Author Archives: Natalie King

Christine recently said to me, “you managed to find a neighborhood with a 1950s mentality” and I texted back, “I’m eating a warm chocolate chip cookie on a neighbor’s porch right now, so yeah, you’re probably right.”

This is how I feel after a busy weekend too… 

“I need a cup of coffee this morning.” -Xander (5 years old) 

(for the record, he could not get past the smell and did not actually drink any of it)

We’re 3 weeks into kindergarten and it’s going well! Xander is periodically offended by the fact that it is EVERY DAY (even though week 1 was 3 days and this week was only 4 days). But overall, he is really enjoying himself. He can already count to 10 in french, he regularly shows us his huge muscles he’s been working on in gym class and yesterday he brought Augustus a snack without being asked and when I complimented him, he said, “it’s called empathy” (which was apparently a topic in class that day).

I really like that he spends a lot of time in specialty classes- gym, art, music, theater, french, and library. He has recess twice a day and in a few weeks they will begin working in the teaching kitchen. 

.  

I also really like the updates that his teacher (and the specialists) are posting on the app. The french teacher posted a cute video and I like to see photos from class from time to time. 

Here’s the most recent update from his teacher (the photos above are from this post). 

I’m way behind on all of the fun things we’ve been up to lately. Last week and weekend, Renee and Kyle were visiting from Ohio. They drove their RV and stayed at a nearby campground, which was fun for the boys to visit and do camp-y things. 

.  

They also hung out at our house and played a lot of board games. 

. 

A quick trip to Como Zoo. 

.  

.  

Augustus had his last day in the Intermediate class and was sad to say goodbye to his teachers, but excited to move to pre-K. 

Xander’s been busy in kindergarten (more in the next post) and I’m enjoying spending some extra time with Gussie on Mondays and Fridays. We’ve been playing, baking and he’s a good assistant when I run errands. 

On Friday, I ditched the boys for a road trip with my 3 camp besties, for adult summer camp. Shayla and I went to Unglued Summer Camp 2 years ago and it was SO fun! We recruited Abby and Meghan this year and it was even more fun (which I didn’t think was possible). 

Our 4 hour road trip was a blast, including a stop for dinner out. When we arrived at camp, we were greeted with shots of champagne. We moved into our cabin (top bunk!) and then headed to social bingo and happy hour, followed by the opening campfire. 

On Saturday, we ate AMAZING food, attended 4 different sessions (I took a calligraphy class, a mixology class, how to make potstickers and cheese class). Mid-day we got dressed in our assigned color for the camp battle. 
. 
The blue team had heart, but few skills. But last place was almost as good as first place because we got loser ribbons! 

Saturday night was the dance party (undersea outer space theme) 

And Sunday was tie dye on the beach and the closing ceremony.

3 days of amazing food, open bar, crafts, relaxing, time with camp friends and being at a summer camp was so wonderful. I had the best time. 

The boys had a relaxing weekend and I missed them terribly! Nate is a rockstar dad and they had a lot of fun too. 

. 

On Monday, we had a family fun day for Labor Day. We went out to lunch, played mini golf and then played at the park near the mini golf course. 
. 
. 

We’ve been so busy, but our fall is starting out strong! 

At daycare, there are regular updates on an app and a decent amount of teacher feedback. I was trying to prepare myself for the wild world of elementary school, but the good news is that so far, they’ve held our hands quite a bit. There is an app that gets updated regularly. There was a first day of school email from his teacher. I’ve gotten a few photos from during the day. They are being very strict about visitors but we got to walk him to his classroom this first week.  

The lunch room is different this year (due to covid), so instead of him going through a lunch line (which he was very excited about), kids choose their meals ahead of time and the meals are delivered to the classroom. This is how meals worked at daycare, so I actually think it’s an ok transition. I look forward to when we don’t have to worry about a global pandemic, but in the meantime, I think it’s ok for my kindergartener to have his meals in his classroom. 

At the beginning of the week, we choose his lunch options (he can also bring cold lunch if he wants). There is a chef, and according to Xander, the meals have been good so far. 

School is 8am-3pm and his schedule is busy with specialists. He goes to PE 3 times a week, which he is LOVING. The first half of the year, he is taking french and then the second half, he will take spanish. He has music, drama, library, art and goes outside twice a day. I don’t have anything to compare it to, but it seems like a pretty good schedule. 

