Vegas, Baby!

Great Grandma Nova (aka Mammaw) gave the girls these adorable and trendy little vests for Christmas. They are PERFECT for our recent 50 degree weather. and the girls look ridiculously cute.

We are busy...big surprise, right?! I have been working all weekend the last 2 weekends, leaving Cris to unpack MASSIVE amounts of stuff, do a billion loads of laundry, potty train a new puppy, potty train 2 little girls....all the while dealing with Nova's new obsession with being held 24/7.

The colorado job market is still holds little to no prospects for Cris. We all feel so fortunate that our girls are getting the absolute best care during their first few years of life, but I also know Cris is anxious to be back in an academic setting. We are trying our hardest to get back to Hawaii ASAP so Cris can get back to teaching at the university. At the latest we will be back in September 2012. There is, however, a possibility we may get back earlier.

I volunteered to deploy next summer (2011). Crazy, I know. Much thought went into this decision, and i think it is the right one for a lot of reasons. A lot of OB/GYN's are getting stuck in 1 year deployments as "General Medical Officers" - basically doing general "sick call" and taking care of ingrown toenails and low back pain. Volunteering for deployment keeps me out of the 12 month GMO slot, and puts me into a 6 month surgical slot. As painful as it would be to be separated from the girls for 6 months, 12 months would just be unbearable. It would also be a once in a lifetime opportunity to get some crazy surgical experience. a lot of the medical work is actually humanitarian - caring for the locals with injuries and illness, and that appeals to me as well. Also, I am hoping that by volunteering to deploy i will have some bargaining power to get back to Hawaii in 2011 instead of 2012.
Oh, also volunteering now keeps me from getting "stop-lossed". Apparently the military can deploy me in close proximity to my separation date of Oct 1 2012, which means i would be extending my obligation by 6-12 months after my anticipated separation date. And during that lovely extension time i would be in the middle of the desert in Iraq or Afgahnistan!

We are gearing up for an action packed weekend. I am meeting my dear, dear residency friends Tracy, Benny, and Saioa in VEGAS! I cannot tell you how excited i am to see my friends. Nothing creates a closer bond than spending 80 hours a week in a crazy army hospital for 4 years! hopefully we don't get ourselves into too much trouble! I'm sure 4 female army doctors getting arrested in Vegas would make a pretty good story! :)