Liebster Award

So a blog "friend" of mine (I feel like we're all "friends" in our little blogging community of medical wives) nominated me for the Liebster Award!
And if she hadn't already received it I would definitely nominate her as well! Mandy at The Boyer Family has a great, happy, uplifting blog about her family (two super adorable kids) and day to day life (parenting, faith, crafts, etc) during their journey of med school!

The Liebster Award is an award that small bloggers (less than 200 followers) are giving out to one another to recognize their cute blogs and honor their stories they tell on them. 

And it sort of reminds me of those fun chain emails we use to all do years ago.... and who doesn't love a little nostalgia?!

So the Liebster goes something like this...

1. Post 11 random facts about yourself.

2. Answer 11 questions the tagger has given you, and write 11 questions for the blogs your tag.

3. Choose 11 deserving bloggers (or however many you can) that have less than 200 followers.

4. Tell them you've tagged them by commenting on their blog.

5. No tag backs.

6. Grab a Liebster Award button and display it on your page!

So here it goes!! 11 random facts about me...

1. I'm an awful cook. Bake… I can do. But cooking, not so much. I think it comes down to a) my inability to make decisions, and b) a fear of failure
2 My favorite outfits consist of leggings and Daniel's big tshirt… I'm pretty fancy… what can I say??
3. I can't make decisions. Ever. It drives Daniel crazy. But really it's just because I'm super easy to please and don't really have a strong opinion on most things
4. I lived in the same house from birth until moving out for collage…. only 20 minutes away :)
5. I became an aunt at age 3. I now have  3 nieces (plus one step niece and one little one on the way), 2 nephews, and 2 great nephews… bringing my count to 9. I felt completely comfortable becoming a mom bc I was basically changing diapers while I was still in diapers ;)
6. My BFF and I have been friends since 1st grade (we're now almost 26), and since the age of 13 have lived thousands of miles apart. Truly a gift.
7. I'm super shy and awkward when first meeting people. It takes me awhile to warm up and completely feel comfortable. But when I'm do I'm pretty sarcastic and love to laugh.
8. I'm super empathetic… .to the point of being ridiculous. I can't even watch anything with any sort of violence or injustice or such because it literally makes my heart hurt. I guess it's a good trait…. but it def. gets annoying sometimes.
9. I'm not a good communicator… at all. Unless through writing (hints my love for blogging).
10. I have a really progressive look at education…. and despite being an early childhood educator (who for the most part work in elementary schools) I really dislike what probably 98% of elementary schools are doing and it's going to kill me when Dax has to start going to one… or if I ever have to start working in one.
11. I'm happy and feel more fulfilled being a stay at home mom than I ever did working.

11 Questions from Mandy!

1. Morning or night person?

     Morning if I can just be lazy (aka never with a kiddo at home)… but night any other time.
2. Do you want a big or little family?
     I've learned that what you want doesn't really matter because God has a plan larger than your wants or needs. But with that said, I have always seen myself adopting in the future.
3. What always puts you in a good mood?
     A hug from my monkey…. and Starbucks :)
4. What is your biggest fear?
     Car crashes. I have no idea why. But it is def. a constant fear of mine anytime I'm in a car.
5. Favorite Movie?
     Grease… hands down :)  If I could make my life a musical I would. No doubt about it.
6. Road tripper or flyer?
     I've only flew a few times… but I still prefer road trips. Love riding in a car with the family and seeing a ton of new things.
7. What is your favorite quote or scripture?
     Be the change you wish to see in the world - Gandhi.  I love it so much that I had "Be the Change" on the top of my graduation cap and plan on having it on the walls in Daxtons new room

8. If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?
     My irrational fear of failure for sure. I would do so much more.
9. Matthew McConaughey or Christan Bale? 
     Tough one. I'm usually a tall dark and handsome kind of girl (which would be Christian Bale)… but something about the charm of Matthew McConaughey wins me over.
10. Favorite work out to do?
     Pilates… by far. Basically the only work out I'll do :)
11. Favorite cleaning tip learned or that you've heard of?
     We keep a "stuff" basket of the corner of our kitchen cabinet (the spot in our house that would catch all of our random junk). We put our stuff in there now (so at least that corner isn't all cluttered up) and empty the basket out every now and then, taking stuff back to it's original home.

