I should have known today was going to be a challenging one when I lost my necklace (I ended up finding it) and Lincoln blew out his diaper all within about 10 minutes of getting the day started. We made it through breakfast relatively unscathed and then the boys decided to turn one of their storage tins into a drum. I had given them wooden spoons to use as microphones, but I guess they made better drum sticks. The rest of the day was actually kind of a blur. I was exhausted and had hoped to take a nap when the boys did, but unfortunately, Lincoln only napped for an hour, so I braced myself for an afternoon with a moody toddler. By the time dinner time rolled around, between the kids and the dogs I was going crazy and looking for someone else to keep me company as I headed there. I even posted my plea for company on Facebook. One of my friends responded saying, “I can’t keep you company, but I’ll open the door and welcome you to crazy when you get here.” I got a much needed laugh out of his comment. Thankfully, when Jake came home I was able to take a few minutes to catch my breath.
After dinner, the kids thought it would be funny to wear books as hats, so that’s what we did. Once again, no matter how nutty some of their antics make me, they can always make me laugh.
Nolan helped me bake a cake today. It was hard for him to wait until the evening to dig in to it, but he made it. He asked if we could put candles in it and have a “pretend birthday.” That sounded good to me, so we lit 3 candles and sang “Happy Birthday.” When we got to the part about saying the birthday person’s name, I paused and waited for his response. He said, “Mommy!” and we finished the song. Guess he’s heard my birthday is coming soon, so we’d better practice 🙂
Nolan got to wear his pumpkin costume to school today and apparently do a little trick-or-treating. He came home with two little goody bags filled with trinkets and individually wrapped pieces of sugary goodness.
I think kids have a heightened sense of where sweet treats are located and an uncanny ability to figure out packaging that sometimes stumps adults. Case in point, Lincoln. It was good that Nolan had two bags of treats because my littlest Sheck was not letting go of the bag he acquired from his older brother until he examined its contents completely. Once we arrived home, I placed him in his highchair, untwisted the twist-tie from his bag, and let him check out what was inside. I opened a mini candy bar and he made short work of it. As I was getting lunch ready (thinking he was just playing with the eraser and kazoo from the bag) I turned around to find he had opened the purple Tootsie Pop and was enjoying it like a kid who has had a sucker before. (Today was his first.) And so, like any good mother, I grabbed my camera and took pictures while he loaded up on sugar before nap time.
Green monster teeth were another goody bag item. Look at those scary smiles 🙂
It was another great day, weather-wise, so we made sure to spend quality time soaking up some much needed Vitamin D outside this afternoon. The boys played in the sandbox with their snow shovels (yes, I did say snow shovels) and took turns going down the swing set slide while I used the leaf blower to make short work of the 1st batch of leaves that fell from the trees. I’m pretty sure I already knew this, but I was amazed at how much faster it is to BLOW the leaves than RAKE them. All total, I figure it took about 3 hours to clean up the backyard – that’s counting a couple of pit-stops and time for putting Lincoln down for his nap. If I had been solely raking, I’m sure it would have taken at least twice as long. My hard work was quickly hidden by newly fallen leaves, but at I’m glad we made a dent in what always proves to be a never-ending task in the fall.
Earlier in the day, the kids had fun wearing the fire chief hats they picked up last night at the firestation. I love how Lincoln prefers to wear his backwards. 🙂
After nap time, I took the boys outside to do a little leaf cleanup. They had a lot of fun and we found a second use for their snow shovels. (I figured it was also good “practice” for when they get to try shoveling snow this winter.) We only cleared off the driveway and ended up filling our yard waste bin. I wish I had had my camera outside with us, but as Jake has reminded me from time to time, it’s ok to have some things that are just memories for me and the kids.
The local fire station had an open house tonight so we took the boys to see the trucks. (Nolan recently visited the station with his preschool class, but he was excited to go again.) We learned a few cool things about the equipment by talking to one of the firefighters. I even climbed into one of the trucks in order to convince the boys to take a peek. Once they were in, they loved all of the gauges and buttons. They also had an inflatable jumping house/slide that Nolan had a blast playing in. I think he could have jumped and slid all night! I told Lincoln he could join his big brother next year 🙂
We’ve been using the fireplace in our porch quite a bit lately. It’s been warmer out there than most of the days in MN this past summer – 80, close to 90 degrees. It was the perfect temp for a coloring marathon. We spent several hours working on the oversized coloring pages. I even broke out my old box of 96 crayons. The kids loved the selection.
Nolan’s imagination continues to brighten my day. I gave the boys wooden spoons to play with while I was working in the kitchen. Nolan called for me to join them in the living room. They “roasted marshmallows” using their spoons as skewers over a pretend fire on the carpet. Nolan brought me an imaginary graham cracker, so Lincoln had to do the same. Then I received chocolate and another cracker from both of them. It was pretty cute.
