Blog Archives

NICU Activity Information

10/29/2014

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CALLING ALL ELVES!! CALLING ALL ELVES!!

WE NEED YOUR HELP!!

Hi Everyone!

I just wanted to let you all know that we are going to be hosting a morning at the Coralville Library on November 15th from 9-11:30 for everyone who wants an opportunity to get some hands on involvement for the NICU project. We have a goal of making 80 bags for the families in the NICU and we need your help to get there. On Saturday our goal is to have a station to make tie blankets (the blankets made from two pieces of fleece tied together - they are easy to make and you do not need any special skills to help us make these), a hand made card station - we would like to get all 80 cards made and have personal notes inside letting the families know that we are thinking of them and that we hope they have a nice holiday season, and a station set up for people to help taking the old labels off of water bottles and putting on personalized ones that Jasmine Almedia has offered to make for us.

We are looking for volunteers to lead each station. If you have some experience in making tie blankets or scrapbooking/card making, WE NEED YOU! Send us an email ([email protected]) and let us know.

We will also have some snacks and we will have a chick flick or something fun playing on the projector. Come have fun and help us work hard to meet our goals! This is an adults only activity so that we are able to focus on our projects at hand. If you are unable to make it on Saturday morning, Jess Hicks has volunteered to have people over on Sunday (the 16th) night so that everyone can have the opportunity to help on this project. It will also give us a chance to finish anything left over from Saturday.

Thank you all for being so amazing about wanting to help out our community and for supporting this project. We could not do the things that we do without our AMAZING members!

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Diary of a Residents Wife

10/27/2014

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We have a new blog series to introduce to you today. We are calling it Diary of a Residents Wife and it will have a collection of posts from different members of Medical Partners. Today's edition of Diary of a Resident's Wife comes to us from Emily Miska.

Diary of a Resident's Wife: Acronym Confession

I’m here to make a confession on behalf of my husband. Now, that may seem strange, but bear with me here for a few minutes while I explain.

His name is Paul and he’s an acronym-aholic. (“Hi, Paul”). I’m not sure if the rest of you feel the way I do about these medical acronyms, but I pretty much loathe them. No matter how many times Paul tells me what the letters stand for, I can never remember. I should probably be a better wife and put more effort into committing the meanings to memory, but somehow I have managed to put off learning them for 3+ years of residency.

Whether it’s CA-1, PGY-3, ASA, CRNA, ASC, AFIB, AOD, AOA, SICU, DAW or the nine million others floating around in my dinner conversation, I find myself creating some of my own just to pass the time (and to alleviate my occasional boredom).

So, without further ado, I’ll share some of my own little acronyms to see if the rest of you can relate . . .

YLMAHA – You Lost Me An Hour Ago. Self-explanatory for the aforementioned acronym-filled conversations.

YFADTM – You Fell Asleep During The Movie. When they wake up and want you to explain the plot for a 1.5 hour movie, for which they were only awake for the opening credits.

YMDA – You Missed Dinner Again. Womp womp.

IMOMNBL – I May Or May Not Be Listening. More often than I’d like to admit.

ITIRT – Is That In Resident Time? Because “I’ll be home soon” in Resident Time means “I’ll be home when I finish rotating with my patients, complete my notes, change out of my scrubs, walk to my car, and drive home.” AKA five million hours later.

WDATTCF – Where Did All These Textbooks Come From? Anyone else’s textbook stash seem to quadruple every two months? I know ours does.

NFENB – Night Float Equals Netflix Binge. Need I say more?

Some of these are sillier than others, but hey . . . we’ve got to keep things interesting, right!? Anyone else have any made-up acronyms to share? Bonus points for explanations!

Have a great week!

Emily

Emily is a part-time event coordinator/part-time puppy mama to Tater, an English Bulldog. She and her husband Paul (4th year Anesthesia resident) live in Iowa City and are getting excited about the next chapter in their lives – a Pediatric Anesthesia fellowship in Milwaukee starting in July!

