Six in the City - Part III - The Bodyguard

Jamison caught on to all these dangerous kids eyeing up the precious new lute and took it upon himself to play bodyguard to his beloved brother.  

First up, sight inspection.

Hey you... in the pink... I got my eye on you. 

Back it up buddy... gettin a little close.

Ah forget it, where's my ice cream?

Six in the City - Part II: Mi Amigos

Next up for Jack's B-Day... the much anticipated friend party.  Jack was responsible for the invite list and after much deliberation, he finally narrowed it down to 25 of his closest friends.  We had been counting down to the big event since 182 days before and the day FINALLY arrived.  It was Jack's turn to be the six year old guest of honor.  

Everyone lining up to head in.  They should really make this room padded because they were literally bouncing off the walls!

Once inside, they were off like a BOLT and had a lot of sweat to show for the hard core playing.

Jamison was even in on the action!  This is one brave kid.

Grandma and our fab neighbor Angie chatting it up.

There one minute...

... gone the next.  Whoopsies!  I love that little orange foot.

Jack was MOST excited about sitting in this giant kings chair.  Alas, the time had come!

Special thanks to Grandma and my beyond generous and amazing friends, Heather & Pam, for helping out with the little ones.

Jack had the funniest little habit as he was sitting in this chair opening the gifts.  He smelled everything!

Present envy at its finest.

We had three pooped out little boys - perfect movie night.

Six in the City - Part 1: the Big Day

First off, allow me to apologize to my little six year old.  Someday you are going to read this and realize that you turned six on February 12th but your Mum didn't post about it until the middle of March.  Bad Mommy, bad.  I tend to get a bit overwhelmed by the giant posts such as little man turning 6.  It really baffles my mind how he can possibly be 6 years old already.  It feels like just yesterday when we brought him home on Valentines Day, placed him in his crib, and stood there and stared at him for a good 20 minutes.  After those first 20 minutes, Dad and I looked at each other and said "now what do we do with him?"  Well apparently we did the right thing because he is growing up to be an awesome little man.  He's funny, sweet, empathetic, caring, a budding artist, the class clown, and a witty little sucker.  We couldn't be more proud!  

This is actually a birthday card but his shirt has given it legs.

Ok, incredible story on this cake I must share.  We ordered a dolphin cake from Kowalski's about three weeks before the family party.  The day of the party, Jack and I headed out to pick it up only to find out they forgot to fax the order to the primary bakery.  Not to worry though, they would get it over to the bakery and have it delivered by three, all free of charge (even for the cake.)  We said great and headed out to get the balloons.  I received a call about 1:30p from Kowalski's.  She said they couldn't get a hold of the bakery (closed apparently) so they called around to all Kowalski's in town to find a white frosted, vanilla throughout cake and alas, found one.  They then called all over town to find some dolphins - Target, Party City, the MINNESOTA ZOO.  Yes, they actually drove to the zoo to buy these beauties that were placed on makeshift cake.  The delivery lady arrived at our doorstep with cake in hand AND a $25 gift card.  It's not the prettiest cake ever made but we were blown away by the painstaking effort these people took to make sure our little man got his dolphin cake.  Seriously above and beyond!  Needless to say, all of our future cakes will be ordered from Kowalski's.

The days entertainment... known as J-Ree.

Is there anything better than laughing pics?  Too bad he wasn't having any fun at all.

Big brown.

Auntie Kathy is always willing to be a playmate.

The three and six year old version of WTF?  I have no idea whatsoever what caused such a reaction but their faces are priceless.

Poor Evan - You know he's thinking "oh hell, not these guys again."

Yep, that is DEFINITELY what he is thinking.  

Happy birthday sweet first born.  We just love you to pieces!  

Next up: Six in the City - Part II 

Blowing Bullets

You hear the urban legends.  You hear the infamous ER stories.  You hear about kids shoving everything from peas to banana's up their nose.  I always thought to myself "nope, not my kids" but somewhere deep down I knew it was only a matter of time before we were presented with the 'up the nose' experiment, we do live with three boys after all.  Well alas, it happened!  Not Jamison, not Joshua, but our very intelligent first born.  He was sitting up at the island putting together a very tedious, tiny piece helicopter by following the detailed page-by-page directions (I might add that it's for Ages 8+ and my little six-year old was building like a champion - did I mention he's intelligent?)  The rest of the family was packing up and sunblocking to head out to the zoo, when suddenly:

Jack: Jumps off the stool in a panic while simultaneously turning pure white after realizing his experiment went seriously awry.  "uh, Uh, UH... OH NO!"  

Mom: "Honey, what's wrong (thinking he had broken his masterpiece?")

