Author Archives: natalieking10414

June is here. It has been hot and we’ve been spending as much time as we can in the pool.

Monday was Memorial Day and we had a pretty chill day relaxing at home. My mom came over in the afternoon and played dodgeball with the boys for a long time, we grilled dinner and then she and the boys played checkers. It was a relaxing day.

Wednesday was field day at school. Nate went to cheer the boys on and they all came home at the end of the day hot and sweaty. Also on Wednesday, we had a hot dog picnic with our neighbors. The kids swam until it was time to eat, took a short break to eat some hot dogs and then went back into the pool until it was time to go inside and get ready for bed.

Wednesday night happy hour happens after the kids go to bed and it is so fun and we laugh and laugh and laugh. And then the next morning I wake up crabby that I stayed up so late the night before. But it’s great and I love it.

Thursday was soccer. The boys are really enjoying it and so it makes me happy. At one of the water breaks, Xander suggested that after soccer, we go to get ice cream. I said maybe, but then, literally one minute later, our neighbor Aaron texted to say, “drumsticks at our house at 7pm” so ice cream it was. Nights like those make me SO eager for the summer. The kids were running around playing, the weather was perfect, we were all hanging out. No one wanted to go inside. It was so wonderful.

Friday was the last day of Daddy/Gussie or Mommy/Gussie days. Gussie and I hung out and had a great day. We got his hair cut. We met Kelly and Abby at the park. We went out to lunch. He got a lot of screen time while I worked, so he was happy. After dinner, we had family movie night. We’ve been reading the first Harry Potter book and finished it this week, so we watched the movie. I made Harry Potter themed snacks and we all snuggled in to watch. They were very attentive and it didn’t get suspenseful until the end, at which point, both boys were in my lap. For my whole life, there will never be anything I love more than a pile of little boys and puppies all snuggled with me.

Almost every night, after the boys take a shower, before we read books and get ready for bed, we wrestle. They jump into my arms and I toss them onto the bed. I grab their legs out from under them and push them over. They LOVE it. Now that we have the pool, all they want to do is wrestle in the pool! Now instead of saying, “when can we have screens?” they ask, “when can you wrestle?!” And so we spend a lot of time with me tossing them, pushing them over, and spinning them around.

Saturday we spent a lot of time in the pool. We went to Half Price books and Costco, where we had lunch.

Last night, Xander said, “tomorrow morning, I am going to make myself a buttered croissant!” I told him I thought that sounded awesome. At 6:30, Xander surprised us with breakfast in bed- butter croissants and coffee. I would prefer breakfast in bed about 2 hours later, but it is the thought that counts.

We had the end of the year pre-K party today. The kids played on the playground, ate pizza and popsicles, got their faces painted and ran around. It was super fun and very hot. We came home and got right into the pool until dinner, and then again after dinner.

3 days of school left and we are counting down! Summer is almost here!

It was a great week- beautiful weather, so many fun things, and we’re counting down to summer.

On Monday, Augustus and Grandma Debbie went to Uncle Barry’s cabin for a day of fun and playing with Cane and Cora. It wasn’t quite warm enough to swim, but it didn’t stop the kids from wading in the freezing water.

Our week in snapshots- I made some chocolate croissants for breakfast (they were frozen ones from Trader Joes, but the boys were still impressed). Tuesday and Wednesday, I blocked my entire day in my calendar to spend writing and working on the alumni magazine. I had water, snacks, all of my materials, and spent 2 days in bed. In college, when I had big papers to write, I didn’t work a little bit at a time. I would hyper focus, get in the zone, and work for hours straight until the whole thing was done at one time. I decided to try that with the MANY articles I have to write and it went SO well. I enjoy writing and I really enjoy being super productive, so it was a great 2 days.

Xander was pretty adamant he needed his last name on the back of his soccer shirt, so I used my cricut to make an iron-on name and the project was so easy! I’m sure there are more tee shirts in our future!

Thursday was the boys’ first official soccer game (last week was just practice) and it was super fun. A LOT of goals were scored but they are improving.

We spent a lot of time outside this week and ate a lot of freezie pops (the truest sign of summer).

The boys’ had Friday off from school and so they spent the morning with Nate practicing driving and putting, and then at the park. While they were golfing, I met Christine for breakfast and we each ordered the fancy latte flight. I’ve never tried drugs, but I have to assume that 4 lattes is as close to taking cocaine as you can get. I thought my heart was going to explode, but it was worth it.

Saturday was a busy day. Nate got the yard ready and fence put up for the pool. We had a new couch delivered. And it was spa day for the boys. Augustus HATES having his finger and toenails cut. I’ve tried bribery. I’ve tried doing it while he sleeps. Nothing works. So when he mentioned the spa birthday party he went to last year and how they did his nails, I was like, “dude! Is that what you want?! I can make a spa!” There is literally nothing I love more than a theme. Game on.

I bought sparkling grape juice (we were all calling it champagne), fancy little desserts for them to snack on while being pampered, and rainbow glitter face masks. I told them to change into their robes and wrapped their heads, put cucumbers on their faces and let them relax. They took turns with the bubbly foot bath, while I also massaged their feet and legs. They drank the whole bottle of champagne, asked for more strawberries, and eventually let me cut their toenails. They picked orange and blue and I painted their toes. It was the ultimate in luxury. They both claimed their skin was extra soft and they loved it. I love a theme party and I was thrilled to get their little talons finally cut. So everyone won.

Sunday has been a great day… it’s pool day! I have been loudly singing, “it’s the MOST wonderful time of the year” obnoxiously all day. But it’s POOL DAY! POOL DAY!!

The boys’ went to Grandma Debbie’s house for the day where they swam in her pool, soaked in the sun, and came home with a new joke book.

Nate and I (with some bulldog assistance) put the pool up in 1.5 hours! I was nervous we would have surprises or challenges, but the good news is that Nate is SUPER meticulous about certain things, like disassembling and packing the pool at the end of last summer. So when it was time to re-assemble, it was smooth sailing!

