Growing Up

Well, right before our very eyes, Jaxon is growing up!  He's not a little baby anymore.  A few weeks ago, it was a cold, gross weekend and we didn't really have any plans.  I randomly put Jaxon on his little potty and then I blinked my eyes, and I swear he was potty trained.  I'm not even sure I did anything.  It was the weirdest thing. I don't even think I changed any accidents.  Of course, I put a pull-up on him at night...we're not quite there yet, but he just goes on the potty.  That Monday, I took him to daycare in underwear and he was good to go.  The easiest kid I've potty trained...even though I really didn't do a darn thing.  My only problem now is how to deal with the boy issues...like....when do you teach them to stand up? And trying to get the correct positioning so it doesn't spray anywhere.  He's fine on his little potty, but sometimes, with the big potty we have a few issues, but it's not his fault...he's doing a fantastic job.  I'm pretty sure the driving force in all of this was his beloved candy.  I started to give him candy every time he went and I swear it got to a point where I had to tell him to STOP going potty because he simply couldn't have anymore candy!  Lucky for Jaxon, I really don't have a lot of potty pictures, but here is one that was sent to me from daycare!  He'll appreciate the picture when he's older, I'm sure!



So anyway, we got the potty training out of the way and the next week he decided he would start jumping out of his bed.  After he continued to do it, we realized we had to take his crib apart and turn it into a toddler bed.  We couldn't risk having him get hurt every time!  He was beyond excited and proud to have a "big boy bed".  He wanted to show everyone!  The first night...awful!! He kept coming into my room with a sweet smile..."hi, mommy".  It was only cute the first time.  I think it took over three hours to put him to sleep.  I was like.... oh great, we are in so much trouble because I am certainly not doing this every single night.  Fortunately, it was only a one night thing!  He seems to go to bed fairly decently...after being rocked!  I think I've said it before, this kid is going to want to be rocked until he's a teenager!  But anyway, he's been staying in bed until I wake him up in the morning in which case he never even wants to get up!  So, I do what any good mother would do...I bribe him with fruit snacks if he'll get up like a good boy and let me get him ready to go! Hey...it works!

So there we go...he is on the path to becoming a big boy just like that!!

The Bieber

This may sound like it's going to be a post about Justin Bieber, but you will soon find out that's not the case!

Last Sunday, the kids were at Sunday school and Jason was out of town, so I thought I would take Jaxon to the library.  We pulled up and were sad to find out that it didn't open until noon.  He was so upset when we couldn't go in and kept saying he wanted to go to the bieber.  And then when we picked Sydney and Lizzy up, he told them the bieber was closed.  They were like, what are you talking about, kid? I told him he meant the library and I don't know how he turned that into bieber, but he did.  From that day on, he asked me every single day to go to the bieber.

The day finally happened!  The kids had a darn snow day on Wednesday which was totally unnecessary, but Jason stayed home last week for the unnecessary snow day, so it was my turn.  Sydney had Mia over, so I dragged the 4 kids to the bieber.  He absolutely loved it.  I guess it's true...the best things in life are free!  It just so happened that at the time they went, they were having a toddler class (so that's what people who don't work do). He got to play with a parachute, sand, use ride-on toys.  But is absolute favorite was the instrument area and the stage that had a kitchen to play in...he spent the most time there not sharing with any other kids...we'll have to work on that.  There was another little boy and every time he took something out, Jaxon told him no and put it away...like I said, we'll work on the sharing thing!  We actually had a good time. As you can see, even Mia and Sydney had fun with the instruments:).

When Jason got home, Jaxon asked him if he could go back to the bieber, but that wasn't happening.  So he said, "okay, I go to sleep, and when I wake up, we go to the bieber."  That wasn't happening either...we have to go to work, kid!  The next day, I took him to daycare and he told Annie the bieber was closing.  I told her they might want to work on the word "library" today.  But fortunately enough for Jaxon, the girl's school happened to be having a family fun night at the library that night, so I went with the girls and Jason took Jaxon to the children's area.  So, two days in a row for the bieber.

