Fall, Already?

I can't believe it is officially here, and I can't believe that I haven't blogged about all of the wonderful goings-on that have happened for us during the summer. Chalk it up to two babies. (how long can I call them babies again...?)
Anyways, after a seemingly FOREVER long internet depravation we are once again up and running. Sorry for all of the lack of information and updates, but I really rely on internet to do everything! We live so far out in the boonies now that I really wasn't sure that we would ever get internet again, and I was beginning to feel like Laura Ingells Wilder. Seriously. Although I did get a TON done. More on that later. Anyways, I found a great internet provider and although I am not sure that I will be able to keep up with internet tv anymore due to the slow connection, I am so happy just to have email. And google.
Back to the point. We are moved and settled (sort of) in our new place. We are now living in a great house that sits on about 250 acres. I know, more land that I have ever imagined. There is a grass hay pasture below the house, and about 230 acres of dry land behind us and the house sits up on a hill and has the most incredible view. I sit in the living room and watch the sunset every night behind the entire Cascade mountain range. It is breathtaking. I will take a picture, but so far my little point and click does it no justice at all.
The story on the house: we found it on craigslist. My obsession finally turned into something more productive than furniture that I try to get everyone else to buy! The landlords, who live next door on an additional 80 acres, wanted someone to live here and help set up the ranch, work with the cows and help with general maintenance in exchange for a portion of the rent. I emailed on the house and didn't hear anything back for weeks, then finally got a call. It is just a perfect fit for us--or more correctly for Chad. He is providing all of the labor and making it possible for us to live in such a great place.
We have a vegetable garden that we inherited, a pear tree, and big plans for the next summer. We are loving it here, and the boys are totally thriving. It is amazing what having a yard and few acres does for them. They have both been sleeping really well and growing so fast (although I am not sure that is related to the yard part...)
Anyways, I will get pictures up soon. Maybe.

This and that, and then nothing

So we have been doing things, just nothing really exciting. It's too hot for exciting. Yesterday we really tried to break the habit of staying inside next to the a/c, and we went to the pool. We had to wait around until it opened, because apparently they close for 30 minutes if they hear thunder. Finally, they opened the pool, we jumped in, and no more than 3 minutes later there was thunder. So we had to get out. That pretty much sums up our summer. I am planning on staying inside for as much of the rest of it as possible. The a/c unit is so much less dissapointing.

Here are some snapshots though into our lives when we decide to break away from the a/c. It isn't often, so nothing here is too exciting, but its all I got.

-Cade got some new crocs, bright orange. He modeled them in Nordstroms. As in walked back in forth in front of the mirror, once on his tippy toes (you know, to see how his calfs looked). He loves them so much he refused to let me take them off of him for bed the first night that he got them. I figured it wasn't a battle worth waging, so he fell asleep with them on. I went in to take them off about an hour later, and he woke up and told me "no mama" and rolled over and went back to bed.

-Cade tried to put Luke in the dryer yesterday.

-I have been having to give Cade a lot of time outs.

-He rolled on the floor of Home Depot yesterday while screaming.

-I have been having to give Cade a lot of spankings.

-I have been baking in the 100 degree weather. Insanity. Sweaty hot insanity. Jodie's baby shower is next weekend, and I have been spending my time alternating between the sewing machine and the oven. Throw in a couple of rotations of feeding and disciplining two toddlers, and oo de lally, that's good times.

-We have also been watching Robin Hood (see oo de lally above).

Thhhhhats all folks! (Interestingly, we have NOT been watching looney tunes, but I was on a roll).

