32, and This and That

I came on to write something specific, then realized I never wrote about my 32nd birthday.  It's a post I treasure each year to mark the time and where I am, so I'll start there.

This 32nd year of mine is off to a great start.  I wanted to post the few photos I got from our time in Big Sky.  I'm still reflecting on how wonderful that trip was.  That photo of my knitting in the lodge while Ainsley skied her third day on the mountain?  That was particularly magical.

I posted on facebook about the beautiful weather we had the day before my birthday.  We pulled the cover off the gas grill that we bought with the house and cooked up some delicious marinated salmon while the kids enjoyed the warm february sun on the patio.  The patio is my current favorite spot in the backyard. With the bare winter trees we get sun and I can sip my half shared beer with Ian after work and watch the kids play.  They are currently filling up each tiny brick with sidewalk chalk drawings.  I'm loving that.

On my birthday I made overnight cinnamon rolls and my family came to join us.  It was such a treat to have them all here, it's been years and years since we were together on my birthday.  I got such fun things.  I've especially been enjoying all the new reading I received, and the new art supplies and sharpener from my mom (and I have yet to take my new slippers off when I'm indoors Julie!).

That night Ian's parents came to watch the kids so we could go out the eat, such a tremendous treat.  He took me to Wise Acre Eatery, a spectacular farm to table restaurant where I received a free cocktail AND dessert for my birthday.  I could have eaten that whole menu, it was tremendous!

I remember last year thinking ahead to this birthday, this 32nd year, hoping so much that we'd be settled.  Here we are!  It's taking us a bit to adjust, but we're here and this year ahead feels so hopeful and good.

In regular life things continue to settle.  I'm finding that our move has really punctuated for me that things are changing.  We are in the big kid routine of life and I find I'm sad about leaving behind those long together preschool days with my girl.  Sadder still is that I still have those days (mostly) with  my boy but they seem to fill all too easily with errands and indoor playgrounds and him playing by himself while I get things done.

I've been working on an oak park photo book for us and going through the old photos of all the things I used to do with the kids, it's crazy!  I do so little that is planned an elaborate with them now.  I want to up my game again.

Just yesterday Felix was finally able to go back to school after missing days for stomach flu and our trip to Montana and this bad cold that he's now passed on to me.  I spent the morning running errands, again!  I think I've been to Target more times in the past 3 months than I'd been in the past 3 years in Oak Park.  This time is was a second set of sheets for Louise's bed, an electric griddle (I still can't figure out our stove for our griddle) and dozens of odds and ends.  I had an odd amount of time after that before picking Felix up so I decided to run across the street to one of the local thrift shops.

Oh goodness.  I found so many great little things.  I was most excited to find another pair of jeans for Felix (that boy will ONLY wear jeans!) And they were the exact Levi's he already owns and love which felt like a dose of thrifting serendipity.  I got a few cute little Easter decorations, something we've never had before. The kids are loving the egg shaped candles in the bunny holders and the white ceramic bunny surrounded by plastic and paper eggs.  I also found Louise and Felix baseball mitts (Louise is playing t-ball this spring!) and a set of coffee mugs to replace one of our favorites of the exact same type that I'd found at a garage sale a few years back that had broken.

In some silly way that shopping trip made it feel like home.  I found my love of second hand shopping in Oak Park.  I remember walking with baby Ainsley up the block from our 2 flat apartment to the resale shop a few times a week just to browse and get out of the house with her.  I'm still getting comments on my awesome Merrel snow boots I found back then.  Still going strong!

So here's to 32.  To a new beginning in a mostly new decade.  I'm looking forward to spring and summer and making our home here.