Thursday, April 30, 2009

Substitution anyone?

Nearly every Monday, sometimes Sunday or Tuesday, I religiously make my meal plan for the week and complete my grocery run. Occasionally we have leftover items from the previous weeks that can get us through without spending our weekly grocery allowance. This was one of those weeks...and I wanted to share one of my concoctions using some major, not minor, substitutions.

Ruden Meatloaf original recipe (Matt's favorite)

2lbs ground beef, used 2 1/2 lbs leftover from walking tacos last weekend
1/2 cup cracker crumbs, only had graham crackers, so used them
1/2 cup diced onion, also on hand, from walking tacos, even diced already
1 can tomato soup, had 1/2 a can from ham balls, added 1 can of kidney beans
1 large egg, used 2 eggs due to the extra meat/volume of entire dish
*mix ingredients together, place in loaf pans, I normally use a glass 8x8 baking dish, but used my 8x11 to allow for the extra volume, bake uncovered @ 350 for 30 minutes

We gobbled up the meaty casserole before I thought to take a picture:( It tasted great in my opinion and even fed us girls for two more lunches!

Good Times

Life is getting back to normal and I'm loving it!! I've been back to work sporatically for classes, and will be going back "full-time" (in quotes because I technically only work 3 "days" (quotes because I loosely equate a day to a shift, even though I may work 3am-3pm or 7pm-7am)) of every 7...but they're 12 hour shifts! ...whew, was that confusing or what? Anyways, I just wanted to convey that while I've loved my time at home with the kids, I'm really excited to get back on the job. I'm going to be doing only weekend hours in May, so Joey doesn't have to go to daycare, then back to "during the week" hours in June and Matt will be home with the kiddos while I work. As if Mondays weren't hard enough already, this May's Mondays will be espeically challenging as I will be coming home from my third 12 hour night-shift at work, to muddle through the day with Joey at home with me! Yikes!! I may be teetering on the edge of crazy now:) Oh well. Hey, have you seen my beautiful children lately? These are pics of us being silly this week.


Sunday, April 26, 2009

Joseph's Baptism

Today we celebrated Joseph's baptism. Today Joseph answered the call of the Holy Spirit and accepted Christ Jesus into his heart; what a special day. We are thankful to our family for being a part of his baptism and joining us in the celebration. Click here for the rest of the pictures.

Joseph is wearing the same outfit that I was baptized in.


The proud parents


Celebrating at Hickory Park!

"Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved...." -Mark 16:16

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Whack a Vole!

This morning as I was gazing out my front door I noticed a rustling in the grass....VOLES! The rain and the cooler temps brought them out of hiding. They would poke their little heads out their holes and quickly retreat. It reminded me of the game Whack-A-Mole. I attempted to get some pictures of the little critters. Here they are, can you spot them? (If you click on the pictures, you can view them full size)

He's poking his head out to see if the coast is clear.

He was rustling in some dead grass here.

Just a glimpse

We added some peanut butter into one of their "trenches" to see if they have a taste for it. Once we have the appropriate bait, we'll load some traps and whack some voles.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Voles!

The warm weather of spring has certainly brought our grass back to life. However, we noticed that a large patch of our grass was not getting green. Upon further inspection we found ruts dug into our yard and holes in the ground.  This could only mean one thing.......VOLES!! Looks like we'll be investing in some traps. If you have any tips on how to eliminate these pests, please share!




Wednesday, April 22, 2009

11 Weeks

Here are some shots of Joseph at 11 weeks!

Smiley!

Big and Strong!

So serious.

Prom! (1997)

Since it is the prom season, I was prom-pted (har har) to dig out the ol' photo album and take a trip back to Abbey's and my Senior Prom. The theme was "The Sun,the Moon, and Stars" and our after prom theme was "South of the Border." It was a lot of fun and I'm glad that I actually get to say that I went to prom with my wife (she wasn't at the time, we haven't been married THAT long!). Against my better judgement I am going share some pictures from that evening.

The happy couple

Say "Cheese-y"

The Prom Crew

Isn't she lovely?

Yes, I am old enough to go to prom.



Monday, April 20, 2009

April Showers....

