Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Day 243 | Cheese? Yes, Please!

No trip to Wisconsin is complete without a stop at the local cheese factory. We squeezed in a visit just in time before we head back to the District.

Thanks, Wisconsin Dairy State Cheese Company, for sharing your yummy products with us. 

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Day 242 | Card Crafts

Bibi and I had a great time crafting some fun cards last night. She showed me the wonders of using the Cricut cutting machine. That thing can do anything! I even found a bird design to make all my dreams come true.

Thanks, Bibi, for sharing your expertise, time, and oodles of supplies with me! Can't wait to do it again. 

Monday, December 29, 2014

Day 241 | History Museum: Wisconsin Version

The museum bug even bites when we're on vacation. Today, Grandma Bibi took us to the Museum of Natural History. It was quite an impressive show of animals, eggs, and fossils. Chase really enjoyed collecting the animal trading cards scattered around the exhibits and Robbe just loved having so much open space to crawl around in and so many fun ledges to pull himself up on.

A great way to spend a chilly (5 degrees!) morning. 

Sunday, December 28, 2014

Day 240 | A Gift to Myself

I love having my fingernails painted. It just makes me so happy. What doesn't make me happy? The fact that they chip almost immediately.

So I finally succumbed to the hype and tried a gel manicure today. Will it last three weeks? Only time will tell, but it looks pretty great for the moment. Will it ruin my nails? I'm not going to worry about that-they have never been that fantastic. Will it become a new obsession? Maybe, just maybe. 

*Note: I was fully intending to give this to myself as a gift (hence the title) but Chris's mom swooped in and treated me to a late Christmas present. So sweet and greatly appreciated. 

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Day 239 | Chris's Favorite Thing

After sharing the boys' favorite things a few posts ago, it's time to highlight Chris's favorite thing: the day after sandwich.

It includes all the fixings from the traditional Thanksgiving dinner (and Christmas dinner this year) all in one sandwich for lunch the next day. That means turkey, potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, and gravy all piled high. Not my idea of delicious but if it makes him happy, I'm happy. 

Friday, December 26, 2014

Day 238 | Merry Christmas: Part 2

We enjoyed another lovely family Christmas celebration tonight. This time with Chris's family. It was a wonderful celebration of giving, receiving, and eating. Obviously lots of eating. If only the other third of the brother trio could have been here with his family, it would have been perfect. 

It's truly a blessing to have family that you can call friends and that you completely enjoy spending time with. We hit the lottery with all our family: immediate and extended.

*Note: I almost missed another post today. My schedule is just all out of whack! And maybe the two hours of putting together an awesome zoo for Chase added to the rush to get right into bed afterward...

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Day 237 | Merry Christmas

Merry merry Christmas. I'm wishing all of you love, magical moments, and family fun on this festive day. 

*Due to lots of quality family time and some pretty extreme exhaustion (have I mentioned how I'm not cut out to sleep with a baby in the same room as me?), I missed yesterday's blog post. The horror! I'll just tell myself that it was my day off for the holiday. Hope you don't mind. 

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Day 236 | Christmas is Here

We officially made it to our family Christmas festivities. After another four hours in the car (not my favorite, for the record), we're settling in and loving the quality time with our extended family.

Chase was reunited with his best friend, Frosty (who is about the same size as our toddler), and both boys have been enjoying the extra attention (surprise, surprise). And the photo on the bottom-right is Chase's vacation bed/pseudo-life raft. It's been a big hit. 

Monday, December 22, 2014

Day 235 | Ho Ho Ho

Chase finally put in his gift requests to Santa today...just under the wire (but not entirely our fault).

He was a champ! Let's just say that the last two years didn't go well with our friend, Santa. Lots of crying. Not this time: he was all business and even plastered on a smile for the photo. He recited all his requests without hesitation and even put in an order for Robbe (according to the letters that we wrote).

And Robbe? No crying there either, and he went right to the strange man with a crazy beard. I'd like to think it's because Chase was by his side (that's sweet, right?) and not that he'd just go to anyone. 

One more check off our holiday to-do list!

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Day 234 | A Tradition Continues

The cousins got together for their annual gingerbread house construction today. Chase got pretty into it. His patience for these kinds of tasks always shocks me. His jobs today included: unwrapping the peppermint wheels, making marshmallow snowmen, adding smarties to the roofline, and sneaking just a couple sweets.

And the house turned out just perfect. 

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Day 233 | Treats Galore!

