life lately: things I learned this summer

School year is now in full swing, with Freddie starting preschool (!!) after Labor Day. It got me thinking a little about the classic "what I did this summer" beginning of school writing assignment, and ah I miss those simpler times when writing a couple of paragraphs was the hardest thing about my day. So I thought I'd give myself a little nostalgic escape from the rocky road we're on with school adjustments and write a little post about some things I learned this summer that will be accompanying me into the rest of the year:

Lovevery's "tricky topics" books are brilliant. Freddie really responded to the real-life pictures and interactions in the Goodbye, Paci! book and very willingly utilized the envelope it comes with for depositing said pacifiers (I really wish they could do something about the crazy sleep disruptions and nap protests that ensued though...), and the starting preschool one really helped us prepare too. Based on those, I am adding the poop on the potty and toddler bed ones to our collection pronto.

Planning a getaway inspired by books is an excellent idea - if Tom Lake and/or Funny Story made you want to visit northern Michigan in the summer, do it! I'm partial to my portion of Lake Michigan, but that part of it is delightful too, with orchards, wineries, beaches, and an added bonus: Traverse City has a couple of nice bookstores within a block of each other where you can accumulate some more great reads. Now which book of 2024 will inspire my travel in 2025? The coast of Greece might be a stretch but Excavations makes me wish for it!

Kale chicken caesar is the perfect quick dinner, and somehow my kids even like it?! Best thing is how easy it is with the bag of chopped kale from Target how delicious it is with Briana's asiago caesar dressing. Just add some croutons, parm, and cherry tomatoes, and you've got yourself a meal.

The stripey shirts that I love to buy my kids "stand out" too much to be worn to middle school. Okay, noted, and stocked on plain gray tees...

The Olympics are magical, and for as little as $7 you can keep the joy in your life by acquiring the Amazon version of a rhythmic gymnastics ribbon (thanks to my mom for that hot tip). My children and I are delighted.

JCrew's brilliant peony is my color jam right now (with Gap's peach parfait alongside it). In general spring/summer is the best time to find things in my personal color palette - and sometimes it's hard to know how well my light/bright colors fit into fall/winter dressing - but this color that makes me happy and also makes my face look less tired than I am is extending into sweaters too!

summer goals recap

Speaking of back to school season, I always think at this time of year about that classic first day of school writing assignment: the "what I did this summer" report. And even though I don't get summer break any more, I still feel like summer is such a special time of year (aided by the fact that winter can be soooo long here) that I always want to make sure that I make the most out of summer.

So this summer I actually wrote up a list of summer goals for that very purpose - and now that it's the unofficial end of summer (tear!), it seems like the perfect time to recap that list.

Now that I look back at it, I guess I only kind of "accomplished" the 5 things on it. But I had a pretty darn great summer, so I still think I did it up right, with this list as a starting guide.

The list was:

1. Try out a new (to us) brewery: didn't actually get to a new one, but we did enjoy outings to several old favorites for my birthday and for my brother's moving-to-med-school sendoff. Plus I tried new-to-me local beers in Minneapolis and Montreal. AND new ice cream places, which really is even better.
2. Plan some bike rides with friends: I didn't quite connect with some of the friends I meant to, but I did some great family rides with my parents, brothers, Peter/Hendrik. Plus plenty of group rides where I met some new people. AND I got my awesome new road bike - so, all around a great biking summer.
3. Find a great pair of sandals and summer-weight jeans: total success here. These Sorel sandals got tons of compliments, plus they walked me MILES around my own town, Minneapolis, Chicago, and Montreal. And while it seemed like we had way less opportunity to wear jeans than other summers (so hot and humid!), I really love these jeans and will be wearing them plenty come fall weather.
4. Take Hendrik on 1-2 special outings per month: I would say this was the other big success. We did plenty of time at the cottage/beach, and then there was also his tumbling class that was great, trips to the library and the local park and downtown, plus some special things like the Dragons Love Tacos character event at the library, biking over to mini golf + ice cream, and his first time sleeping in a tent. Plus he learned to paddle a kayak! So fun.
5. Spruce up the front steps: my goal was to "find some great planters to flank the door and fill them with some colorful flowers, and also finally get our historic district plaque hung up." Well. I got some great planters. (They have been sitting empty since...June.) And we are currently in the process of having exterior painting done, after which those guys have promised to hang up my plaque. So, perhaps I can redeem it by picking up some mums for the fall, and then really doing up my planters next year. But the exterior is going to be looking good either way, thanks to the painters (and plenty of $$...)