Xander has 12 kids in his class- there are 6 boys and 6 girls. There is a second kindergarten class as well. 

3 days into kindergarten and that’s what I know so far. 

Our baby began kindergarten today! I can’t believe it! He was calm, cool, and went into school like he’d been doing it his whole life. When I got back into the car I thought, “wait, I think I was supposed to cry!” but he was so calm, it didn’t occur to me to be nervous or upset. 

. 

We made family bracelets so that if Xander got nervous, he could look at his bracelet and think of our family. 

We dropped him off and just like that, he’s a big kid! 

. 

. 
The admissions director sent Nate and I a few texts throughout the day with updates and a photo of X. 

Meanwhile, Augustus spent Wednesday with Grandma, and they were BUSY! They were at the park for 2 hours where Augustus made a gaggle of friends. They had a fabulous day!

. . 

. 

. 

I’d been warned by several people that when kids start kindergarten, the first few days (or weeks) they are a mess- exhausted after a busy day. I had snacks ready in the car. I had an early dinner planned. I didn’t bombard him with questions. But he was chatty on the way home and was excited to play with Grandma and Gussie when we got home. After dinner, he insisted I get him some cones so he could show me the activity he did in PE class. He’s shown us his muscles several times so far and he’s very excited about gym class (luckily they have it 3 times a week). He liked his lunch, he got to go outside twice, he had art class. It sounds like it was a very good day! 

Monday was a typical night with our tiny biker gang roaming the street, while the grown ups played bags and hung out. 

. 

Tuesday was a normal day at school for the boys, except that it was Xander’s last day of daycare! Xander started daycare at 1 years old. He couldn’t walk yet and all the other 1 year olds seemed really big. He had to wear shoes (he’d never worn shoes before!). He needed a cup and silverware (he didn’t use either!). I was HORRIFIED. His teachers were calm and sweet and shrugged their shoulders saying, “he will” every time I said he couldn’t do something. He was just another 1 year old, not the special snowflake I thought he was. I cried in the parking lot every time I dropped him off (for several days in a row). As predicted by his teachers, he learned how to do everything and he loved daycare and for the last 4 years, he’s come home with art projects, stories from the day, new friends and he is a happy, confident little boy. And now when I drop him off, I slow the van to a roll, open the door and tell him to tuck and roll before I burn rubber out of the parking lot. Nate tells me I’ve told that joke to everyone, but it’s not so much a joke, as it is a reassurance to myself. I am uptight. I don’t like change. I spend a lot of time thinking, processing and having feelings about everything. I toured MANY daycares. I agonized over every little detail. It was not easy for me. But it was fine- better than fine- Xander LOVED daycare. And so I’m reassuring myself that even though we toured 13 schools and I’ve agonized over him starting kindergarten, eventually this will be no big deal too and he’s going to be so happy as a big kid. 

. 

Tuesday morning, I surprised him by decorating his room and the hallway. Xander is an early riser, so he and I snuck off to the bakery to bring home donuts for everyone. 
. . 

He will miss his teachers and his friends and I am grateful every day for his time at KBH. Gussie is moving to pre-K in September, taking Xander’s place in his classroom, so we will still get to enjoy the amazing teachers. 

Wednesday began our family fun countdown to kindergarten week. 

Wednesday morning, Nate and Xander played golf. Xander finished golf lessons recently and this was the first time he got to go to actual grown up golf with Daddy! 

 
Gussie and I went to the bakery and the park. 

. 
. 

Wednesday afternoon, the boys went to my mom’s house for a slumber party. They hung out at the mall all afternoon, playing in the arcade and in the play area. Nate and I went out to a nice dinner and then out to drinks on a patio. It was a great kickoff to our fun week. 
. 

Thursday the boys stayed at my mom’s until the afternoon and then had a low key evening at home. We played outside and relaxed. 

Friday was kindergarten orientation day at school, so Nate, Xander and I headed to school while Gussie and Grandma Debbie hung out at the park. Xander unpacked his school supplies and spent some time with his classmates and his teacher. We got to learn all about how things work and meet the specialists (gym, art, music, theater, stem, french, spanish, and librarian!)
. . 
On Friday afternoon, we headed to the movies to watch the new Paw Patrol movie. 

After the movie was weekly happy hour with the neighborhood. Happy hour is always a blast with kids running around, the most fun adults joining in to play with the kiddos, and everyone just relaxing. 

. 
. 

