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It was the week of Christmas at our house and we were in a festive mood! Our elf was on a roll with gummy tacos, socks, pokemon cards, and the final day, he brought the boys ornaments (Grave Digger for Gussie and Mario for Xander). Every day started earlier and earlier, and there was one 5am morning that I imagined ripping that elf’s head off, but I still LOVE elf on the shelf and enjoyed every moment of it. I have already started saving ideas for next year.

My other seasonal passion has been themed meals- mostly Xander’s cold lunches, but a few at home lunches and breakfasts as well. Xander appreciates a good theme and I had a lot of fun coming up with new surprises for him. I’m not sure what his teacher must think, but he has been enjoying it, so it’s been super fun for me to do for him.

Augustus has been spending Mondays and Wednesdays with Grandma Debbie and he’s having a blast. This week they made some really excellent crafts and went to the zoo. He’s a very lucky kiddo.

Xander is doing great in school. He loves his teacher, his friends and all of the cool classes he takes. He has 3-4 specialty classes per day (gym, french, drama, art, music, technology, library) and 2 recesses. They keep him VERY busy. During one french class recently, they had a special party with chocolate fondue (un chocolat). He comes home with so much to say about the things he’s learning and I love watching him grow.

The puppies are maniacs and alternate between being cute and cuddly, and causing mayhem.

On Saturday, we celebrated Christmas Eve. Grandma Debbie came over to spend the night. We ate crab and croissants and caesar salad (cheeseburger sliders and fries for the boys), and ate brownies for dessert. It was SO decadent and amazing. The boys got to open one present from Grandma. Gussie got a monster truck and Xander got a dinosaur bone excavating kit. The boys spent almost an hour hammering and chipping away at the clay block, retrieving dinosaur bones. By the time they were done, the walls, the floor, the chairs, the table, both boys and my mom were COVERED in clay. We hadn’t anticipated it being quite so messy, but it was a very fun project. We watched the classic Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer movie, put some cookies out for Santa (Xander is embracing the themes, because he made them into the shape of a snowman) and then the boys went to bed.

Xander woke up at 5am, and, as we’d discussed, he did NOT get out of bed. He did, however, yell for me until I got out of bed. He and I snuggled in his bed for about an hour. I did not want to be up that early, but Xander is a cool kid and I love hanging out with him. He’s funny and silly and I love talking to him. We’ve got a new thing where I give him 3 nouns (I try to be specific like an animal, a family member and a place) and ask him to make up a story incorporating all 3. Initially I thought it would be a good skill for him to develop, but it’s turned into such a fun game and I LOVE his stories. He’s so clever and smart and he always surprises me.

Finally at 6am, I said we could get up. Augustus woke up and we all headed downstairs to check out what Santa had left. Santa left crumbs behind on our cookie board, he left stockings jam packed with candy and gifts. He left piles of presents for both boys. Finally at 6:30, once Grandma and Daddy were both awake, the boys got to open presents and they were so excited about everything. There were a lot of legos, remote control cars, science kits, and more.

After pancakes (Gussie wanted a Christmas surprise pancake, “not something we’ve had before”), Danny and Heather arrived. They brought an ENORMOUS charcuterie board that they covered with smoked salmon, cheeses, meats, olives, pickled beets and beans, and crackers. My mom made 2 different amazing hot dips and 17 bags of chips and crackers. I made stuffed mushrooms, bruschetta, chicken wings, meatballs, veggies and fruit. Nate made old fashioneds (on Christmas, it’s acceptable to have a cocktail at 10am!). We also had “un chocolat” as requested by Xander, and I had strawberries, cookies, marshmallows, bananas, and rice krispie treats to dip in the chocolate fondue. Xander taught us to say strawberry in french (fraise).

We spent the afternoon eating and playing. Gussie, Heather, Danny and Nate played Mario Cart on Nintendo Switch while Xander put together 2 huge lego sets.

