Author Archives: natalieking10414

What a weird week! On Monday we had a LONG drive home from family camp. We got home, unpacked, picked up groceries, ordered pizza, started the laundry and called it a day.

Tuesday we were back to normal. All 3 boys went to school, Nate and I went back to work and Xander had basketball practice in the evening. The news was warning of an impending blizzard. Minneapolis and St. Paul schools cancelled Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in anticipation of a historic blizzard. MPA usually holds off and I was sure we would have school on Wednesday. But nope, even MPA called it.

Wednesday was a snow day, but there was very little snow. I had a dentist appointment (which is near my mom’s house), so I dropped the boys off for the morning and they swam with Grandma while I got my teeth cleaned. By the afternoon, the snow picked up, and while there was a lot of it, it wasn’t extreme historic blizzard level as predicted. It snowed into Thursday. A lot of snow, but this is Minnesota. The boys got a lot of bonus screen time. Nate and I traded off working and entertaining kids.

On Friday, Xander and KT were back to school. Gussie was home with me in the morning. We baked brownies and played our new favorite game Uno. In the afternoon, Nate and Gussie went to a play place. Saturday was Xander’s basketball game, followed by an afternoon of being stir crazy.

Sunday has been a good day. At the dentist office, I flipped through a magazine and found out there is a restaurant called Gus Gus near our house. Obviously we had to go! Xander was very sad there isn’t a Xan Xan restaurant. We started our day with brunch reservations and a VERY foo foo fancy breakfast. $93 later, we went home with a crabby, hungry 5 year old, in case you are wondering how it went. For the record, I loved everything I ate and would definitely go back (without my Gus Gus).

This afternoon/evening, we hung out with our dear friends the Danielson family! Nate was the one who introduced Nate and I (confusing since there are 2 Nates in this story). Our kids and their kids played nicely while we had drinks and caught up. We had dinner and dessert and the time flew by too quickly.

Back to normal this week (hopefully no more snow or days off school!)

When I went to Camp Menogyn this summer for their 100th anniversary event, one of the women who works there was telling me about winter family camp. “It’s so magical! There is dog sledding, and skiing and so much! You should sign up!” And so I did. Because obviously it was something that should not be missed.

2 weeks ago I had a mild panic and went on an amazon shopping spree for new mittens, hats and long underwear. I was starting to re-think this adventure- we aren’t winter outdoorsy people, what did I get us into?!

Last week I went into full meltdown panic mode as I got more and more anxious for our winter adventure. Camp Menogyn is on an island, so during the summer, you pontoon over from the parking lot. During the winter, you walk about a half mile across the frozen lake, pulling your stuff on a sled. We packed bedding, towels, clothes, and all of our winter gear. I bought space saver bags and managed to get everything tightly packed into just 2 duffle bags that weighed approximately 1000lbs apiece.

I was nervous for our adventure. Both boys were NOT at all excited. KT refused to go and spent the weekend at a friend’s house. Nate gave me skeptical looks all week, but was quietly resigned to roughin’ it in the woods for a few days. I was so nervous I got us into something we weren’t going to enjoy.

Our drive to camp on Friday was a little over 5 hours… and then at the very end, we missed a turn (at which point our phones had no service and thus, no maps) and ended up extending the drive by about 40 minutes in the dark. When we arrived, we woke up 2 sleeping boys and had to quickly get all of us bundled head to toe in all of our winter gear so we could walk across the lake in the dark. Luckily they had a snow mobile waiting to pull the sleds of gear for us. I don’t know that we would have made it if we had to pull them ourselves.

When we arrived at camp, we hauled our bags to a camper cabin- just a basic room with 6 sets of bunk beds. But there were 6 top bunks, 6 ladders and 6 little shelf areas under each bunk. The boys walked in and reacted as if we were at a 4 star resort- “this is AWESOME!” They were SO excited to jump from top bunk to top bunk, climb the ladders and explore every little nook. There were extra mattresses to turn into “rafts” and plenty of space to run around. The outhouse was nearby, but no bathroom inside the cabin, which meant at night, they got to pee off the edge of the steps into the trees. 10/10 accommodation.

We explored the dining hall, got unpacked, made our beds, and got settled in. Then it was time for bed on Friday night.

Breakfast on Saturday morning was delicious (the bagels were from scratch!) We ate family style and after breakfast, they announced, “pull out your song books and turn to page 86 for our first song!” Nate’s face was priceless. In my head I thought- Jackpot! From this moment on, Nate will plan every future vacation and it will be a 4 star all inclusive resort and we will stay in the suite. Because I happen to LOVE camper cabins and camp songs and family style meals with strangers. But I also like luxurious vacations. So either way, it was a win for me!

Nate survived the camp songs and we got a quick orientation for the weekend. After breakfast, we went to the dog yard to visit the 21 Alaskan huskies that are at camp for the season. Xander loves huskies and he was thrilled!

There were lots of activities we wanted to try, but the boys begged to go back to the cabin to play. We went back to the cabin and the boys spent 2 hours absolutely lost in fantasy. Nate had to remind me to relax and just let them play. I have been going and going and going nonstop for weeks. I have overcommitted myself and I am constantly multi-tasking, running a mile a minute and I can’t seem to slow down. We had no internet access and there was nothing to accomplish. It was against every fiber in my being to just lay there, but it was glorious. The boys were so imaginative and even though they had no toys or screens, they were so content. They didn’t argue. They jumped from bunk bed to bunk bed. They had mattresses on the floor as rafts. It was so fun to listen to them play in their own made up world.

