Farewell to 2005

Highlights of our year.

Will. He began the year crawling in onesies and ended the year walking in Big Boy clothes. We find new ways to be proud everyday while we learn that parenting is truly a difficult and challenging adventure full of fear, heartache, love, and trust.

Family. We watched both of our syblings marry wonderful people. I had the pleasure of performing my brother and sister-in-law's wedding ceremony. We (unexpectedly) spent many weeks of time with family in the fall.

Friends. We visited and were visited by many. Wyatt and Eli for Mardi Gras. Randy and Katherine, Robin and Dave, Dave and Shelley, Paul during a visit to Northern Virginia. Niki, who judged a dance competition in New Orleans last winter. Millard, Violet, Scott, Bethany, Evie, Adam and Jodi and other Michigan friends in Ann Arbor. Both families during the summer weddings. Gwen, Mario, and Gwen's Dad in St. Simon's in the fall. Paul's family in Duck. My girlfriends Christie, David, Steph and Mike in NC. We had the joy of exposing Will to so many people that we care about and hope that he can group up learning from as we have.

Health. I struggled with bacterial pneumonia and signed my first AMA release from medical care. I became pregnant a second time with little trying.

Home. We learned what it means to miss New Orleans. We watched the city we live in drown and felt our hearts ache for the continued ignorance and arrogance of those around us. We can better understand the nature of disaster, having lived for days with questions of whether we would have a place to return home. Luck is something we do not take for granted. Home is something that we look to for people, not things.

Work. Paul continues to enrich our lives with a flexible job that gives him pleasure and allows us to be an incredibly family. I managed to continue to work through the disaster, sought out mentorship, took comprehensive exams, passed them, and became a candidate for a doctoral degree. We somehow have figured out how to both have fulfilling and important careers without long commutes or inflexible demands that give us the ability to spend time each day as a family.

During our drive from New Orleans to Mobile tonight, we talked about the last year and the ones ahead. We talked out some financial concerns, tried to consider other places we could see ourselves living, the kind of lifestyle we wanted, places and things of importance. We are nervous about the tremendousness of the house project we want to take on in the early spring. We are excited about the birth of a second child. We still can't believe that we leave for Lima in only 3 more days. In short, we are humbled by the year ahead of us and cannot wait to face it together.

Back to projects!

Tomorrow we head back to The Big Easy to wrap up the final projects on the house before we take off. Remember the door? Those days of stripping and staining in the innocence of life before Katrina? Before we left for Mobile for the holiday, Paul managed to hang the one door that was actually finished. We think it turned out pretty nifty.

Bellingrath Christmas

The day after Christmas, we took in the Christmas lights display at Bellingrath Gardens. The display covers several acres of beautiful gardens which turn into a walking tour through holiday lights and music. It was very beautiful! Will stayed alert through the tour and did a great job of narrating ("Santa Claus" "train" "flower" et cetera.)














All of us (minus Skip, our photographer) at the start of the light display.














Lights down the hillside and over a running stream and lakebed.













Flowers were also blooming along various parts of the gardens. Here, the wading pool is lit up with mist rising from the water. It was very beautiful!














Walking through an open part of the gardens.















Emily and Skip in the greenhouses. They had a wonderful collection of blooming orchids!

More Bellingrath!

Geocaching: Post-Christmas Fun

The day after Christmas, Paul and I took Emily and Skip geocaching! We enjoyed a gorgeous almost 70-degree day and sought out 3 caches (two with hints and information -- one with only the GPS that we later discovered had not been found by anyone in a few months.) We had a great time and feel assured that the addiction is spreading!

Can you find the cache?
Skip at his first find!
Skip opens up the cache!

