Random Friday

1. Are you hungry? Because my husband is super sweet and he knows mama needs a break from the baby and the hotel, he arranged for us to go on a date tomorrow to see the new Hunger Games movie. He arranged for a babysitter and purchased the tickets on Fandango several days ago. We will be having the parents of a college friend of Tim's babysit Owen for us. We had dinner with them the other night and they offered to watch Owen for us if we ever needed some time to ourselves. Tim didn't waste any time taking them up on their offer! I'm really excited about seeing this movie. I read the books while I was pregnant with Owen and was hooked. They are young adult books, so they are a really quick read, but I just loved the intense gotta-keep-reading feeling that I had when I read them the first time. And I'm really curious how they are going to translate what can be a very violent book into a movie that can still be rated so that young teens can watch it. I love the casting for the most part, except for the character of Peeta. But I will reserve all judgments until after I have watched the movie.

2. House hunters. After house hunting for two weeks now and looking at several places in person and on the Internet, Tim and I have finally decided to put an offer in on a house. 

3. Shop 'til you drop. Because we came to Kentucky in early March and I consider that to be winter (silly me), I packed a lot of winter clothes and not a lot of spring and summer clothes. Unfortunately, the weather has been really hot here and poor Owen has been wearing the same few short-sleeved shirts I brought for him over and over. So yesterday, I did a little exploring and came across the store The Children's Place in the nearby mall. They were having a great sale so I picked him up a few shirts, including this polo, for $6 each. I also got him a pair of jeans and a pair of khaki shorts. The funny thing though, is that I kept trying to buy him the 6-9 month size. I realized it in the line for the register and went back and exchanged it for his current size, but when I got back in line I realized that I had done the same thing with another shirt too. So I had to leave the line and go back for the right size again. I think I'm in denial about the fact that Owen is about to be one and subconsciously I'm trying to keep him a baby. Also, a ton of their baby boy clothes had skulls on them, including some of the nice polo shirts. Yuck. Who puts skulls on baby clothes?

Tim's mom always buys him blue shirts. And I've started to do the same thing with Owen. 

 4. Game of Thrones. In addition to being my son's first birthday (eep!), April 1 is also important (though less important) because it marks the return of one of my favorite TV shows. Game of Thrones on HBO. It is based on George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Fire and Ice" series. I have read all five of the books that have been published in what will eventually be a seven book series. The television show is amazing. All the characters are perfectly cast and they do a really fantastic job of staying true to the books, which is a feat considering that books are hundreds of pages long. The first season followed the plot of the first book and I assume the second season will follow the events of the second book. The television series is a bit graphic for my taste (it is HBO after all), but I put up with it because everything else is so fantastic. The book series is an epic about kings and rival families and the desire for power. One of my favorite things about the books and the show is how the author plays around with the concept of good vs. evil and how it's not entirely black and white. Characters that you absolutely hated at first can do good things and characters that you swore were entirely noble and just can do things that are horrible. I also love the character of Tyrion Lannister, the dwarf. I consider him one of the greatest characters in modern day literature. He is hilarious and smart and charming in the book and the actor who plays him does an awesome job. The show can be depressing at points so his appearances always help lighten things up. Also, don't get attached to any character because they get killed off pretty frequently. For example, this picture shows the cast from last year and four of them didn't survive the first season. 

It has a huge cast. But not for long. People die on this show all the time.

5. Soup for you! With living in a hotel comes a lot of eating out. We eat out between one and two times a day. I have eaten at nearly every restaurant in the area, but one of my favorites is Panera Bread. Mainly because I can eat fairly healthy there. I generally try new things when I am at restaurants, but at Panera, I pretty much order the same thing every time. The You Pick Two option with a chopped bbq chicken salad and a cup of black bean soup. It is amazing. And less than 500 calories for the whole meal. 

Yum yum. You gotta try it.

6. Toys, toys, toys.  Owen's first birthday is almost here and I have been looking around for some gift ideas for him. And I know I've had a couple people ask what to buy for him. We're trying to stay away from any large, musical, battery-needing toys because we have plenty of those already. There was a store called Nico and Lily that I loved back in Washington that had some of the coolest toys and I recently discovered that the owner has an Amazon shop. I've been checking out some of the toys (all of which are battery-free). She has a lot of really cool things available, like the Plan Toys Sit n Walk puppy and the Rubbabu City Life playset.

This pull toy is so adorable and Owen loves puppies.

I love the little streetscape mat because he could use it for years to come with other cars and toys.