You Don't Always Die from Tobacco

Let this be a warning to Heidi... it's time to break your bad habits. New Year's Day is the perfect time to quit.

Squeaky Clean!

When we got married, we didn't have our own washer and dryer. Our landlord heard us talking about it and said that he had a pair they weren't using any more. He offered to install them in our apartment if we wanted. We were very grateful and have been very glad to use them for the last 3 1/2 years!


However, last week, the dryer died. I actually still had a wet load, so we had clothes draped all over the house for a few days trying to air dry!


We went shopping for a dryer and thought we were going to get one from Sears. However, thanks to the help of a friend in the ward who works at Electrolux, we ended up getting a great price on both a washer AND a dryer! They were test models, so they've been used for the equivalent of 2 years, and the trim doesn't match, but we figured that the price was a good enough deal to overcome that!


So, after a week and a half with no clean laundry, borrowing a truck, borrowing the missionaries to help unload the machines, buying the necessary cords, and installation...


TA DA!

My very own high-efficiency machines!

Beebs was delighted to help with the laundry.

And I was delighted to have clean clothes again!

Santa Claus is Coming To Town

Okay, came.

We had a jolly visitor at our ward Christmas party.

And Aidan particularly liked his beard!

P.S. Lots of new posts below - be sure to scroll down!

Just Because and Other Miscellaneous News

Just because he's cute...

because honestly, how could you not love this face?!

News #1:

Aidan got his first tooth! We think #2 is coming in soon because he's been a bit grumpy.

News #2:

Aidan is now sitting straight up. As follows.

(And here's a close up in case you missed the funny part of that picture.)
News #3:

He's not crawling yet, but he sure looks funny when he tries!

Blizzard!

There was a blizzard here in Iowa last week. We got 10-12 inches of snow and 50 mph winds. When we woke up, our yard had only a few inches of snow on it. It had all blown into a 4 foot drift of snow on our sidewalk!

Thank goodness I have such a strong husband!

Food

So, my little baby is a CHAMP at solid foods. Even when he doesn't like something, he will eat the first bite, make a horrible face, and then open his mouth for more. I just had to share my favorite picture of him eating. He was very tired during this particular dinner, so he kept rubbing his eyes. This, of course, transferred his squash to his face. The result?

A child who looks curiously like Ronald McDonald for one who is so bald!

Christmas Cards

All right, more craftiness from me.

Happy holidays, all!

Thanksgiving and Growing Up

We were lucky enough to go to South Dakota over Thanksgiving to visit Mike's parents. I realized I've never posted pictures of Aidan with his grandparents, so I made sure to get a few cute shots of them together.

Aidan loved when his grandpa fed him rice cereal!

(Aidan was more interested in eating the remote control than in getting his picture taken.)

Bath time with grandma... washcloth-censored or Mike wouldn't let me post it online! :)

We had a great time there!

While we were there, my little baby decided he just wanted to grow up. All the sudden, he learned how to sit without support. Also, he decided he doesn't want to be held at bedtime any more. The good news is that I don't have to rock him to sleep every night. The bad news is that I don't get to rock him to sleep every night! I know that every parent says this, but

"How did my baby grow up so fast?!"

Mopping

For the last 3 1/2 years, I've mopped our kitchen floor maybe 2 or 3 times a month. I'd find some crumbs, maybe a dead spider or two, and occasionally a cooking spill. Nothing too dramatic.

Today when I mopped, I also found two giant sticky spots, suspiciously near Beeb's high chair.

Sigh. I think my days of mopping only 2 times a month are LONG GONE. And I don't think I'll get them back for many, many years.
:( Maybe it's time to invest in a better mop.

My Ward Family

I am so blessed! Even though I don't live near my real family, I still have a family here in Iowa - my ward.

Mike is in Chicago this weekend for a business trip, and I was worried that it would be hard taking care of Aidan alone for 4 days.

Alone?! What was I thinking?!

I have had so much help from my ward! My visiting teaching companion and the kids of a lady I visit have played with him. My Relief Society president (and her husband and kids) baby-sat him so I could go to work. Aidan's surrogate grandma watched him during church so I could play the piano in sacrament meeting and Primary. One of my young women watched him during choir practice so I could direct. Another young man held him during ward potluck so I could eat. One friend watched him after church so I could gather all my things and talk to the people I needed to. Another friend is baby-sitting him tomorrow so I can go to work. Everybody has been so helpful!

I feel so blessed to have such a great ward family. Thanks for your help, everyone! :)

Pumpkin Lasagna

I've been rather adventurous lately with trying new recipes. I had some leftover ricotta cheese, so I just Googled recipes with ricotta cheese in them. I came across one that I had to try. Lo and behold, it actually turned out really yummy! I would post a picture, but Mike and I just finished it all off - sorry! I guess you'll have to make it yourself! Here's how:

Pumpkin Lasagna:
Servings: 6

Ingredients:
1/2 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
1/2 cup half-and-half cream
1 teaspoon dried sage leaves
Dash pepper
9 no-cook lasagna noodles
1 cup reduced-fat ricotta cheese
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:
In a small skillet, saute the mushrooms, onion and 1/4 teaspoon salt in oil until tender; set aside. In a small bowl, combine the pumpkin, cream, sage, pepper and remaining salt.
Spread 1/2 cup pumpkin sauce in an 11-in. x 7-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with three noodles (noodles will overlap slightly). Spread 1/2 cup pumpkin sauce to edges of noodles. Top with half of mushroom mixture, 1/2 cup ricotta, 1/2 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers. Top with remaining noodles and sauce.
Cover and bake at 375° for 45 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake 10-15 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

Yield: 6 servings.