It was an absolutely perfect Christmas season and ideal day. I am exhausted but so happy. Xander is on vacation from school, so we have a full week to play with new toys, relax, take down Christmas decorations, and then we get to hop on an airplane and visit with the Whiteds for Christmas round 2!

From our family to yours, Merry Christmas (a little early)!!

Have I mentioned how much I love Elf on the Shelf? I know that it’s popular for moms to complain or hate the elf, but I LOVE it. The boys are so amused every day. The jump out of bed to run downstairs and find it. And then they run back upstairs to tell Nate and I where the elf is and what silly thing he is doing. They notice small details and they think the elf is hilarious. It is absolutely magic every day.

Augustus continues to spend Mondays and Wednesdays with Grandma Debbie and love hanging out with her. Between painting, science projects, trips to the play area at the mall, and unlimited fruit snacks, it’s pretty much a kid’s dream. In January, he will be in school 4 days a week and I know he will miss having as much time with Grandma as he has right now.

On Friday the news was predicting blizzard levels of snow. Xander’s school cancelled at 1pm and it was good that they did as the snow was coming down! By Saturday morning, we had 21 inches! However, a blizzard didn’t stop neighborhood Friday happy hour. We bundled up and let the snow come down around us. The temperature wasn’t terribly cold, so it was a nice night to be outside (as far as blizzards go).

Working from home is great for so many reasons. I don’t have to brave the traffic in a blizzard, I can do laundry throughout the day. I rarely have to wear real pants. And our sweet needy puppies don’t have to be left alone very often. However, when they were loudly playing in my office and I needed to be on a call, they got locked out for 30 minutes and in that time, they destroyed the tv remote, just in case I wasn’t aware how much they disliked being kicked out of OUR office. Other than that, they are wonderful companions during the day.

On Saturday, we had Skylar and Phoebe over for a very fun holiday playdate. First we made our own pizzas for lunch. They played while lunch cooked. After eating lunch and more playing, we decorated gingerbread houses. As if that wasn’t enough fun for a day, after all of that, we all met up with other KBH friends for the first sledding of the winter.

My pinterest/instagram mom aspirations continue to go well as I theme lunches (and many breakfasts as well). “Hey, what do you want to eat?” is typically met with, “something fun and surprising” by both boys. I did this to myself- Christine warned me not to make lunches too fun. But last week was fun, and I have a lot of fun ideas to try out this week, so that’s where we are at.

Today the boys played a lot and then we all went sledding in the afternoon. It’s super snowy, but also pretty warm, so it’s ideal sledding weather.

We are traveling for Christmas, so we emailed Santa to ask him for an early delivery, so he will be visiting our house next Saturday night. That means we only have one more week with the elf, the countdown calendar, Christmas themed meals and all of the excitement of waiting for Christmas! We’re going to cram as much holiday cheer into the week as we can!!

It’s a long boring story, but my blogspot site, which I’ve had since I started my blog in 2018 will not exist in a few weeks. I’m not super techy, so it’s possible it could have been avoided, but I’ve tried everything and talked to all my techy friends, and ultimately, it was time to move over to a new site, so here we are.

Last weekend, we put up our Christmas tree, which meant that our Elf on the Shelf would be returning. I LOVE Elf on the Shelf. I pin ideas all year long. Months ahead of time, I plan out what I’m going to do. I buy supplies to go with the theme, and also have a general elf kit, which includes crepe paper, heavy duty double sided 3M tape, fishing line, and a bunch of other random things I might need. My job at camp was to create magic by giving kids experiences that were unique. I miss that so much, but I also think that’s one of the best parts of motherhood- giving my kids unique and magical experiences.

So the elf is back. Sometimes he brings little treats or gifts, sometimes he just shows up and does something silly. The boys both jump out of bed (usually around 5:50am) and run down to look for him. I typically jump out of bed too because I love seeing their reaction. Sometimes they are amused, sometimes they say things like, “there are marshmallows in that snow globe! How will we get them?!” It is a great way to start each day.

