Merry Christmas

Rudy got to open a few Christmas presents early and this was the result. He is a hoot.  We can't wait for the big day!

We are going to be unplugging for a few weeks.  We are going to be doing a little bit of traveling and having some family time, so you won't be hearing from us until next year!  I hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

Confessions

These are my confessions:

1.  I love the song "Redneck Woman" by Gretchen Wilson.  It's my guilty pleasure song. 

2.  I am NOT obsessed with Anthropologie.  I like their style, but I never even look because, let's be honest, who would pay $250 for a sweater?

3.  I hate the feeling of paper/wood products, unless they are finished or have a wax coating on them.  Especially after washing my hands.  Touching paper towels, newspapers, wood decks, etc.  makes me want to cringe.  I compare it to fingernails on a blackboard. 

4.  I get annoyed when people don't use its/it's, their/there/they're, to/too, correctly. BUT... I can not for the life of me understand when to use who or whom, no matter how many times I learn it. 

5.   I have to cough every time I q-tip my left ear. 

6.  Sometimes I get 5's and F's mixed up.  When I start to write or type a word that begins with an "F" I always try to start it with a "5" instead. 

7.  I could eat my weight in candy every day.  I love sugar.  But I guess most of you knew that already. 

8.  One of my favorite places to eat a meal is Sam's Club.  (Maybe I am a redneck woman.)

9.  I bought Rudy an umbrella stroller yesterday.  After I got it put together I pushed him around the house in it for about 50 minutes because he liked it.  And I was able to get things done. 

10.  I could spend hours reading people's blogs every day.  Even if I don't know them.  Chances are that if you have a blog and I recognize your name or face (even if I've never spoken to you) I probably read it.  A little creepy, I know.  That is why my blog was private for so long. 

And here are a few pictures, because I know these are what everyone really wants to see anyways. 

We went with Josh while he ran errands for work today.  Rudy pooped during the trip and after the diaper change we decided not to put his sleeper back on him.  He liked riding around in just a diaper.

Rudy's new ride.



Such a big boy. 



This is one from our hotel room the other night.

Eskimo Joe

Goin' to the Chapel

Or the Chicago Cultural Center. 

This weekend we went up to Chicago for Becca and Tom's wedding.  It was alot of fun!

Friday night we had some yummy Chicago pizza with family and some of B & T's friends.

Saturday morning was the ceremony at the Cultural Center, and then we went to lunch at Ditka's.

And then Saturday night we had a four course meal at Perennial. 

(I gave a speech. Haha.  Now that was interesting!)

Everything was just immediate family so it was really intimate and special. 

Here are some pics that we got. 

One of the bride before the ceremony.  Isn't she beautiful?

A pic of the new bro-ski before the ceremony.

Exchanging vows.

The new Mr. and Mrs. Tom Budescu!



Our favorite pic of the weekend.



Interviews, Interviews, Interviews

I have certainly had my fair share of interviews lately.  I wanted to make sure that I updated you guys on my interview from last Thursday.  I think that it went really well, but I am not hopeful about getting a day position.  The interview was for a neuro unit (stroke and brain injury patients mostly).  It is a new unit that is opening in February.  It is a very small unit (only six beds).  They are hiring five nurses for day shift and five for night shift.  They have already offered two nurses two of the daytime positions and still have to interview several internal employees (who have seniority) for the other slots. 

Today I had an interview with a nurse manager on a medical surgical floor.  She was very energetic and I really liked her.  She only has one opening for a day position and four openings for night positions.  She has already offered someone the day position, but the person has not responded yet.  So again, I'm not optimistic about it.  However, there were several other things that would make this job do-able.  They allow self scheduling, so I would be certain to have a schedule that worked for me, and I would be able to get days off that I needed without taking actual vacation days off.  I would also be able to schedule my shifts back to back, so that if I did have to work nights I wouldn't be having to adjust every other day.  They also have an every third holiday rotation instead of every other holiday rotation which means I have to work fewer holidays!  And they also have 42 beds and many more employees so it would most likely not take as long to move to day shift.

Both said that I would most likely not hear back until the end of this week or sometime next week, so now I am playing the waiting game! 

