Crafty

Over the past month or so I've been crafting up a storm.  I got a Silhouette SD cutting machine and have been making some really cool things with it like onesies, t-shirts, cupcake toppers, and placecards.  One of the coolest things that I've done with it is cut vinyl to etch glass.  My MIL's birthday is coming up so I etched her this pyrex dish for church potlucks and the like.

 One day while clicking through some new blogs I came across a free tutorial for making a handmade insulated casserole carrier, and I had to make it to go with the casserole dish!  The only problem being that I don't really know how to sew.  Whenever I need something sewn, my mom is my go-to girl.  She tried to teach me how a couple of years ago, but I'm not very patient and I gave up on it pretty quickly.  (Probably because I was trying to make a pair of boxer shorts that I would likely never wear! Haha.) So, recently we started back up on a few sewing lessons and I was able to make this casserole carrier all by myself! 

It is insulated for hot or cold foods, has a slot for the spoon, and a pocket underneath for a hot pack!

The online tutorial said that this project should take about 2 hours from start to finish.  It took me 6, haha!  But, I am proud to say that I did it all by myself!!  (With lots of coaching from my mom!)  It is definitely not perfect (quite troubling to my perfectionist self) and you can tell that it was my first solo project, but I think that it still turned out pretty good. 

Now, if you read this and you know my mother-in-law please don't spill the beans! Her birthday isn't for a few more weeks!

Blech....

... is how I feel.  Looks like I caught  that little bug from Rudy.  He is still pretty snotty, but he is sleeping much better, hallelujah!  I actually went in his room at 7 this morning a little worried because I hadn't heard a single peep from him since I laid him down at around 10 last night. I started off with a sore throat and it quickly turned into a full on head cold.  I was dreading my run today because I haven't been able to breathe at all, but suprisingly it cleared my sinuses right out and I felt considerably better than I had during the previous 36 hours. 

It was actually a beautiful day here.  It was a little bit chilly (got up to about 48), but the sun was shining so it felt much warmer!  We busted out the grill for the first time and had spicy italian sausages (another attempt to clear out the sinuses!) and Cars mac-n-cheese.  Rudy had his first taste of macaroni, and he LOVED it so much that he decided he would help me with the dishes.

At this rate, in two more weeks he will be climbing up on the counter.

I sure do love that little boy. 

Tomorrow is Josh's big fundraiser banquet for FCA.  He is pretty stressed out about it, but I'm pretty confident that it will turn out great.  If you think of it, say a little prayer for him tomorrow! 

Sicky.

Josh took the youth group kids to Winter Jam in Champaign tonight.  Rudy and I were going to go, but Rudy had another awful night of sleep last night and is quite the sick little boy today.  His nose has been running nonstop and his stomach was a little upset.  He has been blowing big snot bubbles like the kid on Little Giants and refusing to let me wipe his face (I mean, he throws a major fit every time I do.)  So, needless to say, the little dude and I stayed home and hung out together. 

Rudy got a bath and used the towel he got for Christmas for the first time.  He looked so cute in it.  I am excited for the days when he is excited about dinosaurs, spiderman, and monsters.  (And I guess sports too.)

This little boy loves to smile.  Even when he isn't feeling good. 

Happy Weekend!

Just wanted to pop in to wish everyone a great weekend before I hit the hay.  Rudy is tucked quietly into bed, Josh is up watching the Kentucky game, and I am sitting in bed doing some online browsing before I tuck my weary bones into bed.  Very weary bones.  Rudy had an off night last night (up about every 2 hours) and I had to do a 9-miler today by myself.  Becca and I have been able to do our last couple of long runs together, and it's been really nice! I find that I go at a much more comfortable pace when I have someone to talk to. With that said, goodnight, and I hope you all have a fun and relaxing weekend!

Blue Skies

We've had a couple of really nice days here in Central Illinois.  It has been in the low 70's, and we've spent quite a bit of time outside.  Rudy got to try swinging for the first time yesterday.  At first he seemed a little unsure of it, but warmed up to it quickly.

He wore shorts for the first time since last summer, and he looked so cute! We are going to have to get him some knee pads unless he starts walking soon, because his poor knees were definitely raw by the end of the day.

Rudy and I also went for our first run together.  We've used our jogging stroller for many, many walks, but haven't been able to get out for a run because of either the weather or me having to go for a really long run.  Yesterday I only had to run 3 miles, so Rudy went with me.  He loved it! He stayed awake the entire time and didn't make a peep!  We tried it again today for 4.5 miles, but it didn't go so well.  It was REALLY windy.  He started screaming after about 2.5 miles, so I dropped him off at the house so I could finish my run.  I'll tell ya, it's pretty hard pushing that stroller against the wind.  I think that I definitely burned a few extra calories! 

We are a little bummed that it is supposed to get down to 24 tonight, possibly snow, and then stay cold for the next week and a half.  We could DEFINITELY get used to blue skies!