After lunch on Saturday, we grabbed some skiis and after a little instruction from the program director, we were on the lake, skiing away. Augustus initially had the hang of it really quickly, but after a few falls, he was OVER it and angrily marched off the lake. Xander and Nate were super into it and the weather was gorgeous (walking from the cabin to the dining hall, we were just wearing sweatshirts).

In the dining hall, there was unlimited hot chocolate at all times. There were piles of board games, and almost always lots of kids to run around with. We spent a lot of time hanging out there and it was great. The boys learned how to play Uno and Clue. At the end of the weekend, we asked the boys for the highlights of their weekend, and despite all of the cool things we did, Xander said his highlight was playing Clue.

Saturday evening, we headed down to the point and enjoyed a campfire and s’mores. The boys both ate 2 and then we got chilly and headed back to the cabin.

Sunday morning was our scheduled dogsledding time. We met the Mushers at the dog yard and helped put harnesses on the dogs. Once dogs are harnessed and on the line, we helped pet them and distract them while all the dogs are added to the line. Then it was down to the lake to climb in the sled and go! The dogs can pull 50-100 pounds each. There were 5 or 6 dogs on each sled. It was a surprisingly quiet, relaxing ride. We were snuggled under a sleeping bag, zipping around the lake. It was a very cool experience!

Saturday afternoon, Nate and Xander went skiing again, while Augustus and I grabbed a sled and went down the very steep hill to the lake. The strategically placed mattresses along the tree line tells me that it is a popular place to sled. We went down the hill MULTIPLE times until I thought I might pass out (walking back up was a WORKOUT). Xander joined us for a few runs at the end.

On Saturday afternoon, we went to the sauna to get super hot and then jump into the ICE COLD lake. I wasn’t sure if the boys would actually go in the water, but they both did (Xander even went UNDER water!). After he went all the way in, I felt the peer pressure to go all the way under. I am glad I did it, but it was PAINFULLY cold. Saunas aren’t really Nate’s thing, so he was our support crew. He was there with robes and towels and helped the boys get dressed when we were done.

Our family camp weekend was fantastic. The food was wonderful (and it was such a treat to just show up to the dining hall and there was a meal- no prep, no clean up). We played Scrabble and Yahzee and Uno and Clue. We relaxed. We ate snacks and drank a lot of cocoa. We tried a lot of new things and spent a ton of time enjoying ourselves outside. We didn’t have to rush, weren’t distracted by our phones, we were fully present with each other- just enjoying our time together. And we got to sing songs after every meal!

We got so lucky with the weather- it was cold, but comfortable and it was easy to be outside for long periods of time without getting chilled. The staff at camp were friendly, helpful, fun and made it such a nice place to be. The cabin was a little boy’s dream accommodation and while simple, it was very comfortable- warm, cozy, my bed was super comfortable, it very close to the outhouse and the dining hall, and there was plenty of space for us to spread out all of our gear. I loved every moment of it and I am so glad we were adventurous and tried something so new. I feel rested and refreshed in a way that I haven’t in a VERY long time. I love spending time together as a family and I am so grateful for this weekend.

February arrived like a tidal wave. Our family has been busy and I have been in over my head. After 2 intense weeks, I am finally coming up for air for a few days, but the weeks ahead are full as well. I’m not sure what I could cut out, so I’m just holding on for dear life until things calm down a bit.

During the first weekend in February, Augustus went for a trial piano lesson. He was very excited and asked for piano shaped pancakes that morning. He was very shy during the lesson and ultimately we decided it might be better to wait until next year, but it’s an activity we are considering for him. Xander had a basketball game and we had a full cheering section with Grandma Debbie, Danny and Heather (plus me, Nate and Augustus). After the game, we all went out to lunch to celebrate.

Sundays are for Grandma Debbie adventures. The three of them like to swim, shop, and are always up to something. My mother is the greatest rockstar in the world and literally makes our life possible. The boys adore her and love spending time at her house, and having kid-free Sundays to grocery shop, bake, do chores and catch up is such an amazing luxury.

Last week was an absolute whirlwind. I was baking nonstop for Valentine’s Day and custom orders. I had a long list of organizing and cleaning projects to get our house ready for the weekend. I am also on several committees for the PTA- the auction committee (helping with the big fundraising gala in the spring), I am the lower school lead, a grade rep, chair of the micro grant committee, and I agreed to plan the lower school Valentine party. I love being involved with the boys’ school. I like getting to know other parents, the teachers and the kids. I have visions of future PTA president in my head. But I may have said “yes” one too many times as I have a lot of volunteer responsibilities that are taking over my time.

Xander is LOVING basketball, tolerating karate, and really enjoying swim club. We’re not quite a “sports family” yet, but maybe we will be!

On Friday, the weather was unseasonably warm for February and so we had an impromptu neighborhood happy hour! It was so nice to be outside and not be freezing. It was SO nice to spend time hanging with our neighbors! We stayed outside until it got dark and I am so eager for the spring to arrive! What a great kickoff to a fun weekend.

Our weekend was jam packed! Saturday morning started with Xander’s basketball game. He just LOVES it so much and it’s been fun to watch him every week! After basketball, we had a little time to eat lunch and rest, but then Xander and I headed to St. Thomas Academy for his first real swim meet! There were 3 teams competing. Xander swam in 2 races- 25 yard front and 25 yard back. He went off the blocks for the first time! He was a little nervous, but so cool. He did great and I was so proud of him! While we were at the swim meet, Nate and Augustus were at our friend Harvey’s birthday party. They had a ton of fun playing games, eating donuts and playing with buddies. Xander and I had hoped to make it for part of it, but ended up missing out.