Snowed In

Or should I say blown in. First of all, I would like to apologize for my posting delinquency. We spent the weekend in Chi city celebrating the marriage of Becca and Tom. It was a fun but VERY busy weekend. (Details to follow in future blog post). On our way he we had to make a trip out to the burbs to pick up Murph Diesel from our friends that so graciously kept him for the weekend. We also got to stop and see one of my bests, Ray Jones. We, however, didn't leave early enough to beat the winter storm. About an hour from home the conditions got so bad that we could not see ten feet in front of us. Luckily the first hotel we stopped at was pet friendly and we are currently all snuggled up in our cozy hotel room.

Sorry, No Pictures

FOREWARNING:  This post is all over the place.  Sometimes it is impossible to put all of my thoughts into one cohesive post.  This is one of those times, so I am not even going to attempt to. 

As stated in the title.. Sorry, but there aren't any pictures today. As we are preparing to head north for the weekend, I've found myself very busy! 

Today I woke up to a phone call from Carle asking me back for a second interview!  Whew.  I was starting to worry.  Don't you love it when it is someone important on the phone in morning?  Josh answered, brought the phone to me, and mouthed "it's Carle."  I quickly sat up, yanked out my retainers, cleared my throat as quietly as possible, and said hello as best I could without sounding like I just woke up.  I don't know many details, but the interview is tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. CST.  So say some prayers for me, and I will be sure to keep you updated!

Josh, Rudy, and I went on a lunch date to Taco Bell today.  As soon as we got home Josh cleaned out the garage for me so I could finally park the Funk (for future reference, the Funk is our car, a Honda
Element) in it.  Thank you, babe!  (My love language is acts of service, so my love tank was quite full today....for those of you who have read The Five Love Languages. )
Then Josh had to head over to his office and then go to basketball practice. So Rudy and I got to work doing the laundry, folding it, and putting it away.

Rudy has been pretty fussy for the past few days.  I think he may have some kind of stomach bug because he pooped like 12 times today.  Seriously.  How is that even possible?  I think I changed a diaper every  hour that he was awake. 

I don't usually go deep or get serious on here.  I am generally a pretty private person, letting very few people in.  But, for some reason I feel the need to share this tonight.  Tonight was our weekly Bible Study.  As mentioned in a previous post, we have been doing a study on heaven led by Dr. David Jeremiah.  Tonight we talked about the issue of children in heaven and it made me so anxious to even think about the possibility of something happening to Rudy, and to be honest with you, I still feel a bit anxious two and a half hours after the study is over.  However, I am so glad that we have a God that is full of compassion for little children, that openly welcomes them into heaven when they are taken out of this world.  I know I have a few readers who have been through miscarriages and my heart was heavy for you this evening as I was listening to this study.  I cannot imagine what that is like and I hope to never say something to belittle the pain of that loss.  But, I do hope you know that I am oh-so-excited for you to be able to hold your little ones in heaven someday. 

That's all.

Much love to all of my lovely readers!

December 7th

Today we needed to run into Champaign to get a few things before Becca's wedding this weekend.  I was blow drying my hair, Josh was in the shower, and Rudy decided that laying down on his play mat was no longer a good time.  So I put him in the bumbo next to the play mat. 

 Now THAT was a good time!

I thought we got alot of snow this weekend.  My sister-in-law sent me this picture from PA.  That is their truck buried in the snow!  Crazy, huh?

Little Booger

We finally got those 5 month pictures taken.

Don't you just want to squish him?

Christmas Tree is Up!

I wasn't going to put up my Christmas tree this year since we will be gone the week before and the week after Christmas, but I just couldn't do it.  Our tree isn't prelit, so it takes alot of work to get it up and looking good.  It definitely isn't my prettiest Christmas tree, and it doesn't have any ornaments on it, but at least Rudy gets to see the lights! 

Now I just need to finish my Christmas shopping!

Winter Wonderland

We woke up to quite the snow this morning.  I was so shocked by it that I woke Josh up to tell him at 5am when I got up to pump.  He said "sweet" and chuckled.  I'm sure if his eyes were open they would have been rolling. 

Our backyard.



Out the front door. 



I bundled Rudy up and we went and made snow angels.  NOT. I can't wait until he is old enough to do that though!  I really did bundle him up, though, before we went to our church 'Hanging of the Greens'.  We went to breakfast at some people from our church's house and then went and decorated the church for Christmas.  It was actually pretty fun and especially cheery since we had so much snow. 



