Blast from the Past

Here is my handsome hubby back in the day at good old KHS! It was quite a surprise when we started receiving calls and text messages about his picture in the paper last week. This was from the Blue and Gold Tournament in 1996 which would have been our first year as boyfriend & girlfriend! Who would have thought that I was cheering on my future husband! Who knows, maybe in 14 more years...this will be Cohen! Happy 2008!

Not stirring anymore!

I was reading a book with Cohen and heard a "SNAP!" We caught the mouse! Since Brian was not home and wouldn't be until today, guess who got to take it out to the trash? It stared at me the whole way out there. Oh, it was so gross! EEEEEEWWWWWW! But life goes on....just not his!

Christmas in OKC!

If you have talked to me lately, you know I was counting down the days until December 14th. We met our Oklahoma family in the City to celebrate Christmas together. We realized last year that our family is just getting so big and maybe tradition will have to change a bit. So, a few days before we left, I was finishing up some Christmas gifts (trying to get them ordered by midnight so I wouldn't have to pay thousands of dollars in shipping!) when I hear a huge THUMP from upstairs. By the time I reached the stairs I heard "MMMMOOOOOMMMMMYYYYYY!" A sound that sends chills down every mothers spine! By the time I got to Claire's room, flipped on the light and scooped her up off the floor.....this is what I saw.

Poor girl had tried to get out of bed, got tangled up in her blanket and hit the corner of her nightstand! It instantly looked like this! Needless to say, I sat up for at least 2 hours and watched her. The next day she was excited because her eye was red like Rudolph's nose. Only Claire! (Oh, I took this after lunch the next day...you can tell we had pasta!)

I spent Friday finishing up laundry (how does a child who wears NOTHING around the house create soooo much laundry? I may never know!) and packing for our trip. Gone are the days of packing light! As I loaded it all into the truck I kept asking myself "Are we going for 2 days...or 2 WEEKS?" We jumped in the car and headed out west! Cohen did not like the car ride one bit! It was a long trip. Not to mention, I didn't realize I needed new wiper blades (because if it's nasty out, I don't go anywhere!) until we got into rain and sleet on I-44. We finally made it and it was so great to see everyone. It had been a year since I had seen Phillip & Dana and their families and I've only seen Aunt Donna and Uncle Bobby once since then. So here are some pics from our weekend.

Our makeshift Christmas tree in our hotel. The kids had decorated cookies with a kit we bought at Target. My first Christmas ornament from 1980 probably tastes better than the cookies so we put them to good use!

Cohen and his 2nd cousin Trayden. The are 12 days apart!

You pick which one is Cohen! Mom and Donna had them out in the hall and someone asked if they were twins!

Sour face! Yes, I know that a lime is not really good for his teeth. But when a kid has been holed up in the same hotel room for a day and a half, you tend to give in on the little things! It kept him entertained for at least 20 minutes. (Limes are not an everyday staple in his diet, I promise!)

Koy picking up his mess! This is what happens when you turn your back on kids for 2 seconds! Notice, Claire's hand in the picture....I'm sure she had a little something to do with it!
Little Livi Jane! She was such a trooper. Unless you were cuddling with her you never even knew she was there! She was either perfectly content or sound asleep. Jarad & Ashley....enjoy it while it lasts!

Claire and her new dino from Aunt Donna. She loves it!

Daddy's so funny!

One of the highlights of our weekend was getting to watch Taylon play basketball. He is #23. (of course the tallest one on the court!) Hey played great and even got to show me his "fake" he has been working on. I was so proud of him! I can't believe he's growing up so fast!!!
It was a great weekend and it just reminded me how important it is that we all make time for each other. It has been a crazy year and we have gotten so caught up in life that we let too much time go by! I have really been hit hard this year with the fact that LIFE IS SHORT and so precious. I WILL NOT let another year pass without seeing my cousins! Christmas will be different this year for sure! We will have a few conference calls throughout the day, but it won't be the same. However, I am so thankful that we had this weekend together! Dana, I am now counting the days until spring break!!!

