Drew's First Professional Hair Cut

Drew had her first professional hair cut last night. I had an appointment to get mine cut and she decided to have hers cut too. She was willing to have it cut VERY short but the hairdresser and I decided to go shoulder length with it. We love it. It has totally aged her. Well, as much as you can age a 4 year old, and it has shown me just how bad I am at trimming hair and cutting bangs!

Drew wasn't real thrilled about the process but loved the outcome. When she went to bed she informed me that "I'm so adorable! Mom, what does adorable mean?"

It has this fun little flippy stuff at the bottom.

The finished product.

Happy Heart Day!

Valentine's Day is not my favorite holiday. It ranks right up there with New Year's Eve. Maybe because these are typically "date" holidays and Paul and I aren't real big daters. I would say its been years since we last had a real date! This year is no different from past years. Paul is out of town visiting his mom and working on her house, and the kids and I are just hanging out. I actually do have a gift for him this year though. Its very romantic. Its hair clippers! He was complaining the last time he cut Mason's hair that his clippers had seen better days, so being the romantic I am, I thought new clippers would make a great V-day gift! And I don't get into the whole flower thing. I can't look at a bouquet and appreciate it for what it is, I just see wasted money on something that will die in a few days. Drew, on the other hand, has totally embraced the holiday this year. She was so excited for her school party, addressing the Valentines, wearing her new red skirt and gaudy-Wal-Mart-sparkly-heart-t-shirt I bought her against my will but knew she would totally love. And she did: Big breath in, "OH MY!" and a huge grin on her face! I guess the $3 was worth it! About the only thing I think Valentine's day is good for is an excuse to make and "paint" cookies. We do it for every holiday and its a big mess and probably very unsanitary as Mason can't figure out how to paint a cookie without first getting some of that paint on his tongue. We decided not to pass any out this year because I couldn't be sure which ones were germ free. They are totally delicious and Darcy even got to suck on one. Boy was she excited.

Notice the frosting in Mason's mouth and we barely started!

Doesn't he look innocent. HA!

The finished product.

Mason specials. One with a bite taken out of it and the other with the frosting spread by his tongue!

An update on the kids: Drew is almost reading. She drives me crazy asking me how to spell everything and sound everything out, but I totally love it too. I just wish I knew how best to help her organize it all in her head because I'm sure once that happens she will just take off with her reading. She is totally into hearts and sparkles and girly stuff - everything I despise! It is difficult for me to support her love of this stuff but I am trying. I'm sure there are MANY out there who love the idea that Tiff is raising a girly-girl. UGH!

Mason is maybe not hitting so much? Or maybe I'm ignoring it more and not getting so upset everytime it happens. Unless its my face he is smacking and then I get mad ;) Last night he told me he was tired so I asked him if he wanted to go to bed. He said, "No, I just sleep on the couch." I was so surprised! I think that might be the first time I realized that he is capable of his own thoughts and expressing those thoughts in a mature manner. Totally cute and I look forward to having real conversations with him now.

Darcy is 7 months old! She is sitting up by herself, eating real people food, and she laughs constantly. Drew and Mason were put here on earth to entertain Darcy I think. Lucky girl. She is also getting the idea that she can be mobile. She lays on her tummy, arches her back, lifts her arms and legs off the floor, and start flailing around. She doesn't go anywhere and it is hilarious to watch, but I think this is the precursor to movement. Heaven help me, I am not ready for her to be mobile yet! Darcy is still just the sweetest thing and she makes me smile no matter how down in the dumps I might get. What a blessing she is to me!

Paul's mom is doing well. She is supposed to be released from her nursing home back to her own home on Tuesday. She has regained her spunk and taken control of decisions and its good to have her back! Hopefully she will like what the kids did to her house while she was on vacation!

Drew at the Dentist

Drew had the second dentist appointment of her entire life today. Wish I could say that! She is great at the dentist. Last year for her very first appointment we went over and over what would happen when we got there. I kept telling her she had to sit still and open her mouth really wide. Well, being the obedient little thing she is, she hopped up in the chair, popped her mouth open even though the dentist wasn't there yet and the nurse was doing other things, and she never moved a muscle! I was laughing so hard and I was so proud of her! I swear she never moved or closed her mouth the entire time! This time she knew what to expect so she had been whining for days about going. I told her if she stopped talking about it we would get poppy seed muffins at Costco afterward. It worked! She was afraid though, that they would use the same fluoride as last time that made everything "bisgusting." Luckily the nurse offered this time and I refused it. Hopefully I'm not killing her teeth all in the name of a delicious muffin! She did great once again and she got a good report from her dentist. I look forward to next year when it will be Mason's first turn in the chair. I'm sure it will not go nearly as smooth!