In addition, I went on a great vacation with Peter to Montreal, enjoyed two outdoor concerts, found a fab new bathing suit, got a perfect amount of tan, and read about 20 books. ALSO September can still be quite summery around here, so I'm keeping this all going as long as I can. Great summer indeed.

How about yours?

five things Friday: Insta-summer edition

Friday again! Which is great, because summer weekends are the best - but not so great, because it brings us that much closer to the end of summer. Wahhh.  That makes me already feel nostalgic for our summer fun, so I thought I'd relive some of it via an Instagram life update - aka (re)share some summer highlights/happenings in clever hashtag form (attempts at wit that took me this long after posting the actual photos to come up with... #slowontheuptag).

#ERweareagain: unfortunately I am accumulating enough ER visits to have previous experiences to compare to ... but luckily this most recent trip was one of the more low-key versions. It started out crazy, with blood spurting around the kitchen after Hendrik slipped and fell on his cardboard "skis" and gashed his head on the doorway. We very quickly calmed down and slowed the bleeding, but I knew even without my doctor husband being home (because the squeamish, non medical one of course has to do the ER trips!) that it was going to need some closure. We have a major champ on our hands though - Hendrik even chose to get the lidocaine injection rather than numbing ointment (it's faster), and then got stapled up with no fuss. And it was nice to have Peter meet us in the ER and explain the whole thing to Hendrik, having performed this type of head laceration closure plenty of times. Oh and also to be the one to actually look at what was going on/take the staples out the next week. My job was just to hold H's hand and look the other direction (ewwww).

#feelingtents: I'm not sure what prompted it, but early in the summer Hendrik started asking about going camping in a tent. This prompted a family trip to the sporting goods store, the purchase of a new tent, and assurances that mommy could sleep in her own bed. Peter surprised Hendrik one evening a few weeks ago by saying "let's go out and set up the tent in the back yard" - the look of delight on Hendrik's face as it dawned on him that setting up the tent meant that he was going to get to sleep in it that night almost made me feel bad about not being part of this rite of passage. But not nearly enough to get me to sleep on the ground, or take away the enjoyment of my solo evening indoors. Hendrik did pretty well out there, but Peter won't be doing it again until he gets some better padding to sleep on, I'm thinking...

#mydahling: dahlias showing up at the farmer's market is one of my favorite milestones of summer, but these ones actually showed up in my own backyard! Very impressed with my husband for planting and tending to these all summer, and then arranging a little bunch for the kitchen windowsill when they bloomed, with the promise of more to come. We've also been enjoying the basil and cucumbers from his little plot in our neighborhood community garden, with the promise of tomatoes to come.

#lakelife: since Memorial Day, whenever possible, this view has been my plan for the weekend. Really, no better place than Lake Michigan in the summer time, especially the beach we get to use courtesy of my parents and their cottage. (But the view of an inland lake that we enjoyed with Peter's family last weekend was some pretty great summer vibes too.)

#niceride: Peter and I rode in the big annual cycling event in town again this year, and while we were in the middle of our 50+  miles he asked, "when do you think we should upgrade your road bike?" I initially thought maybe next spring, but it turned out he actually had one all specced out, and we had it on order the next day. (A girl doesn't say no to that offer, even if he might be trying to butter you up for some biking-related purchases of his own.) I'm loving the new bike - not only is she sleek and speedy looking, but she also rides like a dream! Also been loving family rides in matching jerseys and group rides with new cycling friends.

We've still got a major highlight of summer to come - our Montreal trip - but in the meantime I'd love more of all of the above. Aside from any scalp wounds for anyone around here, of course. 

