Day 191 | Say It Isn't So

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We have another set of friends moving away from us...and they're moving to California, too. Why is that state swiping all our friends? Apparently the constantly perfect weather is appealing to some folks.

We're so sad to see Steve, Krissy, Cynthia, and Jeffery go but we plan on spending as much time with them as possible before they pack up and move to the other coast. We'll stay optimistic that they'll return to us someday. 

Day 190 | The Mall

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No, not that Mall...a normal mall.

The boys had a blast playing at the mall play area today while Chris made a big purchase (that he has been debating about for about a year, obviously). 

One thing I would like to point out: Robbe got more attention and hugs from the ladies (ok, three year olds) than most gentleman get their whole lives. I've never seen such a charismatic tot draw in the hugs. Ha!

Day 189 | A Little Conflicted

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Don't tell my husband but I'm considering changing my mind about one of the strongest beliefs I've had since we met: not listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving.

It just seems to be cheating the fall to start listening to Christmas music too early. Chris's tradition? Starting to listen to it after the first snow. Luckily, since moving to the District, the first snow doesn't typically come before Thanksgiving so it hasn't caused too many conflicts in our marriage.

This year, I'm torn, though. I want to give Chase a fighting chance at learning some of the holiday classics. I just don't know how realistic that is in only four weeks. I'll continue some heavy contemplation and keep you posted about my final decision. Motherhood is full of reconsidering things you've always known, right?

Note: Please don't judge me on my holiday music collection pictured above. These were the only hard copies I could find. Plus, it's not part of the holiday spirit to judge!

Day 188 | Feeling Sporty

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Chase has been asking to play again after our first successful outing. Today was the day. We woke up to a lovely fall day and no plans (the horror!). Both boys had a blast "playing" tennis in their own ways: Chase running after the ball and Robbe playing with the tennis ball container. Once that got old (it took a surprising long time, actually), we headed over to the soccer fields. Chase scored some fancy goals and Robbe frolicked in the grass. 

If you can believe it, I even got to sit down on a bench in the tennis courts for a few minutes and just watched them. That might be the first time...but hopefully not the last!

Day 187 | It All Comes to an End

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The best October ever has come to an end. We dropped the last of our visitors off at the airport this morning. I hope the boys and I still like each other now that there aren't constant distractions. Even after everyone has left, I continue to be beyond grateful to these folks for spending their time, money, and vacation time to hang out with us. 

Feeling very lucky.

Day 186 | Playseum

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Today we ventured out with Grandma Mary to the Playseum in Bethesda. We've been to the Capitol Hill location a few times when we lived there but this was a first excursion to the Bethesda location.

I've been thinking about my review of this place and I'm still torn as I write. It's a great indoor activity with lots (and lots!) to offer little ones Chase's age. And Chase had a total blast. That's all great but it's pretty expensive (except I got a two for one deal online) and it's in need of some TLC: none of the baby toys worked (batteries, maybe?), the train tracks were practically unusable with only a few actual trains, and items in the grocery store had definitely seen better days. I guess that's par for the course when you're dealing with a ton of little ones wreaking havoc every day, but all this will give me something to think about before heading back.

Day 185 | A Perfect Day

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I'm not exactly sure what my perfect day looks like but today was pretty close:

Both boys transitioned to daylight savings pretty successfully so it wasn't a crazy early morning (a very important part of my perfect day). We had an amazing big breakfast (think eggs, sausage, hash browns), we organized the boys' closet (lame, but very satisfying), my mom and I scored some great deals at the outlet mall (shopping sans babies is one of the best things ever), then dinner was waiting for us (credit to Chris and the slow cooker for that one), and finally a pumpkin bar and hot apple cider post-bedtime. 

Ahhhh, perfection.

Special note: Robbe is pulling himself up to standing now (see photo above). He's so proud of himself.

Day 184 | Pumpkin Bars

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Just because Halloween has come and gone, it doesn't mean we have to stop eating delicious pumpkin treats, right?

