Will Blog for Sleep

Our family continued to keep busy with school, work, and sports this year. The boys really leaned into winter with visits to several ice rinks, lessons in snow skiing, and sledding at Soldier Field. Tracy learned how to work our fireplace (only took 10 years!), to warm everyone up after snow adventures. That and their VERY SPECIFIC hot chocolate requests (we have three brands on hand so everyone is happy, though obviously Land O' Lakes is superior to the rest). The boys continue having a blast in flag football, basketball, and running. Kiefer's football team won the JFL league championship (Winter); Chase's football teams won the CPS conference (Spring) and JFL league championship (Fall). Kiefer & Chase train with a travel basketball team and Chase's CPS team took home the conference title. They've both proven themselves as strong runners, with Chase qualifying for the Chicago City Championships, finishing with a mile time of 6:24; and Kiefer has been finishing ...

2021 started off very similarly to the whole of 2020. Still struggling through remote learning, but really getting our “steps” in due to the frequent request for snacks from our students. They. Eat. So. Many. Snacks. Thankfully, not too far into the year, everything started to gain more normalcy. Both boys are finally in an actual school building and sports are back! Both boys have started basketball and were most excited to return to the flag football fields. Kiefer began pitching at baseball this year and it has been great to see his confidence soar and see him excel. That little guy can really zip ‘em in there! In 5th grade, Chase can join clubs and sports at school, so we became fans of cross country and his group (grade 5/6 boys) made it to the City Championships, where they placed 9th out of 25 teams! Tracy foolishly thought she was gaining a running buddy…but Chase quickly surpassed any speed she can manage. He has also joined the Beta Club , which we are still trying to und...

Happy Holidays from the Carlson Family! Around this time last year, Kevin and I were making big plans. We had booked a few international trips – our first as a family, and we gathered everything to announce it on Christmas day – presents included travel backpacks and luggage tags (which in hindsight was probably not the most thrilling gift for a kid to open, but it was from Santa, so we didn’t feel too badly). And as the boys opened their presents we excitedly announced 2020 would be the “Carlson Year of Travel!!” Pre pandemic, we visited one of our new favorite places in the US: Fire Valley State Park. Gorgeous. What’s that? You want to see photos? OK! And you can guess how our international travel plans turned out. After getting over that heartbreak and a sizable “donation” to the country of Peru, we dusted ourselves off and looked for new adventures. We were able to squeeze in a few quick getaways to change up the scenery from the same four walls of our home: Branson, Miss...

Happy Holidays! We hope you are enjoying the season and able to find some moments to rest and create memories within the busyness of it all! We know your time is valuable, so we tried to keep our year-in-review short: This year, both Kevin and Tracy stayed employed (yay!) at the same companies, in the same roles, and continue to enjoy our jobs and colleagues. While we value the work we are able to do, our #1 goal is to balance this with our family, friends, and volunteering. Speaking of family, Chase and Kiefer are full throttle into allthesports and we couldn’t be enjoying it more. While they played baseball, soccer, basketball, and tennis - flag football has their hearts. Kevin loves coaching whenever possible, and was even able to QB with both Carlson boys on the same team...and that team won the JFL Indoor 8 & Under Championship! Tracy has been key to cheering and recording videos...though misses a play or two when "building team camaraderie" (ie. chatting on...

As the stockings are hung by the chimney with cries of Don't-Touch-Those-or-the-heavy-stocking-holder-thingy-will-crush-your-little-head , it appears we are ready for the season!     Kevin and Tracy are still plugging away at Heitman (as a Finance Manager) and BMO Financial Group (as a Manager in Event-Based Marketing). While both of us enjoy our companies and roles, that's probably is enough work talk. Outside of work, Kevin made the difficult decision to hang up his magician's hat after two years with  Open Heart Magic  - though is still known to carry a pack of cards just in case there is an entertainment opportunity or need. Tracy increased her volunteer work for our neighborhood elementary school: South Loop School.  While her strongest skill is her "inability to say no" to new committees and tasks, it has truly been a great community to support and a wonderful way to meet families in the area.  [small plug: Would love to connect you ...

Happy Holidays! 2016 was a good year for us, and hope it was for you as well ~ Below is a quick summary of our most memorable notes of the year (in no particular order): Had some great travel time in San Diego and St. Louis - highly recommend both!  Shipped the kids to the Grandparents (in Iowa) to get their little hands dirty on the farm. Then Mom and Dad HIT THE TOWN. And slept. A lot. Kevin became a magician after graduating from Magic University (lesser known competitor to Hogwarts). He volunteers regularly at the University of Chicago Children's Hospital (Comer), bringing home inspiring and sweet stories with each experience. Tracy planned to pick up tennis again -- purchased a membership, gathered gear, and made court reservations. Then fell down some stairs, twisted her knee, landing her in physical therapy. Trying again in 2017! Chase loves Kindergarten, has become a confident reader/writer, and recently started making his own dinners (always with a "t...

