Day 351 | Birthday Express

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Our sweet three year old had an absolutely terrific train party today. A little over the top with the train theme? Maybe. A little more of a time-suck than originally anticipated? Maybe. Totally worth all the time and energy for our train-obsessed toddler? Definitely!

A few of the highlights:
  • a cupcake train (one of my favorite projects!)
  • a train banner
  • railroad tracks leading up to the front door
  • a railroad crossing sign on the door
  • a super-complex wooden train track for all of Chase's closest train friends
  • the Thomas roller coaster, obviously
  • food trains with all the fruits/veggies and taco fixings
  • a special birthday mantle with representations of some of his favorite things
  • a cardboard choo choo engine

Day 345 | Adulthood

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You know you're an adult when...

A new garden shed is about the most exciting purchase ever! Our stroller has a new home (as does a bunch of other random stuff). I've been schlepping the double stroller up flights of stairs for over a year now and our single stroller before that for two years wasn't a picnic either. It now has a happy parking spot behind our house. Woohoo!

Special shoutouts:

-Chris for mastering the assembly. This thing was no joke. 
-Brian, a true friend, for offering up his vehicle and muscles for the pick up and delivery of the giant box. 
-Chase for offering quality control and supervisory assistance throughout the day. And for being the first item to happily reside in the new shed (for at least a few seconds). 

Day 343 | Cherry Blossoms

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There are a large contingency of DC residents that strongly *strongly* dislike Cherry Blossom time in the District. True, traffic is a terror, the metro gets just a wee bit congested, and the Mall area (including the Tidal Basin) can be unnavigable at times.

Somehow all that disappears when you see the blossoms, though. They're just so pretty.

I won't say this year was an ideal cherry blossom visit, however. We were gone for a total of three hours and spent maybe 30 minutes on the Tidal Basin. The weather was a bit chilly and overcast. Chase, although super excited to go, was less-than-thrilled with the actual outing when we got down there. And Robbe, who still takes a morning nap, decided not to sleep in the stroller (not surprising since he's only done it once). He did sleep in the carrier, though, so it wasn't all bad. 

After all that, Chris and I still considered it a success. We made it down for the Cherry Blossoms! And they continue to be worth all the trouble.

Day 342 | The Great Snack Search

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I'm always on the lookout for delicious, healthy, fairly-substantial, sugar-free snacks for my wee ones. The task is harder than it should be, in my opinion. And forget about finding something that fits the bill straight out of a box. 

I just remembered this yummy muffin recipe that I used to make for Chase when he was Robbe's age. These apple-banana-blueberry muffins check every box!

I had some big helpers for the baking adventure this morning. Chase continues to love to "dump" the ingredients and Robbe loves to "help" by emptying our cupboards.

Here's the recipe. For the record, I used whole wheat flour and water instead of apple juice, only because I didn't have any on hand. The muffins aren't all that sweet (even with all the fruit) but they are perfect for my little guys (and I think they're pretty satisfying, too).

Day 341 | Virgie's Chicken

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One of my favorite comfort food recipes is, hands-down, Virgie's Chicken. My family has been making this chicken dish for as long as I can remember. I'm excited to report that my boys (all three of them) love this dish as much as I do. Chase even eats his stuffing before he finishes his fruit. That never happens.

Virgie's Chicken

  • 6-8 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I prefer the thinner cutlets or smaller chicken breasts or will cut larger ones in half)

  • Swiss cheese

  • 1 can cream of chicken soup (I actually use cream of mushroom because the bits of chicken creep me out)

  • 1/2 cup of milk

  • 1 package seasoned croutons

  • 1 stick margarine (I use butter...never have margarine on hand)

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease bottom of 9x13 baking dish

  • Place croutons on bottom of pan

  • Mix milk, soup and margarine together and pour over croutons in pan. Stir to coat croutons.

  • Lay chicken breasts on top of croutons and cover chicken with slices of cheese

  • Bake one hour, cover during first half of baking

*Bonus: this dish takes fifteen minutes to prep and you can make the dish early and delay start the oven. My favorite types of recipes.

Day 339 | A Little Excited Around Here

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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 337 | Egg Hunt

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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 336 | Daffodils

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Aren't spring flowers the best? It seems as though I always need this sign to help me realize that we've made it through another winter and that there's hope for warm temperatures ahead.

This year has been even more enjoyable as our new house has blooming spring flowers! What a happy surprise.

Side note: Robbe was ok today. He still wasn't himself, but much better. Hopefully tomorrow will lead to further improvement for our little man.

Day 335 | Fifth Time's a Charm

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We had some enjoyable lunchtime entertainment today. The dishwasher repairman was back (for the fifth time, if you're keeping track). And, for the moment, the appliance is working again (which was not the outcome after the last two visits).

This process could not be more frustrating (you'll notice I'm not confident enough in the fix to put that statement in past tense). Dealing with one incompetent and bureaucratic company(Samsung)for the warranty and an incompetent and unorganized company for the actual repair has been enough to drive me batty.

Here's a breakdown of what's been going on:
  • 1 broken dishwasher 
  • 6 weeks of minimal/non-functioning use 
  • 5 five-hour appointment windows where the boys and I sit home and wait 
  • 10+ calls to Samsung (all 20+ minutes, of course) 
  • 2 homeowners sick of doing dishes 
  • 1 toddler who now plays "doing the dishes because the dishwasher is broken". I couldn't make that up. 
Let's hope this saga is over

Side note: did you notice that I didn't post this yesterday? I had it mostly typed up and then went to finish it last night when a very sick baby (Robbe) changed my evening plans. After a ton of soothing, a call to the doctor, and a dose of Tylenol, he fell back asleep. As you might have guessed, the blog wasn't my priority at that point. He had a restful night, though, and is still sleeping now. Hopefully that's a good sign. I'll report back later today about how our peanut is doing. Poor guy. 

Day 334 | Expensive Play Equipment

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The boys playing "row, row, row your boat" this afternoon.
Remember the loveseats we waited forever for? I was a little worried we wouldn't get much use out of them since they weren't going to be placed in the basement family area. Fast forward six months and these couches are the favorite attraction in our house. 

In the last couple of days, the couches have been transformed into a spaceship, a row boat, a train-viewing platform, and a jungle gym. And Robbe has successfully taught himself how to climb up and down from the couches. Quite an impressive accomplishment for a 12 month old, I have to say. 

Day 333 | Picture Day

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Chase has his first-ever school picture today. He was well prepped in striking a cheesy smile (see photo above) and claimed that he listened to the photographer to capture the perfect photo. Only time will tell. :)

On a side note, I cannot believe how expensive these photos are. This is my first go-round with this type of of thing. Is this the pricing for all school photos or is Chase's little preschool opting for high-end photographers? Seriously, $35 for 2 5x7s? Crazy! And $135 for the "Best Value"? Haha, yeah right.

I'll post his professional shots as soon as I have them in my possession!