Monthly Archives: March 2022

After returning home from St. Louis on Tuesday, Wednesday morning at 4am, Xander woke up complaining of a stomachache and within minutes of waking up, he was vomiting. Wednesday was a rough day for him- he couldn’t keep anything down- sips of water, popsicles- it all came back up. Eventually he napped for a while, and exactly 12 hours after he got sick, he snapped out of it and asked for chicken noodle soup for dinner. Augustus was happy to have a restful day with unlimited ipad time as I balanced taking care of Xander and trying to work. Poor Xander was SO miserable, but I was grateful that it passed quickly.

Thursday, Augustus was back to school and Xander went to work with Nate for a while and was home with me for a while. He did some chores to earn money for an ipad game he wanted. He went with me to take the puppies for a walk. It was a good day- low key, but really nice.

In the evening, we went outside to enjoy the spring weather and ended up at a neighbor’s house drinking Bailey’s and eating a Bailey’s trifle to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. We have the best neighborhood!

On Friday, Augustus was at school and it was Xander’s last official day of Spring break, so he and I went to Snapology in the morning. It’s a super cool place that basically has a bunch of STEM focused stations- we built lego cars and raced them, put together special robotic blocks, and several other cool things to experiment with. It was a very fun morning.

The weather has been so warm and so obviously, Friday neighborhood happy hour is back! It was SO nice to be outside, hanging out with everyone. The kids ran around and played and it was so nice to be back together with everyone!

After happy hour, dinner and bath time, we put the boys to bed and sat down to relax. But around 9, Augustus woke up saying he didn’t feel well, and before we made it to him, he had vomited all over the carpeted hallway. He was MISERABLE. Like Xander, he couldn’t keep anything down- every little sip of water led to more vomit. I knew we were in for a long night, so I decided to sleep with him in the spare room. He vomited throughout the night, but by the time we woke up, he was feeling fine and bouncing around like normal.

My stomach was a little rumbly when I woke up on Saturday, but I was ok, so all 4 of us headed to the YMCA for the boys’ tumbling class. It was not a success- the boys both hated it and mostly refused to participate. Ya can’t win ’em all I guess.

We got home and had lunch and then Nate took the boys to my mom’s house for an overnight. For the record, I was unsure about them going since they were both recently sick and I really didn’t want to expose my mom, but she was pretty insistent on having them over. She was in Hawaii last week, so it’s been a while since the boys were with her and they were all missing each other a lot.

While the boys spent Saturday hanging with Grandma, I spent the day is agony. A little after they left, the rumble in my stomach turned to explosive vomit over and over. I won’t go into detail, but it was AWFUL. I haven’t been that sick in years. It wasn’t just that I couldn’t keep anything down, it was that my whole body hurt too. I lay in bed moaning for several hours. Nate took good care of me bringing me water and blankets. I didn’t want him near me because I didn’t want him to get sick too, but he was a rockstar caregiver.

The good news about this awful plague was that while it was MISERABLE and violent, it was also short. Because by 9pm, all of a sudden, the nausea and body aches just went away, and I felt ok. I was drained and weak, but better. I spent some time making a to do list for Sunday, menu planning, and making a grocery list and then I got a great night of sleep.

This morning I woke up still feeling weak, but also motivated. I had a long list of things I wanted to get done today. I started by bleaching the bathroom, the kitchen floor, every door knob, handle, banister, light switch, etc. I usually try to stick to natural products in our house, but today it was straight bleach- our house smelled like the inside of a pool. I don’t want Nate to get sick or anyone to get re-infected (not sure if that happens, but the thought of it makes me want to cry).

Nate and I got the yard cleaned up, I picked up groceries, did laundry, walked the dogs, and got prepped for the week. I tried to pace myself because I wasn’t feeling 100%, but it was a good day. My mom and the boys started the day in the pool and had a fun morning. Then they came home and basically spent the whole afternoon playing outside. I am SO happy that spring is finally here.

We are ready for a normal week with a normal schedule (have I mentioned how much I love being in a good routine?!) And spring is here, so life is good!

Spring break 2022!

Road trips are not my thing (I get terrible carsickness), so I think I surprised Nate when I suggested a road trip. At Christmas, we had so much fun with Kara and Jud and especially baby Nell, and I wanted the boys to be able to spend time with their cousin. So we hopped in the car and hit the road!

On Friday, we left early and drove 4.5 hours to Iowa, where we stopped for the night. We found a hotel with a cool waterpark and we stayed in the pool until it closed at 9pm (with a short break for dinner). I think they went down the slides about 50 times each. The water was warm, the slides were fun and we had an absolute blast.

The next day we got up and swam from 9am-noon. More slides, more swimming, more fun. Before we left, we hit the arcade, which the boys were very excited about.

We drove 4.5 hours again. The boys watched movies, played car bingo and when we stopped at the gas station, we loaded up on so many snacks and treats! The drive went pretty fast and when we arrived in St. Louis, Xander said, “St. Louis is beautiful!” Augustus was asleep, but Xander was very impressed and excited.

We got to Kara and Jud’s house and hung out for a little while, at which point, Xander kicked off our stay by vomiting. If I was Kara and Jud, I would have kicked us out right then and there (they did not). I was pretty sure it was just a “fun mom fail” with too many snacks because he felt much better afterwards and ate pizza for dinner and none of us ended up sick- THANK GOODNESS! But oh geez, what a way to arrive.

On Sunday, we headed to the Arch and the Arch museum. It was 70 degrees and sunny and it was SO amazing to be able to be outside.

Baby Nell (and Kara and Jud) headed home from the Arch for Nell’s nap time, and we headed to the rock climbing gym. The boys (and Nate) were skeptical and unsure they wanted to do it, but once we got harnessed up and tried it, I think we all surprised ourselves and each other. It was SO fun!! Everyone was really good at it- Nate got to the top of the wall. It was such a great family activity and we will definitely do it again!

