Category Archives: Uncategorized

Home Sweet Home

We’ve been here for a little over a week (1 week Thursday!) and we’ve been unpacking and moving stuff around nonstop. I’m exhausted and feeling impatient for our house to be completely unpacked, but the new house is nice! 

Yesterday I got the NICEST postcard in the mail! Mary is an amazing artist and a professional quilter. She made the gorgeous quilt that is on our bed and I couldn’t believe it when I saw all the same fabrics making a tiny quilt postcard. We’ve had so many kind and wonderful things from all the people in our lives during this whole move! 
So far, we’ve unpacked the boys’ room, the playroom, our room, the bathrooms, the kitchen, the basement and the garage. Tomorrow our new couch arrives and so our living room will be transformed. That leaves the porch (which is a “catch all” for all of the boxes and random things that we don’t have space for), and the 2 spare bedrooms- which are FULL of boxes and random stuff. I started working on them today and it’s a very overwhelming job. I still have a few LONG days of organizing and unpacking ahead. 


We got a new refrigerator delivered on Thursday. The old fridge was SO small, and the opening was much larger, so we upgraded right away. We measured the refrigerator opening, but we didn’t measure the front door. Luckily we made it by a hair (literally, it was SO tight) and learned a good lesson about measuring the entire pathway… 

At our old house, my oven didn’t close all the way, so to get a tight seal, I would use a piece of packing tape to force the door shut. Our new oven is very nice and new and fancy and for a few days this week, I was hating it and wishing we still had our janky old oven. It took me about 5 batches of macarons, but I figured out the perfect settings. All of my baking supplies are unpacked and I squeezed in time to measure some ingredients- it made me feel back to normal! And once I got the hang of it, I was able to make some Thanksgiving themed batches. 
 

One of my favorite rooms in our house is the playroom for the boys. When we first thought about moving, we thought we’d put the boys in their own rooms. But one of our favorite things is, after they go to bed, listening to them talk to each other. Also, the two bedrooms upstairs are such different sizes, we decided to keep them together and have a playroom for toys. 

The playroom has some interesting nooks and crannies and there was already a tiny little loft area that we are calling the cozy corner. I put some pillows and blankets in there and Xander climbs up there in the morning to read books or play on his ipad. 

There are built in bookshelves in the playroom and Xander and I painted them bright red (his favorite color). We painted the ladder to the cozy corner blue (Augustus’s request). 

I labeled all of the toy bins (about 12 total) with photos of the toys that go in them (cars, power rangers, pokemon, etc). 


There is a giant walk-in closet in the playroom that I made into a Paw Patrol area on the floor, hung their costumes and stored some other random toys. 


In the basement, we put up several shelves and bought SO MANY bins. Our old basement was damp and basement-y and over the years we had a mouse more than once. And even though this basement is very different than that, I feel passionately about anything that gets stored is in labeled plastic bins. 


More unpacking, organizing and labeling are still on the to do list for the week ahead. I also have some big projects going on at work, and it’s Thanksgiving week, so we’re going to cram a lot into the days ahead! 

Moving Day!

Yesterday we moved! We made an offer on our new house at the end of August and now, on a sleeting/snowy day in November, we finally moved! 
The movers arrived at 9am and started loading boxes and furniture. Christine and my mom were there to clean and offer moral support. 
It’s pretty well known, that Kings don’t know how to estimate, and proven once again, the movers were concerned there wasn’t going to be enough room in the truck, so Nate and I started loading up boxes into the van and making trips over to drop stuff on the porch (the previous owners moved out last week, so it wasn’t an issue). That wasn’t exactly the plan, and I wasn’t thrilled to be moving heavy boxes, but it was fine and not shocking (I assumed something would go wrong at some point in the day). 
I sent the boys to school with books I’d made for them about our move. They shared them with their classes and felt very special. 

We closed on our old house at 1pm, although we didn’t get everything out until 2:15 when we had to leave to close on the new house. Our garage was still VERY full, so there was a lot left for us to do. As I walked through the empty house, I started to get choked up, and I might have started crying, but I was very focused on just how much was left to do, so there was no time for nostalgia. 

