Seventh is Present

We are back on the island, folks!  I think the household is finally caught up on sleep from the dreadful travel day, bags are unpacked, furniture re-arranged for a mobile baby, and we are ready to begin the end of our St. Kitt's journey.

Blaine, so kindly, offered to help me unpack my suitcase.  I can't wait until she volunteers to do laundry and dishes. :)

Our two plane rides to the Lesser Antilles went pretty smooth.  Blaine slept the first leg, then played and slept the second.  She has discovered various ways to produce unique sounds with her vocal cords, and decided to exercise them on the flight to Kitts.  While her parents think it is the cutest thing eva, I am sure the older Kittitian gentleman next to us was not as giddy about her new talent.  But really... who cares, right?!  She's a BABY, and a darn cute one at that...and if the two girls, two rows up can practice their right to chat and laugh, so can my little sweet tater....got it?  :)  Funny how your perspective changes when you bring your own child into the world.  I never knew I had the protective "I will eat you if I have to" momma instinct in me...not to mention the wrath of Daddy Eric if you publicly point out general baby annoyances of his little gal...wow...boy did I digress.

As I now try and ease my elevated heart rate back to resting, let me talk about something else!  Eric started his last semester of classes yesterday.  This semester his class agenda is as follows:

Large Animal Medicine

Large Animal Surgery

Special Species (pocket pets and such, as Eric likes to call it)

Theriogenology (reproductive process' of all species)

...he will also have 13 clinical rotations throughout this semester to attend, on top of class, SOAPing, studying.  Looks like I am back to being a single mom (well, for the most part).  Good thing I have made lots of helpful VIP friends to lend me a hand every now and then.  
Eric meets with the man who will decide our clinical year fate, tomorrow at one.  This will allow Eric to give him the low down on why we DESERVE to go back to A&M.  Our family, house, my job, immediate family near by, daycare lined out, alma mater, etc. etc. etc!!  We will receive word on where Eric is placed next Friday.  His top three choices are: 1) TAMU 2) Colorado State & 3) Okie State.  Keep your fingers crossed, say continual prayers, perform voo-doo/magic/witch craft if you feel lucky in that realm... just please Lord, let us get back to The Lone Star State! 

There are more tropical disturbances in the Atlantic.  I pray that Texas would get a slow, soaking rain from one of these.  The devastating fires that are current in our great state are heartbreaking.  I pray daily for the firemen, rescue teams, victims, etc.  I hope the drought, fires and disaster stop, well, right now.  

We already miss friends, family, and familiar luxuries (like being able to get darn milk at the grocery store..they finally got a shipment in today, sans any in all the grocery stores on the island in the last 3 days) back home, but for now, we are where we should be.  Life is good and so is God.  Until next time...

Fun Pictures of Blaine over Break

Our two children.

Blaine and Daddy

Blaine and Torey...Macey's little one (as if I needed to identify her Mother...look at that Kirkham smile)

Semester Siete is on the Horizon

Reporting from the piney woods of East Texas....Eric Allen passed all of his finals, received smarty pants grades in all classes, and is headed to the final semester on the island.  This month marks 2 years that we have lived in St. Kitts.  What a wild, fun, scary, rewarding, sometimes downright aggravating, ride this has been.  We are now home (well, between all three of our "homes" in Texas) and are preparing for the last few months we have on our "paradise" island.  

Blaine turned 8 months on the 20th.  She is a frog's hair from crawling, says Da-Da-Da-Da all the time, and continues to be the apple of our eyes.  Her transition from the Eastern Time to Central has been easy in the social department, but not so much in the sleeping department.  She likes to wake up every two hours or so at night, just to make sure Eric and I are doing ok (but we are quite sure that teething and unfamiliar sleeping quarters are the main contributing factors to interrupted REM sleep).  Good thing Eric is back so I can sleep in.  I am thankful he is a morning person like our dear little early bird.

One more thing....Texas is HOT right now.  Hotter than the hottest I have ever felt in St. Kitts.  When stepping outside from the frosty embrace of an AC, it's like walking into an oven.  No rain, no tropical breeze, no blue oceans...just stale heat, dust, a constant line of sweat beads on the brow & upper lip, and 0% precipitation.  Despite the feverish climate and drought, it's good to be home.

Happy in the Heat!

Many students are currently stuck on the island who tried to head back to the states on Sunday.  Most are on standby until Wednesday, obviously due to TS Irene.  I just caught word of an earthquake felt by some Rossies on the island today.  Just swell.  St. Kitts, please be good to us when we arrive back to you in September.  At least until mid December.  Later gators. 

Go away Emily, so we can see Ashley!

In just two short days, my dearest friend, Ashley and her husband, Seth will be headed to the West Indies to hit the beaches, sip a few rum punches, and scoop Blaine and me up to head home to Texas for the break.  We are leaving a tick before Eric so he can focus on studying for finals.  (Plus, we wanted everyone to spend a little more time with Blaine and I am going to work a day or two in Bryan).  Bills, bills, bills.

At the amateur age of 7 1/2 months, Blaine experienced her first tropical storm last night.  We were not directly hit by TS Emily, but the outer bands brought plenty of rain, wind, and hang ten waves.  We lost power twice yesterday evening, but we were shocked at how fast they got it back up and running.  Today we are experiencing more wind and a movie-watching, soakin' rain kinda day.  Eric on the other hand is studying this day away on campus.


