First Friday Recap of the New Year! 1/4/18 - Quiet Morning, Skiing, NYE Party, Fondue, Volunteering, Dogsledding

Happy New Year to you & yours!! Did you make any resolutions this year? I know people have strong feelings for & against resolution making......but if you want to read about mine, check out my post about them here.

So here we go, kicking off the new year with some goodness.

1. Quiet Saturday Morning

Chris & Lulu have their one on one hang time each Saturday morning, which gives me some time on my own. I took a snowy walk up to one of my favorite coffee shops to catch up on my blog! Being the Saturday between Christmas & New Years, there were so few people out and about. Very minimal traffic, I don't think I passed anyone walking a dog, no runners. Felt like I had our little city all to myself. The fact that it snowed enough to cover the ground made me abundantly happy. Gray rainy weather makes for mud....and mud doesn't feel holly jolly to me!

I am incredibly grateful that Chris wants his own time with Lulu, that he sees value in fathering her solo. It is such a treat, at this stage of my life, to have a couple of hours on my own. Particularly after the hustle & bustle of Christmas! Double grateful that Lulu woke up seeming much more herself, which was an incredible relief after a week of her being so out of sorts.

2. Skiing with the Bug

We have a bit of a family motto, sort of a joke, sort of not - that goes like this "It dosen't have to be fun to be fun" Its sort of a joke because it sounds pretty harsh and is quite funny. But the more I think about it - the more it actually rings true. So much of what my family does for fun would be categorized as a fuck ton of work to most other people. Such is the case with bringing your 20 month old to WI for an afternoon to continue teaching her to downhill ski!

Despite the fact that it is hard work for Lulu to learn to ski and hard work for Chris & I to gather all of our gear, load the car, unload the car, and then try our best to teach Lulu to ski - it is so worth it. Even on the tiny hills the Midwest offers us. Even though Chris & I each did one chairlift ride solo to ski one non-bunny hill run. Even though Lulu's feet were so cold by the end of our outing that she was near inconsolable. Even though we made 2 unplanned stops at Walgreens and Starbucks to get Lulu a bottle and some warm milk to drink from it. Even though....

Those things fade into the background of my memory so quickly when I think of how much I love skiing and how totally wonderful it was that my parents took the time and the days of sore backs to teach me how to ski when I was 2. I love skiing. It makes me feel so free to stand at the top of a mountain and know I can (mostly) safely speed down it. Skiing down a steep groomed run is the closest thing to flying I've ever felt. Riva's Ridge at Vail is the perfect run for this feeling. 

3. New Years Eve Party

Our wonderful friend Lisa hosted us for a beautiful NYE party in her cozy, perfect home. The Lulu bug was invited as well, which I was grateful for (not just because I like to spend time with Lulu.....but also because none of our babysitters were in town so we couldn't have attended the party if Lulu wasn't invited!)

I guess this season of life is one with fewer grown up parties. More bounce house type parties than cocktail parties....which is fine, but man it was lovely to have an excuse to dress up and go out as a family! The fact that all 3 of us were healthy made a huge difference too. Lulu really enjoyed visiting with Roger, the cat. Chris & I loved sipping delicious drinks, eating a million wonderful appetizers Lisa made and having some adult conversations!

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4. New Year's Night Fondue

Chris & I wanted to do something special for New Year's Day this year and very easily settled on making cheese fondue at home in front of the fire. Something about fondue feels special and festive and anytime I have an excuse to eat 1/2 a pound of cheese.........count me in :)

Bubbly out of glasses that belonged to my Grandpa Dick & Grandma Helen

As with the excuse to dress up mentioned above, we don't necessarily have that many occasions that we prepare a "fancy" meal at home. As much as we both love parenting our toddler - it is deeply tiring! There are many nights that frozen pizza graces our laps as we sit/lay on the couch. So to have an excuse (& the vacation energy) to make a special meal was a real treat. 

Do you have any New Year's Day traditions? Tell me about them in the comments, I'm always on the lookout for new ones to try out. Fireside fondue might become one for Chris & me!

