You've got me feeling like a child now." That's right, Mom, I am talking to you. My mom has been chastising me about not knowing what's going on in my life because I haven't posted anything to my blog in, well, about a year. It's not my fault she's the only person in the universe that doesn't pay attention to facebook. If she had been paying attention there, she might have seen posts like this:

First day in the office today. It's totally surreal. We will start seeing patients in a couple of weeks. (Mon, 09 Aug 2010 22:36:59 GMT)
At the salon using my Groupon for a Brazilian Blowout. Getting a cut and color too! It's been a long time since I did this for myself. Yay! (Thu, 12 Aug 2010 15:13:03 GMT)
Chad and I were married 14 years ago today! (Tue, 17 Aug 2010 10:34:57 GMT)
I was at the office way too late painting support boards for x-ray equipment. I'm beat. (Wed, 01 Sep 2010 03:09:27 GMT)
A couple of less than stellar plays (I am looking at you Shaky Smithson), a questionable goal line false start penalty, and an end zone pick to start. Still, Utes are up 14-7 at the half. Go Utes! Stomp Pitt! Let's give 'em a little Fiesta Bowl reminder! (Fri, 03 Sep 2010 02:07:31 GMT)
Mockingjay = monumental disappointment. Hunger Games was a great book. Catching Fire was a bridge to get you to the end. I had high hopes, but they were not realized. (Sun, 12 Sep 2010 00:35:49 GMT)
Feeling a great sense of accomplishment today. I got a lot of things finished or moved them along in the process. I might actually get to rest, relax, have fun, and enjoy this weekend. (Fri, 17 Sep 2010 00:20:15 GMT)
Riding the slopes, listening to Christmas music at Blizzard Beach. (Sat, 18 Sep 2010 16:03:38 GMT)
Woken up by the fire alarm this morning. Perhaps the jerkwad in the apartment above us thought that their cig was important enough to wake the entire building on the off chance that the smoke detector might detect the smoke. Hello realtor.com. Dreaming of you, my new imaginary home with no cig smoking jerkwads or dogs. (Mon, 27 Sep 2010 10:53:54 GMT)
Just watched Sugar Ray perform Fly at EPCOT. (Wed, 06 Oct 2010 21:44:03 GMT)
Not a happy Ute fan right now. C'mon! (Sat, 06 Nov 2010 20:35:36 GMT)
T minus 7 days till I'm basking on a beach in Punta Cana with my hubby! (Mon, 08 Nov 2010 16:50:05 GMT)
HeidiLamoreaux Evil Incorporated...after hours (Thu, 11 Nov 2010 23:37:44 GMT)
"Sometimes when a girl grows up and she thinks she marries a nice guy, and it turns out he is a spy." -Lexi talking about how relationships don't always work out. (Sat, 13 Nov 2010 16:16:44 GMT)
Adios a la playa de La Republica Dominicana! We had a simply amazing time! I am happy to be going home to see my kids. I missed them tremendously, but not so much that I wouldn't do it again. (Sat, 20 Nov 2010 17:23:18 GMT)
Looks like we got a house!! Closing in a few weeks. I'm walking on sunshine! (Wed, 24 Nov 2010 18:05:45 GMT)
Standard time sucks. Wake up world! (Thu, 02 Dec 2010 09:53:59 GMT)
It's ours!!! It's all ours. Keys in hand! Welcome home! (Fri, 10 Dec 2010 17:44:29 GMT)
Lexi's last day of school at Sunset Park is done. She's sad to be leaving her friends. I hope she makes new friends soon at her new school. She starts Jan 3rd. (Fri, 17 Dec 2010 22:29:03 GMT)
Once again, up early and waiting for all the action to begin. Even Ryan, whom I can normally count on for some early morning companionship is sawing logs. He'll deny he was sleeping past 6:00 on Christmas, of course, but alas. What is wrong with my husband and daughter that they want to sleep so late? And, on Christmas?? (Sat, 25 Dec 2010 11:19:57 GMT)
Moving into a new house, though awesome, is a lot of work. I could make this my full time job for the next month if I didnt already have one! (Mon, 27 Dec 2010 16:27:39 GMT)
Hates answering the phones at work. I get yelled at by a lot of people for not having things taken care of that were not my fault. (Thu, 06 Jan 2011 18:32:47 GMT)
