He's back..almost!

Cole quietly came in and handed me this picture so of course I had to mark this monumental moment. Poor Mr. Cole has been sick on the couch (once again) the last 3 days. However, today ladies and gentlemen....I 'd like to annouce that.....he SMILED and DREW a PICTURE, and ATE, and PLAYED trains, just a little! YAHOOOOOOO!

I'm tellin ya, when my kids are sick, it's the pits. Besides feeling bad that they feel bad, my "to do's" don't get "ta done." Oh well, another week down and it looks like we're on the mend.

Things I am thankful for when kids are sick:
propel water-the power that one lone bottle holds with the sick child's name written in permanent marker is amazing.
Rice Krispies -the only eating option
DVR-there's something ALWAYS on, over and over and over again
Husband who doesn't mind that dinner was soooo not a priority considering the award winning mothering I had done for the past oh say, 72 hours!
DVR-Did I already mention that?

*Photo despcription:
-YES, that would be a fantastic depiction of yours truly with Cole...I love his art work, I wish I was ALL legs :)
-And YES, that would be my infamous "gross sheet" used ONLY for sicky purposes. Unfortunately it has been a staple around here all week. I'm debating on using it as a couch cover for the summer months...ya know, dual purpose.

Proof

Just some photographic proof that Brody CAN play by himself from time to time. I always thought that child #3 would be thrilled to play with string in the corner for hours on end......um, no.

It was a glorious 6 minutes!

Cole's quick quotes

Actual dinner conversation a few nights back. These 3 quotes were shared in about 47 seconds time.

"Do you know we can walk undewwatew?" -"wow, walking underwater could be a bit tricky....eat your chili."

"When I eat this chili my mouth is on FIYO!" - "take a drink of milk."

(no kidding-5 seconds later with a smile on his face) "What if you wew shaking yo booty out of yo caw doe, wouldn't that be hilawious!"

*I guess he gets all his random quick thinking skills from yours truly, I can relate:)

Observations this week

-It's all in the timing. I love it when my boys will be cooperative and actually smile "normal" looking smiles just to please me...at a moments notice...whenever I so desire!

I love good examples:My boys thoroughly enjoy their cousin Blain, they think he is the coolest. Elder Thomas officially left on his mission this week and we will miss him however, let the mail correspondence begin :)

Running head on into foldy chairs will end in this position.

Don't be a "sneaky meany"

Jack thinks he can get away with a lot of 'brotherly unkindness" towards Cole...he's what one would refer to as a"sneaky meany."

Case in point- Cole came in crying cause, "Jack just bopped me in the head and it didn't feel vewy good at all." Well, I could see why that wouldn't feel good so I proceeded to tell Cole to get the bat and Jack to assume the position. Cole had an apprehensive but most enjoyable bopping session and all is well in brother land again. Just be nice boys/Jack. -yes, this is actual documentation of the "bopping" incident, if you look close, you can see the "Do-o" coming from the perpetrators mouth.

Reading is fun for all involved.

It is just the coolest thing to listen to Jack read, he's really good. It's even better when Brody gets a book, backs up and sits on Jack's lap ready to listen. I love it!

FYI: Blue train Green train is a nail biter.

Irks for the day

So the above photo spread has ZERO to do with my post. However, it makes me smile! Eeven though he's fresh outta bed, crusties are still in his eyes, and I'm sure his diaper hadn't even been changed ,I still think he's a doll. He thought he was clever and I appreciated his humor. Come on...would you have thought to hide your bowl up there??? O.k., on with my thoughts:

I'm a happy positive person. I enjoy smiling, find that laughing is fun, and overall believe that life is good. Plus, my cup is always 1/2 full (preferably of root beer). Sometimes however I just want to vent. Since my darling friend came and got Cole (who doesn't realize that there is only few precious moments of quiet computer time when Brody naps and thus we compete for those moments)for a play date, the computer is mine and I can blog my irks for the day and be done with them! UGH!

And now I as I think about what is "irking" me, they seem so silly, totally my fault just stupid stuff:

Irk #1- I buy the 7oo minute phone cards from Costco- I use them to call my sister (of course) long distance. I had 2 of them in the drawer. One I KNEW was virtually brand new, the other 5 minutes or so left. As I sat and thought, "hmm, which is which" I pulled out the scissors....WHY, I don't know. It wasn't a VISA, I wasn't stopping myself from crazy spending, it was habit I guess. Chop chop and in the trash. Well as I was talking with the sister last night after about 5 minutes the lovely operator on the line says, "I'm sorry but the balance on this card is out!" -AHHHHHH, I cut up the phone card with 687 minutes on it! So lame, uuuuuggghhhhhh.

