So I'm heading off to Ontario tomorrow with little James! Poor Jasper will be home alone for a good week, but he's staying positive about it. (not sure if that's a good or bad thing ;) ). So I probably won't be updating for a week. Mom and Dad are also out in Ontario and we hope to meet up with them. James hopes to celebrate his first birthday D.V. on February 4! That's next week Monday already. Man, time flies. Alright well I'm off to bed. Gotta hit the bakery tomorrow for the husband so he has a week's supply of bread.
G'nite...
Wednesday 30 January 2013
Wednesday 23 January 2013
First day of work.
So today I ventured out into deep southern Alberta (well at least to me it is)...Magrath, to start my new job. I took on a new job as an RN teaching co-workers and lab techs around southern Alberta about a new initiative re: introducing new glucometers. Alberta Health Services is hoping to have this glucometer in all health locations by the end of March. All of the nurses need to be educated on how this new glucometer works, its benefits, readings, functions and looks. Which means I'm driving around to different locations, giving the same lecture about these glucometers until everyone is educated. This is also part of an intitiative to go "E-People" in all of Alberta. This pretty much means to be able to scan all the patient ID codes as well as employee ones, be more efficient, go paperless and save time. (Ontario is WAY ahead on this one!)
So first to drop off the little guy. Packed him in and trucked him off to Leanna V's place. She is awesome! Super great with James and always willing to babysit. After dropping him off and saying sweet goodbye's (from my side - James was already off crawling to the toys), I stepped in my vehicle for my first work adventure. The weather was not typical Alberta weather. It was gray and dreary but thankfully no snow. So I drove off the Magrath and was told by my supervisor that the hospital was the place where we were going to meet. So, ok sounds simple enough. I get to Magrath and drive right thru in about 0.3 seconds. Was that Magrath??? Couldn't be! Keep driving Jeanette....so I drove another 8 kms till I saw one of those handy green signs on the side of the road that tell you where you are approximately...and Magrath was on the other side of the road on that green sign! Shoot! I missed it. Ok turn around...that must have been Magrath...hmm never seen a H sign. So off I go and finally take the exit and head into "town". Which actually wasn't too bad once I drove deeper into main street. They even have a post office. Now to find the hospital. Well I'm not one to waste time especially when it's my first day at work, so I parked at the pharmacy (yes they had one - I was excited too!). If anyone would know where the hospital was, its the pharmacist right? I walked up and waited patiently (things take a little longer out here) till finally someone walked up to me and asked how they could help. "Is there a hospital in Magrath?" "A Hospital?? Uhm, no, not in Magrath." By this time, my heart is pumping harder and I'm starting to nervously sweat. "Ok, so uhm, well is there something like a hospital in the area?" "Ummm, yes there is the Good Samaritan home, is that what you mean?" I don't know what I mean anymore..."Ya sure that's the one." "Ok, well you turn left and head down till you hit 2nd Ave North, turn right and it's on your left." Ok thanks a lot...cause that helped. That's the only straw I got to pull so off I head to the Good Samaritan place. Drove up the drive and thought ya this looks legit, hopped out and asked the lady at the front desk if there is a meeting at 1:30 re: glucometers scheduled here. Yes she says...phew. Got the right place. "I'll show you the room". Once she left, I went to the next room because I had noticed some people working there and asked them if they knew anything about the glucometer initiative and they said yup we're going to be educated. Good now I knew for sure I was at the right place. About to walk away, they ask, "So you here to be educated too?" You have to realize these nurses were all much older than me and probably, viewed me as some novice nurse and can imagine their faces when I respond with, "Actually I'll be teaching you the new protocol." haha :)
Now to wait for my supervisor to meet me here. She was going to meet me to see how I teach and then after today I can go on my own. Don't you hate that when your boss watches you?
Anyways after about 1/2 hour of waiting we were ready to go. My supervisor and I went over all our materials before we started the presentation and to her surprise she had forgotten to take fake blood along. That's a problem. "Well maybe I could pick them up - I live 8 minutes away," she says. YES!! "Uhm ya maybe that's a good idea. I'll start presenting and that way by the time you get back they'll be ready to try out the glucometers." Ok she says and was gone...I started my presentation and all went smooth besides the fact that they consistently had a remark about every other thing I said. Supervisor came back right on time and they all had their hand at the new glucometer machine, then wrote a quiz and I had to sign all of their checklists. I think I handled it well and controlled the group...I feel much more confident for Friday. All in all a fun day and hopefully a relaxing night. We are off to some friends from church tonight.