The boys came home when the pool was full, but ICE COLD. It didn’t stop them from jumping in immediately. A few weeks ago, I lost a bet and my punishment was jumping in the pool as soon as it was full. My legs HURT just standing in it, and I nearly died of shock when I went under water. I can’t believe the boys spent hours today playing in the water. It was SO SO COLD.

They played for several hours, and then again after dinner (they claimed it was warmer but it was still frigid).

I have been thinking, “wouldn’t it be nice to ensure that we have the smell of wet bulldog all summer?!” so I bought them a toy. They LOVE the hose and always go crazy trying to bite the water. This toy is like a pedal and when they step on it, the water sprays up. They haven’t quite figured out how to do it, but they are starting to and it was pretty cute.

Tomorrow is Memorial Day and no school for the boys. The weather is supposed to be nice and the pool is up and it should be a fun day in the sun.

I love May. The weather is gorgeous, we’re outside with our neighbors every spare moment, the kids are wild and free and end every day just covered in dirt, exhausted and so happy.

On Tuesday, I was signed up for playground/lunchroom duty, but I had back to back meetings over the entire time. Luckily, Grandma Debbie was available to step in and the boys were thrilled to have her visit and have lunch with them!

Tuesday night, we got a text message challenging us to kids vs. grown ups soccer- loser buys ice cream. We had SO much fun and and when the kids won, you should have heard them cheer! I’m not sure what those 6 sweaty dirty little street urchins thought was going to happen if they lost- they didn’t have a penny between them, but they were very excited to have won ice cream!

Soccer started for the summer on Thursday and the boys are on the same team this year. I’m eager for the school year to end, because soccer didn’t start until 7:15, which made for a late night (our boys are usually in bed by 7:30!). But they were super excited and it was fun to see them playing hard.

Friday was Gussie’s last day on the farm. Camp St. Croix has had “homeschool on the farm” every other Friday during the fall and spring. Augustus has learned a lot, played, gardened, and enjoyed himself so much. It has been such a great program and also been a good way to keep him busy on Fridays.

Friday night, we took neighborhood happy hour on the road! Packet pickup for the Women Run the Cities 10K was at Summit Brewery, so all of us who were running (and our men) had drinks and dinner while the kids ran wild in a big open field behind the brewery. It was such a classic summer night and I am thrilled summer is almost here!

Saturday morning, bright and early, me, Melissa, Kelly and Sarah ran the Women Run the Cities 10K. It is easy to do things you know you will be good at. It is SO MUCH HARDER to do things that you know will be hard and that you will NOT be good at. I am not a fast or graceful and every step I take is effort. But I show up. I put one foot in front of the other. And I am so proud of myself. At 41, I am no longer concerned about not being fast- I am not embarrassed- I feel no shame for not being “good”. I like the nerves at the beginning. I like the camaraderie. I like the participant shirt and the medal you get at the end and the festivities after the race. 6.2 miles was NOT easy. But it was a gorgeous morning and I was so happy to be there.

When I got home, the boys (and our neighbor Matilda) were ready to have a lemonade stand, so I found some plastic cups and made a pitcher of fruit punch (we didn’t have any lemonade powder). They went door to door drumming up business, and they did made a few dollars, but I think they drank most of their product.

I took an afternoon nap (that is a RARE occurrence), and then it was time to celebrate Kelly’s 40th birthday! There was a popcorn bar, so many snacks, drinks, burgers and brats, and 2 giant cookie cakes. The kids were running around, the weather was gorgeous- it was basically the perfect afternoon/evening.

Sunday has truly been a day of rest. We didn’t have anything on the calendar. We did a little family clean up time and I went grocery shopping, but the majority of the day was just relaxing and playing and enjoying a slow day.

The boys played outside. I went for my first bike ride in about a decade. Our neighbor Aaron is a serious biker- like 100 mile bike races. He is amazing. Last summer, he fixed my bike for me and then I never actually got on it. I know how to ride a bike. But the thought of actually getting on the bike was very intimidating. So he was determined to get me on the bike this summer. Today was a day I couldn’t make any excuses.

I was so nervous. The seat felt very high off the ground and I was sure I was going to tip over. But once I got on and started pedaling, that saying, “it’s like riding a bike” was actually true. First time on the bike, but I don’t think it will be the last!

A short week ahead and just 3 weeks until the summer is here! Let’s go May!

May is here! The weather has been mostly nice and we’ve gone back to spending afternoons and evenings outside. It is the best best best time of the year! Last Saturday, Xander had his last basketball game until the fall. He grew and learned so much and it was so fun for him to be on a team.

After the basketball game, it was Cinco de Brooks, our neighbors’ annual Cinco de Mayo party. It was rainy but pretty warm. For Christmas, Uncle Danny and Aunt Heather gave the boys a very cool slackline/ninja course, which we finally put up on Saturday. It was great timing, because we were able to enjoy some tacos and margaritas at the party, while all the children played in the rain. They were covered in mud, but had so much fun! Do I think there is a 99% chance my van window will get broken? Yes, I do. But they are really enjoying it and I will continue to add as many camp-like elements to our house and yard as I can.

I recently purchased a cricut, which is a machine that cuts out stickers or stencils. You upload the image, it “prints” but it actually cuts the image out. I have been making stencils to use with my airbrush and I am so excited to experiment.

For weeks (months?) I’ve been noticing that the hand towel in the bathroom ends up on top of the cabinet above the toilet on a regular basis. I just assumed that Augustus (no other subjects were considered) was getting a little crazy after he dried his hands, but since he was washing his hands, I didn’t think much of it. But the other day, the bathroom door was cracked open and I watched him close the toilet lid, climb on top, and deliberately put the towel up there. When he came out of the bathroom, I said, “Augustus! did you put that towel up there on purpose?!” I WISH I had a photo of his face- delight, with such a glint of mischief in his eyes. He is the funniest kid and I want to remember his doing silly things like this forever.

