Day 823 | Home Again

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We made it home after a fairly terrible two hours in the car. My kids are *definitely* not great at car trips. I guess that'll change eventually, right? Right?!?

Vacations are the best. Like, the very best. However, sometimes kids put a bit of a kink in what is otherwise the perfect little getaway. Robbe has had a pretty dramatic personality shift since we moved. He's not sleeping as well. He's grumpier than usual. He's become more agressive. I could go on. Is it all the changes this little guy has dealt with in the past six weeks? Is it the near-constant attention (which he's not used to)? Is it just that he's going through some crazy developmental/emotional/physical stage that's just messing with him? All of the above? That's probably it.

Anyway, we pulled into our driveway this afternoon just in time for nap (thank goodness...I needed a break!). We put our very tired wee ones to bed and I spent 1.5 hours on my computer working. But not only that, I sat out on our patio + our new patio furniture for the first time since we moved in. There was a glorious breeze, there was nothing but the sound of my keyboard, and my mood, in that moment, immediately shifted: I'm so incredibly lucky.

We love (I mean, really love) our new house. We genuinely enjoy both sides of our family (hands down our favorite way to our spend time). We have two sweet, [generally] well-behaved, healthy, fun-loving children who fill our days with more happiness than we could have imagined (which totally overshadows the fact that there's also a *bit* of frustration involved in those days). I have a spouse who makes me laugh every single day.

Two hours with two screaming children is not ideal. Instead, I'll focus on a life that is overflowing with blessings and good fortune.

Day 818 | I'm Back

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Robbe's first trip to the dentist!

Robbe's first trip to the dentist!

I was hoping that if I took a blogging break I would miraculously have all this extra time on my hands, but alas, that didn't happen. I do have to say that I did love not having *another thing* on my to do list, but I'll also say that blogging is so engrained in my daily life that I had several thoughts every day about how great [fill in the blank] would be for the blog!

What have we been up to, you might ask? Well let me break it down for you:

  • We bought + received + assembled our new couch and patio furniture...overstock.com really came through.
  • We took a miniature train ride in Carson Park. Don't worry, we have to go back to ride the steamie (Sunday's trip was on the diesel train), so you'll get to see photos.
  • I painted Chase's room with my mom's help. It's blue, of course, and amazing. 
  • Chris and I enjoyed evenings full of Olympic action. It's so addicting!
  • A family friend weeded a flower bed of ours (it took hours + hours!) and we discovered a water fountain. And my uncles hooked up the pump today so it's actually working. Who knew we'd ever be classy enough to have a water feature in our yard?
  • Chase and Robbe painted some rocks to complete the summer reading program we signed up for a week and a half ago. These two are reading all stars.
  • We procured a new [used] car. A sweet Honda Accord joined our little Honda family. 
  • I found the perfect train table! I've been scouring craigslist and one popped up really close by. Chase just kept saying, "I'm so excited, I'm so excited!" I think Robbe felt similarly. One of Chase's best comments, "Mom, now we don't have to pick up our tracks when you vacuum." Ha! 
  • I went to a girls-only movie with some of my favorite cousins. I seriously (no exaggeration) can't remember when I've been to a movie without Chris. Is that sweet or sad? I'll go with sweet. By the way, we saw Bad Moms and it was hysterical. 
  • I've been working hard with Mary Catherine to check client work off the list before her wee one arrives. 
  • Stopped into our local Children's Museum for an olympic-themed visit.
  • We checked off another round of dentist appointments off the list...it was Robbe's first! See photo above. 

Unfortunately, because of all this action, I didn't get to work on my new blog at all. I know, I'm disappointed, too. My plan is to keep the same photo-a-day format under a new name (I'm not in the District anymore, after all) and new look. Exciting, right? I finally settled on the perfect name (just today!), but I've got some work to do on my site. Until that happens, I'll continue with this as my blogging home. 