After a marathon Saturday, our weekend wasn’t over yet. Somehow we got nominated to host the neighborhood Super Bowl party on Sunday. The boys spent most of the day with Grandma Debbie, while I finished cooking and cleaning our house. Originally, we were trying to plan a chili cook off, but it turned into a Super Bowl party with chili. 4 crockpots of chili, all the appetizers you can imagine, and kiddie cocktails for the littlest fans. It was SO FUN! I don’t care about football, but I am here for the snacks!

I was exhausted after our crazy weekend, but this week has not slowed down.

Valentine’s Day is a big holiday for cookies, so I had to pack, label and coordinate pick ups for a LOT of cookies. Like all holidays, I am at the “never want to see another cookie ever again” phase. But I really enjoy baking and am happy to have customers who fund my creativity!

The Parents Association hosts a Valentine’s party for the lower school every year. It takes the responsibility off the teacher and is a fun thing for the kids. I was in charge this year. I didn’t exactly want to be in charge, but also, I have 20 years of camp experience- if not me leading this, then who?! The gym teachers had half the gym organized in an obstacle course. Each class came during their gym time and could jump between the obstacle course and my side, which was Valentine activities. I had a craft table, bean bag toss, velcro dart balls, beach balls for keepy-uppy (keeping the ball in the air without it hitting the ground), and a scavenger hunt. Each class came in and I welcomed them and explained all the activities and then let them loose. It was SUCH a fun day. I love my new job, but doing things like this make me miss camp so much. I was happy to have a day of “camp director” and by the time I got home, I was exhausted. We had heart shaped pizzas and heart shaped cherry pies for dinner. The boys went through all their valentine loot. It was a great day!

Wednesday and Thursday are catch up days. I actually took PTO and have spent the last 2 days just catching up on personal emails, errands, etc. We have a BIG weekend ahead (stay tuned) and I needed 2 days to breathe, pack, and get organized before our big adventure begins on Friday.

In the last 2 weeks, Xander has stayed home from school both Fridays- once with pink eye and once with a terrible cold. I had strep throat and spent 24 hours in misery. The temperature outside has been super cold. And somehow, January has flown by. I have barely any photos from the past 2 weeks- I think we’re in the winter blahs..

Last weekend, we went to a very fun swimming birthday party with approximately 35 pre-K and kindergarteners. The boys had a blast!

The February Kiwi Co boxes arrived and were so fun. I can’t recommend these enough! Xander built a cleaning machine, that picked up pom poms- so cool. Augustus’s box was all about jam. Coming soon to grocery stores near you- Wild Man Jam. It was SUCH a fun project that involved smashing fruit. After making jam, we made tarts that we delicious!

Yesterday was Xander’s first ever basketball game. We had basketball pancakes. We had basketball oranges at lunch. Xander planned a special tribute dinner to himself to celebrate his big game. It was a lot of excitement. His team didn’t win, but Xander smiled the whole game and was so happy and so excited. I can’t wait for next weekend!

Nate had his open house for his new office- I didn’t take any photos! I have accepted the role of Lower School Lead for the PTA. Gussie is obsessed with video games and would play every moment if screen time wasn’t super limited to only weekends. KT has been busy with classes. Xander continues to rock at swim, basketball and karate practices.

Last night we took our small children to a bar to see Sean’s band. It was a very kid friendly 6pm show and they enjoyed some kiddie cocktails. Today the boys went to Grandma’s and swam.

Another cold week ahead. January is ending, bring on February!

We were finally finally FINALLY back to a regular schedule… sorta. Xander started 3 new activities, so that was wasn’t normal, but overall, we were back to a regular schedule.

I could talk for HOURS about the importance of child-led play, letting kids get bored to be forced into creativity, and the risks of being in too many structured activities. So much of the fundamental programming of camp came from these philosophies and I feel passionate about kids being free to explore. So saying that Xander just started 3 new (structured) sports makes me cringe. Am I becoming a cliche mom who is over-planning her children’s lives? No. It’s less than 4 hours a week. He still has plenty of time for free play.

Xander is obsessed with basketball and SO excited to join the Y basketball league which is both practices AND games. He will practice for 45 minutes every Tuesday and then have a game every Saturday. He is THRILLED. On Wednesdays, he will be practicing with the MPA swim club. 1st grade is the youngest you can join and he has been talking about this since last year. On Thursdays, he will do after-school enrichment Karate class. He was VERY excited about it, but after the first class, he was concerned it was a bit “slow” so we’ll see if he likes it or not.

Augustus spent Monday with Grandma Debbie- Cain and Cora came over to swim and play. Behind Sam and Abby’s house is an awesome snow fort, so the boys spent some time after school playing outside. It was so nice to just have a regular week.

The new Kiwi Co boxes came last weekend and on Saturday, Gussie and I finally got to dig into his box. This month we made ravioli from scratch! We made the pasta dough, rolled it out, used the ravioli maker that was in his box, and boom!! Ravioli! Nate has been joking that I get the most excited about these boxes (accurate), but Augustus really enjoys doing it and is so proud at dinner when we eat what he makes.

The ravioli turned out pretty good! We rolled the pasta dough out as thin as I could, but it was thicker than store-bought. If we do it in the future, we might need to invest in the pasta maker attachment for my kitchen-aid. We also did an experiment and used pie crust, to make ravioli shaped tiny pies, filled with chocolate and marshmallow- dessert ravioli! For dinner, I also included store bought ravioli (just in case our homemade wasn’t good), so we had ravioli 3 ways. Gussie was proud of dinner and it was a really fun project. We will make ravioli again!