5. Volunteering with Family

Am I the last person on Earth to have heard of Bernie's Book Bank in Lake Bluff?? Tara, my sister in law, invited Lulu & I me to volunteer with her & her 4 kiddos there this week. We had so little planned for the days when Chris went back to work - it was quite easy to say yes! Plus (if you know me at all or have been reading the blog for awhile) I love volunteering! Oh and (same qualifiers as the previous sentence) I love books!

This place is incredible. A giant warehouse filled with giant boxes (think the boxes that Costco sells stuff from) filled with books destined for at risk kids. Did you know that on average, low income/at risk kids have 1 age appropriate book to share with 300 other kids? Which is to say, they have no age appropriate books in their home. Contrast that with middle income kids who have an average of 13 age appropriate books all to themselves in their home. Contrast that to a child like Lulu who has dozens and dozens of books all her own. 

This place is working to change those stats in the Chicagoland (all the way up to Milwaukee, WI) area. We did our part for an hour (was supposed to be an hour & a half. I was late :( ) to further the mission. Our job was to inspect donated books to see if they meet Bernie's criteria for being passed along to kids who need them. Bernie's Book Bank provides kids 12 age appropriate books every year from birth to age 12. They want the books to feel/seem new to the children who receive them. They want the books to feel as special as they are. After all, books are a window to the wider world we didn't know existed, right?? Is there anything more special than that??

It isn't easy to find a place to volunteer that truly welcomes all ages - so if you want to volunteer as a family (and who doesn't - it is such a positive experience for everyone involved) this is a great spot to do so. 

All of the staff were warm, engaging, friendly & willing to answer our millions of questions. The founder of Bernie's was in the warehouse the night we were volunteering and he wanted to chat and was excited to have us there. Of course I know he was the founder because I read through their website before we went & then again when we got home! 

Are there volunteer opportunities for families in your area? Do you volunteer alone or with your family/friends? I'm always curious to know how others incorporate volunteerism into their lives! Let me know in the comments!

6. Dog sledding

A stranger took this video for us - which I was surprised by & thankful for in equal measure! We took advantage of our tiny amount of snow to go sledding with Lulu last weekend. Another family was doing the same thing! Chris had what, at the time, seemed like a totally harebrained idea to have the dog pull us (being one parent + Lulu) down our tiny neighborhood hill. It seemed like a terrible idea to me, rife with the possibility of bodily harm, but also the possibility of fun - so I agreed.

Unfortunately - Chris went first & the other family didn't video it - but man - what fun! It seemed like Owenn enjoyed it too & it must've been a good bit of work for him!!

So thanks for the video family who was visiting local grandparents!! Sorry you don't live here so we can't be neighbor friends, but Team Kramer really appreciates your willingness to record our antics!

Friday Recap 12/14/18 - Christmas in the City, Birthdays, Surprise Engagement Party, Coffee for the Crossing Guard

'Tis the season for all things holly jolly, Christmasy, wintry and wonderful!! Let's do this team! I'm a day late because I went to bed at 7 last night........fighting a Christmas cold. That's about the only un-awesome thing about this time of year!

1. Christmas in the City - and by city I mean Chicago

Our little girl in the big city :)

The Bug was obsessed with the Serpentine Bridge!

Lulu & I met Chris downtown for some wonderful wintry traditions on Friday afternoon! Gluhwein at the Chriskindlmarket and Caroling at Cloudgate (aka Carols at the Bean) were the best kick off to the weekend a girl could ask for! The only way it would've been a more perfect day was if there was snow on the ground or snow falling! But it was delightful. 

Lulu & her DaDa enjoying all the sights

Gluwein, beer & my daughter inside the warm beer hall tent thing :) The yawn + hat askew make it seem like she was imbibing......she wasn't!

Love Christmas traditions!

So many people out & about enjoying the winter fun in the city. The Bug really liked watching the ice skaters at the Ribbon at Maggie Daley Park as well as the rink at Millennium Park. It was quite the thrill for her! Also - the serpentine bridge over Columbus Dr. was an unexpected hit with her - she thought it was pretty much the best thing since sliced bread! 

