Jude is trying to walk, she's doing great! But now the focus shifts from the arms to the legs.

About every six months, something happens that makes us re-evaluate our daycare situation.

I've written about vaccines before, but if you're struggling to find the balance between being a good steward of public health and keeping your kids safe, this might be an option.

Jude turns 1 year old today. Life has not been the same since she was born.

Our weather lately reminds me of the scene from the movie "A Christmas Story" where Randy can't move because he's so bundled up.

When you have spent years monitoring the constantly changing water conditions of the White River and Norfork Tailwater, it becomes obvious that flow patterns come and go in cycles. The Midwest was mired in drought over the late 1990's and early 2000's, so there were several excessively low water years right after the turn of the century. It takes time for trends to shift, but the drought cycle started to break in 2003, and now, seven years later, we are in the grips of a persistent, wet weather pattern. Most of the area's fly anglers are weary of all the high water of the last two or three years and a drastic change would be welcomed by most. Those who got used to being able to find low water on the White and Norfork during the first half of the decade have since had the rug pulled out from under them many times.

Branson, MO- Branson area residents and visitors will have the opportunity to spend an evening with several FLW fishing pros in Branson. The dinner event is called “Meet The Pros” and will be held in the Life Center of First Baptist Church in Branson on Friday, February 26th at 6:00 pm. This event will take place prior to the FLW Tour on Table Rock Lake scheduled for March 3-6th , 2010.

(Associated Press)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Brandon Richardson scored 19 points and No. 12 seed Nebraska took command with an early 16-1 run and shocked No. 5 seed Missouri 75-60 Wednesday in an opening-round upset at the Big 12 tournament. The underdog Cornhuskers (15-17), who had won just two of 16 Big 12 regular-season games, outrebounded, outshot and outhustled the team that easily beaten them twice this year.
After Kim English pulled the Tigers (22-10) to 61-51 with a pair of free throws with 4:01 to play, Richardson canned a long 3-pointer, drew a foul from Zaire Taylor and made the free throw for a four-point play that clinched it.
Ryan Anderson had 16 points for Nebraska and Jorge Brian Diaz had 10, including several easy buckets as the Huskers consistently beat Missouri's pressure defense.
Laurence Bowers had 11 points for Missouri, the defending Big 12 tournament champion.

Kansas City, MO - The Missouri Tigers will open up play in the Big 12 Tournament with a familiar foe.
The Tigers have beaten the Nebraska Cornhuskers twice this season. Mizzou will have to do it again to advance.
"New season, new season for us, new season for Nebraska," says Missouri head coach Mike Anderson.
The reigning Big 12 tournament champion Tigers missed out on a first-round bye Saturday with a crushing defeat against Kansas University at the Mizzou Arena.
Now, the Tigers must accomplish what's considered tough to do in conference tourney play, win four games in four days.
"I think it's one at a time," says Anderson. "I think our depth is gonna be important. You go four days, you're gonna have some guys dragging."
Nebraska head coach Doc Sadler is not buying that.
"All of that sounds good, but we've got to play good," says Sadler.
Big 12 all-conference honorable mention selection Kimmie English leads the Tigers in scoring at 14 points a game. Senior Keith Ramsey is leading the undersized Tigers with nearly six rebounds per game.
Ryan Anderson leads the Cornhuskers with 11 points, five rebounds per game.
The "Fastest 40 Minutes" of basketball has seen better days on the offensive end. The Tigers shot 35 percent against Kansas. Mizzou's Anderson says something has to change to win.
'We need to have some shots fall for us and have a chance to win some games," says Anderson.
Catch the Big 12 opener for Mizzou Wednesday afternoon at 2:00PM on the Ozarks CW.

Springfield - Two former Missouri all-America football stars will be in Springfield to sign autographs Saturday night.
Danario Alexander and Sean Weatherspoon will appear at Fast Break Sports at the Battlefield Mall.
They'll start signing at 7:00PM. You can get both autographs for $6.
Weatherspoon is a week removed from participating in the NFL Combine. The linebacker is projected by most draft boards as a late first round draft choice. Weatherspoon clocked some of the fastest 40 times at his position.
Alexander did not compete in drills at the NFL Combine. He's still nursing a knee injury he suffered just before the Senior Bowl in January.