On Monday, Xander got his second covid shot and I got my booster. Both of us felt a little bit crummy on Tuesday, but we were both very brave when we got our shots and were also both happy to have them done.

On Friday, Hudson turned one and I am hoping that means he will start calming down at some point. I walk him every day and he drags his feet and goes so slow I think I might have to actually drag him. And then he gets home and bounces off the walls. He’s an absolute maniac.

On Saturday, we got a new oven! Ours was doing this terrifying thing where at certain random times for no reason, all of the burners would turn on and you couldn’t turn them off. We had someone out to fix it, but the circuit board was no longer being made. So new (double) oven here we come!

We also had family clean up day because there were toys everywhere and we needed to do some lego re-organizing. The boys worked really hard and had a great attitude and I’m excited how organized the legos are!

Santa stopped by for a brief visit- on our neighborhood facebook page, a woman posted that her husband was making santa housecalls. It seemed a little sketchy, but also I didn’t want to go to a mall and pay for a santa visit, nor did I want to stand in a long line, so having santa drop by and stay a covid safe distance away, for free, seemed like the best case. Afterwards, we had pizza/movie night.

Today the boys started the day popping bubble wrap that the elf left. We had some snowman pancakes (we’ve been big on themed food lately), we went swimming at the YMCA and then we baked Christmas cookies.

Now it’s time for another week ahead. More elf on the shelf. More themed breakfasts and lunches. My Christmas letter is complete and will be hitting mailboxes by the end of the week. December cheer is in full swing!

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My Thanksgiving table was a little more casual than hers, but Xander took it upon himself to make place cards for everyone, which was fantastic and really perfect and brought the classy level up a notch. 

We ate a lot of good food, played some games, played the Nintendo Switch and had a fabulous day. 
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Thanksgiving Day was the 10 year anniversary of my dad’s death. Anniversaries don’t hit me like they used to, I tend to feel sad at super random times which surprise me and remind me that grief never ends. It was a good day. I can’t believe it’s been a decade though. 10 years. 

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It was my first week at my new job and I really enjoyed myself! On Monday I spent the day with my boss getting lots of information about my position, the Mission Advancement team, and the Y in general. We had a fabulous lunch with the whole team (there are about 15 people total) and I ended the day feeling genuinely excited and motivated to jump into my job. 

Augustus spent the day at my mom’s house and was excited to play with his buddies Cane and Cora who came over with their grandma. 

On Tuesday, Augustus and Xander were both at school and I was at home all day. My position is based out of my house, so other than in person meetings here and there, most of my time is spent on Microsoft teams or working independently. I really like working from home- I like to work at my own pace, without being interrupted. I like that when I take a break between projects that I can throw in a load of laundry or take the dogs for a quick walk. Having a flexible schedule is my number one priority for a job, and this one is perfect for my current life with 2 little kids. 

On Wednesday, Augustus spent the day with Grandma Debbie again and brought home fresh baked cookies! I had an in-person meeting so I was gone most of the day. My job is to work with the alumni of the 8 overnight camps, Youth in Government and the University YMCA programs. In the next few weeks, I will be meeting with the directors of each program to learn more and to connect with the alumni they have, while working with them to plan ways to re-connect with alumni that are disconnected. My first meeting was with the Exec of the Youth in Government program. She is newish (a year) to the role so I didn’t know her, but we clicked right away and I think we might be a dangerous combination because we were off and running with big ideas and enthusiasm. I LOVE YIG and I am so incredibly excited to be able to work with this program. I left that meeting just floating. I have a million ideas, and I’m so so excited for the events that are coming up in the next few months. 
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Friday, Nate and Gussie spent the day together while I worked- another in person meeting in the morning and then busy in my home office the rest of the day. We had a short happy hour with the neighborhood, but it was REALLY chilly out, so we didn’t last outside very long. 

