#2

Katie just pooped in the potty for the first time!!! I didn't even know she had to go, and she did it herself. Yay, Katie!!!

Bishop Pratt

Yesterday the Waconia ward shaved off about 150 members.  We were up over 450.  The bishop was one of the members who was affected by the realignment.  Aaron is the new bishop.  It was very hard to know about this for two weeks without being able to talk about it with friends.

I'd take some time to discuss this further, but today was a heavy homework day and I have to memorize lines for the play while I finish making dinner.  So, I'll just say I'm proud of my wonderful husband for being in a position to be able to accept this calling.

AAAAAACK!

I'll leave it at that.

I don't get Vests.

This is completely random, but I have to say, I don't get vests.  I get a lot of catalogs and emails from clothing stores, and they seem full of vests this year.  While they look nice, I can't stand them.  Why does anyone like to have their arms freeze while their upper body boils?  Frequently, I find myself putting on and taking off a sweater over and over again, because my arms are cold, but my body is warm.  A vest doesn't help this situation.

I Got the Part!

Well, I got my first lead with CVFT.  I'll be playing Grace in "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever."  William got a speaking part, as well.  He'll play David. I'm not sure how many lines he has, but I know he says something about his mother not wanting him to be a shepherd, if you can recall that part. He's never had a speaking part before, so this will suit him very well!

Callbacks Tonight

I haven't even posted that Will and I auditioned for "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" on Monday night, and now I'm posting that we got called back for another audition.  I'm behind!  But, I'm handling all of the stuff I have going on pretty well, I think.  I've had to take a little step back from coupons and rebates, but still do a little clipping (when I remember to pick up the paper).  My schoolwork is going well.  I have hit the right pace, and essays are taking an increasingly shorter time to write.  I'm not sure how I feel about callbacks.  I wasn't thinking I really wanted a big part in this show, as I have classes now, but then I realized that the adult lead is a 35-year-old mom, and it is a non-romantic part.  How perfect is that?  I'm afraid I'll be sad if I don't at least try for the part.  I still auditioned to be a vignette singer (1940's style Christmas pop singer), and I could tell they loved me at that audition, so I might end up doing that, and if so, that's just fine.  I'll try to remember to update the blog tomorrow regarding callbacks.  William did a good job in his audition.  I think he has a good chance at getting a speaking part.

Doing What We're Supposed To Do

Today in Sunday School, we were talking about some of the revelation that we've been given in recent years (meaning the last few decades), and how we've been blessed by it.  Someone mentioned how President Hinckley told us to prepare for hard times ahead.  We were encouraged to get our finances in order, have a reserve, and get our food storage together. It made me think about my own food storage and financial reserve.  I have been good at it.  We have sacrificed to put extra money into savings and to pay down our mortgage.  We have a full year's supply of food.  Have I been blessed by it?  Well, I haven't had to use it, so it could be argued that it hasn't done anything for us.  I wondered; if Aaron is never out of a job, and if we never end up needing to eat any our food storage, would I someday look back on all the money that could have been spent on something else, and all the storage space that could have been used for other things, and regret it?

No.  Not at all.  There are blessings for doing what the Lord wants us to do.  Maybe there are other blessings for obeying this law than having a financial reserve and a food storage to draw upon when we need it.

When Aaron was considering going to MBA school, we felt very strongly that the Lord wanted him to apply.  So strongly, that when the time came to give the University of MN notice of acceptance or denial, we were ready to take a leap of faith, when it was very clear we could not live on our savings plus financial aid, and that we would be ruining our finances for no guarantee that there would be a good ROI.  We knew that the Lord would make it work out if it was supposed to.  But, as much as he wanted to go, Aaron wasn't feeling right about it.

Going to MBA school was something we had prayed about, and it was worth doing if the Lord wanted us to do it, right?  Well, yes.  I let Aaron know that I was willing to go by faith, but that I felt like this one was his decision if he decided not to go (I was not going to tell him not to go and have that hanging over my head).  He prayed about it, and came out with a no.  He said that he had a hard time understanding how a "yes" a year ago could be a "no" now.  But, he had some thoughts.

There were some things we learned during the process.  Aaron pointed out that when he first thought about MBA school, he felt right about taking the GMAT, so he studied for it and took it.  He refreshed some math and logical thinking skills, and had a big confidence boost with his great test score.    

Then, he felt really right about applying to BYU.  After a few weeks, he felt like he also ought to apply to Carlson.  After interviewing at BYU, he learned that he would not be happy in their MBA program.  It wasn't right for him (they agreed, and didn't accept him).  He found out that he would really like the U of MN MBA program.  It had some really fun things he would experience, and he felt he would learn a lot.  But he also had time to find out from other people that his salary is about the same as a lot of people who got an MBA 10 years ago.  If he changed industries, which is the main reason he was going for his MBA, he would probably take a severe salary cut when he got his first job, and not make it up until well after our older children had started college.  He would have lost years of time with our children - really important years for all of them, but especially for the older boys. 

What did we learn from this experience?  We learned that sometimes the Lord blesses us in other ways than the ways we were anticipating.  Aaron wasn't supposed to go to MBA school this year, but we went through the preparation process to gain knowledge we wouldn't have gained otherwise.  We may not even know all of the reasons yet (he does take the FSOT next month, and who knows how his test preparation last year might affect that outcome).  Even if we never need the food storage or the emergency savings account, we will always have the peace of mind that comes because we have it, and whatever other blessings the Lord has in store for us just for being obedient.

Day 7

Church in Chevy Chase, Maryland.  We attended the DC 3rd ward, but yes, there is a Chevy Chase Ward.  I wish I'd taken a picture of their bulletin board with their name prominently displayed on there.  I think if Hugh Hefner ever had a city named for him, and we had a church unit there, the church would probably try to name it anything but the Hugh Hefner ward.  But Chevy Chase Ward is only medium-irreverent, I suppose.

We visited the DC Temple.  When I was a child, this was the only temple east of the Mississippi, so I saw it when my parents were ordinance workers there.  I was impressed by the decorative discs adorning the gates, and I had it in my head a long time that these were the gold plates.  

We also visited the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and Vietnam Memorial at night.  Pretty cool, but not as cool as the DC Temple.

Vacation2010Videos! 009.MTS

The worst food ever can be found at the Atrium Cafe at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Unfortunately, it is coupled with being the most expensive food in D.C.

Day the Fifth

Tours of the Capitol and the Kennedy Center today.  Both excellent.  But the highlight of the day came when the children discovered subway venting fans, which make them all buff. (They don't stink as much here as they do in New York).

On Hotels and Bad Drivers

Hotels can be expensive.  They can be cheap.  They can even be free.  We've had a mixture of the two on this trip.

With a family our size, cheap hotels might not be worth it.  We used miles that Aaron and I had earned with Delta to get our hotels on the way to and from D.C.  My objective was to spend very little on the hotels on the way to and from D.C. and Virginia, so that we could enjoy ourselves while in D.C. and Virginia.  So, I made the miles stretch a bit.  Our first stop was the LaQuinta in Hoffman Estates, IL.  I drove the first leg of the trip.

When I checked in for our first night's stay, I found that they hadn't gotten us adjoining rooms, although our booking had specified that in the notes.  They claim not to have gotten the notes.  I will ask Delta about this, as our second hotel said the same thing.  But more about that later.  The LaQuinta didn't have two double rooms available for us that were adjoining.  They had two options for us.  One was a King room with an adjoining two doubles.  The other was two doubles, but not adjoining.  Aaron and I wanted to be able to supervise our children without splitting up for the night, so we chose the adjoining rooms, after they consented to putting a rollaway in each room.  This sounded like a pretty good deal.

