Day 420 | Blueberries, Black Raspberries, and More

Best day ever!

70 degree weather for the perfect berry picking morning. There were blueberries galore, black raspberries for days, sugar snap peas (that could have been a little more delicious, let's be honest), and our first chance to pick cherries (they were tart, but that's ok, it still counts). We love Butlers Orchard.

As if that weren't enough, we ate a delicious lunch at Noodles and then stopped at Dairy Queen for an ice cream treat to power everyone through the drive home (we couldn't let them fall asleep, after all). After finishing his ice cream, Chase declared (in his most official voice) that "Ice cream in the car is the best!"

Day 415 | Such a Good Dad

I know this photo should be a photo of Chris with both boys, but this one was just too cute not to share. Sorry, Robbe. We'll catch you next year. :)

Since I went a bit sappy last year, this year, I'll make it short and sweet.

I'm thankful every single day that my boys are lucky enough to call this guy their Dad.

Day 400 | 400!

I made it to 400 posts! Woohoo! To keep with tradition, here's an update on the team.

Name: Sara
Favorites: walking (thanks to the extra motivation from my fitbit), the rain (which has been constant the last few days, but I don't mind at all), strawberry gin and tonics (I'll do a post about these some day), clean bathrooms (I just wish I didn't have to be the one to clean them).
Biggest hurdle to overcome: finding time for crafting. Since my built-in crafting mornings are gone (thanks, summer vacation), I'm having a hard time finding time to sneak crafting in. I already have afternoon nap and post-bedtime pretty over-booked so something has to give.
Dreams for the future: finding closure to the school situation. We're still up in the air (very up in the air) about where Chase is going to be going to school come the fall. It's silly to be so preoccupied with this for a three year old but it's a big deal. Five day program or two day? Closer to home or further away? We're confident we'll have some choices come the fall, but in the meantime I continue to feel conflicted about the best option for our sweet boy.

Name: Chris
Favorites: our new minivan. That's it. He loves it.
Biggest hurdle to overcome: making it through the rest of the month of June working his normal schedule before it's smooth-sailing into the month of July and vacations.
Dreams for the future: meeting our new neighbors. The house next door was listed to be rented as of June 1. So far, no movement over there. Who are they going to be? When are they going to move in? Can we be best friends? So many questions!

Name: Chase
Age: 3 years
Favorites: minivan spotting (he's really good at it...and differentiating between makes, too), building with legos, reading, baking with mommy, being independent, eating sushi
Biggest hurdle to overcome: he's been "so sad" lately because our vacation is "still so far away." We all feel that way, buddy. At least we know that he enjoys his time with family in Wisconsin.
Dreams for the future: own an outside car (see explanation here)

Name: Robbe
Age: 1 year
Favorites: blowing raspberries on any visible skin, saying "hi" and waving to everyone, reading the My Big Animal Book, playing with wiggle bug (a toy), food (any food), communicating (nodding yes and learning sign language)
Biggest hurdle to overcome: teething. Yep, still working our way through this challenge. He's up to seven but three are about to pop and continue to mess with the poor guy.
Dreams for the future: a full day to pass without some sort of hardy spill. This guy trips, bumps into things, dives head first, and misjudges distance constantly leading to some minor, some more serious, stumbles. Don't worry, little man. Someday your feet will catch up with the rest of your body.

Day 372 | Saturday Stroll

Despite the debilitating back pain I have (thanks, two babies still in cribs), we managed to motivate ourselves and, more surprisingly, convince Chase we should go for a post-dinner walk tonight. He still doesn't really understand when we don't have an answer to, "where we walkin' to?"

Day 339 | A Little Excited Around Here

Can you tell we're a tad excited today? Not only is Chris home (took a mini spring break to celebrate Chase's birthday) but it's also amazingly gorgeous outside: 75+ degrees and sunny!

And did I mention there's a bit of excitement surrounding opening day for the Brewers and, oh yeah, the Badgers are playing in a little something called the National Championship Game tonight. We're all doing our part in our lucky Bucky shirts. Go Badgers!

Day 338 | Happy Easter

Sending love and sunshine to you on this happy Easter.

