plans for the winter

In my dreams the plans for my winter look something like this:


In reality, they're more like this:


We had so much fun in the snow today! Manuevering about in snowpants, a thick jacket, new boots, a hat tied around his chin, and mittens was quite an obstacle to tackle for him. Now, the obstacle for me was getting all of that on him! I just may lose 10 lbs and gain some gray hair by the end of winter from all the sweat and stress I undergo getting that kid bundled up! Still juggling so much this holiday season - new little projects and stuff for my etsy shop coming soon!

escape to Whitefish Point

One morning while we were camping and I was getting things together to whip up breakfast, it started raining. Keeping a 13-month-old cooped up in a tent for an indefinite amount of time was not something we wanted to experiment with. We figured it was a great time to head to the Shipwreck Museum in Whitefish Point. That was Dan's one request for the whole trip, and I must admit I wasn't too excited to go there. I'm glad to say that I was proven wrong, and it was so worth it! It was chilly and sunny, and we got there before the crowd. It was beautiful. We captured it all with the camera on Dan's new iPhone. Very impressed with that camera, indeed.



Jack and I in front of the Lighthouse operator's home. It's now a museum now you can tour, complete with creepy life-sized replicas of the family that lived there.


Memorials on the beach for men that lost their lives on the Edmund Fitzgerald


The beach of Lake Superior














the trail that led to another part of the beach


I am a sucker for gift stores! Seriously cannot avoid them! I must say this was one of my favorite gift shop finds. Looking forward to painting it and hanging it in Jack's room! I fell in love with the box, and will definitely be keeping it for some unknown future use.





This was one of my favorite mornings ever.

Camping with a Toddler

After our fun weekend on Mackinac Island, we headed north. I had wanted to camp near the Tahquamenon Falls for such a long time, and I even posted about it not so long ago. So, north we went. The leaves were just starting to turn, so driving through the U.P. was exceptionally beautiful.



Have you ever driven across the Mackinaw Bridge? It's Michigan's treasure for bridge lovers everywhere.


As far as camping with a 13-month-old little guy, I initially felt pretty confident it would work out just fine. This confidence ebbed and flowed in waves, as mothers and friends would say things like, "Oooh, you're brave," or "Like... camping?... in a tent?...with Jack?" They would try and mask looks of disbelief and/or uncertainty in our camping endeavor, which in turn made me question what we were setting out to do. I mean it's not like we were touring the world in a sailboat, or were planning on backpacking through the jungle! It was a simple 2 day/night trip in a tent at a state campground with the most amazing bathrooms (and showers!) I have ever seen in the wilderness. It was a perfect 1st-camping-trip-with-a-kid destination! I highly recommend!

I can see how it could have headed south quickly. We had a backup plan of a motel in our back pocket if we needed it. A crying baby through the night could make for some very unhappy neighbors. A baby jumping in the fire could be quite traumatic. We had none of that. The craziest thing was when Jack fell out of his little chair and bumped his little noggin. A few tears, but some sticks and dirt made for an instant return to happiness. It really did turn out amazing, fun and quite the little get-away for us Kastners. We had fun with the campfire, getting dirty and exploring the woods and waterfalls, and snuggling up in our sleeping bags that zip up together. We are already planning our spring trip!

Camping involved...

The cutest camper in the world!




New socks from Paradise, Michigan


I'm pointing at our tent! Can you see it?


planning our hike from the Lower Falls to the Upper Falls




the Lower Falls




the Upper Falls



Yes! Michigan! More to come later, along with some Halloween fun! It is OCTOBER!

IMMA BACK!

Hello faithful friends! I'm back! Our little family has been on quite the whirlwind tour of Michigan over the past month! This has meant very little access to the Internet, which was nice to have a break from, quite honestly. It does feel good to be back though! I will be posting nearly every day recapping our trip (too much for just one post!), with fun things I'm doing for Halloween, personal projects I'm working on, Christmas preparations (yes, already!) and more...

So...where have we been? It all started with a 5 1/2 hour drive north to Mackinac Island. My dad runs the annual 8-mile race around the island, and this year Dan joined him for the run. For those of you not familiar with Mackinac Island, it lies between the Lower and Upper Peninsula, there are no cars or motorized vehicles on the island, you take a beautiful ferry ride over, and if you detest fudge and/or horses you should stay away.

packed in like sardines


greeted by Auntie and Nana


on the Ferry


that's the Mackinac Bridge


not a real horse


the Grand Hotel is truly grand (we didn't stay there)


and just in case you don't get your fill while you're on the island...