The city's Christmas tree in Millennium Park was beautiful & striking as always. It is just SO BIG. I think that's one thing that I am still awed by, despite being a grown up. Honestly though - to see all things Christmasy through the eyes of a child is the right was to see them. Something like the Bean that I know blew my mind the first time I saw it....no longer does. You grow accostumed to the beauty & wonder around you & then stop seeing it. But then you bring your 1 year old under the Bean & watch her head pretty much explode. She was running around looking at herself & us & all the other people reflected and it felt like we could see the little gears in her mind turning, trying to make sense of something so wonderful. There is so much wonder & joy around us everyday, but especially during the Christmas season. May we all approach this most awesome time with open arms & eyes!!

2. Birthdays celebrated on the same day!

Birthday FaceTime with PopPop

Lulu's PopPop's birthday is 1 day before that of our biggest little nephew man! This year we celebrated our nephew's birthday a day early - so we had some FaceTime with PopPop and a family birthday party with Lulu's BoBo, Bump, Aunt Tara, Uncle GR, and 4 of her cousins! 

Appetizers with BoBo & Bump

The oldest & youngest siblings :)

Happy 9th Birthday sweet little man!

Someone was enjoying the cake :)

Hooray for birthdays really anytime of the year.

3. Surprise Engagement Party 

Its not everyday that you are invited to a surprise engagement party for your best friend!! Chris & I were thrilled when an evite arrived from Stacey's (now fiance, then boyfriend) inviting us to a bar in Lincoln Park to celebrate the occasion of him proposing.
How hard it is to keep such a big secret for a WEEK!! At least our other best friend lives in San Diego - so I spent a lot of time talking to Cody about all things engagement in the intervening days!!

Now that both the future Mrs. & Mr. have posted to social media about the big news.......I can share it here!! 

Chris & I are simply so excited for Stacey & Bruce - they are a wonderful couple & will have an incredibly happy life together. We will be along for the ride ;)

4. Coffee for the Crossing Guard
So we have a pretty consistent morning routine that involves Lulu, Owenn & I walking Chris to his train and then doing a wide lap around the neighborhood, stopping at a couple of parks so Lulu can get her fix.

We occasionally pop into a local treat spot Beth's Little Bake Shop for a muffin, scone, croissant and/or coffee in conjunction with the train drop off. 

Lulu had (all week long) been saying "go" "go" "go" as we walked by Beth's, so I told her we could stop on Friday for a treat. We thought we'd be able to stop with Chris, but alas & alack -  the morning rush was for naught - Chris didn't have time to join us. Lulu & I let someone behind us go first so we could fully investigate all the treats in the case. We settled on a French Toast muffin, kind of has a bread pudding consistency under a crunchy, cinnamon sugar dome. Yum. We were happy to see one of the crossing guards in line behind us & got her coffee for her. It was foggy, damp & dreary outside and I guessed she could use a pick me up. It turned out she had forgotten her mug of coffee at home on the table :( Lulu & I are loving the reverse Advent Calendar idea - it is giving us license to do random acts of kindness every day (as if we need license - maybe reminder is a better choice of words!). 

I encourage you to buy the person in line behind you a coffee - it made everyone in the tiny little bakery seem a smidgen happier. You might be surprised how much tiny little niceties can have a bigger impact than you expect! I was surprised yesterday how nice I felt for the whole morning - knowing I had slightly improved someone's day. It put a tiny spring in my step! It was a real treat for us & hopefully for one of our crossing guards too.

Friday Recap 7/20/18 - Empty beach, milkweed in bloom, strawberry tantrums, Pearce's corn, help from our neighbor

Yahoo for a Friday that initially was forecasted to be rainy all day...........and didn't get rainy until after 3pm! Made for a perfect beach day!

1. Empty Beach

You can see our bike trailer on the boardwalk.....and a lifeguard by the water. No one else!!

See above re: horrible forecast to understand why literally no one else was at the beach today! Admittedly when the Bug & I arrived it was drizzling a bit, but we were planning to swim - so who cares?!? Our friend drove in from the far western burbs with her 3 kiddos and we had an absolute blast. The only bummer? I didn't take near enough photos! 

