Happy Birthday to Me!

Friday was my 26th birthday, and it was SUCH a good day! How can it not be a good day when you wake up to this?
Even my day at work was wonderful! :) A couple of my friends at work surprised me with sweet gifts, and my kids were so fun the whole day. My T.A. even brought brownies for the kids to celebrate my b-day, and then we had Cold Stone cupcakes after work with my teacher friends...YUMMY!!!

Can you tell they were excited?!

But the highlight of my work day was announcing my pregnancy to my little ones. I really hadn't planned on telling them until later on when I started to show, but we had been learning about Human Growth this week in Science. The day before my birthday we had read a book about little boy getting a baby sister, and it really illustrated the whole pregnancy aspect in a very developmentally appropriate way for 5 & 6 year-olds...and it just dawned on me that this would be a very good time to tell them. They were so cute about the whole thing. I told them in the morning that I had something exciting to tell them at the end of the day. So the whole day they were trying to guess my news: Did you get new stuff for the Treasure Box? Do we get a special recess?! Finally, I told them that my news had nothing to do with them, and they were all like huh??? How could anything not be about them?! I took a picture of them while they were trying to predict my news....
After countless off-the-wall guesses, I finally gave them a hint and told them it had something to do with the book we read the day before. One of my sweet little boys then yelled out: We're gonna make a baby!!!! Um, no. When they finally got it right, they were just so excited. I told them the baby wouldn't be here for a while and that they would almost be 1st graders by the time the baby is born. One of my kids looked very relieved after I said that: Oh good, you'll still be our normal teacher. :) Here's my sweet class after finally comprehending what I told them...
After work, Derek & I headed to Cheesecake Factory for my birthday dinner! Since it was a Friday night, there was a bit of wait. The restaurant is connected to the mall, so we decided to do a little window shopping while we waited for our table. And I found this purse that I just loved...
And I'm thrilled to say it's mine now! I don't know why, but I've had my eye on purple items lately. (Don't worry, pink is still my signature color! Can you name that movie?!) Thanks for my present, Derek! :)

It really was such a wonderful day from start to finish! :) Thank you to all of my friends & family for thinking of me from afar! I loved all of the sweet cards, phone calls/voicemails, and texts..they helped make my day extra special!

Baby Update!

Baby Smith & I have been feeling lots of love ever since we made our big announcement!
Thank you to all of our sweet family & friends who have sent cards/emails, called us, and checked in on us to see how we're progressing! We are so thankful to have all of your love & support!

Yesterday marked the 8th week of the pregnancy & our 1st official doctor's appointment at Fort Belvoir, and Derek & I both took the afternoon off of work so we could be there together. So far, everything is progressing nicely..and I'm still feeling great! Our appointment was more of an "administrative appointment" if you will. This pretty much sums up our TWO HOURS in the doctor's office: I signed a LOT of forms, we listened to a LOT of information, and I got poked and prodded a LOT (I got my H1N1 shot & they took about 8 vials of blood for various testing...my arms are VERY sore today!).

But the good news is that my next appointment is in about 2 weeks, and that should be a fun one! We are scheduled for our first ultrasound, and they said we should be able to hear the heartbeat as well! So we're really excited about that! :)

So, I'm currently counting down to my Mom's arrival on the 4th (YAY!) and our next appointment on the 11th! And how could I not mention my trip to Cheesecake Factory tomorrow night...mmmmm! So much to look forward to! :)

Happy Friday, Everyone!

