Playing with Friends

This morning was one of those times I forgot my camera – and almost walked home to get it.  We met at our pool, and had it all to ourselves for almost 3 hours (9:30 am to a little after noon).

GO played for hours with her friend NC, they had pool toys and all sorts of water toys.  B10 and CW could cannonball to their hearts delight, without worry about soaking others in deck chairs.  GO has gotten wonderful about jumping in to B10 (or an adult) and NC is a little fish in the water!

By 12:30, we decided to take them to McDonald’s for lunch – and I FINALLY remembered to grab my camera when we ran home to change into dry clothes.  Love these sweet friends!

GO and NC

Everyone was ready for a real nap when we finally got home!

~Mummy Butterfly  )i(

Mall of Georgia – The Fountain!

The Caterpillars and I had a blast today joining the Sheeps at Mall of Georgia.  We went last year with the Sheeps and loved the free entertainment!  The Sheeps were there early, watching a movie – so when we arrived, we hung out at the Barnes and Nobles for a while (I worked on my Nook, while GO danced on the stage and the boys looked at books).

Lunch was at the food court, I love how everyone can pick and choose what they want to eat.  Then we changed into swimsuits (well, the KIDS changed into swimsuits) and headed out to the fountain.

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This is such a nice surprise for the Caterpillars.  I don’t know that I want to do it often (I might feel differently, if we lived closer), but once a summer is pretty awesome – and it’s a unique experience that they don’t get to do otherwise.

Plus, I have the best sister (and brother-in-law) in the world, so any time I get to spend with them is great in my world!

~Mummy Butterfly  )i(

What is it???

Otto and I looming over the cake…nervous at this point!

So – because this little bundle of joy is not only our last – but was a surprise to begin with – Otto and I thought we needed a special way to find out if we were having a boy or girl.  On Friday, we went to have an ultrasound done.  The technician wrote down the word “boy” or “girl” on a slip of paper and sealed it in an envelope.

What could it be???

Then we took that envelope to one of my friends who bakes cakes with her Mum (mostly her awesome Mum!).  The cake was delivered to church – and after the 11am service, everyone came to the fellowship hall for us to cut the cake.  If the inside was pink – it’s a girl!  If the inside was blue – it’s a boy!  That way everyone could find out together.

Cutting in!

Needless to say, our church family was pretty excited (just like we were) to find out.  The cake was BEAUTIFUL – and when we cut it open:

BLUE!

IT’S A BOY!!!!!

Now we’re even – 3 girls and 3 boys in the family!  We announced the name – and one of the sweet ladies in the church already had a handmade bib for us (poor thing had made TWO bibs – one girl and one boy – just so she would have something to give us!).

IT’S A BOY!

The cake was REALLY yummy!

Can’t wait to meet him!

~Mummy Butterfly  )i(

Burrito Lasagna

Enough for 5-6 servings (at least in my family).

I made what our family calls Burrito Lasagna tonight, and it was a huge hit – even GO ate her entire serving (I was worried it might be a little spicy – I shouldn’t worry!).

It is a really simple recipe and easily adaptable to each family’s tastes.  Mine is 8-inch flour tortillas, a pound of ground beef cooked with taco seasoning, salsa, Mexican cheese and at times I have added either avocado (smushed into a paste) or fresh tomatoes – but didn’t this round.  Then layer (I use a 9-inch round pie dish) just as you would a lasagna, starting with salsa at the bottom, beneath the first tortilla (this makes it easier to lift out at the end).

Bake at 350 degrees for approx 25 minutes (long enough for the tortillas to crisp a bit, cheese to melt, and the flavors to meld).  It can even be made without cheese, then you can add fresh lettuce on top.  🙂

So pretty! (Yes, I have a warped sense of pretty…)

I have to confess part of why I love it, is how pretty it is when you cut it!

~Mummy Butterfly  )i(

Ice Cream Truck

Eating Ice Cream (Inside – it’s WAY too hot outside!)

It’s been a L-O-N-G time since I’ve had ice cream from an ice cream truck.  GO had just woken up from her nap, and CW had just finished his reading time, when we heard the music flow through the air.  Luckily, we had time to get on our shoes and get down the stairs to meet the truck!

I find it so funny that while many things have changed in the last 25 years – THIS is still a staple of ice cream trucks:

GUMBALL EYES! (This one is mine!)

The Caterpillars loved their choices, too.  It was nice to be able to give them pretty much free range to choose anything on the truck.

CW’s involved chocolate (no surprise!)

GO picked the “pink” one…

Now, I just need a good snow-cone place close by!

~Mummy Butterfly  )i(

Bowling Fun and a Movie!

CW and GO

One of our local bowling alley establishments has free bowling during the summer.  I have signed up all the Caterpillars – and took GO and CW this morning.  It was the first time GO has been bowling (and able to understand), and it was SO cute watching her try to haul around the 6 lb ball.

CW did a great job.  He started out a little rough, but really listened to how to improve, and by the end was doing AWESOME!  It will take practice, but keeping his wrist/arm straight seemed to be his “big challenge”.  He bowled both games (GO only bowled her first), and even took over for some of GO’s frames in the 2nd game!