Christmas 2005

The recap:
- Will and I arrived in Mobile the weekend before to allow Paul "quiet time" at home (aka: unlimited evening hours for using power tools)
- I daytripped to New Orleans on Wednesday, packed up, cleaned out closets, had a great lunch at local favorite Frankie and Johnnie's with Paul, and the two of us returned to NOLA Wednesday night.
- Thursday was our all day trip to Pensacola for our prenatal visit. (20 weeks, 6 days; total weight gain ~12 pounds; BP 104/58; Baby's HR: ~150) Ultrasound looked good and it's a girl!
- Enjoyed wonderful Christmas Eve dinner at Felix's Fish Camp on Mobile Bay. Skip and Emily arrived late Saturday night.
- We managed to keep Will away from presents (a miracle) until well into the morning. We started presents after a wonderful mid-morning brunch, opened for about an hour or so, took a break for "Will's" nap, and then opened the last bits in the late afternoon. Will provided assistance with all unwrapping -- hence we still are guessing the intended "from" and "to" on many of the gifts. Paul made veggie pot pie for dinner!
- Granna and PapPap gave Will a Geotrax train set. After seeing PapPap's excitement over it, we now know what to get PapPap for Christmas next year. All of the Boys have taken turns routing the track in different patterns. This has been a necessary task as Will promptly destroys the track after watching the train take a few loops.
- Paul and I enjoyed many generous presents to help us for our upcoming trip. Travel books, novels by Peruvian authors, and financial contributions! We hope that these will help us enjoy some side trips outside of Lima.
- Paul and Skip opened power tools (Paul: framing nail gun, 8' step ladder, driver set, level; Skip: miter saw, tool belt). Emily and I opened kitchen tools (Emily: knife set; Me: Natucket Basket mugs)
- The cats enjoyed the lack of presents and quickly retook their chosen sleep positions nestled in the skirt around the tree.
- Pictures are below!Will plays Christmas morning.


Christmas brunch!
Christmas morning -- before the "unbridled avarice" of opening presents! (Extra points, if, like our family, you've seen "A Christmas Story" so many times that you can quote any line in the film and instantly recognize the reference!)
Will "helps" Aunt Emily open up a present.

Will opens his very special gift from PapPap... his own kid-size 9-iron.
Uncle Skip, PapPap and Will play with the Geotrax train, Christmas afternoon.
Will opens his tiger flashlight -- the light is in his mouth and it roars when you open it!
Paul opens his framing nail gun. (Skip took this picture -- that is why I actually am in it!)
Will and Uncle Skip run the train (the control is in Will's hand.)

Current Frustrations

Mail in New Orleans:
-- For those who have sent stuff only to have it returned or lost, I finally deciphered the code. Only first class mail gets through. All media mail, flyers, periodicals, and other are returned to sender. If you'd like us to receive something that isn't first class mail, send it to my parents' house in Mobile (email me for the address).

Comps:
-- Today marks three weeks post-comps. Still no word. I've been in contact with everyone. My only clue was from Penny last week "some responses in and good" but besides that cryptic insight, I know nothing. Carl emailed last night to say that "tomorrow is the day" but it is quickly approaching 4pm with no news. A few more days and I may be getting an ulcer for Christmas.

Teeth:
-- I forgot how hard it is to have really clean teeth when pregnant. Not sure if this experience is common, but brushing and flossing is challenging... my gag reflex is so super sensitive that it takes a long time to get a clean mouth. I'm brushing or gargling a hundred times a day and still don't quite feel fresh. What is up with that?

Magic Pictures

Myself, my mother, my grandmother, and my great-grandmother are all first born girls. When I was pregnant with Will, I felt confident that I would be continuing in this tradition. I truly believed that fate would bring me a girl. When we had a 20-week ultrasound, I made grand claims that there would be "no stem on the apple" visible in the fuzzy pictures. We learned two things that day: that I was wrong and that Will was probably not going to need a sports car.

That day I learned that the knowledge of a baby's sex could be an experience in humor and humility. As a result, in this pregnancy, I have been hesitant to claim authoritative knowledge on the baby's sex. With the first pregnancy, Paul and I had a firm choice in boy's names (William, obviously) but not so firm on girl's names. This time, we are firm on girl's names (Katherine "Kate") but not so firm on boy's names (Jackson "Jack" and Charles "Charlie" are my top picks, neither one liked much by Paul, who has not had any favorites thus far.) So I have been going on the belief that because we actually have a firm name picked for a girl, it therefore had to be a girl.

