Thursday

It's been a good week so far for us. Monday, Rebecca and I went to story hour at Barnes and Noble and to open gym at Gymboree. Ramy grilled pork chops I had marinaded in Soyaki and I made crash potatoes to go with them. Tuesday, I went to Loma Linda to meet with my dissertation chair and my assessment supervisor. My dissertation chair gave me the green light to submit my IRB application as it is. He also gave me some off-the-record instructions about my comp paper that will allow me to make it something that I can actually use in my dissertation, rather than being just a ridiculous and purposeless document. He also agreed to supervise a clinical case I was coerced into taking, and he agreed to take over a client from one of my outgoing supervisees about whom I was nervous to hand off to a brand new therapist (he's a bit unstable and likely to act out impulsively). So that was a successful meeting. Then I met with the neuropsychologist I'm doing this case for, and we talked about the results we've gotten so far, and she agreed that we had enough that we could argue for services for the little girl without needing more testing. So now I've just got to write that report up and give the feedback to grandma and send the report to Social Security. I need to get all that done before I go on vacation next Friday, and I also intend to get my IRB protocols submitted at both UofR and LLU. So no slacking for me!

Wednesday, I had a client at LLU and then I met my friend Julie at Victoria Gardens to have lunch at Cheesecake Factory and did some baby shopping at some of my faves (Baby Gap, Gymboree, Strasburg Children). Last night, we got takeout and went to the kickoff night of the Chino Hills Concerts in the Park. Rebecca loved seeing all the people (and dogs) and especially liked jamming to the Beatles music.

Nanny Rebecca and Baby Rebecca have been going to the pool this week, since it has been so hot. Despite sunscreen, Rebecca is getting browner and browner. She loves the pool!

I spent all day today working on my dissertation. More specifically, I was just finishing up all the silly forms that go along with the IRB submission, doing my power analysis, and making everything look pretty on the consent form. Hopefully, it will sail through both IRBs without any holdups, but I don't take it for granted. I feel pretty good about the progress I've made toward my dissertation goals though, and I'm still planning to defend my proposal sometime around mid-August (I'm tentatively planning it for Tuesday, August 12, but I have no idea if my committee can actually meet then).

So I'm hoping to get my IRB application and protocols finished this weekend and then I can get the signatures and everything delivered to ORC next week when I'm on campus. My other work-goal for the weekend is to get a draft of the neuropsych report to Dr. Ropacki by Monday. Tomorrow morning, Rebecca and I are going to Gymboree, and then we'll drive on over to Loma Linda to get her bloodwork done for her allergy testing. I'm so not looking forward to that process, because being restrained will be tortuous to Rebecca, not to mention the actual blood draw! Too bad it isn't Ramy's day off or I would try to get him to take her! Sunday, we're having some people over; we'll just swim and grill and let the kids play together. I have no idea what I'm cooking/baking for that, but I need to decide that and shop for whatever I need. Plus, we need to get the house in a slightly more company-ready form. After that, then I can start getting ready for our trip to Tennessee.