How to keep a 3 year old in his own bed:

Grant has been sleeping with us about 1/2 the time for about 2 months now. He is quite the little flailer (is that a word?). He kicks, hits, turns . . . oh, and he snores. He also cuddles sometimes, and it is because of the wonderful cuddling that we allow him to hop into bed with us. Yes, we do ask (and sometimes threaten) him to stay in his bed. Still, he manages to wedge himself either under Mitch's arm, or between the two of us. I secretly love it.

Anyway, usually Grant hops in on Mitch's side while I pretend to be sleeping so I don't have to deal with it. Typically, he stays for an hour or two, then one of us (usually Mitch) either makes him a little bed on the floor or carries him to his own bed. The flailing gets to be too much.

Mitch left for his 12th annual birding trip to Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on Wednesday. I fully expected to hear the pitter-patter of little feet running across the hardwood floor to my bedroom sometime in the night. In fact, I kept waiting, so I couldn't sleep. I prayed that Grant would come. I was lonely and cold. He didn't come. So sad. I slept solo for two nights.

I left for women's retreat on Friday evening and the boys spent the night at their grandparent's house. (They did great!)

Mitch came home Saturday afternoon and, of course, took the boys home. Guess what. Grant hopped into bed with his Daddy. Totally not fair. I don't understand this.

So, my new theory is that if Mitch is in our bed, Grant must join us. However, if it is just Mommy, Grant doesn't need me. Oh, how sad. I suppose I should be grateful that I had a little more room to spread out on my bed, but really, I just missed cuddling one of my boys!

"Look at me, Mom!"

I know that one of these days I will really miss the times when I heard, "Look at me!" every other second. This is not one of those days.

new art

I bought new art for my family room today. I am super excited! I think it will change the look of the whole room! It still needs to be hung (a Mitch job) about 3 or 4 inches up so the dumb speaker isn't so noticeable. I need to get some more stuff for the mantle. I put the purple candle holders and blue candle thingy up there just to get a feel for colors. They are WAY too small to put on my mantle. It would just look cluttered. I REALLY like the blue. What do you think? Maybe I will look for a tall glass vase thingy in the same blues.

So, the great thing is that I have more colors to pull from in my decorating. I felt like I was in such a rut before. Now, I can use the blues or even oranges or bright greens!! My next big search will be for new curtains (most likely) and throw pillows (definitely). I might go with a less daunting color for my curtains this time. Less heavy. I have to see what is out there. Maybe the red curtains will find their way into the living room.

Get this (this is so great): You know how I bought that table a while back, then on the morning it was to be delivered I received a phone call about a huge crack down the middle? Well, I canceled the order, got my money back, and started the search for a new table all over again. This morning the whole family headed out to Macy's to see a table I had been contemplating. Mitch thought it was way too expensive, plus there were a couple of things about it that bugged us. We went to two more furniture stores and just couldn't find one that we really liked. Finally, we decided to drive all the way up to Washington Square to look at the first table I had purchased. After a couple of meltdowns (Cole's and mine - the newly fixed A/C didn't work . . . ) we finally made it to the store. We walked in (sleeping Grant draped over Mitch's shoulder, sleeping Cole snuggled in his too-small infant carrier) and I walked right over to the table. Mitch loved it and the price was right. In fact, it was about $40 cheaper and the sales lady who sold me the table the first time threw in delivery for free. We saved $100 off our first purchase price (which was WAY low to begin with!). The table will be delivered in about 2 weeks.

So, in about a month, my whole house will look different! Come over for a visit!!

April 5, 6, 7, 8

My older sister, her husband and their HUGE family (6 kids) decided to come on up to Oregon during their spring break. It was awesome to see them! We spent Thursday and Friday at the coast (Rockaway Beach/Tillamook area) and stayed in cabins at Twin Rocks. We had a blast going to tide pools, the cheese factory, the beach, Chinese food and Mexican food. We played games and talked and just enjoyed each other's company.

Matt showing a hermit crab to Cara, Tim, Grant and Braden:

Grant, Daniel and Natalie splashing in the freezing water:


On Saturday, Mitch, Grant, Cole and I drove home to attend cousin Logan's 3rd birthday party. It's crazy to think how quickly our family is growing up!