Subconsciously, I've been thinking, feeling, and wanting a girl. A boy and a girl, one of each, "the complete set" as Paul calls it. Without intending to, I have been fixating on this baby being a girl. I slip up and call the baby "she". I've been checking out girl's crib linens (Will's linens are blue cars, trucks, and airplanes). I've been planning out how to do a fun gender-neutral bedroom (the kids will share a room) that has accents of both boy and girl colors. This has all been happening in secret. I have been afraid that sharing my secret thoughts would jinx me good. I know that Murphy's Law is out there and I have experienced its humbling poignancy.

So today was a big day. It turns out Murphy let me slide.

*It's a girl!*

Innocent!

I know it looks bad. There were those claims made in the 3rd grade. I even planned the heist with a cooler on the scene. But it didn't happen then, and I promise, it didn't happen now. That little penguin is hiding out at someone else's house.

Diaper Rash

Over the past 4-5 days, we have been dealing with Will's first true diaper rash. The last two days have by far been the worst. The stuff comes out of nowhere and sticks around -- particularly because, now that diaper changing hurts, Will does his best to hide his diapering needs. This morning saw our first sign of improvement and Will did not shed any tears during the two changes we've had today. Our choice ointment for fastest improvement: regular destin (highest percentage of zinc oxide). Choice for daily maintance? The local brand: Boudreaux's Butt Paste.

Counting

I've mentioned that Will can count to 10 without any problem. But apparently I've sold him short. With a little coaching, he actually can go on to 20. It is super cute listening to him go around the house and count things: "one, two, three, four Santa Claus!" He's not even 25 months old. I'd be thinking Doogie Howser if he weren't doing all this with his finger up his nose.

Countdown to Lima!

In the midst of our holiday madness, we are also prepping the house and ourselves for our next trip overseas. The fact that we leave in just over 2 weeks (2 weeks!) is both exciting and overwhelming. So far, we have:
- Arranged for a sub-let from a fun UK family with a precious two-year old girl and another little girl due soon!
- Have reservations in a local hotel for the night we arrive (the flight comes shortly before midnight; we'll meet the housekeeper at the house the next morning)
- Paid half our rent up front by electronically transfering money to their account in Indonesia (where they used to live!)
- Have a housekeeper (fairly standard in these parts)
- (Almost) have a nanny -- just a phone call left to confirm
- (Almost) have a private spanish tutor -- just have to arrange some logistics
- Are reading all that we can about Peru (history, culture, art, travel, etc.)

The faculty I'm working with assure me that getting an assistant (for transcription and assistance with interviews) will be no problem, so that is great. We've got a list of contacts and organizations and will brainstorm further once I'm there. The idea is that this is just an exploratory trip. I have a bunch of potential research questions to expand into a disseration... the idea is to talk about the issues and questions within the field, gather some observational data, then return home, run models from DHS and other data sources to compare, and develop a final research question and disseration topic from all of the information. Then I can write the prospectus, which sort of lays out my plans for a disseration and serves as the "background" -- sort of like the first few chapters -- and apply for formal disseration funding. Because I am interested in an academic career, it is important to me to both collect my own data for at least part of my disseration and obtain outside funding to do so. This is first step towards that end. I am excited and a bit nervous to sort of be on my own, which is what getting a doctoral level degree is all about.

Post-Holiday Party excitement

University Montessori held a holiday program tonight where all the kids gathered on the stairs in the front of the school and sang Christmas carols. It went sort of how you would expect for a pre-school presentation. Some tears, lots of blank faces, and a little singing from a few of the older kids. In other words, it was really cute. Then we were ushered inside for cookies (made by the older kids) and while we chatted with parents, Will managed to score at least 3 cookies. We captured the evening on video so no still pictures were taken until we got home.



