Party Planning

May is an exciting month for 4th year Dental Students and their loved ones! It's a time to celebrate the graduate for all the hard work they have put in as well as celebrate an end to the four years of insanity that we all just survived. With just one month to go, I'm well underway in the planning process for Robbie's graduation party (not that I've been working on this since December or anything *cough*). Here's what I've got so far:

THE INVITATIONS

A Wife's Guide to Surviving Dental School

In March of 2013, I wrote a post called "How to Thrive While Your Husband's In Dental School." It has gotten nearly 3000 views making it my most popular post by far! Three years later, with less than two months to go until Robbie graduates, I thought I would reflect on that post and see how my advice has held up. Let's dive right in!

Shutterfly Albums

I don't know about you but I take a lot of photos. Digital cameras are fantastic in that you can typically view your photo instantly to make sure no one was blinking but I feel like many of the photos tend to just sit on the computer (or cell phone), tucked away in a file that will rarely be seen or shared outside the digital world of facebook or instagram. I love looking through my family's old photo albums and I wanted something physical for Robbie and I to have so our kids would get the same experience.

Then I discovered Shutterfly. For the past 5 years, I have used this excellent website to create a photo album with all our favorite memories from each year. It has the artistic and creative qualities of scrapbooking but there's no mess and, in my experience, is much cheaper!

Start of the Final Semester

I currently have several things I'm excited about so get ready for lots of exclamation points!

1) Robbie started his FINAL semester of Dental School three weeks ago!

CU has eleven semesters in total (because they are kind of evil and don't give the students any summers off) and we only have one left. Where did the time go?

2) There are only 123 days until graduation!

I know because I have a countdown app on my phone. Robbie has asked me not to tell him the exact number of days because it stresses him out ("I have so much to do still!" -Robbie). What's nice is they have one month after graduation to complete any final requirements so I feel like that extra little cushion of time should help relieve the stress a little. For now, I will just share the countdown with you guys.

3) He took the NBDE part II at the end of December and received this in the mail!

Just look at how beautiful that is.

The First 6 Months of Mommyhood

We've officially survived the first six months of parenthood! I'm not going to lie, guys; it was really rough! I can without hesitation say that lack of sleep makes me a different person. Months 4 and 5 were especially difficult as I was dealing with post-partum depression and I'm just now finally starting to feel like I'm coming out of that dark hole.

Counting Down

Guys, next week is Thanksgiving already! Two weeks after that Robbie's semester will end and he'll take the NBDE part II. Two weeks after that he starts his final semester of Dental School!!! I don't think there can be enough exclamation points on that sentence.

Where did the past 3.5 years go? Didn't we just finish the application and interview process not that long ago? And now we just ordered his Senior photos!

Freaking adorable if I do say so myself.

Two Semesters Left

We're finally here-- the first day of Robbie's 4th year in Dental School! Summer semester was lost in the haze of newborn land. Robbie was able to arrange to have his summer break (yes... two whole weeks! wow!) moved from the end of the summer to the beginning so he would have time off when Jubilee was born. This meant that his first ACTS rotation was moved to the end of the summer instead. He was also able to work it out with the school to have several of his ACTS rotations in or around Fort Collins so we have been able to spend a lot of time with our families.

Spring Semester of 3rd Year

A lot has happened since I last wrote but I want to get this post up that I've had sitting in the queue for several weeks. Robbie's spring semester of 3rd year is over! After a week of finals followed by a week where he had clinic all day, every day, he finally got a break. It was actually his first full week of just doing Dentistry since he started. At CU, they don't get any of their summers off so there are 11 semesters in total (he has now completed 8 of the 11!). It's unbelievable to look back and see how far he has come! It's even more unbelievable that he now has just three semesters to go! The 4th years just graduated at the end of May so I feel like I can officially call him a 4th year Dental Student.

One of the things that made spring semester of 3rd year feel different from previous semesters is that the students started completing restorative competencies. A competency is a graded assessment of different Dental skills you are required to have before you graduate. Each procedure has a certain number of competencies you must complete in order to meet the requirements and before challenging a competency, you have to complete that procedure a certain number of times. For example, the students must complete 7 quadrants (1/4 of a person's mouth) of periodontal scaling and root planing (commonly called a "deep cleaning") and then on their 8th quadrant, they can challenge the competency. For crowns, it's a 4 to 1 ratio.

Typically, you just have one faculty checking off your work but for a competency you must have two faculty separately grade your work. If you fail a competency more than a certain number of times, the school can require you to repeat a year of Dental School. In the rare case that you don't finish all of your competencies before graduation, you have to stay at the school and complete them before you can become a licensed Dentist (even if you passed your Board exams). This is how schools ensure that students have gained all the skills necessary to provide safe, quality treatment to their future patients.

Here are a few pictures from Spring semester:

Don't you love the artwork on the wall? My brother-in-law drew it! Anyways, here's Robbie working on some lab stuff for school.

