Jaxon

In the 4 year gap that I last wrote this blog, I had another kid.  I had to try one more time for that boy, and lucky for me I got him.  We love him to pieces, but man does he give us a run for our money!  It is now very clear to me how different girls and boys are...other than the obvious indicators:)  He has us all wrapped around his little finger at almost 2 1/2 years old.

Let me start by saying that since the day he was born, he has been a life size doll for Sydney and Lizzy, and that hasn't really changed. They take such good care of him; probably better than I do sometimes, so we know he always has someone looking out for him.  The trouble is, when we tell him no, he goes directly to Sydney or Lizzy and says, "mommy yes", or "daddy yes", meaning we gave him permission to have them give him what we already told him no to.  He definitely knows how to work the system.  I also have no problem admitting that he is more than 100% spoiled.  I swear, this kid gets whatever he wants.

As far as whatever he wants goes...he wants candy.  That's all he ever wants...specifically Starburst.  He wakes up in the morning with candy on the brain. He cries because he doesn't want breakfast, lunch, and dinner, because he wants candy.  Don't worry...he's finally gotten to the point where he will eat his meal just to get Starburst.  But you better believe, if we ever need him to be quiet, he has a Starburst in his mouth, either that or an entire box of Lucky Charms so that he can pick out all of marshmallows and leave the rest behind.  I'm hoping this candy phase comes to an end soon because it's really excessive and that's really bad parenting on my part for even having it in the house. Admitting it is the first step, right? Too bad Santa bought him a ridiculous amount of Starburst to last a lifetime.  He sat on Santa's lap at the mall and told him very clearly that he wanted Starburst and was very proud of himself.

I could literally go on and on about Jaxon.  For example, he follows me around like he's attached to my hip.   He always wants to be near me, and if he's not with me, he's with the girls. And for this reason, he REALLY needs to have a play date with some boys his age.  He is constantly putting on my makeup, wearing the girls underwear, flat ironing his hair, playing barbies or American girl, and basically ever thing that I will be able to make fun of him for when he's older. Just wait until his Bat Mitzvah montage...we have some good ones already!  It was only a matter of time before the girls started putting dresses and bows on him.  He begged me the other day for nail polish.  He drove me so crazy that I gave in.  I only painted two nails though!


These pictures are only beginning!  As I said, he's a true character...

The Magic is Lost

So, let's see, where did we leave off FOUR years ago?? My kids aren't so little anymore (well, Jaxon is, but we'll get to him later), which brings me to this post.

Facebook has this lovely feature that shares memories of the past. My kids love looking at the memories of funny things they did or looked like when they were little.  When I created this blog, I never really thought about the time when my kids could read and would see all of the things I said about them. Well…it happened.

Yesterday, my Facebook memory was a post from this blog. So, Sydney started reading away.  She was hooked and was reading it for hours, cracking up at all of the funny stories.  But then, she came STORMING into my room with an upset face. "MOOOOOMMMMMM, Santa isn't real?" Ha…look at her pajamas…how appropriate!

I stumbled a little and tried to say something, but it was no use.  I wrote an entire blog about how Santa gets all of the credit and how we stayed up all night wrapping presents, etc.  I included so much detail that there was no turning back now.  She knew the truth and was not so happy to know it.  As a Jewish mother, I thought I did pretty darn well keeping the secret for that long. But, that's not the point.  I had to call Jason up and explain how I ruined "his holiday" for her.  We had to swear her to secrecy and protect Lizzy and Jaxon for years to come.  So, there you have it, my words came back to bite me! But looking on the bright side, she can see Christmas from a whole new perspective next year…and she can eat the milk and cookies and get fat:)

And of course we had to have the conversation about the tooth fairy as well. Oh, and that Easter Bunny too.  It was a rough night for Sydney.  And kind of for me too.  I felt bad.  I also realized that I can't share this blog with Lizzy until she "knows the truth". So for  now, it's just between me and Sydney. She IS 9…that's a good age to find all of this out, right? I'm just trying to justify this…

After she was over the shock of all of this information, she insisted that I continue to write on this blog. She said it isn't fair to Jaxon to not have any funny stories about him growing up. I kind of agree, we had SO much fun looking back.  I had forgotten so many little things that had happened.  I'm glad I wrote them down. Hopefully I'm not alone when I say I'm still on page one of my baby book.  Who are we kidding…there is no baby book! Whoopsie!  She literally begged me to write all day. So, here I am.  Listening to my boss.