What's been your summer highlight so far?

life lately: the last 10 photos on my phone

As always with the summer: things have been busy, and it's flying by! Why does that happen so much more than with less favorite seasons? (Ahem, winter...). So, a fun little summer life update by way of the last 10 photos on my phone seems in order.

1. After our 40-mile cycling race on Saturday. Peter and I had so much fun! And were actually feeling like we could have done a bunch more miles - hence the big smiles.

2. I made a strawberry pie for Father's Day. It is June, after all!

3. Fell in love with some out-of-budget calacatta marble when looking for kitchen counter options - of course. Good thing I also love the more budget-friendly carrara marble too...

4. Waging the battle against accumulating piles and piles of Hendrik's artwork (and balancing it with my love of the cuteness and his love of keeping all. the. things.) by snapping photos to make an album.

5. He pretty much refuses to nap these days, so when he finally does succumb to the summer fun exhaustion, I usually find him in funny/adorable positions.

6. Family Bean selfie fail in Chicago from our super fun weekend.

7. Screenshot proof of my Queen of the Mountain fastest rider status on a Strava (cycling app) segment.

8. Packing considerations for my work trip to Dubai (stay tuned for more on that!).

9. Mirror selfie I had to snap and send to my best friend as a "see how cool and trendy I am!" photo before we headed to the Avett Brothers concert. First public appearance with my new hair curling skills...

10. Pure joy on the Frog Hopper with Uncle Dirk and Miss Hillary. I think our day in a theme park week was seriously the most fun Hendrik has ever had in his life.


What have you been up to lately?

a day in the [toddler mom] life

Soon after I started back working full time after Hendrik was born, I recorded what a typical day in my work-from-home new mom life entailed. By this point, it's hard to even imagine that he was ever that small, so it's kind of cool to have that reminder of what everyday life was like. A year later, the days are just as full, but sooo much different. Here's the toddler version:

6:00 - alarm goes off and I throw some clothes on before climbing back under the covers (furnace hasn't come on yet!) and pulling out the laptop to get a head start on the workday

8:00 - head downstairs to start a load of laundry and get breakfast ready for Hendrik and Ginger

8:15 - sounds like Hendrik's awake - I open his door to find this smiling face with greetings of "mommy!" and get some nice hugs to start out my morning when I pick him up

8:30 - the nanny arrives, so I grab my own breakfast and my work bag, kiss Hendrik goodbye, and head out for the day

8:45 - at this age, Hendrik gets kind of whiny when he sees me around the house,while the nanny's here, so I've been working mostly at coffee shops or the library - today I head over

1:00 - quick stop at Trader Joe's for some dinner ingredients; I can't resist a couple of $4 tulip bunches too

1:30 - time to send the nanny home and get myself a late lunch while Hendrik's still napping; I multitask with finishing up some work while I eat (can't get enough of these adorable mini pretzels - perfect for dipping in hummus)

2:15 - move the laundry over to the dyer and then watch part of the latest Downton Abbey on DVR while reading some blogs

2:45 - Hendrik wakes up and we read some books to ease back into the world - and then play! Balls, cars, and his mini pots & pans set are the favorites right now

3:45 - remember there's laundry in the dryer to be put away; Hendrik "helps" by digging all the socks out of the basket while I fold

4:00 - snack time - current favorites are anything dipped in peanut butter or hummus

4:15 - head over to the gym, where Hendrik has a blast having free reign of the kids' club, and I get a workout in (finally able to do a little light jogging/biking after my injury, but also trying to keep up my alternative activities)

5:00 - finally, my shower for the day! Taking it at the gym while Hendrik is in the kids' club buys me some time to blow dry my hair & put on makeup

5:45 - back home, Hendrik plays with his pots & pans while I prepare his dinner (and Ginger's)

6:00 - dinner time for the big-eating little man - today it's a chicken sausage, pureed peas, and madarin oranges - while I empty the dishwasher and start chopping dinner ingredients

