Grumpy Gus

I don't know how to upload camera pictures any better than this and it is driving me CRAZY. Somebody, please. I don't have any editing software but want to make a collage or something of the like from my iPhone pictures. A plea for help, please teach me. But anyways! Arrrgh. Lets get on with this then.

top left- Jude has been a Grumpy Gus for the past couple of days and for an instant he cheered up and it was probably because he saw a plane or something. Maybe even a vulture, I can't remember. Poor kid.

top right- I think he is a Grumpy Gus because he is teething, but I'm not too sure cause heaven forbid I try to look in is mouth or brush his teeth for that matter. Good grief, brushing a toddlers teeth is going to  be the end of me. I'd say we get a successful brush in there maybe every other day and that is not for lack of trying. The rest of the time he just gnaws on the tooth brush. Sometimes I even count that as a success brush even though he only gnaws the handle and not the bristles. The things I count as a success these days never fail to surprise me. What's that, you had half a cherry tomato? YOU ATE YOUR FRUITS AND VEGETABLES FOR THE DAY! I WIN! Kids. 

bottom left- Grumpy Gus playing with the recycling. Kid loves him some cardboard. Why do we even have toys? It is really weird to see Jude being all grumpy and out of sorts because he has never been like this before. Even when his other teeth were coming in he was in much better spirits. Is he sick? I don't know. He is trying to transition to1 nap a day as well so maybe that's putting him in an extra funky funk? If the last two days has taught me anything it is that a funky Jude is a no fun Jude. 

bottom right- We have some amazing friends who invited us up to their parents lake house for the weekend and it was a dream. I took Jude out on the tube- I expected him to smile and giggle but instead he simply looked around with a really solem face and pointed at things. We also ate way too much. I need to stop doing that. 

So that's that. Just some pictures from my phone that I want to format better but don't know how. I really can't stand 30 Rock, but the only way to describe how this makes me feel is blerg.

Freshly Picked Winner

Ladies and... well, I really don't think Gentlemen actually read this. So, Ladies, the winner is...

Lauren!

I'll email you right away and we'll talk about how to get these little moccs on the piggies of your favorite child. And I just have to let you know, that I tried to make Jude pick a name out of the bowl but he wanted everyone to win as demonstrated by a fist full of names he chose so I had to close my eyes and pick just one out. Lauren, you lucky dog! I was trying to figure out a way that maybe I could have won but although I'm not always the most honest of people, even I couldn't figure out how to rig it for myself. Ha ha. Enjoy Lauren and sorry everyone else. I'll see if I can't get some more giveaways going! Any suggestions? 

The Weekend

Thanks Auntie Eve for Jude's dapper tie, so cute it almost killed us!! She got it here. 

Hey, ho, let's go, yo. I don't know why I write like that just there. Sometimes I feel cooler than I actually was am. So yeah, Mothers Day round up. It was lots of fun and a lot better than last year. Last year Jude screamed the whole bloody day and I remember telling Dan that it was one of the worst days ever. I can be so dramatic sometimes, but if you were there you would have felt the same way. I remember being super sad I didn't get to go to church. I was so sad because I love getting actual physical things back from church since we pay so much tithing. I mean, I know I get to use the facilities and there is that crumb of bread I get every week, but I still have this consuming desire to actually put my hands all over something that was bought with my sacred funds that is mine. Is that weird? I like a physical manifestation of my commandment keeping. A return on my investment, if you will. Whether it be a darn potted flower or fancy truffles, I want it. I want them all. I bought them! Put it in my hands! I guess maybe I could go visit that mall my church built- perhaps it would satisfy that need as well? (eye roll)

This year was better though. I got the potted flower and gave it to my LGBT neighbors to plant in their flower bed as we don't have one, Jude didn't scream once, meals were made for me (and cleaned up!), we got to visit with some great friends from Calgary, and I got an item from my Amazon Wish List so basically a win-win. I already waxed poetic about the blessings my holy uterus has brought unto me so please see posts below about being a Mother. That one was for Betina, wink wink.

That's it, just a quick Tuesday night post to let you all know we had a rather nice Sunday and tomorrow I'll announce the winner of the baby moccs. I'm thinking everyones names will go in a hat and Jude can pick the winner... till then, xoxo!!

This isn't even a joke

// UPDATE// Open to US Residents only//

Do you guys swoon over those Freshly Picked moccasins like I do? Well, how would you like a pair for your favorite child? That's right, I'm doing my first giveaway and I wish each one of you could win because these moccasins are so adorable they kind of make my heart melt. And you could win a pair! A FREE PAIR OF MOCCASINS. 

So lets talk about this. 

To enter the giveaway you need to comment leaving a friendly message for me, preferably with something funny in it because I like to laugh which HAS to include your email address and the size and color of moccasins you would like. You can head on down to the Freshly Picked website to take a look around and see what suits your fancy- spend a few minutes there checking out your options and for the love of everything, familiarize yourself with their size chart. The moccasins are made to order, so once the winner is chosen it will take about 10 business days to get them all ready, and then, off in the mail they will go for the piggies of your favorite child. 