Wrapping up Orthopedic Surgery

It's me again! I just wanted to let everyone know how my orthopedic surgery rotation was going. I only have three days left, and I have really enjoyed my time. The doctors are great teachers and surgeons, and I feel that I've learned a TON during the past three weeks about everything from reading x-rays, treating broken bones, and when a patient's only remaining option is surgery. I've spent about half of my time in the clinic and the other half of my time in the operating room. In the clinic, I've gotten good at my musculoskeletal exam, and injecting steroids into knees and shoulders. In the OR, the most interesting surgeries that I've been a part of have been total knee replacements and ACL repairs, and it's still surprising how much they let me do. I've compiled a list of factoids that I've learned:

Top 5 Orthopedic Lessons Learned:
1. Always go to the bathroom before scrubbing into ortho cases...quite a few of the 3 hour surgeries turned into 6 hour surgeries.
2. Always stretch before ortho cases...holding up a leg for a few hours gets heavy.
3. Wear the waterproof booties when doing a shoulder or knee scope...imagine doing surgery inside a water balloon.
4. Ortho surgery is surprisingly similar to carpentry. There is lots of drilling, sawing, and hammering and orthopedic surgeons fix mistakes with bone cement like carpenters use wood putty.
5. A medical student can never win when he is in charge of the mallet. Hit too soft= wuss. Hit to hard=break the bone. Miss the chisel=hit the fingers of a surgeon.

That's all for right now. Next week begins my Internal Medicine rotation at NNMC where I'll be practicing the medicine that I'll be doing for the next three years!!

I Love....

...having things to look forward to! :) I don't know why, but I just love it...it makes my heart happy! Here are a few things I am currently looking forward to:

~Our first official doctor's appointment on Wednesday afternoon! We're so excited! Everything is still feeling a little surreal to both of us, but I think our visit with the doctor will make everything seem a little more "real!"
~My birthday dinner at Cheesecake Factory on Friday! This is one of my all-time fave restaurants! Now I just have to decide on which cheesecake to get! (On a side note, I love having a Cheesecake Factory w/in 10 minutes of where we live. I am NOT looking forward to the fact that we will very soon be living in a city with NO CHEESECAKE FACTORY! What will we do?!?! Ha!)
~My mom's arrival! :) My mom is coming up for a visit the 1st weekend in February...I can't wait to have her here!!! We've already planned to go here while she's in town!

Happy Weekend, Everyone!

I Heart 3-Day Weekends!

Ahhhh...three-day weekend + nothing to do = GLORIOUS.

We've both been exhausted from stress at work and I've been battling a cold, so relaxation was just what we needed! I got home from work around 6:30 on Friday night, and we just ate a frozen pizza...then I was asleep on the couch by 8pm! Ha! Saturday brought lots of much-needed couch & TV time, then we headed to Fairfax Corner for the evening to eat dinner, do a little window shopping, and FINALLY see New Moon.
I'm not in love with the Twilight books, so I don't like to go see the movies when all the fanatics are there...but I still enjoy the books & the movies. So I wanted to wait until all the hype died down. Derek and I fully anticipated the theater to be completely empty...boy, were we wrong. It was completely packed! I couldn't believe it!

Sunday is typically my least favorite day of the week b/c it is usually reserved for lesson plans, grading, and the housework we've been putting off all week. Basically, Sunday is never a fun day for me. But this Sunday was! We got more couch & TV time (2 days in a row!!!), played racquetball, went out to eat (again!), did some grocery shopping, came home and watched The Hangover (thanks, Mom & Dad!).

We are spending today doing our typical yucky Sunday things, which I would normally dread...but I would much rather be doing these things than be at work today! :) So I'm off to finish the laundry, clean the bathrooms, grade, and plan...but we're going to finish the weekend right by grilling out some yummy ribs to go with our baked potatoes & asparagus tonight...mmmm!!!! I'm glad my hubby is a great cook! :)

Hope everyone had a nice, long weekend..and that you have a great short week! :)

Less than 4 months to go!

It's hard to believe, but Derek's graduation from med school is less than 4 months away!!! The past 4 years have really flown by! Derek's graduation is on May 15th here in the DC area. I am SO very proud of him for all the hard work he has put in to get to this point, and I know all of our family and friends feel the same way! That's why we want to celebrate this special occasion with you. :) The more the merrier! We've already had some of you express interest in coming a few days early or staying a few days after graduation to visit with us and do some sight-seeing! We're REALLY excited about having everyone come to share in Derek's big day and to see our little life here in Northern Virginia! For those of you that are interested, here are some details and more information for you....