Have a great night all!
So first to drop off the little guy. Packed him in and trucked him off to Leanna V's place. She is awesome! Super great with James and always willing to babysit. After dropping him off and saying sweet goodbye's (from my side - James was already off crawling to the toys), I stepped in my vehicle for my first work adventure. The weather was not typical Alberta weather. It was gray and dreary but thankfully no snow. So I drove off the Magrath and was told by my supervisor that the hospital was the place where we were going to meet. So, ok sounds simple enough. I get to Magrath and drive right thru in about 0.3 seconds. Was that Magrath??? Couldn't be! Keep driving Jeanette....so I drove another 8 kms till I saw one of those handy green signs on the side of the road that tell you where you are approximately...and Magrath was on the other side of the road on that green sign! Shoot! I missed it. Ok turn around...that must have been Magrath...hmm never seen a H sign. So off I go and finally take the exit and head into "town". Which actually wasn't too bad once I drove deeper into main street. They even have a post office. Now to find the hospital. Well I'm not one to waste time especially when it's my first day at work, so I parked at the pharmacy (yes they had one - I was excited too!). If anyone would know where the hospital was, its the pharmacist right? I walked up and waited patiently (things take a little longer out here) till finally someone walked up to me and asked how they could help. "Is there a hospital in Magrath?" "A Hospital?? Uhm, no, not in Magrath." By this time, my heart is pumping harder and I'm starting to nervously sweat. "Ok, so uhm, well is there something like a hospital in the area?" "Ummm, yes there is the Good Samaritan home, is that what you mean?" I don't know what I mean anymore..."Ya sure that's the one." "Ok, well you turn left and head down till you hit 2nd Ave North, turn right and it's on your left." Ok thanks a lot...cause that helped. That's the only straw I got to pull so off I head to the Good Samaritan place. Drove up the drive and thought ya this looks legit, hopped out and asked the lady at the front desk if there is a meeting at 1:30 re: glucometers scheduled here. Yes she says...phew. Got the right place. "I'll show you the room". Once she left, I went to the next room because I had noticed some people working there and asked them if they knew anything about the glucometer initiative and they said yup we're going to be educated. Good now I knew for sure I was at the right place. About to walk away, they ask, "So you here to be educated too?" You have to realize these nurses were all much older than me and probably, viewed me as some novice nurse and can imagine their faces when I respond with, "Actually I'll be teaching you the new protocol." haha :)
Now to wait for my supervisor to meet me here. She was going to meet me to see how I teach and then after today I can go on my own. Don't you hate that when your boss watches you?
Anyways after about 1/2 hour of waiting we were ready to go. My supervisor and I went over all our materials before we started the presentation and to her surprise she had forgotten to take fake blood along. That's a problem. "Well maybe I could pick them up - I live 8 minutes away," she says. YES!! "Uhm ya maybe that's a good idea. I'll start presenting and that way by the time you get back they'll be ready to try out the glucometers." Ok she says and was gone...I started my presentation and all went smooth besides the fact that they consistently had a remark about every other thing I said. Supervisor came back right on time and they all had their hand at the new glucometer machine, then wrote a quiz and I had to sign all of their checklists. I think I handled it well and controlled the group...I feel much more confident for Friday. All in all a fun day and hopefully a relaxing night. We are off to some friends from church tonight.
Have a great night all!
Thursday 17 January 2013
Chasing James
So James is growing up so fast. His 1st birthday is coming up already! February 4!
Today I had so much fun with him. He is crawling and walking around tables all the time now, so I've made our table and windowsills very bare, but at least he can do his thing. He loves banging on the windows with his hands and making his way around the living room. Here is a video of me pretending to "get him". Enjoy! :)
Tuesday 15 January 2013
Green Eggs and Ham?
