Mom, where are your trees?

That was Jacob's question tonight. It took me a minute to answer. I repeated the question to make sure I understood what he said. Then I realized what he was talking about - he noticed that my Valentine's Day flowers were gone.

Songs Songs Songs

Well, with all the singing we do around here, you start to really make sure you listen to all the lyrics. I know I've mentioned that the boys like Alan Jackson & they also have listened to some of Patrick's old cassettes (yes, his CD player in his car has business cards in it?! so he can use the cassette player) like John Morris who sings some Irish folk songs. Well, they hear a lot of the lyrics, but we're glad they haven't picked up a few & guess we better hope they don't get a couple words on the songs they already know...

Leyton: "Way down yonder on the Chattahootchie, it gets hotter than a hootche kootchie. We laid rubber on the 'Georgy' asphalt, got a little crazy but we never got caught. Down by the river on a Friday night pyramid of 'ca' in the pale moonlight. Talking 'bout cars & dreamin' 'bout 'mum...(mumble)'....

Leyton, Nathaniel, & Jacob: "way hey up she rises, way hey up she rises, way hey up she rises, earl-i in the mornin'" - luckily we haven't gotten into the refrain of that one which is, "What do you do with drunken sailor, what do you do with a drunken sailor..."

With their Jim Cosgrove music & other CD's like Ralph's World, they really know a lot of lyrics, none of which we need to worry about. With Ralph's World, probably a funny one is the coffee song because they can't spell, but they sing the song which goes..."M-O-M-M-Y needs C-O-F-F-E-E, D-A-D-D-Y needs C-O-F-F-E-E. I love my kids, I love my kids...but I need, what I need, and I need a lot of M-O...etc."

I actually bought them 2 new CD's last week that have some "Jesus songs" that they are really enjoying also. One is more like prayers, the other is fun songs with names like Monster, Jesus & Macaroni, etc.

All the music they listen to is actually decent, you just think more about each word when you have the youngsters around singing & listening - as we know kids hear all & will remember all.

Nathaniel has lots to say...

"Mom, don't call me Nathaniel ANYMORE. I'm Jim Cosgrove all the time. "

"Would you like to come in here (the front living room) and I'll take you on a ride in my mini-van? I'm going to California or to Florida."

"Mom, I think Jesus is tired. How does he walk on water? I think it's with sharp sandals. I think he's tired because he walked on water at night. I wish I could walk on water."

"Thank you for taking me to the dentist." (WHAT?! - will that be his thought every time after we go? Ha.)

"Mom, Mrs. Cosgrove turned into a magician and she was mean but then she turned into a mosquito and was looking for a shark." (I'm not kidding; althought he does like Mrs. Cosgrove & actually I'm supposed to pretend to be Mrs. Cosgrove most of the time unless Leyton asks Jim (aka Nathaniel), "Jim Cosgrove, can Mommy be Mrs. Robinson today?" Oftentimes the answer is "No" but Leyton likes me to be Mrs. Robinson more often than not. What can I say, I don't know who to be.)

Leyton's Story

Leyton: "There were 1000, 60, 75, 20 robbers at my work. They took my computer, they took my chair, they took my papers, my backpack; all my stuff. They took everything. The end."

Me: "Were you able to do any work?"

Leyton: "No."

Me: "Did you get your stuff back?"

Leyton: "Yes, Mr. Crandall (that's Patrick's boss) helped me get it back."

He's very serious during this and it's very difficult not to smile during this. Creative minds always coming up with who knows what.

Very Loving Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day was fun. Jacob, Leah, & I went to the boys' party at school. They really liked the Valentine thing - they liked the candy for sure & were actually full of love. All day, we heard a lot of, "Mommy I love you, Happy Valentine's Day." I sure can't hear that enough! I loved hearing that all day! The party at school was fun, too. The class activities were actually pretty good & focused on them "giving their hearts to Jesus." All the projects they made were in relation to Jesus, Jesus loves me, etc. Cute. We had dinner at home that evening & had a nice surprise of flowers. It was different to have Valentine's Day during Lent this year.

