30 Nov
Hey Friends! Remember when I told you how crazy I was for Purex Laundry Detergent? Remember the picture?
In case of Zombie Attack – I can clean your clothes.
Remember the contest? Did you sign up? I really would like those gloves for Christmas. 😉
Contest ends on December 2nd – so get over there quick and sign up! You can use this link: “So glad you reminded me, Mummy Butterfly, because I REALLY want an iPad mini!”
~Mummy Butterfly )i(
28 Nov
Today was TurkEve in our home. What is TurkEve? Much like Christmas Eve, it is the day we set aside to prepare for Thanksgiving.
Last year, Otto and I made it work to have Thanksgiving on Friday for our family. This year, we prayed about it, and decided that perhaps that will be “our thing”. It will make things much easier in the long run, and it is quite a nice tradition for us. Why did we decide to celebrate TurkEve?
1) We have family that works on Thursday/Thanksgiving. My stepdad, Doc, works at a television station – EVERY Thanksgiving. Dinner on Friday means he and my Mum, Cookie, can have a traditional Thanksgiving meal with family. My brother-in-law, Uncle Sheep, is a firefighter. If he works on Thanksgiving, this hopefully gives him a chance to eat a meal with his family. If he works on Friday, it gives my sister, nephew, and niece a place to come hang out while he is gone. (Holiday weekends can be hard without Daddy.) Even if they don’t/can’t come every year, I want the option to be there for them.
2) We have divorces in our past. If my kids grow up and marry someone who’s parents live close, they never have to pick and choose on Thanksgiving Day. They can say “Sure, honey, let’s spend the day with YOUR family.” Giving them the freedom to not have to choose between parents is a blessing. And if they can’t come, that is okay. At least they know WHEN it is, if they can make it.
3) We have a day to prepare. No rushing around after work, or asking Otto to help me clean when he’s getting home late. We have an entire day to cook, clean, and enjoy each other. Our private traditions (such as taking a hike in the woods – this year was Fort Yargo State Park) can be perfect and without rush.
4) It’s a great excuse to not go shopping. I don’t mind shopping (in moderation), and I quite appreciate the gifts others get me when they shop. But I also enjoy opening my home and spending Thanksgiving with family at home.
5) We can invite friends, who might otherwise be engaged in family activities.
Tomorrow between 8:30 and 9 am, we will begin serving breakfast to whomever has arrived. At around 10 pm tomorrow night we’ll give hugs as the last guests leave. In between – we will laugh, eat, love, fellowship, tell stories, cook, talk, watch football, and just live our lives with people. Isn’t that what Thanksgiving is really all about?
Happy TurkEve!
~Mummy Butterfly )i(
26 Nov
It has been a few days – because we have a few things going on.
1) We are prepping the house for Thanksgiving (on Friday). Lots of people, lots of food, and my Mum has graciously given up part of her vacation to help me clean/organize. I feel like I should, you know, be there to HELP her….
2) We added a furbaby! I’ll do a whole post on our Plott Hound Furbaby soon, but his name is Reuben and he was rescued from a local animal control center. They thought he was between 6 and 9 months old, but the vet things he might WAY on the low end, because he still had baby teeth. He’s fixed, microchiped, and been given shots. He also weighs in at 45 pounds. He is NOT a small baby. 😉
Reuben on his Freedom Ride with his new Little Girl by his side!
3) The older boy Caterpillars are at their Dad’s house. So it is pretty quiet here with just the two littles. The perfect time to work on housetraining a puppy…
4) It’s a HOLIDAY week! And I’m so excited! I’m taking lots of pictures and will have lots to put up soon.
Until then – I leave you with another picture of our newest Family Member:
Hanging out and watching Disney Jr with his Little Girl.
~Mummy Butterfly )i(
20 Nov
For over a year, I have had a dream about what I wanted to do with my life (career-wise). It made sense and fit with everything in my past, and it wasn’t too far out there in cost. But I was scared to talk to anyone, because it was a private dream. But I started squirreling money away. $5 here, $20 there, every once in a while I managed a whole $50. This past week (with my birthday), I managed to put in the last little bit I needed to hit $1,000.
Now I can open the door. And I am scared to death. I don’t want to fail, and even though I know I have prayed over this for quite a while, I still am frightened. It’s not even the workload. I can handle that, in fact, I feel like it is something that God is calling me to do.