So maybe this is normal to some of you, but apparently there is a certain breed of chicken that lays green eggs. Seriously. I know...! I buy my eggs off of Anna Roelofson and they are really delicious! Just thought I'd share. lol. Here's a pic:
Yes pics are up!~
Ok y'all,
Here are the promised pictures.
First of James on his new little car: (Thanks Aunt Heather and Uncle Richard!!)
And of the crazy roller coaster ride:
14 storey's high!
And a random bath time pic!
Friday 11 January 2013
No pics... :(
I am starting to get frustrated with this blogging experience for one sole reason. The blog is not allowing me to upload any pictures anymore! Not sure what is going on...but if anyone knows...HELP! I click on the picture icon and then hit "upload" on the left column and then NO button comes up to actually upload off my computer...grrrr.
Friday 4 January 2013
The holidays
Hi all!
So the past week has been a wonderful adventure mixed with good and not so good(sick kid) times. The plan was to go up to Blackfalds where Peter lives and spend New Years with our family there. So we decided to leave on Boxing Day. Peter happened to be down in Lethbridge area and was sleeping at our place. So on Boxing Day morning we got up at a decent time and got ready to go. Except then our little BMW wouldn't start at all. It did happen to be -26 that night so that probably played a part. But anyways thankfully Peter was down and he volunteered to drive us up and then back home after Jan.1st. So that was very nice of him. Before we arrived at Pete's place, we stopped in Calgary to go shopping. Not such a smart idea. I have never ever seen a mall this busy before. There was no joy in shopping whatsoever. I will never shop on Boxing Day again unless absolutely necessary! Finally after pushing and shoving our way through the mall we safely made it back to the truck. Phew. What a relief. It was then mutually decided to get out of there and go to Pete's house. And so once we got there Peter and Jasper went out again to grab some groceries in town and I stayed home with James. Richard and Heather came shortly after that with their bundles of joys and we had a great week with everyone. We gave gifts the next evening and Jasper got a neat fishing toolbox and cowboy boots and I got a book and a really neat kids chair for James for in the summer and James also got a little ride-on car that converts to push car...(pictures coming - the blogger website isn't letting me upload pics as of now - not sure why).
Over the week, we played games, laughed, joked and went out on excursions together. One of those was heading up to West Edmonton Mall. What a place that is. First time I've been there, even though I've lived in Alberta before, I just never headed up there. It's a huge place with rides for kids and adults, stores, swimming pool and skating rink. The kids loved going on the train ride and the airplane ride. And Richard, Jasper and Peter went on the 14 storey rollercoaster.
I took James in to see a doctor at a walk-in clinic on Saturday because his cough was really bad and he has had ear infections and bronchitis in the past and so I thought just to get it checked out. The doctor gave him a puffer and steroids. So I gave that to him with no results, if anything James was getting worse, but he was sleeping good and eating well, with no fever so its a tough call. We headed back to Monarch on Tuesday this past week in Peter's truck. The drive went really well and we were back home at 7pm. Now, to solve our little BMW problem. We really needed this thing to start. Thankfully the weather was not as cold so Jasper tried to start it but to no avail. (I'm pretty sure the BMW manufactueres in Germany don't realize how cold it can get out here. But then again they don't care.) It was then decided all three of us would push the car into the shop in the back of the property which is always heated and is around 15 degrees C. So here we are pushing and heaving and shoving this car through the snow until Jasper stated he needed his other boots and ran inside to get them. Peter tried it again and VROOM, it started. Phew. So Jsper drove it into the shop and plugged in the battery. Peter stayed the night and left the next day after he had helped me drop off our BMW which thankfully started to go get a block heater put in it. Apparantly every car out here has a block heater. The parking lots have places to plug your car in when it gets really cold. Wow.
So last night James's cough was getting worse and worse and so we decided to take him in to get checked out again. This time we had a doctor that took his time with us and explained everything. I am so thankful for his help and he put James on antibiotics for a lung infection and also gave prednisone at a higher dose than this other doctor did. So I'll be giving that and hopefully things will be looking up from here.
