Day 360 | Butterflies!

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Today's outing has been on my DC to-do list since before I had babies. I finally finally got to see the butterflies at the National Museum of Natural History. We lucked out and got tickets by just walking in (I'm not sure if that's usually the case). You do have to pay for this exhibit but the $5 was totally worth it, in my opinion.

Chase was a little uncertain about these flying beauties (are you surprised?), but afterward they were his favorite part of the outing. Robbe, on the other hand, could not have been more excited. He squealed with excitement and pointed at all the butterflies the whole time. His reaction to the whole outing (we also watched the fishies for a bit and looked at some other animals) made me realize we need to do stuff like this more. He's really starting to take in and enjoy the world around him.

In other news, our month of visitors has come to an end. We dropped Grandma and Grandpa G. off at the airport this afternoon. In Chase's words, "I'm so sad." Back to the real world around here...

Day 359 | Checking It Off the List

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Robbe impressed us all (and himself) by managing to walk with this giant box.
We continued the theme of being productive around the house and checking things off the list while my parents are here (I promise we're having fun, too!). Today's accomplishments? Cleaning windows, planting new plants, installing an opaque window cover, hanging our new birdhouse (I'll post a photo sometime soon), fixing a few of our bedroom doors (thanks, toothpicks!), and others that aren't popping into my head right now. Aren't we lucky to have so much help? And you can tell by the photo that the boys have been beyond helpful as well.

Day 357 | Day Out with Thomas

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2015 is turning out to be quite a year for our little 3-year-old. Today's installment? A Day Out with Thomas.

Have we taken the train enthusiasm to the extreme? Maybe, but it was totally worth it! Chase had a blast on his first Mommy-Daddy-Chase-Grandpa Day (thanks, Mom, for hanging out with Robbe so we could go sans-baby). Oh, and Thomas being there didn't hurt.

Some of the highlights from the big event:
  • Meeting the big guy: Thomas, that is (middle photo)
  • Meeting Sir Topham Hat (top-left photo)
  • Riding on one of Thomas's coaches (top-right and bottom-left photos)
  • Train-themed crafts (stamps, coloring, necklace-making)
  • A petting zoo (What? Who would have expected that?)
  • Three train-themed kiddie rides (including a carousel)
  • Tons of real trains to tour and look at (we'll be back to the B&O Railroad Museum)
  • A toy wooden railway (like the one we have at home), which Chase proclaimed was his favorite part of the day, of course
  • And so much more!
The event as busy but really well organized and really enjoyable. We were only there for about three hours but there was enough to do to keep the kiddos entertained for much, much longer. The train ride, itself, was about 20 minutes long which was perfect for Chase's attention span. And I'm glad we opted for a morning train ride (10:45am) which enabled us to do a lot of the activities before the bulk of the crowd showed up. 

Overall, a really wonderful morning. I would highly, highly recommend for any train-loving friends. 

Day 355 | One Final Train Craft

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Who am I kidding? There will definitely be future train crafts but I promise there will be a hiatus.

These are the party favors I made for Chase's friends. I bought standard train whistles and decided they needed some pizzazz so personalized them using the same method I did for the railroad crossing sign: Good old white glue and water.

The kiddos loved them!

Day 354 | Speaking Out

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Before Mary Catherine headed back to Cape Cod (much to my dismay), we took a few minutes to record an episode on motherhood for her podcast Starr Struck Radio. I feel beyond honored to have been invited on the show and, I have to admit, I actually enjoyed myself.

If you're interested in my perspective on being a stay at home mom or if you just miss me and want to hear my voice (that one is geared towards you, Mom), take a listen. I think you'll enjoy it. And tune back in to listen to what Mary Catherine has to say every week. She'd be happy to be your friend, too!

You can listen by clicking the play button towards the middle of this page. Or click here to download the show (and all previous episodes) in iTunes.

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.