Irk#2-Every year I have a gorgeous hanging basket in my front yard. Each fall after it is done being gorgeous, I empty the pot, take it back to the nursery and give them my "wish list" of lovely flowers for next years pot. I was not born with any sort of "green thumb" so this basket is my one and only outdoor responsibility. It was a pretty penny to begin with so I take very good care of it. For some reason this year I simply forgot to take my empty pot into the nursery...until April. I didn't realize this was a cardinal sin but it was and the nice gal informed me that my pot may be "small" this year. Ah man...! Thanks for filling it anyway lady. Fast forward to today, went and picked her up. Now remember visions of a "RAINBOW" basket have been dancing in my head, Reds, Whites, yellows, oranges, pinks, blues........expensive bakset.......!

It contains TWO colors: Purple and Yellow.

Nothing wrong with the colors....I was just hoping for the other members of the RAINBOW! - UUGGHHHHHH!

Irk #3- I know children can't help when they are sick. I realize how NOT Fun being sick is. That being said, I am on day #3 of picking Jack up from school. Monday he posted a 100.3 temp. Tues. I took him to school at noon, and today he's got a 100.6 temp. Go figure. The sweet nurse tech must think I'm a moron but seriously he was fine last night and even could stomach "sugar cereal" this morning. I had ALL the icky sheets/ blankets washed and thought we were done. Now I've busted out the hideous "sick" sheet (it seriously has the worst western pattern on it, I've banned it from any mattress) to drape over the couch and begin yet another round as a nurse maid. I just have things on my "to do" list that I can't "do" with a sicky at home. UUGghhhhhh!

O.K.- I'm done , thanks for that. I feel so much better. So after I heal Jack, I need to go water my hanging basket then head to Costco for a phone card :)

Did you have any "irks " today? Please share..it's therapeutic!

The week of this mother

First off, I know it's not Halloween, but photos that include me are few and far between (which is FINE ) I'm just sayin that this is what ya get...Spiderman,Venom, the cute pumpkin, and their mother.

So, the last week of my life has been a doozy -not meaning to complain just crazy busy-hence the zero blogging. However, this being Mother's Day and since I am a HUGE fan of my mom and motherhood in general, I thought I'd take a moment to share my thoughts, for they are deep:)

I have ALWAYS wanted to be a mom. I had a fantastic example in my home so I've always longed for that responsibility. I'm so lucky to be the mom of 3 darling little fellas. I adore my children and realize how fortunate I am to have them.

Since I am their mother I GET to:

Take them to church every Sunday..

My ultimate goal each week is to keep the noise level at a minimum. I have one loud talker, a loud whisperer (not to be confused with a horse whisperer) and a 17 month old screamer...bad combination. I also have a goal each week to teach them songs about the gospel, how to wiggle their entire bodies without touching their neighbors, how to wish someone a happy birthday in Norwegian if necessary and to keep their ties to themselves. This was clearly an "after church" photo attempt today but realize that their faces reflect the fact that they LOVED singing time, are sad that it is over, and couldn't be more thrilled to have me as a mother!

Since I am a mother I got to:

Go spend the weekend in Utah with my mom and sister . My sweet husband wished me well and I flew down with my mom to stay at my sister's house and attend a little women's conf. There's not enough hours in the day to do all the things we wanted to do but we came close. I'm so lucky to sincerely enjoy the company of my mom and sister.

*Just a few things about the lovely Jan:

She's the mom that every friend wished they had. She raised 5 kids who all turned out pretty darn great. She didn't miss a game, concert, date, function, meeting of any kind AND she knew everything about us because we wanted her to... she was truly interested. I love that my mom loves my children. They feel special and happy when they are with gramma Jan and I'm thankful for her efforts to watch them when I need her. She can comfort ANY child...seriously the baby whisperer. She plays the piano beautifully, has a fantastic alto voice, and is the most thoughtful person I know. She makes the best chocolate sheet cake in town (without a recipe of course) and always knows how to see the best out of a crappy situation. Her family is her life and she LOVES being a mom. When people say, "You and your mom are SO alike"which I hear often, I take that as the greatest compliment.....I love her.

*O.k. total sidenote- As I re-read my thoughts about my mom, I realized that EVERY word was just as true about my sister....except for the piano part...she can play a mean "Jesus once was a little child" but that's about it. How lucky am I, a fantastic mom and sister!

Since I am a mother I got to: Be told to hold off on "all pictures" until AFTER the game cause he's a little busy. This is the only "action" shot I have, - taken mid sentence.

So I took pictures with Brody instead!

Since I am a mother I got to:

Stay in bed while the father yanked TWO chirping smoke alarms out of the ceilings at 3:24 a.m.

Thanks father!

How lucky I am to be a mother. I wouldn't want it any other way!