The Great Escape(s)

Nathan has been sick this week. We got a call from daycare on Tuesday because he had a fever and he had thrown up. When we got him home, we actually took his temperature, and he had about a 103. So we took him to the doctor the next day. He was sick & pathetic in the waiting room and with the nurse, but as soon as the nurse left the exam room, he was acting like his regular old self. The doctor was a bit surprised, but further examination revealed the potential for an ear infection. So antibiotics for us. They seem to have made him grumpy this time - he went on a hunger and nap strike for a couple of days, severely testing Mommy's (and especially Daddy's) sanity. He seemed like he was mostly better yesterday. Until bedtime. He's gone back to yelling and screaming instead of going to sleep. We usually let him go for about 10 or 15 minutes until one of us breaks. This time, however, we heard a thump and a banging on his bedroom door. That's right, he got out of his crib. Because of the size of his room, we keep his laundry basket up against the end of his crib, and this is where he landed. The basket must have fallen over when he landed or in his attempts to get out, and the result was that he was blocking the door. So as we were trying to gently get the door open (which was nearly impossible because of the basket) little hands started appearing around the edge of the door, followed by a little head. It was pretty funny once we got over the "holy crap he fell out of bed" moment. No major injuries, although he appears to be limping a little bit. Nothing swollen, so we're guessing he's a little sore. Looks like a big boy bed is in Nathan's not too distant future.

In other news, my own Great Escape from UConn (or the Yukon, depending on the weather) has taken another baby step forward - I've got "preliminary" approval from my department to do my dissertation, pending a few minor changes, clarifications, and smacks upside the head. For those keeping score at home, that's 5 people who had approved of my study so far (my 3 committee members and the 2 department committee members). That leaves 17 left to go. Sadly, I'm not kidding. The ethics panel (IRB, for those in the know) has to do a full review since I'm going to be using data from therapy clients. They meet next week, and account for 15 of the remaining 17. After all that, 2 more people at the Graduate School have to read and approve. Word around the campfire is that by that point, they have nothing to say. We'll see. The amazing part to me (so far) is that one of the things I need to change based on the departmental review are "numerous grammar errors." I consider myself a decent writer, but we all overlook things. However, I also had my 3 committee members making grammar/style suggestions, plus an actual professional editor! Somehow, I'm guessing that we're all using different definitions of "grammar." Anyway, for those wondering why the heck its taking me so long to get out of school, I hope this has provided some insight. Hopefully more good news after the ethics review this week. Think ethical thoughts for me.