Day 817 | Taking a [Second] Break

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It's been an exhausting couple of months. Really amazing, but really exhausting.

I hope you all don't mind me taking a bit of a blog break to check out as I try to put some finishing touches on the new house and enjoy a little more free time and space in my days.

I'll be back with more photos on Wednesday, August 17th. And maybe I'll have a blog announcement for you all (I have to move on from the "District Day Dreams" name at some point, right?).

Day 816 | Blueberry-Lemon Crumb Bars

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Sorry to tease you yesterday, but here you go: a super yummy blueberry-lemon crumb bar recipe. A great way to use some of the surplus of berries we have around the house.

BLUEBERRY-LEMON CRUMB BARS

INGREDIENTS

Crust:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour

  • 2 tablespoons white sugar

  • 2 teaspoons lemon zest

  • 1 pinch salt

  • 1/2 cup butter, chilled and diced

  • 1 egg

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling:

  • 2 cups fresh blueberries

Crumb Topping:

  • 5 tablespoons butter, softened

  • 1/2 cup packed brown

  • all-purpose flour 3/4 cup

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan

  2. Start by making the crust. In a medium bowl, stir together the 2 cups flour, 2 tablespoons white sugar, lemon zest and salt. Cut in the 1/2 cup butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat egg and vanilla together; stir into the crumb mixture until a dough forms. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan.

  3. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden. Remove from oven and set aside to cool slightly.

  4. Sprinkle blueberries over the crust.

  5. Make the topping: In a medium bowl, cream together the 5 tablespoons butter and brown sugar until smooth. Mix in the flour, so that the mixture is crumbly like streusel. Sprinkle over the blueberry layer.

  6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until browned. Cool before cutting into bars.

Modified from this recipe.

Enjoy!

Day 815 | Sweet Corn

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We had to make good on our promise to "help" grandpa pick sweet corn so that's what we did after nap today. I was too busy making a delicious blueberry dessert (more details tomorrow) but I received a glowing report when all the boys returned. 

Remember when we moved to Wisconsin and just picked fresh produce all the time? Yeah, it's pretty amazing. 

Special thanks to my amazing uncle for installing our dishwasher today! It wasn't an easy install (why would it be?) but he was kind enough to give up the majority of his day to help us out. We are greatly appreciative and indebted. Now I just need to figure out how to spend all my newfound free time. 

Day 814 | Blueberries + Blackberries

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We've got to stop attempting to make a "quick trip" to visit my parents. Every time we try, my dad plans way too much. Today's agenda (after 11am and before nap) included a trip to a friends' house for blackberry picking and a paddle boat ride, blueberry picking, and sweet corn picking. Oh, and lunch in there somewhere. Well, we made it through the first two agenda items with naptime being delayed by *only* an hour. 

Hopefully my dad will realize that we live here and that maybe we can spread out the fun a bit more. Or maybe, just maybe, this type of jam-packed schedule is the reason Chase and Robbe are filled with pure joy every time we hop in the car to make a visit.

Day 813 | Family + Summer Fest Fun

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Whoa. It was a busy [and lovely] day. I'm exhausted and, instead of look at patio furniture online for the next hour (my usual nightly routine as of late), I'm headed up to bed.

But before I do, here are some of today's highlights:
  • Home-grown vegetables delivered to me right after breakfast (thanks, Jo + Randy!)
  • Petting zoo + pony rides + tattoos + strolling along the river with my mom during Summer Fest
  • Shopping + laughing with some of my favorite people in the whole world (nieces are the best!)
  • Scoring big at a local consignment store (three dresses + a top for $35!)
  • Dinner taken care of by someone else...including grocery pick up + cooking (you're the best, dad!)
  • More quality family time spent walking downtown and then giving up on the movie on the lawn...who knew it was going to start at 9pm? Turns out I was the only one who didn't know that. Sorry, Chase, you'll get your first outdoor movie eventually!
The only obvious hole in an otherwise wonderful day was Chris. His obligation to his class reunion pulled him in another direction. I'm sure he had just as much fun, though. 

