Monthly Archives: June 2023

Week 2 and as you may have guessed by the title, didn’t exactly go as I’d expected. Monday and Tuesday were normal for me and the boys. This week they went to flag football camp. This was also a Y program and at the same location as last week, so it was the same schedule, same staff, same routine. All good. The boys enjoyed it and were busy all day. Exactly as I’d hoped! Nate had Monday off for Juneteenth and spent the day golfing. Unfortunately the 90+ degree weather left him dehydrated and sick by the end of the day. He spent the evening nauseous, miserable and in bed.

Wednesday night, as I was cooking dinner, I started to feel a bit queasy, but I assumed I was just really hungry since I’d eaten an early lunch and not much else since. But after dinner, my stomach was not feeling better. I’ll spare the details, but there was a lot of laying in bed holding my stomach, and every 15 minutes or so, my entire body would revolt and attempt to force all of my internal organs OUT of my body. It was horrendous.

At about 9pm, Xander jumped out of bed and proceeded to explode vomit all over our bathroom in a way I haven’t seen since college. At that point, he moved into bed with me, Gussie moved to Xander’s top bunk and Nate took Gussie’s bottom bunk. Xander and had a rough night, waking up over and over. My poor baby kept saying, “why is this happening to us?” Ugh.

We spent Thursday eating pedialyte pops, drinking electrolyte drinks, laying in bed. Periodically we would just hold hands in miserable solidarity. Gussie had a good day at football camp and then he and Nate went to soccer where their team won their game. He came home sweaty but happy. Xander has been pretty anti-soccer for the last few weeks, so I think he was happy to spend the evening next to me in bed, rather than at soccer…

Life as a working mom is a juggling act of working full time, spending enough quality time with my children, quality time with my husband, making time for family and friend relationships, taking care of my house and my dogs, getting enough exercise, getting enough sleep, cooking nutritious meals, having hobbies, volunteering, and like whatever other 5 million things you are supposed to do. It’s why I always sort of have a crazed look in my eye as I try to do it all. So getting KNOCKED on my back for 24 hours was stressful to say the least. I’m busy with a big project at work and I needed a full productive day on Thursday to stay on track. And it is amazing how quickly a house can fall to pieces when you’re not staying on top of the 12 million things that need to get done every day. It was not a great middle of the week.

Luckily we were all back to normal on Friday. Xander went back to football camp and I spent the day working without blinking, moving, or coming up for air, desperate to catch up. Augustus, Nate, and my mom (who was over for dinner on Wednesday) never caught the plague that Xander and I had, which I was really grateful for. 24 hours of vomit had nearly pushed me over the edge!

Saturday was day#2 of catch up. The boys spent the morning playing with Sam and Abby and I spent the morning doing laundry, cleaning and working. I spent the afternoon at the birthday party with the boys- I wasn’t actually planning to stay, but there were drinks and snacks and lots of adults and the weather was gorgeous. So, “I’ll just stay for a few minutes” turned into all afternoon.

Sunday is always a great day- the boys spent the day with Grandma Debbie. There were some science experiments in the morning and then they went to the movie theater to see Elemental. Nate spent the day at a golf tournament. I spent the day grocery shopping, cleaning, catching up on work, and baking cookies.

The boys came home pretty early in the afternoon so they could play with Sam and Abby. After dinner, there was an intense kids vs. grown ups soccer game- losers would have to jump in our pool. In an accidental last minute move, the grown ups WON the game (whoops), but the kids were good sports about losing. However, as we started the 5 minute walk home, the heavens opened up and we were SOAKED! No pool jumping necessary, everyone was drenched. We went to Kelly and Silas’s porch and had freezie pops and hung out. Eventually the rain stopped and the kids ran around and played outside until we dragged them in for bedtime.

Sticking with the theme of vomit, this week we also got some tests results back from the allergist… Augustus went to the allergist for the first time when he was 2 and tested positive for a peanut sensitivity. The doctor told us it was mild and to keep exposing him to peanuts. Augustus can sense a peanut from a mile away and will spit out anything peanut related the moment it touches his mouth. Peanuts make his mouth itch, but we haven’t taken it too seriously since the doctor told us not to worry. 2 weeks ago, Gussie ate a peanut butter filled pretzel, not knowing it had peanut butter inside. Immediately, he started spitting and trying to wash his mouth out. I had him gargle water, I tried to use a wash cloth to help him wipe off his tongue, he brushed his teeth. Nothing was helping and he was miserable. Then his lips started to swell, which hasn’t happened before. I gave him benedryl right away, but he was so uncomfortable. And then he started holding his stomach, screaming in pain. It went on for about 20 minutes (I was on hold with his doctor’s office at this point) and I was starting to think we might need to take him to the ER. He didn’t have hives or issues breathing, but he was in a lot of pain. And then, just as I was really getting concerned, he vomited up every last thing in his little body. And as soon as he did that, he felt better.