When we arrived in the room, we discovered that their idea of a King bed is something much larger than the double beds, but slightly smaller than a Queen.  The double beds were quite small, as well.  The boys all volunteered to take a rollaway, rather than have to sleep with their siblings.  We gave Tristin and Brandon the rollaways, as they are the largest, and had Will and Ben share a bed.  We tried putting Dallin, Aidan and Katie sideways on the remaining bed, but Aidan and Katie were too wired for that to work.  Katie ended up sleeping with Aaron and me, and Aidan slept in a very small chair.  We aren't sure why he chose to sit upright in a chair to sleep, but that's where we found him in the morning.  Dallin ended up having a double bed to himself.  Aaron and I ended up getting very little sleep.

The nice thing about the LaQuinta was the heated outdoor pool.  We enjoyed it, but as it was only 79 degrees and windy, it was a little cool in the air when wet.  The pool was too deep for Aidan and Katie to stand up in it, so that meant whoever had them had to deal with a little bit of a chill.  Most of the time that person was me.

The breakfast was nice.  They had the standard free continental breakfast with a waffle maker, yogurt, fruit, muffins, cereal, toast, bagels, etc.  After loading up the van at 6:15am, we ate a quick breakfast and were on our way by 6:50am.

The approximately four to six frequently interrupted hours of sleep I got were perhaps slightly inadequate for driving in Chicago rush hour traffic.  It amazes me how people there weave and drive 15mph over the speed limit and somehow there are no accidents on the roads.  However, I made it through the white-knuckle portion of the trip, and had a relatively uneventful drive to Pittsburgh, PA.  Of course, once we reached Pittsburgh, I discovered I liked driving there even less than in Chicago.

Pittsburgh is a winding mess of hilly roads.  They have all been recently renamed, so even though I just updated the TomTom, we had to rely on where we figured the picture on the TomTom was taking us, rather than the road names.  Plus, if you aren't driving 15-20mph over the speed limit at all times, drivers get mad at you - even if you aren't in the left lane!  It is utterly ridiculous.

We made it to the hotel at about 5:30pm, just in time to settle in a little before leaving for the Pirates game.  That was a long day of driving.  I let Aaron drive for the evening.  I had suffered through enough during the long day.

As I mentioned before, we ran into problems again at check-in at the Ramada in Pittsburgh.  As the LaQuinta claimed to have not gotten our notes, I had Aaron call up the Ramada at 10am and confirm the adjoining room notes.  They said they did not have the notes in their system, but added them at that time.  That meant very little, because when we checked in, we were told they had no adjoining rooms available.

The beds were tiny double beds, just like the ones at the LaQuinta.  Unfortunately, we didn't have rollaways this time.  We juggled around who was to be in each room for a while.  I thought that having older boys share beds with younger boys would make a more comfortable night, but in the end we had the older four in one room, and the others with us.  Tristin and Brandon got their own beds, William slept on a cushioned bench, and Ben chose to sleep on the floor.  In our room, Aidan started out on the bench, but moved to the floor.  Dallin and Katie shared one bed, and Aaron and I slept in the other.  Katie really put up a fuss about not sleeping with us, but as this bed barely fit the two of us, we held firm.

We slept in at the Ramada, if you count the time change. Tristin didn't really appreciate my wake-up call at 7:30am ET.  We even had to wake up Aidan and Katie, who normally pop up after we make the slightest noise. I only had about 5 hours to drive to get to D.C., so we weren't in too much of a rush, but we were hoping to arrive at the Hyatt Regency at 3pm.  We ate at the paltry continental breakfast, and headed out at about 9am.  We made plenty of stops on our way.  I have to say, I was extremely glad to get out of Pennsylvania and arrive in Maryland.  The roads were better, and the drivers were more considerate. We almost ran out of cash for tolls at the last toll booth. We tried getting cash at an ATM along the way, but it was out of order.  We had no idea how much they were going to end up charging us, but we managed to scrape by with a couple of dollars remaining.  We had no idea how much tolls would be going into this trip.  It was around $30-$40.

We were extremely ready to get into our nice hotel when we arrived at 3:30pm.  Unfortunately, our nice hotel wasn't ready for us.  I made the reservation on the phone and had a confirmation that said we would be arriving at around 3pm, but our rooms were not clean yet.  So, we piled our stuff onto a bellman's cart, and piled back into the van.  We figured we could park the van at Union Station and take a nice walk back while we waited for our phone call saying our rooms were ready.  We didn't anticipate the heavens to open up and pour rain for the next hour.  We got the call within 20 minutes, but after waiting for the rain to let up enough to walk the 5 blocks back to the hotel without getting too wet, we didn't arrive back at the hotel until about 4:30pm.

All in all, it was worth the wait.  Paying for a nice hotel makes a difference.  We have an executive suite with a second adjoining bedroom.  I found a great family package where we got the second room for half price, so we made the splurge for the king suite.  It has a separate bedroom for us, a living room with a pull-out bed, and an adjoining room with two double beds.  Yes, it appears that a double bed is tiny no matter where you go.  But, there are so many large comfy chairs that we pushed two sets together and got two extra beds for Aidan and Dallin.  Katie slept on the couch cushions on the floor.  Tristin and Brandon got their own beds, and William and Ben slept on the pull-out couch.  It was quite comfortable, and we got a good 8.5 hours of sleep.  I had a great night.

Breakfast here was fabulous.  They have a real buffet, with a made-to-order omelette bar.  It was wonderful. Aaron showed you the picture of us in our own dining room.  The breakfast came as part of the room package.  I guess it wasn't supposed to for more than 4 of our children (plus Katie for free for being under 3), but I remember asking the guy when I made the reservation, and he said it was free for all of us, so the lady at check-in wrote out some extra vouchers for us.  We appreciated this immensely.

We look forward to our next four days here.  We won't even mind moving on to VA, though, as we will be at  Comfort Suites.  They happen to have two double beds in one room, one King bed in one room, plus a sofa bed in each room.  As long as they don't miss the adjoining room request, we should be good.

Day 4:Air & Space, and the Pentagon

One of my favorite memories of a DC trip as a child was visiting the Aaron Space Museum. It was nice of them to name it after me.  (My parents also used to 'run Aarons' fairly often, which meant every thing from grocery shopping to post office trips, until my sister insisted they start 'running Nancys' instead.)  So of course I first had to bring the children to my namesake.  I'm thinking about renaming it the 'William Aaron Space Museum', in order to appropriately pass on the legacy.

We also toured the Pentagon today.  Click here for photos. (Try all day to click if you want, but there's no link.  Its a security thing. Also, they don't allow you to take pictures). My favorite part was the courtyard; there's a little building right in the middle of it, and during the Cold War the Soviets saw so many people coming and going from it in their satellite photos, that they assumed it held nuclear weapons and so they trained most of their own Nuclear Weapons on it.  It was, as it turns out, the most dangerous hot dog stand in the world.

Yesterday we finished our drive to DC and did nothing.  Most pleasant.

Here we are at breakfast this morning. The Hyatt folks were kind enough to give us our own dining room, and the children were kind enough to not dismantle it.

.

