Anyway, Pathology was a pretty easy going rotation. He got along with the Pathologists and was able to be home evenings and weekends. In August he started surgery. He said the surgeon he was with was overall a good guy, but his language, arrogance and sexual jokes with staff were awful. He worked longer hours and had to work some weekends. He said he learned a little, but was once again disappointed in all he was allowed to do.
September he started Internal Medicine rotating with the hospitalist. He specifically requested to be a doctor who was known as being tough. This doctor really puts him down and treats him as the scum of the earth who knows nothing. It really irritates Adrian to be treated this way because he is forced to subject himself to this bullying, when in reality it is not his personality to do so. He works 12-16 hours everyday, only getting Saturdays off. He tried requesting having Sundays off, but they told him "no".
Another thing Adrian is irritated about is the program made him do some research, which he did. His research got accepted to be presented later this month down in West Palm, but they won't let him take a half day off to go present it, even though it will look good for the program.
Now, I'm not trying to sound so negative here. I'm just recording how things are going so we can look back on these days someday.
Now, as for me and boys, we've been pretty ok. Malachi's been sick a couple times, but overall we're ok. I attempted to start potty training Malachi because I think he's ready. I set my timer for 30 min and would take him and he has a sticker chart and gets a treat every time he goes. He did good for a couple days. Then he got sick, so we stopped. Then we started again, and he got sick again. He now tells me a very firm "no" if he does not want to go. I think I'll try being strict again in a month. For now, he goes only when he feels like a treat.
Malachi has been communicating so well lately. His most common phrases are "ok" or "how come". We've converted his crib into a toddler bed. The first couple weeks we'd find him sleeping on the floor or in bed with Levi, but now he has no problem. He's always the first one up in the morning and comes into my room saying he wants his "milky". He seems to always have his own agenda and has no problem playing by himself. He enjoys nursery at church and looks forward to going. His latest incident was he stepped barefoot into an ant hill. Poor kid, so innocent and unsuspecting. He ended up with 23 ant-bites on his right foot. Then they got infected and Adrian squeezed the pus out of them. Poor kid could be heard screaming "ow" clear across the house. But, they healed up just fine and he still talks about how he got bit and how papa would hurt his bites.
Here's Malachi when he was sick with a fever. He literally laid on the couch all day long. He even took his nap there.
The boys like to play in the rain. It rains most afternoons.
Here's Malachi at the fabric store. He loves to snuggle things and was walking down the aisles snuggling all the soft fabric. I turned around one time and he had laid down on some fabric to snuggle.
We chose not to put Levi in Preschool this fall. I figured I could teach him his letters and counting and all that stuff. Sometimes I wish I would have put him school, mainly for the interaction with other kids. But, most preschools we called around here seemed like daycares. And Levi still seems so little to me that I cannot imagine sending him away into someone else's care everyday. So, I started teaching him and I get frustrated sometimes because he won't do what I want him to. He'll get upset with me if I want him to do something he himself does not want to do. I'm sure we'll figure something out.
Levi loves wearing Adrian's long socks. And my boys don't stay in their clothes when they are at home.
Levi said to me "look, I put a pencil behind my ear just like papa."
I found both boys sitting on their own beds being quiet and reading books. They love to read books, but this was a first.
Our hardest thing this summer has definitely been the fact that it's so blasted hot here. We've not been able to get outside and play like we're used to. It does not cool off at night here like it does in Utah so we can't even get out in the mornings or evenings. It's like 80 degrees at 8 am and you sweat instantly if you go out. We've been stuck inside for months. Now, we do go to the beach every now and then and go to the fountains to play at least weekly. But, we're used to just sitting on the porch and playing everyday to run out some energy. They are like cooped up lions in the house bouncing with energy. I can't wait until it cools off and we can check out the trail systems and frequent the parks more.
The boys are so sweet. I love that I get to be with them all day, despite the hard times. They both give me kisses and tell me they love me. They still especially love to wrestle with Adrian. They bring so much joy into our lives.
On the days Adrian has been off we alway be sure to go play. The beach is beautiful and so relaxing.
Our ward had an Independence Day pancake breakfast, complete with a bike parade for the kids. We decorated the boy's bikes and they raced around the parking lot for a parade.
We watched the city fireworks and it was a fun family moment. We put our futon cushion in the back of the truck and went to the city hall where they launched the fireworks. We were able to lay in the back of the truck and watch them. Levi loved the fireworks. Malachi got scared of the loud sounds and kind of buried himself under a pillow for the most part. It took us a good hour to get home because of the traffic, but it is still a fun family memory.
These boys are best buds and worst enemies.
We took a day trip to Orlando to go to Downtown Disney. It's not in the Disney park and it's free. It was basically shops and restaurants. We visited the toy shops and dinned at a dinosaur themed restaurant. The boys really enjoyed the restaurant. They had big dinosaurs that made sounds and every now and then the place would get dark and there would be a "meteor shower".
It was a fun experience overall. It was very hot and at times I felt like we were just dragging the boys around in the heat. There wasn't much for the boys to do. They did enjoy looking at all the toys in the toy shops. Levi now says that he wants a "claw" (like in the Toy Story movie) and a flashing sword for Christmas. Those were obviously the toys he liked the most.
I had a couple friends tell me that in the evening you can see dolphins jumping up the St. Lucie River. We live half a mile from the river boardwalk, so, for Family Home Evening we grabbed some donuts and headed over to see if we could spot the dolphins. The boardwalk was pretty and peaceful. Adrian was very doubtful about seeing dolphins in the river so I really, really wanted to see some. But we didn't.
Adrian went with youth to Orlando to the temple to do baptisms. I believe this picture also has another ward's youth from the stake.
We live close a canal. We're able to walk there with the boys. Here we're sitting on the dock by the boat loading ramp. The water in the canal is black. Not sure why, but it's kind of gross. The water connects to the river, which then goes to the ocean.
Here's Malachi and Adrian's feet. Both boys have Adrian's feet. Adrian's aunt told him they are Quintana feet (from his mom's side).
We have two tortoises that have made burrows in our backyard. This is the smaller tortoise. His shell is about 4 inches wide. The boys also love to catch frogs that are in the yard.
In other news Adrian and I both have church callings. I am activity day leader, just like I was in my last ward. I enjoy these girls. I think we'll have a lot of fun. Adrian is not usually home when I go so I take the boys with me. Levi loves to go. He likes to play with the girls and he knows he'll always get a treat.
Adrian is the bishop's executive secretary. We just got a new bishop and he feels bad that he has to work sundays this month.