The exploring will have to wait

Chad has been working. A lot. He has this internship in Salem that he travels to once every three days--he leaves at about 5:30 am and gets home at about 2:00am, then when he is here he is working so we have barely seen the guy. Which means me and the boys are just trying to stay sane. So yesterday, even though he was gone, I decided that the house-boundness had to end, and we struck out early in the morning to explore a new park.
I loaded the car with the stroller, the snacks, the sunscreen, the extra clothes, the kids and we took off. Now this new park is really just a huge wildlife reserve, lots of trails and meadows right on the river, I thought that Cade would enjoy running, and I was hoping that Luke would enjoy sleeping.
We unloaded, got the stroller put together and up, loaded the stroller with the aforementioned accoutrements, and then took off through a covered bridge over the river. Cade was helping me push the stroller, which is really not so helpful, but he was having fun. As soon as we got to the other side of the river disaster struck.
We were SWARMED by killer mosquitoes. Seriously, I felt like the little African babies with the bugs in their eyes, I was just swiping bugs off my face, trying to get them off the boys without slapping them, but these little suckers were vicious. And starving. They went after us with a vengeance, biting through my jeans. We tried to push through, but since Cade was pushing that wasn't going too fast, and the mosquitoes were not clearing up. It really all ended when I checked on Luke and there were 5 on his chubby little cheek! I picked up Cade, football style under one arm, and ran, pushing the stroller one handed over the trail, all the while telling Cade "we're running away from the bugs! Hurry, hurry!"
I have two bugbites on my scalp. Like in my hair, on the top of my head. I have seven on my right hand. It's ridiculous.
We ended up at the regular park, on the regular slide, without any bugs.

And June in pictures=caught up!

The boys have really started playing together lately, Sometimes I wonder how much damage a 20 pound baby can really inflict, or if the mauling/wrestling will ever evolve into something civilized (I don't think so...sadly) but here is some of the playing:

This was right before Cade pushed Luke off the truck.

In June we took our very first trip to the Zoo. Cade LOVED the train, and he thought the animals were ok too.

And then the second week in June we went camping. It rained at least once a day, but it was a great trip and the boys loved living outdoors, sleeping outdoors, chopping firewood, and playing with fire. You can never start these lessons early enough!

The month of May in pictures

We traveled a lot in May (and June for that matter...pictures in a minute). Here are the boys in all their glory!

Luke has an INSANE reach, like go-go-gadget arms. I left the room for a second and came back to this!

For Memorial Day we went to Lakeview, the boys loved the new wagon and Cade got to drive his first tractor!




The next weekend we went to Corvallis to see Aunt Jodie and Uncle Shawn. Cade was busy looking cute--with his hands down his pants:

I am a tardy tard

HA!!! Get it??? Tardy as in late, tard as in politically incorrect total stupid-head. I am a seriously funny girl. So I was sooo late in posting the link to the boys photo session that it done expired already. That's why it was asking for a date and all that nonsense--because it doesn't exist anymore. You'll just have to trust me that they were adorably cute.

In other news, Chad is interning right now which means that he spends a 24 hour shift in Salem, and then he is here for 48 hours. When he is here he will be working, so he is one busy kid and I am one crazy mamma. The boys go to be earlier and earlier!

Other than that, same ol same ol. Woohooo!

I have been remiss...

I know there are a lot of things that I have not updated all you thousands of faithful readers on, but it is just wrong that I have not let you know that the boy's newest photo shoot is up and available for your viewing pleasure.

Go Here to see the slideshow. If it asks for a password it is Grogan.

Hope you enjoy!

Well then...

It's surely been a wee bit since I wrote! We have been up to a whole lotta traveling, which I will use as an excuse for not posting. Chad has been on the job interview circut which has taken us all over the state, and then we went camping which was...an experience, and this is the first week we have spent at home in over a month.
The boys are growing like crazy, maybe if I get around to it I will post some pictures. For now though, I have to go rescue Luke from the stairs. They are his new favorite play area. So far, he is a lot more cautious than Cade was, he has only rolled down once.
The kid is STILL not sleeping through the night, and so I am requesting EVERY sleep book ever written from the Library. I keep telling the doctor that something is wrong with the guy, but so far he doesn't buy it. He just keeps telling me that I have a baby.

