Liz the Lizard

Okay, sooooo....when and why in the world did I sign up to bring home a lizard from Sydney's school for four days?  I think it all must have happened at the beginning of the year when Sydney's was begging me and I caved and figured February was so far away.

Anyway, I get to Sydney's school and the Science teacher says, "Are you Sydney's mom?  Here's the lizard.  She's all ready to go"  And while he starts telling me that I'm supposed to give it water and crickets and romaine lettuce, I'm thinking....ohhhhhhhhhhhh sh*t, I'm going to kill this darn thing.  I don't do crickets very well...or Lizards for that matter.  I must have agreed to the lizard because it had the same name as Lizzy...I thought she would think it was neat.

About Lizzy...she doesn't think it's so neat!!  The poor girl is petrified of the lizard.  Well, she thinks it's a dragon...but still, she hates it.  We have it in the kitchen and Lizzy is seriously avoiding the kitchen at all costs.  She makes us carry her through the kitchen.  This is so bad, but when she wasn't behaving, we threatened that we would take the lizard out of the cage and wow, did she ever shape up quickly!  I feel bad for her though!  Hopefully she'll get used to this thing over the next four days.  When we first brought it home, she said, "it's looking at me, it's looking at me. I don't like it.  I don't want to eat it"(no clue why she thought she would have to eat it)!!

Sydney doesn't mind it so much.  She just keeps telling me that "the crickets are REALLY freaking me out, mommy."  The bottom line...we were not the best family to send a lizard home to.  I'm just hoping the lizard comes out of this experience alive and that Jason enjoys dealing with crickets...because I'm not doing it! 

Guess we won't ever be purchasing a lizard! Although...it sure is a lot quieter than Savannah!  Just kidding...we love Savannah...most of the time...

Spur of the Moment

Let's be honest, Home Depot type stores are not a kids favorite place to shop at.  But, sometimes (or a lot of times in our case) you just need stuff and the kids have to come along.  We are planning on getting new hardwood floors, so last weekend we headed over to Lumber Liquidators to pick out the exact floor we wanted.  Sydney was less than thrilled to come along.  She fought tooth and nail not to come with us, but she lost! At first the kids were awful...I mean, they thought they were being good running up and down the different types of flooring, but to the other customers they were probably flat out annoying and driving people nuts.  So, eventually the owner came out with some crayons and coloring books (and even gave them some carrots to munch on) and finally they sat still long enough for us to pick out the floor.

On the way home, we decided that we would paint the entryway and family room before getting the floors installed, so we thought we would stop at Home Depot before heading home.  We felt bad for the kids, so we stopped at Little Daddy's for a little lunch.  As usual, the kids wasted our money and pretty much ate nothing.  They happened to put pita bread on the table for Jason and I to go with our salads, and when I told Lizzy to eat her lunch, she just said, "no, I'll just eat these triangles."  She thought it was cool that the pita was shaped like triangles so that's all she ate for lunch.  Jason ended up eating her grilled cheese.

Anyway, we went to Home Depot next.  The kids were extra awful...Home Depot and Lumber Liquidators in one afternoon...not the brightest idea.  But I will say, that after many tantrums (by the kids, of course) we managed to pick out a great color (at least I think so).  It will really lighten up the room...I am so over all of the gray in my house...time to go!

Finally we got home after a not so exciting afternoon...however, I had a blast, I LOVE getting new stuff for the house!  Lizzy took a much needed nap and Jason and I started taping the walls in preparation for painting.  It was an exhausting day, but then I got a text from our friends Brian and Andi.  They wanted us to meet them at the mall for dinner.  As busy of a day that we just had, I was all about it.  There is nothing I love more than spur of the moment plans.  I love them because you don't have to be committed or tied down to a certain date and time.  If it works, it works...if not, so be it!  This time it happened to work out, we thought this would be a happy ending to the day for the kids.  So off we went to the mall to see Jilly and baby "Wanna" (as Lizzy says), but it's really Elana!  We ate at California Pizza Kitchen...Sydney loves their mac and cheese and actually ate it.  Lizzy thought it would be cool to waste even more of our money.  I'm pretty sure she ate bread again!  The kids had fun together, and Jilly only knocked one of the waitresses down once...I HAD to laugh...what is that word...Schadenfreude....taking pleasure in other people's pain.  That's awful of me, but I thought it was hillarious!  She wasn't paying any attention to where she was going and didn't have a tray of food or anything, and didn't get hurt...so it was just funny, right?

Then we let the kids play in that germ infested play area at the mall!  The kids had an absolute blast!  We literally had to drag them out of the place after an hour!  An hour!!  Can you believe we let them play that long?  Apparently it's the place to be on a Saturday night...It was so crowded!  But the kids didn't care!  Sydney even told me that it turned out to be the best day!  Our spur of the moment plans sure turned the kids day around!