Today, I am the mother of a teenager! Happy 13th Birthday to my wonderful, amazing, son, Ryan. (Thu, 20 Jan 2011 11:11:31 GMT)
77 degrees with warnings for tornados! I'll skip the twisters, thankyouverymuch, but would like to keep it steadily in the high 70's for a while. (Tue, 25 Jan 2011 20:51:34 GMT)
For the record, I can still best my 13-year-old in friendly competitions of arm wrestling (barely) and thumb wars. (Wed, 26 Jan 2011 12:35:35 GMT)
From my 6-year-old daughter: "Sammy is definitely my friend now. I drew her a picture of us that said 'Friend Request' on it, and she accepted it." (Wed, 02 Feb 2011 11:49:36 GMT)
At the baseball field for skills assessment before the draft with Ryan. Lexi is all signed up for softball too. It'll be another fun Spring watching the kids play, running from field to field, and eating drive-thru. (Sat, 05 Feb 2011 21:33:20 GMT)
She skips everywhere she goes. Run to first base? Skip. Get your backpack? Skip? (Tue, 08 Feb 2011 23:53:09 GMT)
 My husband woke me up today with a tray of chocolate dipped strawberries. He's the best there is! Tonight I am making seared scallops with truffle risotto for dinner. What a great Valentine's Day! (Mon, 14 Feb 2011 15:23:02 GMT)
 I've had 2 sliding door repairmen out to my house to look at the problems we're having. #1 said I should call a "door company." And you are? #2 said I should just treat it like a glass wall and made the problem worse. I have now contacted the builder (sort of, builder went belly up- guy who used to work for that builder took the name & started a remodeling co. with it). Hopefully he can help me figure this out. (Thu, 03 Mar 2011 18:58:43 GMT)
Happy Birthday to my Lexi Loo! Alexia is 7 years-old today! I love you so much, Squeaker! (Wed, 09 Mar 2011 11:02:48 GMT)
I don't want to be one of those people who speaks about how sick they are on facebook in a desperate attempt to fish for sympathy. However, misery does love company. "Hi, my name is Misery." (Fri, 11 Mar 2011 17:41:38 GMT)
I am not 17 anymore. Clearly. I just tried to play outside with my kids doing standing long jumps for fun. Jumping is not what it used to be. In my elderly condition, it caused a fall and a very bruised and scraped me, with my left wrist getting the brunt of it. I hope it isn't broken. Two things here: pain and embarrassment. (Sun, 13 Mar 2011 19:38:06 GMT)
One of those weeks! Just royally screwed up. Forgot I was supposed to pick up my nephew from daycare tonight. I'm so sorry, Kim! (Fri, 18 Mar 2011 00:01:02 GMT)
Trying desperately to turn this crappy week around! I've got Grandma Hope's secret recipe for caramel dumplings on the stove. That should help! (Fri, 18 Mar 2011 21:45:33 GMT)
Playing with my shiny new 64GB toy. (Wed, 23 Mar 2011 01:46:45 GMT)
Orthopaedic Coding and Billing Workshop today and tomorrow. Save me! (Fri, 25 Mar 2011 15:58:02 GMT)
Getting ready to have family pictures taken by Michelle Yates Heaps. I hope we get some good shots! (Sun, 27 Mar 2011 17:02:18 GMT)
Packing for our cruise! Passports? Check! Zofran? Check! Scopolamine patches? Check! What's a big adhesive allergy if it can prevent seasickness? Here's hoping, for my family's sake this cruise goes better than my last (honeymoon), so that we might get to do it again. (Wed, 30 Mar 2011 15:01:33 GMT)
Bon voyage! And, also, blllleeeeeehhhhh, why does everything feel so blllllleeeeeehhhhh and rocky? We'll see if I catch a flight home from Mexico. Bye bye internet, I will miss you! (Thu, 31 Mar 2011 21:51:31 GMT)
Ooooh! Pretty blinds are going up on my bedroom windows. Hooray for darkness at night, privacy, and lower air conditioning costs! (Tue, 05 Apr 2011 14:19:04 GMT)