This weekend is low key and relaxing. Compared to last weekend’s craziness, I was super excited to have time to chill. Saturday was a day of playing and relaxing. We made ravioli, played video games, did a few chores, and hung out. It was great. Today the boys went to my mom’s house. They went to see Avatar and sat through the entire 3 hours! Nate and I had a hot date to the Home Remodeling Show. We have wild dreams of knocking down walls and remodeling our upstairs some day. We also want to replace some of our windows. At this point, we were just doing research, but it was fun to hang out and do something a little different. We went out to dinner and had a literal BOAT of sushi. Tomorrow is MLK day and no school, so the boys are spending the night at Grandma’s house. Nate and I are binge-watching a new show and eating fancy desserts on the couch. My favorite kind of weekend!

After the extreme fun of winter break, I was very excited to get back to our normal routine. Alas, that would NOT be the case this week after all.

Monday was the final day of winter break per last week’s post, we had an awesome last day at the Nook and sledding.

On Tuesday, we were back to normal! I got to the YMCA at 6am, swam my laps and headed home to get the boys ready for school. I found a MISERABLE Nate and a very crabby/whinny/achy Gussie. They stayed in bed while I dropped the other boys at school. Nate and Augustus spent most of the day snuggling on the couch and I worked. It was mostly normal and I anticipated Wednesday would be the real day we’d get back on track.

Except that Mother Nature had wildly different plans that involved about 13 inches of snow. We got a robo call at 5:35am letting us know that school was cancelled- our first snow day ever! Xander came in my room a little while later and I said, “Xan, it’s a snow day!” and he replied, “what does that mean?” “It means you don’t have to go to school because there is too much snow!”

“Huh? Well that’s too bad.” -X (7)

When he found out he could have screens and video games, he changed his mind about being disappointed about missing school.

I had a personal training appointment and despite the entire metro area being shut down, I assumed the snow day didn’t apply to me. My van made it about 4 houses down the street before getting stuck. Ok. Nate has all wheel drive, so I decided to take his car. I got about halfway out of the garage and got it so stuck it would have been that way until the spring. However, my heroic, angelic neighbors happened to see me and spent 30 minutes DIGGING me out. I was SO grateful because Nate was even sicker than the day before and I was not prepared to break it to him that he was going to have to help me DIG. Aaron and Melissa win the neighbor or the year award. I did not make it to the Y that day. Apparently the snow day was meant for me too.

Instead, I texted the neighborhood about a 3pm hot cocoa bar at our house. The boys played outside. I worked all day. And at 3pm, 14 of us enjoyed hot cocoa and chaos.

Thursday was my 18th year at Youth in Government. I love this program so much (and not just because I met my husband there!). I CANNOT believe it has been 18 YEARS. And while the program has grown and changed and evolved, it is also the same, familiar, comfortable, “feels like coming home” place that I look forward to every year. Xander was 3 months old when I wrapped him up and went to YIG like nothing had changed. I remember my brother seeing a photo of me and saying, “you have to really enjoy that if you are willing to do it with a baby strapped to you!” Nate and I brought Xander and dressed him up in code-of-conduct dress clothes the next year, switching off so we could both volunteer and have a toddler there. I left Nate and X home the next year and that year brought a dressed up Gussie.

Since then, I have left all the boys home and spent a luxurious 4 days/3 nights with over a thousand teenagers…

This year though, YIG was back to normal after last year’s super locked down, sort of stressful, “should we even be doing this” pandemic year. It felt good for it to be so normal. Also, in my new role (not that new, I’ve been at this job for over a year now), I actually get to work with Youth in Government, so I went as a volunteer, but also, had some alumni development projects to do for my real life job.

Oh, and did I mention that when I arrived, the weekend started by Orville giving me a fabulous glittery ornament?! A present?! A Christmas ornament?! A glittery macaron?! I’m sorry, did he manage to hit literally every single one of my love languages (yes, glitter can be a love language) in one gift? I almost went home right then because it couldn’t possibly get better than that moment.

I didn’t go home though and it actually did get even better! Thursday was the normal chaos of checking in thousands of people and getting everyone settled. I was so happy to see all of my YIG buddies. It felt so good to be there. On Friday, Nate had to work, so Gussie spent the day with me at the hotel. He helped at the Hotel Director’s office. He colored. He explored the hotel. He was very patient while I worked. We ate lots of snacks. We went swimming. It was an exciting day. After school, Nate dropped Xander off. He immediately saw Augustus’s official name tag and said, “what is that? Where did you get that?” He was VERY happy to have his own when we arrived to my hotel room. He had a quick snack and then changed his clothes and asked me to put in a pony tail. He had clearly put some thought into how he wanted this night to go!

He was very eager to meet everyone and see everything but he was VERY shy when we actually did meet people. When I put him to work at the desk, I handed him a box of bandaids and said, “one of our jobs is to hand these out to all the people who are wearing uncomfortable shoes”. He asked for some paper and immediately made a “free bandaids” sign, which is obviously what we should have had all along. Sometimes looking at him is like looking in a mirror. We visited programming and I was pleasantly surprised that he was SUPER interested. We were standing in the back of the room and Xander asked if we could sit. We sat in the back row and he asked if we could move up. He really enjoyed watching the kids debate.