We have been innundated with delicious treats since our arrival yesterday. Is it possible to survive only on sugar for two weeks? We're going to find out.

And, as it turns out, the pretzel hugs my family has been making for years is the perfect toddler activity. Chase loved unwrapping the hugs and placing them meticulously inside the pretzel circles. He even helped place the M&M on the melted hugs after they had cooled for just a minute. Such a big helper!

Here's the "recipe". Delicious? No question!

Friday, December 19, 2014

Day 232 | All Packed Up

...and ready to go!

We made it thorough one Uber ride to the airport, two flights (but we didn't de-plane in between), and one long car ride to Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Whew. It's hard to say who is most exhausted. I'm leaning towards me. 

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Day 231 | Holiday House Scenes

One of the hardest things about visiting family over the holidays (aside from braving the airports during the busiest time of the year) is leaving our own house behind. Oftentimes, I don't spend much energy decorating because it's just not worth it for the couple weeks we're home in December. Thanks to our holiday party (and mostly my mom!), this year was a totally different story. We're bursting at the seams with holiday cheer.

Enjoy the collage above depicting the festive environment that's been getting us in the Christmas spirit all season. I'll miss my own tree, mantle, and decorations as we jump on a plane but I'll take family over holiday isolation any day!

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Day 230 | Rec Center Revelry

We finally had the perfect day to get out and experience the Tiny Tots! program at our local recreation center. To call it intense would be a big understatement. It was Chase, Robbe, me and about 30 daycare toddlers with a handful of their caregivers. Whoa.

It took Chase a bit of time to warm up to the chaos but Robbe was right at home. He got lots of attention from the kiddos, as usual, and maneuvered the crowd shockingly well. 

One of the highlights for me? Watching the kids flock to the stereo every time a Frozen song came on (see bottom-right photo). Seriously, they paid no attention to any other Disney song but as soon as they recognized the beginning of a Frozen song, it was like a magnet pulling them in. They went crazy. It was more than a bit amusing. 

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Day 229 | Favorite Things Tees: Part 2

The boys love their new t-shirts (remember this project?). Ok, "love" might be a bit strong, but Chase at the very least is very excited.

Monday, December 15, 2014

Day 228 | Christmas Came Early

We head out for our Wisconsin Christmas adventure on Friday so we decided to celebrate our family Christmas yesterday in order to limit the number of gifts we have to haul back and forth.

It was a lovely evening of gift giving. The boys' faces were plastered with smiles and Chase was just as excited about watching Chris and me open gifts as he was about ripping into his own (ok, maybe not just as excited, but close). 

A few highlights? 

1. Chase got a shed for his trains! I asked him this morning if we should call it a shed or a garage and he replied, "let's call it Tidmouth Station" (where Thomas sleeps). It's a big hit. 

2. Robbe opened up a toy chair. It's the updated version of a chair that Chase loves at his grandparents' house so we knew it would be well received. And it's a good thing Robbe is willing to share. 

3. Chris managed to completely blindside me again this year (two years in a row, for the record) with a super sweet and thoughtful gift: a printed book of my first 100 blog posts! The best, right? It's so much more enjoyable to flip through a hard-copy version of the posts than sit in front of a computer and click through the links. I'm a lucky lady.

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Day 227 | Santa Fail

 
Our big plans to meet the jolly big guy today failed. Apparently even Santa gets sick (or at least that's what they said). Luckily there's a great train display around the National Christmas Tree so that was a fine consolation prize. You heard right, more trains. We've got to have exhausted all the train exhibits by now, right? We'll see...

Saturday, December 13, 2014

Day 226 | More Trains? Yes, Please!

We managed to find yet another holiday train exhibit to enthrall sweet Chase. Today's excursion took us to the College Park Aviation Museum for their "Holiday Trains and Planes" display. They put on a good show and Chase could not have enjoyed it more. That kid definitely loves LOVES trains. Thomas even made an appearance, if you can believe our good fortune. Robbe had a good time, too, although his activity of choice was pulling himself up on a little riser. Whatever it takes.

The top-right photo is from my muffin date with my big man this morning. We snuck away to Union Market for some Christmas shopping. The photo was too cute not to share.

Friday, December 12, 2014

Day 225 | Toddler Friends

Toddler friends are the cutest. Seeing them interact (play, resolve conflict, give hugs, hold hands, etc) is just the sweetest thing ever.

Thanks for coming to play today, John. So glad we're friends. We'll miss you until next year. 

