the hard "c" sound

My son likes to walk around saying, "C" "C" as in cold- yeah "C" means cold.  Well it is cold outside, colds seem to be bouncing back and forth between my son and I.  Hubby has steered clear so far.  First a snotty cold, then a fevery cold, now a sore throat...ok maybe they are all connected...I don't know.  Not a doctor.

Speaking of words I need to tally here momentarily my Little Movers growing little vocabulary...

mom
dadda
neah
yeah
hot
cold
eye
bye


I think that is all.  The "more" sign it turning into a bit of a nightmare.  He uses "more" as everything and looks at me pleading with me to understand him-  I ask him everything I can think of and he gets really annoyed with me and just signs "more" even more fervently.  It is kind of funny really-- he is so intense about it.  But I think we probably should work on hungry and thirsty and such.  Also with all the goodies that Christmas brings, he is learning the hard lesson that even when you say please sometime Mom says no.  Wow he is having a hard time with that one-- a little drama in the Teterud house=)!

lots of climbing and chattering=)

I am about to ban titles on posts....can never think of one...

Oddly enough I am relieved that it is Christmas week.  Last week was so crazy busy that I really feel pretty relaxed now.  We had a Christmas party at our house Saturday.  It was relaxing.  Small- not a lot of people showed, but it was still enjoyable.  I decided inviting a slew of people over just doesn't work.  It is too much work to get your house and food ready, and then I think people don't feel as invited because so many people are invited.  I am going for smaller gatherings in the future!

Also there was an article in the paper here about an older man, Byron.  I have known him for a long time.  He was my high school flame(much longer story there)'s neighbor.  He in a wonderful older man and I used to go visit him at his home up until I got pregnant with the Mover.  Pretty much I stopped for a few reasons, but if I am honest with myself it was mostly because I was afraid I would find him dead everytime I went over there.  I hated that.  He never opened the door (he didn't walk really well) and his hearing wasn't awesome so he always said to just walk in.  So for one reason or another I stopped going to see him.  I have thought about it and felt guilty too many times.  I have driven by- never saw a for sale sign.
ANYWAYS- my mom found an article in the paper about him.

Byron Article
It said in the article that he was at a nursing home here in town.  So I went today,  brought  my baby boy.  It took about 10 mins. for him to remember me.  He was very apologetic.  But really what do I expect?  I am a slacker (no visits for a year and a half) and he is 90 years old.  I left with mixed emotions.  I will go back though.  He has no family in town now and I could tell he love the company.  He got a little teary when he thanked me for coming.  He lost his wife probably about 12 years ago now.  He wouldn't say it but I think he is ready to go be with her. 

It was a little surreal for me.  Kind of took me back to a different time in my life.  But good- it felt good- I needed to go.  And I need to go again.  He is "my people" by some weird twist and I am not gonna be a pansy because I don't like nursing homes or because I hate to see him grow so weak.  I wouldn't want to be forgotten before I am gone.  So I won't forget him.

So it is Tuesday.  I ran all over town today.  Little Mover was seriously about to mutiny on the carseat.  I made puppy chow (yum) and in the processes of making a few meals- a one for us and on for a co-worker of the Hubs.  The Mover isn't napping cause he slept in the car a little this morning, but I am believing if he talks in his crib long enough he may doze off=).

So that is my day.  I love Christmas and downhill skiing but I think I could move somewhere warmer.  Just sayin'.

My Hubby

I know it is like "Tribute Week" on Grace's Blog!  But December is a busy month.  My grandpa passed away, it is my hubby's birthday, and our anniversary.  Oh and Christmas :)

Well today is my hubby's birthday.  And I find myself so thankful for him.  I mean if we are honest, we are not always thankful for husbands- sometimes they drive us crazy.  Ok or maybe it is just me? I don't think so:)

But sometimes I see the big picture- the picture God had when he looked at us and confirmed to me- "You go girl- you are going to make a great team!".  I am pretty sure he told me that--or pretty close!  Also Friday is our 5 year anniversary.  We have come so far.  We have confronted a lot, and struggles a lot.  But we have also loved a lot, experienced new things, and grown together.

I am so proud of him. He has finish a Master's Program and a million extra classes help us live well and allow me to say home.  He takes care of the Little Mover.  He does so well with him.  Sometimes I can't help but cry a little when I watch them play.  Little Mover hears the garage door open every night and runs to the door  trying to open it, and cries till my hubby opens the door.  He is a great daddy.

He makes me a better mommy, wife, and person.

Thank you Hubby for getting us through Europe and taking care of the whole Eurorail business ( I was super intimidated).  Thank you for making me try new things- like blue cheese salads and beef wellington and shrimp.  Thanks for trying to bring some order to my chaos.  I know I need it- though I don't like it much.  Thanks for our Christmas tree adventures this year- it is the best tree of my whole life!  Thanks for keeping me on level ground.  Thanks for laughing at the random "insights" I share ( I think I will keep you around;)).  Thanks for making me think and reminding me not to think too much.

