Smarty McSmarts

I can't remember why, but over the weekend, Nico and I were talking about President Obama.  I was explaining to Nico that a president is a person that Americans pick to be our leader, to help make decisions for the country.  And that President Obama is our president right now.

Fast forward to last night when I come home late from the office.  Nico and Dave are getting ready for bed when Dave tells me that Nico blew his mind tonight by explaining that he knew "President Orvama" is our president and helps make decisions.  Isn't that great? Really smart.  

Here he is working a game that Max and Emme got him for his birthday.  

Long Labor Day Weekend.

So the question on whether or not Nico was going to be allowed to travel was answered this week. The ANSWER IS YES!!  Nico was great!

Since Dave was down in Tampa covering the RNC, Nico and I left from Tallahassee on Thursday afternoon.  I scooped him up from his school before nap and we headed to the airport.  We had a brief moment when he was acting like the Assistant Regional Manager of the Jerk Store.  In fact, the only time he acted up was while we were in the airport in Tallahassee and Atlanta.  And by acting up, he was basically just trying to get away from me- which I probably wouldnt care about it if he were 5 or 8 and aware that TSA would bounce his little ass on the no fly list if he cuts up too much.  When your kid is 3 your biggest worry in life is that someone is going to take him.  Add to that the fact that Nico is ridiculously good looking.  Doesn't this look like the kind of kid you would want to steal?  I thought so.  

The flight from Tallahassee to Atlanta was easy.  Nico didnt cry or fuss on the flight.  Which was awesome.  He stayed awake until we were leaving Atlanta when he fell asleep while taxiing for take-off.  He was sitting in the window seat and just put his head in my lap and took a little nap.  It was awesome.  

Nicole, Emme and Max scooped us up from the airport and took us back to their place in Rockwall.  They moved this summer from Dallas to the suburb of Rockwall.  Their house is huge and we had a blast there. Max and Emme have lots of toys that Nico loved playing with (including several ride-on cars like firetrucks).  Friday we hung around the house waiting for everyone to get done with school and work.  Oh and we got a hamburger cake.  But we didn't get any pictures of it.  :(

Friday night we scooped up Dave from the airport and headed back to Rockwall.  Saturday we headed to the harbor (on a lake in Rockwall) and had Chilosos for dinner.  

The harbor is cool because we also got some ice cream and listened to the Rockwall symphony play some movie soundtracks.  We sat in the grass and listened and the kids went in the light house.  It was awesome.  

We ended up winning the tournament.  I got to see Julia and her husband Jake.  Julia just had ankle surgery, or else she would have played with us during the tournament.  The girls that were on the team are really cool.  Good players... no drama, no attitude.  It was great.

The kids had a great time... even if it was apparent that someone is definitely an only child (and his name rhymes with Rico).  Nicole and Cody have a pool, so it was great swimming a bunch.   The great thing about a pool is that its easier to jump in the pool than to take a bath just before bed time.  Isnt that awesome!!  We got some snuggles with Beckett... who is getting big.  That boy is going to be a biggun!!

In all it was a great long weekend.  But now we are back.  Back on the grind.  Back to work.  Back to school.  Booo!

Interview...

So, since some of you have asked.  Since I am on the Academic Job market this year and I had an interview with a school last week.  Ohio University's College of Osteopathic Medicine is hiring faculty for their Department of Social Medicine. The application deadline was August 15 and I was contacted for a phone interview shortly thereafter.  I dont know how many other candidates they talked to on the phone, but 6-10 is pretty standard for phone interviews.  The interview was only 20 minutes, so I dont know how standard that is.  It went pretty quickly though.

I was a little unsettled by the fact that the committee seemed mostly interested in my dissertation work, which was odd, because I dont think its all that interesting anymore.  Maybe its because I have been writing or working with that data for 6+ years.  Maybe its the main take home point that I have taken from doing research on infant health disparities: that what we really need is better data sources to go beyond what we already know.  I thought they were interested in me because I am at a college of medicine and my current research is in an area that complements their current research.  But turns out they just wanted to know about my main dissertation findings.  I tried twice to turn the conversation to my current work, but I felt like a big-time spaz during the call. Plus, I just got some weird feelings from the committee. It seemed like they were humoring someone by interviewing me...

