Sydney's Birthday Weekend

My little baby turned 4 yesterday...my how time flew by!  I hope it's true what they say..."fantastic fours".  Not that she's ever been THAT bad, but she certainly has her moments, but what kid doesn't?  On Friday night after Sydney went to sleep, I decorated the house with a banner and few signs, just to make her feel special.  When she woke up on Saturday, she came bursting into my room..."oh my gosh, Jasmine is on my door.  I just can't believe it, I see Arielle on the stairs".  This went on for a while...she got more exctied every time she saw a princess.  She kept saying, "I just don't know how they got here, I can't believe it."  And then she saw a huge wrapped present and couldn't even wait one second before tearing it open!  Jason and I bought her a dollhouse, and she loved it sooooo much.  She played with it all morning and almost forgot to eat breakfast!  And then all of a sudden she said, "wait a minute, you put those signs up, didn't you mommy?"  It was cute!

Things kind of went downhill after that!  I had a fun day planned for her, but when I looked into her eyes, she just didn't seem right, and sure enough, she had a fever!  On her birthday!  This can't happen!  I felt so bad for her.  We had planned to get her hair cut, pictures taken, and go to Chuck E. Cheese and Toys R Us that night, but I wasn't so sure.  But Sydney was determined!  I decided we would to the hair and pictures against my better judgement.  It's not that she acted poorly, I just don't like how things turned out.  The person at Sweet N' Sassy where she likes to get her hair done did a terrible job making it straight..I was so mad, and she wouldn't fix it...she didn't speak English very well and just didn't get it.  In turn, that kind of ruined the pictures, because I just didn't like how she looked.  It didn't help that her eyes looked kind of funny from being sick.  So, needles to say, I didn't order very many pictures.  I also wasn't very impressed with Portrait Innovations...they were way more than they advertised, and it was a total mob scene...I couldn't take the chaos...we won't be going back there!

And then we headed home with Grandma Sharon (she came with us on this chaotic adventure), and just told Grandpa Eliot to come to our house and give her a present since she wasn't feeling great.  And so they came over and gave her a Barbie themed gift...a dress up outfit, a Barbie mermaid, and purse and shoes, and a movie.  She was in heaven.  Grandma Sharon gave her an interactive Woody doll.  But we can't forget the swingset that all of the grandparents chipped in to buy!  Sydney loved all of her gifts, but she REALLY wanted to go to Chuck E. Cheese.  And so we did...that's great parenting right there, huh?  As if there aren't enough germs in that place, I'm going to bring my sick kid.  I just felt bad for her on her birthday; if it were any other day, I wouldn't have taken her.  Besides, her fever wasn't very high...like 100.2.

As it turns out, she had a blast and didn't even act sick.  Lizzy was in heaven too!  I think this is the first time Lizzy has been able to participate in everything (we don't go there very often, I can't stand it, but anything for the kids)!  I think I ate the worst pizza I have EVER eaten...and I'm not a picky eater.  But oh well, this day wasn't for me!

And last but not least, Sydney had gotten some birthday money in the mail and we told her she could go to Toys R Us to pick something out.  I don't know how it happend, but we ended up a Barbie Escalade Hybrid car.  I had to drive all the way to Pontiac to get it after this very long day because Novi didn't have a Barbie one.  Again, I would have never done it that night if it weren't her birthday, but I wanted her to have a special day despite her being sick.  Jason slaved over it all  night and they woke up to it in our living room the next morning, and Sydney was fever free!!  Lizzy had no idea that it actually moved.  They got in and out of it all morning and had a blast.  They even sat in it for a couple hours and watched a movie...guess they thought they were at the drive-in!  That night, when the battery finally charged up, we took it outside. Lizzy was like, where are you taking this thing? We started out on the grass but it was just much easier in the street!  Lizzy was scared at first, but really loved Sydney driving her around.  We went around the block a couple of times!  Then we went out for ice cream, to the park, and finally BED!  It was a long weekend.  It actually turned out quite nice!  It's a good thing we didn't plan her big birthday party with friends and family for this weekend though!

Fun in the Sun

This weekend we met the Becker's at Kensington!  First of all, why I have I never taken my kids there?  Second of all, why have my kids never been to a beach?  It's pretty darn sad that Sydney is almost 4 and this was her first beach experience.  I think the reason might be because they are deprived by their swimming pool loving mother!  I'm just not a fan of swimming with seaweed and fishies!  But, I must say, the kids had an absolute blast and Sydney had so much fun playing with Jake.

Before we went swimming, we began at the petting farm.  Lizzy, once again, thought every animal was a "doggie", so we might have to work with her on her animals and sounds!  Although I think Sydney enjoyed seeing the animals, it probably wasn't her favorite part.  Every picture I took of her was with her fingers plugging her nose to block the smell.  She really is a "girly" girl!

Then, we moved on to the splash pad.  Sydney and Jake ran around there for a little while, but Lizzy hated the squirting water.  So, Jason took her to the beach which was right next to the sprinklers.  Soon we all followed and realized that the beaach was much more fun!  I actually got to relax for a bit while the kids played and jumped on Jason.  When we told them it was time to go, they were all really upset.  I think Sydney might have invited herself to Jake's house later that night...I don't really know how it all went down, but Sydney told Jake that we would see him later after naptime, and that's exactly what happend!

