Dish of the week

Oh man, I couldn't decide between "dish of the week" and "quinoa moi?" for the title. But since most people probably don't know how to pronounce "quinoa" (keen-wa), I figured my rhyming humor would slip away and I'd lose people from the get-go. That may be a problem anyway though. ;) And now that I think about it, "quinoa moi" doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Good thing I went with "dish of the week."

Moving on...quinoa. It's quite yummy and I wanted to share my favorite recipe so far for quinoa. Hearty Quinoa with apples and almonds. We add some chicken-apple sausage to make it a meal and it is so yummy! We've skipped the almonds so far simply because we haven't had them on hand, but they sound like a great addition to the dish.

So you may still be wondering "what the heck is quinoa?" Good question. It's a high-protein grain that also has essential amino acids, good dietary fiber, and other nutrients, while also being gluten-free and easy to digest. It's a great substitute for basically any other grain, so if you feel like mixing up your diet a bit, the next time you plan for rice as a side, make quinoa instead. And then thank me. ;) Because it really is good.

Speaking of food, I'm supposed to be planning out our next week's meals and making a shopping list. I'm blogging instead. Oops! J would expect no less of me though. ;)

It is crazy how much I'm enjoying cooking these days. I really never cooked much all these years, unless it came out of a box or was relatively simple like a grilled sandwich or scrambled eggs. Now baking on the other hand...oh I looooove to bake. And I do NOT bake out of a box, let me tell you! HAHA. But now I am proud to say I don't cook out of a box anymore either. I love being able to pronounce what I'm eating, versus reading an ingredient list of strange preservatives and who knows what else.

Last week's menu, for anyone curious enough to still be reading:

Tomato-cheddar-packed turkey burgers
Farmhouse minestrone
Ribollita (Tuscan baked minestrone with garlic bread)

Salmon with roasted sweet potato and golden-crusted brussel sprouts
Corkscrews with white beans
Hearty quinoa with chicken-apple sausages
Corn chowder

Notice I like to make use of leftovers when I can, and not just in the "we're eating leftovers tonight" way. We used the minestrone to make the ribollita, both were delicious, if I do say so myself. ;) Other times, if I have leftover salmon for instance, I like to use it to make salmon-cakes and serve with salad.

It really is fun to cook! I can't believe I didn't know this before. Hehe.

And who do we have to thank for this change in me...why, the Bugga of course! Now that he is eating with us, I am so much more concerned about the health and nutritional value of what goes on our plates. Yes, sometimes we will still eat for convenience, we're far from perfect, but it really is a far cry from how we used to eat. To this end, I really want to start a garden this year. That would be the ultimate in knowing what I'm eating. I don't know if I have the know-how or the skills though. So we'll see on that one.

One last plug in this post. We highly recommend the book The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper. We're huge NPR fans--I actually think we listen to the radio more than we watch the tv these days--and we recently became members of our local public radio during the membership drive and this book was our gift. It's not just a cookbook, it's full of great tips and stories and dashes of humor too. It's a cookbook you can actually read.

Okay, I've kept you this long, I may as well share a picture or two of the Bug. ;) Consider it my thank you gift to you for humoring my ramblings. HAHA.

I believe this was taken the morning I wrote this. For a nekkie picture, I thought we did a good job of keeping it clean. ;) Though I cannot account for what his right hand may--or may not--have been reaching for. Hehe.

My one-sock wonder. =) I did mention he can now get up onto furniture on hiw own right?! Oh, the chasing has evolved. ;)

Throwing one of J and Paisley in for good measure. How's this for testing a sling?! We love to sling Bugga and J and I were joking around the other day and he decided to sling Paisley. I think she was trying to lick her way to freedom here.

Okay, and speaking of slings...I promise this will be my last plug for the post...my favorite sling is from Peanut Shell (and so apt for our little guy!) and they're having a great sale, 40% with the coupon code MOTHERSDAY at checkout. I honestly don't know if anyone in the market for a sling will see this, but wanted to pass along the savings in case.

