Numerous countdowns

Bilal's cardiology appointment: T minus 6 days. We'll be seeing Dr. Colvin on July 7th for his annual appointment. I'm not really worried about the appointment, but there's always that little bit of hesitation......... The biggest accomplishment this time will be navigating UAB by myself again. I always wish that Zakir would come to these appointments with us, but for some reason we haven't been able to work it out that way for the last several appointments.

The other stressful (in a different way) deadline is for my recertification exam: 9 days left. I will be answering (or attempting to answer) 370 multiple choice questions on July 10th. Ugh! I just hope I pass!

And finally, the one we've all been looking forward to, the beach: We depart July 11th for one whole week of sea, sand and an extra long Mobeen fix! Farah will be vacationing with us too.

Hamza had his first orthodontic incident yesterday. Enticed by none other than his baby brother. Hamza was lying around, minding his own business when Bilal pushed down (rather forcefully) on his headgear. The safety mechanism didn't quite pop open, but one of the brackets cemented to his teeth popped out. So he had to go in today to get the bracket reinserted. Thankfully there's no additional charge for first offences.

And do you see the colorful T-shirt Bilal is wearing? My talented and creative toddler designed it all by himself, thanks to a handful of permanent markers and some rubbing alcohol. His older siblings were making their own, so of course he didn't want to be left behind. He picked out the colors, drew his own design and helped drip the alcohol on it. Then we let it air dry, ran it through the hot dryer and it was good to wear. Right now he's the only one of the three that wants to be seen wearing their t-shirt in public.