Our Week in Quiz Form

***Note: while reading the following questions and answers, please recognize that some of the statements are "slightly" exaggerated for humor.... other statements are minimized so that I seem less crazy than I actually am***

1. Your taxes come back and GOOD NEWS - you're getting a bigger refund than you expected. You:
a. make arrangements to invest the money in a solid CD
b. set the money aside to pay the upcoming mortgage on your new house during the month and a half you won't have any income due to your husband's job change
c. use the money to pay the upcoming credit card bill that will be higher than normal due to your addiction to paying other people to take pictures of your child
d. research charities that could use the extra dollars
e. think to yourself, "ehhh.. lets forget about our ability to pay our bills this month" and proceed to go eat dinner at the Japanese steakhouse

answer: e

2. Your husband is due for a "vacation month" in his rigorous and grueling residency for the month of March. What was supposed to be a relaxed "do as much or as little as you want to" experience is now going to require 90 plus hours of activities. You learn this information 3 days prior to the rotation beginning. Your response is:
a. realize that the situation stinks, but acknowledge that it probably is a good educational opportunity and might provide some needed skills during your husband's last few months of formal training
b. prayerfully consider your negative attitude about this last minute change of plans and focus on the potential benefits
c. respectfully admit that many of these "new" activities have actually been a requirement all along, and the fact that they weren't enforced before now does not change the fact that the right and responsible thing to do is to cheerfully complete the assigned tasks
d. mentally reflect on how lucky you and your husband are to have leaders who are so involved with the quality of your husband's education that they are willing to spend all of their own, personal, spare time constantly thinking up more stuff for him to do
e. resist the urge to curse and throw things while discussing with your husband how unreasonable it is to drastically change things up in the middle of the year on 72 hours notice. point out how unfair it is that some residents aren't having to do this extra work since they've already done this rotation, and if he'd only been lucky enough to have done it earlier, it wouldn't be an issue for us; proceed in this mature fashion to express your anger at the many unexpected and arguably unfair changes this training program has thrown at both of you. breathe a sigh of relief that the program leaders only have 4 more months to rule your lives and say a quick prayer that your weekend and vacation plans won't be ruined for the month

answer: e

3. Your child will be 8 months old in 2 days and is neither sitting up well nor making an effort to crawl. You:
a. recognize that each child develops at a different pace, and just because the kid you babysit for has been crawling since she was 6 months old doesn't mean your child has to be doing it that early
b. remind yourself that her doctor said she looked great a mere few weeks ago, and it is highly unlikely that anything concerning has changed since then
c. observe that she *can* actually sit up just fine; she just chooses not to most of the time, and appreciate the fact that you don't have to constantly chase her around just yet
d. say a quick prayer that everything is alright and increase her floor time so she can perfect her skills
e. grill all of your friends about how old their babies were when they started crawling and repeatedly ask your medically knowledgeable husband about all of the various illnesses that could cause such delays; proceed to worry for a day and a half that your child has an incurable disease of some sort; finally, consult your trusty "What To Expect the First Year" book where you immediately discover that your daughter is not only right on track with her milestones, but she is actually excelling in several of them

answer: e

4. After 6 months of trying, you FINALLY lost 4 or 5 pounds after a vicious stomach bug weeks ago. You:
a. take advantage of your shrunken stomach and motivational boost and make an effort to eat less so that you can continue your weight loss
b. step up your working out efforts to continue the trend
c. integrate healthier, low-calorie foods into your diet
d. substitute water for the unhealthy amounts of soda you drink
e. increase your number of daily meals and snacks; take home 7 pieces of leftover cake from a friend's birthday party and eat them all within 2 days; begin a new routine of eating a candy bar at least once a day; feel sick all over again when you realize that you wasted a perfectly good weight loss opportunity and are on the verge of gaining even more weight

answer: e

5. Your talented but overpriced photographer is offering "Mommy and Me" and "Daddy and Me" sessions in a week and a half. Your child hates getting her picture made, and you just purchased 6 pages worth of pictures for her baby album. You:
a. vow to have a family picture made along with her 1 year portraits
b. research alternative studios for a cheaper "Mommy and Me" session
c. ask a friend to take your picture together in the 70 degree, sunny, February weather with your nice new camera that you just got back from the Canon repair shop
d. tell yourself that your child is only going to be a baby once; that this is your first little girl and you'd envisioned a sweet picture of the two of you all along; that you haven't yet regretted a single penny you've spent on her pictures; that you do have that extra tax money coming after all; that you'll only buy one print for the wall, so it really won't be that expensive since they're not charging a sitting fee, all the while knowing that's a flat out lie and you'll likely end up with a regularly priced package; that your husband happens to be off the day they're doing this promotion, and what are the odds of that happening??? so it must be fate telling you that you need to have these pictures made
e. go get the friend who recommended this photographer to you in the first place and who's already paid for her own "Mommy and Me" session to validate the reasons listed in answer d and promptly schedule your appointment so as to get a good time slot

answer: d and e

Check back Thursday - it's Christa's 8 month birthday, and I'll post some pictures of her with my good camera that I am oh so glad to have back. Have a great day!