Day 2125 | Photo Collage
/
Look what I finally put up! A family photo collage. This has been on my list for ages. It’s 5’x3’ and just perfect.
Day 2124 | A Kid, A Cat, A Fort
/
This was part of our remote learning set up today. Whatever works.
Day 2123 | A Virtual Baby Shower
/
Another Covid first…a virtual baby shower! Even though we might all be a tad over Zoom hangouts, this one was really fun. Such an outpouring of love and support for my sister in law and my soon-to-be baby nephew (and my brother, too). I was beyond happy to participate and help in a bit of the planning. It was more fun than I ever would have thought a virtual shower could be and I’m just so glad to have had the chance to celebrate that little nugget. We’ve already got our plane tickets booked for the summer!
Day 2122 | Friends Reunion
/
The last time we saw these folks was right before the whole world shut down (March of 2020…you might remember). We thought it would be fitting to have them be some of the first friends we hang out with now that we’re all vaccinated. It was really really lovely. I miss friends.
Day 2121 | Richmond
/
Another cat photo, I know. But isn’t he so handsome?
That’s not why I posted this photo, though. I wanted to share Richmond’s description on the humane society’s website (click here if you don’t believe me - you have to scroll down through the cat photos to find Richmond). Read it first, and then I’ll comment on why this is blog-post-worthy.
Meet Richmond-Special Needs
Richmond is a three year old special guy. He is neutered so his adoption fee is $60 plus tax and license if applicable. Richmond is sleek and a medium sized cat. He is special in the fact that he has chronic nasal discharge. He has been on multiple antibiotics but nothing seems to clear up his nasal congestion. The many veterinarians that have seen Richmond do not hear anything in his lungs. He is a healthy cat overall except for a sneezing fit or big booger once in awhile. Think of it as having a very drooley dog that you have to wipe up after. Richmond is looking for a home that doesn't mind a little snot here and there and that will keep up on regular veterinarian checks to make sure he doesn't get a upper respiratory infection. Once you get to know Richmond you will see he just wants love and attention. Apply at www.eccha.org/adopt. Foster mom says that Richmond is a very special friendly guy.
Sounds like a total dream, huh? This bio makes me chuckle so much. Almost none of this is true. He is on one medication (that I mix into his food) and he does sneeze sometimes (pretty rarely). He is definitely nothing like a “drooley dog” and doesn’t leave “snot here and there”. Full disclosure: he has had three sneezes (over the course of a week) that end up sneezing up phlegm. It’s much less terrifying than it sounds, I swear! Also, that last line mentioning me was just added, by the way—that wasn’t there before. He is honestly such a sweet, social cat. He might just be my favorite foster cat so far.
I think it’s safe to say that Richmond won’t be going anywhere any time soon. At least with that description.
Day 2120 | Throw Back Lawn Chairs
/
I’ve been on the look out for this style of lawn chair for longer than I’d care to admit. I always figured I’d run across them at a secondhand store for mere dollars. And then, I was searching on the Target app for something else (as one does) and I spotted them! The portable bag chairs that have taken over the lawn chair scene are just terrible for my back. They’re so uncomfortable. I needed the familiar shape of a strong, firm seat from decades past. Target even had a loveseat style! Can you handle how cute that is?!? I can’t wait for Wisconsin to finally turn the corner on spring so we can put them to good use.
Day 2119 | Cat Pics
/
Chris and I often make fun of ourselves for how many photos we took of our cats before we had kids. Now that we’ve got cats back in our lives, I understand how it happened. They do the craziest, cutest things, you know?
Apparently Robbe feels the same way. I let him use my phone to snap a photo of Richmond and now my camera roll looks like the screenshot in the collage on the right.
Day 2118 | Meet Richmond
/
We have another foster cat! This is Richmond. He’s come so far in the last two days that I can’t even believe it. He went from running when we even got close to approaching to accepting real pets today! That might not seem terribly impressive for most cats, but it’s amazing progress for this one.
Day 2117 | Ultimate Frisbee
/
When the weather permits, my boys have been in the backyard working on their ultimate frisbee skills. They even have a team name: the Whistlepig Dynamite. Yeah, it’s the perfect name. We know.
Day 2116 | Demonstration Speeches
/
Thank goodness for remote learning! In addition to finishing the boys’ school work today, we also knocked out their 4-H demonstration speeches. Robbe showed how to make two pretty awesome pranks and Chase demonstrated two magic tricks. Solid demonstrations, if you ask me. Luckily, it’s Covid, so you can watch them, too. Maybe next year’s will be done in person! We can hope.