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Colony Pumpkin Patch Giveaway

10/27/2014

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Congratulations to Juliann! You won a gift certificate to Colony Pumpkin Patch! Email me at [email protected] and I will get you your prize!

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Colony Pumpkin Patch Giveaway

10/24/2014

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I have one last pumpkin patch giveaway for you guys before Halloween. Colony Pumpkin Patch in North Liberty is such a fun place! My boys love the barrel train and the new kid zone is awesome. They also have a great corn maze, you can even go though it on Friday and Saturday nights with flashlights. Hello awesome date night! They have a corn cannon this year that is new and hayrack rides. There is also a huge pumpkin patch you can walk though and pick out your own pumpkin or there is a large selection of pumpkins that have already been picked for you. And I can't forget to tell you about all of the awesome photo spots!

One lucky winner will get a gift certificate for: 4 corn maze tickets, 2 barrel train rides, and up to 20 lbs of pumpkin!! To enter to win leave me a comment telling me how many pumpkins you have at your house. We have 6 at our house right now!! A winner will be chosen on Monday.

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Guest Post from UICCU

10/22/2014

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UICCU tackles the topic of credit scores

Whether you're applying for a mortgage, car or personal loan, your lender will want to know one number: your three-digit credit score. This number has become perhaps the most important for anyone seeking a loan.

There's a reason for this: Your three-digit credit score tells lenders exactly what kind of a consumer you've been. Have you been a sloppy consumer, one who pays bills late or misses payments on a regular basis? Your credit score will show it. Have you been a responsible consumer, one who's never paid a credit-card bill late or missed a car-loan payment? Your credit score will show that, too.

Most lenders today rely on the FICO credit-scoring system. This three-digit score ranges from a low of 350 to a high of 850. If you want to borrow money, and you want to borrow it at low interest rates, you'll need a score closer to the higher end than the lower. What's included in your FICO credit score? Your credit score takes into account your payment history, or how often you miss payments or pay your bills late; the amount of debt you owe; the length of your credit history; and the types of credit that you use.

The most important of these factors is your payment history, which FICO says accounts for 35 percent of your credit score. Coming in a close second is the amount of debt you owe, which accounts for 30 percent of your score. Lenders will look at the amount of debt you have in the form of mortgages, car loans, student loans and credit card debt, as compared to your overall income. This is your debt to income ratio. In general, you'll want to keep that number below 36 percent -- a threshold that loan officers and credit card issuers often use as a factor when they determine how much they're willing to lend you.

In addition one of the factors used to determine your credit score is “credit card utilization rate”. This is the overall percentage of credit limits you’re using (calculate by dividing your total credit card balances by your total credit card limits). Typically, the lower this percentage, the higher your credit score.

The lesson here? If you want a strong credit score, you need to pay your bills on time, never miss a payment and pay down as much of your credit-card debt as possible.

UICCU can help you do that. Come into any of our branches or call us at (319)339-1000. We can take a look at your finances and help you build a better credit score.

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DIY: Wood Pumpkins

10/20/2014

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For this project you will need a 4x4 piece of wood (mine was 8 feet long and big enough to do this project twice), a measuring tape, a pencil, a power saw (I used a jig saw but something with a bigger blade would be a better option),sand paper, orange paint, a power drill, thin branches (we got ours by walking though the neighborhood), glue, ribbon and other accessories.

To start I ran to Lowes and picked up a 4x4 piece of wood. I also found out that Lowes can not cut 4x4s in the store. Bummer. So I brought it home and marked it off with my tape measure and pencil. I wanted a 12 inch pumpkin, a 15 inch pumpkin, and an 18 inch pumpkin. Then I went to work with my saw. My jig saw does not have a very long blade so I had to spin the wood a couple of times to cut all the way through.

Once I had it cut down to size I sanded down my blocks so there weren't any rough edges. I used a power sander but you could easily do it with some elbow grease.

Next I drilled holes in the top of each block in the center. Your holes done have to be too deep. My holes were between 1/2 an inch to an inch deep.

Now for the fun and (if you enlist some little helpers) messy part. Paint your pumpkins!!