Champion

Last night we had our Third Annual Cometland Youth Group Chili Cook-off.  The kids get paired up with different adults in the church and cook chili with them.  This year we needed a few extra pots of chili, so I made one... and WON!  Yeah, I'm pretty pumped about it.  I got a sweet framed certificate to hang in my kitchen.  I usually use my mom's recipe to make chili, but she also volunteered to make a pot, so I had to find a new recipe to try.  I found this recipe for Buffalo Chicken Chili on Allrecipes.com.  It had really good reviews so I thought I would try it. To be honest, it doesn't really taste a whole lot like buffalo chicken.  It is moderately spicy, a little tangy, and has really good flavor though.   Here is the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 pounds ground chicken breast
1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 large onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
5 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground paprika
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup hot buffalo wing sauce (such as Frank's® REDHOT Buffalo Wing Sauce), or to taste
2 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 (15 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (15 ounce) can white kidney or cannellini beans, drained
1 (19 ounce) can red kidney beans, drained

DIRECTIONS:
1.Heat olive oil and butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Place chicken in the pot. Cook and stir 7 to 10 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink. Stir in the carrot, onion, celery, garlic, chili powder, cumin, paprika, and salt and pepper, and cook and stir until the onion is translucent and the vegetables are beginning to soften, 3 to 4 more minutes.
2.Stir in the hot sauce, tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, and white and red kidney beans. Bring to a boil, and simmer over medium-low heat about 1 hour, until the vegetables are tender and the flavors have blended.

I made a few changes to the recipe: I used boneless chicken breasts and shredded them instead of using ground chicken. I cut the chili powder down to 1 tablespoon, cumin down 1/2 tablespoon, and paprika down to 1/2 tablespoon.  I threw everything in the crockpot and let it cook together (so I didn't use the butter or the EVOO).  After about 6 hours on high the chicken was cooked, so I pulled it out and shredded it.  Voila!  Super easy. 
Dang, it feels good to be a gangsta.

Odds and Ends

Josh spent the last week hosting a hospitality room for the players in the NJCAA (National Junior College) tournament in Danville.  He was gone from aroun 9am to 10pm for most of the week. In addition, Rudy has been into everything, so I haven't had ANY time to blog.  I apologize.  Here is a recap of some of our week. 

Rudy and I went to help Josh a couple of days at the tournament.

On Thursday, Rudy and I went to visit our friends Yana and Andrew.  Andrew is about 2 months younger than Rudy and the last time we saw him he was only a few weeks old.  This time he was bigger than Rudy!  Obviously they can't play together yet, but it was funny seeing their reactions to each other.  I'm pretty sure Rudy thought Andrew was similar to Murphy.  He tried pulling his ears and pulling up on him like he does to Murphy. 



This picture is funny to me because they look like they are having a ball together.  I think Rudy was pretty jealous of Andrew's ride.  Rudy doesn't have a walker, but he has a bouncer.  I put him in the walker to let him try it out and he tried bouncing!

 



Rudy thinks he is pretty big stuff.  He pulled up on the walker and immediately stepped up onto the side of it, like he was going to climb right in. 

Here are some of the other antics Rudy has been up to:

Pulling electric cords.  He can't get enough of them. 



Hanging out under the table, trying to steal Murphy's toys from him.  He is not in the least bit afraid of Murphy's teeth.  He sticks his fingers right in Murphy's mouth while he is chewing on something. 



Rudy and I had to take a walk up to the post office to get a box of his diapers.  I can't drive up there with him because I can't carry his carseat and the big box of diapers at the same time.  Rudy was pretty happy to carry them back to the house for me, though!

And, he officially graduated from his infant bathtub to his duck tub.  It's an inflatable duck that goes in the bathtub.  It is supposed to quack when you squeeze the beak, but somehow our quacker already broke.  Rudy still really likes it.  He lounges in it like it is his little hot tub!

Isn't he sweet?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

This little man has been keeping me on my toes, so I apologize for the lack of posts.  He is into and onto EVERYTHING these days. 

The Boys...and a New Do.

Here is what the boys were up to yesterday...

They begged.  Rudy to be picked up.  Murphy for Chex Mix. 



They played. Murphy submitted while Rudy pulled up on him. 



They napped together. 

Then Rudy spent some time loving on himself. 

And here is my new haircut.  Got it chopped. Definitely needed it!

Here they are...

Those 8 month pics I promised.

Now that he can move he wants to all of the time!  The standing up pictures are probably the most accurate right now.  It was hard getting him to sit there!  I can only imagine it gets worse in the months to come. 

A Real Nurse

That's what I am going to be!  I FINALLY got a job, and I am really excited about the position.  I am going to be working on the Stepdown Unit at Carle, the big hospital in the area.  Stepdown is an intermediate floor between the ICU and a Med/Surg floor.  The patients are a little more acute than a regular floor, but not bad enough to warrant ICU status.  The Surgical ICU and the Stepdown unit are run by the same Nurse Manager and in two years will be moving to one unit, so eventually I will work in the Surgical ICU as well.  I will be working three 12 hour shifts.....nights.  At first I was pretty against working nights, but I have gotten used to the idea and am actually excited about it.  I think it will allow me to see Rudy more when I do have to work (but I might be a zombie, haha.) I am particularly excited about working on this floor because it allows you to self schedule, which means I can get days off when I need to without having to take vacation time.  It looks like I will be starting on April 18th.  There is a March 21st start date, but we won't have anyone to watch Rudy until the beginning of April, since Josh has such a crazy month.  That will give me a little bit of time to adjust to the idea of going back to work and will let us get some things done first! 

