student, patient, cadaver....

(This is my second post in one day, so look below if you haven't check in for awhile; the new look is just for fun, a Valentine-y look)

I was showing a friend at work some pictures I had forwarded. One of them was the one of Ariana playing dentist. Many of you have seen it; she wore safety goggles (from the toolbox in the laundry room) and had her patient (our resident 3 year old who himself is into roleplaying...meow) draped and reclining while she used long, sharp instruments to do scary things in his mouth. The friend responded by commenting on how creative she is and asked if there is a role she hasn't yet done.

That made me think about all the creative things they have done and I decided to add a post with a few of my favorites, because this blog is largely a way for me to archive for them.

My all time favorite, hands down, was the autopsy. I used to watch Dr. G, Medical Examiner back before I established a moratorium on weekday TV viewing (in this respect I practice what I preach beause I, too, benefit from greater attention to my studies). One day the kids set up a medical examiner facility in my living room. We had Dr. G (Ana), two assistants (Lij and Ben) and a cadaver (William...meow). They had my scrubs on (I was working in a nursing home at that time) and the cadaver was convincingly positioned although he was allowed to suck his thumb. Dr. G would remove an organ and hand it to an assistant for weighing. The other assistant was recording data.

My one regret was that I couldn't really eavesdrop and hear what they were saying as they did their autopsy. It must have been interesting!

Another favorite in the medical category was the c-section delivery. The maternal patient was very interesting--"she" was 2 pillows laid end to end under a blanket. Again, they had scrubs on; they had surgical tools (scissors, bandages, towels); and best of all, they delivered twins! The bitty twins! Ariana was, of course, the lead surgeon. What was really entertaining was how she would "deliver" a twin and hand it to an assistant, who would then run it to another room and place it on a table and begin the newborn assessment (complete with a bulb aspirator to clear out the tiny mouths and noses). I believe that was probably a pediatrician although pediatric nurses can take on that role also depending on the circumstances. So each assistant got a baby to handle while the surgeon stitched up mom.

Last but not least is one that is going on daily right now. Ariana has dropped the medical theme and moved on to academia. She runs a preschool in my basement. There is a daily schedule (neatly typed and printed on the computer) posted on the wall. A few days ago she created a letter to send home to parents (which would be me, because everyone in her school is related to me). The letter was about challenge math and required my signature to allow my child, William, to participate. The letter was signed "Ms. Schurman". Interestingly, I noted in her gradebook that Elijah and Ben were NOT placed in challenge math. Might I surmise they have been less cooperative students than William?

I'll continue to add these stories as I remember them, so they are recorded for posterity (and future embarrassment). Send me any you remember, there have been so many good ones.