Tomorrow - Camping with a Toddler for Dummies and Adventures in the U.P. Part 1

pure michigan

After spending the last three falls in the one-season wonder of San Francisco, I am very much looking forward to Michigan's fall! Don't get me wrong, I love the fog and chill of SF, but there is something about the change of seasons that is great to be a part of. I've loved all these gorgeous warm (and hot!) summer days, but I am already looking forward to the wind blowing a bit chillier, wearing pants again (oh, how I miss pants!), and watching the leaves turn colors! Who else is stoked for fall around here???

We would watch the Pure Michigan ads in California, and yearn for fall! I love that Tim Allen does the voice-overs, although I find myself waiting at the end for him to do his manly grunt thing from Home Improvement...


In September we are heading up to Mackinac Island with my family where my dad, Dan and I are going to to run the 8-mile race around the island. Perhaps that way I won't feel so bad for eating so much fudge! And since we'll be up that way, I'm thinking we'll do an extended trip to Tahquamenon Falls. I've been to the western part of the upper peninsula, but have never really spent time near the eastern side. I mean, Sufjan Stevens wrote a song about this place, so I am thinking we need to go there!

Won't it be so beautiful in the fall?! We'll camp there! Oh, I am excited!

last night in SF

It's my last night here in SF. Jack and I fly out at 7 in the morning, I am surrounded by moving boxes filling our apartment in all directions...and it still hasn't really set in that we're really leaving this city.

Dan and I are sitting on the couch putting together all the parts of SF city life we are going to miss: walking to Three Twins Ice Cream, Mythic Pizza, St. Francis Fountain, Four Barrel coffee, Little Chihuahua (the best quesadillas anywhere!), Twin Peaks, the Marin headlands, fog, Doe (my favorite little shop for all things wonderful, now called Merch), amazing people doing amazing things, Golden Produce our cute neighborhood organic grocery store), Blue Bottle, Big Lantern Chinese food, the Creatures, Duboce Park, the panhandle, Golden Gate Park, seeing double features at the AMC Van Ness, Sushi Zone, the 77 Shop, El Camino High School, and of course our dear dear friends.

SF is our second home. This isn't goodbye (I hate those), it's just see you later.



Michigan, we'll see you soon. We're exited for the art hops, farmers' market, Just Good Food, Fandango (tapas!), Saffron, thunderstorms, BBQs, Lake Michigan........

and back we go

Our little Kastner clan is heading back to the Midwest! It's bittersweet, saying goodbye to San Francisco. Sharing the past three years with our friends here has been something I am proud to say we've done. I wouldn't be the same person had we not lived here. The last three years have been HUGE for us - we got married, had amazing jobs, traveled, and welcomed our amazing baby boy into the world.



Reasons moving is okay (In no particular order...):

1. We will be dodging the next earthquake.
2. Watch TV (Awards Shows, Sports Games, Dancing with the Stars) without a three hour delay - no east coast spoilers on Facebook/Twitter etc.
3. Seasons! AUTUMN! WINTER! YAY!
4. Jack and Blitz get a yard!
5. I get a garden!
6. No more skateboards and yappy dogs RIGHT OUTSIDE our bedroom window, waking up Jack all the time!
7. No more one-bedroom cave/shoebox! We will have a HOUSE with DOORS between rooms!
8. We don't have to turn off all the lights and whisper after 6 pm! Jack gets his own room!
9. No more driving around for 30 minutes trying to find a parking spot!
10. Living in a place where mortgage there is half our rent here!

...and OF COURSE...we will be closer to our families, which is so very important to raise Jack around all of them. We miss them so much!

I could make a huge list of all the things and people we're going to miss in San Francisco. I'll save that for another post. For now, we are simply looking forward to the move. It's happening soon too! Early June, we will be in the Mitten again.

venturing home

Well, Jack and I ventured off to Michigan for his first trip to the Midwest. I was antsy for the weeks leading up to our visit, but since I was making the trip with Jack without Dan, I was a bit nervous as to how we'd inevitably have to get from point A to point B. As I booked the flight, I tried to figure out when would be the best time to fly with a 3 month old baby. I ended up booking a red eye, which was quite the gamble. I figured he's usually sleeping soundly at that point in the night, so he'd do the same on a plane. He was asleep in teh airport as I carried him around. Once we boarded, the bright lights and noise of passengers loading quickly woke up the little guy. I was fine with this because I was going to wake him up to feed him as we took off to help with his ears popping. As every person walked down teh aisle I was assessing my potential seat neighbor.

