New Favorite

You gotta try these....chocolate covered cinnamon bears! Nutty Guys distributes candy all over salt lake and it is sold at all the hospitals in town. My colleagues got me hooked on these treats and I got Joe hooked as well as my Mom who now has her co-workers requesting that I bring them when I visit Iowa!

It is going to cost me how much???

I got my hair cut yesterday and I made it through almost an hour-long appointment with my stylist and as I go to pay she looks sheepish and says, "Ah, just so you know my prices went up, next time it will be $48, but today I'll only charge you $40!" What do you say to that....I said, "congrats, I'm excited for you" and I truly am happy that she is getting a raise. I am sad for myself and I got to thinking...did she really get a 20% raise or is the salon making that much more? Who gets a 20% raise? In my years of working, I get about a 3% raise annually and most people don't get a raise at all. I hope she is seeing most of that money, but knowing that the salon is liking taking it in makes me sad....but I will keep seeing her! I am just going to be thankful I don't require color.....yet!

"What kind of pharmacist are you?"

Since I'm on the subject of work....in a heated conversation with an anesthesiologist I was asked this question! I was essentially yelled at for 10 minutes over the phone because it is MY fault that there is a national shortage of oxycodone tablets....if I only had that kind of power! Drug shortages make my job difficult.

We have a new robot at work....check it out!

Robot will be preparing IVs at Primary Children's
December 4th, 2008 @ 10:14pm
By Ed Yeates
Beginning next week, patients at Primary Children's Medical Center may be getting their life-saving IV's prepared by a highly sophisticated robot called RIVA (Robotic IV Automation).
Fifteen-day-old Hand Goedhart gets three different IVs that were traditionally prepared by human hands. Pharmacists gowned, gloved and masked in a special clean room custom make IVs for children. That's because a lot of drugs are not made in pediatric doses.

Pharmacy director at Primary Children's Medical Center Kevin Jones said, "And a lot of the adult doses are 10, even 100-fold greater than the pediatric doses."
But soon, upwards of more than 800 hundred IVs will be prepared daily, by something, not someone, very special. Meet RIVA, or Robotic IV Automation. So far, it's only the second of its kind to be installed in this country.
Within a cell more sterile than an OR, RIVA measures, injects, labels and delivers finished IV's in both syringes and bags. There are no mistakes, no risk of contamination and no waste.

Jones said, "It verifies it by bar code. It takes a photograph of that, and it also measures the size of the vial neck."
It knows exactly what it's filling, and the precision in micro-measurements guarantees what a young patient is getting.
For our demonstration, we were allowed to walk inside the room; but come next week when the robot is fully operational, even the area outside the robot will be off limits.
The machine sterilizes specific ports with pulse UV light. It could save Primary a half million dollars per year since, under the hand method, unused IV drugs have to be thrown out within a week. The robot's IVs keep 30 to 60 days.
RIVA's price tag is about $1 million, but Primary expects it will pay for itself in safety and drug costs within two years. Kevin Jones says a second robot to prepare chemo drugs for cancer patients may be just around the corner.

FYI...this was on the news in December when I was on maternity leave....the robot still is not functioning....maybe someday!

I can't figure out how to upload the video, so click here if you are interested. It's cool to watch how the robot works and see my boss.

This is how I make it to work

*** I promise I do not leave her unattended...but she loves to be near me and this works well

Ahhhh....a baked apple!

I had a rough day. First of all I had to go into work when it was sunny and 62 degrees! Seriously, I should have just taken a warm, sunshine day! Work was crazy and I had other hectic things going on - including forgetting Ella's diaper bag at home, daycare just had to wing it. I had to be the pharmacist in charge tonight on top of it all and when my co-worker told me he was having a bad day I told him about mine and I won! He is a big dork and known for being a true cheapskate....but he was so sweet. He treated me to a baked apple a la mode (an indulgent treat that our cafeteria serves occasionally) and the 55 grams of fat helped melt my troubles away! Thanks Jeff!

Thanks Aunties!