We headed to a friends' house for dinner tonight and pumpkin bars were the perfect house warming gift. These are one of Chris's favorite desserts and are slowly making their way up to the top of Chase's list as well. Everyone got involved in the baking...even Chase and Grandma Mary. It's nice to have so much help.

You'll find the recipe below (and no, I didn't remove the sugar with these). A special thanks to my Aunt Karen for making these a special treat throughout my childhood. They are pretty amazing, but don't take my word for it...

Pumpkin Bars

  • 4 eggs

  • 2 cups sugar

  • 2 cups pumpkin (one small can)

  • 3/4 cup melted butter

  • 2 cups flour

  • 2 tsp baking powder

  • 1 tsp baking soda

  • 1 tsp cinnamon

  • 1/2 tsp salt

  • 1 cup nuts (optional)

Frosting:

  • 6 Tbsp butter, softened

  • 1 tsp vanilla

  • 3 cups powdered sugar

  • 3 ounces cream cheese

Directions

  • Beat eggs lightly with a fork and add the sugar, butter, and pumpkin. Mix well. Add dry ingredients to this mixture.

  • Pour into greased jelly roll pan. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

  • Beat the frosting ingredients until smooth and put on cooled bars.

Day 183 | My Little Hedgehogs

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The moment you've all been waiting for: the big Halloween reveal. Chase and Robbe were the cutest hedgehogs around (not that there was much competition).

We made the best trick-or-treating decision possible: head to our old (old, old) neighborhood, and Chase's namesake, for the Chevy Chase Halloween Spooktacular.

Chris and I enjoyed witnessing this spectacle when we first moved to the District, without babies. Now, eight years later, here we are bringing our own little trick-or-treaters back for the event. 

Chase really got into the spirit this year with his, "Trick-or-treat!", and "Happy Halloween!", and "Thank you!". And Robbe got the best treat an almost-eight-month-old could ask for: a polka dot balloon.

We wrapped up the evening by stopping at a couple neighbors' houses before heading home to admire the loot. A super-enjoyable time was had by all.

Day 182 | A Healthy Halloween: Part 2

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Delicious pumpkin agave muffins? Yes, please!

I've been making these muffins since I first started looking for sugar-free recipes. They are AMAZING. Not exaggerating and I promise you won't miss the sugar. I'm not going to repost the whole recipe since I actually follow the original recipe pretty closely: just leave out the salt. I've also substituted applesauce for the oil in the past and ended up with good results. One tip? Fill them pretty full because they don't rise much. 

Here's the recipe.

Today, the lucky recipients were Chase's school friends for their Halloween party. And by "party," I mean they celebrated by having this special snack and using festive napkins. No costumes allowed (apparently some kids get overwhelmed by them?) so no big reveal yet. Stay tuned tomorrow. When I asked if Chase was going to tell his friends that I made the muffins, he said "no." Embarrassed by me already? That can't be true!

Side note: Grandma Mary comes today! We're picking her up post-nap and, as you can imagine, we're all a *little* excited. Chase has asked about her whereabouts at least 100 times in the last three days. 

Day 181 | A Healthy Halloween

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Another fun Wednesday at Whole Foods. Today we made several delicious (and healthy!) Halloween snacks: a clemintine pumpkin, a banana ghost, a pretzel/banana spider, and an apple mouth with marshmallow teeth (not pictured because the photo of Robbe was too cute to leave off).

These classes are taking a hiatus for the holidays and we'll sorely miss our fun (and free!) Wednesday activity.  Maybe I'll start coming up with my own toddler crafts now. A girl can dream. 

Day 180 | Feeling Nostalgic

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It's unbelievable how a smell can throw you back to another time and place in an instant, isn't it? Last week when we were at the Cape, the vacation house we stayed in sent me right back to my grandparents' house in Wisconsin. 

The smell hit me first. Somehow the upstairs and downstairs smelled exactly as my grandparents' house did. I can't even begin to explain what the smell is but I knew it after not visiting their house in almost four years. The more I looked around, the smell was just the beginning. The shuddered closet doors were in both the upstairs bedrooms. Just like at Grandma and Grandpa's. The glass shower doors were the same. I know these doors are probably very common, but I think I've only ever used two that look like this. 