Click here for more information about Derek's commencement & promotion ceremony. He'll become a captain & a doctor all on the same day! :) We'll have to head into DC pretty early that morning for the ceremony to make sure we get good seats, and then we'll head back to Centreville that afternoon for a little par-tay in our neighborhood's clubhouse.

We have two great extended-stay hotels within a half-mile of our house (we're sorry, but our little two-bedroom condo won't accommodate everyone..ha!). We checked their prices for the weekend of Derek's graduation, and right now they're both about $75/night..not too bad! Also, both places have a little kitchenette in the room, which is a nice plus! Here are their websites:
--SpringHill Suites
--Extended Stay America

We're thinking about doing lots of fun, touristy things while people are in town. Here are some of the places we're thinking about going...but we're open to suggestions!!
--Hershey Park
--National Mall
--Mount Vernon
--Arlington National Cemetery
--Various museums


That's all the info/details that I can think to share with you for now, but I'm sure there will be more updates to come in the near future! Hope everyone is enjoying a nice three-day weekend! :)

I Gotta Feelin'....

Every year, my school has a Talent Show for kids to perform in. As the grand finale of the show, a bunch of teachers do a choreographed dance. This year, we are dancing to "I Gotta Feelin" by the Blacked Eyed Peas. Below is a video of them performing on Oprah's season premiere this year...



A lot of our choreography (don't worry..we have a professional choreographer..we're all amateurs!!) is based on what the dancers are doing in the streets. I'm so excited..I think it's going to turn out AWESOME! For those of you who know me well, you know that I am NOT a dancer by any stretch of the imagination. I played soccer, and that's it! But I love-love-love doing the Talent Show every year because it gets me out of my element, and I think it's good for me to do something that's challenging/doesn't come easily for me..because it makes me feel so proud of myself in the end that I can actually do the dance!! And of course, the students all LOVE the fact that their teachers are dancing on stage! :)

Now, I'll leave you with a sweet conversation I had with two of my little ones today. The first one came up to and said: "Mrs. Smith, I think you're goodest looking teacher in this school." After I promptly thanked him for the (very generous) compliment, the second one says: "Well, I think you're the goodest teacher ever too!" Apparently, we need to work on our grammar. :)

Now, it's time for American Idol!!! I wonder what it's going to be like with Ellen on this year....

Happy Tuesday, Everyone!

Big News!

Drum roll, please........

(Please try to ignore how rough we look in this picture..we had just woken up!)

We're having a BABY! In early September, we will grow to a family of three! :)

We took a home pregnancy test on New Year's Day while we were still at home in GA for Christmas Break. We actually took two pregnancy tests that day because we just couldn't believe that we were PREGNANT! After we got back to VA, I scheduled an appointment with my Family Practice doctor's office to get my blood work done to see if I was "officially" pregnant. It wasn't until after the doctor said "Congratulations!" that it really felt really for us! We are both VERY excited!!!

For those of you that may want to know/are feeling curious, I've been feeling perfectly fine! I have felt anything out of the ordinary really. The only exception has been when we were still at home over the break, I started feeling nauseous every time we made the long drive to and from McDonough (where my sister's new apartment is)..which I thought was weird because I'm not typically one to get car sick. But since then, I've been feeling great! Here's to hoping that will continue! :) Derek picked this up for me this week at Target to help me prepare for what's to come!
2010 is shaping up to be a very BIG year for us! Derek will be graduating in May, we'll be moving to Biloxi in June, and then a new little baby will joining our family in September! We couldn't be more excited! :)

Round Two: Top Five Fridays

Welcome back to another Top Five Friday post! :) Here's a little list of things I am currently loving...

5. Winter Weather :) I love-love-loved the 3 extra snow days right before Winter Break, and today we were granted with a two-hour delay due to a light snowfall the DC area received last night. It was soooo nice to be able to sleep in on a Friday morning! :)

4. SEC Football! I really appreciated the two-hour delay this morning b/c Derek & I stayed up late last night to watch the entire National Championship game. We were thrilled to see the SEC on top for the 4th year running!

