Bo's Residency Interviews 101

So it has come to my attention that some of you readers out there might not exactly know what is going on with Bo's interviews, and I know some of you are wondering why we aren't already knowing where we are going to go.

Well.

This post hopefully will get things straight, and also I'd like to have it all in the records anyways, that way I can look back on this and be glad it's over and done with.



Interviewing and applying for Residency in the medical field is a lot different than interviewing and applying for jobs elsewhere. How so? Well for starters, most jobs you fill out a resume, maybe a cover letter, put in your references, and than you interview. About a week or so after the interview you usually find out if you were accepted to the position or not. This is not how it works for residency, or at least Bo's. I wish.

With Bo, he's had to fill out a resume of sorts, do a letter/essay, have at least three letters of recommendation, a Dean's letter, and to top that off, he's had to take some super hard tests. With all that paper work in hand, he turns it in to the application people, and they give it to the programs that he's interested in. Then you wait. Some programs make you wait a couple months to get back to you, some a couple of weeks.

After you hear back from the programs interested, you are either assigned an interview date, or you get to schedule it, depends on the program. Bo was fortunate enough to schedule all of his, that way he could lump the ones in the same area around the same time. Make sense? Anyways. Some programs will pay for your hotel. Most don't. None pay for you to travel there and interview. nice. After you interview, you get to go home and not wait for a week or two, like most people, but instead have to wait till March 17th to find out where you are going. That's right, I said FIND OUT. No real picking and choosing.

So here's what happens... you interview at X amount of programs, and then you rank them, number one being your most desired destination, and on down to as many programs as you want to rank. Bo will rank 11, since that's how many interviews he had. After you rank it, you submit it to the match system. THEN the programs you interviewed at rank YOU. They rank all of the people they interviewed the same way you rank them, most wanted at the top, least at the bottom. You have no idea how you are ranked, they have no idea how they are ranked. The match system will then match you up starting with the highest on your list to the highest on their list. Very confusing. So just because you rank some place number one, it doesn't mean you'll actually go there, because that place might not have ranked you all that high. Awesome idea, isn't it? Note the sarcasm.

So people have asked me how Bo's interviews have been going. Well they've been going great. Each program has really done it's job at selling themselves. They do that because they WANT you to rank them high, regardless of what they think of you. The more people that rank them high, the better they look. So it's all really deceiving. You could come out of an interview thinking it was great, but really have no clue.

Luckily Bo is a great guy. :) He's got amazing scores, super awesome grades, and like I said, he's just a great guy. Who couldn't like Bo?? ;) We're hoping that with all his hard work, we should be able to go where we want, but then again, you just never know.

So here are the places Bo has interviewed at, in order of interview dates, NOT in anyway ranked. Temple, Texas; Nashville, Tennessee; Columbia, SC; Charlotte, NC; Newark, Delaware; Boston, MA; Springfield MA; Sacramento, CA; Portland OR; Indianapolis, IN; and Cincinnati, Ohio. 11 programs. All across the country.

We like all the programs, and don't think we'll be too disappointed wherever we end up. They are all excellent programs and places. So wish us luck!!! And for the sake of not being embarrassed if we don't go to our top choices, I'm not going to list our rank order. You'll find out on March 17th, along with us, where we are going.

Random Pictures

Here are some pictures from this month that don't fit into a post, but I definitely want on my blog.

My funny kids.

I introduced Carter and Meg to the "orange smile" by very maturely doing it myself. We can't get them to stop doing it now. :)
My parents got us towels for Christmas. They were HUGE. When we got the package a couple of days after new years, the kids excitedly got them out and made them into beds. Bo and I just thought it was funny how small they made our kids look.
Yes, they are pretending to be asleep.

Meg trying to "read." She sat there for like 5 minutes looking at the book too. And no, there aren't any pictures in it. haha.

Who needs toys when you have a box??

Carter's "Birthday"

Carter's "Birthday", I'm afraid to say, was rather pathetic. Or at least I thought it was. I think Carter thought it was fine.

So Thursday, the 13th, he woke up like any other day, and it wasn't till we pulled out his presents, that he remembered it was his birthday. Than he got into it.

Since Bo had the day off, he got to open his presents first thing in the morning. Lucky duck. I remember not being able to open mine up until noon on my birthdays. hahaa. He got some pirate booty from his Grandpa Beus, 5 dollars in quarters from my parents, a piggy bank, a controller his size for the wii, a dinosaur book, and a Buzz Lightyear toy. The biggest hit so far has been the piggy bank. Funny, huh?

