Moose and Zee

 

Nick Jr has some great craft projects that involve some of my kids' favorite characters. I made these felt "pillows" of Moose A. Moose and Zee using felt pieces (25 cents each at Hobby Lobby), polyfill, and felt glue. Totally cute! Totally easy! And best yet, my kids totally think I am AWESOME!

CPR, AED, and OOMM:

Okay, so I made up that last one to suit me and it may be real and then again it might not so I'll tell you about it in a minute.

Today I went over to a friend's house to get CPR certified through the American Heart Association. It was a 4 hour course and we practiced on "manikins" as they were called (both adult and babies) and learned how to really be a hands on person in the face of an emergency. The friend's mom is the trainer/educator for the Austin Airport so we got a really nice personalized training session.

I noticed a few changes in the protocol since I last took the course. It's been over 10 years since I have done any certification and it was interesting to see what had changed. The basics are the same:

1. Make sure that it's a safe environment for yourself as well as the victim.
2. Try to get a response from the victim to see if they are okay. (ARE YOU OKAY? is the standard question.)
3. Call for help. If someone is nearby and responds ask them to be the one to call 911. If you are in an area where there are AEDs, have them retrieve it for you after they call 911.
3a. If no one responds, call 911 and report your location, give a brief description of the victim and then tell them that you know CPR and that you are going to begin.

ONCE YOU BEGIN CPR, IT IS IMPORTANT NOT TO STOP UNTIL EMS ARRIVES. THIS IS WHY YOU CALL FIRST, UNLESS IT IS A CHILD.
4. Listen for breathing. If you do not notice breathing within 5 to 10 seconds, tilt head back to secure an airway and give 2 breaths. (You only breathe as hard as you would normally breathe yourself. You do not suck in large amounts of air.) You will notice the chest rise and fall with each of your breaths.
5. As soon as 2 breaths are in, start compressions. 30 compressions (this was the main difference I noticed. it used to be only 15 compressions, but they have found that doing 30 actually gives a better survival statistic.)
6. Repeat breaths and compressions until emergency medical persons can relieve you. If it is a child, give breaths immediately and start compressions. Do this cycle 5 times before calling 911. Children need air more quickly than adults do in this situation. With children you always complete 5 cycles before switching off care.

**If an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) is available, you connect it to an adult as soon as you get 2 breaths into him/her. Then you follow the prompts on the AED. It tells you exactly what to do. You turn it on. Attach the pads to dry, hairless skin on the upper right chest and the left side 1 inch under the armpit. The AED will run an EKG and will let you know if you need to shock the patient. It will warn you to clear the patient and then will tell you when to push the button to administer the shock. You will then be prompted to begin your cycle of 30 compressions followed by 2 breaths. The AED will stay on and will continue to monitor the patient and may have you stop and shock again. Of note, these AEDs have microchips that record everything that is happening. They can hear you talking, they can hear you giving breaths, etc. DO NOT UNHOOK THE PATIENT FROM THE AED or REMOVE the PADS. Do NOT turn the AED machine off. With a child, you may need to place one pad on the front and one pad on the back due to the child's size. You would only do this after completed 5 cycles of CPR. Then you would follow the prompts of the AED.

It was a great class and I really feel like I am back to par on being able to help in an emergency. It's always nice to brush up on old skills and to see if there have been changes (like there had been for me.) It also was nice to get some hands on experience with the AED. I had never worked with one and would have not known what to do with one until now. I highly recommend all of you to go out and find this course if you get a chance. It just might save a life!

Oh and as far as OOMM. It stands for Out Of My Mind with regards to trying to referee my children. They are driving me crazy with the bickering and fighting.

Why Sit on It When You Can Sit Under It?

 


Ian loves making a fort with the little chairs and hiding.

Baker's Helper

 
 
 
 


Ian is quite a wizard with a rolling pin and cookie cutters. He enjoyed helping roll the dough out and cutting the cookies out. He loved that I wrote his name on his cookie with icing. (I did the same for his brother even though he isn't old enough to appreciate it.)

Mulan, Jr at VLA

 
 
 
 

 
 
 

Tonight we had the pleasure to go see the children's theater production of Disney's Mulan, Jr at VLA Theater. Mulan was played by Knitter's Daughter the former Queen of Hearts. And capture our hearts she did! She had strep throat and her voice wasn't 100%, but she performed like a star in spite of adversity and did a phenominal job. We know she can sing because we've seen her perform before, so we know it was killing her inside to not be 100%. What a great example she set for going on stage and doing her best in spite of it all! Her sisters also were in the show and they did a great job, too! They are a talented bunch of young ladies for sure! The kids always enjoy seeing other children on stage and enjoyed the show. We were there with 2 sets of friends and Ian was so happy to greet the actors after the show with his pals Kayla and Kayla. (NO that isn't a typo.)

Advertising Gone Wrong???

 


So a couple of dudes came back to the counter tonight to tell us that we were advertising toys in the wrong section of the store. They have a point. Those of us working had a good laugh.

