IMPORTANT!

I have hesitated to write this post, but I think this so important to tell people.
A friend of mine called me and we as we were catching up she told me about a very scary experience. Her youngest son is in the nursery at church and one Sunday she brought goodies for the kids, even though she doesn't work in the nursery. During a simple game ("What's that?", "A bird!") her son started choking. His eyes rolled back and he collapsed. The nursery worker did not know what to do. She didn't know how to do the Heimlich Maneuver, and she didn't want to try in fear of breaking his ribs. So she just grabbed him and let the weight of his body slump over and he (luckily) threw up.

I don't have children, but I was so frightened about the idea that the people who watch children may not have any first aid training. I realize that this isn't the fault of the church, remember that he choked on the snack that his mom brought. But I just got to thinking that perhaps, any of you who may read this, you might want to look into that at your own wards. I am thinking, maybe we should approach our Bishops or Stake Presidents, or whatever leader to post a chart in the nursery about first aid. I don't think it would be necessary or possible to only call first aid certified people into such callings (think worldwide, those people may not be available). But if you have a child in nursery you may want to check with the leader to see if they know basic first aid.

I am certified in CPR and first aid for my profession and so I thought I would give a basic crash course in the Heimlich Maneuver.

This is the universal sign for choking; however, the person who is choking may not be doing this.

Ask the person "ARE YOU CHOKING?" Now I suppose for a child it will be pretty obvious. The person should answer you. Keep in mind, just because they are choking it doesn't mean that they can't make any noise, so just because you hear a sound doesn't mean they AREN'T choking. (Hense the question "Are you choking")
Technically, according to my calm and safe classroom setting it is appropriate to say your name and ask if you can help. Example: "My name is Katie, I know first aid, can I help you?"
***FYI:
Consent

The responder must not commit assault by giving aid to a patient without consent of the patient (or of the patient's legal parent or guardian if the patient is under 18 years old).

Implied consent

Consent may be implied if the patient is unconscious, delusional, intoxicated, deemed mentally unfit to make decisions regarding their safety, or if the responder had a reasonable belief that this was as such; courts tend to be very forgiving in adjudicating this, under the legal fiction that "peril invites rescue."

Consent may also be implied if the legal parent or guardian is not immediately reachable and the patient is not considered an adult.

Parental consent

If the victim is not an adult (warning: definitions vary), consent must come from the legal parent or guardian. However, if the legal parent or guardian is absent, unconscious, delusional or intoxicated, consent is implied (with the same caveat as above). Special circumstances may exist if child abuse is suspected.

Laws for first aiders only

In most jurisdictions, Good Samaritan laws only protect those that have had basic first aid training and are certified by the American Heart Association, American Red Cross, St. John Ambulance, American Safety and Health Institute or other health organization. In other jurisdictions, any rescuer is protected from liability, granted the responder acted rationally.

(Which means that you need to take a first aid course!)

In order clear the airway abdominal thrusts are necessary. Reach your arms around the victim.

1. Make a fist with one hand and place the thumb side against the middle of the victim's abdomen, just above the navel and well below the lower tip of the breastbone.
2. Grab your fist with your other hand
3. Give quick, upward thrusts into the abdomen. Each thrust is separate and distinct attempt to dislodge the obstruction.
4. Repeat these thrusts until the object is dislodged or the victim becomes unconscious. (I think my teaching ends here, simply for the fact that I am not allowed to teach First Aid)

If a rib breaks... allow me to quote my friend, "Broken ribs are better than a dead son." I hope that this post does more good than nothing at all. Just know who is watching your children.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATT!!!

Today is Matt's birthday!! I am such a kid when it comes to birthdays, I get so excited about them...but isn't MY birthday. Matt, is torn about his birthdays. I think he likes the idea that it is his birthday, but he doesn't like the fact that he is a year older.
Matt, I love you so much. I am so happy to have you in my life, you are the best husband and you make me want to be a better person for you. Enjoy your day today honey!
*I will try to post more about his birthday, once we actually do something

No spoilers please!

So like many other people in this world, we received our copy of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" on Saturday. We were so excited, but unfortunately we were preparing to have company over so we were unable to open it up and read it! However, that evening when our friends came over, someone told me to take the jacket off the book and look at the whole picture. We were all surprised to see Harry Potter and Voldemort appearing to be casting spells in the same direction, rather than at each other!!! GASP!!

Well, I suppose they could be reaching for the same object, but who knows!!!
So, this is as close to any clues in the book as I want before I can read it myself. In fact I have to tell you I am a bit afraid to turn on the tv/radio/internet in fear that I might accidentally stumble upon a spoiler. So, I am leaving this thought with all of you, and I may not be on the internet until I finish the book. Of course that may not take very long, yesterday alone we read over 130 pages. So, what, maybe a week or so? OK well see ya then!

BBQ fun!