Aghhhh...before this becomes the blog that never ends, I better cut myself off. Can you just imagine if I had combined all these posts tonight?! (See the next two posts, which I wrote prior to this one but also tonight.) Woa, that would have been one crazy blog entry that would have had your head spinning.

G'night everyone!

Hey, it's catchy okay?!

This one's for you Tara. Don't even begin to tell me it's not catchy! It's been stuck in my head for days, and I'm not afraid to admit it. The dance moves crack me up though, so if you need a laugh...I'm just saying, don't be ashamed to check it out. ;)

And when I just can't stand it anymore, I watch this.

Haven't figured out what'll get that out of my head yet. =)

It's just good to know love is stronger than thunder. HAHAHAHA.

No gurlz allowed

Monday morning I was cleaning up in the kitchen and running around doing various household tasks and I stepped into the knotty room to see this:


J and Bug were building a fort! ;) Okay, so obviously J was building a fort for Bugga, though not really with his help. Unless you call yanking down the sheet or trying to crawl into the butterfly chair helping.

Still, it was all too cute. Look at his little smile here. I just cannot resist that face. Who could?!

And here they are having more fun "inside" the fort. Bug was having a blast reaching up for the sheet and grabbing and shaking it.

Parting shot. He was getting tired here, it was time for lunch and after lunch comes nap. Ahhh, sweet nap. Anyway, back to the picture. When the jumper-saucer went bye-bye, I pulled up my old butterfly chair from college to take its place. Bug likes to crawl into it...and then out of it. Head first! He doesn't do the whole feet first method yet, he's having too much fun flipping and flopping on his way out of chairs. =)

Okay, so more to come tonight. I'm blogging in tidbits to make it a little more digestible. Mmm...digesting...can you tell food is on my mind a lot lately?! ;)

And before anybody gets all spelling-police on me--yes, I know I spelled "girls" wrong, I was being silly. =) What's that you say? It's just not what you would expect of me?! That's why I did it. HAHAHA. Oh, and anyway, the title isn't true because J told me girls were most certainly allowed in the fort. Good to know. ;)

Almost famous

No, not the movie. Though if I remember right, I enjoyed it.

Check this out! Pictures we took are on the home page of A Rotta Love Plus, the MN rottweiler and pit bull rescue, through which we fostered little Alvin. What a fun surprise when I visited their site this morning to see a picture we took of Alvin, and then to scroll down and see a picture of J, Bugga, and Alvin all cuddling. So fun!

Oh and speaking of Alvin, we have kept in touch with his foster Mom and got word that he is adoption pending! Go Alvin, you little scamp, you deserve all the happiness of a wonderful forever home little buddy!

Little Bugga is having a good Saturday morning. He is nekkie (what's new?) and dancing around. His dancing is really coming along now. He used to just display the kind of baby dancing with feet firmly planted in one spot and just his arms flailing and some hip swinging. Well, now he has moved on to some fancy footwork, it is just too funny to watch! I'll try to get video sometime soon, so we can share the dancing baby fun. I'll even put clothes on him for you all! ;)

Oh and guess what?! We have new snow on the ground! Absolutely ridiculous. I love snow, just ask anyone who really knows me, I do. However, I am more than ready for sunshine and being able to get Bugga and Paisley outside. Bored Bugga and Paisley are no fun and sometimes even downright miserable. So I'm counting on some quality outside time to help keep smiles on faces, furry and otherwise, for the next few months at least.

Winter, if you don't go away, how can we miss you???!!!!

No new pictures, sorry! Camera still out for repairs. I'm getting increasingly bummed by its absence. We still have our little canon of course, but somehow it in not the same. We've taken a few pictures, nothing I'm really excited about though. I'll probably post some soon regardless.

Before I go this snowy April morning (I shouldn't be writing that!), happy belated birthday to my dear friend Ruth!!! Check her out here, this video is just too cute and makes South Dakota sound just as cool as sunny California or exotic Fiji. Or at least I think so! ;) You're too fun Ruth! Ruth was my second college roommate and we haven't seen each other in a long time. Since we moved to MN, we finally live closer than a plane ride or a 24-hour drive away from each other, so hopefully soon we'll get together. Happy 27th Birthday Ruth, we love you!