Xander and Augustus only have a few weeks of school left, so we are trying to enjoy every day! Xander and his buddies have been drawing pictures for the kindergarten class, and his teacher texted me pictures of his visit. They even stayed for freeze dance time for old times sake.

Our weeks consist of so much playing outside. So much tightrope walking, no shirts, water guns, playing Survivor, and running wild. I LOVE this time of year! I am very excited for carefree days of summer. Until then, we’re letting them stay up as late as we can but have added black out curtains to their room so they can go to bed when it’s still light outside. Happy Spring!

Wednesday night we had neighborhood happy hour and Kelly made cupcakes in honor of my birthday! Thursday was my birthday and I didn’t take any pictures but it was such a great day! We ordered greek food for dinner and then had birthday cake with half of our neighborhood. Nate and the boys brought me flowers and presents and it was so lovely!

On Friday, 1st grade had their poetry picnic. They have been working on a poetry unit and on Friday, they brought blankets for the lawn, parents got to school early, there was a buffet of snacks, and they read us their poetry on the lawn. It was pretty magical and I was so proud of Xander. He is so smart and so creative and it was so fun to see what he has been working on.

The poetry picnic was the kickoff to an awesome weekend. Every Saturday morning, our neighbor Sean makes pancakes for everyone and then leaves them on the porch for people to help themselves. We have never actually taken him up on it, but it is so lovely and something I want to remember forever. Our neighborhood is the most fabulous place in the world. We are surrounded by an amazing community of friends.

At 10am, we all gathered for the annual Zach Floyd Memorial Bags Tournament. For the record, Zach is not dead. He was there and came in second place in the tournament. But it’s a great name. Xander was on a team this year. We ate donuts and drank mimosas and the kids ran around. Melissa and Eric defended their title and won again!

After the tournament, the boys went to Grandma Debbie’s house for a sleepover. Nate and I met Christine and Derek for a hot double date. We went to Salut and ate so much good food and had foo foo drinks. Then we went to Cafe Latte for fancy dessert. It was fabulous. We need to double date more often.

Today is Mother’s Day and it was basically a perfect day. It was such a simple day, but it was wonderful. One of the best gifts of all is my mom having the boys overnight so I could go out for a fun date and then sleep in this morning. They got up early and went swimming first thing while I was relaxing…. er, well, my version of relaxing…

I told Danny and Heather I wasn’t going to cook or clean before they came over. No pressure. I was planning to RELAX all morning. But I decided to get the shop vac out to clean the filter in my vacuum (which is relaxing). But once I had the shop vac out, I decided to just use it to vacuum the couch (extreme clean!). But then I pulled the oven out to get a spatula that had fallen, and it was a mess, so I used the shop vac to clean back there. And then it was 11:45 and my mom and the boys got home and I realized I had lost track of time. But I was feeling VERY satisfied by all of my projects.

We ordered the most amazing fried chicken and ALL the sides from one of my favorite restaurants and feasted for lunch. The boys got Danny and Heather outside on the slackline and played frisbee for a very long time. It was such a nice day.

Danny, Heather and my mom left, just in time for Sam and Abby to be ready to play. They made signs that said, “will dance for money” and went door to door around the neighborhood to advertise. They danced. They played Survivor- Augustus told me they take their shirts off, designate a place to pee, eat chives from the garden and run around with sticks. It’s so fun to watch them. They played. Nate and I relaxed. I ate leftover cake from last night. Absolutely perfect.

The boys have 3.5 weeks of school left. I am so excited for the summer to be here, even though work gets a little more complicated and our schedules overall get a little bit crazier. Summer scheduling is INSANE. I have a color coded calendar, an excel spreadsheet, and I have put HOURS into planning. I am excited, but there’s still planning to be done. Luckily I have a few more weeks… Also lucky, this week ahead is a pretty normal schedule. Happy May!

The last 2 weeks of April have flown by. The weather has been chilly and I think we are all eager for the weather to warm up (and stay warm).

Gussie doesn’t go to pre-K on Fridays, so Nate and I switch off. I am very excited for full time kindergarten next year, but until then, we’re making it work. Last Friday, Nate and Augustus spent the day at the Science Museum.

On Saturday, Augustus and I spent the morning at his friend Lincoln’s house for a playdate (no pictures). Nate and Xander went to his basketball game and then out to sushi for lunch!

On Monday, Gussie went to a playplace with Grandma Debbie and then we had a pretty regular week.

The boys had the day off on Friday, so they spent the day at Camp St. Croix farm. They got to collect eggs and hold chickens and meet some new friends. They both came home dirty, wet (it was raining some of the day) and tired, but very happy.

This weekend has been similar to last weekend- Xander and Nate had basketball and Gussie and I had a playdate (this time at our house). The boys played outside with Sam and Abby for hours and hours. When they weren’t playing with friends, they have been recently obsessed with Akedo toys, which are little figures that battle each other. They love them and play nonstop.

I have been baking a lot and spent today baking. I made lime curd. I made dulce de leche, which is basically simmering a can of sweetened condensed milk for several hours to turn it into “milk caramel”. Except that if the water goes below the can, it will explode. If you open the can when it is still hot, it can explode. So you have to pay attention. Luckily no explosions and it was super smooth and lovely.

Tomorrow is May 1 and May is my favorite month because it’s both Mother’s Day and my birthday. And then we will start counting down to summer!

It was a week of both fun and sickness and fun again.

This week, the weather went from full blown winter freezing blizzarding nonsense to SUMMER. It was gorgeous, sunny, amazing weather. On Monday, Xander and Nate met up with some of the basketball team for some outdoor practice. On Tuesday, I had a donor meeting and we met OUTSIDE at a cafe and sat in the sun and it was amazing! On Wednesday, our neighborhood had the first happy hour of the season (everyone was in attendance!).