We had dinner with the hotel directors and then it was time for YIG-fest. Do you know what little boys love?! An empty ballroom to run laps in. They were very excited to watch the inflatables get set up and even dragged out chairs to watch. The inflatable company people were VERY nice and let them try out everything while they set up. The evening activity people from YIG gave them a job to plug in the blow up guys outside the doors and the boys were VERY excited to have a job.

They got to eat cotton candy, jump, run, throw basketballs, and be up WAY past their bedtime. They were not shy about chatting with the high school students and taking about the strategy for the obstacle course. We made a late night craft project. We at 9pm cheesecake. It was SO FUN. I was so happy to have them there and also kept picturing them when they were babies.

On Saturday morning, we woke up and went swimming. Nate picked them up before lunch and I went back to work. It was a whirlwind 24 hours and way more exhausting having them there than anything a any teenager could throw at me.
When they got home, there was a neighborhood text about dinner at Can Can Wonderland. Nate texted me to see what I thought. We never miss neighborhood fun, but I thought it was a little risky as they had stayed up so late. But they went for it and had a blast. I had major FOMO (fear of missing out) even though I was enjoying my time at YIG.

Sunday was back to normal for the boys as the headed to Grandma Debbie’s for the day. They had a low key day and watched Avatar. All 3 of them (my mother the leader of the pack) have been trying to convince me to let her take them to the new Avatar at the theater. I don’t think a 5 and 7 year old can sit through a 3 hour movie. I said if they could sit through the first one, I’d agree to let them go. So apparently next weekend they will be going, because they said they liked it.

YIG was a blast and I came home on Sunday exhausted, but grateful for another amazing year. It is a privilege to be able to be part of such an extraordinary program. The staff work harder than anyone I know and care so deeply. It creates an electric atmosphere that you just have to feel- I’m not sure I can fully describe the magic.

And now we are going back to regular scheduled programming. Life is going to return to our routine. I am saying that loudly and aggressively because I demand that we go back to normal. No more holidays. No more special things. No more excitement. My brain and my body need to CTFD (a new acronym I learned at YIG)

Calm The &$%* Down in 2023!!!

After a busy week and an amazing Christmas, I was so grateful for a boring Monday and Tuesday. Nate and I both had work to get back to, so the boys enjoyed unlimited screen time and basically anything goes. On Monday, I took the Christmas tree down and packed up all the Christmas decorations. I LOVE Christmas, but once it is over, I am ready to be done. I was really happy to have our house back to normal.

On Wednesday, the boys went to Camp St. Croix for a day of winter camp. They sledded, made s’mores, played outside. It came at just the right time as they were starting to annoy each other and get stir-crazy at home.

KT and his family lived in Rochester when he was a kid and his family has stayed in touch with his former piano teacher. She invited him to spend the week in Rochester with her and her family, so that was fun for him to have a change of scenery.

On Friday, Augustus and 15 other 4&5 year olds celebrated a classmate’s birthday at Build a Bear Workshop. It was pure (organized) chaos, but very fun.

On Saturday, the boys headed to Grandma Debbie’s house for a slumber party. They went to see a movie, went to a play place, went swimming, and had a great time as always. Nate and I walked 3 doors down for a raging New Years party at Kelly and Silas’s house. I laughed until my cheeks hurt. I ate SO MANY snacks. We rang in the new year and were home and in bed by 1am.

On Sunday morning, we slept late and lounged around on the couch drinking coffee all morning. Pure luxury. Grandma Debbie wins MVP for letting us have such a peaceful beginning to the year. After lunch, I picked the boys up and they played with Sam and Abby. Nate and I went next door to Aaron’s sauna to sweat out some toxins. It was fantastic.

Last night, Aaron texted the neighborhood chat that he wanted to start the new year by doing the Nookie Challenge. The Nook (a fabulous St. Paul institution) has a challenge that dares you to eat 2 enormous burgers (2 patties and 3 buns, plus lettuce, tomato and cheese) and a huge pile of fries. If you can do it, you get a tee shirt. No one else thought they could do it, but 13 of us decided to join him in support.

Lunch for 14 was exactly what you’d think- a long wait, the kids running around, a crabby waitress, so much laughter and pitchers of beers for all. It was the most fabulous way to spend an afternoon. The amount of food that Aaron had to eat was INSANE but he did it. He struggled a little bit midway through, but ultimately prevailed. We were excited for him and then the waitress broke the bad news that they are out of shirts! Shamrocks (their other bar just down the street) had them, so he got a certificate and could go collect it there. But the manager felt bad and so he gave him a nice Nook flannel. Bonus!

Nearly 3 hours later, we all walked home together and then immediately jumped into the car to go sledding. The weather was nice and the hill was FAST. Augustus fearlessly went down the crazy jump that launched him straight into the air. It wasn’t until multiple times later that his face bounced off the ground when he landed. A few tears, but he was ready to get back on his sled pretty quickly. The boys (along with Sam) dubbed themselves “the Danger Dudes” and had a lot of fun sledding connected to each other.

And with that, winter break comes to an end. Backpacks are packed. Alarms are set. We are ready to get back to our normal routine. It has been so fun, but I am excited to wave goodbye and have them back to school all day!

2023 is here. January here we come!

Our first week of winter break and the lead up to Christmas was FILLED with activity. I have said it before and will say it again, every moment of this month has been filled with excitement and joy… and also, I am SO tired. I saw this funny tweet about Christmas and felt so so very seen. “Christmas is a part time job that you have from mid-November to the end of December.” AMEN!!! OMG. Thank you for acknowledging the last month of my life!! So worth it, but also, whew, I am ready for a little less fun.