Paul's mom was released from the hospital yesterday into a nursing and rehabilitation facility. She has been working on regaining her strength and walking without any support so she can take care of herself at home. She has a long road to recovery ahead of her but we are sure she will be as good as new in no time! We spent the weekend sitting with her in her hospital room, cleaning her house, and getting it set up in a way that will be the easiest for her to use. She may not like all the changes but her kids only had the best intentions! We will be going to visit her again this weekend and hopefully she will be home by then.

Health Scare

My wonderful mother-in-law suffered a heart attack yesterday. This crazy woman, and I mean that in the kindest sense of the word, drove herself to the hospital! The doctors first tried a procedure to insert a stint but it didn't work. So this morning she underwent a quadruple bypass on her heart. She came out of surgery with a good prognosis. I am a bit sketchy on the details since I am 2 hours away, but things are looking good and she should be home from the hospital in a week. Paul and his siblings have been at her side for the past two days, watching over her, praying for her, and just letting her know they care. They are a great bunch of siblings and they are a good example to me of how to band together in times of crisis. I didn't pack up my kids to be there because 1) I'm not sure she would ever be awake to visit with them, 2) My poor Drew has been in enough situations watching people she loves suffer and I didn't want to put her through that again, and 3) I'm not sure the ICU would appreciate my 4 and 2 year olds and their 6 month old sister with all their energy contained in such a small place. Hopefully Grandma can feel our love and prayers for her over the miles and understand why we aren't there right now. We will probably be spending the next few weekends at her side, helping in any way we can, so if you don't see us around for the next few weeks, you will know the reason why.

Update as of 9:30am Jan 30: Emma hasn't recovered as quickly or as well as the doctors would like so it looks as though she will be moved to a nursing home facility after she is released from the hospital to have continuous care till she is strong enough to go home. We are headed south to visit her today and to spell the other family members who have been on duty this past week.

Terrible Two's

This little smiling face makes me so happy. Too bad that lately it is a face I rarely see. Mason has been having his trials lately, which have turned into my trials. Mason was such a sweet little baby. He was a good sleeper, nurser, and he just stole my heart when I first saw him. Its these memories that keep me going! I am hoping he is just going through the Terrible Two's and that he will grow out of whatever is bugging him, but it needs to be soon if I want to keep my sanity! We didn't go through anything like this with Drew so maybe its normal and I don't know it, or maybe he is doubling up on the "terrible" part to make up for Drew! He has decided to act out by hitting. Everything and everyone. It is a terrible habit and its a tough one to break. Wish us luck! And then today while I was feeding Darcy, a plastic ball made its way into the toilet and was flushed away for ever more. Who knows how to retrieve it. This little guy can drive me crazy, but just when I am at my wit's end with him, he gives me his adorable little smile and kisses me out of the blue. I love him tremendously but I am also being tried by him tremendously. He turns 3 in May, hopefully he will grow out of his troubles by then. Yah right!

Jan 24 Update - Paul took apart the toilet today and had it in the backyard with a hose running through it to pop the ball out. Thank goodness it worked! Thank goodness I have a handyman husband. Mason swears he won't do anything like that again. I'll believe that when. . .nah, I don't believe it!

Inauguration Day!

Let me begin by stating that I am not a person who takes an active interest in politics, usually. I vote when I feel like it, and I take resposibility for that fact and try not to complain too much over policies I may disagree with that I neglected to vote for and change. But this presidential election I did vote. I was so disheartened with the country I live in that I felt like I needed to mark my ballot, for whatever good it may have done, and feel good about trying to be a supporter of change. Now I'm not going to get all political and spew my views on all the issues facing our country and brand new president today, but I did vote for change and I am excited to watch, and hopefully help in some small way, that change come about. As I watched the inauguration of President Obama today, I couldn't help feeling a little sorry for him. When he became the Democratic nominee the country wasn't in nearly the trouble it is in now economically. I wonder if he ever wonders what he got himself into! That being said, I was very impressed by the whole production today. I loved how he was the ultimate family man, chatting with his kids and making a joke with his daughter about her step stool right before he was about to take the oath of office. I was impressed that he was having continuous, and what appeared to be respectful, conversations with President Bush. I loved that they mangled the Oath of Office. Shows us all that both President Obama and the Chief Justice of the land are human! I loved his speech. At the end I wanted to yell "CHARGE!" and lead the masses out to make this country a better place! Hopefully we can all take his enthusiasm and apply it to our lives and do what we can to contribute. I am excited to see what President Obama can accomplish, though I am grounded enough to realize that though the speech sounded pretty, there are many things standing in his way of accomplishing what he so vehemently believes in. I think if it was as easy as we were lead to believe, maybe President Bush would have implemented those measures during his tenure. And I will admit that I don't believe in everything he does, but I am excited for change and what it can mean for my family and my kids' future.