With all those cookies, Will had some energy to expend. Insisting that his hat "stay on" he ran around the house after the squeeky ball. I managed to catch this photo in a rare moment of pause.

All tuckered out from his big night, Will rests and waits for shower time.

Binky Weaning (part II)

Our weaning method is working even better than expected! It has made going to bed something Will is excited about ("Binky time! Nite-nite, Daddy, nite-nite, Mommy!") and he completely understands how the system works. This morning, when Paul went to get Will out of his crib, Will had already put "up" his binky so that he could be lifted out of the crib to start in on morning playtime.

A bonus: his already impressive vocabulary is now growing at an alarming rate. This kid does not stop jabbering! We love it.

Will spied his hat and mittens hanging on the peg in his room and insisted on wearing them after dinner this evening. In return for our compliance, he put on a little show (I think he's singing "ee-ei-ee-ei-oo!" here.) Not that he needed them to be warm (it was 75 degrees today) -- he just wanted to have some fun! 

NYT: Death of an American City

It's a few days old now, but in the event you haven't read it, please do.

An excerpt:

"
If the rest of the nation has decided it is too expensive to give the people of New Orleans a chance at renewal, we have to tell them so. We must tell them we spent our rainy-day fund on a costly stalemate in Iraq, that we gave it away in tax cuts for wealthy families and shareholders. We must tell them America is too broke and too weak to rebuild one of its great cities.

Our nation would then look like a feeble giant indeed. But whether we admit it or not, this is our choice to make. We decide whether New Orleans lives or dies.

"

...TEN!

Have I mentioned that my 24-month old kid can count to TEN? Will was playing in the living room while I was making dinner and I was shocked to hear him rattle off the numbers to himself, several times over. Although he has yet to repeat the astounding display on command to his anxious parents, we feel assured that he does NOT require these toys in his holiday bounty.

Binky Weaning

I don't have a problem with kids and pacifiers. However, we are way past the drooling, teething stage where kids chew on everything (when the pacifier can actually prevent the spread of germs) and into the stage where most kids have outgrown their binkys. With the new baby coming, it is time to think about how to transition Will into the role of "big boy."

So, we have begun to wean Will from the binky. We had started this over the past few weeks by slowly limiting binky use, i.e.: no binky outside the house. He did great with this to the point where he was willingly turning it over to Paul before walking out the front door. With this success under our belts, we began to daytime weaning this morning. We started by explaining to Will that the binky was for use only in his crib. When he was ready to "Give the binky to his Oso" (oso is spanish for bear) he could get out of the crib. Eventually, the desire to ride his bike and play outside of the crib overcame his want of the binky and he placed it in the lap of his Oso and let it be. We did this both when he woke up in the morning and at naptime. There was one rough moment this evening when he reached into his crib, pulled out the binky, and came out of his room with it. (We explained that this was not the system, plucked the binky from his hand, and dealt with the few seconds of tears that followed.)

So, we are hoping that by the end of the week, he is totally on board and putting the binky aside after he wakes up as part of his routine. We are holding high hopes that tomorrow goes as smoothly as today.

Mardi Gras Preview

I went into our stash of Mardi Gras beads to find some strands to add to Christmas presents -- and Will had a blast "helping" in this fun activity. I kept putting beads around his neck (he kept asking "more please") and then dancing around with them, happy as can be!

Belly

Just a few days into week 19 and the belly has expanded to impressive levels. Some additions:
- Pre-pregnancy blouses that button up the front are stretching, they won't be possible much longer.
- My belly button, usually an "inn-ee," is a stretched, open O. A unique thing that I noticed first pregnancy: a flap of skin fills my belly button when I arch my back -- it only happens when pregnant and is happening again now. This may sound strange, but it is actually pretty cute.
- I have stretch marks!! Last pregnancy, I got a few on my legs and hips that faded after Will was born. With that pregnancy, I gained a ton of weight everywhere -- I expanded like a balloon... fingers, feet, face, legs, everything! This time, the weight is pretty much just on my belly (so far) and the marks are coming my sides, along my waist. They are faint pink lines right now and are sort of pretty.