And here are my nominations for The Liebster Award!

1. Stacy @ Stacy & Charlie

2. medicine: a love story

3. Melissa @ Our Lovely Story (this is my BFF... and she doesn't blog much anymore because she pretty occupied with this gem... but there are some great resources on there in her past post)

4. Ivory @ Mack Attack

5. Lindsay @ Baby Mama Drama

6. Chrissie @ Pursuits of a Witty Life

7. Elle @ Lab Coats and Liabilities

8. Hillary @ Homegrown in KY

9. Taylor @ How I Met Your Father

10. Jennifer @ From the Corner of My Couch

11. Just Another Doctor's Wife

And here are my questions for my nominees!

1. What's your guilty pleasure (reality TV, junk food, etc)?
2. What's your absolute favorite blog to read?
3. Your dream house…. big and fancy, or simple and quaint?
4. If you wanted to/ could go back to collage… what would you study?
5. Favorite song and why?  Sorry… I"m a music person :)
6. First thing you would do if you won the lottery?
7. Your perfect day looks like………..
8. Channing Tatum or Adam Levine?
9. Favorite place to do some online shopping at?  :)
10. Favorite go to family meal? (I need ideas folks!)
11.  And the question we've all thought about before… if you were stuck on a deserted island… what 3 things would you want to have with you?

Medical Mondays: A little moving advice

First off... it's Medical Monday!! 

If your a friend or family member, Medical Mondays is a blog hop for anyone associated with the medical field whatsoever. It's a great way to connect with other women who are going through or have gone through life as a medical spouse (because I truly feel like there's no way for anyone to understand what life during training is like unless you're married into medicine or the military).

And for visitors from the blog hop.... welcome!! A quick introduction.... I'm Kandice, started dating my now husband at the age of 14, got married in undergrad, had our son at the beginning of MS2, moved 2 hours away from family for MS3 & MS4, and just recently found out that we matched for General Surgery in Mobile, AL. Other than medicine.... I have a degree in Early Childhood Education but am currently staying home with our little boy, I love crafting & photography & the outdoors... now if only I had more time for all that :)

Now on to the good stuff! Sorry I've been a little MIA... but as you can imagine life has been crazy as fourth year comes to an end.  Two huge things that are a big part of our life right now is preparing to buy our first home and preparing Dax for the big move.... and I would lovvve your input on both of those things!

This time next week we'll be in the midst of our 12 hour drive to Mobile to spend a few days looking at houses and hopefully putting an offer in on one. We have a narrowed down list and our realtor also has some she'd like to show us. We've been renters up until this point so this is a whole new world for us! And frankly... only having 2-3 days to look at houses in person makes me pretty nervous! So.... for you ladies that have bought houses.... what did you do to make it more successful... AND, what are some things we should make sure to look at/check before committing to a house?

And the second thing I would love your input on is preparing our 2 1/2 year old for the move. We have a map and have showing him and talking to him about "our new home"(check out a precious video of that here). We've also tried to include him in the packing. I've been letting him help me pack boxes and tape them shut. And I also bought 3 new books for him... Boomer's Big Day, Melanie Mouses Moving Day, and Berenstain Bears' Moving Day. We've been reading these at least once a day (initiated by him) and make connections between what's happening in the book and what we're doing. We're also redoing his room at the new house so we've been showing him all the things for his new room... and that seems to be helping get him excited for it. He asked me at snack time the other day, "We have a new snack at our new home?" Not surprised that his main focus is on what he's going to get to eat there :)    Again for you medical moms (and any other moms for that matter) that have gone through a big move with your little one.... what did you do to help prepare your little one?

And to end the post.... here's a little cuteness to brighten your day!

PS.... I just got set up with Bloglovin' so follow me there!
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Hello Forrest!

As you all know from my countdown I've had going for months now, Match Day was this last Friday.  It was a very exciting day from sun up to well past sun down.

