Things they say...

It suddenly hit me tonight how much I miss writing, especially about my sweet angels and our crazy, beautiful life.  I logged back into my long forgotten blog and discovered this - a post I wrote a while back and never even published.  Well, it may be old but, here it is in its original glory.  I'm going to try my hardest to keep up on this long lost passion. 

Raising three boys is comical on a daily basis – especially being we are of the opposite gender!  They always have questions galore and the questions come out at the strangest moments.  Here's a sampling... all from the past week.

Mommy, why don’t girls have a penis? – We were enthralled in our movie picnic night when Jamison threw this doozy out.  The other two and I exchange glances as we secretly wondered to ourselves - where did that come from?!  My response: “Because girls have a vagina.”  Jamison: “Oh, ok.”  Phew!

Mommy, I love you.  You’re the best mommy in the whole wide world. – My babies love their mama, so this is not a rare occurrence.  But, on this day it came from the top of the tower at McD’s playland.  It was Saturday at lunch and the place was packed.  Some mom’s looked at me with a smile of admiration and awww, while others clearly wanted to smack me.  I ate it up as a PROUD mommy moment!

How many toes does a frog have? – Hey, it’s a valid question!

What is a butt crack? – Jamison was in his room getting ready when I hear this little ditty coming from his direction.  I thought to myself… did I hear him right?  What Jamison?  Even louder - What is a butt crack and how does it crack???  Yep, I definitely heard him right!

Mommy, why do you have two hearts… and why are they popping out?  You need to see at the doctor!  – I’ve heard this from all three starting right around the age of 4.  They learn young what “boobies” are, but the obsession carries on!  Surprise, surprise!

When is great grandma coming back [from heaven]?  It must be a long ways away! –  Oye, heartstrings tugged.

I need to cuddle until you get up, Mommy, but take your time cuz I’m not in a hurry. – Funny, adorable and clever all wrapped into one.  Smart little man!

Why do girls poop every time? – In the mind of a boy, sit = poop.  Of course, makes logical sense!  I explained the girls anatomy, or lack thereof, for aiming.  Jamison’s response: “Well, I like to sit and go sometimes when I’m feeling like I can’t stand.”  I get it, kid.

Nooo, don’t move my hulk!  It’s his shift to stay awake and guard my bunk from monsters! – Monsters and bad guys are a constant topic with three boys!  I assure them that all the monsters are locked away… and if one happened to escape; our house is sprayed with a no-monster shield.  Not unlike spraying for ants!

Mommy, the bully is outside walking her dog! – This was said in direct ear-shot of said bully (otherwise known as evil bully neighbor lady and creepy yappy dog.)  Oops, Mom didn’t win ANY points on that one!

Meet Jackson's Brain

Our eldest sweetheart barely failed a pediatric eye exam.  As a result, they referred him to a Pediatric Eye Doc.  The doc performed a plethora of tests including; touching his nose while being cross-eyed, measuring the longitude and latitude of his eyeball, and dilating him to the point of black olive'esque pupils.  Final determination: the nerve leading to the eye from his friend the brain wasn't firing as quickly as it should.  Could be normal or may not be normal.  Since he had passed an eye test previously, the doc decided to err on the side of caution and do an MRI to ensure nothing else was going on in his brain.  How does a mom hear this seemingly simple statement?  OH MY GOD... HE HAS A BRAIN TUMOR!!!  We promptly booked an MRI for exactly three days later.  

The day had arrived.  We checked into Children's at 11:30 with the procedure scheduled to start at 12:30.  Our little trooper hadn't eaten since the night before and casually mentioned a couple of times that he was starving.  He was actually smiley, playful, and not the least bit fearful of what was to come.  The moment arrived to head in to the "spaceship."  I thought for sure he'd look at this intimidating machine in this intimidating room with these intimidating people with masks on and run for the hills.  Not the case!  He walked in and hopped up onto the table before they even asked.  He laid down, chose bubblegum as his anesthesia flavor of choice, and was told he'd be feeling a little silly very quickly (otherwise known as laughing gas.)  We knew the moment it kicked in because his eyes actually started laughing.  Next up... the sleeping gas.  The Anesthesiologist explained to him that it would smell like the Carolina Panthers locker room.  She obviously knew the way to his heart because he drifted off to dreamland with a giant Cam Newton smile!

