Connor's Baptism

I just about forgot to post these!  Although the event occurred a couple of months ago, it is such a milestone in Connor's life.

So big in fact, that we decided to travel to Texas for it--especially since Christmas happened to be at the same time.

 

It wouldn't be the Bailey family if music weren't included somehow, and Connor wanted his aunts to play 

the "Baptism" song.  With Grandpa's help on the piano.

(After all the years of lessons--paying for them, driving to them, sitting through them and "encouraging" practicing for them, it is my special treat to hear the results as these three play their instruments together.)

And then, what we all came for.  What a good looking pair!

We love Connor's bashfulness.

His love of reading.

His playfulness.

And we appreciate him setting such a great example for the younger grandchildren on the Bailey side.

My Dilemma

When we returned from Texas a week ago, we drove through the night, and although I rested while Kevin drove, it is a kind of waking-sleep in which I still feel aware of my surroundings, yet some dreams are mixed in.  And I drove from 1 a.m to almost 6 a.m. So it was a very short night.

I thought I would rest up over the next few days--and then remembered I needed to fill in for the YW President at the early-morning Ward Council on Sunday morning.  And at that time, I found out I would be filling in for the early morning seminary teacher for 3 weeks while she dealt with a family emergency out of state.

 (I have been called as the substitute E.M. teacher).

Let me say here that my perfect day starts at 7:30 a.m. and ends at 11 pm.  I haven't had too many perfect days in my lifetime--at least as far as sleep goes--the family schedule just doesn't coincide.

I started the week with a sleep deficit, and kept adding to it as the week went along.  Up at 5:20 a.m., in bed around 10 pm.  

And here comes the point of my dilemma.

I can't nap--if I do, I lie awake for hours at night.

And I've found out that I can't sleep in on Saturday morning, because I ended up with a migraine.

It seems impossible to get to bed earlier.

Am I just doomed to be always tired???

(At least I can now feel sympathy for all the young mothers out there who are going through the same sleep deprivations!)

Now, I have felt very blessed in accomplishing the seminary assignment.

I have enjoyed the lessons, and the youth are great.

I enjoy the time together.

But once they leave at 7 a.m., I suddenly feel.... tired.

A Medical Revolution...

Last summer, while on vacation in Idaho, I developed an infection and needed a prescription.  I called my doctor back in Iowa--but it had been over a year since I had been seen, so they couldn't help out, even though this infection was in line with my past history.

Luckily, my sister has found a treasure.  Within an hour, I was at her doctor's office, and he had actually talked with Terry in making the appointment.  What? It is nearly impossible to talk to my doctor!  It takes 15 minutes just to get a receptionist on the line.

 Dr. Brook took my medical history directly--typing into his lap top as I answered his questions; he agreed it was a simple case solved by a simple prescription of antibiotics.  Fifteen minutes later I was driving away WITH the Cipro.  He keeps a basic pharmacy at his office (but no narcotics).  Total cost?  $35.  ($32--office visit and $3 for the antibiotics).  I could have had a $5 discount if I had paid in cash (I had to use a check).

No insurance involved.

This experience opened my eyes.  There are so many problems with having doctors that take medical insurance.  Costs are so high!

With the same infection and my regular doctor,

the investment in time alone would be great--15 minutes to get the appointment.  Maybe it would be the same day, 

maybe the next day.  An hour+ at the appt. (minimum, counting waiting time).  They always insist on a lab culture (to cover all bases).  (Another hour, at least)

And once the result is back, THEN I get the prescription

and have to go to a pharmacy.  

Total costs?  Doctor--$125

Lab--$30+

Prescription--$5

Some of these costs would be "reduced" by our insurance, and then we would pay the rest, until our deductible is met.

Hmmm.  $35 vs $150+  Which should I prefer?

I'm on the hunt for a good, old-fashioned doctor (who even makes house calls!) like Dr. Brook here in Iowa!

He told me there is no national registry of doctors "off the grid" so to speak, but gave me three websites that might aid in my search.

So far, I haven't been successful.  But maybe you will be!

www. aapsonline.org

www.simplecare.com

www.cashdoctor.com

He also said that as national healthcare moves forward, there will be more doctors who quit taking insurance so that they can practice medicine. 

Good luck to us all!

A week ago today...

It was 23 degrees this morning, with frozen water on the deck--far  different from the weather we got to enjoy a week ago!  We've visited Texas a few times now, and hadn't gone to the seashore because it was too cool. But we were rewarded with warm weather this time so off to the beach we went!

 Our morning started with a car ride--nearly 3 hours long.  Thank heavens for DVD players.

 We traveled through rural Texas--areas of scrub brush--and as we got closer to Corpus Christi, Spring was further advanced--more green trees.

 We passed the exit to Alice, Texas.

