Nick Cannon wants to 'Octomom it' with Mariah

Wonderwall, Sunday, August 29, 2010, 10:39am (PDT)

By Jen Odell, with reporting by Mary S. Park

"I love kids. I'm all about kids!" Nick Cannon gushed at the 2010 Arthur Ashe Kids' Day in Flushing, N.Y. on Saturday. OK, so maybe he was referring to the kids who were there to learn about tennis ahead of the US Open. But when Wonderwall caught up with the "America's Got Talent" host about music and life with Mariah Carey, he made it pretty clear that he's ready to be a dad.

On the latest rumors that Mariah may be pregnant:

"People have been saying the same thing for like two and a half years ... She wants to keep as much privacy as she possibly can."

On how he'll raise his kids:

"I want to be brought up the way I was brought up. I got to be someone who's stern but still fun loving and knows how to have a good time ... You have to make sure that you ground them. Maybe I should go let them live with my grandmother so they don't experience all the craziness."

On having a boy versus having a girl:

"I just would want something healthy. It would be great to have a girl until she turns into a teenager because then you have to worry about every boy in the neighborhood. [With a little boy] you gotta worry about him breaking his arms and his legs and jumping. I was that kind of kid. I was a daredevil."

Would he be cool with having twins?

"Yeah! Octomom it! Have nine at once. Whatever type of life God blesses you with, you have to take it and appreciate it from there ... I always see every day you wake up as a blessing. And everything else is icing. To have the success or the luxuries -- automobiles, nice clothing -- that's stuff I never even fathomed. I grew up in a household where a good meal is what we really appreciated. For my life to be where it is now, I'm so grateful that even if it was taken away, I would be just as happy that I got the chance to experience it."

On what kind of mom Mariah will be:

"She's very nurturing. Nurturing and private. She makes me breakfast at any time and that's, like, my favorite food, so it'll be three in the morning and she'll still make me breakfast ... waffles! I'm a waffle guy. With the iron. She's talented."

On life with Mariah:

"We just have fun together! We wake up every morning just loving life and loving each other. Whatever comes at you is a plus. [Our perfect date is] just hanging out watching DVDs and eating popcorn. 'Coming To America,' Eddie Murphy movies."

What's next for Mariah?

"She's finishing up her album in LA. It's great. It's a Christmas album. It's going to be phenomenal. She has a lot of big surprises. I think they wanted her to be on 'Idol.' She definitely would be the perfect person to judge singing -- she's one of the greatest singers of all time."

Anything else you want to tell us about all that baby talk, Nick?

"Nah. I'll let her do it when she's ready to do it. She'll talk when she's ready to talk."