Lunch was at Chick-fil-a, we met Aunt CC and two cousins to eat some chicken and play on the playground.  It was a nice (and tiring) stop before naptime!  After naptime, GO went to have dinner with Aunt CC (and the rest of that side of her family), while CW had his friend come spend the night.  We ended up letting the kids stay up late – but at midnight it was lights out!

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We woke up early, in order to make it out to the movie theatre to see “Journey to the Center of the Earth 2”.  The current deal (on Tue/Wed) is $1 admission to the 10am G/PG movies.  I got a big bucket of popcorn which we all shared – Queen and Princess met us there.  Then we ran CW’s friend home, in order to get back for naptime. (GO is a bear if we don’t at least TRY to keep naptime on some sort of schedule!)

CW helped me make a Chicken Pot Pie for dinner, which turned out wonderful.  He’s a GREAT Sous Chef!  I had already told the Caterpillars they could lay out their swimsuits to put on after dinner (AFTER Otto came home).

We ended the day with more swimming – this time, GO took Strawberry Shortcake with her.  (She found one of her old burp cloths, the Gerber brand terrycloth ones, and insisted it was Strawberry’s towel…)  Hee-hee-larious!  Warm showers/baths and then watching the first two episodes of Storage Wars (NEW SEASON – YAY!) was perfect before bedtime.

A fast, but wonderful, two days!

~Mummy Butterfly  )i(

Pool? AGAIN?

Showing off the Disney Princess Beach Ball.

Okay, so I’m starting to see the allure of joining a pool, when one isn’t readily available (for free…and within walking distance).  I NEVER before would have told you that I would even CONSIDER having a pool in my backyard…  But maybe they aren’t all bad…

GO and CW had a blast tonight.  We went after dinner, and even though we only stayed for about 45 minutes, it was enough to wear out a little girl (and give her big brother a bit of exercise)!

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Meanwhile, Otto amused himself by starting a new Science Fiction book!  (I think he likes it!)

~Mummy Butterfly  )i(

Visiting GM

CW and GO

After putting B10 on the bus for scout camp (where I’m sure he’s having a wonderful time – rainstorm predictions aside), Otto and I decided to take CW and GO up to meet his Mum.  She lives about an hour away, and so after taking showers (no time for that before Krispy Kreme doughnuts for breakfast), we loaded the car and headed north.

We were going up for a late lunch, but it cracked me up that both Caterpillars were asleep before we even got to the interstate – I’m pretty sure they didn’t notice the stopping for gas!

The drive was pleasant, and we had a great late lunch at The ATTiC (GM’s favorite restaurant).   On our way out CW and GO were given GIANT Ice Pops (seriously almost as long as GO!), and we headed back to GM’s house.  There was lots of playing in the backyard (GO collected an entire bag of rocks), before bowls of ice cream to fill bellies – as we prepared to drive home.

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A wonderful afternoon, lots of fun and laughing.  Can’t wait to go back!

Well, except for the GIANT TICK that was on GO’s back!  We discovered it while getting ready for bed tonight, and had to call Queen and King to help with the removal process (via phone).  SCARY!  But – still a wonderful afternoon!

~Mummy Butterfly  )i(

Kentucky w/CW

Otto and I drove up yesterday and picked up CW today in Kentucky.  We spent the day in Louisville, before driving home to Georgia.

Me and CW on the glove 🙂

I have never been to Louisville, so we were excited to visit the Louisville Slugger Factory and also the Frazier History Museum.  We did the Frazier first, and I thought we would be in there all day.  CW and Otto were fascinated by the military history, and especially the Samurai Exhibit.  I also loved how we “made” CW watch on of the historical interpretations, but later – when he was talking to B10 – he could remember every single thing!  (Of course, he was using his souvenir miniature bat from the Louisville Slugger Factory as the “weapon”, but whatever!  He was LISTENING!)

For lunch I had done a ton of research and found this great little Italian restaurant near the museums: Luigi’s Pizzeria.  When we got there, we found out horrible news. 😦  Apparently they don’t serve their full menu on Saturdays (not that it said that ANYWHERE on their website, trust me, I looked before and after!).  So, everything was full of cheese (and pre-cooked).  Even the salads were pre-made with cheese on top.  😦

After doing a bit of walking, not far, but off Main Street, we found Dish on Market.  YUM!  God’s hand was totally in this, because we all found something we loved to eat AND they had some of the best fried dill pickles we’ve ever eaten.  I highly recommend this place if you are ever in Louisville.  Their menu is amazing, diverse, child-friendly and cost-wise: perfect for what we had hoped.

The Louisville Slugger Museum was SO AMAZING.  Otto and I loved it, from the beginning to the end – the tour and museum…  **HEAVEN**  Other than Cooperstown, I don’t know if there is another place Otto and I wanted to visit quite so much.  Getting to hold Mickey Mantle’s bat was my favorite part!

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After heading back to the hotel and checking out, we headed back home – arriving a little after midnight.  Everyone headed straight to bed, no time (or energy) to update the blog.  Then, this morning, I was awaken by little giggles at 6 am.  I leaned out of the bedroom door to this sight:

Giggling Caterpillars!

B10 and CW playing in the living room, with GO so close to CW that she was practically sitting on his lap.  I have missed that sound.  🙂

~Mummy Butterfly  )i(