I guess I can't complain that he's asking to go to the library.  Ever since I took him to Sesame Street Live, he's been asking to go to "Elmo Time".  Apparently he doesn't like to spend a lot of time at home, he always thinks we should be going somewhere!  But, at least I can deliver on the promise to take him to the library soon, because Elmo is just not there anymore and he doesn't get that!

So, from now on, for some cheap fun...to the bieber we go!

Best Food Ever

This sounds like it's coming from Oparah Winfrey's mouth....BEST FOOD EVERRRRRRRRRRR!! Anyway, the other day Sydney and Lizzy had to go to our next door neighbors house after school because the babysitter couldn't make it.  When Sydney came home, I was delighted to know that she already ate dinner and I didn't have to make the picky eater anything! She said, "mom, oh my gosh, they have the best food ever."  I was like, by all means, you eat nothing, so whatever it is, find out so I can make it for you.  Her response...Ramen Noodles.  Seriously?? That's like the worst food possible for you. It's literally 10 cents for each one, which is why I ate this stuff in college. There was no way I was buying her these.

The other day I was at the store, and they had Ramen noodles somewhat close to the checkout lane, so I grabbed one just to be nice.  She was literally over the moon and made it right away.  And guess who was super sad...Lizzy...she loves the stuff too...crazy! So, the last time I was at the store, I grabbed 5.  Jason definitely questioned my decision and said I should not be buying this stuff.  But it literally makes them so happy.  It's not like they're eating it every day...just every other day! And I mean, If they're going to make their own dinner...go ahead!  They don't make what I make anyway!  I've been making chicken pot pie, lasagna roll ups, chicken stir fry and they look at it and are basically brought to tears by the look of the food.  Sydney decided that she would make two at a time, one for her and one for Lizzy, but only use one of the seasoning packets to make it healthier...ha!

I don't know how bad this stuff is for you, but they are obsessed.  So, I guess the question is...to eat Ramen? Or not to eat Ramen?  All I know is...she's going to have a cheap food bill in college.We'll save wherever we can!

Valentine's Day

Okay, what is this world coming to? Thanks to Pinterest, my kids can't just go to the store and pick up some cheap valentines for their classmates. Nooooooooooo.....they have to make really cool home made valentines which means I have to make valentines for them.  They do help, but c'mon, who are we kidding here?  I basically did all of the work.  Lizzy decided to make robots out of Starburts, Smarties, and Candy hearts.  This involved the hot glue gun. That means work was involved. But we did get them done and they did look cute, but just when I thought I was done, Jaxon literally had a fit because he wanted to do a "project" too AND we were using his beloved Starbursts. So, I had to make some for his daycare friends too! He was very cooperative and ate a TON of candy while I worked the hot glue gun.  He came out of this project unburned.  But as a side note, and totally unrelated to valentine's day, that night he did manage to burn himself.  You see, he follows me around wherever I go.  He freaks out if I leave the room.  He yells for me, "mommy...I crying." I'm like, no shit Sherlock...but I always give him a big hug and come out from hiding.  Anyway, all of a sudden he's obsessed with doing his hair like the girls.  He wants pony tails, he wants it flat ironed, he wants it blow dried.  This night he tried to follow me into the shower, but I wouldn't let him in.  So, he patiently waited outside of the bathroom door.  However, he really wasn't waiting patiently.  He apparently tried to curl his hair.  When I came out, he was on the floor with the curling iron crying that he burned himself.  I was like, "buddy, you can't burn yourself when it's not plugged in."  So, I kept ignoring him and told him to go put lotion on or something.  While I was cleaning up...holy crap, sure enough...I burned MY fingers because I didn't realize he had actually already plugged it in, used it, and threw it on the floor.  So, he really did burn his fingers. That is some quality parenting right there! The hot glue probably wouldn't have hurt as badly, but hey...we're all okay and here to tell the story (a very long story that just got way side tracked). BUT...in the end, the Valentine's turned out very cute!

