Grumpy Little Singer

Jack sang in front of the church today.  Do you think he enjoyed himself?

Put it in Perspective...

I've been stressed about leaving my babies to go on a business trip, my first in a few years, until I stumbled across Super Nanny on Friday night.  We don't normally watch this show which makes it all that much weirder that I happened upon it on this night.  Super Nanny was called upon to help a Dad with three little boys.  Their Mom had recently passed away from cancer and these poor little guys were grieving their Mommy.  I've been thinking about these little angels all weekend and my heart is broken for them, but it also helped me to realize that being away from my babies for four days is nothing compared to the lifetime that these grieving little boys will be without their Mommy.  So off I will go - I will have a great trip and enjoy myself knowing that I am lucky enough to come home to give my boys a million more kisses.

Happy Birthday Easter Bunny!

The boys and I tackled an ambitious project on Saturday - our first Easter Bunny cake!  I love baking and am a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to decorating my baked goods so I've really had to learn to tame my perfectionist demons when the boys are my little baking helpers.  They helped mix everything up, poured it in the pan, patiently watched the oven as it cooked, helped Mommy make and spread the homemade pineapple-coconut buttercream frosting (YUM!), and decorate of course.  Besides the fact that he looks a little shocked (or afraid?), I'd say our little white friend turned out pretty good. The boys were certainly very proud of him!  As they were showing Dad the masterpiece, they decided that we had to sing Happy Birthday to the Easter Bunny.  Only logical, right?  It's a cake that is the Easter Bunny so it only makes sense it would be his birthday.  So the whole family broke out into an impromptu Birthday celebration for our beloved Easter Bunny.  It is moments like these that make being a parent such a JOY!

On a side note - Happy 10 months to our newest baby boy today!  

Not So "Impossibly Easy Cheeseburger Pie"

Kudos to Dad for trying something new tonight!  He called to ask if he should make some dinner for the boys.  I said "oh, we have hamburger. Why don't you whip up some Impossibly Easy Cheeseburger Pie." Crickets.  "Hello?"  "O-ah-ok, I'll give it a try."  When we walked into the house it smelled delicious.  Is there anything better than walking into a house with something cooking in the oven?

Immediately he said "I really screwed this up so you may want to take a look."  I peeked in the oven and other than the fact that it looked like impossibly easy cheeseburger bars (wrong pan) it looked rather edible.  Since they were much flatter than they were supposed to be and therefore cooked much quicker than they were supposed to cook (again, wrong pan) I pulled them out just after the nick of time.  Unfortunately, the boys were not big fans (take this with a grain of salt as they are VERY picky) but Corey and I thought they were surprisingly delicious.  Now don't get me wrong here, he is actually a great cook.  But not so impossibly easy cheeseburger pie actually falls under the "baking" category.  Way to step out of your comfort zone Dad!

A Little of This and a Little of That.

We had a fairly uneventful, but good weekend.  It's hard to plan anything big when we have hockey Saturday morning and Sunday School on Sunday morning.  We did manage to make it out to lunch with Gradmama and Grandpa Bill on Saturday.  They were going to Wild Bill's to eat and play bingo so the Cook clan tagged along.  Bingo was a blast!  The boys even got their bingo on with their very own kid friendly bingo cards and daubers - fun but very messy!  I wish I could have gotten pics of them as we were leaving.  Jack had a bright green nose while Josh had a bright orange nose.  They looked like the cutest little clowns I've ever seen.  We were a little worried this dauber stuff wouldn't come off but it did - EXCEPT for Joshie's big wound on the tip of his nose from a run in with the drinking fountain at school (the fountain clearly won.)  It used to be that healing pink color and now it is bright orange.  Oh well, he's had so many wounds we might as well switch it up a bit.  Oh wait, I did get a pic of Joshie's nose after naptime.  See the bright orange spot on the tip?  Yep, still bright orange, even after a long bath.

