Legoland

So we headed to legoland for the CJ's big day- adventure started off fine. Chris and I had our grande starbucks- kids had their etch a sketch and cereal bars in the back. Well a 1/2 hour into an hour long trip CJ throws up everywhere- I guess staring at the etch sketch and motion sickness to blame. We of course have no clothes for him to change into- so we wiped him down with wipes and the poor kid is so worried we are going to go home and not go to Legoland that he starts crying - we assure we are still on the way. (note he kinda smells like throw up even though we wiped and cleaned his clothes to the best of our parenting abilities)

We get to legoland and we are greeted by huge dinosaurs made out of Legos- CJ wants to count all the pieces (think we stopped when he hit 57)- The park is pretty amazing- (rides are so so) but the minitown (made up all European cities out of Legos os amazing)- Few funny things

1- Props to legoland- they gave CJ a birthday badge and pretty much everyone that worked there asked him if it was his birthday- which btw he thought was SO cool. He also got free cotton candy (or candy floss if you are my British son who refuses to call it cotton candy- yes it annoys me)

2-Whenever we had a line to wait in- some kid would say " Mum- it smells like throw up" Sad it was actually our kid that was the offender but we tried a new shirt and throw up smell would not go away - yes- I let him chew gum.

3-Casey is a bad A#%- she was trying to get on all rides by standing on her tip toes- whereas CJ would ask us a zillion times if he was big enough for the ride- (one had 2 years old on it)

4-At the HUGE lego store- Chris was in heaven- I had to hold him back from buying a recreation of the star wars trooper set. We came away with some bounty and he and CJ stayed up late putting together the items. (Did I mention how happy my husband is that Michigan State is headed to Detroit- CJ came downstairs asking who is screaming Go Green Go White- that would be your dad- okay I cheered too since Chris has always been a good sport about ND (except when MSU beats in football every year)

5-I am SO impatient- on one long line (some stupid laser tag Pharaoh ride)- I literally asked Chris a zillion times how long we waited- even Casey said Mom- "You just asked that"

5

Happy Birthday Little Man- (okay 1 1/2 days early)
I can't believe you are 5! As our oldest kid they are a few things that I need to explain since unfortunately you were are guinea pig in this whole parenting adventure.

1- At your birth- I might have invited EVERYONE to come meet you in the hospital- no thought to germs, no immunity (etc). It was the Chicago heyday- we all lived downtown and the hospital was pretty close to all my friends work offices. I think you had like 35 people come meet you. Casey jane had 2 (yep that's me and Chris)- thanks snow storm.

2-I think we made you take swim lessons at depaul at 4months- we got in the water with you but let's be honest it was cruel and it made no difference in your swimming ability

3- Once I retired (Chris hates when I use that word because it implies I am never headed back to the dark (work) force (sidebar- I probably at some point will figure out what I want to be when I grow up and get a job)- I oversheduled your life. I think at one point you were in baby swimming, gymboree, baby signs, and 3 playgroups.
I am so sorry you probably wanted to sleep, eat, and stare out the window.

4-You are so you- Chris and I can't figure you out sometimes- for instance tomorrow you are bringing in a poem you wrote for show and tell. You make me laugh with all your questions- I love the fact when we are watching MTV videos you want to know the story behind the song- I know you will be a great boyfriend when you grow up to some lucky girl because I have explained the song "all the single ladies" by beyonce a zillion times. We have so much fun with our dance parties.

5-You love your daddy time on the weekend- daddy takes you to the barber and then to starbucks and then sometimes you put together a complex lego project- or currently you draw and cut out little Mr Men- which daddy brings into the office for display.

6-You make me laugh when you wake up dad at 6am and say go get into the shower so I can snuggle with mom:) You say it with a British accent which makes it cuter.

7- You let me dress you from head to toe- I love kids clothes so thanks for letting me since Casey was 2 I can't dress her

8-You love school, you have a best friend (MOLLY) that if you could marry today you would. You love your teacher and really think learning is fun.

9-You let casey be the princess and you be the prince, you put her toothpaste on her toothbrush, you help her write Jane (since she has trouble with Js)- you play soccer in the backyard and don't always steal the ball from her.


I love you little guy- I am having so much fun seeing your personality develop, learning your likes/dislikes, watching you grow, you are the best son a mum could want.