A couple of lighter thoughts as I watched the inauguration this morning: I want to be reincarnated as Aretha Franklin! That woman can sing! And if I could get away with wearing a hat like hers I would wear it every day. I loved it!
Never let your kids know what you are watching is important to you. Inevitably fights break out, they are on the brink of starving to death, their favorite game or toy is no where to be found, the happy-go-lucky baby is inexplicably inconsolable, walkie-talkies somehow end up in a glass of water, etc. Thank goodness for DVR!
NBC butchered a HUGE chance for Oregon State University to be recognized. Our Men's head basketball coach, Craig Robinson, is Michelle Obama's sister and he was front and center (well, off-center) the entire ceremony. Brian Williams went on a 5 minute diatribe about him, but he was really mistaking him for someone else the entire time! And then Tom Brokaw mentioned he was wearing Princeton colors in his scarf! HA! Hello, OSU is orange and black! And he said he was the coach of Oregon. Crimony guys, you really ruined a great chace for OSU to get some exposure. Tell your interns to work on their background checks a little harder!

Jan 25 Update - Brian Williams published an apology to Beaver Nation in the Oregonian this morning. Sounds like he took a lot of duff for his comments! Poor guy!

In all, I am excited for the new administration and I hope and pray that President Obama is good for our country and our people.

Plodding Along

January is definitely my least favorite month of the year. Its long, its cold, its dreary, the holiday highs are over, and credit card bills are due! About the only thing I look forward to in January is working on our taxes. Call me crazy, but I get a certain thrill figuring out all that tax mumbo-jumbo. This January has been just like the rest. Not much to report but there have been a couple noteworthy events. First, as you can tell from this picture, my daffodil bulbs are sprouting! I was amazed when I notice this the other day. We are only a few weeks removed from days straight of below freezing temperatures. I can't believe they are already growing. It makes me happy to see them and the hint they bring with them that Spring is on its way. What a relief!


Darcy is six months old! She turned in to a big kid over night it seems. She is just about sitting up by herself, with the occasional header and resulting squished nose. She blows razzberries like a pro and refuses to sit still during church. I'm ready for her to head to the nursery! She is such a sweetheart and she makes me so very happy. She is always smiling and it warms my heart even more than my daffodil sprouts! She is one happy girl and I hope this is a sign of a sunny disposition that she will carry throughout her life. What a joy to be around this little baby is!


After much cajoling on my part, Drew finally decided she would play T-Ball this spring. I have been excited for years to join the ranks of the sports moms on the sidelines, cheering my star athlete on, but for awhile I was afraid that wasn't going to happen with Miss Drewsy. She totally axed the idea of taking ballet, which broke my heart, so I wasn't surprised that she had no interest in T-Ball. Her reason was that she didn't want anyone looking at her. I explained to her that the other parents will just be looking at their kids so I would be the only one looking at her. So I stretched the truth a little! I decided not to push her into anything she didn't want to do, but for some reason she decided on her own that she would try T-Ball. She and I headed to the high school yesterday morning at 10am sharp to sign her up, and I should have known, things weren't what they seemed. Paul and I thought the fee to play was reasonable but what they don't tell you till you arrive at sign-ups, with a 4 year old all hyped to play on her first team, is that you either sign your kid up to sell at least 6 items from their fund raiser or you opt-out for $30 more. Crimony! So I call up Paul, grumbling under my breath, and we decide to let her still play, because really, how could we not, and that we would pay the darn opt-out fee since I'm not ready for my 4 year old to hit the streets hocking goods no one really wants. I guess we'll see how it goes this year, but I have definitely learned my lesson. Welcome to the world of kids sports and fundraisers. Ugh.

I have to admit January hasn't been all bad. The sunshine we have had the past couple of days has really lifted my spirits. Nothing beats a bright sunny day with sparkling blue skies and sunlight so bright you can barely keep your eyes open!