Monday, May 26, 2008

Bring on the Boards! And Bring Back My Husband!

Nate has been preparing and studying for the boards, the first of 3 standardized exams that med students take in order to become licensed as a physician. Scoring well is very important if you want to get into a competitive residency. So for the past little while he has been swallowed up in the foreign-to-me world of pharmacology, biochemistry, organ systems, etc. What's even more amazing is he has been finding spelling mistakes and other errors in the practice question banks and has submitted them to the publishers and earned us almost $200 in Amazon.com gift cards! He's too smart for his own good. If you leave a comment on this post (which I would sure love) wish him good luck on Wednesday!
Despite the heavy load he is dealing with right now, he always comes to my rescue around 5 o clock when I just don't think I can be a mom for another second. He usually takes the kids outside while I take a deep breath and finish making dinner.
Here is the doctor in action. Mom, please, please don't be worried about this or upset at me for taking a picture of it. Everything worked out just fine and Lyme disease is rare for the amount of kids that get ticks. We were undressing Jansen the other night to cut his hair and found a tick on him. (We'd been on a walk at a Metro Park earlier that day.) For some reason it really didn't upset me like I have always imagined it would.
Things have been really rough with Natalie lately. It almost feels like the colic days again. She won't eat solids anymore (I'm not just talking baby food, she just doesn't want to eat, period) so she just has bottles all day. Teething maybe? Every time I offer something to her, she starts to fuss and then whacks it out of my hand. She's too much of a busybody to sit and drink more than about 3 oz. at a time, so she just has lots of sips all day. She has been very fussy and waking a lot at night. She has a bad diaper rash and is also sick...runny nose and that persistent, nap-shortening, sleep interrupting cough that I hate!!! She has been frightened by some curious things lately. She got very scared on an escalator today, hates the swings, and was also freaked out when I sat in the front seat of the car and was going to let her play with the steering wheel. She did not want to be there, almost acted claustrophobic or something.

16 comments:

Monica said...

GOOD LUCK Nate! You will do great. Kyle is so jealous that you will be done with your boards before summer starts! Wow. And making money by finding the errors. Way to go. I am also so happy for you, Jessica, that you get your husband back. Believe me, I know that feeling! And I am impressed that you didn't freak out about that tick on Jansen. I have a phobia of ticks and so I am not as brave as you are. :)

Shane's Angie said...

Oh Nate, you know I love ya! Here's wishing you the best on your exams...not that I'm worried. You're obviously brilliant, after all, you chose Jessica right? Can't wait to do a little birding with you at Bear Lake! I'm serious...I want you to point them out to me, I can't tell you how often I see a bird and wonder what kind it is!
The tick story was a little unnerving. I totally trust you and your mothering skills, so I was wondering, how do you remove a tick?
Jess, I'm so sorry to hear about Natalie. It really does sound like teething...complete with diaper rash. She must hurt and just feel out of sorts. If she's like my kids, she'll get a whole bunch of teeth at once. It's a nightmare for a while, but then you get it over with and can get on with life. Maybe she just needs a trip home to the Lolly's!

stevenellie said...

Good Luck Nate!!

About the tick thing. Since we live in VA aka the woods, I check for ticks every night on my two. At first I found it totally disgusting. Now it is just a part of life. However, some nights I'm paranoid that I didn't get them all off myself. Ahh, gross.

Sorry to hear that Natalie isn't feeling good. Hope she gets better soon.

Heather said...

Good luck tomorrow! Jessica, are you guys taking a little vacation after boards, you all need it! How about a date night. I'll babysit. The first board exams are the most stressful. Good luck.

Sarah Walton said...

Yeah, good luck Nate! It will be so nice once it's over . . . and I hope Natalie feels better soon!

Mary said...

Good luck, Nate! :) I'm sure you'll do well! I hope Natalie starts feeling better soon. Take care! Love to you all :)

Unknown said...

Go get 'em, Tiger!

Anonymous said...

I hate to think of Natalie hurting. I hope tylenol helps. Nate, I know you'll do great but I'm sure its tough! I'll just pretend I never saw the tick thing. But I am glad you guys know to check for them. Love, mom.

Lindsey said...

That's sad about Natalie. My sister's neighbor's little girl was not eating for like 2 weeks and they finally found out she had a coin stuck in her throat. Just a thought. Not a pleasant one though. Good luck to Nate.

Unknown said...

Good luck Nate! If he can get money from spell checking a book I am sure he will do well on his exams! Seeing the tick thing makes me wonder if I need to check my kids for them. Scary! I hope Natalie feels better soon.

Kent and Leisy said...

good luck nate! I am so scared of step one- although I don't think it can be much worse than having kent gone to training (for me anyway)! congrats on the amazon giftcards! wow- I'm impressed. and jess- sorry about natalie. I have no advice. I always try to find reasons for zeb's behavior- and then I realize it's probably just cause he's a baby and every one of his little cells is trying to multiply. It would be hard work.

Anonymous said...

Go, Nate, go! I hope the boards go smoothly for you. You're a smartie and I hear you're doing well on the practice tests and that you've prepared yourself as best you could. That test is totally nerve-wracking, but I'm sure it'll feel great to have it over with! :)

I'm a wee bit jealous of you, Jess, because you'll have your husband back sooner than I will! Scott has another few weeks of studying ahead of him. Enjoy the month off before 3rd year. :)

Ellie said...

We wish you the best the of LUCK!

Jess- our girls are actually really close in age and funny you mentioned this on your blog b/c I was just about to blog it myself. Bobble is going through the EXACT same thing to a T. She wakes up like every hour after midnight and just screams and the day is just as bad sometimes. So I am actually feeling some comfort in reading that Natalie is doing the same thing. Good Luck to you too. Hopefully is ends sooner than later right. =)

Annie said...

I'm slow on my comment but we have been thinking about Nate! I will never forget how stressful it is to take that test and how nervous I was. It will be so great to have it over with and Nate is so bright he'll do great.
You have now made me check my child daily to see if there are any nasty ticks on her! I can't believe it.
Teething is the worst. Julia used to get diaper rash so bad. I hope that it passes quickly.

Steve and Steph said...

I am sure Nate will do great. Good Luck! I hope Natalie starts to feel better. That is so hard when your kid is sick. It makes everyones lives hard.

kiki comin said...

we thought about you, nate..and you too, jess, cuz heaven knows these tests are just as hard on the spouse! and i think natalies problem is that she hasn't been around me lately to let her drink her milk like she wants to!:)haha.i hope she feels better fast!