This was bedtime last night. Cade was so emphatic about telling Luke to "lie down" that he even decided to pick him up in order to put him on the pillow. I just had to run get the camera. It wasn't far, because at bathtime I had been taking pictures of this:

They think they are ready for sleepovers. They can't even sleep in the same room without disasterous results, but last night they thought they were ready to share a bed. I just wish it would have worked, but Luke wound up banished to the pack and play again. For a few minutes though, I got a glimpse of the future: two brothers that love each other.

I Win!!

Well, first of all, let me just say that I have the best little family ever. We had a wonderful weekend and Mother's Day: it did not dissapoint. The best Mother's Day I have ever had. Out of the three. I feel like I won some sort of sweepstakes and got the best day of pampering imaginable. I don't know if Chad realizes how high he is setting the bar...do me a favor and don't point it out to him.
The celebration truly started on Saturday, my parents came into town and they gave us a great gift--they stayed with the boys at our place on Saturday night and let us stay out at the condo!! This is a huge deal--we have never been away from the boys overnight, I have only been away from Cade for one night and that was over a year ago, and I left him with Chad. SOOOO this was huge for me, but we were only 10 minutes up the road...
Chad "picked me up" for our date on Saturday evening and we went straight to the jewelry store, where he bought me this little beauty:
The bottom ring was a present for last Mother's Day--Cade's ring, and the top is Luke's. One day, we will give them to them...but for now I am enjoying my right hand. Except that it looks real pasty in this picture. And he also got me pearl earings, and despite the fact that the lady told me to not wear them and spray perfume or hair products or whathaveyou, I haven't taken them off. I probably won't for a while.

Anyways, we then went out to dinner, where I had the best big ol steak. We wrapped up with dessert and champagne and then--even though we had no kids--turned in at about 9:00. Pathetic. It gets worse though...we were back at the house by 7:00 am. It is sleeping in for us...but still.

So then, on the actual Mother's Day, we went for a nice walk at the park, had a great lunch with my parents, and I got to spend time with this:



What Cuties!!

This is just cause it is also cute, my boys making breakfast

And so begins our 15 minutes

Well, we have a very huge announcement. Our problems are over, there is a light at the long road to financial security, and we will soon be joining the ranks of the rich and famous. As of now, my husband is a published author!
I am sure that his article will soon be nominated for a pulitzer, and you will probably start seeing it in your inbox every three days as the next sentimental forward that promises you full hair and angels singing over you if you forward it to ten people in the next 42 seconds.
In complete seriousness though, Chad submitted an article that he wrote about (you guessed it)HUNTING to several (yes, you guessed it) HUNTING MAGAZINES. After his elk trip last fall he decided to record the adventure, and then he got an email back that Traditional Bowhunter (you want a subscription? That link in a moment) wanted to run the article online.
So yes, his resume will now include Published Author in the accomplishments (?) section, which ought to come in super handy for all the firefighter applications. Right up there with Professional Singer (he sang the national anthem at the rodeo) and College Rodeo Cowboy. Is there anything my man hasn't done? I am so proud of him.
And the income from this second career...a whopping $50!!! So yes, watch out Beverly Hills, we are moving on up, and loading the mattress on top of the car when we come.
Read the story here!

OH MY WONDERFULNESS!!

So I am relatively new to the spa scene. As in, this is my second time inside of a building that is a real genuine spa. I don't think you can count the establishment that I frequented in high school to get my inch long acrylic nails. It was called Cali Nails, and we thought that the Asian woman who owned it was named Cali (that's what we called her anyways), but she didn't speak english and it turns out Cali was for CALIFORNIA...and what that has to do with nails I will never know.
Anyways, my first trip to a real spa was last summer. I had a gift certificate that I got for Cade's baby shower and decided to go get a facial and a manicure and pedicure. I expected three hours of bliss. Instead, I swear, they tried to use an acid rub on my face and my nail polish all wore off that afternoon. And trust me, this was no 'Cali Nail' type establishment. I expected more and really couldn't see what all the hype was about.
Enter this gift card and my appointment yesterday.
I was a little doubtful and wishing that the nice folks had given me money instead, but once my little Cat Nap was over, oh wow, I now understand the hype. It was, hands down, THE. BEST. THING. EVER. I think that if I could do that once a week, I would be the happiest mommy on the block. I have cracked the code to the abundant life--Jesus and Spa W. A winning combo.