I think it's only fair to give Jaxon an entire entry dedicated just to him.  Because everyone knows…he is quite the character! So stay tuned!

Camp Jason

Camp Jason has come and gone!  You've never heard of Camp Jason?  That's unforunate...but you will never get to experience the awesomeness like my kids just did.  It was a fantastic Summer.  Here is how it all played out...

Jason is a pharmaceutical rep, and unfortunately in June, the product he was a rep for got bought out which ended his contract with that company.  Yes, it sucks to lose your job, BUT, they offered him 3 months severance.  So, he was able to stay home with the kids all Summer long and get paid...it was quite honestly the best of both worlds.  Summertime is the time where I usually pay the most money in daycare since I have to send Sydney too.  It would have been awful if it happened in the winter...how boring, but with a million summer activities, it was fantastic.

We happened to join The Sports Club this Summer, so they spent the majority of the time there.  Sydney and Lizzy just love to swim.  And this place was so perfect, because they have an activity pool and a kids pool where the the kids can stand, and with lifeguards on duty, we never had to really worry.  Of course we keep an eye on our kids, but to have that extra set is always a plus.  They also went to the movies a few times, the splash park, Detroit Kid City, the park....the list is endless.  I doubt the kids realize how lucky they were, I hope that they do, because this will never happen again.  Well, never say never, but you never wish to lose your job.  This was probably a once in a liftime thing...unless I win the lottery and can stay home with them...that's always a possibility...I'll keep dreaming!

And now for the best part!  Jason had several job offers and had a job lined up weeks before he started yesterday, so he was able to enjoy his time with the kids.  Yes, of course the kids bicker a lot and I'm sure Jason had his moments of craziness, but all in all, I think it was a great experience for all involved...even me who got to get up and go straight to work without ever taking the kids anywhere!  Sydney and Lizzy both admitted that they liked when I wasn't there because they got to eat a lot of "junk".  I came home for lunch during the day one day and Lizzy says, "can you go back to work now so Daddy can give us junk?"

Here's to hoping Jason's new job is successful!  The kids are off to Midland for the week with Joe and Polly, where once again, they are thrilled to be surrounded by junk...I guess I'm just a meanie!

Camp Jason is officially closed for business.

Too Nice Not to Mention!

I will probably have to backtrack after this post, since I'm probably missing some very important events, but this past weekend was so awesome, I can't not document it.  By awesome...I mean the weather.  Everyone who knows me well, knows that I despise winter.  I just hate to be cold (or too hot..but I'll just save my complaining for Summer)!  So, I had no complaints whatsoever that it barely snowed this winter.  I think Jason shoveled like once the entire winter...how cool!  Needless to say, I survived the winter, but never would have expected these amazing record temperatures in March...we're talking upper 70's and even into the 80's.

It was the perfect weekend to take Sydney shopping for a new wardrobe since she keeps growing way too quickly...my babies aren't babies anymore!  Lizzy went to see Disney on Ice with my mom (which she LOVED) so it was nice to spend the day with JUST Sydney.  That doesn't happen very often.  Usually it's Sydney who is off somewhere and Lizzy is left at home, so this was very special for both kids.  We took Sydney to downtown Northville and it was gorgeous.  I kept saying over and over that I felt like we were on vacation.  People were just leisurely strolling up and down the streets enjoying the weather, playing in the park, eating outside and drinking smoothies.  We went to a store called Baby Baby which actually goes all the way up to teens (they should change the name), but it's this amazing consignment shop that only sells high end clothing and doesn't except anything with stains or any issues.  We bought Sydney SO much stuff all from her favorite stores...we even found her pink baseball cleats for t-ball!  She's a pretty lucky girl...when you combine all of the stuff my mom bought with her at Justice the day before...she literally has a brand new wardrobe. After shopping, we sat outside and had a nice lunch...I could have sat there for hours...but back to reality...that was the end of my two hour vacation.  On the way home, we gave into Sydney who was begging us to stop at Justice on the way home (even though she went there the day before) because she HAD to buy a sleeping mask (which I'm sure she will  never wear).  But, it was her day and we bought it for her because...I guess we rock!  Lizzy was a little bit jealous of Sydney's new shoes and they caused quite a few arguements since Lizzy refused to take them off the entire weekend even though they were a little big!  My next mission is to find Lizzy some sparkly sandals...it's all she talks about! (She also wants a sparkly dog...a real one...the kid is crazy).

