DrGreenBean

More Pics of Ava

2010-05-11T01:13:00.001-07:00

Here are a few more pics of Ava:

Our Newest Arrival

2010-05-10T23:49:00.000-07:00

So it's been a while since I last updated my blog but now I have a good excuse. Ava Camille Green was born on Wednesday, May 5th at 7:55 AM. She was 6 lbs 14 oz and 18 1/2 inches long. She is doing great and so is mom.

First Hair Cut

2009-09-08T20:45:00.000-07:00

Our neighbor offered to give Landon his first haircut which took place in June. He did pretty good despite his wiggles.

Tomatoes, Tomatoes, Tomatoes!

2009-09-08T20:26:00.000-07:00

So its been a while since I last blogged. Spring came and went and so did summer. I really enjoyed my summer. I felt like since my surgery in January that I have really been able to spend some time with my family. In May, I planted our annual garden. This year I decided not to grow pumpkins or squash, or anything in the squash family due to squash bugs we've had in the past two years. Instead, I decided to grow more tomatoes, watermelon, and carrots. I planted six tomato plants with the idea that I would make homemade salsa and can it. My mom helped show me how to do canning this year and Mallory and I have made 11 jars of salsa. I now have so many tomatoes coming on the vine that every few days I'm out in the garden picking tomatoes. The tomatoes are huge too. Lately, I have picked tomatoes the size of large grapefruit. They have been wonderful for hamburgers.

First Day of Spring

2009-03-20T08:03:00.000-07:00

I noticed on my drive into work this morning that someone was watering their lawn. They had the full set of sprinklers going and it reminded me of all of the yard work that is going to be coming soon. Despite all the work, I do love Spring. It's probably my most favorite time of the year. Images of blossoms, green leaves, clear skies, and an occasional rain storm remind me of renewal and replenishment after the dead of winter. It's a lot like how my body has felt as I've been recovering from my illness and surgery. My hair is growing back, I'm gaining weight, and I'm feeling more energetic. I can't say I feel like a spring chick but I do feel great!

Gaining Weight in a Weight Loss World

2009-02-19T13:08:00.000-08:00

In world that often emphasizes weight loss and with growing numbers of individuals experiencing obesity, its often difficult to get information on gaining weight in a healthy manner. I have been working to gain back weight that I lost over the last few months due to my illness and eventual surgery. I'm down 35 pounds and have gained back 9. I met with a registered dietitian and she gave me some wonderful words of wisdom, which included lots of fruits and vegetables. Here is a site that I found to be rather useful for those that are, like myself, trying to gain weight.

Some of the things that I've been doing include: eating 3 meals a day with 2 mini-meals or snacks in-between, I switched to whole milk, I drink two protein shakes a day, lots of whole grains, and I try to eat lots of nuts such as almonds, walnuts, and my favorite cashews, during snack times. It doesn't hurt to have almonds in chocolate bar too.

I can't believe what extreme weight loss (malnourishment) has done on my body (bones, muscles, energy, etc). I can see what a tremendous impact that anorexia has on those suffering from this as well. I'm glad to be back among the "healthy eaters" and I'm really enjoying all this good food. Yum! Forks up!

Happy New Year!

2009-02-08T22:42:00.000-08:00

It's only the last couple of weeks that I feel I've been able to begin my new year. I had surgery in January on my outer lung and I've been home recovering ever since. I've never had surgery before and this was definitely a wake up call for me in reviewing what is most important in my life. Unfortunately, my energy is really zapped. I lost a lot of weight over the last several months and am trying to regain my strength, weight and begin new eating patterns. I've gained 3 lbs and hope to gain about 25 more. Isn't life brutally ironic!

I went into the office a couple of days last week for just a few hours at at time, and hope to work some full-time days this week. I look forward to having my movement, energy, and weight back.

My wife has had a rough adjustment through all this. She was basically single-mothering for the last 3 weeks until I could get on my feet and begin lifting things again. Regaining my independence and even being able to drive again has really lifted my spirits. I hope she has seen some improvement and is feeling better about things.

So for Christmas, to preemptively prepare for the whole DTV switch, my wonderful wife bought me Dish Network Satellite TV. Because we live in a very rural part of the county, we only got one network on TV and a couple of PBS stations. Other stations were very fuzzy. When I got Dish, I couldn't believe how clear the picture was and I didn't realize how much I've missed TV. My favorite feature of course is the fact that I can record things and watch them at my convenience. Mallory and I end up watching our favorite shows at night once the kids have gone to bed. I love it!!!