My mom took the boys on Saturday morning and they went to the theater to see Clifford the Big Red Dog. When they got home, they spent some time playing with Olive and Emmet outside. I have 25 dozen orders of cookies being picked up over the next few days, so I spent some time packing cookies. Once all the cookies were packaged and ready to go, I washed tupperware (when your hobby is baking, your second hobby is washing dishes). 
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The weather was so nice that after dinner, Nate suggested we go get ice cream.

This morning, Xander and I went to the YMCA to do some “serious swimming”. One of the great things that came from my gap in employment was that I started swimming twice a week. When I started in May, I could barely go one length (which is 25 yards) without feeling like I was going to die. But I got better and better and eventually set the goal of swimming a mile, which I now do regularly (for reference, that is 70 lengths or 35 laps in the pool). I am still a certified lifeguard trainer and ever since Xander swam a full length of the pool in swim lessons, he has been talking about being a lifeguard. He also wants to swim a mile, so we went to the Y to practice. He did SO well! He ended up swimming 6 lengths total (he can swim a full length without stopping or grabbing the edge of the pool). Then we took a break from laps and he dove for a ring a few times. He got better and went into deeper water each time. Then we practiced some rescues, where I sunk to the bottom of the pool (not all the way in the deep end) and he jumped in, dove down, grabbed me and swam me to the edge. He was super into it and did so well! It was fun to see him be so proud of himself and grow in confidence (he was definitely nervous when we got there). 

At 11:30, we headed to our neighbor’s house for “sides-giving” which is all of the best sides from Thanksgiving, no turkey necessary. Our neighbors are all really good cooks, so whenever we get together, there is always a lot of really yummy things to eat. It was a very fun kick off to Thanksgiving week and always wonderful to spend time with our amazing neighbors. 

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5 months since saying goodbye to CYC, it was my last week at home before I begin my new job at the YMCA. When I was offered the job, I had 3 weeks before my start date, and I have crammed as much as I could into these 3 weeks. It was a mix of fun stuff and cleaning/organizing projects. Being home has been good for me, but I am very excited to go back to work. 

Daylight savings makes it feel like it’s midnight every day by 5pm, but we are still heading outside after dinner to play in the dark. Kids have energy even when it’s cold and dark, so we’re holding onto our outside time. 

Friday was Augustus and my last day at home together. My mom and Nate are going to split the Mondays and Fridays in November and December (there aren’t very many because of the holidays) and in January, he will go to school 4 days a week. We ran errands, played, went out to lunch and had a fabulous day together. 
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Nate was in Iowa this weekend, so the boys and I had a weekend of fun planned (Xander had the whole itinerary worked out). Saturday morning we got fresh bagels (HOT out of the oven). I had a goal to run 6 miles, but with 2 kids and 2 dogs, I wasn’t sure I would get an uninterrupted hour. However, the dogs were in the backyard frolicking and playing nicely and the boys were upstairs playing like angels and I was able to run in peace for 52 minutes… with 5 minutes to go, the kids started yelling and the dogs were barking, but by that point, I’d made it too far to quit, so I let the chaos go on while I sprinted the final minutes. 

After lunch, we headed to Good Times Park to play. An indoor play place on a chilly Saturday is the LAST place I wanted to be, but it wasn’t busy and the boys played for over 2 hours and were so happy, so I was glad we went. 
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When we got home, we decided to take the dogs and go to the pet food store. 2 kids and 2 puppies- we were a spectacle, but overall, everyone was pretty well behaved. Hudson is 60 pounds of pure muscle and energy. He was like a wrecking ball that I could barely keep contained. Ruthie is smaller and calmer, so Xander walked her around. Augustus was in charge of carrying the treats we were buying. A few customers were wide eyed and gave us a lot of room, but most smiled and commented that I had my hands full. Yes- understatement of the year. When we got home, the dogs both passed out on the couch- even a short outing is enough excitement to tire them out. 