Day 2: PNC Park

I've told people we drove all the way to Pittsburgh to see a game because it has to be a really bad team in order for my family to afford tickets... of course, the fact that PNC stadium is a really cool outdoor stadium, downtown on the river, with a lot of history, adds to it.  I had a good time.  And the kids got their fill of junk food (pop, peanuts, cracker jack, cotton candy, hot dogs, and pop corn). That kept them busy, and I didn't bother distracting them by pointing out the game because, well, there really wasn't one.  The Pirates showed their true colors, losing 0-6 against the Marlins in an unremarkable show down.  The only people who showed up ready to fight were two girls down front who had a hair-pulling contest and got ejected by security.  

 

I should also mention our excellent dinner in Chicago last night: The family was introduced to Gino's East, one of my favorite pizza places in the whole world. (The other two are Sven & Ole's in Grand Marais, MN, and Beau Jo's in Idaho Springs, Colorado.  Try all three before you die.)

 

It was a hit.

 

 

 

 

We're on our way

Summer vacation -

a rest without real resting - 

begins in green grass.

Stefany has kindly given permission to Aaron to use her blog to journal our trip to our Nation's Capitol.  Here the boys are forming the traditional Pratt Pyramid, crowned by Katherine. This is taken at a rest stop in Wisconsin.  Why? Because no family vacation is officially begun until the words "I have to go to the bathroom" have been uttered.

The first part of the morning in the car was spent working on Music Merit Badge - which is where Dad gets to make the boys listen to 'his' music and his explanations of their meaning.  We started with Classical Opera, a little bit of Italian and German, It included learning some of the words of "La Donna e Mobile", from Verdi's Rigoletto, and "Der Holle Racht" from Mozart's Marriage of Figaro.  I'm sure everyone enjoyed it as much as Dad did.

We're in the Paper

Read the article about the melodrama we're in, featuring our family, in the Waconia Patriot.

New Callings

In case you haven't heard, Aaron was sustained as 2nd counselor in the bishopric today.  We will never get to sit together in church now, but we should see him a lot more on Sundays, as he won't be traveling around the west metro all day anymore.  I guess that is an okay compromise.

In other news, I was sustained as the Relief Society chorister last week.  The bishop assures me that he's not putting me out to pasture, but that he will probably be adding to that sometime soon.  I am glad to be serving in the Relief Society.  I have been getting so much out of attending meetings since being released from Primary.  There are so many wonderful women in there to learn from.  I really do feel that I need this right now.

The funny thing about both of the callings is that we guessed them before they were extended.  I told Aaron the night before I was called that I was sure that was it, and with Tim Lanier's travel load increasing, Aaron figured that he was probably headed to replace him.  He is a little disappointed that he won't get to complete his missionary goals on the high council, but I think he'll be glad to be back in the ward.

Aaron and I had what we call "Elijah" parties tonight and last Sunday night.  Currently, our stake president has issued a goal for every youth and adult in the stake to find a relative whose temple work isn't complete, submit their name, and do their temple ordinances by next conference.  Aaron noticed through his assignment on the high council that people who are of pioneer stock typically don't think there is any work for them to do.  As he is of pioneer stock, and I found names for him to do, he knows this isn't the case.  There are also some people who just need a little help with learning the web application in order to do it.  So, we have been inviting families over to work on their family history, getting them registered on http://new.familysearch.org, and helping them find ancestors to do the work for.

Sometimes it is as easy as looking back a few generations until we come to someone whose temple work isn't done, but more often than not it entails coming back down a couple of generations from the direct line ancestors and looking up some information on family members whose information is sparse via http://ancestry.com.  We have found at least one ancestor for each person who has come whose work could be completed.

Well, Brandon and Tristin will be getting up at 2am to get ready to leave for scout camp.  I should go to sleep now so I am not a complete grouch tomorrow after having an interrupted night.

Yay, Katie!

I've been putting Katie on the toilet for the past 6 months or so.  She has never had a problem with sitting on it, but has never actually "gone." But, this morning, she took the initiative of taking off her own diaper and sitting on it without me even prompting her.  She then peed in it!   Yay, Katie!

HELP

Aaron and I just got the script for the preview performance of Love on the Prairie.  We're understudying the leads for the second preview performance, as the leading man can't be there (they are having us do it as a couple, although the lead girl could have been there).

Anyway, the script is an hour long.  My part is not too bad, but Aaron has about double the lines that I have.  He's a bit nervous.  The leads have been working on these lines for a few weeks already, and now we're getting this with less than two weeks to go.  We only have one song to learn, but I'd rather learn songs than lines.  This is going to be an interesting next two weeks.

Birthday Fun and Random Updates

On Saturday, the Kukachka clan came over for our annual "cousins party."  This is where we celebrate all of the kids' birthdays at once, so we don't have to all try to get together for each birthday, as that was getting really complicated, with so many kids.

This year, it was held on Connie's birthday.  She turned 29 again this year. ;-)  She said that Luke (her youngest) wished her a "Happy Father's Day" instead of a "Happy Birthday."  I hope she enjoyed the day.  It occurred to me afterward that we should have sung to her.  We normally sing to everyone when we do cake, but this year we did s'mores instead, and I totally spaced the singing part.

During the party, some of the younger kids noticed a chirping sound coming from the storm sewer in the back of our yard.  They checked it out, and it turned out there was a robin stuck down there.   I laid out some thin pieces of wood for it to climb up on, but they were too steep.  On the third try (and once the robin realized I was trying to help, not poke it), when it got on the wood, I thought to use leverage to slowly lift the bird up to the top of the grate.  When it got to the top, it hopped across the grate, then sang to me for a minute or so before leaving for the next yard.  I felt very well-thanked.  I noticed then that it had a fuzzy head, and wasn't fully grown yet.  It hopped a few feet away, and then a momma bird came out from behind a tree and hopped over to it, gave it a few pecks, and led it back over to the tree.  What a fun experience!

Today, William threw up in church.  I'm hoping it was just a reaction to so much junk food yesterday.  I really can't afford a sick family this week, as it is going to be a busy one.  We have rehearsal Mon., Tues. and Thurs. nights.  Wednesday afternoon I have my advising and registration session at Normandale.  Wednesday night Aaron, Kelly Ammott and I will be rehearsing our song for Sacrament Meeting next Sunday.  After that, the Ammotts are going to help me de-bone 10 rotisserie chickens for the zone conference luncheon I'm putting on for 75 missionaries on Thursday.  I will also be doing most of the shopping for the luncheon tomorrow or Tuesday, depending on whether I get my couponing done early enough to get out tomorrow.  And that's just my schedule.  There's plenty more going on for the kids, too.  I'm in for a busy week, but I'm up for busy this week - provided we don't have a whole wave of stomach flu.

Disturbed

This morning at 2:45am in Eagan, a 3-year-old child was found walking along Highway 55.  At 5:30am, his parents discovered he was missing and called the police.  They said he got out by using an electric garage door opener.  The child is being held by social services for the next 72 hours while they investigate the parents.

This doesn't seem fair to me.  In fact, it outright disturbs me.  I thought that there must be something the article didn't say, like the parents looked like they were stoned or something when they came to get their child.  So, I called Dakota County social services to find out.  They told me that they don't just do this, that the police have to tell them to take the child into custody and do an investigation.  They suggested I talk to the police.  So I called them.  They said that when they can't find the parents, they place the child with social services, and have no control over when the child is released.  "That's funny," I said. "Social services just told me it was the other way around."