3 of the 4 kiddos rocking out

Lulu was headed out a bit prematurely :)

We had pizza delivered, played in the water, on the sand & on the playground - did it all really! Made it home safely well before the rain started too!

Literally no one else in sight! Amazing!

2. Milkweed in bloom

We bought this swamp milkweed plant at a native plant sale hosted by the Evanston Garden Club 2 years ago. It is so pretty in bloom! Theoretically it would be a nice place for monarch butterflies to lay eggs, but so far we haven't seen any caterpillars :( It is currently infested with aphids - I'm working on an aggressive removal campaign......more on that next week!

3. Strawberry tantrum
So Lulu loves our strawberry plant. She loves eating the strawberries straight from teh plant. She does NOT love waiting for the fruit to mature and ripen on the plant. 

Just did the sign for "please" - strawberry plant is out of the frame on the left

She uses the baby sign for "please" and stands by the pot and it makes me realize I have no idea how to teach patience to my little bug. I say a lot of "they're not ready yet", "they'll be ready soon", "growing strawberries takes a long time" but she has no idea what time is yet!! So I just go into the house to get some out of the fridge to appeal to her desire for instant gratification. See below for how that tends to go over. Spoiler alert, not well.

Trying to appease her with a store bought strawberry. Going really well as you can see.

4. Iced Coffee

Coffee+almond milk+a teaspoon of simple syrup = heaven

Because summer.

5. Lulu's first ears of Pearce's corn

Pictured with my sweet niece, Anne, who is a little horrified by how Lulu eats :)

Holy moly Lulu loves corn on the cob! Like a lot. A lot A LOT. So much so that her first dive into Pearce's corn turned into 1.5 ears........because she ate most of mine too!! 

We've been going to Pearce's for as long as I can remember & it is really fun to pass their deliciousness on to the Bug. They have grown and expanded so much in the past decade - we love them all the more :) The thought of Fall at Pearce's makes me so excited.......Lulu will be big enough to play on the fort/climbing structure they construct out of hay bales, there is kettle corn, pumpkins as far as the eye can see, and delicious donuts. For now I will settle for the delightful produce they grow on their land & that that they buy from other farms. It is after all the best time for produce, right??

My mom & dad brought it down so we technically ate it in IL, but the WI flavor was there :)

6. Help from a neighbor/friend
I've blogged many times about how much I love our neighborhood. It is a supportive place, safe, friendly, welcoming. Well, it is full of amazing people - that is really the best part about our neighborhood! So when I went to take HondaPants to the shop on Tuesday and she was dead as a door nail I knew why. Rewind to Saturday, I got home from a solo Costco run & started unloading a ridiculous amount of food into the house. A month or so ago, our 14 year old HondaPants lost her first important function as a car......the "ding ding ding" that alerts you to your headlights being left on when you take the keys out of the ignition stopped "ding ding dinging". Which probably wouldn't have been a big deal a year ago. But my brain is packed with a lot more than it used to be & for the 2nd time in ONE WEEK I left my lights on. A couple hours later our neighbor a few doors down, Jack, knocked on the door to ask me if I knew my lights were on- which of course I didn't know. I was in the middle of something, so I didn't even bother to see if the car would start. I guess I didn't need to use it until Tuesday when our mechanic told me I could bring it in..........oops. Long story all to say I texted both of our next door neighbors & they both responded right away that yes they have jumper cables & yes they have a car with which to jump HondaPants. The 2 non neighbor friends that I texted responded the same way :) 

Blueberry goo explosion!

I sometimes struggle with keeping all the balls in the air. After all, adulting is hard, there is no way around that. I am actively working on being kinder to myself in those moments of difficulty - there is really no value in beating myself up over mistakes I make - I need to work on fixing them, not ruminating in the mess I made. Kristin Neff's book Self Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself came highly recommended to me and I started reading it this week. It seems like a valuable read for me so far :) Part of fixing my mistake was thanking my neighbor for her help........with food, duh! So I used some of my remaining 10 pound box of blueberries and made blueberry scones. Yum. 