Death by Sunshine

 


Sunshine, good for a source of vitamin D for humans, not so good for icy snow friends!

Disappointment in "the System"

But I guess that is what is expected anyay. Birth parents are given every right. Every chance. Every everything. All while an innocent child gets shuffled around the system. So not fair. But that's how the darn system is set up. Why? I'll never understand.

With that said, it's not totally over. There will be one more hearing in the May-June timeframe. If nothing has changed for the birth parents by then, the placement here will be reconsidered.

Social services, the baby's lawyer and my inlaws all testified to move her now. But the judge that was chosen likes to keep birth families together. And the birth parents were coached with their appearance: high heels, suits, ties, etc.

I can't feel guilty. I did all that I could. I just feel a deep sorrow for the innocent child. Please keep praying for her.

Wordless Wednesday

 
 
 
 

 
 
 

Our Pathetic Mini Snowman

 
 
 
 
So Ian really wanted a snowman. To me, snowmen are daddy department material. I've not been feeling all that great so I gave in and we made a little snowman. He's pretty pathetic looking, but at least Ian was satisfied. Aaron is NOT feeling this snow thing. He's grumpy and hates to touch the cold stuff. He's definitely a southern boy!

I Guess I'll Eat My Words!

 
 
 
 


It's snowing in Central Texas! I never thought it really would SNOW and stick. Schools are closed and they just released the soldiers on Ft Hood. That would never have happened for this little of snow back home, but it sure is fun here! The kids enjoyed about 30 minutes outside earlier and we are now back inside watching more snow come down. It seems to be good packing snow so we should be able to make a small snowman later if it keeps coming at the same rate.

Miscellaneous Topics

1. We've been suffering from the "snots" these past few days. Aaron has been hit especially hard with this go-round of ickiness. I really don't think we're contagious, but the gross factor is enough to steer us clear of most folk because you know that's what they are going to think. Aaron has used his nebulizer machine for the past couple of days and that seemed to quell the cough (Thank you, Lord, for the blessings of modern medicine.)

2. Work has been a big old thorn in the side as of late. I really love my job. Generally it's a great work place. The job if fulfilling and I enjoy contributing positively to society. Well working here in Killeen has been an adventure that I never imagined and I feel the life being sucked out of me at a pretty rapid rate. It seems that ill content breeds more ill content. I keep witnessing bad attitudes turning others into miserable humbugs. So I decided that it was time for a change of heart for everyone and that I was going to lead by example. I jumped in and started doing work that was left over that everyone was compounding by ignoring. I made a huge dent in it and showed them that I was a part timer, who hadn't contributed to the mess at all, and I was going take pride in my workplace and get it cleaned up. By golly, it worked! Coworkers started asking "What can I do to help?" I need to remember this the next time I have a bad day. My attitude really does affect others. Positive attitude and hard work ellicit good workplace practices by all and a much more pleasant day even if I have to work hard.

3. Saying No. I used to always say Yes. This got me into quite a few pickles and I finally learned to say no. Well I guess I still need to work on how I say it. I always joke about my outloud voice being named Frank. I figure most people understand that about my personality, but I have found that written words don't often translate the same way spoken words do. This left a friend of mine upset with me and my tone toward her this week when she asked me to do a favor. I meant nothing by it. I just meant NO, I don't want to do something and I can't commit to it at this time. Her perception was that I was rude and nasty. This escalated to a text message that hurt my feelings and phone call that hurt hers. I did apologize for my behavior, but I don't really feel like I got one back. I've decided to be a bigger person and move on and things seem okay again. I just need to figure out how to say NO and mean it and yet not make anyone think that I am being mean.

4. 4 year old attitude problems. Ian has always been my sweet kid. He's the first to come find me and plant a kiss on my forehead every morning. He's the first to say "Good morning, Mommy. I love you." But he's driving me crazy with his attitude as of late. Being downright ornery and mean and nasty and saying no to spite me, etc. This evening ended for him by me taking all of his toys from his room and leaving him to go to bed with no stuffed animals, etc. I'm just not sure how to get through to him. :(

5. Under 60 days. Bill should start the process of coming home within the next 60 days. These 60 days can't pass quickly enough.

6. Custody case for our niece is scheduled for Wednesday morning. It's a dockett style case and will be heard by the judge sometime between 8am and 11am CST. Some things have changed with the birth parents and they have become partially compliant in their recovery plan. They have retained lawyers and the STATE says that our case will be a battle. Please keep Abby in your prayers that what is best for her is what is done. Please also pray for my mother in law who has been called to testify against her child and for her grandchild. No mother wants to say negative things about her children in such a public forum. Please pray that she can convey her message to the judge and that the judge will hear all that is said and will do the very best to place Abby where she needs to be. (The State really wants her transferred to us, but the judge that was selected is notorious for keeping birth families together if she can see an inkling of a chance that they will become compliant. The State doesn't believe full compliance is a possibility, but we have to wait to see how the judge rules on this.)

7. Thanks to everyone who responded to my last post. There were a couple of you that I didn't realize came around for a visit here or there! It's nice to have you in my small audience.