So Valentine's Day is on Saturday. I wonder how many men will forget or wait until the last minute. I always find the Hallmark isle at this time of year a fascinating social phenomenon.

Looking forward to spring weather. We've had a nice week of mild temps for February and some rain too. Snow is coming this week. Last year at this time, i was stuck in a storm that forced me to stay at my mom's house for the night. Roads were so bad that some people ended up sleeping in their cars. I'm glad the winter has been a bit more mild this year.

Chunk of Love

2008-09-21T21:16:00.000-07:00

At his recent medical check-up, Landon was in the 25th percentile for height and 50th percentile for weight. He's our little chunk of love. He's been eating good and I almost hate to admit this but he's been sleep quite well. Mallory feeds him around 11 PM each night and he usually goes all night and eats again around 7 AM. I know! We are very lucky!

The girls like to smother him with love and attention. They are quick to ask to see him or hold him. I hope he can survive (or we can survive) all these women in the family.

Both the girls are quick to offer hugs whether he wants one or not, but they are quite cute with him. Lexi asked the other day if Landon could play dolls with her. I'm sure its just a matter of time before they have him dressed up in a Cinderella or Snow White costume.

You know you're getting old when...

2008-09-21T19:02:00.000-07:00

You know you're getting old when your eldest child is now in kindergarten. My little Sydney started kindergarten this year and she attends a brand new elementary school. The kindergarten students have their own sink, bathroom, and playground, which is quite comforting for us anxious parents. Things so far have been going well. A few of the neighborhood kids are also in her class and so that has been fun for her too.

It's hard to believe I have a child in school now. This is just the beginning of many school adventures I'm sure. I had to laugh though. The other day I was home early because of an appointment I had and so I had the pleasure of picking up Sydney and our neighbor kids from school. Mallory is the designated pick up driver, and our neighbor is the designated drop-off driver. Well I couldn't help but think of the movie, "Mr. Mom" with Michael Keaton as I was pulling in to pick up. We were all parked in a line of cars, waiting for the kids to come out of the school. As some drivers entered, I could see how confusing the whole pick-up/drop-off process could be for someone that was new to this whole process and had to laugh at the thought of Michael Keaton in Mr. Mom trying to stay cool through the whole thing. I am proud to say that I was calm and collected, and despite what my wife thinks, I did not have any road rage in the least. I'm just glad I don't have to do that everyday.

Boston, MA

2008-09-16T17:31:00.000-07:00

I'm currently in Boston for a graduate recruiting fair which was held on Monday evening at Boston University. This was my first trip to Boston. I love the city and the history of the buildings, etc. Here is a view of the river from my hotel.

We also went on a tour of the city and walked all over the Harvard campus today. Interestingly, the city still uses the old gas lamps and they keep them lit all day. They found it cheaper to keep them lit all day than to hire people to turn them off and on.

I think my favorite part of the trip was the history of some of the buildings. We briefly went by the Henry Longfellow house (now a state park). It was officially closed but the curator gave us a brief tour. Longfellow had associations with Charles Dickens, Henry David Thoreau, Emerson, and others. Washington used the home as his headquarters in 1775 - 76. Today, the home is a National State Park.

The Gardens at the Longfellow House

The original Massachusetts State house (1713) and the new State House with the gold dome (both featured below):

Old State House

New State House

The Green Stomach

2008-08-06T23:03:00.000-07:00

So my siblings and I have always suffered from time to time from what we affectionately call the "Green Stomach" because we inherited heartburn and other stomach ailments from our dad. Well, our little Landon has been diagnosed with Acid Reflux and has inherited the Green Stomach as well. We currently have him on Prevacid. He is slowly improving but Mallory ends up holding him for several hours during the day. The doctor wants us to try it for 2 weeks and see if we notice a marked improvement. We've been doing some reading and have found that many newborns that used to suffer from colic are now being diagnosed with what they call GERD --gastroesophogeal reflux.

I don't think he has colic. Lexi definitely had colic and was a completely different temperament when it came to eating and fussing. Let's hope this passes soon.

11 Years of Marriage

2008-07-21T22:05:00.000-07:00

We 'celebrated' 11 years of marriage on Friday (July 19th). We actually didn't do anything too special but my mom did help me out by bringing us Applebee's to go and we tried to make homemade ice cream. In years past, I've always had a great deal of success in making homemade ice cream but for some reason, this batch just would not freeze.