Daniel was up and ready to go by 8:30.....

we didn't have to leave until 10:00 (someone was a little excited).

My parents came by and picked up Dax for him to spend the evening and next day with them (his first time to sleep anyone other than home without mom and dad). Our day and night were full of Match Day festivities and we planned on spending Saturday packing and sorting through toys.

Daniel's class saved up most of their student fees over the years to have an awesome Match week/day. They had fun activities planned every night and a beautiful day planned for Match Day.

 

The day started out with mimosas, beer, coffee, and chitchatting/peeing your pants from the anxiety of what was about to happen. At about 11:50 we sat down for a few words from a few people and close to noon they started the countdown video... you could hear a pin drop!

At then end of the countdown it said something about their fate being in their pot of gold...

So Daniel poured this bowl out all of the table as fast as he could could and pulled out puzzle pieces to put together this...

We're going to Mobile, Alabama (hints the Forrest Gump reference in the blog title)!!!! This was Daniel's #2 pick (the only reason it wasn't #1 was because there was a location that was a little closer to friends) but in his heart it was his #1!  Daniel was so ecstatic and I think I was in shock for awhile!  I cried a little.... Daniel teared up some and there was lots of hugging and saying, "OMG we're going to Alabama".

 

This was the only program that I went to the interview with Daniel (that must have been a sign or something there). They were so, so welcoming to the spouses and even gave me a tour of the city while Daniel interviewed during the day. We both loved the people and could tell that this program would be very family friendly (something hard to find in surgery programs). 

Daniel also has a friend that matched in Mobile with him so that was very exciting as well. We'll be an hour from super nice beaches. We're living on the Gulf of Mexico.  I never in a million years thought I would be living by the ocean (Up until a few years ago I had never even been to the ocean... and my trip to Daniel's interview in Mobile was my first flight ever). If I had a dollar for every time in the past 3 days that I've said, "We're moving to Mobile" I think I would be rich. I don't think it really sunk in until last night. This thing called med school is one crazy ride that's for sure. 

The rest of the day included a nap, dinner on the patio at Pei Wei, a party bus, and a night of celebrating at the boathouse in OKC (like I said, hubbys school saved up the student fees to make sure they had a memorable Match Day). 

So I guess ready or not.... here we come Mobile!!

Rollercoaster

Well tomorrows the day.

Tomorrow, the madness of our world completely changing will start and we'll start endlessly researching and thinking about the new town we'll be spending the next 5 years in.

I go into tomorrow with just a roller coaster of emotions building up inside me. I'm excited for this next chapter. I'm proud of Daniel for reaching his dreams. I'm eager to begin planning. I'm happy to try something new.
But I think the emotions that are taking over the most here lately (up until this point I've been really excited... I guess maybe it's just becoming more real) are those of fear, anxiety, and sadness.  I am terrified of starting over somewhere I know nothing about. I'm anxious about moving somewhere I don't know a single soul. And I'm extremely sad to be so far away from my family.

But I know this is all just part of the journey. Only a small segment of what our life holds. And I know we will grow so much as individuals and as a family through this experience. We can do anything for 5 years.

Maybe after tomorrow I'll feel better. Maybe it's just the unknown right now that's freaking me out.

But whatever it is I know we're going to be just fine. This is just part of the journey.

"Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing."  James 1: 2-8   (This verse. Wow.)

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6

Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:6-8

"If" Day!

So how's your Monday been going?

Oh until 11:00 am ours was not so hot. Hubby slept very little... and I had a stomach full of butterflies.

But then 11:00am came and boy how quickly our Monday changed...

Daniel matched!!! Woohoo! All of his hard work over the past 4 years and money spent on interview season paid off. He officially gets to do what he loves (be a surgeon) for the rest of his life and he has a job come July 1st!

After being swept off my feet and spun in circles... we celebrated with a toast of champagne and then headed out for a celebratory lunch!

At lunch I asked him how he was feeling.... "I feel like I'm on cloud 19"

What a wonderful day. I couldn't be more proud of my husband.

Now only 4 more days of waiting to see where we matched at (again... cruel and unusual punishment... why not just tell us now?).