Not a creature was stirring, not even a.....

MOUSE?!?!? It is wonderful having a big wide open field behind our house. No nosy neighbors back there, the view is great (especially when it snows!) and we can pretend we live out in the country! The bad news....field mice. Unfortunately there is no Bunny Foo Foo to bop 'em on the head either! This morning, I came across a little visitor in the kitchen. I'm not super excited about it but at least it's not a snake! I DON'T DO SNAKES, so I'll take a mouse any day! He's pretty tiny too so I'm not scared! That little dude probably thought he had hit the jackpot when he made his way into the George household! There is an endless supply of cheerios, crackers and assorted crumbs on the floor at any given time and they are always fresh! As soon as I get them swept up, theres a whole buffet on the floor within 15 minutes. So it's off to the store to buy a mouse trap. We should be fine as long as he doesn't get out of the house and tell all of his friends and family that he found a Christmas feast at the Georges!

Here are some pictures that have been hanging out on my camera for a while!

While Brian was gone, I was exhausted one morning and just didn't want to roll out of bed. Claire was laying there with me watching cartoons. She heard Coco wake up and I told her she could go in and keep him company for a few minutes. When I finally made my way down the hall I noticed a familiar and surprisingly pleasant odor coming from Cohen's room. What is that smell? BABY MAGIC!!! Cohen and his crib were COVERED in it. And if you look close, Claire filled his bed with every toy she could find. Poor kid!



DADDY'S HOME!!!


Claire and Cohen enjoying one of the last beautiful days of the year! Cohen loves to ride with his sister!


My little ballerina. Yes, she dressed herself.


Claire waiting to put the star on the tree.


Dancing with Santa. I wasn't thinking this summer when I was cleaning out our storage area and moved Santa out. He was stored in his box, but his head wouldn't fit back in so I just carried it out. Claire FREAKED OUT and I wasn't sure if she would ever go near old Santa again! It took a few days but now they are old buddies! He's really not as creepy as he looks. (Unless of course you are home alone and forget he's at the bottom of the stairs....then you might need to change your pants.)

Oh little star of Buffaloham!

Claire told us last night that Jesus was born in the hay in buffaloham. Close! Maybe next year she will have the details perfected, but for now it's just too cute!

My poor little guy!

Well, last night as Brian and I were getting ready for bed (at midnight for some reason!) we heard a pretty bad cough coming from down the hall. I figured it was Claire because she has had a cold and it sounded WAY TOO big to be coming from little man. As I peeked in on Claire I realized that she was sound asleep...uh oh. It was Cohen. I went in and picked him up. He was going strong with a terrible "barking" cough, he was having trouble breathing and he was shaking uncontrollably! I took him in to Brian and started packing a bag and throwing clothes on because I knew we were headed for the ER. I was nervous because we just switched insurance providers and I have never been to St. John's other than to visit let alone a midnight trip to the ER ALONE! Brian decided it would be best to call Grandma Connie so that she could come stay with Claire while he went with me. When we finally got in at around 3 am they did a breathing treatment and an x-ray and decided that he has croup. They gave him a steroid shot (just what we need...steroids!) and finally sent us home at 6 am. So here I sit running on 2 hours of sleep but so thankful that it wasn't worse than it was. Brian was amazing. I was so proud how he just jumped right in and offered tons of hugs and cuddles (to both of us!). I am so thankful that Cohen waited to get sick until Brian was home. I can't imagine having sat there for 5 hours in the middle of the night by myself!! As for our new hospital, I was pleasantly surprised! We have always been a Cox family for as long as I can remember so I was nervous about the switch. The nurses, doctor and staff were wonderful and did everything they could to make us as comfortable as possible. I was also glad that Cohen actually got a bath last night before bed and he was in his "nice" jammies! An added bonus...I had actually showered last night too! Not exactly a Saturday routine for me! When Claire woke up this morning here is the conversation we had.
Claire: "Hey mom, I woke up and Grandma magically appeared in your bed!"
Me: "She did?"
Claire: "Yeah, and then I was like GRANDMA? (While making the cutest little squinty face) IS THAT REALLY YOU? Then I closed my eyes and she was gone."