Jack: With Road-Runner speed he makes his way across the kitchen and announces to everyone "I'M GOING TO DIE!!!  I put a green thing in my nose and it's missing."  

Dad: In an utter panic runs to Jack to inspect the situation.  "OMG... it's in there... IT REALLY IS (hmmm... I wonder where Jack get's his panic reflex... it's a mystery... really.") 

Jack: Now crying louder due to Dad's calming response.

Mom: "Guys, calm down, it's ok... kids do this all the time, we'll get it out."  These magic words seem to work for the big kid and the small kid.  I walk over to Jack to peer up the canal and not so smartly announce "it's starting to bleed, let's get back on the wood floor."

Jack: "I'M BLEEDING?!?!"

Mom:  Oops, more damage control.  "Honey, it's ok.  We'll get it out.  People do this all the time, but I bet you won't do it again (what kind of Mom would I be without throwing that in there?)  Ok, I'm going to close off this side and I want you to blow real hard from the other side."

Jack: Mentally prepares, builds up his courage, winds up, and blows real hard....... out of his mouth.

Mom: "Sweety, let's try this again, but this time put your lips together as tight as you can and then blow out your nose."  It's all about the details with these little guys.

Jack: Mentally prepares, more courage, winds up, and blows hard enough to send this little green piece shooting across the kitchen like a bullet.

Joshi was standing there watching with eyes as big as saucers but as that bullet launched across the kitchen, we all started laughing hysterically.  The laughter was a combination of relief and the simple fact that Jack had just managed to launch a little green piece from his nose clear across the kitchen.  This should be a sport because he'd be a shoe in! 

On the way to the zoo Jack asked "Mommy, do kids really do that all the time?"  He didn't specify what "that" referred to but we all knew.  "Yes honey, they really do."

Mission New Kid

 Ha!  If you think this post is about making a fourth kid... you're crazy!!!  We are trying to fix the ones we have..... by Friday!  We came to the realization that life with three boys had suddenly crossed over from normally chaotic to somewhat out-of-control.  A lot of back-talking, flat out rebelling and sense of entitlement had suddenly reared it's ugly head and something HAD to be done.  I am actually somewhat of a strict Mum but clearly something had gone seriously awry.  

Here's where I shout out a HUGE thanks to my friend Autumn who just happened to mention Have a New Kid by Friday on good 'ol FB.  After her rave review, I hopped on the super express train to Barnes & Noble wondering 'could this be the answer to our challenges?'  He does after all guarantee a new kid by Friday.  Hell, we'll try anything at this point, so let's go.  I settled into bed that night and read the entire book from epilogue to appendix.  Two nights later I sent Dad off for a couple of hours to do the same.  We were preparing for war and D-Day was imminent.

Dr. Leman claims that we baby our kids too much, pave their way too often, and allow them to get away with far too much.  He's a no-nonsense and seriously funny kind of guy, just our style.  The premise is that there is no nagging and no warnings.  You ask your kid to do something only once and they can choose to do or not do it.  If they do it, great.  If not, the next time they ask you for something you immediately say "no, I don't think so" or "no, I really don't feel like reading books tonight." They quickly begin to understand the cause and affect of their own behavior.

D-Day did indeed go down this week.  We were ready for battle (or lack thereof actually, since there is no more engaging in the typical arguing or begging to get dressed.)  When we kicked off earlier this week Jack had a seriously bad breakfast/dinner table attitude.  Common complaints included "why did he get more than I did" or "I don't like that."  After having two meals and one dessert swiftly removed from his presence,  he has come to earn the nickname Mr. Manners!  Tonight I actually heard, "thank you Mommy for making grilled cheese and soup so I can dip (funny thing is... he really dislikes grilled cheese and still didn't complain") and "may I please be excused from the table?"  Hallelujah... music to my ears... even better than Adele!  Joshi is doing well too, although he was unloaded from the car today with no shoes, socks or coat on and had to make the trek into daycare with some very chilly feet.  He was NOT a fan but I calmly reminded him that maybe tomorrow he'll put on his socks and shoes when I ask him to.  Dr. Leman touts "let reality be your teacher", this was a prime example of that theory.  Hmmm... I wonder if he'll put his socks and shoes on when I ask tomorrow morning.  We shall see but I'm guessing the answer might be yes.  You should have seen the looks on the other parents faces.  Classic!  But I didn't care because I'm going to have a new kid by Friday... and you're not. :)  

We still have a ways to go but are seeing some definite and exciting progress.  We are so, so blessed to have three awesome and truly amazing kids, but there is no room for attitude and entitlement in this crazy, boy-filled house.  Who's running the roost here?  Much to their little hearts dismay, there's a new sheriff in town... and the beautiful thing is... they know it!