Day 629 | Hot Russian

I had an amazing epiphany yesterday: a hot version of one of my favorite special occasion cocktails. Enter the "Hot Russian". It's a White Russian with steamed milk instead of cold milk (we never use cream).

It makes me beyond happy to have a delicious cold-weather cocktail to turn to when I just need a quick warm-up on a Friday night. Yay!

Here's the recipe Chris perfected last night:

• 1.5 oz Kaluha
• 1 oz vodka
• Steamed milk (we used our latte maker!) to fill the cup

You won't be disappointed.

Day 628 | Spreading His Wings

We went to our first non-family friend birthday party today. Chase got the invite totally on his own merits and both boys were beyond excited to help celebrate.

Chase participated like a champ: ran in the relays, took tons of photos in the "photo booth," sang Happy Birthday, and said his please and thank yous. Robbe had a blast, too, mostly by eating his weight in hotdogs. Heehee. 

Such a fun family outing. Thanks to Claire and Alice (the joint bday girls) for inviting our little sweet pea.

Day 627 | Caulking

The boys played "caulking the ceiling" for a good 45 minutes tonight while I prepared dinner. It. Was. Glorious. They played together without any intervention from me. You understand the miracle here, right?

Why caulking the ceiling, you might ask? We had another leak problem pop up a couple of weeks ago and had someone in last week to determine the cause. Until it rains, we have a hole cut out of our ceiling so that we can peek back in to check for any further moisture. The workers did a lot of caulking and apparently Chris and I have been talking about it enough that it has become a part of our child's vernacular. 

Day 626 | Breaking Out of Winter

How do Robbe and I celebrate our first "normal" day in a full week? We decided an impromptu trip to our neighborhood [indoor] pool was in order.

We had a blast...just don't tell Chase we went. :)

Day 625 | In Home Day Care

I'm thinking of expanding my childcare capacity...ok, not really, don't freak out. The last few days have proven that I could actually handle another wee one running around, though. We watched a friend's three year old over the weekend and now we got to hang out with another friend's 1.5 year old this morning (and this time it was me solo). Both experiences were exceedingly positive. It helps that our friends have the best kids.

And no, don't freak out [again], no third baby plans around here in real life. I'll stick to watching our friends' babies when I've got the energy for it and when I don't have to actually rear them.

Day 624 | Snow Day: Take 3

You might wonder, are we getting tired of these lazy snow days? Ah, no, definitely not. It feels like an impromptu vacation where we just stay home and accomplish everything and nothing every day.

We had the itch to get past our front yard immediately upon waking up this morning and decided a walk to Capital City Cheesecake was needed. It wasn't easy (still very few walkable sidewalks), but it was the best tasting breakfast ever. That's what staring at the same walls for four days will do to you. 

And, good news! We were finally able to make a snowman today. Whew. Chase was not going to take it well if the snow continued to be uncooperative. His name is Olaf, in case that's not obvious. 

Day 623 | Snow Day: Take 2

We had another luxurious snow day today. I'm happy to report that after about an hour and a half of digging out, the minivan is free! Well, we didn't actually move it, but we think it'll move when the time comes. Luckily we don't have to test the hypothesis yet: one more snow day for Chase tomorrow. And we're still waiting to hear about the Federal Government. We'll see.

It might be a rough day tomorrow if it's just me and the babies without the option to go anywhere (they're still recommending to stay off the roads and ours isn't plowed anyway, not to mention I won't be able to navigate the stroller through this mess). Eek!

Day 622 | Blizzard Dig Out

The sun was shining and the snow was looking undisturbed and beautiful after the snow and wind let up last night. When the last flake fell, our back porch snowbank was measuring 22.25". That's no joke.

We did bust out of the house for some snow fun, which was more than needed after being cooped up for 36+ hours. Chase loved playing in the giant snowbanks. Yeah, we were surprised too. Robbe, on the other hand, not a huge fan. I guess competing with piles of snow the size of you could be a bit unnerving. With Chris and Robbe watching from our front window, Chase and I made a pretty sweet sledding run and even managed to carve out a equally sweet tunnel all in our yard.

A few additional updates:

1. We have not attempted to uncover our van yet. Think happy thoughts for us tomorrow! That's going to be a job.
2. Our street has not been plowed. The city still has TONS of work to do.
3. Chris and Chase both have a snow day tomorrow! Woot woot!
4. And finally...we didn't lose power. I think we're at a safe point to make that declaration. Whew. That's a relief.

