Friday Wrap-Up

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I need to start this post with an apology of sorts. Just so you know, I have not forgotten my blogiversary winners. Ask anyone who has won one of my drawings in the past and you'll discover this is pretty much par for the course.

It's not that I'm blowing y'all off, or that my intentions aren't good, I just need to carve out a few hours to get the shopping properly done. And you know, it's kind of like Christmas shopping - I *know* everyone who won fairly well, and I want to get the perfect gift for them - something that will make them say, "Wow! Dana really was thinking about me when she bought this!"

I'll get there ...I promise ... it might just take another few weeks!

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I got a couple of awards this week and want to acknowledge the givers. Emmy, over at Right Turn Without Signaling gave me a Loyalty Award - an award given to someone who reads and comments on her blog regularly.

This is a no-brainer as Emmy is one of those perfect combinations of geek and femininity ... and she drinks dark beer! It doesn't get any better than that. You never know what you might find at her place. She participates in the 365 photo meme, she writes about her kids and she gets geeky on occasion. Just a warning ... Emmy is also an HNT participant, so there are days when you might want to wait until you get home to read her blog!

Yes ... I'm supposed to pass this on ... to 5 people who read AND comment on my blog. There is just no way I can do that! Seriously! Every comment I get makes this blog a much more interesting place, and naming just 5 of you wouldn't be fair. So there!

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I also got the "Arkham Approved Blogger" award from Joker at Ravings from Arkham Asylum. Joker is one of the bloggers (along with his wife) that I had the privilege of meeting this summer while in San Antonio. He is also one of those Live Journal folks so his blog isn't exactly easy to access, but worth the effort!

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Had a bit of an illness scare with Cam this week. He started running a fever Monday night - 102.2 I did the normal mom things, made sure he wasn't putting the thermometer on the light bulb gave him some Tylenol, sent him to bed and planned on calling the school the next morning.

He seemed to be improving through the day Tuesday, but then crashed again Tuesday night - his temp was back up and he was complaining of a sore throat. My first thought was strep, so I decided to give it another day and see where he was.

Wednesday morning I get a call from the middle school. They were calling the parents of all of the kids who are out sick to alert them to the fact that there was a confirmed case of .... H1N1? Nope! MUMPS! Yes, mumps ... that childhood illness that was eradicated in the U.S years ago through the MMR vaccine? Yes ... that mumps!

Cam has had two doses of MMR which gives him (generally) only a 10% chance of contracting mumps, but that's still a 1 in 10 chance. Fortunately, his symptoms - although consistent with mumps - appear to have been something else. He was back to school on Thursday.

There is a growing population of parents who are concerned about the safety of vaccines. Hell, I question the safety of vaccines at times. I appreciate the right of a parent to chose NOT to vaccinate, however I also believe there is a responsibility associated with that choice. Like to limit enrollment in public schools only to kids who have been vaccinated.

What? You say that is the law now? You'd be right except for the little loophole that allows a parent to fill out a form stating they have medical or religious objections to vaccinating there kids. We are seeing a resurgence in this country of childhood diseases that we haven't seen in decades - and that concerns me.

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If you don't see me around all weekend, don't be surprised. In a moment of ... ummm ... stupidity? Confusion? I decided to volunteer to serve at my church's middle school event that starts tonight at 6:45 and lasts through ... are you ready?? 7:00 Saturday morning.

It's an all night gig, filled with live bands, entertainment, bowling, lazer tag, swimming and rock climbing. We are talking 300+ 12-14 year olds, and a handful of adults. I was thinking about it this morning and realized that these kids weren't even born the last time I pulled an all-nighter. What was I thinking?!

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