Getting ready for the torture of working out. I am attempting to train my body to "run" a 5K. At the end of week two, and still hating every minute of it. If you see on the news that a woman in Florida's heart exploded, that'd be me. (Fri, 15 Apr 2011 12:37:33 GMT)
Did some walking/jogging this morning. ON A WEEKEND! I can feel your shock and awe now. (Sun, 17 Apr 2011 16:27:12 GMT)
Do any of my friends have a printable Hobby Lobby 40% off one item coupon that is good today that you could e-mail? Their website is down, and I was hoping to head there ASAP for an Easter gift. (Fri, 22 Apr 2011 15:01:14 GMT)
Did 2.5 miles today in 36 minutes. I am going farther and faster believe it or not! I jogged almost half of it! (Wed, 27 Apr 2011 15:08:04 GMT)
Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes! I got a pedicure with a friend and had lunch with her. Now, I'm out to a birthday dinner with my favorite people in the world - my husband and kids! I feel lucky and wonderful today to have such great friends and family! Facebook really is the best on your birthday! (Thu, 05 May 2011 22:46:45 GMT)
I am teaching my daughter to play "Hand and Foot" which is my favorite card game ever. First round - Mom and Lexi = 2445, Dad and Ryan = 100. Oh yeah! (Sat, 14 May 2011 16:12:45 GMT)
2 miles walked/ran today at a pace of 14:09/mile. That's down from 15:34/mile when I first started keeping track at the end of April. I am slowly building up my distance that I can continuously run. (Tue, 17 May 2011 12:20:52 GMT)
Getting ready to go workout (run/walk), and no, I am not looking forward to it. I'm still not sold on it being good for me. What if we only get so many heartbeats, and I am using them all up? I also have not yet been chased by a bear or any other wild animals. I have, however, felt like my heart was going to explode and that I was going to keel over dead. Explain this to me? (Thu, 19 May 2011 11:43:51 GMT)
Spent the afternoon with new friends and neighbors out on their boat on the lake. We did some tubing where Ryan and I caught some air and Alexia flipped off backward, but she smiled and giggled and wanted more. Can't wait to get our boat on the water! We came in and had some homemade chocolate cake batter ice cream! Now to clean for company and study. (Sat, 28 May 2011 22:32:32 GMT)
Just FYI, sponges are super jealous of the way I can retain some water. I have a little Mongolian Beef for dinner last night, and this morning after my run, my fingers are like sausages. I just thought you all needed to know this, and that's how I roll. (Fri, 03 Jun 2011 16:17:49 GMT)
I-4 is the smallest, stupidest freeway in a major metro ever. Accidents suck, and Chad is still on call. I've gone maybe a quarter of a mile in a half hour. (Mon, 06 Jun 2011 16:02:04 GMT)
It's the last day of school! Hip, hip, hooray! I do want to know why Phineas and Ferb get 104 days though, and we have to go back in August. (Wed, 08 Jun 2011 12:21:06 GMT)
Sad to have dropped a good friend at the airport. Come back for good, Kris Hanson, come back! Don't worry, I'll send you listings for houses to rent/buy. (Fri, 10 Jun 2011 12:23:57 GMT)
Just saw the best bumper sticker - "Republicans for Voldemort." (Sat, 11 Jun 2011 15:14:10 GMT)
A mile run at this altitude and on a treadmill is so different than running around the pond at my house. Normally, I would do at least 2 miles, but my feet hurt without my favorite running shoes. Oh well, home Saturday. Now to plan where to eat and stay in Vegas for one night. (Thu, 23 Jun 2011 18:45:40 GMT)
Attention all foodie friends, prepare your jealousy now. Reservations tonight are at Hubert Keller's Fleur. (Fri, 24 Jun 2011 22:56:55 GMT)
So proud of NY today! Let's keep it going America! (Sat, 25 Jun 2011 17:35:18 GMT)
Starving! I'm fasting for bloodwork, and I've been waiting for the doctor for an hour. I hope my HDL is up. I've been exercising, so it oughta be! Total cholesterol has always been good. (Tue, 28 Jun 2011 16:38:43 GMT)

