Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Conservation Tip #458
It's important to save all the water you can. Even that pesky water that gets stuck in your ears after Daddy squirts you with the water hose. If you do this Ethiopian tribal dance, you are gauranteed to remove any object stuck in your ear. Maybe.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Conservation Tip #163
In our efforts to conserve water and other resources, we are teaching the boys the quickest and easiest ways to do just that...
As you can see, this plate is clean and can simply be placed back in the cupboard, ready for use the next day. And don't worry if you have plans to join us for dinner. Since we saved all that water washing the dishes, the environment won't mind us using paper plates for company.
As you can see, this plate is clean and can simply be placed back in the cupboard, ready for use the next day. And don't worry if you have plans to join us for dinner. Since we saved all that water washing the dishes, the environment won't mind us using paper plates for company.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Very, very random
The upside to Charlie understanding more English is he usually can follow TV shows, movies and our directions fairly easily now. The downside is he takes everything VERY literally. He is currently terrified that his bones are going to turn into rocks any minute now because of watching a show about dinosaurs and fossils.
Everything at our house now has an owner. It's mys. Who is mys, you ask? He also answers to Sam. "That's mys." "'Dis mys." "Give me mys." I think what we are shooting for here is MINE, but this mys fellow keeps getting first dibs on almost everything...
I could really do a whole post on this, but Kenny thoroughly confused me by talking about changing time zones and losing/gaining days when he flew to Australia....... I sometimes can't remember my left from my right, have no idea what direction the sun sets in and can barely remember what time zone I currently live in. I probably shouldn't admit that on such a public forum. But now you can see why flying to Australia would confuse me.
We haven't quite broached the whole Santa, Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny topic yet as terms like pretend and make-believe are very difficult to actually explain. (Try it! It's not easy!) Our approach has really been the fun can't hurt as long as the real reason for the season (when needed) is known. This past Christmas we didn't really talk up Santa, but we didn't deny him either. On the other hand, the boys both know why we celebrate Christmas. This process has worked for us until this past week when my smarter-than-me-7-year-old asked if God made the Tooth Fairy. "Um...welllll, uh...you see...yeah...not really. No. He didn't." Long pause. "May I have more chips?" "Why, yes you may!" Thank the Lord for short attention spans. Didn't really know where I was going with that one.
How can a boy who wore the wrong size (and occasionally the wrong gender) clothing for half of his life be so picky about the fit of his clothes? I have no idea, but if you are looking for the diva of the Cook household, he answers to Charlie!
You know that kind of sleep you get in the car or when you fall asleep sitting in the pew at church (well...not ME...) where your head is bobbing up and down? Only my husband could have that kind of sleep at 11:50 PM...with his head laying on a pillow. Either that or he is having seizures and I should be more concerned...
Sometimes when Sam has had to much to eat, he lets us know by tossing the contents of his dinner back up. Don't worry. He is always fine. I think we are still just working on what the feeling of actually being full feels like. Most recently when this happened, he reported in his cute little squeaky voice, "Uh oh. Sam spill?" Yeah. Sam spilled. All over the place. Just take this as your warning. If he eats too much, you might want to don your parka and rain boots.
What happens when you ask your almost 2nd grader, who has been spending his summer learning 1st grade phonics, what the special sound is for the word "duck"? You walk out of the room laughing when he answers in all seriousness..."Quack?"
When prompting the boys the other day for the "magic word", I was greeted with "Por favor?"...was actually looking for "please", but I didn't specify language, so, sure!
Katie once told me that my "Very, very random" posts were her very, very favorite. So, for you Katie...I continue to exude randomness...
Everything at our house now has an owner. It's mys. Who is mys, you ask? He also answers to Sam. "That's mys." "'Dis mys." "Give me mys." I think what we are shooting for here is MINE, but this mys fellow keeps getting first dibs on almost everything...