We closed on the new house and rushed over to meet the movers to begin the unload process. I THOUGHT I was organized. But the number of boxes that somehow didn’t get labeled or were labeled “random stuff” made me shake my head over and over. I am NEVER moving again, but if I do, I will be the most organized, uptight packer that you’ve ever seen. I’ve learned my lesson! 
We directed the movers to the basement, spare rooms, bedrooms, etc. Luckily, our new house has 5 bedrooms, which means we have 2 spare rooms to fill with boxes for sorting and unpacking later. 
Christine was in PEAK bestie mode yesterday, returning to the new house with a move in kit (dishsoap, dish towels, soap, toilet paper, and towels for bathrooms, snacks, etc- all of which we desperately needed since they had been absorbed into the sea of boxes). And then she organized my entire kitchen. It was AMAZING and I am forever grateful. My mom picked the boys up from school, headed to Target (because every Grandma overnight involves a trip to Target), and back to her house for a sleepover. They were VERY excited for a special night. 
When we got to the new house, one of the first jobs was to unload the coolers of food I’d brought from the old house. I was SO surprised to open our refrigerator and find a card, champagne and juice boxes! The former owners could not be sweeter! I nearly cried. 

Around 6, the truck was empty and the house was a disaster and we headed back to the old house to help load all the stuff from the garage. It was COLD, snowy, wet, and we were all exhausted. The movers were so kind, in such good spirits and seemed to have endless energy. They were such a good investment- it would have taken us a week to do that on our own. 

The second truck was unloaded by 8, and Nate and I went our for a quick dinner and then fell into bed. I have not been that exhausted in a long time! 
We woke up this morning and immediately worked on organizing the boxes. We sorted boxes in the spare rooms (everything left in those rooms needs to be unpacked, but is not necessary to daily life, so there’s no urgency). Groceries were delivered, the internet was installed, and half of our new couch arrived (other half is on backorder, but coming….). Christine returned with more snacks and finished unpacking the kitchen. She guided me through an overwhelming trip to Target where we stocked up on shower curtains, bath mats, organizational bins, and more. I hate shopping, have ZERO style and was very grateful for her guidance and choices (everything looks great!)
My mom came over in the afternoon and helped unpack until the boys got home from school and then we had our first family dinner in our new house (Tacos- obviously). We toasted our new house and Xander said, “it was so nice of them to leave us drinks!”


In August, when we packed half of our house in order to de-clutter and stage it for moving, we packed about half of the toys. So tonight, when the boys got home, it was like Christmas as they saw toys they forgot they had and ran around playing with everything. 

We still have a LONG way to go before the house is unpacked and organized, but after 24 hours, it is functional- we have dishes and towels and clothes and the basics we need to eat, sleep and live. I am trying to remember that this is a marathon, not a sprint, and that it’s ok for the house to be messy while we are adjusting. I am SO excited to have the opportunity to organize every belonging we have and make sure everything has a place (and a label to remind us of that place!). And our new house is SO wonderful- it’s perfect for us and I am SO excited to settle in! We are a very lucky family! 

Moving Week!

It’s moving week for our family! Tonight is the last night in our house- I can’t believe it! I’ve lived here for 13 years and I love this house. I am sad to say goodbye, but also so so excited to move to our new house. 
Yesterday, we did our final walk-through. The sellers are building a new house and will be living with family until the house is complete, so they had some flexibility on their move-out day. They moved out last weekend and so we got to do our walk through early and the whole house was empty, clean and ready for us! Today we had a cleaning crew out (even though they left it SO clean!). The sellers were SO nice and were so kind to return to the house to let the cleaning crew in. I was so grateful and I popped by to drop off some moving cookies and to say thank you. 


In the midst of LONG days of packing, my cookie orders were still coming in and I was still filling them. I could have said no, but it was a nice break- pack some boxes, bake some cookies, pack some boxes, bake some cookies… not bad. 

  


Checking out a corner of their playroom. 

Tonight, our house is 99% packed. We have random things here and there that need to get packed in the morning, but the garage, the porch and the dining room are filled with boxes. The movers will arrive first thing in the morning and the adventure will begin. Grandma Debbie is picking the boys up from school and they are spending the night at her house- they are VERY excited! Nate and I have several long days of unpacking ahead, but I am so excited to get everything organized and do even more de-cluttering (we did a lot as we packed, but I think we can get rid of even more stuff as we unpack). 
It’s been an exhausting week of packing and we’ve got some busy days ahead, but so far, we’ve been pretty organized, followed our day by day plan, and it’s been smooth. I hope tomorrow is the same! 

