Ode to my Father's Crepes

Since today is Father's Day, I thought I would pay a tribute to the time honored tradition of crepe making my Dad passed to me.

Before leaving on my mission my Dad gave me a crepe making tutorial.  Crepes, thin hot cakes, or thinnies have been a long standing Miller tradition.  We have all enjoyed warm, buttery crepes with syrup for breakfast on Sundays and special occasions.  My dad wanted to make sure I carried on the legacy so he handed off all his techniques.  I'm not sure if I ever once made them on my mission - I'm fairly certain I never did.  I have made them a lot since being home from Brazil, and marriage has morphed the tradition slightly.  I know, I know...Modifying the Miller crepes borders on blasphemy.  However, Leisy and I have eliminated the butter and instead we fill our crepes with fresh fruit, nutella, sweet cream cheese spread and top with a dusting of powdered sugar.  Yummy!!  Ike likes his the traditional way and Zeb - the most picky eater ever - is starting to warm up to a taste here and there.

So the other day my blasphemous perversion of tradition went to a whole new level.  Leisy's friend gave her a gift card to Mimi's cafe.  We rarely go there.  I had a chicken crepe dish and thought - I could totally pull something like that off at home.  I looked up a bunch of different recipes and melded them into one that I knew would be amazing.  Chicken Florentine Crepes!  Crepes stuffed with chicken and spinach smothered in a creamy white wine sauce paired with sautéed zucchini and squash .  It was basically amazing.

Thanks Dad for passing on not only your amazing crepe skills but for teaching me how to be a good husband and father.  I can only hope to be the kind of Dad that you have been for me!  Love you Dad!!

Talent Show

I was trying to avoid this year's ward talent show but the boys got roped into doing a 'talent' with their friends.  I know it sounds like I'm being pessimistic about the ward talent show but I feel I have good reason to be:  The last year's talent show was so painful to sit through and went on for so long I wanted to rip my eyeballs out.  The boys ended up sobbing because dessert wasn't served until the very end. The cookies were taunting them until well after their bedtime while the arguable 'talents' kept on going and going and going.  I'm sorry but singing along to your favorite song on the radio without first practicing is NOT okay for a talent show.  And a 10 minute garage band improvisation is NOT okay for a venue like this.  Last year we had to leave before it ended with the boys crying for cookies.  I vowed not to go back to this year's talent show and Leisy agreed!  I was a little bit grumpy when I found out Zeb and Ike wanted to participate with their friends because I couldn't tell them no.

Luckily the talent show was much more organized this year.  They asked talents be kept to 2-3 minutes which only a few people ignored.  There were only 2 horrible radio sing alongs and dessert was served at intermission.  We were home shortly after bed time and the boys had a blast.  Ike insisted on wearing his bike helmet through the entire activity. :)   The song says:  WALK, GALLOP, TIPTOE, RUN!!

Romeo And Juliet

I'm not sure how many times I've read Romeo and Juliet - more times than Leisy would ever like me to admit.  I picked it up again over my vacation and couldn't put it down.  I get sucked in from the start:

Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene...

And it's all downhill from there.  I think Shakespeare is a master at using a wide variety of emotion, comedy and fantastic poetry to set the scene and establish characters. And then one thing happens that sets events in motion to unravel everything he took such care to establish.  I was excited to see a preview of a new version coming out this Summer!!  Who wants to see it with me?  I can guarantee Leisy will not be as excited as I am.

Conga!!

The boys can't get enough of Metta.  They love her and play well with her.  Sometimes too much and they drive miss Metta bonkers!  Zeb, for whatever reason, decided Metta should start a conga line.  Ike joined right in and they laughed and laughed.  (And ignored mom who wanted everyone in the car).

Why does Ike have a bike helmet on?

Everyone knows how Leisy can't pass up a yard sale.  She has uncanny sense to spot great deals and has saved us a ton of money buying things second hand.  The other day she found unopened bike helmets for the boys for really cheap and Ike was in heaven!  He put it on right when he got home, rode his little scooter down the driveway like he was invincible, and refused to take it off.  He went to a soccer game wearing the helmet and people kept asking what happened to his head.  He even asked to sleep in it.  