For breakfast he had his normal poptart, but he didn't take one bite. I chalked it up to him getting sick of them. Later Bo made pancakes, but Carter only took a couple of bites. At this I started wondering what was up, because he'll normally eat a couple of pancakes. When lunch came around and he only took two bites of his favorite lunch ever, a hot dog, I really started worrying. Something was up with Carter. He insisted he was fine though and that he wanted to go to the Rainforest Cafe for dinner, so Bo and I decided, why not?

Poor Carter. At the restaurant he ate only a couple of bites off his ribs, and than proceeded to say he didn't feel well and laid down on my lap. Some birthday dinner celebration. When we were all done eating, I asked him if he wanted some ice cream or something, I mean we were even prepared to get the coveted VOLCANO, and he said no. NO! This kid LOVES ice cream and has always wanted a volcano. We knew he wasn't faking it with that response. Poor baby.

So instead of singing happy birthday later that evening with his ice cream cake, we came home laid out towels on the floor, gave him his "throw up" bowl, and let him watch a movie. He didn't move an inch.

So that was his birthday. Sad, eh?

Luckily he was feeling much better the following evening, and was able to have his birthday cake and song with his friends Milo and Ollie, who we were babysitting.

Happy Birthday Carter! Sorry I made you wait for your Birthday, and then on the day you finally got to have it, you were sick. My bad. Hopefully it will go way better next year.

Oh yeah, and sorry you didn't get an official "party." I have just been so out of it, and when Milo and Ollie were there to help blow out the candles, you thought that was your party, and I was too lazy to correct you. So we let you think that yes, indeed, that was your party. You didn't seem upset about it though. I figured, if you didn't know any better. . .

Next year you'll get an actual party.

I really do love you!

I know, I know. I need to blog. I still have to talk about Carter's "birthday."
I'll do that once I have the energy to get up and get my camera and download the pictures.
For the time being I'll just have Bo do everything for me because i have the worst cold EVER.
Seriously.
You know those cold/flu medicine commercials where the actors are always over-exaggerating their symptoms. They've got there box of tissues next to them, they are way too stuffy, and you just think, "c'mon! No one is that bad!"
That's what I've got. I've got it so bad, that now I think, "wow, they really nailed it. Those are some AMAZING actors." No joke. As I'm typing, I'm having to breath out my mouth because my nose is so stuffed. My throat hurts to swallow. I keep having flashes between hot and cold, although I am getting a little better about that. I also have those darn aches. The achy legs, the ankles, the fingers, you know.
The worst part? All I get to take is Tylenol. Not cool. Not cool at all. And with my hips spreading because I'm in that last month, those aches make it so I can't sleep on them. That means I had to sleep part of last night SITTING UP in the recliner, propped by pillows, because that's the only position that wasn't painful.
I'm done. I'm done being sick, I'm done being pregnant. I'm like 36 and half weeks. That's good enough. Statistically he should be pretty healthy right now.
At least Bo has been around to pretty much take over both parental roles.

*Funny side story, Bo had a class for a couple of hours this morning. I was trying to talk to the kids, when right in the middle of talking to them, in a really husky voice I might add, I had to cough. Immediately after coughing I lost my voice. So here I am, in the middle of a conversation with my kids, and suddenly I can't talk. You should have seen Meg's face. She was so confused. Carter recognized what was happening and ran out of the room calling "You lost your voice! I don't want to be in the same room with you and get sick too!" I thought it was amusing. Luckily I got my voice back like 10 minutes later.

Five Years Old

Carter turned five years old today. FIVE. Wow. Man the time has gone quickly.

Carter doesn't know his birthday is today.

Why?

Bo is out of town on more interviews. He left yesterday early in the morning and won't get back until LATE tomorrow night. Bo wanted to be there for the celebration, which he should, so we just haven't told Carter his birthday is today. Instead he thinks it's on Thursday. That way Bo can be there for the party. Still haven't answered why? Because I think it would be cruel to tell Carter it was his birthday but not let him open his presents, as we all know he would be begging to do.

He's better off just thinking he got to have a really fun day.

We started off the day with his 5 year check up at the Doctor's. He passed with flying colors. The Doctor even said he was above average for a five year old in the smarts department. How does she know? She had him write his name, and not only did he write it, but he wrote it SIDEWAYS, so that she could read it. She was sitting perpendicular to him, so he wrote his name so that it faced her, proving he could write it. She was impressed. haha

After his Dr.'s appt, we went to McDonalds and played, and played, and PLAYED. We stayed there for 3 hours, no joke. We had friends come and join us, so it made his day.