We had game night at our house on Friday night. Larissa & Michelle joined us for Scrabble Slam, Buzzword & Mexican Train. Add the chicken, black bean & spinach dip I love to make (and the fireplace) and we had a fun time. 🙂
Saturday night we joined a few other members of Jake’s extended family to celebrate his cousin Sara’s birthday. On our way to the party, I mentioned I wanted a beverage from SA. Nolan then said from the backseat, “Mom, I’m going to get you a medium mocoa…And a Diet Coke for me.” Sounds like our kid has heard us order from the McDonald’s drive-thru a few times. Are we that predictable???
The boys had a lot of fun helping Sara open her gifts. At one point they were both jockeying for the prime seat next to her so they could see what she was opening. While we were there, Aunt Kristin came through for me in a big way. Nolan wants to be a pumpkin for Halloween and I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to dress him for the cold (and potentially wet) Halloween we will likely have. Kristin had a pumpkin costume in her basement that she made for one of her own kids. It’s great! And Nolan is so excited to wear it. He gets to wear his costume to school on Wednesday, so he’ll get to take it on a trial run before Saturday.
We’ve been working on what the kids need to say when they ring the doorbell on Halloween. The last time I asked Nolan what he should say he told me, “Can I have some candy, please?” What nice manners, huh? I’m guessing if he uses that, he could end up with extra candy pieces for being polite!
I went to visit my mom today. She had shoulder surgery on Friday morning. She’s recovering well, resting up, and doing her best to let her family take care of her. It’s nice to be able to return just a little bit of the kindness she has shown all of us over the years. While I was gone, Jake watched the boys plus our friends’ son. They boys always have such a great time with their friend. Breakfast for dinner was on tonight’s menu. Lincoln apparently wanted to eat like the big boys and use his fork tonight.
My baby’s straight, blonde locks have been growing for 18 months. The back has been bordering on piggy-tail length, so I called in Nana to trim things up. Lincoln did a great job sitting in his high chair once he checked out the tools that were being used to snip away the length. He looks just a little bit older now without his wispy ends.
Even though we spent a good portion of the day out in the porch with the toasty fire keeping things at about 80 degrees, we took a break for hot cocoa. Nana left the boys a special treat – Swiss Miss packets and chocolate covered spoons with Halloween Peeps stuck to them. The spoons were a big hit!
In the car today Nolan asked, “Mom, can we go to Sara’s house again and play Hungry Hippos?” I would love to spend just a few minutes inside my son’s head to know what triggers random statements like this. Sara is Jake’s youngest cousin. She is now getting the chance to play “older cousin” to the great-grandkids in the family. She is such a delight (I wish we were able to see her more often,) and she loves all of the little boys in the family. She has the makings of a great babysitter 🙂
It rained again today. I think the weather encourages creativity in my kids. Nolan helped unpack the groceries when we got home and proceeded to assemble a tower. The construction materials of choice were cans of creamed corn & spaghetti. Oh, and the 2nd attempt contained a random water bottle he was toting around. (Make sure you click on the picture of the cans to see the tower in all its glory.)
Since random is the theme of the day, I also feel the need to include a link to a speech by the Archbishop of Denver that a college friend of mine posted on Facebook tonight. Archbishop Cahput recently addressed a group of physicians in Phoenix. I found what he said to be extremely powerful – specifically, two statements:
“The Nobel Peace Prize winner Albert Schweitzer once wrote that, “A man is truly ethical only when he obeys the compulsion to help all life which he is able to assist, and shrinks from injuring anything that lives.” Every child with Down syndrome, every adult with special needs; in fact, every unwanted unborn child, every person who is poor, weak, abandoned or homeless – each one of these persons is an icon of God’s face and a vessel of his love. How we treat these persons – whether we revere them and welcome them, or throw them away in distaste – shows what we really believe about human dignity, both as individuals and as a nation.”
“It’s one of God’s ironies that the suffering imperfection brings, can perfect us in the vocation of love.” (Emphasis Archbishop Chaput)
It seems I’ve just added to my list of things to reflect on during the quiet moments I’m granted during the day.
I accomplished something today that has been on my “to do” list for many months. It’s not earth-shattering, but is slightly remarkable since it’s not a task I tend to make a priority. Here’s a little tidbit that most people probably don’t know about me: I’m not particularly good at keeping up with the pile of ironing that collects in our laundry room. Jake would tell you that I’m usually so far behind, he just takes the shirts he wants to wear from the ones hanging on the line instead of waiting for me to iron them and bring them to his closet. I guess I just prefer other household chores (or naps – if I can get both boys to take one at the same time.) That and ironing isn’t really something I can do with Shecklet #2 running around, so I have to do it when he’s napping or after the kids are in bed. Anyway, the story of the day is that I am currently caught up on all of my ironing. This might not sound like much of an accomplishment, but if you knew how much was hanging in the basement (and for how long) you’d be excited for me. 😉 Now if I could just get a handle on my laundry. My boys create more dirty clothes than Jake and I combined. It’s amazing!
Speaking of laundry, as I was hanging clothes to dry this afternoon, my little architect was creating this:
It’s so fun to see what he can build when he’s playing by himself. He has really been using his imagination a lot lately too. Our house is constantly a construction zone – trains, buildings, forts. You name it, the Sheck boys can build it!
I gave myself more than 5 minutes on this one because of all I attempted to cover.