Lizzy's Big Day

Well, it wasn't THAT big of a day.  But for the first time, she actually got to do something that Sydney didn't do!  Usually it's all about Sydney...dance, swimming, etc.  Today, Jason took Lizzy to see Sesame Street Live.  She was pretty excited (although you would never know from the picture.  She hates getting her picture taken!).  She kept saying that she wanted to go to Elmo's house.

Unfortunately, I stayed home with Sydney who has been battling a fever and awful cough, so I didn't get to see her reactions the show, but Jason said that was so happy when they all came out on stage.  However, as time went by, she was kind of anxious to go.  I'm not really surprised.  Lizzy and "sitting still" don't really go hand in hand.  But it was fun for her nonetheless.

Actually, now that I think about it, yesterday she got to fly solo as well.  I took her to the library because we had to return a movie...sad I know...we go to the library with all of those books...and we come home with movies.  Anyway, they have a free music class on Saturday mornings which I go to sometimes and Lizzy loves it.  She is such a ham and dances up a storm in the middle of the floor.  I bet she was just as happy there as at Sesame Street Live.  She was so sweet, she even picked out a Strawberry Shortcake movie for Sydney since she was sick.  Maybe next time we will check out some books...maybe...we would probably lose them amongst all of our books (we DO have a ton, and I DO read to my kids).  Afterall, the movies are free....goodbye Blockbuster!

I'm Not Naughty!

So, every year, Jason goes on a little road trip to an MSU basketball game with friends.  I'm totally cool with it, I'm always running here and there and leaving him home with the kids.  But why is it, that every single time he is gone, that everything is just out of whack?

I swear, Lizzy is like the best sleeper ever.  She always has been.  Once she is down, she doesn't wake up until morning (well, actually we have to wake her up during the week).  So, the one day the Jason goes away, she forgets how to sleep...apparently!  When I went upstairs around 11pm last night, I notices a bright light shining under her door.  I went in and she was fast asleep, but her light was on...weird!  So, I guess she must be taller all of a sudden because she can reach the light switch from her crib.  She had obviously been playing and was sleeping in a crazy position.  I decided I would definitely be moving her crib in the morning.  Well, then around 3:30 am, my annoying dog pushed open my door, and there was that bright light shining under her door again.  So, I went in there, and there she was...jumping up and down in her bed having a grand old time.  She yelled at me, "get out of here, I'm not being naughty!" **  At 3:30 in the morning, I decided that now was the time to move her crib.

** Speaking of "not being naughty", that is Lizzy's new favorite phrase...at least for this week.  This is what she says when she actually is being naughty and she knows darn well that she is.  Last night, I went into the playroom and she says, "shhhhhh, get out of here, I'm not being naughty, it's okay".  I'm like, "yeah right, what are you up to you little stinker."  Of course, she somehow manages to find candy and was shoving it into her mouth.  I guess I can't be entirely mad, because we apparently don't have it out of her reach...another sign that she is all of a sudden...way taller...she never used to be able to open up our junk cupboard...and let me tell you...she does it very very very very quietly!

In the meantime, Savannah decided she would wake up Sydney too, so here we were...all awake at 3:30.  Eventually everyone went back to sleep, but then of course, Savannah wanted to go outside and then came in my room to drive me even more crazy because now she wasn't tired.  I swear, this happens every time Jason goes away.  He never believes me, because on any given day, the kids are awesome!

So...here's hoping for a better night tonight!  At least everyone will be tired...

The Hat

Well, I HAD to have at least a small little blog entry about the hat.  This is something that I'm going to want to look back and remember when the kids are older!

Basically, the story goes like this.  I have a co-worker named Deb who has a daughter the same age as Sydney and is always trying to get things out of her house.  So, one day she brings me this winter hat.  I washed it and tried it on her that day and she kept looking in the mirror and just really liked it.  And then I took it off...she did not want me to take it off!  She ended up sleeping in it that night.  I didn't think anything of it, she always likes things for one day and then forgets about them.  But the next day pretty much went the same way!  It's not on 24/7, but it's on A LOT.  When it's not on for a while, she will all of a sudden panic and say, "my hat, my hat, where's my hat?"

So, it's been about two months now and this hat has not seemed to disappear yet.  She still loves it.  It's in almost EVERY picture that we take these days.  It's kind of humorous, I just wonder when this phase will end.  I guess only time will tell.  But until then, here is some major cuteness....

Day 1: Success

Today was the first day of the kid's new daycare.  As always, it seems to be harder on the adults.  I was so upset that Sydney and Lizzy were going to be pulled apart from all of their friends that they are accustomed to seeing everyday.  Needless to say, I was a little worried about today.

When I dropped them off, breakfast was all ready and they looked at me, and said...."okay, bye mom"  That's it, it was that easy!

