Day 635 | Seriously Social

Oh, and Chase spent some time with this lion, too.

Today was a day. We managed to see three different sets of friends (four if you count the sweet friend who is part of our babysitting swap and stayed with our kiddos after bedtime) over the course of today. Whoa.

We met a new friend at the Building Museum for a play date. So fun meeting new people!

Another friend hosted us for [a delicious] dinner and lovely conversation. 

And yet another friend let us crash their house post-bedtime for a glass of wine and kid-free communicating...the night before their due date, no less!

We feel very social and very lucky for the people who have crossed paths with us in this city. 

Day 634 | Succulents

It's my latest attempt at nurturing a succulent garden (thanks for the early Valentine's gift, Chris!). And I think (I think!) I figured out the secret: don't water it. No, seriously. My recent success with my surviving succulents (only two, sniff, sniff), is that I completely ignore them. Think, water once every few months. Crazy, right?

I'll let you know if I can keep this beautiful collection alive this time around. I'm optimistic!

Day 633 | This is 9:30am?

Check out what my 9:30am looked like today!

My friend took Robbe for a few hours (as a new childcare swap we've started up) and I spent 2.5 hours working this morning (latte, plus music, plus candle, plus new succulent garden). Even better than that, because I worked in the morning, I had a luxuriously long and leisurely naptime to do whatever I wanted (that included working on Chase's class Valentines and Robbe's birthday invite).

Why didn't I set this up earlier?

Day 632 | Lunch Date

Robbe and I did something crazy today: we (just the two of us) had a lunch date.

I know, after swimming last week and now a spontaneous lunch date this week, we've really got to rein it in or, who knows what situation we'll find ourselves in next week. Stay tuned.

Day 631 | Happy Robbe

This is happiness: an almost-two-year-old watching toy truck videos (vetting potential birthday presents).

So sweet. 

Day 630 | 60 Degrees? Yes, Please!

Last week we had 22 inches of snow. Today, we played outside in 60 degrees. And we had the park all to ourselves. I'll take it.

Day 629 | Hot Russian

I had an amazing epiphany yesterday: a hot version of one of my favorite special occasion cocktails. Enter the "Hot Russian". It's a

White Russian

with steamed milk instead of cold milk (we never use cream).

It makes me beyond happy to have a delicious cold-weather cocktail to turn to when I just need a quick warm-up on a Friday night. Yay!

Here's the recipe Chris perfected last night:

• 1.5 oz Kaluha

• 1 oz vodka

• Steamed milk (we used our latte maker!) to fill the cup

You won't be disappointed.

Day 628 | Spreading His Wings

We went to our first non-family friend birthday party today. Chase got the invite totally on his own merits and both boys were beyond excited to help celebrate.

Chase participated like a champ: ran in the relays, took tons of photos in the "photo booth," sang Happy Birthday, and said his please and thank yous. Robbe had a blast, too, mostly by eating his weight in hotdogs. Heehee. 

Such a fun family outing. Thanks to Claire and Alice (the joint bday girls) for inviting our little sweet pea.

Day 627 | Caulking

The boys played "caulking the ceiling" for a good 45 minutes tonight while I prepared dinner. It. Was. Glorious. They played together without any intervention from me. You understand the miracle here, right?

Why caulking the ceiling, you might ask? We had another leak problem pop up a couple of weeks ago and had someone in last week to determine the cause. Until it rains, we have a hole cut out of our ceiling so that we can peek back in to check for any further moisture. The workers did a lot of caulking and apparently Chris and I have been talking about it enough that it has become a part of our child's vernacular. 

Day 626 | Breaking Out of Winter

How do Robbe and I celebrate our first "normal" day in a full week? We decided an impromptu trip to our neighborhood [indoor] pool was in order.

We had a blast...just don't tell Chase we went. :)

Day 625 | In Home Day Care

I'm thinking of expanding my childcare capacity...ok, not really, don't freak out. The last few days have proven that I could actually handle another wee one running around, though. We watched a friend's three year old over the weekend and now we got to hang out with another friend's 1.5 year old this morning (and this time it was me solo). Both experiences were exceedingly positive. It helps that our friends have the best kids.

And no, don't freak out [again], no third baby plans around here in real life. I'll stick to watching our friends' babies when I've got the energy for it and when I don't have to actually rear them.

Day 624 | Snow Day: Take 3

You might wonder, are we getting tired of these lazy snow days? Ah, no, definitely not. It feels like an impromptu vacation where we just stay home and accomplish everything and nothing every day.

We had the itch to get past our front yard immediately upon waking up this morning and decided a walk to Capital City Cheesecake was needed. It wasn't easy (still very few walkable sidewalks), but it was the best tasting breakfast ever. That's what staring at the same walls for four days will do to you. 