The rest of the weekend was spent at the park (oh, and dinner with Grammie and Grandpa).  It was too nice to sit inside!

Straight Lined Princesses

Although Sydney doesn't dislike Princesses, she went through a phase where she LOVED them, but is over the obsessive phase.  Lizzy, on the other hand, is in that obsessive stage, but she has taken the obsession to a whole new level...kind of like a compulsive level.

Not only do we have little princesses coming out of every crevice of our house, but they all have to be standing the right way.  If they aren't, Lizzy will have a fit!  She is very orderly and organized with these princesses, and she can literally play with them for hours.  First all of the princesses face left....ALL of them.  Then, they all face right, and then forward, and then they all lay down.  And then they "fly" (according to Lizzy) into another room and seem to all land facing the exact same way...imagine that!

I'm sure it's all just a phase, but it's just so funny how particular she is about them.  Oh, and no one can play with her...this is a solo operation!!

When Daddy's Away...(we spend lots of money)

Every year, Jason goes on a road trip with friends to attend an MSU basketball game.  This year they went to a losing game against Northwestern...sucks to be them....us girls had fun!

On Saturday morning, I took the girls to gymnastics and then out for lunch with my mom and Gerry.  But the whole time, Sydney only had one thing on her mind...Justice.  The day before, a catalog for Justice game in the mail advertising a major sale.  Sydney had been begging me to take her there.  On Friday, I kept saying "maybe", which as she knows, usually turns into "yes".  So, after lunch, we went to Justice and put a little dent in my wallet.  Oh, backtracking really quick...that morning before gymnastics, Sydney came downstairs with her purse telling me she had money to buy some things at Justice.  She actually has quite a bit of money in her bank in her room, but she came down with six one dollar bills.  I told her that she really couldn't buy very much with that.  She said, "that's alright, I want to save my big bills, so I'll just give you these ones.  I wasn't planning on buying very much, but everything was just so darn cute on her, that I caved.  I usually buy their clothes at mom-to-mom sales, so I figured that I owed it to her to pick out a few things that she liked.  And of course I couldn't leave Lizzy out who was running around the store like a crazy person.  The clothes are too big for her there so she got a package of Squinkies...she loves those silly little toys!!  The rest of the day, the kids had fun playing with each other, and Sydney tried on a lot of her new clothes and put on a fashion show...we had fun just hanging out.

On Sunday, I was planning on just relaxing and going nowhere.  But when all the kids wanted to do was play in the snow, I had to come up with something because this girl just does NOT like winter!  I'll save the cold winter outdoor activities for Jason!!  So we met my mom and Gerry at Siegel's Deli where I had my favorite meal...bagels and lox!  Then we went to Target and came home with lots of things we didn't need.  The girls each got to pick out something from the dollar spot...can anyone ever get out of that store without making a stop at the dollar spot?  I know I can't!  Then, the girls talked me into buying them some new heart bowls for their cereal.  By that time, I couldn't even remember why I went into the store in the first place (which was to look for a Kindle Fire case for me...which they didn't have), so we bought things to make cupcakes and went home and started baking.  The kids had a lot of fun, and now we have enough cupcakes to feed an army, and I have a feeling I'm going to be the only member of the army and gain quite a few pounds.  The rest of the day we just played and did a few puzzles, and then I shipped Sydney off to Gerry's house (of course my mom was there too) to spend the night since she had no school on Monday for Martin Luther King day!  Unfortunately I have to work tomorrow, but I had a fun weekend with my girls, but it seemed like a whirlwind, and I could definitely use a rest!!

Hannah's Birthday Party

I just realized why I've gotten so many blogs in lately.  It's all because of iCloud!  I love that the pictures that I take on my phone are already loaded onto my computer when I get home.  Most of the time, I'm too lazy to upload pictures and that just sets everything back!  I'm on a roll!

Anyway...last weekend we went to Hannah's first birthday!  It was a big ol' candy fest! There was every kind of candy imaginable, including an ice cream cart.  The kids definitely made sure to load up on the candy and take a bunch of it home too!  The kids had fun running around on their sugar high and playing together.  As usual, Sydney tried to take care of all of the little kids, but fun was had by all!