Somehow that makes it all the more frightening.
I’ve only talked to two other women about it, and both are supportive. One even has felt a similar calling to both the career, and specifically the focus.
Normally, I am not shy about my plans. But this feels different.
Prayers are appreciated.
~Mummy Butterfly )i(
19 Nov
The search for puppies has begun.
Puppies. Hmmmm – most people who know me would look at me strangely when I mention that puppies will be coming to our home. Especially when I say “two of them, large to extra-large”.
The quizzical looks just don’t stop. 😉
But I’m excited, even if it’s taken a bit to get here.
Yes, I am a cat person. I’m never going to STOP being a cat person. In my mind – Cats ARE Persons, so it works.
I’m not a dog person, per say, but then I’m not a people person or a children person, but find myself working often with both people and children.
I think I can explain it best like this:
Cats = Books. YAY! A BOOK! I LOVE BOOKS! GIVE ME LOTS OF BOOKS! You can NEVER have enough BOOKS!
Dogs = Children. YAY! I LOVE MY CHILDREN! GIVE ME LOTS OF MY CHILDREN! Other people’s children are cute, but tend to have runny noses and lots of drool.
Here is where we embark upon the Dog Journey. The Big/Giant Dog Journey (I’m talking about Great Dane/Great Pyrenees size is perfect).
And while I’m not inclined to rub up against other people’s dogs, *my* dogs get to live in my house. And get up on my couch. And sleep on my bed if they want. And fluff their doggy hair all over everything. Because they will be *MY* babies.
If you have any leads on large/extra-large babies, let me know. 😉 We can’t wait to bring them home!
~Mummy Butterfly )i(
18 Nov
…I had a birthday.
Yesterday was not a milestone birthday, or a “special” birthday, or anything of the sort. It went largely unnoticed by those not in my family. We celebrated very quietly – Otto’s sister drove down to sit with the Caterpillars, and Otto and I went to a movie (Thor 2) and dinner (Provino’s).
We talked about our future plans, especially since there are some potential changes about Otto’s job that could alter our lifestyle.
We talked about when to prune our crepe myrtles.
We talked about everything and nothing, and it was wonderful. I received a phone call early from my Daddy and multiple text messages from my Mum. My sister (and the Sheep Family) had given me a beautiful purple infinity scarf (go LSU!), that I wore.
It was quiet and simple and I loved it.
~Mummy Butterfly )i(
13 Nov
If you’ve ever seen my laundry room, you know I’m a HUGE fan of Purex. It’s the only detergent I can use – so I kinda try to stock up.
And when I say “stock up” I mean, like, I’m pretty sure there are 24 bottles of Purex in this picture:
In case of Zombie Attack – I can clean your clothes.
A few weeks ago, I found out about this community of bloggers I could join called the Purex Insiders. Hello! I’m totally there! A few clicks later and I’m in the club. Now, what does this mean for you?
Contests, free stuff – all sorts of goodies. And all you have to do is listen to me ramble about how much I love Purex.
Which I was going to do anyway, since I love them – hence the photo above.
My first contest is this little beauty:
You can win an iPad Mini and a $500 Isotoner Shopping Spree!
Click on this link “I LOVE WINNING” to enter. Feel free to buy me a pair of those nifty gloves if you win. 😉
~Mummy Butterfly )i(
12 Nov
I’m a huge Oprah Fan — there, I’ve said it. I almost always enjoyed her show and I really respected her after she apologized to George W. Bush about Katrina and her anger towards him.
But my favorite part of Oprah is her Favorite Things Episodes at Christmas. Oh my gosh – I *LOVED* those episode. One of my favorite TV moments EVER is when she surprised everyone with a double-episode her final year (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw9EKB6OAqU).
Add to that the fact that my Love Language is “Gifts”, and you have a perfect recipe for My Own Version of Christmas Favorite Things – 7 Days of Giveaways!
Really, this is me getting to give presents to you guys. I don’t know how many will enter, but I know that I have quite a few readers every month. And while some of you are my family – some of you are friends – and some of you are strangers. My biggest wish is that I can “meet” some of you strangers out there who are sharing my life with me.
I can tell you this much – I’ve already got two prizes lined up – and those two alone are worth over $125!