I made an appointment with the allergist the next day. He has never had that reaction before, but I also don’t think he’s actually swallowed peanut butter in the past. The allergist did a blood test this time (last time was just a skin test) and this week he called to let me know that it’s not just a sensitivity, but a real allergy. Gussie’s is on the mild side and there’t not a need for an epi pen. But we are going from trying to expose him to peanuts to actually avoiding peanuts from now on.

That’s it for the vomit report. Hopefully the week ahead is healthy and happy for all!

It was our first full week of summer vacation!

The boys spent the week going to YMCA basketball camp each day. There was a good balance of basketball, playing outside, playing other games, as well as lunch and 2 snack times each day. They enjoyed themselves and were excited to go back each day, so that was excellent. I leaned into packing them theme lunches- shaped sandwiches, round carrots, melon balls, dipped oreos, and ample use of a food coloring marker. I actually find packing lunches to be such a chore- I LOVED that school had such good hot lunches so I never had to pack them. I decided to make them fun for myself (and yes, the boys liked them too). I have no actual pictures from at camp, but it was a great first week of summer.

Camp was basically the same schedule as school, so our routine didn’t change much. I am extremely busy with our alumni magazine right now, so every day was a whirlwind of working without pause and then the boys would come home and they would jump into the pool or go play with the neighbors. I have another hectic week of work ahead of me and I am grateful that my job isn’t this intense all the time.

I’m determined to practice biking this summer, so went on my first adventure and biked 2.5 miles to the YMCA and back! I did most of the journey on the sidewalk, but I think the look of fear on my face excused me from being an annoying biker. I’ll build to eventually biking on the street.

On Wednesday, the boys started golf lessons. Xander felt strongly about wearing an almost matching golf shirt with Nate, which was so cute. Wednesday night was a neighborhood celebration with ice cream because it was the last day of St. Paul public schools, so everyone in the neighborhood is out of school now! We ate dinner early and then stayed outside until it was bedtime for the kids, and then after bedtime, all of the adults went back outside for happy hour.

Saturday was busy! Xander and I went to a birthday party in the morning and then out to brunch. After brunch, Gussie, X and I went swimming and then Xander and I went for a 2 mile run (followed by jumping in the pool fully clothed because it was SO hot out!). We went out to sushi for dinner to celebrate Father’s Day.

This morning, Xander and I made an early morning run to the bakery to get GIANT father’s day donuts. And then we all headed to the Mall of America for a day of rides and fun to celebrate Nate. MOA was the boys’ idea, but we had such a fun day. Xander rode his first roller coaster. It was a very good way to spend a Sunday.

We’re ready for week 2 of the summer. Flag football camp, here we come…

What a week and weekend we’ve had! It felt like it lasted forever, but I don’t mean that in a negative way- we crammed so much into the last 7 days, I can’t believe it was all one week.

Monday-Wednesday were the final days of school. Monday was the last Gussie/Grandma day and they were busy as usual. On Tuesday, Xander’s class performed the play they’ve been working on in drama class. He was a very convincing badger and it was a wonderful show. Xander and his friend Sammy have been fulfilling orders for the kindergarteners all year. The kindergarteners would make a list of requests and give it to Mr. Myles, who would give it to them. They would draw what the kindergarteners requested and then give the drawings to Mr. Myles to hand out. It was very serious business and the last orders were delivered on Tuesday.

Wednesday was the last day of pre-K for Gussie and the last day of 1st grade for Xander. They have both learned and grown so much this year, and we have had such a great year. They loved their teachers (me too) and they both had lots of friends. I’m so proud of both of them and I have loved every moment of watching them learn.

Wednesday was a half day. Nate picked the boys up from school, brought them home, and then headed off to a 5 day golf trip in Wisconsin. He got up early and golfed all day for days in a row. There was drinking, grilling, and lots of dude time.

While Nate was gone, the boys and I had a busy few days. Thursday night was soccer. Xander refused to play and spent the whole game on the sidelines. I asked him why he didn’t want to play and he said, “daddy isn’t here and I’m just a little sad. Also, soccer is boring and hot.” So that was that for him.

On Friday, I worked in the morning and the boys had unlimited screen time. After that, we headed to Grand Slam for 4 hours (!) of fun. Laser tag, bumper cars, trampoline, play area, slushies and pizza for dinner… I think they would have stayed forever if I had let them. We will definitely be back again.