Little brown marshmellow.

It put me in the mood to decorate our house, but it needed cleaned first.  So, while Rudy napped, I cleaned.  After I got done cleaning about all I felt like doing was hanging the wreath on the door.  Then we dressed Rudy up in these reindeer ears so we could get a picture on our phones and send it to everyone in our family.  We tried putting some on Murphy too, but he wasn't having it. 

Then Josh and I made a late lunch of chicken squares (my moms favorite, you can get the recipe here) and popped in Home Alone 2.  We all fell asleep during the movie.  Josh on one couch.  Rudy, Murphy, and I on the other.  And we all just woke up.  It's been a perfect Saturday!

Also, this is my 100th blog post! Woo hoo.  I feel like I should do a giveaway or something, but I honestly have nothing noteworthy to give away.  Maybe on the 250th I'll do one.  Haha!

Rudy Taco

Rudy has been trying SO hard to roll over from back to belly.  Today he got almost all the way over and pulled on the play mat to try to get some leverage to get the rest of the way over.  Unfortunately the play mat collapsed on him, creating a cute little Rudy taco.  Of course, I got my phone out to take a pict before I helped him get straightened back up. 



Sorry my pics aren't the best quality, I've been using my phone camera to take most of them because my phone is usually close to me. 

This afternoon Rudy and I went to Champaign to do a little Christmas shopping.  Rudy got more oohs and aahs than he ever has before.  It was really busy, but we actually had alot of fun.  Not to mention we got almost half of our Christmas shopping done! Woohoo!

December 1st and Some Picts

Wow! December.  The last month of the year.  And I woke up to snow! 

We have been enjoying the day at home. 

We slept in.

Until 11.

Yes, 11.  It was glorious.

We made tacos for a late lunch/early dinner and are getting ready to go to Bible Study tonight. 

Rudy found his toes today.  I was wondering if he ever would.

We've also discovered that Rudy is going to be on the Pepsi side of the Coke/Pepsi debate. 

5 Months Old

Today Rudy is 5 months old!  We didn't get our picture because we simply did not have enough time today.  We will have to get it tomorrow. 

I am so thankful for my little 5 month old. 

What is he up to these days?

Rudy is learning lots of new tricks.  He can roll over from belly to back pretty easily, and just rolled over from back to belly for the first time today!

He likes to put everything into his mouth and loves to suck on his index finger.  He watches everything we eat very intently and always grabs for bottles of pop while we are drinking them.  If he can't get ahold of them he starts making sucking motions with his mouth.  This is especially funny to me because he rarely gets a bottle, but he sure knows what one is.  Rudy got his first official taste of food this month, no not baby food, but a cheetoh and a graham cracker... compliments of my dad and uncle.  We haven't started him on solids yet, and probably won't for another month or so since he has been gaining weight just fine. 

He is fitting snugly into 6 month clothes and will have to make the jump to 9 month clothes fairly soon. When he wears disposable diapers he is in a size 3!  

(His cloth diapers are not working out as well as we had hoped.  They are alot of work, but in my opinion, very worth the money saved.  However, Rudy has been getting a nasty diaper rash when he wears them.  You can't use diaper creams with them so we have been putting him in disposables quite a bit, not to mention I feel awful for him when his little hieney is so irritated.  I am going to try using an organic detergent, but if that doesn't work we may try to sell them since they were so pricey.  We'll see, I'll keep you updated!) 

Rudy loves to pull himself to a standing position and has recently found a love for jumping.  He doesn't have a jumper yet, but will hopefully be getting one for Christmas! 

He is well on his way to sitting up by himself.  He can sit for quite sometime without support, but as soon as he gets disinterested he will throw himself backwards. 

Rudy loves to laugh and thinks his dog-brother is the bees-knees.  He lets out very high pitched squeals of delight.  They are so funny!

He learned how to blow raspberries at the beginning of the month, but doesn't do it too much anymore. I guess it got old for him! 