Then I got an email from Ike, who had spoken to the search committee chair. I dont know to what extent it is protocol to call a candidate's advisor- my guess is that it varies by college and search committee (the dissertation advisor is theoretically, the closest faculty member to the candidate).  Ike told me about how the conversation went which was mostly positive, but the committee had some concerns about my publication record. At this point in time I have one publication (published in 2009, one coming out later this year, and one that will be under review this week, plus I have another paper that will be out by the end of the fall- all from my dissertation.)  That is not even to talk about papers I can write with the data I am collecting.

I guess the good thing about me as a scholar/candidate is that I am self-aware enough to know that my lack of publications may be a problem.  I know this.  I know that the gap from my first paper (2009) to the one coming out this year (2012) is weird. Although to be fair, this current paper was supposed to come out in 2011.  I wish that I could put an asterisk on my cv and say regarding the gap: "During the period 2009-2012, I got married, had a kid, did an internship in DC, worked for AHCA, worked for DOH, taught for the FSU Dept. of Sociology, tutored athletes, coached three seasons of high school soccer, graduated, and got a paper rejected."  But in the end, it really doesn't matter.  It seems (and not just based on the feedback from OU) that the only currency that matters is publications. Of course, its possible that the OU experience was just a fluke... it was my first interview ever, so maybe the whole thing was a crap shoot. Maybe I will get other interviews and it won't matter.  Maybe OU was always out of my reach.  I was surprised when they wanted an interview. My thought was, "Have you seen my cv?  You know I have 1.5 publications, right?  Okay, you want to interview me... you must be into my "potential".  Okay, I can dig that..."

I would like for once, just once, for something to be easy. I guess there are two ways of looking at it... that maybe all the things that are hard are really just red flags.  Maybe it's the Universe's way of saying, "It's never going to happen, man. It's a pipe dream.  I keep putting up road blocks, but you keep climbing over them.  Can't you just go do something else?"

Or maybe it's the Universe's way of saying, "If you can swim in the deep end with chum, sharks and concrete shoes, swimming in the shallow end with a bang stick, minnows and floaties should be no problem.  Get to swimming, kid."

I don't hold much hope for getting invited for an interview at OU. But I am trying to be as thorough as possible with the job market.  I kinda just wish I could fast forward to next year at this time...

Le train

So, a couple of months ago, I got an email from Groupon about the SAMS Excursion Railway.  SAMS is Savannah and Mobile Shortline, which is a train that leaves from the Georgia Veteran's Memorial Park in Cordele and rides around southern georgia.  It visits Americus and Plains, which are little towns in Southern Georgia.  Plains is where President Jimmy Carter is from.  

We stopped in Plains for lunch.  When we got off the train, we wondered into a firestation, where Nico got to sit in a fire truck.  Which was pretty much awesome! You now how the boy loves fire trucks!!

It was a long day, and guess who curled up in my lap for a little sleep?  Yeah, not so big and tough now is he? Having a toddler is a lot of fun.  Seriously.

ASA ES

My conference in Denver was okay.  I wasnt on the program to present anything- I was mostly going to participate in the Employment Service.

The ES is mostly just a speed dating service that allows potential employers to interview potential candidates for 20 minutes.  I did it last year and had a bunch of interviews.  This year, I had 7 interviews and an informal informational session- which is pretty decent, especially considering that a lot of people had 0 or 1 interviews.

I have already sent out a bunch of applications.  For those of you who are interested:
Furman University
Skidmore College
Texas Wesleyan
University of Texas at San Antonio
Coker College
UNC Pembroke
UNC Wilmington
Baylor University
U of Richmond
U of Portland
U of Miami
U of Alabama-Birmingham
Ohio University

Yes.  You read that right- three schools in Texas.  Yeah, I can't believe it either.  Ohio University had the earliest deadline- and they have already contacted me.  This means that I am likely one of about 6-8 other "top candidates".  After the phone interview, they will narrow that list down to 2-3 and invite those people for campus visits.  The job is at a College of Osteopathic Medicine, in their Department of Social Medicine.  Despite spending about an hour online last night trying to find it, I still don't know what the difference is between DO (doctor of osteopathy) and a regular MD is.  Both do surgeries, both do residencies, both have specialities.... so who knows.

