Author Archives: Natalie King

It was a wonderful long weekend. Earlier in the week, the forecast said it was going to rain all weekend, but aside from a few bursts of rain, overall it was gorgeous weather! On Saturday, the boys were outside a lot. They rode bikes, helped Nate with the new weed whip (the box was a very fun toy!) and ran around our backyard.

The day ended with happy tired boys and lots of snuggles.

Sunday was a fun day at Grandma Debbie’s house. They made pizzas, played outside, painted their nails, and had a great time. I made macarons for an order later this week. Nate got more yard work done. The day flew by!

I was sure that Augustus would fall right to sleep after a busy day, but I was wrong. Nate and I were sitting on the couch watching Netflix, when he came tip toeing out around 8:45. He’d been in bed for almost an hour, so I was surprised to see him. He came out and snuggled right in between us and said, “this is my favorite grown up show.” I said, “oh is it?” and then he requested some crackers. Usually we send him back to bed, but he seemed pretty wide awake, so last night he got to hang out.

“This is my favorite grown up show.”

Today was another fun day. We had a very slow start to the morning, which I love. We hung out, the boys played with toys while Nate and I drank coffee and watched morning tv. It was great. A little before lunch time, we headed to Danny and Heather’s house for wings and ribs which had been cooked in a sou vides, a smoker and an air fryer, which seems like a lot, but is pretty standard over at their house. And they were fabulous, so I can’t criticize. The boys had root beer floats and ran around their huge yard. We walked to the park by their house, played hide and seek and other backyard games, enjoyed the hammock and chilled. It was a perfect day and a great end to a fun weekend!

This morning we packed our lunches, water bottles and light sabers and headed to Caponi Art Park. We went here once before last August and I was excited to return. There are narrow paths that go through woods, sculptures hidden in the hills and all around. It is such a magical place that feels like a real life fairy tale or an enchanted place.

We walked around and looked at the art and swung light sabers at imaginary bad guys. We had a picnic. We may have taken a wrong turn sometime after lunch and our magical romp through the woods became more of a death march, but we figured it out quickly and everyone survived. Augustus was asleep the moment we got into the car and napped for 2.5 hours when we got home, so it might have been a bit more walking than I was aiming for, but overall, it was great.

We only saw 2 other mom/kid pairs the whole time we were there. It was very quiet. Augustus is the most outgoing, friendliest kid ever and when we saw one mom and kid, he said, “that’s our neighbor!” (It wasn’t). Xander (in such a snotty teenage way) said, “that’s not our neighbor, you’re just friendly!”

When we got home, Augustus napped and Xander and I rested. Eventually Xander and I went outside to play with the basketball. He has the same signature move I do- dribble, dribble, hit your foot, run after the ball, kick the ball, chase the ball some more. 

When Augustus woke up, we played outside some more and rode bikes until dinner. It was a fast day! 

A new week and a new theme. This week our theme is art, which might be a stretch because the boys are so so about arts and crafts. But I have some ideas and we’re going to try it out.

The boys started the day playing and then we went outside. We were only outside for a few minutes when Xander said, “let’s make hot dogs over the fire” which he’s been asking to do for the last few days. I told him we didn’t have any buns, so he suggested we walk to the store. Why not? There’s a grocery store about 4 blocks away. We found some good sticks along the way. We also made an impulse root beer purchase as well.

We got home and started a fire in our backyard fire pit. It was a bit windy for a campfire, but we managed and the boys cooked their lunch. Success.

After lunch, they played in the yard for hours. I don’t even know what they were doing. They had a million random things and they were playing together so well. They are best buds and I love watching them play.

We came inside and they rested for a little while and then we worked on paintings using blocks dipped in paint to make different shaped prints.

It was very windy today and also colder than I’d expected. I was in pants and a sweatshirt and still a little chilly. Before we went back outside, Xander said he wanted to change into shorts and a tank top. I told him it was probably too cold. He responded with, “they’re my clothes and it’s my body, my choice” and before I could even think, “AMEN BRO” came shouting out of my mouth. It seems like a pretty advanced concept that is key to him being the progressive feminist man we’re raising him to be, so tank top and shorts it was.

We spent the afternoon skateboarding, riding bikes, and running around the backyard. Nate got home and hung out with the boys while they rode bikes until dinner time. A great Monday!

We had a great weekend but I took very few photos. On Saturday, Nate and the boys played most of the day. They played in the basement, outside, they took a drive. I was busy washing the floors, cleaning the bathroom, grocery shopping, and making macs.

We had snack dinner (chicken nuggets, cheese, crackers, salami, olives, deviled eggs, apples) and a very fancy chocolate mousse in chocolate cups for dessert. I wish I’d taken a picture of the boys after they ate and were covered in chocolate.