Nell woke up from her nap and we headed for a very cool nature playscape (https://www.forestparkforever.org/playscape) to run around and climb on fallen logs and big rocks. The weather was so perfect, I was in heaven.

It was so nice outside that we went to another park, this time a playground, so that the kids could keep playing. Then we went home and Jud grilled brats for dinner while we sat on the deck and had drinks. We ended the night with a movie night (we watched the new movie Turning Red and ate popcorn). It was literally my perfect day. It was so fun and so happy and it was just fabulous. Before I had children, I knew I was going to love them and care for them. But I didn’t fully understand how cool they would be and how much I would enjoy spending time with them. Our boys are funny and fun and smart and clever and so fun to be around. They are the best people and family time is just such a great time.

Fifteen years ago (or maybe more), I heard about the City Museum and knew I wanted to check it out. The building the museum is in used to be a 9 story shoe factory and it’s HUGE. No pictures can possibly do it justice- it was the coolest place I’ve ever been. Every where you look, there were tubes, tunnels, slides, places to climb, things to look at. I felt like we were in the Goonies or Indiana Jones. It was extraordinary. I was a little anxious as we lost the boys a few times when they climbed into a hole and disappeared into another section, but overall, we managed to stay together most of the time. This video doesn’t even fully do it justice, but it shows you what an incredible place it is- https://www.citymuseum.org/about-us/drone-video/. I think you could go back every day for a week straight and still see new things each day. We were there for 6 hours and VERY tired by the end, but I want to go back!

That night we stopped for frozen custard for after dinner, but it was a little earlier night for the boys (we were all exhausted). Another perfect, fabulous, fun day.

Today was our marathon drive day. The dogs needed to be picked up by 6pm, so we couldn’t budget in a lot of stops. I have several meetings tomorrow and need to be at one in person as well, so we couldn’t extend our trip. Our only option was to drive all day, however, the day was actually pretty smooth. The boys watched 4 movies and other then a short stop for lunch and a brief gas station break, we powered through with little complaining.

When we got home, Uncle Danny had a surprise for us. He’d told me earlier in the week that facebook ads had gotten him and there was a surprise on the way. Is there a better way to end a road trip than with a road trip themed meal? You know I love a theme! I’d already planned breakfast for dinner, so when a car/truck waffle maker was waiting for us, I can’t even explain how excited I was (forget the kids, I loved that gift the most!). It was the perfect end to an absolutely fabulous spring break trip.

Kara and Jud were such wonderful hosts. We ate so much good food. We did so so many fun things. We spent great time together laughing and having fun. We picked up 2 very tired happy dogs who have been sleeping since they walked in the door. The trip was better than I could have ever imagined. I am so grateful we could do this and I can’t wait for the next one!

March is here and on Monday, we had nice warm weather and some hope that spring will be here soon. We played outside with Sam and Abby and it was fantastic. I am so eager for the weather to change!

It was a mostly normal week with the boys in school, Augustus with Grandma Debbie on Wednesday (they used molds to make chocolates!), and Nate and I busy with work.

Not part of our normal schedule was me getting on an airplane and flying to Nashville! Nate’s mom Renee turned 60. Nate’s dad is one of 7 brothers, so the 7 sister-in-laws, along with daughters and daughter-in-laws (17 of us total) headed to Nashville for a girls weekend! We ate Nashville hot chicken, drank a lot of wine, had a private chef who made one of the best dinners ever, laughed a lot, listened to good music downtown, sat outside and soaked in the perfect weather and much more. It was an absolute blast and I’m looking forward to the next girls trip!! I missed my 3 favorite men, but it was nice to get away and do something different.

While many of the ladies were between the ages of 60-70 years old, by far the lamest old lady there was me! Whited women know how to party and can operate on little sleep. I usually go to bed at 9:30 and wake up at 5:45. I stayed up as late as I could, but I was no match for those ladies!

Between my job, my boys, my husband, 2 puppies, the PTA, my cookie business, training for a half marathon, swimming twice a week, attempting to see my friends occasionally, and trying to make sure my house is somewhat clean, I am stretched thin. I enjoy everything about my life and I don’t want to pull back on any of it (except maybe the cleaning my house part). So when I had a weekend away, I was eager to RELAX! I was so excited to have my own room and a bathroom to myself. Given a choice, I will always opt for reading a book in bed over a wild night out so, yeah, I think I was the most senior citizen-ist of the ladies. But even with me being kinda lame, it was such a great weekend! I loved hanging out with everyone and I felt like I got a whole new perspective of the Whited family. I feel very fortunate to have joined such an incredible family and I while I missed the boys so much I felt like I might collapse, I was also really sad when the weekend was over.

While I was attempting to keep up with the party, the boys were busy at home with Nate. Xander is still drawing nonstop (there was a GIANT pile of mew pictures by the time I got home). Gussie is interested in drawing every now and then and Xander gets excited when they get to draw together. Nate said that he overheard Xander say to Augustus (about a drawing video he was watching), “I think this one is a little tough for young drawers like you. I’ll find an easier one.”

Nate and the boys went to an indoor play place, had movie night, had the neighbors over to play, drew lots of pictures and had a great time. They had family clean up the day I flew home, so the house was organized and laundry done when I got home!

On Monday and Tuesday, Gussie was at school and Xander spent both days in all day Panther Club at school because his 2 week (yes, 2 full weeks!) spring break has begun. I flew home on Monday night and spent Tuesday catching up on work and everything else in life, so I was happy Xander had something fun to keep him busy for the first part of the week. We’re heading off for a little family trip in a few days, so it’s been and continues to be a whirlwind!