Halloween Fun at Camp!

What a fun weekend! I didn’t mean to turn Halloween into such a big thing, but all through October, everyone I asked already had their own plans. Halloween is SO much more fun with more kids, so I wanted to find some friends. Luckily for us, Sarah and Greyson have a family cabin near camp and they were planning to go there and agreed to meet up with us for a day of Halloween fun. The last time I was at camp was in August, and I have been trying to get back one more time before the snow falls. Our board president was the last one there and so camp was in good shape, which I knew, but I still wanted to check in once more before winter. So this was a weekend of business and fun. And then somewhere along the planning of this, Danny and Heather decided to join in, and the boys were thrilled to spend the whole weekend with them. 
We picked up the boys after lunch on Friday. Getting to skip rest time is always special for Xander and he was bouncing off the walls. We stopped for treats at Tobie’s- kicking off our weekend of anything goes! 

I think Xander said, “where’s Danny” every SINGLE time he wasn’t within sight. They are Pokemon Go buddies and Xander was thrilled. 
  

Buddha was not real sure about his cousins….
On Saturday, Xander was awake at 6am, and bounded out of his room after he woke me up to ask he if could go wake up Uncle Danny. 
I had theme meals planned for the whole day. We started out with skull eggs and skull blueberry muffins. 

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For lunch, I made mac and cheese and served it in carved orange pumpkins. Mummy dogs and oranges to look like pumpkins. Danny kept giving me a look and shaking his head and calling me “extra” but I love a theme! 

Dinner I made skull pizzas. I had seen a video of these last year and I’ve wanted to buy a special pan since then. When I saw the video again this year, I decided to go for it. I am glad I did! They were quite tasty! 

After lunch, we got dressed in costumes. We’ve had family theme costumes every year, but this year, Xander was set on being a ninja and Augustus was intent on being a hot dog (I have no idea where he came up with that, but he did- all on his own!). 

Sarah and Grayson brought Oliver and Elliot over to camp and we were ready for modified Halloween. The weather was a bit windy and kind of chilly, so luckily we had a large dining hall to socially distance, but still be warm and inside away from the wind. We started with a few games and a punch a prize (which was way more important than the actual games). 
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After the games, the boys had to search for little goodie bags that I hid all over the dining hall. Each boy had their own color to find and the bags were filled with candy and little toys. When I asked the boys what their favorite part of the weekend was, Augustus said searching for the treat bags was his favorite. 
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After that, we went outside for some camp trick or treating. I had buckets of candy for each adult, and luckily there are MANY doors (all within sight so we could see them at all times). The adults were stationed at the doors and the boys were able to run around, knock, say “trick or treat” and fill their buckets with candy! 

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After trick or treating, we headed back to the dining hall to let the kids run around for a while longer. They came up with the idea to turn Uncle Danny (and then everyone) into a mummy. When I asked the boys what their favorite part of the weekend was, Xander said, “turning Uncle Danny into a mummy and playing with Oliver”.

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After the Halloween fun, we headed back to the house for dinner and then the boys made worms and dirt (pudding, crushed oreos and gummy worms), ate lots of treats, ran around, and played “the floor is lava”. It was a FABULOUS (and treat filled) Halloween!  

The night ended with a little more excitement as one of the bedrooms (the one that the boys were sleeping in this weekend) got locked. We tried popping the lock with a paperclip and with a screwdriver. Danny and Nate attempted to drill it out. In the end, we smashed the doorknob with a hammer. 


Gussie fell asleep while we attempted to get the bedroom opened back up. 

This morning was another early start to the day, but since it was daylight savings, it was a little better. We spent the morning playing, cleaning up, Danny and Heather went for a run. I was sad that we weren’t staying longer. We had such a fun weekend and I hope to make another trip back to camp before it’s SUPER snowy. 

A Big Change For the King-Whited Family!

