Ugh. Parents!

As a future pediatrician, I know that I am going to deal with all types of parents and I'm going to disagree with their parenting on a fairly regular basis. My pet peeve right now--wrestling! I don't know much about wrestling, but I know before each match the kid has to weigh in. Well parents, when your kid grows an inch, it's OK that he's gained 10 pounds, especially when he's still on the same percentage of the growth curve. So parent, you should not be telling him he's going home and running to lose those ten pounds so he can weigh into the lower weight class. Come on! Let your kid grow and accept he may not win as many matches in the next weight class, but that's where his body's supposed to be!

A med student's gripe about electronic medical records.

Overall, I think electronic medical records (EMR) are the way to go for health care. From a med student's perspective however, they can be very frustrating and actually impede my learning. The thing is, EMR can only work if everyone who's caring for the patient has access to a computer. Right now the resident and I share a computer, and the fact of the matter, we only have access to this computer because one of the doctor's is on maternity leave. A large part of receiving adequate medical care is continuity. When I don't have have access to a computer, the only information I know about a patient is a one sentence chief complaint. Hence, I waste time and fee like an idiot getting the background that they've already given.

This isn't my only experience with EMR. It's a problem at a lot of the hospitals as well. So, when everyone makes the switch to EMR, please, please, please have enough computers for the med students as well!

I want this ornament.

I saw this ornament in Hallmark a couple of weeks ago and I so want it! The thing is, I'm not pregnant. I don't feel like I can justify buying it without actually expecting. That being said, perhaps I could buy it and save it... Who knows. Now if one of my dear friends decides to get pregnant, I think I'll have the perfect gift! So you know who you are, well at least I know I'm thinking of two, keep trying! My fingers are crossed for you.

Oh, in case you can't tell, she's holding ice cream in one hand and pickles in the other.

Reasons not to bake tomorrow

1. With all of my cooking the last two weeks, I've gained 3-5 pounds. The caramel apple cream cheese bars are what really did me in.

2. I'm back to clinic, aka standing 6-10 hours. My knee is SWOLLEN! My doc doesn't have clinic tomorrow, so I have the day off. I really really should just keep my feet up all day to help the swelling go down.

3. Joe would prefer I never cook or bake ever...well, that I never use dishes, drop flour, make any sort of mess in the kitchen, etc. Last Sunday he asked that I don't bake or try new recipes on Sundays because he has to pay attention to football and doesn't want to worry about how big of a mess I'm making in the kitchen. The thing is, no matter how well I clean up after myself, Joe feels be must basically disinfect everything.

Even though I found some pumpkin recipes I'm dying to try out, I truly think I'll try to hold off tomorrow. We'll see.

First Day Back

Ahh, it feels good to be back on rotations, seeing patients, and using my brain for clinical knowledge again. That being said, I'm tired as all heck! My knee is a little more swollen than yesterday. OK, actually, it's the most swollen it's been since surgery. I took an ice pack with me and iced during lunch. I'll keep that up. The hardest part is being on my feet so long. Clinic really isn't a desk job, plus we're walking around a lot. I was a bad girl and didn't do my exercises today. I figured 8 hours of standing was enough PT for today. I didn't want to shock my body too much all at once. Anyway, I'll pick back up with my exercises tomorrow. No more baking for awhile. Once I get home from clinic and do my exercises, I'm plopping my butt on the couch and putting my feet up.

Back to School Tomorrow

My two weeks off for recovery has come to an end, and my knee's the most swollen it's ever been, go figure. I'm excited to go back to rotations tomorrow. As much as I loved having the time to try tons of new recipes and surfing the internet, it's time for it to end. Joe is ecstatic I won't be trashing the kitchen as often. I clean up afterward, but no matter what, he feels the need to clean up again after me.

Overall, my recovery's still going well. I pushed myself at physical therapy a little hard this week. That, along with my desire to "just try one more recipe," contributed to my knee swelling. I'm really curious to see how swollen it is by the end of the work day tomorrow. Fortunately I think I'll only be at clinic for about 8 hours, but I'll find out tomorrow. The swelling isn't really painful, just annoying and an indicator that I'm doing too much. What can I say? I'm an overachiever in all senses of the word.

Caramel Apple Cream Cheese Bars

OMG, delicious!! It's the perfect combination of sweets and fairly easy to make since it uses a lot of premade ingredients. I didn't use the granola bars, instead I used some granola I had on hand. Personally, I don't like the crunchiness, so I'll omit them next time. Also, a fellow blogger and friend used caramel ice cream topping instead of melting her own. I think that's a better idea since I now have a fair amount of half and half left. If you're a cheese cake fan, I'd think about doubling the cream cheese mixture. It might be a little too rich then, but I think I'd like more cheesecake. I'm learning my baking hobby is becoming expensive. Beware, this dish will set you back about $10, but it's a great contribution to a dinner party. Recipe adapted from Picky Palate

INGREDIENTS:

3 Tablespoons melted butter

3 Cups Golden Graham Cereal, ground in food processor

1 Roll Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Dough or 2 pkgs Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Dough Mix prepared and divided into 2 equal parts

8 oz softened cream cheese

1/4 Cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

21 oz can apple pie filling

1.5 oz package Nature Valley Oats N’ Honey Crunchy Granola Bars (2 count), crushed (I use a rolling pin to crush them right in the bag before opening) I used granola, but I'm going to omit all together next time

9.5 oz Kraft Caramels

1/2 Cup half and half

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine melted butter and ground cereal into a large bowl; press into an 8×8 inch baking dish lined with foil that’s been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 10 minutes then remove from oven. Crumble half of the cookie dough over partially baked crust.

2. Place cream cheese, sugar and vanilla into a mixer; beat until smooth. Pour over crumbled cookie dough layer. Bake for 25 minutes then remove from over. Top with 3/4 of the apple pie filling (I chose to just add part, but you can add the whole can if desired). Next top with remaining cookie dough, breaking off into little pieces evenly over top. Sprinkle with crushed granola bars and bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick comes clean from center. Let cool completely then cut into squares. Melt caramels and half and half according to package directions. Drizzle over each bar. Refrigerate leftovers.

9 squares