Day 1528 | Christmas Begins

We’ve been skating around the idea of Christmas starting a little early this year. I think that officially happened today. We listened to Christmas music while doing a Christmas craft (baby Jesus as a peanut wrapped in burlap, obviously). And then, after that, the boys and I enjoyed our second-annual Christmas stroll with Grandma and Ms. Barb where we got to tour some houses in the area all decorated for Christmas as a fundraiser for the symphony orchestra. I love this event. And the boys really enjoy it, too. That makes it even better! 

Special thanks to Karen, Chris, and Owen for popping down for a visit. It’s always a blast. And always super exhausting. :)

Day 1527 | Shhh...We’re Sleeping

I love my job.  

Day 1526 | Doors

We live in a house without bedroom, closet, and bathroom doors. Well, to be fair, one of our bathrooms has a pocket door so that one’s still there. 

It turns out painting trim is a big job. We’re 3.5 weeks in at this point. There’s hope the painting will wrap up tomorrow but the doors are being sprayed offsite so they won’t be back until Monday.  

Oh, and all of the closets had to be emptied (to paint the closet trim) so the house is a mess. A total mess. It’ll be a good excuse to organize when it goes back in, though. Always a bright side! 

Day 1525 | Treasure Hunt

Robbe drew a treasure map at school today and insisted we head out after dark to hunt for the treasure marked on his map. We dug out our headlamps, got bundled up, and drove to Mt. Simon for an evening stroll through the dark woods. Luckily for us, the treasure was pretty close to the beginning of the trail so we didn’t freeze or have to brave the pitch-black woods for too long. 

The treasures, in case you’re wondering, were two very specific trees. Robbe was so proud of his little map and our family adventure.  I’m so glad we were all motivated enough to make his dreams come true. 

Day 1524 | Piano Recital

Chase performed in his first piano recital today. It was every bit as cute as this photo appears. He played the song, Little Red Caboose and he nailed it. So proud of this little peanut. And he had quite the cheering section. Take a peek at some additional photos from the recital below.

And here’s a video of Chase playing his piece before the recital. He even had to memorize it!

Day 1523 | Holiday Crafting

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Robbe was looking for a fight while Grandma was busy reading to Chase and I was cooking dinner. Luckily, Chris arrived at just the right time to assist with our first holiday craft of the season. Yes, it’s too early for Christmas crafts, but I just picked this snow globe kit up at Goodwill today and it was the best distraction I could muster. And it did the trick! We made it to dinner with no further “challenges”’from the little one. 

Unfortunately, that trend didn’t continue all the way to bedtime, but I’ll take it as a small victory. 

Day 1522 | Another Lost Tooth

We woke up to this missing-tooth grin yesterday morning. Somehow a pretty tiny tooth left a big-gaping hole. Chase has lost his two bottom-middle teeth already but this top one is a game changer. All of a sudden he looks like a different kid. No more little baby teeth smile. He’s all grown up. Sniffle, sniffle. 

I don’t want to be one of those moms who wants their kids to stay little forever, but Chase is at such a sweet + fun age right now. Can’t time slow down just a little?

Day 1521 | STEAM Fair

Last week was so busy that I didn’t have the chance to post about Chase participating in his first STEAM (Sceince, Technology, Engineering, Art., Math) Fair at school. He teamed up with a third-grader, second-grader, and another first-grader to present their project on extinct animals. He’s in a mixed-grade classroom so that’s why the groups are organized like that. 

The third-grader got to pick the topic, the second- and third-graders did most of the online research, and the first-graders were in charge of drawing, writing, and coloring. Chase also teamed up with the second-grader to create a video, too.  

With no at-home work and minimal adult guidance at school, I was impressed with what these small people put together. They did title their project “Ex. Animals” because “Ex.”  stands for extinct. It doesn’t, but it’s still cute. 

Day 1520 | Boys Weekend

Chris and my dad took the boys to the hunting cabin for their third annual fall boys weekend. This year they even had extra friends tag along. 

There were rave reviews all around about riding in the side-by-side, shooting BB guns, sleeping on cots, playing cards, and much more. 

My mom and I had an equally good time on a shopping trip. Yay for busting out of the house. 

Day 1519 | The Day After

I had to convince the boys that sorting the candy is one of the best parts about Halloween. Isn’t that crazy? I’m happy to report that they finally came around and got into rummaging through their haul.

I still have so much to teach them.  

Day 1518 | Happy Halloween

King Chase and Knight Robbe are here to say Happy Halloween. It was a busy but super fun day of visiting friends + family and collecting treats. Lots of treats.

