And the verdict is...

Juan received an e-mail at around 9:00 this morning saying,

-------------------------------------------------------------

To: JUAN C CHAVEZ - Applicant Code *****

This message provides you with your Match result for Phase II of the Postdoctoral Dental Matching Program for positions beginning in 2011.

Congratulations! You have been matched to:

Institution: UNIV OF UTAH SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

Program: GPR-1 YR

-------------------------------------------------------------

We were both in shock when we read those words; both of us had pretty much thought that we would never live in Utah again due to the over-saturation of dentists.

I think I had the hardest time with it and kept whining to myself. "Why didn't we get the 4-year residency that we had been hoping for?" Talk about not seeing the blessings that were just given to us on a silver platter! (There were a LOT of people who didn't Match anywhere.) Luckily, Juan talked me through it and I remembered the hundreds of prayers in which we said, "We'll go where you want us to go."

After the shock wore off, I realized how excited I am to go back to live near family, experience good customer service, have a lower cost of living, and bask in the great outdoors. So, we're heading back to Utah (for at least a year or until Juan gets into an Oral Surgery Residency) and who knows where we'll go after that. It doesn't matter because we've lived in Philly, which was a culture shock for me and I survived. We are ready and excited for this new chapter.

Three and a half months and counting....

Spelling

Siena tugged me into the kitchen today and proudly showed me the word she spelled, (as shown below.) "It's Arugula," she said, after seeing my puzzled face.

S, Q, Dentist J and Patient S

S

Kids say the darndest things. Tonight Siena said to me and my family over webcam tonight that she was going to put a baby in her tummy and be a BIG mommy! Her role as 'Mary' in the nativity really left an impression on her as well as the news that her new cousins are growing bigger and bigger inside her aunts' bellies. She also said, when asked what Tristan and Rob should name their baby, that the child should be named "Quesadilla". Nobody kept a straight face for that one. She also has been requesting songs from "The Sound of Music" to be sung at all times during the day. The other day I was trying to get her to take a nap because she looked exhausted; however, she decided she wasn't going to settle down and rest, so I thought if I put her in front of the four-hour-long movie she would eventually fall asleep. Nope, I was wrong. She sat there with me and watched it in its entirety. Now she can't stop singing "How do you solve a problem like Maria?" and "Raindrops on roses, and whiskers on kittens;" but her favorite still remains "Do, a deer, a female deer. Re, a drop of golden sun." It really makes me happy that she liked watching that movie and loves the music. It's definitely one of those classic films that everyone needs to see. And if you're not the musical type, I say just watch it once... you may be converted. I was. (I will admit, however, to fast-forwarding through the song where Maria and Georg are singing in the glass gazebo. It got too cheesy for me.) But wait! Did you know that The Sound of Music was based on a real-life story?! I didn't until tonight, when I looked up the spelling for Captain von Trapp's name. Wikipedia has a really cool history lesson on the Family von Trapp that you can read here!

Q

Qiana thinks it's the funniest thing to close her eyes really tight and open them while saying "Boo!" Her "simplified" version of peek-a-boo always results in overwhelming amounts of giggles from everyone, especially herself. Also, somebody's finally got three new molars! That's a total of four teeth breaking through at the same time; the total count is up to eight already! The thing that I'm noticing more and more about Qiana is that she takes her entertainment and learning into her own hands. She doesn't ever really beg me to read to her or play games with her. She keeps herself busy whenever I'm busy with other things, which is something I didn't expect since she was so dependent on me being with her the first 14 months of her life. My favorite sight right now is to see her sitting in her "reading spots" throughout the house. She always goes to the same spots to read her books depending on which room she is in. In her bedroom it's a little corner next to the book bin. In Siena's room, it's the little armchair by her play kitchen. In the living room, it's on the floor next to the loveseat. Downstairs it's a spot next to the elliptical. She's also very active--so active that I think she's a boy inside a girls' body. Sometimes it just takes a lot of deliberate distractions to get her to calm down a bit. Other times I just let her go crazy and wear herself out. Oh, the tricks we mothers have up our sleeves. (I hope she doesn't catch-on any time soon.)

