More Food Pictures

I bet you're all sick of seeing Rudy eating, but he's just so cute doing it, I can't stop myself from taking pictures! My apologies for the overkill. :)

A couple fun videos

Rudy doing the after breakfast dance. I usually need a little time to get things put together after our breakfast blizzard, and popping some music on for Rudy to boogie to makes things go smoother. Plus, it's just a great way to start the day in love with my little man. :)

I mostly like this video because of it's ending: Rudy backing up into my lap. He's the funniest when he wants to sit down anywhere, but particularly on a lap. Ever so slowly, he shimmies his way in. Hilarious to see, hope you can get the idea from the camera's view.

Bear Attack!

Momma bear, that is. On Sunday, after a no more than 3 1/2 hour long sleep the night before, a hectic pre-church morning, a nice, but a bit wild single parent church experience which included me teaching a lesson with my child wrapped around my legs (though only briefly, thanks to my loving and wonderful visiting teacher, Summer), Rudy was down for a nap. My miserably sick husband was down for a nap. I was preparing dinner. Our smoke detector didn't like what was on the menu, and began protesting loudly. This is what happened:

In what seemed like one fluid motion (though that may have just been the sleep deprivation settling in), I lept out of the kitchen, into the air, and swatted the entire contraption off the hallway ceiling. The episode did wake Jason (perhaps because after swatting the detector down, I picked it up and threw it in his general direction. That, for sure, was the sleep deprivation. He had begun to stir, and I think I was trying to tell him it was all taken care of, but who knows-maybe I was secretly bitter about him being in bed and not me.) :) Rudy, one the other hand slept blissfully on. Whew. The crazy things we do to protect our loved ones. :)

The First Day of Spring!

Friday marked the official first day of Spring, and what a day it was! Highs in the 70's, blue skies, twitterpated birds, the works. We even found our first dandelions of the season, blooming cheerily for us.

Rudy is intrigued. It's been a long time since he's seen one of these. (It's a dandelion-you can't really see it in the picture)

Of course, my manly man promptly beheads the poor thing (explosion sound effects and all)...

And then spends about 5 minutes trying to re-attach the thing. Rudy's innocent optimism about always being able to fix things was sweet to see. He eventually settled for popping the bloom in his mouth and running down the sidewalk after a big truck that passed by. That's my boy, alright. :)

Showing off his mad skills on the baby jungle gym. He felt so cool that he figured out how to get into that second little section. Until that day, he'd only been able to step in and out of the first section. Yeehaw!

Going after the ball.

Ready for take off. Rudy's starting to really like the slides. I still have to hold at least an arm to keep him from skidding across the sand on his rump (or face planting) at the end of the ride, but he's getting a hang of it. :)

Pruning

Last Saturday, the whole clan gathered together at Grandpa Wayne's house for the annual pruning of his fruit trees. I think some find it a tedious chore, but Jason and I (especially I) look forward to it each spring. It's a fun time to chat and get some yard work in after a long winter of pining for gardening. Kind of a cerimonious welcome to the summer and gardening season. Hip Hip Hooray!

Jason working on the apricot tree.

Brody showing how many sticks he can carry to the truck at a time.

Paisley catching a ride with Mom.

Rudy's self made pruning task of picking all the buds off each stick he got his hands on. I squelched that enterprise after realizing the buds were going into this mouth. :)

Probably Rudy's favorite part of the day-chill time with family.

Grasshoppers to the Rescue (Prepare for a Rant)

