We are surrounded in mountains here in Helena. To the west of us, is MacDonald Pass. It used to be an absolutely beautiful mountain pass full of trees. Well, those trees are now brown and dry and dead thanks to the pine bark beatle. The entire area is a fire hazard.
On Friday, a fire broke out only 6 miles from town. Winds on Saturday reached up to 40 mph and the city of Helena was put in a state of emergency. Evacuation plans for the ENTIRE CITY were in place.
By the grace of God, the winds actually helped to STOP the fire, and it didn't come any closer to Helena. As of today, Monday, it is only 15% contained BUT we have several days of 40 degree highs coming with the possibility of snow flurries. It is hoped that the fire will be taken care of soon and will keep away from Helena.
Phew!
Monday, September 28, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Ian Day 2
Ian is having a hard day today. He usually wakes up and comes to find me or Hazen. Today, I just heard him in his room saying "Mom....Mom....". When I got in to check on him he had this horrible look on his face and just said "Help". He couldn't get himself up at all, and when I picked him up under his arms he cried that it hurt. I have to carry him like a newborn with his legs up towards his tummy otherwise his belly pulls and it hurts him. :(
He's lying on the couch watching Spongebob and looking completely depressed. Of course, Hazen has an interview with the detective in Bozeman today, so it's just me here taking care of him. I know we'll be fine, but I feel so guilty right now. I know it had to be done and that it will save him a lot of problems in the future, but I, of course, feel bad that he's hurting so much right now. :(
He's lying on the couch watching Spongebob and looking completely depressed. Of course, Hazen has an interview with the detective in Bozeman today, so it's just me here taking care of him. I know we'll be fine, but I feel so guilty right now. I know it had to be done and that it will save him a lot of problems in the future, but I, of course, feel bad that he's hurting so much right now. :(
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Ian's Surgery
Ian had his surgery today. We had to be in at 6:45 this morning. I was so much more nervous for his surgery than I was for mine!
The staff at the SurgiCenter is awesome, and he had one of my nurses, so that was nice. We got to go back to a Peds room, where they had a TV and DVD player and a rocking horse while we waited. Then they got us his gown and we got him already. Hazen got to carry him to the OR door, and then they gave him the gas to make him fall asleep before doing his IV and all of that.
He did well, the surgery went fine, and he didn't even cry when he woke up! The nurse said he was an "exceptional child". We just hung out in the kids' room for awhile and wached "Cars" while they made sure he could drink down some apple juice and that his blood pressure and temperature were fine.
We're home now and he is acting remarkably normal. He's definitely less active than usual, but he's already had a popsicle and a piece of pizza, and he even laid down on his belly for a little bit. This is one of those situations that seemed to be harder on mommy than baby. ;)
The staff at the SurgiCenter is awesome, and he had one of my nurses, so that was nice. We got to go back to a Peds room, where they had a TV and DVD player and a rocking horse while we waited. Then they got us his gown and we got him already. Hazen got to carry him to the OR door, and then they gave him the gas to make him fall asleep before doing his IV and all of that.
He did well, the surgery went fine, and he didn't even cry when he woke up! The nurse said he was an "exceptional child". We just hung out in the kids' room for awhile and wached "Cars" while they made sure he could drink down some apple juice and that his blood pressure and temperature were fine.
We're home now and he is acting remarkably normal. He's definitely less active than usual, but he's already had a popsicle and a piece of pizza, and he even laid down on his belly for a little bit. This is one of those situations that seemed to be harder on mommy than baby. ;)
Monday, September 21, 2009
It's coming...
Winter, I mean. I had to scrape my windows to come to work today. I am so not ready for summer to be over.
We've got a couple of days of highs in the upper 50s-lower 60s, then we're supposed to be back in the upper 70s for a little bit...and then it goes downhill from there.
Summer, you were awesome while you lasted. :(
We've got a couple of days of highs in the upper 50s-lower 60s, then we're supposed to be back in the upper 70s for a little bit...and then it goes downhill from there.
Summer, you were awesome while you lasted. :(
Friday, September 18, 2009
Creepy Crawlies!!!
Last night, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a large blob walking towards my son. It was a big, brown, fat spider. I freaked out and picked Ian up while Hazen killed it. Okay, one spider, no big deal. We get Ian put to bed and all of a sudden there is SCREAMING like I have never heard coming from his room; my poor child was huddled on his chair screaming bloody murder. There was ANOTHER of those massive spiders crawling around his bedroom floor! Poor baby was traumatized and kept saying "Scary! It's scary!" while Hazen killed that one. Then he kept saying boo-boo, so of course I was freaked out that he had gotten bitten, but it turned out he was talking about the spider's boo-boos. We let him watch us flush the spider, then we cuddled in our bed for a bit, then he flushed the spider one more time for good measure, and went back to sleep in his room. He woke twice with nightmares last night.