Back to bingo, so we were on our last and final game before we headed out to get the boys to nap-time.  Much to my surprise, I realized I only needed one more number on my card which happened to be the very next number the very nice bingo lady called.  Without thinking twice, I screamed BINGO!  It is a very odd sensation screaming at the top of your lungs in the middle of an extremely crowded and shockingly quiet restaurant.  Corey claims it was barely a whisper but I'm certain the neighbor restaurant could hear me.  I'll never forget the look on the boys face - they are just coloring away with their little daubers when Mommy suddenly yells at the top of her lungs.  They looked at me like WTH is her deal?!?  When they realized I won they were like proud little soldiers.  They gave us the very same look when Corey and I won the coveted balloon toss at the Cornelly family reunion last summer.  Anyway, just after I said it I had this overwhelming feeling of panic - what if I am that one moron, that everyone hopes for, who marked the wrong number?  B3, check, I14, check, N24, check, G32, check, O40, check, and we have a WINNER!  $99 baby!  I collected my cash as the calm and cool cat that I am - yeah, no biggie.  But inside I was excited to be the lucky one that day.

To fill up the rest of our free time we played lots of dress-up, made Joker faces with smoothies, played hide-n-seek, shopped a bit, and had fun with a giant box from Joshi's new booster seat.  It's amazing how much fun kids can have with a simple box.  It's really too bad us adults can learn from the simplicity that children bring into the world.  They played with this thing for a half hour and enjoyed every minute.  Check out Jamison's face - not so sure he was a big fan.

Help.... me.... quick.

On another note, Josh is talking like mad and we love it.  He says the sweetest, most innocent things.  Just a couple of notable examples from the weekend:

Jack and Josh in the car:
Jack: "When I'm all grown up and have my own drivers license and Josh is still a kid, I'm going to drop him off at the door instead of parking in the ramp."
Josh: "I'm not a kitty, why you call me a kitty cat."
Jack: "I didn't call you a kitty-cat (laughing), I called you a kid!"
Josh: "I'm not a kid, I'm a boy!"

Daddy and Josh at lunch:
Dad: "Are you wet?"
Josh: "No, I'm Joshi!"
Lastly, I'm leaving on a business trip soon.  It is my first time not only leaving Jamison, but Joshi too!  I know it will be just fine once I hop on the plane but the anticipation of it is literally making me nauseous.  So hard to leave my babies!  To help ease the pain a bit, I splurged on a new suitcase today.  The boys picked it out and insisted this was the ONE I had to have.  How could I argue that?  Away we went with our new bubble-gum pink little number.  Isn't it so Elle Woods???  All I need now is a fluffy little dog in my purse.  Anyone ever had a hardcase suitcase?  Not sure how it will hold up but it's hot.

What are you grateful for today?
Jack: "ummmm... ummmm... I'm grateful for Mommy & Daddy & Joshi & Jamison.  Oh, and my friends at school and my toys.  And everyone else in the world, but especially Mommy, Daddy, Joshi, and Jamison."
Mosh: "Yeah, my family too.... and move-it, move-it."

A BIG hug and kiss to Uncle Adam today.  He arrived back to the states from his tour in Afghanistan.  He is officially a war veteran.  XOXO little bro.

And, and, and...

What are you grateful for today?

Joshua: "Buzz Lightyear."

Jack: "Hmmmmmmm... well... I am grateful for Mommy and Daddy and Jack and Jamison and Joshi... and our house... and everyone else... oh and Uncle Craig and Auntie Gretchen and cousin EJ and the other EJ and my other cousins and their mommy and Uncle Adam and Auntie Sarah and Grandmama and Grandpa Florida and Grandpa Bill and Great Grandma and Cookie and Uncle Colin and Aunt Kathy and JJ and Porter.... and Mommy and Daddy and Jamison and Joshi.... that's it... wait, wait, wait, I'm not done... and sledding today with Mommy down the big hill and sledding with Daddy yesterday on the little hill... that's what I'm grateful for today."

Mommy: "I'm grateful for sights like this."

Good Day to Play

We had a great day today.  It was one of those rare ones that seem to go on forever.  But not because it was boring or uneventful, actually, quite the contrary.  We went to hockey this morning, Jamison and I hit the mall for a couple of hours while the boys napped, we played outside, and CeCe even came over with some new hockey books to read.  The camera was put to good use today.  Here's some fav's.