Working on a wax-up

Me and my awesome supervisor on one of my last days at work

Me pretending to be sad as I throw away all of my old time cards from the past 2 years

Celebrating the Completion of Year Two

I've written before about the value of memorializing the milestones in Dental School. Robbie recently just hit another milestone-- finishing his second year! I'm late on writing about it because second year turned into third year in the blink of an eye. He only had two weeks off between summer and fall semester (last year it was three weeks). Additionally, because I am a state employee, I don't get off when the students are off unless I want to use a bunch of my vacation hours. The two week break came and went and aside from me being home with a cold for a couple days, not much happened.

It's difficult to know what to specifically write about 2nd year that most people haven't heard already. It was hard for us. At times it was painful. It was definitely emotionally draining. But I also believe it was a defining period of our marriage.

Until this past year, Robbie and I have had pretty smooth sailing in our marriage. Yes, applying to Dental School was pretty demanding. Living on a very small income when we were first married was a challenge. Moving in with my in-laws for a year while maintaining healthy boundaries was a little stressful at times. But 2nd year of Dental School was the first time in our marriage that I felt we were both stretched beyond what we thought were our breaking points.

Robbie frequently expressed that what made it so stressful was how he never felt caught up. No matter how hard he worked and how much time he put in, he was constantly being thrown into situations, tests, practicals, etc. for which he didn't feel prepared. The moment he began to feel like he was starting to get the hang of something, they switched gears and started learning something else. It was a complete confidence killer.

At the same time, I felt exhausted from work. I missed being at home and having the energy and desire to go grocery shopping, plan healthy meals, and exercise. Laundry piled up. We ate out more frequently than I care to remember.  I felt like I was failing as a wife because I couldn't do many of the things I longed to do in order to help Robbie get through this difficult year.

On top of it all, rent prices continued to climb so we made the decision it was time to buy. We were completely blindsided by how difficult it would be to find and buy our first home. Why did I never learn actual valuable life knowledge in college? Why did no one teach me what types of mortgages are available and how to apply for them? Should I go with a private lending company or a bank? What is the difference between a town home and a condo anyway? What is mortgage insurance? These types of things may be common knowledge to someone who studies finance or realty but our learning curve was quite steep.

Let's just say I'd rather have a double IA block every morning for a year than go through that again anytime soon (ask your Dental Student if you aren't familiar with that). I felt at times it would never end and yet the days marched on. I remember crying a lot. I remember feeling horribly guilty after snapping at Robbie (again) over something stupid. I remember wondering where my husband's energy, humor, and playfulness had gone and feeling like I had become the grouchiest, neediest wife on the planet. There were a lot of tearful apologies.

But there was also a lot of forgiveness. I remember tender moments when we both felt completely emotionally drained yet somehow God would be in the midst of it. The experiences of the days/weeks/months had put us at odds. Then a moment would come when we were truly vulnerable-- acknowledging the ways we had failed one another-- and God enabled us to speak grace. "I forgive you. We're going to get through this. I love you. I'm with you in this."

God was able to turn the struggles of 2nd year into something that knit us together more tightly as a couple. I'm more confident in our ability as a couple to make grown-up decisions. While I wouldn't jump at the chance of going through it again, I am able now to see the good that has come from this period of our lives and the importance of facing challenges together.

No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields the fruit of peace and righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your tired hands and weakened knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated but healed instead. -Hebrews 12:11-13

About to get an IA block

Ah, the awkward numb-jaw smile

Highlights from Year 2, Semester 3

I'm really enjoying my new built-in desk and decided to take advantage of this lovely Sunday evening by writing another catch-up post. Here are the highlights from summer semester of year 2 of Dental School.

1) CLOSING ON OUR HOUSE
After months of house hunting and paperwork, we finally closed on our first home in early June. Over the summer, we've worked on little projects here and there, slowly getting it decorated how we want it. There's still plenty of work to be done!

Move In day

Hanging some curtain rods. I love power tools.

Riesy loves her perch above the staircase

These are pull out drawers that have a base you screw into the cabinet. We found them at Wal-Mart and they made the narrow pantry so much more functional!

2) BEING AN AUNTIE
All three of my older sisters are now mommies which makes me super-Auntie. I can't get enough of those squishy little faces and every time we go up to visit Fort Collins, I'm shocked at how fast my niece and nephews are growing.

Went to the park with Ariane and Deborah

The niece and nephews with Altair and my mom

Holding my two squishy nephews

Grabbing breakfast with Deborah and Henry

3) COMIC CON
If you didn't already know Robbie and I were huge nerds, this will probably convince you. I had been to Star Cons as a kid (yup, I admit it publicly) but never a Comic Con. As this year marked the 75th anniversary of Batman, we decided we just had to go! My sister, Deborah, came with us along with my adorable nephew, Henry. Deborah dressed as Ripley from the Alien movies and made a sweet costume for Henry to match. Robbie and I ended up running out of time to make costumes so we decided to just sport some nerdy shirts and enjoy observing everyone else. We even almost got run over by Adam West in a golf cart! True story.