I could really do a whole post on this, but Kenny thoroughly confused me by talking about changing time zones and losing/gaining days when he flew to Australia....... I sometimes can't remember my left from my right, have no idea what direction the sun sets in and can barely remember what time zone I currently live in. I probably shouldn't admit that on such a public forum. But now you can see why flying to Australia would confuse me.
We haven't quite broached the whole Santa, Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny topic yet as terms like pretend and make-believe are very difficult to actually explain. (Try it! It's not easy!) Our approach has really been the fun can't hurt as long as the real reason for the season (when needed) is known. This past Christmas we didn't really talk up Santa, but we didn't deny him either. On the other hand, the boys both know why we celebrate Christmas. This process has worked for us until this past week when my smarter-than-me-7-year-old asked if God made the Tooth Fairy. "Um...welllll, uh...you see...yeah...not really. No. He didn't." Long pause. "May I have more chips?" "Why, yes you may!" Thank the Lord for short attention spans. Didn't really know where I was going with that one.
How can a boy who wore the wrong size (and occasionally the wrong gender) clothing for half of his life be so picky about the fit of his clothes? I have no idea, but if you are looking for the diva of the Cook household, he answers to Charlie!
You know that kind of sleep you get in the car or when you fall asleep sitting in the pew at church (well...not ME...) where your head is bobbing up and down? Only my husband could have that kind of sleep at 11:50 PM...with his head laying on a pillow. Either that or he is having seizures and I should be more concerned...
Sometimes when Sam has had to much to eat, he lets us know by tossing the contents of his dinner back up. Don't worry. He is always fine. I think we are still just working on what the feeling of actually being full feels like. Most recently when this happened, he reported in his cute little squeaky voice, "Uh oh. Sam spill?" Yeah. Sam spilled. All over the place. Just take this as your warning. If he eats too much, you might want to don your parka and rain boots.
What happens when you ask your almost 2nd grader, who has been spending his summer learning 1st grade phonics, what the special sound is for the word "duck"? You walk out of the room laughing when he answers in all seriousness..."Quack?"
When prompting the boys the other day for the "magic word", I was greeted with "Por favor?"...was actually looking for "please", but I didn't specify language, so, sure!
Katie once told me that my "Very, very random" posts were her very, very favorite. So, for you Katie...I continue to exude randomness...
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
VBS revisited!
I kinda glazed over the whole VBS week since we ended up leaving for the beach Saturday morning after it was over. But our 3rd VBS at Spencer County Campus went spectacularly and with no major hiccups. I say major, because what fun is it if you don't have a couple of minor issues! Like being locked out of the school, having no spoons but 120 cups of ice cream or when the pastor's kid forgets to wear shoes...
And as a reminder, we have church in a school. The school just allows us to set up for the whole week of VBS. But, they also have to continue with their summer projects, which include waxing all of the floors. So, if we can have VBS when the building looks like this...then I think you can do it just about anywhere!
And nothing against the fellas at Lifeway, but I'm thinking after a couple of years of this, their goal is to see just how ridiculous they can make us look wearing these goofy shirts. Although, I conveniently left my cowboy boots at home in lieu of my flip flops...
And as a reminder, we have church in a school. The school just allows us to set up for the whole week of VBS. But, they also have to continue with their summer projects, which include waxing all of the floors. So, if we can have VBS when the building looks like this...then I think you can do it just about anywhere!
And nothing against the fellas at Lifeway, but I'm thinking after a couple of years of this, their goal is to see just how ridiculous they can make us look wearing these goofy shirts. Although, I conveniently left my cowboy boots at home in lieu of my flip flops...
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Return to Sender
Going to the Nashville Zoo on one of the hottest days of the year and having snacks to put off lunch time wasn’t the smartest decision we’ve ever made, but we still had loads of fun.
Cousin Tristan stayed the weekend with us in "'Tucky" and we met back up with the family in Nashville on Monday to send him back to “Ayabama”. But that’s just because his mommy refused to let me just overnight him back home. And we wouldn't have had all that fun in the 9,000 degree heat.
