Monthly Archive for February, 2012

24 Hours of Winter

Well, folks, here in the Carolina of the North we have fairly unpredictable weather in the winter.  We usually skip springtime and run head first into summer, and then summer temps last until um…November.  It’s a bit odd, but we’re used to it.  Unlike our comrades in Colorado who place snow bets re: their first day of snow (usually in September or October), around here we place bets of whether we will actually get ANY snow.  Ever.  Last year surprised us and we had a significant amount of snow days in December, which was out of the norm for us, and I even experienced the first “white Christmas” of my lifetime, the last one being sometime in the mid 1970’s.

Sunday February 19 we had our first snow of this 2011-2012 winter season.  During the boys’ naps it began with a sleet-y/rain-y mix for a couple hours, then slowly changed into the soft fluffy stuff that I’ve been waiting for.  It was truly perfect timing since kids were out of school Monday anyway for President’s Day.  It snowed on and off into the night and we awoke to a gloriously sunny Monday.  I fed the boys, layered on all of our cold weather gear and headed out into the arctic.  Ha.  It was already melting away by the time we got outside at 8:30 a.m.  It was warm enough in the sunshine to feel a bit…hot? in all my layers so I knew at least the boys would be warm enough.

We tromped through the back yard, then up onto the deck, then back around to the front to say hey to some neighbors’ kiddos.  These sweet kids asked Evan to sled with them, which he happily did (over and over), and upon the arrival of a few more kids from around the corner the activity switched gears to building a snowman with the perfect composition of our rapidly depleting snow supply.

After we finished the snowman, we retreated back into the house to toss our gear in the dryer, take baths and have lunch before naptime.  And after naps, like a precisely timed operation, the snow was melted and gone…all except our group-effort snowman, which we can see from our front porch and from the playroom window.  We keep checking on him.  He keeps getting shorter.  But he is still there.

So, we had 24 hours of winter.  Bring on springtime!  Mama is ready to bust out all her cute new sun dresses!

Brothers in the snow

Zeb on the back deck

Evan and the snowman, just prior to adding his head

Atlanta Extravaganza!

I’ve been counting down the weeks (for several months now) to my solo weekend in Atlanta with my little sister, Elizabeth & her live-in love, Calen.  This past weekend was it!  My mother kindly met me at our house for lunch Friday and helped me feed the little ones before taking on their afternoon care while I hopped in the mama-mobile and hit the highway heading south.  I was absolutely going to miss all my handsome men, but I was so excited for some much anticipated sister time, a fantastic exhibit at the High Museum and the obligatory shopping and dining that come with the novelty of being childless and husbandless in Atlanta for roughly 43 hours.  Also – with having lost so much weight over the last 8 months I am in true need of some clothes that fit!

My adventure began with simply being in the car alone.  I went through the CD’s in the changer (everything from Mumford & Sons to Edwin McCain and Beyonce) and then turned to my favorite XM stations and proceeded to sing loudly (and badly) for the five hours the drive took me.  It was delightful, amusing and uplifting in a way.  Upon arrival, my kind hosts helped me lug my bags upstairs and we almost immediately headed back out for some shopping.  I scored several deals on the clearance racks in Anthropologie, played with makeup in Sephora and enjoyed a late, but sinful dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse.  It was the first visit for all three of us, and I think I can say we all gave it two thumbs up!

Saturday morning began leisurely with some coffee and showers before our cultural outing to the High Museum.  The feature exhibit right now is “Picasso to Warhol: Fourteen Modern Masters”.  We were all a bit surprised to see the encouragement of smart phone use for A) picture taking and B) for downloading an app that serves as a guide supplement.  Embracing technology is a smart move for the museum, in my opinion.  Get the word out, draw more visitors, share the art…that’s the point, right?  Once I get my pictures uploaded I’ll get a few on here.  After studying art history so intensely in college, and being a life-long artist and art lover it was simply divine to see this collection in person.

After a lunch stop at Mellow Mushroom, we continued on our retail mission…er, MY retail mission.  A quick trip to the Goodwill nearby landed me four tops, and a trip to Nordstrom Rack happily had me trying to sift through EVERYTHING that fit just to pick my very favorite items for additions to my wardrobe.  Many sweet and/or sexy dresses and pretty tops ended up in my bags.  Whoooo!  A refreshment stop at Starbucks revived us before a drive out to another retail center – Calen has mentioned a Restoration Hardware store (a STORE!  I had only seen the catalogs), which was situated next to a Container Store (oh boy!) and all this was located around the perimeter of another huge-mongous mall.  Soma’s sale racks beckoned me, then Urban Outfitters, then Macy’s…and then…I think I wore Calen out.  We deposited him and our bags back at home and made our way to a Hibachi steakhouse for another decadent dinner.  The girly dinner was thoroughly enjoyable, though we were definitely there on Valentine’s “date night” night…it kept us giggling all evening (when we weren’t stuffing our faces).  After our late night meal, we went home again and got pajamafied in preparation for a mug of hot tea ~ courtesy of Calen ~ and some major pore-cleaning in the form of a peel-off face mask and a couple hours of Nick at Night.

My visit at an end, Elizabeth and I called in our breakfast order to the Flying Biscuit and went to pick it up, so we could let Calen sleep in a little bit.  It was another spectacularly sunny (freezing cold) day, and we took our breakfast all curled up on the sofa bed together.  They both helped me get the car loaded again and saw me off right around noon.  And I enjoyed another five hours of loud, non-Disney related audio material on my way back to my guys.  I arrived home before they did (they had been at a birthday party) and had time to start laundry and unpack before welcoming them with happy embraces.

I am already looking forward to my next visit in April with the kids.  We are hoping for fair weather so we can partake in as many outdoor activities as possible.  Happy Valentine’s Day y’all!  I hope everyone’s week is off to a good start.