We’ve got some exciting news!! The King-Whited family is moving! 
Nate and I have been talking about a new house since I was pregnant with Augustus (who just turned 3 for reference). I’m on some kind of list and get regular calls from realtors, and one in particular calls me every other month or so. At the end of August, we had a few small projects done on our house and while we had a handyman hanging around, we decided to call the realtor to see if he had suggestions for projects we needed to do before selling our house. Somehow it went from, “give us a list of updates and improvements to do over the next few months” to, “let’s just go look at houses to SEE if there’s anything interesting”. We figured it wouldn’t be worth it to even think about buying a house if there weren’t any good houses out there to get excited about. 
We went out to look and 35 minutes into it, the third house we walked into, I looked at Nate and the realtor and said, “this is it. Make an offer.” Not only did the house check every “must have” on our list, it also checked every, “would be nice, but not necessary”. 
We made a contingent offer, which meant we had until October 12 to sell our house. Our house wasn’t even for sale yet. Over Labor Day weekend, we packed half of our stuff in a “declutter and get show ready” whirlwind. We painted the basement, fixed a million little things, and on September 1, our house went on sale. 
Yes, it’s a seller’s market. And I’ve heard approximately 1000 stories from friends and friends of friends who have sold their house in 23 hours with 5 offers. But our house is on a busy street. And we knew it would take the right buyer. 
October 2007
I LOVE our house. I bought this house when I was 25 years old and single. Danny and Heather moved in and we learned about home ownership (entirely the hard way). We turned into adults. We adopted 3 dogs. I started working at CYC. Eventually they got married and bought their own house, and then Nate moved in, we got married, and then we brought home our 2 babies. I remember sitting in the NICU when Xander was 3 days old, telling him about our life and our house and that his room was waiting for him and he should hurry up and get big enough to come home because he was going to be happy. And now our babies are 3 and 5 and have so much stuff this house is bulging. Xander has been speaking passionately about wanting his own room. Selling this house is bittersweet for me, and over the last few years of talking about a new house, we’ve also talked about KEEPING this house and just remodeling or adding on or something to change it. But ultimately, we knew it was time. And when we walked into the new house, we were very sure. 
Selling a house with 2 small children was not fun or easy and I don’t recommend it. Despite packing most of their toys, keeping our house neat and ready to show at all times was a daily challenge. Nate was constantly calm, cool, zen-like, and a cleaning machine. I was a tightly-wound, ready to snap, on- the-verge-of-tears-at-all-times ball of anxiety. I called our realtor every day on my way to work. My mom and Christine and my co-workers got daily ranting updates. Most showings happened right before or during dinner time. I am NOT flexible when it comes to dinner- we sit down to eat between 5:15-6 EVERY DAY and every time there was a showing, it caused me actual physical pain to adjust our schedule. We had an open house every Sunday for the entire month of September. We spent so much time neatening up, killing time staying out of our house during showings, and holding our breath in anticipation. Nate and I looked at houses online nonstop- comparing our house with every house for sale nearby. It was an agonizing month for an uptight, type A, control freak, super planner and probably even worse for my very patient, easy-going husband.  
As September came to an end, we started to make peace with the fact that our house wasn’t going to sell and that we were going to have to let go of the new house. So the third time someone told me to buy a St. Joseph statue and bury it in the front yard (he is the patron saint of selling houses and that is what you are supposed to do to sell), I decided to try it out and went on amazon to order one. When I went to check out, with tax, the total price ended up being $6.66, which seemed like a bad omen, but I bought it anyway, buried it in the yard and said a prayer to please help our house sell within the next week. 
 

 

On October 12, the day our contingency ended and one week since I buried the statue, we got an offer on our house. We didn’t celebrate- it didn’t quite feel real. We didn’t want to get excited. We just kept looking at each other, saying, “so? ya think..” After such a stressful month, it was kind of anti-climatic.

There was some back and forth with our realtor and the realtor of the house we’d made an offer on… he wanted us to sign a new contingency, giving up our earnest money. We said no. And the next thing we heard, we’d lost the house, despite selling ours within the time. Our realtor convinced us to look at more houses, assuring us there would be something bigger, better, cheaper, nicer… 

We hated everything. I was in tears. Nate was mad (which is RARE. My husband is unflappable). After we’d been to the new list of potential houses, Nate announced, “I’m going over there”. We drove to the house we wanted and the sellers happened to be there. And they were the most lovely, sweet, wonderful couple. They invited us in. We all chatted and all agreed we were surprised and didn’t really know what happened, but that our realtors didn’t seem to like each other and weren’t communicating well. And with that, the deal was back on. We were so happy and so relieved and it started to feel like it was going to work out. My husband saved the day and is our family hero!