Internal monologue:

Oh, she looks friendly. (Keeps walking.)
Please not him. Please not him. (Sits down three rows up.)
Eh, that lady looks angry. Please don't sit down. Please don't sit down. (The row behind me.)

An older lady sits next to me and immediately says, "So why do you have your baby on this flight?" A million things ran through my mind..."Because he can't fly by himself," or "Yeah, I would have left him at home by himself, but I think that's a bad move." I explained to her that he's a great sleeper and usually sound asleep at this time and he'd hopefully sleep the whole way. She looked at me quite skeptically and put her coat on backwards, covering her face with her hood. Okay. Sweet dreams, lady.

The plane didn't start rolling for such a long time! I fed him and he seemed to be done before we even took off. FAIL! I was imagining him screaming as we took off and his ears were popping, or myself trying to force feed him and him spitting up all over me and CoatFace sitting next to me. Turns out, Jack proved to be amazing and SLEPT FOR THE ENTIRE 3 hour 44 min flight! The flight attendants weren't very helpful though. I couldn't put down the tray because Jack was sound asleep on my lap. When it came time to get a complementary drink and bag o' pretzels the flight attendant basically threw them at me. I was juggling a sleeping baby, and trying to QUIETLY open what proved to be a child-proof package of pretzels. I imagined them tearing open and spilling all over the unhelpful CoatFace. I had to abort the mission and threw the unopened bag on the ground. Sacrifice, people. Once we landed I stopped sweating. I slept a little bit on the flight, but certainly looked like a frazzled mess when I stepped off that plane. As I put Jack in the Baby Bjorn carrier he spit up all over me, and smiled. Once we got to the baggage claim there were four people there. My mom, a guy that was on the flight, a security guy and Danny Glover. Hello Mr. Glover, I am a Frazzled Mess.

AND WE WERE IN MICHIGAN! GREAT LAKES, GREAT TIMES AHEAD!

Our visit was packed full of cuddles, ooohs and aaaaahs, watching Jack roll from his tummy to his back for the first time, lots of family and friends, his first shopping session with me and Nana, gifts from Auntie Elanor, watching football with Poppy, MANY photo sessions, and Skype sessions with Daddy all the way in Milan. The time flew by so quickly. I loved all the helpful hands, people falling all over each other flighting to change his diaper, waiting at the bedroom door to see how beautiful and happy he is the moment he wakes up, going to visit everyone at their work...All the while, the weather was gorgeous! Seriously beautiful fall November weather in Michigan. I was reminded how much in love with Michigan I am. He got to meet my best friend Michelle, but the pics are on her camera! It was just so much fun introducing him to so many people that mean so much to me! I wish there had been enough time for him to meet everyone, but knocking on doors with a baby is pretty difficult to tackle between naps!

the oooohs and aaaaahs


morning cuddles with Poppy


nice to meet you, Wally Gator


cuddling with his Auntie


meeting Dayna and my Aunt Cindy

loves getting rocked to sleep with Nana


The flight back to Michigan was another success story for The Amazing Flyer Jack Wyatt! Although I did peek at the text my seat neighbor sent after asking the flight attendant if it was a full flight. It read: Sitting next to a lady and her baby. Fuck my life. She didn't really talk to me until there was an hour left of the flight and Jack had been asleep for 3 hours. Suddenly she was my best friend and telling me her life story. She said she and her boyfriend were planning on getting married and now she wanted a baby. Jack is the Ambassador of Babies, convincing unwilling women everywhere that having a baby is good idea.

SO, we landed in SF where Dan was waiting to pick us up. After 10 days without seeing Daddy, the reunion was pretty adorable!

I am counting down the days until our Christmas Michigan visit!

away we go, indeed

I just spent a wonderful week in Michigan with my family and friends. I spent my time there hopping around from one wonderful person to another. It all started with an extremely fun baby shower thrown by my mom and sister. I can't describe how perfect it was seeing so many people I love in one place. Not to say I don't love people in SF, it's just different. We got such adorable and fitting things for our little guy. Every day it gets more real that there is a little person growing inside me, and we're getting more and more excited to meet him.

