Day 578 | A Typewriter

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I mentioned that I gave Chris a typewriter for Christmas. I figured all of you must be interested in some of the details. 

It's a 1936 Underwood typewriter. It's fully functioning and is really beautiful. Amazing how now we have all this plastic junk that doesn't hold up, right?

Chris requested this gift as he decided he'd like to start typing his correspondence (mostly to the boys and me so far). We both agree that the thing is much harder to use that we expected. Turns out we're pretty used to the backspace function on our trusty computers. It's super fun to use, though, and it's going to be a family treasure forever. :)

Day 577 | Playtime!

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Robbe and I met a friend at a brand new play place this morning. It's called Magic Gathering (or something like that...I didn't keep my ticket) in Columbia Heights (same building that the Target is in) and it's so much fun! Robbe had a blast playing in the ball pit, climbing the play structure, hoarding the toy trucks, and coloring a couple of pictures for his big brother.

Yeah, we'll be back with Chase some day. 

Day 576 | Farewell...Or Not

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Here's the farewell photo when we dropped Chase off at school this morning. Little did we know that these two would be reunited so soon!
We got a bonus night with Grandma Mary tonight! I'm not sure she was thrilled with the change of plans (stupid plane problems), but we aren't complaining. 

Think happy thoughts for a more successful day of travel for her tomorrow. 

Day 575 | Panic Attack

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For the record, I took this photo after I parked at the gas station (and after I took my seatbelt off). Don't worry, I wasn't driving down the street taking photos of my dashboard without my seatbelt on. :)
In case you're not familiar with a minivan dashboard, the photo above is depicting my worst nightmare. By the time I dropped Chase off at school this morning, I had less than one mile of gas remaining in my tank. Did I mention that I also didn't have my wallet with me (which I rarely ever walk out of the house without)?

Yes, that's when my panic attack kicked in. You can relate, right?

Here's the scenario:
  • Chase and I jump in the car this morning (my mom stayed with Robbe, thank goodness) to find out that there are 10 miles of gas remaining. Terror strikes, but it's fine because there's a gas station about halfway between us and Chase's school (i.e. one mile away).
  • The range meter ticks quickly from 10 to 5 as I pull off into the gas station. Whew...we made it.
  • I reach for my wallet. It's not there. Oh crap. Chase senses the stress in my voice (even though I didn't swear...impressive, right?) and starts freaking out. He brainstorms ideas from having to push to asking if buses run down this road. It was adorable and so sad all at the same time.
  • After much consoling, Chase is convinced we're going to make it to the next gas station (right next to Chase's school). I am less than convinced.
  • I continue to watch the range meter tick from 5 to 4 to 3 to 2. We're so close! I hope this meter is correct.
  • Shortly after the meter ticks to one, I park at the gas station near Chases's school and sigh a huge (HUGE!) sigh of relief.
  • One teeny problem still remains...I don't have any money. Luckily, one of the sweet moms at Chase's school had cash and loaned me $10 to get me back home after drop off.
Can I just say that I've never been more relieved in my life to not have to push my giant minivan with a toddler inside down a busy DC street in rush hour. And my takeaway message for all you loyal readers? Stash a $20 bill in your car...just in case.

p.s. I never EVER let my gas tank go under a 1/4 tank. I still can't figure out how this morning's situation arose. I blame my mom for distracting me too much with enjoyable conversation while I've been driving over the past week.

Day 574 | St Nick's + Family Christmas

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It was quite a day. Quite a day.

We woke up to St. Nick filling our shoes with all kinds of goodies. Then we were off to our favorite breakfast spot for some delicious egg sammies. There was time for a quick haircut for Chris before I headed out for my own indulgent haircut (my second one this year...it's a new record).

My mom and I did some holiday shopping and then got home just in time to get the family Christmas celebration under way (we decided to open presents early for several reasons). We all had a splendidly spirited evening. Gift highlights? Chris and I made an awesome (really awesome) fishing set for the boys (I'll do a separate blog post on this soon). I got the perfect customized bracelet set (I love it!). And after meeting with a very interesting (to say the least) traveling typewriter salesman, I tracked down a 1936 fully-functioning typewriter for Chris (for all his important, but not time-sensitive correspondence).

It couldn't have been better! The perfect start to the holiday season.

Day 572 | Botanic Garden Train Time

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Our annual holiday tradition continues: we made it down to the Mall for the train exhibit at the Botanic Garden. It was a crowd pleaser once again and Robbe didn't even pick a leaf (our big fear leading up to the outing).

We all agreed, however, that this year was less impressive than years past. The theme (Pollination Station) and scale (seemed more understated) left a little something to be desired as compared to previous displays but still nothing to complain about. 

Day 569 | Baby Gordon

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I'd like to introduce you to the newest member of our family: Baby Gordon. He's Robbe's new best friend that sleeps with him and goes pretty much everywhere with him. It's about the cutest thing ever.