I am not looking forward to leaving my little man, but am very relieved to have finally found a job and excited to be a real nurse!

8 Months

(This post is about a week late, and over the past week he has hit some big milestones, so I am going to leave those out and include them in his 9 month post.)

My Rudy boy, you are eight months old already, and I cannot figure out for the life of me where the time has gone! You are such a big boy.  You are scooting around on your belly and rolling all over the place.  You can get to just about anywhere you want by doing that!   You have started pulling yourself up on a few things, like the laundry basket, but can only do it from a sitting position.  If you  are on your belly you can't quite figure out how to get up, so you scream until someone comes and helps you.  You have quite the personality already.  You love to babble, babble, babble...especially in big open places that echo, like church.  I use the word babble loosely because it is usually more of a shout than anything....not out of anger or frustration, but out of excitement and a love for hearing your own voice.  You really are just like your dad!  You are eating much better these days.  About half-way through your 8th month you decided that you would like to open your mouth for a spoon and I no longer dread giving you food.  You still don't eat alot, about one container of food a day, but you still nurse well and get more than enough to eat!  Your favorite foods are bananas, pears, and squash. Your hair is starting to get longer on the top and right over your ears, so it makes for quite an interesting do.  I've been faux hawking your hair because I think it's so darn cute.  You're getting quite a bad case of seperation anxiety and you immediately start crying if I leave the room, even just to throw something away.  You haven't been sleeping very well, and I think that you may have a few teeth coming in.  It's really hard for me to tell because you've had little white spots since you were born, but your gums are swollen, you've been drooling, and you sleep alot better if you get a little Tylenol before bed.  (Disclaimer: I don't dose my child with drugs to make him sleep on a regular basis.  This was a 2 night thing because he seemed to be in alot of pain those nights!) You still love playing with Murphy and your current favorite toys are a little hammer teether that the Hayes family got you for Christmas and your Elmo iPod that Gma and Gpa Woodard got you for Christmas.  You are a happy boy if you have them within your reach!  Your dad and I were just talking about how it's getting hard to remember what life was like before you were around.  You are the absolute joy of our lives.  We love you, little man!

Picture to follow!

Antics

I tell you, this kid has some things up his sleeve. 

Yesterday I had to rinse off TWO dishes before I put them in the dishwasher.  I sat Rudy on the floor, opened the dishwasher, rinsed the dishes, turned to put the dishes in the dishwasher, and this is what I found.....

When did he get so quick?

Tonight he was entertaining himself quite well by blowing spit bubbles.

After he was done blowing spit bubbles, he decided it was time to get up on his hands and knees and FOR REAL CRAWL. 

(Sorry about all of the noise.  Murphy was not happy to be locked in the kitchen for the filming and Rudy was not happy that we took his cup away from him.)

Yesterday was Unofficial St. Patty's at the U of I.  Not that I condone the celebration or anything, but Rudy has two St. Patrick's Day shirts, so he celebrated yesterday!

I'm sorry, sweet boy, about your hair.  Apparently, you inherited that from me, because mine likes to run away from my head as well. 

The rest of the weekend has been pretty ordinary.  Yesterday I had to do a long run for my training (only 6 miles, but that's the longest I've had to go so far).  I felt pretty good, but I ran to and around the state park that is a couple of miles away and I had to run up some MONSTER hills.  I've run those hills a hundred times, but not since before I was pregnant with Rudy.   I pretty much thought I was going to die, but was determined not to walk.... and I didn't.  BUT, my hamstrings are killing me today!  So today we went to the Y and I cross trained.  Then we went to Walmart to do some major grocery shopping.  Rudy has been sleeping quite a bit better and I am definitely feeling more rested! 

Geo

-caching.

Not -logoy.

I did take geology in college.  We called it Rocks for Jocks, but that's another story.

Josh, Rudy, and I have started geocaching, mostly just around town because gas costs an arm and a leg.

We went a couple of days ago for the first time and found two different caches. 

We went again today, but had absolutely no luck.  We tried to find 3 different caches and failed at all three. 

One had been moved (we think), there were people hanging out right next to the second one (apparently it's a big no-no to open a cache in front of non-cachers), and the road was closed to get to the third one.  Since we had Rudy in tow, there was no way we could make the hike. 

Here are some pics from our first trip. 

Tonight was the first night in a long time that Josh and I have had a lazy night at home.  It feels good.  We were pretty disappointed, though, that neither The Office or Grey's Anatomy  had new episodes tonight.  What's up with that?  (Okay, maybe only I was disappointed about Grey's.) 

Josh has a pretty crazy month with FCA coming up, so we are trying to get some good time in while we can! 

Stay tuned for Rudy's 8 month post!