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Day 224 | Homemade Baby Food

'Tis the season for over eating, right? The perfect time of year to share my eight tips for making homemade baby food for your wee one.
  1.  Boil baby, boil: Boiling is the easiest way to turn raw or frozen veggies into pureed magic for your little one.Bring a large pot of water to boil and then add the veggies for just a few minutes until tender.
  2. Economies of scale: Make several batches one right after the other. Use one big pot and keep the water boiling, use a strainer to fish out the food, and only wash the blender once (rinse out in between foods and wash at the end). Just remember to do any new food as the last batch in case the baby has a reaction (you don't want to taint the other batches).
  3. Ice cube trays: The easiest way to portion-ize, freeze, and store your labor of love.
  4. Keep food separate: As tempting as it might be to make peas+pears or mango+sweet potatoes, freeze the foods separate and mix them when you serve them. You'll have so many more options for combinations this way.
  5. Multitask: It's definitely preferred to do several batches at once (see #2) but don't hesitate to throw on a pot of boiling water while you're preparing dinner or doing dishes to knock out one batch of green beans.
  6. Make smart choices: Sometimes making the food is more trouble than its worth. Prunes, in my opinion, is one of those foods. Rehydrating before blending is not my idea of a time saver so I will continue to buy this yummy fruit. When you buy, though, keep an eye on the ingredient list. There are some good options on the shelves today without a lot of additives but there are some nasty ones, too (think tuna oil...yuck!), just be vigilant. Another good buy? Applesauce. Although making applesauce is super easy, you can buy organic, unsweetened, no additive applesauce for so cheap that it's not worth the energy (in my opinion) to make it. If it's too thick for your little one at the beginning (it was for mine), throw it in your blender to smooth it out a bit more. I didn't even need to add water.
  7. Invest in good equipment: Chris and I rarely splurge on anything so when we do, it's been well-researched and vetted. One of our best splurges (and definitely the best when it comes to making baby food) has been the Vitamix. Expensive, but worth it. This thing can blend up anything: frozen fruit, raw oatmeal (you don't have to buy the boxed variety), and thick starches (think: sweet potatoes). Other good buys? These ice cube trays (they have covers) and a strainer like this.
  8. The wonder of frozen fruit: Frozen fruit is the most economical, easiest way to make baby food. It's already cut, peeled, pitted, etc. Again, check the ingredient list, though. Sometimes there's added sugar (which never makes sense to me!). I just defrost the fruit on the counter for a few hours, throw it in the blender, and pour into ice cube trays. Ta da! Done.

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Day 223 | Dear Santa

If we can kick this nasty cold bug by the weekend, we have big plans to make a trip to see Santa. That means we have to get prepared, so Chase and I wrote his letter to the big guy this morning.

Here's what it says (in case you can't make it out):

Dear Santa,

I have been very good this year. I'm a big helper to my mom and dad and I'm very patient with my little brother.

I would like the following for Christmas:

1. Thomas boat
2. Watch
3. Camera
4. Fruit

Merry Christmas!

Afterward, we decided that we should probably write one for Robbe, too, since he's too little to do it himself. 

Here's Robbe's letter:

Dear Santa,

My little brother, Miles, has been really good this year, too.

If it's not too much trouble, he would like a toothbrush. And maybe a surprise. He likes surprises.

Merry Christmas!

Dr. McKnight suggested we get Robbe a toothbrush for his two new teeth and Chase took that suggestion seriously. Straight to Santa for that request. 

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Day 222 | Want to be Our Neighbor?

This massive renovation project has been going on right outside our windows for a few months now. Last week they demolished the roof and this week the second floor went up. Crazy, right? I'm so interested in the final product.

So, I repeat, do you want to be our neighbor?

Monday, December 8, 2014

Day 221 | A Little Distraction

Rough morning for this family: I think Miga is the only one who slept well (and not all Robbe's fault this time), we're back to our solo existence after all our family left (so sorry to see them go), and it's cold outside.

After a particularly rough night, though, getting out of the house is a must. No one handles being sleepy and stir-crazy well (at the very least I can speak for myself), so we bundled up and headed to the library. Chase had a blast practicing his colors with Elmo (I overheard him laughing out loud several times) and Robbe enjoyed exploring every nook and crannie. 

It was just he distraction we all needed to power through until naptime (for all of us!). 

Sunday, December 7, 2014

Day 220 | Post-Party Pleasures

A few of today's joys after yesterday's celebration:

1. Beautiful flowers: my mom and dad gave us one arrangement, a couple of sweet friends brought two bouquets, and my mom braved our holly tree (we have a holly tree!) to round out the collection. These flowers make me SO happy. 