I really liked Denver.  It is definitely a cool city.  But I was ready to come home.

Birthday Boy!

Ok... apparently when your sister and your mom gets on you about having not blogged in a couple of weeks, its time to get on it.  My b....

Obviously, I was a bit ambitious on the snacks for the party.  Which is why it came to be that at 230 am when I started the frosting for the cupcakes, I somehow thought it was a good idea to combine 4 cups of powered sugar with 4 sticks of butter. Basically a disaster.   

Which is unfortunate, since I was trying to make rainbow cupcakes.  :(

It was the second birthday (of three birthdays) that have been adversely effected by rain.  Long story short- we werent sure we were going to be able to party- because we were planning to go to Wakulla Springs State Park.  I thought we could get one of the covered pavillions and we couldnt.  So the first 30-45 minutes it drizzled rain on the kids.  But they all seemed to have fun.  The party was mostly with kids from Nico's old school (which we just moved from), plus two of his teachers (Ms. Erin and Ms. Jennifer), and Dillion (the son of my good friend LaVon).  

Avery, Ovid, Dexter, Nico, Molly, and Mila.  

They are all just about Nico's age, so they are moving on to their new schools too.  Dexter (the boy next to Nico) is sometimes a bit rambuctious.  In fact, Nico has taken to saying, "No Dexter, no swiping!" Like Dora does about Swiper.  It's pretty funny.  

Ovid (the boy second from the left) is Nico's BFF.  Unfortunately, for Ovid, Nico turned into quite the maniac at his birthday.  Ovid tried painting with Nico's paintbrush and Nico proceeded to chase him and then tackle him to the ground.  Seriously.  Really.  That really happened.  

In all, I think the kids had a pretty good time.  

I don't really know what is happening here, why they insisted on holding cupcakes up over their heads- but apparently, that is what kids do.    

But Nico was fast asleep in the car, two minutes into the car ride home.  So it must have been a great party.   

I am sorry to say this, but if we ever plan to have another birthday party for Nico- we are going to have to move to a different climate... this rain on a birthday party non-sense needs to stop.  

Handing me my ass...

So, work is basically handing me my ass.  Not much time to post.  But I will catch up later this week when I head to a conference and have lots of time to write on the plane.

Heart.

A birthday post

Dear Nico, 
As you turn 3, I continue to be amazed at the things you learn, say and do.  You are a sweet boy who can be gentle with his Mom and rambunctious with his Dad.  As you turn three, I am starting to see glimmers that the "Terrible Twos" are fading.  You are articulate and are starting to negotiate.  One of my favorite things you do is point in the air with your index finger and say, "I have a good idea."  You know your address, mine and Dave's phone numbers, our names, and the phone number for emergency response.  You're also almost potty trained completely.  You like to watch Ni Hao Ki-Lan, Dora the Explorer, Caillou, and Poppy Cat.  You also like garbage trucks, ambulances, fire trucks and any police vehicle.  In fact, you often state, "He's in an Emergency!" whenever you see one of these trucks with their lights and sirens on.  

You are a wonderful boy and we love you so much!  You're a lot of fun and we are looking forward to more birthdays.  We are especially looking forward to another year and all the excitement it will bring.  

Love,
Mom

Balance Training

Nico doing balance training!

Funs!!

Nico is a lot of fun lately.  Here he is talking about the book he is reading:



And this is him at practice:


Nico started his big school today.  Yesterday, his last day the the FSU Infant and Toddler center was bittersweet.  Mostly because he has been there for 2 years and I am not sure he realizes that he won't see his little friends as much.

Soccer and Chores

Not much going on around here.  Nico is hot and cold with the potty training.  Still wearing a diaper at night- still sometimes has accidents.  Including this weekend at practice, when he peed in my car seat.  Awesome.