7. Salad Spinning Bug

I dream of the days when Lulu has the interest and capacity to help me in the kitchen. I so hope she is interested in food & cooking because some of my fondest memories throughout my life really are working in the kitchen with my mom. We made a lot of chocolate chip cookies when I was little, so much so that I had the recipe memorized as a munchkin! Lulu was so interested in the salad spinner this week, so I let her work with it (while sketchily standing up in her chair that attaches to the counter.....see above re: adulting being hard! I can't win them all). It made me abundantly happy to see her take interest in a kitchen task. Plus she's just so damn cute. Added bonus!

8. Why the delay?
So my Friday recap is coming on Saturday morning. Why? Because on the way home from a local playground last night (where I met a delightful new mom friend!) Owenn stopped to play with his dog neighbor Bear. Our human neighbors kindly invited us to come over for a glass of wine! They've been hosting Friday night porch nights for years & years. Far longer than we have been in the neighborhood. Rare are the Fridays that we can stop over, but I am mindful of the fact that an invitation that is never accepted will, in all likelihood, stop being extended! We adore these neighbors & were thankful for the chance to have a delicious glass of wine and visit. But when we got home, put the Bug to bed, ate PB&J on the couch for dinner, I was zonked and not in a place to finish this post! So, I'm late is posting for a great reason - was hanging with some neighbors who we are so lucky to have.

Friday Round Up 7/13/18 - 1st Strawberry, Edible Gardens Bounty, Cousin Pool Time, WOW Walk, Bestie's New Home, Outdoor Concert, Blueberries, Old Friends

Happy Summery Friday everyone! The summer goodness just keeps on coming!

1. Our 1st Garden Strawberry

Yippee!! Our one little strawberry plant finally gave us our first strawberry! 

Lulu wore her strawberry outfit in honor of our first strawberry!

 I say "finallly"....this gives you some indication of my inexperience with gardening in general & strawberries specifically....I am so impatient! Reason #654 that gardening is a good hobby for me - there is no such thing as instant gratification in a garden! Slow, steady, lots of waiting & work before the rewards come. 

The only bummer about letting Lulu eat the 1st strawberry?

As most people likely are, I am a work in progress - this is an area that I constantly work on - slowing down to appreciate what's right in front of me, rather than worrying about & rushing toward the next thing, whatever that may be.

I'm not sure how it tasted!

2. Bounty & Beauty in the Edible Gardens

The sunflowers are getting so darn big!

My 2 times per month volunteering in the Edible Gardens at the Lincoln Park Zoo is, in many ways, self serving. 

One of our garden managers, David, shows off a freshly harvested head of garlic

I get to work alongside professional gardeners, master gardeners & home gardeners too. There is so much for a garden newbie like me to learn - the Edible Gardens are a great place for me to do it!

The flowers are nearly as exciting as the edible plants

The combination of time outside with time to myself is a good one. Obviously I'm surrounded by other volunteers, staff & zoo guests, but to exist as just me & not exclusively as Lulu's Mom, is necessary for me to feel like me. Almost essential really.

Yellow squash is almost ready to harvest

Again with the flowers!!!

Purple peppers never cease to amaze me

3. Cousin Pool Time

Anne keeping Lulu in line during a safety break

 For all the same reasons that Chris & I don't see our friends enough, I feel like we don't see our family enough either! Life gets in the way, schedules are hectic, summer is busy, etc, etc. Which is why having some serious cousin pool time for Lulu on Monday was such a treat! My sister in law invited Lulu & me to join her & her 4 kiddos for a late afternoon dip. It was delightful & a welcome relief from the heat of the day! My nephews & niece love being with Lulu, I love being with my sister in law & our tiniest little niece who is only 7 weeks old. What a great afternoon we had!

Kane's face in this photo is simply amazing.
The rest of the kiddos are adorable too :)
Baby Mary was getting changed, so didn't make this photo op!

4. WOW Walk

I host a weekly walk as part of Evanston's WOW program. I had no idea what to expect - I figured maybe I would meet some new people and at the very least, get outside with Lulu for an hour each week throughout the summer. As it turns out, the weekly walk has turned into a standing date with one of my friends from the Mom's Group I started! Emily is the only person who ever turned up for the walk (with her sweet daughter) and we have a lovey time enjoying the lakefront and catching up each week that we are in town. 

