Happy 23rd Birthday Tim

Happy Birthday Tim!!

Tim's 23rd Birthday is today -- but we celebrated last night, because Dad wouldn't be home tonight.

We went to Crappy's -- where the food is Crappy, the waitresses are Crappy, etc. Tim chose Crappy's because it has a pool table and video games!!

Tim's good friend Spencer was able to come with!

The Grandma's & Katrina (a temporary foster child of Grandma's)

Miss Kylee & Aunt Janet!

How many people can we count with blue lips??

At least three!!!

Amie was doing her famous "wiggle" dance!! It's adorable!!

Pumkin & 2nd day dry!!

An old time tradition -- carving a jack-o-latern!! It's been YEARS since we've done that! Amie picked out the pumkin at Sam's a week or so ago & it's been sitting on the front porch. Today I told her it was time to carve our pumkin -- she said "Yeah" -- she has the cutest yeah in the whole wide world!!!

Her other adorable phrase she has started is "ok please". I'll ask her something & she's say "ok please" -- not sure how she got those two words together but they are hysterical!!

After I cut the top off of the pumkin -- I told her it was time to pull out the "yuk". She definitely thought it was yuk!! I had a hard time convincing her at first that it was ok to reach in there!!

Curling her nose up at the thought of touching the yuk!!

This was a "oh yuk" moment!! I had showed her what to do, but she was not sure she wanted to try it!!

She finally gave it a little shot!! She didn't do too much -- but did start to get her hands dirty!!

Tim supervised the whole process!!!

I asked Amie if we should do a "spooky" face or a "happy" face!! She said "happy"!! So Happy it was!! I would cut the shape & then let her pull them out of the hole! Once the face was done -- she rested her chin on the top -- I have no idea why. She had this look of contentment. I tried to get a picture of her and Tim together behind the pumkin -- but she wasn't super cooperative!

After picture taking, I was cleaning up the pumkin guts & I looked in and she was talking to the pumkin so very quietly & sweetly!!

Then she decided to figure out exactly how this lid thing worked!!








I think she enjoyed it!!

And the other big news of the day.....Day two totally clean and dry!!!!!!!

She is soo funny!! "Amie Pee'd" she says! I say, "YAH!!" & she comes back with, "candy please"!!

She's so funny!!

Today was a milestone day!!! Amie wore big girl underpants all day & kept them clean and dry!!

YEAH!!

Her first outfit that stayed dry!!!

Visiting old Haunts

On Friday -- Amie and I made a trip back to Gibson & of course for some retail shopping therapy!! We didn't take the camera -- but I have these pictures from Gibson imaging from before I left there. It is absolutely so unreal that it is going on three years since I came to Galesburg!! Galesburg is definitely a different environment than Gibson was -- good and bad for both places.

At Gibson we were much more intimate with the medical staff. I knew everyone at each of the offices & knew what the hot buttons were for each clinician.

In Galesburg, the medical staff community is much larger -- there are even some of the medical staff that I have never met & would not recognize on the street -- that seems so odd to me.

At Gibson -- I wore quite a few more hats. In Galesburg -- I have corporate support for things like CPT issues, contract negotiations, computer updates, etc.

The one thing that I will always miss are the people:
Kimra (still there -- or actually -- there again!)

Whitney -- didn 't see her Friday -- but she's still there & doing Ultrasound! Congratulations Whitney!

Kim is still there & as energetic as ever!


Amy, Patti & Andy. Amy finished her radiation therapy program & has left Gibson -- so did Heidi (not pictured here) -- they both will make great radiation therapists! Patti & Andy are both still there! Patti working those long 16 hour shifts still -- don't know how she does it!


Sarah still there! She has become an awesome mammography tech!


Dana is now the assistant director! Congratulations Dana!


Fran still the nuclear medicine technologist - and unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to see her on Friday!

Marni is still there -- but was off on Friday. Here is Steve -- ran into him on Friday!

A few other Gibson"ites" - Sharon, Becky & Sylvia.

Dr. Kivisito -- didn't get a chance to see him Friday either -- I wonder if he still thinks I was crazy to adopt a 2 year old (now 3)??

Rob is now the CEO!

And my favorite radiologist!! Dr. Lee!! Dr. Lee wasn't at Gibson on Friday & I didn't have a chance to make it to Bloomington! I will always remember the lessons I learned from Dr. Lee! He was a great teacher when I was a young green tech & then as I moved into management at Gibson -- will always treasure the lessons I learned from him & the friendship that developed!

My digital pictures are limited -- some day I'll digitize some of the older photos I have from Gibson. There were several others that I got to say hi to on Friday that I don't have pictures of -- Jena for one! Jena -- why don't you ever let us take your picture??!!

I didn't get a chance to go over to any of the offices to say hi to any of them! I did run into Marie at the hospital -- but had hoped to run over to the office & chat for a bit -- but that didn't happen either.

Gibson -- you'll always be in my heart!!

It's Bears Day today -- so Amie & Daddy have to start out the day with their tradition!!

Even before pajamas are off, they go out to the garage & get the extension cord (that's Amie's job) & "Bubba Bear". Amie tells Daddy exactly what has to happen, lays out the cord where it goes!


She plugs Bubba into the extension cord.

Plugs the extension cord into the lamp! Turns on the switch!!

And helps make sure that Bubba stands up correctly!!

Then it's Dad's turn to tie him to the posts!! Go Bears!!

Growing corn!

Since it had been dry for a while, Darwin hadn't mowed the grass in about two weeks -- guess what began growing in the yard...Corn!!

We had put up a squirrel feeder this past winter -- I guess the squirrels didn't clean off the cobs before they tossed them away!!

Trying on a new hat!

I decided my days and nights weren't busy enough this semester & tried on a new "hat"! In August I started teaching a course at the community college here in Galesburg. My course is officially: "RDT 215, Special Procedures". It is a kind of mish-mash of all the different "speciality" stuff that is important for x-ray techs, but not covered in other courses. These are second year students, that have this semester & one more before graduation.

The course covers, surgical asepsis, infection control, pharmacology, drug administration, venous puncture, arthrography, angiography, myelography, CT scans, Nuclear Medicine scans, MRI exams, Ultrasound, specialty joints (AC, SC, SI, TMJ), bone density, hystrosalpingography & sialography.

I have a great group of students. They range from fresh out of high school to about my age! They have a good sense of humor & are a very close group. I told them they were stuck with me learning a lot of it right along with them (such as pharmacology!!!)

As much as I've enjoyed it, I probably won't do it again. It has been a lot of work -- even though there was a template, because like I said, much of it I had to learn first!! So, I'm reading the chapter 3-4 times just to be able to lecture & then read it another 1-2 times to come up with questions for the tests.

It was something I had always wanted to do. I can now check it off of my list of "been there, done that"!