The beach totally wore my kids out and they both took a nap...it was great!  As soon as Syney woke up, she was like, "okay, let's go, c'mon".  So, we headed over to the Becker's house for pizza and salad (and the kids helped make brownies...you have to have dessert, ya know?).  They had fun jumping in the bounce house and playing with the water table.  They play so nice together that the adults can actually relax...it was quite nice!

Needless to say, the kids slept great that night!  The next morning we woke up, went to the farmer's market, and then to Sara and Nolan's birthday party!  It was a fun and exhausting weekend!

Family Trip to California...(Minus the Family)

This past week I flew out to California for Jessica and Ryan's wedding.  I was a little scared to go...okay, way more than a little...more like petrified!  I hate flying, but that's no secret to anyone.  However, I was not going to stop my fear from attending her wedding.  Not only did I want to go, but she has attended all of my events throughout the years, so I totally had to go.  I made sure I had my supply of Xanax to make it through the flights.  I actually made sure there was a layover to split up the flight so it wasn't so long.  I know...I'm crazy, get it over with, right?  But I didn't want to be confined for too long, so I'd rather have two short flights.  Needless to say, I survived....somehow...I'm here to tell about it!

Jason actually stayed home with the kids for the week.  This was the first time he has stayed overnight with them and the longest that I've been away from them all, so I wasn't sure what I would come home to.  It was very hard to leave them...but...it wasn't THAT hard....I kind of enjoyed my time where all I had to do was worry about myself.  I did miss them all, and it felt weird at times to be alone, but it was a nice break.  I had the rest of my family and all of my cousins out in Cali, so I wasn't really completely alone.

We flew out to San Francisco on the night of the rehearsal dinner, which was a Tuesday night.  I was sooooo incredibly hungry.  We had just arrived and then with the time change, it was like I was eating dinner at 10pm.  I thought I was going to starve to death, not to mention very loopy from the Xanax.  Fortunately they served amazing Dim Sum in China Town...I wasn't complaining (except for the dessert...it tasted like chicken to me).  The next day, the wedding was amazing.  It was at Shakespeare Gardens in Golden Gate Park (on a Wednesday afternoon). Jessica and Ryan fell in love in San Fran, so they decided to have the wedding there and the reception in Orange County...hence the week long trip! Despite the fact that I think San Francisco is freezing, the weather actually decided to cooperate that day...it was a beautiful wedding.  Jessica totally decked out the garden...it was beautiful.  And after the wedding, they had a fantastic picnic lunch with blankets.  Everyone hung out for a few hours just relaxing and catching up...it was great!  I had fun playing with Emily and Rebecca's kids...I guess I don't really know how to completely take a break!  That night, my mom and I went to Cliff's Place Restaurant with Emily, Jimmy, Shawn, and Baille and watched the sunset...it was a great day!

The following day, my mom and I jumped into the backseat of my Dad and Gail's rental car for a very interesting road trip. I liked San Francisco, but I couldn't wait to get out of that hotel.  It was really nice, but I learned what a "boutique hotel" meant...really freaking small.  When I asked my Dad which room he was in, he texted me back, "closet #311".  Anyway, this drive was not my favorite part of the trip.  We made a few stops along the way...Monterey, Carmel, Big Sur, and ate at a great restaurant called Napenthe, but I can't sit still for that long.  Dad, if you're reading this...yes, it was pretty, and I can appreciate the atmosphere...but after an hour or two...I've seen enough!  I enjoyed the 17 mile drive with all of the beautiful houses and Pebble Beach golf course...but hey...I was ready to hit up Orange County...and driving along the coast proved to take way longer than I wanted...not to mention the not so joyous car ride...but we made it there eventually!

Due to all of the wedding events, I didn't get to do as much sight seeing as I would like in LA, so if I ever make it back there...I'm going straight there...none of this coast driving stuff...been there, done that!  As my Dad would say, "some things never change".  I was never a big Grand Canyon fan either when I was younger...hopefully for my kids though, I'll  be able to suck it up one day so they can at least experience these things once.  Anyway, the wedding was amazing.  Since Jessica is an event planner, I didn't expect anything less than amazing.  She took a completely plain warehouse, and turned it into a magical fairytale wedding.  The decorations were fantastic, and the food was great!  They served food all night long.  They even busted out sliders and mac and cheese late at night!  For dessert they had a "fry girl" who made donuts from scratch and everyone could choose which flavor they wanted.  It was pretty sweet...no pun intended!  I'm so glad that I was there to experience it all!

When I finally made it home late on Sunday night, I have to admit, I thought I was going to walk into a disaster.  Rebecca and I even had a conversation about this.  I said that my house would be trashed.  She said that her house was going to be spotless because she never cleans, and Chris likes it really clean (he stayed behind on this trip too).   However, Jason really surprised me.  The house was completely clean.  He even vacuumed and did laundry.  So, I'm thinking I should go away again!  I was really excited to see the kids the next morning.  I woke Sydney up and she was beyond happy to see me.  She jumped in my arms and said, "mommy I've been missing you so much.  Now we're all together again".  And then....I walked into Lizzy's room.  All she had to say was, "I want my Daddy".  Thanks a lot Lizzy...way to make me feel good!  But all in all....I had a great trip...but nothing makes me happier than being back home having survived a plane ride to tell about it!  I won't be rushing off on another plane any time soon...I need a break!