Wonderful Christmas Program

The big boys' preschool class had a Christmas program this year on Dec. 15, along with the other preschool classes. They boys did a wonderful job and I can't believe how much they participated; actions and everything! They sang Angels We Have Heard on High, He is the King, Away in a Manger, and the whole group sang Joy to the World. We really enjoyed watching and they really did a great job. Mom & Dad were very proud. Luckily the icy cold weather didn't stop the program from happening that day!

About the Syrup

So, the syrup event did actually happen in our kitchen. Both Patrick and Beth thought it was just a story & didn't know it actually happened here at home...well, it did.

Tips for Surviving Kitchen Disasters

Mmmm, don't we all love pancakes...especially with plenty of Mrs. Butterworth's Thick & Rich Syrup. Popular around our house. Here are some excellent tips I want to remember for future reference:

1) Keep track of all people in your house who may leave caps open or loose and follow them closely retracing every step.
2) Assist in holding the 1.89 liter syrup bottle if anyone younger wants to pour their own syrup onto their pancakes.
3) If a cap on a 1.89 liter bottle of syrup happens to become unattached from its resting position, quickly invert the bottle to its normal resting position and make every attempt to halt the flow of syrup over the edge of plates with now floating pancake pieces. How?
- hopefully the plate with pancake on it is more of a salad plate, then you can quickly get a dinner sized plate and place it underneath the syrup filled plate such that any excess can now run onto the larger plate.
- hopefully you also use plastic placemats which are another holding reservoir for flowing goo.
4) It is then safe to proceed with actual cleanup once the disaster is under control. Wash the placemat, reclaim the floating pancake pieces for another plate, and pour the excess syrup from the original plate into a container - still ok to keep.

Following these steps, you can actually clean up approximately 1+ liter of syrup with only two papertowels, that's right 2 papertowels. And this is how a mom can tackle problem solving skills as early as breakfast on any given day.

What a wonderful experience!

Baby it's cold outside

I'm just up getting ready for work today...looks like my paper-thin scrubs are going to feel super nice as I walk my 1/4 to 1/2 mile from the car to the hospital...it's 1 degree outside! Yikes!

God is My Superhero

Jacob, Leyton, & Nathaniel were sitting at the table today doing a Christmas craft while I was baking some cookies. The craft was a Nativity Mobile. We started talking about all Jesus did for us and that God sent him, etc. It was nice. Then the thoughts started coming out...from Jacob's little head.
Jacob said, "Mom, God is a superhero."
I said, "Oh, that's a good thought. I think you're right. Does he have a lot of powers?"
Jacob's reply, "Yeah, and I think he has A LOT of bug spray, too."

A Nice Quiet Evening at Home?

Yeah, right! Tonight's after dinner family activity was...3 boys having a contest seeing who could jump the highest when jumping off the couch followed by a "spinning contest" where they simply spun in circles as long as they could before the dizziness took over. We did ban the sprinting contest from the fireplace to the end of the kitchen - well, obvious safety reasons with running in the house. It all ended with a discussion of who got the most wet with sweat - all wanting second opinions to see if they were the "most wet." Now that is what I call a great family evening. Leah's main activity was sitting/standing on the other couch watching leaps and bounds, preparing for her future participation by simply squatting & bobbing her head. Wonderful, wonderful. 8:15pm - the house is quiet - five sleepers - that's right, Patrick, too.

Now that's what I call a great day...

This morning I took the kids to the mall to see The Doo-Dads sing. We had a great time. We grabbed a quick lunch & headed out. Leyton's comment summed the day up for us.
"Mom, I didn't know we were going to get to see The Doo-dads, eat chips, AND see a fire truck!"
(the fire truck was in the parking lot when we left)

Happy 3rd Birthday, Jacob! (12/12)

What a great day we had for Jacob. We went to Chuck E. Cheese and all had a great time. That was Jacob's pick for what he wanted to do for his big day (and his brothers were very glad to join in). Also, Grandma Donna & Grandpa Jerry came to visit which is always nice. Hard to believe he's three already. With his recent growth spurt, he has just really shot up and is becoming quite the little boy. Very smiley all the time, yet we have only one volume level worked out with him - LOUD. That's ok, he sure gets his point across. He loves being part of the big boys crowd, but also enjoys time with Leah and often tells her how much he loves her. He can definitely hold his own with most things. He loves books, especially all the Five Little Monkeys books, and has recently been pretending to be "baby dinosaur" (not sure where that came from). He still loves fire trucks, dump trucks, trains, sports, and all that boy stuff. 100% boy, that's for sure. We love you, Jacob, and hope your birthday was the best yet.