Saturday Uncle Danny came over to teach the boys some exercises. Xander has been interested in working out lately, but the last time he worked out, he ran 1.5 miles with no shoes and then did bicep curls for 10 minutes, so we decided to bring in a professional to give some guidance.

Before they worked out, Danny had brought me a table and he moved it from his truck to my backyard. To get it over the gate, he picked the table up and carried it over his head. The boys were SO impressed. They volunteered to carry the chairs and also lifted them above their heads.

The three of them worked out and then got into the pool to cool down. Just 3 muscle-men hanging out, showing off their abs.

After working out, the boys and I went to Spinning Wylde, which is a new cotton candy cafe that I needed to check out! $15 later, the boys were VERY unimpressed. So much for that adventure! We went to the library to sign up for summer reading and get some free books. When we got home, we had rest time, and it started POURING rain. I meant to screen time to last only 20 minutes or so, but the rain was so relaxing and so we all laid in my bed, the boys with ipads and me reading a book. The thunder crashed and it was just gloriously relaxing. We spent over an hour laying together until the rain stopped. We ordered pizza for dinner and the boys slept with me in my bed.

Today the boys went to Grandma Debbie’s house and they all went to see the new Spiderman movie. Spoiler alert, apparently it ends in a “to be continued” and no one was satisfied with the ending.I spent the day grocery shopping, sorting through all the boys’ papers from the year, baking, cooking, and all the things moms need to get done. Every day, we put the papers the boys bring home into baskets. At the end of the year, I choose 10 things to keep for each kid. I have a 3 ring binder that I save them in. This was a pro-tip from my super-mom bestie, who helped me figure out how to save things without being a complete hoarder. It’s a good strategy and forced me to sort through all of their papers.

Nate got home and life is back to normal. I’m so glad he could have some time away and have fun, but we definitely missed him!

We had 4.5 days of fun, endless playing, lots of screen time, too many freezie pops, staying up late, and running wild. But now we’re back to a normal schedule as the boys head to basketball day camp next week!

June is here. It has been hot and we’ve been spending as much time as we can in the pool.

Monday was Memorial Day and we had a pretty chill day relaxing at home. My mom came over in the afternoon and played dodgeball with the boys for a long time, we grilled dinner and then she and the boys played checkers. It was a relaxing day.

Wednesday was field day at school. Nate went to cheer the boys on and they all came home at the end of the day hot and sweaty. Also on Wednesday, we had a hot dog picnic with our neighbors. The kids swam until it was time to eat, took a short break to eat some hot dogs and then went back into the pool until it was time to go inside and get ready for bed.

Wednesday night happy hour happens after the kids go to bed and it is so fun and we laugh and laugh and laugh. And then the next morning I wake up crabby that I stayed up so late the night before. But it’s great and I love it.

Thursday was soccer. The boys are really enjoying it and so it makes me happy. At one of the water breaks, Xander suggested that after soccer, we go to get ice cream. I said maybe, but then, literally one minute later, our neighbor Aaron texted to say, “drumsticks at our house at 7pm” so ice cream it was. Nights like those make me SO eager for the summer. The kids were running around playing, the weather was perfect, we were all hanging out. No one wanted to go inside. It was so wonderful.

Friday was the last day of Daddy/Gussie or Mommy/Gussie days. Gussie and I hung out and had a great day. We got his hair cut. We met Kelly and Abby at the park. We went out to lunch. He got a lot of screen time while I worked, so he was happy. After dinner, we had family movie night. We’ve been reading the first Harry Potter book and finished it this week, so we watched the movie. I made Harry Potter themed snacks and we all snuggled in to watch. They were very attentive and it didn’t get suspenseful until the end, at which point, both boys were in my lap. For my whole life, there will never be anything I love more than a pile of little boys and puppies all snuggled with me.

Almost every night, after the boys take a shower, before we read books and get ready for bed, we wrestle. They jump into my arms and I toss them onto the bed. I grab their legs out from under them and push them over. They LOVE it. Now that we have the pool, all they want to do is wrestle in the pool! Now instead of saying, “when can we have screens?” they ask, “when can you wrestle?!” And so we spend a lot of time with me tossing them, pushing them over, and spinning them around.

Saturday we spent a lot of time in the pool. We went to Half Price books and Costco, where we had lunch.

Last night, Xander said, “tomorrow morning, I am going to make myself a buttered croissant!” I told him I thought that sounded awesome. At 6:30, Xander surprised us with breakfast in bed- butter croissants and coffee. I would prefer breakfast in bed about 2 hours later, but it is the thought that counts.

We had the end of the year pre-K party today. The kids played on the playground, ate pizza and popsicles, got their faces painted and ran around. It was super fun and very hot. We came home and got right into the pool until dinner, and then again after dinner.

3 days of school left and we are counting down! Summer is almost here!