And, good news! We were finally able to make a snowman today. Whew. Chase was not going to take it well if the snow continued to be uncooperative. His name is Olaf, in case that's not obvious. 

Day 623 | Snow Day: Take 2

We had another luxurious snow day today. I'm happy to report that after about an hour and a half of digging out, the minivan is free! Well, we didn't actually move it, but we think it'll move when the time comes. Luckily we don't have to test the hypothesis yet: one more snow day for Chase tomorrow. And we're still waiting to hear about the Federal Government. We'll see.

It might be a rough day tomorrow if it's just me and the babies without the option to go anywhere (they're still recommending to stay off the roads and ours isn't plowed anyway, not to mention I won't be able to navigate the stroller through this mess). Eek!

Day 622 | Blizzard Dig Out

The sun was shining and the snow was looking undisturbed and beautiful after the snow and wind let up last night. When the last flake fell, our back porch snowbank was measuring 22.25". That's no joke.

We did bust out of the house for some snow fun, which was more than needed after being cooped up for 36+ hours. Chase loved playing in the giant snowbanks. Yeah, we were surprised too. Robbe, on the other hand, not a huge fan. I guess competing with piles of snow the size of you could be a bit unnerving. With Chris and Robbe watching from our front window, Chase and I made a pretty sweet sledding run and even managed to carve out a equally sweet tunnel all in our yard.

A few additional updates:

1. We have not attempted to uncover our van yet. Think happy thoughts for us tomorrow! That's going to be a job.
2. Our street has not been plowed. The city still has TONS of work to do.
3. Chris and Chase both have a snow day tomorrow! Woot woot!
4. And finally...we didn't lose power. I think we're at a safe point to make that declaration. Whew. That's a relief.

Day 621 | The Great Blizzard of 2016

It's the only problem with my one-photo-a-day blogging strategy: too many interesting blizzard pics to post in one photo/small collage. Instead I'll post a bunch from the last 24 hours and continue updating here if there are any exciting changes throughout today (snow is supposed to continue but lighten now).

The before.

2pm: Snow begins.

8pm: Snow picks up.

7am: Good morning 15" of snow!

Mini is wishing we had a garage.

Anyone up for a picnic?

Or grilling?

11am: Second round of shoveling. This is a *bit* crazy.

12pm: Surveying the pile out the back door.

12pm: That yard stick is reading 19".

12:30pm: The master shoveler finishes the job. Whew.

4pm: Time to shovel again.

It is pretty, though.

Looking cold on the outside, but warm inside. Thank goodness!

I'm thinking it'll be a bit before we're driving again.

The wind has picked up this afternoon.

We can't figure out why Miga won't go out the back door.

4:30pm: 22" and counting.

A second floor window. Whoa.

7pm: Third round of shoveling: Check!

7pm: We're measuring 24" on our back porch.

Poor, poor Mini.

Day 620 | The Calm Before the Storm

We woke up to a beautiful sunrise this morning ahead of what's going to be a crazy few days (with limited sunshine). The boys and I (Chase had his first official snow day) walked to breakfast at our favorite locale and I couldn't help but think to myself how bizarre it is to see the city going about it's normal business with the Great Blizzard of 2016 knocking on its door. And how different everything will look (in terms of busy-ness, traffic, activity, the landscape) in just a few short hours.

The snow started about three hours ago (1pm) and continues to fall in a beautiful, light, still fashion as I type (from what I hear, that's going to change). The sights and sounds of snowplows are a frequent disturbance outside our window (the city is on it!) but otherwise things seem normal. We are prepared to hunker down and enjoy the picturesque nature of it all. Hopefully we're doing that in a well-heated house. I'll keep you posted.

And one article for your reading pleasure, in case you don't have any idea what's going on outside our window.

Day 619 | Late Start

Chase's late start this morning (thanks to a prelude snow flurry last night) meant we had a lovely and low key morning with just the three of us. I miss these mornings. We even spent some quality play time in the snow before heading off to school. Seeing these two sweet peas in full-on snowsuits is about the cutest thing ever. So adorable.

Thanks in advance for the happy thoughts over the next few days as the great blizzard of 2016 bears down on the District. I'm ok with the snow (over two feet, maybe!) but a *little* worried about the threat of losing power (and thus heat). I'll do my best to keep you posted over the weekend.

Day 618 | Rocket Craft

Check out this sweet rocket craft that Chase and I made with the random stuff we had lying around the house. Pretty fantastic, right? I'd give a tutorial but somehow typing up instructions that mostly include "use double-sided carpet tape to attach fabric to oatmeal canister" and "find perfect size top that can be easily detached to act as the command module" seems a bit unnecessary.