While you wait for your pumpkins to dry go for a walk and find some dry sticks to use as stems. Make sure that they aren't bigger than the holes you drilled.

When you get home and your pumpkins are dry, put some glue in your holes and put your stems in. Let your glue dry.

Is everything dry now? Ok good. Now you can finish and accessorize your pumpkins. I used sand paper to distress my pumpkins. I cut leaves out if scrap booking paper and crinkled the paper to give it some texture. I also tied little Rafita bows on my stems and tied all of my pumpkins together with a big ribbon.

Ta-da! Now go enjoy your new Fall decorations. And keep an eye on the Instagram page tomorrow because I have an extra set of pumpkins to giveaway!

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Wilsons Orchard Giveaway Winners

10/20/2014

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I have 3 winners for the Wilson's Giveaway!

The winner of a gallon of Wilson's Cider is: Kristen!
The winner of 2 Caramel apples is: Rachel!
And the winner of a pumpkin is: Emily Smith!

Email me at [email protected] and I will get you your prizes! Thanks for participating!

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Wilson's Apple Orchard Giveaway

10/17/2014

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Happy Friday! I have a great giveaway for you all today from Wilson's Apple Orchard.

Wilson's Orchard is located in Iowa City and is such a beautiful place. They have acres and acres of apple trees, which you can see by going on a tractor ride with Bessie (she's the tractor).

Wilson's also has some AMAZING apple turnovers (try is with the cinnamon ice cream!), apple pies, apple donuts, caramel apples, and apple cider slushies.

Wilson's also has pumpkins! You can choose from some pumpkins that have been picked by the farm workers or go to the pumpkin patch and pick your own.

To check out more about Wilson's and see their hours you can check out their website or Facebook page.

Now for the giveaway! To enter leave a comment telling me what your favorite thing to do with apples is. We love to make apple pies over at our house! The winner will be announced Monday morning.

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Fall Fun: How to cave the perfect pumpkin

10/15/2014

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Step 1: Choose your pumpkin. While you're picking your pumpkin think about what you want to carve in your pumpkin and choose a shape that will make the best canvas.

Step 2: Clean your pumpkin, inside and out. Wash all of the dirt off of the outside of the pumpkin so it will be all nice and clean. Now decide how you are going to get into your pumpkin, the top, the back, or the bottom. The traditional way, and the way I open up my pumpkins, is through the top. The top of the pumpkin is a little thicker so you need a longer, sharp blade. Cutting the top in a cone shape so the opening on the outside of the pumpkin is wider than the opening of the flesh. It will make it so that the piece you cut off will fit back in nicely without falling through the hole.
Now you need to scoop out the guts. (Ewww!) I like the flat scrapey tool that comes with most carving kits. You could also use a spoon or even an ice cream scoop. Make sure that you do a good job getting out all of the seeds and stringy things. You don't want the local wildlife helping you remove seeds after you have carved your pumpkin. You also don't want anything hanging down that could catch of fire if you use a candle in your pumpkin.

Step 3: Layout your design on your pumpkin. Make sure that you know where you want everything before you start cutting. It helps to draw everything else first. You can't undo any cuts once they have been made.

Step 4: Chop Chop! Cut along your lines and punch out the pieces as you go.

Step 5: Light it up! Either put an artificial candle in your pumpkin and turn it on (this is the safe way) or put a tea light in your pumpkin and light it.

If you want to see some amazing pumpkin carving check out this video from Martha Stewart and Ray Villafane
I can't wait to see what masterpieces you create. Share them on our Facebook page! Happy Halloween!!

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Soups On!

10/13/2014

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With all of this cool fall weather that we have been having I know that nothing sounds better to me than a nice warm bowl of soup, so, I wanted to share some of my favorite recipes with you guys.

One of my favorite soups is Baked Potato Soup from Our Best Bites. Its super simple to make and it doesn’t take more than half an hour so its perfect for last minute dinners.