On the 22nd, we go in for our next prenatal visit and an ultrasound. We are hoping to find out the baby's sex. As much of a "gender neutral" person I am, I can't stand the thought of having a baby girl lay down on Will's "planes, trains, and automobiles" sheet set. Will and the baby are going to share a room and we are excited about getting it all ready before the baby comes.

Live music in the Quarter!

We decided to go downtown to buy pralines for Christmas presents, walk around (the city is so beautiful and unique!), and get chickory at Cafe du Monde. This is one of the bands we enjoyed as we walked through the French Market -- they were playing "Hello Dolly!"

We have a fence (again)

Dad tickles Will with the cord from the compressor. (Will was way interested after Paul let the air out -- "big noise!" -- and was all over it to check it out!)

Paul puts the finishing touches on the fence. It's finally done! (And it is so above and beyond the horrible fence -- already tipping over -- that borders our other side. Yikes!) Notice the backdoor? They used interior doors as exterior doors. Hopefully by this time next year, the back of the house will be completely different! 

Will checks out Dad's handywork in the backyard.  

Friday night fun

Will, experimenting with the hairdryer.

We broke the code!!

Finally -- we have figured out how to be warm.

We had the fans on low (going "backwards" of course) to help circulate the air. This morning, Paul used the ladder to bring down some winter clothes bins from our second closets (our ceilings are so high that we have a full second closet above the first) -- and he said it was literally stifling hot after about 8-feet up. So, we put the fans on a higher setting (3 of 4) and while it did seem breezy at first (why we were using low in the first place) after about a minute -- magic! A warm room. If you stand in the corners, you can literally feel the heat pouring down from the ceiling. Finally!

How wonderful! I can only imagine how wonderful it will be once we actually have insulation and no cracks in the floors! Hooray!

Tulane's Renewal Plan

Scott Cowen, President of Tulane University, announced the renewal plan for Tulane. The basic jist is that the U lost a lot of money in the wake of the worst natural disaster in U.S. history and is scaling back on some stuff. They are cutting back athletic programs and dropping some graduate programs, focusing on those that "have demonstrated ability to be world-class and, in the sciences and engineering, have the proven ability to obtain competitively awarded grant funding". The chart outlines the current degree programs.

First signs suggest minimal disruption for our Department (International Health and Development) and very little for the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in general. (A plus for chosing a top program, I guess!) From a short message from Pierre Buekens (the Dean of the SPH&TM): "the Plan opens many new opportunities for the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. No major change is planned for any of our Departments or our teaching programs." So, no major surprises seem to be lurking on that horizon.

In fact, there are signs for opportunity. Some neat initiatives: all new and future students will be required to perform service learning in rebuilding efforts (this is in addition to the wonderful service learning that Tulane undergrads already participate in -- something that has very much impressed me about the undergrad experience here); all first and second year students will live in residence halls to rebuild the community; and (the most interesting), "our professional schools will augment their current programs to increase interaction with undergraduate students."

I am curious about how and if undergraduates will have "increased interaction" with our professional school. (FYI: "Professional School" means just graduate students. Every School I've attended post-bachelors has been a professional school.) Possibilities for teaching positions, etc? It will be interesting to see how it all falls out... especially since current faculty are already majorly strapped.

Ideas for gift giving?

Need something unique for that special someone?

Consider supporting New Orleans! Some ideas:

The "Save Nola" organization has a little shop where you can purchase gear -- 100% of proceeds go to rebuilding efforts.

Basin Street Records is a NOLA-based label representing 9 local musicians (all great: these include some of our favorites in the city). Office, staff, and homes were destroyed, so anything you buy from them helps. Also, the Putumayo "New Orleans" CD ($15 on the BSR website) is donating 100% of the revenue from this CD to New Orleans' musicians causes such as the New Orleans Musicians Clinic. (And if you order 2 CDs from BSR, you get a free compilation CD and free shipping.)

