It's a food thing

Oh my neglected little blog.... it's a busy life and a schedule-filled summer. So to start to update on some of the recent news I'd like to introduce you to:

This is a new blog written by my very own husband, CHEF JEFF! I've mentioned before how Jeff has become quite the chef here and here. Truth be told, I never cook anymore. Bake, yes. Cook, no. Jeff does the cooking and I let him because he has become SUCH a fabulous cook and he LOVES doing it. He has also become quite the food-aficionado, taking cooking and grilling classes, acting as sous chef for the chef teaching classes, countless hours of food related reading and watching, food eating and cooking experimenting. We are constantly searching out new places to eat. Jeff is now taking this passion of his on the web with a new blog called Hometown Slop. On this blog Jeff will be trying new recipes, sharing recipes of his own, reviewing restaurants and food events, sharing cooking tips and anything else food. So please go take a look and check back often as he will updating his blog much more regularly than I do. And give him some comment-love and let him know what you think.

popsicles

The true sign of summer!

random bits

So it's been a while since I've blogged, so here are a few bits of what's going on in our lives:

• Ruby is a crazy little ham; her main goal at church is to see how many people she can flirt with and make laugh from her dancing, waving, twirling, jabbering, running from Mom, laughing and saying "wow, Wow, WOW!"



• Ruby is growing quite the fabulous mullet and her hair is constantly shaggy in her eyes. Good lookin!


• Thanks in huge for help from my sister, we have ATTACKED the front and side yard this spring- and I gather from all the comments that the neighbors are incredibly grateful.


• Weaning Ruby is NOT going well. Just when I think we've almost made it and she is down to nursing once a day, she suddenly gets sick or knocks a tooth or something that then makes her want to nurse ALL THE TIME. I take pity on her and let her nurse, especially if she's sick and I'm concerned that she's getting dehydrated, then we're back to the start... any words of wisdom? Please help.


• I got away to visit a good college friend in Vegas at the beginning of May! Loved it! Thank heavens for great friends who love to have you when you call to invite yourself. Thank heavens for a great husband who encouraged me to go and was more than happy to keep the munchkin. Thank heavens for friends who love eating good food, taking daily naps, shopping and watching movies. I didn't realize how much I needed a get away until a few days before the trip, I took a shower and totally forgot to wash my hair. I hadn't done that since Ruby was three weeks old and I was in the stressed daze of being a new mom.


• Ruby has a radar for anytime Jeff or I have a drink- and once she sees that drink with a straw, she MUST have it! Recently Ruby walked up to a garbage can in a public place, quickly pulled out a McDonald's cup with a straw, and started chugging down before we were able to snatch it away from her! Ack!


• Two weeks ago we were able to run away to Yellowstone with some dear friends. It was a great time and Ruby loved seeing the animals-- but didn't understand why we wouldn't let her pet the bison. We're such mean parents. We lucked out with great weather and even managed Jeff and I getting sunburned foreheads.


• Yesterday Ruby accompanied me into the bathroom. She's done this plenty of times before however this time as I finished up my business, she discovered that I have hair in a location that she doesn't. She proceeded to try to grab it while laughing hysterically! I think I'll go to the bathroom without her help now.

she's got talent

Sometimes I wonder how my car can possibly get so messy. Then I turn around and see this happy face who helps me. How could this much chocolate come from a small chocolate chip cookie?

grandma

Two weeks ago Ruby, my mom and I visited my grandparents. I had not seen them for quite sometime and I was very grateful my mom had me go. It was a great visit. This is my cute little grandpa. He has always been a very loving man and it was so great to see how quickly Ruby took to him and started playing and flirting. Being a mom now, I loved seeing Grandpa talk like a duck to make her laugh and be silly in the same ways he did with me. Ruby, my mom, and her mom. Ruby wasn't exactly thrilled to have her photo taken and wanted to get back to playing with grandpa. Doesn't my mom look fabulous!

Since seeing my grandparents, Grandma took a fall and her health has gone down hill until she passed away this afternoon. Family relationships with grandma haven't always been smooth sailing but I'm glad it ended on a good note. There are a few things I will always remember about Grandma.

• Whenever I had some sort of success with school or whatnot, she and Grandpa were always proud of me and they would always tell me.


• Grandma was a fabulous story-teller. No one could top her stories and as crazy as they were, they were always fun to hear. Whether it was her crawling through battlefields while she was in labor with my mother or telling Jeff about the brothels in Amsterdam within the first 5 minutes of meeting him, her stories were great.


• Grandma was one of a kind and a true original. She did things her way which takes guts. In the temple, just after Jeff and I got married, the sealer had Jeff and I kiss for the first time as a married couple. Grandma responded with clapping and yelling "Yipee" in the very silent room. Who could help but laugh?


• Grandma was a fashion DIVA! Only my grandma could shop at the mall at 5-7-9 with the teenagers and pull off wearing a lavender leather vest with polyester pants. She had style!


• Grandma came here to the US with her small family so we all could have a better life. I think she would have much rather gone back to her friends, family, culture and way of life in the Netherlands. But she came here and I'm grateful for that. Love you Grandma.

I think the hardest part of losing Grandma is Grandpa. My heart aches for him losing his long-time companion. He has been so devoted to her for years and now his mind is starting to go, making her death more tragic for him. But let's end this post on a happy note. My grandma isn't uncomfortable or in pain. Everyone seems to be at peace. And my dear sweet grandpa is still dear and sweet. Here's a little video of him and Ruby keeping all of us utterly entertained with a few cups.

a hair-raising, tooth-losing experience

On Saturday morning if you would have asked how many teeth Ruby has, I would have told you eleven. However Saturday night she was toddling around in the backyard carrying a water bottle, tripped and fell, hitting her front, top tooth on the water bottle. Now she has ten. Her chompers that used to feature a very toothy smile, has since gone a bit red-neck.

Initially we thought she had knocked it out and swallowed it in all the commotion of blood and spit- yuck- since we couldn't the tooth anywhere. Today she visited the dentist for the first time who also thought she had cleanly knocked out the tooth. But with an x-ray- that she wasn't too pleased about- we found out that she had actually jammed the tooth straight up, back into her gums. ouch. So now we're doing the 'wait and see' thing waiting to see if it will start to come down again or if the contact sport killed it and it will have to be 'extracted'- yuck and ouch. So here's hoping she will get her baby front tooth... again.

It's times like that when I feel totally unqualified to be a mom. Yes I dealt reasonably well with it, but at those times I want an EMT, Nurse, Fire fighter, Doctor, Dentist, and full staff of trained professionals including a Gymnast, a Tight-End or a Wide Receiver on staff that can quickly swoop in and catch Ruby. I need to wrap that kid in bubble wrap so that when she thinks she can climb her dollhouse or rocking moose, she can bounce back a bit. Not entirely reasonable, but it doesn't mean I still don't want it. Thankfully I have good family and friends that fill most of those job descriptions, including a husband giving blessings, one sister that happened to be her for the collision and another who tagged along to the dentist to help distract Ruby -and let's be honest, distract me- from what was going on. But just in case anyone knows of an out-of-work Wide Receiver, let me know. Maybe if the NFL lock out continues, I'll be in luck.

they love eachother

can't you tell?