This month was a rough one on the sleep front.  At the beginning of the month we moved him to his crib, but that didn't last long because our furnace was acting up.  The furnace is right outside of his room and me being the paranoid freak loving, caring mother I am, was certain that the furnace was going to blow up and take Rudy and his room out first.  So we moved him back to our room in the bassinet, but recently transferred him to the pack-n-play.   After his shots he returned to waking up every 3 to 4 hours at night.  He did that for about three weeks, but over the last 8 or 9 days has returned to sleeping through the night.  Hallelujah!  He is still swaddled at night, but can break it fairly easily himself.  The past few nights he even broke his swaddle and then continued to sleep, something he hasn't been able to do until now!  Rudy used to be very easy to get to sleep, but has recently started fighting sleep with everything that is in him.  It usually takes around 30 minutes to get him to go down... Eeek!

Over the past few days Rudy has begun reaching and leaning for people when he wants to go see them.  he also tries to lean out of my arms when he sees an object that he would like to have.  Crazy boy. 

He is getting to be so much fun and I absolutely love him to pieces. 

Thanks for the comments and calls about the interview.  The interview itself went well, but I had to talk to the nurse recruiter afterwards about possible openings.  Out of 87 jobs there are only 2 jobs that are daytime hours that would possibly accept a new grad, so I am not optimistic.  She kept trying to get me to apply for night time positions and I had to tell her SEVERAL times that I was really only interested in daytime positions right now.  I think she was annoyed with me... and I was slightly annoyed with her, haha.  Oh well!  I apologized that I was being so picky, but let her know that I wanted to be up front about what I was looking for.  (Let's be honest.. they are desperate... they have 87 nursing job openings.) I don't know when I will hear back but I will be sure to keep you all updated. 

Coach Hunsberger's Big Debut

Today was the first freshman/sophomore game of the season, so it was Josh's first official coaching game.  Sadly, the boys lost by 7.  They had a bad first half, but outscored the other team in the second.  Josh said that he was actually more upset about the loss than he thought he would be, but I know that in 15 years when he is coaching the Kentucky Wildcats he will be able to look back fondly on his first game.  (No harm in dreaming big, right?)  Regardless of the loss, Rudy and I were proud of you, babe! 

Even though I am already a bit tired of basketball season, because it steals my husband away from me, today I am thankful that Josh got asked to coach this year because I know how much he loves the sport. 

Tomorrow morning (10:45 CST) is my interview.  Send up a few prayers for me... I'm nervous!

Recovered Money

Today I am thankful that I found $19 hiding in a bag that I hadn't used for a few months.  What a nice surprise!  Don't you love it when that happens? 

Our days have been busy.  Josh is coaching freshman basketball at the high school this year.  (Don't know if I already shared that on here or not.)  Coach Hunsberger had a Thanksgiving tournament this week with the J.V. and varsity teams, but he has his first official game as coach tomorrow night with the freshman boys.  Should be interesting and I will make sure to let all of my faithful readers know how it goes!

Today we had church and then we went to Champaign to meet my sisters and their families for pictures for our parents.  It made the day really busy, so Josh, Rudy, Murphy, and I are currently enjoying our time relaxing and watching the Colts.  I wish I could say that they are winning, but that would be a lie. 

Here are a few pics of my little man that I took on my phone today. 

He has turned into quite the ham.  He loves to scream (mostly when he is really excited) and laughs all of the time.  I have a feeling he is going to be just like his dad. 

Dinner

Today I am thankful for my sister and Tom.  They invited Josh, Rudy, and I over for dinner.  We had some really good pasta (my favorite!) and then played Sorry and Taboo.  It was alot of fun!  This is the last time we will get to hang out with them before they are married! 

I am also thankful that so far we have dodged the nasty stomach bug that is going around our family.  I know that Rudy was exposed to it a little over 24 hours ago and I am praying (very hard) that we will squeak by without getting it!  I'd say if another 24 hours passes we are probably out of the woods and I can stop worrying. 

I hope you are all having a fun start to the Christmas season.  I  baked cookies today and the house smells so good.  I still need to get the tree up, but am considering not full-out decorating the house.  We are going to be gone to Nashville for the week before Christmas and PA for the week after Christmas and I am thinking about trying to save some time by onlyu getting a few of the decorations out.  We'll see! 

Today I am thankful that it is officially the most wonderful time of the year! I can't wait to get the tree put up, decorate the house, blare the Christmas music, and make some cookies! Also, I am very thankful that my dad and Pam watched Rudy for a few hours so that Josh and I could go see Harry Potter with my sisters and Tom. We had alot of fun and it was really good!