I am privileged to share my life with you.  I am blessed.  You are home to me.

You make me laugh.

I love you husband!

My Grandpa

My grandpa- he wasn’t super easy to be around, or easy to get to know.  But for some reason, even when I was young, I was determined to know him.  I loved him as a Grandpa but also I think I had a little of God’s love for him.

It has been 12 years sees he passed away.  So many times in that 12 years I have wished I could talk to him- wished he could meet someone or make me laugh.

He had big hands-my dad has them too.  I loved his big, old hands.

He was always looking for an angle to give me crap.  He loved to argue and I loved to fight back.  I never doubted he loved me.  Even though I am pretty sure he never said it.  His touch was rare and cherished.  This picture always stands out to me because he put his hands on my shoulders.  It meant a lot to me. 

I was sick a lot as a kid (still am really)- my stomach hates me.  I worried all the time.  I would stress out over school and get sick.  My mom and dad were both working then so he would pick me up.  He never made me feel bad for being sick.  I knew he was glad to pick me up- said, “Don’t worry Dr. Hardt will fix you up” or “Are you sure you aren’t faking so you can come over?”. 

His car smelled- he smelled, like oil and sweat and bacon grease.  After he died I had a few things that smelled like him.  I kept them for a long time.  It was sad when the smell was gone.

He loved Rummy- he never let me win, and I never won.  He made the most AMAZING scrambled eggs- probably horrible for you but AMAZING.  I try to recreate them but can’t. 

He had green cups with handles.  He would make hot cocoa for the kids and we would always have it in those cups. 

He wouldn’t kill big bugs at The Lake house (and let me tell you there were a lot!) He always said they weren’t hurting anybody. I didn’t agree…I think I lost too much sleep thinking about the big creepy bugs. 

He was always busy doing something, collecting cans- fiddling around.  It was hard when he got weak- hard to see him stop being able to mow the lawn or walk down to The Lake from the lake house. 

 

He was a collector- I don’t mean that like collecting stamps- I mean collecting EVERYTHING!  When he died and we helped clean out the house, I was so frustrated at him!  Who needs 12 bottles of bleach …there was a car- buried in one of the garages.  I had never even seen it before!  Out of control! 

He always said he wanted to make it till his 80^th birthday and he did.  Not by much but he did.

I remember telling him I want him to be at my wedding.  He laughed and told me I better hurry up.  I was still in high school.  I was 17 when he passed away.

I remember when I found out he died.  I remember like it was yesterday.  My mom, dad, and I had been talking about  grandpa.  The phone rang.  I saw on caller id that it was my Aunt Adair.  I knew.  I couldn’t answer.  I made my dad answer.  I still remember the sound my dad made on the phone.  Don’t think I could explain it, but it was heartbreaking.

I wish he could have met my husband and my little boy.  I wish I could call him sometimes, not that he really liked to answer the phone.

I have been thinking the last few days and I could add a lot to this, but I realize  the depth of a loved one just can't all fit in a blog post so I will leave it at that.  A little piece of my grandpa.

Ruh and um Stuff

So this video is kind of long but is shows his verbal skills at this point.(Ok i put a different one..it was too long and wouldn't load)  Sometimes I worry he isn't talking enough for a 17 month old but then my sis reminded me I have worried about a lot of stuff that just happened and I should chill/  She is right.  It is Thursday.  I think I am going to go with my sister to this little store Holiday Hop thing...don't know how to explain that but I think it will be fun- little girl time!

We watched some show last night about child abductions...I couldn't sleep-  I was tempted to go sleep on the floor in The Movers room but I knew it would be uncomfortable=). 

We went swimming at the rec center today---I think I need to get him a life jacket- he figured out that he can walk in the water (not on the water- no miracle today=)) Be was out of control and kept getting his face in the water.  Pooped him out- pooped me out chasing him!

Does anyone else ever want to take off their arms to sleep?  Not in a bloody gross way- sometimes I just feel like my shoulders are in the way and I can't get comfortable (random- I know)  but I think about these things when I can't sleep.  I also wish they had delivery services for weird things like stamps-- today we ran all over and then got home and crap I forgot to get stamps and my Stella and Dot invites for a party next week! Wouldn't it be great if I could just call someone and they go pick them up?

Today my son was bucking the whole "being strapped into his carseat" (not a fan lately) and he arched back and grabbed the seam of the cloth on the ceiling of the car and pulled!  Oh yeah little felty weird stuff falling down--material crinkling--I can still see it in slow motion!  "Noooo" I yelled-  yeah it stopped him in his tracks I think I scared him so bad he calmed down!  I got in my seat and had to laugh- really- really? Buddy isn't that a little extreme- but that is my son- a little extreme.  Laugh or cry- I will laugh today-- and realize I will have to sell my car REALLY cheap someday if he keeps this up!