Matt's birthday is coming up soon, so yesterday while we were out and about we happened to come across the idea of purchasing a BBQ... we rationalized and called it his birthday present and bought a brand new BBQ!! Matt and I both love to BBQ and the one here at the house is less than safe, so we haven't been able to BBQ in a long time. Matt's personal favorite food to BBQ is pork ribs. He spends all day preparing them, and then BBQs them to perfection. The bone slips right out of the meat. MMMMMMM delicious! So going back to the idea that Matt's birthday is coming up, I wanted to throw a party of sorts for him. What better idea for a summer birthday than a BBQ, so therefore...we are now prepared for his birthday party!

We were pretty anxious to put the BBQ together so, as soon as we got home from church we pulled it out and got to work!
Matt is not too impulsive, he always looks at the directions first!

Hmm, where did Matt go?

Katie helped too... and yes, we built the BBQ in the house.

Check out Matt's GRILL!!

Katie will now model the BBQ for your viewing pleasure



Matt celebrates with an icy Otter-pop

Happy Summer everyone!! I will be sure to post pictures of our first BBQ party!

My love for books...literally

Isn't is funny how we internalize certain behaviors that we learned in our childhood. I am not talking about being a silly person, a kind person, or an angry person, I am talking about quirky behaviors that don't make sense to anyone else. I remember when I was young I used to LOVE to read, and still do. One night, I had a book that I was reading, then my father called the family in for a family prayer. So I brought my book in and to just keep it with me I knelt down on my book.
My father didn't approve of me doing that, I got in BIG trouble for treating a book that way. So now, I have this weird obsession of treating books very carefully. I do not like to highlight my textbooks, I don't like to write in my books, and I don't like to buy books that LOOK used. I do my best to keep everything looking as new as possible. When I buy a new book, I don't even like to crack the binding to open it all the way. I open the book slightly and allow it to naturally and gradually find its crease.
I was in class one day and I didn't have my notes with me and so in order for me to keep up, I had to highlight my book as my instructor lectured. I felt so bad about what I had done :( But sometimes it must be done, I try to avoid it if I can.
Well, I just bought my books for next semester. I made all my purchases on Amazon.com and purposely looked for inexpensive books that were advertised as having no markings whatsoever. Well, I am sure you can see where this is going...I received a book today in the mail and it looked great.

But upon flipping through it briefly, I noticed at least 2 small highlighted areas. I was soooo upset! Not only did the seller misrepresent their product, but my nice book has highlighting in it. I don't think I will try returning the book, but now when I get to those pages it will be like looking at a deep bloody gash that gives you the heebie-jeebies! I wonder if there is a medical condition that describes this strange behavior of mine.

My two puppies

I took my dogs to the groomers the other day and they were feeling pretty shnazzy so we took some pictures. Here is a little history about our puppies.
Darla:

Darla was adopted by the family in 1997 (I think) after their home had been broken into and robbed. Matt's dad was away on business and so his mom went out and picked out Darla. She is a good, dog with some bad habits. She barks, digs, and freaks out around other dogs. But she has always treated Matt and I with all the love that she can. By default she became our dog, simply because we were the ones who live in the house.
Cooper:

We got Cooper in 2004 after a couple in our ward had to move suddenly for work and they weren't able to take their dog. We adopted him and brought him home to meet Darla. We weren't really sure how that was going to go, so we sat out in the backyard with them for half and hour or so to just observe. I would say they spent the first 10 minutes "marking" their territory and sniffing one another, but after they settled that, they became great friends. When we first got Cooper, he was a jumper. He could jump high and lick you in the face! He has really brought out the puppy in Darla, and they really have become wonderful friends.

Girls' Camp

I went to girls' camp this summer with my young women (I am the 1st counselor in the Young Women presidency in my ward). Camp is up near Big Bear, it is called Camp de Benniville Pines. It is mostly a scout camp I think. It is a large camp, with cabins, meeting rooms, a lodge/cafeteria, and pool. This year they had a wonderful theme "Daughters of a King." I was very impressed by the preparation that was put into camp this year. The girls had so many activities to keep them busy and learning, and it all ended with a beautiful spiritual program and testimony meeting. It left me feeling like I wanted to go home and work harder on who I am. I also was able to tell my young women how much I love them. They are all such good girls and I am proud of them, we don't have a big group...anyone in Utah would probably think I was kidding when I tell them that we have 7 girls TOTAL. Our unofficial motto is "We are small, but mighty!" Here are some pictures and the episode of Mormoncast I made about girls camp.

These are my girls that could make it to girls camp.

I was literally thrown in the pool. I was prepared though, I made sure I had my bathing suit on under my clothes.


One of my girls decided one evening to do my hair, this is what she came up with. I wore it like this for the rest of the day. Everyone called me "Cindy Lou Who"


Mormoncast Episode 43 "Katie Goes to Girls' Camp"

Dentistry is my life and I think this is histerical!