Off to grab some coffee and join the boys on the floor for some magnet-puzzle book time. =) And hope my coffee doesn't end up all over the book. Maybe I should just watch from afar...hehe.

Oh help

Um. Let's see. Not sure where to begin.

Today was one of those days. The kind of day that makes me think I gave birth to a tiny demon with a very beguiling facade of innocence and cuteness set on a timer to expire 375 days after his birth. That would be today.

Wow. Much screaming. A good helping of tears. Tenacious attention to anything I didn't want him paying attention to. One good bite to Momma's arm. That was the moment the demon broke free. Little stinker! (That's pretty cleaned up compared to what I was thinking. And almost shockingly, I didn't say anything out loud to him except a loud "OWWW.") Just wow.

Finally, I think he's quiet and possibly even asleep (oh please!). Did I mention there was much screaming? Yup? Okay, just making sure. Whew. After screaming for about 10 minutes before bath, then pretty much all through bath, and then right into his bed, I was beat. I gave it a minute or two. Still screaming and crying. Went back in, layed down with the little guy. He started acting silly almost immediately. Then I couldn't help but laugh. Go figure, some of the cuteness facade was back in place, just after I thought it was lost for good. ;) I watched as he perfected his routine of sitting up in bed, tossing his blanket around, then looking at me laying there and throwing himself against me as if to say "okay, now I'll go to sleep," only to get up again within a minute or two. After about 10 minutes of this, I kissed him with finality, said "goodnight" and "I love you" and "I'll see you in the morning" and promised myself I wasn't going back as I shut the door.

And I didn't. It's okay though, because it appears sleep finally found him. I'm scared to check though. Jeremy had opened a bunch of the windows before he left for work and because of that I was also scared that at any moment (during all the screaming) some neighbors would call the cops thinking some horrible acts were being committed upon this screaming child. No cops on my door though, so all good.

I think I need some kind of dessert to clear my head after all this. Then I'll get to the good stuff.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, I am back. Ahhh, sweet chocolate, really helps to take away the sting of a bad day. I know, I know, I'm a bit dramatic. No, my son is not a demon. He's a little boy and probably pretty typical as far as little boys go. I could even take a little more orneriness, a little more willfulness, if only it was accompanied by far less screaming. Wait, make that no screaming. (Is that possible at this age?!) For now though, I'll keep my hopes and dreams reasonable and just hope for less screaming and tears tomorrow and we'll go from there. =)

Now, back to the birthday! Here Bugga is surrounded by much of what Aunt Kim and Uncle Kirk (Great Aunt and Great Uncle?) sent. You can see Paisley is immensely interested in the musical dog puppet.

We can't wait to put him in that Husker red! I think we'll need to stop into Scheel's sometime and look for a similar shirt for J. I'm sure the Fall football season will bring lots of cute pictures of those two in their Husker gear, watching football. That is, if I'm around to take the pictures...maybe I'll take the opportunity to nap, or read, or clean, or get out of the house. ;)

Bugga looks bewildered by the dog puppet here! So funny! Tonight he was giving the doggy kisses as I was making him sing. He's not so bewildered anymore.

Aunt Tara and Uncle Justin were so cute and sent Grady 2 gifts: (in Tara's words) one so he can be like Daddy and one so he can be like Mommy. Here's his little tool bench and hammer, so he can be like Daddy (in case anyone had any doubts; you don't want to see me with a hammer in my hand, I'm sure!). I love the tongue of concentration in this shot! =) Ignore the ruined chair in the background, our cats are lucky to still have a home with what they've done to that chair.

Oh and by the way, the other gift so he can be like Mommy is a phone that lights up and talks and such. It is possessed, so it rarely has batteries in it anymore, because when it does, it will sit there in the middle of my floor and freak me out by repeating things over and over while no one is anyone near it. =)

When Memaw saw this picture, she gave it an apt caption: "Off to work." HAHA.

Uncle Chris and soon-to-be Aunt Nichole sent this adorable wood stool with Grady's name in little blocks built into the top. It is so sweet! I'm at my blogspot quota for pictures tonight, but we have more to share of him with this wonderful keepsake.