 And found a great beach at Padre Island.

 The sand was soft and white, 

but there was also a lot of sea weed.

 The waves were perfect for playing in, and 

the sand was perfect for digging in.

  The water was cool at first touch, but it was easy to get used to (within seconds).  Now that's different from Idaho lakes where it takes several minutes to get adjusted to the water!

  We took turns playing with the kids in the sand and playing in the waves.  The kids had plenty of sunscreen lathered on them, so they finished the day with a little bit of a tan.

 The adults were not so fortunate--sure we put on sunscreen, but somehow missed some spots--foreheads, ears, etc. 

We arrived just after lunch, and left about 4:30, 

but it would have been great to stay longer.

I could play in those waves for days!  I love being in water, and this was so bouyant and comfortable.  It was great fun as we learned the best timing for jumping high to escape the breaking waves.

For those of us used to having nearby horizons (hills, trees, houses), it is good to view the expanse of the ocean and remember how small we really are.  And it is good to remember how powerful those waves are.

 Warm weather.  With family.  No injuries.

 Supper at Whataburger.  More "Cosby Show" on the way home, then showers to wash off the salt and sand.

What a great day! 

Spring Break

We had a hard time deciding where to go for spring break this year. 

Go west and visit family?  Too much snow--or the possibility of snow--especially this year.

Go east and see national sites (Washington, DC)?  Still the same problem.  Snow!

So we kept up an 8-year-tradition and visited Catherine & her family.

Although Texas is a long ways away, it is nice to visit a place where spring has already arrived. 

 The leaves are already coming out on the trees, and the grass is getting green.

 However, this playground had artificial turf--Texas doesn't normally have the kind of grass we usually have in our lawns here in the North.  We have Kentucky bluegrass.  They have Bermuda grass and some other varieties that are much more heat tolerant--but less soft underfoot.

 What a relaxing, wonderful week!  Playing with the grandkids,

reading, seeing some movies, playing some RockBand, and enjoying our vacation.

And as a former teacher, I loved seeing a grandson so engrossed in a book that 

it really didn't matter where he was.  

We're grateful Catherine and Aaron were willing to play host!

THANK YOU!

Three Months' Storage

In my quest to be prepared, I came across the following idea for easily storing "normal" food.  

First some basic rules:  

1.  The food should be canned, dried or bottled--not refrigerated.  The reason for this is in most emergencies electricity will be the first thing to go, and so, we shouldn't count on having it.

2.  I wanted food that we will actually like.  In an emergency situation, having "comfort" food will be nice, particularly if children are involved.

This idea involves selecting 10 main meal recipes that the family likes, and then buying ten times the ingredients for those ten meals.  10 X 10 equals 100 main meals--that is about 3 months' worth.

So I just need to come up with 10 meals!  I thought that would be easy, but if you are not using fresh dairy, a lot of things wouldn't taste very good (like stroganoff). 

  

Spaghetti would probably be our # 1 meal.  That's pretty easy:

1 jar/can of spaghetti sauce--a variety of flavors would be nice. 

 1/2 package noodles.  Parmesan cheese.  Meat?  This can either be a meatless meal, or you can use a can of chili (no beans) for meat.  

Other meal options:  White chili (with canned or foil-pouch chicken)

Regular chili with beans.

Boxed Macaroni and cheese.

Other pasta meal mixes.

Then I would also store--in multiples of 10--canned veggies, fruit, and other things to go along with the main dish.

If you have any good meal ideas, please pass them along!

Now, if the electricity is out, I'll need to use sterno, charcoal, or even a campfire to cook, but that's another issue.

The following link gives more information:

http://www.food-storage.blogspot.com/

Smoke Signals?

A week or so ago, I noticed something strange as I look out our front window.  I'm always interested in weather and unusual clouds and I thought these clouds definitely fell into the category of unusual. 

Were the neighbors sending out smoke signals? 

And the play is finally history...

With rehearsals until 6pm or later every school day, and set construction on Saturdays, having Elley in the school musical definitely impacted the family.  Rehearsals started right after Thanksgiving
and along about mid-January Elley was beginning to wonder if this was
all worth it.
The performances were this past weekend, and
YES!
It was worth it!

She had a great time.  Made lots of good friends. Felt the energy of an audience that laughed at the right places and enjoyed the performance.

And, now I know how to upload video.  I shot this with my little Canon camera, sitting halfway back in the auditorium, during dress rehearsal.  The real performance was much better. We sat on the first row in the balcony and had a much better view. Unfortunately, the better video is on the Sony video camera (with mini-tapes) and I couldn't figure out how to get it in the format for uploading.  Hopefully, I will though!
Although I could never make it through the original movie,
I found that the play was much more enjoyable--
the students could ham it up and
we really enjoyed the performance.
Way to go, Elley!