So Hazen looked them up online, and they are either hobo spiders (very poisonous) or giant house spiders (yes, that's the actual name, lol. They are not poisonous). Hazen read that hobo spiders do not have spots and he knows at least one of them did, so we're hoping they're the non-poisonous variety. We've lived there for over a year, and I have never seen anything like that. Hazen stepped on one of them a long time ago, but he hadn't seen any since. Two in one night is unnerving!!
So Hazen looked them up online, and they are either hobo spiders (very poisonous) or giant house spiders (yes, that's the actual name, lol. They are not poisonous). Hazen read that hobo spiders do not have spots and he knows at least one of them did, so we're hoping they're the non-poisonous variety. We've lived there for over a year, and I have never seen anything like that. Hazen stepped on one of them a long time ago, but he hadn't seen any since. Two in one night is unnerving!!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Ian's Surgery is Scheduled
Ian will be having his umbilical hernia surgery next Wednesday. I'm not worried about the surgery, it should be quick and easy, I'm just worried about how scared my poor little guy is going to be and how the anesthesia will affect him.
Any spare positive thoughts and prayers would be hugely appreciated. :)
Any spare positive thoughts and prayers would be hugely appreciated. :)
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Concerns and Progress
First, my concern. The potty I ordered last week? I think it's in online ordering limbo. I placed the order on Tuesday, the 8th. On the 9th, it was "sent to fulfillment". It has yet to ship. A search of "Petter Potty" now yields the results "not available online" on costco.com. It was "in stock" when I ordered it. I emailed Costco yesterday to try and find out when/if I should expect the potty. Our account hasn't been charged yet, so if it won't be anytime soon, I'd really like to cancel the order and get it somewhere else. I'm really annoyed. I get that things take time, but 8 days to ship something that is "in stock"? Seems a bit unreasonable to me...
As far as progress goes, we found out today that the detective with Bozeman PD is making reference calls. Hopefully the background process will be wrapped up soon and we can have the final word!
As far as progress goes, we found out today that the detective with Bozeman PD is making reference calls. Hopefully the background process will be wrapped up soon and we can have the final word!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Our newest adventures in potty training
We are getting absolutely NO WHERE with potty training. And I mean that very literally--NO WHERE. The child screams if we mention the potty. We can put him in his big boy undies (which he loves) and he will wander the house for hours holding it. As soon as he gets a diaper on, he lets loose. It's a nightmare.
So, yesterday, I ordered him The Peter Potty: http://www.peterpotty.com/. It's a little boy urinal, and has fantastic reviews all over the web. I'm excited for it to arrive, but it will likely be about another week before it gets here. I hope it works...we paid almost 50 bucks for the thing!
So, yesterday, I ordered him The Peter Potty: http://www.peterpotty.com/. It's a little boy urinal, and has fantastic reviews all over the web. I'm excited for it to arrive, but it will likely be about another week before it gets here. I hope it works...we paid almost 50 bucks for the thing!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Ian's Three Year Appointment
Ian had his three-year appointment today. He is about 35 pounds and about 38.5 inches. I say "about" because he refused to stand up, he was slanted and hunched. The 35 pounds is probably accurate, but I think he's taller than he was showing. He's wearing 5T shirts and 4T bottoms, so I know he's a big boy. ;)
His umbilical hernia hasn't shrunk at all, so we finally went ahead and asked for a referral to a surgeon. We will go talk to Dr. Harper on September 17, and then probably set up his surgery shortly after. I'm really not excited for my little boy to get surgery, but it's not going away on its own, unfortunately. Now is probably the optimal time anyway since he's not in daycare or preschool, and Hazen is home with him full-time. It's a good environment for a little one to have to recover from surgery in. Plus, with our insurance changing, it just seems like this is a good time to do it and ensure that changing insurance won't be an issue.
Other than that, he is healthy and normal. He's developmentally where he should be, talking like he should be, active like he should be. Not as potty-trained as we would like him, but that will happen eventually. :)
His umbilical hernia hasn't shrunk at all, so we finally went ahead and asked for a referral to a surgeon. We will go talk to Dr. Harper on September 17, and then probably set up his surgery shortly after. I'm really not excited for my little boy to get surgery, but it's not going away on its own, unfortunately. Now is probably the optimal time anyway since he's not in daycare or preschool, and Hazen is home with him full-time. It's a good environment for a little one to have to recover from surgery in. Plus, with our insurance changing, it just seems like this is a good time to do it and ensure that changing insurance won't be an issue.
Other than that, he is healthy and normal. He's developmentally where he should be, talking like he should be, active like he should be. Not as potty-trained as we would like him, but that will happen eventually. :)
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