And so it begins

Today begins Lent. Even though I am not Catholic, I always give something up. I just think its a nice thing to do. Jesus gave so much for me I figure its the least I can do to show my gratitude. I give the same thing up every year because its the hardest thing for me to give up.......sweets and pop. All I can say is that its going to be a long 40 days!!!!!!

my little guys

Micah fell asleep holding his swing. He looks so cute and goofy all at the same time.

Milk...check. Popcorn....check. Remote......check.

Brothers hanging out.

This is what Micah thinks about crawling. He wants nothing to do with it.

Happy Birthday Izybel

Jason got aunt Missy in an action shot. I'm sure she will be thrilled to see it up here.

Izybel opening some gifts

Jason and Grandpa Dan. Looking at Dan is seeing Jason in 30 years.

balloon fight with grandpa.

uncle Nick and his super sweet girlfriend Candice.

Cousin Tyler

Max had loads of fun with this hoola hoop.

a shot od chaos

When we got home on Sunday we grabbed the boys and headed to our niece Izybel's birthday party. It was held a friend of the family's house. The house is 7000 square feet and completely gorgous. The party was in the basement, which was bigger than my entire house. Anyway there were a million kids there and they were all having a riot. Max was a crazy man chasing all the older kids. He had a huge melt down when it was time to go home. I think he wanted to stay forever. I was great to see Jason's brother, sisters, nieces and nephew.

When we got home Jason's mom, stepdad and brother stopped by for a short. Max is always so excited to see grandpa and uncle Lance. He loves you too grandma Kathy! We all went to bed early last night and the boys both slept all night long which rarely happens. That was worth the very busy day.

all dressed up

Alex and Leslie from work

Jay and Colleen from work

I never realize how much taller Jason is than me until I see pictures like this. I even had big heals on.

Saturday was a whirlwind day. By the time we got to our event, which was the Saginaw Chamber of Commerce Chairman's Ball, I was exhausted. We ended up having a great time though. We started out at a pre-party at our friend and co-worker Lynn's house. Around 6 we headed to the Horizon's Center for the event. This year's theme was Moulin Rouge. They always do such a great job with these parties. The attention to detail is amazing. When we walked in it felt like you were in a french market place. There were people dressed in character everywhere. Some were giving away roses to every woman, some were juggling and doing other fun tricks and there was even a little bakery where you could get fresh french bread. Inside was decorated beautifully. Each table had these huge black and red feathers as a center piece. If I was thinking I would have taken some pictures but I wasn't. They had a dance team from a local dance studio doing can can dancing. They even got some of the local businessmen to dress in drag and do a skit the song moulin rouge. It was hilarious. We ate great food, we had fun with our friends and I even got Jason to dance. It was a great time.

Sunday we got up, had breakfast and did a little shopping before heading home. It nice to have some quiet time with just Jason . I did miss the boys terribly and couldn't wait to get home but it was nice to have some adult time with other adults.

Katie's Shower

Isn't she cute!

Max kept busy wrestling with balloons and sweeping the floor.

see.

Micah sitting contently on the floor while we got ready to head out the door.

The weather was terrible on Saturday so a lot of people couldn't make the trip to be at Katie's baby shower but it was fun anyway. I felt terrible because the boys and I could only stay for an hour. We didn't get to see Kate open gifts but we will be heading to her house this week to check out all her new baby swag. We can't wait to meet baby Blake. Only 8 more weeks. Yay.

Spray tanning

Jason and I have a formal event to go to tomorrow for work. Its the same one we went to last year. Anyway, I decided to go yesterday and get spray tanned. My dress is gold and I didn't want to look washed out. I have done this before and its pretty simple. You just stand in this machine for like 1 minute and it sprays you and you're done. The tan doesn't actually show up for about 8 hours. You just have to make sure you don't get wet or it will come off. So I got this done and got home and fed Micah a bottle. He then puked all over my pants. I didn't really think anything of it until I got up this morning and noticed that where Micah puked on me, there is no tan. Its a good thing I am wearing a long dress because I have a big spot on each let that is very white. I'm just glad it wasn't on my arm.

It should be a fun weekend but very busy. Tomorrow morning I'm getting my hair done and then the boys and I are off the Katie's baby shower. From there I run home drop the boys off to my mom and Jason and I have to jett to Saginaw to check into our hotel and get ready. We have a pre-party to attend before our event. I was looking forward to sleeping in on Sunday but that won't really happen because we have our niece's birthday party to be back for. Everything always seems to be planned for the same weekend. I'll be sure to post lots of pictures.

A Weekend With Grandma Florida

Max and his cousin Addison hugging.....aahhh

Max coming down the steps like he owns the place

Cousin Addison we just turned one in November

Grandma, Jim and all the kids

Micah showing off for grandma

So cute

Max was in love with this piano. He loved playing it. He sat at that thing for 30 minutes at a time. I swear he is destined to be a musician.