2. A clean kitchen: something about the accomplishment of cleaning up a huge mess that feels so good. 

3. Leftovers: as I mentioned yesterday, we had lots LOTS of food left over. I guess that's better than the alternative, right? Well today, the amount of food left over is an amazing reward. Snacks for days, ham for an egg scramble for lunch (amazing!), and sweets that I should be avoiding but are too good to pass up. Yes, sir, I will take another handful of chex mix

Saturday, December 6, 2014

Day 219 | Holiday Shindig

We hosted a little holiday party tonight and I am exhausted. It was a wonderful evening full of friends and family, yummy food, and festive cocktails (thanks to my bartender husband).

The kitchen is semi-cleaned up, the food is semi-eaten (why didn't people eat more?!?), and I'm semi-awake. Well worth all the time and energy dedicated to the event, though. Couldn't have been more enjoyable.

Special thanks to my mom and dad for helping out in innumerable ways to make the evening a success. We are grateful.

Friday, December 5, 2014

Day 218 | Holiday Train Tour

It was time to take our holiday spirit on the road. Off we went to the Botanic Garden for their annual Season's Greenings exhibit. The trains (Thomas even made an appearance!) and the foliage didn't disappoint again. Definitely a must-visit holiday stop in this city.

From there, we headed over to Union Station to check out its holiday model train display. A significant step down from the trains we saw earlier in the morning, but still a festive excursion. We even made time to overlook the real trains loading up passengers.

I wouldn't say it was Chase's perfect day but with all the trains, Mom, Dad, Grandma, and Grandpa in attendance, and lots of holiday activities, it was pretty close.

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Day 217 | The Taste of Christmas

I managed to squeeze in baking a batch of my favorite Christmas cookies into today's chaos (school for Chase, airport trip to pick up Dad, lots of cleaning, etc.). They are perfectly unique and festive for this time of year.

Here's the recipe but I use craisens and orange zest as a substitute for the cherries and lime. 

Highly, highly recommended. 

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Day 216 | Felted Acorns


Aren't these the cutest things ever? I'm obsessed with them.

A little pre-planning (think acorn hat hunting with Chase), an experienced felter (that's you, mom), roving, hot water, and Dawn dish soap. That's it. 

Take a bit of the roving, get it wet under hot water, add a teeny bit of dish soap and roll. Squeeze out soap/water, rinse a bit, keep rolling. Eventually you end up with a cute little oval of felted magic. Let it dry and find the perfect acorn hat to fit on it. Add a little hot glue to make it stick. 

You might be wondering what I'm going to do with these...sorry, that's a surprise. 

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Day 215 | Sock Snowmen

Chase got in on the action with our latest craft: sock snowmen.

I won't reveal who is receiving these beauties, but it's safe to say they probably aren't checking the blog. 

The snowmen are made from baby socks (white for the body and colored for the hats) stuffed with rice (which Chase was an expert at and kept him very focused) and then decorated with googlie eyes and a scrap-fabric scarf. Ta da!

The cutest snowmen around. 

Monday, December 1, 2014

Day 214 | Yard Work in December?

Yes, sir!

It was 70 degrees today so we took full advantage and spent the morning outside. Chase helped weed, sweep, and plant all before we headed to the courts for some pretty intense toddler tennis with our friends. 

Can you believe this is December?

Sunday, November 30, 2014

Day 213 | The Sight of Christmas

Our tree is all decorated. The lights are in place (thanks, Chris), the ornaments are hung (thanks Mom, Chase, Robbe, and Chris), and some of the ornaments have been ripped down again (thanks, Robbe).

And, we added a new train (well, very old train, actually) to our tree set up this year. So excited to add this treasure from Chris's family to our family tradition. 

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Day 212 | Festive Artwork

My latest craft...are you getting sick of these posts yet? I'm not!

I found these canvases at Michael's at a three for one price so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to do some holiday art. Here's what I came up with. I might add another layer but you get the idea. I'm pretty pleased about how it turned out. 

Now to find the perfect place to hang them. Challenge accepted. 

Friday, November 28, 2014

Day 211 | Wasting No Time

My mom arrived today (hip, hip hooray!) and, as soon as possible, we packed up the car and headed to pick out a Christmas tree. And we found a pretty great one.

To do tomorrow: decorate. The tree. The mantle. The porch.