I don't have any pictures to share yet of the Noah's Ark book and blanket that Great Grandma Evelyn and Great Grandpa Glenn sent, sorry! Well, I have pictures, but they didn't turn out as well as I wanted, so we're waiting til we get our camera back from its repairs and will hopefully get some cute pictures to share.

This all makes me think I need to go way back to Christmas and get pictures of Bugga with the little "noisy" toolbench toy Aunt Danelle and Uncle Kelvin sent him. Hehehe, you're that Aunt Danelle, the one that sends the noisy toys. ;) Just teasing!

He also got sweet cards from Aunt Danelle and Uncle Kelvin (handmade to boot!), Beth and Scott, and Auntie Ruth. THANK YOU to everyone that thought of the little guy on his first birthday, you are all so sweet! Despite what I might say after certain days...hehe...it's been an amazing year full of wonderful blessings.

I promised myself I'd get to bed much earlier than last night, so off I go! Love to you all though!

It's been how long, you say????

Oh my, the boy turned the big 1 a week and a half ago and I still have not managed to post the long-promised pictures of him and all the Memaw and Papaw lovin' and the goodies and such sent by folks that share the Bugga love. Tonight I hope to finish at least one installment...but believe me, there is more!

Tonight's installment is all things Memaw and Papaw. ;) Here they are after we went through the aquarium. The lighting wasn't great, but I think you get the idea: lots of love all around. =) (I love being corny on the blog.)

I had to throw this one in because Memaw looks a bit scared...of what I'm not sure. Hehe.

After the aquarium and lunch and some lego time, Bugga and Memaw got some good bonding in while strolling through the mall and amusement park inside the mall (that place is nuts!). Memaw and Papaw arrived Saturday early evening. By Monday, Memaw had put in enough face time to have little Bugga reaching out to go to her. So cute!

Here is Bugga pulling the adorable little wood block train set that Memaw and Papaw gave him. He loves this thing, though often it is not all together like in the photo because he likes to yank it apart and carry the individual pieces with him throughout the house.

And you may be asking yourself if we ever put pants on this kid. The answer is yes--when we leave the house. Hehehe. No, really, he does wear pants a good portion of the time, I promise. Oh, and look at bored Paisley in this picture, I love it! I imagine her thoughts to be something alone these lines--"one more thing for that kid to chuck at me, great." ;)

When I blog again I need to get to everyone else's birthday wishes and gifts. I don't mean to be neglecting you all! I can only be so patient with blogspot when it comes to loading pictures. I've reached my quota for the night.

J is on a weird schedule for the next 3 weeks. He's working 7 p.m. - 3 a.m. We're only on night 2, so we can't really say if we like it or hate it. It's different in the least and it's not like we didn't endure tons of strange scheduling when he was in the Navy. In fact, this is quite reminiscent of those good ol' days. After 3 weeks of this, he'll move to an 11 a.m.-7 p.m. shift, though bad wife that I am, I can't remember off the top of my head how long that will last.

And speaking of the 11 a.m.-7 p.m. shift...this is really reaching for a transition, but here goes...our wonderful friend Lindsey will be here while he is on that shift!!!! We are so out-of-our-minds excited to see you Linds! We do wish Brandon was coming too though, that way J wouldn't be alone and defenseless against us girls. HAHAHAHA. We'll get to see Lindsey's cool Mom Linda too, so that should be fun. That lady has energy, I tell ya. ;) So does Lindsey and we laugh our hineys off when we're together, which may scare Bug a little bit. Or he may just join in because he likes to laugh when other people laugh. I guess we'll see how he reacts when Momma and Aunt Lindsey are yukkin' it up, should be good times! =)

One last picture, and one that may induce laughter in Miss Lindsey early. Here I am with a lego robot or something, we appear to be getting to know one another. Or rather, I appear to be getting to know him. ;) *ahem* *ahem* =)

HAHAHA. Actually, I have no idea what exactly I was doing in this photo. Let's say I was checking out the lego craftsmanship. ;) It really was crazy to look at up close. Quit laughing, I'm being serious! They had some really neat lego models, from this neato robot to even larger dinosaurs. Anyway...