On Tuesday night, Nate and I got dressed up and went to a very fancy cocktail party (not our typical Tuesday at all!). I was super excited to be able to provide party favors for the guests. Linen Effects is an awesome company that had a party and unveiled their new logo. It was so fun to get a sneak peak at the new logo (so I could air brush it on macs) and then be part of the party! Apps, drinks, being dressed up, hanging with Nate and my bestie Christine… basically the best night ever.

The week wasn’t all sunshine and cocktail parties (it would be cool if that was the typical week, but no….). On Thursday, the nurse called me midday with a sick Augustus. This has been an on and off nonstop battle since last week, with both boys being sick, feeling ok, feeling sick, feeling ok. We can’t seem to shake it. I picked him up and immediately went to the doctor who tested him for covid, influenza, strep, and a urine test because he’s been complaining of back and brain pain. If all of those came back clean, we were going to draw blood and keep testing. Except that within just a few minutes, the doctor came back with positive strep results! Surprising, but I was thrilled. He never complained about a sore throat, so I really didn’t think it was that, but the good news about strep is that antibiotics make you feel better fast!

Not surprising, Friday morning, Xander wasn’t feeling great and when Nate took him to the doctor, he was positive too. Antibiotics for both kids!

I was still feeling fine, and doing my best to take all the vitamins, wash my hands nonstop and beg the universe to spare me. Because this weekend was ‘Mom’s Gone Wild 2023- Girls’ Weekend’.

Christine and I were scheduled to go up north to a resort to spend 3 days eating, relaxing, not taking care of anyone, not cooking, not dealing with anyone crying or fussing. Luckily, by Friday morning, everyone was on antibiotics and/or feeling well, and the two of us peeled out of the driveway like our hair was on fire.

First stop, Lynn’s Cake Supply, which is just in Fridley, so a location we could go whenever we wanted, but I never do and was excited to kick off the weekend with a shopping spree of sprinkles! Then it was on to a weekend of eating (we ate so many good meals and snacks), doing a puzzle, shopping, sleeping in, and laying around doing nothing without feeling guilty or being interrupted. It was HEAVEN. I missed Nate, the boys and the puppies almost immediately, but it was so refreshing and amazing to just relax without anyone needing anything.

While I was relaxing, Nate and the boys had a full weekend. Xander had a basketball game at 8:30am on Saturday. After that, they went to Sam’s birthday party and had a blast. After a full day of fun, they headed to Grandma Debbie’s for pizza and a slumber party. Nate went to our other neighbor’s house for drinks and apps.

On Sunday, had a chance to sleep in and relax a bit (fair, since I had a weekend of luxury). The boys, my mom and aunt Cindy all headed to Stages Theater for a show.

The weather today switched from 70 and sunny to 30 degrees and snowing. Minnesota spring is maddening!

I am hoping for a warm weather, healthy kids week ahead. Send good vibes.

Oh man, I’ve been slacking on the blog lately! After spring break, I was so happy to get back to our regular schedule. And we did, but it has been SO busy. Work/School, basketball for Xander, cookies for me… I don’t know what else, but every day is SO jam packed!

The last weekend of March, we were excited to have Grandma Renee and Grandpa Kyle come for a visit. We mostly hung out and it was so nice to just chill and spend time together. The dogs were excited to have new people to snuggle. The boys were thrilled to have their grandparents around. It was a really wonderful visit and we are excited for them to come back again.

Renee and Kyle’s visit was perfectly timed to include being in the crowd to cheer on Xander at swim prelims. I have been so incredibly proud of Xander this swim season. There are only 4 1st graders on the team and it’s his first year swimming competitively. He has grown so much and improved every single week. I was NOT expecting him to come in first place in his heat during the backstroke, but he did! I was a volunteer timer, so I was at the end of a different lane, but super close to him to watch him pull ahead. I was screaming, “ohmygosh ohmygosh” and thought I might fall right into the pool. It was AMAZING. He was thrilled. It doesn’t matter if he wins or loses, but him winning that race was very fun!

The weather has been insane- we’ve had some nice days, 2 days of blizzard-like conditions, followed by super cold days… I can’t keep up. And then today was about 70 degrees. I think we’ve finally turned a corner with the weather, but it’s been a rollercoaster. As the winter dragged on, we’ve added 2 different swings- one in the basement, that is proving to be a really nice calm down spot, and also just a fun place to flip around. We also added a swing and rings in our dining room doorway. I will turn this house into a full on indoor playplace if Spring doesn’t show up and stick around soon.

We’ve also been taking a lot of baths- but not regular baths, special baths. We did some pom pom baths- that is just fuzzy poms in the bathtub. They float, they are fun to scoop up. They dry easily. I’ve used easter eggs (empty), glow sticks, balls and spoons, water balloons, cut up pool noodles, and bubbles. The boys could stay in the tub for hours if we let them and they are enjoying the variety.

April 1 was April Fool’s Day. We celebrate all holidays in our house! 2 years ago, I dipped a brussels sprout in chocolate and surprised the boys with cake pops (except Xander’s was actually the brussels sprout). He thought it was hilarious. Last year, we conspired to trick Augustus with the same prank, but instead, I got Xander again! This year, at dinner, Xander said, “are there cake pops?” and I said, “no, I’m so sorry, I didn’t have time to bake this year.” After dinner, I opened a brand new box of mini ice cream cones. Earlier in the day, I had cut the top off of one, replaced it with a brussels sprout, chocolate dipped it, put it back in the box, glued the box shut. The altered ice cream cone didn’t look exactly the same, but Xander didn’t notice. He bit into it and the chocolate cracked off, revealing the green… he was confused and then amused. Mom wins again!

