Bunk Beds

 We got a bunk bed awhile back. We got a great deal on craigslist...maybe something to do with the black sharpie that had been written all over the bed. Well, Justin (and the kids and I...but mostly Justin) worked wonders sanding and staining and made it look like new again. And...just like that we have Gracie and Gunner sharing a room. You should have seen how hurt Miss Maisy was when she realized that she did not get to join the party. True crocodile tears.

 Maisy can get on and off of the top bunk by herself, but it still makes me super nervous. Anyway, it has been a good  and fun change and although Maisy still misses the party, she has been sleeping better all by herself in the other room:)

Before and After... The Garage

One of my goals this year is to become organized. I have decided to make my "project time" useful in making our home a better place to be. I've been scouring the free section on Craigslist to find a few things to make our spaces more functional. Here is one example. Our garage was mostly clean with one side full of stuff we didn't know where to put. 

 Then... I got these two furniture items free on craigslist. The blue buffet table came with the curtain already sewn. I know they aren't the traditional garage storage, but they give it such a better feel. Justin and I also spent more time out there this last week and the garage feels even better.

Bathtime

 Maisy loves bathtime.

 Gunner has a way of making Maisy giggle like no other. Sometimes by splashing her or teasing her. She loves him.

Mother of the year...errrr

 Do you ever do something and think, "I'm such a good mom". I do. Just being real here. I hope all of you feel that way on occasion too (wouldn't it be nice if that was a constant reassurance and euphoria). I get the "good mom" feeling when I make play-dough, when I'm reading a huge stack of books to my kids, when I take my kids to the park, and when I am making something special to eat that I know they will enjoy.

So...a few weeks ago, Justin was gone for the day. I offered to make the kids letter pancakes. I was really excited and feeling like "super mom". I was well into the process when Gracie said in a sad voice, "Sorry, Mom". I was totally puzzled... still feeling prideful and completely happy with myself. "What do you mean", I ventured.She answered in a really sweet and sympathetic voice, "Well, sorry that your pancakes didn't turn out that well. Those letters don't look very good, do they?".

So I spelled out these letters for Gracie. I was laughing to myself. I guess she is used to those nice crisp pre-school letters:)

** Another funny story that I don't want to forget happened this weekend on St. Patrick's day. I meant to be responsible and do something...anything for St. Patrick's day (insert "bad mom" feeling here). We were having the missionaries for dinner and I made eggs, bacon, breakfast potatoes, and waffles. I dyed the waffle batter green to be festive. I was sure Gracie would love it because she was talking about how fun it would be to make something green. Well... she did not even TOUCH a waffle. She was super grossed out and scolded me for making the waffles look disgusting. WHOOPS. She asked me why I couldn't have dyed them pink or purple, because then she would have like them. Silly Gracie. Better luck next year.

Gunner's Surgery

 At Gunner's well child check in February, we were reminded that he had an inguinal hernia. The doctor recommended that we see a specialist and schedule a surgery. So...we did.

When I scheduled the surgery I kept feeling like an unconcerned parent. They kept asking if I had more questions or concerns. I guess Hernia surgery seemed a easy peasy compared to heart surgery.Today was the big day and we had to have him there by 6:30. Aren't these boys handsome? It was an outpatient surgery and he was on his way home by a little after 9:30.

 They put a cap on him and gave him an extra for his puppy.

 After he woke up from surgery, I got to snuggle him and they gave him some popsicles. He loved it. They were kind of small, so they gave him two. I think they expected him to eat one at a time, but instead, he put them both in one hand and took alternating licks. The nurses got the biggest kick out of him and we loved hearing over and over how cute he is.

 Once we got home, he said he felt kind of sick. He changed into jammies and watched a movie for about 15 minutes. Then he got up, turned off the movie, got dressed, and ran outside to ride bikes with the neighbors. I thought it was a little soon and urged him to take it easy, but the doctor said Gunner would limit his own activity appropriately for how he felt. Guess surgery could be worse :)

Flowers

Justin was gone last Saturday from sun-up to sun-down testing some bulls. I called him on his way home and asked if he could pick up some milk for Sunday. He agreed and came home with these beautiful flowers as well:) The next morning this conversation ensued:
Gracie: Mom, where did these flowers come from?
Maggie: Dad got them for me. Isn't that nice?
Gracie: Well, where did he get them from?
Maggie: From the store.
Gracie: But MOM, he's a boy. How did he even know where the store was?

LOL. I guess you can tell who the shopper is in the family:) As a disclaimer, I should let you all know that I really enjoy shopping (even for groceries), and Justin really doesn't enjoy shopping. Anyway, I was very grateful and excited for flowers but Gracie was 10 times more excited than even I was. She said, "Mom, you better give Dad a big hug and a kiss for giving you such nice flowers". I love little girls. I guess the obsession with romance starts young. :)

Vday

 We saw this cute Valentine idea on Pinterest and copied away .It was really fun. We meant to get packages off to Grandparents, but didn't quite get that far...yet:)

 This is a tradition we started last year. We made a valentine out of fabric. I would love to do this each year while the kids are little and then make a cute little Valentine's day throw.

The Breakfast of Champions

Justin had a couple of days of inspirational training at school. I think they were having current students do some team building and evaluate the program to make it better. We were all very excited to have our "famous" husband and father on the front of a cereal box. 14 months left...but who's counting:)