Day 591 | Happy Christmas Eve

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For the fourth time ever, we celebrated Christmas Eve with my dad's whole family tonight. It was madness and totally wonderful at the same time. I'm not sure how it's possible to feed 55+ people in a smallish house all at the same time but my Grandma and aunts managed just that. And flawlessly. I'm beyond thankful to call this group of people my family.

Oh, and Santa even stopped by during his gift-giving tour. Can you believe it? Chase was enamored, Robbe was terrified. At least they're consistent!

Happy Christmas Eve!

Day 588 | Meeting Santa

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Whew. We can finally cross meeting Santa off the list. December 20th is a little too close for comfort. Thank goodness Grandma M saved the day and found the big man today. Both Santa letters were successfully delivered but both boys did not successfully sit on his lap. Poor Robbe was shaking at the thought of being handed off to the stranger's lap. We'll settle for a photo of the boys (and me) with Santa this year.

Oh, but don't worry! Chase gave the jolly elf Robbe's wish list, too. Hopefully that means both boys will be rewarded on Christmas morning. 

Day 587 | Family Time

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Another lovely day in central Wisconsin. We had a ton of quality time with the cousins...like a full day of quality time with the cousins. I don't think Chase has played that hard in his life. He spent almost every waking moment with a toy in his hand. Vacationing is serious business around here.

Oh, and we got to take Archer and Maria (pictured above) for our Christmas present outing! They love crafting at a sweet little pottery shop where you can paint your own project. We had a blast. Archer chose a lego bank, Maria selected a spunky Christmas tree, and I painted a fun and festive holiday bowl. Chris took on the role of assistant, his preferred crafting position. Yay for spending time together instead of just more money on a plain-old gift.

Day 583 | Yoga at Home

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No, the boys aren't "helping" me with my home practice. Chris keeps them happily entertained. They are just allowed to enter the "yoga room" when a photographer is needed. That's Robbe showing off his down dog, by the way. :)
As much as getting out for a yoga class is about the best thing ever, I've resigned myself to start a more active home practice. I just can't seem to carve out the 2+ hours needed to get to a studio class (including transit, parking, and practicing time). Sad, but true.

So, my new goal has been to squeeze in two 30 minute home practices per week right after Chris gets home from work. I can't say that I meet that goal every week, but I'm trying. And it's amazing how much better my back feels on a daily basis if I can just stick with it. Yoga=good. 

If you're interested in a yoga-at-home resource, check out YogaGlo. There are tons (and tons!) of classes of all levels, yoga styles, focuses, and duration. It's free for the first month then $18 after that (the cost of just one class here)...such a steal! My favorite teacher is Stephanie Snyder at the moment and I highly recommend the vinyasa style of yoga (it's a more active form of yoga that focuses on moving with the breath). Give it a try. Your body and mind will thank you. 

Namaste. 

Day 582 | American History Kids Area

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The photo is from yesterday, but we got all four kids to look so it had to be shared!
There's a brand new kids attraction in the District! The American History Museum just added a super-fun children's area called the Wegman's Wonderplace. As much as we love this museum, it has been missing an area for the kiddos to run free...problem solved!

There's a market (with an egg drop, Chase's favorite), a kitchen, a climbing structure (Robbe's favorite), lots of building blocks, and a guarded baby area. My only complaint is that it could be a bit bigger, but I'll take it.

The new area is for kids from 0-6 and is open every day but Tuesdays (I'm including this information here in the hope I internalize it).

Day 580 | Visitors: Round 3

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Look who showed up at our door last night? Our favorite Ouagadougans (not sure if that's the real word for people living in Ouagadougou or not, but it sounds right). Even with trying to manage some jet lag, we had a really nice day catching up with Chris's brother and his family. Chase is smitten with Elizabeth, again, (the older cousin) and Robbe was delighted to be reunited with his twin (he and Robin were born about a month apart).

For the record, our house *may* be a bit small for four kids. It's been a little chaotic but very enjoyable. 

Day 579 | Fishing Craft

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I've made it a tradition to make a homemade present for the boys the last couple of years. Two years ago, I made Chase this cowl and last year I made both boys favorite things tees.

This year, I recruited a little help from my loving husband (yay, Chris!) and we went all in for a homemade toy: a fishing set with fishing rods that actually reel and magnetic fish. Adorable, right? The boys are really loving it and I think it'll be a hit for a long, long time (they haven't been able to figure out the reel yet...so that's something to look forward to!).

In case you're interested in attempting the same project, here's the step-by-step tutorial we used. This website went above and beyond explaining how to create everything with almost too many photos (is that possible?).

The breakdown of the project at our house? Chris made the fishing rods (he's so handy!) and I sewed the fish and little worms to slip on the end of the string. I think I got away with the easier project this time around. No complaints here!

In case it's not obvious, we're both pretty proud of the finished product. And no one in the whole world has another fishing set just like it. That's just icing on the cake.

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.