eli the gnome

Isn't he the cutest thing you ever did see?

And his mischievous cousin Asher, too!

nursery teaser

I'm that lame friends that promised to post nursery pics a while back. (Awhile is an understatement, yes.) I'm also the lame mom who had her baby two months ago and still doesn't have the nursery done.

I know. I know.

It's not my fault. It's this pesky quilt. It's refusing to cooperate. My goal is to finish it this weekend. And maybe move around those pictures I've been thinking about.

But since I figured there'd be a blogsphere coup if I didn't post something soon... (yes, I've been getting your not-so-subtle hints) here are some teasers to leave you with for the weekend.





I promise I'll have real pictures up by next Friday. But if I don't blog between now and then, pray for me because it's probably because I'm busy calling my quilt all sorts of bad names.

all in the family

Remember that bingo picture?

And remember that really cute kid of mine?
Think we're related?

reunion

It's been a month.

And now he's home.

I hope you all have a delightful weekend, too.

cloth diapering

Yes, I'm one of those weirdos that has decided to go old school, but in a new school way.

I'm using cloth diapers.

And I love it!

This ain't your mom's trifolds, either. If you ever want to know more, I'd be more than happy to give you an ear full. But not in a preachy way. I hardly think everyone needs to be doing this. But I say, why not save you hours of research if I've already done it?

My favorite diaper story to date is about my dear friend Jennifer. She was kind enough to hold Eli (actually, I think she was about to pry him out of my arms had I not offered) while I was in a long meeting. In her typical care-free style she popped over after a little bit and grabbed my diaper bag so she could change his stink. I immediately explained the "cloth" situation and stood up to change him myself. But this is care-free Jenn! She said, "No problem."

Except there sorta was. Because I'd forgotten to pack another diaper for him. (Such a rookie move.) She searched the bag, but to no avail. Gratefully Jenn is a seasoned veteran of two boys herself and knows how to be inventive when necessary. She ingeniously washed the outer layer and stuffed it with one of my burp cloths. Brilliant and yet so obvious.

It didn't phase her a bit. I, however, couldn't stop apologizing. And wondering... if I was in the same predicament, would I have been as resourceful? I decided no, I wouldn't. Eli would be wearing a toga made of toilet paper.

So many of people have asked why I'm doing this. I don't have a trendy answer. It's not because of the environment, though that was a little bit of the influence. I occasionally have nightmares of a landfill in India filled with Eli's poo. It's not because I'm afraid of harsh chemicals on my baby's bum. Although we have gratefully had no diaper rash issues since switching over.

Perhaps pathetically, it's mostly about the money. I'm estimating that we'll save about $700 over the life of Eli. Not to mention that I should be able to reuse them for the next kid. Maybe saving another $1200? Not a bad trade off, I say.

I decided to do this after watching my good friend Becky tackle cloth diapers 3 years ago. She made it look effortless. I watched and learned and am finding that it really isn't as bad as most people think, even with my on-the-go lifestyle. (As I said, if you want to know more, I'll give you the run-down. Just shoot me an email.)

I'm glad I'm doing it. Yes, it means I do more laundry. And occasionally it's a bit messy. But overall I think it's great and am glad I wasn't intimidated past the point of trying. One thing I will mention, though - since cloth diapers have more material than disposable, some of his newborn pants and onesies don't fit anymore.
What can I say? Baby's got back.

my bff: when we weren't eating...

Lest you think we forgot about Eli, I'd like to document that we did more than just eat. This is Kerri helping me shop. I'm a sling girl. I find carriers pesky and cumbersome. But how do you shop for clothes when you've got a kid wrapped around you? Well, you bring a friend along to do the hard work. And for opinions, of course! She rightfully talked me into that orange number from Banana Republic. And gratefully kept me from making some bad decisions that I likely would have purchased without her good sense.

Why would I even mention shopping? Because I was thrilled to finally fit into normal-sized clothes again (more or less). And I haven't been clothes shopping in like nine months. I had an itch.

But perhaps the most memorable outing was Kerri's very first rodeo. She got all decked out, belt buckle and all, and headed with my friends and I to experience Texas. There was barrel-racing, kids' mutton-riding, calf-tying, bull-riding (for real!), and even motocross-jumping. (Yes, that last one was random. I didn't see it coming either.)

Little known fact: It was my first rodeo, too. That became very evident when the first calf was roped and instead of cheering like everyone else, I cringed. The poor things. Over and over again some poor calf was slammed to the ground and then it would pop up just to do it again. I'm no animal rights activist, but it just seems wrong. I was assured by everyone around me that I should "think of it as their job, and be grateful. Because if they weren't in the rodeo, they would probably be on your plate." Um, that didn't make me feel any better.

poor baby cows...

