Boards are a'comin

Louisa and Will came to visit!

Well, the Willzabeast came to town because Will's grandfather died in Abilene, sadly. So it wasn't just to see us. But Hal was thrilled and enjoyed their babysitting greatly. I have better pictures on my dad's phone- stay tuned.

Also last week we went to Ruidoso which was a fairly hellish journey: Hal HATES his carseat and riding in the car. This does not bode well for a Texas boy. My blessed mom drove almost the entire way as I tried to comfort baby in the back and the one time we switched he woke up and cried and cried so my poor mom never snoozed. We had a fabulous time! By fabulous, I mean, we ate nice breakfasts, sat and studied all day. A few walks scattered here and there, and Eric and dad came to join us for the weekend- a long trip for Eric who flew from Tampa to DFW to El Paso where my dad was waiting for him for the 2.5 hour drive to Ruidoso, getting in at 2 AM Friday morning.
We have a few photos of Hal in the cabin on my dad's phone- again stay tuned. The video below was at the cabin. Of note, I finally got Louisa and Will a wedding present. A large decorative New Mexico mirror which did not fit in the car, and had to be strapped to the top. Mom and I used 6 bungees and proclaimed victory, only to have it blow off and shatter in a million pieces while I was driving between Roscoe and Inadale. 7 years bad luck? I think that mirror was like 21 years!

Dad and baby in church- in a minute we put on darling shoes from Aunt Jerry for pictures- see photo at the top of Eric and babykins. The outfit - smocking and all! is from Grandma Julie- a Southern thing and she indulged me!

I've been playing with the Hipstamatic application on my iphone, clearly. Fun. When I took the above photo, I'd had my review books open on my lap for a full 10 minutes and had not glanced at them. Better put them on the floor to nab a picture of sleeping baby!

My pediatric boards (pretty much the last big exam I will ever take) are Oct 18- used to have oral component, and used to be two days. Is now 1 day, entirely written, for which I am thankful but also wishing we had the sheer volume of questions they fit in two days since that might improve my chances of passing. The pass rate in pediatrics is actually fairly low- 70-75%. This is scary as I'm sure I'm in the bottom 20% of studiers. Baby makes it tough! If we aren't trying to put him to sleep, we're nursing or interacting. Also I would far rather talk to him and smile at him than read my large review books. In terms of stress level, he will have a new parent October 19. Until Nov 1 when I start a whole new adventure working at Pediatricians of Dallas and my stress level returns!

OK, he's awake again- after a 30 minute nap. Talking to his mobile. Question: re-swaddle and rock/put on mobile and pacifier? Or take out to playmat (with which he has a love-hate relationship)? Overtired or truly awake? The board review books do not cover these dilemmas!!