Notice anything?

Do you notice anything odd here?

Maybe a closer look will help.

Around here we have a barnyard dinosaur.

Springtime weather

The first signs of spring are starting to show up around here.

This weekend the weather also followed suit with temps in the mid-70s.  Since Jason and Sims had Presidents Day off, I decided that I couldn't leave them behind to enjoy the wonderful weather by themselves.  We spent the whole day outside. 

It was a day of backyard discovery for Sims.  He found porcupine eggs (what we call those annoying sweetgum balls), pinecones and birds.

Whenever Sims sees a bird, he holds his hands in the air and flaps his hands.  He gets so excited about them.  

Sims went from being outside to his nap inside to straight back outside for his special afternoon snack - chocolate goldfish.

Jason and I spent his naptime reading and having beers on the deck.  Perfect!

It was such a relaxing day.  Unfortunately, we got nothing done on our to-do list, but how could we let such beautiful weather pass us by without enjoying it?  Who knows when we will get a day like this again?

Aneela and Armadillo

We had so much fun hanging out with Aneela and catching up with what's been happening in her life as a Ph.D. student at UGA.  I think Sims also enjoyed having a new friend to whom he could show all of his toys.  (This was, of course, after he got over his shyness.  Or was he being flirty?)  While she was here, there was one thing we had to do - go to Armadillo Grill!

We missed our friend Becky, but we did raise queso laden chips in her honor.  We also had to have a picture of us doing the Clay Aiken pose.

I realize that this needs some explanation.  You see, back in our grad school days Armadillo had a signed photo of Clay Aiken on the wall doing this pose.  (Clay Aiken is from Raleigh, so it's not totally random.)  We laughed so long about why anyone would pose like that to get their picture taken.  This, of course, evolved into a need to have our picture taken in this pose.  We can be so silly when we are together!

We even got Sims to do it.  (Sorry for the bad picture.)

Grad school memories

Way back when I was in grad school, there were 2 special people who I worked with at the Climate Office who made grad school fun.  I don't know what I would have done without them.  One of the things we looked forward to every week was Armadillo Day.  Every single Tuesday, we ate lunch at Armadillo Grill, which has the best Tex-Mex food around.  (Their queso makes the world go 'round, I believe.)  This made every Tuesday a holiday to us, and we would celebrate it by greeting each other with "Happy Armadillo Day!" 

This weekend, I will not only get to eat at Armadillo Grill, but I will get to eat there with one of these special grad school friends, Aneela!  I am so excited to see her!  But we will definitely miss our counterpart, Becky.  It just won't be the same without her.  (But I guess that does mean that there will be more queso for us!)

I'm off to a wonderful weekend with my "old" friend and Mexican food.  I can't wait!

Valentines Revisited

I just found a couple of better pictures of the dinosaur cards that Sims gave his classmates.  These are before I put them in their bags, so you can see them a little better.  I just thought I would share...

On another note, I was amazed at how much candy Sims was given from his classmates.  I guess most kids his age eat candy, but they seem a little too young for that to me.  Jason and I shouldn't have a problem taking one for the team and eating it all.  I think I'll have a little chocolate snack now.

Wonderful Weather

Last weekend the weather was so nice!  It was great to be able to spend some time outside.  I know Sims loved it!  He could spend hours and hours in the backyard kicking balls, playing with the leaves, looking at the birdfeeders, and climbing up and down the deck stairs. 

Oh, and chasing Daddy, of course.

I have a feeling that most of this summer will be spent outside.  Thank goodness we finally have some grass in the backyard. 

This weekend should also be nice.  We can't wait!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!  Jason and I celebrated Valentine's on Saturday by going out to a French restaurant and a movie. I hadn't been out to see a movie in about 3 years, so it was a real treat!  Thanks to my mom and Smith for taking care of Sims!  We really appreciate it.

Sims' class is having a Valentine's party this afternoon that I am hoping to attend.  Yesterday I made valentines for him to take to all of his friends and teachers.  They didn't take that long to make, and I think everyone will really like them.  I am so happy that I spent a little extra time to do this.