Dairy Queen

For the final night of my vacation I celebrated by taking the boys out for ice cream.  They were so excited to go out with just me and they LOVE ice cream.  Ike just wanted a big cone and couldn't have been more excited when he got this:

Zeb looked on-line before going to DQ and had his heart set on the Oreo brownie earthquake sundae!  I relented and he was the happiest little boy in the world.  I have really good kids and they need to be spoiled rewarded now and again!

Columbus Zoo

Our trip to the Columbus Zoo was a blast!  The kids had a great time.  They were exhausted when we left because we had to see every inch of the place and get our money's worth.  It did, however, remind me why I'm nervous to take our kids to Disney.  It was a lot of fun but there was some whining, complaining, a half tantrum, and one complete melt down.  Fine for the zoo, but that would be completely unacceptable at Disney; I would be tempted to leave a child behind.

Zeb was our navigator for the expedition - he loves to follow maps and keep us informed of what we will be seeing next.

I gave Zeb and Ike the camera and told them to take pictures of their favorite animals.  Ike can't keep his little fingers out of the shots but Zeb is getting quite good.  Here are some of my favorites:

Ike's:

Zeb's:

Zeb had these chimps going crazy for a little leaf.  He had the crowd of kids (and adults) laughing.  In typical Metta fashion she assumed they were all laughing at her.  She is our most social creature yet.  She loves attention, always waves and says hello to everyone.

The gibbons were hysterical.  We had to visit them twice when we heard them from across the zoo.  They were so loud!!  We were amazed with the size of their necks when they make that noise.

Food!

This past week I have been on vacation. It was a badly needed rest from work - I had a long winter with too many hours spent away from home. With Zeb still in school and a recent loss of a bunch of money (for plane tickets to Utah), we decided not to do anything too big for my vacation. We decided to stick around Dayton and relax and find a few fun things to do.

My favorite thing about vacations is really good food! So for my stay-cation I decided to make a bunch of my favorite foods. I have lately been into trying new recipes and making things from scratch - no boxes, no mixes, no pre-prepared stuff. I started the week with those mini-German pancakes which were easy and delicious. I've also made:

Alice Spring Chicken - almost as good as Outback's - chicken, bacon and cheese baked and drizzled in amazingly sweet honey mustard.  I could eat the sauce by the spoonful (and I'm almost certain Leisy did).

Incredible cheddar scalloped potatoes - I don't remember eating REAL scalloped potatoes. Mom correct me if I'm wrong, but I can only recall eating packaged scalloped potatoes growing up.  They definitely weren't a staple food at my house and I haven't made scalloped potatoes since I've been married.  That will change for sure!!  These thinly sliced potatoes in a creamy homemade cheddar cheese sauce were to die for.  I'm a fan of any recipe that begins with a rue.

I've almost mastered my chicken tikka masala recipe.  Where has Indian food been my whole life?!?  I constantly crave good Indian food but it's so expensive!  I have been trying out different recipes and with Leisy's homemade naan we can pull off a decent restaurant quality Indian meal to stave off my need to drop a ton of money at a restaurant (which gives me more to spend on sushi)!

Homemade macaroni and cheese.  So much better than the boxed kind.  The ultimate southern comfort food.  Paired with a fresh salad with tons of vegetables makes one feel a touch less guilty about being so indulgent in the cheesy goodness.

Brownies - I'm not sure why I've never ventured away from boxed mixes.  I have a few cookie recipes memorized that I can throw together quickly.  Zeb always begs for Dad's "secret recipe cookies".  So why not a go-to brownie recipe for when you need something sweet on a Sunday afternoon - or any afternoon??  I found my go-to recipe that I've already made a second time this week!

Mother's Day

 Zeb was so excited for Mother's Day.  He frequently reminds me that the true meaning of any holiday is to give (his own birthday not excluded).  My mother-in-law sent a package to Leisy for mother's day with the warning "for Zeb's eyes only" on it.  Zeb took the liberty to hide the package from Leisy and bring it out the night before.  When I told him we could wrap the presents together he reminded me - "this package is for my eyes only".  I had to pretend to wrap the presents with my eyes closed - thanks Annie.  

