From the puppy to the Murphy's visit to finishing up didactic year...a lot has happened in the past few weeks!
Best thing comes first...POOP. I tell ya, never had I seen so much poop...all over our bathroom. No, Brendan didn't eat terrible Mexican food. Nor did the cast of Bridesmaids make an appearance in our home. The lovely brown masterpiece was created from our one and only artist....Renegade. It was the first day since we adopted Renny that both Brendan and I were going to be gone for several hours. We didn't want to leave her in her crate for too long...but we didn't know how she'd be with Molly in the rest of our home either. The bathroom was "our only choice." Now this choice wasn't such a great idea a few days prior when we had to throw out our MacGyver-ed barrier between the bathroom and the hallway and replace it with a higher store purchased gate. Renny still tried to escape by climbing...meanwhile breaking her nail and causing a trip to the vet to stop the bleeding. Anyway, after that we realized we needed to try to block her from climbing...that didn't work so well and she just managed to get out. So, the door had to be shut and she had to be isolated...I didn't like it, but thought it was the best option. Well, some may say at least my apartment wasn't the victim of her puppy poo. However, I really don't have any positive thing to say about our experience. After cleaning the bathroom, once by me, and again by Brendan, our bathroom was back in business. Since then, we decided maybe it wasn't a good place for her, if she has to go poo we don't want her to be confined to such a small area that forces her to dance in it. I mean elephants painting with their trunk is amazing, but puppies painting with their poopy feet, ehhh not so much. We have tried putting her in her crate, after increasing the size a little bit, and leaving the crate out in the dining room. Well, she managed to escape her crate...MULTIPLE times. Running the house with Molly. We were curious to what exactly went on when we weren't home...after many failed attempts, we finally got them on video when we were gone. Renny and Molly got along just fine and after about 20 minutes of Renny crying and running around like a crazy dog, she settled down on the couch and slept. Let me not forget to mention the table...oh yes, she climbed up onto the dining room table. ON TOP OF THE TABLE. We have now moved all of the chairs into the study, and have temporarily (I hope) given up eating at the table. Anyway, she sure has given us our challenges. And I thought the hardest thing was going to be waking up in the middle of the night to take her out...HA! She's actually proven to be pretty smart and catching on to the potty training thing very quickly! (minus the poop party, although the original pile was indeed on a training pad) She has successfully slept through the night (by accident..), waken us up if she has needed to go out, and gone to the bathroom on a training pad when we have been gone. Oh, did I mention we now just leave her out with Molly most of the time? Occasionally we may need to lock, literally lock, her in her crate, but not much. So, that's the Renegade update for now...
Cheryl and Joe were here! I can't describe how wonderful it was to see them and spend time with them. We had a fabulous time. We showed them Kemah and the boardwalk, the new BUC-EES (it's a Texas thing), some good Texas Bar-B-Q, Mediterranean food in Houston, they took us to see WarHorse (FABULOUS!) and also an Astros game, and we spent some time just hanging out at our home...I tell ya, it was pretty amazing. They even stayed an extra day! We really miss our families, so, it's so nice that they were able to come over and spend time here with us. It was the perfect time for them to come, too. My summer wasn't so bad, and Brendan's internship allows him to be free over the weekends. I was able to pretty much take the weekend off, and only study early in the morning. We didn't want them to leave...I feel so lucky to have married into such an awesome family. I mean, seriously...that is truly a blessing! Hopefully they will be back soon, but they are busy with Joe and Kristen's wedding, so I'm thinking our next time together will probably be in Florida. Regardless, we are so happy they were here and so thankful we were able to spend so much quality time together!
Soon after they left, I finished up didactic year! I had a pretty intense practical exam in my skills class, which was probably the most challenging thing of the summer. I had to go into it not knowing exactly what I had to do...turns out, I had to do a subcutaneous injection, a urethral catheterization, and then three vertical mattress sutures and five simple interrupted...all timed..all with a faculty member closely watching. It was stressful, but I feel confident in my clinical skills, so I just have to trust that! I can't believe my first year of PA school is actually over. It's unreal. I have learned SO much, but still feel there is lots to learn, but that's medicine for ya! My rotations start June 30, and I start out in the emergency department. Should be pretty fun! Clinical orientation is this next week, and then we have one week off.
This Wednesday, my mom and dad are going to be here! Grandpa is coming with them, too! And then on Friday, Darren is flying in! I can't wait. I really can't believe Darren is coming here! I never thought I'd get him into Texas. I know we are going to have a blast while they are here...just being together with them is going to be a treat! I don't know our plans, all I know is we will be hanging together as many minutes out of those days as possible. Unfortunately, it's pretty freaking hot here...but, we will try to not let that limit us. Only a few nights and they'll be here...woohoo!
Brendan is still kicking butt at his internship. He is currently programming the plans of the river authority onto a computer interface screen so they can monitor and control the pipes from a screen....EH, I don't know if I explained that well enough, but just know he is a rock star at his internship!
Ok, off to bed...this whole 5am wake up thing has made it pretty difficult to stay up late.