This morning, Baby Gordon (named after Gordon the train, by the way) decided to take a quick bath in my bowl of cheerios before breakfast. He did leave a couple spoonfuls for me to eat (and so did Robbe in case it's not clear by the fistful of cheerios he's swiping). I have a feeling Baby Gordon will be making several future cameos on the blog. Stay tuned.

Day 568 | Looking Festive

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I've been on a mission to explain to Chase what "festive" looks like. I think he's gotten the hang of it just in time for our favorite holiday season.

Since most of our friends and family won't be able to share our holiday decorations with us, here's a peek at a few of my favorite festive corners of our house.

And, in case you're keeping track, I did finish the knitted Christmas stockings that I started last January (but only in the nick of time). I ended up unraveling the first one I did due to some sizing issues, so I actually knit five of them. I think they look pretty happy hanging from our mantle. 

Day 567 | Family Day

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There's a chance we will only be without family for three days during the entire month of December! We have two rounds of visitors coming in the next couple of weeks (my mom for sure and *fingers crossed* for Chris's brother and his family) and then we head back to Wisconsin for the holidays. Whoa! We're over the moon excited about all the family time but we realized with so many visitors and trips planned, it means limited time with just the four of us from now until 2016 (again, we're not complaining!).

So, what does that mean? Today was officially family day. We had breakfast (and took selfies with the boys) at our favorite breakfast joint and then headed down to the Mall for some fun museum time. Chase chose the American History Museum and, as usual, it didn't disappoint. Both boys had a blast running from exhibit to exhibit. It was about as perfect as an outing can be.

Day 564 | Feeling Thankful

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Happy Thanksgiving, wonderful family and friends. I hope you were all surrounded by lots of laughter, reminiscing and delicious food on this turkey day.

I'm happy to report we checked all those boxes with the friends and family we shared our meal with today. I still can't come to terms with today being Thanksgiving (where did the fall go?!?), but if I can't be back in Wisconsin for all the festivities, today was just perfect.

Day 563 | Holiday Weekend

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We had a lovely start to our holiday weekend. Robbe and I met Chase at school for a Thanksgiving feast. Robbe sat right at the table with the big kids (do you see him at the back of the table) and had a blast. It was adorable.

Then this afternoon we enjoyed some wonderful quality time with Aunt Kelli. Have I mentioned visitors are the best? And we're beyond ecstatic to be celebrating the holiday with family tomorrow. Yippee!

Day 561 | Old Enough?

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I'm back! It's been a lovely break from the constant chronicalling of our lives but I'm happy to be here sharing photos with you again. Hopefully you all didn't mind the break...too much!

I'm thrilled to report that everyone is healthy (except maybe Chris and his looming cough) and things have gotten back to normal around here. We've been talking a lot about Christmas and Christmas presents...a lot. Turns out 3.5 years old is a fun age for all things related to the holiday spirit. So, my question for you? Based on Robbe's new favorite hobby (see photo above), is 1.5 years old too young to ask Santa for a skateboard? Ha! Even though his skills are impressive, maybe we'll wait until his birthday.


Day 559 | Moms

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Sometimes I don't understand why my boys like me so much. I'm not always as patient and understanding as I'd like to be. I'm the primary disciplinarian (mostly because I'm the one with them for the majority of the day). I'm not nearly as sympathetic when they're sick (especially when it draws on for six+ week) as they deserve. I'm constantly multitasking when we're together (of course I can clean, cook, play, and read all at the same time).

And yet...they have this never ending, never questioning love towards me. It's amazing, really. Where is this coming from? Two events from the past few days:
  1. At pickup from school on Friday, I found out that Chase didn't sleep at nap time. We've had a really good stretch lately so I thought maybe we were past this. He definitely needs the sleep and naptime lasts 1.5 hours. He can just lay there, quietly, for 1.5 hours. Crazy, right? Just close your eyes! Anyway, I was slightly disappointed and frustrated by this news and was grilling Chase about why he didn't sleep. After several minutes, he finally said, "I didn't want to sleep." When I dug deeper and asked why, he hesitated for a moment then looked me right in the eyes and said, "I just needed you, momma." Are you kidding me? Talk about going from frustrated to putty in his hands. I honestly teared up. Could you imagine hearing anything sweeter from your 3.5 year old?
  2. As I've mentioned, Chase is getting into writing and drawing. I'm really enjoying watching this evolution. It's fascinating to me. This weekend, he wrote his first word. And guess what it was? M-O-M. I'm sure it's just because it's a short, easy to write word, but he purposely wrote it, knew what it spelled, and was so proud of himself (as he should have been!). One again, just heart melting. 

You just want to bottle these little moments up and save them for when the boys want nothing to do with me as teenagers. Instead, I'll just try to absorb as much of this sweetness as possible for as long as it lasts.