I'll choose a random winner on Wednesday, May 15th at 8am- I'll announce the winner on the blog and contact them via the email address they leave- if I don't hear back in 24 hours I'll randomly choose another! And (for now) this giveaway is open to US Residents only.

Hope this makes your Friday happy and bright!

A recipe on a Wednesday

Jude had some oatmeal for breakfast the other day and he only ate about a quarter of his small bowl. I knew just what the problem was. I'm positive that if he could talk instead of just flailing his limbs and grunting, he would tell me that he finds oatmeal to be slimy, as does his mother. I hate that oatmeal is slimy and I wish I could stomach it better because what a great start to your day. Not me though. Even when I close my eyes and pretend it is actually 'silky' I can only last a few days on oats and then I nearly puke if I try to choke down another bowl. So Pinterest, yes, you did it again. I made some baked oatmeal muffins and both Jude and I love them! I don't know if Dan loved them, I haven't asked him. He did take one in his lunch today though. And the chocolate chips on there are mostly for me. I eat them and then give Jude the rest of the muffin. He doesn't know what he's missing and also, Mommy Tax. One thing though, do not expect these muffins to actually taste like, say Costco Muffins. They don't. They do however taste like a bowl of oatmeal and have a similar consistency, minus the slime. A win-win for those like me... such a cross to bear, but bear it I must. Baked Oatmeal Muffins (adapted from this recipe) 1/2 a bananna 1 C unsweetened apple sauce 1 egg 1/2 TBSP cinnamon 1/2 TBSP baking powder 2 TBSP stevia 1 healthy glug of maple syrup 2 TBSP chia or flax seed 1 1/4 c milk of your choice 2.5 c oats (not instant) Preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients except the oats in a blender and blend the heck out of them. Pour mixture into a bowl and fold in oats. Lin muffin tin with liners and pour batter in. This recipe made exactly 1 dozen for me. Because I couldn't help myself, I put mini chocolate chips on top. You could put anything on top, really. Bake for 30 minutes. Next, on my friends recommendation, I'm gonna try out some traditional fresh Muesli. Apparently it is not just a box of cereal in the store that you add milk too. No, the oats are soaked overnight in liquid (many options here) and you eat them soaked, but raw, in the morning (!!!) often with yogurt. I need to get on this. I think the slime factor would be minimal with this method. This is all pretty boring, I know. But the quest for slime free oatmeal has been difficult and long so I'm sure you can imagine that I'm a little bit more than excited about this whole new world that awaits me. Yum yum!

Prep for Mothers Day ...and maybe Christmas too.

Just when I thought I was going to start taking Blogging a little more seriously I go MIA for the week. Ha. Life is full of good intentions.

So what has been going on.... lots of Jude walking all over the place. He is still full of baby shuffles and wobbles and someone get me a bandage for my bleeding heart already. This kid, I tell you. He just kills me. Our hearts are full. Having a little person to love and to be loved by is like nothing I have ever experienced before. Of course, like any other parent, I say stay little my little person. I want this baby love to last forever but I know it won't so darned if I don't make the most of it. When I hold him close I close my eyes and just let it ooze into every open space there is and then drip down so maybe I can save some for later. It helps me peacefully deal with all the wrongs and seems to make the rights even better. Yeah, we clean up a lot of poop and food squished into everywhere and everything and there is so much laundry to do and sleep is a joke and ugly plastic toys he loves but it actually is worth it. My cold heart is melting. Alert the authorities!

It seems like Jude is happening at a pretty great time. Done is childhood, done is being a teenager, done are those enticing and exciting twenties and now, to do: Jude. At least for me this is how it goes and I like it, a lot. With disappointment I have felt that all the fun and exciting things were slowing down but now I can do it again. With my baby! I mean, not that I want to live through him, but I want to live beside him. Forever and always. But don't get me wrong, I have limits which include no basement habitation after age 40. Healthy limits.

This whole parenthood business, shucks, it makes me feel like Virginia O'Hanlon when she received her famous response of "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus". These babies, they fill you with hope, like Santa Claus.

You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                          ~Francis P. Church                  

I'm just blabbing here.

This kid is full of wonder these days. Friday evening we walked and walked around the block and he just kept going and going. And pointing, pointing at everything. He is nearly walking on his own, but not quite yet. We don't mind. There is absolutely nothing sweeter than a Jude Paw in your hand. We had grand plans this weekend but then we realized how exhausted we were and chose a walk around the mall instead. I guess the farm we were going to visit will still be there for next time. Kids are exhausting and I only have one. Good grief. I took no shortage of naps over the weekend and still I am wiped right out. And Dan still hasn't cashed his coupon so I even got a Sunday sleep in, oh yeah. The threats continue though. 

In Sunday School yesterday we were talking about "Gifts of the Spirit". We spent some time talking about the gift of knowing the "diversities of operations" and everything everyone was saying just sounded weird and really far fetched. I raised my hand to tell them all what I thought it meant but probably because of my shortness or because I'm a woman, I wasn't called on. I'm getting over it. But what I think "diversities of operations" really has to do with is arithmetic. It's really referring to orders of operations. I think some people who have the Gift of the Holy Ghost are really good at knowing they should multiply and divide before addition and subtraction and that exponents always take precedence. In fact, I may be one who possesses this gift. What's your special gift?