With that, I must big adieu and get my rear in bed. As if my sleep wasn't already precarious enough, J will be getting home in about 4 hours and I will certainly wake up when he does, no matter how quiet he tries to be. Last night I woke up long enough to tell him I was hungry and have him laugh at me. We'll see what nonsense I sleepily spew at him tonight. =)

Forgot to title this one! =)

I have lots of updating to do I know, and pictures of all the great cards and gifts that people sent for little Bugga. Our camera is off for repairs--boohoo!--so I might be a little behind. Oh and by the way, a few posts back, we were in a camera shop (no, not a gun shop Tara, you kook!).

I wanted to revisit that wonderful day over a year ago now that little Bugga joined us. I meant to do it in the last post, but was having trouble uploading pictures.

Here we are, Momma and Peanut (as he was known all through pregnancy and for the first couple days after birth, before he had a name), right after delivery.

A little while later...what a big hat for such a little noggin!

The next day was rough. I would have gone though labor and delivery again rather than deal with the aftermath that we had (heading the OR to repair an internal tear; having pre-eclampsia and being on magnesium sulfate and a catheter). For having such an easy and healthy pregnancy, I was sure in for a shock with the complications I had after he was out.

Here Papa took over the bed and had some cuddle time with the little guy. This was Monday morning, probably while I was getting ready to go home.

Of course, you're all pretty familiar with what he looks like these days (if you've been checking in with the blog anyway), but for comparison...

At the aquarium on his birthday, trying to get up close and personal with a snake (is this my sneak preview into the kind of little boy he's going to be?!):

With Memaw and Papaw, checking out the amusement park at the Mall of America.

More later! I know, I know...I'm all promises lately. ;)

Big Bad Birthday Preview

Ahhh....the boy is ONE! It happened...it's over. All day yesterday I was checking the time and thinking back to what was happening at exactly (or roughly, because, really my memory is not that good) that time a year ago. Yes, we were still up chatting (Bugga was sleeping of course) when the time came: 11:54 p.m. April 13th. A slimy, blue, tiny, but quite healthy, baby boy, with 10 fingers and 10 toes, had finally come out and was placed on me, the new Momma, to see for myself just what--or rather who--I had given birth to. As probably all mothers know well, it's a sight I won't ever forget and one I will always treasure.

I have so many pictures, I'm having an internal debate on what to post for now. Of course, MUCH is yet to come, but I titled this a "preview" to purposefully limit myself for now as time is slim. Memaw and Papaw are still here visiting, so I imagine I'll get more up later this week.

Bugga's first birthday cake. Yes, I'm that Mom...the one that makes her son's cake with garbanzo beans. ;) Was he a fan? No, but to be fair, he also promptly spit out brownie from Famous Dave's that his Papaw tried to give him with lunch earlier in the day. HAHA. Maybe he's not a fan of chocolate? Maybe he's not really our kid? Who knows, but it seems for now he won't be chasing us around when we have brownies, or cake, or chocolate cookies, which is really just a bonus if you ask me.

More later, you can count on that!

Randomness

Just a few random shots. Cleaning house and preparing for Memaw and Papaw to get here to day...because BUGGA TURNS ONE TOMORROW!!!!! Insane, just insane. I really cannot believe it. I was talking to Bug today about how today is the last day that a year ago on this day he was in my belly. Yeah, he probably comprehended that about as well as you all are right now. It makes sense in my head anyway. I'm always comparing time--this week to last, this year to a year ago or three or five, today to yesterday.

Anyway, in case you thought that once the amby baby was gone, the pictures of Bug in bed would cease, here is the evidence to the contrary. ;) HAHA. Attacked by a bear...and nothing left to do but take a nap.


Spring in MN:

I keep having to remind myself that it is April. Of course, last year at this time in NY, we were facing similar weather. I only remember because we were getting ready to have a baby, so context like weather is burned in my memory.

This picture shows why fresh is almost always better.