Give Thanks.

Wow.  Thanksgiving already?  I am so thankful for my family today.  It may sound cliche, but I am.  I am thankful for my husband, who always tries to make everything funny and loves me more than I deserve.  For my beautiful baby boy, who makes every day fun and exciting and makes my heart swell.  For my sisters, who are my best friends in the world.  For my parents, who love me and support me in everything.  For my grandparents, who are basically the best grandparents anyone could ever ask for.  And for my in-laws, who I don't get to see all too often, but love me and have welcomed me into their family.  Love all of you more than I could ever show!

Happy Thanksgiving!

My Dear Old Mom

Today  (Okay yesterday, it's 5:00 a.m. though and I still count that as the night before, I think)  I am thankful for my mom.  She (and Greg) watched Rudy so that Josh and I could go out on a little date.  He was pretty fussy all day, so it was definitely a nice break for me (too bad for them, though!) 

We were thinking about seeing a movie, but are waiting to go see the new Harry Potter with my sisters.  We went to Old Chicago Pizza instead.  We had never been before and we actually both really liked it.  Then we did a little shopping and were done.  It was really nice to have a little time to ourselves and will definitely be taking advantage of Grandma's Babysitting Service more often.   

Other big news:  I have an interview next week!  It's crazy that I am actually this close to going back to work.  I'm not excited to be leaving Rudy, but I am excited for the opportunity to have a job/be in a profession that I really love.  So pray for me if you think of it! 

Happy Turkey Day!  Be Thankful!

Provision

Today I am thankful for the way that God has provided for Josh and I (and now Rudy too.)  We certainly don't have everything we could ever want, but we have way more than we need. 

The summer of our first anniversary Josh and I lived in my grandparents camper in their backyard.  We honestly had like $300 in the bank and no jobs to speak of.  We always talk about how great that summer was.  It was so simple.  Now we live in a four bedroom home (that I am so thankful for) and I get exhausted trying to keep it clean.  In addition, I always find myself wanting more stuff to fill it with.  Currently on the wishlist are: a sectional, a flat screen t.v., an embroidery machine, and a kitchenaid stand mixer, and I'm sure tomorrow will bring an entire new list of wants.  But today I am thankful for all that I already have.  Sometimes we live paycheck to paycheck and sometimes we have a little extra to spend, but it seems like everytime we start to get ahead something comes along like a trip to the dentist (and being told you need six fillings and a crown... you heard me... my teeth are rotting out of my head), or the car breaks down, or those hospital bills are a thousand dollars more than you budgeted.  But it is amazing to me that everytime something like that happens we are taken care of, regardless of how much we make, or how much money is in the bank.  God provides for us. 

Feeling Better

Today I am thankful that I am feeling better.  I'm still not feeling "good", but I honestly felt like death yesterday.... and that's not hard to improve upon.  It seems as if though my cold has moved from my head to my chest, which isn't necessarily good, but at least my head doesn't feel like it's going to explode anymore. 

I had something rather interesting happen to me today.  I decided I needed to get my teeth cleaned since it has been forever since I've been in for a cleaning.  I called my regular dentist, who my husband thinks is a con-man, to schedule an appointment.  He is a little bit pricey but he has been my dentist forever and I, unlike Josh, trust him and am comfortable with him.  I asked how much it would be to have my teeth cleaned after I made the appointment and the receptionist said anywhere from 192-257  dollars, depending on what they do.  I hung up a little bit confused and thinking, "My goodness, that is expensive for a teeth cleaning.  I get fillings for that amount of money."  My dad goes to a different dentist and he absolutely loves him.  In fact, my Dad, Pam, and Liana all still come up here to go to the dentist, even though they have not lived within six hours of here in over seven years.  Josh has been trying to get me to switch to that dentist for awhile now.  So, I called them up to price a cleaning.  They said it was only going to be $94 (without x-rays), so I made an appointment with them.  I called back the other dentist to cancel my appointment and the receptionist asked if I wanted to move my appointment to a different time.  I told her no, that the cleaning was more than I had anticipated, and that I didn't have the money to do it right now.  This is where it gets weird.  She said, "Oh that's funny because we were laughing after I hung up the phone with you, we actually have a special deal going for an adult cleaning and full set of x-rays for $59."  (What in the world?  That's like 75% off?)  So I ended up keeping the appointment and now I have to call the other dentist back and cancel that appointment.  Maybe my dentist is a con-man, but I might pull the "I don't have enough money right now" card every time if it gets me a cleaning and a full set of x-rays for $59.  I'll take it how I can get it.  So I get to get my teeth cleaned tomorrow.  Yay!  Pray that I don't have any cavities.  I'm sure that I will though.  I've only been to the dentist once in my entire life and not had a cavity, despite the fact that I do actually have excellent oral hygiene and have been off of sugary drinks for quite some time now.  (I blame it on the fact that I grew up with well water instead of fluoridated city water.... but I digress.) 