Jacob's Big Bed

It's always nice when something you didn't think was a huge deal really makes someone's day. We saw that with Jacob this week. One of the things we bought over the weekend was a bed for him. We had been just having him sleep on his twin mattress on the floor in his room, but figured it was soon time for an actual bed. We were shopping while at my parents' this weekend (by the way - Washington, MO is a very nice small town - side story on that at the end of this). Anyway, we bought a twin bed for Jacob & when we got home, we got it all set up for him. Do you know this has made him so happy. He's so excited to have his own bed. Sunday night he talked about it and just kept saying, "My bed, my bed! I like my bed." Monday when I put him down for nap, we walked in his room & it was like he had forgotten he had it. With amazement he said, "My BED!" Then at night when we talk about the day. I asked him if he liked his bed & he said, "Yeah, I big." Just now today when he went down for nap, he asked me & wanted to make sure no one was going to take his bed. I assured him it would be safely his bed & no one elses. I'm sure happy we bought it! It's neat to see how special it made him feel that just he got something special.

So Patrick & I chuckled about this with the furniture store trip in good ole' Wash, MO...
We're shopping around at the store & the young man working was very friendly. I knew the family that owned the store & asked him if he was part of that family. He said he was and immediately asked if I "was a Kuenzel." I told him I was. I never saw this person before in my life & he was actually probably 6 or so years younger than me. Anyway, then we were shopping around and talking that if we bought the bed, we'd have to figure out how to get it back to KS. Well, then a lady shopping (who I did recognize), said to me, "Do you need something brought to KS? You're a Kuenzel, right?" I said that yes, I was, and that we might need the bed delivered if we didn't fit it in the truck. Well, she was more than happy to deliver it right to us. She was going to be making trips up here for her daughter & it was just funny that in this little shopping trip not only did we find a bed, but found a way to get it delivered home at no charge! Ha. Well, if you would want to know more about Washington, MO - it's a great town to visit, you can check the link. Kind of between Hermann & St. Louis right on the Missouri river.

First trip to the Dentist

I wish I'd brought my camera, but luckily the hygienist had hers & took the boys' picture! Leyton & Nathaniel had their first visits to the dentist today. I went yesterday, so it's nice most of us have that out of the way for a while. At first neither of them wanted to get in the chair. Our hygienist did a great job of talking to them & showing them all the tools. Before we knew it, they actually were both in the chair together. They sat very still & silent. Patiently they went through the whole cleaning & exam; Leyton first, then Nathaniel. Sure is nice that they can go through this stuff together! Luckily, we left with twenty cleaned teeth in each mouth and no cavities. I had Leah & Jacob with me, too, so we were all glad that we made it through the appointment successfully! As we were leaving, Nathaniel was calling out to the staff, "OK, now you can check somebody else's teeth! HA!" Glad they were happy when we left. I thought about taking them out for lunch, but I always hesitate when I ask them what they want for lunch & they pick something like grilled cheese. So, we just headed on home for lunch; I'm sure we'll go out sometime soon.

Weekend at Grandma & Grandpa's

This past weekend we went out of town again - it's been a while since we were gone two weekends in a row. My sister and her family were in from Texas, so we went to Grandma & Grandpa's for a visit. It was a nice time. Hard to believe we had 8 children (age 4mos to 9yrs), 2 grandparents, and 5 other adults all staying at my parents' house. It was a full house. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins. It was a nice visit. We also were able to visit both of my grandmas - it's always nice to visit with them as well. Uncle Ben & Aunt Rachel came over to visit, too. The three boys were pretty wound up the whole weekend and that's actually one of the best parts of the 3 1/2-4 hr drive home - we always hope everyone takes a nap! It worked this time, too. Leah had a good weekend, too, & slept well in the car both ways. That's always nice! I think my niece Allison had fun seeing Leah - her only girl cousin! It's cute to watch all the kids play together & talk, etc. Fun was had by all. Now back to the usual for a while.

