Day 832 | Chase's First Movie

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It's been a long time coming but Chase finally went to his first movie theater movie last night. Big deal, right?

He and Chris saw Finding Dory at the budget theater that's walkable from our new house. The best!

Before the movie, Chase was the most excited version of himself. He could not keep it together. And, from first hand reports at the theater (from Chris), he was the sweetest version of himself through the whole thing. 

For any of you that have watched an in-home movie with Chase, you'll be interested to hear that he didn't close his eyes, ask to fast forward, request to leave, or bury his head at all. I've never been more proud.

Day 831 | My Wrist

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I realized after a couple of inquiries that I probably should have elaborated on the story behind my wrist surgery. Sorry about that! I hate not knowing the back story behind things just as much as the next guy and yet I did it to all of you. To make things right...

A brief overview of my current wrist situation:

  • Last fall, I started noticing a small bump appear on the inside of my left wrist (most likely from how I've been holding the babies for the last 4.5 years). 
  • After Christmas, I met a friend for yoga (which was really painful) and she told me that she thought it might be a ganglion cyst. Google it, if you're interested. 
  • Soon after, I had it checked out in DC and the diagnosis was confirmed and it was drained. I was given a 50/50 chance it wouldn't come back.
  • No luck, fast forward several months and the cyst had become much more painful...the packing + unpacking didn't help. 
  • I decided to have it checked out here to see what my options were. After another trip to the doctor and a MRI, it was determined that surgery was necessary (the cyst was becoming a bit too friendly with my ulnar nerve). 
  • Surgery came and went uneventfully last Friday and now I'm on the road to recovery. 

There it is, the whole *abbreviated* story. Now I'm stuck with this wrist splint until next Wednesday (AHHH!). It's already starting to drive me crazy. I think I'll make it, though. 

And, just think, it's possible that in a few months (maybe more...) I'll be back to yoga. My heart smiles just thinking about it.

Day 829 | Festival in the Pines

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It's been a surprisingly busy weekend around here. Today we spent a good chunk of the day at the local Festival in the Pines event. Although my wrist was trying to cramp our style (I had surgery on Friday), we still managed to squeeze in a school bus ride to the festival (definitely a highlight), a snow cone (Chase has been waiting all summer), a petting farm, a magic show, a few corn dogs, and an attempt to win a goldfish (which Chase actually succeeded at with his last ball but then chose a stuffed animal as his prize...what?!?). 

We got home and all took naps (except Chris, I guess) before heading to a neighbor's house for a little neighborhood welcome gathering. We're hoping for a quieter couple of days ahead, but we can't really complain since we're having such fun.

Day 828 | Seeds of Hope

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Another great day in Wisconsin.  The highlight of the day was definitely a trip to the Seeds of Hope sunflower maze with some family.  The boys loved running through the flowers, spending time on the tractors hidden throughout, and there was even a horse-drawn wagon ride.

**Special thanks to my brother for installing our ceiling fan today. Such a little thing that makes me so happy. Another big project off the list.

Day 827 | Looking Cozy

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I know I haven't posted many photos of the new house. It turns out getting a new house set up takes a *bit* of time. Although 96% of boxes are unpacked, we still have a random box or two stacked in most rooms. There's also at least one surface in those rooms covered with piles of misc items that just need homes. Not my favorite sights, but, you know, priorities.

Anyway, we're finally close to finishing up our family room so I wanted to share! We're still working on some sort of an ottoman and there will be a bookshelf, but it's looking good. We're really happy with how it has come together. Hope you agree!

Day 825 | Making Dad Proud

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I mowed the lawn for the first time to night...at least I think it was my first time. I mean, there's a chance I offered to mow our lawn once growing up and then quickly gave up because it was much harder than I thought. 

I made my dad proud tonight, though. I mowed the whole thing. Aside from having to stop every three minutes due to requests from my children, it wasn't too bad. And it felt good. I even have slightly greened shoes to show for it.

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.