Pumpkin Lumpkin had a ball this afternoon – the little fur ball did lots of roly poly for me!
Hillary and I met at 3:30 to head to the Hunger Games movie. The movie was great – loved the adaptation. I have a horrible book memory and felt it was very true to the book – EXCEPT there was not much kissing at all!! I remember that being such a big part of the book I plot! [Also, Peeta and Katniss’s actors really grew on me by the end.] But the portrayal of Panem and especially the Gamemakers and their arena computers was fabulous. Can’t wait for the second one to come out!
Movie theater snackage!! I meant to grab a string cheese before I left to go with my popcorn, but I forgot it so I needed up needing to eat more popcorn than I anticipated – because I was hungry! I wish I could say it was delicious too, but it was on the stale side : (
When I got home around 7, we turned around and headed out to the countryside for a lovely cookout put on by our friends Alex, Eric and baby Finn!
Too dark for good photos, but the atmosphere, friends and food were all great.
I had a small hamburger, made with Eric’s brother’s local beef! Plus a few steaks shared with Matt, veggies and some chips.
A paleo banana muffin that Alex made
And loads of this WONDERFUL watermelon!!
Alex was too sweet to send me home with a handful of boy baby clothes that Finn has outgrown : ) And she gave me a B.O.B. stroller demo – I’m still totally undecided, but now I’m leaning on Team BOB!
Katie @ Peace Love & Oats says
I love cookouts! I hope you had a great time! And I’m so jealous, I’m dying to see the movie but there are people who want to see it with me but aren’t in town this weekend… seriously considering going alone tomorrow and then going again with them…
Carolyn says
Does your friend use her BOB for an everyday stroller too? What model does she recommend?
I was just in San Francisco loving all the posh strollers. My friend has an Uppababy Vista that is beautiful and so multi functional for a growing baby and family. Very pricey at $699 new but she said worth every penny!
KathEats says
she does use it for everyday, but she also has a tiny cheap umbrella stroller. She has the Revolution, I think.
The Uppa Vista is the other one I want!!! It is more $$ though
Carolyn says
I’m thinking I’ll do Uppababy Vista new and try to find a cheap used BOB.
I LOVE the bassinet feature of the Uppa Vista, the fact you can recline and turn the seat either way, and how you can add a seat if you have #2!
BTW – thought I was due Oct 20 and had my fist apt yesterday…. I’m now in the September 2012 club!
Carolyn
Http://eatlivebewell.wordpress.com
kathleen @ the daily crumb says
nothing better than watermelon in the warm weather!
i love that you indulge in popcorn at the movies… it’s one of my favorite treats 🙂
kaila@ healthy helper blog! says
I really want to see the movie! BUt I want to read the books too! So I guess I will have to wait till it comes out on DVD 🙁
Jen says
I want to see the movie but 2 1/2 hours is long. Still, I may try for it or wait for the DVD. Were the line-ups long for opening day?!
What do you mean by “Peeta and Katniss actors grew on you” ? Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I thought it meant a good thing but your next sentence was followed by a “but” regarding what you did like about the movie.
KathEats says
Sorry that wasn’t clear. The actors they chose were not how i pictured them in my head, but by the end of the movie I felt they were great choices.
Jen says
Oh yeah – I thought the same thing when I first heard who was playing Katniss and Peeta; I haven’t seen the movie but they’re “grown” on me just from all the previews and media hype 🙂
Cait's Plate says
Aw such a fun afternoon/night! I’ve heard really good things about the B.O.B stroller. My sister has one and loves it!
Stephanie @ Legally Blinde says
Glad you liked the movie! I’m definitely looking forward to seeing the how they created all of the high-tech, futuristic stuff – and their crazy outfits! That’s exciting that you’re already getting clothes for the baby 🙂
kristen @ verbs and vignettes says
I cannot wait to see the movie!!! I always love books so much more, but I still like seeing how they dream up the adaptations. I’ve heard nothing but good things about this one so far… can’t believe I have to hold out until Sunday.