Oh my poor brain...

So the other day I woke up in a funk. I went to my women's study and listened for an hour about how to get some joy, but I just kept thinking that joy only lives on one side of the bed. And I got up on the wrong one. Plus it was hot. And I was sunburned. And Cade wants to live outside, which is not good for all the hot and the sunburn. At any rate, by the time the afternoon rolled around I was really done with being a mom.
Chad comes home for dinner and then heads out again for class, which means I do bath and bedtime by myself. I was really debating about telling him that I NEEDED him to skip class and take over so that I could sleep or eat chocolate or a combination of both, but instead I decided to give myself a little incintive to push through. I called and scheduled a 'cat nap' at Spa W. They wrap you up in warm, good smelling towels, then massage you for an hour. It was just the carrot I needed to get through the night.
Or so I thought.
Right after Chad left, Cade picked up a water glass and threw it against the wall. It was a fun night.
But the most important part of this whole whiney story is this: I GO TO THE SPA TODAY!
And also, for any concerned parties, my mood is much improved. Chocolate helps.

Luke's New Moves!

This is Luke's newest AWESOME skill, all of the sudden he has gone from scooting around on his belly to this, the full fledged crawl. I will give you grammas some easter pics soon, but for now enjoy the trick moves of Luke!

Well, because I am bored, that's why

So, we are in Portland for a quick job application trip for Chaddy, and I am blogging at 5:30 in the morning. I don't really have anything to say or to add to the world except for this: Why do the boys hate me so much? They have already been up for an hour and a half AFTER not really sleeping at all last night. Seriously, if the bags under my eyes get any darker I will have people questioning me about spousal abuse.
Anyways, if you are up and around this ridiculously early, be praying for Chad's mad test-taking skills this morning. Like most fire agencies, you have to take a standardized test/personality profile before being asked to interview--so that's what he's up to this morning. Not this early, because no one does anything this early except feed cows (so I'm told), but he is studying to get ready. Because really, how beneficial is sleep before a test? The boys didn't think so either.

The last...for now

This is, hopefully, the last of today's updates. Last week, while Chad was studying for and taking finals we went to Newport with my best friend Jess and her two kiddos. We had such delusions of grandeur, we were going to get scrapbooks done, go on long walks on the beach, eat great food, and get all kinds of relaxing sleep. And then even when we realized that we would have our kids with us, the dreams got only slightly smaller. Which was a mistake.

We only got a few things done, and sleep (arguably the most important) was not one of them. Jess' kids got sick, mine decided not to sleep. If you look past all of that though, I had a great time. And I would do it again. Jess? No?

At the Marine Science Center, a free aquarium. The octopus tank. Right before Rachel (Jess' daughter) puked.

My Cousin Kay and her kids (yes the ones that just moved away from Bend) joined us, Cade and Isaac spent some quality time together.

And I love this one, Come here often?

Number three, and counting

The photo edition:


A few weeks ago or so we went to the Children's Museum in Portland. Cade LOVED it, I think it was one of the best days of his life so far...

Luke Rolls Over! And has rolls. And Buns! Oh my...

And an adorable face to go with the junk in the trunk:

He sleeps...

Cade, feeding his girlfriend Alyssa:

Cade and his cousin Isaac. They just moved away. I am trying not to cry looking at this photo!

Ok, then more later!

Update Number 2--Video Blog Edition for the Grammas

I don't really expect anyone but the Grammas to sit through videos of kids doing...nothing. But here they are, just for you.

Cade singing pattycake. Kind of. He has the important parts down.

Luke likes to talk. And I am a good cinematographer. Filmer. Cameraman. It's probably a good thing that I don't know the word since I obviously won't get a job there soon.

