Today I pulled out the carousel that my Grandpa Cal (Pops) set our way last winter. It is a source of much ooh-ing, aaah-ing, laughing & dancing. The boys love that they can turn the thing on and off. That’s the part I don’t love quite as much. Turning it off means when they turn it back on, the song set starts from the beginning. By the end of the Advent & Christmas seasons, I have a feeling I’m not going to want to hear Jingle Bells for another 12 months.
We had a visitor for a couple of hours this morning. Little J came over to play with the boys. She joined was just as enthralled with the carousel as the boys were. I captured still shots of them checking out the little horses as they went up & down and around & around, but the video is way more entertaining!
Wednesday night we had to scrounge up some pj’s for Nolan. I was a tad behind on laundry, so his “normal” pajamas were still in the dirty laundry pile. We made due with sport pants and a Twins shirt. Not to be left out, Lincoln “requested” a t-shirt of his own. Actually, he requested one of Nolan’s and we put it over his sleeper. He was SO proud of the fact that he was wearing the Corn Dog shirt. It’s a Sheck boy favorite.
Thursday was Thanksgiving Day. Nolan and I worked on a special project Wednesday afternoon & Thursday morning. We made turkeys using an outline of his hand and finger paint prints of his fingers. He had a lot of fun gluing on the beaks, “gobblers,” googly-eyes, and feathers. After the glue dried, I had him decorate the place settings at the table. He was pretty proud!
We hosted my family and our friends Teri & Nate for Thanksgiving dinner. My parents brought the main course (turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing & gravy,) I put together a couple of side dishes (the token green bean casserole and squash & apple dish I made a couple of weeks ago,) Tony brought fruit salad, and Teri made two delicious desserts. We dined with a couple of pilgrims who gobbled up the food on their plates like old Turkey Day pros. It was really nice to spend the day with family.
Can you tell they’re brothers? Lincoln has started smiling the way his big brother does. Both of them really know how to ham it up for the camera.
After Thanksgiving dinner I made the mistake of drinking two cups of coffee (with lots of flavored creamer.) The kids went to bed at 7 & 9. Jake did the same around midnight or so and I was up until 3AM! When I laid my head down at 3, I laid awake for another hour. It was ridiculous. I don’t know what I was thinking putting that much caffeine into my body so late in the day. Lesson learned…the hard way.
Friday we spent some time at Larissa’s apartment. She had a group of us over to swim in her pool. It was a tad on the chilly side, so we didn’t stay in the water long. We gave the boys a warm bath to raise their body temps and then had pizza for lunch followed by ice cream sundaes. Yum! Jake then took the kids home for a nap while I went in to the office for a few hours. When I got home, we put the kids to bed and went out in the porch for a while. Not much was on TV on Friday night; somehow we ended up on QVC. I ended up making my first purchase thanks to the TV pitchpeople. (I didn’t call in though – I made the purchase online.) I’ve been looking for sleeping bags for the boys’ Santa presents and found the perfect ones on QVC. Who would have thought? And not only are they sleeping bags, but they’re sleeping bags with cots! So as the boys get bigger and we’re able to bring the cots with when we travel, the kids won’t have to make camp on the hard (and nasty) hotel floor. Thanks QVC!
On Saturday we made the annual trip to Menards to pick up our Christmas tree. We thought about going to a tree farm to cut one down this year, but I think we’ll wait a bit longer before we go on that adventure. At this point, the kids are more excited about just getting the tree inside the house and decorating it. Down the road when they’re able to enjoy seeking out the “perfect” tree, we’ll head to the tree farm. Until then, Menards will bring the tree selection to us. We convinced the kids to take a nap after we got the tree home, telling them we’d decorate it if they napped. It worked perfectly. We all got some much needed sleep and then later in the evening, enjoyed hanging lights and decorations. We put the tree in the porch so little fingers can’t get to it unless they’re monitored. Thanks to the former owners of our house, some of the outlets in the porch are on a switch that is in the toy room. So even though they can’t get up close to the tree without mom or dad, the boys can turn the lights on and off by themselves – it’s perfect.
Having two little boys in the house means we build a lot of forts. Sunday afternoon was no different. The card table we used on Thursday was still in the living room, so we covered it with a sheet and then placed the kids’ hut next to it to extend the width of the fort. Jake crawled in to see if he would fit. 😉 His feet stuck out one end and his head peered out the other. Being the helpful toddler, Lincoln checked on his daddy and then proceeded to try to rescue him by pulling on Jake’s head.
Nolan had his first preschool conference this morning. From the sounds of it, he’s doing pretty well 🙂 I’m glad he is enjoying it as much as he is. I catch him singing things he learns in class from time to time. Those moments really make me smile.
After conferences, I took the boys to MG to swim. We picked up Nana and headed for the pool. Both boys had a blast going down the kid slide and playing in the zero depth area. I wish I had brought my camera to capture the excitement on their faces when the fountains and waterfalls came on.
Tonight we celebrated my birthday for the 3rd time. How’s that for a three day party? My parents and brother came over for cake (Angel Food this time) and ice cream. Afterward, we hung out in the porch with a nice warm fire and Nana read to the boys. I love that my kids have opportunities to spend time with their grandparents, aunts & uncles. They are loved by so many people. What a gift that is to me as their mom.
