Noah is 2!!!

Today is our little Noah's second birthday! He seems to get bigger and more independent every day, so I enjoy looking back on his first full day of life in our family. The enjoyable thing about remembering an infant is that a mommy can always remember them as being so happy. Perfect is the only word to describe those first few moments of life.



Today, Noah is an independent, rough n' tumble, and sometimes bossy little boy. One moment he will walk up to us and say "I lub lou," shrug his shoulders and showers us with smiles. But when he gets upset, a different side comes out. His face will literally turn red, clenches his fists, and hollers "DONE!" Either way, he is our special little guy, very much alike his brothers and very much his own person.



We love everything about Noah Jeremy Rigby. Happy Birthday, Beep-Beep!

Afghans and More...

I have been busy making special afghans for some very extraordinary people in my life. It is a hobby/craft that I both enjoy immensely and take very seriously.

So, today, I present my two newest afghan additions to the world, via blogger...



This light, bright, and cozy afghan was hand made with love for a wonderful woman. It is a surprise afghan, so I can't give away the name of the recipient yet, but I sure hope she will love it and use it daily.



Pint-sized and sweet, this afghan is for a future addition to the Hope/Hatch family, second child to Jessica and Travis Hatch, mine and Jeremy's neice and nephew. He still has a few months until his due day, but we are anxiously awaiting his arrival. So, happy (way-early) birthday, little Felix Norman Hatch. We love you already.

On a completely unrelated note, my Eric is such a sweet, smart, active little boy, I couldn't help but post this picture of him.



A true Bronco Football fan.

A Bronco Game Day in the Rigby House

Admittedly, I haven't always been a huge fan of football, but in this house of boys, I have learned to ask questions. Sometimes many, many questions. (Like the time this weekend when I turned to Jeremy and said "Kellen hasn't thrown an interception yet, right?" and received a cursed look, and moments later was horrified when Moore was picked off for the first time in his college career. P.S. Sorry, Kellen.) It has been a long road, but as long as Boise State is around to teach me, I'm a willing learner.

We have a special arrangement here on Bronco Game Days. Whether it is Saturday, Wednesday, or Thursday, we know that when the Broncos come running out of that helmet, we will be in for a show.

I fix the good-eats, while Jeremy and the boys warm up outside, Jeremy as QB and Eric as "the playmaker", Timo gets the honor of being a dual player, defense and butterfly catcher.

In the kitchen, I busily get the food ready for kick off. Cheese balls, jalepeno poppers, shrimp, chips and dips, and my weekend specialty Buffalo Wings. We start eating at kickoff and (depending on how the game is being played out) we either it really fast or are too nervous to eat anything...



This past Saturday, we played a huge game! At the notoriously loud Autzen Stadium against the Oregon Ducks. Going into the game as underdogs, the players had a huge point to prove, and prove it they did!

We blew the Ducks out of the water in the first half 24 to 6, and in the second half stayed ahead of them for the win. This game was full of big hits and even bigger hurts. Boise State playmaker #19, Vinny Perretta took a huge hit while bringing down a huge catch, landing on his shoulder and laying motionless for a few moments. I was near tears as the TV station took a commercial break... and when they returned he was thankfully up, rattled but okay.



These players may not know it now, but we're buddies. Life-long buddies... not in some weird stalker kind of way, just a friendly, I'll follow you closely kind of way...

And just a note for all the upcoming BSU opponents...



Move out of the way, it's Bronco Nation coming through!

Noah's upcoming birthday

You may be able to tell that my two middle babies are spending the week at JoJo's house in Wendell, Idaho. Don't get me wrong, a break is always great and needed (especially in the last few weeks of my college courses) but I miss them like crazy...

Two and a half years ago, we celebrated our little Timo's 2nd birthday. Now, as we are only 10 days away from happily and heartily wishing a very happy 2nd birthday to Noah, I think back on how small Timo was. We were lucky enough to be attending the very special wedding of Neice Jessica to Nephew Travis in Tacoma, Washington. After the ceremony, we spent a night with Jeremy's wonderful and generous Uncle Duane and Aunt Pam. They helped us celebrate Timo's big boy birthday with cake, ice cream, more cake, and well, you get the picture. We were all stuffed.



