Sunday Fun Day - 3/24/19 - Lent, Swim "Graduation", Spring!, Garden Bed

Oh dear. I'm falling down on my renewed New Year's Resolution of blogging weekly! Darn it! Oh well, time to play some catch up!! Giddy up!

1. Lent
So it has become customary within Catholicism (and maybe Christianity more broadly? I can't really speak to anything other than how us crazy Catholics roll) to "give up" something during the 40 days of Lent between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. As I understand it - you take this period to make sacrifices (not of the fatted calf variety - this is not Biblical time for goodness' sake) to keep you connected to the sacrifices Jesus made to save the world. Whoosh. Heavy stuff, right? Side note- you more learned Catholics- please inform me of the "real" reasoning behind Lenten promises- as with so much of my life - I fear my understanding is at approximately the 3rd grade level!!!

Either way - I read an article written by a Jesuit priest a few years ago which encouraged "taking up" something for Lent, rather than  "giving up". Prior to reading the article, I would go without Diet Coke (as I said this was years ago when I was in the thick of that habit), chocolate, dessert, or meat. I have appreciated the "taking up" side of this coin much more - and I think, have become a better version of myself in the process. 

So this year, I decided to "take up" a kindness every day. Whether a random act of kindness or something that took more planning doesn't really matter, the goal is to do something thoughtful/helpful/useful/connecting/kind for a friend, family member, neighbor, or my community. So far I have done A LOT of litter pick up. It doesn't take any planning, but litter is (sadly) everywhere. Now that the snow & ice have melted, a whole winter's worth of litter has been revealed :( Lulu will sometimes get in on this one, which makes me quite glad. Also - some days I am the poop fairy. I try to look at these abandoned piles of dog shit without judging the dogs' owners - hoping that they forgot a bag or their dog pulled a fast one & pooped twice on 1 walk. I hate to admit I resent the dog poop more than general litter.....although it could be said that all litter is created equal! But poop. Ugh. More fun stuff has been baking treats, writing notes, sending all the good vibes I have to people going through hard times or great times. 

I'm really enjoying it so far this season. I think it makes me a happier person to do something positive for the world each day. I'm open to ideas and welcome them in fact! Send me an email or comment below if you have random (or not) acts of kindness suggestions!!

2. The Bug's Swim "Graduation" 

Test day in coat & boots

Test day in sweater & shoes

Whoosh! We started this 4 week session of swim lessons back at the start of February.......for reasons too many (& too boring) to list - we didn't finish until March 19!!! But, we are done for now! I love that we have committed to ISR for teaching Lulu to be safe in/around water, but the closest instructor works out of Lake Forest :( So it is an hour of round trip driving every day (M-F) for 10 minutes in the pool.

Congrats Bug!!

So I'm relieved to be done - and SO SO SO proud of our Bug for working so darn hard at learning to swim and practicing her float.  

Donut to celebrate!!

3. Spring!

In the span of 2 short weeks we went from this huge ice/snow pile at the water's edge

to this - no ice/snow on the beach at all! Still in snowsuit & hat - but it was only 8am :)

Owenn thinks this is the perfect season for swimming in Lake Michigan!

Its coming! Or is it here?? The calendar says it is here- I am not entirely convinced :) But it is certainly coming! As I type this, the birds are chirping outside - loudly, insistently, seem to be telling to me one of Lulu's fav lines from "Go Dog Go" by P.D. Eastman "Get up! It is day! Time to get going! Go dog go!" 

Thank goodness our trusty spring bulbs are popping up in each of our garden beds around the house. I'm excited for the bursts of color to come forth - purple & white alliums, brilliant yellow daffodils, tulips of several colors. The tiny bits of green forcing their way toward the sun are encouraging enough for now - but oh it will be lovely when the yard/garden start to be awash with color.

Spring means our 1st family bike ride of the year!!

4. DIY Raised Bed Garden

My DIY dream husband!!

Chris took a 10 week long woodworking class this winter and it has really reignited his interest in this hobby. I am beyond excited that he gave me an early Mother's Day gift of a handmade cedar raised bed garden for our backyard!! He was incredibly efficient at making it - I think was done with it in less than a day! I was also grateful to my brother & Dad for helping move the bed from its building location on the patio to its "final resting place" along our back fence. 

Finished product - in place!! My first little weeds are growing so fast!