Day 621 | The Great Blizzard of 2016

It's the only problem with my one-photo-a-day blogging strategy: too many interesting blizzard pics to post in one photo/small collage. Instead I'll post a bunch from the last 24 hours and continue updating here if there are any exciting changes throughout today (snow is supposed to continue but lighten now).

The before.

2pm: Snow begins.

8pm: Snow picks up.

7am: Good morning 15" of snow!

Mini is wishing we had a garage.

Anyone up for a picnic?

Or grilling?

11am: Second round of shoveling. This is a *bit* crazy.

12pm: Surveying the pile out the back door.

12pm: That yard stick is reading 19".

12:30pm: The master shoveler finishes the job. Whew.

4pm: Time to shovel again.

It is pretty, though.

Looking cold on the outside, but warm inside. Thank goodness!

I'm thinking it'll be a bit before we're driving again.

The wind has picked up this afternoon.

We can't figure out why Miga won't go out the back door.

4:30pm: 22" and counting.

A second floor window. Whoa.

7pm: Third round of shoveling: Check!

7pm: We're measuring 24" on our back porch.

Poor, poor Mini.

Day 620 | The Calm Before the Storm

We woke up to a beautiful sunrise this morning ahead of what's going to be a crazy few days (with limited sunshine). The boys and I (Chase had his first official snow day) walked to breakfast at our favorite locale and I couldn't help but think to myself how bizarre it is to see the city going about it's normal business with the Great Blizzard of 2016 knocking on its door. And how different everything will look (in terms of busy-ness, traffic, activity, the landscape) in just a few short hours.

The snow started about three hours ago (1pm) and continues to fall in a beautiful, light, still fashion as I type (from what I hear, that's going to change). The sights and sounds of snowplows are a frequent disturbance outside our window (the city is on it!) but otherwise things seem normal. We are prepared to hunker down and enjoy the picturesque nature of it all. Hopefully we're doing that in a well-heated house. I'll keep you posted.

And one article for your reading pleasure, in case you don't have any idea what's going on outside our window.

Day 619 | Late Start

Chase's late start this morning (thanks to a prelude snow flurry last night) meant we had a lovely and low key morning with just the three of us. I miss these mornings. We even spent some quality play time in the snow before heading off to school. Seeing these two sweet peas in full-on snowsuits is about the cutest thing ever. So adorable.

Thanks in advance for the happy thoughts over the next few days as the great blizzard of 2016 bears down on the District. I'm ok with the snow (over two feet, maybe!) but a *little* worried about the threat of losing power (and thus heat). I'll do my best to keep you posted over the weekend.

Day 618 | Rocket Craft

Check out this sweet rocket craft that Chase and I made with the random stuff we had lying around the house. Pretty fantastic, right? I'd give a tutorial but somehow typing up instructions that mostly include "use double-sided carpet tape to attach fabric to oatmeal canister" and "find perfect size top that can be easily detached to act as the command module" seems a bit unnecessary.

I'm pleased with how it turned out and, as you can tell, Chase was super excited. Look at us crafting just like I had hoped!

Day 617 | Independence

Here's the story:

Robbe and I were finishing up a pretty uneventful lunch this afternoon when all of a sudden he decided to spit out his last drink of water down the front of his shirt. Not cool. I let him know that was not an acceptable behavior and told him he needed to go upstairs to get a new shirt by himself. He was not a fan of this idea but after some gentle encouraging, he did it. He walked all the way upstairs to dig around in his drawer (not his brother's) for a replacement shirt then walked back downstairs and proceeded to try to put it on himself (without much luck, but still!).

They can impress you sometimes, can't they? It was a proud moment for this independent little guy.

p.s. Interested in a little audio to go along with my typical visual content? I was on my friend's podcast again. Click here to listen to our latest conversation. :)

Day 616 | On Missing My Life: When's my next trip?

And here's the other side of the story. If you missed yesterday's post, make sure you go back and check it out.

What I [definitely] didn’t miss:

1. Face licks. Robbe, for some unknown reason, has been really into attempting (and sometimes succeeding) to lick my face lately. I think he likes that it gets a “ewwww” reaction out of me that he can elicit on demand. Kisses? Yes please. Super slobbery face licks? I’ll pass, thanks.