Concern for Santa

This morning Jacob and I were visiting and he came across a Santa cap that I think was given to the kids a couple of years ago. He said, "Mom, this is Santa's hat...we should give it back to him, case he needs it."
I said, "Oh, you're right. That's a great idea. He probably misses it. That's very nice of you."
Jacob replied, "Yeah, 'cause he might be sad. Maybe he left it here."
I guess we'll find a way to get that back to Santa very soon.

Writing, Writing, and More Writing

Leyton & Nathaniel absolutely love writing these days. They'll pick up something with writing on it, and just copy whatever they see. They also ask a lot of times how to write different words. I have to say, though, that one of my favorite things that Leyton has been writing is, "To Mom." It's so sweet because he'll draw something, like snowmen today, or a "machine" that they like to call some of their random drawings, and then he'll write "To Mom" on it and give it to me with a big smile. I just love it and it always makes me smile. Always amazing to see their worlds become larger and larger with each new thing they learn.

Little Readers

Well, we have 2 little readers in the last week! I had bought some Bob books from Lissy's recommendation, and they have worked out pretty well. We've had them for a while, and they didn't have a lot of interest at first, but last week, they really wanted to work on them. Leyton is a little farther ahead right now, but Nathaniel is working hard too. Leyton just sounds out the words and quickly makes the connection from the sounds to the word. Nathaniel is doing great at sounding the words out, he just needs a little more help in the connection between "c - a - t" to a smooth "cat". But, no pressure, I know they'll get it. We are all just proud for the progress they've made.

Funky Mama, Live!

Well, I guess I should have known such a plan would backfire on me! On Wednesday, Funky Mama was singing at a museum while the big boys were at preschool. I thought it would be a good opportunity to do something fun with Jacob and Leah on their own. So, I thought this would be a great venue, 10am, perfect timing before picking up the boys from school.

We went to the show and had a great time. Afterwards, we actually went up to say hi to her (it was really our first time to see her on her own versus at a festival or something). Anyway, very interestingly, we were waiting to buy a CD and she looked at us and said, "Oh, I almost didn't recognize you guys without all of your 'Jim gear.'" She was referring to the big boys, the Hawaiian shirts, the guitars, etc., that accompany us to every Jim Cosgrove show we go to. It actually caught me off guard as I didn't know she'd recognize us anyway, and especially without the Jim-fanatic sons of ours. Although, Jacob is a big fan as well, but hasn't come out of his shell quite as much yet to where he stands in the crowd & plays guitar the whole time. Anyway, it was cute and nice of her to mention that she recognized us.

I heard her mentioning which CD to get to another mom, based on the kids' ages. So at our turn, I said, "So, for age 2, you think this one would be best?" And her reply, "Well, I say that, however for the experienced music listeners in your household, I'd go with this other one." It was pretty funny. I am sure that we'll be at many more of her shows. I ended up buying two CDs: Grandma's House and Moo Juice and they are both great - I really actually enjoy listening to them, too!

Anyway, so for the backfire part...the CD's were meant to be gifts, but Jacob would not release "Grandma's House" from his grip, so I told him it was an early birthday gift from Grandma. We then went to pick up Leyton and Nathaniel. They immediately saw Jacob holding the CD...uh oh...the questions (screaming) began and before we made it to the car, we literally had tears on both their faces that they missed the big event. Wow, I didn't know it would be that bad, but maybe I should have known. They now insist that I need to take them (without Jacob and Leah) to see Funky Mama for their special trip. They pretty much screamed all the way home and after we were home, it took most of the afternoon to help them accept that things were going to be ok and they would get to hear the music and we would all be happy. Whew, what a day!

Observant Leah

It is so enjoyable to see Leah's world really starting to make sense to her. She's been so observant lately. Oftentimes she'll see one of the boys' blankies, and she'll pick one up and always deliver it to the rightful owner. She knows all of them apart. Also, the other day Jacob was playing Hungry, Hungry Hippos in the basement. She saw him playing and then she was across the room for awhile. While there, she found a marble that goes with the game and took it right over to him and gave it to him. It's just some of those little things, obviously not rocket science events, but just things that show she's paying attention. Very neat to watch.

She's also becoming quite a dancer. The boys like to spin in circles a lot when they dance, so you can guess what Leah likes to do when she dances. She'll step around a bit and then she just starts turning in circles when the music is on. It's so cute and she's so proud about it. I remember when each of the boys started dancing and I don't think the images will leave my mind. It is so fun watching them moving and grooving.