Mallory is still recovering from the surgery and sees the doctor again on Wednesday for a follow up. In addition to our anniversary, I also received some good news on Friday too. I had a bone marrow biopsy last Tuesday to check for myeloma (cancer) due to some symptoms I've had related to my arthritis. Well, long story short, the bone marrow came back fine and I don't have cancer. We are now just trying to figure out what else is going on but I am very thankful that it is not cancer.

After 11 years of marriage, 2 children (and now a third), living in 3 different states, and having pursued 3 different degrees, life is good. I couldn't ask for a more supportive and kind wife. She is very encouraging of me and my goals and she is an outstanding mother to our children. It will be interesting to see what the next 11 years brings to our family and marriage.

Parenting and Gender

2008-07-18T19:03:00.000-07:00

Many parents have commented on how different it is to parent a boy versus a girl. I'm not sure that I've noticed these differences yet but I can say that the whole diaper changing experience has been a unique one. Landon has managed to pee all over his changing table and all over our bed several times already. If this is one of those gender differences, then I am definitely in for some big changes.

Here are few more pictures of our little Landon. The family picture is our family at Sydney's dance recital in June, two weeks before Landon was born.

Happy Birthday Landon

2008-07-14T11:24:00.000-07:00

Landon made his arrival on Thursday via C-section. He weighed in at 8 lbs and was 18 1/2 inches long. He had a little bit of a rough road at first. He was in the level 2 nursery for about 4 hours while they were trying to get his temperature and blood pressure stable. He was also having some breathing problems because his lungs were moist. They gave him some oxygen (c-pap) and monitored his blood pressure. By 2 PM, he was in his mother's arms and was doing great. They had to give him some IV fluids and the IV was in his head and so he wore his little cap for a while until they removed that.

Mallory is doing well. She's sore but is in good health. The girls love their new little brother. Sydney has that big sister look and is quite curious about the whole breastfeeding thing. Lexi didn't even want to hold him nor touch him for the last few days but then asked to hold him last night. Her dethronement process is a little bit painful for her right now.

Here are few pictures to enjoy. More are on the way.

Trip to Midway

2008-07-06T21:13:00.000-07:00

We are officially on the last week before the baby arrives. Mallory's doctor went out of town last week and so this week we will find out if she will be having a c-section. The baby is currently breach and so a c-section looks likely.

We've been so busy preparing the girls room for all of their toys, painting the baby's room, preparing new closet organizers for both rooms, and the house, that we needed a break. We went up to Midway last weekend for some much needed R&R. We slept, ate, and went swimming. We also drove 5 miles up the mountain on a dirt road to do some hiking up to Cascade Springs. Now, I've lived in Utah most of my life and I had never heard of Cascade Springs. It was beautiful--extremely hot--but beautiful!

Freaky Eyes!

2008-06-12T08:33:00.000-07:00

The girls love to do what they call freaky eyes. I captured a few of my favorite. Lexi is becoming quite the gift of humor these days in some of the things she says and shares with us, including funny faces.

Spring weather or summer?

2008-05-19T08:43:00.000-07:00

So our spring weather has been a little crazy lately. We had cold temperatures last Tuesday and Wednesday, which I think put a zinger on my tomato plants. I planted two red tomatoes plants, and one yellow but none of them are doing well. I also planted pumpkins, watermelon, carrots, bell peppers, and this year I'm trying leaf lettuce. Now we are in the 90 degree temps and then we jump back down to 60 on Thursday. I hope my plants survive.

Mallory and I spent a few hours with the girls at a nursery on Saturday. We are re-landscaping a flower bed we have in the back yard that has some flowers that we are just not that impressed with. Instead, we are replacing them with Pink Mist and Shasta Daisies. Mallory loves daisies.

NYC Trip

2008-04-24T10:02:00.000-07:00

We recently returned from a trip to New York City. I had to go for work with my boss but we brought our wives with us. We had a fantastic time. The weather was great and we stayed at the Renaissance hotel right on Times Square. Mallory and I were able to see the sights and take a couple of tours of the city. My favorite part I think was the Broadway musicals. We were able to see Hairspray and Wicked--both were outstanding. The shear size of the buildings were also very impressive as was the history of the city. For example, it's mind boggling to think that Carnegie Hall still stands and is the place were Tchaikovsky performed in 19th Century. There is so much to see that we really needed a whole month. I definitely plan to return on a future trip.

We're Having a Boy!!

2008-03-19T15:48:00.000-07:00

Well, the girl streak has been broken. We are having a boy. Sydney and Lexi went with us to the ultrasound last week and were so excited to find out. Upon finding out it was a boy, Sydney began to cry. She was really excited for another sister. Oh well, you can't win them all. Now its a matter of deciding baby names. Mallory and I are in deep discussions.

