Cookie Monster

One of my favorite things to do with my boys is bake cookies. They dress up in aprons and chef hats and stand on chairs at the counter. Today Isaac got out his apron and chef hat and brought it to me and said, "I'm ready for chefing!" Alright, let's bake cookies! Isaac loves to hold the measuring cups while I fill them and then dump them in the bowl. We talk about the ingredients and how he should really like eggs because eggs are in cookies and he loves cookies. (no good, he hates eggs) My most favorite thing to do is when I open the chocolate chips I "accidentally" spill a pile on the counter and the boys gobble them up. They also like to "sneak" a finger-full of cookie dough. I love baking with my boys. Here is Isaac enjoying it as well.

Noggin

Why do all the in-between shows on Noggin that are about gardening feature British kids? We watched 3 shows on Noggin today and all three had gardening segments with kids with British accents. Weird.

Secrets I've Kept

So for my 2 readers I am sure that my sister knows these things about me and that Angie doesn't so the title is a bit misleading......but nonetheless:

1. I was in Brownies in elementary school and can't recall a single moment of it. Not a speck of a moment.
2. I had a "tree house" in an apple tree in my back yard from elementary school. However, the "tree house" was actually just a kitchen cabinet door laid flat and nailed to some branches of the tree so I could sit on it.
3. My sister and I would fight a lot growing up and when we had babysitters we would make lists of the bad things the other one did and threaten to show them to mom and dad when they got home.
4. I melted an orange tupperware cup in the fireplace filled with popcorn kernals trying to make popcorn on my own while my parents slept.
5. My sister punched me in the nose and made it bleed but I was so embarrassed that I told my parents I ran into a door.
6. I was the "sample girl" in the grocery store in high school. I handed out samples of Dorothy Lynch salad dressing http://www.dorothylynch.com/.
7. I got my foot run over by a car in college during kidnap week when a Kappa stole one of our pledge books and it happened in front of the baseball team. Soooo embarrassed. Luckily we had some Lambdas on the team. :)
8. I have a degree in Business Administration and a minor in Spanish from a private university and don't use either degree.
9. I cannot name all 50 states and tell you where they are on a map.
10. I am scared of talking to new people.

Family

I love my family. My grandma passed away on Monday and this week has been filled with family. I have seen all my aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins, and my precious grandpa. My dad's family even came out for the memorial yesterday and today so I got the opportunity to see them as well. Family is wonderful. My grandma would be so happy seeing us all together. This is a picture of us all this evening for our final meal together before we all start heading home tomorrow. God is good....all the time.

Daniel Boone

We are visiting family in St. Louis, Missouri this week and today my math man husband decided to take my two over-napped boys to Daniel Boone's historic home in Defiance, MO---which is amazingly appropriate for my kids and should be the Mecca for my children. After quickly reading through the Daniel Boone website http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/7109/ my husband packs the boys up for a fun filled trip to historic Boonesfield Village (for real, that's what it's called). When he arrives he finds one person working and he and my two boys make a total of 4 people in Boonesfield. Either the website was wrong or this tour guide had had enough of ole' Daniel Boone for the day because she didn't give the village tour but just the home tour to the Oursler family. Needless to say, the 4-year old and 6-year old weren't exactly thrilled with the historic tour of a house. They wanted to see the jail and the mill and whatever else they could run and jump in but not a house with ropes sealing off rooms. Whatever. Chris takes them to the gift store and Luke picks out a Daniel Boone doll for the cheap historic price of $15. Isaac picks the canteen with the leather fringe and stamped deer picture and "Daniel Boone" insignia. Midway home, Isaac changes his mind about the canteen and asks Chris to call Daniel Boone's home and order a doll. By the time they come get me and Mary at the hotel (thank you Mary for a long nap today that spared me Boonesfield!) Isaac was crossing his arms and saying he was angry about the canteen. Mommy sprang into action by calling Poppy and asking him to talk about how cool the canteen was. It only took Poppy filling the canteen with water and calling Isaac "Daniel Boone" for that canteen to be the greatest toy in the world. He slung that thing over his shoulder and went exploring with his brother, Daddy, and cousin David in the woods behind Grandpa's house. You could even hear him singing his Poppy's made up song of "Daniel Boone was a man. Yes a BIIIIGGG man. Well he had some swingsets, and he had some toys. And he would share with the girls and boys." (not a real song but in the Cowell home it is a classic)

Promoted to Glory

My grandma passed away this morning. She was 78. She had been battling cervical cancer for 10 years. Sarah and I went up to St. Louis to tell her goodbye this weekend and returned on Sunday afternoon. My mom is still up there and the rest of us will be flying out tomorrow for the funeral.Here's the deal. When my grandma was a child she asked Jesus to come into her heart. That means that she believed that Jesus was God's Son, that he came to die on the cross for our sins, and that he died but rose again. I know that all sounds miraculous and some may doubt, but I believe this and believe just as the Bible says that "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16. Because of this reason I rejoice in her passing today knowing that she did believe in Jesus, not just believe in Him like you think He lived and that He was a good person, but truly believe and trust Him to lead you along in life and that given the choice, He chose to DIE for you so that you could live forever with Him in Heaven. Too many times I let my faith stand by the side when talking with friends because I don't want to offend, but dammit, I'm offending today and telling you, believe it or not, the only way to get to Heaven is to ask Jesus to be your Lord and let Him lead your life.I am crying as I type this knowing that some may not believe in the words I am typing and I fault myself for not sharing my faith with you personally and intently over these last 15 years. I love you all dearly. My grandma would want me to share this with you today. She is a wonderful woman smiling down from Heaven walking by Jesus' side and singing "Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God Almighty."