Dentist J and Patient S

Speaking of teeth (sort-of,) Juan played "Dentist" at home the other day. A big section of one of my molars broke off as I was eating dinner last Thursday (this part of my molar has broken off twice before and my previous dentist was, let's say, sub-par.) I couldn't go in to get it fixed the next day because my kids were too sick to send with someone else, but I had to get it fixed because I was in a lot of pain. So he brought the dental office home. It was a little unusual, but it did the job. The only thing he couldn't bring home was that tool that sprays water, blows air, and suctions up your spit (and luckily I didn't need any anesthesia for my temporary fix.) Before he could seal up the tubules in my tooth so the pain would subside, he had to dry the surface. This was when I realized how much I liked that little air-water syringe; he told me to hold my breath so he could blow air from his mouth into a straw and onto my tooth to dry it off. Eechk! We kiss each other and smell each other's morning breath daily, but THIS was bad. Not the smell (because I did what he said and held my breath,) but it was the fact that the air that was going into my mouth was warm and humid. YUCK! So uncomfortable! (If you don't believe me or think I'm exaggerating, try it. You'll see.) Oh well, it did the trick and I've been mostly pain-free ever since. Now, I just have to go in to see him at the real clinic to get it permanently repaired. I love his mad skills.

Sicky Sick Sick

In the Chavez household, there are currently two sick residents. I'll give you three guesses as to who they are and what kind of sickness they have.

1.

2.

3.

Did you guess that it was Stacia sick with scarlet fever, and Juan sick with smallpox? If so, you are a bad guesser.

Both Qiana and Siena are sick with horrible colds and have been since Thursday night around 4:oo a.m. The poor things are coughing up lungs and sneezing snot rockets like I've never seen before! I wish I could make them better like Mary Poppins, but alas, the spoonfuls of sugar I gave them didn't do much good. They are going to be making a slow recovery it seems, and they will have to be quarantined the next 48 hours or so.

Luckily Juan and I have not caught the virus, and good thing because today was a day of church that neither of us could miss. I had to give a talk, play the organ, lead and play piano for Sharing Time in Primary (which is pretty much impossible, I've come to realize;) and Juan had to be there to conduct Sacrament Meeting, confirm a new member, take care of the tithing, and simply BE there to welcome and familiarize the new Second Counselor of the branch with how things are run there. It was going to be a crazy day, to say the least, considering that we were going to try to shuffle our schedules so one of us could take the girls home after Sacrament Meeting.

Oh, but the Lord blessed us with a tender mercy.

When the girls and I arrived at the church building, we discovered that the heater was broken and that the frigid 56 degree air was not going to get warmer any time soon. A few space heaters were brought in from members who lived nearby and it was decided that only Sacrament Meeting would be held. They were kind enough to position a space heater near our girls, who had been sequestered in the back of the room, so luckily Nena and Qiqi weren't affected much by the cold air. And besides a couple of times when Qiana got away from Kurt (who, with Amber, kindly watches them while I'm at the organ,) and played the super high notes on the keyboard, the meeting went on without too many distractions.

Yes, Juan and I were saved by a broken heater from an extremely hectic day at church. When we got home, all of us were able to relax and enjoy the rest of Sunday. I think that's what Heavenly Father wanted for us on this day of rest.

Oh, Babies!

(No, I'm not pregnant.)

S and Q are going to have not one, but TWO new cousins!!!!!!!

Triana is due in late June. Woot!

Tristan is due in early July. Woot!

I'm predicting girls... but who knows. It doesn't matter because WE'RE JUST SO EXCITED FOR MORE COUSINS and Nienepchews! (That is the politically correct word for genderically unknown fetii with whom you are related as a sister or brother of the first party's parent.) FYI, "genderically" is not a word, but the rest of that is totally easy to map out, right?

