Monthly Archives: April 2023

It was a week of both fun and sickness and fun again.

This week, the weather went from full blown winter freezing blizzarding nonsense to SUMMER. It was gorgeous, sunny, amazing weather. On Monday, Xander and Nate met up with some of the basketball team for some outdoor practice. On Tuesday, I had a donor meeting and we met OUTSIDE at a cafe and sat in the sun and it was amazing! On Wednesday, our neighborhood had the first happy hour of the season (everyone was in attendance!).

On Tuesday night, Nate and I got dressed up and went to a very fancy cocktail party (not our typical Tuesday at all!). I was super excited to be able to provide party favors for the guests. Linen Effects is an awesome company that had a party and unveiled their new logo. It was so fun to get a sneak peak at the new logo (so I could air brush it on macs) and then be part of the party! Apps, drinks, being dressed up, hanging with Nate and my bestie Christine… basically the best night ever.

The week wasn’t all sunshine and cocktail parties (it would be cool if that was the typical week, but no….). On Thursday, the nurse called me midday with a sick Augustus. This has been an on and off nonstop battle since last week, with both boys being sick, feeling ok, feeling sick, feeling ok. We can’t seem to shake it. I picked him up and immediately went to the doctor who tested him for covid, influenza, strep, and a urine test because he’s been complaining of back and brain pain. If all of those came back clean, we were going to draw blood and keep testing. Except that within just a few minutes, the doctor came back with positive strep results! Surprising, but I was thrilled. He never complained about a sore throat, so I really didn’t think it was that, but the good news about strep is that antibiotics make you feel better fast!

Not surprising, Friday morning, Xander wasn’t feeling great and when Nate took him to the doctor, he was positive too. Antibiotics for both kids!

I was still feeling fine, and doing my best to take all the vitamins, wash my hands nonstop and beg the universe to spare me. Because this weekend was ‘Mom’s Gone Wild 2023- Girls’ Weekend’.

Christine and I were scheduled to go up north to a resort to spend 3 days eating, relaxing, not taking care of anyone, not cooking, not dealing with anyone crying or fussing. Luckily, by Friday morning, everyone was on antibiotics and/or feeling well, and the two of us peeled out of the driveway like our hair was on fire.

First stop, Lynn’s Cake Supply, which is just in Fridley, so a location we could go whenever we wanted, but I never do and was excited to kick off the weekend with a shopping spree of sprinkles! Then it was on to a weekend of eating (we ate so many good meals and snacks), doing a puzzle, shopping, sleeping in, and laying around doing nothing without feeling guilty or being interrupted. It was HEAVEN. I missed Nate, the boys and the puppies almost immediately, but it was so refreshing and amazing to just relax without anyone needing anything.

While I was relaxing, Nate and the boys had a full weekend. Xander had a basketball game at 8:30am on Saturday. After that, they went to Sam’s birthday party and had a blast. After a full day of fun, they headed to Grandma Debbie’s for pizza and a slumber party. Nate went to our other neighbor’s house for drinks and apps.

On Sunday, had a chance to sleep in and relax a bit (fair, since I had a weekend of luxury). The boys, my mom and aunt Cindy all headed to Stages Theater for a show.

The weather today switched from 70 and sunny to 30 degrees and snowing. Minnesota spring is maddening!

I am hoping for a warm weather, healthy kids week ahead. Send good vibes.

Oh man, I’ve been slacking on the blog lately! After spring break, I was so happy to get back to our regular schedule. And we did, but it has been SO busy. Work/School, basketball for Xander, cookies for me… I don’t know what else, but every day is SO jam packed!

The last weekend of March, we were excited to have Grandma Renee and Grandpa Kyle come for a visit. We mostly hung out and it was so nice to just chill and spend time together. The dogs were excited to have new people to snuggle. The boys were thrilled to have their grandparents around. It was a really wonderful visit and we are excited for them to come back again.

Renee and Kyle’s visit was perfectly timed to include being in the crowd to cheer on Xander at swim prelims. I have been so incredibly proud of Xander this swim season. There are only 4 1st graders on the team and it’s his first year swimming competitively. He has grown so much and improved every single week. I was NOT expecting him to come in first place in his heat during the backstroke, but he did! I was a volunteer timer, so I was at the end of a different lane, but super close to him to watch him pull ahead. I was screaming, “ohmygosh ohmygosh” and thought I might fall right into the pool. It was AMAZING. He was thrilled. It doesn’t matter if he wins or loses, but him winning that race was very fun!

The weather has been insane- we’ve had some nice days, 2 days of blizzard-like conditions, followed by super cold days… I can’t keep up. And then today was about 70 degrees. I think we’ve finally turned a corner with the weather, but it’s been a rollercoaster. As the winter dragged on, we’ve added 2 different swings- one in the basement, that is proving to be a really nice calm down spot, and also just a fun place to flip around. We also added a swing and rings in our dining room doorway. I will turn this house into a full on indoor playplace if Spring doesn’t show up and stick around soon.

We’ve also been taking a lot of baths- but not regular baths, special baths. We did some pom pom baths- that is just fuzzy poms in the bathtub. They float, they are fun to scoop up. They dry easily. I’ve used easter eggs (empty), glow sticks, balls and spoons, water balloons, cut up pool noodles, and bubbles. The boys could stay in the tub for hours if we let them and they are enjoying the variety.