Guess what I'm doing right now? I'm sucking steaming hot cocoa through grasshopper cookies and popping the deliciously melting cookies into my mouth just before they disintegrate into the cocoa. I know I've posted about how I am convinced that emotional eating never helps my mood, and maybe later this evening I will do a little meditative yoga, but right now, these cookies are just what I want.
I took Rudy in for his 15 month well check this morning. Bleh. I'm not a fan of his doctor. I've been trying to stick with him, 'cause he's within walking distance from my house (a plus since the car is busy getting Jason around town most of the time), but I think I'm gonna have to jump ship and find myself some greener seaweed.
Rudy's doctor is old, old school, an uninterested. Remember how Rudy fractured his skull? Well, when I mentioned it to his dr., and asked how he thought the healing was going, the dr. was all surprised and asked how did that happen? I briefly explained and told him that we'd been in on one of his off days. Oh, he said, and that was all. Didn't even ask me when it happened. Brushed his hand over Rudy's head, and moved on to the next step of the well check. Unimpressive.
He's been insinuating that I should have Rudy weaned from nursing since his nine month check. (I think he might actually still believe that formula is the cure all to infant woes and I'm cheating my son out of the great benefits of a scientifically formulated diet!) Grrr. It almost makes me want to join Le Leche League. Almost.
If ever Rudy is an "outlier" on the growth charts, this guy makes statements about impending death or disability, while at the same time doing nothing and telling me we'll just keep an eye on things. Last time it was his head size. The dude's had me eyeing my little man's noggin' for 3 months, wondering if everything is ok. In our check today, he didn't even follow up about his head size concern from last time. I had to bring it up. "Oh- looks fine" is all he said. Now he's "watching" for autism or hearing disability 'cause Rudy's only word so far is 'wawa' for water. Never mind that he communicates with signs, follows directions, and is a social butterfly at any playgroup. Arrrgh!
But here's the salty lemon juice on the papercut that drove me to grasshoppers today: Rudy isn't growing. At his 12 month appointment, he wieghed 23.1 lbs. Today he weighed in at 22.84 lbs. In 3 months, he's actually lost a few ounces. He's exactly the same height as three months ago-30.5 inches. Maybe the dr. is just needlessly freaking me out again, but that sounds a bit concerning to me. The dr. says I need to nurse less (big surprise) and give more cow's milk. My WIC nutritionist said last week that I need to cut back on dairy and give more meat. Le Leche League says screw the world and nurse your five year old topless on the subway. I wish there was a toddler nutrition section in the Doctrine and Covenants! ;)
I think what's bothering me so much about this news is that nutrition is such a fundamental need. If I can't properly provide for my child's nutrition, even after reading toddler nutrition books, being enrolled in a government sponsored child nutrition program, and following my own good sense, I must be a lost cause! It strikes at the core of my parental competence. Ugh! I've been feverishly trying not to get freaked out about Rudy's eating the rest of the day, but I kept finding myself trying to sneak a few extra calories into him. I even bought him a brand new insulated straw sippy cup with construction trucks on it to be his special milk cup. I drank milk (and served it to Rudy) with lunch and dinner, making a big deal out of how tasty milk is and how lucky we are to get to drink it. Ridiculous. Maybe someday my parental self esteem will be made of steel and I'll be able to get through these kind of minor issues without grasshoppers, but today I am very glad we bought some for a treat last week. I even served a few to Rudy, telling myself, "Apparently his nutrition can't get any worse, so what the heck, I'll serve chocolate covered cookies to the kid I normally don't even serve juice to because it's sugar content is so high." Bleh. I gotta get a grip. Maybe that yoga session will help me find my center again. In the mean time, there are only 9 cookies left. I think I'll save them for later. :)

My poor little malnurished child, filling his cheeks with empty calories. Doesn't he look miserable? :)

Blueberries!

Rudy has recently developed a deep love for blueberries. We have (or should I say, had, a five pound bag of frozen blueberries from Costco in our freezer), so I thought I'd try him on one of my very favorite dishes, blueberry pancakes. Now I can hardly serve a meal without at least a few blueberry "appetizers" to prime the pump. (This kid can be hard to convince that it's ok to take time out of his busy day for a bite to eat.)
It's made for, ahem, interesting diapers. (Note to all the cloth diapering moms out there-if you wish your diapers to remain unspotted, do NOT serve blueberries to your child!) Otherwise, though, it's been fun to see the various designs left upon Rudy's face and hands after each blueberry encounter. Kinda like looking at ink blot flash cards. :) Here's just a couple I thought were cute.

Mean Bluebeard and Sweet Papa Smurf

"Hold still!"

"This is the life!"

St. Patrick's Day Pancakes

I fixed Rudy four-leaf-clover pancakes for breakfast on St. Patrick's Day.

He was a bit skeptical.

Upon further inquiries, however...