Treats are a staple of New Orleans! Send your loved ones goodies from Cafe du Monde or fresh pralines from Aunt Sally's! Keep our treasures open for sweet business!

And finally, you can reach out to your cuddly side and adopt an animal, visit the marketplace, or gift a membership to Audubon Institute (includes Zoo and Aquarium).

Plans for the back

I've noticed that when other folks talk about doing a project "themselves" it is really code for: "I hired a contractor, who hired other folks." When we say that we "did it ourselves," we really, really mean it. We are the first to point out when someone other than the two of us did something: mostly because no one (barring a few select family and friends) does a better job than we do and we are quick to notice the differences.

As of this morning, Paul announced the plan to "hit the ground running" with our renovations to the back of the house upon returning from Lima in February:

- Demo the entire back to the slab.
- Frame out new walls (hooray -- insulation on about 200 square feet!)
- Frame them out a "normal" ceiling height, 8 feet
- Build a second story on top with a peaked roof line that mimics our current roof
- Install windows and door
- New siding on new portion of house
- Move the interior doors to match up on where they need to go in the new plan
- Install a spiral staircase in our bedroom that will lead into the new section over the back of our house
- Slowly start to assemble the backrooms (master bath, his/her closets, walk-through laundry room with utility sink)
- Build the upstairs study

Considering how long it takes us to do "easy" things like paint a room, how long do you think it will take us to complete this monster? Granted, we're not trying to finish fast (unless we win the lottery, we have to take it slow in order to save enough month-to-month to buy materials) but even with a load of cash -- a year? two years? I would love to get this thing started, but I admit that it is a little overwhelming to think about all at once.

Brrrrrr!

Our bums are freezing here in the Big Easy.

Now, now. Before y'all get up in arms over the fact that it is at least 20 or more degrees warmer here than where you are (it's the mid-50s today), let me remind you of this:

With no insulation in the walls or floors, heating and cooling our house is like heating and cooling a tent. The house does not get cool when it is hot outside. Likewise, the house does not get warm when it is cold outside. We can control humidity (within reason) in the summertime, and in the winter, we can do enough to keep pipes and things from freezing. And there are some temperate spots. The hall bath, with no exterior walls and being super tiny right off the hallway (where the temperature gauge rests) is always perfect in all seasons. But as for comfort in the remaining big, open rooms with 12-foot ceilings... well, bundle up. (Plus, 50 degrees with high humidity is one heck of a lot colder than 50 degrees with low humidity... and we live just blocks from the river.)

Our options? Well, we are trying to get a crew out to put a sealant coat under the house. (We can see daylight through a bunch of floor cracks.) One day (like when we hit the lottery?) we will look into replacing all the siding on the house and putting in insulation at that time. We dream of that day. Until then, 50 degrees will feel like the North Pole.

Gross Out

So last night was another gross out. A night of searing pain in my chest was somewhat relieved when I turned my insides outside around 2am. (Was it heartburn? Ulcer? A pin from a voodoo doll? I have no idea. I can only say it was terrible and continues to be annoying.) It came on so fast and so violently that I did not make it to the lavatory.

As if that wasn't bad enough.... it was at this time that I discovered someone else was having a rough night. Scout had another, much worse, performance of illness (both ends). Every room, both beds, and more. Thank goodness for my penchant for having washable linens. Scout and Paul took at shower and we were done cleaning up by about 3:30am. Will did us the favor of staying asleep.

After checking in with the midwife this morning, I've been in bed most of the day. Weak, tired, achy. Attention bugs: no more. We are done with you here. Leave us alone!

Hooray for Angela!

Aunt Fran's neice is Fear Factor Champion!!!