2. The Frozen soundtrack. Chase has been really [excessively?] into the Frozen soundtrack since Santa left it in his stocking. I do really love the music so I don’t want to complain too much about it, but the break from the constantly repeating seven songs was very welcomed.


3. Dirty clothes. Before kids, I could go at least two days, if not three, of wearing the same pair of jeans before needing to wash them. Dealing with constant drips, goos, spills, and wipes from children really amps up the amount of dirty clothes (and therefore laundry loads) on a daily basis. It was lovely to not feel like my clothes were unwearable again upon taking them off at night. I miss that.


4. Drippy noses. I didn’t wipe one drippy nose in the three days I was gone. It’s a miracle for this time of year.


5. The schedule. This one is tough for me. I’ve said it before but having a [fairly] strict schedule is my biggest blessing and toughest challenge in my daily life. I couldn’t function as a stay at home mom without this rigidity so that we’re all on the same page about what’s going to happen when in our house. That being said, does the monotony drive me crazy? Yes! Do I long for more flexibility and spontaneous adventures? Yes and Yes! I do have to say, I’ve come a long way in loosening up in the last few months. I’m still lightyears away from being deemed “flexible” but I’ve made some baby steps.


6. The process of getting out the door. It’s so luxurious and gratifying to decide to leave the house, grab a purse and a coat and be out the door. With kids, you decide it’s time to leave the house and there’s a bathroom trip involved, snack and/or lunch packing to occur, shoe hunting/affixing to accomplish, coats and hats to be attached, toy collecting to be decided (our boys really enjoy taking one toy each on a the road with them whenever we leave the house), baggage schlepping (there always seems to be the diaper bag plus additional items every time), car/stroller loading, and finally (finally!) we’re on our way. Whew.


7. Playing the role of pack mule. See above. Every time we leave the house, I feel like I can’t possibly carry another thing down to the car or to the stroller. My upper body just may be the strongest it’s ever been. My back hasn’t been such a fan, however.


8. Picking up. Life with two kids under four = constant picking up. If I don’t stay on top of it every second of the day (luckily, the wee ones are pretty good at helping), I turn around and every toy is scattered around the room. This weekend was an enjoyable break from the constant toy-tidying that I’ve become accustomed to.


9. Night wakings. I mentioned to Mary Catherine during our visit that the last time I slept through the night (fell asleep and didn’t knowingly wake up until morning) was the week of Thanksgiving 2013. Since then, every single night has been interrupted with one of the following: Robbe squawking with or without needing an intervention, Chase needing to go to the bathroom (no more diapers!), Chris being startled awake (and then waking me), Miga crying and wanting attention (especially after our trips to Wisconsin), me needing to go to the bathroom (especially frequent during pregnancy), weird house issues (think alarm mysteriously going off or smoke detectors needing batteries), etc. The list goes on. I swear I cannot catch a break. Although I still woke up every night I was away, I slept so much more soundly knowing that even if I woke up, I wasn’t responsible for attending to anything during the night and I’m feeling much better rested.


10. The negotiating. I think I spend at least 50% of my time with my kids negotiating. How much they should eat, how many minutes of playtime left before bedtime, why brushing teeth is important, etc. Talking things to death tends to work very well for us and our boys but I’ve welcomed the break from the fairly constant negotiating and coercing.

When all is said and done, there's no place I'd rather be than right here with my three favorite boys. Vacations are wonderful (no doubt) but so is this life we've created.

Day 615 | On Missing My Life: It's good to be home

I just returned home from an incredibly lovely, relaxing weekend. Spending day-long quality time with good friends is one of the best gifts ever, isn’t it? One more shout-out to my amazing, supportive, overly-capable, encouraging husband for “forcing” me to do this for myself. I’m feeling very lucky.

In my quiet travel time today (SO luxurious after traveling with the kiddos so much), I reflected on what I missed and definitely didn’t miss during my trip to Cape Cod. Hopefully my post-trip takeaway will allow me to appreciate the items on the “missed” list (below) while giving me more patience to deal with the  “didn’t miss” list (to be posted tomorrow). Enjoy!

Things I [really] missed: 

1. Hearing “momma” and “I love you.” There’s really nothing like it in the world.


2. Receiving sneak attack hugs. So unexpected and wonderful. Smile-inducing and an immediate mood booster.


3. Quiet evenings with Chris. We’ve had these sweet, quiet post-bedtime evenings together for almost four years now. I’ve really come to crave them to wrap up my days.