Today it rained the whole day but the boys were happy at Grandma Debbie’s house. They played with toys and had some slime (which Xander didn’t really like, but Augustus did!). They came home tired and happy.

I’m ready for nicer weather and a busy week ahead.

It was a fabulous Friday! We started the day slow- lots of independent play before breakfast, breakfast and then more playing after we ate. The boys didn’t brush their teeth and get dressed until about 10:30. It’s so fun to listen to them play together and I got laundry in, the bathroom cleaned, dishwasher emptied a batch of macs made while they were happy keeping themselves entertained.Eventually we made our way outside and spent quite a while in the front yard watching cars and walking along the edge of the planters in the ultimate balance beam activity. They teetered across the balance beam about 15 times each!   

It was hot and sunny day today and after lunch, we were back outside (this time in summer clothes). Nate got home early and was able to join in the fun. The water beads were getting a little gooey, but before we threw them out, we decided to add shaving cream for a fun sensory activity.

When they were done, I emptied the water table and washed it out with the hose. That created a small amount of mud, which Augustus promptly jumped into. But there wasn’t enough mud, so they got the hose out and made more mud.

After they were really muddy, we had the fun idea to use the rest of the shaving cream. Getting covered in shaving cream is a classic camp thing. And the mud pit is one of my favorite camp things. I LOVE messy play. I think it’s magical and fun and makes for the best memories. Xander looked like a tiny camp counselor and I loved watching both of them get messier and messier, giggle, roll around and be so silly.

Once they were as messy as they could possibly be, they stripped off their clothes and I brought a warm bucket of water to rinse them off. Nate and I carried them right into the bath tub and scrubbed them clean.

We grilled brats and ate dinner outside.

It was a fabulous summer-y day and we are all happy and tired.

We started the day with light up cars, but then we got ready and hopped in the car for our first outing in a while. The parks have opened in Maple Grove, so we headed to Danny and Heather’s house. Uncle Danny had some old action figures that the boys played with for a while. We had lunch and then we walked to the park. It was a gorgeous sunny day and Xander rode his bike (most of the way, I carried it on and off on the walk there and back, but overall he rode most of the way!).

We went to 2 different parks and both were mostly empty, although we saw a lot of people walking around.

Buddha was exhausted and rode in the stroller with Augustus for a while.

We were gone most of the day and I had 2 very tired boys when we got home in the afternoon.

It was really nice to be outside all day, have a change of scenery, and hang out with Danny and Heather.

As I was preparing dinner, Nate and the boys were outside and Xander fell down and scraped his hand (he’s ok- it’s a small scratch). Nate brought him in to me screaming bloody murder. Like, imagine someone getting their arm chopped off. As I was wiping his tears and trying to calm him down, he started screaming, “SNUGGLES! I NEED SNUGGLES! SNUGGLE MEEEE!!” I am NOT happy he was hurt, but he’s been such a big kid lately and selfishly, I was a little bit relieved that my baby still needs me.

It was nice to get out of the house today and I (like everyone) and eager for our life to go back to normal. I’m really sick of this quarantine life.

Today is Tuesday and so I started the day with my camp director zoom call. This one was pretty long, and I didn’t finish until about 9:30. Then the boys were “so hungry for pancakes” so we had pancakes and cantaloupe. We didn’t get outside until almost 11!

I had some new construction vehicles (a great $2 purchase at the dollar store!) and water beads to play with. It was beautiful and sunny outside.

We came inside and the boys played so nicely. Yesterday camp signed our payroll protection loan and I had some calls to make. I thought it would just be a call or 2 and I’d be done quickly, but by the end of the day, I’d spoken to our accountant 4 times, our business manager 4 times, the program director, the board president and an employment lawyer. It was quite a busy work day for me! The boys were rockstars- they played together and entertained themselves so well!

When we came in from outside, Xander said, “we haven’t even done a construction activity yet!” so we tried out something I saw on pinterest. The boys got grapes and spaghetti noodles and were challenged to build a tower. They started strong and I was impressed. But after a few minutes, Xander turned to me and said, “I’m done. This is not a fun activity. You should not make kids do this.”

The moved on to lincoln logs for a while and built an impressive tower (that I didn’t get a photo of before Augustus kicked it). They were very independent, very well behaved and played so nicely together.

We went outside and they rode bikes, played with toys. We placed the bird house that Xander painted me for my birthday. But mostly, I made phone calls.

When Nate got home, Xander rushed to him saying, “thank goodness you’re here! Mommy didn’t play with us at all today! She was on the phone THE WHOLE DAY!” He wasn’t wrong. And I spent the next hour on the phone after that.