This past weekend we traveled to northwest Iowa to participate in a couple wedding showers for Seth & Jenney. One shower was in LeMars on Saturday and the other in Battle Creek on Sunday. It was Joseph's first trip to LeMars and he did very well. I think he is the best traveler of us all! We had a chance to see lots of family which is always a great thing! There was a tropical theme for the Battle Creek shower so that is why you'll see us dressed in our best tropical attire! Click here for the pictures from the weekend.

This is our first family picture with all of us!!

The girls!

Ab & Jen


Wednesday, April 15, 2009

10 Weeks

That's right. Joseph is 10 weeks old. Here are some pictures of him hanging out with Daddy.

10 weeks and looking good!

Daddy, Joseph, and Olivia.

He actually fell asleep in my arms.

Olivia loves to help feed Joe.

So does Sylvia.

Making the Grade


I received Olivia's Spring progress report today and I can't help but share it, I'm so proud! 

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Easter Pics

Here are some pics from Easter and a link to our April pics.

This was our great pine cone hunt adventure!

A sly smile from our little dude.

Olivia in her favorite Easter dress.

This is Sylvia refusing to be in a picture.

The kids in their Easter best!

Click here for more pictures!


Haircuts

Today we took a trip to Des Moines so all of the girls could get their hair cut. It was time for Sylvia to lose some hair because she can't stand having it done. So we went with a style that is low maintenance. After haircuts we did some minor shopping, had lunch and came home.

Olivia loves to have her hair done.

Mom was due for a do.

Sylvia was a very good girl for the stylist.

Here she is with her new-do!

Saturday, April 11, 2009

He Has Risen!

"But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. "Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.'"
-Mark 16:4-7


Happy Easter!

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Tribute

Some time ago, Matt and I began to chronicle some fond memories of my Dad. Today marks the 6 year anniversary of his "heaven day", so what better time to share. For those of you who knew Dad, I hope this brings a smile to your face and stirs you to share some of your own memories of him (as "comments" at the end of this post) with us. For the unfortunate readers who haven't met him yet, hopefully reading this will give you a sense of him and his heart.

Dad’s nickname for Seth was “George” and mine was “Gloria”.

On Sundays mornings, Dad would always be waiting in the driveway, car running, with the occasional honk, as we all trickled out of the house into the car.

On family vacations we usually had an amusement park day. Dad would always ride the roller-coasters with us, repeatedly sometimes if the lines were short, while Mom and Grandma chilled out in a shady spot on ground level.

Dad felt it was very important to teach us how to drive a stick-shift vehicle so he taught me how to drive in his little red Ford Ranger (stick-shift).

Showing his giving and selfless nature, Dad let me drive his little truck to and from school my junior year while he walked, so that I could sleep in.

Dad was the ultimate morning person, dancing and hopping around the house every morning.

Out of the blue or especially if we had a frown or bad attitude, Dad would ask, “Do you want a gut punch?” in his goofiest voice and gesturing his best closed fist, left handed upper cut and fake punch, poke, and tickle us until we laughed.

Dad would always say, “Hmmm, that was a good one” and kind of giggle through his nose.

On any given school night, you could find Dad at the dining room table with Seth and I while we did homework and he’d be grading papers.

After school, Dad would change into comfy clothes, but leave his black dress socks on, so he’d come out wearing pj/flannel pants, t-shirt tucked in, and those black dress socks; what a sight!!!

Every winter, on a snow day or Saturday afternoon, Dad would get out his old racetrack and we’d play for hours, attempting to get our little cars around the figure-eight track without sending them flying off into the air.

Other winter days were spent with Dad helping build elaborate lincoln-log fortresses. It only seemed to be fun when he was building with us.

Lots of fun times playing Yahtzee and Hearts.

Dad took us fishing numerous times even though we weren’t really “outdoorsy” at all.

Dad could fix anything with plywood and/or duct tape.

Dad never threw anything away-this is funny especially after going through the garage last summer and finding all the junk he kept, feeling it had worth and value…he would have used it all too, given enough time!

Dad always had a hanky he was willing to share.

Dad seemed to have the snow cleared from the driveway long before the sun came up.

One year for Christmas, Dad built Seth a Thunder-cat Layer (boy doll house) and me a Barbie House. They each stood about 3 feet high and were the COOLEST!!

Dad got to give me the great news that I’d passed my nursing boards-I remember cheering and crying while I jumped up and down on my bed, Dad on the phone with me until I could calm down enough to talk.