My step mom Geri is here from Florida right now house sitting for a friend of hers in Novi so I packed up the kids and headed down there this weekend. Jason stayed home because he was on call for work and had a ton of homework to do.

We got there on Friday around 11:30. We walked into a very beautiful home that was full of breakable things that I could tell Max couldn't wait to get into. I won't go into detail, I will just tell you that by 9 p.m. that night we had broken a DVD player, Max had thrown up all over the bed we were suppose to sleep in and I was at the brink of insanity. We ended up sleeping on the couch because all the bedding was being washed for the bed we were suppose to sleep in. Max and Micah some how ended up staying up until midnight and then Max woke up at 3 again. We then got up at 5:30. It was a long day and night but it was great to see Grandma.

Saturday went a lot better. I made our bed and fixed the DVD player. I was pretty impressed with myself on that one. So I felt better just getting the house I was a guest in back in order. My stepbrother Jim, his wife Carrie and their daughters Addison and Alisha came over that afternoon. Max and Micah both had fun playing with the girls. It was so nice to see them.

We headed home this morning. It was sad to say goodbye to grandma but we will try to make it down there one more time before she heads home. This time, I will be prepared.

Max has a pretend big giant

Max has his very own pretend big giant. He has seen big giants on Mickey Mouse Club House and on Harry Potter and he apparently really likes them because he now has one of his own. He will be playing away and stop what he's doing to tell me that there is a big giant near. Then we have to be really quiet so we don't disturb the giant. Its really funny. A couple weeks ago we were playing with a ball in his room and it rolled out into the hallway. I told Max to go get it and he says, "shhh, mom there's a big giant out there." He then tiptoes out into the hallway and retrieves his ball, comes running back in and then laughs and says, " whoa big giant". I wanted to laugh but I didn't want him to feel self conscious about his creative imagination. I wonder what he will come up with next?

My big boy

Micah in his 12 months clothes

Look it how big he is, he is almost the same size as Max.

Such a big boy and oh so cute!

Micah is growing up too fast. This morning I decided to put him in a 12 month outfit because his 9 month ones are getting a little snug. It fit him perfectly. I also switched him to a bigger car seat. He was busting out of his infant seat. He is so big, I don't even have to have him rear facing anymore. By this summer he will be able to wear the clothes that Max wore last summer. I guess that's good since I don't have to go out and buy him new stuff, which I will probably do anyway because I just can't resist. If Max and Micah keep growing like this, they will be towering over me in just a few short years. I can't even imagine.

A February Thaw

Saturday it was in the 40's here and it was sunny. It felt just like spring and it was so nice. I took Max out to play. It has been so cold here lately that we haven't been out at all. Max had a riot. He was jumping in puddles and running around like a little mad man. I decided it was time to head in when we were both soaking wet. I wish you could have seen the temper tantrum that resulted from this. It was impressive. I guess it didn't matter to Max that his little toes were so wet and cold that they were about to fall off or that he was covered in mud. Boys will be boys I guess.

A busy weekend.

grandma and grandpa watched the boys for us so we could go to dinner. Kathy is going to be mad at me for putting this picture up but its just so cute.....sorry Kathy.

Grandma Mac dancing with Micah

We had a busy weekend. Friday we went to that concert, Saturday great grandma Mac came over and had lunch with us, we went to dinner Saturday night with some friends and Sunday we went to church and then to Jason's parent's house. I took the boys to church solo so Jason could stay home and get caught up on homework. It didn't go so well. It is my own fault because I don't like taking the boys to the nursery but I got to see about 5 minutes of the service. Oh well at least the praise and worship part was uninterrupted.

Aaron and Melissa enjoying the show. by the way, they got engaged over Christmas. Congrats guys. Our friends Jeff and Sarah are sitting next them. Sarah is getting ready to have a baby in just 4 weeks. Baby Alexander either really liked the music or not at all because he was going crazy in his happy little home.

I was attempting to take a cute picture of Jason and I myself but it didn't work so well.

Sharpie and Jay

This is the lead singer from Seven Mary Three. I don't know if you guys can tell but he has a full lumberjack beard. He looked completely Amish. He was even wearing a long sleeve shirt and a vest that made him look even more Amish. He told everyone that he liked it because it kept him warm and made him completely unapproachable. I wish I could grow a beard for those very reasons.

Last night we went out to dinner and then to a concert with some friends. Its so convenient to live a mile from the casino. It makes it so easy to see some shows. Last night was Seven Mary Three, Sponge and Days of the New. All of these guys were popular in the 90's. Most people are fans of 80's music but I love the good old 90's. Anyway, tickets were 15 bucks and it was fun. It was nice to have a night out.

Valentine's day with grandma

My mom came over to watch the boys for us yesterday and she brought the boys valentine's presents. That women buys a gift for everything. She even gets up St. Patrick's day presents. This year I was prepared and had a gift for her too. Grandma got a new sweater and the boys both got new little outfits that are adorable. Thanks Grandma!