Let's Snuggle

So, I'm traveling to Missouri with my sister to visit our very sick grandma. We have a horrendous flight to St. Louis as our 1.5 hour trip actually takes almost12 hours. Thank you Delta. As we are driving to our aunt and uncle's home my sister poses this question to me: "Wanna snuggle tonight?" To some, this would be a surprise, but to me, it's completely normal to hear this question from my sister. I answer a definite "no" to her question. The next night we are there---same question: "Wanna snuggle tonight?" "No, Sarah." Think she got the hint? Nope. Third night, now we are staying in a hotel and my cousin is bunking in with us. "Wanna snuggle tonight?" "No thank you." Then, we walk into our room at the hotel. One bed. Gonna snuggle. Damn.

Spousal Cage Match

Tell me, do you ever have a secret battle with your spouse? My husband and I have these frequently. Most of the time he is oblivious to the fact that we are engaged in this secret battle---which makes it even more secret. The latest battle involved the fact that there was a business card for a cleaning lady that was laying face down on the floor of our garage. We had never used this cleaning lady and quite frankly, I don't know where the card came from. Anyway, Chris and I both walked by/over this card for upwards of 2 weeks. I refused to pick it up because in my head, Chris walked over it more times then I did since he had to go in the garage every day to go to work. Each time I walked out to the garage and saw it still there I would get ticked off and think, "Lazy Chris. He walked over this card today and didn't even take time to pick it up." Then I would walk over it and go to the van. Finally, after 2 weeks of this secret fight, I gave in and picked up the card and threw it away. That night, while we were getting ready for bed, I asked Chris, "Did you see that I picked up that card in the garage today? You win." To which he responded, "What card?" He is the champion.

Red Heads are the Funniest

My son Isaac has red hair. He is small in stature. He is also the middle child. These three things add up to him needing A LOT of attention. Isaac takes full advantage of this and is our family's comic relief. Case in point--Isaac is a member of a 3 & 4-year old soccer team. He is not a player on the team because that would indicate that he actually "played". He is simply a member. During our first game he stood in the middle of the field and yawned while the game was going on around him. At last week's game he stood in the middle of the field and pulled his toboggon hat up and down over his face while saying "peek-a-boo" while the game was going on around him. This week he layed down on the edge of the field and pulled his arms and head into his shirt and just stayed there---while the game was going on around him. When I told him to get up and pull up his shorts, he pulled his shorts up to his armpits and did a little dance on the field. I looked around and both sides were laughing at him and not watching the game. One of the older siblings of a kid on our team came up and told him, "Isaac, you are my favorite person on this team because you are so funny." Isaac pulled his head out of his jersey and just smiled. It was a job well done.

Just So You Know....

My son Luke likes to "just so you know" me all the time. Sometimes the "just so you know"s are a statement of future activity that I am actually happy to be aware of. "Mommy, 'just so you know' I am going to watch Firehouse Dog again after I get up from my nap."

Other times they are his passive agressive way of letting me know I did something wrong. "Mommy, 'just so you know' when you picked me up from school today you weren't the first one there."

And then my personal favorite, the "just so you know"s that are an argument starter. "Mommy, 'just so you know' this box here can be used for recipes and cutting bread." "No it can't Luke." "Yes it can Mommy, 'just so you know'." Forget it, I am not fighting with a 5 year old about whether a recipe box can hold cards and cut bread. But, just so you know, it can't.

A Quiet Home is a Happy Home

My favorite time of the day is when all three of the kids are napping. It is so quiet in the house. You can hear the wind blowing and the birds singing outside but no yelling, crying, or banging around inside. There is no one asking you to put on another TiVoed Backyardigans or begging to play Clifford on the computer. No one is sneaking into the pantry to get Easter candy from a shelf I thought was too tall for them to reach and knocking over the chair they used to sneak into the pantry.

I actually took advantage of the napping tri-fecta today and took a nap myself. This is quite the indulgence and I usually try to hide this fact from my hard working math man husband but not today. The nap was GREAT. I let my oldest take a nap in my bed and I quietly laid down after he was asleep. About 10 minutes in I fell alseep only to be awakened by my friend calling to tell me about the great deals she got at Baby Gap today. I held my hands over my son's ears as the answering machine recorded her voice and he stayed asleep. Golden. I fell back to sleep and woke up an hour later to the recorded voice of another friend callling to ask where I got my outside toy box. I looked over and Luke was still sawing logs but I realized that Mommy needs to get up and out of bed before I sleep the day away and by sleep the day away I mean it's time for my afternoon Diet Coke and some Easter candy that is not up too high on a shelf.