So, Mom, if you had been paying attention, you'd see all those little everyday tidbits about me.  You'd know that I saw a bumper sticker that I found amusing, and you'd know that sometimes I say random things that might not make sense to anyone but me.  Well, that part you might have known already. 

I get it.  There isn't a lot of substance in the posts.  Maybe, just maybe, I'm just not that substantive a person?  Or maybe, like a lot of people, I fall victim to the trap of forgoing real communication and rationalizations that a snapshot of edited content will suffice.  Maybe that works for old high school friends who wouldn't have cared where I was or what I was doing without facebook, but I understand, reluctantly, why it doesn't work for Mom.

So, Mom, you know all the big stuff that happened this year anyway.  For everyone else, let me sum up.  Buttercup is marry Humperdink in little less then half an hour.  Oh, wait.  Wrong movie. 

Chad is working at his practice.  It's going pretty well.  Being finished with training ROCKS, and even though it's still a job and a lot of work, the grass is definitely greener on this side of the fence.  It's like you've been slowly boiling a piece of your soul in putrid acid lava sewage for 10 years - you've been in the pit of despair and had your life sucked away, and now you get to escape into the fire swamp. You can make a nice home there.  You just have to watch out for the flame spurt (trauma call), the lightning sand (bleeding money), and the rodents of unusual size (insurance companies). 

We are living in our dream house, and I love it here in Orlando.  It was really nice this winter enjoying all the warmth and sunshine while most of the rest of the United States was buried in a never-ending winter.  The kids are pretty settled in here and liking their new schools and friends.  It feels like home.  I have started back to school to hopefully be a PA in a few years.  I'm exercising and attempting to get healthy. 

Now for some pictures!

I haven't blogged for the entire summer. I guess I took a blogging summer vacation. It wasn't intentional, and there were many times I thought that I should update my blog. Every time I thought about starting, the prospect of it seemed overwhelming. There has just been so much going on in the last three months! Therefore and hence, I procrastinated doing this and updating this blog at all. This leads to, of course, a rather long explanation of what has been going on in the hiatus and probably some gaps too. Buckle up. Keep your arms and legs inside the coaster at all times.


The Family:

We came back together as a family unit, living under one roof, for the first time in almost a year on the 25th of June. We had a lot of catching up to do on family time. This is reason #1 for the blog getting the back burner. It has been fantastic having Chad with us again. Sure, I miss having the bed all to myself, the general earlier schedule of the household, and not having to make Mexican food without beans, but having him home trumps all of that in spades.

Soon after Chad joined us in Florida, we moved from our temporary landing place in Lakeland to Orlando. We moved into a three-bedroom apartment right next to Disney World. I would guess that 1/3 of the residents in this complex work at Disney. We see them frequently in their outfits. "That guy must work at Mission Space or Space Mountain - something spacey." I guess that we will know all of the outfits soon enough. We just got annual passes to the parks. The kids are very excited, and us big kids aren't exactly bummed about it either. So, friends, if you are planning a trip to see the Mouse, let me know, and I'll meet you at the Tower of Terror or the Teacups! I don't know how long we will be in this apartment. We are hoping to be able to get a house soon, but we don't know how long it will be. Maybe 9 months. Maybe 2 years. We want to keep our kids in the same schools. This is especially true for Ryan.

Just after the move, the kids went on vacation to Utah to spend some time with their extended families. They had a great time, but Chad and I missed them terribly. We have such amazing kids. It's hard to share! The kids went camping, to amusement parks, to the water park, and spent some time hanging out with their grandparents and cousins. I was glad to have them back when they got home.


The Business:

One of the main things we have been focusing on this summer was starting our orthopaedic practice. I say our, because Chad and I own it together. He's the physician. I'm the business manager, medical assistant, and all-around get-it-done girl. It's strange being at work all day away from home for the first time in over a decade, but it's fullfilling too. I am enjoying myself, for the most part, and it is nice to be able to see my husband so much. It turns out that I really like him. I know, right? It really was residency that was the root of all evil. We have started seeing patients already. There is still so much to be done (can we get the x-ray installed already?) and a lot of little tweaks and streamlining to be accomplished, but overall, it is coming along. It is rewarding, too. This business is all ours. We are in it together. Our way! Making our dreams come true! We're gonna make it after all! (Yes, I am singing old t.v. themes in my head right now.)