I *LOVE* the Holiday Season!
~Mummy Butterfly )i(
11 Nov
We have had a devastatingly angry weekend here at my house. My children have gone from weeping to yelling to weeping, and I don’t know how to help them. We are in a horrible, horrible situation – made a thousand times worse by deceit.
What do you do as a parent? (Especially when you are dealing with the anger from the deceit yourself?)
We’ve let them express their emotions. I’m proud of them for that. They at least expressed in healthy ways.
We’ve given them permission to, for now, avoid the person who was deceitful. That is hard. I think it is a fine balance between allowing yourself to heal enough to calmly face the other person, and allowing the wound to become so much of a dividing factor that it’s almost impossible to move past it.
We’ve allowed and encouraged them to comfort each other (and us). I believe it’s vital to teach them that even in the midst of your own struggles – recognizing other people’s suffering is important.
We’ve reminded them that life isn’t fair. Sometimes it’s not fair, because the world itself is sinful and bad things happen. Sometimes it’s not fair, because other people are selfish. Sometimes, both happen at the same time. But God isn’t of this world, and none of this was God’s plan.
We’ve planned on a future. This weekend was earth-shattering for my Caterpillars, leaving a trail of broken promises from the last 9-10 years (since B10 turned 4). Even now, though, we’re trying to show them how the future is going to work – how we are going to MAKE it work, to provide them what they are missing.
Life goes on, it always does. But scars are left on hearts. I pray that we find a way to mend them and make them stronger men when they grow up.
~Mummy Butterfly )i(
8 Nov
Franklin. He inspires me. He speaks to me.
Who is Franklin? Oh, he’s pretty famous. Most of my friends have heard of him. Especially my Mummy Friends.
He’s a turtle. (What, you thought I was savvy enough to find inspiration from Benjamin? Ha! I laugh…)
Although, he’s kinda cute, too…
Franklin the Turtle has been a mainstay in my house since B10 was born. I’m a huge fan, we weathered the storms of new siblings (Franklin got a baby sister, B10 got a baby brother) and best friends. Franklin was the first time B10 had to deal with what happens when TV ruins your favorite show by “improving it” (we still prefer the original episodes in our house). Franklin and Bear and Rabbit and Snail, we love them.
There is one particular episode that has always spoken to me. Don’t laugh – we all have those moments in literature or television that resonate within us, mine just happens to be with a cartoon turtle.
In this episode, the writers are teaching kids about recycling – doing good to help the earth. It’s a typical “good member of society” plug, but quite well done. In the beginning, Owl (the teacher of the small school) talks about doing good for the earth and the community, then they all take a “field trip” downtown. Each student is supposed to find one good thing to do, then come back and report on it.
Throughout the show, Franklin keeps finding things that need to be done – but he’s not the right turtle for the job. There is a giant log laying across the park path (that one is for Beaver and her teeth), something is stuck high in a tree (that one is perfect for Bear and his ability to climb), lunches for the elderly residents of the town need to be delivered (Rabbit and his swift paws can do that one), plus a few more. There is nothing for Franklin to do. But through it all, Franklin is the one identifying the problem and finding the right person for the job.
Franklin ends up back at the school with the rest of his friends, dejected. Feeling like he’s done nothing good with his day, he is embarrassed when Owl asks what task he accomplished. He’s shocked to hear how much his guidance helped all the other students.
Friends, this is me. So often I feel like I’ve got nothing to offer the world, but I can see so many problems – and I can see how OTHERS are equipped by God to fix them. Meanwhile, I’m plodding along doing the little stuff.
1) God loves the little stuff. It’s important, too. The hot meal for a friend who just had a baby. The prayers for a friend who lost a baby. The coffee purchased for a complete stranger, who looked like she needed a lift.
2) There is nothing to be ashamed of in seeing the big picture. It doesn’t mean others can’t see their own callings, not at all – it means that sometimes I’m in the position to see the forest and can help people find the tree they want.
Laugh if you will, but I remember that show often with fondness. Franklin speaks to me.
~Mummy Butterfly )i(
(P.S. – I have BIG news coming up – 7 days of Giveaways! Stay tuned for the debut of “Mummy Butterfly’s Favorite Things”!)
15 Years Old
13 Years Old
6 Years Old
2 Years Old
The C4 Tree 