Oh, and start on the many crafts I've got planned. Like I said, hip, hip hooray!


Thursday, November 27, 2014

Day 210 | Feeling Thankful

Happy, happy Thanksgiving. More than anything else, I have to say I'm most thankful for family: this year and always. 

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Day 209 | Let It Snow

It didn't last long and didn't amount to anything but it sure was pretty. And Robbe can check another first off his list.

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Day 208 | Handprint Turkeys

Chase has been busy making lots of different versions of the classic handprint turkey.

The two on the left are crafts he did with me (one is going to be part of our Thanksgiving table setting and the other was a Thanksgiving card). The one on the right is from a placemat he made at school. Let's just say he was practically an expert at that point. The prayer he says before snack is included. Hearing him say it is about the cutest thing ever. 

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Day 206 | Fall Isn't Over

The warmer temperatures today (and forecasted for tomorrow!) served as a reminder that Fall isn't over yet. Even though we're definitely in the holiday spirit around this house (Chase is already on his holiday book kick, after all), we broke out of the house today and enjoyed some quality outdoor time.

After playing at the park, we filled two landscape bags full of leaves and it looks like we didn't make a dent. For what it's worth, a toddler using a shovel to "help" rake isn't really that helpful. I was surprised, too. 

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Day 205 | The Sound of Christmas

I held off another two weeks, but decided today was the day to break out the Christmas music. Here's our first (but hopefully not last) family Christmas dance party of the season.

Chase selected, Frosty the Snoman for Robbe's first Christmas song. Probably wouldn't have been my first choice, but I let it go. See? I'm flexible.

Friday, November 21, 2014

Day 204 | Favorite Things Tees

One of my craft project Christmas presents I've been dying to cross off my list is this fun faux screen printing project. I made both boys favorite things t-shirts using freezer paper and fabric paint.

Here's the tutorial I followed. It's super easy and a quick craft that leads to a great sense of accomplishment. I made Chase a fish tee with this process last year and he wore it a ton. It actually went through the wash just fine. Shocking, I know.

As you can see, Chase's favorite thing right now? Trains, excuse me, "choo choos." And Robbe? Shoes. It's almost an addiction the way he beelines for them. 

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Day 203 | Happy Hunting

As most of my family back in Wisconsin heads out on their annual deer hunting adventure, let me say three things:

1. Be safe. 
2. See lots of deer (notice I just said "see").
3. Have fun. 

I've never been a part of this tradition (I was never the type to enjoy sitting outside in 20 degree weather and using an outhouse), but I love that my dad and brothers take part in it. It makes me happy without even being there. 

Special note: the face of the deer above is my palm, in case you can't figure it out. 

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Day 202 | Like a Sponge

It's amazing what a little mind absorbs at this age. Just in the past few weeks Chase is learning so much. And before you think we've been holed up running flash cards, I have to admit that I've done practically nothing to encourage his new spurt of knowledge. Here's what he's caught on to (and the method of/reason for the learning):

  1. States: thanks to a lovely placemat, Chase can now identify 19 states and the District of Columbia.  He can also differentiate between Washington, D.C. and Washington state. This is beyond impressive to me since I was *ahem* much older when I grasped this concept. 
  2. Spelling: Chase dug out our Bananagrams game the other night, Chris spelled out M-O-M, and all of a sudden he's into spelling. Here's his list so far (pictured above). 
  3. Telling time: ok, he's more just identifying numbers on the clock but he started asking about when Chris would be home so I recently began answering with "when the little hand points to 6." Now we eat with the clock at the table and every so often (about every five minutes, you might guess), he shouts, with enthusiasm, "it's [the big hand] touching the 4 [or whatever number]!" 

Yeah, I know what you're thinking: he's probably a genius (she says with a wink).

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Day 201 | Staying Warm

The rain and wind came through last night and now it's a bit chilly outside. 30 degrees in November? That's not DC...that's Wisconsin. And we moved from there for a reason.

After quick trips to and from school this morning, we plan on staying put the rest of the day. Maybe more puzzles on the horizon. 

Monday, November 17, 2014

Day 200 | Yep, 200

To continue the tradition, I'll dedicate today's celebratory post to providing an update on the team.

Name: Sara
Favorites: baby snuggles from my boys, hearing my toddler say, "momma, you're beautiful" without prompting, getting into the holiday spirit (I just love everything about this time of year), and end-of-the-day, post-baby-bedtime chatting/relaxing with the husband
Biggest hurdle to overcome: checking all the holiday gift craft projects off my list (and there's a lot).
Dreams for the future: trying to live more in the present with my sweet boys at these sweet ages and not get caught up in the day to day frustrations.

