Once In a Blue Moon

Seriously, I can't remember the last time this happened, but tonight I will be without both kids, and not because I asked anyone to watch them...a very rare occasion! Someone out there in blog world (Gail), must have read the sad, sad story about how everyone always takes Sydney and never Lizzy. Today is Wednesday, and Sydney has been gone since Saturday. I just spoke to her on the phone, actually. She said, "hi mommy, I miss you, do you miss me? And I said, "of course I miss you, do you want to come home?" "No, I'll just stay here so I don't have to go to Helene's (daycare)." So, I guess I will see her eventually! I mean, why would she want to come home when she can sleep in until 10 and get spoiled like crazy? She's been to the candy store twice, the mall, a minor league baseball game, the spray park...the list is endless....definitely having fun.

Last night I got the call requesting the presence of Lizzy! So Lizzy is off with Grammie and Grandpa. They can have a night of chasing her up the stairs; should be fun! Now I can sit, realax, and try to think about what I ever did without kids. Seems weird. I really can't remember. What did I do after work? No clue! I think tonight Jason and I will do dinner and a movie...in the middle of the week! I feel the need to get out more! When we went out for our anniversary last month, it felt so good. It breaks up the constant routine in our daily lives and I like it a lot! Too bad sitters are so expensive these days, or else we could get out more. I'm finding that it's good for sanity reasons!

So, I gladly embrace this once in a blue moon opportunity!

One Without the Other

Look at the goofballs! Sydney has to get a straw out every time she eats mandrin oranges because she likes the juice at the bottom. And then there is Lizzy, who is all about food. The little stinker opened the cabinet, pulled out the drawer and helped herself to some food. Sydney followed HER lead. 11 months old and already a trouble maker!

Anyway...despite the awful weather forecast, we ended up having a halfway decent weekend. We wend to Frankenmuth on Saturday for Jason's brother's (Jeff) birthday. It was a rare occasion where all of the cousins were together. That doesn't happen very often because Jill (Jason's sister) lives in Indianapolis, which is too bad because Sydney just loves her son Tyler! Maybe one day they will move back to Michigan! Maybe she will when Tyler is on the football team at Michigan State University...but that's like 12 years away! It really was fun to watch all of the kids play. But the best part was that Sydney decided to go to Midland with Jason's parents (I think so she doesn't have to go to daycare, it's been the trend lately), so we were left with only Lizzy for the rest of the weekend! It's always weird to have one kid without the other. Poor Lizzy, nobody ever wants to take her. Anytime a grandparent calls, they want to take Sydney! But it's fun to have one-on-one time with Lizzy...it's just too bad half the time is spent chasing her up the stairs! Maybe Jason shouldn't have thrown all of the gates away when we moved, oh well...stairs are a great workout, right?

Here are all of cousins together: Brandon, Joby, Tyler, Sydney, Kylie, and Lizzy

P.S. I'm willing to bet my life savings (not very much) that this is going to be the Hanukkah card picture from Grandpa Joe and Grandma Polly.

Here is Lizzy enjoying her persoanl picnic:

So, Let's Begin...

My two kids, Sydney and Lizzy are almost three and one, so I'm not going to go back and tell three years worth of stories...I can only move forward. How cute are they?

So, they look all cute and innocent, right? Ha! Cute yes, innocent...not really! Although people think Sydney is little miss perfect, that wouldn't be a true statement. She has been quite stubborn lately. Mornings don't go very smoothly. She wishes she could stay home all day and not have to go to daycare, which unfortunately is not the case, so every morning is a battle. This morning she woke up cranky as usual (because I had to wake her up), but I told her it was Friday (she knows I love Friday) which she mistakenly took to mean the weekend. She immediately put a huge grin on her face and said "oh mommy, thank you for letting me stay home today, I'm so happy" It broke my heart to tell her that she still had to go to daycare, tomorrow is the day she stays home. Oh my, back to the crankiness, that didn't go over very well! She won't brush her teeth, get dressed, put her shoes on, etc. Everything is a task...I have to get Lizzy out of the door as well! So basically it was a fight all the way to daycare. Usually I end up throwing her in the car in her pj's, because I just don't have time to deal with her tantrums...she can cry all she wants, it seems no matter how mean I am, she is always thrilled to see me at the end of the day!

Fortunately, Lizzy is at the cutest stage right now (almost 11 months) She can't talk back, she eats what we give her, takes a bath when we give her one, and goes to bed like a little angel when it's time. The only thing with her is that you have to watch her like a hawk...everything goes into the mouth...everything.

She also just learned how to climb the stairs! She knows we don't want her to and laughs hysterically as she goes up so fast we can barely catch her. We barely ever get to sit down until she goes to sleep, but she's so cute and so fun, I'm just loving watching her grow. I remember how much fun Sydney was at this age (not that Sydney isn't a fun almost three year old, I just don't want to backtrack at this moment). So Lizzy is awesome right now....back to Sydney....

Sydney basically only eats yogurt, cereal, cheese, grapes, blueberries, and cantaloupe. Everything else is a fight! Tonight Jason made the girls macaroni and cheese. Lizzy almost ate the entire box, Sydney refused to take one bite. I used to make her other things, but enough already. I'm done with the short order cook thing...eat what I make, or don't eat! She cried...oh did she cry! She was hyperventilating because Lizzy was going to be able to have dessert. She cried for a good hour and finally realized we weren't giving her anything else. She came out from the other room (where I left her because I wasn't going to sit there listening to her scream) and said "I'm sorry for crying, I'm ready to eat." And she did. I'm glad we stood our ground, it felt good. She certainly can be so sweet. And for the most part she is. It's just mornings, dinnertime, and as bedtime approaches. She even told me tonight "It's time for bed, I'm cranky."

This is getting quite long...it's just because it's my real first post and you have to get to know the girls. But a couple cute things before I end...this is more for me so I don't forget the cute moments. You can stop reading now if you want. Last night, as I was getting my clothes out for work, I asked Sydney what I should wear. She said "don't wear anything." I told her I didn't want to go to work naked, and she said, "why, don't you want them to see your butt?" I thought it was cute.

And lately she has been scolding "Bun-Bun" (her bunny she has been carrying around since she was born). It's kind of funny to hear her repeat the words I say to her. She told him "it's time for sleep, do you understand?" Then I heard a loud scream, "mommy I need you". So I went up to her room and she told me "mommy, Bun-Bun doesn't understand." Sooooo cute! At least it's cute the first time I go up to her room, not when she calls me ten times before going to bed...but anyway....enough!

I Don't Want To Miss a Thing!

So, I've decided to jump on the blogging bandwagon! I love reading everyone else's blog, so I figured I'd take the plunge! Even if noone else reads this, at the very least, I will have some of the cute things that my kids say and do documented. I must admit, I'm not so good at the whole baby book thing and have barely written a word down...I know, bad mom! But at least I am going to try and make an effort going forward! This is what I think...I can't seem to keep the house clean. No matter what I do, there is always clutter and always a mess, I just can't keep up. So, instead of constantly cleaning and never being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel, I might as well do something meaningful and document things going on in my world. So here we go! This probably won't be an everyday kind of thing, but I'll see what I can do! Comments and opinions are always welcome!