On Monday, we celebrated Nate hitting level 2 for Edward Jones. Nate started his business a little over 2 years ago and within months of beginning, a global pandemic hit. We’ve seen several people who started at the same time give up and find new jobs. But Nate is gaining more and more clients, growing his office and absolutely rocking it. These last few months, he’s been single handedly supporting our family, while also emotionally supporting me while I’ve gone through my job transition. He is a super star and deserves all the cake and celebrations in the world! 

With Halloween over, I took down the decorations, but the pumpkins were still outside. I let the boys (with neighbor Sam) take hammers and smash them to pieces. They enjoyed kicking and smashing the pumpkins more than they did carving them. 
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This whole week was gorgeous unseasonably warm weather. Gussie and I had so much fun at the park and I am going to miss so much one on one time together. 

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Saturday morning was Augustus’s buddy Caleb’s birthday party. It was another warm perfect day outside and we had such a fun time! All of the friends at the party have been buddies since they were teeny tiny little babies- Xander and the other big kids used to be in class together and it was fun to have everyone together. I will miss our Kinderberry crew at the end of this year! 

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When we got home, the boys ate a very fast lunch and then rushed back outside to play with all their neighborhood buddies. I’m not sure what they were up to, but they were running and chasing and everyone looked very happy. 

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Tuesday was the pre-K art show at school, so Xander and I got to check it out when we picked Augustus up from school. He was very proud of his masterpieces. 
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From the art show, we headed right to the YMCA for the boys’ last swim lesson. They did SO well. Augustus is so much more confident and comfortable, and Xander swam all the way across the big pool- 25 yards! I am so proud of how hard they both worked and how much they’ve improved. 
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On Wednesday, Augustus had a fun day with Grandma Debbie and I got my hair done. 
 

On Thursday, Xander brought his lunch to school, so I had to attempt to be an instagram mom and make it Halloween themed. 

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And then it was time for our neighborhood Halloween party. Every time we get together with the neighbors (which is a LOT), it is SO fun! It was a perfect day. The weather was gorgeous and it was just so so fun. Everyone was in costume and looked amazing. 

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The party host Heather had made a scavenger hunt with about 15 items around the neighborhood that we had to find and take a photo of. Augustus ditched us to do the hunt with Emmet (obviously the 9 year old was cooler than us), but once Xander and I realized we were on our own, we FLEW around the neighborhood and ran back to the finish in record time. I don’t want to brag, but we were first (although she had prizes for everyone) and it was so fun. Usually I facilitate the fun, not participate, but this was a blast! 
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After the scavenger hunt, there was a team relay where you had to keep a balloon between partners. 
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And then there was a candy hunt where the kids got to collect candy from around the yard. 
 
It was basically a perfect day and so fun. When we got home, the boys were not quite ready to settle down and go to bed, so we had a dance party and hung out, letting them stay up WAY too late! 

Today has been another amazing day. We started the day with pumpkin pie pancakes. 

We carved pumpkins. 
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The boys were pretty tired today, but they still played all day. 

At 4pm, all of our neighbors came to our yard for Halloween dinner. I made pizza skulls (like a pizza pocket, but shaped like a skull). Other neighbors brought fruit and cookies. It was so fun. 
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After dinner it was time for trick or treating. We went for several blocks and then Xander was done. Augustus, Olive and Nate continued on for a few more blocks while Xander joined Grandma Debbie to hand out candy. When Olive and Gussie finished trick or treating, she joined Xander for handing out candy and I think Xander enjoyed that more than the tick or treating. He was out there for over an hour and he was so happy.
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He made “cookies” out of kinetic sand- he has been watching me closely because his technique was flawless! Xander was busy at school working hard! 
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Tuesday was the last day of school for the week for Xander because this week was MEA. Also on Tuesday, Ruthie went to the vet to be spayed. She didn’t seem to feel terrible, and every day since we brought her home has been harder to keep her calm. She wants to run and jump and wrestle and play and we are doing everything we can to make her rest. 

