Day 853 | A Midwest Thunderstorm

Thunderstorms are not a new thing, you know? DC has thunderstorms just like everywhere else. In the Midwest, though, these storms are no joke. I had kind of forgotten that. There have been a few other days of big storms since we moved but nothing like today.

It's been torrentially raining with crashing claps of thunder most of the afternoon. If you're safe inside with no where to be, man there's nothing better. I was sitting doing some design work while Chase was at school (and safely in an interior bathroom, it turned out) and Robbe was napping, while listening to the rain and enjoying the storm more than I probably should have been. That is, until the sirens started blaring. I thought, "a tornado?!?" and immediately checked the radar to see what was happening. No tornado warning. That's weird, I thought. I kept monitoring things until the sirens stopped and then went back to enjoying the pitter patter of the rain.

When I picked Chase up, his teachers informed me that the sirens blare for thunderstorm warnings here. Got it. Good to know. In fact, they're going off again as I type this. I kept my cool much better this time around.

With two happy and entertained children cutting teeny pieces of paper in front of me (they're really into scissors these days), I'll continue to enjoy the storm...and get off my computer.

Day 852 | Storytime in EC

Today's storytime at our new library (L.E. Phillips Memorial Library) may have been one of the best I've attended. 

I don't think any will trump storytime at the Library of Congress (that was pre-blog), at least from an adult's perspective, but today's session was spot on with what my kiddos desire. 

What made it great, you might ask? Let me tell you:

• The kids could each pick their own [awesome] puppet to fiddle with throughout the program (it did wonders to keep the little ones seated throughout).
• It was the perfect combination of songs + action rhymes + read aloud time. 
• The books were actually age-appropriate. It's a big pet peeve of mine when librarians choose super long books to wee ones and expect to keep their attention.
• The words to the songs were printed out on large posters hanging behind the librarian...genius! I felt like I could actually participate and encourage the same from the boys even though it was our first time. 

After declaring that, in general, storytimes "weren't his favorite" on the way to the library, Chase changed his tune on our walk home. It's unanimous: we all had a great time.

For those interested, a couple of storytimes + library posts from the past (I guess we really like the library):

Day 43
Day 62
Day 221
Day 250
Day 295
Day 318
Day 323
Day 396
Day 410
Day 418

Day 851 | Posing Cousins

Today's full morning + afternoon of errands didn't inspire me to take a photo...sorry about that.  

Instead, I'll share this super cute one of four cousins posing on some rocks. Pretty impressive, right? The boys have absolutely loved all the time they've gotten to spend with these girls (plus all the other cousins!) since moving back. And, in case it's not obvious, so have I. 

Day 850 | Apple Picking

One of the things I missed most about Wisconsin (other than the fam, of course), was being able to pick my favorite apple, Cortlands. Today was the day to fill that hole in my life. We headed over to Ferguson's Orchard for some outdoor excitement. Unfortunately, a late freeze damaged a lot of their apple crop but we were able to pick a 1/2 peck and find a few to eat by the trees. There was no disappointment in the outing, even with a general lack of apples, however. Ferguson's has a whole field full of family fun including: 

• Water pumping duck races
• Kiddie-size school house and jail 
• Ride-on tractors
• A "slightly" scary haunted house (a first for both boys...they loved it and asked to go again!)
• Some friendly farm animals

I think it's safe to say we'll be back to enjoy more of the fall weather + restock our apple supply.

Side note: Can I tell you how nice it was to drive ten minutes instead of 45 to go apple picking? I'm very excited about this.

Day 849 | International Fall Festival

We hit up the International Fall Festival right down the street from our house today. Although I wouldn't say there was a ton of "international" flare, it was a nice little party with some enjoyable kid-friendly activities and yummy food. Yippee! 

Day 848 | Impressive Moves

Check out these sweet moves! Robbe decided he was ready to master this fairly complicated (and high!) playground apparatus solo. Luckily, I just happened to be standing right next to him when he decided to take the leap. If you can believe it, he didn't actually need my assistance at all. And he did it four times. 

Full disclosure: this photo is from when we went to the park earlier this week (but I've had too many other things to post). Today's impressive moves included Robbe carrying a backpack the same size + weight as his body (filled with all his prize possessions) through a Macy's store to pick up Chris's new suits. There's no way I would have put money on him surviving the trek without asking me for help. 

Day 847 | Waiting

Robbe has been working really hard at using the potty lately. So hard, in fact, that we decided it was time for a potty sticker chart. And he rocked it. As a prize for filling out all the boxes, he could choose a reward. He selected a fork lift (because he's still really into trucks). I did have some foresight...I had him order it two days ago so that it would arrive in time for the final sticker celebration. And it worked. The package was scheduled to arrive today. His last sticker was placed on the chart this morning. Perfect!