After that it was an attempt at nap, Star Wars Legos on the Wii, cookies, yummy dinner, cereal, Dino Dan on tv, a bath, and than chat time with Grandpa and Grandma Baker on the webcam.

Yep, he had a good day.

He'll have an even better day on Thursday, his mock Birthday.

Carter, Daddy and I love you. You are such a fun, bright, and happy part of our lives. We're glad we were blessed to have you join our family and that you chose us to be your parents. You are so smart, creative, funny, goofy, and loving. You are the best big brother to Megan, and we know you are just going to amazing to your future baby brother.

I can't believe you are five. It's gone by way too fast. I hope I have made the most of it. I hope you know that I cherish every moment with you. Okay, almost every moment. :) I can't wait to continue our friendship.

So, since I didn't start this blog before we had Carter, I have no pictures of his birth in my blog books. Here are a few pictures of him as a newborn, along with pictures of him on birthdays in the past. I've had fun seeing him grow, and hope you enjoy the pictures!!!

Carter's BIRTH day. I was so nervous for this day. Bo had told me weeks previous to his birth that he thought most babies were ugly, and that he would have no problem saying ours was ugly, even though it was ours. When Carter was born I was so relieved he was a cutie (granted I'm biased, but a LOT of people told me he was a pretty baby... than again they could've been humoring me too). I was glad Bo thought he was cute too. I don't think I could've stood it if he told me Carter Bug was ugly. haha

He had the biggest dimple in his chin and such long fingers.

Carter's Blessing Day. So cute!! He started really chunking up at this point...and losing his hair. Oh yeah, his blessing day was about 3 weeks after his birth on Feb. 5th, 2006. Grandpa Baker was there for the blessing.
Carter's First Birthday! Where'd the dark hair go? Where did those rolls come from??

Carter's Second Birthday. He's thinning out.

Carter's Third Birthday, and the beginning of his obsession with Pirates!!

Carter's Fourth Birthday. The beginning of his craziness.

Five years old!!!! Only, he doesn't know it...

Yep, he's still crazy...

You know you're big when....

So my self esteem has been taking a big hit lately, a BIG hit.
It seems everywhere I go, someone is commenting on how big I look. True story.
Here are some of my favorite conversations:

While in the elevator in a building, a lady asked me if I was due any day. "No, (nervous chuckle) I still have six weeks." She looked at me with shock, so I added "It's my third child." She replied with, "well our bodies just fall apart on us as we get older, don't they?" I wish I could explain the expression that comment brings to my face. Thanks. Thanks a lot.

Not five minutes after the elevator experience I got the, "You due any day?" "Nope, not till Valentines Day." "Twins??" "Nope. Just one." "Well one's enough." Yep. I'm not making these up, friends.

I've gotten tons of "Wow! You look like you're due any day!" and "Twins??" I've also gotten some "When are you due? Yesterday??"

Really people. Do you think these comments make me feel good??? Would they make ANYONE feel good??? I guess they might make you feel good if you were ACTUALLY due, instead of a month and a half away.

But the best comment of all comes from my OB/GYN.
I had an appointment last week and he came right into my room, smiled at me, and then looked at my tummy and said, "WOW. You look like you're done."
Now maybe this isn't the worst comment, you might think, but let me just tell you... all those other comments? I could maybe shrug them off as being from men, or women with no children, or women who haven't had children in a long time, or whatever. But from a guy that sees pregnant women as his job????? Yeah, that's a hard hit.


I don't think I'll be posting any pictures with this post....

Happy Birthday Bo!!!

Bo's 30th birthday was on Tuesday, and yes, sadly, I am just now getting around to blogging about it.

He started off the day getting to sleep in, which was a huge present from me. :) He also got to open his present (another one was in transit) from us, and just enjoy a nice casual relaxing day with the family, complete with lunch at McDonalds, which really doesn't get much better, and dinner at Logan's Roadhouse. Oh yeah, and instead of a cake, I made him his favorite... homemade oreo cookies.

I didn't throw a party for him for two reasons, one being that I just don't have it in me to be that creative and organized at the moment, and the second being that it's not Bo's personality to have a party and be social, and he actually begged me not to throw one. Twist my arm, Bo.

Happy Birthday Bo!! I love you so much. Your kids adore you. You are the best man for us. Here's to many more years of fun and aging!!!

Bo blowing out his candles with the help of Meg. Yes, I made more than 4 cookies, I just did four in the picture because there were four of us, and I only had about that many candles anyways.
Scrumptious

Eating out at Logan's