I can't believe it is almost Thanksgiving!  Time truly does seem to move faster and faster the older I get. 

Josh

Today I am thankful for my lovely husband, who took Rudy off my hands for a few hours (on his busiest workday with three church services and youth group... not to mention football all day).  I am continuing to feel worse and needed some time to veg out on the couch.  I watched Elf, took a long hot bath to try to get my sinuses to open up, and got caught up on some reading.  It was fabulous.   

On another note, we are thinking about starting Rudy on solids soon.  He is almost five months old, but I know the American Pediatrics Association recommends exclusive breast feeding for the first six months.   He has recently started grabbing for anything that I put in my mouth and immediately begins sucking on air when I drink through a straw.  He can almost sit up unsupported and can definitely sit up supported. When did all of you moms start your kids on solids?  I forgot to ask the doctor last time we were there and he doesn't go back until after he is six months old. 

Hot Shower and Vit C Cough Drops

I guess the title of the post says it all, really. (What I'm thankful for that is.)  I just got out of a hot shower and popped one of those citrusy Vitamin C cough drops in my mouth.  I am starting to feel really icky and these two things have temporarily given me a bit of relief.  Part of the reason I couldn't sleep last night was because my throat was SO itchy and sore that it made me have to cough like crazy.  I only had regular cough drops in the house, though, which contain menthol, which decreases milk supply.  I'm pretty sure the Vit C ones are mostly sugar, but they still make my throat feel a little better, so I'll take it. 

If you are wondering how the rest of my day went.  Rudy took a couple of really long naps and was actually pretty delightful to be around.  However, the next time I went to change his diaper he pooped as soon as I got his diaper off.  He has gotten in the habit of doing that lately.  That time was a little easier to clean up though.  I DVR'd  Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian (It was on t.v. today.... I love weekend movies) and plan to watch it tomorrow while Josh watches all of his million football games. 

Here is a picture of the little man since it has been awhile since I've posted one. 

Just like a man.... remote in hand.  Bahaha.

It's Only 11:00 and What a Day I've Already Had.

3:15 a.m.: Rudy wakes up.
3:45 a.m.: Rudy is already back asleep.
6:15 a.m.: I am still awake.
6:30 a.m.: Finally fall back asleep.
7:30 a.m.: Rudy wakes up again.
8:00 a.m.: Rudy is back asleep.  So am I.
9:30 a.m.: Rudy wakes up for the day.
9:50 a.m.: Rudy poops.
9:55 a.m.: Turn on teapot so it will be ready when I am done changing Rudy's diaper.  My throat is killing me.
10:00 a.m.: Certain Rudy is done pooping so I change his diaper. Unbutton the diaper. He starts to poop.  Pfew.  It stayed in there.  Give him another minute to finish his biz.  Open up the diaper.  Rudy pees on me.  Argh.  Try to clean up the pee.  Rudy projectile poops on me.  (I'm talking six feet across the room.)  Murphy tries to eat Rudy's poop.  Kick Murphy out of nursery.  Try to clean up projectile poop.  Rudy pees on me again.  Teapot starts whistling.  Crap.  Wrap Rudy in a towel and put him in his crib naked. (You're in time out young man.  Just kidding.)   Run and turn off the stovetop.  Go wash everything off.  Get Rudy cleaned up.  It's 10:25 by this point. 
10:30 a.m.: Finally make that hot chocolate. Sit on the couch.  Turn on the T.V.  Dirty Dancing is on.  Sweet.  Time to blog about it. 

