Let me just say that I love a ruffled camera strap cover. Yesterday I cranked one out for my camera while Newbie took a monster nap. It was fun, and now I've got two covers down, one to go! If you're feeling crafty, here's the site where I got the directions, and also where I get a lot of fun free fonts. =)
Mmm...Mmm....RUFFLES.
When the sewing was done and Newbie got up from his nap, G-Mama and Grandad showed up for a grand adventure. The Hubs was at work, so we blew a kiss in his direction and pressed on without him. The first stop was Sonic, where I mourned his absence as I indulged in an incredibly large cranberry limeade and a ridiculously delicious slew of tater tots. Newbie wasn't happy when I told him it was another couple years before he could have any tots. He's a man after my own heart, bless his soul.
Then we pulled into a parking lot littered with "Train Show Today!" signs and embarked on Newbie's first train show experience.
After about 30 seconds in a school gym full of old men and miniature steam engines racing across teensy tinsy tracks and tunnels made of plaster and covered in moss, I was convinced we have a junior conductor on our hands. And I cried a little inside because I realized that means we will probably have to log in some Thomas the Train time during Saturday morning cartoons, and Mama is not a fan of Thomas the Train. He just kinda bugs me. I can't explain it. All I can tell you is I wish there was another train show for kids that didn't involve gray faces and British accents and eyes that swoop back and forth all creepy-like. It's just not the kind of cartoon I like with my Saturday morning cup of coffee. I'm a Go, Diego Go! or Looney Tunes kinda girl, myself.
Anyway, there was no stopping it. This baby boy was completely taken the moment we walked in the door, and he didn't take his eyes off the trains until we put him in his car seat an hour later. The entire gym was filled with what looked like a miniature train expo. There were trains for sale, trains running on tracks, and all manner of train enthusiasts everywhere. Newbie was just fascinated and had this adorable look of concentration and observation the entire time we were there.
Grandad carried him around for an up-close view of the locomotives while I flashed around like the paparazzi and tried to get Newbie to peel his eyes away from the trains for one minute just to capture a quick smile, but it never happened. He just stared....
And stared....
and stared...
I'd be lying if I told you I didn't see a man over 70 wearing overalls and a conductor's hat. Because I did. And it made me smile. Because that guy was having one whale of a time at the 'ol train show, and I found myself regretting that I didn't dress Newbie up in his own overalls for the occasion because he was having one whale of a time too.
There's just something fun about seeing a bunch of gentlemen really excited about their toy trains. They were all standing beside their tracks and anxious to tell you all about the trains. At one point, curiosity got the best of me, and I let my hand hover over one of the steam engines as it flew past because I wanted to see if the steam was hot. It wasn't super hot, but warm, and it proved to be a mistake for two reasons:
A) The look on my dad's face told me right away how stupid it was to put my hand over something hot and had traces of "you're a 25 year old college graduate, how did you not know that?" written all over it.
and B) the gentleman who owned the mini steam engine came up to me and shared with fervor and great pride the ins and outs of the steamed locomotive. BOY HOWDY did that guy ever lay it on me. I got the once over on the boiler, the engine, the coal, the water, you name it, that train did it, and it was a real-to-life replica of a genuine steam engine. So YOU SHOULD REALLY KEEP YOUR HANDS OUT OF THAT STEAM.
Yes, Sir. Wow, Sir. Really, Sir? Fascinating, Sir. I'm sorry, Sir.
I will never put my hand over a steam engine again. Amen.
After I learned my lesson, we continued on through the show and had a blast watching Newbie take it all in.
(I can't tell you how much my dad loved it when I put that hat on his head. )
This afternoon we're headed out to Target to find some drapes to replace the blinds in the dining room because Newbie is crawling and climbing all over any and everything, and we've been moving the Great Wall of China and opening the dining room up for play time, which means the baby-proofing needs to be taken up a notch. I'm not sure Newbie will love our shopping trip as much as the trains, but I know his mama will because Target= shopping heaven.
Hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend and remember to keep your hands away from the emissions of steam engines. I'm just saying.
