to look back on, besides their mother's blog. 

I'll start with an update.  When we left off, I was paradigm shifting.  It was 2012, Mandi and I were moving to Monticello IL after finishing residency.  Mandi was carrying Forrest, and I was making a lot of transitions.  

Monticello was a wonderful place for us.  We accomplished a lot, and I'll summarize in bullet point :D

• August 2012:  Forrest came into our lives.  We love you buddy.  You were tough at first, you were not the happiest baby, made worse I am sure by our new parent anxiety.  But we made it through and you sure are a ton of fun now!
• September 2012: I reunite with an old friend, Josh, who is an instructor in Choy Li Fut Kung Fu - I begin my study of the martial art.
• October 2012:  I was made President of the Medical Staff at the local hospital.  I learned a lot about administrative medicine, and myself as a physician
• November 2012:  Our 5 year anniversary!  Fun!
• November 2012:  I pass my ABFM board exams, and become Board Certified in Family Medicine!
• February 2013: I traveled to Phoenix for an administrative medicine conference - what an awesome time!  The Hilton Pointe Tapatillo was a great place to stay, I made some great friends and learned a lot.
• July 2013:  My college friend and fellow physician Mark Keplinger and I decided to go into business together, founding The Gaming Goat - Champaign.  A specialty game store.  We operated as a franchise of The Gaming Goat out of the Chicagoland area.
• September 2013:  I went on a CME trip to San Diego, where I learned a lot, and spent time with my friends Brent, Nate, and Brian (Brent's Brother).

• September 2013:  Forrest and Mandi enroll in a local Montessori Toddler program, Mandi meets a great friend in Heather Foran.
• November 2013:  Mandi and I celebrate our 6th :)  
• Christmas 2013:  Forrest, having developed an obsession with KitchenAid Mixers (which he refers to as "Ddittz") receives his very own Blue (boo) Mixer (Ditz).  Video shown below:

• August 2014:  Mark and I strike out on our own, dropping our Gaming Goat Franchise, and convert our store to Titan Games - Champaign
• November 2014:  Many changes over the past year push me and my employer further apart.  For reasons I won't elaborate on, we decide to part ways.  I begin my search for a new job, planning on finishing up in March of 2015.
• November 2014:  Mandi I celebrate our 7th anniversary, and beating the odds.  I love my wife more and more everyday, she lights up my life and grounds me in all the right ways.
• January-February 2015:  The job search continues, with interviews all over IA, IL, and WI.  Eventually we decide that we will return Peoria, our home during residency. I take up employment with UnityPoint Health as a Flex provider.
• April 2015:  I finish up at Kirby and begin the next Chapter.  For the time being I commute to Peoria as we try to sell our Monticello home.
• May 2015:  Our house sells!
• May 2015:  Mandi and I find out she is expecting our second :D
• June 2015:  So long Monticello (or Mommicello as Forrest calls it).  We bid farewell to our happy home, and one of our favorite towns and make our way back to Peoria.  I am loving my new position.
• July 2015:  During our annual trip to WI, we find our dream retirement home, and we pull the trigger.  Me make an offer, and the offer is accepted.  Whitefish Lake here we come!
• July 2015:  We join Mandi's family on a trip to the west coast of Michigan, what a lovely trip (see Mandi's Musings for more detail)
• September 2015:  We close on our new house in Gordon!

• October 2015:  We finally find a house we like in Peoria, after renting for a few months in our old neighborhood.  (see Mandi's Musings for more detail)

So that was a lot, in very little time.  I didn't cover nearly everything, but I don't know that I could in one blog post.  Heck, Mandi has done a lot more than that to cover those three years.  But it serves as a fair summary.  I hope to be back at this regularly, now that I am living and loving my time in Peoria.  I'll end this with a verse I read today:

"They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God;, he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this way we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error."

1 John 4:5-6

Paradigm shifting.

So residency is done.  We are moved.  While our move isn't totally complete (we have a few small totes, bicycles, etc...) to pick up later this week we are definitely IN the new house.

I subscribe to the theory that good things come in threes.  I also believe that life can be fairly succinctly divided into three phases over a variety of classifications.

The easiest is by age.  With an average lifespan approaching 90, ages 1-29 represent Early Life, ages 30-59 represent Middle Life, and of course 60-90 represents Late Life.  Notice the avoidance of using the word "Old".  Old is a state of mind and body.  I have seen plenty of people firmly in their Middle Life, or even late in their Early Life who I would classify as Old, and even a few people in Late Life who I would classify as young (Here's looking at you Grandma).  And for any of you wonder what 91+ is... well thats just bonus.

Another, more abstract way to view life in phases is by our education/occupation.  This one is a little more maleable, and many people shift back and forth between phases on occasion.  The first is Education, the second is Occupation, and the last is Retirement.

One can also use the life cycle to divide one's life.  Youth, Parenthood, and Grandparenthood.  One could add Great-Grandparenthood, but like the 90+ category that is more of a bonus (although it becomes more and more common as life expectancy climbs).

I am sure that there are many more ways to divide life.  But those come to mind as some of the most significant.  And even if they aren't the most significant overall they are certainly significant to me at this moment because I find myself readying to transition to the next phase in all three of those categories.  This year, I will turn 30, become a parent, and will have left Education for Occupation.  All within 2 months.  It is certainly a lot to get used to at once.  As a friend recently described it to me "Its like drinking life from a firehose".  And that is the truth.

Mind now this isn't bad.  In fact, it is all very very good.  I am loving life at the moment.  The completion of Residency is thrilling.  That place was wearing me thin.  Not down, but thin.

But still all of those transitions have taken me somewhat aback.  I find myself wistfully contemplating upon the stages which I am finishing up.  I have lived a blessed, AND charmed life.  Of that I have no doubt.  And thinking on the relative eternity of my progress to this point, and the memories contained within that progress I still find myself saddened by opportunities missed, and roads not taken.  By life expectancy 1/3 of me is gone.  By relativistic time its closer to 80%.  Thats a lot of time.  I hope I can make the most of the next stages.


Stay Healthy!