The problem, is that a two year old has no sense of time. None. Immediately upon placing the order (two days ago), he asked where the truck was. About every 15 minutes since that order was placed, the same question has arisen. It's hard to wait, isn't it?

Usually our packages are delivered during naptime so imagine my glee when this box (pictured above) was waiting for us after our morning excursion. Finally, the questions were over!  The boys carefully carried this box from the front door to the back door so they could take it inside and unwrap their treasures (Chase got something new, too, of course). Seems perfect (and super adorable), right?!? 

Well, upon opening, the box actually just contained mattress pads and sheets for the new bunk bed. Talk about a let down. There were some tears (mostly mine), but they rallied when I told them the other deliver would be here shortly. We waited all through nap and school pick up before we arrived back home to find a box waiting for us. Whew. We narrowly escaped the total meltdown on this one.

Lesson to be learned: order rewards in secret and surprise them after they arrive. Noted.

Day 846 | A Sad Day

I woke up to bad news: Miga wasn't doing so well.  

**Side note: because of Chase's cat allergy (that's what we finally discovered after being cat-free for six weeks during the move), Miga has been living with my brother and his family. She's been in Miga Cat paradise over there with access to the outdoors at all hours (yay, dog door!), some of the most loving pet owners you could ever imagine, friendly rodents to chase around, a few new feline friends...to list just a few. 

I promised to meet them at the vet after my chimney sweep arrived (seriously the one morning I have something on the calendar) but by the time he was settled in, the bad news had been delivered and it wasn't fair to Miga to keep her uncomfortable until I could get there. Sniffle, sniffle.

I couldn't even say goodbye to one of my first family members. I wanted to be selfish and make the trip for my benefit. It wasn't until I stepped back and realized it wasn't the best for Miga or for the boys (who would have to witness their mom a total mess). So through tears (yes, while the chimney sweep was here), I agreed to let Brian and Tera take care of my sweet kitty and say my final goodbyes for me. 

She was a crazy cat, but the sweetest, cuddliest, friendliest, non-agile cat you would have ever met. I'm hopeful that she and Moggy are together again and telling some of the same stories we have been.

**I cannot adequately express my gratitude to my brother and sister in law for everything they did today. Not only did they take care of the worst pet owner duty of all time, but also arrived tonight to distract us and add some much needed laughter to our day. So grateful for my family.

Day 845 | First Day of 4K

I'm happy to report that today was a resounding success. Our little four year old could not have impressed me more. He walked right into class, grabbed his carpet square (as directed), and basically shooed us out the door. That's my boy. 

Robbe offered some whimpers but otherwise everyone was all smiles at drop off and pick up. Chase, as expected, barely acknowledged me when we showed up to collect him. He wanted to stay (like I told him he would), and I had to peel Robbe off the playground (where Chase ends his day). Chase even announced that he wouldn't mind if this school was a full day. Best compliment ever!

Day 844 | So Excited

Our sweet Chase starts 4K tomorrow. I know, about time, right? We attended an open house at his school today to meet the teachers and some of his new friends. Most importantly, Chase got to test drive some of the new materials he'll be able to play with four days a week.  

After being a bit skeptical about school starting (he misses his old friends and school), today got Chase really excited. Plus, he's only going in the afternoons so he's pumped that he's not going to miss anything with Robbe and me (it's just naptime after all). 

Think happy thoughts for a smooth drop off and successful first day tomorrow!

Day 843 | Wrist Update

It's been a little over two weeks since my wrist surgery. Chris told me I couldn't post the really gruesome pre-stitches-being-removed photo but it's healed enough to not horrify anyone at this point...at least I hope! 

It seems to be healing pretty well and hasn't been nearly as painful as I feared + anticipated. And even though it's still a couple of months ago, I cannot wait until my first yoga class.

In the meantime, I'm just focusing on the little everyday accomplishments. It's definitely getting stronger and less inhibitive, but man it's been cramping my style. 

Here's a top twelve of my least favorite activisties during my recovery process:

1. Closing + opening ziploc baggies
2. Clipping fingernails
3. Manipularing transformers (the toys)
4. Opening the fridge
5. Gripping the steering wheel
6. Pushing a stroller
7. Handing things into the backseat
8. Using a hair tie
9. Installing a car seat
10. Twisting off bottle tops
11. Putting on little socks
12. Popping the top on our toothpaste

I can't complain too much, though. My family, especially my two favorite sons, have made this process as easy on me as I could hope for. 

Day 842 | Bunk Beds

Big day for our big guy: we assembled his bunk bed. He's been dreaming of this day for so long. Unfortunately, we don't have mattresses to put on the beds quite yet (who knew the bed would arrive so quickly?!?), so no sleeping there tonight...but soon! 

