happy birthday daddy

Happy Birthday Daddy!  We love you!

We celebrated Ben's birthday with a few friends and quality family time.  Madison and Mommy picked out some fly fishing gear that he has been wanted along with a hat.  Madison thought she looked better in the hat.  Daddy agreed! 

Madison is such a lucky girl to have a daddy who loves and cares for her so much.

mom, i dont understand your problem with laundry

My little girl helping me with the chore that never ends, laundry.  The washing and drying seem to be a bit easier when you have this cute face to look at the whole time. 

Mom!  This is way to much laundry!!!

i love you honey

enjoyable, interesting, helpful

I have been searching for interesting and helpful new blogs to follow.  Here are a few I found (Just click on the link to go to the website):

How To Video Guide

#1 Mom's Site

Random but Interesting Information

The News In A Condensed Format

Ebay For Vacationers

How Many Calories Is That?

Beautiful Pictures of Current Events

Interesting Blog

I will keep you posted on any new blogs or websites I come across  ;)

float tube enjoyment

One thing everyone knows about Ben and Cassie Stewart

We LOVE a good deal.

The other day at Dick's we were looking for a new fly fishing vest for Ben which brings me to this point as well.......

Ben Stewart searches, researches, searches and researches everything.

Because of this annoying, oops I mean wonderful, trait we spend Hours/Days and even YEARS going around to every different store to see what is the "best for the best price."  As he likes to say, I want perfection at a poor man's price. 

Don't get me wrong, I really do love this but I feel like we could cut this in half.  Enough about my soap box and back to what we were just talking about.

So in pursuit of this amazing, cheap fly fishing vest we enter Dick's Sporting Goods Store.  I am looking around, just being bored and notice a clearance sign.  Of course I evaluate to see if there are any good deals I need.  In doing so I came across a float tube.  As I said before, research and searching are Ben's two favorites.  That is why he does not have a float tube, he couldn't decided which one was the best or the cheapest.

The sign says 50% off the red tag clearance price of any of the tackle.  Well, of course I don't need any tackle but the float tube is on the same rack.  I ask the salesman if he could just check the price.  Here is the run down:

$300 - Regular Price

$200 - Clearance Price (still a very good price for this particular float tube)

And yep AN ADDITIONAL 50% OFF

$100 - FINAL PRICE

Can you believe it!?!?! 

I have a confession.....We bought all three.....And are going to sell one for profit and one to a friend!  Which means......

IT WAS FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  LOVE BARGAINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here are a few pictures of us enjoying our excursion on our new float tubes

Keila and Ben in ready mode

We had a great time and actually really enjoyed paddling around the lake.  Ben hopes to catch some more fish on it soon!

enjoying some prunes

Madison is still getting used to the baby food idea.  We have good days, bad days and super messy days.  Here, as you can tell, is a super messy day.  Prunes went over surprisingly well.  I am not sure if it was because she enjoyed smearing it all over everything (including the hair) or it tasted good.  Bananas are by far the favorite and squash is at the bottom.  I am trying to be the good parent and encourage lots of veggies but really, I can only take the screaming and crying for so long.  Does that mean she wins?!?!

the great big giant daffy duck

Ben and Keila took Madison into the theater and here is the result.  A gigantic size daffy duck and Madison trying to go play with him.  Probably thinking how much she wants to test him out in her mouth.  She is so close to crawling.  Her legs will be underneath her and the rocking will start and just when you think she is going to start sits back to her side.  I can say I am so excited and just as exhausted thinking about it.  We may need a few baby gates in the near future.

bored?

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Here is a hint:

love this website

I recently found this website and love it.  The appeal is not only giving you tips for great reads but also opens doors to new authors that you may enjoy.

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Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

radiology nursing

Many people ask me what I do and I always respond, "I am a Radiology Nurse."  Typically they nod their head (looking completely confused) and say "oh, cool."  This comes from nurses in the hospital even!  When I worked ICU and stated what I did, people's eyes would light up and they would comment on how amazing I was for doing such a job.  That response no longer happens.  A confused, odd expression is what I get now.