Saturday was a playdate with Xander’s best buddy Leo, while Gussie and I went to a birthday party with his friends (they had a bounce house!). 

 

Saturday night was a mini version of happy hour. There are some “big kids” down the street who the boys LOVE!! They are always thrilled when Olive and Emmet pay attention to them, so they couldn’t have been more excited to have them come over to play. 

Sunday afternoon we headed to Great Wolf Lodge for a quick get away. We swam until the pool closed for the night. We ate snacks. We played in the arcade. It was nonstop fun!

. 

. . 
.   
. . 

We got home Monday afternoon with 2 very tired boys, so we had a very low key relaxing afternoon. 

When I asked Xander what he wanted to do for his final special day, he told me he wanted to go to Target, buy legos, and spend the day putting them together as a family. And he wanted hoagies for dinner. I had expected he would ask for something way bigger or more extravagant. It was a good reminder of what is really important. 

So today we got up and headed to Target where we told the boys they could pick out any legos they wanted. Xander chose a big set even though it said 9+- he felt pretty confident because he’s very good at legos. We got his backpack packed, his uniform laid out, and picked out his hot lunch choices for the week, but otherwise he worked on legos ALL day. I think it was the perfect activity, because he was occupied all day, but it was relaxing and low key after a busy week. 

. . 
And now tomorrow our baby is off to kindergarten! I can’t believe it. The days are long, but the years fly by- so true. Xander is smart and curious, confident, but sometimes a little shy. He is sweet and kind and has the best smile. He is laid back like Nate, but “type A” like me. He is turning out to be a very cool little person who I love spending time with. I am very excited to see him grow and blossom this year. 

School starts at 8am tomorrow. We haven’t made it to daycare before 8:40 all year, so our family is going to have to adjust to a new schedule. Wish us luck! 

We’ve been busy and trying to cram as much fun stuff into the final days of summer. 

 What a week! On Monday and Tuesday I had job interviews. On Wednesday, I was gone all day visiting a camp as an ACA (American Camp Association) visitor for their re-certification. Thursday I was busy all day at the YMCA with a lifeguard instructor re-certification. On Friday, the boys and I had a very fun playdate. And Saturday, whoa, so many things. It was a great week- I’m feeling very satisfied, but also quite relieved that it is over! 

. 

. 

The boys were busy at school (Tuesday was tie dye day for Augustus- bless his teachers for doing tie dye with a group of 3 year olds!). 

Swim lessons are going SO well! The boys learn something new every week! 

. 

On Wednesday, we had a sick puppy- Ruthie had an infected tail and she was MISERABLE. Bulldog tail maintenance isn’t new (Olivia’s tail was an almost daily chore), and we were treating it, but after a few days, she was just so uncomfortable and that was SO stressful for Nate and I. Luckily the vet was able to give us some medicine that helped quickly!

Hudson was feeling VERY needy because he wasn’t getting as much attention as Ruthie. He wanted to snuggle and touch me as MUCH as possible. He spent a lot of the week deep sighing and flopping his body dramatically, just in case you didn’t realize he was jealous of the lunchmeat wrapped pills and attention. 

Wednesday was a HUGE day for Nate as he got a hole in one in golf! His friend took a video of him picking up his ball, and these are screen shots from that video. Nate didn’t think I would be able to understand what a big deal it was (sports aren’t really my thing), but even I know that a hole in one is like a once in a lifetime thing. So we (even the non-sports fans) were excited about his big accomplishment! 

. 

. 

Friday was a super extra fun day as we went to Christine’s house for a playdate. There is a pool just down the street, so we went for a swim. Augustus cried when we left, so I think that’s a good indication that it was a successful playdate! That evening, we spent several hours hanging out front with the neighbors for our weekly happy hour. The weather was gorgeous and it was so nice to just sit around and relax and chat! 
. 

Saturday was a big day. I am training for a half marathon, and up to this point, it’s been pretty reasonable, but Saturday, I had to run 6 miles, which I was nervous about. I ran 6 miles in 63 minutes, which I felt pretty good about because I wasn’t sure I could do it at all! The next few weekend runs get longer and longer and I’m already nervous! 