On Monday we had our first official day of winter break. Nate and I still both had to work, so it was a relaxing days for the boys to just play all day. We surprised them that morning with tickets to the Timberwolves game that night. Xander is VERY into basketball and will start on a team in January and so he was VERY excited. Both boys had started to be really sniffly, so I was a little nervous about taking them to a 7pm game and staying up so late (they are typically in bed by 7:15/7:30 every night). But we did it and they loved it! KT (not pictured) also really enjoyed himself, which is always a win to find something that appeals to the pre-k all the way through teen crowd.

Tuesday, Nate and I both took half day PTO and headed up to Duluth for an overnight trip of fun. I have wanted to take the boys to Bentlyville every year and it has never worked out until this year. I was VERY excited. I imagined us wearing coordinating mittens, holding hands, caroling, soaking in the magic of Christmas lights… ya know, picturesque. It is perfectly fine for me to have these sweet dreams because I am also perfectly ready to be flexible when they do not go as planned.

We were BUNDLED up, head to toe. But the -3 degree weather (plus a VICIOUS windchill) was biting. Like, painful. And within minutes, the tiny bit of Gussie’s exposed face was REALLY cold and he was miserable and then Xander started complaining, and even though we had only been there 5 minutes, and we had gotten ROCKSTAR parking (which is something that brings me DEEP joy in my life), and I had festive, ideal visions of family fun in my head, Nate and I looked at each other and then turned back around to the car. Because it was dangerously cold and that’s just how it goes. The parts we were able to drive past were really cool and so magical, and ya know, good enough.

We went out to dinner and then headed back to the hotel. To be honest, even though I was excited about the lights, I knew the best part would be the hotel pool. The boys went down the waterslide at least 50 times. We swam until 9:30pm and then got up the next day and swam 2 more hours. It was so fun and they loved it. KT swam with the boys on Tuesday night and was a good sport about it (pools are not his thing). The news was predicting a HUGE storm, so on Wednesday, we weren’t able to stay in Duluth for too long. But after swimming, we stopped at the Rocky Mountain Candy Company and bought a LOT of treats. Then we spent about 15 minutes in Canal Park driving around, letting the boys find Poke-stops for the Pokemon game on our phones. They LOVED it. Luckily the storm held off and we had an easy drive home. When we got home, Nanny Shyanna (who had been dogsitting overnight) had left the boys VERY fun craft kit gifts. She is so thoughtful and so sweet.

Thursday, the boys played with Sam all day. They made some craft projects, built a fort, played Switch. Friday we made rice krispie treats, did our annual footprint craft, and then the boys and Sam played for several hours. Dozens and dozens of cookies got picked up this week and I think I never want to see another macaron as long as I live (or at least until next week).

On Friday night, the boys headed to Grandma Debbie’s house for swimming, pizza, and a slumber party. Nate and I piled in the van for a neighborhood adventure. The weather was negative temps, blowing and the day after a snowstorm. The roads were icy and many parts of the state had “no travel” advisories. But we had a night out to get to! 7 people in our van and 4 in the other, our first stop was Arby’s. Random, yes. But apparently this is Aaron and Melissa’s Christmas Eve Eve tradition, and so we all joined in the fun. It’s been years (maybe decades) since I’ve been to Arby’s, but it was a 10/10 experience! After a lovely dinner, we headed to Groveland Tap for some drinks. After that was the main event- the Heiruspecs album release party at the Turf Club. Sean’s band have several albums and have been around for over 20 years. We’ve been to a few of their shows now and they are awesome! I’m not a huge music lover, but when your neighbor is an actual rockstar, you become a concert-goer! It was a very fun night out!

Christmas eve Saturday- I slept in until 8am and then spent a quiet morning sipping coffee and snuggling 2 needy puppies. Nate slept a little later and then I went to pick up the boys from my mom’s house. We spent most of the day all snuggled together watching the Grinch (and eating Grinch popcorn, which is regular popcorn with edible glitter and M&Ms). Then at 4pm, we headed back to my mom’s for Christmas Eve.

This week has been a lot of late nights, early mornings and so so much fun. So when Gussie fell asleep on the way to my mom’s, I wasn’t worried. When we carried him in and he fell back asleep, despite offers of dinner, treats and presents, I started to worry. He slept through dinner. He slept through opening presents. I started to mentally prepare myself for a sick kid on Christmas scenario. But when he finally woke up, Xander immediately handed him a giant chocolate egg and a present, and he rallied.

Weeks ago, Grandma Debbie and Xander found a 3 foot long Twix bar and Xander has been SO excited ever since. He was so so excited for Nate to open his present. It was fun watching him be so happy about giving a gift.

My mom made a fabulous dinner, we ate amazing cheesecake, Danny, Heather and Buddha showed up in matching shirts, we all got really fun gifts for each other- it was a FABULOUS night!

We got home and set out a monster truck shaped rice krispie treat for Santa Claus and the boys went right to sleep. Nate and I got to play Santa, filling stockings for all of us (including the puppies), putting out presents and eating the rice krispie bar.

Christmas morning was everything I hoped it would be. I’m not sure what time Xander actually woke up- sometime in the 6am range. But he didn’t really start bugging us until 7am! I was very satisfied with that wake up time! The boys were VERY excited about all of their presents. KT said, “American Santa is crazy!” Apparently Japanese Santa usually brings just one gift per person, so this was a new experience for him. KT is not a very expressive kid, but he definitely enjoyed himself and was excited about his gifts which was really fun. I think the whole month of Christmas festivities has been a bit bewildering to our very stoic 16 year old, but I think he has really enjoyed it too.

