Whirlwind of a Weekend

Last weekend we went to Traverse City (actually Northport, does anyone even live in TC anymore?).  However, we had a couple of detours along the way.

The first stop was on Friday night to Frankenmuth for Joby's 9th birthday (where has the time gone?).  It was a beautiful April day and the kids had fun playing together.  They don't see eachother that often, but when they do, they love playing together.  I wish everyone lived closer, but I don't think that will happen in the near future!  Of course, the highlight of their night was chocolate cake!  Then, it was off to Midland for the night to visit with Grandma Polly and Grandpa Joe, and to drop Savannah off for the night!

We woke up on Saturday and headed up north for Mia's baby naming and Nolan's bris.  This was a total cousin weekend!  Sydney was soooo excited to see Mia and of course she loves anything that has to do with babies!  We also got to meet baby Frankie for the first time!  He was a little angel!  I swear, he barely cried and was totally happy just sitting there taking in everything around him...total opposite from my kids!  I can't remember that last time Lizzy just sat on my lap for more than 30 seconds.  And if she is ever sitting still, it's probably because she has food in her hand! 

Anyway, we all went out to eat on Saturday night.  It was nice to visit with everyone, there was like 18 of us...I love big family gatherings!!!  Sydney had Mia there and the two of them were so cute and even shared a chair at the restaurant.  They both sat there with I-phones playing games the whole time...I know, bad parenting skills right there...but hey, they were quiet!!  As for Lizzy, she wanted nothing to do with being in the restaurant.  Once 7 o'clock rolls around, she's about had it!  She was absolutely petrified of my grandpa, so Jason had to switch seats with her.  Towards the end of the night she wouldn't even sit in her seat at all...it was time to go!  We headed back to Northport and Mia and Sydney had a little sleepover.  They both slept in the same bed, but on differen't ends...they were really cute together!

Finally on Sunday we headed to Sutton's Bay for the bris and baby naming.  Rebecca acted like she didn't even just have a baby.  She was out and about and running around the house like nothing happened (that wasn't the case for me!!).  Lizzy was pretty awful throughout the whole thing, she was kicking me and pulling people's hair in front of her during the bris, so I put her down and she opened and closed the library door about 50 times.  On a side note, Lizzy loves to close doors.  Every time I go upstairs in our house, she has all of the doors closed.  She says, "mommy, I quose ze door" (close the door).  So, she was pretty happy playing with the door.  But at last, the kids were allowed to head upstairs to the playroom and Lizzy was in toy heaven (until we decided to take a family picture).  Lizzy does not like pictures...at all!  Every other kid was sitting there smiling and Lizzy ruined the pictures by kicking and screaming...but at least she's consistent...she never likes pictures.  As soon as I put her down she put a big smile on her face and ran back to the toys! 

We left around 6pm and headed back to Midland to pick up Savannah and then continued on home!   Afterall, Jason and I had to go to work the next day!  It was a great visit with family, but a lot of time in the car!  Overall, the kids were pretty good!  Lizzy had her moments, she is definitely set in her ways, but had fun nonetheless.  Sydney was a little angel and loved playing with Mia and Peyton and was of course all about baby Frankie and baby Nolan.  Hopefully we will see them all again soon!  I keep saying this, but it really is too bad that everyone lives so far apart...Sydney just loves her cousins and hates saying goodbye!

Friday Night

I'm not really a big fan of cooking on Friday nights!  You know, after the long work week, all you want to do is come home and just plop on the couch (which never happens, by the way)!  so Jason told the girls we could go to McDonalds.  This was anything BUT relaxing!  This was the first time ever, that both kids ate all of their food, so I couldn't deny them the huge playscape!  Sydney was terrified of course and played in the baby area, while Lizzy was all about running in with all of the big kids!

Lizzy literally took off and made it to the top in record time.  The only problem was that she was too small to make it over the obstacles to come down the slide, so guess who had to climb to the top to help her?  And guess who hit her head about 20 times trying to get off the darn thing?  If you guessed me, you're right!  But Jason did his fair share too,  although he wasn't wearing heels like me!

