Monthly Archives: April 2022

It was a low key week that flew by in the blink of an eye. April weather has been brutal- rainy, sleety, cold, windy, miserable. We’ve had a few nice days sprinkled in- Monday was a nice day and we hung outside after school/work with all of our neighbors. The kids played until we had to drag them in for bath time. I am very eager to have days like that every day! The rest of the week was SO cold and dreary!

Last week a woman contacted me and asked if I ever offered macaron classes. Her 13 year old loves to bake but hasn’t been able to figure out macarons. I said yes and had my first ever class! Mathilda was an awesome student and so excited about everything we did. She and her mom came over and we made 2 batches, french buttercream and ganache. It was super fun for both of us and I think she will be able to make them on her own from now on!

The boys enjoyed their week at school. Gussie and Grandma were busy together on Wednesday. It was a nice week.

On Saturday, Sam and Abby came over to dye eggs with us. We tried out a new technique (instead of the regular vinegar method) where you put food coloring in shaving cream and roll the eggs around. We let them sit for a while and then wiped them off. It was a little messy (would you expect anything less from me?!), but they turned out really pretty. Afterwards, the grown ups watched basketball and had drinks while the kiddos ran around and played. And after the kids went to bed that night, we went next door for a campfire (the baby monitor reaches into our neighbor’s backyard, so we can sit outside and not worry the boys will wake up and need us).

Today was Easter! The easter bunny brought baskets for both boys, a mom/dad basket, a puppy basket and hid lots of eggs! Gussie was hunting for blue eggs and Xander was looking for yellow or green. There were 10 big eggs for each kid (those had toys inside) and 10 little eggs for each (those had candy). The boys were very excited to find their eggs.

Gussie was not feeling well overnight and pretty much tossed and turned and woke up crying, and was overall miserable all night (which meant Nate and I both woke up approximately 100 times each as well). I was super relieved that when Xander came bouncing in to wake everyone up at 6am that Augustus seemed to feel much better, but both Nate and I were dragging!

We had a pretty relaxing morning and then Danny, Heather and Grandma Debbie came over for brunch. Danny spent 8 days curing his own pork belly that he smoked yesterday. Excessive? I thought so until I tasted it. We made pork belly breakfast tacos and they were AMAZING. I loved them. French toast bake, smoked salmon, Grandma’s famous dip, breakfast quesadillas, bloody marys… I was STUFFED by the end of the day. The boys love when Danny and Heather come over because they love to play the Switch with them and basically are the coolest people the boys know, so they were in heaven. The dogs are also obsessed with them, so basically everyone was thrilled to have guests and it was an awesome day. Everyone left in the afternoon and I took a very rare afternoon nap. It was a fabulous day.

The weather was mostly gray and drizzly, with a little sleet mixed in, but it was such a lovely week despite the yucky weather. On Monday, Xander had the day off school, so he and I hung out and then Grandma Debbie took him out to lunch.

Augustus had theme days at school, so on Monday it was PJ day, fancy day, hat day, and dress like your teacher day. He looked like a mini teenager on hat day and I felt like I could see a glimpse of him as a high schooler.

This week, we spent the evenings binge- watching all 3 Thor movies. I was a little nervous there might be some scary parts, but Xander assured me they would be fine (he’s a very convincing little dude). There were a few parts that were a bit intense and I got to hold hands with my big boy during those scenes. Overall, they were pretty decent movies (my opinion) and the boys LOVED them. Xander’s new favorite super hero is Thor.

On Saturday the weather finally warmed up and I was so grateful because our neighbor Sean and I had a race to run! For over a year, Sean has been texting the neighborhood every Saturday morning to rally everyone for “Neighborhood Short Run”. We started talking about running a 5k and Saturday we did it! It was Sean’s first ever 5k, so it was fun to be able to run with him and represent our neighborhood together! At the end of the race, all of the runners got hot cocoa, as well as a bowl of liquid chocolate, banana, marshmallow, a rice krispie treat, cookies and graham crackers. The boys had also gotten donuts in between dropping us off for the race and cheering us on at the finish line. On the way home, Augustus actually said, “I think I’ve had too much chocolate today!” which I never thought I’d hear from him, but I guess even 4 year olds have a limit.