This Mother's Day I actually succeeded in getting Leisy breakfast-in-bed BEFORE she got out of bed.  I never seem to wake up and get breakfast ready before she gets out of bed on these special days.  I made mini german pancakes with triple berry sauce and cool whip.  They were quite tasty if I do say so myself! 

I had Zeb and Ike make Mom-ster day cards.  Cards with home made monsters that open and close their mouths when the card is opened and closed.  They got way carried away in creativity.  Zeb added both blood and snot to his.  Lovely.  Nothing says "I love Mom!" like blood and snot.  Right?

Tough Mudder!!

To finish off my week of vacation I decided to join a group of friends and compete in the Tough Mudder!  What is the Tough Mudder??  

From their website: "Tough Mudder events are hardcore 10-12 mile obstacle courses designed by British Special Forces to test your all around strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie. By running a Tough Mudder challenge, you’ll unlock a true sense of accomplishment, have a great time, and discover a camaraderie with your fellow participants that’s experienced all too rarely these days.To get through mud, fire, ice-water, and 10,000 volts of electricity you’ll need teammates to pick you up when your spirits dip. To get over 12 foot walls and through underground mud tunnels, you’ll need teammates to give you a boost and a push. Tough Mudders are team players who make sure no one gets left behind." 

Here is my amazing team - Saints and Soldiers - a group of people from church and the Air Force.  A great group of guys who were there when I needed a boost or a push. 

 We had crazy obstacles to get through.  Here I am entering a dark mud tunnel.

 Running through deep mud...

...crawling through mud...

 ...and running through more mud.  Did I mention there was a lot of mud?!?

 Completely muddy and having SO MUCH FUN!!

My team made it through the 11.8 mile course together - cold, exhausted and very proud of ourselves.  I am sore in random places and have a few scratches and bruises.  Zeb was excited I made it home alive.  When he found out what I was doing he was super nervous.  When he heard I made it through okay he included in his night prayer: "Thank you that Dad didn't get electrocuted by those wires and get killed."

Bedtime

Zeb loves rules and loves to follow routines.  He has getting ready for bed down to a science - starting at 8 o'clock sharp.  He cannot go to bed until he is in proper pajamas, brushes his teeth, reads a book and says a prayer.  He will remind us if something has been missed.  We recently added scripture study to the night time routine.  We found the Book of Mormon for kids on the church's website and have been watching a chapter every night.  We watch one new chapter and the story of the brass plates every night.  I think Zeb and Ike can quote the "Brass Plates" chapter verbatim.  

Last night Leisy had an activity and I was in charge of getting the kids to bed by myself.  I gave Metta a bath and got her snuggled into her crib with no problems - she is such a cute little stink.  Zeb and Ike were busy in their toy room.  I went downstairs to enjoy a quite minute alone on the couch after a long day.  Suddenly Zeb was standing next to me with his hand on his hip quite frustrated: "Dad! Why are you just laying on the couch like this," his hands out in front of him pointing at me and the couch.  "We are waiting on you to start our Bible story!"  It wasn't quite 8 o'clock so I told Zeb I was waiting until eight to come up and get ready for bed.  "Well Dad, it's getting dark, and I can't stay up too late because I have school in the morning."  So we watched the next chapter together - Alma's mission to Ammonihah.  

Lately Ike has been SO whiny to me.  As soon as I get home he whines about everything, and wants me to do everything for him.  "I want a driiiiinnk..." "I need help in the bathroooommm..." "I want you to play with meeee..." During the scripture story he started whimpering and I was wondering what he was going to demand of me next.  I took a deep breath and tried to ask patiently, "What's wrong Ike?"  He started to cry, "This movie is too scary for me."

This is what was happening in the movie: 

The wicked people gathered the women and children who believed and threw them, along with their scriptures, into a fire.

Alma and Amulek were forced to watch the women and children die in the fire.

 Kind of intense for a 3 year old.  Oops...  So much for making the scriptures come to life for my kids!  I'll have to be more selective next time.  He had me cover his eyes until Alma and Amulek were saved. 

   

Fitness

1.5 miles, push-ups, sit-ups and waist circumference.  The PT test.  One extra hoop to jump through during residency.  Not only do I have to find time to take the test, I have to find time to train for it.  If I don't pass the test there are some mandatory workouts that I don't have time for!  And any advancements are placed on hold until I do pass.  If you pass you push the next test off for 6 months.  If I get an excellent I push the next test off for an entire year.  