Actually, I just realized I uploaded the wrong video, and Luke doesn't actually "say" anything here. No matter. The right one was only slightly more entertaining.

Cade and his moves. And his physique. We turned down an underwear campagin the other day...cause he still don't like the "panties" and also we don't want that 6-pack making the other boys jealous. Or the girls swoon.

And then this one. Well, it is what it is.

And I am realizing that this only really counts as an update "blitz" if we are talking about snails...these videos are NOT fast.

Update Blitz--1 of ?

So, Backtrack to the 14th of March. Cade is TWO!!

We have been working for the last month to get the kid to say "two", but so far he refuses to do it consistently--especially not when you ask him how old he is. He does have a habit of coming up to me while I am fixing breakfast and doing his best to hold up two fingers and say two. And that's not related to how many pancakes he wants. Just another way that he lets us know that EVERYTHING is on his terms.

Anyways, despite the fact that he won't tell you how old he is, we had a great party with some of his little friends and family. Cade loves cars--or more accurately anything with wheels, so we had a car birthday, and most of his gifts were....cars.

The Birthday Boy!!

Brother of the Birthday Boy

Cade and the loot. He still doesn't understand the whole opening presents thing, which is so odd. He opened the first one and then continued to play with that car while his little buddies opened the rest of his presents for him. Aren't they nice friends?

Trenton helping Cade with the presents

And Dominick helping Cade break them in

Cade is not too good at sharing the loot--with Gaby---

Or with Isaac

The Cake--which I am OH SO PROUD OF

It was a great day, great party--and I can't believe he is TWO.

And we're off! Or not...

As an early birthday present Chad's parents got Cade some new undies. His mom tried to call them panties, which clearly shows how long it has been since she has bought manly undergarments or tried to tell a boy about underwear in general, but anyways. Because they are so cute and because I am getting seriously tired of changing the diapers of two kids I thought we would experiment a little this morning.

I sat with naked Cade in the bathroom for about 30 minutes this morning. He sat on his little potty, we talked about the potty, it even seemed like he likes his potty. Or at least he liked the ridiculous clapping, grinning and shouting his praises I did every time he sat down. I swear, I was amped up enough to make the insane asylum jealous.

Then, out of nowhere he sprinted his naked little butt out of the bathroom and off into my closet, which is his favorite place to do business. I quickly wrangled him up and brought him back to the potty, resuming the monkey dance that he liked so well earlier. It did not do the trick. He was not amused. He was shreiking and crying and wrestling his way off the potty. THE VERY SECOND he made his way off his little throne, he peed on the floor. Five inches from his potty.

Needless to say, the diaper is back on.

SOOO

I am finally trying to lose the weight that I accumulated by being pregnant twice in the last two years, and as a little carrot to help motivate my large and in charge butt, my mom has promised a shopping spree!!!!

So today, instead of going running, I am doing a little pre-shopping online. Now, I should preface this by saying that I haven't been shopping in about a million years. The last clothes I bought (that were not maternity) were from Costco...so it might go without saying that I clearly have no fashion sense or awareness whatsoever. But seriously...

THESE PANTS

AND THESE ARE FROM BCBG, not WE ARE UGLY.COM

This shopping spree might be harder than I thought, because if this is fashionable, then I don't want new clothes. And also, no matter how much weight I loose, I can never pull this off. I don't think this MODEL is pulling it off. Sheesh.

Why yes, I AM available

So I have been dating lately.

And I hate dating. In fact, I think one of the best things about being married is that dates (rare as they are lately) are actually fun. But, I am once again venturing out onto the dating scene. And oh, it is rough. The boys and I had a playdate with a new friend last Friday, and before you start thinking that doesn't really count as a date, wait. We showed up, sat through some awkward silences, and left not really knowing how it went, or if we'd ever get another call. I think it counts.

