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. :)