On Wednesday, both boys went to Grandma Debbie’s and Xander was very happy to have a Wednesday Grandma day. They went to the mall and played at the super cool play area there. They swam, they hung out. Augustus told me he put fruit snacks inside of a fruit rollup and made a burrito. It’s like paradise over there. 

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When they got home, I put them to work cooking dinner… actually, they fought over who got to peel and mash potatoes, and Xander was quite proud of “Xander’s special potatoes”.
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On Thursday, Xander and I had a special mommy/Xander day. He has been feeling super jealous of how much one on one time that Augustus has had with both Grandma and me, so on Thursday, Augustus went to school and Xander and I planned a day of anything he wanted. We started the day at the bakery getting donuts and then (as he requested) we did several science experiments. We built a catapult, made a lava lamp, built and then erupted a volcano and a few others that didn’t turn out quite as cool. For lunch, we ordered Dominoes Pizza. We wrestled, we played, we hung out. I really enjoyed spending the day with him. Xander enjoyed the day too, but he also asked about Augustus approximately 500 times and kept requesting that we pick him up early. 

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We actually picked Augustus up earlier than usual, because Thursday night was a slumber party at Grandma’s house. The boys were so excited and Nate and I got to go out for sushi and cake. 
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Friday the boys came home and we hung out, went to the YMCA to go swimming and they helped Nate assemble a new cabinet for my office. We ordered pizza for dinner and ate on the couch (which is a rare treat!) and then ended the night with ice cream sundaes. 
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On Saturday, I attempted to relax and drink coffee on the couch, but instead chewed on by a puppy. We went to a party with some of Nate’s work friends. They had a bounce house in their basement and the boys got to carve/paint pumpkins. It was nice to hang out, eat, drink and for the kids to play. 

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Cookie sales for Halloween were really good and I was excited to see myself tagged in someone’s instagram post complimenting my cookies. 

Sunday has been wonderful- the boys were busy at Grandma’s house, enjoying themselves with playdough, science kits and playing in the exercise room. Nate and I went to brunch and hung out. I grocery shopped, washed the floors, and even had time to lay in bed and read a good book for a while. 
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My mom brought the boys home and then Danny and Heather came over for dinner. After dinner was some intense Nintendo Switch gaming. It was the perfect day! 

I was a little jealous of all of our friends and neighbors who had fun get-aways planned for MEA break. But it felt too extravagant for us to go away somewhere when I haven’t been working. However, these last few days have been absolutely perfect. It was nice to have time to relax and hang out and play together without being too busy. I think both Nate and I, and the boys needed some down time, and it’s been so wonderful. 

This week we started strong with beautiful weather and playing outside. But by Monday, Xander was sniffling and Tuesday was his first official sick day home from school. He spent the day resting and eating freezie pops, and also missed his swim lesson. Augustus was healthy and got to show off his swim skills to Nate (who took him to the Y this week).

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Xander bounced back quickly and was back in school the next day. Unfortunately, by Friday, Augustus was sniffling and we had another day at home with snuggles, freezie pops, and lots of kleenex. 
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Saturday, both boys were feeling good and we were ready for some fun. We did some Halloween crafts with our buddies from down the street. We made mummies, foam pumpkins and then painted small pumpkins. 

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Then we pulled out ALL of the Paw Patrol toys we have (which are enough for a small army) and played all day. 

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We decorated our house with some cool skulls (that light up at night) and skeletons. I baked Halloween cookies, and then quickly got enough orders to sell out! 

Xander had an afternoon play date with Leo. Both boys are enjoying kindergarten, but missed each other! 

Sunday the boys were with Grandma Debbie. They played, they swam, they were busy! 

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We had some sick days, but overall, the week was great!