Day 812 | Chainsaw Sculpture Championship

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I stayed home to clean this morning (turns out you have to do that even when you still have boxes to unpack), but the boys and Chris busted out to enjoy a new playground and a surprise Chainsaw Sculpture Championship. Apparently the boys were completely awestruck, although Chris wasn't sure if it was due to the talent of the artists or the noise-level (notice the ear plugs). Chase had a lot to report back to me upon their return. He was *a bit* excited.

Day 810 | Taking a Break

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We opted for a different strategy today: a relaxing + non-productive start to the day. We've been running around like crazy for the past five days and it hasn't been super enjoyable (there are NO couches we like in this city or online!!) or effective (I think we've managed to check about two things off our list).

Today, we got up and headed out for a delicious, slow-paced breakfast (which we walked to...whoop whoop!). On the way home, we visited our closest playground (it's super fun, by the way) and right on the river. We even scaled down the little sandy bank to put our toes in the water until the littlest one was getting a *bit* too brave (a change of clothes was needed). And look! A friendly group of ducks joined the fun.

Somehow this type of morning hit the restart button for us. We were super productive the rest of the day. Dishwasher: purchased! Microwave: purchased! Paint estimate: complete (just waiting on the final quote)! New living room chair: picked up! New couch: definitely making progress!

I mean, let's be honest, the only way today could be so productive is because there's been a ton of reconnaissance work done during our "non-productive" days. Either way, I'll take it.

Day 809 | An Official Haircut

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I know I've done a lot of haircut posts (Day 198, Day 247, Day 327, Day 469) but I've tried to cut back lately.

I have no choice but to restart the theme today, though, as Chase got his first professional haircut. That's a big deal, right? He sat perfectly still and was (no surprise) the perfect little client. Even though he didn't get to watch a movie during it (what we usually do doing haircuts at home), he still included it as one of his favorite parts of his day.

I *might* just be fired from my job as barber, at least with the older two (Chris and Chase). Robbe is looking shaggy as ever. He wasn't quite ready to jump into the salon chair. I'll give him a little more time, I guess.

Day 806 | Out and About

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After being cooped up for the last couple of days, we busted out for lots of excitement today.

We started out the morning with breakfast on the go and a community walk/run. Then we visited with a friend for a bit before heading to an antique car show (with delicious milkshakes). 

Best part of the day, by far, was reuniting with Chris after his week away. The boys were over the moon and so was I. 

We didn't let him rest and relax from his crazy week, however, there was a local Chalk Fest at the university down the road and we had heard great things about this annual event. It definitely didn't disappoint. The creativity and talent of these 100ish artists was beyond inspiring. And what a gorgeous afternoon to be out wandering. 

We wrapped up the day by hosting my grandma and aunt + uncle for some fun conversation on our new patio. 

Days like today are 100% the reason we felt compelled to move back. It doesn't get much better. 

Day 805 | Settling In

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I forgot to add one exciting detail to the day: the boys both picked out their own pjs.  Matching was obviously frowned upon.

I forgot to add one exciting detail to the day: the boys both picked out their own pjs.  Matching was obviously frowned upon.

It's been a lovely lazy day around here. We didn't see any family all day. What's that about? Luckily we already have plans to make sure the same thing doesn't happen tomorrow. :)

The boys and I had a leisurely morning with lots of outdoor time. We met a neighbor (who seems great, by the way, and even brought over dinner!). We invited a new friend (who lives within walking distance!) over for a tour and enjoyed the excitement of new friendships. And otherwise everything was totally boring, unproductive, and perfect. 

I think the to-do list items will start taking more of a priority once Chris returns tomorrow. A dishwasher is calling my name (beautiful kitchen renovations + no dishwasher = crazy, right?).