Our inspection went well. We scheduled a closing date. And now we have a sold sign in our yard. We haven’t cracked open champagne yet, and the St. Joseph statue is staying buried until the final paperwork is signed and keys have been exchanged. In addition to all of the good stories I’ve heard about selling houses, I’ve also heard several disaster stories. However, after the initial challenges, everything is going smoothly and it seems that we are moving! 

Our new house is .7 miles away from our current house. Our close date for both selling and buying is November 12. 

We’ve hired movers and I’ve bought several children’s books about moving. We’ve been collecting boxes and we’ve got a packing plan. The King-Whited family is moving! 

A Milestone

At Edward Jones, when you start out as a new financial advisor, you are a “level new” and then you move up from there to levels 1-10, depending on the amount of assets you manage. On Friday, Nate hit level 1! Exactly a year ago, Nate was 3 months into his new career and he was stressed, anxious and nervous he’d made the wrong choice. Over the next few months, business picked up and he found his rhythm and he realized that not only did he really like his job, he’s good at it! I had 100% confidence in Nate all along and it’s exciting to see him doing so well. I am so incredibly proud of him and know we will have more celebrations in the future. Last night we went to Handsome Hog for a celebration dinner. I snuck away before our food came to ask about desserts (warm chocolate chip cookies is one of Nate’s favorite things in the world) and if they could put a #1 somewhere and they totally delivered! Not pictured- glasses of champagne that they also included. Chocolate chip cookies and champagne is a combination I didn’t know I needed in life! 
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Aside from date night, we had a pretty low key weekend. I made homemade big pretzels for Hawkeye football. Xander and Augustus have been talking about crepes since they saw them on some random cartoon recently. So Sunday, we had crepes for breakfast. 
My mom brought over new pjs for the boys because next week there is a pajama day at school. 

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A few other random pictures from last week- the boys looking cute before school. 
On Monday, we went to Playground Plaza to run off some energy! 
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We’ve got a busy Halloween themed week ahead. 

Star of the Week

This week Xander was Star of the Week in his class. He worked very hard on his poster last weekend and was very excited and proud to present it to his class. He got to bring show and tell items, be the line leader and a few other jobs throughout the day. 

After a normal at bedtime on Wednesday night, Augustus woke up late that night with a cough and stuffy nose. We spent Thursday and Friday at home, resting and napping (and a short project of painting a pumpkin). He got unlimited popsicles and ipad time, and he was quite content despite an enormous amount of snot coming out of his nose. 

Saturday Nate took the boys to the park and in the afternoon, we painted more pumpkins. 

Today the boys spent the day with Grandma Debbie. 

The weather is starting to get chilly and we even saw some snowflakes on Friday! Hopefully there are a few more warmish fall days left before the winter! 

October is here!

October is here and that means Xander’s birthday on the 2nd and our wedding anniversary on October 4. A great way to kick off the month! 
Xander’s birthday was on a Friday, so he brought treats to school and got to wear a birthday crown. He was excited about it for days leading up to it. Even more exciting was a surprise early pick up to go pokemon hunting with Uncle Danny. Xander has recently started playing Pokemon Go, which is an app that has virtual pokemon show up all over (our neighborhood has many!) and then you can catch them. It is more detailed than that, and luckily Uncle Danny is an expert. I picked Xander up from school and told him Danny was taking him out. He was SO excited. Danny brought him a Pokemon sweatshirt and hat and he could not have been more thrilled. I wanted to go with them and he was quick to let me know I was NOT invited. 

  

After pokemon hunting, Grandma Debbie came over for dinner and ice cream cake. 

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Dance class is going well for both boys and they are learning lots of moves. 
Last weekend was a bit chilly, but we headed to the apple orchard anyway. Last year we went to the same orchard when it was raining, so I guess that’s how we do the orchard. It was good though- a playground, a petting zoo, apple donuts- it was a great afternoon. 