A few weeks ago when we went to fancy brunch, we had fresh squeezed orange juice and it was fantastic. Xander said, “we need to have that”. I said, “we need to get a juicer” and he said, “yeah? Can’t you just order one?” This 7 year old has exceptional taste and says things like, “I only like fresh warm muffins” when I make him breakfast in the morning. Same dude. But I was up for the fresh squeezed OJ challenge. I bought an $8 hand juicer. I bought 8 pounds of oranges from Costco ($8). We squeezed one orange to try it. Xander took one sip, handed it back to me and said, “not for me, too much pulp. Can you buy some professional juice at the store.” I took that as a challenge. I spent the next 45 minutes peeling and squeezing all 8 pounds of oranges. Then I used a strainer to take out the pulp. I made all 3 men do a blind taste test. Me, Nate and Augustus all agreed that the fresh squeezed was amazing. Xander liked the “professional” (ie store bought) juice better. $16 and an hour of work later, I’m not sure fresh squeezed juice will be a regular feature in our house, but I liked trying it.

Basketball is back in session and Xander is working hard. Last weekend was a blizzard and only 4 kids on each team showed up for the game. Xander had to play the entire time and he was exhausted!

Art and music night for K-4th grade was an event! We got to walk through the gallery and see all the beautiful art Xander has created this year. Then all of the classes performed together. On the last song, the audience got to sing along and Xander was both amused and embarrassed of me. He smiled and shook his head, but he’s not too cool for his mom yet. And really, who can resist belting out “This Little Light of Mine” with a whole auditorium?! Group sing?! There is nothing I love more.

1st grade is building a model city and every kid was assigned a different building. Xander worked SO hard on his fire station and it was so fun to watch/help. He did almost all of it himself- I helped with a few areas that needed hot glue. He didn’t want to use a toy fire truck- he wanted to make it himself. I asked what he wanted to use. “It would be nice if we had a 3D printer….” He is SO my child. We went with paper as our building material.

And then, when I didn’t think we could get any busier, the sick hit. Tuesday, the nurse called midday with a sick Gussie. I picked him up early from school. I figured he would bounce back quickly and be fine. No. Instead, he tossed and turned all night, miserable and crying. No one slept more than 45 minutes at a time. I started thinking we were going to need to go to the ER. We didn’t end up in the hospital, because eventually he started going to the bathroom and didn’t stop for several days (I will not elaborate). And then when I assumed his little body was totally empty, he surprised me with a lot of vomit… several times. He was miserable. He didn’t want me to leave his side. There was a lot of re-arranging schedules and cancelling things and my mom helping out, and eventually, I moved my “office” to the floor next to his bed and got a surprising amount of work done, considering I was on the floor. Just as Gussie started to feel better, Xander got sick… Ugh. It was nonstop laundry, cleaning, handing out popsicles, and snuggling. At one point, I was holding Gussie on my lap and Xander walked by and said, “you know you’re gonna get sick, right?” I always assume I will be sick when either kid is, but I managed to avoid it.

But today was Easter!! The Easter bunny brought baskets for the boys and one for the parents (and carrot shaped for the pups). He left 40 small eggs (fair game for either kid). He left 8 bigger eggs- each kid could only find his color (blue for Gussie, orange and pink for Xan). And then one giant golden egg for each boy. So many yummy treats and fun things in the eggs.

After we found all the eggs, my mom, 4 aunts, Danny and Heather came over for brunch. It was super nice to catch up and see everyone. Uncle Danny helped find the last egg none of us could find. We played a game called Egg Roulette, which the internet had suggested to me earlier in the week. Everyone had to take a turn (I assured the 65+ crowd that I could guarantee their safety, as I had already rigged the game ahead of time). When it was your turn, you pulled a string which was attached to a plate. If you got an easter egg, you got the prize inside. However, there was one plate with a REAL egg and if you got that one, you had to smash it on your head. The real egg string was marked for the fun Uncle, who had agreed ahead of time. However, a smashed egg seemed too messy, so I had blown out the egg, then used a small funnel to fill the egg with confetti, and then glued a tiny white piece of paper to cover the hole. So when Danny pulled the real egg, and Xander got to smash it on his head- SURPRISE! It was just a glittery mess (but easy to sweep up). We ate, we chatted, and then Gussie left to go play with neighbors. Later, our neighbor texted me that when he asked Gussie what we had to eat today, Gussie said, “we didn’t really get food today”. I both laughed and also smacked my head against my forehead.

I just want to say, for the record, that I made egg cups (2 different flavors), hashbrown casserole, apple turnovers, watermelon (cut in flower and butterfly shapes), Danny smoked an amazing salmon, which we put on a charcuterie board with cheeses, olives, crackers, etc. My mom brought 2 pies and a carrot cake… I’m so glad the 5 year old noticed all my hard work. Kids are so rewarding sometimes. Happy Easter- hopefully you were somewhere with food today.

This week is just a normal week again. No surprised blizzards (actually, it’s supposed to be GORGEOUS this week), no sickness, no changed schedules, and everything smooth sailing- THAT is my wish for us and for everyone!

2 weeks. That’s how long spring break is. With weekends, the boys will have been out of school for 16 days straight. As we come to and end, I am exhausted, but we’ve had so much fun and I am grateful for the time we got to spend together. I still think 2 weeks is excessive, but we’ve had a great time.

With so many days off, I knew I needed to have a plan. We needed to find a balance between freedom to play and relax without any structure, but also, enough activity that they wouldn’t get bored and whinny. My boys (especially Xander) appreciate a visual schedule. He is so much like me and has regularly checked the chart to see where we were in the plan. I like it because it gives both of them a sense of time and structure that they need. We had some Grandma days planned, some days at our house, and then some concrete plans. Nate and I both had to work for a lot of it, so there was some major balancing from us to make sure we could be parents and also get our jobs done.

Spring break kicked off with Xander’s basketball tournament (see previous post) on Saturday, and then spending the night at Grandma Debbie’s house Sunday into Monday. They played outside, went swimming, went to the Shoreview Community Center, played with toys, “worked out” in the fitness center, and ran around her condo joyfully.