I didn't catch a picture of what Sydney did, but she had me design full size candy bar wrappers and gave each classmate a full size candy bar. These kids have no problem spending my money! I hope her friends appreciated it!

I did have fun (I mean as fun as can be expected) at the kid's valentine's parties at school.  I had to take the whole afternoon off because somehow I got roped into being a room mother for Lizzy. I totally don't have much time for it, but I make it work, and of course agonize over making it just right.  Sydney is less than pleased that I do this because I was never a room mother for her and she gets very jealous when I plan fun stuff for Lizzy.  Something tells me I might be a room mother for Sydney in the near future...but I'll try to avoid that. (Unless Sydney is reading this....then of course, honey...anything for you....maybe).

I also had some nice flowers delivered to me at work from the family.  They tried sending me a  note with them that said they loved me more.  But, we all know they'll never win that game!

Jaxon's Night Out

To be fair, everyone had a night out, but Friday night was the first time that I took Jaxon somewhere just for him. We all kind of headed in different directions...

Lizzy and Jason attended the Daddy Daughter dance.  It would have been very easy if Sydney went with them, but she thinks she is too old for something like this even though all of her friends go! So, Sydney decided to hang out with Grandpa that night and they had a blast.  They headed to Royal Oak and went to Creative Arts Studio and painted pottery.

Jaxon and I headed to Sesame Street Live at the Fox Theater.  He knew who Elmo was, but I had to do a quick crash course on the rest of the characters.  Growing up with two older sisters does not lend itself to too much Sesame Street watching....in fact, none to be exact.  We went with my friend Christine Hafner and her son Liam.  I have to give Lizzy credit for this friendship.  When Lizzy was 3, she was in a preschool class for one week before I had to switch her to a different class that fit our schedules better.  But in that one week, she made a connection with Clare that continues to this day.  So, there must of have been  a reason for her to be put in that class because they are an awesome family!  As a side note, I love friends that you don't see every day, but when you do, you can just pick up where you left off and have fun.  The Hafner's are those type of friends and shout out to the Becker's, Schwartz's, & Parel's for also being those types of friends!

Anyway, we drove together downtown and Jaxon was a little apprehensive to get in someone else's car, so I had to hold his hand the whole way, but once we were there, he had so much fun.  He loved watching all of the characters sing and dance and he did some dancing in the isles as well. And of course, no outing would be complete without Starbursts!  He ate his fair share that's for sure, but he literally had the best time and I enjoyed watching the boys have fun.  Jaxon has not stopped talking about it.  Every day he tells me that he wants to go to Elmo Time in Liam's car.  He also wants to go to Liam's house and play with all of his toys.  I'm glad that Jaxon has a friend that isn't 10 years old! Liam is a little younger, but that works out well because he didn't get upset when Jaxon yanked his toys right out of his hand. He'll learn to toughen up though...especially if he's around Jaxon! The cutest thing though was listening to them talk in the back seat.

On the way home, I got a call from Sydney and she said they were stopping at Dairy Queen before coming home and crazy enough, Jaxon and I were literally right near there when she called, so we joined them for some late night ice cream! Grandpa made Jaxon crack up laughing the whole time, so not only does Jaxon want to go to Liam's house, he also asks to go out for ice cream with Grandpa every day.  My dad is trying to diet so he didn't get anything and Jaxon looked at him like he was crazy and said, "you got nuffin', Grandpa? No banilla?"  It was cute!

It was a fun start to the weekend, and I LOVE doing things on Friday's because it makes the weekend seem longer to me!

Love You More

I don't know if I remember quite how it started, but it definitely started between me and Sydney.  Somehow we started this thing where won of us would say, "I love you more", and then it would be a race to say, "I love you more, I win".  Most people who know me, know that I am very competitive and I like to win, so I'd like to think that I always win this game.  In any event, it became a "thing".  I say it to all of my kids and whenever I see the saying anywhere, it makes me think of my kids.  Sydney has it all over her room because anytime I'm at a store and I see a pillow, wall sign, etc. that says "love you more", I buy it for her.

