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Wednesday, 20 August 2008

Monday, 18 August 2008

  • Allusions...

    I was reading my sweet readers' comments.  Yes, I think Aidan is pretty mature for his tender age of 4.5 years, but sometimes, I think what I tell him might be considered inappropriate, or as they say in court, leading.  For instance, to his question of "Why are people always buying houses?"  I told him, "People always want to make more money, own bigger homes, bigger, newer cars, and so they spend a lot of time doing all those things."  This afternoon on our way home, we were listening to the radio- 740 KCBS- and all of the sudden, he asked, "What are they talking about?"  It was a commercial about infertility treatments.  The ad went like this, "I was 38, I was 36, we thought we could do it, but we couldn't...etc."  I told him, "Sometimes when people get older, it gets really difficult to make a baby.  Daddy and I were really blessed, we made you and Zoe pretty easily."  "How old were you when you had me?"  "I was 26."  He didn't actually move on to ask the next question: "How do you make a baby?"  Oh but I am ready! 

    As for our good, happy moments, thankfully, we are having more of those.  But let's not forget all the moments of, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?  Will you just come to x, or y, or z."  Or this, "How many times do I need to ask?  What did your mother just say?" 

    Or this morning.  Aidan got timed out for speaking defiantly. "I don't want xyz!  NO!!!" Hubby timed him out, he sobbed, while our contractor worked silently about 10 feet away.  Geez. 

    I started formulating my tactical plans for passing my oral boards, I own this book called Passing the Psychiatry Oral Boards.  From Amazon, I ordered a highly recommended book called Boarding Time.  Upon my investigation, it seems like they fail about 50% of the test takers- I should have known, with my written board score, I am eligible to sit for the oral thrice within six years.  Of course, each attempt would cost $1350.  The exam itself contains 2 section, an hour for working with a real patient, and another hour of 4 written or video vignettes.  I will be scored on a scale of 1-8, with some weird multiplication to 'balance' the scores, and out of a total of 64, I need 40 to pass. 

    Apparently, the oral is the more difficult part...

  • My Happy Campers

    We had such a relaxing weekend, no set agenda, just whatever we wanted to do. 

    Aidan did almost everything he wanted to do, with the exception of visiting the Lego Store.  We live close to one, and therefore, Aidan ALWAYS asks to go.  He likes to paw through all the latest arrivals to figure out how long he would need to save for, and most times, we walk out empty handed but he is as happy as can be.  What he DID get to do was a lot.  He watched The Mighty Ducks, in snippets, he went to the library and found a Spot (by Eric Hill) book that he hadn't read before, he got to have some down time (actually, he is really good at staying in his room for at least an hour on his own), he got to go get ice-cream with me on Saturday, and we did grocery shopping on Sunday (he picked out a grass jelly drink, sounds weird, but really tasty.)  He got to play hockey, and he got to see an ice-hockey game!  He had fun.

    Aidan is a great companion for errands, he knows to bring his good attitude and excellent behavior.  This afternoon, while we were driving to the grocery store, he saw a bunch of open house signs, and he knew exactly what those were.  And, he asked to GO to an open house.  We found one, and he was great in there, asking all the right questions, "Why are there so many houses for sale?"  "Why are people always wanting to buy houses?"  "What is a sunken tub?"  As I was telling him about how great he was at the open house, he said, "Do you like my good attitude?  My good behavior? I brought my listening ears."  SO. CUTE! 

    Zoe also did a lot of stuff, she went to the park with Hubby (just the two of them- Hubby didn't tell me, but this was a photography session to explain finer points of metering light, and she was his free model), she took long naps, she decided that she really has no taste for anything artificially sweet (she gags on ice-cream, she gags on the aforementioned grass jelly drink, she smashes her cake to teeny tiny pieces).  She played a little hockey, played with an easel, ate an obscenely large amount of blueberries, she played in the car, and pooped every time we were out and about. 

    Zoe has really sprouted in the last few months.  While I always think of her as a little girl, she really isn't so little.  When we were at Toys R Us, (while the guys were watching the ice-hockey game- we left to stay warm) there was another little girl that was exactly Zoe's size, but she was speaking a lot.  I asked those parents how old their girl was, and that little girl was 20 months old!  I asked because I was curious when Zoe would be speaking more.  (I honestly can't remember how old Aidan was when he started speaking.) Her gestural language is excellent, her sign language is passable, but spoken language?  I am afraid Aidan speaks for her.  I am sure she will catch up very soon though, and I will be in trouble...

    Hubby got to work on his stuff uninterrupted for a while, he slept, and relaxed.

    I cooked an amazing meal, or so the guys said at dinner.  Not much else for me, just reading, relaxing.  Oh, and I canceled our weekend getaway for next weekend.  We were planning on heading to Sonoma for a NASCAR race, but the adults got lazy, and realized we didn't even have tickets to NASCAR and figured that if we didn't have those by now, we wouldn't be able to get them.  We will stay home instead, and do much of the same as this weekend. 

    I am, however, starting to plan our big vacation for 2009- a cruise trip around Greece!  If Aidan goes to year round school, we will go in October, if he goes to traditional school, we will go in July!!!  Hopefully, maybe...



Friday, 15 August 2008

  • Happy for Two Seconds

    I have GREAT news!  I passed my written boards.  Like I had written previously, the whole thing seemed sketchy.  I took the exam in early June, and I was told that I would get my results in about 8 weeks after the last day of test.  Everyone's suspicion was that the Board needed that time to be sure to flunk a certain percentage of people, to ensure a certain amount in revenue (from people paying to take the same exam again.)  Then I found on from their website that letters would be mailed on August 29.  Well, yesterday certainly wasn't the 29th, and my letter was dated for the 29th.  Strange.

    Nonetheless, I was ecstatic that I had passed.  Actually, the night before as I was drifting off to sleep, I was praying, "Dear God, the letter will be coming in about 2 weeks, please God, let it be good news.  And if it is not good news, please help me to get through this.  Please God, have mercy..."

    So I was SO happy when I got the letter.  But only for two seconds, because, enclosed in the letter is the registration for the oral boards.  May, 2009.  In Denver.  And they want $1350 before November.  Apparently, if I miss the November deadline, I forfeit this chance to take the oral boards and would have to START OVER.  Seriously. 

    Like giddiemon said to me a few months ago, the best times of her life (as an actuary, who is constantly taking exams) is the time when the results are pending.  She has neither new exams to study for, and no news is actually good news. 

    I am excited though, that after I pass the oral boards (Please God, be merciful and let me pass...) I won't have to get recert until 2018. Zoe will be ELEVEN.  Aidan will be FOURTEEN.  Wow.

    And, good thing happiness is really not related to external circumstances, but a gift from God.  Or else I really would have only been happy for 2 seconds...

Monday, 11 August 2008

  • This is what he is up to...

    I ran a quick errand and made it home for lunch today.  Leftovers, yum. 
    Anyway, I thought I sit down and read some blogs.  And now, I know what Hubby is doing after I go to bed.  Typically, I like to go to bed by 10.  On the dot. Any later is just much too late.  Hubby's circadian clock is totally different than mine.  Last night, as I waved good night to my sweetheart, he was tinkering with his stuff.  And now, I know what he did.  It is always interesting to find out later what Hubby was doing while we were fast asleep.  I don't think Hubby can put his thinking cap on until everyone else is silently enjoying REMs.