She was a little confused but she was such a big helper this morning and sat in the living room with me while I caught a little extra shut eye before Cohen woke up. Cohen is doing better this morning. He still isn't his normal happy self, but he sounds much better. I am in awe of how different I am today. We did the same thing with Claire (croup) when I was pregnant with Cohen and it took all I had to keep it together. I was a mess! Last night, I was calm as could be. I know it's because God is such a strong presence in my life now. I have found a strength in myself lately that can only be explained one way. It is coming from my faith and my new relationship with Him. I am looking forward to church tonight. It's the Joy To The World concert and I think it is just what I need to start my week. A great night to praise God and give him the glory for the way he his working everyday in my life.

This one speaks for itself!

Bring us some Tiggy pudding

Claire just informed Brian that her favorite part of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" is when they talk about tiggy pudding. Hilarious!

Christmas Pictures

We had Christmas pics done today and here's what we got. The kids were all very good, but they were a tough sell! Nothing would make any of them smile which is really unusual! We managed to get a few good ones (a lot of Miss Livi) but our favorites were the "outtakes!" The first one, I can't help but laugh every time I look at it! Poor Cohen was just DONE! The second, look at the legs in the picture. They belong to Claire but they look like they are attached to Alivia! It was an interesting experience trying to get a 3 year old, 1 year old and 5 month old to do the same thing at the same time! Now the pictures are over, I got a cute one of the 2 kids together and now the pressure is off!!

Decorating for Christmas....

isn't near as fun as it used to be!!! So far, we have lost 2 ornaments and a string of lights. Luckily the ornaments are the one for the "pretty" tree and not the "real" tree. The ornaments on the "real" tree have real sentimental value and I would be so sad if they broke. Claire took care of the lights by using them as a sort of jump rope thing. It seems like I can't find half of my decorations. I don't know if they are stashed in the attic or if Claire carried them off before I noticed. Between sweeping up glass, unwrapping Cohen from the lights, removing the ribbon (turned noose) from around his neck and changing 3 (YES 3) poopy diapers in the last 2 hours....I'm........well....POOPED! But all it took to get me back into the Christmas spirit was for "Christmas in Dixie" to come on the XM radio and I was good to go!!! I sure can't wait to see my Oklahoma family! All I need now is "Thistlehare the Christmas Bear!" I'm trying to keep everything in perspective and just enjoy the holiday craziness! I'm thankful to have a home to decorate and things to decorate it with. I'm thankful to have 2 beautiful healthy children to break stuff and torment each other. I'm thankful that I have gotten to start Frosty the Snowman DVD over 50 times in the last 3 days! (And just received another request for our frosty friend!) I just needed a second to remind myself of that! Now back to decorating then it's off to the grocery store to get some goodies for our Christmas movie night featuring Shrek the Halls and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (THE ORIGINAL!) and stuff for dinner tomorrow with my favorite brother, sister-in-law and niece!! Hope you are all finding a quiet moment to thank the good Lord for everything wonderful in your life!

More on Megan!

I am sitting here watching Miss Megan on the TODAY SHOW!!!! She has been on numerous times this morning and will be on again on Friday! Out of ALL of the kids fighting cancer and they pick Springfield's own Megan White! What a little Rock Star! Tivo the Today show on Friday if you can. You don't want to miss this! Awesome job Megan!

Here is a link to my new favorite commercial. This is Megan White. I went to school with her Daddy and she just finished chemo on Halloween. You can read more about her and her battle with cancer at www.helpmeganwhite.com She is an amazing little girl and is an inspiration to so many. So here's the link to her new commercial with Reggie Bush! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyMSLPMpn_k
Watch this and then take the time to hug your babies and thank God for each second you have with them!!!!