Special thank you to Grandma Mary for her sewing expertise. They were the best king and knight I saw all night!

And now for some Halloweens past. Enjoy!

• 2017: Scientist and Spider

• 2016: Frozone and Toolman

• 2015: Fireman and Dalmatian
  

• 2014: Hedgehogs

• 2013 + 2012: Goldfish and Owl (just Chase)

Day 1517 | Pokémon

Sweet cousin Eli introduced the boys to Pokémon during our last visit to Chris’s hometown. The boys had kind of forgotten about this introduction until a Cheerios box with a Pokémon card prize reminded them of how awesome they are. They decided to use some of their Halloween money (thanks, Grandm Bibi!) to buy some more cards so they could play the game.

So that’s what we’ve been doing for the last two days—trying to figure out this Pokémon game. The directions are, at the same time, too complex and not descriptive enough. This might be another obsession I leave to Chris to decode. 

And all of this thanks to a Cheerios box. They know how to get you, don’t they? 

Day 1516 | The Painting Begins

The big painting project began today. Stage one: trim (in the foyer, back entry and upstairs). Stage two: walls (the same areas). I’m hoping the jobs will be complete by the end of November (we’re coordinating two separate painting companies). Day one seems to have been a success. That’s a good start.  

Day 1515 | A Day Off

With both boys off of school and no plans (what?!?), I let the boys decide on today’s activities. We ended up at Action City in the morning playing lazer tag, lazer mazes, mini bowling, and air hockey. Then we headed to a thrift store looking for treasures (no luck, but we scored a few fun books). We even snuck a movie into the mix as well.

It was a pretty perfect day off. 

Day 1514 | School Pictures

Look at these handsome fellows. Chase even managed to keep his hair in check. 

They’re the best.  

Day 1513 | Bobbing for Apples

I was out for a[nother] book festival event and this is the photo I received. Apparently Chris and Robbe decided that this was the right night for bobbing for apples. Chase sat out due to his lack of lower teeth (he’s lost both in the middle) and one super loose top tooth (even though it would have been the perfect way to lose it). 

Apparently Robbe was quite an impressive bobber, so he’s got that going for him.  

Also, bobbing for apples is actually pretty gross.  

Day 1512 | Fall in WI

It’s been a cold fall. And pretty cloudy + rainy. As much as a feel shorted for skipping over my favorite season, it does make the sunshine and moderate temps (only in the 50s) that much more enjoyable when they do make an appearance. Today’s coat-free existence and extra Vitamin D was much appreciated. 

Day 1511 | Pumpkin Carving

We carved pumpkins with the boys tonight and the only photo I took during the process was of my husband and my friend working together on the final stubborn pumpkin. The holidays really being people together, you know.  

I’ll try to snap a good photo of the pumpkins lit up but, for historical purposes (just in case I forget), the boys selected a knight helmet and crown for their carvings. I’ll let you decide if that’s a hint about what’s in store for this year’s costumes. 

Day 1510 | Lavender

Robbe has been having some epic meltdowns lately. We managed to survive the “terrible twos” without one tantrum (no joke), but the last month or so has taught me that we’ll eventually get our due. I’m not sure if it’s the transition to school or his desire to drop nap or if he just wants to be older (the most frequent explanation). Whatever it is, it’s driving me crazy. He loses all control of his little body. He says things to Chase just to be mean. He freaks out for no [reasonable] reason. 

We’ve tried being sympathetic. We’ve been consistent in our expectations of him. It doesn’t seem to be working. Today I resorted to a new technique: essential oils. We bought some lavender essential oil to help keep Robbe calm. For the first day in awhile, we had no meltdowns. No joke. He loved the lavender. We put some behind our ears and on our wrists. We made a spray that he spritzed on his stuffed animals and pillows. I even had the boys lay down and I spritzed some over their faces (one of my all time favorite yoga class traditions from DC). They couldn’t get enough. It was pretty adorable.  

Maybe it was a one-time fluke, but I’ll take it. Fingers crossed it sticks for a bit longer, though! 

Day 1509 | Meet the Authors

The book festival hosted a Meet the School Authors event tonight so the boys got to tag along on the fun. There are a bunch of authors that do presentations (38 of them to be exact) at schools across the Chippewa Valley and tonight ten of them gathered to talk about being authors and sign some of their books. I really appreciated the opportunity to show the boys that there are real people on the other side of the stories we read all the time. I’m not sure the fully *got it* but it’s all about planting the seeds. 

Three book festival events down, about 18 to go. Whew.