Michigan is so green right now. I loved being so close to nature and experiencing thunderstorms. I love being able to simply be around my family. It was amazing being in the same part of the world with Dianne and Michelle. We had a good time rehashing classic college stories and catching up on each other's lives. Dianne got married in Spain and is having a second wedding celebration at her mom's in Ortonville. I have to miss it, which is so very completely sad even though I have a good reason that's kicking around in my stomach as I type. On that note, it was a bit of a bummer realizing that this visit was the only glimpse into my pregnancy for so many important people in my life. I left Michigan with such a melancholy, bittersweet feeling. I was so excited to get back to SF to see Dan and the dogs, and my nearest and dearest friends in SF, but it was so hard saying goodbye to people in Michigan this time around. I couldn't decide if I was leaving home, or heading home. I guess I've always subconciously defined "home" as the place where the people I love are, but now home is this ambiguous and confusing word to me seeing how the people who I love the most are spread all over the world these days.

Sunday Dan and I decided to hit up a matinee of Sam Mendes' new movie, "Away We Go". Dave Eggers co-wrote it, and it stars John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph - two of my faves. Alexi Murdoch does the soundtrack, which is beautiful and amazing. This couple is expecting their first baby and trying to figure out where home is and how they're going to figure out how to be parents. All around, that movie really hit it on the nose for us. It was so funny seeing our lives mirrored in this movie, to some extent. They have a cardboard window in their home (p.s. ours is fixed as of yesterday!), all the exchanges between the two characters are such familiar conversations, fears, and excitement we're going through, and they're trying to figure out just where they want to live, and meanwhile they are so very much in love.

Watch the trailer, and see this movie! (You don't have to be pregnant to enjoy it, of course.)


People's reactions to her pregnant belly in the movie are all too familiar. Here's my list of crazy things people have said to me lately:

-So, what are you, like 20 months?

-Wow, you've really dropped! (A waitress at Chili's at the airport who I've never seen before)

-Are you sure there aren't two in there?

-LADY: How far along are you?
Me: Starting my 8th month.
LADY: The worst is yet to come.
ME: (turn my head away in shock taht someone would actually say that.)
(Random lady while I was getting a manicure)

-Are you sure that's your due date?

-You're not having that baby today, right? (Old woman on the plane as I boarded)

-(an encounter with a woman in an airport restuarant. She says all this very quickly as she jumps from her table and starts touching my belly) Oh, 8 months, really? I bet you'll be early. Are you going to have a vaginal birth? I mean that's really what you need to go through. Are you having an epidural? I did. Trust me, you'll want to. You can handle it, I know you can, but just get the epidural. Okay, good luck. Have fun!

I'm sure there are more. I'll add to the list once I remember them.

So for now, it's summer and I am making a list of things to do. Naps will be frequent, I'm sure of that.

after a long pause.

Hello.


It's January. Happy New Year! I went home in December to Michigan to visit family and friends. My dad came down with, what we thought was, food poisoning. Then. My mom got it. At that point I was staying with my sister, Elanor, but I couldn't outrun that nasty flu. New Year's Eve I was feeling a bit gross. I went to bed around 1, woke up around 3:30, and that's when the worst bout of the flu to ever invade my body truly hit. and hit. and hit. Hour upon hour from 3:30 to 10 am. My mom came and picked me up. I mean I guess if you're so sick you feel like you're going to die, then your mom is the best person to nurse you back to life. So, needless to say, the last 3 days my trip were terrible, painful, awful days of being sick. The flight back was rough. I am glad I went because I had a couple really good days seeing my family and old friends.

We just finished our first week back. Exhausting. I came home from work every day only to pass out on the couch, wake up, eat something, then fall asleep by 8 or 9. Yikes. But, it was a nice feeling sitting back at my desk, taking a deep breath, and realizing how much I do like my job. Most of my resolutions have to do with getting work back to students quicker, being more organized, finding more opportunities to grow professionally... And for my personal life, I've resolved to find a way to make millions of dollars this year. Cross your fingers and check back with me a year to see how that one goes.

spinning spinning spinning

December is full of surprises. Perfect surprises!

I love the Christmas season. I get to go back to Michigan and have a belated snowy Christmas!

Celebrate!

...to be continued.