I walked by the boys bathroom this morning and cracked up at the sight.  No, we don't have a magic floating toothbrush.  It is actually suctioned to the mirror and yes, that is a GIANT batman on the wall in the background.  Welcome to life with boys I guess.

Jamison had beets for the first time at lunch.  What do you think?  Did he like them???

I don't know about this...

... but I'll try anything.

Not funny Mom.

It was a beautiful, sunny winter day so the boys ventured outside with Dad to play in the snow.  Jack thought it was funny to throw snow at Jamison and Mom inside the window.

Moshi had fun too, UNTIL head wound harry struck again.  This happens so regularly we hardly react anymore.  It's like a programmed drill - hugs & kisses - retrieve ice pack - retrieve popsicle - apply ice pack while popsicle is eaten - more hugs & kisses - return to play.

Before

After

We even got a rare 'Mom in the picture' sighting today.

Well Woody certainly doesn't look tired but my other little men are pooped out.  And we still have Sunday funday to look forward to.  Just for the record, Woody was not a plant.  Joshi lays him right there by his side before falling asleep.  They are best buddies!

What are we grateful for today?

Mom: "I got to spend so much time with my boys."

Mosh: "The potty" (hmmm... your guess is as good as mine?)

Jack: "The pizza I didn't have to eat."

Attack of the Kissing Monster

So, I decided today I'm not going to save the blog for just big events.  I want to start capturing more of the day-to-day happenings of raising three little boys.  There is never a dull day, or dull moment for that matter, so why keep all the fun to ourselves.  Today feels like a good day to start.

Lunch with Mom - I surprised Jack today by picking him up in his room for lunch.  I like to do this at least once a month so we can spend some good quality time together.  I always love how regal he feels when his Mommy picks him up for lunch.  It's like he won the preschool lottery that day and his friends know it too. Sometimes we go for a haircut and a milkshake or we just wander down to the cafeteria at work, as we did today.  Jack settled on a hot dog, curly fries, strawberry milk, and an orange (I know... not exactly a low-cal lunch but I am proud to say he ate the entire orange first.)

About half way through lunch Jack announced "I have to poop."  Immediately, I started running through all possible scenarios in my head.  Do we leave our lunch here while we venture off to the bathroom for 20 or 30 minutes?  Can he eat quick first?  Do we pack a doggy bag?  I decided to leave it up to Jack and he chose to finish eating.  Whew, he must not have to go too bad.  Carry on.  1.25 minutes later "but I really have to poop."  We packed up all our food, delivered it to the dish area and dashed off to the bathroom.  Upon arrival, the bathroom was empty so Jack got the stall of his choosing.  After inspecting 3 of the 4 stalls, he settled in on stall #2.  Appropriate, right?  Unfortunately, the door wouldn't stay closed so I had to stand guard outside the stall.  This was no easy task as the restroom began to fill up during the busy noon lunch rush.  Jack has always been afraid to poop at school so we struck a deal with him - poop at school equals a pack of Skittles.  So, all 4 stalls are full and there are two ladies waiting in line when we suddenly hear "Mommy, since I pooped at school I get Skittles right?"  You could hear chuckles from the other stalls.  I told him "well, you're not technically at school honey."  Since that answer was unacceptable, he devised a very long and complex explanation - from behind the stall wall - as to why he should get the Skittles anyway.  This kids can rival even the best negotiators.

Attack of the Kissing Monster - Now that Joshi is in young pre-school, he gets to play on the BIG playground with all of the BIG kids.  Ms. Cassie, who is actually one of Jack's teachers, was playing the role of the Kissing Monster outside today.  She would chase after the kids threatening to kiss them and they would run from her - all of them - EXCEPT our little lover Josh.  As she approached him, fully expecting him to run in the other direction as the other kids had, he surprised her by running towards her and announcing "yeah, I like kasses!" He then proceeded to plant a big one on her.  She's been Joshified!