She managed to: collect a bunch of flags hanging from a helicopter going 90 mph hanging 40 feet in the air; crawl through a ventilation unit through sewage, spiders, spider webs, rats, flames, and darkness; and get heat from her competitors as not strong enough to hack it. After winning through all of that, she and her partner got to the finals, where they had to swim into a submerged armored car, open it with one of several keys, get inside, and open up boxes (again with the keys) containing gold bars and coins. They did an incredible job, beating out a sister and brother body builder team (they were really scary) to collect over $225,000! How impressive is that?!

Fear Factor

This Tuesday, December 6th, at 8pm EST on NBC, a member of my extended family is going to be on Fear Factor!

The family member is Angela -- she is the niece of my Aunt Frances, the long-time girlfriend of my Uncle Gus (Uncle Gus is Grandma Betty's brother). For those who know me, you know that I come from a very fun and loving extended family and Fran is a great example of the wonderful people who help round it out. (You can see pictures of Gus and Frannie's visit to New Orleans in the blog archives from July.)

So tune in and cheer Angela on! (And, for Aunt Fran's sake, keep your fingers crossed that Angela won't be eating any bugs!)

(New) Favorite Eats!

We (finally!) ventured over to the University/Carrolton neighborhood to try Lebanon's Cafe. It was *excellent!!!* It is my new favorite place to eat in the city: awesome food, great menu, tons of veggie dishes, fun atmostphere, very kid friendly, and totally affordable. The one upside to Paul being sick is that I get to have all of last night's leftovers!!

Sunday Craziness

Paul is sick. He was acting lethargic and funny this morning, but still got his work clothes on to continue working on the outside plumbing (he repaired the back faucet yesterday and today, was going to tap into the main line to install a faucet to the side of the house to make it easier to wind/unwind the hose for watering the front yard.) Finally, he gave in and went to bed. He has a temp (100.9 at last check) and I gave him Tylenol to bring it down.

Will is currently napping. He seems fine. He was very "helpful" (read: into *everything*) as I started to tackle projects this morning. These projects include:

- Cleaning out back bathroom/laundry room.
- Organizing cleaning supplies.
- Organizing supplies in laundry/bathroom.
- Doing laundry
- Moving storage shelves to our bathroom
- Organizing and moving Paul's tools to proper locations
- Going through clothes in guest room closet. Packing to store what stays, gathering other for donation.
- Packing up Will's closet.
- Organizing our back bathroom with storage shelves for tools and Paul's housework supplies.

It's really a several person job over several days. I'm doing pretty well so far (back bathroom/laundry is looking so much better, etc.) but I need some help! I hate that Paul is sick and hope he feels back to normal ASAP!

Comps: The Review

I've had a day to decompress and reflect. These are the lingering things in my head regarding the comprehensives -- I'm unloading them and moving on!

Day One:
- Was challenging in that I had to use my skills/knowledge in applied ways not tested before. It wasn't that I couldn't do them, but I had to think carefully through them and do my best based on what I knew. In this way, the questions were very cleverly written.
- I was lamenting to Paul that I didn't get a chance to talk at all about experimental design (something that I know well from coursework at Michigan) -- I had been looking forward to pulling this out as a strength. Then, yesterday, I realized that I *did* have an opportunity to use it, but between being tired and the openness of the question, my mind didn't go there. The question was one part of a three-part question where it asked, within the context of a sampling frame I has been asked to design for a Roll Back Malaria program, if I would make any changes to the baseline. I was so caught up in sampling that I connected the question to survey measures and discussed anthropometric/biomarker/health survey data within the context of evaluation. I didn't think at all about experimental survey design! Had the question asked if I would make any changes to the design, or survey, or study, I would have totally launched into a discuss of experimental design. Maybe, assuming the read the practice exam I sent them weeks ago, they'll give me benefit of the doubt since I discussed experimental design at length with citations in the practice exam. I'm hoping I can still pull some partial credit on this one.
- With the extra time, I took a short lie-down in the afternoon to recover from the long night with Will. In retrospect, the lack of sleep really hurt; I wasn't at my full game. I think I still did well, but I could have rocked it a little more.