The pancake was accepted. :)

(And no, my son is not flashing a gang sign. That's a trick I will definitely NOT teach him.) ;)

Breadelicious Wholesomeness

Dad bought me (us) some bread at Kneaders over the weekend. Not just plain ol' sliced bread. No-amazing, aromatic, fill your belly with yumminess bread. Ahhh. It was perfect timing. I'd just had a chat with a stake member about Austria and how wonderful it is there. It got me kinda homesick for Salzburg. (As homesick as you can get for a place you've only ever lived in for 6 months) :)

Anyway, we walked into Kneaders for a scrumptious breakfast, and there before my eyes was a whole wall full of beautiful fresh baked european style breads, their alluring aroma saturating the air. Double Ahhh.

After breakfast, Dad offered to buy us a loaf. When Jason and I were narrowing it down between two loaves, he just bought them both. How delightful to have a little slice of Austria (kinda) in my home. To wake up and make myself a piece of "Butter Brot" is divine! Dad made my day-can you tell? :)

Disney on Ice

Rudy and I spent Friday with Mom. In the evening, Dad and Jason joined us, and then Jason, Rudy and I spent the night so we could ride up to SLC with Mom and Dad for the big Disney on Ice show we'd been anxiously awaiting for the last week or so. It was a super fun weekend-so nice to spend so much time with Mom and Dad. Since Rudy's got a bit of an early bedtime, Sunday dinners are tough to make it to, so we just haven't gotten out to see Jason's parents nearly as much as we would like to (even though they're only about 25 minutes away from us!) so this weekend was a real treat. (It was also a treat because Mom and Dad not only spoiled Rudy, but Jason and me too. Thanks so much, Mom and Dad!)

Grandma and Grandpa Drummond have provided Rudy with his first live performance: Disney on Ice. He love love LOVED it! I loved it too, and I loved watching Rudy loving it. It was so fun to see him absolutely glued to the action before him, and react to the different characters that came out. It was totally kid-friendly-a super fun way to introduce Rudy to the performing arts.

Rudy was so excited about the whole atmosphere-all the people, all the vendors selling various Disney gadgets. I thought he might get overwhelmed, but really he did great. Not a single meltdown! :)

The whole Drummond clan was there, so Rudy got some quality time in with his cousins. Here's just a few. Maybe some day Rudy will figure out how to pose for the camera like these cuties. :)

Rudy and Aubrey, one of his cousins. They're just a month apart. So far, they've just been kinda playing next to each other while they're together, but at the show, they interacted a bit more. Here's Rudy giving her a hug. Cute, huh? I love it when he decides to give other children hugs. I know it's coming straight from him, 'cause I never prompt him to do it. What a sweet boy!

Rudy and Aubrey mesmerized by the show.

Jason was the baby magnet of the day. On multiple occasions, he had to make room for both kids on his lap. I don't think he minded one bit. I mean, really, what better compliment can you get than small children wanting to be around you? :)

Pudding Savant

Our baby's a genius. Genuine genius. He can read! Do you see? He chewed the pudding box open right where it says "Open Here"! Amazing!

Just kidding. He's a smart kid, sure, but I think this has more to do with his love of chewing on cardboard than any literary skills he's been endowed with. :)

He is quite the chef, however. He loves to help in the kitchen. :)

Pearly Whites

I took Rudy to the dentist for the first time yesterday, and as I drove there, I thought of Oma and how she'd always talk to us about taking good care of our pearly whites when we were little. I smiled, thinking of how I hope to teach our kids the same dental hygiene values. (if there is such a thing as dental hygiene values.) :)
Anyway, I expected the visit to be a some what stressful event, kinda like well baby check-ups. Not so! This place was great! The whole office is covered in murals of all the things kids love, like a pet shop, a fun hat shop, trees and butterflies and children. When you walk in, there is a little stone pathway through the carpet leading into the back, like you're entering a very special place. The hygienist took Rudy on a tour of the whole place, right down to the bathrooms and the room where they sterilize all their tools. She spoke to him, and explained how things work to him. She let him choose his own tooth brush and floss to have his teeth cleaned with, and was just plain fun. The dentist was the same. They really helped Rudy to have a positive first experience at the dentist which is really what this first visit was all about anyway. I mean, they took x-rays and poked his teeth and stuff, but really, it seemed like it was mostly just for show-the kid's only got 7 teeth right now! Rudy wasn't a fan of having the x-ray stuff jammed into his mouth, nor of the sticky fluoride stuff the dentist painted on, but otherwise, he was really happy with the "outing". He even got to choose a toy out of the treasure chest at the end of it all. Now, if only I could find a pediatrician that's this kid friendly. :)

Jason's First Blog Posting Ever!