"Dis way, pease!!"
Hanging with the giraffes just before they decided to do things that I can't talk about on this G-rated blog. Wasn't really a conversation any of us were prepared to have at the Zoo, so we moved on to the better behaving zebras.
I've showed you what a typical Sam face looks like, and now you know what position his body is typically in. On his head is where Sam normally is. I'm not sure how he ends up like that all the time, but I'm pretty certain he's gonna rub a bald spot on his scalp.
Chilling on the carousel with Daddy. Despite the fact that Daddy ends up in few of our blog pictures, he does exist and is really, really good at his job of Daddy!!
Charlie's favorite thing at the zoo is the lorikeets. He would stay there all day if we let him. I'm baffled at why he is so fascinated with these birds, who will literally dive bomb your head, but freaks out if a fly comes within 20 yards of him.
Cousin Tristan stayed the weekend with us in "'Tucky" and we met back up with the family in Nashville on Monday to send him back to “Ayabama”. But that’s just because his mommy refused to let me just overnight him back home. And we wouldn't have had all that fun in the 9,000 degree heat.
"Dis way, pease!!"
Hanging with the giraffes just before they decided to do things that I can't talk about on this G-rated blog. Wasn't really a conversation any of us were prepared to have at the Zoo, so we moved on to the better behaving zebras.
I've showed you what a typical Sam face looks like, and now you know what position his body is typically in. On his head is where Sam normally is. I'm not sure how he ends up like that all the time, but I'm pretty certain he's gonna rub a bald spot on his scalp.
Chilling on the carousel with Daddy. Despite the fact that Daddy ends up in few of our blog pictures, he does exist and is really, really good at his job of Daddy!!
Charlie's favorite thing at the zoo is the lorikeets. He would stay there all day if we let him. I'm baffled at why he is so fascinated with these birds, who will literally dive bomb your head, but freaks out if a fly comes within 20 yards of him.
Thursday, July 08, 2010
Smiles
You know that dreaded family pictures are a must when you are at the beach, but since the day we were all dressed decently was the wedding day and it dribbled rain on us throughout the ceremony, we all looked at little rough. Except Megan, who remained beautiful, but was also the only one with the professional hairdo and probably enough hairspray to combat hurricane force winds.
Needless to say, on our way out the door, we took a second for those must have beach pictures. I'm not sure that I looked any better here than at the wedding since I was sans makeup and hair pulled back, but yall are really looking at the kids, not me, anyway.
This is probably my new favorite picture of the boys!! Definitely a framer!
Needless to say, on our way out the door, we took a second for those must have beach pictures. I'm not sure that I looked any better here than at the wedding since I was sans makeup and hair pulled back, but yall are really looking at the kids, not me, anyway.
This is probably my new favorite picture of the boys!! Definitely a framer!
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
Sand
This past week's trip to Cape San Blas, Florida was the boy's first to the ocean. Our first glimpse of water as we drove in just happen to be the bay. And to Charlie's disappointment, there was no sand. He soon learned differently as we rounded the corner and he got a look at the actual beach!
Sam preferred the beach to the pool and was perfectly content to dig in the sand or be held while jumping in the waves. But nothing in between. We could barely get him to touch the water if he wasn’t being held. I'm gonna chalk it up to lack of exposure and hopefully next year he will be a little more relaxed around the water.
And Charlie went from being a little leery of the water to borderline dangerous as he became overly confident in his ability to conquer the waves. Although, it really wasn't the water he was leery of. It was more the occupants of the water that provided some apprehensive thoughts.
This is what time out at the beach looks like. Hands must be in your lap because it’s really not a punishment to just simply be sitting in the sand. (Yes, I'm a horrible mom because I expect you to behave no matter where we may be. Vacation or not!) And just in case you were wondering, this is a typical "Sam look". Oh, he can grin ear to ear with the best of them. But 95% of the time, he has a permanent scowl on his face. He was pretty ticked off here, but then again, he looks ticked off most of the time.