Baked Potato Soup

3 Tbs butter
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 C flour
4 1/2 C milk (low fat works great)
1 14oz can chicken broth
4 medium baking potatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds) baked*
2 C grated cheddar (or sharp cheddar) cheese, divided
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 1/2 C sour cream (low fat is fine), divided
1/2 C chopped green onions, divided
8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled, divided

*don’t have time to bake potatoes in the oven? Just pierce them with a fork a few times and then pop them in the microwave. Cook in 5 minute intervals until a knife easily pierces through them. It usually takes 5-10 minutes. To bake in the oven, pierce each potato with a fork and place directly on oven rack. Bake at 375 for 45-60 minutes.
Melt butter in a stock pot over medium heat. Add garlic and saute for 30-60 seconds until fragrant. Add flour to pan. Slowly add milk a little at a time while whisking constantly to eliminate lumps. Whisk until smooth and then add chicken broth. (Now, if you get to this point and don’t have a smooth liquid. Stop! Save your soup by popping the mixture in the blender, then continue.) Bring soup just to a simmer and heat until thickened, stirring often, about 5 minutes.

Once soup is thickened, turn heat down to medium-low. Cut potatoes in half length-wise and use a spoon to scoop out potato flesh into the pot. Use a wooden spoon to smash potatoes, breaking up large clumps. Add 1 1/2 C grated cheese and salt and pepper and stir until cheese is melted. Remove pan from heat and stir in 3/4 C sour cream, 1/4 C green onions, and 4 strips of the crumbled bacon. Add additional salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls and top with each serving with the remaining sour cream, onions, cheese, and bacon.

French Onion Soup is another one of my favorites. I can’t remember where I found this recipe but I’ve been using it for years. My kids especially love the little slices of bread they can dip in their soup.

French Onion Soup

3 onions, sliced thin
¼ cup butter
2 TBL flour
2 cans beef broth
2 ½ cups water
1 beef bullion cube
sliced provolone cheese
baguettes

Separate onions into single rings. Melt butter in saucepan. Saute onions until soft (20 minutes). Stir in flour and gradually add broth, water, and bullion. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes. Place baguette into soup bowl. Pour soup over baguette and top with slice of provolone cheese. Bake for 10 minutes at 425* or until cheese is melted.

Jess Hicks wanted to share this awesome Taco Soup recipe. I can't wait to try it!

Taco Soup

1 lb ground beef/turkey/chicken (Your preference)
1 can corn
1 can black beans
1 can dark red kidney beans
1 can light red kidney beans
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can of rotel
taco seasoning
lime
cilantro
avocado
sour cream
shredded cheese
tortilla chips

Brown meat, add taco seasoning then add to crock pot
Add all cans (do not drain)
cook on low 6-8 hours
Add lime and cilantro near end (if desired)
Top with whatever you want!

I have been looking for a great Chicken Noodle Soup recipe for forever and Missa Uhlman recommended this one from America's Test Kitchen.

Chicken Noodle Soup

2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, minced
1 carrot, peeled & sliced thin
1 rib celery, sliced
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme or 1/2 t dried
2.5 quarts chicken broth
3 cups chicken, shredded (I like to just grab a Costco rotisserie chicken!)
8 oz wide egg noodles
1/4 cup minced fresh parsleysalt & pepper

1.) Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over med-high heat until shimmering. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and cook until softened, 3-4 minutes. Stir in the thyme, broth, and chicken. Bring to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.
2.) Stir in the noodles and cook until just tender, about 5 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Oh and if you don't feel like making something from scratch you should really check out Bear Creek soup mixes. I love those for days when I just want to make dinner easy.

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Bloomsbury Farm Giveaway Winners

10/13/2014

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After consulting with random.org I have some winners to announce. Congratulations to:

Stacey Thompson

Kellie Schow

Ali Holt

Congratulations ladies! You have each won 2 free passes to Bloomsbury. I will get your prizes out to you this week.

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Bloomsbury Farm Giveaway

10/10/2014

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Happy Friday! Its Giveaway time! Yay!
This week I have a great giveaway from Bloomsbury Farm. We had such an amazing time there last week and my kids are just begging to go back soon.