Chad:

Chad finished his pediatric orthopaedics clinical fellowship in June. He sat for the boards in the first part of July. We are anxiously awaiting the passing result (I know he passed - forgone conculsion) that will be coming in the next few weeks. He is enjoying work and is excited to get back into the O.R. He has his first case scheduled for Thursday, but he is on call tonight and for the rest of the month, so anything could happen and require him to be in the O.R. before then. Call is a bit different here than in residency though! He's only been on one night for me to base that on, but I feel pretty confident that it's a different ball of wax entirely. He got called in once the entire day/night! He fixed an injury in the emergency room and was still able to join us for dinner. Weird. All other orthopaedic stuff that came in was referred to his office for follow-up care. Just bizzare in a totally great way.


Ryan:

Today was Ryan's first day of 7th grade in his new school. I was worried. Last year did not go well for him. He never felt like he fit in and didn't make any real friends at his old school. I hoped that it was only the school and not the general arena of middle school. Middle school sucks. Let's just get that out of the way. Has anyone, ever, in history enjoyed middle school? No?! That's because it sucks.

After Ryan got home from school today and told me about his day, I cried. I cried, and I had to leave the room. I cried TEARS OF JOY!!! He had almost nothing but positive things to say about his school, his teachers, his classes, the kids, etc. He said it was 100 times better than his old school in every way. He said that everyone was friendlier and more helpful. He made a friend on the bus on the way TO school. Minute one was better than all of last year. They bonded instantly over the Xbox. His new friend lives in our apartment complex. I could not be more thrilled. I hope this continues to build into a great friendship for Ryan.

His schedule this year is:

Advanced Language Arts
Advanced Piano
Gifted Social Studies
Science Olympiad
Intoduction to Guitar
Algebra I Honors
Advanced Science

He has the same teacher for both his guitar and piano classes. The teacher he has for two periods a day? His favorite teacher! This teacher found out that Ryan was new to the school and showed him around, how to get through the lunch line, and introduced him to some students for him to sit with and talk to at lunch.

I hope it continues on like this. My son came home from school smiling, happy, and joking around. There was no sign of a morose, sullen, moody kid to be found. Please let this last!


Alexia:

Alexia began the first grade in her usual fashion. She had a great day and has two new friends. She can't remember one of the girl's names, but she lives in our apartment complex, rides the bus with Alexia, and is in her class. YAY! She also met another girl whom Alexia described as a "magic friend." They met, and they were instantly friends, just like magic. Lexi also likes her teacher and told me that she was "nicer than I thought she was going to be." She is in the gifted class for her grade. All of the gifted students for first grade are in her class, but not all of the students in her class are gifted. I believe there are 17 kids in her class.


Time to adjourn this blog post. I have many forms to fill out in preparation for tomorrow. I hope that my next post won't take me three months to put together too.

I just got home from dropping Chad off at the airport. This will be his last visit home until he is here for good in three weeks. We spent the day going through Ryan's things. We are having to move into a rather small apartment for a while, and don't have room for a lot of extras.

Ryan was rather emotional about it all. He didn't want to get rid of a good number of things that I don't really see him play with anymore, but he wasn't quite ready to leave behind either. There were quite a number of things that we were able to put in a donate pile, but his younger sister was much more stoic about the process when we went through her things a few weeks ago.

We also went through his clothes. That sucked. It made me realize how little he has that fits him anymore. What size does a boy go to when he is out of size 16 pants? That's the size he needs now, and the 14's just aren't cutting it anymore, even for shorts. The XL boys shirts are also bordering on too small, and I think he is going to be in the Men's Department for not only shoes, but all clothes, before too long. He already has some Men's small t-shirts, but I am lost on the pants. Do I need to measure his waist and inseam? Poor boy. I got him some new sneakers - 8.5 wide Men's. They are nice, Sketcher's, and I got them for a pretty good price. He claims that all the boys at his school have 4 or 5 pairs of Jordan's. Sorry buddy, I like things like food and electricity too much for Jordan's. At the same time, I remember the pressure of middle school fashions and wanting desperately to have Girbaud and Guess jeans like all the other kids and being hotly embarrased by my Lee's.