Day 337 | Egg Hunt

Since Chase and I had our mommy and me morning a couple of weeks ago, Chris and Chase took their turn today. Even though I wasn't present, I needed to highlight Chase's first real Easter egg hunt.

I got glowing reviews from the boys upon their return. The festivities at Saint Luke Lutheran Church were perfect for our little guy: songs, crafts, donut holes, and the egg hunt with a plethora of eggs. Sounds like Chase was pretty entertained by all of it. I'll look forward to going back with the whole family next year!

Day 324 | Sunday at its Best

We did something crazy this morning: we went out for breakfast. Crazy, right?

Robbe slept a bit late so we had enough time to eat out and get home before nap. Breakfast was delicious, the kiddos were super well-behaved, and we made it home with time to spare before nap. Woohoo! 

We've spent the rest of the day playing as a family, planting spring flowers (I'm hopeful warm weather is actually on the way), and just hanging out. It's been lovely. 

Day 309 | Mail Museum

It's a gorgeous, albeit slightly chilly, day in the District. We took advantage of the sunshine by busting out of the house to pop down for another visit to our favorite museum for toddlers: the Postal Museum (or "mail museum", as Chase called it today).

The place was pretty empty (it always is) and Chase was all over the place practically sprinting from one attraction to the next: mail sorting, truck driving, spooky trail walking, mail scanning, stamp making. We covered a lot in a short period of time. 

And we used the trains at Union Station to lure him to lunch and eat it quickly. Perfect! 

Once our sweet one year old drops his morning nap, I think we'll be frequent visitors to this place. I can see it now: Metro ride to the museum, lots of mail sorting, then lunch with daddy. Only time will tell if I can actually make it happen. You'll hear about it if I do!

Day 296 | Artwork

After a decent amount of snow yesterday, the sun is shining and it's 45 degrees today. I'll take it. We're still playing catch up around here: cleaning, laundry, dishes (did I mention we have a broken dishwasher?), prepping for a one year old's birthday party, etc.and in the midst of tidying, I realized I never shared a photo of the artwork the boys made Chris as one of his birthday gifts. The horror!

The one on the left is from Chase. I cut out a bunch of shapes and he decided what should go where and glued them down. I was really surprised, actually. I thought it would be fairly abstract but he had a more accurate image in mind. Impressive. And, of course, he selected blue for the background because, "that's daddy's favorite color."

The one on the right is made with Robbe's hand and footprint. Turns out paint + squirmy baby + one adult = tricky crafting. The finished product, though, ended up ok so I just went with it. 

There you have it. Thank goodness these boys humor me when it comes to projects. 

Day 294 | A Day in the Life: Chris

Rounding out this series of posts, here's what a typical day in the life of my hard-working but always-has-time-for-his-family husband looks like:

6:25 - Wake up to alarm clock (not even a phone...how retro!): shower/dress/eat breakfast (cereal)/make lunch/out the door

7:25 - Workbound commute: walk .63 miles, wait for train, metro 15 minutes, walk via indoor walkway to office (fancy, right?)

8:00am - Arrive at office: respond to emails and review documents
8:45am - Meeting and coffee with boss
9:15am - Read material and prepare for meetings
9:30am - Meetings
10:30am - Respond to emails
11:00am - Conference call
11:45am - Eat lunch at desk (two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and pretzels)
12:15pm - Prepare for afternoon meetings
12:30pm - Meetings (including a meeting in favorite conference room--the one with a great view of the Capitol)
2:00pm - Send emails and talk to co-workers to prepare for later meetings
2:30pm - Meeting
3:00pm - Respond to emails, draft documents discussed in earlier meetings
4:00pm - Meeting
4:30pm - Continue drafting documents/revise other documents/respond to emails
5:50pm -Homebound commute: walk via indoor walkway, wait for train, metro 15 minutes, walk a blustery .63 miles

6:30pm - Arrive home to excited babies and spouse and eat dinner 

6:45pm - Change out of work clothes/change Robbe out of stinky diaper

6:50pm - Playtime with the babies=favorite part of all three of their days

7:20pm - Give goodnight smooches to Robbe

7:25pm - Continue playtime with Chase (Chase has Mama Kitty read a story)
7:40pm - Start Chase's bedtime routine: potty/brush teeth/lotions/pjs/pick out sleeping friends/read two books

8:10pm - Put Chase in crib then pay bills and review mail

8:25pm - Check in on Chase and say goodnight one more time

8:25pm - Catch up on correspondence, check flight prices for future trips

8:50pm - Settle in for some funny tv

9:30pm - Watch the Badger game 

10:45pm - Head to bed: get water/check locks/brush teeth/change

10:55pm - Sleepytime

There you have it. You wonder where the days go and then you track them like this. There's your answer. 