150 pictures and two hours later, they call us back as our first born lays sleeping - his liver working hard to burn off the Propofol remains (remind you of Michael Jackson, no?!?)  He looked so vulnerable at that moment, almost like he was a baby again.  He woke as quickly as he fell asleep, but apparently the laughing gas was still on board because this kid was hilarious!  

After a very long 24-hour wait for results, we received the GOOD NEWS.  His brain is perfection!!  I knew that all along... didn't sweat a thing!  All is good AND he has pictures of his brain to boot.  How cool is that!?  Check out those eyeballs!

Nature or Nurture?

Typically, when someone arrives at my bedside before 6am, I usher them back into bed and re-tuck extra tight.  Let me tell you, this is a difficult skill I've had to learn as a mother.  There is just something so extra sweet about cuddles in the early morning, that is until it becomes "the habit," and the habit is what drags me out of bed to re-tuck. They say it only takes three occurrences for a child to develop a habit, but "they" are vastly wrong when it comes to crawling into a warm, safe, and cozy bed with a mommy (daddy is equally applicable.) 1.25 times... that is all it takes and they are HOOKED!  Before you know it, it's 3am and someones toe is shoved up your nose, a freakishly sharp elbow is piercing your shoulder blade, and a kids is cradling your head, just as the picture (and yes, I too wear lipstick and pearls to bed.)  Something had to change!  After three nights of tears (mine from having to get up 15 times a night!) and some withdrawal shakes from the boys, we had broken the habit!  I now understood the importance of hallway ushering.

On this morning at 5am, I heard the telltale *THUMP* of little man jumping out of bed.  His feet set out down the hallway like an Olympic sprinter crossing the finish line, but as soon as he hits the door to my room he stops and tip-toes in.  He climbs on to the wood frame of the bed, puts his nose next to mine and whispers "mommy, I come in?"  He reserves this voice solely for this moment so as not to overuse it, and trust me... it is sweet enough to give you a toothache!  "Come in baby, but you have to go back to sleep."  I know I'll regret this decision, but I just couldn't help myself today.  Guess which child likes to sleep as the above referenced picture??  As I lay there, still wide awake, with a 43 pound, 3 year-old snoozing on my head I wondered.... Is a love for cuddling precipitated by nature or nurture?  Are we born with a cuddle gene or does our babyhood cuddle status impact our love of cuddling, or lack thereof?  

Jackson is the least cuddly of the three.  He also got the least amount of time sleeping with mom as a baby since I was ultra-cautious and sure he'd do a double back flip off the bed.  As each new kid came along and sleep became more elusive, my thoughts on the topic quickly changed.  3 boys under 4... you do what you gotta do to survive... and that means sleep!  Joshi spent a good amount of time sleeping with me and is super cuddly, but only on his terms.  Jamison would only sleep with me, so off to bed we go kid.  He is by far the most cuddly!  So nature or nurture?  Our experiences lead me to believe it is nurture.  Whatever it is, I'll take all the cuddles I can get... after 6am!

Call it Writers Block...

Ok, I lied.  I have never had writers block or any shortage of crazy happenings to write about!  Life has been a bit crazy and unfortunately, CookBoyChronicles paid the price.  Sincere apologies to my loyal followers who seemingly think I fell off the earth.

So what's been happening with us?  