Presents, stockings, reindeer shaped pancakes, and lots of time to play with new toys. A literal perfect Christmas morning. At 1, we headed back to my mom’s house for a Christmas party with my aunts, cousins, and family friends. We haven’t all gotten together like this since before covid and it was really good to see everyone. We played several rounds of bingo- buy-in for a quarter and the winner of each round took the pot. Gussie helped me call the numbers and Xander somehow hustled Danny into bank rolling him, doing all the work, and then letting Xander keep all of the $8 he won. Fun Uncle. It was a wonderful afternoon.

We got home this evening and both boys were TIRED. We took early showers and both fell right to sleep. Christmas success.

Christmas is over and our Elf has gone back to the North Pole. It was such a joy/awe/wonder/amusement- filled month of glee. Our boys are at the best age. Even though so many mornings were extra extra early, I enjoyed every second of it. I hope some day, when they are older and the glee of childhood innocence is gone, that they know even though a magical elf wasn’t real, they have a real life mom who did a lot of work to create a magic-filled childhood. And that I relished every moment of surprising and delighting them. I had trouble falling asleep many nights because I was so excited to see their reaction in the morning. I jumped out of bed every day, thrilled to see their reaction. I loved planning and preparing and got so excited looking for and finding the perfect accessories. And I’m so so sad it is over. I have already started pinning ideas for next year. Their delight is my greatest joy in life. Elf on the Shelf is a tiny part of being a mom, but represents the absolute highest privileges of being a parent.

We have a WHOLE week, weekend, plus another Monday of winter break left. Week 2 isn’t quite as jam-packed with festivities, but we have a few more fun things ahead. We also have 6 lego sets, new ipads, a ninja slackline kit from Danny and Heather, and toys they don’t even remember opening to keep them busy. Christmas is over, but the fun continues.

Our magical December continues. Every day starts with so much excitement and joy, but it also starts SO early that I’m exhausted!

There are just not enough words for how exciting and fun Elf on the Shelf is. The boys are so amused and excited and entertained. I’ve stopped working out in the mornings because I want to be there when the boys discover the elf, and throughout the morning as they excitedly discuss it and make hilarious comments. Each day (except Wednesday) they have been so happy. On Wednesday morning, Xander came upstairs (everyone else was still in bed) and announced, “the Elf did the dumbest thing today. It wasn’t even funny.” I thought it was clever to have Hulk smash the elf (using candy canes), but Xander wasn’t at all impressed. Meanwhile, every time Augustus walked by it, he would grab a pinch of peppermint dust, and eventually, just put his tongue directly into the pile.

On Saturday morning, there was a secret message that the boys had to decode. At 6am, Xander came upstairs and told me what the elf had left and that he had “just solved it without Augustus because he would have just slowed me down”… hello Natalie King in group projects all the way through school… “just do it myself because it’s easier”. He told me what the secret message was, and he was right. But when I got downstairs, the paper was blank. He had just stood in front of it and memorized each letter without writing anything down. I couldn’t believe it!

This week, Xander and I baked cookies. The boys spent a lot of time with Sam and Abby. Augustus went with Nate to his office and got to be part of a toast with Nate’s office mate and their new office admin. Every moment I wasn’t working, I was making macarons. At the end of the week Augustus and I made gnocchi from scratch using his Yummy Box that he will be getting every month from Grandma and Grandpa. We also made sweet potato cookies which were actually very good. We had so much fun with the recipes. We got mixed reviews on the actual taste of the gnocchi, but I’m ruling it a win anyway.

Saturday, I took the boys to Camp St. Croix for their Santa breakfast event. We saw the Grinch and Santa. We made a bunch of crafts. We ate waffles and pancakes and eggs and sausage. It was SO fun and I was really impressed with the overall event.

Random side story- on the way to the camp, I asked the boys if they wanted to go to day camp again this summer. Xander said, “no, I think I’m going to get a job” and without missing a beat, Augustus said, “yeah, he’s going to work at Taco Bell!” I BURST out laughing! They’ve never even been to Taco Bell and I am not sure why my 7 year old thinks he will be working, but it was such a hilarious conversation. And they will both be going to day camp.

When we got home, we all went right down to Sam and Abby’s house. The kids all played outside for over an hour- working so well together building a fort. Nate and I hung out with Kelly and Silas and watched the Vikings game. I’m not a sports fan, but maybe I could be if every game was as exciting as that one! When the game ended, we all went home for a little rest time and then met back up with everyone for dinner and drinks at Surly. The kids all ate really well and stayed occupied and busy after Aaron (the favorite neighbor of all the children) handed them a handful of quarters for the pinball machine.

We got home and put the boys right to bed and then Nate and I went back to Kelly and Sila’s house for neighborhood game night. I laughed so hard my cheeks hurt by the end of the night. Another friend of ours once compared our neighborhood to a college campus- just walk out the door and down the block to hang out with friends; always something going on and someone to hang with. An accurate description. 1am bedtime, followed by a 7 year old waking me up at 6am is literally killing me, but December is nonstop fun and I’m just hoping to stay healthy, despite a lack of sleep.

On Thursday morning, Xander decided he wanted to make special treat bags for his teachers (art, french, kindergarten and gym teachers). I told him I had cookies for his teacher, but he had chosen other special teachers and when I came downstairs, he had pulled out ziplocks, treats, and labeled all of them himself. He is so sweet and thoughtful.