That evening, the Lusk/Mardock (Tim and Sara) group joined us at our house. We ate the world's hugest batch of spaghetti, then I stayed home with the sleeping babies while everyone else went swimming at the aquatic center. Grant had a great time and can't wait to start swim lessons in May.

On Easter Sunday, I am very proud to say we attended first service (8:30). Jen has 4 girls, so imagine what it was like getting them all prettified and out the door. I got up early to make croissants and deviled eggs for the breakfast at church. We all rushed out the door just in time and made it to first service.

Lusk kids - Daniel, Emma, Cara, Natalie, Braden and Livi:

As soon as we got home, I sent the men outside to hide Easter eggs (about 200) for our Easter Egg hunt. It was lots of fun. Great photo opportunity! My grandparents joined us for lunch, and I made black bean enchiladas (a family favorite), yummy baked corn, Spanish rice and a beautiful fruit salad (ala Jen). Not exactly ham for Easter, but it was awesome. The Lusks had to leave that afternoon. It was such a fun visit that we already made plans to see them this summer. Of course, Grant can't stop talking about his cousins from California.

Grant - on the hunt:

Jennifer and Cara:

Me and Cole:

Mitch and the boys:

April 3 & 4

Let's see . . .
April 3rd - My Mom's birthday. We had lots of fun chatting away on our computers. It is amazing to me that we can "talk" so quickly and catch up on each other's lives. Happy Birthday mom! (She turned 29, again.)

April 4th - Olivia Lusk's 4th birthday. My little pixie niece is growing up! NO!!!

On another note, we decided to take Grant out of Cubbies. I received a phone call that afternoon asking if I was going to observe Grant again just to make sure he behaves. I told the gal I couldn't because small groups were starting at our church and I had signed up to be in a small group. (Plus, the guy was great at the last Cubbies! He did a couple of squirly boy things, but nothing "bad" or disruptive.) She seemed reluctant to let me off the hook. After MUCH conversation, I prayed, then decided to call Mitch and see what he thought about taking Grant out of Cubbies. Together, we came to the conclusion that we would take him to small groups.

Have you heard the story about the teacher who was given a class full of gifted students and then told that they were all dumb? They fulfilled that "prophecy" by performing poorly. Another teacher was given a class full of mediocre students and told they were gifted. They fulfilled that expectation and reached amazing heights of educational achievement. I'm pretty sure my son has been labeled at Cubbies. Yes, he can sometimes act like a 3-year-old boy (duh), however he is a WONDERFUL child and an absolute JOY to be around. He is the one that teachers never need to concern themselves with because he is so well-behaved. He is the one who always remembers to say "please, thank you, you're welcome," etc. He is such a love. Okay, so maybe it is shocking when he rushes out the door with a look of panic on his face and nary a backward glance. However, when you realize that he was rushing to the bathroom and he has not been introduced to "school rules" including the one where you ask permission to go to the bathroom, you really should just smile and nod with a knowing look on your face. Not freak out.

Anyway . . . we asked Grant if he would like to go to Cubbies or small groups at our church. He chose our church. His teacher is my friend "Miss Amber" whom he LOVES and who treasures him as well. I can't tell you how heart-warming it was to watch him play with his church friends and to hear that he was his same, wonderful self. I feel very good about this decision. Besides, these church friends are also going to be in his preschool class next year!!

Yes, I know this post is long. I am just so passionate about my son!!

A little something . . .

This is a little present I made Katie for her birthday. It is a picture "frame" made out of coasters from Red Robin! :o)

Pictures of life around here . . .

We baked cupcakes for Katie's birthday:



The leftovers:


Hysterical fun!


So much love!

Catching up . . .

Once again, I have let DAYS slip by without recording my life. I've already mentioned that I have this blog to spare Mitch (in theory), but my other motivator is to simply record life. A while back I read a little snippet in a scrapbooking magazine that suggested writing a blog then simply cutting and pasting the "journaling" into your scrapbooks. So, that is another reason why I do this. Now it is time to catch up!

