Southern Spring Has Sprung

It has been almost a year (how is that even possible) that we have been living in the south. I am still adjusting to the seasons and weather here...it is so very different from living in the north. It is only March 13th and we have had our share of summery weather already - I have been wearing flip flops the past few days! It was a bit chilly this morning when I took Arabella to school - but the weathermen say it is only going to be today and then we are going to back to more seasonal temperatures.

We are trying to spend as much time outside as possible before it actually gets too hot to be outside. I am sure those temperatures will be here before we know it. Last weekend, Arabella found a frog on the patio - he looked like he had just hatched - his green color was not as bright as some of the ones we found last summer. He was just hopping around and Max was so curious about him.

Arabella picked me these "flowers" when she was at recess at school.  She filled the pockets of her coat up because she thought they were beautiful and that I would like them.  It was so sweet.

We have been playing with pin wheels and blowing bubbles.  These kids love bubbles!!

And Max, who is turing out to be a water baby like Arabella, found a new favorite place to play in water...the bird bath!

More Messy Max

I think this photo speaks for itself...

March Lowes Build & Grow

Last Saturday, Max and I got to join Arabella at her Lowes Build & Grow session. Jay was still in Arizona and Arabella loves these projects so we were not going to miss this one. And the project was something that she had been looking forward to building - a birdhouse. I amazed at how many kids are there when I am able to go with her. She knows exactly what to do and gets right to work. She loves hammering away and in no time the project was finished. She was so proud of her work. Great job Arabella! Thanks for letting Max and I join you this month!

Wednesday Wine Wisdom

Dr. Seuss Week Wrap Up

On Friday, Arabella and her class dressed as your favorite Dr. Seuss character. She said that people dressed up like the Lorax, Cat in the Hat, and Cindy Loo Hoo. She loves the book Go Dog. Go! so she wanted to be the yellow dog. It was a win-win - she dressed like the character she wanted to and I was able to use clothes we already had in our closet. I did have to make her a sign and some floppy ears, but that was easy to do. She loved Dr. Seuss week and was especially excited on Friday to dress up. I love that they do fun things like this at school...it helps the kids have fun while learning and it helps keep their interest going. So without keeping you in suspense, here is my adorable, little yellow dog!

(It is so hard for me to get a picture of her with the flash and her eyes open...the flash is too bright and I have no idea how to fix that...)

Feeling Crafty

This coffee table had been taking up space in our bonus room/office/playroom/workout area...

I didn't want to get rid of it, but I also wasn't too sure what to do with it either.  I had been searching for a bench or something else to put at the foot of our bed.  And then it hit me, why not turn this into a bench for that space.  It is a little wider than your typical bench, but since our bedroom is bigger (a bit too big and kind of obnoxious) than some NYC apartments, it works. 

I started the project on Sunday and finished it yesterday. I had to sand it down, paint it, attached the foam seat and then the fabric. And in the grand scheme of things, it was pretty easy. I love the fabric - it was on sale and pretty inexpensive so if I ever want to change it out, I won't feel bad about doing so. The whole project cost me about $50 which is much less cheaper than a brand new bench. I'm not sure what Jay is going to say when he gets home on Saturday...he has been gone for 10 days and I just went ahead and did the project. Although, the other night I had to ask him where he keeps the staples for the staple gun and he was a bit concerned that I had the staple gun out, but he didn't ask any questions.

Here is the finished project. I am pretty happy with the way it came out. I think it fits nicely and brightens up the room a bit. Now I just need to figure out what, if anything, to put underneath it for storage since I am over the old baskets that were there....

I think Max likes it and Arabella said it looked pretty and was comfy to sit on!

Wacky Wednesday

In honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday this week, Arabella and her class have been doing fun activities to celebrate. We love Dr. Seuss books and she read me all of "Go Dog. Go!" last night at bedtime. So any activity that involves Dr. Seuss is welcome. She came home with a Cat in the Hat hat that she colored and wrote on yesterday and today, being that it is Wednesday, they are having fun with "Wacky Wednesday". Each child was supposed to dress a bit wacky and wear silly shoes and socks. Arabella was so excited and had fun last night picking out what she was going to wear.

Her outfit kind of matched...in her words, the dress is Christmas because it has snowflakes, the head band is for Spring because it has flowers and the leggings are Summer because they look like water.  As for the socks and mismatched shoes...that is just plain wacky!!