One, Two, Three Strikes You're Asleep...

Today was a perfect day in Raleigh for a baseball game -- sunny skies, but not too hot. A lovely Sunday afternoon for sitting outside, lounging in a stadium seat and eating a hot dog.

It was also a great afternoon for an outdoor nap. So Pippi, in her infinite three-year-old wisdom, decided to combine the two activities:

This beautifully plump face is what you get when you take a toddler who only got eight hours of sleep last night and no nap today with a belly full of hot dogs and Skittles, some warm sunshine and a good snuggle in her mama's lap. Even the cheering Wolfpack fans couldn't wake her after she crashed just before the seventh-inning stretch.

On a related note, if you're looking for a fun family outing, I highly recommend an NC State baseball game. For those few faithful readers out there, you may remember our disaster at the Mudcats game. Thankfully, the Wolfpack games have been just perfect for us -- close to home, reasonable crowds, quick concessions, friendly staff and a great stadium.

We may be back again next weekend -- let's just hope Pippi can stay awake long enough to sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."

Note: I'm not trying to overtake Naps Happen and her fabulous blog -- and this was no top-of-the-stairs nap today -- but it was just too cute not to capture.
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Spring Fling

We all have our own signs of spring that we watch for -- warm breezes, trees in bloom, daffodils opening, violent allergic reactions to every little thing in the air.

This weekend, while temps were approaching 80 degrees in Raleigh (good-bye February!), I added a new favorite sign of spring to my list: The first Sunday of the year driving with the top down and all four of us in the car, the fresh scent of biscuits drifting up from our to-go bag, with everyone singing "Molly the Moose" at the top of our lungs.

Everybody wants
...to feel the grass between their toes
...to feel the sunshine on their nose
...to taste the rain, to sniff the breeze
...to live their life the way they please
Everybody wants to be free

A perfect Sunday for the Convertible Family -- and a perfect way to welcome spring!

Note: I couldn't find an audio clip to link to that actually plays this part of the song, but you can order the CD here. And you really should, because it's awesome.

photo credit to antaean
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Spring, I Say

I don't care what the newspaper says -- last week, we turned the corner.

No, not with the school board and their power-crazy shenanigans (although at least they're taking a breath before trying to fire the superintendent for saying the things we all knew already). I'm talking about the weather.

Spring. It's coming. And regardless of the cold, cold rain falling right now, I'm convinced this is winter's last gasp. We've already turned the corner into springtime.

I first noticed it last Monday. Birds chirping when I went out to get the paper at 7 a.m. A lighter scent to the breeze. A different shade of light in the late afternoon. Bluer skies at mid-day. Then the glorious sunny 60-degree weekend.

It's about damn time. I mean, the snow was pretty and all, but I don't live in North Carolina to have a long cold winter.

All week long, I found myself humming "Winter's On the Wing" from The Secret Garden (don't tell me you're surprised that I like musicals). In case you don't know the tune, here are my favorite lines:

The sun it spells the doom

Of the winter's reign,

Ice and chill must retire

Comes the May say I,

And you'll be here to see it. 

Stand and breathe it all the day.

Stoop, and feel it. Stop and hear it.

Spring, I say.

Read the lyrics and watch the video here:

(It's not the greatest quality, but at least it's not in a high school gym.)

Friday's Favorite Five: Spring

Harbingers of spring take different forms for different people. For some, it's the start of baseball practice or the panic of tax day. For my dad, it's probably the spring football game in Blacksburg this weekend (go Hokies!).

For me, it's the fact that the forecast for next four days is sunny and 90 (sorry for those of you not reading this from the South). Although the temps might feel more like summer, I'm so relieved that it finally means we've turned the corner away from winter.

In honor of this sunny Friday, here are my favorite five signs that Spring has truly arrived:

1. Pollen: Okay, not so much the sneeze-inducing, car-covering yellow mess. But I do love what it does to my yard, especially this year. Front and back, our garden is filled with blooming azaleas (see photo), irises, tulips, camellias, dogwoods and more on the way. It's absolutely gorgeous.
   
   
2. Outdoor concerts: The only thing better than a good live music show is a good live music show outside with a picnic. We just reserved our tickets for two shows at the N.C. Museum of Art amphitheater -- Pink Martini and a kids show with They Might Be Giants.
   
   
3. Gin & Tonics: I discovered the G&T when I was living in the UK, but I fell in love with it as a warm-weather drink when my husband first made one for me. He's a great bartender, and you know it's spring when he puts away the whiskey and brings out the limes.
   
   
4. Top down: I am a convertible girl -- have been since my father bought a 1972 Fiat Spider when I was 10. Nothing heals my spirit faster than driving with the top down on a sunny spring day (while wearing sunscreen, of course).
   
   
5. Post-dinner playtime: With longer daylight hours, the kids can go outside and play after dinner. There's just something lovely about listening to my children laugh as they run around the yard with Daddy in the evening.
   

So how do you know it's spring? And what little things do you do to celebrate the season?