So Long, Farewell Bag Lady

As with every new year, it's time to throw out the old and bring in new. As I was cleaning out some closets that were LONG overdue for a tidy-up, I found a stash of old bags. I am known for being quite the BAG LADY in my family, but I feel like the time has finally come to say adieu to these old companions. I have held on to them for so long because it feels like I'm erasing memories when I give them away, so I'm going to write this silly blog post to help me feel better about it.

1. Given by mi querida suegra (My loving mother-in-law) after she went on a trip to visit family in Mexico.
2. Given by my much-missed, super-cool neighbor, Janine, who said this bag belonged in my closet, not hers. I like all our hand-me-downs from them.
3. Ahhhh, the memories of my visit to Juan's old stomping grounds.... When we were in Mexico, we stopped at a flea market in Patzcuaro. I bought this satchel because it smelled so good inside: pure leather, ungreased and uncured.
4. This little cutie has been moved from place to place since my senior year of high school. My best friend, Abi, went on a trip to Europe and brought this back from Greece for me. I can still remember saving the Grecian newspaper that was stuffed inside it. This will be a tough one to let go.
5. Bought from the finest-quality department store, Deseret Industries. You may have heard of it.
6. Why are most of these bags somehow related to Mexico? I bought this in preparation for the aforementioned trip to Mexico. This was a bit of a splurge at $40 on a newlywed, starving-student budget... but I have no regrets because it's definitely put in its time over these last five years.
7. My Juanito gave this to me on some special occasion (Aah! I know, I should remember! Anniversary maybe?) I'm pretty sure we were living in the house in South Provo at the time. Regardless of when it was given, it was cute and thoughtful.
8. And last but not least, the good ol' "everything bag" from my sister-in-law, Triana. This bag has been beat up and thrown around so much throughout the last three years, that I don't know how it's survived. It has housed everything from diapers to bills, soccer balls to dress-ups. It's been used and abused.

(Deep breath.)

That's it. They can go to the thrift store now.

Hot Tamales and Three Kings' Day

(Boring alert!... the first part is really for S and Q's parents who are enjoying these little things... Read on below for our Three Wise Men's Day Celebration.)

This afternoon while Qiana was taking a nap, Siena helped me shave off a few chores from today's list. First, I watched as she made her bed from start to finish; this is a huge accomplishment since she's needed my help arranging the 'big' quilt for the last year and a half. It took her a few attempts, and the result was a bit deformed, but I'm proud of the chamacita for trying with patience.

After she finished with her blankets, pillows and doll, we did a "LAUNDRY CALL!" and she gathered the baskets of dirty clothes from both her and Qiana's bedrooms. This was the first time I've had her do this, and I almost laughed out loud while watching Siena carry a laundry basket that was double her size into our room to be sorted. I can't believe she's growing up! We sorted laundry and she followed behind as I brought the first load to the washing machine. She helped me put the wet clothes into dryer, which just added to her excitement at being a "Big Helper" today.

Next, we went upstairs to do dishes. Siena always likes to help with these. She loads, unloads and scrubs the dishes as best she can. It's (mostly) really helpful to have her there with me.

After that was done, we made tamales. This was probably the highlight of our day as it was the closest thing to a food fight we've both ever experienced. Messy and fun! I want my kids to have a childhood infused with traditions from both of our cultures, and although it's a bit more effort, I think they will have good memories from it.


Speaking of which...

The other day, we celebrated El Dia de Los Reyes (Three Kings' Day,) which is a tradition in many Latin cultures as well as some European countries. We cut up the Rosca, drank Mexican Hot Chocolate, and ate tapas, marzipan, Spanish clementines and other Mexican dulces. Having a few friends over to celebrate was so fun and I hope it's a tradition we can keep up.


As per tradition, the kids write wishes and tie them to balloons. Later, everyone lets their balloons go outside and supposedly the three wise men receive the wishes. The next day the wise men send the toys or wishes to the children. This year, we decided to do a toy drive instead of giving toys to the kids. Our friends are going to the Dominican Republic in a few months and were looking for things to bring the children there.