Let me know if you try it - what did you and your family think?

First Solid Food

My Baybee Will Put His Mouth on Anything

Exhibit A:


Yes, he is licking the bathroom tile.

Exhibit B:

The toilet paper roll after Aidan was finished with it.

Exhibit C:

(Sorry it's sideways - does anyone know how to rotate videos?) Good thing Mike was done reading that magazine!

And Exhibit D (my personal favorite):

Hmmm... well, solid foods should be NO PROBLEM since he likes to put so many things in his mouth!

Recognize This?

10 points to the first person who recognizes this:

In My Head...

Do you ever have those moments where something is one way in your head, but then you realize that in reality, it's just not like that? For example:

You think your voice sounds a certain way. Then you hear it on an answering machine or tape recorder and go, "Do I really sound like that?"

You think of cooking some combination of food that sounds really good in your head. Then you make it, and it's just not quite what you thought it would be.

You have a perception of some aspect of your own personality. Then someone close to you describes you in a completely different way, and you go, "Oh, that's how it comes across to others?"

You have a mental image of what you look like in a certain outfit, but then you see a picture of yourself wearing it or catch an unexpected glance in a mirror and go, "Oh, it really looks like that on me?"

Well, that last one happened to me tonight. I went to work, so I made sure I was in my nice dress pants instead of jeans. I actually had my hair down instead of pulled back in its perpetual -keep-it-out-of-Aidan's-hands-twist. I had on what I thought was a nice shirt. In short, I thought I was looking okay!

...

And then I caught an offhand glance in the mirror. I had baby barf on my pants that I didn't see before, my shirt had ridden up to a really unflattering length, my pants were all wrong with my shoes (although that one I knew about - I'm in the process of looking for replacement shoes), and I just looked gross. Sigh. I tried, but sometimes, looking put together takes more than I have!

Please please please share your stories so I don't feel like the only one who ever has something in her head that's just not quite real!

Mirrors and Toes

Gah! My baby is five months old today! How did the time go so quickly???

Some of his favorite toys lately are the mirror...

and his own toes. Don't you wish you could still be that flexible?!

Trunk or Treat

The youth put on a FABULOUS Trunk or Treat in our ward last night. (Well, all the youth participated, but the Young Men were in charge.)

First, all the kids went around to the trunks. I didn't get a picture of our decorated trunk, but it did include our jack-o-lantern that we carved for FHE on Monday.

We, of course, put our darling little boy in costume... and didn't he turn out cute?!

Then, they took small groups down to tour the haunted house that was set up in the gym. The young men had it all divided into sections and alleys with big plywood boards, and it looked really good! They had giant pumpkins, a graveyard, a witch with a jumping spider (that was me), a vampire that rose out of a coffin, a mad scientist with different "body parts" to touch, a creepy scary guy popping up out of nowhere, a huge spider that dropped down on you from the basketball net, a fortune teller, and two screaming witches.

Halloween gets even more fun when you have a kid! I can't wait until next year when Aidan maybe sort of gets it! :)

Double Take

I was looking through some old pictures on my computer and I came across this one:

It was in the folder with all of my pictures from when we were dating, and I was like, "Oops, I must have put that picture in the wrong folder!" And then I looked closer... and that's not my kid!

THIS is Mike with MY kid.

That other picture is four years old and shows Mike with my nephew Tyler! You can sure tell these two boys are cousins, can't you?!

P.S. I finally had time to update my blog today (sorry, I know it's been a while), so be sure to scroll down for lots of new entries!

The Dangers of Working Out

I have finally gotten back into my gym routine, and it feels great! (Thank goodness for the child care that comes free with our family gym membership!) However, the other day I finished my workout and was stretching out. I reached back to grab my foot, and my fingernail caught on my shoe. It ended up doing this:
Ouch!!! I wasn't sure which would hurt less: trying to cut it off where it broke, or leaving it half ripped so it pulls on everything. I ended up leaving the rip alone but cutting the rest of the nail really short. I'll try to cut it where it ripped when it has grown out a little farther. Luckily it isn't hurting TOO much any more. That's what I get for trying to exercise, huh?!

Daddy time and toys

This video shows Aidan with some "daddy time"... absolutely adorable in my opinion. My favorite part is how he stabs Mike in the eye. Several times, actually. :)

This video is a little long (sorry - I don't know how to edit them.... you don't have to watch the whole thing), but it makes me laugh. When Aidan gets really tired, sometimes he gets super silly. The smallest thing will absolutely set him off. Here, I pulled out a random pen in a box of old junk. It has a bobble head on the top, and Aidan just went NUTS!

And last but not least, Aidan has decided that his Binky is a toy. Sometimes when he's tired, he yanks it out, but then he howls because he doesn't have anything to suck on! I keep putting it back in his mouth, though - I am determined to not have a thumb-sucker!

Cards

I was asked to teach a card-making class at our Super Saturday coming up on Halloween. Since I needed to plan for that, my card-making supplies have been all over the living room table for the past week. (Bless my patient husband!) The first two cards (the fall-themed ones) are 2 of the 3 cards that I'm going to teach at the class. And the rest of the pictures are some of the ones that I made just for fun. :) Who knows... one might even come to you in the mail!

Which one is your favorite?