This could happen to you or me.  In fact, I am awfully lucky it hasn't happened to me.  I have had three-year-olds escape the house by going into the garage (the door of which they figured out how to open, despite the child safety doorknob), finding a car door unlocked, and opening the garage with the opener on the visor, just as they have seen me do.  I have had a three-year-old sneak out after dusk, when I thought he was asleep, only to have a neighbor call and tell me that my child is two blocks entertaining a crowd of people, including the sheriff.

I told the person at the Eagan police department that I thought that it was unfair to keep a 3-year-old from his parents for three days for escaping home without another reason.  She told me that there are unexpensive things a person can do to keep their child from escaping the house.  I told her that nothing is ever foolproof, and that this just isn't right.  She told me that she had gotten my voice mail, and that she really didn't need to further the conversation.  As I hadn't called her previously, I told her that this was my first call, and this just shows that other people are concerned with this, as well.

I got off the phone feeling like this isn't really the free country we think it is.  I cried.

I am afraid for the day when Katie figures out how to use a child safety doorknob.

William's Arrow of Light

William earned his arrow of light at our last pack meeting. We are so proud of him! He still has the rest of the summer to earn some more compass points, and then he will join the 11-year-old scouts program in September. Congratulations, Will!

New Blog - Need Name Ideas!

I want to start a public blog with coupon and sale specials for the Waconia area.  Does anyone have a great idea for a name?

A Little Good News

Aaron and I auditioned for CVFT's melodrama, "Love on the Prairie," on Monday.  I found out tonight that we both got parts as townspeople.  Aaron has some lines, and I have some solos.  Very exciting!

The director called to ask if our kids could be in it, too.  We were hoping they would ask!  The younger five will all be participating, although Katie and Aidan will be starting out on a trial basis to see if they can handle it.  William and Dallin are extremely excited about it.  Ben wasn't so sure he wanted to be in it, but when I explained what a melodrama is, he changed his mind.  Tristin and Brandon won't be involved, as they have scout camp the 2nd week of the run, and they preferred that to being in a musical.  Maybe someday they'll change their minds, like after seeing this melodrama.  ;-)

Rehearsals will be Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays for six weeks, starting next week.  The show runs July 30, 31, and August 5, 6, 7, 8.

Did I mention I'm excited?  It is so great that so many of the kids will be able to participate with us!

Show Choir

As I may have mentioned, Tristin made it into The Current, which is Waconia High School's JV show choir. They are having an awesome fundraiser for people who shop at Kwik Trip. The school was able to purchase gift cards at a 10% discount. You pay full price for the gift card, and use the entire face value of your purchase. Tristin gets 10% of your purchase deposited into his choir account. For example, you buy a $100 gift card for $100. You get to spend $100. Tristin gets $10 in his choir account. You lose nothing, and Tristin gains $10. As show choir will cost $675, this is a great deal for us, especially since we already buy gas, milk, eggs, bread and bananas at Kwik Trip.

If you would like to purchase a gift card, let me know what denomination you would like. I believe they come in $25, 50 and $100.

What I did with coupons today...

Aaron, Tristin and Brandon took off with Reo (Aaron's Dad) for the Boundary Waters this afternoon. As always happens when Aaron strands me with young children, I got fidgety and needed something to spend my mental strength on. As I was browsing through the Freebies 2 Deals website, I noticed a bunch of Walgreens deals that I could make some money on.

Don't I mean save money on?

No, I really do mean make money on.

Offer #1: The Schick Hydro 3 Blade Razor System has a $4 Register Rewards offer on it. Plus, I printed out a rebate form for a free Schick Hydro 3 Blade Razor System here: http://www.schickhydro.com/freehydro/. You'll need to send in the UPC and the original receipt with the rebate form.

So, I got a free Razor, and will get $4 toward my next purchase at Walgreens.

Offer #2: Like Grape Nuts, Shredded Wheat or Raisin Bran? It is on sale for $1.99 right now. If you go to http://www.postnatural.com/ you can get a coupon for $2 off a box of one of these cereals.

I came out with a free box of cereal and $.01.

Offer #3: Listerine Whitening Mouthwash is $5.49 at my store right now. There is a $1 off manufacturer's coupon here: http://print.coupons.com/couponweb/Offers.aspx?pid=14997&zid=iq55&nid=10&bid=alk061620065630f57109e7015. You'll have to scroll through a few pages to get to it. There are some other goodies on the way, so check-mark anything else off that you'd like to print out. They'll all print on the same page. Also, pick up a Walgreens in-store ad when you walk in, or if you don't want to trust that there will be one, you can print off a $3 off Listerine store coupon at http://www.walgreens.com/default.jsp. Just click on the Weekly Ad tab on the upper right of the screen, and look through the pages until you find it. Once you have done all of that printing, there's one more thing. Ring this through on a separate transaction than the razor. You will need the receipt. Mail the receipt, along with your name and address, to Dare to Wear Gift, P.O. Box 4938, NY, NY 10185. This rebate offer was in a magazine, and no rebate form was required. They will send you a $10 Visa gift card.

So, I got free mouthwash and made $8.51.

Wasn't that fun? Okay, I also had to pay for two postage stamps, two envelopes, and a few pieces of paper and ink, but after all of that I made over $11 in an hour, tax-free. I call that a pretty good run.

Now that it is done, I will go absorb myself in a book until I am so sleepy that I can fall asleep without Aaron next to me.

I just put a Sunday Coupon Preview widget on the bottom of my blog. I'm going to start looking at it and purchasing the Early Sunday edition on Saturday nights, when I think it will be worth it. I could get used to this whole making money at the store thing.

Stake Conference with C. Scott Grow

C. Scott Grow is an excellent teacher. He brings power with him when he speaks. He also likes putting people on the spot. For example, me. With no notice, at the Saturday evening adult session of our stake conference, he called me up to the stand to give a talk on how to be a mother of seven children when your husband is on the high council and travels a lot, and to bear my testimony.

I'm just glad I had an answer for his question. It was to rely on the Lord, and to be consistent in family scriptures and prayers and FHE, even when Dad isn't around. It was to have a husband who is constantly teaching our family, and who interviews the children individually monthly, going over their goals and talking about how things are going.

It was fun. :-) After I returned to my seat, he had the ushers bring microphones down the aisles and asked everyone to discuss the principles I had taught in my talk. He called on about 10 people.

I really enjoyed the night, despite the impromptu talk. When he finished the discussion, he spoke for a few minutes, and then turned the time over for some questions and answers. He gave inspired answers to inspired questions. It was the most spiritual experience I have ever had in a church meeting. I learned a lot from it.

The Other Plan

I have spent the evening stewing after yet another Scout Court of Honor where my children were missing multiple awards. I have been thinking that if I were the bishop, I'd replace the Scoutmaster with someone who could do it right. If it were me (which it couldn't be, seeing as how it is kind of a gender-specific role), I would make sure that all of the boys got their Scoutmaster Conferences in the month before the Court of Honor. I would make sure that all of the records were updated in Troopmaster, and that all of the awards were picked up from the Scout Shop. Then, I wouldn't have to watch Brandon be disappointed for an entire year while his Boy Scout badge was not awarded to him, and also not get the merit badge he earned over the winter. I wouldn't have to watch Tristin be disappointed when he only got two out of three of his completed merit badges.

Wouldn't it be nice if I could just fire everyone and do it the right way myself?