Bugga loves blueberries, but have you priced fresh blueberries these days?! Ouch! So I thought, I can save a buck or two and get him some nice frozen blueberries (organic to boot with no added sugar, aren't I good?!). Oy, didn't think of the mess involved in frozen blueberries. Somehow fresh just doesn't do this. I didn't get a picture of his hands--his hands and under his nails were so very blue. I felt like I was putting my little smurf to nap that day after lunch. ;)

Oh, today we finally bid a real farewell to the jumper-saucer. A woman is coming to pick it up today. I kind of jumped the gun in saying goodbye a few weeks ago. We've been enjoying it here and there and it still fills a need, so I'm not really sure how I will reign in the Bug when I absolutely must get something done. I guess I still have his little chair (which, by the way, I highly, highly recommend; we don't have one of those big ridiculous high chairs, just this and it goes with us to restaurants and such too; we love it!).

Quick thanks to all those that have already sent along birthday wishes for the little guy. I'm going to get pictures up of everything, so for now I'll just say he got wonderful and thoughtful gifts from Uncle Chris and soon-to-be-Aunt Nichole, and Uncle Justin and Aunt Tara (and family of course), and a really sweet homemade card from Aunt Danelle and Uncle Kelvin and cousins Jake, Jenna, and Jedd...pictures of all of it to come I promise! You're all too sweet really! Oh and I hear more sweetness is on the way from Aunt Kim and Uncle Kirk and Grandma-Great Evelyn and Grandpa-Great Glenn. Not to mention, I imagine Memaw and Papaw might have something along from them too. Whew. Oh my! Bugga sure is loved!

Aunt Tara joked that if people didn't send anything, Grady wouldn't have gifts...haha...uh, hello?! We gave him life didn't we?! HAHAHA. We will try as he gets older to get more in the celebratory spirit for things like holidays and birthdays. It's just not us to do a lot. We're simple people, what can I say? I guess it's not how I grew up. That's not to say I grew up without love or closeness though. Okay, so there it is. Me defending my weak celebratory nature and promising to try more in the future. ;)

Okay, gotta go, lots to do and a fun weekend ahead. Hopefully I'll get lots of great pics up next week of the good times.

Finally!

Hello All!

I should be paying attention to the dogs and the kiddo....and instead, I'm blogging. J is trying to study, so like I said, I really should be paying attention. In addition, I should be putting clean bedding on the bed, starting new laundry, getting stuff ready for supper, and any number of other tasks that I am currently pretending don't need to be done. ;)

Should, should, should.

Makes me think of a Shel Silverstein poem:

Listen to the MUSTN'TS, child,

Listen to the DON'TS

Listen to the SHOULDN'TS

The IMPOSSIBLES, the WON'TS

Listen to the NEVER HAVES

Then listen close to me--

Anything can happen, child,

ANYTHING can be.

Okay, so it mentions shouldn'ts and not shoulds. Still, reminded me just the same.

Back to my shoulds, maybe I'll multitask and use blogger's long picture load time to my advantage. I've got tons to share, so might as well! =)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, time lapse...to Wednesday. Geez. So blogger decided that it just couldn't handle uploading 4 or 5 pictures at once. I have to go through and do it...one...at...a...time. Ugh. I started this on Sunday and here I am just now figuring this out. I'm not sure what has changed, I used to load multiple photos at once, but oh well.

Where to start? Oh yeah, we've had little Alvin and have had so much fun! So much, in fact, that sucker J is extremely relunctant to return the little guy. I refuse to join the Failed Fosters Club on our first try. Meaning: Yes, Alvin is going back to his original foster parents and will hopefully find his forever home real soon. He certainly deserves it! He's a great little dog and we really see all the signs of an awesome family dog in the making in him. He is playful with Bug and learning how to treat him NOT like a fellow puppy (haha), loves to play and cuddle with Paisley, and is extremely people-focused. He aims to please, that's for sure, and with those adorable ears and his snuggle-bum nature, he most often does just that.

His regular foster Mom sent him with this adorable little fleece jacket (just a bit of fabric with little arm holes and then ties under his belly)--so CUTE!


Jeremy calls this shot "the meeting of the minds." ;) Bug was hogging the dog bone and the other two were mighty interested in his plans for their coveted bone.