3 Boys, 5-6 CD's (each bought x2 = 10-12), 8 Guitars!

Well, to keep up with our musicians playing the guitars all the time, we occasionally have to replace the worn out guitars. In the past one year and one month, we have realized that we have had eight guitars...Leyton & Nathaniel - 3 each, Jacob 1. Then, Nathaniel's recently broke as the neck cracked from the body. So, Sunday we purchased the eighth guitar! Granted, these are not the professional, full-size ones, but still they are not just little toys, either. The last 3 for the big boys are student guitars, so they're just a bit smaller than a regular one. Four of them were actually beginner ukeleles that were a perfect size for them. Jacob's is a smaller size but a guitar vs. a ukelele (in case details matter). Well - I guess at our house, details do matter. We all notice if someone has something different. I wonder how many we'll go through in the next year. They actually take pretty good care of them. They are definitely not the hard rockers banging them on the ground or anything, they just get used A LOT!

Slow & Steady Wins the Race

Tonight's dinner was a new chicken recipe with broccoli & corn side dishes. Surprisingly, everyone liked it, despite Nathaniel's persistence in saying he didn't like it before he tried it. Anyway, my favorite was Jacob. He really likes to use utensils and doesn't like to use his fingers much. Well, he ate a lot of corn tonight...3 helpings his size. The best part was his eating it with his fork...one lonely kernel at a time. He finished it all & went on his merry way.

Long Weekend = Mini-vacation

We were able to take a short getaway this weekend to Branson, MO. We left Thursday night & actually hit a bit of snow, but made it by about 11:30pm or midnight. We stayed at the Wyndham resort. The goals of the weekend were to relax, swim, and just spend some time together. We had realized that Patrick hadn't taken a day of vacation since around Dec., 2006, so we figured it'd be a good idea! It was a lot of fun. We had a two bedroom condo & the indoor pool was very close. The view from the pool was actually great. The resort name was Mountain Vista and it made good sense this weekend. We were high up and had a great view of the hills & trees around us. Even more fun on the snowy weekend was that the view out of the wall of windows from the pool was a bright sunny day and tons of trees covered with snow. It was very pretty and made swimming a bit more fun. The boys are getting pretty brave with swimming & their growth becomes pretty evident, too, seeing how far they can go out and keep standing with their head above water. Other than that, I got to do a bit of shopping with Leah. The drive home today was a bit easier as it was daytime & not snowy. I think everyone had fun & was happy to be home to sleep in our own beds. Next vacation...June - Orlando. Should be fun to look forward to!

Jim the 3rd (Jacob)...the next generation has arrived

Well as if Jim Cosgrove hasn't had enough impact on our life, we now have our next "Jim" in the house. We actually have been wanting a little guitar for Jacob for a few months & thought it'd be a great Christmas gift. However, we weren't able to find one like we wanted. Our little Jacob has really started singing and dancing to Jim's music and always wants to see him. He has also assumed the role of pretending to BE Jim, as he's learned from his big brothers. Often someone in the house is Willa (the Cosgrove's youngest daughter) and someone might be Lyda (their older daughter). I am usually appointed the role of Mrs. Cosgrove, and the boys love to be Jim. Jacob will now come and say, "I Jim." He'll sing and dance on our stage, do rock-n-roll jumps, the whole thing. However, it wasn't until today that he really joined the ranks as we found him his own little guitar that's just his size. It's the cutest little thing. We found it in Branson, MO today before we came home. He also has his own pick & put on a few concerts for us tonight. I've started videotaping him, also, as we have many "concerts" recorded with his brothers. They actually started liking the music around 2 1/2, but Jacob is a bit earlier. He sings "Stinky Feet," "Put down the Binky," and "Peanut Butter." So much fun. What a great hobby! Great entertainment for all!