After going through his closet, Chad looks under his bed and finds Ryan's "stash." No, not drugs, stolen goods, or anything of that nature, but food. Empty bags of chips, a dirty bowl, a spoon, several empty soda cans, and wrappers for various snacks. I swear, I feed him every night, and three meals on weekends! There is a rule in our house about not eating anywhere except the kitchen, and he knows this. I immediately remind him of the rule and the consequences for breaking it when he breaks down about how he "never does anything right." His self worth seems so low. Right now in his classes, he is getting two B's. I guess for a child who won the Principal's award and has a 4.0 grade point average, this amounts to high treason. I spent the next hour trying to console a crying 12-year-old and telling him how much I love him and his never-ending list of remarkable qualities. I tell him that he is not only highly intelligent, but thoughtful, kind, empathetic, athletic, talented, and a better son than any mother could ever hope for. He is a fantastic older brother and consistently amazes me every day with his protective and loving way toward her.

I am trying to compose myself, because I am telling him all of these things through my tears. I tell him that I will always love him no matter what. No matter what mistakes he makes, I will love him fiercely, and I will always have his back. He does not need to be perfect. He just needs to be himself, and that is enough for me. If he fails his classes, I might be disappointed, but I would not love him any less than if he were to grow up to cure cancer or be the President of the United States. I hug him, and he seems to be feeling a bit better. I love him for his sensitivity too, as I am also very tender hearted, but my God, it is maddening. When I was a little girl, I am told that I was called "Tender Heart." To this, I replied, "Yup, I am tender like a steak." After the talking, we go into the kitchen to play a card game before we have to take Chad back to the airport.

Alexia is astute too, and she comes into the room some time later with the best thing she knows to do. She gives Ryan a drawing. On it, are stick figures of him and her holding hands with a heart between them. The words, "I love you" are scrawled inside the heart. Of course, I begin to weep again and Ryan does as well.

Parenting is HARD. Even if your kids are so good, parenting is hard. I am spent.

I listened to the audio book of The Hunger Games this weekend, and I really liked it. I put it on Ryan's iPod for him to listen to next. I think he'll like it too. I have just downloaded the second book, Catching Fire, and I think I may start it tonight. Or, I may just close my eyes and sleep.

Three more days of school. My mom and one of my very good friends are both having surgery on Wednesday as well (also my mom's birthday - she said it was as good a day as any to have the surgery done). Both live far enough away that there isn't anything I can do for them, and they are both having minor, similar procedures, but I wish I could still be there for them. My mom is in Utah and my friend is in Minnesota. Other than that, this week I need to go through my clothes and the garage to pare down as much as I can. Fun stuff.

More on all the craziness going on in our lives later.  For now, I just want to show you all how Ryan did in his piano concert tonight.

Last week I was confident about going back to school to become a PA.  Now, I am waffling again.  Chad is talking about opening his own medical practice and having me help him run it.  I stay at home with the kids now, and I am constantly busy as it is.  Can I really add going back to school and pursuing a demanding career on top of that?  Why do I want to?  Do I want to?  Is it some societal or perceived pressure that I feel that now that my kids are in school I should be working?

I made this decision once before.  I chose not to go to medical school so that I could be primarily a parent to Ryan while Chad went through medical school.  At the time, I had no idea where my life would lead me.  I had no idea that residency would be as demanding as it was.  Now, the idea of going to medical school sounds okay, but doing a residency?  No.  Also, Chad was able to go to medical school where he got in, and match in residency where the computer sent him.  Whatever path I choose, it will be more restrictive because the kids and his career will always come first, and I will never be able to pursue what I want to pursue full-throttle.  Chad always had me here.  He has never had to worry about getting the kids to the pediatrician or baseball practice or band concerts.  He has never had to worry about location for his job or school, knowing that I would move wherever I had to.  Clearly, I already have.  How is any of that going to change now that he is going into practice?  "Oh, sorry, Mr. Smith.  I'd love to sew up your hip wound, but I'm running late.  I need to pick up my daughter from ballet.  My wife has a microbiology final."  The scenarios are endless.  Kids get sick at school, teacher work days, summer vacation, and so on.   The bottom line is, he cannot support me in my pursuit of a career the way or to the degree that I supported him no matter how much he may want to or I may want him to.