After stewing over it for a few hours, I realized that this situation is similar to another situation, and that this plan is probably the wrong plan. Lucifer thought that forcing everything to go right would make Heavenly Father's children happy. But Heavenly Father knew that everyone needed to be tried and tested in order to progress. Everyone needed opportunities to grow through experiences like these. While I can't excuse the behavior of leaders who can't get their act together, they have to be given the opportunity to succeed or fail. Sometimes, failures affect the innocent. Heavenly Father doesn't shield us from the effects of the mistakes others make, but herein lies a test. How do we react?

I was tempted to go to the bishop and firmly suggest that these leaders get replaced, or my kids will join the other troop in Waconia. They've been screwing up the Boy Scout program nicely for two or three years now, so couldn't they be released? Aaron suggested we just let our feet do the talking. After Brandon checked out the awards on the table, and I confirmed that his was not being awarded tonight with another leader, Aaron asked Brandon if he wanted to sit through another Court of Honor, or go home? He chose going home. He had homework to finish, and he didn't really want to waste his evening. So Aaron took him home.

I suppose that these things will eventually straighten themselves out, and that he will be able to get his awards next time. But in the meantime, we won't be forcing our children to waste their time waiting for other people to get their acts together. If a patrol meeting is worthwhile, they will go to it. If not, they won't be forced to go. We've had enough of going to every single lousy meeting our church puts out just to support the program. We've had enough of supporting mediocrity.

Oh, another funny thing - Brandon had a 10 minute patrol meeting before he left, prior to the Court of Honor. They made him patrol leader. What's funny about that? There isn't another patrol meeting before he turns 12 and moves up a patrol.

Bread

My friend Analisa came over last week, and we made bread together. She has a great recipe that is super easy to make. Here it is:

First, make a sponge out of

3 1/2c. Wheat Flour (can also substitute 1/2c. of a grain mix for 1/2c. of this flour)

2 1/2c. Water

4tsp. Yeast

by mixing together the ingredients in your mixer until everything is wet. I remove the paddle after mixing, and throw a tea towel over the bowl.

Wait at least 20 minutes, but as long as 12 HOURS!! When you have a two-hour block of time that you know you'll be around for, finish making the dough by adding

4Tbsp. Butter (softened is best)

1tsp. salt (unless you use salted butter, then you leave this out)

1/4c. Plain Yogurt

1/4c. Honey

2 1/2c. Bread Flour, more or less (start with 2c.)

to the sponge. Use a dough hook to mix it together, and add remaining 1/2c. of flour a little at a time, until the dough pulls away from the bowl and is no longer sticky. You'll probably knead it for around 5 minutes, scraping the bowl down after additions, if necessary.

Next, spray two loaf pans with cooking spray. Flour your counter. Divide your dough into two. Roll the dough out as wide as the length of the pan, and as long as you can easily get it. Roll it up tightly, and stick it in the bread pan. Let rise until you get a nice crown, which should take around an hour. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Cool on a rack until you can't stand to wait any longer, and enjoy!

Job Update

Aaron's interview went very well. The offer has not been made yet, as things will have to go through human resources before that can happen, but we'll just say that the interview was less of an interview, and more of a product and market familiarization. The market looks a lot better than the report Aaron got from the market analysis firm led Microboards to believe.

Mark told Aaron that he had 200 resumes on his desk for this position, and when he thought about having to interview all these people, none of whom he knows, he thought of Aaron. With Aaron, he would know exactly what he was getting, and although they could get someone else for far less, they'd rather have someone they know can perform who can jump right into the position. They did talk salary a little bit, and it would be hard to say no to what Mark is thinking they would offer. It is really a sales position, so it would start off with a nice salary, then decrease when commissions get built up a little. It has some great potential.

The only hard part about the whole thing, in my mind, is the travel expectation. It could be as high as 40% at times, especially for the first two years. My thought is that Aaron is currently so frustrated when he comes home from work that he isn't emotionally able to spend quality time with the kids. If he were in a job he liked, even if he is gone 40% of the time, there will suddenly be 60% more time that he is happy coming home from work, right?

This is going to be a hard decision for Aaron. He'll be giving up the privilege of coming and going as he pleases, friends he's had for 11 years, and knowing what to expect. On the other hand, if he turns down this job, he will go into Microboards hating it even worse the next day. I think he should go for it.

The Competitor

Last night at around 9:30pm, Aaron got a message from the Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Primera, one of Microboards' top two competitors (Microboards used to be a distributor for Primera, but when Microboards bought a manufacturing facility and started building competitive products, Primera cut them off). He said he's looking for a Business Development Manager for Latin America, and thought Aaron was just the person. It isn't for their CD/DVD line, but a label printer line. Microboards briefly explored the market last year, but the president didn't want to put an investment into developing it, so it never went anywhere.

Aaron responded that he'd like to talk, and Mark emailed him right away to ask him if he was available to go to PACK Expo in June in Mexico City, and could he come over today or tomorrow to talk? Aaron emailed back that he is available during the trade show, and sure, he could find time to talk today. They worked out the details this morning, and Aaron has an appointment to meet with him at 4:30pm.

Aaron has a number of questions for Mark, so this isn't a done deal. Not only does Aaron not have any idea how much they will offer him, but he is wondering about the viability of the Latin American label printing market. This label printer is for food items, in particular items that don't have large runs, like specialty foods or local brands, where it is more cost effective to put a label on a package in-house. When Microboards explored the market, he bought a market analysis from a firm, and it didn't look like it was terribly huge worldwide. It was just a preliminary analysis, and not a terribly thorough one, so it is possible Primera has better information.

The company is in Plymouth, at the 494/394 junction. It is a 40 minute drive from here when there isn't traffic. Aaron doesn't like the idea of a long commute (neither do I), so we'd probably move to Minnetonka or Wayzata if he takes it.

Keep him in your prayers this afternoon!

The Interview *UPDATED*

Aaron had his interview on Monday. He and the Director of Marketing were very much on the same page. She asked him a lot of questions which allowed him to demonstrate his knowledge of the industry and his competence in marketing. After asking him some questions about how he would handle some lead-generating, she started taking notes, as if he were a consultant, rather than an interviewee. Unfortunately, he was pretty sure he was more suited to her position than the manager position for which he was interviewing.

Along with that small detail, she is a 35-year-old single mom who looks like a model. He wouldn't feel comfortable burning the midnight oil with her. He does believe the company has the right culture and the right product. It just wouldn't be quite the right fit, most likely.

He is supposed to hear from her within the week. But, unless they were to come up with a different position for him (which was not discussed), rather than the marketing manager position they are hiring, he will probably not take it if it is offered.

*Update 5/20* Aaron got an email today, and was informed that they are going to continue interviewing other candidates for the position. Aaron is not surprised.

Random Stuff

Aaron's interview was postponed to Monday, so there won't be any news today.

Tristin auditioned for a solo in "For the Longest Time" for his Spring Choir Concert. He got the longest solo in the song! He's really excited! That probably means he has a shot at getting into Show Choir for next year. Auditions for that are on the 20th of this month.

I'm giving a talk on the blessings of the priesthood on Sunday. There was obviously a lot in general conference to gather from, but if you have any talks or scriptures you want to direct my way, I could use more quotes.

I feel like it has been raining forever!! We're getting a little case of the grumpies in our house. Mommy included. I should take the kids for some playtime in the Lion's Den after lunch, before William's recorder concert this afternoon and let them run off some energy.