On Saturday morning, my little helpers and I delivered cookies and Christmas letters to our neighbors. I found cute jars in the shape of winter hats that were perfect.

Today the boys spent the morning with Grandma Debbie. They went swimming and then went out to lunch at Shake Shack. Then they came home and spent the whole afternoon with Sam and Abby. Before dinner, we joined them for a brief kids vs. grown ups snowball fight. It was very chilly outside!

Tomorrow is the first official day of winter break. My children have 18 days off (including this weekend). That is a LONG stretch with no schedule… I’m already a little anxious about how it will go, but we do have a lot of very fun activities planned, so bring on the holiday magic!

The Christmas season has arrived and it has been nonstop magic. I love this time of year so much.

We decided to see if we could trick our elf and get him to show up early. Usually the tree goes up and then he arrives the next day. We put the tree up on Friday and didn’t decorate (that was saved for Saturday) and we were very pleased to see that he did indeed arrive early! I was just so excited for the elf to begin and so I was happy to help the boys “trick” him.

Saturday, we decorated our house and drank hot cocoa. The boys have a countdown to Christmas calendar that has little treats and toys in it. It takes me weeks to find enough things to fill it up, but I LOVE it and it is so magical. They are SO excited to open a drawer every day!

On Sunday, Nate and Silas took the boys and Sam and Abby to Home Depot for a workshop. Xander didn’t like the craft when Nate showed him a photo from the website and he said he wasn’t going to go. So then Nate back tracked and said maybe it wasn’t the craft. Xander said, “Silas works at Home Depot, I am going to go talk to him and find out!” For the record, Silas is a corporate lawyer and I’m pretty sure that department isn’t in charge of the monthly craft, but Xander (who I always thought had 100% of Nate’s personality) is turning out to be more and more like me every day! Silas wasn’t able to give him any details, but he decided to go anyway, and everyone enjoyed it a lot.

The boys have been busy playing with Sam and Abby as much as possible. They all made Shrinky Dinks and it was a pretty fun project. Later, the first sledding of the season.

Monday was a special Daddy/Gussie day as Grandma Debbie wasn’t feeling well. They played games, colored, and went to an indoor play place.

Wednesday was Founder’s Day at school and the boys were very excited to have a PJ day. There was also a special before school pancake breakfast. I had a meeting, so I couldn’t go, but Nate took the boys. Augustus sometimes has a hard time getting up in the morning, so to get to school early was dependent on him. Xander very helpfully warned him, “I want to go to this breakfast, do not screw this up for me!”

For Christmas, Grandma Renee and Grandpa Kyle bought the boys Kiwi Co subscriptions. So every month, they each get a box in the mail with a project. Xander’s theme is science and art, Gussie got a cooking box. The first ones arrived Friday and they were SO excited! Xander built a grabber claw and all the accessories. He was able to do the majority of it on his own and everything was included with great directions. He LOVED it and has asked every day since when the next one will arrive. We are saving Augustus’s for Monday and we are both very excited!

Olive came over to babysit in the evening and Nate and I went to the EJ holiday party. No pictures, but the boys were thrilled to hang out with Olive and we had a great time.

On Saturday, Kate, Skylar and Phoebe came over for our 4th annual gingerbread house decorating event. Xander was besties with Skylar when they were about 3. But now that the kids are all in big kid school, we don’t hang with them that much. Xander was being a little angsty in the morning and said, “we’re not even friends with them anymore!” I told him I am still friends with Kate and he would just have to try to have fun. And of course, they had the best time! The houses were cute, we ate lunch and then they all ran around and played so nicely together it’s like they’ve known each other their whole lives (which they have). And the girls brought me the most gorgeous bouquet of tie dye roses ever!

Saturday evening, we had a new babysitter come over because Nate and I were out of the town for a second night in a row. And by “out on the town” I mean across the street and 2 doors down. No driving, no logistics, I didn’t even have to wear a coat! I love our neighborhood.

We were invited to Rachel and Sean’s house for Promukkah- a prom themed Hanukkah party. We started the night at the pre-party at Aaron and Melissa’s house (hence the Christmas tree in the background of some of the photos) and had a few drinks. I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to wear, but then searched “sequin jumpsuit” on Amazon, and ended up with SEVERAL great choices. Christine and her girls andNate and my boys all voted for a red one, but I have never loved anything as much as I love this black and silver outfit. I attempted some fancy heals for about 5 minutes and then had to switch to something more practical.

It was such an amazingly fun night. Rachel made latkes, and brisket, there were so many desserts, drinks… we were all dressed up and it was just such a great night. I cannot say enough times how much I love our neighborhood.

2 late nights in a row, and still early mornings, today I was EXHAUSTED. I managed to grocery shop, make some macs, bake cookies with Xander, bring my mom some soup (she’s still sick), but whoa, I am dragging! It’s time to get back to early bedtimes for all.

Elf on the Shelf is the HIGHLIGHT of December. I know some parents think it is terrible and hate it- it can be a lot of work. I pre-plan all elf nights ahead of time, stock up on supplies, and even sometimes I struggle. But every morning is pure magic. The boys are SO excited and just filled with wonder and joy and happiness. They are so eager to wake Nate and I up to tell us what the elf is doing. They are at the funnest, most magical age and I will gladly get up every day of December at 5:45am so that I can see their eyes light up and hear them be so happy. We only have a few years of this kind of innocence and I know I will miss this the most as they get older.

We have a regular week ahead and then the boys are on break for 2 full weeks! December is FLYING by!