I have applied for a job as RN here in Alberta to do some educating work in the southern part of Alberta and I got the job. It is a really nice position because it is very flexible and it is only until end of March and I am due in April so that works out good. I will probably work 2 - 3 days a week for the next couple of months which is exciting. It is a job that is educating all the nurses and leb techs in Alberta about a new glucometer system they are initiating. It is very like the one I used on Ontario, but they are just starting out so I feel pretty comfortable with the system.
I also have booked my flight to come out to Ontario!! Jan. 31 to Feb. 7th! I am very excited to see mom and dad again too!
Till next time!
So the past week has been a wonderful adventure mixed with good and not so good(sick kid) times. The plan was to go up to Blackfalds where Peter lives and spend New Years with our family there. So we decided to leave on Boxing Day. Peter happened to be down in Lethbridge area and was sleeping at our place. So on Boxing Day morning we got up at a decent time and got ready to go. Except then our little BMW wouldn't start at all. It did happen to be -26 that night so that probably played a part. But anyways thankfully Peter was down and he volunteered to drive us up and then back home after Jan.1st. So that was very nice of him. Before we arrived at Pete's place, we stopped in Calgary to go shopping. Not such a smart idea. I have never ever seen a mall this busy before. There was no joy in shopping whatsoever. I will never shop on Boxing Day again unless absolutely necessary! Finally after pushing and shoving our way through the mall we safely made it back to the truck. Phew. What a relief. It was then mutually decided to get out of there and go to Pete's house. And so once we got there Peter and Jasper went out again to grab some groceries in town and I stayed home with James. Richard and Heather came shortly after that with their bundles of joys and we had a great week with everyone. We gave gifts the next evening and Jasper got a neat fishing toolbox and cowboy boots and I got a book and a really neat kids chair for James for in the summer and James also got a little ride-on car that converts to push car...(pictures coming - the blogger website isn't letting me upload pics as of now - not sure why).
Over the week, we played games, laughed, joked and went out on excursions together. One of those was heading up to West Edmonton Mall. What a place that is. First time I've been there, even though I've lived in Alberta before, I just never headed up there. It's a huge place with rides for kids and adults, stores, swimming pool and skating rink. The kids loved going on the train ride and the airplane ride. And Richard, Jasper and Peter went on the 14 storey rollercoaster.
I took James in to see a doctor at a walk-in clinic on Saturday because his cough was really bad and he has had ear infections and bronchitis in the past and so I thought just to get it checked out. The doctor gave him a puffer and steroids. So I gave that to him with no results, if anything James was getting worse, but he was sleeping good and eating well, with no fever so its a tough call. We headed back to Monarch on Tuesday this past week in Peter's truck. The drive went really well and we were back home at 7pm. Now, to solve our little BMW problem. We really needed this thing to start. Thankfully the weather was not as cold so Jasper tried to start it but to no avail. (I'm pretty sure the BMW manufactueres in Germany don't realize how cold it can get out here. But then again they don't care.) It was then decided all three of us would push the car into the shop in the back of the property which is always heated and is around 15 degrees C. So here we are pushing and heaving and shoving this car through the snow until Jasper stated he needed his other boots and ran inside to get them. Peter tried it again and VROOM, it started. Phew. So Jsper drove it into the shop and plugged in the battery. Peter stayed the night and left the next day after he had helped me drop off our BMW which thankfully started to go get a block heater put in it. Apparantly every car out here has a block heater. The parking lots have places to plug your car in when it gets really cold. Wow.
So last night James's cough was getting worse and worse and so we decided to take him in to get checked out again. This time we had a doctor that took his time with us and explained everything. I am so thankful for his help and he put James on antibiotics for a lung infection and also gave prednisone at a higher dose than this other doctor did. So I'll be giving that and hopefully things will be looking up from here.
I have applied for a job as RN here in Alberta to do some educating work in the southern part of Alberta and I got the job. It is a really nice position because it is very flexible and it is only until end of March and I am due in April so that works out good. I will probably work 2 - 3 days a week for the next couple of months which is exciting. It is a job that is educating all the nurses and leb techs in Alberta about a new glucometer system they are initiating. It is very like the one I used on Ontario, but they are just starting out so I feel pretty comfortable with the system.
I also have booked my flight to come out to Ontario!! Jan. 31 to Feb. 7th! I am very excited to see mom and dad again too!
Till next time!
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