Baby Names

2008-03-03T20:51:00.000-08:00

Sydney has been asking a lot of questions about the baby lately. She is very curious about the whole process but also very excited about the idea of having another sibling. We asked her what we should name the baby if its a boy and she replied, "Mike Wazawski" (from Monster's Inc.), and if its a girl, "Hannah Montana." She didn't understand why we thought that was so humorous but we are enjoying the name game so far.

We should find out the sex of the baby in another week or so. Maybe Sydney will come up with a good name since Mallory and I have such a difficult time agreeing on names.

Remembering Mary McLeod

2008-02-13T14:54:00.000-08:00

Today would have been my grandmother Mary McLeod's birthday. She died a year ago this month. She was an amazing woman. She immigrated to the United States in 1964 and worked with my mother to get the rest of her family over here. She was very industrious and as one that did not drive, she walked and took public transportation everywhere. Happy Birthday grandma!

Beloved Prophet Passes Away

2008-01-28T07:32:00.000-08:00

President Gordon B. Hinckley died Sunday evening. He was 97 years old. His remarkable wit and wisdom will be greatly missed. He was put in as president in March of 1995, the year I started my undergraduate studies at Brigham Young University. He was such a kind and knowledgeable man, and he had a fervent energy and an outstanding work ethic. He has had a tremendous impact on the church, education, and those around him.

2007 Ogden Balloon Festival

2008-01-05T11:12:00.001-08:00

I have been meaning to post these pictures from last summer's trip to Wolf Creek but am just now getting around to it. We have been up to the Ogden Valley Balloon Festival for two summers in a row now. We love it. This year I took a bunch of pictures. Enjoy!

Annual Christmas Party at Grandma Liz's House

2008-01-05T10:10:00.000-08:00

We had our annual Christmas party at my mom's house again this year. The kids loved it. We had so much food...crab legs, cheesy potatoes, honey baked ham, turkey, relish trays, salads, and homemade rolls. I think I ate leftover ham for about a week.

At the party, Santa brought the girls a puppy dog toy in a purse and the boys a little remote control car. Sydney loved the car so much that my mom had Santa give her a car too. Grandma Judy bought the girls their red, Rudolph shirts. Syd calls it the 'redolph the reindeer' shirt.

Ironically, I have had two weeks off from work and the girls have been sick the whole time. Sydney got sick last weekend with an ear infection, fever, and was throwing up. Lexi on New Year's eve spiked a fever and came down with croop--something she gets quite a bit. There's nothing like driving to Walgreens at 1:30 in the morning to get medicine. Don't you just love parenting adventures?!

Teaching

2007-12-19T12:53:00.000-08:00

I just finished my first semester teaching at Salt Lake Community College (SLCC). I taught a Marriage and Family Relations evening course. My students were great. Most of them were right out of high school and this was their first experience with college. As faculty have been entering grades, there has been a lot of discussion on the faculty listserv about entering failing grades which has prompted even more discussion about students, their motivations, and teaching in general. Some discussion has also ensued over students taking responsibility for their own learning, etc.

I find the whole thing very interesting and quite enlightening, especially how frustrated faculty have become on the subject. I think students have the responsibility to learn but teachers have the responsibility to provide an environment for learning. In light of this discussion, I thought I would share one of my favorite quotes on teaching:

"The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires." ~William Arthur Wood

Unseasonably Warm

2007-11-18T19:44:00.000-08:00

I found this picture as I was going through my camera. We have had such nice weather this fall that I almost forgot that we had a weekend of snow before Halloween. The girls and I even had enough to make a snow family. They didn't last long but it was fun while it lasted. This was Lexi's first real outside experience with snow that she can readily remember.

Braving the Roof for Lights

2007-11-18T19:17:00.000-08:00

I normally like to try to wait until after Thanksgiving to begin listening to Christmas music. However, my boss had it blasting in his office the other day and I couldn't resist. Ever since then I have found myself 'in the season' and Saturday's warm weather prompted me to put up Christmas lights.

When we lived in New Mexico, putting up lights was not a huge ordeal because the pitch on our roof was quite low. For the last five years, living in Minnesota, we lived in a town home and the only lights I strung at that time were those on the tree. However, this year I attempted to hang lights on our new house in Eagle Mountain. What I realized is that not only is the pitch on our roof quite a bit higher but my fear of heights has been somewhat augmented over the years. I had to have Mallory give me a pep talk to get me up on the ladder and talk me through the whole thing. After climbing around on the roof all day, I noticed that my tail bone is extremely bruised from scooting all over the place. Needless to say, I won't be putting lights on the perimeter of the house next year. I think we'll stick to lights on the ground or in a tree or bush.