I'm pleased with how it turned out and, as you can tell, Chase was super excited. Look at us crafting just like I had hoped!

Day 617 | Independence

Here's the story:

Robbe and I were finishing up a pretty uneventful lunch this afternoon when all of a sudden he decided to spit out his last drink of water down the front of his shirt. Not cool. I let him know that was not an acceptable behavior and told him he needed to go upstairs to get a new shirt by himself. He was not a fan of this idea but after some gentle encouraging, he did it. He walked all the way upstairs to dig around in his drawer (not his brother's) for a replacement shirt then walked back downstairs and proceeded to try to put it on himself (without much luck, but still!).

They can impress you sometimes, can't they? It was a proud moment for this independent little guy.

p.s. Interested in a little audio to go along with my typical visual content? I was on my friend's podcast again. Click here to listen to our latest conversation. :)

Day 616 | On Missing My Life: When's my next trip?

And here's the other side of the story. If you missed yesterday's post, make sure you go back and check it out.

What I [definitely] didn’t miss:

1. Face licks. Robbe, for some unknown reason, has been really into attempting (and sometimes succeeding) to lick my face lately. I think he likes that it gets a “ewwww” reaction out of me that he can elicit on demand. Kisses? Yes please. Super slobbery face licks? I’ll pass, thanks.


2. The Frozen soundtrack. Chase has been really [excessively?] into the Frozen soundtrack since Santa left it in his stocking. I do really love the music so I don’t want to complain too much about it, but the break from the constantly repeating seven songs was very welcomed.


3. Dirty clothes. Before kids, I could go at least two days, if not three, of wearing the same pair of jeans before needing to wash them. Dealing with constant drips, goos, spills, and wipes from children really amps up the amount of dirty clothes (and therefore laundry loads) on a daily basis. It was lovely to not feel like my clothes were unwearable again upon taking them off at night. I miss that.


4. Drippy noses. I didn’t wipe one drippy nose in the three days I was gone. It’s a miracle for this time of year.


5. The schedule. This one is tough for me. I’ve said it before but having a [fairly] strict schedule is my biggest blessing and toughest challenge in my daily life. I couldn’t function as a stay at home mom without this rigidity so that we’re all on the same page about what’s going to happen when in our house. That being said, does the monotony drive me crazy? Yes! Do I long for more flexibility and spontaneous adventures? Yes and Yes! I do have to say, I’ve come a long way in loosening up in the last few months. I’m still lightyears away from being deemed “flexible” but I’ve made some baby steps.


6. The process of getting out the door. It’s so luxurious and gratifying to decide to leave the house, grab a purse and a coat and be out the door. With kids, you decide it’s time to leave the house and there’s a bathroom trip involved, snack and/or lunch packing to occur, shoe hunting/affixing to accomplish, coats and hats to be attached, toy collecting to be decided (our boys really enjoy taking one toy each on a the road with them whenever we leave the house), baggage schlepping (there always seems to be the diaper bag plus additional items every time), car/stroller loading, and finally (finally!) we’re on our way. Whew.


7. Playing the role of pack mule. See above. Every time we leave the house, I feel like I can’t possibly carry another thing down to the car or to the stroller. My upper body just may be the strongest it’s ever been. My back hasn’t been such a fan, however.


8. Picking up. Life with two kids under four = constant picking up. If I don’t stay on top of it every second of the day (luckily, the wee ones are pretty good at helping), I turn around and every toy is scattered around the room. This weekend was an enjoyable break from the constant toy-tidying that I’ve become accustomed to.


9. Night wakings. I mentioned to Mary Catherine during our visit that the last time I slept through the night (fell asleep and didn’t knowingly wake up until morning) was the week of Thanksgiving 2013. Since then, every single night has been interrupted with one of the following: Robbe squawking with or without needing an intervention, Chase needing to go to the bathroom (no more diapers!), Chris being startled awake (and then waking me), Miga crying and wanting attention (especially after our trips to Wisconsin), me needing to go to the bathroom (especially frequent during pregnancy), weird house issues (think alarm mysteriously going off or smoke detectors needing batteries), etc. The list goes on. I swear I cannot catch a break. Although I still woke up every night I was away, I slept so much more soundly knowing that even if I woke up, I wasn’t responsible for attending to anything during the night and I’m feeling much better rested.


10. The negotiating. I think I spend at least 50% of my time with my kids negotiating. How much they should eat, how many minutes of playtime left before bedtime, why brushing teeth is important, etc. Talking things to death tends to work very well for us and our boys but I’ve welcomed the break from the fairly constant negotiating and coercing.

When all is said and done, there's no place I'd rather be than right here with my three favorite boys. Vacations are wonderful (no doubt) but so is this life we've created.