Whine and Cheese

I realized my last few blogs were way too positive (JK)- well no worries the weather has changed again (winter coats back on)- Casey's back to her usual mood swings (let's see she threw such a temper tantrum this morning when I made her wear a shirt under her sleevelees summer dress (it is 30 degrees out there), I am disappointed with my shows -The City-(whitney's boyfrend is a loser and using her for band exposure)- American Idol-(I don't think any of them are that good)- Lost (not to into the 70's backtrack-although Sawyer is timeless).

I will end with a postive note (in case you are reading this at work - did I ever tell you how at one of my former jobs that bored the heck out of me- pre blogging stage I kept a log of ridiculous happenings- I NEED to find that disk as it will crack anyone up. I just got a delivery (of wine)- 24 bottles(deal of the century on Cloudy Bay Sauvingon Blanc)- and when I answered the door- Casey was running around with her leotard at her ankles screaming ( at the high pitched octave) for bathroom help- the delivery guy (in a british accent)- just looks at me and says "I guess you really need this." I'll have to make a toast that delivery guy very soon:)

Bounce

So we had CJ's bday party this weekend ( a week early due to spring break that starts on his actual day). 19 kids (yes the whole class plus a few siblings and after our last home party fiasco (Halloween- bounce house -pouring rain-pitch black at 4pm- trying to coerce kids on to the expensive bouncy castle) we outsourced it. Of course it was a BEAUTIFUL Day- but the kids had a blast with 2 trampolines and and a huge bouncy castle. We had a spider man cake (don't get me started on the cake industry in England- the cake tasted not so great- was super expensive- I had to drive 20 miles to get it- and everyone (adults and kids chose my Duncan Hines cupcakes over it)

But CJ had so much fun- he woke up at 6am and made me name everyone coming to his party- and kept saying " I can't believe I have so many friends." We let him open some presents when we got home and Casey did awesome about not getting jealous-( at the actual party she hung out with an 11 year old tween girl sibling- no idea what they talked about for 2 hours for all I know it could be who their favorite Jonas Brother is?)But the bday boy was in seventh heaven - his requests were met a spidey cake and sitting next to his best friend Molly (one of the reason we threw the party a week early so she could be there). Will post a more sentimental bday post for My CJ later this week:)

ladies who lunch

So- weds are my only day - that casey has extended day preschool- which is the day I run most of my errands. However this wed- some of my girlfriends and I went to London and shopped (not for KIDS- okay I bought CJ and Casey some very cute pencil holders from Cath kidston), talked(not about KIDS- okay school was mentioned a few 100 times), and had lunch (without kids and yes we had some champagne to celebrate SPRING) at Selfridge's. So much fun and much needed- my speed racer friend battled the London traffic (NO way in He%& I could drive in London-she bypassed double decker buses like nobody's business) and got us down there pretty quickly. We hit the Cath Kidston store (very cute younger Vera bradley type brand) and then we went to Selfridges. We got our makeup done at the counter (me Bobbi Brown)- I love makeup people who always comment on how little makeup I wear. If they only knew I am lucky to get my contacts in the right eyes and brush my hair before heading out the door. Of course they make you look awesome and you end up buying products in my case which will only be used on fri or Sat date nights and the occasional Thurs night girls night as well. Lunch was nice we had a great meal with creme brulee for dessert plus the bubbly I mentioned earlier. Since Englands Mother's day is this Sunday and I have been trying to convince Chris that we need to celebrate both Mother's Day (need to confirm that aren't 2 different father's days or my plan is sabotaged)- I might let him off the hook since I had a great Day out-plus the SUN was shining.(seriously I am such a happier girl with sunshine)

JCREW

So- my mood has picked could be a combination of SUN, Flowers,and just Spring in general. We had a great daytrip to Oxford on Sat- the weather was perfect. The kids sat mesmerized watching the JCrew look alike college kids crew on the water. We had some hiccups including a bird pooping on casey and dad- (I am not proud but it kind of grossed me out so I threw the wipes at chris and then proceeded to read about some ancient philosopher to CJ to avoid clean up duty- not my finest moment)

We hiked up steep steps (137 and 99) to get an awesome vantage point of the city. We have our go to travel guides from chris's work- (one girl emails us pages of recommendations (food/sights) and then maps out a gameplan- yes I love her and yes she will get an awesome Christmas present).