For quite some time Maria has been gently reminding me that I'm also set up as a contributor on this blog. And for quite some time I've nodded my head in agreement while in the back of my head never thinking I would ever actually sit down and write something here. It's not that I have anything against blogging (although I think I actually sort of do). I'm just not what you would call 'hip' or 'with it'. Last month was the first time I'd ever send a text. I only check my email, maybe once a week, if even that. I'd rather walk ten or fifteen minutes to some one's house than talk to them on the phone.

I've also failed more times that I can remember at starting an actual journal. So, my hopes weren't too high that I'd ever actually contribute a posting here. However, this week I had some big changes at work, and once again Maria suggested that I should post about it.

For the past 9 months I've worked directly under an idiot. I try not to be a harsh and judgemental person; but, after 9 months of covering for, excusing, and explaining his mistakes and inadequacies I think I'm qualified to comment on his lack of ability to do his job. I've tried for some time to find the best way to describe him when explaining my frustration to others. And it wasn't until two weeks ago that I was actually able to find the perfect example. If anyone has ever watched the sit-com 'The Office' on abc (if you haven't take the time to stop by abc.com and watch an episode, it is quite funny). My supervisor at work is exactly like Steve Correll's character on that show. He's bumbling, inept, has poor social skills, and usually (like a small child) makes things worse because of all his 'helping'.

So that brings us to this week when the powers that be made a change in the format of some of the residential staffing at Heritage. An entire unit (what we call the groups of clients we work with, in this case, about 11 kids) would be done away with, the boys shipped off to other units, and the staffing and approach of that whole unit would be rebuilt. In all about 12 staff, from the lowest part time weekend staff to my boss's boss, were effected by this change. However, one other staff and myself were the only ones who would not be changing jobs or units we work on. And this is how my wholly unqualified supervisor was shipped off to staff the new unit and he was replaced by a great, qualified, hard working, socially coherent supervisor pulled from the unit that was decommissioned. Anyone confused yet?

Long story short, that is why Maria and I were celebration the end of a very difficult and frustrating period at my employment. I have a lot of positive expectations for how my environment at work will be from here on out.

Well... that wasn't so bad. Maybe I'll be contributing more in the future......... maybe

Deep Thoughts and Yogurt

I've been in a deep thought mood lately. I don't know if everyone is like this, but I tend to have little awakenings periodically through my life. Times when I begin to sense that there is more to life than what I'm currently experiencing. Those times are beautiful, because they invite me to seek for more, to stretch my definitions of success, and gain a heightened awareness of life and the world around (and within) me. Sigh.
So I've been basking (and squirming a bit) in one of those awakenings for the last few weeks. I've read some books that have prodded me on in my pondering. One was a biography of Sojourner Truth. The author, Nell Painter, did a fabulous job of separating the woman from the legend. It was wonderful to see Sojourner as she really was-human-instead of some kind of all knowing, all powerful saint. It did not diminish what she did nor what she stood for. Rather, made it all the more inspiring to me that she, an imperfect woman who was learning along the way like all the rest of us, was able to make a positive difference in a world largely hostile to her. Her story solidified to me the reality that the most important thing to do is press forward in the cause you believe in, not fret about wrong turns you've made in the past. She reminded me that it's ok to make course corrections on my journey through life, and that I don't have to know everything about who I am or what I stand for from the get go. I just need to be who I am right now, face myself in the direction I want to go, and enjoy the ride.
That's where yogurt comes in. And Rudy. I'm telling you, that little guy is one of my greatest sources of education lately. The things he teaches me are so wonderful, so relevant, and so deep, I feel like I've got my own personal Yoda tagging along with me all day. :)

Today Rudy was really interested in feeding himself. As I watched him struggling to get the yogurt on the spoon, and the spoon to his mouth without losing the yogurt along the way, I thought. "Wow. I really take eating for granted! That must be so frustrating!" And then I realized that Rudy was the exact opposite of frustrated. He was fascinated. Enthralled. Focused. Happy! The kid was having about 40% success rate at his chosen task, and he was absolutely giddy with himself. Huh. That got me thinking, and I realized that Rudy was more concerned with the process of feeding himself than he was about the result. In the end, his tummy was full of scrumptious yogurt, but that was not his main goal. His main goal was to practice his spoon shoveling technique. Because of this, he was not concerned about how much yogurt got from the cup to his mouth, just that he was practicing.