Last Friday was an absolutely gorgeous day. For MN anyway. ;) J came home early and we headed outside with the crew (minus the cats of course) and the camera.

Bug was rockin' the Farmer Brown look again, only this time without an undershirt. It's a look only a baby can really pull off. =)

Friday night we headed to our dog training facility with Alvin for a puppy playdate. He got beat up by a girl puppy! I guess it was hilarious, but I missed it because J had taken Bug and I over to our trainer's house for a munchkin playdate. ;) Bug got to play with our trainer's daughter Ava who is about 3 and 1/2 months older than him. She's a doll and our trainer Tiffany just loves Bug. And I got wine and pizza out of the deal, so it was all good. Hehe.

Then Saturday came. I thought Grady felt warm first thing in the morning and he just wasn't quite his chipper little self. The weather had taken a turn too and it was drizzly and gloomy out. Bugga ended up going down for an early nap and woke up crying. VERY unlike Bug. It was clear he wasn't feeling good.

We all went in after nap and lounged and played a bit on Bug's bed. The dogs really wanted to just curl up and sleep, but Grady was mostly ready to go.

Not long after getting up and leaving his room though, this was what we had:

A super-snuggly, exhausted-seeming, little guy. We pulled out the ol' thermometer, and sure enough, he was running a fever of 101 degrees. Not major, but for him, pretty big as he had never run a fever prior. The fever ended up coming down by later that afternoon, thankfully, but check out all this drool:

It's a little hard to see now that I look at the picture again, but his chin and neck and chest were shiny with all the saliva running down them and his shirt was pretty soaked too. We think his 12 month molars might be trying to push their way through. Poor guy had a rough weekend and then also ended up with a bit of a cold early this week. He's pretty congested right now.

We're really, really hoping he kicks it before his Memaw and Papaw get here on Friday. They're coming to celebrate his birthday with him and we're really excited! Of course, today, I'm feeling under the weather now too. Hopefully it'll clear out for both of us real soon. And hopefully, J doesn't come down with it too.

Oh, Grady's playgroup has been fun so far. He's gone twice. He's definitely the kind of kid that needs to sit back and take it all in for a good while before he wants to join the fun. The first day it was a good half hour before he moved from the spot I placed him! =) He's the youngest in his little class too, so that makes it interesting. I'm glad to get him around other kids and the families all seem quite nice. It's been a good thing, as Martha would say.

I think that's mostly all for the updates from the Jackson family. Just anxiously awaiting Spring here in MN. ;)

Puppy Breath!

Our new addition:

April Fools! Okay, technically I missed it. Oh well. His name is Alvin, he's just a foster puppy and he's only here til next Tuesday. Puppy-ness...sure spices life up (as if we really needed it!).

In case it occurred to anyone...yes, we run around screaming "Alllvvin!" Like Alvin and the Chipmunks, get it?! ;)

Of course, my mind travels back to last April Fools and a certain joke we played on Memaw and Papaw. Does Ben Dover ring a bell?! =)

Remember not long ago when I was expressing my pleasure at the fact that Bug hadn't outgrown his bed? I may have spoken too soon.

Last week, Bug became more of a beast when it came to bedtime. This was new, and not at all welcome from his Momma and Papa's perspective. So, we thought it might be a good time to try something new. Okay, really J thought so. I was a bit more reluctant to accept change (old habits die hard I guess). We pulled in the guest mattress and what do you know...the little stinker went back to his little angel self at bedtime. I guess he started feeling scrunched in his little baby hammock. Or something, who really knows?! (Don't worry Memaw and Papaw, we're planning on ordering a bed for him and returning the guest mattress to its rightful place real soon.)

Oh, and don't let the picture fool you--Paisley will not be a regular feature for naptimes. That was just yesterday. And probably her last chance to nap with him because less than an hour into his nap, she decided to do her customary stretch-and-shake-out and woke Grady up. Grrrrrr.

In other what's-new-with-Bugga news, we went to his first playgroup yesterday. More on that another time though! I've got some puppy snuggling to do while the little guy naps. =)