After the race, we headed home to play outside and ended up hanging out with almost the whole neighborhood for the entire afternoon. The kids did some craft projects and the adults soaked in the sun (which was finally out after a gray week). We went inside for dinner and Nate suggested we go out for all-you-can eat sushi, so we called my mom and met her for a spontaneous dinner out.

Today the boys and my mom went to see the new Sonic movie at the theater. They also went to McDonald’s for lunch and to the park. When they got home, they ran down to Sam’s house and everyone ran and played like crazy until dinner time. A perfect day for 2 boys. Nate and I took the dogs for a walk together. I grocery shopped and baked some cookies. It was a fabulous week and a super fun weekend.

Our boys are at an age that is just so fun. They are hilarious and sweet and fun to hang out with. We’re past heavy baby carriers, packing a diaper bag; we don’t have to worry about naptime or hover over them while they play. Even though I knew they would eventually get older, when they were so little, it felt like life with kids would always be exhausting. But we’re in this stage of life that is just so sweet. They are both giggly and happy. Xander loves to sing along to the radio. They’re fun and they make me laugh and Nate and I were just talking about how much fun we have hanging out with them, rather than just feeling like we’re trying to entertain them every moment of the day.

We’ve had 2 full weeks of fun! Last Monday (March 21), the weather was unseasonably warm- just a perfect temperature, so we joined the neighbors and walked to the ice cream shop after dinner. The kids were being silly and giggly and kinda of tumbling along, the sun was still out, the breeze was warm- I was overcome with how perfect of a moment that it was. Our kids are at such a fun age and sometimes I am literally overwhelmed with happiness in these seemingly ordinary moments of life.

The weather did not cooperate the rest of the week- it was cold with icy rain. It was a normal schedule with the boys at school and Gussie with Grandma on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Kara and Jud flew in from St. Louis and I headed to downtown Minneapolis for the Model United Nations conference. The dogs fell in love with Kara and Jud and luckily they weren’t annoyed by the aggressive love and instead, sent us cute pictures of all of them snuggling throughout the day.

I was only at Model UN overnight, but I really enjoyed seeing my Youth in Government buddies and talking to YMCA alumni. I have such an awesome job! The hotel we stayed at was across the street from a store called “Candy Land” so when I came home, I had some fun treats for the boys (gummy snakes!). I was glad I could be home for one night while Kara and Jud were here- we had dinner together and had some good hang out time.

This week we were back to a regular schedule- no nights away, no guests, just our regular schedule. On Tuesday night, Xander’s school hosted Art and Music Night, so we (with Grandma Debbie) got to walk through a gallery of beautiful artwork and then listen to a wonderful music program. Xander was a little nervous to perform, but did a wonderful job and was VERY proud of himself after the big show. It was really fun to be in his school, visit with his teacher and see some of the art and music he’s been working on these last few months.

On Friday, it was April Fools Day, and so for dessert, I served “brown ‘E’s” which none of my men were particularly amused by. Luckily I also had real brownies too or I would have had some really angry men on my hands! Friday night, I went to bed early (my favorite thing to do) and Nate headed to the neighbor’s house for some snacks and card games.

On Saturday our family was BUSY! I got up, ran 4 miles, cleaned up the yard, emptied the dishwasher, stripped all the sheets off the beds, and baked 3 batches of cookies by 10am. Later, my neighbor and I ran 3 more miles, I washed 3 loads of laundry. Nate and the boys went to the park in the morning and then a different park in the afternoon! Shortly before dinnertime, our neighbors texted to ask if we wanted to meet them at Surly brewery for pizza and beer. Yes! We both have awesome kids, but they were normal wiggly, giggly 3-6 year olds, so shortly after we ate, we decided that they were done with the brewery and so we headed back to Kelly and Silas’s house for a few more drinks while the kids could bounce off the walls without annoying anyone (except us).

The boys and I headed home for baths and bedtime, while Nate stayed to watch the basketball game.

Sunday was a fun day for the boys with Grandma and a day of catch up and rest for Nate and I. We did some house projects and I went grocery shopping, but mostly, we relaxed until the late afternoon, when my mom and the boys returned. Danny and Heather came over for dinner, followed by video games, which was a highlight for the boys. Danny and Heather have all the best games and know how to play all of them. The boys absolutely LOVE when they come over to play!

It’s been a great 2 weeks and we have another routine week ahead (have I mentioned once or a million times how much I love a routine?!)