Tuesday was an “at home play day” and the boys alternated between playing together, playing video games, reading books, doing chores (the more chores they do, the more screen time they can earn). Overall, they were super independent and I got a lot of work done that day.

On Saturday, Mr. Myles had cheered Xander on at his basketball tournament, so on Tuesday night, we headed to MPA to cheer on Mr. Myles and the varsity boys basketball team. They were really fun to watch! Despite having gone out to dinner beforehand, the boys enjoyed some game time concessions (which they loved!) and our team won! It was a really fun night.

Wednesday I worked in the morning and then the boys and I headed to the Science Museum. It’s been years since I have visited and this was the first time for the boys. There was so much to do and we were there for most of the day. It made most sense to buy a membership so we’ll definitely be back again!

On Thursday, Xander’s best friend Sammy came over for the day and they had a ton of fun running around, teaching each other new things on Roblox, and just being cool 1st grade dudes. We had a movie night in the evening. The boys played outside, played together, played separately. They were busy kids!

On Friday, I had a lot of work to do, so it was a daddy/boys day. They headed to Good Times Park in Eagan for several hours of running around, bouncing, playing, etc.

Saturday was an at-home day. Video games, reading books, toys, playing… Just an average day in the life of 2 little boys!

On Sunday, we went to Vertical Endeavors for some family rock climbing. A year ago, we climbed for the first time. Gussie was not a fan. Xander made it about halfway up the walls. But this time, Xander hit to top of the wall twice! Gussie got farther and farther up every time he tried. It was SO fun to see how much they have grown up. They are stronger, braver, and it was such a fun activity for all 4 of us.

Monday was a busy day for all of us. The boys were with Grandma Debbie all day. I had a full day of meetings, followed by a marathon packing session. Nate was at work. The day flew by in a blur, because Tuesday we hopped it the car and headed to Wisconsin Dells. Nate and I like to joke about “indoor waterpark people” which isn’t necessarily complimentary, except that, WE are indoor waterpark people. The boys LOVE LOVE LOVE the water. I love the water. Nate loves waterslides. And the Wilderness Resort had all of those things and much more. At 5&7, this is the perfect level of family vacation for us. I look forward to the future when we can expand our travel plans a bit, but we had the BEST time in the Dells.

The Wilderness Resort has 3 indoor waterparks (and 3 outdoor, but obviously we didn’t need those in March). We visited all 3, enjoying different water slides, the lazy river, the wave pool, and the kids area, that has a GIANT bucket of water that tips over every 5 or so minutes and dumps a million gallons of water on the crowd of kids that gather at the sound of the bell (which alerts them to the upcoming splash). There were delicious strawberry margaritas that Nate and I enjoyed in between going down the massive slides.

What drew me to this resort (because there are so many to choose from!) was all of the other activities to do as well. I actually think the boys enjoyed the dry activities MORE than the water park, and that is a high compliment because our family LOVES the water.

There was unlimited laser tag, which I didn’t expect to be the favorite activity, but I think the boys played 25 or 30 rounds each over the course of the time we were there! They LOVED it. There was a climbing wall, a high ropes course, an arcade, an indoor play place. There were go karts, which from 8am-10, were open for little kids to drive. Nate was the MVP of the trip, because he got up early each day and took the boys down to drive, leaving me in the room to lay in bed and read books and relax. You had to be between 6-12 to drive in the morning. Gussie is 5.5. On the first morning, Nate texted me the following-

“Augustus (in line)- ‘yesterday I was 5, but now I’m 6 and I didn’t even have a birthday party!’ Xander- ‘you know he’s going to blow it, right?'”

We lied. We taught our sweet baby to lie. But he did a great job driving and I feel ok about it.

We ate at a restaurant where our food was delivered by a model train! We enjoyed tacos and margaritas (virgin for 3 of us). We visited the candy store at the resort and stocked up on treats. We ate giant ice cream sundaes and stayed up WAY too late every night. It was fantastic. We had the best 4 days. We left Friday and all of us were EXHAUSTED. Spring break success.

When Xander was 3, he came home from daycare the day before St. Patrick’s Day and said, “my teacher said a leprechaun might visit our house tonight.” WHAT?! I was NOT prepared. I love magical things, but a leprechaun was new to me. I improvised that year. I made a muffin mix I had on hand and set out bright green muffins for him to find in the morning. I turned the milk green. I left tiny green footprints across the kitchen floor. Xander was excited and it was magical and in the following years, I found shamrock candy and silly things and the leprechaun continued to visit, leaving green footprints and green milk.

Last year, I didn’t leave the footprints, thinking maybe it was time to phase out the leprechaun… thinking Xander wouldn’t notice and it wouldn’t matter. MOM FAIL. Oh my gosh. I have heard about the leprechaun’s lack of effort ALL YEAR. That kid has an amazing memory. So this year, I was conflicted. On one hand, we were gone on Friday morning, so maybe this was year 2 of phasing out the leprechaun. But I also didn’t want to disappoint my first born child like last year.

I have moved more than one holiday in the past. I thought maybe I could trick them and say St. Patrick’s Day was on Saturday morning. But our neighborhood had a St. Patrick’s gathering (we missed out because we had EXHAUSTED kids, but they heard about it from Sam and Abby). On Friday night, once the kids went to bed, I put some green cupcakes in the oven, hoping to surprise them in the morning. But no. Xander yelled down, “what’s that smell” and was not fooled by, “Nothing, I’m just microwaving something”. Both boys marched downstairs to investigate.

I told them that I had bad news. It was St. Patrick’s Day and unfortunately, I thought the leprechaun missed us because we weren’t home. But that I was going to try to surprise them with green cupcakes instead. They were bummed that we got missed by the leprechaun but excited about the cupcakes. They went to bed. When I was sure they were asleep, I made green footprints across the kitchen, climbing up the table legs, and tiny handprints on the table. The milk turned green and chocolate coins and shamrocks were spread out on the table.

