Little Boys/ Kyle 17 months

These little guys are good buddies.
They are busy little boys for sure!

Kyle is definitely a toddler now, and
he is able to participate in most of the activities
we do throughout the week, which is fun.

Mr. Kyle is still a demanding little bugger....

 (he has decided he HATES oatmeal and was loudly protesting
his breakfast in his photo - this was before I realized what he was protesting)

Thankfully, I have noticed a a shift in his demeanor
in the past two weeks, after introducing the "baby jail."

I started this out of desperation.
I seriously couldn't put him down for more than 10 seconds, all day long, for
months on end, without him screaming hysterically.

Worse than that, he often screamed hysterically when I was holding him.
Why?  I do not know.

I'm sorry baby, but your mom does NOT have enough patience to deal
with that anymore.

So, because I got to a point where I felt like screaming or crying all day long,
I decided to bring up the pack n' play and put him in there 3-4 times a day,
so I could do things like, wipe down counters, pack lunches, dishes, etc. without
a 25 pound grump in my arms.

Shockingly, Kyle likes his baby jail!!
At times he will even request to go in there!
We have 2-3 "plugs" and a few favorite toys in there, nothing else.
During the past 2-3 weeks, I've been putting him in there
2-3 times a day and for the most part, I feel like my
life is sooooo much better now.

In addition to the baby jail time, he also just seems somewhat happier.
He went happily to our babysitter yesterday, for the first time since she started in October.
He is very playful and fun, when you are able to play one on one with him.
He loves music and sings back almost any pattern to you, which is very cute.
He is a verbal baby and has a LOT to say.

Anyway, we are plugging away over here.
I am thankful for my four kids, even if I end (and sometimes begin)
each day feeling quite exhausted.

Recertification Exam

Last week, I had to retake my PA board exam.  Since graduating in 2003, I have taken it every 6 years (so this was round 3).  The PA boards are primary care focused.  This time you could pick to have a concentration in primary care, internal medicine, or surgery.  Since I have spent most of my career in GI (a subspeciality of Internal Medicine), I picked internal medicine.

No matter what area you pick, 60% of the exam is the same for everyone.  Which means, I needed to be up to date on neurology, cardiology, infectious disease, orthopedics, dermatology, respiratory, pediatrics, etc.  Yikes!!

For the first time ever, I decided to take a board review course.  In the past I had always just studied on my own, but with four kids, a husband, and working close to 20 hours a week, finding time to study at home wasn't going to happen. 

5 of my classmates decided to do the same thing, so we met in Chicago for a 3 day board review course.  This was Friday-Sunday and consisted of 11 hours of lecture a day, followed by a 2 hour exam. 

Monday, I flew back to DC.  Tuesday I took my exam.  Thankfully, I found out today I passed.  Yahoo!  I wasn't overly worried as I've never been close to failing, but it seems like they make the board exams tough enough that no one leaves feeling overly confident. 

They are now also switching to 10 year cycles, so my next board exam will be in 2025. 
I still have to get 100 hours of CME every two years (1 hour a week basically) but that is no big deal! 

I do love my career and am proud to be part of a profession that values staying board certified and up to date.

We had such a wonderful class and getting together is 

a lot of fun!

Pictured is Laurie, Amy, Robyn, Jaime, Adam, Me

Home Sweet Home

We spent last week in Wisconsin.
It was a really fun trip.  We were able to see a lot of people but at the same time it felt relaxing.

Kyle is sooo clingy right now, but he warmed up quickly to Grandma Kay and she was happy to entertain him for me.   As for Papa?! or Kevin?? or Packer Backer??  No WAY baby Kyle was going anywhere near those scary guys.  Even Aunt Feifei has dissed for the most part.   Oh baby Kyle!

We spent one sleepless night in a hotel up by BWI.  Our flight was very early, so I thought it would be easier if we didn't have to leave the house at 3:45 AM.  It was easier and the big 3 kids slept great.  Kyle, Victor, and I were up from 2:30 AM on though.  Oh well!

Mom met us at the airport.  We loaded her car up with kids, then went and got a rental car.   Victor, Carson, and I headed to Verona for a night (mom and the other three went home). 

Uncle Colin and my good friend Nicki live in Verona.  It was a fun visit!  During the day, we let the kids play.  Colin  came over for dinner and to play games that evening.   The next day, Colin gave us a 2 hour tour of Epic's campus.  Talk about amazing!!  Epic is a electronic medical record company and it's office space resembles an amusement park.    We walked for 2 hours and still only covered about 60% of the campus. 

On our way from Verona to Plymouth, we stopped in Waukesha for a quick visit with the Burie family.  They have 4 kids now too!  It was fun to meet baby Will and catch up a bit.   We still miss our Wisconsin friends 7.5 years after moving to the east coast.

The rest of the week we were in Wisconsin.  I was able to spend some time with my high school friend Katie and the Scherer family (Allison, Hannah, and Cailin were all home which was very nice!).

Aunt Feifei flew up for a long weekend too.  Our trips overlapped by about 24 hours!  It was nice to see her again.  I am so very thankful she is part of our family. 

The kids were thrilled to spend the week with grandparents.  Erik was outside as much as possible - hiking through the woods, shooting a BB gun, ice skating, and (on the last morning) sledding!  Dad said he watched him skip up the hill dragging the sled behind him.  ;)

Erik LOVES Wisconsin.  He and my Dad are best buds.  Unless you are outside, you won't see much of them when we are home. 

The other kids, stayed inside most of the time (aside from sledding).   Mom filled that time with reading, cookie decorating, arts and crafts, nail painting.  Lucky lucky kids!

Excellent food was enjoyed 3 times a day, thanks to much prep work done by mom.

We all had a nice trip.  Erik looked at me with a forlorn look on his face as we were boarding the plane and said, " Mom, why can't we just live in Wisconsin?"  

Someday, baby, if Nicki and your grandparents have their way.  Haha!

(It was 50 degrees out here today, 68 degrees yesterday - won't break zero in Wisconsin for a week.) We'd be back in Wisconsin in a heartbeat, if good jobs were found in addition to a promise of mild winters for the next 20 years.  

 Sleepless night in the hotel - with flat Gingy

 Charlie - 4.5

Carson 3.5

Carrie -2

 An epic tour of Epic

 Fun with Katie's family

 Brooke - almost 10 

Erik - 7

 Kids lined up by height

 Kids lined up by age

9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1