One Long Day

The day started early. My BFF picked me up bright foggy and early. Utah is having toxic fog, smog and inversion the last few days - its horrible!
We went downtown to the new salt lake Library where the Utah Autism Coalition was meeting. They are getting ready for the coming legislative session.
For those that don't know Utah has the highest amount of Autistic kids in the nation and yet we still don't make sure that they all qualify for health care!
The UAC is trying to get a bill passed that will allow people with Autism to receive the treatments or meds they need.
Now many people say that this is too expensive. NOT helping is too expensive. With the proper help 70-80% of the kids can grow up to hold jobs, take care of themselves and be all in all, "Normal".
Without help of any kind only 2-6% make progress enough that they will be able to care for themselves as adults.
Helping them now will save taxpayers a fortune in long term care. Not to mention that the numbers of Autism continue to grow!

Next up in the day my hubby went with my BFF to see if he could fix her grandmothers shower - long story short - Nope.

She returned, dropped him off and mentioned that she had the rest of the day off!
My husband and her husband agreed to both watch the kids and give us the day for a girls day!
We went and watched Les Miserables! It was amazing!
We cried for almost 3 hours straight!
Then we went out for dinner at our favorite place (at the moment) Iggy's!
Yummy!
We spent the time talking back and forth both about the movie and about Autism. Her two amazing children have autism, so this is a subject near and dear to us.

Before going home we ran by the store, grabbed a few groceries.
When I got home it was almost time for the kids to go to bed.
I started to help them with their bedtime routine.
Right before Prissy went to brush her teeth I sent her out of the bathroom to take her night asthma mends... That's when the crap hit the fan!
My daughter started screaming!
I mean bloody murder, terrified screaming!
Hubby ran from the living room and me from the bathroom.
My daughter had her EPI Pen, sticking out of her FINGER!

HINT: if you look up EPI Pen in finger on the internet they will tell you MANY times to NOT put an EPI Pen into your finger!!!!

This is a needle that is meant to go through blue jeans into your thigh! Its long and its sharp!
Not to mention the medicine is life saving, but dangerous! It is not meant to go any where near your fingers!

We ran to the ER.
Alright, I didn't run, but I did drive like a crazy woman!

Note: my hubby and I had both tried to pull it from her finger, to prevent the releasing of more medicine... it wouldn't budge.

The ER Dr. gave us the option of numbing the area before pulling it free - to which I reminded him that she is allergic to Lidocaine. He told Prissy tough luck and yanked the needle free - pulling it from the bone!
We had to x-ray the finger to make sure that it didn't cause a bone fracture.
Thankfully it didn't.
We have been very blessed!
The EPI medicine didn't not release into her finger because the needle pierced the bone.
It didn't fracture or hurt nerves or veins.
Again we are blessed!
She will be fine.

On the way home I bought her a finger brace to protect the weakened bone and we will need to watch it to make sure it does not get infected over the next few days.

So the day was a great girls day, the night a bad night with Prissy!

Friends and Children

Pizza with friends

 And kids

My hubby and I were talking about some of our yard projects we want to get done this week.
He says: Maybe if you're really lucky I'll even break out the chain saw.
Our daughter clutches her throat, "And cut our throats off?!!"

I really think I need to limit her television!!!

Other posts for the day -
Patch the Ewok
Rock Creek Pizza Review

What a day!

Linked to

What a long day!

My alarm sounded at 5 am (crazy early for me!) I woke up and went to the potty - Surprise! Flying Ant city!
Distracted I started killing and cleaning. Hubby texts me at 5:12 am to come and pick him up - he had spent the night at a sleep study. I grab the kids (in the case of Little man literally) throw them in the car.

By 5:45 I have hubby and we are headed back toward home.
5:55 am and Poof! Flat tire! (Ugg and Yuck!)
6:30 am and spare tire is on the car - we hit the road again in search of home.
This time we decide to treat ourselves to breakfast at Burger King (HUGE MISTAKE!) For full story click link!
9-12 we go back to sleep every single on of us!
1:00 pm Lunch (killing more ants and washing up the floors) Hubby packs up the trailer, I do a load of dishes.
2pm we head out to give the old toys away to the DI
2:30 pm we arrive at my BFF's house

Why?
Well she had this deck...

And she is in the middle of getting

This deck.

So she is giving us all the old wood! We grabbed one large pile today and have at least two more trips to get the rest! We are both getting the best deal!
She is getting a trex deck that is maintenance and care free. This time she is getting two privacy walls as well as an overhang to help keep the sun off the kids.

I will be making several projects that will be featured here on the blog out of the old wood!

My short list
Playground
Fence
Arbor
picnic table and benches
grow boxes for veggies

This has been one long day filled with confusing emotions - once again pay day is here and we are flat broke. Two weeks from now thankfully we should be all caught up!

What our excuses say about us?

what do our food excuses say about us? Its fast, Its easy, Its cheap? I don't feel like cooking? So why do we feel the need to give an excuse? As for the line its cheap lets looks at it realistically it costs around 20-25 dollars to feed 4 at McDonald's and that normally does not include drinks. If you went into a grocery store bought a head of lettuce some dressing & toppings possibly even a precooked chicken it would cost less then 20$ and be healthier. However if you want to eat premade, precooked food that are better options available: mad greek, subway, blimpie, or barbacoa. It might take a little of your time looking around for a fresh or healthier fast food for when you need something but finding a place where you can get fast, fresh and not deep fried is much better then just fast and greasy. Just thinking fast does not mean you need to settle for greasy and unhealthy. The picture is food served at my local Barbacoa restaurant which is healthy and yummy I am sure other states and cities have simialar healthy fast options finding those hidden and tasty gems will be fun and a great treat.

Top 11 Reasons for Fast Food's Popularity

Frequent Fast-Food Eaters Dish on Why They Dig In

By Miranda Hitti
WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Dec. 2, 2008 -- Fast food lives up to its name in a new study of people who frequently eat at fast-food restaurants.

Nearly 600 adults and teens in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area were interviewed for the study in 2005-2006. Most reported eating fast food at least three times per week.

After tucking into a meal at a fast-food restaurant, participants rated how strongly they agreed or disagreed with 11 statements about why they like fast food.

Here are their top reasons for eating fast-food meals, according to the percentages of people who agreed with each statement:

1. They're quick: 92.3%
2. They're easy to get to: 80.1%
3. I like the taste of fast food: 69.2%
4. They're inexpensive: 63.6%
5. I'm too busy to cook: 53.2%
6. It's a "treat" for myself: 50.1%
7. I don't like to prepare foods myself: 44.3%
8. My friends/family like them: 41.8%
9. It is a way of socializing with friends and family: 33.1%
10. They have many nutritious foods to offer: 20.6%
11. They're fun and entertaining: 11.7%

The "I'm too busy to cook" line was more popular among people with college degrees than people with less education. And young adults were less likely than older adults to say they ate fast food because it offered many nutritious choices.

Still, the results boil down to speed and convenience at one end of the spectrum, and nutrition and fun at the other end. Bridging that gap means coming up with speedy, nutritious alternatives, suggest the researchers, who included Sarah Rydell, MPH, of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.

Their findings appear in December's edition of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.