So, last month, I did something I swore I would never ever do.  I got a tattoo.  For some reason I was just never a fan of them and couldn't think of a reason why I would possibly get one and would never get something that I would regret.  But I realized that this saying carried a lot of weight for me and really meant something.  So I did it.

I figured that it was a well thought out plan.  It wasn't some spur of the moment thing that I did because I was a little tipsy (ha...pretty rare), or some random dare from friends, or a stupid move in college because everyone else was doing it. I couldn't think of a  reason why I would ever regret loving my kids. It's a constant reminder to me of my kids when I'm at work and I look down at my wrist.  I don't spend all day with them, but I definitely think about them a lot whether they realize it or not.

So, one day when I'm old and gray (well shoot...I'd say there are already too many grays), this will not be a decision that I look back and say, "what in the world was I thinking".

I'm sure people will judge, but for me, it was the right thing to do!



Sydney, if you're reading this...I love you more...I win!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ha!

Partner In Crime

On Saturday, Jason had to work at a convention all day and Lizzy had play practice, so immediately Sydney (my shopping partner in crime), Jaxon, and I took off for the mall! Lizzy typically never wants to go anywhere, she is perfectly fine staying at home, so I didn't have to do any convincing or promising of treats if she came with us.  So, the three of us had 2 hours of uninterrupted fun (which really wasn't enough for us shopaholics).  In Jaxon's case, he had 2 hours of eating candy!  I won't get into the candy he took and started eating at Claire's and therefore I had to purchase...but needless to say, he was good to go for a while!

First things first, I try to avoid the mall play area like the plague simply because, well....the plague!  I don't need my kids to get sick from all of those other germ infested kids.  And besides we know darn well how to have our own fun at the mall.  You simply go up and down the escalator like a dozen times and Jaxon is as happy as can be.  I'm still waiting for mall security to come after me one day for me sending my kids up and down the escalator while I wait for them. But so far that hasn't happened, so we'll continue to have our fun!  Hey it's free...as well as the gum from the Sketcher's Store...we always have to make a stop there!

On this particular day, one of the things I needed was a new lipstick since Jaxon has practically ruined all of mine.  Sydney wanted to go to Nordstroms, and Jaxon did not make it easy.  He is obsessed with makeup and while the lady was trying to help me, he wouldn't stop screaming, "I NEEEEEEEEEED MY WHIPSTICK" (aka lipstick).  He grabbed a big tube of lip gloss type stuff which I was like, okay I know they take out the wands so people don't use it, and therefore he couldn't make a mess. Well, miss sales lady thought she would be funny and handed him a disposable wand and he went to town.  I mean, his whole darn face was bright pink and sticky! So, we left Nordstroms with him looking like a clown.  I had to listen to countless people say, "oh my gosh, look at that little boy".  I wish I had gotten a picture, it was quite a sight to be seen.  I can say this about MAC lip gloss/stain (or whatever it was)...it does not come off easy.  So, if you're looking for a something that doesn't rub off easily, just head over to MAC!  Fortunately for me, I had Sydney with me, who assisted in cleaning his face.

That night, while I was in the shower, and Jaxon was under a watchful eye by Jason, Sydney and Lizzy, on the loose with no one paying attention, he decided he would find all of the nail polish and paint his nails (and face and vanity, and chair).  Needless to say, I was not happy about this and was frankly not in the mood.  I was totally just going to leave him covered in nail polish.  I was so over it.  But, alas...Sydney to the rescue.  Sometimes I think she has far more patience than I do.  She filled up the bathroom sink with soap and nail polish remover and scrubbed him forever until is was all off.  She was so concerned about the nail polish remover getting anywhere near his mouth, that she re-filled the sink with just soap and water in the end so he would be extra clean.  Can we say "Best Big Sister Award".

So...shout out to Sydney, who reads this now, so maybe I'll get a few brownie points! Not that I should want brownie points from my kid.  But she should just know that I appreciate her help when I need it most!