On Saturday morning, Xander came running upstairs before my eyes were open. “The leprechaun came!” I opened one eye and played dumb, saying, “the cupcakes were from me, remember?!” He explained all of the magical details and said, “I knew he would come back for us!” St. Patrick’s Day success. I only have a few more years (if I’m lucky) of the kids being SO swept into the magic and wonder. I will continue to go all out while they are so innocent and easy to please.

While we were in the Dells, my mom texted to ask if the boys could stay overnight Saturday-Sunday. I wasn’t sure if it would be too much after a busy spring break, but they wanted to go, so I said yes.

A few notes about this… Many (all?!) of my friends who are moms, HATE me and are deeply jealous of what an amazing mom I have and fun grandma my children have. I don’t know what we would do without my mom. We had a fabulous spring break, but by Saturday morning, I was starting to understand why some animals eat their young. Dropping the boys off with Grandma Debbie was like that first deep breath you take after being underwater. She had a kitchen stocked with all of their favorite foods, movie tickets to Shazaam 2, piles of toys and crafts, a snow mountain in her parking lot, a pool, and more energy and willingness to run around with them than any human being on the planet. Meanwhile I was feeling completely drained, not patient, not fun, and unsure how I was going to make it through 2 more days of feeding, entertaining, and being a decent mother (have I mentioned that spring break was 16 DAYS?!). I think the end of every vacation in the future, needs to be a vacation from each other… just 24 hours to regroup- do laundry, get groceries, catch up, and breathe, just sit and do nothing- breathe, settle back in, after a whirlwind of nonstop togetherness and fun. I baked. I read a book. Nate and I ordered take out food that we ate on the couch while we watched a movie. The boys went to the movie, went to Smack Shack for dinner, swam, played, took long baths. I’m starting to think I might need to leave the boys home with Nate and I go to my mom’s instead. I want to be entertained nonstop and fed good food!

Today is Sunday and the last day of the long break. I baked, did laundry, walked the puppies and relaxed! I recently had the chance to work with a design company who helped me re-brand my macaron business. I never even meant to have a business, I just like baking. But now I have a small business and I officially unveiled a new name- North Star Macarons. Nothing really changes except now I have cool stickers and a logo.

The boys spent most of the day with Grandma- crafting, playing outside, and shopping. When they got home, they played outside with Sam and Abby, and then the whole crew came over here until dinner time. Sundays are for sundaes, so we had an end-of-break sundae celebration.

What a fun 2 weeks we have had. Now, back to our regularly scheduled lives!

I bought couch cover/dog beds that go on the couch for the dogs. They are satisfied with them.

Besides new dog beds, this week has been a big one for Xander. On Monday, his class hosted the Lower School assembly and everyone in his class got to read part of a book. I was super excited I was able to stay and see him read. He also had a special reading assignment and got to read the instructions for the activity that came after the book they read. I don’t know where this 7 year old gets his confidence and poise, but he did such a great job!

Tuesday was his last basketball practice until next session (which is in 2 weeks, so not that big of a deal). Thursday was his Grouchy Ladybug play in drama class. I wrote a whole separate post about it here. He was confident, so cute, and I was so proud of him.

On Friday, 1st grade presented their Troll Story projects. They’ve been working on these projects since after Christmas break. They wrote a story, which includes multiple characters, story development, several rounds of editing and finally a typed, multi-page bound book. They illustrated it. They built dioramas of it. And on Friday, all of the parents came to school to first listen to Xander’s teacher share her troll story. She is an amazing writer and reader and included each kid’s troll in her story. It was so fun to watch them LIGHT UP when they heard their character mentioned. After she read, we all spread out and the 1st graders read to their parents. Xander was so proud and I couldn’t believe what an elaborate, impressive project that he had created. I can guarantee that I was NOT doing that kind of work when I was in 1st grade!

On Saturday, Xander’s basketball team was in the all-YMCA tournament. It was a very well done production with 90+ teams involved. Xander’s team has only won one game this season, so I was relatively sure that we would only be there for the fist game, but his team has a lot of spirit and he did a great job and I have a feeling that next season will give us a few more wins. Mr. Myles, Xander’s kindergarten aid (and the MPA boy’s basketball coach) and ABSOLUTE COOLEST person at MPA came to watch Xander play and cheer him on. Xander was adamant that we print off the schedule for Mr. Myles and invite him. I didn’t think he would want to spend a Saturday afternoon at a 1st grade basketball game, but there he was. And I appreciated it so much. It meant a lot to Xander because he absolutely adores Mr. Myles.

Nate has been working on assembling my Christmas gift for a few weeks now and he finally finished it! I was excited to take his picture, but Xander grabbed my phone and said, “BOTH OF YOU, I’ll take it!”

In other family news, KT, our foreign exchange student moved to a new host family this weekend. His mother was concerned that our house wasn’t an adequate environment for studying, which is interesting since KT was literally in his room every moment he wasn’t at school or eating, so I’m not sure how he could possibly be more focused. Unfortunately hosting didn’t really turn out the way we’d hoped. These students are not here for a “study abroad” experience with lots of fun cultural experiences and friendships. They are here to be perfect students and get into ivy league schools and that is it. Nate has described this experience as “net neutral”- not bad, but not good. I would host again, under different circumstances, but I am also happy to close that chapter of our year. I think KT will be successful and hopefully think back with fond memories of his time with us.

For the next 2 weeks, the boys are on spring break, so there will be some fun, some balancing work/kids for Nate and I, and a long stretch of no routine, so send good vibes our way….

Xander is at an age that I love so much and I want to remember every single conversation we have. He is precocious, hilarious, confident, and observant. He has so many opinions. He has a lot of really great traits from Nate and for many years, I thought he was going to be an actual clone of his father. Turns out, he’s got a LOT of Natalie King in him as well and oh buddy, does this kid need to speak to a manager on a regular basis.