The cutest Xenomorph I've ever seen!

Robbie hanging out by the Batmobile

Me hanging out with Zangief from Mortal Kombat

A life-size functioning R2D2

I don't know which is better... the awesomeness of the Star Wars set or the fact that we got photobombed by Deadpool

4) NITROUS CLINIC
Robbie's class got to be in my clinic when they had their lab for administering nitrous oxide (aka. laughing gas). Everyone was laughing and saying silly things. It was probably my favorite day at work ever. Here's Robbie enjoying his turn:

5) CRAWDAD FISHING
Robbie's sister, her husband, and their two boys recently moved out of state. As part of their going away party, we had an epic water balloon fight followed by some crawdad fishing in the creek. I had never been crawdad fishing before, but it was ridiculously easy. All you do is tie a piece of hot dog to a string then throw the hot dog in the water and wait for the crawdads to bite. It doesn't take long before you feel a little tug on your string so someone gets ready with a bucket and you gently tug the hot dog upwards. The crawdad doesn't want to let go of it's prized hot dog so it lifts right out of the water with the hot dog! After playing a bit with the crawdads, we released them back in the creek.

6) ROBBIE SEEING PATIENTS
This by far is the most mind-blowing highlight of Year 2, Semester 3. Robbie has been doing fillings on real live patients! This part of school felt so far away when we first began the whole process but it has arrived in the blink of an eye. It's unfortunate that I don't have a picture to share (for the obvious reason of patient privacy rights) but he has already done 6 fillings and a crown! Hygienists can clean teeth and even Dental Assistants can place fillings, but only Dentists are allowed to drill teeth. He's officially Dentisting and I couldn't be more proud of all the hard work he put in to get here.

Highlights of Year 2, Semester 2

So I know we just finished Year 2, Semester 3 and I'm a little behind on this, but I don't want to forget some of the great moments of Robbie's spring semester! This blog is, after-all, somewhat of a journal for us to look back on someday.

1) THE WHITE COAT CEREMONY
I wrote about this in a previous post, but Robbie received his White Coat in a ceremony marking the transition from student to Dental Care practitioner. His parents, sister, brother-in-law and nephews were able to come as well as my parents and one of my sisters. We celebrated afterward by going to a delicious Mexican restaurant called Ajuua!

2) GETTING NUMBED UP BY ROBBIE
I know this probably sounds crazy (especially to anyone not married to a Dental Student) but letting Robbie practice numbing me up for the first time was freaking awesome! It made me realize just how much I trust him and I experienced first hand one of the many skills he is gaining in school. What a long way he's come from those first days when he was filling in shapes with wax.

And he did such a great job, too! A tiny pinch but no real pain!

3) PRESENTATION FOR A.O.
Robbie joined a Dental Fraternity this year called Alpha Omega. They asked me to give a presentation about the rules of clinic, infection control, etc. because of my position as a Dental Assistant at the school. I had a great time prepping a PowerPoint and overall felt the presentation went pretty smoothly. I even threw in a few witty jokes for good measure.

4) BABY HENRY WAS BORN
Yes, I do indeed have another nibling! He was born in March to my third-oldest sister and he is absolutely adorable! How could you not love a baby who smiles so much?

 Are you overwhelmed by the cuteness yet?


5) OUR SPRING BREAK TRIP TO PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO
Jeez this is making me realize how behind I am on this blog. I didn't even write a post about our Spring Break trip! We went to Puerto Vallarta for 5 days and stayed at an all-inclusive resort (a first for me). Robbie's favorite thing by far about all-inclusive vacations is the unlimited quantities of food he has access to. And the hotel we stayed at did not skimp on the variety. Every day was a new buffet of deliciousness. We also got to go kayaking, shoot a little archery, soak in the sun by the pool, and even get a massage right on the beach.

The view from our hotel room

Yes, I am wearing a Little Mermaid shirt.

It had a swim-up bar just to the right of the picture.

The massage hut. It was glorious.

I honestly can't get enough of this guy! He is my favorite travel buddy!

6) SEARCHING FOR OUR FIRST HOME
Technically we didn't close on our house until the beginning of Summer Semester, but our search took up almost all of Spring Semester. Let me just tell you that the process of buying a home was a steep learning curve. I had no idea what a Conventional Loan was compared to an FHA loan. I had no idea how competitive and stressful the whole process would be. In the end it was well worth it and I feel like I am a little better at handling stress now.

I've posted this before, but this is right after we closed on our home.

Our cute little kitchen. The margarita glass was left by the previous owners when they abandoned the place.

Ah, this room. There have been some major improvements to this room since we moved in. I hope to write a post about the transformation as soon as I'm all done. The previous owners obviously let their child go nuts with paint in here.

The best improvement that was done before we moved in was having all new carpet put in. The former carpet was covered in mystery pet stains and wreaked like you wouldn't believe.

It was a hard semester-- probably the hardest of my life. But I'm beginning to see some of the ways God used it to mature us as a couple and we now are reaping the benefits of owning our first home.