The beautiful fall day was all the motivation we needed to get out and explore our new zoo. I mean, it was no Smithsonian National Zoo, but it was free and the kids had a blast so no one is complaining. And the playground was a huge hit!
It *almost* killed me but I got the boys to a park in the Burley today. It was a beautiful fall morning to be out and about, but man, pulling sixty five pounds of kids with a bum wrist when you're not used to biking is no joke.
Let's hope today provides motivation to keep it up until it gets easier instead of the alternative option...
Today was our first we-live-in-Wisconsin-and-can-celebrate-a-family-birthday day! We were beyond excited to be hosting my dad for his birthday with one of my brothers + his family and my grandma. And this is only the beginning!
On the left: me at my freshman homecoming.
On the right: my oldest niece at her freshman homecoming this past weekend.
Just a *slight* difference. What happened to that super awkward early-teen stage?
For the right price, he can help you with your yard work, too.
We borrowed a neighbor's bike trailer (a Burley) to give it a try this weekend. The boys loved it! I even managed to borrow a bike today (thanks, Karen!) so I could join in on the fun.
I think there will be some family biking in the future.
So, remember this post from Wednesday? Turns out that 5.14 inches of rain in less than 24 hours leads to a bit of a problem when it comes to the rivers in the city. Maybe this is a common occurrence around here (the flooded areas around the rivers), but it's been pretty shocking to us.
We have our first overnight visitors! Grandma and Grandpa came to give our guestroom a try. We'll let you know about their review.
We're all super excited to have them...especially because in just their first few hours here we had a pizza movie night and then went out for ice cream! That's a definitely a good start.
When our stroller goes from a single to a double, you have to move the back seat to make room for the front seat. Robbe was insistent that he didn't want to move his seat today, hence the sardine stroller.
This arrangement lasted about one block before Robbe realized he kept getting hit in the face with the front seat every time we went over a bump.
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.
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:
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
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.
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:
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
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:
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.
small city | BIG DAYS
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