And just a few more for the heck of it. (And Gammy & Gran, all the pictures are here...)
*And just a little bit of Cook Family trivia. Anyone remember where we had just returned from when we made the decision to move forward with the adoption process?? Yep, Cape San Blas!!
Sam preferred the beach to the pool and was perfectly content to dig in the sand or be held while jumping in the waves. But nothing in between. We could barely get him to touch the water if he wasn’t being held. I'm gonna chalk it up to lack of exposure and hopefully next year he will be a little more relaxed around the water.
And Charlie went from being a little leery of the water to borderline dangerous as he became overly confident in his ability to conquer the waves. Although, it really wasn't the water he was leery of. It was more the occupants of the water that provided some apprehensive thoughts.
This is what time out at the beach looks like. Hands must be in your lap because it’s really not a punishment to just simply be sitting in the sand. (Yes, I'm a horrible mom because I expect you to behave no matter where we may be. Vacation or not!) And just in case you were wondering, this is a typical "Sam look". Oh, he can grin ear to ear with the best of them. But 95% of the time, he has a permanent scowl on his face. He was pretty ticked off here, but then again, he looks ticked off most of the time.
And just a few more for the heck of it. (And Gammy & Gran, all the pictures are here...)
*And just a little bit of Cook Family trivia. Anyone remember where we had just returned from when we made the decision to move forward with the adoption process?? Yep, Cape San Blas!!
Saturday, July 03, 2010
The Wedding
Kenny’s sister, Megan, got married this past week in Cape San Blas, FL. It was a whirlwind, since it was originally planned for September, but in their efforts to avoid having a wedding on an oily beach, they moved it up 3 months.
Cousins Maguire and Hudson joined us at the beach. Here all four boys are ready for the wedding and waiting patiently. They told us to be ready at 10:30 for pictures. So, we got them dressed at 10:27 and made them sit. They did a spectacular job!
Charlie and Sam were the only "single" guys at the wedding, so guess who caught the garter?? It was really quite amusing, since we had just had a wedding (which I still couldn't get Charlie to understand what that meant) and now we made him stand with his arms in the air while his new uncle flung a lacy garment at him. Charlie decided he needed a turn too, so he threw it back to Chad. He was quite confused, but I just told him to go ask Daddy what the garter was...
Welcome to the family, Chad. I hope you realize what you've just gotten yourself into...
*Enjoy ALL the wedding pictures here.
Cousins Maguire and Hudson joined us at the beach. Here all four boys are ready for the wedding and waiting patiently. They told us to be ready at 10:30 for pictures. So, we got them dressed at 10:27 and made them sit. They did a spectacular job!
Charlie and Sam were the only "single" guys at the wedding, so guess who caught the garter?? It was really quite amusing, since we had just had a wedding (which I still couldn't get Charlie to understand what that meant) and now we made him stand with his arms in the air while his new uncle flung a lacy garment at him. Charlie decided he needed a turn too, so he threw it back to Chad. He was quite confused, but I just told him to go ask Daddy what the garter was...
Welcome to the family, Chad. I hope you realize what you've just gotten yourself into...
*Enjoy ALL the wedding pictures here.
Friday, July 02, 2010
Things I learned at the beach...
Spray-on sunscreen doesn't work on your face for some reason. I have a red face to prove it.
Shrimp gets better each time I eat it. And homemade cocktail sauce is really the only way to go. Made by the one and only Aunt Stephanie.
The beach with children is the last thing in the world from relaxing. Fun. Exciting. Exhausting. But no, never relaxing. For example, I took 3 books with me to read. I am on page 7 of book number one. And I have no idea what the first 6 and a half pages were about.
While I'm not at all a confrontational person, usually avoiding conflict of all sorts at any costs, if your dog (who by law, should be on a leash on the beach) bull rushes my kid (who is terrified of anything that has more legs than he does), we will have words about it. They were nice words, but words none the less.
