Day "Leden"

Apparently I am ignoring yesterday's lesson.

It was a big day for the little brothers. Ky and Cam went to Tap and Jazz for Kids while Coop was at karate. I must admit that never in my 10 years of having my three sons did I think I would spend so much time at a dance studio. Last week when we were registering Coop for his class, the little brothers asked if they could go to a class. So today was day one and I peeked in a few times to see big smiles and happy feet. God bless that instructor who was trying to control 30 tapping shoes and 15 rambunctious youngsters. I am convinced the instructor is being hazed. Why else would you put a new teacher with a challenge like that? Definitely hazing going on.

I had the pleasure of being greeted by a cute little waiter this morning while I was watching GMA. I think the boy might have a career in serving others.

Yet another tooth pulling today. I decided that if a tooth is so loose that it is perpendicular to the adjacent tooth then it needs to come out. Kyle finds it most productive to have me sit on the tub and watch him while he lays on the floor. Whatever works. That reminds me, I better go check with the tooth fairy. Kyle told me that you have to be careful about putting things under your pillow because the tooth fairy will take it. He put a car under his pillow a while back and the car was gone in the morning. That's so hilarious.

It's such a relief when number one comes home happy. He is what my friend Snaps calls the "alpha child". I hate to think that he has that much control over all of our attitudes but it's true. Today when he got off the bus he took Cam for a ride in his "bus". Ahhhh, life is good.

Day "Leden" Life Lesson: No one can control your attitude but you.

Day "Lick"

That's not a typo. That's just Cameron saying "Day Six." Tuesday was a yucky day. I wasn't feeling well and Corey left town in the afternoon. Thankfully my parents took the boys and got them where they needed to be and fed them. Cameron had a fun time at Terrific Tuesday, a preschool class for seniors. Coop had his first dance class of the school year - Tap and Jazz. He was challenged in the upper level class but didn't give up.

A little scary cheetah was returned to me at the end of the day. I don't remember a cheetah living with us but he was so cute that I decided to keep him. The cheetah looks surprisingly like a puppy.

Kyle was very helpful at school today. At least that's what his shirt said. It didn't look like his handwriting so I am pretty sure it came from Mrs. G.. Phew! That's a relief. Hopefully, he won't ever come home with a sticker that reads, "Didn't do a darn thing all day."

Day "Lick" Life Lesson: You shouldn't make fun of the way your kids talk.

Day 5

My name is Cam and I am NOT going to smile and I am NOT going to preschool. Well, this should be fun.

That's right, change your tune mister. You ARE going to preschool and you will like it. By the way, love the pose.


Oh man, he is so weird. What's with the hanger? Is that supposed to be a tutu? And what's with the flashlight? Oh, I think that must be his spotlight. Moving right along.

The first Monday for the boys was H-O-T. Must have been 85 degrees. Kyle had his first experience with flag football. They did skill drills so they could sort out the teams by ability. Kyle had a really great time passing, catching, running and blocking. He is already asking when he goes again. Coop decided that football is way too dangerous and he will never let his kids play.

Day 5 Life Lesson: Whoever said, "...words will never hurt me" was way wrong.

Weekend Part Two

Sunday, a day that I believe should never start out yucky. We have a lot of yucky Sunday mornings. Usually, when we are trying to get to church. Today was a dandy. Lots of yelling and meltdowns but enough about me.

I went downstairs to do the laundry and once again there was water coming up through our floor drain. I asked Corey to help me remove the linoleum because it was so moldy underneath it was making me gag. Before you know it we were emptying the laundry room, scraping and painting walls and cleaning and painting the floor. It was long overdue but I didn't expect it to just happen out of the blue one Sunday in September, you know what I mean?

Ah, but happen it did. We started at 9:30 (we were supposed to be in church) and got done at 5:30. Not the day I had anticipated but I am so thankful for Corey and all his hard work today. I had many Cinderella moments with him as I scrubbed the floor on my hands and knees.

You can't really tell but the floor is that epoxy stuff that you sprinkle the white and black chips on. Very cool stuff. We worked hard but at least I didn't have to do laundry.

Speaking of laundry, I decided today that doing laundry is a lot like teaching.

1) Everyone thinks it's really easy.

2) It's a thankless job.

3) You don't do it for the money, you do it for the kids.

4) When the results aren't good, everyone blames you.

And finally...

5) Everyone thinks they know the best way to do it even though they have never done it and don't ever want to.

Weekend Part One

News flash: It seems our kids watch our every move. Yeah, I know, doesn't that stink. I always hope they will focus on the positive and forget the negative. You know, that they would forget about all the times they've seen me laying on the couch watching TV and remember all the times I left at night to go walk. Forget the mommy tantrums and remember the sweet, snuggly, funny mommy.