I ordered seeds to start from The Seed Savers Exchange, I figure if nothing really works I can always buy seedlings (which is what I've done in the past). But I'm looking forward to the seed starting too. It feels exciting to try new things - lots of learning I have to do - but thankfully some family & friends are more experienced than I am in this regard - so hoping to glean some knowledge from them!!

So much possibility!

Friday Recap - 2/1/19 - The Mountains Are Calling & I Must Go - several days late!

I am a couple days late in posting this - our travel plans went slightly off the rails due to the polar vortex which descended on Chicago last week. Snow and extreme cold did not make for easy air travel! Our time in Colorado felt like a tropical vacation in comparison! One day Marg & I snowshoed up mountain only wearing long sleeved t shirts and leggings- so hats/gloves/coats! So yeah, pretty much the beach.

So this week's post is dedicated to fun with Chris, Marg, the Bug & her cousins!

Friday Round Up - 1/25/18 - Change in Plans, Snow!, Cousins Skate, "The Disease of Being Busy"

Happy Friday! 

The Polar Vortex is ripping its way across the Midwest.....

the temperature is expected to be approximately

 -1 with a wind chill of -19 when this post is published! 

Yikes. 

At least we like Old Man Winter around here!!

1. Change in Plans
We have some travel coming up & due to the freezing rain/sleet mixture our area had this week combined with Lulu rocking a fever.....we changed our travel plans! We virtually never do this, but our plans were flexible for once & there were very few downsides! Thankfully we are visiting my flexible sister & her girls - so our lodging didn't need to be tweaked at all!

The notable one is that my parents are taking us to the airport in the 5am hour......and I will miss my Mom's Group Dinner Club. The theme is "Dinner in the Hamptons" and everyone is making one of Ina Garten's recipes. I love the Barefoot Contessa - I love her recipes & her vibe! Sad to miss out on this theme, but it made the best sense for us.

Why punish oneself with the possibility of flight delays or worse, cancellations when your airline offers to change your flight for free??? I'm not a crazy lady - so I went with the change in plans :)

2. Snow!
We have had some good snowfalls this week! We've had enough snow to cross country ski, sled, and romp around happily!!

A few highlights of the snow this week:

I cross country skied up to one of our favorite coffee shops, Backlot to read my book and drink an oat milk latte that is, in my humble opinion, one of the best on the planet.

We met friends to sled with babies & dogs. It was cold, snowy, windy - so we didn't last too long....but we were invited back to their home for a cozy winter dinner. I love that Lulu is getting old enough to be interested in her friends. It makes my heart feel full to watch her play with some of the little people in her life!

Lulu & her friend Lilly rocking the teeter totter in the cold & dark :)

We took Owenn skiing with Lulu in her stroller with the ski attachments! What a great purchase that was - Lulu can be cozy under the cover of the stroller, in a nest of snowsuit & blankets while we get a great workout in hauling her along!

3. Cousins Skate

Despite Lulu's cousins, Aunt Tara & Uncle GR having a bonkers weekend, they invited us to skate on their backyard rink this past Monday! 

Again, cold, windy, sort of polar vortex-y, but Lulu loved it. She had so much fun being pushed around on the ice by her big cousins! She certainly doesn't have the hang of skating yet - but loves to talk about it anyway! BoBo & Bump came out to watch the antics, as did Lulu's cousins' Nana. A very fun afternoon topped off by hot chocolate made by Kane & a fire in their fireplace. Winter perfection!!

4. "The Disease of Being Busy"
I often listen to the program "On Being" on weekend mornings on WBEZ. I appreciate its commentary on faith, spirituality, religion, and all things in between. This post made me realize I should look at the program's website more often than the never that I currently do! A woman who I went to sleep away gymnastics camp with shared this article on Facebook (I'm almost sure I've read it already....can't be sure if I've shared it here.....sorry if this is a repeat!) this week & it struck a chord with me.

It seems to me I've read a hundred articles/posts about the benefits of allowing ourselves (& our kids) to be bored. To allow space for deep/big thoughts, creativity, wondering, imagining. Lots of good things can come from being bored it seems. And yet, it is so hard for us, (in the age of screens everywhere) to give ourselves this time/space.

Do you make space for boredom in your house? For yourself? For your kids? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this and the ways that you do it (if you do)! I don't know if I leave enough space for boredom - but it is on my mind, which is probably the first way I'm going to be able to accomplish the goal, right??

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!

'

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!