I keep coming up with con after con about going back to school and eventually to work.  I am having a hard time coming up with many pros.  Why, then, do I still want to?  It doesn't make a lot of sense to me, rationally or emotionally.  I think I'll start slow.  I'll sign up for a class or two and see how it works out.  All I can do is put on my big girl panties and make the grown up decision to decide what and who I want to be.

Let's start with Ryan.  Ryan is doing well.  He just switched out of P.E. and into reading, which he tested out of in the beginning of the year.  P.E. was not going well for him with a bunch of bullies and thugs and an uncaring, unobservant coach/teacher.  I am glad to have him out of that environment.  They cap the number of electives a kid can take at three, and since Ryan was already taking three, back into reading he goes.  My son, who loves sports, is happy to be getting out of P.E. and into reading, if that tells you anything.  He caught up on their latest reading book, "Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief", last night.  I haven't read the book yet.  I wonder if it is any good?

Ryan also got contact lenses over spring break.  He definitely looks different without his glasses.  I will post a picture later with his new look.  He is hard to pin down for pictures.  He can see better with the contacts than he could with his glasses, and he did need a new prescription anyway.  It will be nice for him when he is playing sports not to have to worry about his glasses.  He is happy with his contacts, though, and I wonder if we should have made the switch before now.  Next on the list: braces!

Alexia is just plowing away, happy through life.  She likes to get on her computer and Skype with her grandparents.  She already knows a lot about computers for a six-year-old.  Yesterday, I got an e-mail from Moxiegirls.com informing me that my daughter had registered on their website.  I had assumed that Chad helped her with the registration, but nope!  She did it all on her own.

Chad managed to get his Florida medical license after all.  We thought it would take until June, but it showed up the last day of March, all the same.  I wish we would have known about it sooner, and maybe we wouldn't have to be doing another three-month separation, but I am glad he has it, and it is another hurdle down.  It was so nice to have him here for a week and to feel like I had a parter and co-parent for a little while.

I am thinking, no planning on going back to school this fall with the intention of eventually going to PA school.  I hope it works out and that I have some brains left after over a decade of inactivity.  I just have to figure out where to go, what classes to take, and all that jazz.  Wish me luck.

It is over!!!! It is finally over!!! Holy shit and hallelujah!! There have been a lot of times, including yesterday, over the past one and a half years that I didn't think we would ever make it to this day. I have been building it up and waiting for this day for so long, and I feel... I don't know.

How's that? I don't know. I feel still scared. I feel anxious. I feel overwhelmed. I feel relieved (a little).

The end is here, and it is a bit anti-climactic. I mean, I didn't expect the heavens to open up and strangers to burst into chorus, but I guess I expected to feel something different than I am. Maybe it just hasn't hit me yet?

For the next three months, Chad will be at the Greenville Shriner's Hospital. He has accepted a position as a clinical fellow, and will have a mini orthopaedic pediatrics fellowship to add to his resume. The money isn't a whole lot better than he was making as a resident, and he gets NO benefits, BUT he will be employed!! It means three more months of separation and being a single parent though.
The three hurdles we have left:

1. Being certified to sit for his written board exam in July, taking those, and passing.  
2. Signing a contract for his attending job. Hopefully soon.  
3. Getting his Florida license.  

Residency was brutal and hellish beyond imagination, but I have survived. Yesterday, I posted on my facebook page an excerpt from The Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll.

"And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?
  Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'
  He chortled in his joy.

Residency was the Jabberwock, and it has been slain.  It got it's bites and scratches in that festered and infected and nearly killed, but it has been overcome.