Cold Streaming

This is Jen, by the way. I’ve got to figure out how to sign in under my name!

Ah, we Poulins are under attack from a nasty flu bug that will not disappear. Darn the flu! Seth is the hardest hit by far… poor little man. He still manages to tell his knock knock jokes through the agony though.
Ben is back at school today after a whopping 2 1/2 weeks off (thanks to student-led conference time and spring break AND being sick!). I’m sure he will enjoy being back since life at home was pretty boring. He wasn’t allowed to do ANYTHING FUN! “Ha ha ha!” chuckles the evil Mom.
Abby accompanied me to the mall today. As I was trying to wipe a crusty nose and settle down the amazingly static “I’ve stuck my finger into a light socket” hair, I was reminded of her statement of alarm that came yesterday when she coughed a huge cough…
“Mommy! I just coughed a really big one! I am so worried it will wreck my BEAUTIFUL FACE!!!!” Oh dear. I tried hard not to laugh but it was said with such angst.
Other exciting news… technically, this is Brett’s LAST DAY OF MEDICAL SCHOOL. He has an exam tomorrow, and then 4 weeks to study for a huge test, but then 2 whole months off and work begins! Isn’t that amazing? Work. For those of you who know Brett, you will understand how significant the end of school is. Hee hee hee. Another evil chuckle.
Any ideas where we should go to celebrate? I’m talking a trip somewhere… possibly somewhere hot.
I mean, we ARE coming to Las Vegas whether you like it or not (you know who you are) but we were also thinking of going somewhere else too. We’re open for suggestions!

The announcement you’ve been waiting for….

BRETT MATCHED TO FAMILY MEDICINE RIGHT HERE!!!!!

We are SOOOOOOOOO happy! This was definitely the right place for us. I would’ve done the 5 year thing but I don’t know if I would be sane after…

So yes! We matched, we are happy happy, and we don’t have to move! Already I am planning our move out to the old stomping grounds of my youth… tee hee! 2 years and counting down!

Thanks Felicity for reminding me that I hadn’t updated yet. I shall now go and check your blog for pics of that dear little one and YOU!

Seth is always full of energy and is permanently attached to his mother. Always. The only thing that can captivate his attention is “Mana Mana”: a song done by the Muppets on the very first Muppet Show. We could run that on an infinite loop and he would be SO HAPPY.

The other day Seth discovered the power of “NO” and has since tried to utilize it for his own evil purposes. He laid on the floor of the front entryway and refused to put any kind of outerwear.

“Coat, Seth?”

“NO!!”

“Shoes, Seth?”

“NO!!”

(First-time Parents reading this… BEWARE! IT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU AND YOUR SWEET LITTLE ONE!!)

Oh, what a glorious time we just had! Brett had a couple of interviews in Vancouver for residency so I decided to tag along for a few days. First, we dumped the kids off at a very happy Grandma’s house in Sherwood Park. There was much rejoicing on the kids’ part as they pulled Quincy’s ears and hair and threw balls around for him to chase after. The dog was already hiding in the kennel before we even left.

Then, it was on to Vancouver for 4 fabulous kid-free days. We arrived to a lovely sunny day (I KNOW! SUN IN VANCOUVER???) and we drove around the University and Stanley Park. We stopped in Stanley Park for some lunch at “The Teahouse”… what a gorgeous view we had! The food was not too bad, either.

While Brett had his interview I decided I would find some shops to go into. I didn’t find much in that particular area, but I did get to see the mess from the explosion that happened that morning. A Taco Del Mar and a Starbucks store got blown apart (fishy circumstances) but I don’t know the exact cause or anything. It was kind of interesting to see the real CSI people doing their thing (although none of them are as good-looking or have as cool theme music as the people on TV).

We visited Mike and Diana (Brett’s sister) and Elizabeth while we were there. Oh, such fun people. We stayed at their lovely house and enjoyed great food and conversation.

In the morning, it was Granville Island time, and Diana, Elizabeth, Brett and I hit the shops! So funky! All the artwork and glass-blowing places were fantastic. The market actually blew my mind… all the produce looked so good! Superstore has now been tainted forever for me! I can’t go back to the slimy produce there!

So then it was off to our hotel. I had a nap (LUXURY) and then we went out to eat on Robson Street. OH ME OH MY! Can you say Louis Vuitton? Chanel? Everything else?? So fun. It was a lovely Valentine’s Day… I also received a pineapple and a rose from my sweetie. We then went to U2 in 3-D at the IMAX theater at Canada Place. Kind of surreal to be that close to Bono and watch thousands of people singing and dancing - but then actually look around the theater and see all of us just sitting there with stupid looking glasses on.

The next day was rainy. We decided to go to the Aquarium. This was the first time in the trip when I thought, “It was fun, but it would have been better with the kids.” We saw beluga whales, a sea lion, gigantic fish of some sort from the amazon, sharks, etc. We’ll have to do that again when the kids come with us.

We went out to White Rock for dinner with Mike and Diana. We ate at a surfer joint that was super fun and had we been there before dark, we would have seen the ocean as well. It took us 2 hours of driving just to get there… Vancouver traffic is not my favorite.

Oh yeah… you know those signs that are around when condos are being built? ‘Starting from the 230’s!” Well, in Vancouver I saw signs saying, ‘Starting from 4 million!’ Wow. What a deal.