Last year I got an excellent so I didn't have to take the test for another year.  That year came up fast and happened to come up during a rotation when I was working 80-90 hours a week.  The last thing I had time for was working out.  I had to go take my test when I had worked a 28 hour shift - luckily it was slow at work and I had about 6 hours of sleep!  I was able to push the next test off for one more year!

It is nice to have an excuse to stay physically fit enough to complete this annual annoyance.  It's nice that my job cares enough about my physical fitness to make it a priority.  I hope to always be able to run 1.5 miles without dying.  I'm not sure if it gets any easier after residency, but right now it is hard to find time to work out every day.  It's just a part of becoming a doctor I guess.

Kitty Cat and other musings

The other day Ike was asking me to get him a kitty cat.  I couldn't figure out why he suddenly wanted a pet so badly.  He was jumping up and down he was so persistently demanding I provide this cat.  I asked Leisy if he had been playing with cats recently or if they had been talking about pets.  She was as confused as I was.

It took me awhile to realize that he was asking for and demanding that I go get him a Kit Kat candy bar!! He is such a sweet tooth it's ridiculous.  I'm not really sure what made him suddenly think of a Kit Kat.  Maybe he was thinking of the week his Grandpa Oswald came to visit.

Zeb is starting school this week! He is so excited he can hardly contain himself.  He is a little smarty pants and will have a blast in school.  He is growing up, always willing to help and be the best big brother ever.  This week Metta was crying in her car seat and Zeb piped up from the back seat, "Mom! I have a solution to this problem - we need Metta's bottle from your purse"!

And little Metta is turning into a full-on little girl.  She will catch my eye from across the room and start to smile to draw me closer.  She giggles and giggles when I play with her - sometimes they sound like courtesy giggles.  She knows if she stops giggling, I'll stop playing.  She is a fast learner and is going to be mobile before we know it.  She already wants to keep up with the boys.

On Call

Since starting my second year in residency I am now free from the intern work hour restrictions.  Last year I couldn't work more than 80 hours per week and my shifts couldn't be longer than 16 hours.  Now that I am a Senior Resident I work 28 hour shifts every 4th day.  Somehow seeing the sun come up, set and then come up again makes me feel like a real doctor.  So far it hasn't been too shabby either.  I've been able to get several hours of sleep at the hospital and have my pager next to me to answer any calls through the night.  It has been relatively quiet at the hospital at night so the next morning I'm not exhausted.  I'll enjoy it while it lasts because I'm sure the days are coming when sleep will be limited and I'll go home exhausted.  My shift ends at 11 AM when I am "post call".  We have been taking full advantage of those post call days!

Diabetes Camp

Midnight and 3AM blood sugar checks!

I just completed the most exhausting 7 days of my life!  I signed up to go to Diabetes Camp this year and loved every second of it.  I did a month of Endocrine during my first year of residency and loved it.  I became interested in everything I saw in clinic and wanted to get more exposure - so I left Leisy home alone with sick kids for 7 days to take care of diabetic kids at their camp.  I was in charge of monitoring their blood sugars and dosing insulin and taking care of problems.  That meant I got up at midnight and 3AM to make sure they weren't too low or too high.  I was in charge of the 7-9 year old kids.  Have you ever had to wake up a sleeping 8 year old at 3AM to make them eat??  If their sugar was too low I had to feed them in the middle of the night.  I struggled to keep them awake long enough to chew some food and take a drink of apple juice.  They never remembered eating the next morning and would laugh and giggle when I told them stories of them falling to sleep with food in their mouths.  It was a great learning experience and had some exciting adventures.  

Ladies man

Today was the primary program and I didn't have to work!! I was excited to see Zeb sing all the songs I have been practicing with him. It was really fun to watch him sing his little heart out. Those sunbeams have such a hard time sitting through the entire sacrament meeting up on stage. It is a lot to ask for them to sit up there with no snacks and things to color or play with. They actually set up some risers in front of the podium and put chairs on them for the sunbeams. Zeb was sitting next to his really good friend who has the same last name. They have had a few play dates together and he thinks sharing the same last name is awesome. Half way through the program he reached over and held her hand. They held hands for the rest of the program and Zeb could not stop smiling and giggling. It was so distracting but so funny!! Leisy was trying to get his attention to let go when they started swining their hands up and down. I can't even tell you how many comments we got after the program about Zeb being a little ladies man. It was too funny!!

