Bath Art

Tonight's bath was a BLAST!

My children LOVE the bath. Even Titan seems to understand what is going on when we start the bathtub. He starts kicking his legs like crazy. The bath is a sanctuary in our house. It means that everyone is in one place, usually happy, getting clean and enjoying each other. We tend to save our bath nights for the nights that Daddy is gone. It is something fun to do and takes up usually an hour! I love it, they love it, everyone wins.

My children love to play with shaving cream in the tub. They have been painting their toys with shaving cream lately so tonight I grabbed the paint brushes and the food coloring. The result was pure genius....The colors were a lot bolder in person.This intense concentration lasted a long time. They painted everything and so carefully and so quietly. It was such a fun activity. I had fun mixing the colors for them and it was fun to watch their faces as a little drop turned a whole cup of shaving cream a bright color.As I was mixing up the first cup of "paint" I got a little nervous. I got a little dot of food coloring on my fingers and it quickly stained. At that point I was in too deep to turn back but I keep expecting them to start turning colors. They didn't turn into rainbows but my fingers are still dyed. So, I'm running into a bathtub dilemma.

My 4 kids will not fit in the bathtub. Titan is outgrowing his little tub. I usually just place it outside of the big tub with towels underneath it to catch the water splashing out. My problem is that T is not quite ready to roll with the big kids, nor is there room for him in the already crowded tub, and I LOVE having them all bathe together. Like I said earlier, it is such a wonderful hour in the evenings so WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WHEN TITAN OUT GROWS HIS LITTLE TUB????

I realize that at some point Myla will need to stop bathing with the boys and Quinn could start taking a shower but I don't want to give up bath time.
Isn't this cool? So much fun. There was one downfall with food coloring in the bath, look at the water...
I'm not exactly sure if they got clean but they had a blast. Totally recommend this! We will for sure do this again, fun is way more important that getting clean! I'm one blessed momma!

Happy Tongue

"Happy Tongue" is what we say when Titan likes something that he is eating. His tongue, like any five month old, goes crazy with new delicious foods. My big kids laugh and then whenever they like something that I have made them Quinn will say that they have, "Happy tongues."

Today at lunch there were happy tongues all around. We are working on food with Titan. By looking at how much food is on his bib and body you would guess that I'm an amateur at feeding babies. You would think that being my 4th baby that I have fed baby food to that I would be a pro. That however is not the case and on most days I strip him down or just have him in his onesie and attempt to get something to stay in his mouth. I do however hang on to the hope that someday, not wishing time would go any faster than it already does, I will be able to keep most of the food that I feed him in his mouth.

Regardless of the mess, he seems to enjoy it. He tried sweet potatoes today. I think that orange might be his color.So, I'm not going to apologize anymore for the massive amounts of pictures that I put on every post. I love my kids and my camera captures so many sweet moments. Any mom or mom to be, GET A GOOD, FAST TAKING CAMERA. You won't regret capturing all those precious moments and faces. I take around 600 pictures a month, but only save around 300 on my computer each month. Oh, how I love the little moments.I will say that with each child I feel like I have learn what foods to start them with and that I need to keep trying each food and different healthy, delicious ideas to try with little ones. Oh he melts my heart.Mess maker.My big kids enjoyed a turkey and pepperjack panini. We Rude's are quite fond of hot sandwiches. A simple sandwich often times tastes so much better hot. Plus when you "smash" the sandwich and make it into a panini as Dan would say, it is desired by all in our house!I have no idea what to do with this pretty girl's hair! If we are going to church or have a big, busy day, I will wet it and it curls right up. But probably half the days I just let it go...And this is what you get. Oh my lanta. She is crazy!Loving their panini sandwiches.And Titan ended with a baby cookie. Oh he is sweet.I love happy tongues, orange noses and my sweet babies.

Call me Betty

FOR THIS WEEK ONLY you can call me Betty Crocker. I do not want this name carrying over to next week due to the large amounts of pressure that it puts on my cooking skills (or lack there of).

I had a fabulous week in the kitchen! I tried tw0 new recipes, one delicious previously made recipe and a smoothie that I think has potential. I must say that each one AMAZING!

