Lots of Catching Up to Do and Call for Advice!

OK guys - we've had such a busy few weeks so this is going to be a serious mixed bag.

Last weekend we had an awesome time. We went to Dinosaur Ridge to see the tracks preserved in stone and since Little Bear is a fanatic for all things dino related (besides his insatiable apatite for Titanic history) this was loads of fun.




The tracks are found on the side of Hogback Ridge. It looks like the dinosaurs walked up the side of a mountain causing your imagination to run wild. Obviously the tracks were formed before the ridge but it funny to imagine anyhow. There were water ripples all over the place from when it was an ocean. Such incredible evolutionary evidence, but I won't go there. ;~)

We ended up on a trail (Dakota Trail) and hiked the Hogback (or as I like to call it; a mini-mountain) and had a fantastic time. The trail follows the entire back of the ridge and I was very proud of myself. 6 - 12 months ago, I would have NEVER made it but changing my eating and lifestyle has allowed me to enjoy such things as of recent. It makes it all worth it.

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Friday morning I was sitting here checking e-mail when I heard Little Bear get up and head to the bathroom. It's VERY unusual to see him at 6:30 in the morning, but I thought nothing of it. That is until I heard strange noises coming from that direction. I run to the bathroom and find him on his knees saying, "Mommy, I don't want to die.."

He was unable to breathe.

It sounded like an asthma attack. LB doesn't have asthma but the sound was just like it. I called the hospital and they had me check several things with him from the color of his lips to his ability to walk across the living room. He said his lungs felt tiny and his breathing was short and harsh. They advised me to call 911. The ambulance arrived and agreed that it sounded like an attack and asked me his history. They hooked him up to Albuterol and had me follow them to the hospital.

Upon arriving, the paramedic said that oddly his oxygen levels in his blood were "acceptable" considering how awful his breathing was. The Albuterol didn't help, and that told the doctor that he wasn't having an asthma attack. The doc checked him over and then asked him to cough. The cough. I knew what it was the second he did it.

For you parents out there... it turns out he has Croup!

He's eleven years old! Turns out, it's VERY rare for anyone over the age of 6 to develop it. Here's a little ditty from About.com about croup:

Croup is a common childhood viral illness that is easily recognized because of the distinctive characteristics that children have when they become infected. Like most viral illnesses, there is no cure for croup, but there are many symptomatic treatments that can help your child to feel better faster.

Croup, also called laryngotracheobronchitis, most commonly affects children between the ages of six months and three years, usually during the late fall, winter and early spring. Symptoms, which often include a runny nose and a brassy cough, develop about 2-6 days after being exposed to someone with croup.

One of the distinctive characteristics of croup is the abrupt or sudden onset of symptoms. Children will usually be well when they went to bed, and will then wake up in the middle of the night with a croupy cough and trouble breathing. The cough that children with croup have is also distinctive. Unlike other viral respiratory illnesses, which can cause a dry, wet, or deep cough, croup causes a cough that sounds like a barking seal.

Another common sound or symptom of croup is inspiratory stridor, which is a loud, high-pitched, harsh noise that children with croup often have when they are breathing in. Stridor is often confused with wheezing, but unlike wheezing, which is usually caused by inflammation in the lungs, stridor is caused by inflammation in the larger airways.

The pattern of symptoms in children with croup is also characteristic. In addition to beginning in the middle of the night, symptoms, which are often better during the day, worsen at night, although they are usually less intense each night. Symptoms also become worse if your child becomes anxious or agitated.

The symptoms of croup are caused by inflammation, swelling and the buildup of mucus in the larynx, trachea (windpipe) and bronchial tubes. Since younger infants and children have smaller airways, it makes sense that they are the ones most affected by croup. In contrast, older children will often just develop cold symptoms when they are infected by the same virus.

Children with croup will usually also have a hoarse voice, decreased appetite and a fever, which is usually low grade, but may rise up to 104 degrees F.

The doctor said that in his career, the oldest patient he treated with croup was 4, so an 11 year old kid is way out of the ordinary. *shrugs* He feels like shit but will recover. He's bored being on the couch and watching movies. I think he was really getting used to no television which i'm not complaining about...

Let's move on -

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My landlord is this really cool guy who I think we are totally blessed to have. I like him a lot and I am pretty sure they broke the mold with this one.

Cool Guy was over doing some work the other day. We chatted a lot about music and concerts, crap issues with heath care, how damn scary McCain and Clinton are, food and veganism.

As he was leaving I asked him a question about a part of the backyard that was a little barren to begin with. I pointed out that the spot would make an awesome garden and would he allow us to put one in. I even hinted that I would share in the organic bounty if he wanted. He walked over it a bit, and said he thought it would make a lovely spot for a garden and to go for it. *double take* Really? I wanted to do a happy dance right there but tried to remain calm.

This spot is no small shakes. We plotted a 20 x 12 patch not including a small space for herbs. Long story short, we got right to work and rototilled the spot yesterday. Now, I know we are starting a bit late, but we'll be using all starters once we add the organic compost and complete prepping the soil. We have done a little gardening before, but only in containers since we have NEVER had such a cool landlord before.

During the day, it does receive the most sunshine so don't let the shade fool you.

The herbs will go here, and we will have a lot of transplants from our Priestess, as well as some new starters, that we hope will take. I'm so looking forward to doing this and I can't tell you how excited I am that my landlord said GO FOR IT!

So my Call For Advice:

Books. Websites. Ideas. Anything you want to shoot my way, I would be forever grateful. Granted, we live in different climates, but whatever you feel will help us on this fun and scary journey, would be much appreciated by Bear and myself. So lay it on me...

Please.