Some examples (paraphrased -- they are actually long questions!) of Day One:
- You are designing a study with three treatments. Randomly assigning ten men and ten women to each treatment. Write the ANOVA model.
- The actual sizes of the villages differ greatly from the estimated sizes. Using your chosen sampling method, explain how to mitigate this problem and restore an epsem design without increasing workload/decision making in the field.
- Suppose y is a discrete outcome. What method would you use to estimate the above equation and why? Explain what is meant by the method of maximum likelihood. What are the drawbacks of other estimation methods in this case?


Day Two
- The shortest 9 hours of my life! I sat down and started the exam at 8:01am. With the exception of bathroom breaks (lest we forget the growing child applying more and more pressure to my bladder), I did not leave the chair until 4:50pm, when I emailed out the exam and printed it to deliver the hardcopy to Penny. Paul went on two coffee runs for me (once in the morning with Will -- for a splurge on a cappucino from CCs-- and then for a regular from PJs in the afternoon.) He also made great lunch (veggie pot pie leftovers) and supplied snacks (apples and peanut butter). I was so caught up in the work that I didn't even ask for these... he predicted the need, made the goods, and set it in front of me. It was exactly what I needed.
- The questions were basically what I thought they would be. They were very challenging in that they were the type of questions one could spend months writing about. It was difficult to properly gage how much time to give each question, how to narrow the scope of what could be said/cited, and how to do it all somewhat eloquently!

A sample of some (paraphrased) questions from Day Two:
- Imagine you’re designing an ethnographic study of access and use of RH services in Lima. How would reading Burawoy impact this study? First, discuss a conventional approach that explores topics and approaches common in public health. Next, discuss Burawoy’s globalization framework. Then discuss how this framework would modify your study.
- How have 'development theories' (broadly envisioned) been an influence in reproductive health technologies, programs, and research agendas in the developing world since the 1950s? Should this change? Why/why not and how? Discuss this theme in general, and also explore these ideas through a specific contemporary reproductive health debate/issue/reasearch question of your choice.

I'm alive!

I still can't believe it, but I finished, I'm done. I survived comprehensive examinations.

Now I *completely* understand what those before me mean when they say that the experience really isn't over until you hear the word "pass." It does not feel real. Now that the exam is out of my hands, it feels scary. It's out there... I just have to wait and see if what I did was good enough.

All in all, I feel good about it. There weren't any surprises, although I was certainly challenged. I'm terrified of stupid mistakes or things I've overlooked. I've been told that the results should be in after about two weeks. Yikes... how do I keep myself from dwelling on the exam until then?

Please please please... let this be the last time I have to do this! I'm ready to move on the really hard stuff... prospectus and disseration!

I survived day one...

...and that's about all I can say about that right now. Some interesting things that have happened in the last 24 hours:

- 12:22am this morning. Will wakes up and vomits all over himself and Paul. Will is terrified, requires great clean-up, comfort, and all three of us had to change.
- 4:12am. Repeat performance from Will. Bottom line: we did not get much sleep last night!
- 8:05am. Get home, look over questions, realize that Penny only gave me questions for 2 of the 3 sections; I'm missing econometrics.
- 10:30am. Questions arrive directly from Paul, after phone calls and emails. Penny gives extra time to account for not having the questions.

Some issues...
- Turning interacted odds ratios into logistic regression coefficients (usually we do this the other way around!)
- Being way tired!
- Paul made a fantastic dinner (veggie pot pie) and was amazing at helping with Will. He supplied me with snacks (apples, bagel, peanut butter) and lunch (rice and chili) which helped so much. Two thumbs up for a wonderful spouse today!

And *thank you* ---
--- to everyone who sent emails, cards, phoned, posted to the blog and on and on... I even got flowers from my in-laws tonight! The encouragement means a lot! I just hope I actually manage to pass to live up to all the great support!