Tuesday night I got a haircut. Super cute. Kinda short. Very easy. Wonderful evening.

Wednesday, we met with the tax lady, which didn't hurt too bad, but we have a second meeting soon. Had to take BOTH boys. Grant was wonderful! He played his It's A Match game and whispered whenever he needed more food bribes. Cole was just Cole! Wonderful baby!! I think it freaked the entire office out when we walked in the door. Of course, they forgot we were even there once the door was closed!

Anyway, I digress.

Thursday, we went to Cole's Dr. appointment. I am proud to announce that he has broken the 16 pound barrier. At 9 months old, Cole weighs 16 pounds 3 ounces. And, yes, I did feed him just moments before he was put on the scale! He is officially below the 3rd percentile in weight and head circumference. He is at the 50th in height. Everyone asks, "What did the doctor say about that?" The doctor said he looks perfectly healthy. I should try to feed him more carbs and high fat content foods. Yeah, I do try! He really does eat a lot!! I will try harder . . . talk about stress!!

Friday, I was SUPPOSED to have my new table delivered. I was so excited!! I have been wanting a new table for YEARS. Our current table has only 3 chairs and seats 4 as long as you don't try to put food on the table with your plates. It is tiny and cheap and has served us well, but it is time for us to upgrade. I bought a new table and waited almost a month for delivery. Then, the morning it is supposed to be delivered, I get a phone call at 8:00am from a lady who said that the delivery guys found a crack right down the center of the table. They can order a new one, and it should arrive at the end of April. Another month. Argh. We just canceled the order and got our money back. I was having buyers remorse anyway. Back to square one!!

That afternoon, we went into Salem to pick up Mitch's truck (which was getting a tune up) and stopped in at Travis's office to eat a little birthday cake. Travis (Mitch's brother) celebrated his 32nd birthday on Saturday. Grant was super excited to run around the office with his cousins.

Friday night, I had a scrapbooking party! WOO HOO! I just love scrapbooking. (I know that some of you are groaning right now.) Here are the pages we did. They chose either a boy page or a girl page. We also did the red and white "t" card posted earlier.


On Saturday, Mitch did a little bit of yard work while I went grocery shopping with the boys. Safeway. Nice, big carts with police cars and fire trucks on the front. Grant buckles himself in, but doesn't know how to unbuckle! Woo Hoo! Generally, we still try to avoid grocery shopping, however I may just go back to shopping at Safeway permanently. Mitch did some advertising on their shopping carts, so now Cole sits in the front seat and turns around to peek under his armpit at the picture of daddy. Very cute.

That night, we went out to Thai food (yes, my kids love ethnic food!) and then shopping for shoes for Mitch. Once again, the boys were marvelous, although Grant had to go to the bathroom a MILLION times. Fortunately, I could never find a ladies room, only a men's room. Mitch shared the joy.

On Sunday, our church was only having one service at 11:00am. For us, that is SO late!! We woke up as usual, but lingered in bed as the boys crawled and jumped all over us. Man, those kids are boney!! We FINALLY rolled out of bed, then Mitch went outside to wash the car. I started some laundry, did some online shopping, got the boys ready, put Cole to bed for his morning nap and popped popcorn for Grant. At 11:00, we pulled into the church parking lot ready for a nap after such a long day. Thankfully, the service got our blood pumping again. Since it was Palm Sunday, we had a children's parade. The kids waved palm branches and walked down the center aisle singing "Hosanna in the Highest." I got a little teary-eyed watching Grant walk down with a huge smile on his face. Very cute! We talked about Palm Sunday all the way to Grandpa and Grandma's house. I think that boy is catching on!! Very exciting!

At Grandpa and Grandma's house, we celebrated the boy birthdays (Mitch and Travis). It was a fun and relaxing time for all! It was wonderful to see John and Dee after their long trip to Arizona, New Mexico and Oklahoma (plus all the states in-between!). Grant has REALLY missed them.

Okay, so hopefully that has us all caught up! I'll stop now. (I know some of you are so relieved!!)