Horses wear diapers when walking on the beach. Definitely don't want to have the job of changing that oversized undergarment.
Sleeping in a sleeping bag is super cool. As long as you are under the age of 7.
Sand unfortunately sticks to little boy's brown heads like glue. Go ahead, just try to rinse it out. Doesn't work.
You can teach a child their ABC's in the sand. It's way more exciting than writing it at home on a chalkboard.
And yet another word on sand...I'm almost certain God didn't make sand for your butt crack. So, why is that the first place it finds to go when you are at the beach??
I don't really like sand.
According to Papa John, the shells on the beach will "make you die". At least, that's how Charlie translated his comment about watching where you step, making sure not to step on the sometimes sharp shells. This also applies to crabs, sharks and swordfish since somewhere along the way Charlie decided they were all a detriment to his health. (EDITOR'S NOTE: Charlie is quite fearless in some situations, but in others, scared of the dumbest things. Makes for some entertaining stories on occasion.)
It is nearly impossible to get a good picture of kids at the beach. Sam has perpetual outrageous faces and Charlie felt the need to wear goggles that were twice the size of his head all week. Literally. All week.
But I said "nearly", so you know more pictures are coming...
Shrimp gets better each time I eat it. And homemade cocktail sauce is really the only way to go. Made by the one and only Aunt Stephanie.
The beach with children is the last thing in the world from relaxing. Fun. Exciting. Exhausting. But no, never relaxing. For example, I took 3 books with me to read. I am on page 7 of book number one. And I have no idea what the first 6 and a half pages were about.
While I'm not at all a confrontational person, usually avoiding conflict of all sorts at any costs, if your dog (who by law, should be on a leash on the beach) bull rushes my kid (who is terrified of anything that has more legs than he does), we will have words about it. They were nice words, but words none the less.
Horses wear diapers when walking on the beach. Definitely don't want to have the job of changing that oversized undergarment.
Sleeping in a sleeping bag is super cool. As long as you are under the age of 7.
Sand unfortunately sticks to little boy's brown heads like glue. Go ahead, just try to rinse it out. Doesn't work.
You can teach a child their ABC's in the sand. It's way more exciting than writing it at home on a chalkboard.
And yet another word on sand...I'm almost certain God didn't make sand for your butt crack. So, why is that the first place it finds to go when you are at the beach??
I don't really like sand.
According to Papa John, the shells on the beach will "make you die". At least, that's how Charlie translated his comment about watching where you step, making sure not to step on the sometimes sharp shells. This also applies to crabs, sharks and swordfish since somewhere along the way Charlie decided they were all a detriment to his health. (EDITOR'S NOTE: Charlie is quite fearless in some situations, but in others, scared of the dumbest things. Makes for some entertaining stories on occasion.)
It is nearly impossible to get a good picture of kids at the beach. Sam has perpetual outrageous faces and Charlie felt the need to wear goggles that were twice the size of his head all week. Literally. All week.
But I said "nearly", so you know more pictures are coming...
Thursday, July 01, 2010
July 1, 2009
July 1, 2009 started out like any other random day. Get up. Shower. Breakfast. Manage semi-crisis at work. Become parents of two incredibly handsome little boys. Cook dinner. Watch a little TV. You know, things you do every day.
It hit me last night at dinner (which I enjoyed with a long, lost fellow UA graduate, not to mention great friend), that today was 1 year since we got the call letting us know we had passed court. We thought the call with the referral of the boys had been a big deal, but this was really it! They were actually ours now! We were headed to Ethiopia!!
Stay tuned for the “1 year as 4” post…Coming soon to a computer screen near you!
It hit me last night at dinner (which I enjoyed with a long, lost fellow UA graduate, not to mention great friend), that today was 1 year since we got the call letting us know we had passed court. We thought the call with the referral of the boys had been a big deal, but this was really it! They were actually ours now! We were headed to Ethiopia!!
Stay tuned for the “1 year as 4” post…Coming soon to a computer screen near you!
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