Our last day was mostly taken up by an interview but then we had lunch with a couple from Brett’s class. They were facing the same tough decision about matching to a specialty. It was nice to chat with people who are in the same boat. Then it was home time! Fun to see our babies again… not as much fun to see the snow again. I almost cried when I saw the daffodils and tulips almost in bloom in Vancouver. My tulips probably won’t see daylight… well… ever - due to my black thumb.

Good to go away. Good to be home.

I seems strange that medical school is coming to an end. I will graduate in just a few more months, and even before that (on March 6) is MATCH DAY! That’s when we find out what I’m going to do for the rest of my life. I’m interviewing right now for a variety of residency programs. At the end of interview we rank the programs and they rank us, everything goes into a big computer and we all promise that we’ll go where it tells us to.

It seems crazy, but I think it’s pretty fair. Trust me - I’ve worked through their algorithm (Jen thinks this is pretty funny) and it really does a pretty good job, given the constraints of the game. There’s only so much you can do to distinguish between thousands of medical students applying for thousands of spots. It’s a big game of chance where all you can do is try to slant the odds in your favour. I’ll try to keep you updated on what happens next.

It’s been a very interesting chapter where I’ve really been able to do a lot of things I never imagined that I’d be able to do. I’ll reflect on some of these things in future posts so that I can give them adequate description.

Thanks to Jen for all her support in bringing a new baby to the family — my Digital Rebel! I finally went to one of those crazy 6am sales on Boxing Day and it paid off.

I’ve really enjoyed taking portraits, and its one of the things that I would like to learn to do well someday. In the meantime, I’ll just practice. Here’s one that I took of my darling wife in an attempt to make studio lighting without a studio.

By the way, I’ll try to contribute more regularly and moderate your posts more promptly. I’ve also added photos of the Leaf Maze Craze to the earlier post. Enjoy!

A short apology to avid readers… I’m busy. Sorry.

Here we are in Jen’s lovely hometown for the holidays. Brett’s dearest wishes were to go snowboarding, then do some snowboarding, and then top it all off with some snowboarding. Thus, and alas, when we went for his first full day, he had a slight wipe-out which succeeded in making him so sore he had to visit the doctor here. His ribs are still smarting…but Brett got a new toy to take his mind off the pain… a new camera! Soon you shall see the fruits of this new toy ON THIS SITE!!!

Ben, Abby and Seth have been enjoying the wonders of Grandma and Grandpa’s house. From feeding the HUGE fish to sliding down the cow pasture hill, (remember that Felicity, Jess and Matt?) - it is always fun to come here. It is wonderful to see them having fun with their cousins and making lasting friendships with family. I feel the same way about my cousins… I love them so much! Miss them, especially at this time of the year.

My sister Megan and I got to sing a song that my Dad wrote during church on Sunday. How very fabulous! The song is very simple and beautiful… Way to go DAD!

Of course, the presents have been fun and the company has been wonderful. The absolute best thing about this time of year is thinking about the Saviour and how much He loves us. I think about that night so long ago and wonder what it would have been like to be there to see Him. I am so grateful for Jesus Christ.

What a wonderful season this has been! Happy New Year to all! Hope 2008 brings lots of love, laughter, and lots of posts on this site! Tee hee.

Jen

We started a fun little tradition when we moved into this house. We have an enormous tree in our backyard. In the fall, the leaves are copious and SO MUCH FUN TO PLAY IN! We make leaf mazes in our backyard and the whole neighborhood comes over to run around in it.
This year, Ben has made quite a few by himself and then runs around wrecking it as well. As soon as I can figure out how to add these new pics I will post them. Seth was right in there helping the other day. So fun!

We keep a journal for each child. By ‘we’ I mean I do, and before you crown me Queen of all Mothers you should know that it is quite sporadic. Anyways, Abby and I were reading from her journal last night and she indicated that she would like to make an entry. I got her a pencil and made a little desk out of a book on her lap. As she settled down, she heaved a contented little sigh and said,”It’s time for me to have a nice quiet writing time in my DIARRHEA!” In order not to crush my little one’s feelings, I was really trying not to laugh out loud. I asked her to clarify what she called that book she was going to draw in. She said, “This is my diarrhea. Sometimes it is a book that you write in, and sometimes it is POO!” She was completely serious. I failed in my attempt to keep a straight face. Abby thought it was funny today and told Daddy and probably most of her school class how a diar-eeeeeeeeeee is not poo, but the book she wrote in.

Thanksgiving… the time of thanks and gluttony. We had a lovely time at G&G’s house this weekend. The kids got their full share of playtime with Auntie & Uncles and cousin Elizabeth, as well as the ever-slobbery Quincy. Much turkey was gobbled, and Diana’s apple pie was truly FANTASTIC! It might even rival mine… did I just admit that? One morning, we had Grandma and Grandpa’s famous crepes. I asked Abby if she liked her crepes (and I pronounced it the French way with a short e sound instead of a long a sound). She put her hands on her hips and said, “Mommy, we don’t eat crap! We eat craaaaaaaaaapes!!”

General Conference was, of course, enjoyed by all… especially Seth. He loved the singing of the choir. He joined in quite a bit. We thought it was cute… not sure our neighbors did, though! He is a good dancer. Likes to rock out to the Mo-Tab.