Day 282 | Turkey Thicket

It's a beautiful day and I can't wait to get outside to work on a special Valentine surprise for the boys...but first, a photo from our morning. 

We ventured over to Brookland to visit the Turkey Thicket playground. It's a family-favorite. There's no doubt about it. Did I mention there's a train to climb in? Yeah. That's right. 

Day 275 | He's Kind of a Rockstar

Remember when I mentioned last week was a big week?

Example #1: We're well on our way to a fully potty-trained toddler! Can you believe it? We can't either. It started on Tuesday night when Chase decided he wanted to wear his Thomas undies (that had been sitting in his drawer for a couple of months). Full disclosure: credit goes to Chris for broaching the subject again.

We spent two days changing pants a lot. I started to get a bit worried, I'm not going to lie. Did we start to early? Is it going to be like this every day now? Ahhh! Then, Friday he had no accidents. None! We did put a diaper on him for an outing and lunch and he came back dry. On Saturday we went all in. No diaper except during sleeping. He did it! Stayed dry all day again. And the same thing happened today. Three days seems pretty good, right? We're pretty stoked. I know we can slide backward but I think we've made good progress so far. Chase even earned his "potty train" (Get it? It's a train he gets for using the potty) in record time by getting a sticker every time he used the potty. Quite the motivator, I have to say.

We still have some work to do...I'll spare you the details, but hopefully everything continues as smoothly as the last couple of days have gone. Yippee!

Day 274 | Back At It

I'm back to my regularly scheduled blogging. I hope you enjoyed a glimpse into the random things that bring a smile to my face these days. It's been a big (huge!) week around here while I've been distracting you with My Favorite Things blog posts. I'm going to keep you hanging one more day before divulging details, though, because we went on an outing too fun not to share this morning: to the National Building Museum.

I've talked about it before, but this is really one of my favorite indoor activities to take the kiddos to in the District. Judging by the crowd of people and two sold-out Building Zone sessions, a few other people think the same thing. We had lots of fun looking the Hot to Cold exhibit, playing in the atrium, and visiting the gift shop (Chase is really into picking things out for his birthday lately). The highlight for both boys was the Building Zone (no surprise). Then we packed up the car, braved DC traffic, and made it home in time for naps. Just perfect.

Day 270 | My Favorite Things: #2

Random cat items. I think my love affair with cats (did you know I can speak their language?) has officially transitioned from the real animals to amusing cat things (don't worry, I still love you, Miga). I'm not looking to add on an addition to our house to make room for this growing collection (it's actually the purr-fect small-size at the moment) but for some reason this random cat stuff just makes me smile.

Special note: Thanks to my mom and dad for the adorable cat blanket. And to Mary Catherine Starr for the sweet kitty mug. And to Chris for thinking I stole the tiny cat figurine (I really did pay a quarter for it...I swear!). All pictured above.

Day 259 | Oh How Times Have Changed

Not too long ago (about three years, actually), the idea of spending the morning at a car dealer service center would have been one of my least favorite ways to spend a few hours. Fast forward: two babies and no free time later and I'm loving the quiet, kid-free morning. It's almost too good.

What kept me busy for three hours?

• Knitting (Woohoo!)
• Reading a magazine (What? They still print these?)
• Getting my nail polish removed (Turns out you have to go somewhere to have that done for gel nails. My full gel manicure review will come soon.)
• Splurging on a delicious soy latte and muffin

Thanks, Chris, for hanging out with the boys so I could enjoy this luxurious outing. Ha!