What are you grateful for? - I've started asking the boys what they are grateful for every day.  They are still trying to grasp what exactly the word 'grateful' means so I hadn't actually gotten a real answer back, until today when Joshi finally announced he was grateful for his milk!  Now that's success.

Night, night.  Sweet dreams. xoxo

All is Quiet...

Sorry I haven't updated for a while.  I've been hard at work creating annual awards for our team at work.  It's my favorite time of year because it allows me the freedom to be ultra creative.  It's a nice change from the "analytics" I'm normally responsible for.  I'll post a few after they are unveiled on Monday so you can see what I'm talking about.

Anyway, there hasn't been too much to post about because things have been pretty quiet at the Cook household.  By quiet I mean there hasn't been much out of the ordinary going on.  Things are never actually "quiet" if you catch my drift.  Here are some updates on my favorite little boys:

Jack - Little crazy man.

• We went today to officially register for Kindergarten.  It was Jack's first visit to the school and he was very excited.  He loved the artwork everywhere and was especially excited about the sunken library with loads of computers.  Takes after his Mommy in that way I guess.  
• He is at a very interesting age right now.  He can be such a little stinker at times - for example, Corey went to kiss him goodnight and he flipped around and put his tush in Dad's face.  Normal 5 year old behavior?  Probably, so who cares.  What's more important is this kids enormous heart.  I am continuously impressed by it.  He was home with a cold yesterday so he and Dad made a Target run.  Jack had two gift cards from his birthday that were burning a hole in the new wallet CeCe gave him.  Instead of burning all the money on himself, he chose one toy for himself and one toy for Josh.  He was so excited for Joshi to come home so he could present his surprise.  So sweet!  
• We just signed Jack up for his very first camp experience.  He will be going for a week in June, July and August with three of his best buddies, Grayson, Cole, and Jordan.

Moshi - Ahhh... our little lover.

• He could not be any cuter if he tried!  His little face has lit up a room since the day he was born and it definitely has not changed with age.  His vocabulary has suddenly exploded and he is talking like a little adult.  That, coupled with the sweetest little voice you've ever heard, could make your heart melt.  
• We had a first tonight - I kissed him goodnight and said "I love you sooooo much" and he responded "I love you so much too Mommy."  Ughhh, stab a knife in my heart.  
• He recently moved into the young pre-school room and is really loving it.  He and Jack get to see each other on the big boy playground now instead of just peering at one another through the fence.  
• We are working on potty training but no luck yet - a chocolate bar isn't even enticing enough to get him to venture to the porcelain throne - and if you know home much he likes chocolate that would tell you how he feels about the potty.  

Jamison - Sweet little love bug.

• Apparently, he inherited the cuddle bug gene as well!  Or maybe it's not a gene at all?  I'm convinced that sleeping with your child the first year of their life enables an extremely strong bond and teaches them the love of cuddling.  Jack is our least affectionate and he never slept with us, Josh slept with us about half the time and Jamison has slept with us since birth and I'm not ashamed to admit it.  As I've gotten more relaxed with each kid, I've formed some opinions about infant/baby sleeping rituals - at least as it relates to my own kids.  It doesn't feel right to throw a baby into a cold, dark crib by himself.  Think about it... most cultures do not practice this ritual nor does any kind of animal.  I'm not comparing us to animals... I'm just saying.  Also, there are a lot of studies out there that claim children who sleep with their parent(s) for the first year of life are more independent, confident, and secure than those who sleep in the cold, dark crib.  I believe it whole-heartedly!  Ok, off my soapbox tangent now.  
• Back to the Jamestown update - he is still crazy active and loves to chase his brothers around the house.  They adore him and instinctively know their limits on what they can and can't do with him.  
• He is clapping his hands now and will do it on cue when you say "hooray," along with a BIG smile.  
• Two firsts happened today.  He waved bye, bye all on his own and had his first heaping helping of mashed potatoes.

I feel so blessed every day to have these three amazing little beings in my life.  Sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure they are really mine.

Oh, and don't forget to check out the Kidism's page.  There are almost too many to keep up with.