March 21l 2021; Spring is Springing

 Lizzard Loves Spring. 

Well, I mean, I don't love the cold/rainy/windy parts of it. Nor "Spring Forward" into Daylight Savings Time. Dark mornings? No thank you. No, not at all. 

But the shockingly (& deliciously) sun warm days that rise out of nowhere to remind you that you won't always be cold. The trusty spring flowers pushing their way up through the melting snow, proving that anything is possible. The birds singing loud & proud songs especially in the early morning (aka right now). The ever present mud puddles available for the Bug & Henry Pants to splash in. The sense of starting over/renewal that always comes this time of year. The bikes coming out of their winter hiding place in the shed to trundle us along on adventures (mainly to the "bakery store" as we lovingly refer to Tags Bakery and local playgrounds). Digging in the dirt again - a slow preparation for planting our garden beds after Mother's Day. Planning for socially distanced Easter celebrations with BoBo & the Kearney clan. Daydreaming about travel beyond our area. Baking Irish Soda Bread with Lulu Bug. Occasionally running in a tank top, strange how quick it is to get out the door when you don't need to bundle up so much. Spring in our house also brought our first COVID-19 vaccination! Ice cream cones (with frinkles - duh) to celebrate Chris!**

Spring in the Chicagoland area is certainly not my favorite season. But I do find plenty to love about it. What do you love about Spring wherever it is that you call home? 

**Usually this list would include some spring break travel, but not for us yet. Travel is on hold until we have all those shots in our arms. Oh COVID-19. How you royally screw with so many things!

May & June 2019 Kramer Family Visits

Park time with Aunt Beth (Godmother Beth too :)

Sad to say goodbye to (great) Aunt Terry

We were so lucky to have visits from Chris's sister Beth & aunt Terry in May & June respectively. Life gets so busy & hectic - sometimes the visits are squeezed into trips for other reasons! Beth was in town for work & was able to hang with us for an afternoon & Terry was in the Midwest for a concert & stayed with us for a couple of nights to extend her trip!

Aunt Terry was very tolerant of Lulu's chicken burrito obsession, despite the fact that she doesn't eat animal products at all!

Walking to the park with Aunt Beth

We couldn't appreciate it more when our family & friends make time to come see us. What a treat it was to spend time with 2 wonderful ladies :)

Thankfully Aunt Beth was willing to do "big pushes" 

Such a good sport to hang out in Lulu's hideaway

Clearly Lulu was thrilled at the company, such a lot of fun to see her Aunt Beth & (great) Aunt Terry within a few weeks of one another!

Daddy met us at the park!

So many laughs with Terry!

Thanks for visiting us guys, please come back soon - we can't wait to have you!

April 2019 - Lulu is TWO and a trip to AZ

Happy 2nd Birthday Lulu Bug!

So cliche, but so true - the time has flown by with our Lulu bug! All the sudden she is two years old! How on Earth did that happen?? I feel so darn lucky to have the Bug as my daughter - she is funny, talkative, loves to sing and swim and dance and run and do big jumps, she loves food nearly as much as I do, can't get enough of her grandparents, cousins, aunts & uncles, she thinks choo choos/trucks/airplanes are the bees knees, she thinks going to the Costco grocery store and eating cheese pizza is one of life's simple pleasures, she loves to read books, make yummies in her kitchen and help me in the big kitchen. Life is so different with Lulu in it, but it is, in so many ways, so much better.

This one is so funny, sitting on the same couch but 19.5 months separates the top photo from the bottom! Nevie was brand new on the top, Lulu was 4.5 months old, and H was 2.5 years old. Such big kids in such a short amount of time!

We took a trip to Scottsdale, AZ to revisit the place where Neva was born and enjoy a family spring break-ish vacation. The entire trip consisted of sleep, eat, swim, repeat! We went to the Old Town Scottsdale Farmer's Market (I would HIGHLY recommend - it was a great market indeed) and the Four Seasons for lunch as our only 2 adventures outside of the rental house!!

We continued to celebrate with friends & family at home after we got back from AZ. How lucky is our Bug to have so many people who love her so much?!? Happy 2nd Birthday to my biggest, best Bug!

She tried valiantly to blow out the candle :) She ultimately needed a bit of help!

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!