March Madness!

NCAA Tournament time! For anyone who knows me, you know that I live for March Madness. I quit work 2 weeks early when I was due with Drew just so I could stay home to watch the opening rounds of the tournament. Its the time of year Paul becomes a basketball-widower. This tournament is my Super Bowl. And we are so lucky this year, the tourney has come to little ol' Portland! Last year when tickets were on sale Paul said I could get some, but stupid me, I decided not to. I am kicking myself now that the time has come! But as you can see by the pictures our family experienced a small taste of the madness. The Rose Garden was open for everyone to watch the 8 teams practice yesterday, free of charge, so we packed up the kids and hit the town. I must admit, it wasn't all that thrilling, exept for the fact that we were actually where all the real action will take place today. The kids were having a great time running up and down the stairs, until an usher started heading our way, and we decided it was time to leave. We saw Gonzaga and Illinios go through short practices which I enjoyed. There was a great NCAA basketball vinyl poster hanging up just behind us and we tried to figure out a way to get home with it, but I think the ushers had their eyes on us due to our rambunctious kids, so we left empty-handed. Afterwards we thought we would extend our social experiment by celebrating Paul's birthday a few weeks early at Red Robin. We were instantly reminded why we NEVER go out to sit-down restaurants! Drew and Mason actually did really well, thanks to the color crayons they provided, but Darcy was a mess. Paul wolfed down his hamburger while I was trying to console her, and then we tag-teamed it. I passed her off to Paul while I choked down my chicken sandwich and then we were out of there! 35 minutes from start to finish. Must be a record. Needless to say, we won't be trying that again in the near future.

Michael Jordan's son plays sparingly for Illinois.

Darcy is a HUGE Michigan fan, taking after Paul's dad who graduated from there. They will have a tough time making it very far this tournament, but they are the team we will be keeping tabs on. For the next 3 weeks if you don't hear from me, I can be found in front of my tv, the living room a mess, dirty dishes in the sink, with whining kids cuz they can't watch their shows, having the time of my life!

What a Week!

This week has been one of the busiest, and most stressful, for me in recent memory. Tons going on. You have to remember that I am a total homebody so leaving my house at all is stressful and considered an event to me!

Starting last Saturday: Drew had T-ball practice at 9am. I took her and Darcy to the park for practice while Paul and Mason helped the Cub Scouts pick up the Good Will Good Turn donations in Columbia City. Drew is really enjoying T-ball. She has a big smile on her face when practice is over and tells me how much she loves it. That's good, since we have spent our retirement fund on equipment for her. She was very disappointed that she couldn't get a pink batting helmet or pink bat, but this equipment has to last through the siblings coming along behind her so we went with neutral blue and red. Sorry Drew, but at least you get it new! Later that evening I took Drew to the Urgent Care with a fever and ear ache. They gave her a prescription but told us to wait to fill it in case it was a viral ear ache and not bacterial. That's what it has turned out to be. She has a pretty bad cold and it seems to have settled in her ears. She can barely hear anything and we have to practically shout to get her to hear us. I feel horrible for her but the last time we were at the ear specialist he said he didn't want to do tubes since her hearing loss seems to come and go so quickly. Hopefully this will pass soon too. My poor little Drew! Darcy surprised me Saturday morning with her bottom left front tooth poking through. No wonder she has been a bit fussy and needy. My kids always get their teeth late and Darcy is right on schedule with the other two.

Sunday: Paul's nieces Korrin, Paige, and Kendall came from Vancouver and attended church with us, then had dinner and played and visited with us for the day. It was fun to have such a strange mix, since Korrin is an older cousin babysitting the younger sisters whose parents are in Italy. We had a great time with them!

Monday: I decided to leave the love of my life - Dr. Pepper! (Sorry Paul) I thought it was time to get the sludge out and break my addiction to caffeine. I had also heard so many stories about people quitting the pop and losing 25 pounds so I thought I would give it a try. I have come to find out that is just an urban legend! Makes me wonder why I gave the stuff up. For the first two days I had a headache but after that I have been good to go. I think my addiction was mostly mental, more of a habit. I still REALLY want a Dr. Pepper now and then but I'm glad its no longer a physical road block for me. Paul has also quit the pop, and we are both on diets with a monetary bet on the line for the winner. We'll see how it goes.

Tuesday: Fed the missionaries. No big deal, our elders are great young men, but when you feed the missionaries you have a timeline so they can get to their next appointment. Darcy doesn't work well with timelines. When she wants mommy, she wants mommy. So I was making dinner with a teething, crying baby on my hip. We had a very nice dinner but the stress level was definitely high that night.