Day 247 | Playing Catch Up

I'm not usually one to brag (at least I hope you feel that way!), but Chris and I pretty much rocked the last two days so I can't help but share our accomplishments:

1. Unpacked. No small feat when we're talking about two backpacks and three suitcases (all close to 50 pounds).
2. Laundry done. Six loads. And it's all folded and put away.
3. Christmas gone. The holiday decorations are no more. Chase was the most disappointed to see them go, but it was time. And by gone, I mean packed very carefully and brought up to the attic for storage (not just sitting in our bedroom for weeks on end, which usually happens when an attic trip is required).
4. Hair cut. Chase was looking a bit shaggy. Not anymore. See photo above.
5. Tree removed. We removed and stored the ornaments and lights, took the tree outside, and cleaned up after the dried-out tree. Christmas tree decorating = best. Christmas tree un-decorating = worst.
6. Grocery trip. There was nothing nothing in the house for food upon our return. Someone (me) should have planned better. Massive stock-up trip to the store? Check.
7. Photo shoot. Robbe is 10 months old. Double digits...woohoo! The obligatory monthly photo has been captured. See photo above.
8. Friendly visit. I got to meet my friend's baby today. It was a quick trip to the NICU, but I got to meet that sweet little peanut. Thanks for sharing a slice of your life with me, Dawn.
9. Clean, clean, clean. It's amazing how dirty a house can get with only a cat living her for two weeks (and would it kill her to vacuum up after herself?). I'm happy to report the house is finally in livable condition again.
10. Carseat upgrade. Robbe was fitted for his new carseat tonight. He's moving up in the world. Rain inhibited the install, but that's the easy part. See photo above.
11. Petting, lots of petting. Miga is severely attention-deprived. She is letting us know this by following us around the house, constantly needing pets, meowing in the loudest way possible, demanding to be let outside and back in (it's raining, after all) about 20 times a day, and even accepting affection from the babies. That's when you know she's been neglected.
12. Serious playtime. Don't think for a minute that all this was possible because our babies are content to play independently and entertain themselves. Quite the contrary thanks to the constant attention over the last two weeks and the attention-withdrawal symptoms that have ensued. Chris did assemble an incredibly impressive train track with Chase's new pieces, though, so it counts as an accomplishment. See photo above.

Day 245 | Think Happy Thoughts

We are at the airport on our way back to the District...and reality. We've had a lovely visit with equal parts quality family time, laughter, full bellies, and holiday festivities. One thing we were short on? Sleep. I guess we needed something to improve upon in the New Year. Thanks again to all our family for putting up with our chaos and spoiling us in more ways than I could mention. 

If you've got some free time this afternoon, think happy thoughts for a smooth trip. Everyone's in good spirits as we wait to board (as you can see in the photos). Hopefully that continues. 

Day 239 | Chris's Favorite Thing

After sharing the boys' favorite things a few posts ago, it's time to highlight Chris's favorite thing: the day after sandwich.

It includes all the fixings from the traditional Thanksgiving dinner (and Christmas dinner this year) all in one sandwich for lunch the next day. That means turkey, potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, and gravy all piled high. Not my idea of delicious but if it makes him happy, I'm happy. 

Day 228 | Christmas Came Early

We head out for our Wisconsin Christmas adventure on Friday so we decided to celebrate our family Christmas yesterday in order to limit the number of gifts we have to haul back and forth.

It was a lovely evening of gift giving. The boys' faces were plastered with smiles and Chase was just as excited about watching Chris and me open gifts as he was about ripping into his own (ok, maybe not just as excited, but close). 

A few highlights? 

1. Chase got a shed for his trains! I asked him this morning if we should call it a shed or a garage and he replied, "let's call it Tidmouth Station" (where Thomas sleeps). It's a big hit. 

2. Robbe opened up a toy chair. It's the updated version of a chair that Chase loves at his grandparents' house so we knew it would be well received. And it's a good thing Robbe is willing to share. 

3. Chris managed to completely blindside me again this year (two years in a row, for the record) with a super sweet and thoughtful gift: a printed book of my first 100 blog posts! The best, right? It's so much more enjoyable to flip through a hard-copy version of the posts than sit in front of a computer and click through the links. I'm a lucky lady.