You see the kids and I have several friends that we get together with regularly to play. And they all get along great. Cade is a typical two year old boy: by that I mean that he runs, screams, throws stuff, doesn't like to share, and throws tantrums sometimes. At least I hope that is all typical. Anyways, Cade did all of these typical things, but the other little boy, he did not. He does not scream a lot, does not throw things that are not balls, sits and plays QUIETLY with play-dough and does NOT eat it, and understands what it means when his mommy says "give Cade that toy now". Wow. Talk about advanced.

Anyways, Cade made the boy cry on four separate occasions WITHOUT EVEN TOUCHING HIM. He threw food all over their kitchen, almost broke this beautiful glass tray that they had on their coffee table (that is how advanced their son is, we don't have a glass anything), would not share, would not conceal his screaming excitement over their toys, woke up her other son, and climbed on their furniture. At someone else's house, the things that I would consider typical and even good behavior started to look like naughtiness REAL quick. The glimmer of hope is that at the very end of our date, the boys started laughing together, but most of it was spent trying to shield them from the loudness that is my son.

Yes, me and the boys are putting the 'date' back into play date. We are just sitting by the phone, wondering if they'll call, or if I should call, do I give them three days? Who should call who first? If she says they are all "sick" does that mean that they don't want to get together? Should we just play it cool, like, "yeah we enjoyed ourselves, maybe we'll run into each other again...." I tell ya, I don't remember the "rules" for dating, and I am not really sure how to handle this one.

Banished!

Where have we been? Where has the time gone? And, what do I do all day that leaves me totally exhausted? I don't really know. Any of it.

At any rate, we are still here, still just plugging away, and still trying to convince Luke that sleeping through the night, it is cool. All the cool kids are doing it. His brother does it, his dad does it, his mom, well she would love to do it. But he wants nothing of it.

We are on round two of The Banishment, which means he has to sleep in the pack n play downstairs until he can figure out how to make it through the night. Round one lasted only about 5 days: three nights of crying and two of sleeping. I thought he was ready to move back into his room, and he did really well...initially. He slept through the night in his crib for a few nights and then was back to a little squeak at about 3 am, then 12 and 3, then it was every hour on the hour after 12. So he has been banished again. And if I wasn't so tired it would break my little heart that he is downstairs crying all by himself. Instead I am sleeping. With my alarm set so that I remember to wake up and check on him. Hopefully just a few more days...

There have been other things going on, Chad is in the middle of a few application processes (processi?) with some fire agencies, and we are just waiting to hear back. We finally feel like there may be a light at the end of the tunnel, and oh, it is exciting.

Testing, Testing, 1-2

The Afters:

Here are some of the pictures/evidence of the productive weekend that my mom and I spent together. While the list didn't exactly get tackled, we did some signifigant damage. And all this is in addition to the fact that my mom woke up with Luke all night for 3 nights, did all of my laundry, helped steam clean the carpets (it is a whole new house over here!), took Cade to the museum, took all of us to lunch and basically pretended that this was her house and that we were all her children. Not exactly what I look forward to doing on my vacations, but she said she enjoyed it. I am not totally convinced, but I am grateful!

Luke's new artwork.

And Cade's

More new artwork

Here is a close up of those lil beauties. I know. Amazing, right?

AND THERE ARE EVEN CURTAINS!!!!

The boy's room looks better than ever, if only they would learn to appreciate it from the comfort of their beds, life would be just about perfect 'round here.

I also did a fair amout of scrapbooking. I swear, my life and perspective on scrapbooking were revolutionized by this crazy little machine called the cricut. I want one. And I don't even want to scrapbook. Or to be a 'scrapper' as the kids say these days. I just think that this little machine has so much potential. Oh, the possibilities. I want to cut out letters until my whole house is covered with personalized things.

I will post pictures of my scrapbook pages later. Because I am that proud of myself. I did tell Chad that I cut all of the letters out by hand, so that he would think that I am even cooler, and also because I was embarrassed that it took me all day to do two pages ON A MACHINE but he only replied that he doubted I would ever finish these books. Backfire.