I eventually made Jason force Sydney to go into the big kid area!  The big kid area was for 3 year olds, so there was no reason that she should be playing on the baby slide.  It looked a little silly for Lizzy to be with the big kids and Sydney with the babies!  You could hear Sydney screaming, but eventually he just pushed her down the slide.  And in true Sydney fashion, she loved it of course, and then didn't want to leave.  She just has to learn to take risks sometimes, but maybe it's good that she's a little skeptical of things because it scares me how fearless Lizzy is sometimes!

As if McDonald's wasn't enough, we went to Toys R Us after to buy their friend Jake a birthday present, it was the only chance we had to buy the gift.  We explained that they were not getting anything!!  And we were serious...nothing!!  Jason shopped for the gift, while I chased the kids around the store...they were all about playing with all of the toys.  And Lizzy enjoyed climbing on the display and into all of the motorized cars (thankfully they didn't work)!  Sydney was in tears when she found out she couldn't buy the Cadillac (it's ridiculous the toys that are out these days...might as well buy her a real car!).  Then she found a Snow White toy and carried it around the whole store while I told her she wasn't getting anything!  She looked so pitiful.  So Jason and I both caved.  Snow White was too expensive though, I told her she  had to find something on sale.  So she settled with a Tinkerbell toy.  And if Sydney gets a toy, well, so does Lizzy!  So she bought a ball that she had been kicking around the store!  I guess we weren't so serious...but next time I'm putting my foot down...or just not taking them with me!  I was worn out!

The whole time at Toys R Us, I kept thinking about this family that I saw earlier in the day when I went to Sam's Club for work.  It was an Orthodox woman and she had 5 kids...totally crazy.  She had two in the cart and the other three were just following along like little angels as she shopped.  They were incredibly patient and obedient.  I don't what she tells those kids to make them behave, but I know that my kids run around like wild Indians the second they are free...which is why I have two kids and not 5!

A totally exhausting day, but at least the kids had fun!

Life Lately

Wow, it's been a while since I last blogged, but I kind of knew that would happen!  Nothing exciting has really happened, we just continue to go about our daily lives!  So, I guess you could say that life has been happening!

We recently celebrated Passover, which we had at our house this year.  We were fortunate enough to have Grandpa Joe and Grandma Polly come this year (even though she wasn't feeling well) who also brought a couple of special guests: Brandon and Tyler...that made Sydney pretty darn happy.  Sydney was on her best behavior.  She never really cares what is going on around her when she gets to spend time with her cousins.  I'm starting to realize that Sydney really likes company and especially enjoys when people sleep over at our house.  But as excited as she gets when people come over, she gets even more upset when they leave...she doesn't like to say good-bye!  Anyway, we had a great meal...Grandma Sharon made an awesome salad, Grammie Gail made a brisket, Grandpa Eliot made some great vegetables, and what did I do?  Well...I guess you can say I cleaned up (the story of my life).  I didn't do much cooking, but eveything worked out!  Lizzy made a cute wild beast...she didn't really know what was going on (but let's face it, I'm not the best Jewish holiday teacher)...but all in all it was a fun night with family!

 

Let's see...what else?  Sydney was on spring break from school this week, which was actually a welcomed break for me as well.  Even though I still had to work, it was nice to not have to worry about getting everyone up at a specific time and rushing off to school.  It made the mornings a little more relaxed!  And I also didn't have to run back in forth in the middle of the day picking her up from school and taking her to daycre!  I especially enjoyed the fact that Gail had the week off as well, so she picked up Sydney and Lizzy from daycare on Thursday and kept them overnight.  That was sooooooooooo nice.  It was weird to come home to a quiet house and not have to do ANYTHING.  Jason and I went car shopping!  I've enjoyed having no car payment, but it's time for a new car! I also had a great nights sleep knowing that I didn't have to be on guard in case someone woke up (they always sleep through the night, but I'm just always listening!!).  The best part about the kids being away was seeing them again!  They were so happy and full of hugs and Sydney kept saying, "oh mommy, I missed you so much and I love you".  That's always nice to hear!

The best part about life lately is that winter is finally over.  We have totally been enjoying the nice weather!  Lizzy loves being outside so much.  It's almost impossible to get her to come back in.  Her new thing is "I wanna hi" meaning that she wants to go say hi to the neighbors.  So whenever she sees them, she takes off and plays with the big kids.  She has a great time!  And although it's been a little cold this weekend, I am hoping and praying that it gets warm again because I absolutely refuse to wear socks!