Job Interview

Aaron had a phone interview with Gov Delivery's HR screener last week, and got a call for an in-person interview for the Marketing Manager position. He scheduled it for Thursday at 3pm. We're not sure whether it will be a position he will really be interested in or not. The Marketing Director is actually less experienced than he is, so it might not be a good fit. She doesn't have an MBA, either, so it might be awkward for her to hire him.

We'd have to move to the St. Paul side of town if he got it, as it is in downtown S.P. Therefore, it would have to be a really great fit, as well as have a really good compensation package. Selling this house wouldn't be easy, and Realtor fees will eat up a lot of the equity we have left in the house in this declining market.

I was excited about this interview until I wrote about it. Now, it doesn't seem so exciting.

Puberty

I bet that, upon reading the headline of this post, you assumed it was going to be about one of the boys. Well, you were wrong.

I had my annual exam a couple of weeks ago, and I had been feeling a small, tender lump on my breast that week, so I told my doctor about it. He figured it was just a milk duct acting up. He didn't do a very thorough exam, like I have had in the past. He is a family doctor, not an OB/GYN, and he seemed like he was uncomfortable throughout the entire exam. So, when the lump got bigger over the following two weeks, I decided to go see an OB/GYN.

The appointment was yesterday. Dr. Freitas did a thorough exam, like I remember having in the past, and she could feel the lump. It didn't feel like a milk duct to her, so she set me up with a mammogram and ultrasound to explore it further. She said it was most likely just a cyst. While I was there, I also discussed my issues with my IUD and too much bleeding, and she offered up a possible solution. She gave me a sample pack of a low-dose birth control pill, and said that often just one month on the pill will allow enough estrogen to get back into the lining of the uterus that it will regulate and shorten my bleeding. If it reverts, then we can do it again after my next annual exam.

Anyway, back to the lump...

I went to have the mammogram done yesterday afternoon, which wasn't nearly as bad as I have heard from other people. Other than the part where I had to stand half-naked in front of a lab technician, it was not at all uncomfortable. There was a lot of waiting involved for both of the labs, but after two hours, I sat with the radiologist, who took the ultrasound from the lab technician, and showed me what we were seeing. He showed me that the bubbly-looking stuff was the normal layer of fat under the skin. He then showed me what normal breast tissue looks like. Then, he showed me what the lump looked like. He described it as a "knotty area," and it didn't have a layer of fat over it, under the skin, like the rest of the breast (which would explain the tenderness). This started to worry me, but then he explained that it was merely "prominent breast tissue." He couldn't explain why it was there, just that it was perfectly healthy breast tissue. It finally occurred to me what he was saying...

My breasts are growing. Hahahahaha! Maybe all of the pimples I've been getting over the past few months should have tipped me off. After 14 years of having babies, my body has decided to resume puberty at the age of 34. Hahahahaha!

Released

It's been a great six years, or year and a half, whichever way you want to look at it.

I've been involved in Cub Scouts as a den leader, committee member, committee chair, cubmaster, and then the committee chair again, as part of my calling as 2nd counselor in the Primary presidency. But today, our presidency was released, and I'm off the hook - at least for now.

I was told by the bishop that he has something in the works for me, so I can't count on a long break. In fact, I don't know if I'll really get a break at all. The new Primary president asked me to keep Cub Scouts running until she has her new 2nd counselor called, which could be a while. I'm okay with that, although a clean break would be nice.

"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants,"

Thus begins the book I've just started reading, "In Defense of Food." It seems kind of strange to tell people to eat food, but the book pointed out that most of what is sold in the grocery stores today isn't actually food. In fact, from 1906-1973, there was a law that any food that was modified from its original form must be labeled as "imitation" food. Anyone for some imitation ham (processed, water added, etc.)? imitation sour cream (low-fat sour cream)? imitation butter (margarine)? Suddenly, you wouldn't be so quick to purchase that imitation milk (skim, 1%, 2%).

It is very interesting to me that as soon as the "imitation" label was removed from these foods, the country got fat.

Tagged

Lizzy tagged me on her blog to share my 1st picture folder's 10th picture. It is from Christmas Eve '08 at my parent's house. Dallin is the one with the cute expression on his face, and you can see Katie in her beautiful dress from England.

I'm tagging Emma, Melissa, Jessica and Nancy to do the same.

Decision Made

After a year of preparations, waiting, and combing through the finances, we finally made a hard decision. Aaron will not be enrolling in an MBA program in the fall. Although there was still a chance that July (yes, the website has yet again pushed out when the EFANN comes out) would bring about a financial aid package that would get Aaron through a year of school, we feel strongly that it isn't the right time for it.

Somehow, we don't feel like the time, energy and money was wasted. We needed to know, and Aaron needed some of the experiences he has had in the process. Now, Aaron will focus on two things.

First, he will try to make Microboards successful. Not that he stopped trying, but he will continue to do so. Recent developments when Kuma was in town last week made it so that he will have the authority to take charge of product development. Unlike the last time it was supposed to happen, Mitch is on board (which is a turn-around from the week before, so I speculate Kuma-san had a little chat with him).

Second, Aaron will keep looking for a new job. As much as he'd like Microboards to succeed, there will have to be some miracles in order for new projects to come together in time for them to make a difference soon enough.

Despite the peace we both feel with this decision, I feel a little bit disappointed. I was ready to sacrifice a lot in order for Aaron to go to school. I really wanted him to be happy in his employment. But, I wasn't the only one who would have had to sacrifice. The kids would have had to sacrifice a lot more, at a time when they should be taking advantage of opportunities in their own educations. With Aaron still working, they will be better prepared for their own secondary educations. Instead of us sacrificing for Aaron, he and I will make the sacrifice together for them.

Family-Themed Conference

If there was one thing Aaron and I got out of General Conference this weekend, it is that nothing is more important than our roles as parents.

Here are some of the things we were instructed to do:

Fathers need to use the Priesthood power in their families.

Mothers need to increase their capacity to use personal revelation to bless their families.

Mothers need to set good examples for their daughters by how they dress and how they talk and how they serve.

Parents need to have frequent and meaningful communication with their kids. Ask them questions, listen to their answers.

Parents can learn from their kids, as well as teach them.

Children are more easily rescued when they are young. Don't wait until they are grown to teach them the gospel.

All of the following should be routine in our homes:

Family Prayer

Scripture Study

Family Home Evening

Reading books aloud

Singing songs together

Family meals

Teach more at home. Become better-prepared teachers at church, which will make you a better teacher at home.

Pre-prepared family home evenings (like the stuff you make in R.S. activities or purchase from the LDS bookstore) are not normally the way to do FHE. They don't allow for the spirit of revelation to direct you to what your family needs to learn and do.

Beware of immorality in media. Run from it. It is getting much worse.

Separate yourself from people, materials and circumstances that can harm you.

Go to the temple as often as circumstances allow.

Love others as ourselves, don't confuse the sin with the sinner.

True love begets action.

Ask ourselves often, "What would the Lord, Jesus Christ, have me do?"

Follow the example of the Savior. It is appropriate to disagree with others, but not to be disagreeable. How we disagree is a measure of who we are.

Without pain, there could not be joy.

Fix the errors and merge the duplicates in your family history online.

A mother's influence is far-reaching.

Quit complaining.

Serve others.

Forgive others.

Standards of morality are eternal and have not changed.

Cultivate with the Holy Spirit a relationship of listening.