We went to the candy shop where the little girl Alice use to frequent in which Alice in Wonderland is based (sidebar- yes that's me in a red hat-got a lot of compliments on it at school and when I said it was from my college friend- they said oh is she from New York- was happy to answer No- she lives in the suburbs of Salt Lake City- got to let people know there are hip people in the burbs too:) We had an awesome time at the outdoor market where I almost bought another purse but got distracted by a bathroom call from Casey Jane.

Born in the USA

Had CJs parent teacher conf last night- amazing what happens in a term (and a new teacher:)- all is well. Teacher had me laughing that CJ has taken the British accent to an extreme and now is going over the top with his new language skills (always knew he would sell out on me just thought he hang with our American accent a tad longer). Both kids are CRAZY about art right now, Great except we are are going through pads of paper/markers in day- not to mention both kids have caught me red handed disposing of artwork in the kitchen trash. (I' ve wised up I bring the extra artwork directly to the trash can outside now. Not to mention they want to scotch tape (or in CJs case cello tape) it to all surfaces. Very attractive home right now- but would expect nothing less with a 3 and 5 year olds. Did I mention how into Chuck Bass (Gossip Girl) I am right now- the bad boys always win. Also I made Chris watch Cloverfield the other night- (yes I knew it got awful reviews but refused to believe anything that JJ Abrams was associated would be that bad)- let me assure you it is so BAD- CJ artwork had more of an element of scary than that horror flick. (total time suck and yet we refused to stop watching)- Guess I will be watching UFC with Chris since I owe him one.

This may sound like a repeat post of a another bad morning but it here it goes

6am- Chris wakes me up to define what smart casual is for his work event. (smart would be not waking me up at 6 am)
7:45- entering Casey room to find she has poo pooed in her pull up.(she hasn't done this in like a year and we almost let her sleep in underwear last night) When asked why she did this- she said she was too warm and cozy to get out of bed. (I can appreciate the coziness of flannel sheets but seriously I had to search High and Low for baby wipes since we have been out of that stage for (or so I thought)for so long.

8:20- rush out door realizing I have car pool duty this morning. Attire - track pants and pink camo baseball hat (so Brittany- and I mean trashy Brittany not the cute Brittany phase)

9:55- receive text from husband that while be chauffeured to some fancy horse event he is sipping champagne. (Again his lack of filter is ridonkulous- plus he doesn't even like the bubbly)

11-watch Casey strip off her leotard mid gymnastic class and tumble naked. (too funny to react- I suppose 3 is the only year you can get away with doing cartwheels buck naked unless you are in the adult entertainment industry)

Mr Tickle and Little Miss Chatterbox

So all that worry was for nothing- CJ had a ball in his costume - he didn't win a prize but as we were walking to the parking lot after school- the year 5 kids (10 year olds) were walking out and a few of the kids started pointing at CJ and saying "CJ we voted for you"- which our little guy thought was SO cool. One of the things I like about this school is it so small that everyone knows each other and they really encourage the older kids to befriend the little kids.

Little Miss Chatterbox won a prize - highly likely she went up to all the judges and talked a mile a minute in her high pitched voice (e.g her normal voice). Very sweet she won a 10 pound book gift certificate and picked out a ready to read book for her brother with some of the money as well as more Little Miss books for herself.(side note- I'm not a huge fan of the series- the books are SO long and really not that fun besides the pictures)

Last night we went to an American Club Mardi Gras Party (no idea why it was 3 weeks late)- we both were dragging and did not feel like putting on cocktail attire. We got motivated and it was really fun- Still made the mistake of mixing crazy neon color drinks together. This one couple we really like were there. We are trying to convince them to attend the Michal Jackson (last concert until I need more money tour) with us. Chris and I are huge fans of the gloved wonder and so the couple starting quizzing Chris on his 80s pop music knowledge. Chris is a rockstar at 80s trivia- he freely admits the lack of knowledge of music past 1995. So keep you posted if we are moonwalking back to the O2 in London to see Jackson.

The Negotiator

So I just got home from Casey's parent teacher conference. Which I know my parents think is ridiculous that we have conferences for 3 year olds (yes these are for all us crazy parents that actually think that abstract preschool painting may determine if your child will get into their college of their dreams (did I mention i want to go back to college with the cast from Gossip Girl).