Here's to hoping my day gets better! 

Hot Cocoa

Today I am thankful for hot chocolate.  Josh is starting to get over his bug, but it seems as if though he has given it to Rudy and I despite our attempts to avoid it.  My throat is really sore (along with the rest of my body from running, but that's another story) and Rudy sounds really junky (junky=rattly and snotty).  Today I fixed myself a mug of hot chocolate and it sure felt good going down!  It stinks having a cold while breastfeeding because you can't take anything to make it better. 

I know, I know.  I need to get some pics up.  I haven't taken any in awhile because we have been laying low for the last few days.  Today my Dad, Pam, and Liana were in town and we went out for lunch and dinner with them.  It was fun to be with them and we are excited that they will be back in five days for Thanksgiving.  I'm so glad they moved to Nashville because it means they get to visit more often.

Notice I said they will be back in FIVE DAYS for THANKSGIVING. It's hard to believe it is already the end of November.  I swear that the older I get, the faster time passes. 

Anyways, Happy November 19th!

Blissful Agony

Today I went on my first post-baby run.  Well, technically, my first actual run of 2010.  That's sad because it's almost over.  I've been doing the 30 Day Shred for about two weeks now and decided it was time to up the ante a bit.  I actually do like the 30 Day Shred because it's only 20 minutes and I get a good strength workout, but it leaves a bit to be desired in the cardio department.  With it only being 20 minutes it makes it easy for me to actually do it everyday, but let's be honest, 20 minutes is hardly enough time working out if you really want to see good results.  My friend, Jessie, and I are running the Champaign half marathon at the end of April and she has inspired me to get back at it.  I actually ran about four miles, which I was pretty pleased about.  I wanted to stop after two but I made myself stick it out for four. It was agony near the end of the run, especially on my old decrepit knees.  But boy do I feel good now. That's what I love about running.  You always feel great after you do it.  And that is what I am thankful for today.... that blissful post-run feeling.

On another note, Happy Birthday RJC!! You are definitely on the wrong side of twenty now:)  I hope you and Ben are having a blast on your European adventures!!  Love you. 

Oops Missed a Day... Again

Sorry. 

You have to admit I'm doing pretty good overall though, right?

Josh has been sick the past three days and we have been trying to avoid Rudy getting it.  So I have been attached to that little boy 24/7 for the last three days. 

Yesterday I was thankful for a little family date night to McDonalds.  I never thought I would say that.  But, before Bible study Josh, Rudy, and I went up to McDonalds to sit down and eat (it's less than a mile from our house so Josh just usually runs through the drive through.)  It was nice to get out of the house for a little while.  Rudy sat in his carseat and was content the entire time we were there.  Usually he screams in his carseat. 

In addition.  Rudy fell asleep during Bible study so both Josh and I were able to sit, listen, and participate in the entire thing. 

It was a good night! 

Funny Moments

Today I am thankful for the funny moments that I get to experience everyday with my little man.  Today Josh and I ordered Papa Johns for lunch.  I was trying to hold Rudy and open the garlic butter at the same time and Rudy stuck his entire fist in the tub of garlic butter.   It wasn't all the way melted.  He grabbed what he could of the butter and squeezed it.  I tried to wash his hand off as best as I could but I'm pretty sure it still smells like garlic.  Fast forward twenty minutes and Rudy won't take the hand out of his mouth.  He was sticking his fingers all the way to the back and gagging himself.  Before I knew it he was throwing up all over me.  My poor accidentally bulimic child. 

Nursing Profs.

Today Rudy and I made a little trip into Champaign to pick up a few things.  On the way in we stopped at the college of nursing to drop off a reference form for one of my professors.  We got to talk to a few of them and it was really good for me.  They made me feel alot better about going back to work and were so encouraging.  The truth is...  I'm not really very excited to go back to work.  I love nursing.  But I love my little boy more and would rather stay home with him.  As time passes I dread going back to work more and more.  In addition, most of my friends that have babies already are stay at home moms, so it makes it hard not to be jealous.  I talked with three of my professors today, all who are moms, and they made me feel alot better about it.  I, by no means, am excited to go back to work.  But I'm not dreading it as much now.  So I am thankful for those three women today. 