It is so strange to look back on these pictures now, when Timo is so big and adventurous. Every few months, he seems to have a growth spurt and then one morning I wake up and see him in a totally new way. Now, he is able to ride a big boy bike with no training wheels, and he wakes me up every morning with hugs and kisses (and then, "Mommy, can we have some cereal?") Timo is a loving, generous, spunky little ball of fun and giggles. We love him so super much.


Especially when looking at old pictures, the strangest feeling comes over me. I realize that Noah will be turning 2 in just over a week and in a blink of an eye will be ready for kindergarten to start. It's a constant reminder to play with them now while we are their most important friends.



P.S. I have included a picture of our wonderful beautiful JoJo for reference.

Cow + Heart = Yummy!

Today, Jeremy, Timo, Eric and I all tried a brand new menu item. Cow's Heart.
It was surprisingly (hearty?) good. I know, this is turning into a regular thing with blogging about our food adventures. But I take my food very, very seriously. I enjoy eating. I love thinking about my next meal. I ponder spices and mixing different textures for the next taste explosion.
The only different between eating a rump roast and the heart is psychological. With the first few bites I put in my mouth, I thought "Wow, I'm eating a COW'S HEART!" But truthfully, it wasn't bad at all.

You may be asking what prompted Jeremy and I to experiment and try different foods. Well, my little explorer friends, it began with a TV show (Bizaar Foods with Andrew Zimern.) This daring dude travels all over the world eating all sorts of weird things. Some things are still too crazy for me, but we thought "If he can do it, so can we." The internet is amazing at giving tips at cooking and we just throw caution to the wind and are in for a ride...

Next up? Cow's Tongue or maybe Pork Tripe? I don't know, that's what makes it an adventure.

A few new items of fun this week

Sunday night, Jeremy, the boys and I all tried a brand new item for dinner. Straight from the Rigby kitchen. It was wild and crazy. We bought 4 little baby octopus from our Fred Meyer store and decided to figure out how to cook them up. The internet is the most awesome invention ever! We decided on a simple yet delicious sounding recipe and gathered our ingredients. Throwing the octopus into the pan was a frightening experience for me... they seemed to come alive and were stretching and wriggling all over the place. So, we sat down to eat as a whole family and to my surprise, both Eric and Timo were willing to try it with us.
It was not the first time for us having octopus (it was actually the second) and Jeremy and the boys liked it - a lot! I ate the legs and some of the body and I even thought it tasted okay, but when I popped the rest into my mouth, I couldn't seem to chew it and actually swallow, so long story shorter... I didn't. I know, I know, a disappointment for the second time (I couldn't finish eating the other one either.) But I'd gladly try again.



Tuesday afternoon we were able to trade our beat up 1998 Nissan Quest for a still beat up but nicer 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan. It is older, but runs better, has newer tires, and is not tagged with a big orange 35 on the side. Our new ride definitely has some potential.



Pita Bread is amazing! I never knew the fabulous world of flat unleavened breads. We recently purchased a beautiful greek pita bread and some gyro meat, to make our own gyros. Well, come to find out pita bread can also make a few other delicious items... such as the self discovered "pita pizza" or the closely related "fajita pita." Not only are these tasty tidbits on my tongue, they are enjoyable to say. So, I chant... "Pita, Pita, Pita"
Sorry, the pita went straight to my brain and clogged it for a moment.

Remembering - Las Vegas Style

Okay, so the last couple of blogs have been fun conversation sparkers, but at least for today, it is back to the "normal" side of life.

Jeremy and I were going through a few boxes today and he came across a bunch of older picture discs. This is always a treasure chest full of silver and gold pieces when I look at the boys and see them practically growing up before our eyes. So, today, join me on a little walk through memory lane...




Jeremy and I were at a fairly funky place in life during our Vegas-stint. We were the young parents of 2 rambunctious boys. We were very interested in amateur photography and enjoyed "doctoring up" the pictures, above is the fabulous results...



"Wood-it" has always been a total character, but during this phase in his younger years, he forgot how to smile! Usually when we said "Cheese!" he would wrinkle his nose, close his left eye, and do some Elvis looking thing with his lips. This is a great, adorable, endearing picture of our little Er-vis. "Don't be cruel, to a heart that's true"



Timo had a pretty hard start in Vegas, but by this time (Christmas day of 2004) he was really starting to perk up and his face was getting squishier. Timo was such a cute little baby, his chin was so strong and came to a point at the end of his little face. Just like today his smiles would light New York City for a whole month, he seriously has that much energy. No, seriously, it's an untapped resource.