One precious memory is dancing with Dad at our wedding reception, to “Butterfly Kisses”.

We’d ride the bus from Kluckhohn Elementary to the high school and meet Dad in his classroom after school every day. We’d play with a tennis ball and the chalk boards while he finished up his labs and prep for the next day. Sometimes, he took us to the teacher’s lounge and we’d get to share an orange soda (in a glass bottle).

I barely remember this one, but I think when we lived in Anthon still, Dad drove a bus after school and I’d ride next to him, sitting on a pillow up high and to the left of his seat, maybe it was a register or something.

When Dad got his mustang, he made it a surprise so when we came home for Christmas (maybe?), before even going in the house, he opened up the garage door and introduced us to “her”. He was so proud and excited. He told us the whole story about how and why he decided it was about time to have that mustang, how he’d been wanting it for years, and how the price was “just right”. (Dad only got to drive it for a few months...Mom's been enjoying it since then:)

In church, Dad would get very “into” the singing and really belt out the hymns and praise/worship songs, even though he was terribly off key…it was beautiful and always made me smile.

Dad did most of the laundry…very helpful, but it would drive me crazy that he line-dried everything, so my jeans would be stiff as a board and he’d take my little knit shirts along the bottom, stretching them completely out of shape and tacking them upside-down on the line with clothes pins-ha ha!!

Matt's additions: When we were vacationing in Chicago, Seth, Abbey, and I were lingering in a “Hard Rock” store while the others were elsewhere. We ended up missing our bus back to the train station. Keith stayed behind to find us while everyone else went back. He found us and we had to walk all the way back to the train station from downtown Chicago. We had to wait at the train station for what seemed like FOREVER so we could get ‘home’. Keith wasn’t even upset at us, he just made sure we were ok and got back safely.

Shortly after Keith got his Mustang he took Abbey and I out in it so we could drive it. We drove it out on the county roads east of LeMars. Abbey was driving quite “conservatively” and Keith encouraged her to “get on it.” I think she may have bumped it up to 80 mph. I think it was a real thrill for Keith to cut loose in his Mustang, I remember the excited look on his face.

One of my favorite memories was the night I asked Keith and Lola for permission to ask Abbey to marry me. I was about as scared as you could be. I had spent all evening with them, trying to summon up enough courage to ask them until finally they were ready to go to bed and I still hadn’t asked! I ended up asking them and they were a little speechless. After a moment Keith said “A little young don’t ya think?” I’m sure this wasn’t how he had imagined things happening, but he was supportive anyway.


So...what are some of your favorite memories of Mr.Fitch?

9 weeks


Joseph had a great check-up yesterday! He already weighs 13lb. 8oz (90th percentile), and measures 23 1/2" (75th percentile). He received his first round of immunizations and has suffered no major reactions from them:) Dr Jill was very pleased with Joseph's progress and we couldn't be prouder! The last few days have been fun with Joey smiling much more and beginning to "talk" when engaged in direct eye-contact.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

The Quest for the Perfect Pizza

We are quite fortunate here in Ames to have access to dozens of pizza places. Recently we have attempted to try out some of the new ones in town. This weekend we tried out Jeff's Pizza Shop in Campustown.  I was drawn to try this place because the logo reminds me of my favorite pizza from LeMars, Jerry's Pizza (ignore the nay-sayers, Jerry's is awesome.) So anyway.....Jeff's Pizza was good, even though they got our order wrong. It doesn't compare to Jerry's, but I would definitely eat it again! I guess the quest for the perfect pizza continues.....


Jeff's Pizza

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Yes...8 weeks


8 weeks old and growing like a weed, as they say. We've started some "sleep training" here in the Ruden home, so please all pray for a full night's sleep soon! Naps are going well. Joseph falls asleep easily, unswaddled, in his crib about an hour after waking, and sleeps 1-2 hours at a time. We just have to get the night sleep extended a bit. I'm hopeful this week:)


Don't you just LOVE baby "chub"? (obviously I do)


I rearranged the girls' bedroom this morning and it refreshed everyone back to cheerful moods. Olivia even let Sylvia look at a book with her while they listened to it on CD. (she's normally very protective of such activities and finds her sister to be intrusive) I wish I didn't feel so guilty for not reading it to them myself...oh well.