Monthly Archives: September 2022

It was a great week! School, tennis, swim lessons- everything went well.

On Wednesday, I got to volunteer at school for playground/lunchroom duty. Once my duties were done, I got to have lunch with both boys (I switched back and forth between them). It was fun to see them with their friends. It was super fun to see the lunch room in action. And the boys are still at the age where it is exciting to see me, not yet embarassing.

On Friday, Augustus was home with me, which is always a fun balancing act between entertaining a 5 year old and getting all my work done, but he’s a chill dude, so it was a great day. We went to the Y, the Dollar Tree for Halloween decorations, and Trader Joes. Gussie likes to add things to the cart, but then he says things like, “we should get 2 of these because they are your favorite Mommy”. On the way home, he said he wanted a corn dog for lunch. There happened to be a corn dog stand in the parking lot of a nearby church, so we made a quick detour. It was drizzling, so we ate our corn dogs in the car before heading home. On Friday night, we had family game night and taught KT how to play yahzee (beginners luck- he won!).

Saturday morning, I slept in until 8am until Xander said, “can you get up? I miss you and also, I’m hungry. You said you’d make crepes.” I couldn’t argue with that!

On Saturday night, all of the neighbors came to our yard for a potluck BBQ. I should have taken a photo of the table- there was SO much food piled high. Everyone was telling KT to try different things and he said, “this is overwhelming!” but he was smiling and I think he was enjoying himself! Everyone ate and ate and then the kids ran around playing while the grown ups hung out and relaxed. Once it was dark enough, we got all of the kids snuggled under blankets, buckets of popcorn in their laps. I bought a giant screen last Amazon prime day and it was a great purchase! The kids were content and the adults got to relax and hang out. After the movie, we all paused to put kids to bed (ours went right to sleep without a peep!) and then returned to our yard to sit around a campfire. It was such a wonderful magical night.

Today the boys were busy with Grandma Debbie and Nate and I got lots done around the house. Another fun week ahead.

The last 2 weeks have flown by. We’re adjusting to the new school year, but September is sort of a difficult month. The boys are working hard at school- new schedules, new friends, lots to learn, and it’s exhausting! They are enjoying school, but they are also very tired. I know that by October, we will have less meltdowns and exhaustion, so we’re all just being patient with each other as we get into the routine.

The boys are busy with tennis lessons, and Augustus started the next session of swim lessons.

After Unglued camp, I always come home with new recipes and this year was no different. I’ve been experimenting a bit and have added a few new things to our menu. I’ve also been playing around with watercolor painting, which was one of the classes I took. I DO NOT NEED ANOTHER HOBBY! I keep repeating that to myself, but every time I finish a painting, I want to try it again.

Gussie is enjoying Pre-K, Xander is working hard on his daily reading chart and KT is busy with lots of homework. We took the pool down last weekend which felt like an official goodbye to summer. I can’t wait to put it back up next year!

This week was homecoming, so there was lots of fun for the week. There were different dress up days for KT in upper school. There was all school spirit day on Friday. KT is in the jazz band and when I found out they were playing at the pepfest, I cleared my calendar so I could go watch (and take photos and video!). It was so fun to see the whole school together. There were silly games and lots of cheering. Xander got chosen to represent 1st grade in one of the games and he was SO proud of himself. I was an obnoxious mom who got right up close to the band so I could take pictures, but KT’s mom was happy to see them, so that won’t be the last time I do that.

On Friday, Augustus went to Camp St. Croix for the day (he doesn’t go to pre-K on Fridays). They have a program every other Friday and he spent the day on the farm. They picked raspberries, made beautiful bouquets and he came home tired, dirty and happy.

On Friday night, there was an Upper School barbecue and KT was not excited to go (he was pretty crabby about it actually). Nate and I said he had to go to that and the dance on Saturday. He has to meet people and experience all that school has to offer. I was nervous he was going to be miserable, but he was absolutely bouncing when he got home. Major teen-parenting win on our part! He also seemed to enjoy the dance on Saturday night.

Friday night we had a last minute slumber party with Olive and Emmett which was super fun! We had dinner, set the kids up in the basement with a movie, they played and then everyone was in bed by 9! On Saturday morning, we had a chocolate chip pancake party and then they got picked up. It was so fun to have them over! On Saturday, Nate came in first place in a golf tournament, I ran 8 miles, the boys played an excessive amount of Roblox (unlimited screen time when mom is busy running), and everyone relaxed.

Today the boys spent the morning with Grandma Debbie and then we had family photos in a park. Augustus cried literally the entire time, so we’ll see how the photos turn out. Luckily we have a super awesome photographer who wasn’t thrown off by a crying child.

We’ve got a normal week ahead!

Week 2 of school was a success! We are still easing in as it was only a 4 day week. All the boys are enjoying their classes, making friends, and get in the van at the end of the day talking nonstop.

On Monday night, our neighbors were at a nearby hotel for the night and invited us for swimming and pizza. I was a little nervous that the boys would be too tired after a full day of school, but they love swimming and we had an absolute blast!

Tuesday was a regular day of school and afterwards, they had their first tennis lesson. Sam and Harvey, the buddies they were in soccer and tee ball with were also there, so it was nice for all of us parents to be able to hang out again.

There was an ice cream social after school on Thursday, and then lots of playing with the neighbors because the weather was fantastic. KT and the boys continue to get more and more comfortable together and have been bonding over video games and computer games.

On Friday, the boys had the day off from school and I headed out of town, so to kick off boys’ weekend, Nate took them to Can Can Wonderland to play arcade games. The weekend was a nice balance of fun and hanging out, with a few park trips, video games, and plenty of times to relax. On Sunday, the boys went to Fort Snelling with Grandma Debbie and then spent the night at her house. They went for a midnight swim (not quite midnight, but it was after dinner so that was exciting).

I spent the weekend at Unglued Summer Camp. It is my third year and absolutely a highlight for me. From the moment you arrive and they hand you a shot of champagne, it’s nonstop fun. I took 4 different craft or cooking classes, there was a camp battle (team pink came in 3rd), a themed dance party (the theme was “campy carnival”), amazing food, open bar, and time with my dear camp friends. It was SO SO fun. I missed my men, but I had the best weekend.

This morning, Nate picked the boys up from Grandma’s house and headed to a brand new park for a playdate with our buddy Shiloh who we met at Family Camp. I had a personal training appointment and then met up with them with a picnic lunch. When we got home, the boys went right outside to play and they were very creative. They were excited when Sam and Abby returned home from the cabin and continued to play and invent things.

We’ve got another 4 day week ahead. I am exhausted from a busy weekend and looking forward to a normal, quiet, routine week ahead!