Day 1252 | These Boys
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I just love them, you know. These boys.
Day 1251 | Chex Mix
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Nothing gets me in the holiday spirit (even if it's a bit early) like Chex Mix. The smell of it cooking + the taste immediately bring me back to my grandma and grandpa's house on Christmas Eve where the only thing more anticipated than the gifts was my mom's Chex Mix (and Aunt Pam's cutout cookies, obviously).
When I had to come up with a contribution to Chase's school bake sale, this salty treat immediately popped in my head. I hope others love it as much as we do!
The Best Chex Mix
Ingredients
- 4 cups Corn Chex cereal
- 5 cups Rice Chex cereal
- 1 cup mixed nuts
- 1 cup stick pretzels
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Directions
- Heat oven to 250°F. In ungreased large roasting pan, melt butter in oven. Stir in seasonings. Gradually stir in remaining ingredients until evenly coated.
- Bake 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread on paper towels to cool, about 15 minutes. Store in airtight container.
Special Note
If I had my way, I'd add Wheat Chex to this mix (three cups of each kind), but the people have spoken and Wheat Chex are not a welcome addition.
Day 1250 | Cookie Time
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It's that time of year again: Grandpa Paul called the boys down to help with cookie baking. I'm not sure they *helped* much but they definitely added some excitement to the evening.
I will note that Robbe managed to leave a little bit of the flour on the counter. Surprising, I know.
Day 1249 | Spirit Cup
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Our second 4-H meeting and the boys are already raking in the awards. As a prize for coming to their first two meetings and maybe, just maybe, because they are the youngest and super adorable, the boys received the Spirit Cup full of candy. This probably goes without saying...they were more than a little excited.
Day 1248 | Snowballs
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This guy loves them. I wish I shared just a smidgen of his enthusiasm.
Day 1247 | Proud Parenting Moment
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There's some back story here.
Last week, Chase came home from school upset because one of his classmates, let's call him Joe, wouldn't do partner work with him. And he used some pretty forceful language to let Chase know he wasn't interested. Chase, and his sensitive soul, was hurt and confused because usually Joe loved doing this work with him and Chase really enjoyed working with Joe.
Chase came home, told me about the bummer of a encounter and I suggested that perhaps Joe was having a bad day and, although it hurt your feelings, it was important to not take it personally. I told him that if/when someone says something hurtful to him again, to try to respond with something kind.
Flash forward to yesterday. Chase once again asked Joe if he wanted to do this partner work with him. (Let me say I was already so impressed by just this sweet gesture.) Much to my dismay, Joe declined and once again (although not quite as roughly as the first time around) said some unkind words to our sweet boy. Instead of getting upset, Chase said to Joe, "That's ok. But if you ever want to work with me, I would really like that." (or something similar).
Can you handle it? Talk about a proud parenting moment! To reenforce this amazing behavior, I offered Chase an unprecedented afternoon activity: he could choose a super special afternoon snack or a trip to the dollar store to pick out whatever he wanted. He chose the dollar store (hence the photo) and a pair of slinkies as his reward. Obviously what everyone would do.
I'm crazy proud of this little guy.
Day 1246 | Date Night
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Chris and I have been committing to a weekly date night [in] for the last month or so. Instead of tv watching or laundry folding, we enjoy a board game and chat (often times a glass of wine is also consumed...and tonight Oreos joined the party!). It's been really lovely. I find myself looking forward to the special night of laughing with my husbanf and avoiding my to do list all day long.
Day 1245 | Racecars
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Yesterday was laundry baskets. Today's favorite activity (and it's been going strong for a few days now): racing these Playmobil cars. The boys can't get enough of guessing who the winner is going to be, watching them crash, declaring rewards for each driver, and the winding them up and doing it all again. The big lesson learned, though, is pad your walls with something (we use couch cushions) or you're going to end up with lasting marks on the trim to go along with the lasting memories.
Day 1244 | Laundry Baskets
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Who knew laundry baskets could be so much fun? Throughout the course of the afternoon, they were cars, movie theaters, jails, tipping boats, beds...you get the idea. All you need is a good friend, a laundry basket (or two), and your imagination.
New podcast episode!
Seriously, sleep regressions are no joke. Mary Catherine and I relive some of what our little ones went through and the offer tidbits of hope we gleaned along the way. Take a listen...
Day 1243 | Superhero Power Party
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You know it was an exciting weekend when the Superhero Power Party recap gets pushed into Monday.
The Children's Museum of Eau Claire put on a great event and the whole family had a blast. Chris and Chase went last year but Robbe and I were newbies. Thank goodness we had our veterans there to show us around--there was just so much to see and do.
Some highlights included:
- Meeting Batman and seeing the Batmobile
- Arm wrestling with Flash
- Getting up close and personal with some fancy insects (not sure what the super hero tie-in was here, but we didn't mind!)
- Exploring the solar system in the planetarium (we got to find out where some of the super heros + villains came from in space)
- enjoying the photo booth *a bit* too much (see below)
The Power Party was a complete hit (again!) for our super hero fans. We'll be on the lookout for next year's date!