After starting the day with a run, my next challenge was cookie related. I agreed to make 900 cookies for a wedding- it took me 3 weeks of nonstop baking. I had to buy a second chest freezer to store them. I will be honest, I think I bit off slightly more than I could chew. But I did it. 900 cookies complete!! The biggest part of the challenge was Saturday and that was the delivery and set up! I had a GIANT cooler from Christine that held 15/18 tupperware. I used dry ice (for the first time). I loaded up the coolers without incident, picked up Christine (a truly MVP best friend/assistant) and headed to the venue. The brides got engaged in Paris and were using macaron towers as the centerpieces for their tables. NO PRESSURE! So Christine and I set up 27 macaron towers and they looked beautiful. I was very proud of myself. Also, VERY relieved that they made it there without incident! 
. 
After that, Saturday was not yet complete! We had soccer tickets for a MN United game. I got them from one of my former board members, and what I didn’t realize until that day was that they were premium seats, which meant that we got to enter the stadium in the premium gate, had unlimited food and drinks, and the seats were wonderful! It was SUCH a fun way to go to a game. They scored twice and won the game, and we had the BEST time. For someone who cares ZERO percent about sports, it was definitely the way to go to a sporting event!

The stadium is about 4 miles from our house, so we hopped on the bus and rode down the street, stopping right in front of the stadium. Augustus was BESIDE himself with excitement over being on a bus. During the game he asked me several times if we got to ride a bus home too. He was SO excited to get back on the bus. We’re definitely going to have to ride the bus again soon. 

On the way to the game, I said to him, “the last time I went to a game, I was pregnant with you!” and he said, “yeah, but I couldn’t see because I was inside your tummy!” so obviously this game was an improvement for him. Xander is very into soccer right now and so he was thrilled. He was also feeling very confident and grown up as he was able to help himself to food and drinks on his own (I was nearby, but he was “on his own”).

. 
. 
. 

Today was another busy day! Nate golfed all morning and the boys and I had a slow start to the day. Nate came home and eventually we all made it outside to play with the neighbors all afternoon. And this evening, it was off to Running Aces to hang with Grandma Debbie, Uncle Danny and Aunt Heather for some pony racing. Xander picked the winner twice in a row, so it’s possible we’ve planted the seed for the rest of his life. They both came home a few dollars richer. 

. 

I am so tired I think I might collapse, but the week ahead is SIGNIFICANTLY less busy and stressful, so I’m happy about that! July is flying by! 

We’re loving summer at home. We’re staying busy and enjoying every moment. 

We’re spending tons of time at parks. 

We celebrated Nate’s birthday. 

The boys celebrated Pride with rainbow day and a parade at school.
. 
Swim lessons are going really well. Xander keeps saying “I nailed it” after each new move. 
. 
The puppies are doing well- they are almost completely potty trained, they are enjoying walks, they play super well together and they are so snuggly (with each other and with us)

 
The boys are also busy with Sports Sampler class from the YMCA and Xander is loving golf lessons. 

The boys go to school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They have weekly water days, are doing lots of crafts, and play outside a lot. 
 

. 

We had a picnic at a new park. 

 
. 
On July 3, we went to a Saints game. We weren’t sure how long the boys would last, because within the first few minutes of the game, they were not super into it, but there were fireworks after the game and they really wanted to see them. They made it through the game and really enjoyed the fireworks. When they ended and we were walking back to the car (it was around 10:15pm), Augustus said, “What are we doing next?” I asked him if he wanted to go to an after party at a club and he said, “sure!” He was asleep before we were out of the parking garage, so we went home and went to bed instead. 

. 

. 

. 
. 
Fourth of July was low-key since we’d had a late night the night before. I attempted to take our annual picture, and no one was cooperating. 

. 
.   
We went to the beach. We went to the camp beach a lot but I haven’t been to a beach in the Twin Cities in YEARS. It was SO SO fun! 

.  

. 
We had our St. Paul Thanksgiving buddies over for dinner, ice cream and hanging out. 

The boys have been swimming at Grandma Debbie’s house twice a week and they are getting so comfortable in the water. 

Nate and I double dated with our neighbors to see a concert (a band that our other neighbor is in). It was VERY fun and the boys got to spend the night at Grandma Debbie’s house overnight. 

We had 2 playdates with Xander’s buddy Leo. Xander went to his house for the day, which was the first playdate where we just dropped him off and no parent stayed with him. And then later in the week, Leo came to our house where we made our own pizzas for lunch and spent a lot of time riding scooters and playing with legos. 

Gussie is potty training and he is doing SO WELL! He is wearing big boy undies and hasn’t had any accidents in weeks! I’m so proud of him! 

We’re staying busy and enjoying our summer!
. 

. 

.