6:30 - daddy's home! He entertains Hendrik for a few while I finish up making our dinner

6:45 - we eat dinner (today a regular favorite, fish taco bowls) in the living room and catch up on our days while Hendrik plays and climbs around us

7:00 - Hendrik plays with daddy while I put away the dishes, and then we all participate in some cleanup time

7:30 - bath time and teeth brushing for Hendrik, two highlights of his day - he can't get enough of his rubber duck and his Elmo toothbrush

8:00 - after putting on his PJs, I read Hendrik a couple of books, and then Peter takes over for the night time bottle

8:15 - work on some blog posts - today I'm putting together a Valentine's gift grid - usually while Peter does some reading/preparing for the next day's cases, but since it's Friday he has some downtime and volunteers to do a frozen yogurt run (to which I would never say no)

9:00 - catch up on the DVR together, or get in a few episodes of our new favorite on Netflix - Parks & Rec - while enjoying our frozen yogurt; also I paint my nails for fun

10:15 - get ready for bed while the heated mattress pad warms up my side, and then climb in to read for a bit while Peter showers

10:45 - lights out so that we can get some rest before doing it all again tomorrow! (Luckily in this case "tomorrow" was a Saturday and Hendrik slept in past 8 - a treat for all)

It's amazing to record all of this and then compare to the 3-month-old version. So many things have changed so much from a year ago, but some things always remain the same (like evening ice cream, obviously). I really liked that age - 3 months felt like a turning point in better routines, longer night-time sleep stretches, and happier baby days compared to the newborn stage - but 15 months really is great. So fun to interact with him as he plays and explores the world, to have him be able to talk to us and give us hugs... oh, and to regularly get 11-12 hours of sleep a night out of him!

Sharing on Dearest Love's Coffee Date.

a day in the [new mom] life

I still can't quite get over how the day I had scheduled a post outlining a typical day in my work-from-home life actually turned out to be my least typical day ever - Hendrik's birth day! Obviously life has changed a lot since then, and there really weren't any "typical" days for a while there in his newborn-hood - we never knew what that baby's eating/sleeping schedule might be. Now that he's 3 months and I'm back to working, though, we at least have somewhat of a routine to how our days go, if not a schedule per se.

Here's a recent one:

5:00 - we all wake to Peter's alarm - luckily today Hendrik goes back to sleep after a few pacifier replacements (some days I have to nurse him at this point), so I get to go back to sleep too

7:15 - sneak verrry quietly out of bed and go downstairs to start in on the email inbox and do some pumping (fun...not) before Hendrik wakes up

8:00 - Hendrik's up - he slept in today! - so it's breakfast time for everyone (I'm good at feeding and eating one-handed these days)

8:30 - the nanny arrives, and Ginger & I get in the car to head over to daycare - it's just been too cold to put the baby in the stroller for walks, so some days she goes and burns some energy playing with the other dogs there instead

8:45 - it's a running day for me (rather than a spinning day), and as it's currently all of 2 degrees outside, I do my 5 miles on the treadmill - followed by stretching and 15 minutes of ab work, according to my 2014 resolutions

9:45 - shower & do my hair at the gym - hauling all my gear back and forth is kind of a pain, but this is how I make sure I actually get in the shower!

10:15- park my laptop next door at Panera and work until the nanny's time is up for the day

1:45 - lunch is a special treat today - we meet up with Sarah at Chipotle, and Hendrik is perfectly behaved while we eat and chat

2:45 - snap some quick outfit photos while Hendrik's dozing in his car seat, and I mean quick, because you never know how long he's going to stay asleep (usually screaming ensues immediately upon wakeup in the car seat), and because it's FRIGID.

