Last night our friends were supposed to come over to babysit the kids. Then my aunt called and invited Lydia to go out to eat. Then our friends couldn’t babysit, so I had to call my dad. But he couldn’t stay all night, so I had to call my sister-in-law. So, in the matter of a few hours, four different people took care of our kids.

And why? So, Les and I could go to the Fox to see Mary Poppins.

*lovely happy delicious sigh*

It was so magically beautiful that I cannot even describe it. Of course, I have loved the movie forever. I’m pretty sure I can say every line from top to bottom. I had never read the PL Traver’s Mary Poppinsas a child—or maybe I started it and it wasn’t like Disney’s version, so I never finished it. A few months ago, Lydia and I listened to the audio book version and I loved it! Mary Poppins is a little crazier in the book (she felt a little Willy Wonka-ish).

The Broadway show combined both the book and the movie to make a beautiful story. The songs were in different orders and locations with new verses and words. The new scenes and characters were totally exciting and showed the fantastical-ness of the book. I wish I could explain the dance numbers and the costumes to you. They were so amazing. I’m sure I looked like a kid just mesmerized by ever step and song! Also. I may or may not have a crush on Gavin Lee who plays Bert.

There was also tons of cool merchandise to buy–even the iconic umbrella! I’m bummed I didn’t buy anything. But my sisters-in-law are going to see it on Sunday. I think I’m going to ask them to get me the CD and maybe the umbrella ornament. Then, this morning, I hit up etsy to see if anyone had some fun Mary Poppins stuff for me to reminisce over. And as usual etsy delivered…

sweet necklace with illustration from the book. fairtalesbybluebird.

mary poppins hair clip. danielatilley.

jolly holiday dress for girls. tinkerella. (<—my favorite disney etsy shop ever.)

appliqued outfits for girl and doll. pirate and princess.

mary poppins pendant necklace. elloh.

mary poppins tea cozy. handmade awards. (are you believin’ that one?!!)

I know, you were hoping this was a paid post so I’d be giving away some free tickets, right? Yeah, me, too. These tickets were a Christmas gift turned birthday present for me! That’s right–I’m going to be as old as Jesus tomorrow!

I am not a Disney employee. The opinions reflected in this post are my own. But if Disney ever wanted to hire me to be their Broadway Blogger…I’d do it in a heartbeat. Just sayin’.

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! is a post from: ohamanda.com
Happy New Year! Here are some of my favorite resources to help you make the most of 2012! One Bite At A Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler, an ebook by Simple Mom!
Create Your Perfect Cleaning Schedule, finally get your house under control!
E-Mealz, online meal-planning with shopping lists! {20% off with code SKINNY when you choose one of their healthy menus}
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Guess what? Guess what? I got to meet some of my bloggy friends in real life this week!

Candace at Laughing Daisies was in Atlanta to visit her in-laws. So, we decided to get together. (Last year, she was in Atlanta and we went to Aquarium. It was so fun because we just immediately clicked and hung out like we had always done it!)

Anyway, back to the future, somehow we decided to ask Bee from Will Blog For Shoes if she wanted to drive to Atlanta to hang out with us. And guess what? She did! So, on Friday, Bee & Woggie (her almost 2 year old), Candace & Conner (her 2 year old), Lydia and I met at the CNN Center to eat lunch. Then we headed out to the Children’s Museum!

We had so much fun. And if I wasn’t such a complete crazy person, I’d have remembered to bring my camera. Then I would have been able to show you Conner and Lydia putting palls in the giant ball machine-thingie. I could have shown you Lydia and Woggie painting on the paint wall. I would have been able to show you how out of all 3 kids, Lydia was the shortest and smallest! I wanted to show you the 3 kids in their rain coats fishing in the giant fishing pool. I also wanted to show you how cute Candace, Bee and I are with our baby bumps. Oh well. You’ll just have to imagine.

If you haven’t met Candace & Bee yet (which I can’t imagine, because I link to them like every week), go visit their blogs. They are hilarious and cool and fun and pretty online, but even better in real life. It’s funny because I talk to them basically everyday via our blogs. I don’t think there’s anyone except my husband that I talk to every day. What a fun relationship we’ve been able to establish via emails, short comments and little posts about our lives.

Thanks, Can & Bee for hanging out with us in the ATL! So glad we’re friends–online and in real life!

Daisies & Shoes! is a post from: ohamanda.com
Happy New Year! Here are some of my favorite resources to help you make the most of 2012! One Bite At A Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler, an ebook by Simple Mom!
Create Your Perfect Cleaning Schedule, finally get your house under control!
E-Mealz, online meal-planning with shopping lists! {20% off with code SKINNY when you choose one of their healthy menus}
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Fave #1. Sleeping in. I got to sleep till 9am for the past 2 days. Lydia was on a trip with her grandparents. (more on that later…)

Fave #2. Antiquing. Yancy & I walked through a historic downtown and looked through antique shops. I love the smell of old stuff. I saw some amazing old opera glasses, beautiful furniture and even some vintage buttons. I just love thinking about the stories behind all the items. I didn’t even buy anything I just like to look. And I should do it more often!

Fave #3. Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies. These are to die for. Today I bought 4 from my one of my favorite restaurants. I only ate one (so far).

Fave #4. New Books. I went to the bookstore today to look for a specific book. As the clerk was looking it up, I noticed a sign for a book signing by Elizabeth Musser. I said, “Oh, is she going to be here?” And she said, “Oh, she was here today.” I said, “Oh, really?” She said, “Oh yeah, you just missed her. She left 30 minutes ago.” I said, “Oh, man!” (And you wonder why this blog is called oh amanda!) Anyway, Elizabeth Musser is one of my favorite authors because her stories are always set in Atlanta. And one of the characters in The Swan House had my same full (maiden) name. I’ve always wanted to talk to her about why she chose that name. I did get a signed copy of her new book at least. I can’t wait to read it!

