A Special Daddy Day

Today, Sydney's class was going on a field trip to the petting farm.  A parent always has to attend, so Jason took the day off to spend with Sydney.  Sydney was so excited to go.  She was all smiles and was totally looking forward to it.  She's always wanted to go on a school bus, so this was her very first chance.  Jason said that she loved the bus!  However, unfortunately she was not a fan of the farm.  My little Sydney who doesn't like messy or stinky things, was not impressed!  When I asked her how the farm was, all she said was, "it smelled".  Jason thinks that Lizzy would have enjoyed it a lot more!  So, maybe we'll have to go to the farm as a family and see if Sydney's opinion changes...but it probably won't.

After the farm, Jason decided to take Sydney to the Tiger's game...how cool is that?  It was a make up game from a rain delay, so the tickets were super cheap and there was hardly anyone there.  They had the whole row to themselves.  Jason said she had a blast and loved yelling "boo" at the Yankees.  She definitely enjoyed the game more than the farm.   She was also very proud of herself for going on the merry go round all by herself!  I'm glad that she was able to spend quality time with Jason...she felt special!

Jason was beat after the long day...but alas...the day was not over!  When I got out of the shower, Lizzy was bawling.  I couldn't figure out why, and she wasn't acting herself.  Sydney said that she fell on Savannah, but that didn't sound right.  She was acting really weird and wouldn't stop crying, even when I was holding her.  She wasn't really using her left arm and cried even more when I touched it.  I asked Sydney again what had happend.  She said that Lizzy fell off of the bed...which I know was a lie because Lizzy can't reach to get up on my bed.  In any event, I couldn't get her to stop crying, and since I had just gotten out of the shower, I made Jason take her to urgent care.  He was a little resistent, but I wanted them to go...it made me feel better.  As they were walking out the door, Sydney kind of whispered "I pulled Lizzy's arm."   And sure enough, her elbow was out of socket (the doctor called it nursemaid's elbow).  The poor kid was in a ton of pain!  I'm so glad that they went.  The doctor put it back in place and she came home a lot happier!  It was a really long day....for Jason.

Mother's Day Weekend

We had a jam packed mother's day weekend, but I spent it exactly the way I wanted...with my family!  On Saturday, we went to the Ann Arbor Hands on Museum with some good friends.  The kids loved playing in the water table, but only until they saw the giant bubble.  Sydney was all about the bubble.  That's the way Sydney is.  When she finds something that she likes and is comfortable with, she will do it over and over and over again until you pry her away.  So, while Jason followed Lizzy around the museum, Sydney kept going inside the giant bubble.  It was fun to see her having fun!

After the museum, the kids were absolutely exhausted, afterall, Sydney had swimming lessons right before we went, so she has already had a long day at this point and was in desperate need of a rest.  Lizzy went right to sleep, but Grammie and Grandpa ended up coming over when we got home, so lucky Sydney got to stay up, and I took off and went to Target...there is always something to buy at Target...and Jason went to workout at the gym!  When they woke up, we went out for dinner with the same people we went to the museum with (The Schwartz's and Becker's)!   Champps had this great deal where if you went to eat there that weekend they gave you a discount card that was loaded with $15 each month for the entire year...I was all about that...I see a lot of Champp's in my near future!  Not only do I like food, but I like anything free!  I'm Jewish afterall...I like a good deal!  After the whirlwind of the day, it was time for the kids to go to bed!  And, it was time for Jason to give me an unexpected massage!  I needed it!

The next day was mother's day, so Grandma Sharon came over for the day.  Jason helped to make us a feast (oh, and he bought flowers)!  We had pancakes, eggs, sausage, fruit, muffins, and some yummy desserts I picked up at the bakery.  The best part was that Jason cleaned up afterwards and I was able to relax a little.  Then, I was able to open my presents from Jason and the girls.  Jason took the girl out shopping for me and let them pick out whatever they wanted...so of course I ended up with a pink gift...it was perfect...lotion for my really dry hands and other shower goodies...all pink!  Jason bought me a giftcard to Marsahlls/Home Goods because I'm always wanting to buy things for the house.  My mom and I immediately went shopping while Jason stayed home with the kids.  It turned out that my mom really needed new shirts, so she ended up buying the giftcard from me and I bought curtains for the living room next door at Bed Bath and Beyond.  I was a little worried about hurting Jason's feelings by not using the giftcard, but I think he knows how much I appreciated the effort and everything kind of all worked out!  Don't get me wrong...I could have spent the  money at Marshalls in lightning speed, but I REALLY wanted curtains...I couldn't stand looking at those god awful, silvery, aluminum blinds anymore!  I'm happy with how everything turned out.

I really enjoyed my Mother's Day!  I'm very appreciative of my great family!!  And check out the cute little picture frame that Sydney made me at school!  She said she painted it pink for me.  The little message says " I love my mommy because she gives me the best dinner." (I guess I'm really good at opening up yogurt, lol).

Oh God!

This is God.

Okay, really it's a McDonald's toy or something, but there's a funny story behind it.  Jason and I are not extremely religious, so any God talk has not come up in any discussions with the kids.  However, I'm pretty sure that a few songs on the kids' CD's might mention God.  Well, they must, because I have no clue how Sydney came up with the name, but she named this toy God and loves playing with it in the bathtub.  So, the other day she couldn't reach the toy and said, "hey Mommy, can you pass the God?"  It just sounded weird!

While we're on the God subject...might as well throw in a cute Lizzy story, right?  Every time Jason changes Lizzy's poopy diapers, he says, "Oh God" in a really deep silly voice and Lizzy thinks it's so funny.  So now, every time we change her diaper, she says, "oh God."  It's really cute hearing it come out of her mouth. 

Jason sure is going to teach this kid a lot of crazy phrases.  She's going to go to school one day and people might give her a weird stare when they hear the things she says!  When Jason washes Lizzy's face after dinner, he always says "ocho".  There is absolutely no rhyme or reason for this, it just came out of his mouth one day when he was being silly and it just kind of stuck as an inside joke.  However, now Lizzy actually things that "ocho" means to get your faced wash.  So now, whenever she is done with dinner, she says, "Daddy, ocho".  Or she'll get a wash cloth and "ocho" her own face.  She says, "ocho, ocho, ocho, ocho." 

I can't wait to see what Lizzy picks up next...I have a couple of characters on my hands!

Cute Little Sydney Story

I went to pick Sydney up from school today and her teacher told me that she had a funny story to tell me.  Apparently the kids were sorting animals.  I'm not exactly sure how they were supposed to be sorting them, but the bottom line is that Sydney's did not make any sense.  So, the teacher went over to her and asked her how she was sorting the animals and she said, "these are the loud snorers, and these are the quiet snorers." 

I have no idea where Sydney came up with that!  Her teacher said it was a first, and that it was so precious that she wrote it down.  Sydney always has a method to her madness!!

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!