No mattresses didn't keep the boys down, though. We threw the toddler bed mattress up there and the two kiddos spent a significant amount of time going up and down. Up and down.  

Lots of happiness in the house today.  

Day 841 | Date Night

Spontaneous date night with some of Chris's new coworkers tonight. Eau Claire Dancing with the Stars (yep, that's a thing) was super entertaining. We even ran into a few friendly faces (note photo above). 

A huge huge  thank you to my mom and dad for watching the boys (again!). It's such a reality check to realize that we can do these types of outings now. Feeling very lucky. 

Day 840 | Bridge Adventure Day

I woke up the morning itching to take advantage of the beautiful weather (after two days of rain). To the bridges! Remember that I mentioned there are lot of bridges here? 

We visited two new ones today...and they didn't disappoint. High Point Bridge was especially impressive with views of a roaring river pouring through the dam. 

And, although I'm not a huge fan of driving over big bridges, my stomach only got a mild "funny feeling" (as I described to the boys) during today's excursion. Success! 

Day 839 | Beaver Creek Reserve

The rain couldn't keep us down on day two. We busted out of the house to explore the Beaver Creek Reserve nature center. It was renovated this summer and is fantastic. We were there for over 1.5 hours and I had to peel the boys away. 

Some highlights:

• wearing butterfly wings (obviously)
• watching animal feeding time (snapping turtles can really take care of minnows, for the record)
• crawling through the cave
• exploring the lightbox with different rocks and animal images
• peeping at the birds at the feeders outside with kid-friendly binoculars
• testing out various puzzles, blocks, books, etc.

Add this to our list of much-needed cold weather outing ideas. Why yes, we will join as members. 

The best part? We didn't do any of the outdoor activities (two playgrounds + hiking trails galore), so once the mosquitos settle down (we got eaten alive on our way in from the parking lot), we'll be back before the snow hits.

Day 838 | Just the Three of Us

It finally had to happen: Chris started his job today. Back to real life and that means just me and the boys. I wouldn't say it was our best day, but it could have been a lot worse. That's a success, right?  

As glorious as the last five weeks (!!) have been, I think we're all ready to see what life in our new house in our new city is really going to be like. We've been in a constant state of vacation since we left the District on July 13. Whoa. 

Oh, and Chris's first day went well, for those keeping track. Everyone seems really nice and his commute alone (less than ten minutes) is enough to keep him happy for awhile. We've got a good feeling about this. 

Day 837 | An Intimate Family Gathering

Today is my Grandma's birthday. My dad and his seven (!!) siblings hosted a quaint, intimate party to help celebrate the occasion. 

Above is a photo of a few of the 18 cars parked in and around the driveway. I heard there were 51 people in attendance. That's crazy. 50+ people attending your birthday party...that's how you know you're loved. :)

Day 836 | Family Mini Golf

It's been a good day. A really good day.  

Chris's brother and his family came over for a day trip. We can do day trips now!

We enjoyed a morning + lunch exploring our new city and then played a round of mini golf (a first for all the kids!). I forgot how great mini golf is. 

Being close to family, and this specific family, is why we're here. It was a really good day. 

Day 835 | Treasures

There have been some unexpected surprises that have popped up since our move to Wisconsin. One of these surprises is how many treasures our children seem to discover every time we visit one of the grandparents. Today's discoveries include two sets of awesome headphones and a kids record player from the 80s. Lucky, aren't we?

However, in all seriousness, we're so thankful to have such loving and generous grandparents closeby that have already aleviated our child-based stress tremendously. I guess these new "treasures" just go along with the territory. Seems like a good trade.  

Day 834 | MN Fun

What a perfect day for a trip to St. Paul to see some of our favorite people and visit the Minnesota State Fair (a first for us!). 

The weather couldn't have been better, the three boys handled the chaos (and sugar) of the fair like champs, and man did we accomplish all the goals we set for our short visit.  

A few highlights: 

• Racing vegetable cars down a ramp.  
• Viewing the seed art  
• Petting several baby animals  
• Meeting the 1200 pound pig 
• Walking through the 4-H buildings (favorite exhibits include an art piece of cats made out of rocks and a diorama entitled "Humanity's Worst Day" as scene by an elementary-age child...it was dark)
• Taking a trip down the giant slide
• The food. Oh, the food. In a period of about 3.5 hours our group managed to eat the following: apple cider freeze pops, roasted sweet corn, cheese curds, corn dogs, mini donuts, pretzel-wrapped hot dogs, ice cream cones, and a snow cone.

Well done, team. 

To top it off, we got back to our friends' house in time for Robbe to nap (which he did instantly) and some quality low-key hang out time before we ate a yummy dinner and hit the road to head home.  

Today might just be in the running for best day ever. :)