Friday night we had a Rody rodeo at the house. Jake gave Rody a little extra bounce and the boys loved it!
Our 7th anniversary was yesterday (10/18.) It’s hard to believe how fast the years have passed. I recently realized how close Jake and I are to having been together for 10 years – we started dating in 2000 when we were at the U. I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather be spending this crazy, fantastic life of marriage & kids with than my husband. For all of the ups and downs that life brings our way, he has been (and continues to be) a source of calm, strength, and consistency for me.
Saturday morning we were planning on bringing the boys to Jake’s parents’ house for the day so we could go on our anniversary date – a day early. Jason, (Jake’s brother) called and offered us his Ford Mustang for the day, so we altered our plans a bit and exchanged cars and transferred kids at his house instead. I didn’t know where we were going until we left our house. All I knew was the attire for our date. It was great to be surprised!
Short side story. My mom and I had the most successful 10 minute shopping trip on Friday night. I didn’t have anything fall-ish to wear on Saturday, so my mom agreed to meet me to do a little shopping. On my way to Maple Grove, she called and suggested we try Nordstrom Rack. When we arrived, it was 10 minutes until they closed. We hustled in, found a couple of dresses to try on, found one, scooted over to the shoes, and successfully found a great pair of red heels. Love them! Not too bad for a “let’s just see what they have” stop.
Back to Saturday. Once we picked up the Mustang, we headed east on 94 and traveled various small highways up through Wisconsin to St. Croix Falls. We had lunch at a fantastic restaurant called Grecco’s on the St. Croix. The place is quaint and has an intimate feel. We sat near the fireplace, which was great because if you know me, I’m always a bit cold. We ordered an appetizer and each chose the herb crusted walleye for our main dish. To our surprise, the host came over a short time later with a different appetizer, Ahi Tuna, “compliments of the chef.” I had never eaten pan seared tuna until Saturday. It was delicious! In fact, every part of our dining experience was amazing. We plan on returning and would highly recommend Grecco’s – it’s worth the drive to St. Croix Falls!
We drove back to Jake’s parents’ place through Minnesota. It was such a beautiful day and the leaves still had some color. We stopped in Afton and got an ice cream cone (my 2nd dessert of the day) and then finally arrived back in Hastings. We spent the rest of the afternoon watching football (poor Gophers :(), letting the boys and dogs run off energy (and ride) outside, and finally having dinner with Grandma, Grandpa, the boys, Larissa, Jason & his girlfriend B. It was a nice way to end the fun day Jake and I shared together.
Our actual anniversary was pretty laid back, which was ok with us. We went to mass in the morning, came home and had donuts – Nolan’s favorite 🙂 and then watched the Vikings game. Jake also worked on a few things around the outside of the house since the weather was so beautiful! Later in the evening, my mom came over and watched the boys so we could go to a movie. Neither of us would recommend seeing Where the Wild Things Are. Unfortunately, it was a depressing movie with no real plot. I’m glad I know the book is good because had I not read it before, I don’t think I’d even pick it up. It seems we’re 0 for 2 lately with picking movies to watch at the theater. We seem to do better with our picks from RedBox. Plus, in my opinion, it’s way more comfortable to watch a movie at home. I’m guessing we won’t be hitting the theater again for a while – unless someone can recommend a really good flick for us to see.
Today was business as usual. Nolan went to school and Lincoln and I headed to the gym. I feel so much better when I get a workout in in the morning. After school, we came home for lunch and then everyone took a much needed nap. We spent the afternoon outside – took a walk, played with chalk, and took “cheesy” pictures with the bale of hay we received from the local volleyball boosters we supported.
Yesterday I sent a text message to my hair stylist asking if she could get me in for highlights and a cut before our anniversary this weekend. My last haircut (not given by her) wasn’t that great, so I’ve been anxiously awaiting the chance to change things up a bit. To my surprise, she had an opening today. I quickly scrambled to find someone to watch the boys so I could book the appointment. Great-grandma Lois came to the rescue! She hadn’t seen the boys since we visited the cabin this past summer, so she was excited to spend some one-on-one time with them.
After a get-out-of-bed-late kind of morning, we were finally ready to head south. Today’s random “bring along items” were bouncy balls and two pieces of pink wrapping paper. (I wrapped a birthday present for one of Jake’s cousins before we left and my little helpers wanted their own paper to “wrap” things with too.) The paper was apparently too fun to leave at home. But whatever keeps them entertained in the car, right?
Once we arrived at our destination, Nolan took off his coat and shoes and headed for the toys in the basement. Lincoln wanted to follow, but Grandma Lois hung on to him while we briefly talked about lunch and nap time. When I returned an hour and a half later, Lincoln was sleeping and Nolan & Grandma Lois were in the middle of making peanut butter cookies. Yum! Nolan was in charge of rolling the little cookie dough balls in sugar. He was pretty proud to be helping out. Once again, if I had been thinking, I would have pulled out my phone to take a picture. Unfortunately, this time I didn’t have a teenager to remind me of this, so you’ll just have to imagine my curly haired 3 1/2 year old up on a chair next to the counter, burying cookie dough with sugar.