As for Eli and his first rodeo? Well, he didn't care for it much, either. Refusing to drink from his bottle, he became quite unruly and I was forced to find a dark corner to nurse. Not easy in a stadium, but I can now attest that it can be done. And I didn't miss the bull-riding, either! (Which, oddly, I was totally ok with.)
Afterwards we made a Sonic run and I drove Kerri into the mountains to see the city lights. This is our view of Mexico on any given evening. Sometimes I'm still amazed at how close we live to the border.
And the rest of the time? We just chilled at the house. It was the perfect week with a best friend. Thanks, Kerri. You're the best bud around.

vote for Christian!

Updated: Sadly Christian did not win. We suspected it might be "Lisa" who had a killer video of her own. Pesky Lisa. Well, I hope she enjoys Oregon. Thank you for your help!

We need your help. In between all the Mexican indigestion, Kerri and I were hard at work on a video. As a surprise for her husband, Kerri entered Christian in a contest that would win him a trip to Oregon to learn how to make better cheese. Because to say Christian likes cheese would be an understatement. And yes, he does make his own cheese. (I didn't even know you could do that.)

His video is on YouTube and we need you to give it 5 stars and leave wonderful comments about how badly you think he'd be the best person for the win. The judges will ultimately be the ones to decide, but if we utilize the power of social media and prove he's popular, than it can't hurt, right?

So click HERE and tell us what you think!

Oh, and he likes goats, too.

my bff: the food edition

Few people in the world have a best friend as cool as mine. She told me months ago that she wanted to come out and help me with the baby when Jim was gone. And she did! For a whole week!

So what did you do while she was here? In one word, we ATE!

Kerri loves Mexican Food.

When she wasn't eating it, she was talking about it. (In fact, really, that might have been the real reason she came to El Paso.) State College, PA has exactly one Mexican restaurant. El Paso has a kazillion. And I'm not exaggerating. At least one every 10 feet. Of course, we only had time to hit up 5 of them.

And Kerri even came prepared, looking on all of her foodie websites and blogs to find out where the hot spots were. (I didn't even know El Paso was cool enough to have hot spots. It was an education for me, too.)

• Directly from the airport I took her to Carlos & Mickeys. It is the place to take out-of-towners around here. The food is authentic, but I think it's the Texas-sized margaritas that draw the crowds. It was my first chance to have one of my own since being pregnant. But my pomegranate margarita was so s-t-r-o-n-g, I could only enjoy one quarter of it. Kerri's strawberry one was right on, though.
• Next up was the Little Diner. Don't be fooled by it's name. Apparently they are known for their killer gorditas. I'd never had one before but am now a big fan. Of course, I had to steal one of Kerri's since I ordered my ever-safe taco plate. I did introduce Kerri to horchata. It's a rice-milk beverage that to me tastes like chai. It's not my favorite but Jim loves it so I figured Kerri should have a try.
• Then we hit up L&J's. Delicious! It started back in the day as a bootlegging joint. And when we walked in the front door and were greeted by a dark bar, it kinda made sense. But there's a small restaurant in the back with a Mexican Combination Plate that let Kerri try one of everything. And my tacos were fantastic. The best I've had in El Paso so far.
• La Casita was a bit of a disappointment. Besides feeling a little dingy inside and out, the waiter was clueless. My special-of-the-day steak tacos were out of this world. But Kerri's plate was so flavorless, she didn't even eat half of it. I won't be back.
• And I've saved the best for last... Ranch Market! This place is a mecca of Mexican comida. It's actually a grocery store that had a little bit of everything else, to include a juice bar, a huge bakery, and a food court that rivals Wegmans. We spent a couple hours here. Yes, at a grocery store. I got some tacos, Kerri tried their horchata, her first tamale, salsa verde, mole sauce, and something chicken. Not to mention that we both walked out with a stack of fresh tortillas the nice senora handed us hot off the press. (It should be said that these were the same stack of tortillas that tipped Kerri's luggage past the overweight mark.)

food!

Kerri's first horchata.

I small taste of Ranch Market. It was amazing!

Enjoying my pig cookie from the Mexican bakery.

More baked goodness.

It was such a good time. There's more to say, and more pictures to share, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow for the second installment.

God bless family

This post is a shout-out to Mom & Dad, Scott and Crystal, Rick & Caroline. Of course, they will now forever be known as Nana & Pop, Aunt & Uncle, Grammy & Granddad.

It's funny how nine months and a day of pain can change so much.

Not to mention how the once proudly independent and extremely capable Karen can turn into a sleep-deprived, insecure mess of hormones, second-guessing herself at every turn... Thank God for people who love me despite myself.