I love fall!

Fall is the best time of year - I absolutely love it! Pumpkin patches, colored leaves, jacket weather, Halloween, my birthday and so much more to look forward to! Despite my ridiculously crazy schedule we have really taken advantage of everything Ohio has to offer this time of year. It makes me very grateful we are not sweating through 85 degree weather in Texas. I just completed my 4th rotation of residency. I have seen some unique pathology: Lupus cerebritis, pyelonephritis causing fever of 107.2 degrees, Kawasaki disease, Crohn's disease, and Trisomy 18. I am also becoming very comfortable treating asthma, bronchiolitis and constipation. I have seen kids with failure to thrive for a multitude of reasons. I've seen children taken away from their parents and I've counseled a lot of crying parents. Life in residency is nuts but it has been amazing and I'm learning so much.

I'm a Doctor!!

I am now 3 months into my residency program and loving it! It is everything I expected it to be. It is really hard work, I'm learning a ton, and I love what I'm doing. I've spent most of the time thus far either in the peds clinic or at the hospital on general peds hospital admissions. I've worked nights, I've worked days and feel like my internal alarm clock will never be the same. I've seen lots of babies and kids for well checks and I've taken care of some pretty sick kids with crohn's disease and small bowel obstructions. It has been a long road getting here and I'm still not done, but people now call me Dr. Miller. My white coat has been upgraded from a short waist length student coat to the full length Dr. coat. Here's a picture of me in my coat following up with some lab results:

I really think Pediatrics was the best career decision I have ever made, secondary to joining the Air Force. They both fit my personality very well. I am training with some of the best Pediatricians I have ever met. I can't imagine why people go through medical training outside of the military!! Residency is extremely overwhelming, the hours are long, I feel tired and stressed most of the time - but I like it. Leisy is the most supportive wife in the world. I am extremely lucky to have her helping me. She keeps me sane and always finds amazingly fun things to fill my spare time.

Reason #1 I joined the military: Travel!
One of the first times I contemplated the military scholarship for med school was during my first year at BYU. I took a "premed prep" class that basically introduced various aspects of medicine and how to go about preparing for medical school. It was a 7 AM class and I honestly slept through most lectures. They had all kinds of specialists come tell us about their careers. One morning they invited a doctor who spent 20+ years in the military. He had pictures from all over the world, not just traveling but actually practicing medicine! The military offers all kinds of opportunities to practice international medicine and I can't wait to see more of the country and hopefully other countries as well.

The other day Ike would not be consoled. He was trying desperately to get something in the kitchen and Leisy and I had no idea what he wanted. Leisy insists I'm better at translating Ike's jibber-jabber, but together we couldn't make sense of his words. His words quickly melted into frustrated screaming and tears so I picked him up and had him show me what he was after. He opened the freezer and rummaged in the crowded top shelf until he found one of these:I had no idea we even had any of these left - they were from last summer. When I opened it the thing was covered in ice frost and looked disgusting, but he started laughing through tears and declared "popsicle - Yay!" which sounded NOTHING like "popsicle".

The red, white, and blue reminded me about posting the reasons I joined the military. Maybe my desire to serve the country started from a young age when my parents bought me this:
Does anybody else remember this book and tape?!? I thought of this the other day and how much I loved listening to it. I wish I still had it so I could start indoctrinating Zeb and Ike! I really have tried to find some of these songs online but haven't had much success. Anybody out there have access to these songs?

My little helpers

These boys want to help me do everything - especially when I make cookies. They are so interested in what I'm doing from the second I walk in the door. They are so much fun right now. They can be so demanding and so frustrating at times but they really are the best little kids in the world. They are also the best of friends. Tonight Zeb said our family prayer and Ike knelt next to him with his arms folded and eyes squeezed shut and repeated everything that Zeb said - it was adorable. I love these little cookie monsters.