Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Fly like an eagle

Today at work I needed to go out for some recon on the Reservation to see if some of the back roads to springs are accesible because Friday my EPA Project Officer is visiting and I need to take her out to show her some stuff. 

The first part I asked my co-worker who is also a tribal member to show me the road to get to a certain arroyo.  While we were driving we saw a golden eagle floating in the wind gusts.  It was so awesome!  The area around here is all vermillion colored cliffs and sage brush desert so it looks like something out of an old western movie, and then watching the eagle was indescribable.

The roads were all in great condition for now, but we are expecting a big storm in here tomorrow, so we will see what they look like on Friday.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Easter Basket

I finally finished Austin's Easter basket liner.  I patterned it from baskets on Pottery Barn Kids. 
http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/boys-easter-baskets-and-liners/?pkey=gthmocceas


Moms and Tots: Kids in Motion

We finally attended another Moms and Tots class.  Austin is really walking well now and enjoyed chasing after the huge exersize balls. 






Thursday, March 25, 2010

14 Month Photos




I was also trying to add a video of him walking, but my video upload tool is missing.  Anyone know how I can download video?

Friday, March 19, 2010

Aloha Friday


Since tomorrow is the first official day of spring, here is my question:

Do you garden?

I love to garden, but I have not yet started for the year.  I am thinking that I will need to till my garden spot this weekend and get the spinach, peas, and lettuce planted.  I was hoping to get one more load of compost put on it first, but I don't have time for that, so I'll just add some extra fertilizer.  I also hope to plant some flowers in my new pots by the shed.  I replaced the nasty old terra cotta pots that were there from the previous owners last weekend.

So what is Aloha Friday, click here to find out and participate, it's a great way to make new bloggy friends!

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Spring Fever

Oh the weather is getting nicer and the grass greener, I love this time of year and to take advantage and get out in the yard.  Now that Austin is older and walking we went out in the yard today and he investigated while I did yard work.  Unfortunately he decided that decorative bark is fun to chew on and ended up with a mouth full, but otherwise he loved it and was upset when we came in the house.  I discovered a blooming crocus today and was going to take a picture of it, but before I took the time to go in and get the camera Austin discovered it too and plucked all the petals off. 

While he was napping I pruned the fruit trees, well in theory they are supposed to be fruit trees, but they never produce any fruit.  Maybe this will be our lucky year.  I also replaced two old nasty terra cotta flower pots by our shed.  They were here from the previous owners and they were falling apart, the clay was litterally flaking off so I bought two new pots this weekend that are plastic, but look nice.  They are all full of fertilized potting soil and ready for flowers, maybe next weekend.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Aloha Friday


In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day that they take it easy and look forward to the weekend. So I thought that on Fridays I would take it easy on posting, too. Therefore, I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response.  To participate go here.

My question:

Have you gotten your taxes done yet?  If yes did you get a refund or pay?

We had our taxes done last weekend.  We got a refund on both Fed and State, we need to adjust our W-4 for next year.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

A nice thought

I got a thank you card at work today and wanted to share the quote on it:

"If you ignore beauty,
you will soon find yourself without it...
But if you invest in beauty,
it will remain with you all the days of your life."
-Frank Lloyd Wright

Monday, March 8, 2010

The Ladies Boy

Oh boy are Dustin and I going to have our hands full when this kid is a teenager!

Today we went to our first Mom's and Tot's class a the local fitness center.  I'm actually quite impressed by the center, this is a tiny little community, but they have a really nice facility with a lot of workout equipment.  My co-worker's wife teaches the class of kiddos including their almost 2 year old daughter.  She plays fun music and has aerobic type activities to get the kids moving around.  Since it was our first day I didn't push Austin too hard to do the actual activities, but he loved playing with the huge workout balls that were at least as tall as he is. 

So back to the focus of this post, there was this cute little girl, Isa, in the class and Austin was totally into her.  At one point he walked over to her with open arms.  Since I though he was going in for a hug I stayed back.  Yes he did hug her, but then took her down.  I think maybe she backed up a little and that caused him to lose his balance since he's still a little wobbly, but he landed on top of her on the hardwood floor.  I felt so bad that I didn't intervene and stop him.  She must not have been hurt too bad because she did not cry.  We apologized to her and her Mom.  Even after that Austin kept following her around and checking her out.