Here he is telling me about a book he is reading:


We had a pretty low-key weekend.  Just soccer and chores.  Boooo!  One of Nico's favorite things is Busy Town, which is a series of books and videos by Richard Scary.  His memory is awesome.  He also has a really good ability to describe what is going on in a picture.  He pretty much knows ABCs, although sometimes he gets V and Y mixed up.  He pretty much knows his numbers, but sometimes get them mixed up too.  He knows how to spell "STOP", "ON", "OFF" and "GO".  He also knows my phone number.  Which is pretty cool.

All for now.

Nico Mops

So not much new to report around here.  I am going to be backing off of the posting, as we are now in the season of the job market and there are only so many hours in the day.  :(  I think its likely to be a once a week type of thing until October- when most applications are due.

I took Nico by his new Big school on Friday, so that he could have a look at the place.  He really likes it.  In fact, he didnt want to go to FSU (meaning he had a meltdown).  I am sure this will wear off soon, when he realizes that none of his friends (like Ovid and Mila) go to Creative.  And I will be sad for him.

They have a "fluids deck" where the kids put smocks on and mop, wash babies, pour water, play with shaving cream, paint, and stamp.

It was way cool.  Nico loved the fluids deck.  Even awesomer is that Creative serves as a special needs preschool for the Leon County School District.  So while leaving FSU means that Nico won't have as much contact with black and asian kids (there are more there), it does mean that he will be around special needs kids more.  There was one little downs girl in the class he played with on Friday, which is cool.  

I found a new place in town that does consignment baby and toddler stuff.  I grabbed this chair and table set for like $25 and the shelf with the bins for $40.

Really in love with it.  Trying to figure out stuff for Nico to do, since he doesnt really "play" at home.  We went to the store on Saturday and stocked up on art supplies including SCISSORS, which Nico apparently loves.  The only thing I have to do now is train someone whose name rhymes with SAVE how to properly administer the crafts supplies.  No, its not an inherent skill, you actually have to learn it.  

Vacation!

So we had a really great vacation in Gulf Shores!  The whole family (except for my Dad) was able to come! Even JJ, from New York!!

We had a lot of fun. And didnt go to the beach once.  We stayed in a condo neighborhood, that had two pools.  I made lots of good noms and napped pretty much every day. The cousins had a blast running around together.  In fact, less that 12 hours into the trip, Nico had managed to scratch Max's face with a hard plastic sword.  I guess we play a little rough?

We all got plenty of Becks snuggles, and Nico was really good with him.  That is a good sign.   

So, since we have been doing this potty training thing, Nico has this thing, where after he goes to the bathroom, he runs out of the bathroom and around the house in just his underpants.  On Tuesday night, he did this.  Next thing you know, no one is wearing any shirts.  

While we were there, we did Maddox's birthday.  The gift of the day was a batman suit, which was really cool.

Nico got a bunch of ideas for stuff he wants for his birthday.  When we left, his major comment was that he wished he could have played with Max and Emme's toys more.  Which is fair, since they do have lots of cool toys.

Nico and Dave made friends with a very friendly looking beagle.

And I got the first official smile from Becks (official, because Nicole saw it.  My mom claims to have gotten one- but Nicole didnt witness it, so it doesnt count).  The one you see below is like the second or third smile.  Isn't that cool?

So it was a great trip.  We're back on the grind today.  Trying to get caught up from all the work I didnt do last week.  Nico is mostly potty trained.  He hasnt had an pee accident since Friday.  Of course, he still does #2 in his pants.  But he's really sad about it.  

Nico's new game

Random McRandomski

So, I just got back from a conference in Orlando. I drove through Tropical Storm Debby most of the way. I made the unfortunate mistake of taking adderall when things got hairy (so I cold stay alert and focused- and not accidentally drive into a sink hole). The result? Guess who is still wide awake at 1240 am? This girl!

Am glad to be back. Nico was especially snugly. Apparently, he hasn't exactly been a model citizen while I was gone. :( hopefully we can get him back on track. Speaking of which... He is almost to the age, I think when he can travel a little better. I am hoping that a year from now he will have progressed through the Age of Unreason.

So, I did a chopped down version of the Myers-Brigg personality test a couple of weeks ago. Apparently I have an INTJ personality type, which is actually quite rare.