Day 1242 | 23-Hour Adventure
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My dad and Chris took the boys on a whirlwind 23-hour adventure to the hunting cabin yesterday. It's hard to say who was more excited: the boys or my dad. And, luckily, the cabin didn't disappoint. Here's how they spent their time:
- A continuous cycle of ATV-riding
- BB gun shooting (with no prior consent from mom...eek!)
- Marshmallow roasting
- Snowball fighting (there was enough snow up there for that!)
- Bunkbed flashlight searching (for a hiding dad)
- And then car-riding and sleeping made up for the rest of the excursion
You might be wondering how I spent this glorious 23-hours with nothing on my schedule (they didn't know they were going until last minute). Well, let me tell you:
- cleaning (some deep-cleaning projects that have been plaguing me for far too long) + laundry
- working (it felt so good to get caught up)
- getting my nails done (such a fun splurge!)
- watching my nieces' musical (so good!)
- reading a book in peace and quiet (what a treat!)
- sleeping without disturbances from my three favorite boys
Man, "glorious" days sound really lame when you're a parent. I'm ok with it, though. It's been a long time (maybe the first time since having a baby) that I was home for an extended period of time with nothing filling my time. Maybe it's lame, but there's something to be said for appreciating the down time.
Day 1241 | Cinderella
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My nieces rocked the stage tonight. The energy, enthusiasm, and grace they exuded during the performance was exactly what I would have expected from them. Glad I could be there! Congrats on a job well done, ladies.
Day 1240 | Budding Artists
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Check out the concentration on these two. The masterpieces were quite impressive.
Day 1239 | Battleship
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My mom dug this treasure out of the basement the other day and it was a huge hit. It was the longest game of battleship ever (I don't think Chase fully grasped the concept and Robbe enjoyed creative freedom when placing the pegs), but Chris and my dad were good sports so they managed to actually finish a game. It was impressive.
Day 1238 | The Day After
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Not bad. Not bad at all.
**Side note: that's Robbe at 7:34am without any sugar.
Day 1237 | Happy Halloween
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I hope you all had as much fun on this Halloween night as our scientist and spider did! It was a bit cold here in Wisconsin (the coldest on record, as a matter of fact), but that didn't damper our spirits. The boys had a total blast visiting with neighbors, helping grandma hand out candy, and making the rounds in my hometown.
I'm fairly certain we have enough sweets to last until next Halloween. That's going to be a fun battle for the next week.
Enjoy a few extra photos for the special occasion:
Day 1236 | Carving Pumpkins
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it was a busy weekend but we managed to get our pumpkins carved...just in time. This year's requests: Chase wanted a mummy and Robbe asked for a vampire. My mom opted for a traditional pumpkin face. I think they all go well together.
For a Halloween throw-back, take a peek at our past masterpieces:
Day 1235 | A Class Reunion
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Last night was my 15 year class reunion. Seriously...how is that possible? Aside from a rough morning after, I'd say the evening was a big success. I only graduated with about 65 people (most of whom were in my class for all 14 years!) so we weren't expecting a huge crowd, but we had a decent turnout and a fun group.
And, because this is what I do...
Five tips for a successful high school reunion
- Join the organizing group. I hadn't talked to or seen a lot of my high school classmates since college, so it was nice to be a part of the organizing committee for the reunion so that I had a few friendly faces that I had caught up with before the big show.
- Keep it simple. We opted for a low-key pizza buffet at a local restaurant where we could practically take over the whole place. After debating about plated vs. pizza buffet, I think this was the right choice.
- Use technology to help, but go old school, too. We were able to use Facebook for most of the planning + organizing purposes. We polled folks several times in hopes of including more people in the decision-making process. In addition, we used Facebook's payment option so classmates could pay online in advance of the night. This way, we didn't have to hound people the night of the party. I will say, that we still had to go old school (phone calls + texts) to make sure everyone was aware of the reunion and we also had a local drop off for money collection.
- Music is important. Another detail we debated (kind of obsessively) was whether to rent a sound system. We opted to do it and I'm so glad we did. One of the classmates put together a throw-back playlist which was spot on and the dancing + singing at the end of the evening were definitely some of my favorite moments.
- Relax. When you haven't seen folks in 15 years, you just never know how that initial reunion is going to be. Although I was anxious about how the night would unfold, it ended up being totally relaxed and super enjoyable.
Day 1234 | October Snow
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I was planning a really lovely fall-related post today and then this happened. Apparently we're moving onto the next season already. I'm not ready, for the record.
Day 1233 | WI Friends
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I've been talking a lot about my DC friends lately. I don't think I've given the appropriate shout outs to my new(ish) EC friends, though! Sorry, ladies. We've been here for just over a year and I couldn't be luckier to have found a bunch of funny, kind, generous ladies to lean on all the time.
I can't offer a fancy collage of these ladies (turns out you never take photos when you're not on vacation), but know that I'm beyond grateful for all of you.