Ella's aunties sent her these adorable red outfits for Valentine's Day. I finally got a load of Ella's Reds washed and she was stylin' over the weekend!

Gotta see it....

Has anyone seen this movie? It is on my netflix list!

Derick Visits!

It was so kind of Derick to take time out of his guy snowboard weekend to come say hello and meet Ella. She waited up in her pj's to meet him. He was full of questions about being a parent - he and Gwen are expecting a little one on Sept 3rd. He was cracking us up because he is just sure they are having a boy and we laughed and assured him that it will likely be a girl and then laughed even harder when reminding him that twins are genetic and his wife is a twin!

Derick also gave Nicky some much needed love!

Thanks for coming over Derick!

Twins?

Ella and Lauren (you can see her at Life By Nicole) are twins already! Joe and I are such great friends with Jeff and Nicole that we think Lauren and Ella will grow up enjoying skiing, camping and vacationing together! I wish we lived closer....

I am honestly surprised that this is the first and only matching outfit they have....they are both well dressed!

4 Month Photo Shoot

Here's a peek at my favorites!

Digital Scrapbooking!

This is my first creation using Creative Memories Storybook Plus. It is a whole new world of scrapbooking. This is an 8x8 page that fits perfectly on my Everyday Display and then it will go in an 8x8 scrapbook for Miss Ella. I plan on updating it monthly and it will easily transition from wall art to a beautiful memory book.

Marlow's Baby Shower

We had a great time today at Market Street Grill. We reserved a private party room and served clam chowder, bread, shrimp cocktail, croissant sandwhiches, and salad. It was a perfect day for everyone to get together and quite a way to spend our President's Day holiday! We had a fabulous turnout and baby boy scored many great gifts. Ella had the most fun -- she was all smiles when I put her in a dress and put her in her car seat. She perfectly napped in the car on the way there and while we unloaded the cars. She awoke as the guests arrived and was the happiest baby there. We have a socialite on our hands!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We are parents now....

Well, my mom got Ella this cute puppy that sings many songs and it's official - Joe and I are really parents. I have caught myself singing the many songs in my head and tonight Joe was singing the count to 10 song!! She sure loves this puppy so I guess we will deal with the kiddie tunes in our heads....the things you do for your kids! I hope no one catches us at work singing, "head, shoulders, knees and toes...."!

Ella Update

Ella saw her pediatrician today - it was a follow up to check her respiratory status and her ears as well as her weight. She is still a little congested in her upper airway, but her lungs are clear and her ears look better. We are hopeful that she will not get RSV again this year, but we will keep her away from crowds and out of the grocery store to help prevent this. She will be flying twice in March, so I will just cross my fingers that the worst of the respiratory junk is over!

Her Stats:

Weight 11 lbs 15 oz 22nd percentile

Height 23.75 inches 42nd percentile

Head circumfrence 15.4 inches 10th percentile

I think she is going to be more petite like Joe's side of the family -- lucky her!!! Her weight was up today to 12 lbs 5 oz, which would be closer to the 30th percentile, so I think she is doing well there - just dehydrated last week when they weighed her. I think her small head works to her advantage as far as holding her head up!!

Out of nowhere, her doctor says, "I know who she looks like! She looks like her daddy". I still feel she's a combo of both of us, but there is no doubt she is Joe's daughter!!!

She handled her shots well today and I hope to keep her healthy so we don't have to see her doctor until she is 6 months old!

Daddy and Ella

A nurse in the ICU told me, "Moms bond through cuddling, Dads bond through activity". I keep telling myself this when I see Joe doing this with Ella!

Baby Shower

We are hosting a baby shower with work friends for my friend Marlow who is having a baby boy in late April. We opted to use E-vite and the invitation we chose had a sock monkey theme and we decided to keep it rolling. My friend ordered sock monkey stickers to place on small white boxes filled with candy for the favors and I found these adorable slippers and sock monkey to include in our group gift! Thank you Target!!!

I survived errands....

