Public Health Mom

The other day at Wal Mart I saw the adviser I had for my last two semesters of school. He commented on how he wished there were more opportunities for me to use my degree in this area while Justin finishes school. I don't want to work right now because I think it's great to be a stay at home mom. And the more I thought about it, the more i realized that I do use my degree every day.

I majored in Public Health. Public Health is defined as the practice of improving and protecting health through health promotion, prevention of disease, injury and disability, and preparedness for new health threats. Let's look at some duties of a public health department:
1. the signs in bathrooms that say "Employees must wash their hands before returning to work."
2. restaurant inspections to ensure safe food prep and handling (ie: thawing, sanitizing surfaces, cooked to right temp, etc.)
3. prevention of illness aka swine flu, etc (cough/sneeze into a tissue or into your sleeve)
4. injury prevention (fit and fall proof courses for the elderly, publications on how to child proof your home)
5. mold sampling
6. pest control (insects, rats, mice, etc)
7. vaccination promotion
8. Monitor and control noise pollution
9. Promote healthy food choices
10. Promote physical activity


Now let's look at some of my duties as a mother:
1. I wash my hands about a gazillion times a day between food prep, using the restroom, changing diapers, etc.
2. I wash and sanitize food surfaces, eating utensils, and dishes.
3. I thaw food nearly everyday using appropriate methods
4. I cook food to the right temperatures using my meat thermometer
5. I get rid of mold.
6. I have ant bait, and regularly sweep to deter ant infestations
7. Not only do I have my daughter up to date on her vaccinations, but I know what each vaccination is for, the type of vaccination (toxoid, attentuated, weakened live, dead, etc), and I know what reactions to look for and the risks of getting my child immunized vs not. I also educate others on the importance of vaccinating children and help clear up their concerns.
8. I practice regular injury prevention with Katie now being able to roll over and sit up, etc.
9. I know that with my screaming child my noise exposure sometimes reaches above the permissible limits, and must do something about it to ensure hearing conservation.
10. i try to find recipes including veggies (even though I don't usually like them) and that are low in fat
11. I encourage Justin in his goal to work out, and I myself try to go walking, do sit ups and push ups.


If you ask me, public health was a perfect degree

Maine

My sister Ann and her family are moving to Maine this summer. When I found out they were moving to Maine, I realized that I didn't know much about Maine other than it's supposed to be beautiful, they have lots of lobster, and some of my favorite characters from the movie Gettysburg were from Maine.
So I did some research and here are some fun facts about Maine:

1. Maine produces 99% of all the blueberries in the country making it the single largest producer of blueberries in the United States.
2. 90% of the country's toothpick supply is produced in Maine.
3. The coastline boasts so many deep harbors it is thought all the navies in the world could anchor in them.
4. The State seal has a moose on it.
   
5. Maine has around 5,500 miles of gorgeous coastlines and about 2000 islands.

A New Niece

Linay Mary Ostler (I think that's how they are going to spell it) was born this morning so I have a new niece. I don't really remember all the details so you'll have to talk to Mary for those, but she's a cutie.
Emma and Ethan were a little disappointed not to have a brother, but once they saw the little girl, they loved her and said she was a keeper.
Mom was pretty proud that this was grandchild #21. Ainsley said of the new little bundle, "Her so cute."
By the way, Ainsley fractured her tibia so she has a cast on for a few weeks...poor little thing is tired of wearing a cast. She doesn't really have pain anymore, but she asks "when is the little girl going to get better?" and she is always telling Mary, "My leg is better. we can cut the cast off now. " Toni bought her some stickers to put on it. That made her feel a little better about it, but a half hour later we found Katie with her back plastered with stickers and Ainsley's cast clear of them. When asked where her stickers went, she said "I gave them to Katie."

PS

that "nearest dumpster" wasn't that close either...it was about 4 blocks through campus.

Why is Everybody Looking at Me?

So I've had several why is everybody looking at me moments in the last month or two. So I thought I might share a couple.

1. I went to a store the other day with Katie, and while I was trying to put her in the shopping cart, I put her pacifier in my mouth so it wouldn't fall on the floor. well, I forgot that it was in my mouth and walked around the store for who knows how long with it in my mouth. I couldn't figure out why everyone was staring at me. I thought that they just might think Katie was super cute and they were really staring at her. But then an older lady came up to me, and asked Katie "Did your mom steal your binky?" I instantly turned bright red. No wonder I was getting weird looks from all the shoppers. What crazy lady walks all over a store with her daughter's pacifier in her mouth?

2. Our dumpster is ridiculously far away from our apartment so when we have trash we just set it next to the door until we drive somewhere. then we put the trash on top of the car and drive to the dumpster, throw it in, and go on our way. Well, one particular morning, I was going to drop Justin off at class and we needed to take out the garbage so up it goes on top of the car. WE go on our merry way and forget that we have trash to dispose of at the dumpster. We drive all the way up and around campus at the busiest time of day, and pull into the parking lot. Justin gets out and sees the trash bags sitting on top of the car. Both of us are too embarrassed to think clearly, and so neither of us just simply puts the trash in the car in the back...no, I leave Justin and drive with a red face to the nearest dumpster I see and deposit my trash.

You Know You're a Stevens Girl When...

1. You get really silly when you're tired.
2. you hit your brick wall after getting silly
3. Your favorite place is either Trout Creek, a place with mountains, or your bed
4. You love your treats
5. Food is a major motivation in life
6. People look at you funny when you say the words bag, dragon, wagon, etc...
7. Apparently people also look at you funny when you say pants, Ann, and fan etc
8. you get feisty
   
9. you still get homesick even though you've lived away from home for a long time
10. you grew up playing buffalo jump and love lifted me.
11. you asked to be dropped off a block from school because you were embarrassed by the van
12. smashing cans was a saturday chore
13. you fold your towels in thirds and then in thirds again
    
14. your face swells up horribly when you cry
15. you know what it means to "shake the handle"
16. parades have a special place in your heart
17. New Years Eve better involve lots of snacks
18. you know the words to Burglar Boy, Kentucky Home, and An Eastbound train
19. You've participated in a sock matching party
20. You wear more make-up than your mother
    

Happy Easter

Happy Easter! Our Easter has been great. What a great time to remember our Savior and what He did for us. We had our Easter ham dinner and watched the clip of Elder Holland's talk from conference that the Church's media department put images and and music to. here's the link for those of you who want to watch it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpFhS0dAduc

Katie turned 5 months on the 9th. She's getting so good at sitting up by herself, and she just can't get enough to eat. She eats so much, I can hardly keep up with her.

She also learned how to scream. Not crying scream. Oh no. This is "let's test out my lungs and vocal cords full capacity" scream. She let loose one of those during Relief Society today during a quiet moment. Literally every head turned. As one put it "I didn't know that big of a sound could come from one so little." Yep, that's my girl. I'm thinking of buying some ear plugs.

The Rest of the Story

So awhile ago I wrote about Katie's sleeping problems, and several of you gave me some good advice. Well, we put together our own kind of naptime/bedtime routine, and things are going much smoother around here. Katie is back to sleeping through the night or at least only getting up once for a little snack. Much better than the every 1 1/2 thing she was doing several weeks ago. I've never been a real stickler for routines or schedules, but I needed sleep, and really grateful to be getting more of it. Life is much more pleasant when I'm somewhat rested.

Katie is my little miracle. I love watching her grow and learn. To see this little squishy blob that could only open her eyes long enough to eat before falling back to sleep turn into a little person that eats from a spoon and sits up on her own is amazing. Being a mom is such a gift.