Xander’s drama class is putting on a production of The Grouchy Ladybug. To be clear, this is just a little performance in his class- not a full Broadway Production. His homework was to create a ladybug headband featuring the animal he was assigned- he was a gorilla.

His teacher was very clear- do not buy anything. Crafting at home only. I offered to help him- I was fully prepared for some elaborate crafting. He did not want my help. When he half-assed the project and glued a few little black dots on his headband, I offered to help. Nope. Ok, fine, I will not be THAT mom who takes over. He was satisfied, so that was that.

Except that somewhere along the way, Xander decided he absolutely, in no way shape or form, wanted to wear the headband. He was outraged at the thought of having to wear it. I told him he needed to speak to his teacher and say something like, “I do not feel comfortable wearing the headband, I would prefer to be in the play without it.”

On Tuesday, he came home and said he talked to his teacher. I asked what he said. “I said, with all due respect, I don’t wanna wear the headband.” And in response, she said it just seemed like he wasn’t into it, but he should plan to wear the headband. Cue 7 year old OUTRAGE.

I refuse to be a helicopter parent who rushes in to tell the teacher that my special snowflake isn’t going to wear the headband. But I am raising a child in 2023, so I can’t just tell him to shut up and wear it like they did back in my day. (For the record, my parents never said that, but they also weren’t spending their spare time watching instagram videos about child development.)

We sat down to really dig into the issue.

Xander- “First of all, we are wearing blue [the color of their uniform shirts], and ladybugs aren’t blue, so it doesn’t make any sense. If there was a full costume, I would wear it, but it’s just a dumb headband, so it’s ridiculous.”

Ok, I feel that in my soul. If something isn’t done right, I get frustrated and feel like I don’t even want to bother at all. Xander is upset about the production value of this play. Got it.

We talked a little more about his actual headband and I tried to find some ways to sell it to him. I asked if we could improve the headband, would it feel better? I suggested we find a cool picture of a gorilla and attach that to the headband.

“My headband is already in the drama room.”- X

I said, ok, how about tomorrow, we find a cool picture, I can bring it with me when I pick you up. We can go to the drama room and attempt to improve your headband, and if we can’t fix it, we can talk to your teacher about other options. He was satisfied with that.

At the end of the conversation, my darling 7 year old said to me, “In your own words, can you repeat back to me everything I told you so that I know you know what to say to my teacher?” I had to hold my breath for a moment so I didn’t burst into laughter. Is this my child or is this my child?!? I took a deep breath and said, “what I heard you say is…”

Stories like this make me miss my dad so much. My dad was 7 in 1960. Little boys did not get their feelings validated or their voices heard. I wish I could see his face and hear his reaction to all of Xander’s feelings. I think he would be baffled, but I think it would also be good for him to see how he should have been treated. We are raising self aware, confident, empowered kids. But when you see my exhausted face and gray hair, and think, “whoa, she has really aged in the last 7 years”, you know exactly the conversations that are making me look this way.

Wednesday afternoon, I showed up to school with 2 different sized gorillas with double sided tape on both of them, ready for some headband triage.

Yes, I do have a full time job. But yes also, I spent 20 minutes of my day printing, cutting, taping and doing homework my 7 year old didn’t do the first time. We will eventually revisit the conversation about how he “phoned in” his homework which lead to all this drama, but for the moment, I was in problem solving mode. We went to the drama room and the teacher said, “oh, I can glue them on in the morning.” No. I explained that we needed to try it on and process some feelings. She was very patient. As we fixed the headband, she explained that real life actors sometimes get assigned costumes they don’t like, and they just have to wear them. And really the play is just a few minutes, so wearing it shouldn’t matter that much… uh huh. Nice try lady. He said he would think about it.

When we walked out, he looked like he was going to burst into tears and I knew I had not solved this yet. “If it’s not a big deal, why do I have to wear the headband.” Touche. Point for Xander.

We had to go to swimming, so I managed to calm him down and tell him we would talk again and reminded him that I am on his side and we would figure it out.

After dinner on Wednesday night, Xander, Nate and I all climbed into our bed and snuggled together to have a processing meeting. Nate was of the opinion he should just wear it. He had not been part of the first emotional processing, so he wasn’t prepared for Xander’s outrage, annoyance, and just outright indignation.

Eventually it came out that he just really wasn’t satisfied with the headband. I asked if we could re-make it. He said, “the play is tomorrow! How are we just going to re-make the whole thing?!” A crafting challenge?! Are you kidding me?!? Cue my outrage. Um, hello? I was born for last minute, urgent crafting challenges.

We went downstairs and I continued to assure him that he would not have to wear it if he decided that was the right choice for him. I soothed, I listened, I cut, I glued, and eventually, I said, let’s just try this on and see how it feels.

As Grandma Debbie is famous for saying, “winner winner, chicken dinner”.

He didn’t outright agree to wear it. “I mean, how will we even get this to school and will my teacher even let me wear a different one?!” First of all, it is a paper crown, we can probably just put it in your backpack. Second of all, I will email your teacher and tell her you are bringing a new headband and if she doesn’t agree to let you wear it I will beat her up in the parking lot. I didn’t say that last part, but after all of the emotional processing, this was a hill I was prepared to die on. However, I was relatively sure she would just be happy to have an easy going 7 year old in a headband.

His teacher responded before I was back downstairs from tucking him in- she was thrilled he had a new headband he liked. Perfect.

Thursday morning, I made some ladybug strawberries to go with breakfast, and used red chocolate melts to dip oreos for a special treat to go with his snack. Xander woke up in a great mood and felt really good about the play, wearing the headband, and life in general.

The 5 minute play was a wild success. He was adorable, confident, and wearing the headband. Whew. I hope every project is not this much emotional work!