Lawrence, Kan - A University of Kansas basketball assistant's free ticket gesture is the talk of the Big 12.
Adult film star Samantha Ryan posted on Twitter she received free tickets to Wednesday's KU-Kansas State game in Lawrence.
"Big thanks you know who for getting me the tix Coach T," tweeted Ryan after the game. "Best birthday present ever."
The coach "T" is Kurtis Townsend. The school says Coach Townsend did nothing inappopriate.
"After seeing that KU was playing rival KSU on my bday, I had to ask for tix," said Ryan. "Who wouldn't."
Samantha Ryan is a former student of Kansas University.

Nashville, TN - It's four wins in four days or bust for the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Arkansas (14-17, 7-9) opens play in the 2010 SEC Tournament late Thursday night in Nashville against the Georgia Bulldogs (13-16, 5-11). The Hogs defeated Georgia earlier in this season in Athens 72-68. Arkansas overcame a double-digit lead in the second half for the win.
"We had a hard fought game in early February, says Georgia head coach Mark Fox. "Both teams are a little different today than they were five six weeks ago."
The Hogs started 1-3 in the league. Then, that road win against Georgia was in the middle of a six game winning streak. The Hogs followed that streak with a five straight losses to end the season.
The Razorbacks defense has been consistently bad in that losing streak. The matchup down low doesn't favor the Hogs on paper. All-SEC forward Trey Thompkins is averaging nearly a double-double with 17 points and 8 rebounds per game.
"Georgia is a big challenge, big literally with their front court," says Arkansas head coach John Pelphrey.Arkansas point guard Courtney Fortson continues to lead the Hogs in scoring at 18 points per game. Georgia's Fox knows first hand stopping Arkansas starts with Fortson."
"(Courtney) Fortson had a huge second half against us," said Fox. "A huge year. He makes the guys aruond him better."
Fortson was a 2nd team all-SEC selection.
Thursday night's winner will play Vanderbilt Friday night in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament.
The Hogs can only go dancing the NCAA Tournament. To do that they'll have to win four games in four days. History is on the Hogs side. The Hogs pulled it off in 2000. Georgia pulled it off in 2008. Mississippi State won it by winning four last year.

The Arkansas Razorbacks are somewhat represented on the all-SEC teams.
Sophomore Courtney Fortson was named a 2nd team all-SEC performer. Fortson led the Hogs with 18 points, 5 rebounds and nearly 5 assists a game. The Montgomery, Alabama native was an all-freshman team selection a year ago.
Freshman Marshawn Powell made that all-freshman team in 2010. The Newport News, Virginia forward was a unianimous selection. Powell ranks 3rd in the SEC in scoring at 15 points a game. He grabs on average 6 boards a game.
Sophomore Rotnei Clarke is a member of the SEC's Community Team. His involvement off-the-court includes work with the Christian Fellowship of Athletes and the Fayetteville Juvenile Detention.

From AP:

Republican Senate candidate Roy Blunt is getting some help from a potential presidential candidate.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty came to Missouri on Friday night (2-26) as the keynote speaker for the Republicans' annual Lincoln Days conference.

While in the St. Louis area, Pawlenty hosted a fundraiser for Blunt and publicly praised the southwest Missouri congressman's Senate campaign.

Pawlenty is considering a presidential run in 2012 and is making stops at similar Republican events across the country.

In Missouri, he criticized the Democratic-led Congress and President Barack Obama for running up the nation's debt with "massive" and "ridiculous" spending.

He also accused Obama of weakening the U.S. by taking an appeasement approach on international policy.

MSUPOLLfeb10

From his press release:

The Wisdom for Congress Committee is pleased to release its most recent fund raising and expenditure totals reported to the Federal Election Commission.

As of December 31, 2009, the Wisdom for Congress Campaign has recorded the following:

Contributions: $5,407.45

Expenditures: $4,800.96

Cash-on-Hand: $606.49

Candidate Self-Financing: $3,119.58

The Wisdom for Congress Committee is proud of its balanced and conservative approach to fund raising and expenditures during the current election cycle. According to FEC records, Jeff Wisdom was the only candidate to report self-financing. The campaign has accepted no Political Action Committee contributions.

He plans to file officially as a candidate seeking the Republican nomination for Congress in Missouri’s Seventh District on February 23, 2010, the first day any candidate may legally file.