Then later we went to daycare where Austin really has a girlfriend.  Dustin's co-worker's 3 year old daughter Mer always runs to Austin as soon as we get there to give him a hug and a kiss.  He is usually upset that I am leaving him and she pats him on the back and comforts him.  When Dustin or I pick up Austin Mer is always there to give him another hug and kiss good-bye.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Fever update

Yesterday morning Austin was feeling great and I checked his temp before daycare and it was 98.2 with no meds.  I took him to daycare and went to work for four hours.  When I picked him up he was actually sleeping and Nanny said that he was grumpy and fussy the whole time and wouldn't eat or drink.  She insisted that he had an ear infection and that I should take him to the doctor. 

I checked his temp when we got home and it was back up to 100.  He was acting tired so I put him back to bed.  When he woke up he ate dinner then I checked his temp before his bath and it was up to 101.4.  I gave him Motrin after the bath and put him to bed.  He slept great all through the night.  I talked to Dustin on the phone, he was in Flagstaff for work, and told him what Nanny said and he said that maybe we should take him in. 

I got up early this morning and had Austin to the clinic at 7:00am.  I like to go when they first open so we get in easier and don't have to wait in the waiting room with a bunch of sickos.  The doctor checked him and sure enough his left ear was a little swollen and discolored.  But, he said it was a minor ear infection that he thought would clear up on it's own without antibiotics.  He said that it is his opinion that doctors way over prescribe antibiotics for ear infections, and that it's making the problem worse.  He said we should just take it day to day and if he gets worse this weekend that I can call him at home for an antibiotic prescription, that is definitely a great thing about living in a small town!

I kept Austin home today so he could rest better and I could constantly offer him fluids.  I have really enjoyed playing with him all afternoon and now he is taking a nap.  Even though I probably did not need to take him to the doctor it is reassuring to know that he is ok. 

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Fever relief

Oh man has this week already been crazy!  Monday night I put Austin to bed and he was just fine, no symptoms of sickness what so ever.  At about 11:00pm I heard him start to whine, but I am trying to allow him to self sooth himself back to sleep so he sleeps through the night on his own so I start timing him and give him about 10 minutes.  Ususally he goes back to sleep on his own after about 3-4 minutes max, but he kept whimpering, and I realized it was a different quieter more pathetic sounding whine so I decided to check on him.  When I picked him up he was on fire.  I took  him into our office, it's where I keep the thermometer and on the other side of the house from our bedroom so I don't wake up Dustin.  I stripped him down and took his temp, it was 104.9 degrees F.  I panicked!

I went and woke up Dustin to help me read the What to Expet the Toddler Years book to find out what to do about fevers.  We gave him Motrin, sponged him off and gave him lots of juice.  He was very alert and didn't seem to be too upset other than he didn't like the wet towel for the sponging part.  I stayed up with him until about 1:30am when I checked his temp and it was down to 101.5.  I put him back to bed.

He woke up at about 3:00am I think and I didn't temp him, but he didn't feel super hot so I rocked him back to sleep.  He woke up again a 5:00am and was feeling hot so I checked him again and he was 104.1.  I gave him another dose of Motrin and got him cooled down a bit and back to bed. 

I remembered my doctor saying that so long as he is alert and taking in fluids that a fever up to 106-107 probably won't do any damage so I was trying to not worry too much.  I checked his temp at 9:30am and it was 103.2.  I decided to call the clinic and talk to the nurse.  She verified that I did not need to rush in since the temp was responding to the Motrin.  She said to start alternating Motrin and Tylenol every four hours so long as he had the fever and to come in the next day if that did not work, or if the fever stopped responding to the medicine. 

By last night he was feeling much cooler so I opted not to temp him because we just have a regular digital thermometer and I figured he was tired of having his temp checked that way, if you know what I mean.  At 11:00pm he was whimpering so I checked on him and he actually felt cool so I think he was too cold to be comfortable for sleep so I put him in his sleep sack.  He slept through the rest of the night and woke up this morning at normal temp. 

I know now that he was just fine the whole time, but man it is scary as a parent to watch him go through that.  I feel for the parents whose kids have febrile seizures with fever, that would be aweful.  I definitely have been motivated by this experience, the next time I am shopping I am going to buy a temporal thermometer!

Wordless Wednesday

I know it's a dark picture, but I did not want to wake him with the flash