It's a welcome retreat to stop on this beautiful journey through life and look back on the twist and turns along the way. The many, many challenges of daily life have all proven worth it for me to know that my family is bonded eternally.

I want to thank my loyal readers for allowing me to be silly, crazy, and (all right - I admit it) a little nutty! Keep reading, you'll never be far away from laughing or crying, that's a promise.

A Retard by Any Other Name...

Warning: Retards may be offended!



The problem with being PC...
Even if we change every word in our dictionary that offends some politically correct idiot, will they be happy? If we start calling retarded people intellectually differently-abled, will they be any less retarded?

Come with me for a ride back in the past in my trusty little Web-Delorean, back to 1910...

The Association of Medical Officers of American Institutions for Idiots and Feeble-Minded Persons (yes, that is the actual name of the organization) regularly used medical terminology such as morons, idiots and imbeciles to describe various stages of retardation.

Zipping right ahead in our time travels, to 1959, the same organization (now called the American Association on Mental Retardation) then began to use mild, moderate, and severe retardation to describe these same individuals. Where they any less imbecilic? More idiotic? NO. Do you think even for a minute that some retard was throwing a party because he suddenly was less so?

POOF!
(Sorry, you should have been wearing your seatbelt, retard!)
Rub your flat face and try to keep up...
We are now back to the present time. Unretarded people want to use what they People First Language: this is to say "People aren't mentally retarded, they are individuals with mental retardation."

This all comes quickly to my point: Would a retard by any other name be any less retarded?

A Political Rant

The last few years have definitely been a growing experience for me. I never knew I, of all people, could be so intrigued politically. I am decidedly Republican, very conservative, (and if you frequent Jeremy's blog) NOT a liberal gay!

I applaud McCain's choice in his running mate, Sarah Palin. Not only is she a smart, talented, beautiful woman, but she is a hard working mom, which is something I particularly respect. The recent criticism that she's come across in the liberal media is absolutely disgusting!

Here are my top 3 related complaints:

First, media has been harshly criticizing her ability to successfully raise her small family and hold this major public office. Is anyone asking the same question to Obama? I have frequently seen his two young girls being toted around to various speaking engagements during this campaign. If he becomes the 44th American President, who will be raising his young girls? (A nanny? Boarding school? Prospective First Lady Michelle? - That's a laugh!) For not knowing her personally, Sarah seems to have a very loving and helpful family that are willing to give their time and energy into helping make her political dreams become a reality.

Secondly, every family has its ups and downs. Brittany, Sarah's oldest daughter (17) is pregnant. Sarah has said that Brittany will have a rough life ahead of her, and that it will take the help and support of her family to get through the next few years. I have heard a saying, maybe you've heard it too; "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

Third, her relative "inexperience". She has been in a public office since 1992 (I'm a college girl now, so i know that's 16 years). When she was only 28 she began her journey and has made steady progress to this point in her life. On the other hand, Obama, who everyone in the media has deemed "a hero", has only held a public office for about 5 years. Before that he taught law at a college!!! She is obviously well spoken, talented, and a dedicated woman who has worked hard for this opportunity.

Most of all, I guess I would just say that it is highly unnerving that the same liberal hate-mongers who are beating down Palin, were praising Senator Clinton just a few months back.

I give Sarah Palin (and her whole family) a huge "Thank You" for re-energizing my hopes and desire for a better American future.

Oh, yeah, and "Ha Ha Ha Ha (nee-ner, nee-ner, nee-ner)" to those liberal nutty-buddies. Go home and cry into your hot pink pillows.

Anyone need a laugh?

Whenever I need to chuckle, tee-hee-hee, giggle, or maybe even knee slap, I call my Timo. His smile can melt a whole ice-berg. Today I am babysitting my neighbors three boys along with the four of my own. "Wow, she must enjoy a good challenge," you must be thinking. Well, obviously, I do. So, today, to calm my nerves, I will be looking at Timo's little face and thinking of quieter times.