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com says
Cannot wait to watch the Hunger Games!! Lovely spread for a cook-out 🙂
Heidi Bundles Of Hugs says
I wish I could sneak a few pieces of that watermelon ..my favorite food ever. Glad to hear Hunger Games was good cause I’ll be dragged to see it. I didn’t read the books so have no idea what I’m in for.
Suz says
Go team BOB! We love ours, it was really handy with the car seat adapter and now we use it all year round with the weather cover.
Robyn @ Blueberries and Oats says
What!? Not much kissing!? Very disappointed to hear that but still can’t wait to see it on my own. Since I can’t afford to go to the movies right now I spent my day re-reading the first book. ^_^
Laura @ She Eats Well says
I am so jealous you saw The Hunger Games. I am seeing it tomorrow and cannot wait. I think the casting looks very interesting…and Effie looks outrageous, as she should! Plus, movie theatre popcorn is a treat!
khushboo says
As someone who hasn’t read the book, I thought it was fantastic! Love hearing how others find it compared to the book!
jojo says
I hate it when popcorns go stale!!
Averie @ Averie Cooks says
Watermelon in the winter…oh I could use that! I wish I knew where to get a watermelon these days!
Pumpkin Lumpkin looks so cozy and adorable!
Kate says
You need to title your post with some spoiler alert for Hunger Games for those of us who haven’t finished the book yet! I’m in the middle of the book right now and haven’t gotten to any kissing parts!! Congratulations on your baby boy news 🙂
KathEats says
I’m sorry, I didn’t think that would really give anything away.
Erin says
My marathoner husband is longing for a BoB stroller. I feel guilty putting something so expensive on my registry, so I may just buy it for him as a surprise. (Plus it’s on sale at Babies R Us this week!) My sister in law uses it with the car seat adapter and loves it.
I feel so relieved that someone else has a horrible book memory. I read the Hunger Games series over a year ago, and could barely tell you how it ends. Can’t wait to see the movie!
Marie says
The BOB Stroller is the way to go. We have a 2 year old and have a Bob Revolution and absolutely love it. It’s worth every penny! Congrats to the mama-to-be!
thatShortChick says
I’m planning on seeing Hunger Games today and can’t wait!! They were the Charlotte Observer’s cover story on sunday because a lot of Capitol scenes were shot in uptown (the interview scenes were filmed at the Knight Theater). also some of the pastries used in the movie were from Amelie’s!
KathEats says
how cool!! I knew it was filmed entirely in NC, but didn’t know uptown was involved!
Susan H. @ The Food Allergy Chronicles says
A cookout in March! How awesome! I had to dress warm for the hockey arena only to come out to a balmy 16 degrees Celcius outside at 8:00 p.m.! Crazy!
Tyler says
As a mom with two boys, we have both the single and the double BOB. We really love BOB strollers! Money well spent. We purchased ours at REI. Good luck!
Lindsay says
Love my bob! Regret not getting in the first time around. I even bought mine when my second and last baby was 1! My friend just got a bumbleride another jogger option.
Angel7 says
We just went to the movies the other day, and the popcorn was actually good. I think it was good, because it was early in the afternoon.
http://faithfulsolutions.blogspot.com/
Eileen says
I think that in a walkable community, the BOB is worth every penny. Don’t even bother with a cheap jogging stroller — ours was hard to steer, and it faded and frayed much too soon. Might as well go for the real deal, even if you are using it primarily for walking.
Our “main” stroller was a Peg Perego, and they are awesome!
Fran@ Broken Cookies Don't Count says
Can’t wait to see the Hunger Games!
Lauren J says
Going to see it today and I CANNOT wait!!! Love the table! I had a guy in Asheville build us a bed, coffee table, and farm table out of wood from and old barn he tore down. I’m so in love with it! Nothing like local, green, handmade furniture 🙂
natasha e says
Well since I am taking my 11 year old to see the movie tonight I am glad there’s not much kissing! 🙂
Caroline says
Hi Kath, I am a long time reader, but rare-if-ever commenter, but you have just brought up something I am qualified to discuss: strollers. I have had the Vista and two different Bobs (revo and iron man). If you are planning to do lots of shopping with your stroller and want to be able to pile things in it, I would go with the vista. It has more storage than any other stroller that I have owned or seen. The storage is much better than under the bugaboos. Also, the vista is very heavy, so you can hang a heavy bag from it and really just completely load it up. I loved this when I lived in an urban area when my first son was young and we did all of our shopping with it and walked to every park, walked to daycare, etc.