Turns out that my my crushing self-doubt may be unfounded. Apparently, INTJs do well in Academia. So that is nice. Unfortunately, this does not help with one thing I am terrible at: networking. This particular conference was nice because since I don't know most of the big timers in health services research, I wasn't all weird. Like when I go to sociology or demography conferences, I am totally like Garth in Wayne's World: "we're not worthy, we're not worthy... We suck!"

The LeBron James of HS research could be sitting next to me and I wouldn't even know it. So that is nice. So I have decided to stop trying to act cool and just own the nerdiness. I have also decided that one can get far in life by being a narcisstic jerk and having no verbal filter. People will just assume I have Aspergers. Next step? Profit!

Potty training do far has been hit or miss... Mostly just dependent on Nico's mood. The good news is that he does seem to feel bad when he has an accident. I would much rather have that than to have him be like, "I just peed in my pants. And I don't care."

Chuck Taylors and Underpants!

What you say?  Is Nico running around the house in a pair of chuck taylors and underpants?  Yes.  Yes, he is.

So yesterday was kind of a beatdown with the potty training.  He didnt go on the potty at all at school and had two accidents... which I guess is good because it means that he is holding it.  During naptime (they put a diaper on him) he peed a gallon.  We got a new potty seat at Toys R Us yesterday and he sat on it and peed a gallon.  Again.  So really, he's just holding it.  His teachers say we'll give him two weeks with this to see if he "gets it" that its much better to just go than hold it all day.  Hopefully at the end of two weeks, he will be okay with the potty training.

And the really awesome news:  we are going to move to another daycare/preschool.  Since Nico is about to age out of FSU and because the Preschool there is like the infant and toddler center, we have decided to start looking for other options for daycare.  We found this place that is research based and everyone we know loves.  Its expensive and sort of out of the way.  But we did a tour there today.  And we love it.  Its run by this old hippie woman- who is all about taking things back a bit.  Not classrooms, they stay in groups and can go from playing outside, to the water deck, to making food, to reading, to blocks, to all kinds of awesome.  They also have a garden, a hamster, some fish and some birds.  Its pretty great.  We'll apply this week and see if he gets in before we give the word at FSU.  Its kinda sad  because we really adore Jenn, Sue, Dana and all Nico's teachers.  But this place is pretty awesome.  Hopefully when we go there with Nico to check it out, I can grab some photos.  Its off the hook!!

Getting on with it...

So.  Its time.  We are going cold turkey with the diapers.  Finally.  Turns out that SOMEBODY is really stubborn..  And his name rhymes with Rico.  I was talking to Sue at a birthday party last week and she said that another kid in Nico's class, his parents just decided to do it.  Made the break with the underwear and that was that.  The kid was not too much a fan- and for two weeks the kid acted like his underwear was a diaper.  And he still has accidents.  But for the most part, the kid is pretty much potty trained.

So Saturday afternoon, we just decided to do it.  Put Nico in underwear and just get on with it.  No big to-do.  No symbolic throwing the diapers away.  No big conversations about how he is a big boy.  He woke up from nap and I put him in a pair of underwear.  He fought me.  Don't get me wrong, he did not want to wear under wear.  We stayed on top of him and even with me asking him every five minutes he still managed to pee in his underwear (which says to me something about his maturity and emotional development).  So we weren't really successful during the day- meaning he didnt go on potty at all, we didnt think that him wearing underwear to bed would accomplish anything other than him waking up with pee all over him.  Oh, and he has been sleeping in our bed. And I wasnt trying to wake up with pee on me.  Please stop judging.  I know you are.  Zip it!

So we put him in a diaper at night and let him sleep in it.  Then Sunday started over again... with no success. Guess who doesnt like EVEN SITTING on the toilet.  We bribe him to sit there with jelly beans.  And when he goes pee on the potty, he gets a Rescue Bot (a transformer fireman).  Today, I went for a run and when I came back, I grabbed Nico (who was awake) and ran him outside to see the recycling truck come by.  Nico was in his underwear.  It was great.  Even better is that Dave told me that he woke Nico up and sat him on the toilet and he peed!!  WHOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOO! Can you believe it?  What a great day!!  Going to be a big boy peeing on the potty!!