Karen over at Bloomsbury Farm has sent over some free admission passes for some lucky members to win! That means you have an opportunity to go play on the pedal karts, see the cute animals, go on the barrel train, watch the hog racing, play in the corn box, go down the huge tube slides and play on the horse swings, watch them shoot pumpkins out of a cannon, go on a hayrack ride, and check out the haunted houses. This place has it all!

I have two free admission passes to give to 3 winners!! To enter to win leave me a comment telling me what you are looking forward to doing the most at Bloomsbury. For an extra entry go and like their Facebook page. I will announce our winner on Monday morning at 8:00. Good luck!

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Halloween Craft: Make Your Own Treat Bags

10/8/2014

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I have a super easy and fun craft for you that need a Halloween goodie bag for your kids, or to hold the candy that you will be passing out to all the cute little trick or treaters. These are way easy and if you want to have some fun with your kids they can help too!
To start I ran to Hobby Lobby and grabbed 4 bags out of the Halloween/fall section (which was 40% off - woot woot!) for about $1 each. I also dug out one of my thousands of Sharpies and some black ribbon that I had on hand.

Next, I took off the tag (duh) and put a piece of paper inside the bag, just in case my marker leaked though. Then I drew jack-o-lantern faces on each bag.

Then, because my 4 crazy kids will fight over anything that doesn't have their names on it, I wrote each of their names and tied some ribbon on the handle of my daughters bag. Just to frill it up a little. There are lots of different ways you could jazz it up though, rhinestones anyone?!?

And DONE! Easy peasy! What's great is that you can personalize these any way you want (and for cheap!) and your kids can get involved. I know my kids love it when they get to make things!

I can't wait to see all the fun costumes at the Halloween Party! Now go make your treat bags so we can fill them up!

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Fall Fun

10/7/2014

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Fall is officially here in the Iowa City area and that means its time to get out and have some Fall Fun!

Pumpkin Patches

Wilson's Apple Orchard
4823 Dingleberry Rd. NE Iowa City, IA
Open from 10 - 6 daily

Colony Pumpkin Patch
278- Front St NE North Liberty, IA
Monday - Friday 4-dusk
Saturday and Sunday 10-7
Friday and Saturday Night - Flashlight Maze 7pm-10pm ($6 per person)

Bart's Farm and Pumpkin Patch
7307 Alburnett Rd. Marion, IA
Monday - Friday 5-9
Saturday and Sunday 9-7

Bloomsbury Farm
3260 69th St Atkins, IA
Monday - Saturday 9-6
Sunday 11-5

Kroul Farm
245 Hwy 1 Mt. Vernon, IA
Monday - Thursday 10 -6
Friday and Saturday 9-4
Sunday 11-4

Allen's Orchard
5801 N. 10th St Marion, IA
Monday - Friday 10-4
Saturday and Sunday 10 -5

Farmers Markets

Iowa City:

The Downtown Iowa City Farmers Market
Wednesday 5-7 & Saturdays 7:3-12
Ends October 29th

Farmers Market at Iowa City Marketplace (Sycamore Mall)
Tuesday 3-6
Ends October 28th

North Liberty:

Penn Landing Farmers Market (Penn St and 965)
Sunday October 12th and Sunday October 26th
12:00-3:00

City Activities

University of Iowa Homecoming Parade
October 10th 5:45
Clinton St. Iowa City

City of North Liberty Hayrack Rides
October 10th & 11th
6-8 at Colony Pumpkin Patch
$4 per person ($12 per family of 4) Advanced Tickets Required

Grown Up's Night at the Children's Museum
October 16th 7:30 - 9
$40 per person (Includes wine)

Pumpkin Carving and Painting
October 18th 8:30 - 10 AM
North Liberty Community Center
$8 per child (register in advance)

Scheel's Kid's Club: Decorate your own pumpkin
October 21st 6:00
Coralville, IA

Haunted Happenings at the North Liberty Community Center
October 23rd &24th 6:30 -8
$5 at the door (per child)