Name: Chris
Favorites: being able to cheer on the Badgers in both football and basketball in the same week, wearing wool socks again, and seeing the look of excitement and pure joy on the faces of his boys when he peers through the door as he unlocks the door after work.
Biggest hurdle to overcome: deciding on the perfect holiday cocktails for a little shindig we're throwing.
Dreams for the future: enjoying a huge, can't-possibly-have-enough-food Thanksgiving dinner (it's his favorite holiday)

Name: Chase
Favorites: singing at the top of his lungs (Down by the Bay and I've Been Working on the Railroad are the two current go-tos), learning the names of states (off his mealtime placemat, obviously), playing anything with his daddy when he gets home from work (he saves special giggles for this specific time)
Biggest hurdle to overcome: dealing with the fact he can't go to tree park when it's cold/dark outside. Sorry, big guy.
Dreams for the future: spending two weeks with his absolute-favorite-people-in-the-whole-world (that's you, family!) at Christmas.

Name: Robbe
Favorites: brother tackles, I mean, hugs, shoes (chewing on, not wearing), Miga sightings (she's an elusive one), honing all his new skills (think: standing, climbing stairs, eating with his hands, big stuff)
Biggest hurdle to overcome: sleeping through the night. We're getting close, people. I can feel it. Chase pulled it off at 9.5 months so maybe we're on a similar trajectory.
Dreams for the future: eating just one piece of cat food. It's not too much to ask, mom, is it?

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Day 199 | 'Tis the Season...

For crafting! And I'm ready and feeling inspired. So far, I've got six different crafts in the hopper. Most are pictured here to some extent but not all (some need to be kept under wraps, obviously).

I'll have lots of reveals to show off after the holidays and maybe, just maybe, one or two beforehand. 

Woohoo!

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Day 198 | Looking Good

I bought a new hair clipper a few weeks ago and Chase's hair was finally long enough to give it a try today. It's a bit short, but his hair grows so fast that short is necessary so I don't have to cut it every other week. I hope you approve.

He looks so grown up with a new hair cut, right?

Side note: Chase is still working on his thumbs up pose. :)

Friday, November 14, 2014

Day 197 | Oh Yeah, This is DC

Seemed like a pretty easy plan for the day: a trip down to the Mall to meet our friends John and Caia and play at the Museum of the American Indian.

Then one of my least favorite parts about this city got in the way: the traffic. We've had such good luck in that department lately that I almost forgot how much I despise sitting, without moving, in the car. With two babies.

We did make it to the museum after some tense moments, several songs, and a Marshall and Thomas (the train) story. This museum is, unexpectedly, lots of fun for the kiddos. There's a great children's area with a skateboard (pictured above), a kayak (modeled next to Robbe), a teepee, an igloo, and too many additional exhibits to mention. We wish we could have been there for longer, but we'll take what we can get.

In case you think that was the only traffic congestion we got stuck in today, you'd be wrong. The trip to Caia and John's house for lunch took twice as long as it should have and the trip back home was no piece of cake, either.

Thanks for the reminder, DC.

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Day 196 | A New Craft

My mom picked up a fun stamping book when she was visiting and now I've been bitten by the carve-your-own stamp bug.

I started by carving bird stamps (one of my favorite subjects at the moment) and I'm really enjoying the new challenge. It's a fairly mindless, inexpensive activity that I can do in small chunks of time (a must with my current lifestyle). 

I'll be posting future designs as I hone this new craft. You might have to wait until after the holidays, though, because I see some great gifts on the horizon. 

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Day 195 | Picnic, Please

A picnic in mid-November? Yes, please! The boys and I took full advantage of this amazingly sunny and mild fall day to play a bit longer at Tree Park and eat lunch in the great outdoors (which happens very infrequently now that we have a baby eating "solids" to contend with). The challenge was worth it today, however. And I fully enjoyed the extra time in the sun.

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Day 194 | Jump, Jump, Jump

Chris has been dreaming about having a Tuesday or Thursday off since we went to the trampoline park for the first time (the only days toddler time is offered). Today is Veterans Day (thank you, veterans!), so his dream finally came true. Off to Skyzone we went. We were even lucky enough to have Dr. Sean make the trip with us.

The jumping didn't disappoint, yet again. And Chris decided the wait was definitely worth it.