Church Family

Today I am thankful for my church family.  Josh works for a three point charge and until I had Rudy I had been alternating attending all three of the churches.   None of the churches have any couples very close to our age either.  The combination of those two factors left me feeling pretty disconnected from the church.  After Rudy was born Josh and  I decided that we wanted Rudy to really feel like he was part of a church body when he was growing up and to be able to attend Sunday school.  So for the past couple of months Rudy and I have just been attending one of the churches every Sunday.  We have also started attending Wednesday night Bible study (something I couldn't do before because I worked Wednesday nights.)  I am really starting to feel connected to this congregation and am really starting to enjoy Sunday mornings again.  Even though there aren't any people our age that attend this church I feel like there are a number of different people in the church that have really invested in our little family.  Today we had an after-church luncheon (something we do once a month) and it was alot of fun.  I made the coleslaw off of the recipe blog and everyone loved it.  You guys should try it! 

My Boys

Today I am thankful for my boys: Josh, Rudy, & Murphy.  The four of us had a pretty low key day watching Harry Potter, eating frozen pizza, and lounging around. And tonight we had fun with the youth at Movie night. 

Last night before bed Rudy and Murphy had a little fun playing together.  I've been telling Rudy since we brought him home from the hospital that Murphy would be his best friend someday.  I think their friendship is really starting to grow.  Check it out for yourself.  (You will want to make sure you have the volume turned up on your computer.)

Happy Burf Murph!

Today I am thankful for one of my very best friends.  His full name is Murphy McT Humphrey (H)berger, and he turned three today.  He is rotten and rambunctious, but as sweet as a dog can be.  He was my first baby and is a very good dog-brother to Rudy. 

Eleven Eleven Catch Up

Hi friends!  Sorry I missed a day of blogging!  Yesterday was Grandma Smith's funeral.  Afterwards we had a funeral dinner and then I hung out with family the rest of the afternoon.  Then we went to Champaign for dinner, and by the time we got home it was time to put the little man down.  By the time I was done putting him down I was ready to put myself down and didn't have the time or the energy to post what I wanted to post. 

Yesterday I was thankful for several things including a beautiful funeral service, great food, laughs with family, and for all of the Veterans that have served our country.  But I think that I was most thankful for the past six years with my hubs.  Six years ago, yesterday, Josh asked me to be his "girlfriend."  He prefaced the question by saying, "You don't have to answer right now, you can think about it."  So I didn't.  I let him sweat it out for a good hour or so before I answered him.  I knew I was going to say yes;  I'm pretty sure I already loved him at that point.  But I was (slash am) a little bit ornery and love to give him a hard time.  I eventually said yes, and we never looked back.  

Here are a bunch of pictures from the first year we were dating.  For your viewing pleasure!

This was on our way down to Atlanta.  We weren't dating yet, but we had been talking on AIM alot.  Haha.  Not quite sure why he liked me at this point. 



This was the first official date.  (Slash double date with Kacia and Jibs... They weren't on a date.. but we sort of were.) 



This is from a Pick-a-date I took him on at Thanksgiving.  We were making applesauce. 



Bowling.  Look at that hair. 

Dodgeball Tournament.  I made all those signs.

I spent alot of time watching Josh play intramurals that year.  This is after one of his basketball games. 

Valentine's Day. 

Valentine's cookies.  Those were our nicknames for each other. 

A little co-ed Softball Jibberish in the spring. 

At the beach! Josh came to visit me that summer when I lived in Michigan with Ray. 

This is at the end of the summer, in Myrtle Beach, where Josh asked my dad if he could marry me. 

Love you, babe!

Family

Today I am thankful for family.  Alot of my family is in town for my Great-Grandma's funeral tomorrow, so we had a weenie roast at my Grandma and Grandpa's house tonight.  It was alot of fun catching up with cousins, aunts, and uncles that I hadn't seen in awhile.  Not to mention, my dad is in town and my sister came out.  We had many laughs and it was definitely refreshing. 

Progress

Why, yes, that is a picture of my bottom half.  And what am I wearing on my bottom half?  You guessed it.... My skinny jeans!!!

Hallelujah!

I am still not at my pre-preg weight, but the scale moved this week for the first time in a long time and I am thankful (slash ecstatic) that I am almost there. 

This is a picture of how my top half feels about it.