My beach buddy.

Kite Surfing on a volleyball Friday afternoon

Blaine has graduated from creeping ( pushing around on her stomach) to scooting (army crawl style, with one arm and one leg) all over the floor.  It is a precious sight, but increases the need for close parental supervision when she constantly scoots her little booty to forbidden locations and often breakable adult possessions.  But each little scoot promotes exploration, therefor creating more neuronal synapses, leading to an increase in brain growth, motor planning abilities and executive function, all while contributing to reaching her developmental milestones.  It's a beautiful, healthy progression to witness as a parent.

Texas, here we come!  See y'all real soon.

SUCCESS!

ERIC PASSED HIS ROSSIE!

As Bob Barker would say, "Be sure to have your pets SPAYED and neutered."

7 month update

Three days ago, Blaine turned 7 months old.  

She is a girl, through and through.

Loves to hear herself scream.

Throws a fit when her Daddy leaves for school in the morning.

When prone, she now pushes up in a plank position on hands, not elbows.

Will be crawling any day.

She responds when her name is called.

No teeth yet, though she gums on anything in sight, with occasional drool. 

Has left a permanent "cow" trail around the apartment with her walker wheels.

She weighed 7.9 kgs at the animal clinic today.  Yes, we weighed her on a dog and cat scale.

She likes to gnaw on nilla wafers.

Elmo is still her main squeeze.  Don't you dare put on that Bert and Ernie crap.

She can entertain herself on her play mat for 45-60 minutes straight.

When in distress (crying that is), start counting to ten, and she is laughing before 3.

She prefers Daddy to put her to sleep at night now, but I did tonight since Daddy is practicing surgical skills at his desk. 

She LOVES to randomly admire her hands while pronating and supinating in the most graceful, pageant waving fashion.

She will be 7 1/2 months when we touchdown on US soil for our last break.

@ her 8 1/2 month bday, we will make our last (God willing) trek to Kitts.

She is a joy, a delight, the most precious gal in sight.

Simulated Surgery Session

I bet everyone was beginning to think this blog was primarily about Blaine now!  WRONG!  We pay attention to what Eric is doing more than you may believe! :) We eat, breathe and sleep vet school as a family (minus the studying for me and the baby, thank goodness!).


So Eric has reached the semester where every student must pass and perform their "Rossie" before even thinking about leaving this island.  What is a "rossie", you might ask?  It is THE most anticipated, simulated spay surgery that each student performs individually in surgery lab.  At the beginning of the semester they are given a practice rossie to take home.  The rossie is basically comprised of a thin cotton material (epidermis layer) covering a foam cushion (adipose aka fat tissue/muscle, etc.), and is rolled up to replicate the abdominal/pelvic region of a cat/dog.  Inside the body cavity is a stretchy band like material that represents the uterine horns/ovaries, etc.  The student must demonstrate an incision through the layers of tissue, perform the spay and removal of female organs, perform a ligature to a bleeding vessel if present, and then stitch the layers of tissue once procedure is complete.  (I am probably only semi-describing this right...Eric will probably laugh at my elementary portrayal of one of the main undertakings that will make or break your vet career here).  

Each student is assigned a date to perform their Rossie, one-on-one with a professor.  If a student fails their first attempt, they have only one more chance to pass, or they have to repeat the whole 6th semester again.  YIKES!  They are also delegated a spot to perform their "mock" trial with a professor to gauge how they are doing before the actual, actual doom day :)  Eric already performed his mock exam and did really well.  They must complete the entire process, from sterilization phase (hand wash/glove/gown/set up of sterile supplies), to prep phase to surgical phase in under 60 minutes.  Eric practiced his simulated spay the night before his mock trial at home.  I was so lucky to be selected as his assistant!  Here are some pictures of his mock, mock exam in our kitchen.  I was told after 5 pictures to quit taking them.  Due to HIPPA laws, we don't want to reveal the identity of his patient. (No really, he just doesn't like his picture to be taken).  

Introducing...Eric A. Metteauer, future DVM.

(ps...the fashionable, green head band is a sweat catcher, secondary to the warm temperatures of the island. Large animal surgeries are performed outside, small inside, but Eric wants to get used to donning this unfamiliar headgear.  If sweat lands in the sterile surgical field, that is grounds for failing the rossie, or any other real surgery they may perform.  No room for error in this school!)

America, The Beautiful...celebration with Uncle Boo

My Uncle Barry has come and gone.  We had the BEST time with him on our little territory.  He flew in on the 4th of July, so there was need for a CeLeBrAtIoN!  After Blaine and I picked him up from the airport (and waited 30 extra minutes for him to stand in line to claim his missing bag...AA, you continue to affirm your incompetency...leaving 25+ passengers' luggage in Miami), we dropped his bags off at the house, picked up the tater salad I made (mother, your recipe was delicious as always), the marinated chicken, Eric, and then we were off to Elvis' to enjoy a BBQ with friends, beach volleyball, drinks, corn hole, a bonfire, country music + 2 steppin' and fireworks.  The rest of the week was filled with beach, snorkeling, casino, martini bar, Blaine time, pool time and more.  We think he should come back at least one more time before December!

Her Dress says "Miss Independent".  Let's just say, the shoe fits.