3:15 - watch part of the Nadal vs. Federer Australian Open semifinal while Hendrik has a bottle

3:45 - playtime with lots of smiles and toy grabbing (new trick), plus tummy time

4:30 - wardrobe change after Hendrik spits up all over both of us (good thing I already got those photos in)... then we read some books

5:30 - get some more work done during late afternoon nap time

6:15 - Peter arrives home with Ginger - super early, yay! - and we chat about our days while Hendrik downs another bottle

7:00 - I make dinner - our favorite fajitas + guacamole (guess I'm just in the mood for this kind of food today) - while Peter does daddy duty

7:30 - eat, with fussy Hendrik strapped to Peter in the Baby Bjorn

8:00 - catch up on the DVR (Daily Show & Colbert Report) while Hendrik snoozes - kind of late for a nap,  but apparently crabby pants needed a little more rest

8:45 - bath time, a new favorite activity

9:15 - daddy feeds the pre-bed bottle

9:30 - ice cream time (one thing about my life that hasn't changed at all - days still end with ice cream whenever possible)

10:00 - Peter changes & swaddles up Hendrik while I brush my teeth

10:15 - a little nursing until Hendrik zonks out and goes into his bassinet next to me, and we go to sleep too

All in all, quite a good day, and it's nice when days go generally like this... nap lengths and morning wake up time aren't entirely predictable, but I got stuff done during them on this day. We're just a few weeks in to my being back to working full time, but with the nanny coming 4 part-days per week, working from home is going pretty well so far. It's great to be able to get Henk time throughout the day, and really convenient to not have to worry about getting out the door at a specific time - that would have made for a much harder transition back to work.

So this is life with baby for us at 3 months old. We'll see how it continues to change as he gets a little older!

a day in the life

Along with "what's in my bag" posts (mine's here!), I always think it's fascinating to read people's "a day in my life" posts to see what they fill their time with. My days tend to be pretty similar to one another (I'm a creature of habit, down to the same breakfast/lunch menu, same dog-walking route, etc.), but in some ways they're pretty different from other working 29-year-olds' days, given my flexible work schedule as a telecommuter and my quite independent schedule as a childless spouse of a resident who's at the hospital 80+ hours a week.

But obviously one of those things is about to change forever... so before the big transition to motherhood, I thought I'd record a somewhat typical day in my set-my-own schedule kind of life:

6:30 - alarm goes off; lounge in bed for a while checking emails and Instagram on my phone before eventually rolling out, pulling on some workout clothes, and making the bed

7:00 - "make" Ginger's breakfast (mix some wet dog food into some dry) and mine (mix some Kashi cereal into greek yogurt); eat while reading blogs and then clearing out my various work email inboxes

8:30 - after dealing with most of my work emails, get Ginger out for her walk, usually a 2.5-mile loop

9:15 - head to the gym for spinning class

10:30 - stop at Kroger on the way home for some essentials (you'll see most of these on the menu today!): grapes, yogurt, cheddar cheese, english muffins, ice cream

11:00 - back at my desk, processing some new manuscript submissions and chipping away at a couple of big projects

12:30 - lunch of pretzel crisps & cheddar cheese (and some carrots/peppers for health's sake), on the back deck with my Kindle if it's warm and sunny, on the couch with a DVR'd show if the weather's poor

1:00 - time to get some editing done

4:00 - finally get into the shower and some real clothes

4:30 - afternoon break for some errands - today it's Pottery Barn Kids because they're having 20% off everything, so time to finally get my mitts on a few things I've been eyeing for the nursery

5:15 - followed by a stop at the local farmer's market for some apples and other things

5:30 - back at home, put away the farmer's market goods and empty the dishwasher

6:00 - get some more work done (and have a snack) because it's going to be a while still before Peter comes home; my office shifts to the couch with the laptop for a change of scenery - and multitasking with some HGTV

7:45 - Peter texts to say he should be leaving the hospital soon; remember that perhaps Ginger wants her dinner

8:00 - start our dinner, something quick because it's already so late - today homemade pesto and tomatoes from our garden tossed with Israeli couscous and feta (yum); eat while we watch last night's Daily Show and Colbert Report on DVR

9:00 - after dinner cleanup, work on some blog posts, usually while Peter does reading to prep for the next day's cases

9:45 - finish the day off with some ice cream and maybe one more show (we're currently going through West Wing season 7 on Netflix)

10:30 - brush teeth and into bed!