Nana & Pop

My mom came early intending to help out before and after Eli arrived. Only he was taking forever so she had to extend her stay or else she would have almost missed him. (She even got to witness the whole Muppets episode.) We had a great time anticipating his arrival to include shopping, a pedicure, swimming, catching a movie, and all around being girls. Unfortunately this meant that she was only able to overlap with Eli a few days instead of the hoped-for few weeks. Dad flew in for the weekend and barely let anyone else hold Eli the entire time. When we met him at the airport, he was smitten from the start and waited way too many minutes to kiss my mom because he was, um, distracted by a cute little bundle of joy. I think he's still living that down.

My mom was a huge help around the house. It was because of her I discovered my hidden love language: if you clean my kitchen then I am the happiest, most grateful girl in the world, no matter how few hours of sleep I've gotten. She kept things spic-and-span which made my view from the couch delightfully stress-free. Thanks, mom!

Aunt Crystal & Uncle Scott

I love that Scott and Crystal (of Circus fame) flew 2000 miles just to meet the newest member of the family. Since they came kid-less, it was a rare treat to hang as just adults. And what do adults do when the children are gone? They play. More specifically, they play Wii. Rock Band was a weekend favorite. Who knew my brother had such a gifting at the drums? And as it turns out, I still have the middle-school touch and clobbered Scott time after time at Dr. Mario. (You can't deny it, Scott. You know it's true.) Lest you think Eli was forgotten in the shuffle... he was more than content to watch us compete. Mostly because it meant we'd finally put the camera down and his eyes had a rest from all the props and flashing.

Caroline & Rick

By the time Rick and Caroline arrived, I was feeling better physically, and a little more confident in my mothering. Unfortunately Eli was entering his fussy stage, and Jim had returned back to work. Both left me feeling overwhelmed at times. But that made having extra hands around that much more appreciated. Caroline was a great help, especially into the late hours. She did her fair share of cleaning my kitchen, too. (Seriously, I love these people!) During the day, we dared venture out into the world again and enjoyed some shopping and eating out. When we weren't doing that, we watched many of Rick's favorites: football, The Cosby Show and Walker Texas Ranger. The latter only seemed appropriate since we now share residency with Chuck Norris in his favorite state, and all.

Gratefully, they we here after Jim left for a month so I wasn't by myself. But after their two week visit, they had to go back to east coast along with the rest of them. It was a wonderful month with family. And I'm not just typing that because I know all of the above read my blog. Many here warned against having too much family come and the added stresses that could bring when so much change was about. In hindsight, though, I can't say there's really too much I would have done differently. The help was great, and so was the company.

I am truly blessed with a wonderful family, both my own and the one I got to marry into. Besides, I haven't done the dishes for six weeks. Or made dinner for that matter.

Anyone who can put off reality for a month or two is blessed indeed.

saying goodbye

It's been a busy few weeks at the Grube household. We've had friends and family coming and going. Unfortunately, included in that was Jim. He left on the 5th for a month of training in California. During his Army career we've said goodbye many times, but this time it was a little different. I think his heart is a little closer to home now.
This was taken during the last few minutes we had with him. Eli doesn't look particularly pleased either. We left Jim's office - he walked in one direction, and we drove off in another. It's never fun to say goodbye, but I think I might have the formula down. These are my tricks that make being an Army wife a little easier on days like this:

1. I go ahead and let myself shed those tears. There's nothing wrong with being sad. I give myself a day to mope. But then the next day I pull myself up by the bootstraps. If I mope too long, well, I'm just not fun to be around. And frankly, I'm gonna need some friends.
2. On the drive home, I don't turn on the radio. I let silence be my friend. No reason, in particular. It just seems irrelevant to have music on to a) cheer me up since I'm not in a good mood and don't want to be, and b) non-cheerful music would just be stupid.
   
3. To counteract those tears, I hit up Starbucks. And none of this low-fat soy crap either. Bring on the calories. Nothing like wallowing in a grande coffee Frappuccino. Yum and a half.
4. I think alot about Romans 8:28, "And we know that in all things God works for the GOOD of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." I've been called. Check. I love the Lord. Check. Then it's all good! (Chew on that for a while. It's good for the soul.)
   
5. And lastly, I have something fun planned around the corner.
   

In this case I had Jim's parents back at the house to cheer me up. I didn't even need a full day to mope. Sure, I miss him a lot, but that's not the same as moping. One is life. The other is just dramatic. Also, it's only a month, and in Army time, that's like a blink. The real test will be later this fall when Jim leaves for a year.

Yuck. I don't even want to think about it.

So I won't.

That's my other coping mechanism. If I don't think about it, it won't happen, right?

In the meantime, Eli has been great company. Along with a host of others. More on that later. Right now I'm thinking about Jim and how he'll be home in two weeks.

Man, I'm ready for him to be home. It just seems right that our little family should be together... but in the meantime, it's all good.