I think the Bobs are awesome for exercise. I trained for a marathon with my double bob revolution when my boys were 1 and 3. I didn’t do my super long runs with it, but that was really just because the long runs were my alone time. I had a single bob iron man (fixed wheel) and I think that the locking mechanism is good enough on the revolution that you don’t need completely fixed wheel. The revolution is more versatile because you can lock and unlock the wheel so you can turn more easily when walking. The storage is not nearly as good as what you will get with the Vista though. However, the wheels/shocks are much better, so it’s more enjoyable to walk with.
Decisions, decisions. I hate to say, but if you are really not a car family, you might find that each of them serves a separate “need” (desire). And then of course a cheapo umbrella stroller for the car/ air travel, etc..
However…. my most significant peice of (totally unsollicted, I know) advice about the stroller is to wait until you have the baby to make any big stroller purchase. I think it’s hard to envision how you will want to do things until the baby actually arrives. It’s hard to resist the urge to get everything settled before the baby is born, but you can just buy a cheap snap n go to get around during the very early days and then you will have a much better sense of what you want out of a stroller.
Good luck and congrats. Boys are great:)
Caroline
KathEats says
Thanks for the advice! I think I decided on the BOB Revolution. It’s less expensive than the Vista and I saw the storage as the only huge bonus to the Vista, and I don’t think we’d use it for that tooooo much. So I’m thinking BOB for all around Cville and then an umbrella for travel/quick trips (esp. when he is older).
Caroline says
That sounds smart. The revolution can hold a pretty heavy bag clipped onto the handle bars, so that adds some storage. And, honestly, the Vista is so heavily engineered that it can almost be too much for a sleep deprived new parent. One great thing about the Vista, though, is that the company, Uppa Baby, has just wonderful customer service. Absolutely amazing. They are a local company to me (Boston area), and everyone around here has the same experience with them. They are committed to their products and really stand by their customers. But, you can buy your Bob from REI, which offers no hassle, life time returns, so if something breaks you won’t have to try to deal with the company or worry about losing you warranty or anything. My first Bob did have a problem and REI exchanged it without hesitation, so that was great.
My umbrella stroller is also an Uppa Baby (G-Lite) and it’s great– very light, easy to use, etc., but you won’t want an umbrella for a while.
You cannot go wrong with a BOB, especially if you have a hard time getting your exercise in absence of your kid(s). My husband works extremely long hours, so running alone was rarely an option for me, and the Bob made it happen.
Congrats again to you!
Caroline
KathEats says
Thanks!! So many people just swear by their BOBs I think I’m crazy not to get one 🙂 I also picked a diaper bag that clips to a stroller handle, so that will be nice!
Gina says
One more stroller tip from a new mama…
We have the Vista and have used it with the car seat adapter from day one. It really handles great and I’ve been glad to have it instead of the snap ‘n go – we used one of those while traveling and it was bumpy and tough to steer, especially on uneven surfaces. We live in the city and the vista and bob seem to be really popular.
The one major advantage of the Vista is that it is very flexible and you can turn the seat both ways so that baby can face you or face out. It is also higher up off the ground, so baby is farther away from dirt/exhaust/dogs, and it can roll right up to the table at restaurants. We also like the bassinet, which we use at night for sleeping. The huge basket is really great for shopping, loading up coats, or carrying toys. It has a fantastic canopy too that keeps baby both covered and ventilated. It’s not so bad to fold it up in the car either.
So here is my tip – the new 2012 vista is coming out very soon, which means you can get the previous model on sale. I did that a few months ago and paid $495 (ordered online), vs $699 retail. The new model has a few updates but nothing worth $200!
All that said, the Bob is pretty cool too and I could see you using it regularly for jogging! I was stroller-obsessed like you before the peanut was born 🙂
KathEats says
These are all the things I loved about the Vista! So torn!
Gina says
One nice and unforeseen bonus – we got the slate blue color, and it matches my daughter’s eyes perfectly! So pretty.