March 2, 2014

The weather continues to be mild.  Now that February has transitioned to March, I am hopeful that the weather will continue to be mild and will only improve from here on out.  Yesterday the weather forecast promised highs in the low 60s.  Today it is threatening chance of snow tonight and Wednesday, with highs in the low 50s.  I suppose that time will tell.  Regardless of this week's weather, surely there can't be much more of winter left.

It has been a pretty normal week with Rob going to work, Justin to school, and Ryan to preschool.  The boys enjoy being able to play outside without bundling up.  They also enjoy playing inside with a variety of toys.  It continues to drive me a bit crazy that they get so many things out at one time, but they do play with them.  This week skylanders figures from the wii built block fortresses to fight against imaginext figures.  Evidently they also needed some food so the play dishes and food came out.  It is nice that the boys generally play so nicely together.  It is good for them and good for me as well.

And they still got out more!

Wednesday was my book club night.  I swear that it is always rainy, snowy, or something on book club night and I don't want to leave the house.   Once I am there I do enjoy myself though.  I have been reading some books I wouldn't otherwise read and having a grownup conversation.  Sure, I talk with Justin and Ryan about books like Captain Underpants, but it isn't the same.  This month (March) the group will meet at my house and I chose the book.  It ended up being just a so-so book, but I think we will have a good discussion about it.

Friday was a half day for Justin because of parent teacher conferences.  I am thrilled that he continues to do well in school both academically and socially.  He is fortunate to have a good teacher this year and I keep holding my breath for next year.  We shall see.  Since he spends so much of the day in school, I want him to like being there and it certainly helps if he has a teacher who appreciates him for who he is.

Remember December when my kids had their birthdays?  Well, with Christmas, New Year's, and some other Armenian holidays, I never got around to taking them in for their well child check ups.  I finally did on the last day of February.  Both boys seem to be doing well.  Justin is currently a pound heavier than Ryan and almost two inches taller.  Being over 48 inches is excited for Justin as he can now go on "big" rides and waterslides in a lot of places. Ryan, being the sweetie that he is, is excited for his brother rather than jealous.

After the dr apt we played on the Embassy playground.



J tried to hide from me, but he wasn't fast enough.


On Saturday we needed to run into Yerevan to pick up a black binder for Justin's music class.  No, there is not a Target or somewhere nearby to go to.  We had to go to a stationery store to find what we were after and that would not be out in the suburbs.  Since we had to go for such a boring errand, we decided to do something fun as well.

We found the stationery store and the binder quickly and decided to head over to the History Museum of Armenia.  Justin was very excited because he had already been there.  His class went in to see the cuneiform and other related things during their study of Mesopotamia.  The museum has quite a few interesting things.  Unfortunately, there is no photography allowed inside the museum.  There are a few things that I would have liked to photograph for the blog.  It does kind of free you though when you aren't allowed to use a camera and just see things in the moment through your eyes rather than the camera screen. 

We were in the museum for just over an hour.  The boys were well behaved and even interested in some things, but they were definitely done and ready to get out of there.  Just a good reminder of why we are still not doing layovers in Paris to go to the Louvre.  Interest and attention level of the boys is still definitely more children's museum, science museum, and zoo.  I suppose that they will grow up fast enough and we can be more "cultured" then.  Perhaps.

My cuties.  I was able to get a few pictures outside
of the museum.

Republic Square in the bright sun.

 We went to a little café for lunch.  Rob and I had eaten there before.  They have an English menu with some kid friendly items.  It is really average food, but the boys were thrilled to be there, ate well, and were well behaved.  Good enough for us.  Definitely not a place you would go to impress someone, but we are pretty plain people.

Ryan wanted a picture with the giant ice cream cone.

It was good to get out.  Rob and I agree that we need to make an effort to see what Armenia has to offer.  The boys saw a model of the Temple of Garni in the museum and that is easily accessible so perhaps that will be a place to go in the near future.  Warmer weather and longer hours of sunlight should help.  All in all, we are pretty boring people though.