Today I was brave. I took Ella to a doctor's appointment (not her doctor, that's tomorrow) where she slept the entire time. We next traveled to Target and she was crying when we got there, so I hopped in the backseat in the parking lot and fed her - I got some funny looks, but she was hungry and our car is less germy than Target. We headed into target where I changed a very messy diaper and had my first experience using a public restroom myself with Ella in her carseat (thank goodness for the handicap stall)! I was shopping for baby gifts for the baby shower I'm hosting on Monday - she started to meltdown in the baby aisle, so I took her out of her carseat and fed her - I figure anyone in that aisle would understand! She made it through the rest of my shopping and then to Walgreens where I had to pick up pictures and then I opted for a drive thru lunch and home for play time! What a day! Errands is a whole new concept with the munchkin!

New Toy

I have a horrible habit of talking on my cell phone while driving and I feel guilty now that I have Ella in the car. We found the Jabra and it's great. It was easy to sync with my cell phone's blue tooth and I just turn it on when I get in the car and I can answer calls and hang up with the simple click of the Jabra on my visor. It really is better than reaching for the phone and holding it while driving. It is funny when people call it says, "call from 801-...." - it's hilarious!

Our Tickets Arrived!

Joe, my mom and I are going to the NCAA Basketball rounds 1 and 2 in Minneapolis this year! Our tickets arrived today. I can't find a diagram of the metrodome when it's set up for basketball, but my guess is our tickets are quite good!! Section 2, row 27! When we ordered the tickets last year we were hoping to see Wisconsin or Iowa...but my guess is they won't make the tournament and we will be cheering for the Minnesota Gophers (not my favorite Big Ten team). I am excited for a fun weekend of basketball and family. My Dad and Barb are meeting us for the weekend as well to be Ella babysitters and hang out with us.

Back up and Running

My Microsoft webcam crapped out a few weeks ago. I am now up and running with a Logitech and so far I am happy with it! I'm not sure why the microphone went out on my old one and I expected it to last longer than about 8 months, but what do you do? The Grandparents have to see Miss Ella, so we are up and running again. Don't buy a microsoft webcam!

Vandals destroy Chapel at Red Rocks

It is devastating to see the damage to the Chapel at Red Rocks. Joe found this story from the Denver Post. We were married at the chapel almost 4 years ago. The windows were broken and the 80 year old pews destroyed. Who would do this and why?

Miss Ella is better!

This photo is from last Wednesday when I was home to do her hair....but this onesie is just priceless and now lost at the hospital. She doesn't look sick and that was the problem - she looked way too good for as sick as she was!

Daddy did do her hair today and it looks great! I think she looks like Auntie Alyssa today. Joe bathed her yesterday and got crazy with the lotion and thought her head needed some, so her hair is curly and more tame today.

She did very well through the weekend and is on the mend. Joe took her into one of the suction clinics on Saturday for deep suctioning and she has been much better since. She is still grumpy and wants to be held alot. Ella and I are just going to chill together the next few days.

Rough few days..

Ella saw her pediatrician Wednesday afternoon and when he checked her oxygen saturations they were low. We came to the ER at Primary Children's and They confirmed she had RSV and her oxygen was still low, so we were admitted. She was on oxygen and needed the kind of suctioning you can only do at the hospital. She is currently off oxygen and doing much better. Poor kiddo....

To top it off, it's Joe's birthday - happy birthday, sweetie! A huge thanks to my co-workers who helped in so many ways!!!

We are hoping to go home tomorrow.

The shirt says it all...

Studious Ella

Always an adventure

I thought I had lost my mind! I knew I had taken 2 bath towels and 1 hand towel out of the bathroom and piled them by the stairs to take down to wash. I walked by and saw 2 towels, then later I saw only one towel. Where could the 2 towels be? I looked everywhere in the house for over an hour! Where could they be? As I walked downstairs I saw Nicky coming in the doggy door -- it dawned on me to check outside. Sure enough, there were the 2 missing towels. Why would he take them outside???? Poor puppy is feeling quite neglected I guess. Here is the towel-knapper with the evidence!