It was good- the word spirited was not mentioned (okay it was heavily implied!). Her teacher is fantastic-(perfect preschool teacher voice, shows enthusiasm for the exact same scribble drawing as last week, simply says OH Casey when miss jane has made a bad choice. She has lived all over the world so she gets the whole ex pat thing and is just so warm and sweet.

As a parent it is so nice, reassuring, amazing to hear other people say wonderful things about your kid. (makes you think your not messing up the parent thing as bad as you sometimes feel you are). She told me a funny story that Casey Jane is the expert negotiator that if she has her mind set on a certain dress up outfit she will supply substitutes outfits to the classmates until "the chosen dress" is handed over. The nursery has garden time weekly and that Casey is very prissy for about the first 5 min and then rolls down hills and looks for worms and does all the normal outside antics kids do. Reassures me that the Disney princesses won't completely monopolize my little lady.

I will end with a dilemma (to strong of a word) we are facing - tomorrow is Mr. Men dress up day (Mr Tickle and Little Miss Chatterbox in our case)- well it appears we are one of the minority families to make our costumes (and no I don't sew so they look REALLY homemade)- a store in town started selling the costumes (which btw are very cute ) and of course parents bought them. Chris and I talked about (like a 5 min conversation) that we thought the kids should make the costume and not think we can buy everything. Well I am praying we don't have tears on the playground - when our little guy sees the other classmates costumes. I figure we better start the lesson "different is good" soon rather than later and hope confidence prevails.

Chips & Salsa on the Sly

So no dinner for me tonight since I have been munching on chips and salsa all day. Got a care package full of things I miss (which btw my friends spent so much $$$ on postage -I owe them the next 10 rounds of drinks whenever we see each other again- and I am talking abut the top shelf stuff).
I am trying to keep the package on the down Lo as I don't want to SHARE. I mistakenly opened it in front of casey jane who for 3 started screaming "sour patch kids and chips and salsa" (yes she likes hot salsa)- so right now we girls are in cahoots on the whereabouts of the chips. Not to mention the 4 US weeklies and a Glamour to boot. Chris LOVES Hollywod gossip so those are hidden in my wardrobe as I like to be the first reader of the magazines. I have a very distinct way of reading US weekly - first go around- skim thru the magazine and only look at pictures, second - read articles of A list celebs. third- read the rest of the celebrity banter. 4th read is the real people articles (why I stopped reading People- don't really like the real people stories:() At some point I might try to remember marital vows and share the chips and salsa- but last I remember Chris went out for sushi at Nobu in London and annoyingly told me how great it was- hubby should know not to mess with me and my sushi cravings. Sour patch kids are almost gone so those won't be shared! And I say 3 weeks from now the magazines may venture his way:)

10 fold

So one of my american friends that lives in my town is headed home. Their contract was for 3 years but they are quitting the company and moving back on their own.
The girl is a such a sweetie late twenties- 3 little girls all under 4, sort of shy, awesome cook, loves her girls and husband. Don't totally understand the reasoning for their departure- but I gathered the benefits (travel, cultural experience) of living abroad with 3 very little people did not outweigh living by family back home. She is dealing with a stressful move as positive as you can be. They recently found out that it would be ridiculously expensive ($$$$) to ship their stuff home so they are giving away everything that can't fit in their allotted 10 suitcases. (to people that REALLY need it) I am still working on her to give me some boxes of stuff (xmas ornaments. pictures, special things that don't fit in the suitcases)- I told I'd store it and send it to her when we are back in TX (I'm really going to ship it to her when they have a permanent address). So between her husband looking for work in this economy, and living with inlaws in the interim, to giving away all their possessions ( she is literally taking framed wedding pictures out of matting to roll and bring home- she has the BEST attitude.)

Faith- that they will land on their feet- Faith that the furniture, books, toys, are not that material (its not), Faith that all will be alright (it will). I was laughing as she added more items to more pantry (a lot of soy sauce, soups, Betty crocker). Just 8 months ago, I emptied my pantry to my TX neighbor-sort of a good life lesson- that whatever you give away you eventually will get back (in my case in 10 fold). I am hoping smooth sailing for this family- job, housing ,and just peace of mind that they are going in the right direction.