Iowa City Mom's Blog Spooktacular Halloween Bash
October 24th 6-8
South Slope Community Center
Advanced Tickets Required

Halloween Parade and Carnival
October 24th 6:15 (parade) 6:30 (games)
Robert A. Lee Rec Center
Meet at the Fountain Downtown

Iowa Medical Partners Children's Halloween Party
October 25th 9:30
Coralville Library

Monster Mash at the Children's Museum
October 25th 10:00 - 6:00

Monster Bash
October 25th 7-9
Coralville Rec Center
$10 for residents $12.50 for non-residents (register in advance)

Coralville Oak Hill Cemetery Walk
October 26th 6 -8
$5 donation recommended

Tot Monster Mash (ages 6 and under)
October 31st 9:30 -11:30
Scanlon Gym
FREE

**Any event listed without a link came from the city brochures which you can access online for more information**

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Wilson's Apple Orchard !

10/5/2014

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We look forward to Wilson's all year long ! First, we tasted 4 kinds of apples, then we went on a tractor ride! Afterwards, we enjoyed the beautiful weather by letting the kids run around and look for pumpkins and apples.What a fun time!

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Mom's Blog Spooktacular Halloween Bash Giveaway

10/3/2014

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Welcome to fall ya'll! The leaves are giving us a beautiful show with their changing colors. The air is turning crisp. And Halloween is on the way! I don't know about the other mom's in the group, but my kids are getting so excited about dressing up and trick or treating. I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty excited too. I mean come on, I get to send my little people out there to collect candy, that I get to "check" (AKA eat).

With how unpredictable Iowa's weather can be it is always nice to have a couple of events to use as backups to trick or treating. We of course have the awesome Medical Partners Children's Halloween Party on October 25th at the Coralville Library (9:30). It is going to be great! Food, fun, games, and friends. And if you are looking for another backup The Iowa City Mom's Blog is hosting their annual Spooktacular Halloween Bash Friday, October 24th from 6:00 - 8:00 at the South Slope Community Center. You must purchase tickets in advance and tickets are $3 each for each child over 1 year. (Adults do not need a ticket) There will be indoor trick-or-treating, activities, and snacks. It should be a lot of fun!

If anyone is interested in purchasing tickets to the Mom's Blog Spootacular you can do that here. OR, if you are feeling lucky you can enter into our giveaway to win 2 tickets to the party! Leave me a comment telling me what your (or your childs) favorite Halloween costume has been. I will close the giveaway on Sunday night at 10:00. Stay tuned for us to announce the winner and good luck!

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What's Up Doc: October

10/1/2014

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Welcome to October! Here is a line up of all the fun activities Medical Partners has in store for you!

October 2nd (Thursday) Children’s Activities will be hosting a playdate at Wilson’s Orchard at 11:00. Go enjoy the Fall Fun with a tractor ride, apple tasting, and friends.

October 5th (Sunday) Entertainment Club will be hosting a day of family fun at Bloomsberry Farm starting at 11:00. Admission costs $5 for each person over 3.

October 9th (Thursday) Playgroup will be held at Kiwanis Park in Iowa City from 10:30-12.

October 13th (Monday) Entertainment Club is hosting a carving party at Sarah’s house at 6:30. Bring your own pumpkin.

October 14th (Tuesday) Book Club is meeting at Amanda Mugti’s home at 9:30 to review One Breath Away by Heather Gudenkauf

October 20th (Monday) Playgroup will be held at Quail Ridge Park from 10:30-12.

October 25th (Saturday) Children’s Activities will be holding our annual Children’s Halloween Party at the Coralville Library at 9:30. Please bring a non-perishable food item to donate to the local food bank.

October 30th (Thursday) SOS will be held at 30Hop in Coralville at 7:00. Medical Partners will provide appetizers, alcoholic drinks are on you.

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WE NEED YOUR HELP!!

Diary of a Resident's Wife: Acronym Confession

UICCU tackles the topic of credit scores

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