I started the successful week with my mom's lasagna (recipe below). We were having friends over for dinner and the last time we invited them for dinner I made an awful lasagna so I felt the need to redeem myself! And if I do say so myself, I DID! If anyone could screw up my momma's fabulous lasagna it would be me. I took a chance and even made an extra to freeze for future dinners. It did not disappoint and it boosted my confidence in the kitchen for the rest of the week!

Wednesday night came and I took another chance on a new recipe. I discovered it on one of my favorite blogs that I follow Iowa Girl Eats. She put a link to this recipe. Taco Salad Dippers. Well, one thing that is a guarantee that my children will eat is tacos so I decided to spin it a little and make taco salad dippers. Dan refers to it as taco chili. The BEST part about this recipe is that my children loved it! Let me repeat that, MY CHILDREN LOVED IT! It is delicious, healthy, simple. We didn't even bring out the chips and they just ate it with a spoon like chili. I'm not kidding it was so great. I used lean ground turkey and brown rice..... ohh my mouth is watering just thinking of it!

Taco Salad Dippers Recipe is HERE Let me warn you, it makes a lot! It is GREAT leftover, and that is saying something because I usually do not like leftovers. I even put a whole tupperware in the freezer (recommended on the site). I'm sensing a trend... my freezer is stocked with delicious food. Now I just need to cross a deep freeze off my want list and I can stock up even more fabulous meals!

I finished off my week with Chicken Lettuce Wraps. I have made these before and was so happy with them. My memory did not disappoint. They were once again amazing. Dan licked the pan clean!

And right now I am sipping a Green Monster Spinach Smoothie from once again, Iowa Girl Eats. I think with a little tweaking my kids would really enjoy it. It could be a great way to get some vegetables into my fruit loving children. It calls for 4 cups of spinach. I'm not sure if the bright green color would excite them or scare them off. I'm willing to try anything to get some veggies into them. I'll keep you posted if they fall for it. I might have to make it without them looking!

And since I didn't take any pictures of us indulging in these fabulous foods, you are forced to look at many many pictures of the worlds sweetest baby munching on the worlds sweetest toes...Now I should add computers to the list of things that I am not good at. This picture is flipped in my photo folder but when I upload it to the blog it flips back.... hmmmmm. If only my dad lived close by!Really getting that whole foot in his mouth!I love the many faces!Titan, like the rest of the Wee Rudes is happiest with the least amount of clothing on as possible. So often times when changing him I will leave his legs free and his toes available for munching on for a little while. The result is smiles all around. I call them "free spirits." It must be in their blood!

Momma's Lasagna
1 1/2 # sausage and or beef (I uses a mixture)

1 clove garlic minced

1 Tbsp minced parsley

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp basil
1 Tbsp oregano

3 (6oz) cans tomato paste

28 oz can tomatoes (I use petite diced)

3 C cottage cheese or 32 oz ricotta cheese
2 eggs
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp minced parsley
1/2 C Parmesan cheese (grated, not shredded)

1 lb or sliced or shredded mozzarella cheese

1 package of lasagna noodles

Brown meat; remove fat. Add next 7 ingredients; simmer 1 hour., stirring occasionally. The sauce is very thick.

combine next 6 ingredients ( not noodles or mozzarella cheese). Spoon about 1/2 C of meat mixture on bottom of pan; cover with noodles. Spread 1/3 of the cheese mixture, 1/3 of the Mozzarella cheese and 1/3 of meat mixture over noodles. Repeat 3 times. Sprinkle with oregano. Pour about 1/2 cup of water into the corners of the pan to insure enough moisture to cook the noodles. Cover and refrigerate or bake immediately at 375*. If cooking right away, only takes about 40 minutes. If from a cold state, more than one hour. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting.

So pleased with the many sweet successes of my week. I really get excited when I make something that every enjoys and it is good and good for you. Dan leaves tomorrow for a week in Florida for a speaking conference so yogurt, eggs and fruit will be on the menu. I don't want anyone getting used to this delicious eating! Thankful for these great recipes and so thankful for the mouths that they feed!

January???

After running to Sam's Club this morning we enjoyed a typical January 60 degree day.... Ummmm wait a second, I don't think in my 26 years of living have I ever experienced a 60 degree January day.

It was PERFECT! I think that every day in January should be 60 degrees and sunny. In the sun I actually felt warm.