Fave #5. Good Friends. Yancy and I had fun today..sleeping late, eating cookies, shopping and just hanging out. I haven’t done that in forever.

Fave #6. Lydia. She was gone for 2 whole nights. When my parents dropped her off, she started crying, which made me a little sad. But she didn’t leave my arms the rest of the night! I missed my little girl and loved snuggling her tonight!

Feel free to add your own Fave o’ the Day in the comments!

Faves o’ the Day is a post from: ohamanda.com
Happy New Year! Here are some of my favorite resources to help you make the most of 2012! One Bite At A Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler, an ebook by Simple Mom!
Create Your Perfect Cleaning Schedule, finally get your house under control!
E-Mealz, online meal-planning with shopping lists! {20% off with code SKINNY when you choose one of their healthy menus}
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We went to the zoo yesterday! Les has been gone so much lately that with this 3 day weekend, we decided to do something fun. Lydia is so into animals right now, we’d knew she’d love the zoo. Plus, Mei Lan, the baby panda turns 1 this week! And since pandas are my special animal, we had to go! (Amanda Panda, get it?)

I haven’t been to Zoo Atlanta in forever. It’s actually a very nice zoo. The animals aren’t just in cages, there’s lots of foliage and a natural habitat look. When we first got there we went straight to the panda area. As we turned the corner and I saw the daddy panda, Yang Yang, I think I got tears in my eyes. Is that ridiculous? He was walking around and just amazing. He’s so big! The mama panda, Lun Lun and Mei Lan don’t live with the dad. They were both napping and I didn’t get any pictures of them. I just think they are beautiful. Lydia was really into it. She actually kept signing “bear” and “mouse”. I don’t know why! (If you’re really interested, you can see the live panda cam here. I wish you could see Mei Lan right now, she’s playing on a branch!)

As we were walking around we saw one of the zookeepers with an owl. It was beautiful. Yes, I just said an owl was beautiful. But really, it was. He had feathers all over his legs, and eyelashes and even different color eyelids. Lydia was fascinated by him. Then we went and saw him in the bird show. Lydia signed “bird” the whole time!

The gorillas were also amazing. They have a huge area to live so you can view them from several different locations. One is a building with a huge glass window. We could see the whole family playing. Lots of grown-up gorillas carrying their little babies around. Then the little babies playing with each other, even clapping! It was awe inspiring. Of course, every one else was so intrigued they wouldn’t move. So, I didn’t get a very good picture.

I am just continually amazed at God’s creation. Watching these animals and seeing their beauty is overwhelming. I told Les I can see why people become scientists. Imagine getting to learn and understand how these animals behave! Well, I wouldn’t want to live with gorillas, but I can see why people are fascinated by them!

There is nothing better than being surround by God’s awesome creation and hanging out with your family. I know Lydia had a fun time!

(Lydia stood here and said “cheese”. We did not have our camera out. She just decided this would be a good photo op. This is her…uhm…cheesey smile.)

(I’m sorry these pictures are so jacked up…just a little user error until I figure out how to use this template…)

Pandas & Owls & Gorillas, Oh my! is a post from: ohamanda.com
Happy New Year! Here are some of my favorite resources to help you make the most of 2012! One Bite At A Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler, an ebook by Simple Mom!
Create Your Perfect Cleaning Schedule, finally get your house under control!
E-Mealz, online meal-planning with shopping lists! {20% off with code SKINNY when you choose one of their healthy menus}
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Last night we went to the Fox! Oh, if you’re ever in Atlanta it is a must! The Fox Theatre is a grandiose theatre originally built as a Shriner’s headquarters in the late 1920′s. It is an amazingly opulent building. I really can’t even describe it. But think of the old movie “palaces” you’ve seen in the old old movies. It’s even better than that. If you get to the movie early, there’s a sing-a-long with “Mighty Mo’” the 4000 pipe theatrical organ. Then the ceiling of the theatre goes from sunrise to sunset and you watch the movie under the “stars”. It’s magical!

I’ve seen lots of movies there and a few concerts and plays. But my favorite memory was in 1989. I was 12. It was the 50th Anniversary of Gone with the Wind. I went with my mom and brother. It was so exciting, going downtown at night, to the Fox. We even rode Marta! I remember so many people were dressed up Gone with the Wind costumes! And Butterfly McQueen who was Prissy in the movie, spoke at the beginning. I remember we got home really late and I felt as if I had just been on an adventure!

It was just so compelling and dramatic. It made me love the Fox, Gone with the Wind and especially Atlanta! I felt like I was actually part of Atlanta’s awesome history. It still gives me a little shiver when I think about it!

Last night, we went to the Fox with my family and friends as a thank you from my parents for some work everyone did on their house when Daddy was in the hospital last year. (Was that a sentence or what?!) We ended up seeing Spiderman 3 because it worked for our schedules. Not exactly Gone with the Wind, but it was still fun.

And no trip to downtown would be complete without a trip to The Varisty. There’s nothing like eating a chili dog and onion rings at 10:30 at night. Heavenly.

What’s the coolest thing about where you live?

I’m Proud to be an…Atlantan! is a post from: ohamanda.com
Happy New Year! Here are some of my favorite resources to help you make the most of 2012! One Bite At A Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler, an ebook by Simple Mom!
Create Your Perfect Cleaning Schedule, finally get your house under control!
E-Mealz, online meal-planning with shopping lists! {20% off with code SKINNY when you choose one of their healthy menus}
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