Well, it seems that I have a positive to hang onto. Another reason to keep on keeping on. Cooper participated in his first 5k today. He asked if he could do it. He has seen Corey and I do some in the past and wanted to try it. He finished. And not that it matters but he was the first Hancock across the finish line. 45 minutes. He loved hearing all the friends and strangers cheering him on. It was a proud moment that I will always cherish. Way to go, son!

You know you're in the country when... a tractor parade comes down the road and no one is surprised.


We had the honor of celebrating our dear friend Cady's 4th birthday today at Star Hill Ranch. Lots of friends old and new can be found at the ranch and lots of laughter will always be heard. Another reason you know you are in the country? The boys can just run and be free with no worries.

We are so glad our friend Brennan was there. The boys absolutely adore him. They played big ball croquet, frisbee, chased bubbles and ran, ran, ran. Three thumbs up for this day.

Cadence, the boys and Bailey.

Day 4

TGIF - it's been a whirlwind of a first week. Is it summer yet :-) The boys had a great week. I am so thankful for that. As a mom, you just want to see your kids happy and I saw that this week. Phew!

Cam and I ran some errands in the morning and then he got to hang out with Gramsie and Gramps while I snuck away to Schubert Road in Trempealeau for lunch and golf with my golf buddy. It doesn't get much better than that. The weather was beautiful and the males at that place were so super nice to us. If you've ever golfed around men you know that sometimes they scoff at ladies golfing and they can be real donkeys. Well, not at the TCC. Wow, we felt like queens. They smiled, they conversed with us, the helped us out, they let us play through. It was a very pleasant experience. I might go back next week by myself. I am not at liberty to say how we did because I might end up in the river with cement sandals on. (Yeah, it was THAT bad.) But the company and weather were fabulous.

After golf, I made this amazing dinner. Corn on the cob, onion and cheese turkey burgers, roasted tomatoes to die for, veggies on the grill... oh man it was so good. Kyle was my sous chef. He peeled and cut the cukes and put them in the bowls. One with ranch, one without. While we were eating Kyle asked me how I learned to cook so good. I guess that's what happens when you actually cook something. Afterward we sat on our lakeside deck and watched the sun set while listening to the loons. Okay, not really, but it is Hancocks dream BIG, right?

Hmmm, could this be why they are tired in the morning? Notice Cam's cell phone on the bed next to him. Maybe he is texting the Tooth Fairy.

Day 4 Life Lesson: Even the worst day of golf is still better than doing laundry.

Day 3

Uh, can it get any better than that? Maybe if you throw in a little bacon.

Scootering today at the lake just me and my mom. Life is good.

The foggy mornings are kind of Halloween-like. And moist. I walked Kyle to the bus stop and by the grace of God he got on the bus without a hitch. Whoopee! After trying to wake up the rest of the parents at the bus stop with my fine sense of early morning humor, I slimed my way to Cooper's stop where he was waiting with his cronies. He had much to say about the fog, the car lights, the stop lights that he couldn't see, etc... He is very chatty in the morning once he has an interested audience. So far the other kids are listening. They sort of have to.

Check this out. As bus driver Doug opened the door, he said, "Good Morning, Mrs. Hancock." Huh? What bus driver does that? He is seriously getting Bloedows and coffee real soon. I am so going up there even if it's dark and 6 degrees. He made my day.

Cam and I went to his preschool open house today. He loved it because I was there with him. I can't wait to see how Monday goes when I drop and run. Sorry Mrs. Norton.

We had fun scootering at the lake and playing at the park before we had to get back to meet the brothers. No wonder he doesn't want to go to preschool. We need to clean toilets for fun. Maybe then he will want to get away from me. Although he did tell me today, in his most disgusted voice, "You 'jut' don't get me Mom." Okay, I gotta tell you, I almost simultaneously peed my pants from holding in the laugh AND ran into a pole from the sheer shock of his statement. What the heck, does he not know he's 4? What exactly is there to get?

When Kyle got off the bus today he was cranky and tired. He had a war wound from the playground and wasn't happy about it. He said they move around A LOT in the classroom and it's very tiring. He informed me that I need to get him an energy band like Mrs. G. wears so he won't get tired. I told him the bracelet was for balance but he insisted it was for energy. Maybe it's because Mrs. G. never sits down. Maybe the band is injecting mountain dew into her system. It's a mystery he may keep trying to solve.

After dropping Cooper off at his piano lesson, I took the little brothers to Valencia to sign up for dance classes. Not only is Coop sticking with dance but the little brothers are going to revisit it by taking Tap and Jazz for Kids. Corey is struggling :-)

Day 3 Life Lesson: Try something new.