April 1 was April Fool’s Day. We celebrate all holidays in our house! 2 years ago, I dipped a brussels sprout in chocolate and surprised the boys with cake pops (except Xander’s was actually the brussels sprout). He thought it was hilarious. Last year, we conspired to trick Augustus with the same prank, but instead, I got Xander again! This year, at dinner, Xander said, “are there cake pops?” and I said, “no, I’m so sorry, I didn’t have time to bake this year.” After dinner, I opened a brand new box of mini ice cream cones. Earlier in the day, I had cut the top off of one, replaced it with a brussels sprout, chocolate dipped it, put it back in the box, glued the box shut. The altered ice cream cone didn’t look exactly the same, but Xander didn’t notice. He bit into it and the chocolate cracked off, revealing the green… he was confused and then amused. Mom wins again!

A few weeks ago when we went to fancy brunch, we had fresh squeezed orange juice and it was fantastic. Xander said, “we need to have that”. I said, “we need to get a juicer” and he said, “yeah? Can’t you just order one?” This 7 year old has exceptional taste and says things like, “I only like fresh warm muffins” when I make him breakfast in the morning. Same dude. But I was up for the fresh squeezed OJ challenge. I bought an $8 hand juicer. I bought 8 pounds of oranges from Costco ($8). We squeezed one orange to try it. Xander took one sip, handed it back to me and said, “not for me, too much pulp. Can you buy some professional juice at the store.” I took that as a challenge. I spent the next 45 minutes peeling and squeezing all 8 pounds of oranges. Then I used a strainer to take out the pulp. I made all 3 men do a blind taste test. Me, Nate and Augustus all agreed that the fresh squeezed was amazing. Xander liked the “professional” (ie store bought) juice better. $16 and an hour of work later, I’m not sure fresh squeezed juice will be a regular feature in our house, but I liked trying it.

Basketball is back in session and Xander is working hard. Last weekend was a blizzard and only 4 kids on each team showed up for the game. Xander had to play the entire time and he was exhausted!

Art and music night for K-4th grade was an event! We got to walk through the gallery and see all the beautiful art Xander has created this year. Then all of the classes performed together. On the last song, the audience got to sing along and Xander was both amused and embarrassed of me. He smiled and shook his head, but he’s not too cool for his mom yet. And really, who can resist belting out “This Little Light of Mine” with a whole auditorium?! Group sing?! There is nothing I love more.

1st grade is building a model city and every kid was assigned a different building. Xander worked SO hard on his fire station and it was so fun to watch/help. He did almost all of it himself- I helped with a few areas that needed hot glue. He didn’t want to use a toy fire truck- he wanted to make it himself. I asked what he wanted to use. “It would be nice if we had a 3D printer….” He is SO my child. We went with paper as our building material.

And then, when I didn’t think we could get any busier, the sick hit. Tuesday, the nurse called midday with a sick Gussie. I picked him up early from school. I figured he would bounce back quickly and be fine. No. Instead, he tossed and turned all night, miserable and crying. No one slept more than 45 minutes at a time. I started thinking we were going to need to go to the ER. We didn’t end up in the hospital, because eventually he started going to the bathroom and didn’t stop for several days (I will not elaborate). And then when I assumed his little body was totally empty, he surprised me with a lot of vomit… several times. He was miserable. He didn’t want me to leave his side. There was a lot of re-arranging schedules and cancelling things and my mom helping out, and eventually, I moved my “office” to the floor next to his bed and got a surprising amount of work done, considering I was on the floor. Just as Gussie started to feel better, Xander got sick… Ugh. It was nonstop laundry, cleaning, handing out popsicles, and snuggling. At one point, I was holding Gussie on my lap and Xander walked by and said, “you know you’re gonna get sick, right?” I always assume I will be sick when either kid is, but I managed to avoid it.

But today was Easter!! The Easter bunny brought baskets for the boys and one for the parents (and carrot shaped for the pups). He left 40 small eggs (fair game for either kid). He left 8 bigger eggs- each kid could only find his color (blue for Gussie, orange and pink for Xan). And then one giant golden egg for each boy. So many yummy treats and fun things in the eggs.

After we found all the eggs, my mom, 4 aunts, Danny and Heather came over for brunch. It was super nice to catch up and see everyone. Uncle Danny helped find the last egg none of us could find. We played a game called Egg Roulette, which the internet had suggested to me earlier in the week. Everyone had to take a turn (I assured the 65+ crowd that I could guarantee their safety, as I had already rigged the game ahead of time). When it was your turn, you pulled a string which was attached to a plate. If you got an easter egg, you got the prize inside. However, there was one plate with a REAL egg and if you got that one, you had to smash it on your head. The real egg string was marked for the fun Uncle, who had agreed ahead of time. However, a smashed egg seemed too messy, so I had blown out the egg, then used a small funnel to fill the egg with confetti, and then glued a tiny white piece of paper to cover the hole. So when Danny pulled the real egg, and Xander got to smash it on his head- SURPRISE! It was just a glittery mess (but easy to sweep up). We ate, we chatted, and then Gussie left to go play with neighbors. Later, our neighbor texted me that when he asked Gussie what we had to eat today, Gussie said, “we didn’t really get food today”. I both laughed and also smacked my head against my forehead.

I just want to say, for the record, that I made egg cups (2 different flavors), hashbrown casserole, apple turnovers, watermelon (cut in flower and butterfly shapes), Danny smoked an amazing salmon, which we put on a charcuterie board with cheeses, olives, crackers, etc. My mom brought 2 pies and a carrot cake… I’m so glad the 5 year old noticed all my hard work. Kids are so rewarding sometimes. Happy Easter- hopefully you were somewhere with food today.

This week is just a normal week again. No surprised blizzards (actually, it’s supposed to be GORGEOUS this week), no sickness, no changed schedules, and everything smooth sailing- THAT is my wish for us and for everyone!