Robbe’s Demonstration Speech
Can’t see the video? Click here for the link.
Chase’s Demonstration Speech
Can’t see the video? Click here for the link.
Day 2115 | Birthday Extra
/
I haven’t been taking photos in the last couple of days, so blogging has been tough! I’ll just use this gem from Chase’s bday celebration. I think it captures the little brother perfectly when asked to celebrate the big brother for a second day.
Day 2114 | A Final Birthday Celebration
/
When your real birthday lands on a Wednesday, you celebrate on Saturday, obviously. Today was a lovely day filled with Chase’s favorite things: disc golf, video gaming at the movie theater, pizza for dinner, and brownie cookie ice cream sandwiches for dessert. His good friend was here and two of his favorite cousins joined in on the fun, too.
It’s been a long two months of non-stop birthday mode. It’s so fun and also so exhausting. I’m ok with a break until next February, now.
Day 2113 | Birthday Presents
/
You know what’s even better than birthdays? The days after birthdays when all free time is spent building/playing with/figuring out the new presents. Thankfully, Chase has been a super kind big brother willing to share the fun with Robbe (otherwise it would turn ugly very quickly). And, no, Chase didn’t receive that Obama book as a gift. It’s the Lego Chain Reaction set (on top of the book) that were showing off in the photo above.
Day 2112 | Chase Turns Nine!
/
This guy turned nine today. 9. I became a mom nine years ago today. Whoa.
We had a really lovely day of celebrating. Here are the highlights:
Remote learning in the morning (good thing we’re quick about school).
A stop for a triple chocolate muffin as a special bday sweet treat.
Kickball and four square in the backyard/driveway
Family presents before lunch
Playdate with his bestie
Lego-building time
Dinner with grandma, grandpa, and Uncle Brian
More presents from extended family
Brownies with chocolate ice cream for the official bday treat
A quick magic show (utilizing a bday gift) before bed
Not bad, right? We’ll do another little celebration on Saturday and then birthday season is officially over at our house. Such a fun [but relatively exhausting] few months.
Day 2111 | Bike Riding Again
/
It was 80+ degrees today. Obviously that means we dusted off the bikes and hit the trail by our house. Turns out we still remember how to ride them! There’s nothing better than the first bike ride of the season.
Day 2110 | Happy Easter
/
It didn’t feel much like Easter with no family and no church, but it was a nice day nonetheless. The boys had fun hunting for their baskets and it was another beautiful spring day. We have a lot to be thankful for.
Day 2109 | Lake Life
/
We busted out of the big city for a change of scenery at the lake. A bit of fishing, lots of bird-watching, quality time outside. It was pretty great—and that’s before the temperatures go up 15 degrees tomorrow! We’re so grateful to my parents for sharing this escape from reality with us. After a [almost too] quiet spring break at home, we needed this.
Day 2108 | Library Walk
/
The walk to the library is one of my favorite excursions from our house. It’s far enough that it feels like you’re actually doing something, but close enough that it doesn’t feel overwhelming (especially for the boys). In just two weeks, the downtown library will relocate while the building undergoes a 14-month renovation. I’m just crushed about it.
I can’t adequately express how much the library means to us. In a normal circumstance, we’d go twice a month (at least), collect more books than we could carry, and spend the rest of the day reading and reading and reading. Throughout Covid, we’ve become even more appreciative of what a gift the library is. We had to go without for several months and lately we’ve only been allowed to request books for pick up (no browsing). With two boys who love to read, we go through a lot of books, and the library (and staff) is a total gift. A total gift.
Day 2107 | Staying Busy
/
I’m not sure what’s going on here but this activity kept the boys entertained for a lot longer than I would have expected. For anyone wondering, spring break isn’t nearly as much fun with no travel and crummy weather. It’s a good thing we like each other (even after a year of Covid).
Day 2106 | New Van Day
/
Out with the old (top photo) and in with the new (bottom photos)! We weren’t expecting to buy a new car this year, but things don’t always go as planned. I will say, though, new cars are really nice. Like, really nice. It might not have been planned, but it sure is exciting. There are lots of new bells and whistles to learn about and we even have heated seats now! That’s about as exciting as it gets for new cars in Wisconsin.
p.s. The boys sat in the car in the driveway for that photo. They normally ride in boosters but the car seats weren’t installed yet so we’ll go for our first official ride with them tomorrow. I just didn’t want you to worry. :)
