Halloween Begins!!!

Today was our first Halloween party of the weekend...and we have plenty ahead!!  The boys were so cute dressed up in their Fireman outfits.  As fate would have it, Cole decided to be a fireman tonight.  So relieved we had two outfits!!  Tomorrow he claims he will be a surgeon...his original pick.  We'll see...  One thing is for sure, they are ready for candy.  Tonight's party was at their school and the treats were pizza, apples and water.  Tommy was NOT impressed and Cole wanted to go home after an hour and have a "Tizzler".  :)

Let the trick-or-treating and fun begin!!

Mousecapades!

This story had to be written down for posterity.  It is just too funny!  My poor mom...  Today I went into the hospital for some monitoring on the baby.  Everything was fine, but since they decided to keep me for awhile longer, I called my mom to check-in on her and the boys.

"Everything is okay."  She replied.  "Although we're just recovering from a little *incident*."  Apparently, the boys wanted to play downstairs in the ball pitt, so down the basement they all went.  Tommy picked something up and started swinging it around yelling, "look at me!"  First she thought it was a toy...but then realized...it was a MOUSE!!!  He had the mouse by the tail!  She yelled for him to let go of it...and he did...and it flew in the air and landed in the ball pitt where Cole was playing.

Can you even imagine the chaos that ensued?  She said in the process of getting the mouse, sterilizing the ball pitt and both boys...Tommy was screaming crying "my mouse!  my mouse!"

Mind you...she is relaying this story to me while I was hooked up to monitors.  I was laughing so hard I almost peed my pants and had to hang up before the alarm on my monitors went off.  Only boys!!!!

Happy 97th birthday GG!

Today was my grandfather's 97th birthday.  This man is truly amazing.  He is in great health, great spirits and every time I see him, he looks better than he did the last time!!  I wish everyone the same health and happiness in life that this gentleman has at 97 years of age.  He has had a fascinating life...and anyone who knows him can attest to his GREAT wit and sense of humor.

My parents hosted a birthday party at their house and unfortunately, the boys were both too sick to go.  They woke up on Saturday with terrible colds and despite their stuffy nose assurances that they were feeling better, I decided they would stay home with dad.  They were really sad as they had been looking forward to the party all week.  They made a cute little video singing Happy Birthday to GG (great grandpa) which I brought along to share with my grandfather.  Here it is.

Happy birthday Gramps/GG!!!  We love you!!!  And thank you GG Margaret for the amazing food and Irish Soda Bread!!  It was a fun afternoon.  xoxo

The Cover-Up!

Both boys awoke with pretty bad colds yesterday, so we've been housebound all weekend.  This morning they were starting to get a little stir-crazy, so I set them up with an art project then used that opportunity to run upstairs and jump in the shower.

Moments later, Cole burst into the bathroom.  "MOMMY!!!  Tommy making a BIG mess and water is everywhere."  In my stern voice I warned, "There better not be!  You tell Tommy mommy is on her way downstairs and he is in trouble."  Cole hesitated...looked at me...then ran downstairs.

Within a few minutes, I had rinsed off the soap, grabbed a towel and made my way downstairs.  As I turned the corner into the kitchen, the bathroom door slammed shut and I heard whispers.  "What is going on down here?"  I inquired.  "Nuffin Mommy!"  Tommy replied through the closed door as I heard a toilet flush.  When I opened the door, both boys were standing innocently beside the toilet.  "Mommy, I have to go the bathroom."  Cole informed me.

At first glance all appeared normal...but with closer inspection I noticed smears of paint around the sink along with globs of wet toilet paper here and there on the floor and sink.  The toilet paper roll had wet fingerprints and the floor was still glistening from being wet.  "It's okay Mommy."  Tommy said.  "Everything is all fine."

That was enough for me.  I didn't even question them further and praised them for being so good.  Will I ever know what really happened in there?  No.   Do I need to?  No.  Am I proud of them?  IMMENSELY!!!  They worked together quickly to fix the mess and I could never fault that.  It was their first great cover-up.  And it deserves to be documented!!!  :)

Bond of brothers

Yesterday, I took the boys to a birthday party at one of those McDonald's that has a HUGE indoor play area.  The play area mainly consists of a climbing structure that has tunnels, slides, multi-levels and LOTS of chaos.  It was fun...but crazy. As usual, the boys were inseparable.  Tommy waited patiently until Cole finished his meal to return to the play area, despite his friends telling him, "Come on Tommy!"  He didn't budge until Cole was ready.  Inside the play zone, it was pretty easy to spot them both...as they are always within 5 feet of each other.

Apparently, though...they must have separated at one point.  On our way home, Cole said to me, "Mom...I was in the big play building and crying and crying, but then Tommy found me and saved me."  Immediately, I was worried.  "What happened?" I asked.  Cole replied, "I was scared and all alone, but Tommy found me and then I was all better."  Then Tommy piped in.  "Yeah mom!  I rescued him, then Cole was not scared anymore!"  Hearing that of course, warmed my heart.

Tommy may be older by a minute, but the role of big brother falls naturally on his sweet, empathetic shoulders.  On the days that Cole goes to school, he encourages his brother telling him "not to worry!" and "school is fun!"  Then while Cole is actually at school, he confides to me that he "misses Cole."

I love watching the beautiful bond they share...and love the way they love each other.  This little baby is so lucky to grow up with such amazing big brothers as role models.