4. Feeling incomplete. I honestly felt like I was walking around without part of my body intact. And not because I carry Robbe around a bit, but because these two little sweetpeas are just inherently part of my every moment right now. It’s wonderful and exhausting.


5. Being a translator. As I’ve mentioned, Robbe is not one for word-based communication right now. Because of that, I’ve become extremely capable at translating his squeaks, grunts, and gestures.


6. The dance parties. Yeah, we’ve starting having some pretty impressive dance-offs at our house. Robbe’s song of choice: “When I Grow Up.” Chase’s song of choice: “Let It Go” (from Frozen).


7. Our meals together. I don’t know if I’ve ever explicitly noted that the boys and I (minus Chase when he’s at school), have every meal together. We sit down together for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every single day. Sometimes it’s my least favorite part of the day (“Remember? You LOVE sweet potatoes!”) but it’s become so engrained in my day to day that it’s strange to no have that quality conversation time with both boys. Let’s not confuse this with planning/cooking/cleaning up after every meal. For the record, I did not miss that.


8. The baby giggles. No explanation needed. It’s contagious and incredibly uplifting.


9. Being in control. I’m sure you’re not surprised. I manage every part of those babies’ lives. It’s hard for me to let go and let Chris be solely responsible for meals, activities, discipling, etc. It was hard, but so good for me (also, not surprising).


10. Feeling needed. Again, it’s hard and incredibly exhausting to feel needed every second of the day. But when I’m not at all, I feel a sense of uselessness and almost laziness. I’m sure Mary Catherine was annoyed with my constant picking up or attempting to organize and my task-oriented nature during the visit, but it filled that gaping hole of needing to feel needed quite nicely.

Remember, I'll be back tomorrow with the other side of the story...

Day 614 | Busy Day

Mary Catherine and I felt like we just didn't accomplish enough yesterday so we decided to shove as much as possible into today. The activities included:

• an amazing (AMAZING) yoga class
• getting our nails done
• recording a podcast 
• visiting three consignment shops (we scored four dining room chairs and one bookshelf for under $80!)
• a dinner out with some wonderful conversation 
• snuggling up for a movie and a cookie to round out the evening. 

Pretty perfect, right? Unfortunately, amidst all the running around, we didn't take any photos. It's ok, though, because this way you can see what Chris and the boys were up to instead. The photo above is from a sweet three year old's birthday that they attended. It was an authentic tea party with Cinderella as a special guest. I received a detailed report about how much fun everyone had from Chase. I wish I could have fit that into my day's activities, too. But let's be honest, the commute back to DC would have been a little rough. 

Day 613 | Vacation!

It was such a lovely conversation- and laughter-filled day that I almost forgot my post! That's when you know vacation is going well. I spent most of the day continuing to try to let go of my schedule-oriented tendencies: we didn't eat lunch until 130!, we weren't back at the house until almost 4!, I didn't have any meals to prep/cook! I'm surprised how programmed I am for all that stuff, but I guess I shouldn't be. I've been with these little guys almost nonstop for two whole years.

Have I mentioned through all this I'm fully aware I have the best husband in the world?!? Thank you, Chris, for taking on the role of solo parent this weekend. The only reason I have been able to take a breath and enjoy this trip is knowing our boys are in your extremely capable, and [

frankly more fun, hands. 

Day 612 | Flying Solo

Here I am, alone, waiting to board a flight to visit my friend, Mary Catherine. Feels surreal. Everything I'm usually on high alert for (high chairs to eat dinner, elevators for the stroller, negotiating the elusive empty seat for our "infant in arms" traveler, etc) is an exercise in retraining my mind.

It wasn't easy to leave. It's not easy to sit here while the rest of my body is back at home. I just really love those guys, you know?

This is good for me. I'm crazy excited to spend the time with my dear friend. It's going to be a blast. I have no doubt of these things. 

It's really hard, though.

Day 611 | Still Up for Snuggles

Sweet Robbe is still willing to stop moving and offer up snuggles. I'm not sure many almost two year olds feel the same.