I left my grandparents' house after saying goodbye to Grandma in January 2011. It didn't feel real that I would never walk into their house again and I don't think I felt all the emotions I should have when I walked out the door for the last time. Staying in the vacation home for the week was almost more emotional than that last day in a way. It brought back a flood of memories that I haven't thought about in quite some time. Although some of these memories were sad, I was overjoyed to have the unexpected reminder of my grandparents.

Day 179 | Unlikely Lunch Outing

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After rescheduling the boys' flu shots (they ran out?), the only open appointments were over lunch. So, I packed up lunch and headed to the doctor's office today. I've got the best lunch dates around.

As if that weren't enough, the boys handled their shots like champs. No crying. Let me say that again...no crying. Can you believe that? Such brave little guys. 

Day 178 | Pumpkins!

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 It was the perfect fall day for heading to the pumpkin patch. Unfortunately, I didn't have the needed motivation to make that trek happen. Sorry, kiddos. Instead, we had a low key morning and then headed to a cute little pumpkin sale at a local church. We pulled in at 11:10am to find out that it didn't open until noon. Urgh.

Next option? Grocery store pumpkins. Not exactly what we had in mind for Robbe's first pumpkin adventure, but after several hours, I've come to terms with it.

The important thing is that we have carved pumpkins on our front porch. See? We're festive. One thing we learned, though: a one-to-one ratio of adult to baby is not ideal when trying to carve two pumpkins. We ended up going pretty simplistic with this year's designs. I did my annual cat carving (did you know that about me?) and Chris pulled through with a much more creative train to match Chase's current obsession.

Day 176 | Where's Nature?

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I found the perfect outdoor activity to keep us entertained on this beautiful fall day: the Brookside Nature Center. The indoor part of the center had lots to offer (think turtles, puppets, books, a tent). Chase would have been content to spend the whole time inside (noted for when I'm in need of a cold weather activity), but we did convince him to get out and enjoy nature on a little hike. I'm not sure he grasped the whole "it's the journey" philosophy, however, because he kept asking, "Where's nature?"

What made the excursion even more perfect? Uncle Matt came with! Adventures are always more fun with him and we're grateful he made the time for us. 

Day 175 | Back to Reality

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Today was definitely a snap back into reality. The boys had a good night considering the late (ok, extremely late) bedtime. They woke up just in time to make it to school and just as I was taking care of the final 15 things to get out the door, I heard a knock at the door.

Surprise: the contractor showed up to fix our siding! 

A little heads up would have been nice but the work needed to get done so I can't complain too much. Don't worry, no serious issues, just some cosmetic concerns. I would have picked a different day, in case you're curious, as the risk of of shortened naps after yesterday's wonky schedule about gave me an anxiety attack. The boys actually slept through it, though. I was shocked. No, SHOCKED (that describes it better). Just shows how tired they were. 

The other photo above is capturing one of the best decisions I've made in awhile: an online grocery order. I cannot express how happy it made me to not have to squeeze in a grocery trip on top of everything else today (did I mention my brother arrived tonight so heavy cleaning and loads and loads of laundry were necessary?). Sometimes my over-planning really pays off.

Day 174 | Short Trip, Long Ending

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The week in Cape Cod flew by remarkably fast. I guess it's good to be sad we're leaving-then we know we didn't stay too long.

I had every intention of posting our farewell group photo today but a two hour flight delay meant no recovery time tonight for downloading photos. 

Instead, enjoy the photos above of the best airport attraction we could have asked for. Chase played at the "Kids Port" for two hours, straight. And he still wasn't ready to leave. Robbe got pretty into exploring the airplanes, too. It's so nice to have a place to let crawlers roam, without it being the airport floor

Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa M for spoiling us to the extreme and for all the absolutely wonderful memories. We're thankful it's only two months until we'll see you in Wisconsin!