3. Going Rogue. My sister got me Sarah Palin's book for my birthday, and I can't wait to read it!!! I started reading it, but I had to put it down (reluctantly) because I just don't have the time to read it right now. I'm already looking forward to Spring Break, so I'll have some free time to do leisurely reading!
2. Gift Cards. Derek & I were blessed with many wonderful Christmas gifts this year, but we especially love getting gift cards! We got gift cards to some of our fave places this year--The Cheesecake Factory, Ruth's Chris, Outback, and the list goes on...we're looking forward to some great date nights in the coming weeks!

1. Hot Chocolate by the Fire...mmmm. Right before the Blizzard of '09 (that's what Derek & I are calling the storm that brought us TWO FEET of snow last month), Derek picked up some logs that were on sale at Tar-jay just in case we lost power in the storm. He just got them because they were on sale, but they've turned out to be the BEST thing! We have a wood-burning fire place, which can be kind of annoying sometimes..but this has made the world of difference for us! They're these little instant starting fake logs (so easy!) that burn for 4 hours. And what made it so fabulous was the fact that we got 12 logs for just $10! So my new fave thing to do this winter is just sit by the fireplace and sip on my hot chocolate...in fact, I think I'll go do that right now....

We're enjoying a quiet, warm Friday evening indoors...hope your Friday was wonderful! I'm going to try to get another post up tomorrow...so check back in soon!

Happy Weekend!

Orthopedic Surgerizing

Well hello again everyone!

I just wanted to check in with everyone to tell you about my rotation in the Orthopedic Surgery department at Malcolm Grow Medical Center on Andrews AFB.
I started on Monday, and I'll be working there for the entire month of January. It has been a good rotation thus far. I've spent about half of my time in the clinic and half of my time in the operating room. In clinic, I mainly seen people with fractures, knee pain, hip pain, or shoulder pain to evaluate whether or not they need surgery to fix their problem. In the OR, I've helped screw a plate into a lady's wrist to straighten a fracture, as well as help with shoulder and knee scopes. Next week I'll be helping with a hip replacement and a knee replacement as seen below.
As you can see by the space suits above, orthopedic surgeons are very concerned with keeping everything as clean as possible because if a hip or knee replacement gets infected the only cure is to remove the prosthetic device. Since the surgery involves removing the old joint first, removing the implant leaves the patient without a joint entirely which needless to say is an undesirable outcome.

Well that is about it for now. I'll give you more info on those surgeries next week.

Back to Reality...

After 10 glorious days at home, we made the drive back up to VA yesterday. We left a little after 6am (just fyi..this is UNHEARD of for us! we're usually lucky to be on the road by 11 or so!) and got home about 3:30, which was wonderful because we were able to get a lot of stuff done around the house so we didn't have so much to do today. We got all of our Christmas decorations put up and our suitcases unpacked yesterday. Today, we're working on laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning, & lesson planning/grading for me (ugh). Then, it's back to work tomorrow..ugh again. We're definitely feeling the blues of being back in reality! Gone are the lazy days of sleeping in and spending time with family. :(

In the hopes of reliving our lovely days of Christmas vacay, here are some more pictures of our time in GA!

Christmas Eve at Derek's dad's house

Celebrating my mom's b-day & mine a little early so we could all be together :)

Bowling with my parents to ring in the New Year! (As you can see, we take bowling VERY seriously! Ha!)
Derek got his first turkey (EVER!) and was quite proud of himself! :)
Helping Emi move into her new apartment!!!

Taking a break to celebrate our progress!

There's still a lot of work to be done in Emi's apartment, but we're thankful that we were able to help her with the big move and prepare her for this next chapter of her life. She starts her new job as a high school teacher tomorrow...GOOD LUCK EMI! We're so proud of you!

Now it's back to reality for us! Hope everyone has a great week! :)