   

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Is it even the fall until we’ve had apple cider donuts?!
Our boys went to the dentist- it was Augustus’s first visit and he did great! 


We’ve spent lots of time outside since it has been so nice out all week! 
 

On Friday, Xander got his first ever homework! Next week, he is star of the week and he is VERY excited! He has a huge poster that he has to color and fill out with information. He worked SO hard for several hours of Friday night and Saturday morning. 

Saturday we took family pictures. As soon as we arrived, Augustus said to Nate, “take my picture right here!” so he was ready! 

Today we had a FABULOUS day at the park for Xander’s Pokemon 5th birthday party! The weather was perfect, all of Xander’s buddies came to play, the playground was fun, the games were a hit, and everyone had fun! I made a punch prize board- kids got to punch into a circle to find a tiny pokemon prize inside. I am EXHAUSTED but so happy that he had such a great day. 
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We’ve got a quiet week ahead, which I am looking forward to! 

A Few Pictures from the Last Week

We’ve been busy! A few pictures of what we’ve been up to the last week. The boys were super excited to receive a very fun package from Angela and Brad- nerf gun blasters and a Star Wars book. Nate was a little jealous and we might need to buy another one so he can battle too.  

School is going so well and the boys come home happy, talking about their friends and Xander is constantly adding numbers, spelling words, and his handwriting is looking really good! 
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Last weekend, Xander and Augustus started dance classes again. Pre-covid, Xander had just started hip hop classes. He’s back to hip hop, and Augustus is taking “creative movement” with 10 other 3 year olds. 
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Last Sunday, we met Skylar and Phoebe for a playdate at Hidden Falls. We had a picnic, hiked up to the falls and played for several hours. It was a gorgeous day and the boys had so much fun. 

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On Monday, we went to Silverwood Park to explore. I thought it was magical and loved it. The boys were entirely unimpressed and kept asking me when we could go back to the car. So much for our adventure. 

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I’ve been experimenting with fall flavors of macarons- pumpkin spice latte, apple cider… 
  
This weekend was a WHIRLWIND! Friday night, Renee and Kyle came into town in their new camper and so we headed to their campsite to visit and check it out (it made me think the trailer at camp could use a serious upgrade!). 
Saturday was dance class and Nate was at a golf tournament all day. 

 

After dance class, we headed to Christine’s house for Lucas’s 6th birthday party! He is obsessed with fishing, and Christine went all out with the fishing theme! The boys were thrilled to “fish” over the side of the deck, getting cool prizes on their “hook”. They decorated a fish and then played pin the fish on the hook. They got to eat donuts off a string and then got tackle boxes of candy at the end of the party! They were THRILLED! 
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After the party, we headed back tot he campsite to cook hot dogs over the fire for dinner and hang out with the grandparents. It was a VERY busy day! 

Today the boys went back to the campsite for breakfast, while I did some quick cleaning and then I met them there for a little while. Afterwards, we went to Good Times park to play. 

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By the afternoon, we were all exhausted and spent some time relaxing and recovering from a busy weekend. We have a very normal week ahead, which I am excited about. We need a boring, regular schedule for a while! 

A Miracle. A Sign From Above

School is going great and the boys are so happy to be back to a routine, hanging with their friends, learning and spending all day playing. 