It was exactly what we needed. My kids enjoyed running around outside in their boots and sweatshirts. Quinn asked several times to get our pool out and, "you could bring some warm water from inside and put it in the pool." I'm pretty sure that had I agreed, they would have excitedly ripped off their clothes and jumped in the pool. I did however say no, so we settled for bikes, scooters, playing catch and bubbles. Rex did try and convince me to blow up the ducky pool toy...Titan LOVED being outside. Aunt Julia joined us for some play time! She just graduated in December so is in the interviewing process for jobs right now. We love the extra Auntie time! I would for sure take more days like this throughout the winter. My kids loved every minute of being able to play with their outdoor toys. The fresh air is good for everyone! Tomorrows forecast, only 50s. I suppose I'll take 50s in January too! Thankful for today!

Quiet....

In most cases quiet around our house is a sweet thing.
There is one exception.....
When Myla is awake and quiet it for sure means that she is up to NO GOOD!
Myla is our little social butterfly, constantly talking, directing, singing, shrieking, etc. BUT if she suddenly gets quiet and is not in your sight you better find her as soon as possible!
She LOVES lipgloss, chapstick, lotion, hand sanitizer, pens, anything in my purse basically. The other day I found her literally bathing herself in hand sanitizer in the middle of the kitchen, I had left my purse on the floor after our morning out. When I asked her what she was doing she responded, "washing my body".... Obviously! She is very quick to put things back once I ask her to but she just loves to be mischievous.
Well last night she took things to a whole different level.
I had been up late talking to my sister-in- law and roommate Julia (great time, totally worth staying up late) so when I went to bed around midnight I was exhausted. Dan got home a little later and went to bed. He said that Myla woke up the first time at 12:30. It is not unusual for Myla to wake up crying every couple of nights. Well apparently she woke up several times. I however must have been in deep sleep! Then at 3 am Dan said that he heard something. He got up and she was in our bathroom. I always leave the shower light on for Dan when he is out late and he had forgotten to turn it off. So Myla walked into a fairly lit bathroom and began playing with all my makeup and lipgloss. She seems to think that the perfect time to get dolled up is at 3am so she seized the opportunity. I toke her to bed after that and I didn't sleep very soundly the rest of the night, just listening for her little feet.

Like I've said before, she keeps us on our toes.
I wouldn't change a thing about her though. She's my girl!

5 Months

5 Months and SITTING!!!!!!

I have never had a strong baby before. I find myself looking back through the blog to see when my other kids rolled over, sat, etc. But Holy Smokes.... Titan keeps blowing my mind with his physical abilities. It seems like he came out of the womb ready to be a Rude and keep up with his siblings

I LOVE the sitting stage. It's that fabulous place between little baby who is unhappy when you put them down and toddler who just wants to move around. All my children seem happier and more content once they learn to sit. All of the sudden they become a little less dependent on you to make sure they can see what's going on and they can join in the fun a little more.

Now when I say that he is sitting I don't mean that I could put him on a cement driveway and walk away. I can however sit him on our carpet with some toys and pillows around, just in case, and walk away.
He continues to be my beautiful calm in my beautifully chaotic house. He still adores his momma, and the adoration is mutual. He loves to hold onto my hair. It kind of funny, when I pick him up he almost always grabs a handful of my hair and hangs on tight the whole time that I'm holding him.And this is why there are pillows around.... going down.A little help please!Back up and playing.Today while cleaning up from lunch I brought Titan into the kitchen with me, I had to set him down for a minute. I probably should not have left him in such a vulnerable position because when I turned around this is what I saw. He was not phased one bit by the fact that his much bigger brother was laying on top of him. Since no harm was being done I thought it necessary to snap a quick picture. I have a feeling that as soon as he is able to move Titan will begin joining in the wrestling. He lights up when he hears his siblings voices and loves when they get up in his face. I always laugh to myself when I think about how relaxed I am with Titan. If a friends kid got all up in Quinton's face the way that my kids get all up in Titan's face I would have freaked out and I think that Quinn would have freaked out. Titan on the other hand has never known life without someone in his face. So when Rex kindly lays his body on top of his it is just normal life for him. Basically he is a tough guy already!As always time is flying by way too fast. Our littlest stud is irreplaceable in our family and the perfect 4th child. I always love learning more about his personality as he grows and changes. We are still totally smitten with Titan.