Ah, it's that time of year again.  The time of year when the Carlsons wage a battle of multi-color vs. white lights on the tree.  Tracy learned the best tactic is to decorate the tree under cover of night and was crowned this year's victor. Tracy is still plugging away at the same job, and for the sake of managers potentially reading this, is loving every minute of it (doing Event-Based Marketing at BMO Financial Group)!  Due to frequent trips to Canada, she is becoming somewhat of an expert on all things Toronto - hit us up if you are heading that direction and need some travel recommendations. Many of you know Tracy's father passed away this year from a short battle with an aggressive brain cancer.  Thank you so much for all the thoughts, prayers, and kindness shown to our family as we deal with the loss and the first moments without him as we move throughout the year. Kevin started a new job at Heitman as a Finance Manager.  While it was tough to lea...

Thought I would come out of my semi-blog-retirement to post a completely untypical blog for the Will Blog for Sleep site. This weekend I pulled together a Car Themed Do-It-Yourself Party for my 3 year old, and wanted to share for those who also have car enthusiasts at home!  After spending hours researching ideas online, I pulled together these favorites, which ended up being hits for the kids too! Invitations The theme revolved around the collateral found on Etsy - LuluPaperPrints She worked with this pattern to create invitations, Food Tent Cards, and some of the signs below: Activities Next came the activities - wanted something where kids didn't have to be watched 24/7 (it's a party for parents, too, for goodness sake!) and where everyone would still have fun! We  chose (we, who are we kidding...my husband learned what was happening the day of): Car Photo - Made with cardboard and Spray Paint, specialized license plate Race Track  - Race...

Peace, Love, and Joy to you this Holiday Season! 2014 has been a series of milestones for us...though we are still awaiting the most treasured gift of all: a full night of peaceful, uninterrupted sleep.   Kevin has added to his work resume with the Best Comedic Performance*  award.  He has dipped his toe in the accounting-themed speaking arena and enjoys it.  If looking for him to present on the rules and regulations of number crunching at your company, keep in mind he's now regionally  internally recognized and this will be reflected in his fee. He already has a grassroots fan base: Tracy received a promotion at work, moving from a manager of events, to a manager of people.  This shift simultaneously led to a surge in daily meetings and a new-found respect for all previous managers.  Turns out managers aren't luxuriating poolside, sipping Mai Tais.  Was told this was a "no returns, no exchanges" arrangement when this gr...

We hope this season finds you experiencing the joy of friends and family.  Or at least pockets of time without the stress of shopping and shoveling.   Having a 3 year old has helped us take a step back from the To-Do list this year to enjoy house decorating, snowball fights, and new aspects of gifting.  Eg. The gifts are constantly being moved to/from our couch, where Chase feels it keeps them safe from Kiefer stomping on them (one year old's new favorite thing, not kidding).  Also learned quickly wrapping should only occur while the boys are sleeping to avoid the wrapping paper rolls immediately being "refurbished" into pogo sticks or bats.... During 2013, Kevin has continued to save the world...one playstation game at a time. He continues to work as an accountant at LaSalle and also volunteers as a punching bag/jungle gym for Chase’s classmates at church. He’s a pretty big deal in pre-school social circles. Tracy is still managing events for BMO. ...

Kiefer Maddox Carlson.  One Year.  He made it.  More importantly, we survived too.    When reviewing the monthly progression photos below, Kiefer's first year of life can probably be summed up as:  0-6 months:   What's happening?  Where am I? | 7-12  months: HEY!  I like it here!  I like you guys! 0-1 Months: Kiefer entered the world as the teeniest baby I have ever seen.  And slept really really well.  During the day.  Only during the day. 2 Months:  See above. 3 Months:   The first non-gas related smiles surfaced.   At the risk of sounding repetitive,  the smiles were mostly at night, as he still hadn't transitioned to a normal sleep schedule. 4 Months:  Develops an amazing ability to grip all items.  His favorite object: Mom's hair.   His method: grip it and rip it. 5 Months:   Does NOT like to have any limbs moved against his will.  Which isn't bad...unles...

Chances are we haven't spoken with you in a while.  Return phone calls have been slow; emails neglected.  See that little man sleeping in the santa hat?  We blame him.   And the new home is a little at fault as well.   Our move (five blocks from our first home) was greatly needed and has opened up a new world of possibilities.   Previously,each day ended promptly at 7pm since Chase was in bed and his room had a partial wall.  Lights were dim, movement was limited.  People were allowed in only if they did not laugh.  Or speak. Now we shut the door to the kids' rooms and behave with reckless abandon.  Our new life is filled with lights on full blast, a TV which can now use volume, and speaking to one another above hushed tones.   With the not-so-great real estate market, our decision to keep our previous home has added "landlords" to our growing list of responsibilities.  This new role would be going swimmingly, if...