But by the end of the day, I’d solved the problem we’d started the day with and made sure that all of camp’s employees are taken care of, as well as securing the $18,000 (that we shouldn’t have to pay back), and everything is good. I felt bad for neglecting my children all day and once again, I was amazed that some parents are spending all day every day working full time and trying to care for their kids. It’s insane. Today was a blur. Today was exhausting. Today was too much and I do not hope to repeat it tomorrow.

But I also felt so accomplished and so happy. I love hanging out with the boys all day. And I will look back at this time with so many happy memories. But every day, I cook breakfast, and once that is done, lunch is around the corner. And after that, dinner. I clean up a mess, only to find another one. We do an activity and Xander says, “ok, what’s next?” I load the dishwasher, empty the dishwasher. I wash laundry, fold laundry, put laundry away. And then all of those things again the next day. The repetition is not satisfying and I miss going to my office- working on a task, finishing a project, having something tangible to say I accomplished in a day. Today was frustrating at times and I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to fix the problem we had. But then I did and I was SO happy and I’m still so satisfied. I’ve had a few rough days recently and today I felt like myself again finally.

My boys got ignored a lot today (although in my defense, not the WHOLE day- I played with them, fed them, and I was physically with them the entire day, even though they did not have my undivided attention at all times like they are used to). I prefer to be present with them- other than taking photos, I try to put my phone down and be attentive. But I am also really proud of what I accomplished today. And I was happy with how well they played on their own. So today was a good day for all of us, even if it looked different than a typical day.

I’m 38 today! A little bit of a rough start to the day, but I’m feeling better than ever.

For the first time in 6 weeks, I started this week without a day by day curriculum plan. We have a theme- construction, and I have a long list of activities, but I didn’t have a specific plan. It’s taken over a month, but I think maybe the novelty of programming at home is wearing thin.

As for the boys, they had a post Grandma- weekend hangover and were so tired.

The majority of the time my kids are awesome and I love hanging out with them. They are polite and listen well. They get a long great. They are fun and funny. They clean up after themselves (as much as they can at 2&4). They are reasonable and communicate. But this morning there were tantrums, yelling, they fought with each other, Augustus hit Xander in the face with a rock. Xander told me I was the worstest mommy in the world and I should be kicked out of our family (I’m not even sure what I did!). The house was in shambles. And it was only 10:15. Yikes.

We limped through the morning and survived. At noon, my bestie showed up on my doorstep with lunch, cake and a birthday present! I have never needed those 3 things more than I did today! She saved my life (or at least my spirit) and after the 3 of us shared my cake, the boys’ moods seemed to turn around too.

Thankfully, Nate came home early and spent the afternoon playing with them. Nate said they played nicely and were in good moods.

At 4, I headed to the bank to close on a Payroll Protection Loan for camp. $18,000 is a pretty sweet birthday gift! I am grateful that we qualified and could secure these extra funds for the organization. It will definitely help our little camp in the coming weeks!

I got home and we had my favorite meal- steaks, twice baked potatoes, and brussels sprouts. I made a cake this morning and it looked pretty rough! I didn’t have a box mix, so I had to make it from scratch, and I wasn’t sure if it was going to taste ok. Then it fell apart when I took it out of the pan. I added pineapple to the buttercream, which tastes wonderful, but made it look curdled and kind of gross. It definitely didn’t turn out they way it had looked in my imagination. However, it tasted amazing. Nate even asked for a second piece, which I have never seen him do in our entire relationship! So I’m calling that a success!

Tomorrow we resume programming. I have some fun construction activities and the weather is supposed to be nice too. Hopefully we can all get a good night of sleep and go back to normal.

What an awesome weekend!

Xander and Augustus spent the night at Grandma Debbie’s house on Saturday. They went over after lunch on Saturday and played all day! They drank root beer and ate popcorn while watching a movie in bed. They had the best time!

I went grocery shopping, finished Mother’s Day mac orders, made a cake, and relaxed. Nate and I ordered Thai food and ate dinner on the couch! We binge watched tv, ate chocolate covered strawberries for dessert, had cocktails and it was all SO relaxing.

This morning, I slept until 8:45! It felt like noon. I’d planned to get up and get some things done, but instead decided to drink coffee on the couch and lounge around. It was an excellent and decadent choice.

At noon, Nate and I headed to my mom’s house for Mother’s Day lunch. I brought the cake I’d made the day before and it was so nice.

Mother’s Day mac order

Birthday/Mother’s Day cake

We brought home two very tired boys, so we’ve spent the afternoon relaxing. It was really nice to have the night to ourselves, but I definitely missed the boys. I am so happy to have them home and we are ready for another fun week together.