Shhhhhh.

Don't tell Claire but here is one of her Christmas gifts I ordered her today!
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She has been really into ballet lately and keeps asking me to take "ballet dancing lessons." I am waiting a little longer because soccer lessons didn't really work out. She wasn't interested at all. The program was awesome, she just wasn't into it! She asked me for a pair of "real live ballet slippers" so you KNOW she will be getting those!! I can't wait to get my Tutti Fruity Tutu from my good friend Emily in New Orleans! I let Claire pick the colors (she didn't know why she was picking them!) but she chose citrus and Lavender. (By the way Em, I think I misspelled Lavender on my order!) I think it will be beautiful! Be sure to browse the other stuff on Emily's website and see if you might be interested in something for your little "Tutti Fruity!"

OH, and today I will fill you in on a few things. For those of you who don't know, Brian has been in New Jersey for 3 weeks. ICK. The Lord truly blessed us with a job offer from Johnson & Johnson. He will be working for Ethicon (a subsidiary of JNJ) and selling surgical devices such as sutures, mesh patches and things like that. During sales calls he will sit in on surgeries and answer any questions about the product that the surgeon may have. Needless to say, the training is pretty intense. He has been actually learning how to use these products on live pigs and even a cadaver. It is an amazing company to work for and we feel so blessed for this opportunity. SO, that would explain the impromptu trip to the east coast! Brian called his first Saturday there and said that he wasn't sure he could make it 2 more weeks without me! (Boy was I flattered!) So I hopped on priceline.com and looked at a ticket for the next weekend. UGH! Almost $1200.00! I decided to go ahead and bid on a ticket and put in what we can afford at the moment. So $300.00 was my offer for a flight out of Springfield to Newark. It was 10:30 at night and I hadn't talked to anyone except Brian about this. With priceline, if they accept your offer....you have a non-refundable ticket. So as I waited for "The Negotiator" aka William Shatner to find me a deal, I was in a panic! Then BAM! I had a ticket. "That's nice Chrissy, just assume that someone will watch your kids while you fly across the country!" But, as I'm sure you all know, my parents and Mother-in-law were more than happy to help out with the kids! I jumped on the plane and headed for parts unknown! And the rest is history! But TODAY IS THE DAY BRIAN FINALLY COMES HOME!!!!!!!! We can't wait to see him. The kids are really missing Daddy. YYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

The city that never sleeps. Featuring the Mommy who doesn't either.

On Thursday I left at 6pm for the east coast! It was completely spur of the moment and I will explain later, but here are some pics from our trip into New York City! It was just what we needed and we can't wait to go back. When we do go back we will try not to schedule our trip during a time when EVERYONE is on strike! It's okay though, we saw TONS of stuff and just enjoyed each other's company.

This was one of the highlights of my trip! Tiffany & Co. on 5th Avenue!!! I've had my eye on this necklace since before Cohen was born. What better time to splurge!!!

Me and Brian at Rockefeller Center. (Self-portrait!)

Rupert at Hello Deli! (From David Letterman!)

Letterman

Bad Boy Entertainment. He's so gangsta!

Ground Zero.

If you look really close, you can see the Statue of Liberty in the distance. We got there as the sun was going down and it was beautiful.

Manhattan Times Square.

If the shoe fits.

Well, I found them! The perfect shoe for my "little" guy. If only I would have ordered the right size! They were actually too big. They are the shoes mentioned in the previous post by See Kai Run. They are great! The soles are flexible enough for his little tootsie to move but they offer a little more durability compared to other "new walker" shoes we have tried. I think this will be good for the wet and cold winter months. I'm considering buying another pair! (He really needs a size 8 for anyone looking for Christmas gift ideas!!) Shameless...I know.

The search continues...