The painful look of knowing that I have to get up here again in the spring to take them down.

September 19th Post: Dissertation Defense

2007-11-15T21:41:00.000-08:00

I posted this on September 19....

The Dissertation Defense

Well...it has been a rather chaotic road the last several weeks since I posted. We've managed to have some summer fun and also share in some family events. I was able to go out to Minnesota with my wife on September 4th and I successfully defended and passed my dissertation defense (final oral exam) for my Ph.D. on September 5th. We then flew back to Salt Lake on September 6th--talk about a quick trip. I have just a few edits to make but am glad this is behind me now. My presentation was great. I felt very comfortable talking about my research and I had several colleagues and friends there to support me. I am really pleased with the outcome.

However, I was telling some friends at work that the whole defense is rather anti-climatic. I mean you spend years completing coursework, gaining research skills and experience, and then day upon days, hours upon hours collecting data, analyzing data, writing about data, and then writing about the results only to have the whole thing done in a matter of minutes. It just seems like a bell and siren should go off along with balloons, confetti and noise makers. Oh well...I'm still glad it's done. Now...I'm off to the revisions.

_________________________________________________________

Well, it's now November and I'm finally getting around to the final edits of my dissertation. I'm rather excited actually.

Dr. Jodi Dworkin (my advisor) and I on my defense day in St. Paul.

Dr. Hal Grotevant (my committee chair) and I.

Not Ready for the Holidays!

2007-11-15T21:12:00.000-08:00

I very much enjoy spring. In fact, it's really my favorite of the four seasons. Fall is certainly a close second. This fall has been quite warm and its not until the last few mornings that the crisp morning air has reminded me that fall has arrived. Halloween came and went and now Thanksgiving is upon us next week. I did want to post this year's pictures of the girls in their costumes along with a picture of their cousin Cameron.

Lexi, Cameron, and Sydney at grandma Liz' work for treat o' treating. Lexi is a blond version of Ariel from the Little Mermaid. Cameron is a skunk, and Sydney went as Belle from Beauty and the Beast.

Pumpkin Carving!

Hovering Parents a Good Thing?

2007-11-14T13:54:00.000-08:00

Apparently hovering helicopter parents are in some cases a good thing. A recent article talks about how college students have a better college experience when parents intervene on their behalf and when parents have frequent contact with them. See here. College students in my study on family cell phone communication voiced similar responses about frequently connecting to their parents. Another sign that the Millennial generation is characterized as being particularly close to their parents.

Countdown to Graduation

2007-10-29T22:08:00.000-07:00

I've been working on trying to finish my dissertation edits for what seems like many months now. I was originally supposed to finish in October but with my crazy travel schedule, it looks as if I'm going to be graduating in November. I have been traveling to various Graduate School Fairs for recruiting. It started in Washington, D.C. at George Washington University (I love D.C.!) and then we went to BYU-Idaho (http://www.byui.edu), and last week we were in Arizona at Arizona State University (ASU). I loved the weather in Tempe. It was about 93 during the day and cool at night. I could really get used to that.

This next weekend, we are hosting a conference in Salt Lake City that we've been planning for over a year now. It's the Pacific Association of College Registrars and Admission Officers (PACRAO) and its our regional conference. Last year it was held in Hawaii--kind of hard to beat in the cold of Salt Lake. This year, however, I think attendees will be surprisingly impressed. Fro more details on the conference, check here.

Fall Festivities

2007-10-29T21:53:00.001-07:00

The girls are getting ready for Halloween. Here is a recent picture from Labor Day.

The girls love being back in Utah sharing time with their cousins and grandparents. Lexi is particularly enamored with her grandpa Stan. Sydney is becoming quite a little artist and is just beginning a dance class. Sydney is such a great 'big' sister to Lexi too. Lexi recently got a stomach virus and was not feeling well. Sydney, on her own accord, made her a get well card and included a picture of Lexi on her bathroom stool and the toilet too. She is becoming quite a detailed artist. It was so cute.

Happy Birthday to my brother Colin & Pavarotti

2007-10-12T21:02:00.000-07:00

My brother's birthday happens to coincide with Pavarotti's birthday too. Google celebrated and honored Pavarotti by replacing the 'L' in their name with a character of Pavarotti.
While Pavarotti made artistic expression in music, my brother has always made artistic expression in drawing and in recent years woodworking. Happy Birthday Colin and Happy Birthday Pavarotti.