Stuck in the "fish bowl"

There was some police activity on the route we usually take (turned out to be a misunderstanding where someone mistook theater props as actual weapons in a parking garage) so we headed a different way. I love when lemons turn into lemonade - we stopped at a playground I'd never gone to before & the girls got to play a bit. We also carried Emily's stroller over a sandy hill in the hopes of continuing our walk - only to get caught in a fishbowl of boulders & more sand. Adventures 

abounded! 

At least we were stuck in a pretty place :)

5. Bestie's New Home

So Chris & I have been in our home for over 2 years, but I continue to be delighted by the place we live. That said, I can remember the excitement of those first few days & weeks - so much positive energy & planning alongside the dreaded unpacking! It was perfectly wonderful to get a tour of my best friend's new condo that she & her boyfriend recently bought together. It is ridiculously beautiful. The building is immaculately maintained. The unit is GINORMOUS. So many interesting details and features that make it unique. I was incredibly impressed by how moved in they were after living in their home for only 1 week. I obsessed over their awesome private patio. I had so much fun talking through some ideas for re-purposing some of their furniture for their new space. Oh man. Just perfect. What a wonderful Sunday morning it was to see my best friend so truly happy. 

Happiest best friend around!

 And then brunch. The new place is quite near this delightful neighborhood spot. It is tiny, it feels like you are being hosted in someone's home (a feeling fostered by its garden level location in an apartment/condo building combined with the cozy decor and tiny size). You are greeted by a florist shop type display of fresh flowers and the fun continues. The menu warns patrons to be patient as there is only one cook. The food was worth the wait FOR SURE. Delicious French press coffee, awesome iced coffee, baked goods looked great, though we forgot to get one to try! Can't wait to go back again soon. 

Seriously. The flowers!!!

6. Outdoor Concert in our Neighborhood

Fun to watch so many people dance!

 Summer is meant for outdoor music. It is just the best when the outdoor music is offered steps from our house!

Peekaboo!

Lounging

Several friends & neighbors also came to check out the free salsa concert - it was just great. Lulu made a giant mess of our picnic.........toddlers & picnics are a tough combo......her little feet just have a way of finding themselves into all of the food!! That being said, the night was pretty near perfect & I can't wait for the next Starlight Concert next week.

Pretty thrilled that it is summertime

7. Blueberry Explosion

I may have purchased a 10 pound box  of blueberries from a stranger on Facebook. She's in a mom's group I'm in.......she lives in my town...........what could go wrong? Nothing as it turns out. Everything could go right though!!

blueberry jam + 1st batch of blueberry muffins

Emily (pictured above) was nice enough to pick up my box since I was too busy at cousin pool time to get them!

10 pounds of beautiful blueberries!

Lulu & I biked down to Emily's to pick them up & I've been eating them like crazy & cooking with them too! Yippee for a HUGE box of blueberries - like a fun game of choose your own adventure :)

Lulu wasn't so much into waiting to sample them :)

8. Old Friends + Our Babies

Samson chillaxing in the pool with Lulu

It is such a huge delight to introduce Lulu to my old friends and see her get to know them & their babies. We had Dasi (one of my college friends) & her little man, Samson, over for a pool party Friday morning. The two of them crack me up - Lulu was rocking some hilarious swimsuit issue style poses in the pool - the likes of which I had not seen before, nor have I seen since!

Look Tim! A choo choo train!! ~Lulu

Then on Sunday evening we grilled out with high school friends Tim & Terry (& their beautiful brides Katie & Libby). Terry & Libby's Desmond is a "big kid" in Lulu's eyes and she really enjoyed watching the Metra trains roll by with him! It also made me happy that Lulu allowed Tim to pick her up to watch the trains for a minute. We continue to be in the thick of separation anxiety - so every time another adult can successfully hold Lulu, even if for a minute or two, it feels like a major win!

Granted you can't see her face - but she's NOT screaming or crying!
Whoop! Major win!