So the pedipeds I ordered were....too small! They are size 7-8! I think they run a little small though because Cohen really wears a size 8. So back they go and now we are waiting for a new pair by See Kai Run. Click on the title of this post to see a picture!

Daddy's Song

Here are my little cuties last night in their new jammies! We decided at 6:30 when everyone (including myself) was GRUMPY, that we needed to have a DANCE PARTY!!! I got the Ipod out and Claire immediately said, "I want Daddy's song!" So I turned on "Here in Your Arms" by Hellogoodbye and danced the grumpys away! Unfortunately the dance party ended with my little man bleeding with a busted lip! He fell off the bed! It was so sad but he was fine after a little cuddle time from Momma.

Why I was early

Hello, my name is Chrissy...and I am chronically late. I was born 2 weeks late and I have been since then! Well, this morning I was rushing around and trying to get the kids dressed and ready for church. We ran out the door and hurried down the road. As we approached the building, I looked around at the vast parking lot surrounding our church that is usually filled with hundreds of cars and was puzzled. "Hmmm," I said to myself. "Today is Sunday right?" "Yeah, pretty sure I didn't sleep through an entire day." "Did they cancel church?" "Now why would they cancel church?" "Maybe there was a leak, fire, chemical spill or something of that nature." I put my hand on the door of our church and it was almost as if God was yelling at me "HEY DING DONG, I GOT 2 WORDS FOR YA....DAYLIGHT SAVINGS!!" Oh Sheesh. I guess I thought that all of the stories on TV ALL WEEK LONG didn't pertain to me and my world. Are you kidding? I even changed the batteries in my smoke detectors (which just happened to be necessary this week) and thought to myself "Hmmm look at me. I have never actually done this during the week they always suggest. Aren't I efficient!" So it wasn't as if I am completely clueless about the world around me. So, as I lugged my 36 pound one year old in the door and drug my bleary eyed 3 year old along side I began to question my capabilities as a true functioning person in society. This isn't the first incident lately that has left me concerned for the safety of those around me! I just really need to pull it together. The bright side? Rather than being 10 minutes late....I WAS 50 MINUTES EARLY!!! Better record this day in history!

Day 4

Today started off with a chuckle when Claire said to me, and I quote, "Mom, I know you like caffeine but I like tootsie rolls." I think this was her way of getting me to let her eat tootsie rolls for breakfast. It worked. Then it was off to Nanny and Papa's for a day filled with Halloween fun! Cohen took his first tractor ride with Papa. He loved it! (So did Papa!)

Here is the recipe for our pumpkin brownies and then how they actually turned out! Please note that the recipe is worn due to the fact that my mom clipped it out of a magazine in 1983! It was a special memory from my childhood and I am so excited to start this tradition with my kids. Thanks Mom!

Here I am with Levi the Giraffe, Charlie Brown and Batman!

Supergirl, Batman and Charlie Brown with Grandma Connie and Great-Grandparents Bill and Millie.
Charlie Brown and Supergirl!

And so it begins

I have just experienced for the first time with Cohen what I will be dealing with forever. I wanted to get him a couple pairs of Pedipeds. They are soft-soled shoes that are great for new walkers and REALLY cute. I went to their website and was so excited to see all the different styles they offer. Then I realize that Cohen needs an Extra Large (24+months). That narrowed my search down to one pair. SO my decision was made for me! Here they are!
http://www.pediped.com/Product/ProductInfo.aspx?id=45&cid=44

Day 3

Here is our little Supergirl at school today! They had their costume parade and Claire actually participated. She usually freezes up and wants to sit with Nanny but I think the promise of a slush from Sonic after school motivated her this morning. And yes, she is wearing pantyhose. I don't think there is anything more hilarious than a little girl in pantyhose!

She is really getting excited about tomorrow! I just have to finish Coco's costume! By the way, if you don't understand my titles for the past 2 blogs, you will in a few weeks!