Today’s randoms from Nolan:
For some reason he wanted to attach balloons to his pockets. I don’t ask why anymore, I just roll with it. (See the last picture above)
While in the porch this evening, he told Nana & Papa the “mometer” (thermometer) on the wall “measures the number of colds outside.” Papa then asked if it measures the “number of hots” outside in the summer. Good question, Dad 🙂
We met friends of ours at Springbrook Nature Center on Friday morning. There is a visitor center with live and formerly live animals that the kids enjoyed looking at. I’m not much for snakes, but they had some pretty cool ones that were native to MN. Maybe I didn’t mind them so much because they were contained in their aquariums. Once we were done with the inside part of the visit, we ventured outside to walk one of the trails. The older boys had fun running ahead of us while my friend Brooke & I pushed the little ones in strollers. It was a beautiful morning to be outside. We ended up finding a grassy clearing and hung out there for a while so the kids could explore, play & eat a snack. They had so many animal crackers I don’t think any of them needed lunch.
Side note…Nolan has a book called Help’s on the Way! It’s about rescue vehicles.
In one part of the book, Red, the firetruck helps rescue Milky, the ice cream truck. Milky is a big, white, boxy, truck. On our way to the nature center, Nolan said from the back seat, “Look at all those Milkys!” I paused for a moment, wondering what in the world he was talking about. When I looked in my mirrors, I noticed that we had just passed the RV sales lot with all of the big, white, boxy, RVs. I couldn’t contain my laughter 🙂 To his credit, the RVs DID in fact resemble Milky.
Friday night & Saturday I was able to spend time with friends organizing pictures and putting together a scrapbook with pictures from our engagement & wedding. This has been a project I have been meaning to start for quite a while, but just haven’t gotten to it. (I wonder why.) Now that I have things organized and also have a scrapbook to put the finished pages into, I’m hoping to be able to complete the book some time in the next year. We’ll see…
While I was doing my thing on Saturday, Jake took the boys to Hastings to see Auntie Kari (who was in town for the weekend), Grandma & Grandpa. From the looks of the pictures, they had a good time playing outside! They also helped wrap my birthday presents, which was pretty cute to see. I made sure not to look closely at those pictures until after I opened the gifts.
Sunday evening, Jake’s parents came over so Jake and I could go out to dinner (a day in advance) for my birthday. We went to Biaggi’s and had a fantastic meal! Our server was a friend of my brother’s, so it was fun to catch up with him a little, too. We ended the evening with pumpkin pie and funfetti cake (made by Larissa). It was a great birthday-eve!
In honor of Grandparents’ Day, the preschoolers invited their special loved ones to come to school and enjoy cookies together. Nana & Papa and Grandma were all able to join Nolan for the special event. Afterwards, we all went out for lunch at Paninos. Yum! Once Nolan and I returned home and put Lincoln down for his nap, we headed outside for yet another beautiful afternoon. I really wish the weather would stay as nice as it has been for at least another week. We’re hoping to participate in the Turkey Day 5K and warmer temps would be preferable, especially since Jake and his mom are planning on walking with the boys (they’ll be in wheeled vehicles) and I’ve never ran (or walked) a 5K event before.
Tonight I spent a few hours at my parents house going through old pictures. My friend Michelle is organizing a scrapbooking/craft weekend and I am hoping to get a start on a book of engagement & wedding pictures. I had a lot of fun remembering the different things we did to get ready for 10/18/02 as I flipped through package upon package of photos. Little did I know just how many pictures my mom was able to take during the 11 month time period . I’ve really got my work cut out for me. It should be fun!
After having a weekend that was less than normal (my mom spent some time in the hospital unexpectedly) it was nice to have a day that was just “normal.” The boys got up and had a normal morning, ate normal breakfast – oatmeal with raisins & cinnamon, and made their normal request for part of my English muffin. They made their way to the garage to get into the suburban in their normal fashion and we arrived at preschool at our normal (almost on time) time. Lincoln and I went to the gym – he played in the child care center while I had a normal workout. After I finished, we took a break from our normal routine and stopped for a smoothie at the gym’s cafe. We picked Nolan up at his normal dismissal time, had a normal lunch and later took much needed, getting-to-be-more-normal nap. (Since Nolan has started school, I’ve found that he’s much more willing (and able) to take a decent nap in the afternoon. This is A-OK with me, because I occasionally get to nap as well.) Afternap time, we had a normal evening complete with dinner & playing in the porch.
I went to see my parents this evening to check in on my mom and deliver a squash & apple dish I made tonight. My mom is doing much better, which enables me to breathe a sigh of relief. (She is able to do so too, (literally) which is a huge improvement compared to over the weekend.) Today was just a normal day, and I’m thankful for that.
Halloween was a blast this year! The boys were both pretty excited about it going into the big day. In the end, we actually had to cut Lincoln off. I think he would have tried another block’s worth of houses if we had let him. The kid has the candy grab down pat – thanks for the practice, Uncle Tony! Good thing most houses put the candy into his bucket instead. Here’s a rundown of the day, in pictures.
We visited Nana & Papa’s house in the morning. Since Nana recently had shoulder surgery, it was easier to go to her.
The next doorbell we rang was Uncle Tony’s. He put on his Halloween costume too – he was The Karate Kid this year.
Later in the day we carved our lone pumpkin. This baby came straight from our garden. It’s the only thing (aside from the celery) that did well this summer. I think it sucked the life out of every other pumpkin that attempted to grow on the same vine.
Finally, we gathered the munchkins together (ours plus two others) and headed out on a quest for candy.
We had a special guest come along with us. Auntie Stacie was home for the weekend and helped us keep track of the kids as we walked around the block.
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!
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.