Day 610 | Robbe's Resolutions

Equal time for both boys is only fair. Here's Robbe's list of changes he's signed onto in the New Year:

1. He's communicating...a TON. Let me be clear, Robbe is taking his time expressing himself with actual understandable words, but man, that's not stopping this guy. He is able to ask for, draw attention to, tell stories, express feelings, and invite himself into situations just as easily as the rest of us. It's quite impressive, actually. And about the cutest thing you can imagine.


2. A music bug. He asked Santa for a guitar for Christmas (by pointing at what he wanted in numerous toy catalogues). And, guess what? Santa came through (guitar is pictured above). This kid loves to dance (with some sweet moves) and sing (the alphabet song with no discernible letters is his favorite) in a hysterical fashion. To capitalize on this enthusiasm, Robbe and I are signed up for a music class come February. Woohoo!


3. Sleep, glorious sleep. It's taken a long LONG time, but I'm finally able to report that our sweet tiny toddler has hit his sleep stride. Every night isn't perfect (all I'm asking for is 11+ hours without a peep...is that too much to ask?), but it's darn close and I couldn't be more aware or appreciative of this new trend. Thank you, Robbe, you put a lot of hard work in to get us to this point. I love, little man, for doing his part.

We're pretty lucky to call these little peanuts ours. Aren't we? 2016 is going to be the best year yet. Mark my words.

Day 609 | Chase's Big Changes

Our big guy is getting so big. And there have already been three big changes for this one in 2016:

1. No. More. Diapers. Huge, right? I'm so proud of this sweet pea for his practically flawless transition.


2. No more bibs. I know it doesn't seem as impressive but it's a big deal to this tidy tyke. He's been the one insisting on wearing a bib for the last six months or so. I told him that if he's not wearing diapers, he can't wear bibs. And, wait for it, it worked! See, it is a big deal. 


3. His first household chore. Chase is now in charge of making his bed. You can never plant the seed of being a contributing family member too soon. The best part? He loves this little slice of responsibility and being held accountable. Sweet, sweet boy. 

If it's not incredibly apparent, I'm a bit smitten with this almost four year old. And his brother, too, but that's another post. 

Day 608 | Go Packers Go

We're doing our part...

Day 607 | My New Hat

After nearly a year (remember this post?), I finally finished my hat!

To be fair, I had to start over after almost finishing the first version because it was too big for my head (which is shocking if you know how big my head is). This time, I used a smaller set of needles and managed to finish it in just a couple of weeks. Yippee!

And here's the pattern again if the mood strikes you. Well worth the $3.00.

Day 606 | A Fort

What? They're playing together? Huh? I wasn't involved in instigating this momentous occasion?

Woohoo!

p.s. That's a table fort, in case you can't tell. 

Day 605 | Secret Stash Book

One more Christmas present craft to share before I put an official end to the holiday blog posts. Today's feature? The secret stash book. My teen+pre-teen nieces are getting tougher to buy for: they just want gift cards. Boring! I still wanted to give them what they wanted but decided to gift the cards inside a seemingly plain book.

Surprise! There was a secret compartment for stashing all those super awesome and secret teenager things. I was happy with how they turned out. I hope the girls are, too!

Here's the tutorial I used if you're feeling inspired.

Day 604 | Book Lovers

After much thought and consideration, the boys decided to spend part of their Christmas money (thanks great grandma and great great grandma!) on new books. Robbe selected a giant truck book (even his shirt expresses his enthusiasm for transportation) and Chase picked out a Frozen book (with 12 separate stories). He's discovered a new interest in the movie since receiving the soundtrack in his stocking and watching it for the first time with his cousin (his first ever full-length movie) back in Wisconsin. Chase did make it clear, however, that this is the only Frozen book he wants. He clarified that this one has so many stories that he doesn't need anymore. Smart kiddo.

Yay for reading!

Day 603 | Candles

I'm sure you've been dying to see the candles Mary Catherine and I made back in November. Since I gave them as gifts, I needed to keep the final product under wraps.

Aren't they cute? We made purple lavender citrus candles and green peppermint vanilla candles. I have to say, they smell amazing.

Here's a basic how-to for candle making. It's super easy, I swear! And I've been ordering my supplies from this website lately and have been happy with the options+shipping. I recommend the soy wax. It's the best. :)

Day 602 | Back At It

We're all happy (well, mostly happy) to be back in our normal routine! Lots of quality time with my little man today.

Day 601 | Best Friends

See, I told you these two are best friends.