Mr. Jackson 

• You'll notice there has been a "son" added to my eldest kids name.  He has affectionately renamed himself Jackson and gets downright offended if you call him otherwise.  Jackson it is, sweet boy.
• He has developed an intense love for football and is convinced he is the best ball catcher to ever grace this earth!  But there is one massive obstacle threatening to squash his wide-receiver dreams - he's a BLONDIE!
• "Mommy?"
• "Yes, honey."
• "I need to make my hair brown."
• "Why, blond is beautiful?"
• "Because there are no blond NFL players, I've been watching carefully!"
• "There are lots of blond players... and anyway, different is good."
• "But they won't take me if I'm blond."
• "They will, because you are the best catcher!"
• "Well you have to be the best catcher AND have brown hair."
• I promptly grabbed the iPad and googled "blond NFL players." The search was unfruitful and resulted in one semi-blond player (we debated his blondness for a good two minutes.)  I'm afraid I proved his point further.
• "Sweetie, I promise you... football skills are based on talent, not hair color. I tell you what, when you're 18 you can make your hair brown if you still want to."
• "Ok..................................... well does that mean I can color it before college or before the NFL??" 
• "You'll be going to college when your 18."  
• "Ok, I can deal with that."
• He's doing great in school with Art, Gym and Recess being his favorite subjects (not in that order.)  And he seems to be a very popular dude.  After playing outside with neighborhood buddies, he came meandering back in, stripped off his outside gear and plopped himself on the couch with a big sigh.  I said "what's wrong honey?" "I'm just so tired of them fighting over which house I should go to!  Why can't we just all play together?"  And that pretty much sums up his state personality.  He's strong-willed and somewhat stubborn, but has this giant heart.
  

Mr. Joshua

• Oh our sweet, sweet angel-faced middle child.  He has earned the nickname of "chatty charlie." Holy cow this kid can talk - and I mean non-stop.  It is very charming and endearing, and we enjoy hearing all of the valuable information he has to share in that adorable voice.  Jack, on the other hand, is brought to tears on occasion because "joshi never stops talking." :)  It's a lesson in patience for Jackson.  I, on the other hand, love it and could eat him up.  Unless it involves an hour prior to 6am, which happens often with the notoriously early riser.
• This kid proves everyday that he has a heart of gold.  Don't get me wrong, he has a small percentage of naughty, but he is so ultra-caring.  Mrs. Kocher readily admits that he is her favorite!  Empathetic, helpful, caring, rally-er, includer, and always the first to console if a buddy is less than happy.  Those are her words, but there's no doubt I agree 180%.  He was also awarded with the highest honor of 'Student of the Month' amongst his Kindergarten peers.  So very proud!
• Joshi had lots of firsts this past year.  Of course, Kindergarten is a big first.  He also had his first camp, first banana boat ride, first convertible, first cowboy experience, and many more.  He takes on any new challenge with grace and bravery and rarely ever complains about anything. This kid is destined for greatness!
  

Mr. Jamison

• Jamison has really come into his own in the past year.  His hilarious personality has sprouted, grown and flourished.  He is wise beyond his years and has a great talent for cracking up a room.  He's also very charming and will woo you quickly with those big brown eyes.  The ladies love him, old and young!
• He had a major change this past year that proved to be harder on me than it was on him.  We moved him out of our beloved Best Buy New Horizon to a center closer to home.  He moved the same time the older two started school, so he too would feel like a big boy starting school.  He handled the change like a champ without a single tear.  Ms. Annica said "we needed someone just like him in our room - he has an electric personality and happily contagious personality!"  Guess it follows him wherever he goes.  And we've discovered a brand new talent - he is a Spanish whiz!  How many 3-year olds can count to 15 in Spanish and rail off 30 Spanish words?  Spanish teacher said she's never seen a preschooler retain words like he does.  Quite impressive!
• Since he is only three and a half, we are still fine-tuning some social skills like; lift BOTH toilet seats, do not decorate the wall with chapstick, peeing in the front yard is never ok, and wear underwear to school - everyday.  You know, the basics.  

We've had challenges, as any family does, but we seem to have really come into our own.  Dad and Mom are friends and awesome co-parents and I am so very grateful for that.  I feel blessed and am looking so forward to what the future brings!

Baby Turns Two

Well, the way the past year has gone, my motto is "better late than never."  Our baby boy turned 2 in May and I'm just getting around to posting the pictures now.  Sweet boy - when you are all grown up and wonder why Mom took 7 months to post about your birthday, know that it was because I was far too busy playing with you.  Love you sweet angel!  Happy 2.5 birthday.