Teach the life and teachings of Jesus Christ to our children.

Memorize scriptures with children.

There are a lot of areas here where we are doing things right in our family. There are also areas where we need to improve. But, this conference didn't leave me feeling guilty. It left me feeling motivated. We are doing enough the right way that I just feel like I've been gently reminded of the other things I should be working on. I'm so grateful for prophets!

Katie's First Haircut

Katie definitely needed a haircut.

Aaron and I thought we'd take her to Kid's Hair. I brought some of the boys there once, when my clippers were broken, and it was a fun place. They have little televisions at each of the stations, and put movies in for the kids to watch. I thought it would be a great experience for Katie.

When we arrived, we found they had a 70 minute wait, so we made an appointment to come back after some shopping for Aidan's birthday. When we returned, we were told it would be just a few minutes. Then we noticed something. There were two hairdressers working. One of them, a kind-looking young woman, had just started a haircut. The other was just finishing up. She wasn't so kind-looking. In fact, she had black-dyed hair, shaved to a buzz on the sides, and a 4" Mohawk down the middle. Her lip was pierced, and she was sporting enormous hoop earrings to match.

Suddenly, I realized that this scary lady was going to be the one to cut Katie's hair.

Aaron and I quietly started discussing what we should do. Before we could make up our minds, she came to the counter and asked if Katie was ready. Aaron and I looked at each other, and Aaron said, "We actually need to get going now." Then, we bolted. I didn't look back. Aaron said the woman was glaring at us.

I'm sure they thought we were being intolerant. I briefly wondered if I was being intolerant. But all I could think was that I wanted my daughter to have a great first hair cut experience. This woman looked scary to me. Can you imagine how Katie might have reacted? Besides, I wouldn't go to someone who looked like that to do my hair. Why would I put my daughter's hair into her hands?

I don't understand why a children's salon would hire someone who looks scary to cut hair. I know that there are high-end salons downtown that have scary-looking hairdressers, but there is a different clientèle there. This isn't the venue for that.

Well, we left the salon, and headed toward Eden Prairie. I was pretty unnerved. We found a Great Clips. There were only normal, kind, neat-looking hairdressers there. Katie got in without a wait, and I calmed down pretty quickly.

Katie was a little timid about getting into this interesting chair.

But the lady looked nice, and she made Katie feel very comfortable.

When it was over, she offered to braid Katie's bangs to keep them out of her face.

The hairdresser put some hair in an envelope for me as a keepsake. Even though she took off two inches in the back, her hair still has beautiful curls. It looks very clean now, and the ends aren't scraggly anymore.

I had a very fun time with my little girl's first hair cut, despite the horrible start to the experience. Although I wasn't able to get any smiles on camera, Katie really did enjoy it. She kept the braid in all day, and wasn't too happy when I took it out for bed. I'll have to try doing it myself tomorrow.

All Tuckered Out

One night, a few weeks ago, I asked Aaron to put Katie to bed. She has him wrapped around her little finger, however, and he let her come in his office and listen to music for a little while first. Guess who ended up putting Katie to bed?

Joseph Picture

My camera's USB cable was missing for a few weeks, but now it has been found, so I am adding some pictures a little later than I had hoped. Previous pictures from Joseph have been compliments of friends who emailed their pictures to me.

This is William and me in my backstage dressing area before the show. He came back for me to put his blush on.

This one is Aaron, William and me after a performance of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Spring Break

Katie, Brandon, William and Dallin in a cave near the Grizzly Bear exhibit

It is Spring Break for Waconia, which is kind of silly, since Spring doesn't arrive until Sunday, and then they go back to school on Monday. But, in any case, that's what they called it, so that left me with finding ways to occupy the time of seven children for a week.

The early melt-off in Minnesota meant that the first few days of break were too sloppy to play out in the grass. But, we got the bikes out, and the kids were able to ride. There were some really nice temperatures - in the 60s, even - during the week, so the kids enjoyed being outdoors a lot.

Monday night for FHE we went on a field trip to the Science Museum of Minnesota. We all enjoyed the omnitheater movie, Arabia. It even kept Katie's attention for almost the whole hour. The Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit was a big disappointment. We were expecting to see Dead Sea Scrolls. Instead, there was a lot of pottery, other scraps, like rope and hairnets, an audio tour, and a lot of displays with maps and charts. As far as the scrolls went, we got to see three very small scraps, and that was it. I think some of the kids got something out of it, but if we had realized that they weren't going to have the scrolls on exhibit, we wouldn't have paid the extra fee for the exhibit. The rest of the exhibits were a hit, though. They weren't ready to leave when we needed to head for home, which is a good thing, as we purchased a year's membership. The price of getting our family in was awfully close to the membership fee, anyway, so it made sense!

Unfortunately, I had a stomach virus relapse on Tuesday, and was not up for anything for two days. It was rainy outside on Tuesday, so the kids mostly played video games. On Wednesday, they did get to go outside to play for a little while, but it was mostly a repeat of Tuesday.

Thursday, thanks to Grandma & Grandpa Pratt's Grandparent pass at the Zoo, we had another field trip. Grandma brought cousins Timmy and Andrew along, so it was two on nine. Thankfully, three of the nine are old enough to be helpful when they aren't fighting with each other. After that, I came home and crashed, while Brandon took a few kids on a bike ride to the nearby park.

We've been taking it easy indoors today. I've given four of the boys hair cuts, and we've been cleaning. Those boys who are done with their chores have been playing video games, as it is back down to 40 degrees again, so they don't feel like playing outside.

I'm afraid Spring Break isn't as fun as the kids would like it to be. If you ask Brandon, 95% of kids go out of town for the week. Mostly to Hawaii or Disney or some other warm place. However, I have seen plenty of kids around the neighborhood. We even ran into our good friends, the Drays, at the Zoo yesterday. So, maybe we aren't as abnormal as my kids think. Although Hawaii would be nice.

I Cannot Go to School Today...

Sick
by Shel Silverstein
"I cannot go to school today," Said little Peggy Ann McKay. "I have the measles and the mumps, A gash, a rash and purple bumps. My mouth is wet, my throat is dry, I'm going blind in my right eye. My tonsils are as big as rocks, I've counted sixteen chicken pox And there's one more--that's seventeen, And don't you think my face looks green? My leg is cut--my eyes are blue-- It might be instamatic flu. I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke, I'm sure that my left leg is broke-- My hip hurts when I move my chin, My belly button's caving in, My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained, My 'pendix pains each time it rains. My nose is cold, my toes are numb. I have a sliver in my thumb. My neck is stiff, my voice is weak, I hardly whisper when I speak. My tongue is filling up my mouth, I think my hair is falling out. My elbow's bent, my spine ain't straight, My temperature is one-o-eight. My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear, There is a hole inside my ear. I have a hangnail, and my heart is--what? What's that? What's that you say? You say today is. . .Saturday? G'bye, I'm going out to play!"

About two weeks ago, William came down with a stomach bug. We hoped to keep it from spreading throughout the household by quarantining him in his room, and moving Aidan to the living room couch overnight. Unfortunately, Benjamin started complaining of diarrhea, and then told us he'd thrown up the next day. Aidan followed suit and threw up a couple of days later. Then, it was Dallin's turn.

