snow totals...

30.1 inches in the month of december...

...more due in the next 2 days...

...it's the "Snow-pacolypse"...

"Snow-maggedon"

...winter in the Frozen Tundra has struck with with a vengeance. Twelve inches of snow on Friday, followed by 2.5 inches of snow last night and plummeting temperatures. We woke to -10.8 degrees this morning and the winds gusting to 40 mph.

who knew you could have moguls forming in a flat yard? who knew that we would have 7-8 foot high snow piles in December? who knew we would have over 30 inches of snow by January. (although our record is 52 inches in a recent December.)

apparently global warming is taking the winter off here. grrrr! or I should say brrrr!

Code 4

I work in a level 1 trauma center, so we are used to hearing constant calls for "codes" (a patient emergency that requires a medical team to take emergency measures) and to hearing the medical helicopter coming in & out bringing with patients. It's routine for us, so we give way to teams rushing by or wheeling patients to tests, scans or the operating rooms.

Tuesday was a typical day for our team. I work for Dr. Fracture, and we were seeing a wide array of patients in clinic that day. After we finished seeing our morning patients Dr. Fracture, the residents (Dr. McBroken and Dr. ScutMonkey), our medical assistant (Ms. Organized) and I, headed down to the cafeteria for lunch. We inhaled our hospital food (no taste, so we eat fast) and reluctantly headed up.

On our way up, we saw a gurney rushing down the hall. It was loaded with machines, oxygen, tubes and a very small appearing patient. (We are attached to a children's hospital, also). There were 3 medical personnel guiding the gurney and they were intent on moving this patient along.

Dr. McBroken jumped back to get out of the path the gurney, Dr. Fracture and I pinned ourselves up against the wall. Our entourage split like the "Red Sea".

As the gurney whisked by with a breeze, we all quickly looked at the patient.

It was a baby doll. She was intubated, on heart monitors and had IV's in place.

Dr. McBroken wondered if it would be a Workmen's Comp case if he would have been hit by the gurney with a baby doll.

...disaster averted...

Sam says...

don't stress about Christmas...

...stay cool...

have a good week...

girl's day out

Today Kate & I got to go for a day of girly, girl fun. She went with me to have my hair cut and had a wonderful time entertaining the other ladies in the salon. She munched on her dog-bone shaped graham crackers and soaked in the atmosphere.

After we finished, we headed to the down town Frozen Tundra for a special Christmas play. We got down there a little early, so we went to the *Starbuck*s overlooking the outdoor skating rink. Kate loved watching the skaters and enjoying the Holiday atmosphere.


We finished our drinks and headed to the theatre to see Harry*Connick, Jr*s production of The*Happy*Elf. The cast was so talented and the music was fantastic. Kate was pretty excited about it, but I think I was more excited when Harry*Connick, Jr.* stood up from the audience and talked to us. (I think that part was lost on her.)

She was exhausted by the end our adventure and slept all the way home.

We had a fun day together and I'm so happy that this little girl joined our family 3 years and 1 day ago. Can't image life without our spicy girl.

the mouths of babes...

...kate & sam are playing...(well, she's trying to tell him how to play...)

after sam refused to follow kate's multiple directions, she begins to cry...very hard...and says,

"sammy will not listen and obey me!"


****************

...we are at the dinner table and runner boy announces that we are going to be focusing on our manners...

he proclaimes, "we are now going to act like civilians"...

sam replies, "i no want to be a civilian..."

Momma bear...

...i never imagined how much i would love my children. even in the little things, i want to defend and protect them.

for instance, i took sam (also known as samasaurus rex) to the B&N bookstore for a little playtime. he was having a great time playing at the *thomas*the*tank engine table until "they" showed up. 2 boys...a bruiser of a 4 year old and a bully of a 2 year old...they came in, swept up the train cars and blurted at sam, "hey, that's MINE!"

sam looked up in surprise...

i am amazed at the volcano of emotions that erupted in my heart. they messed with my kid...sam just stood there. so did kids' ridiculously passive mother...who suggested that her little one "be sweet".

thankfully they left before momma bear went on the prowl.