Let me explain what I do every day. 

I review our schedule for Interventional Radiology (IR) and review the schedule for Computerized Tomography (CT).  I also see if there are any bone marrow biopsies, paracentesis, thoracentesis, bronchoscopy, pleurex drain catheter placement, or pediatric sedations on the schedule.  On our white board is a list of 5 positions:

1. IR Nurse
2. CT Nurse
3. Float Nurse
4. Bay Procedure Nurse
5. Bay Nurse

Then I look for my name.....

Float Nurse would see this all day:

The float nurse focuses on procedures done in our Radiology Nursing Unit.  That can include Paracentesis (fluid drained off the abdomen), Thoracentesis (Fluid drained of the lungs), Pleurex Catheter (permanent catheter placed in the abdomen or lung so patients can drain at home), sedating pediatric patients for EEGs or sleep studies, getting patients ready for the exams in CT or IR.  Also we prep anesthesia patients for the MRI.  There is such a hodge podge of things we do here.

CT Nurse would see this all day:

During the procedure I am sedating, assessing and monitoring the patient.  That is my role, making sure the patient is comfortable and safe at all times.  I report to the physician if there is a problem but truly it is all on the nurse to be vigilant and responsive.

The procedures I would see here are:

• Lung Biopsy
• Liver Biopsy
• Pancreatic Biopsy
• Kidney Biopsy
• Lymph Node Biopsy
• Any mass Biopsy
• Chest Tube Placement
• Abscess Drain Placement
• Liver Ablation
• Lung Ablation
• SI Injection
• Fluid Mass Aspiration

IR Nurse would see this all day:

 

I would be sitting at the head of the bed with the patient.  Sedating, assessing and monitoring them during the duration of the case.  As you can tell we do quite a bit of everything.

These are the procedures I would be involved in:

• Angioplasty and Vascular Stenting
• Biliary Interventions
• Brain Aneurysm Embolization
• Catheter Angiography
• Catheter Embolization
• Catheter-directed Thrombolysis
• Cerebral Angiography
• Chemoembolization
• Chest Interventions
• Dialysis and Fistula/Graft Declotting and Interventions
• Inferior Vena Cava Filter Placement and Removal
• Intracranial Vascular Treatments
• Lumbar Puncture
• Percutaneous Abscess Drainage
• Peritoneal Ports
• Radioembolization (Y90)
• Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt (TIPS)
• Ureteral Stenting and Nephrostomy
• Uterine Fibroid Embolization
• Varicocele Embolization
• Vascular Access Procedures
• Vertebroplasty & Kyphoplasty
• Nephrostomy Drain Placements
• Discogram
• Central Line Placement

I can not even tell you all the procedures we do because it seems to grow and expand everyday.  The hospital has recognized us as the best sedation team.  We calculate how much a patient needs and we give it.  The physicians are better able to focus on the procedure while we focus of the patient.

That is my day in a nut shell.  Now, who wants a BIOPSY!!?!?!?!?!  haha

aunt keila, my babysitter and my friend

Madison loves her Aunt Keila.  Keila babysits her everyday that I am at work.  She works with Madison, teaching her new things like standing with minimal assistance, enjoying her swimming pool and even licking new food like watermelon.  We are grateful that Madison gets to stay home for almost a year and could not appreciate the love Keila gives to Madison more.  Ben may give her a hard time but Keila keeps her head high and ignores it (the best technique to not have the razzing continue)!  Those two act like brother and sister!  Madison may not remember all the time the two have spent together but the bond will forever be there.  Thank you Keila for being a wonderful Aunt, sister and especially a Best Friend.

sound asleep

Ben got some really cute snapshots of Madison sleeping the other day.

snapshots of august

We are closing last month with a few cute pictures of us enjoying the end of summer.

Look at my little tongue sticking out.  I am slurping it up like a puppy.