And when I picked them, they were smiling away.  They all had their coats, boots, hats, etc. on all ready to go and all of the kids were coloring pictures waiting to be picked up.  It was so simple, and they were so happy!  It was a very successful day...Lizzy even took a nap!  We also received a "daily activities" printout that says what the kids did during the day and what they ate.  They even had a librarian from a local library come to read to the kids.  Sydney thought that was pretty neat.  She also told me that Katrina does Lizzy's hair way more beautiful than I do!  It's probably true...Lizzy looked pretty cute when I picked her up.  In my defense though, it's hard to get her hair looking all cute when she won't let me turn the lights on in the morning because it's too bright!  I'm getting good at getting them ready in the dark...they are NOT morning people.  The only thing the kids didn't like today was getting dressed!  They used to enjoy going to Helene's in their pj's...I could care less if they get dressed!

But anyway, I think the girls will be happy and will get adjusted to their new routine very quickly!

Hanukkah AND Christmas!

Yes, that's right...my kids are spoiled!  They are fortunate enough to be able to celebrate both holidays.  I know it's going to get a little more tricky as they get holder, but for now, they are pretty darn happy to get a double dosage of presents!

Hanukkah was VERY early this year, on December 1st.  I made sure the kids had a present to open each night and we lit the candles each night as well.  On the 4th, we had a small Hanukkah party at our house with a few family and friends.  While I was cooking and cleaning, Jason took the girls to the movie theater to see Tangled.  I'm pretty sure they ate a lot of candy!  By the time they got home, it was party time!  The Miller crew was supposed to come, but Morgan had to go and break her arm which lead to emergency surgery!  Peter showed up to represent the family though!  Sydney and Lizzy had a blast eating and playing with Lily, Jake, and Nathan.  I think the highlight of Sydney's night was that she got "Twinkle Toe Sketchers" from Grandpa.  They also got some pretty sweet furniture from Grandma Sharon for their Bitty Babies.  All in all, it was a really fun night.

Skipping ahead now a few weeks later...CHRISTMAS!!  We headed to Jason's parent's house in Midland, which we do every single year.  It kind of works out well that my family doesn't celebrate, so we never have to decide on which family to celebrate the holiday with.  Jason (I mean...Santa) bought the kids a TON of presents, so our car was packed!  When we got up to Midland, we went to the Santa House with Tyler.  That was NOT my favorite.  We had to wait outside for like 2 hours in the freezing cold...I don't do so well in the cold!  Lizzy and I had to sit in the car for a little bit, but we lasted most of the time.  They had a big blow up santa that she loved for some reason.  She kept saying, "BIG Santa, BIG Santa" really loudly!  After about an hour and a half, she went and stood at the front of the line and chanted, "open the door, open the door, open the door."  It was really cute and she still keeps saying it all of the time!  FINALLY they got to see Santa and Sydney was so upset because her pants were wet, but we threw her on his lap and she shaped up really quickly...this girl is all about the presents!!

The next day, they opened up all of their loot and then we headed to Polly's sisters house for dinner with all of the family.  We had fun and ate pretty well! 

The next day we decided to go to Traverse City for a day to see my Grandpa and cousins.  Although I was glad to see them, and the kids had a blast, it turned out to be a BIG mistake.  When we woke up the next morning, Peyton threw up and everyone knows about my phobia and how I can't deal with it.  So, we packed up and left instantly so we wouldn't catch it.  TOO LATE!  We made it back to Midland just in time for Sydney to start throwing up.  I was so beside myself...Jason had to do everything.  Finally she stopped and was in bed just in time for Lizzy to start throwing up.  It was such a disaster having two kids sick at the same time.  I think I stayed up the entire night, I was just a wreck.  Fortunately, Jason's mom and sister were very helpful as I was useless!  I felt so bad for Jason, but he handled it great!  The next day we all just laid around the house, the kids ran slight fevers and were really miserable.  I was so tired and out of it that I just laid on the couch all day.  Finally, the next day we went home.  We had been gone for 7 days so it felt so amazing to finally be back home.  I thought all of this sickness was behind us until that night, Lizzy started throwing up AGAIN!  This time I didn't have Jason's family to help out.  Jason still did most of the work...I did the laundry, but that's it.  Jason ended up sleeping on Lizzy's floor and took the day off of work...which I was very thankful for.  We kept Lizzy in her room the ENTIRE day and just hooked up a DVD player in her room and she watched videos all day.

Finally, today (Friday), I think everyone is finally feeling better!  Jason went to work and I cleaned the house while the kids played with all of their new toys.  I think they were happy to finally be home and to be able to play with eachother.  I'm sad though that this week is slowly coming to an end.  I always hate that stretch after Christmas break with no holidays...just a whole lot of work...what a bummer!  Tonight for New Years it looks like we are just laying low to make sure the kids are fully recovered....and let me tell you...they better be!

We shall see what 2011 has in store for us!