All of this friends are getting dinosaurs.  I cut a heart out of card stock and wrote cute little messages on them, like "You're DINO-mite", "You're the TriceraTOPS," and "Be My Friendosaurus." The kids won't really get the messages, but I thought there were funny.

His teachers are getting microwave popcorn.  Nothing fancy, but it's the thought that counts.  Just for the record, I didn't come up with these ideas on my own.  I am not that creative!  What would I do without the internet?

I don't know what we will do to celebrate tonight with Sims.  Maybe we will do dinner by candlelight like my sister does with her family.  That seems like a festive way for the whole family to celebrate.  Sims will also get some gifts from us and his grandparents.  I know that will make his day!

Random stuff for a Friday

Jason has been gone all week on a business trip, and Sims and I are SOOOO excited that he is on his way home as I write this.  We cannot wait to see him.  Sims and I have had a fun week, but it is truly exhausting doing everything myself.  I have been ready to go to bed around 7:30 each night.  Too bad Sims wasn't...

Sims is really interested in the vaccuum lately.  He gets really excited when I get out the vaccuum and likes to act like the vaccuum is chasing him.  He is also showing interest in using the vaccuum.  The church nursery has a pretend vaccuum, which is currently his favorite toy when he's there.  He loves it to the point that he fell down a few stairs there last week and was very upset.  They gave him the vaccuum, and he was immediately better.  I hope this interest continues for many years to come!  I'm even thinking the kids size Dyson vaccuum (that actually works) might be what this kid needs, even if it does have a huge price tag.  It would be cheaper than getting a maid!  Last night, he used his corn popper to vaccuum the living room.  Too bad it doesn't really work.

Last weekend, Sims and I made cupcakes.  Sims did a great job helping me pour in the ingredients and stir.  He was really excited about it, which made me happy.  Of course, this means that we have been eating cupcakes all week.  And I have been feeling like a bad parent when I go into the kitchen and sneak one behind Sims' back. 

My parents are coming into town this weekend and are going to take care of Sims tomorrow night so Jason and I can go out for dinner and a movie.  I haven't been to a movie in 3 years!  I'm quite excited about it!

I have finally joined the 21st century and got a smart phone!  So I am now officially cool with my fancy iPhone.  I am loving it so far.  It is a really fun toy.  And I have used this awesome little phone to find us dinner reservations for tomorrow night without even making a call.  Technology is just amazing!

Super Bowl

Sunday evening we had our friends Justin and Lori and their sweet daughter over for dinner and to watch the Super Bowl.  We cheered Jason's beloved Steelers to a big fat loss, but it was fun nonetheless.  The kiddos had fun sporting Jason's vintage Steelers hats.

It was so much fun seeing the kids play together.  They are finally getting to the age when they can enjoy each other's company, which is great.  Sims did very well sharing his toys, and I was very proud of him!  I see a lot more playdates in our future.

We did much more talking and eating than actual watching of the game, but that's the part I enjoy about the Super Bowl anyway!

Out and about

This weekend was gorgeous!  We had the most spectacular weather.  It was sunny and in the upper 60s.  What a wonderful taste of spring.  Of course, it made it even harder to wake up on Monday to cloudy skies and back to normal, frigid temps.

We took advantage of the nice weather and went downtown to the NHL All-Star game Fan Fare.  Much more adventurous people than me could test their hockey skills like the All-Stars did on Saturday night.  You could buy hockey paraphernalia, get signatures, and get your picture taken with the Stanley Cup.  I would have liked to get up close and personal with the Stanley Cup, but the wait was 2 hours long!  Yeah, I don't think any of us are that patient.

We watched small kids play hockey (not on ice), and if Sims had been a little older, he would have loved to try it.

The above picture doesn't really show Sims' enthusiasm for the kids playing hockey, but he really did love it.  Below, you can see the totally ridiculous photo of attempting to get a toddler to look at the camera.

We really had a lot of fun, and it made us remember how much we love to go to hockey games.  I guess that will have to be one of our date nights (as if we have so many).  You never know, we may end up going to a lot of hockey games, if Sims ever wants to play.  Of course, he would look just like this.