Time on My Hands?

So, one would think that since I am not in school right now, nor any musicals, I would have had enough time on my hands to write a blog post at some point in 2013. At least it is only February.



Last Fall, Tristin, Brandon, William, Dallin and I were in It's a Wonderful Life. Aaron played in the pit. It was fun, but a bit draining. The leads were incredible. Tristin and I had some speaking parts, and I got to sing in a trio. William kept his grades up and got his assignments in, and I rarely have to talk to him about schoolwork anymore. I was right about letting him audition.

Over the summer, Reo made a cedar canoe for Aaron, with the help of the boys. It was his birthday present, but it didn't quite get done on time. We took it out late this fall on an unseasonably warm day.

We celebrated Katie's 5th birthday on November 1st. We went all out and got her a Caroline Abbott doll. Grammie got her a doll outfit to go with it. She really loves playing with her doll. For Christmas, she also got a stroller, crib and high chair set and a dolly and me dress for Caroline.

Aaron and the boys got a new toy from Grandma & Grandpa for Christmas.




And I got a really cool piece of paper in the mail on December 26th.

I was registered to start classes at the U of MN Crookston last month, but I decided that it wasn't right for me right now. I would have had to have taken 14 credits to get my scholarship, and that just didn't seem like a good plan while I still have Katie at home. I deferred to Fall term, but I am not sure that I will continue then, either. So far, it isn't feeling right.  The last week of December, we also got the impression that it wasn't right to be in "Music Man." We had gotten in, and Aaron was to be the rehearsal accompanist, but we started feeling promptings that it wasn't right for us right now. We felt really bad about backing out of it the week rehearsals were to start, but once we made the decision, it was like a load came off our shoulders. So, what have we been doing with all our spare time?

I slipped on some ice between Christmas and New Year's. I didn't fall, but caught myself, putting some extreme weight on my lower back. It felt jarred, but then I went to Jazzercise a few days later, and that did me in. Before we got to the weights section, I knew I was done. I had to lay down the rest of the day. It took weeks before I could be up for more than 2-3 hours a day without it pinching. I went to the chiropractor for a few weeks, and it helped (although twice during adjustments he gave me headaches when he did my neck, so after the second time that happened, I quit going). My lower back is still sore, but now I am getting things done again. I can go after the housework until about 2pm, and then I need to rest my back again. I had to quit Jazzercise. I don't think I will be able to handle high impact exercise for a while.

Aaron and I have been taking tap lessons on Saturday mornings at Zenon. It has been really fun. It is coming back to me pretty naturally. Aaron is learning!

Tristin and Brandon both auditioned into Marching Band. It costs over $1000 each, and they know they need to earn the majority of it themselves. Tristin starts working at Pizza Ranch on Thursday, and Brandon is hoping for a scholarship. He also has to bring his English and Math grades up a little if he is going to be allowed to do it (by us - he meets the GPA standards of the school's). Tristin has also been in Jazz Band this year, and they both have to do Pep Band four times per trimester or more.

Benjamin joined the Math club at school this year. They had a meet a couple of weekends ago. He enjoyed it. He is at the top of his class in math, and I have some high hopes for him.

Dallin is causing me a little grief lately. He doesn't get along with teachers well, I am learning. I thought last year was an anomaly, but this year it is happening again. He consistently does well on tests, but when it comes to doing his homework, being prepared for class, and especially being prepared for his lit circle group each week, and being respectful to his teacher, he doesn't do well at all. He is bored by it all, I am afraid. Tristin had this issue at his age, so I am hoping it clears up next year in middle school (5th grade), as it did for him. Although, I don't think Tristin's teachers thought he was disrespectful toward them. He just got into class clown types of problems.

Aaron is away in Anaheim this week. It stinks that he has a tradeshow over Valentine's day. He knew that, so he got me something a little more than would normally be appropriate for a gift. He hired our friend, Tracie Hintz, to help me with housecleaning for 8 hours. She did 5 hours yesterday, and will come back next week for 3 more. She is good at it! We got the living room, hall, piano room and master suite all cleaned up. We also rearranged the living room while we were at it. I think it will help us keep things neater as it is now arranged.

Tonight, Katie has Kindergarten Registration at the elementary school. When I got the notice in the mail last month, my heart almost stopped. I don't want to let her go yet!!

I'm looking forward to Friday. Aaron comes home in the afternoon, and we have an activity at the church for the adults. It is a dinner and dance. How fun!