Wednesday: Webelos. Not too bad. We have been Webelos leaders for 3+ years now so its pretty automatic. We know exactly what we are doing each time, and we hold scouts at our home so Darcy is able to be in bed and the kids watching a show. This helps immensely.

Thursday: The Enrichment quarterly activity, which was the Pine Wood Derby and Relief Society Birthday dinner. Paul and I set up the track that morning at the church, with the kids in tow, and then he had to work late that night so I also got to tow the kids along with me to Enrichment that evening. Luckily we had childcare but I held on to Darcy since it was past her bedtime and she was not happy to be anywhere besides her bed. I was in charge of taking down the track too, after a quick tutorial by Paul that morning, but I think I must have looked a bit lost since a few of the great men in our ward jumped in and did it for me, before I stripped the wood removing the screws! It turns out that every other month, for only one day a month, Paul has to work late. And that day just happens to be on Enrichment night. This is not a hugely responsible church calling, but the circumstances it falls under for my family makes it incredibly stressful. I will admit, if I wasn't on the committee, I would not be at the activities. Also on Thursday Drew had T-ball practice which ended an hour before I was supposed to be at the church to help out. STRESS!

Friday: I actually had nothing going on this day except for Drew's preschool, and it was a rare occasion where we were all taking a nap at the same time. It was wonderful!

Saturday: Drew's practice again. Paul took her this time. Thanks! I won tickets to a children's theater production of "Honus and Me" in Portland, thanks to my vast knowledge of obscure 80's trivia, and Drew and I were supposed to be at the 2pm showing. Didn't happen. I just didn't have the energy or desire to go to Portland today. We actually all got naps again today! Woo Hoo! 2 days in a row!

Also this week, I decided to wean Darcy. We were down to only 2 feedings so I dropped her to 1, and tomorrow will be our last day. I'm sure I will be sad we are done, and Darcy is going to throw a fit Monday morning, but I need my body back, to myself. Pregnancy and nursing are not my favorite things, and I am surprised I lasted this long nursing Darcy. She has the record at 8 months. Mason wanted nothing to do with me anymore at 4 months, and Drew and I had problems from the start, so she had about 3 weeks of nursing. If I had planned things a bit better I probably wouldn't have weaned my baby the same week I quit the caffeine and she is teething, but it all had to happen sometime and I guess we made it through OK so far. I am really looking forward to an uneventful week coming up. There is nothing out of the ordinary on my calendar, so I'm sure something huge and unexpected will pop up to keep me on my toes!

Random Events

My Mason is keeping me on my toes. We can have a really great time one minute reading together before bedtime, and then a really frustrating time while he makes up his mind as to which pj's he wants to wear, not letting us help him get dressed and him screaming and kicking the entire time becasue he can't do it right, who he want's to snuggle with him, etc. All of which takes about 25 minutes! Getting ready for bed is not my favorite time, except for the snuggles when I am invited to snuggle with him and not his dad. He really is a huge sweetheart when he wants to be. I was laughing at him yesterday when we were cleaning the disaster we call a playroom. It was nap time and he wasn't helping us clean so I gave him the choice: take a nap or help clean the room. It was funny that the lesser of two evils for him was cleaning the room. I would have headed straight for bed had someone given me that option!

Darcy is getting so big! She is working on nodding her head and it is really funny to watch. She is babbling and waving and I think the bottom left tooth is just about ready to break through.

Drew came home from preschool yesterday and told me a story about how she and some friends were playing doctor. OK. One friend (a girl) decided to die and the other friend (a boy) kissed her on the cheek to wake her up. Drew thought this was hilarious. Then she told me he kissed her on the cheek too! And she wasn't playing dead. I tried to swallow that one gracefully and not make a big deal out of it. Its OK, no problem, no big deal, they were just playing, they don't know what kissing is really about, she's still my little spotless girl, uh huh, no big deal, I'm fine! I guess I should be grateful that she feels like she can tell me this, even though it means nothing to her now. Yikes, I didn't think I would have to deal with this for a while yet! I'm good with cleaning diapers, I don't know about this older kid stuff!

I'm not sure this was a staged expression by my dad. The kids really ran him ragged Saturday night while we were visiting grandma and grandpa. They had a great time and grandpa was able to move enough in the morning to make us his famous pancakes.

This is the reason for our trip! This is my new niece, Ruqayyah Hailie! She was born on February 20th. This is my youngest sister Samantha's first baby. She is infinitely sweet and just a tiny little thing. Darcy grew about 10 inches in my mind as I was snuggling with Ruqayyah. Boy I don't miss those days of struggling with a new born. I'll take a wiggly worm 8 month old on the changing table any day!

Paul's mom is home and doing really well. She is just waiting for the kitchen renovations to be completed and then things may seem back to normal. We had a good visit with her and the other members of Paul's family in the area on Sunday.

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.