Soccer star!

Check out new Nico video!!  Nico heading the ball!!

Before any of the grandmas wig out... trust me... I am a professional coach!  I got this!  

Nico really hates going to practice... he is usually good for about one hour.  Then, he has to go.  :(  Hopefully, he will grow out of this phase.  

In other news, there was a Tallahassee Groupon for the Georgia Veterans Park, which is apparently the location of a train line, that does short trip day trips in the middle georgia area.  So I bought three tickets.  As soon as BBUSC is over this summer, we are going to head up there and take Nico.  HE IS GOING TO FLIP OUT!!

Also, our excursion to pick blackberries is go for launch on Saturday!!  Apparently there are exactly two days in which we can pick blackberries (today (Wednesday) and Saturday).  So apparently, we also have to get our act together early and do it!  Looking forward to getting a couple of gallons of blackberries!!  Try not to be jealous!!

The Earth Fare Debacle

I took Nico to Earth Fare today. The trip was complete with a full-on, throw out on the floor meltdown.  Then there was the part where Nico didnt listen to me and bolted into the vestibule.  When the door closed behind him and it looked like he was headed to the street, I had to bust up the automatic sliding door to grab him.  I hope I got points from the innocent bystanders for hauling him out of the place.  I wasn't so much embarrassed as I was annoyed.

I know they all say, "Adore this time- he'll be grown and out of the house before you know it."  But seriously, I am ready for him to grow out of this phase of orneriness.

One of Nico's teachers seems to think that Nico is just like her oldest child (Reece), who I coincidentally, taught when I was a teacher in preschool.  I see a lot of the same patterns in Nico (very articulate for his age, fluctuating back and forth between being fiercely independent and horribly clingy, fluctuating between being really eager to please and extra ordinarily ornery).

Yay! Parenting!!

Lockdown=Over

So I have been on lockdown for the last two weeks.  At work, we were gearing up for this massive meeting with collaborators in Boston.  I had a minor miscommunication with my PI... where I thought we were going to discuss plans for said meeting at another meeting on June 1.  Turns out no.  He thought I would already have everything sorted.  So... I have been putting in max hours trying to get ready for this thing.  He's also not in Tallahassee fulltime.  So I also get to do a whole host of administrative tasks, which are, frankly, beneath my status as a PhD.  Yeah... I just said that.  Can you believe it?  I just said that.  I actually just used my PhD as a reason for being over qualified for something.  I dont care.  Sue me.  Call me an overeducated snot.  I dont care.  I am a Project Director, damn it!!  Not an administrative assistant.  Literally, in the last two weeks, I have been party to hundreds of email exchanges with my PI... most of which involve commands like, "change THIS word to THAT word."  So rather than doing the actual business of the grant, I spend a lot of my time doing stuff like that..

Can you tell I am at my limit?  Then Saturday we take Nico to a birthday party for one of his classmates.  We get there and this kid is clearly sick (snuggly+sleepy+ill tempered+ mom also saying that the kid is sick).  Seriously?  Really?  You're going to have a birthday party for your kid when he is sick?  Really?  Ok... Awesome.  So guess who had wicked horrible diarrhea on Sunday?

When we wake up on Monday Dave and I feel like have been hit by a truck.  Coincidentally, the first game of summer coed was Sunday... so I was really sore.  Like, like the sore you get when you give up 10 goals and still make a crap ton of saves.  I figure that if we take Nico to school, its only a matter of time before they kick him out.  So we keep him home...  I head into the office and have to pull over to puke on the way home.  I spend the rest of the day in varying forms of consciousness on the couch and the bed.  Dave felt better when he got lunch.  And guess who didnt want to nap?  His name rhymes with Rico.

Yeah... it was like that.  Luckily Dave was able to come home around 2-3 pm and hung out with Nico while I tried to sleep it off.  I woke up around 7 and had some soup and felt much better.  I did a little work into the evening and got to bed early so that I could give my presentation today.  So that was that.  It went off without a hitch.  We got good feedback, plus cool suggestions for adding to our data.  But the best part?  Its over.  I am very glad about this.... because it means I can go back to not staying up till 3-4 am and being stressed out.