Benjamin asked if he could sleep on the couch, rather than sleeping on the bunk bed and being by Dallin. We told him he had nothing to fear, as he'd already had the bug and couldn't catch it again. Two nights later, he covered his bed, the carpet, the wall, and a good part of the bathroom with puke overnight. The next morning, coming out of my slumber, I had a revelation: Ben had lied to us to get out of school the first time. I mentioned it to Aaron, who ran downstairs to ask him. Sure enough, he admitted playing sick to get out of school. If only he had stayed away from Dallin, he might have been safe. Unfortunately, while Ben was home from school, Dallin, after he'd been eating well and looking fine for 36 hours, threw up in his classroom at school. That was a fluke, as we'd had evidence of Dallin's previous puking.

Brandon has not gotten the bug. He has stayed away from sick people, and slept on the couch while others who share his room have been sick. Katie fared pretty well until yesterday, when she had a lot of diarrhea, but she hasn't hasn't thrown up, which I am very grateful for. Tristin and I, however, both had rough nights last night. Aaron just developed the cold sweats while I've been writing this, and has started the "cleansing" process. Let's just say, you don't want this bug.

I keep typing words that I know I can spell wrong and having to go back and correct them. My brain seems to be suffering, along with my stomach and aching head and body. Aaron just asked me what time it is, and it took me a second to figure out how to answer his question (duh, he asked me because there is a handy little clock on the bottom right of the computer screen).

Well, I'm sure I've uplifted everyone with my post. I am getting tired, and need to get this laptop off of me. I hope all who read this are able to escape this bug.

After-Show Letdown

Eight performances later, and our run of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is over. I started to get sad after the Saturday night performance, even though there was still one show left. I didn't bawl yesterday afternoon, but I got a little teary-eyed a few times.

The show was very successful. We had a number of sold out shows, and some great audiences. Our Friday night audience this past week was one of the best. They stood up and clapped along with us when we got to the "Go Go Go Joseph" part of the Mega Mix (the curtain call), and were engaged and enthusiastic throughout the show. You wouldn't believe how much an audience that responds appropriately loudly during the performance can fuel more energy into the cast.

The thing I'll remember the most about this experience was the people I met and became friends with. My fellow Canaan Chorus members will be missed, especially Brenda Patterson, Ginny Fogg, Becky Salita, Martha Keenan, Vicki Turner, and Carol Thomas. Bill Coldwell, our director, Joan Nelson, our vocal director, Drew Hasty, our orchestra director, and Katy Jarvis, our choreographer, all left great impressions on me, and I'd be enthusiastic to work with any of them again. Connie, one of the stage hands, became a friend throughout the performances. She and I always chatted before the opening scene while we waited, and we figured out we knew a few of the same people.

One other thing I'll certainly remember about this experience is how important it is to follow promptings. I really felt good about auditioning for this show. I was excited when I got cast. I had to overcome fears that it was too much time away from my other kids in the evenings. That was hard. But, once I saw how good it was for William, and also how much it helped Aaron, giving him a creative outlet during a particularly stressful time, I knew I made the right choice. Participating in an organization like this is good for getting through a long Minnesota winter, too.

I'll probably be auditioning with CVFT again. This summer, they are doing a musical melodrama, written by one of the cast members from this show. In it, villainous Drake Foulweather tries everything, including marriage, to get control of the land left to Mary Goodhue by her father. In the end, Mary's goodness saves the day and leads to a happy ending for the heroes and a well-deserved comeuppance for the villains. Doesn't that sound fun? It will be held in the Chaska Community Center, which is only a 15 minute drive from my house, rather than 25 minutes, so that is really nice!

They are also having a week-long DragonFly Arts Camp (day camp) for kids in June. William is very interested in this, and I think we'll let him do it.

Aaron fell in love with the keyboard he used in the show, and it has motivated him to start thinking again about getting one for his composition hobby. I'm encouraging it.

There's plenty to look forward to, so I'm not going to let this show's end get me down.

Strep Overtreatment

My kids used to get strep throat a lot. And my first instinct when more then one of them came down with it was to get the entire family on antibiotics as quickly as possible. My old family doctor went along with me a lot of the time, too. He was very concerned about our family's health, and wanted everyone to feel good. After a couple of times of strep outbreaks in our family, where we would get everyone cultured and treated, he started prescribing antibiotics for any other member of my family who I told him had symptoms if we had one child test positive.

With our change of medical insurance last August, we started going to a new clinic. We now see Dr. Johanson. He has proven himself to be caring about our family, too, but in a different way. Benjamin was complaining about not feeling well a lot last year. He didn't have any severe symptoms, and Aaron and I were pretty sure he had a case of hypochondria. Ben had a checkup with Dr. Johanson, and he was in good health. A few weeks later, there was strep going around, and Ben started complaining about every symptom in the book again. I had another child at Dr. Johanson's office for a physical, and I asked him whether I should bring Ben in for a strep culture. He asked a few questions, which are very important.

1) Does his throat look red and swollen?

2) Does he have a fever?

3) Does he have any other symptoms, such as a raging headache, or something else debilitating?

The answer to all of these was no.

Dr. Johanson then explained something to me. First, overtreatment with antibiotics is causing resistance in organisms that are more potentially dangerous than strep. Second, the body is perfectly capable of fighting off strep infections in most cases. The risk of not treating it is that a case of rheumatic fever can occur a few weeks later, which has a potential for damaging a heart valve. However, new studies show that rheumatic fever only occurs in 3% of untreated cases of strep, and only after a strep infection that comes with a high fever (over 102 degrees F) for several days. Therefore, the only time he wants me to bring my kids in for a strep culture is when they have a fever with a sore throat, or if they have other severe symptoms that I would keep them home from school for, such as a very red sore throat and headache, and I think they have been exposed to strep.

I was a little surprised. I had thought that strep was something that we just shouldn't allow to exist. I didn't take his word for it alone. I decided to look it up online. Guess what? What he said is considered best practice in medicine by all of the reliable sources I could find online.

I found out something else when I researched this that I found fascinating, and which explains why some of my healthy children would come up with positive strep cultures every time they were tested.

First, many people are healthy carriers of strep bacteria (meaning they don't have any symptoms of illness), and the likelihood of them spreading strep if they have no symptoms is considered minute. In fact, a strep carrier will probably have a positive strep culture every time they are cultured, even when they are feeling completely healthy. No amount of treatment will make it so that they quit being a strep carrier, as when they are exposed to strep again, they will probably not get sick, and will again be a healthy carrier. So, unless they get symptoms that are related to strep (sore throat, fever, headache) and not viruses (such as a sore throat with a runny nose, sneezing, or cough), they should not bother going in for a strep culture.

I also found out more about the connection with rheumatic fever. The shortest time that it can onset after a case of strep with a fever occurs is 9 days. Best practice in medicine is that there is no reason for a doctor to treat an unconfirmed case of strep where there are not overwhelming signs of strep until a positive strep culture is confirmed, or if there are special circumstances which call for immediate treatment.

I asked my doctor what to do with a child with a mild sore throat who has been exposed to strep. Do I keep him home from school? His answer was no. If they aren't sick with a major symptoms, the likelihood of spreading it is minimal. And, if they have a throat culture that hasn't grown out positive yet, the bacteria isn't developed enough to be getting others sick. I even wonder about treating a healthy child whose 48-hour culture turns out to be positive, if he no longer has signs of strep. It seems to me if they aren't being affected by symptoms, they probably beat it themselves.

I'm glad I found all of this out. I will be spending a lot less on doctor's office copays and prescriptions in the future, and my kids won't be staying home from school quite as often.