Maybe I can figure out how to apply that in my life. Could I refocus my goals on processes instead of outcomes? Then I wouldn't have to waste so much of my time feeling frustrated that I haven't achieved "perfect" fitness, built a respectable nest egg, and created the ideal home atmosphere for my family. Then I could relish the fact that I am increasing my fitness, learning to manage money, and building our house into a home. Then I could be happy right where I am. Hmm. Sounds good, huh? I think I'll face myself in that direction, and start smiling about it now. :)

"Patience and zeal you must have. Only then can the force with you be." :)

The Witch is Dead!

Jason came home practically popping with excitement last night. He said we needed to break out the Champagne. (Don't worry, we don't really own any) :) He was filled with glee because yesterday marked the beginning of the end of a rather uncomfortable era at work: The Era of Dustin. Sorry if it sounds harsh, but Jason's soon to be old immediate supervisor pretty much made work life miserable for my sweetie. Jason's been laboring under the burden of an incompetent and uninterested supervisor for months. He's pretty much been doing two jobs: his own and his supervisor's. Now he gets to just do his own job. Yippee! Since Dustin didn't really die (he didn't even lose his job-just got transferred to another unit), I don't feel too bad prancing around the bedroom with my hard working and newly liberated man singing, "Ding dong, the witch is dead!" What's good news if you don't relish it, right?

Rudy and Opa

Rudy got to spend a little time with his Opa (German for Grandpa) today. So did I. What a treat.
P.S. It was a treat spending time with Jake, Heidi, and Mutti too, but we just didn't get any pictures of that. :)

A Fish Named Fred

Remember the beginning of the year when our last remaining pet, Maggie, went to the Pie in the Sky? I gave myself some time to see if I, Maria-the-perpetual-pet-owner, could learn to live without non human companions.
Nope.
I began my pet quest in mid January. After much deliberation, reading (0f course), and chatting with Heidi and Jason, I decided a Betta Fish was the perfect pet for my current time and financial availability.
I began the second leg of my quest-to find the cheapest way to get what I wanted. I posted want ads on ksl.com and freecycle(an amazing community exchange program which I highly recommend checking out if you haven't already). I kept my eyes peeled for great deals on craigslist, ksl, freecycle, and Savers, our local thrift store. I considered online orders, I considered varying tank options and even more varying Betta options. (The type I first had my heart set on turned out to be 24 bucks for one little fish! A pretty penny-too pretty a penny for my pocket book.)
All throughout, I diligently worked at my new online job: a keyword creator for an online marketing company. (I'll do a separate post about that.) Slowly but surely, the funds built.
Finally, I had secured everything I needed except the blasted heater, which was $27, and the fish, of course. I had managed to save enough of my $50 dollar over all budget (fish stuff adds up quick) to afford the heater, but it still drove me crazy to spend more on a heater for a fish tank than I spent on our groceries this week.
Feeling that I had done my best to scout out any other options, I decided to just get the heater already, especially because I had spotted a female betta I really liked for $2.50 at PetSmart earlier in the day. I cruised by Animal Ark to buy the heater (I try to buy from local companies if I can), and what do you know, there, on the shelf, lay a used 25 watt visitherm stealth heater (the exact one I wanted), being sold for a mere $8.99! Woohoo! The worker probably thought I was some sort of nut (maybe I am) 'cause I was literally giddy at my find. I purchased the heater and drove straight across the street to the PetSmart to rescue my little lady from her plastic cup purgatory.
I named her Fred, short for Winnifred, after the princess in Once Upon A Mattress. It seemed to fit. :)
Here she is, with her thrifty tank to boot.

I put dinosaurs in the background 'cause the black background I bought was just too boring. At first Fred flared like mad at them (I don't blame her- those jaws full of teeth are pretty threatening) but now, I think she's made friends with them. :)

This experience has been a fun reminder that staying in a budget is absolutely possible and very rewarding. Also, that when we do everything we can, God finds little ways to help us out. Perfect timing, 'cause tonight, Jason and I are creating the Splendiferous Master Budget. :)