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Last week and this week have been stressful for me (and Nate). On Tuesday, I ran into daycare to pick up the boys in the afternoon. From my van to the entrance is maybe 20 feet. I was inside around 5 minutes. When I came outside, Xander noticed some items on the ground and I quickly realized that my purse had been stolen. 
I called Nate (because I couldn’t drive without my car keys) and calmly waited for him to bring the extra key fob. I was the idiot who left my door unlocked and my purse on the center console. I felt violated, but also so stupid for making such a dumb mistake. 
Nate was a rockstar and had our credit cards cancelled immediately (they were at Target within minutes and managed to charge $600 on my business card before I cancelled it). Luckily credit card fraud is pretty smooth and all of our cards were frozen (and the camp card refunded quickly). They turned my phone off right away, but technology is great and I was able to freeze it and turn on an alert in case they turned it back on. 
On Wednesday, we went to the bank to get a new checking and savings account (because they took my checkbook). The bank gave us temporary debit cards, overnighted credit cards and ordered new checks at no charge. Verizon overnighted me a new phone within 24 hours. Nate ordered new health insurance cards. I went to the dealership and got a new key fob (which deactivated the old one). Overall, we were able to get everything back to normal quite quickly. 
But that first night (Tuesday), I didn’t sleep well. They had my car keys, my office keys and our house keys, as well as all of my personal information. I wasn’t sure if they were going to come to our house, or steal my car or go to my office. I was so stressed out and couldn’t stop kicking myself for being such a dummy. 
In addition to my keys, checkbook, credit cards, ID and phone, there were a few other things in my purse that were truly upsetting. I carry my dad’s “Black Hills Prospector Club” membership card. It’s a laminated piece of cardstock, but it’s precious. I like reaching into my wallet and seeing it. 
By far, the biggest loss and what I couldn’t stop thinking about and kicking myself over and over again was my fairy stone. My dad was a treasure hunter in all forms and one of the things he and I found together was a fairy stone. It’s a rock that looks like a cross and the legend says it will keep you safe, so I carry it everywhere. All week long, I kept thinking, “if I had something so precious, why on earth didn’t I lock my car?!?!” I was SO SO upset with myself. It felt like a dark cloud hanging over me. How could I be so careless? How could I lose something so important?


Grief is a weird thing- I’ll never be over the loss of my dad. As of November, it will be 9 years since he died and most of the time, I’m ok. I will always miss him and be sad and there are still times when I am angry he’s gone or deeply sad. But there were a lot of years where I cried about him often and really struggled with his loss, and it hasn’t been like that in a while. Until now. All week long, I felt like I was back in that active grief period. I’ve been so angry and sad and depressed and overwhelmed. I wanted my rock back and the loss of that item reminded me how much I missed my dad. Getting our bank accounts, and credit cards fixed was annoying and inconvenient and in some cases expensive ($300 for a new key fob!) but I didn’t expect to be transported back to grieving my dad because of a stolen purse. 
On Sunday night, I got an alert on my phone that my lost phone had been turned on and was in East St. Paul. Nate offered to drive over to the location and see if he could find it and hopefully along with the phone, my purse. 
I tried not to get my hopes up. But all week long, I had been hoping for a miracle. Dreaming that maybe someone will find it in a garbage can. Unfortunately, it was a cell phone pawn shop and by the time Nate arrived, the phone was off and there was no purse in sight. Even though I’d tried not to get my hopes up, I was crushed. I knew what I had been hoping for was unlikely, but still, I thought…maybe… For the first time in years, I found myself talking to my dad, begging him for a sign. I’m not religious- I don’t think he’s floating around on a cloud. But I believe in energy and souls and spirits and I think he’s here with me- although it’s been a long time since I really felt him. 
“Please dad, if you’re around, can you visit me in a dream or give me some kind of sign that things will be ok?” It’s just a rock. I shouldn’t have been so shaken by a rock. But I was so so upset. I am not superstitious, but I kept thinking that I wasn’t going to be ok without that rock to protect me. I was having bad dreams. I was miserable. I knew I would get over it and everything would be fine. I have a wonderful life. But at the moment, I was feeling despair and hoping somehow, my dad could send me some kind of sign he was around. 
Driving the boys to school this morning, I got a phone call from the police asking me if I’d lost my purse. Someone in Roseville found it in their garbage and the police officer they called found my ID and found me. The first appointment at the DMV to get a new license isn’t until the end of October, so the fact that they found it was thrilling. I was NOT going to get my hopes up about the rock. But any part of the lost purse was a win. 
The phone and credit cards were gone. EVERYTHING else was there. Even the pop up sucker I’d bought for Xander. They didn’t even take sushi gift card I’d had. My keys, wallet, checkbook. My FAIRY STONE. 



I cried the whole drive home. I hadn’t cried yet. But I sobbed and sobbed and I know in my heart that was my sign. My dad is with me and watching and probably shaking his head and using some choice language about me leaving my door unlocked with my purse in plain sight. I am so grateful for whoever found my purse and put in effort to turn it in and get it back to me. They will never know how much it means to me. 

Oh, and for the first time ever, Augustus peed on the potty at school today. He has resisted potty training with passion, and I’ve been assuming we’d be sending him off to college in pull ups, so that was perhaps, even a bigger miracle.