LuvBug

Character Hunting

Having a great time at Disney. I never imagined standing in line to get your picture with a character could be so rewarding :). The kids say they are having the time of their lives, except they hate the heat!  Little Mikel is scared to death of the characters up close but loves them from a distance, however he did approach Mikey with a smile (and only Mikey).   We have talked with: Handy Manny, Lotso, The Incredibles, Mikey Mouse, Chip & Dale, Pinnochio, Jafar, Cinderella, Belle, Aurora, Winnie the Pooh, Tiger, Stitch, Mater, Lightening McQueen, Green Army Man, Buzz, & Woody. We will do some more character hunting later. Right now it's nap time :). 

Cream Cheese Pancakes

This morning my kids were begging for homemade pancakes that looked like Mikey Mouse (everything is Disney right now).  As I was looking in the fridge for ingredients I came across some cream cheese that I had bought for some other recipe & knew it would ruin so I decided to look up some recipes.  I figured it would be a long shot, but it never hurt to google, so I looked up cream cheese pancakes.  I came across a very easy & decadent pancake recipe.  The best part was my kids could not eat enough - the pancakes were fluffy, delicious & the perfect consistency.

 

Cream Cheese Pancakes

2 cups self-rising flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 large egg

1 1/2 to 2 cups of milk (I used 1 1/2)

3 oz cream cheese, softened

1 tablespoon butter or margarine, melted

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine self-rising flour and sugar in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture.

Combine egg & next 4 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring well; add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened.

Pour 1/4 cup batter for each pancake onto a hot, lightly greased griddle.  Cook pancakes until tops are covered with bubbles & edges appear cooked; turn & cook other side.  Serve pancakes with warm maple syrup &, if desired, bacon (I used plain syrup & no bacon - Simple is key at my house).

Note:  1/4 cup egg substitute, skim milk, & light cream cheese may be used.  Pancake batter will be thinner & will cook faster.

Courtesy of Myrecipes.com

 

My favorite past-time....

Is taking pictures of my kids.....

   

Stone Mountain isn't what it used to be...

I have very fond and simplistic memories of Stone Mountain as a child.  I remember standing on my swing-set looking at the mountain every afternoon, walking up the mountain weekly with my step-father, watching fire-crackers on the 4th of July at the Mountain, watching the Laser Show every summer, going to Stone Mountain summer camp every summer until I was 10, & even having picnics on the top of the mountain with my boyfriend once I was a teenager.  All of these memories I have kept in a special place & never relived until last week....

 

Last Friday Jason's mom, Evelyn, was in town with our niece, Rebecca.  Evelyn decided we all needed to have a family day at Stone Mountain & enjoy all the new attractions.  I was pretty clueless as to what these new attractions could be and how much my kids would enjoy them - all I could envision was not wanting to push a two year old in a stroller up the Mountain.  I shrugged my shoulders and decided a few hours at Stone Mountain couldn't hurt anyone & I would give it a try.  Little did I know 6 hours after entering Stone Mountain we still had not done everything my kids could enjoy.  However, after 6 hours my little munchkins were pooped, even though they thought otherwise.  The only way we could calm them was to promise more visits in the near future.  I had no idea there was so much to do with kids of all ages.

We started our adventure in a 'Farm House' sorting fruit (aka colored nerf balls).  Mikel loved sending his fruit up a vacuum and watching them fall from the ceiling, Tennyson & Weatherly enjoyed gathering fruit in bags and shooting them with air guns at each other.  Jason and I enjoyed climbing the ropes & nets, and sliding down the swirly slides.  I felt like I was in Elementary school again.  Weatherly and I would run through the 'Farm' squealing like little girls while the boys tried to keep up.  We could have stayed in that 'Farm' for hours, but for Evelyn & Rebecca's sake we decided to move on.

Our next adventure was on the Stone Mountain Scenic Railroad.  It was not quit as adventurous as the 'Farm House', but it gave us a minute to catch our breath and for Mikel to fall asleep.  After the RR ride we went straight to playing Put-Put.  It was a first for my little munchkins.  It was so fun to see them try desperately to hit the little golf ball multiple times only in the end to drag the ball in the hole with their putter.  They were so proud of themselves once it went into the cup no matter how they got it in there.

After Put-Put we all walked to the Tram to take us to the top of the Mountain.  Tennyson was emphatic about NOT riding the Tram, so Jason stayed in a cafe with Tennyson while the rest of us went to the top of the Mountain.  Mikel was not thrilled with the ride, but he dealt with it (not that he had much of a choice since we were packed in like sardines).  Once we were on top of the Mountain Weatherly could not contain her excitement - she ran all around the top scaring me to death, however Mikel was the complete opposite.  He HATED being up there, he even refused to walk another step at one point.  If Evelyn had not picked him up Mikel might still be up there (he is as stubborn as his daddy!).

We finished up our day watching a 4D movie about a few people going to the center of the earth and having to find a way back.  It entailed Parana jumping out at you, large venus fly traps trying to eat you, T-Rex running after you, & the characters hanging over a volcano that was about to explode.  While you are watching this movie with your 3D glasses on your seat was shaking, you were being rained on, air was fiercely blowing on you & something was grabbing your ankles under your seat.  It was a pretty intense 30 minutes.  Mikel & Weatherly had to leave early, however Tennyson loved every second of it (with his glasses off - of course). I was impressed!

So next time we plan on going on a Duck Ride, going to the petting zoo, & seeing the Dinosaur Train exhibit -  along with going back to the 'Farm House' & being young again :).  I loved every second of our long hot day!!!

  

  


   

 


    

   

Dirty Little Secrets

 Today, after bath time, I was sitting on the floor with my 3 precious children admiring their innocence as we played.  Then, out of the blue, Weatherly decided she wanted to play a new game called 'Dirty Little Secrets'.  I was a little confused of where she was going with such a title so I played along.....  "So Weatherly, what exactly is Dirty Little Secrets?'......  Weatherly smiled big and proceeded to tell me multiple stories of different activities in Kindergarten that were 'really gross'.  Like the time she sneezed on one of her BFF, or the time one of the boys vomited all over the classroom, or even the time one of the girls showed everyone her under-ware (..."that was totally gross Momma!!"....).  I loved hearing all of her stories and what her definition of 'Dirty Little Secrets' was.  Oh, how I wish my 'Dirty Little Secrets' were as innocent as hers!!!

On another day, after bath time, Weatherly shyly told me she found out what the 'F word' was.  I was shocked and totally appalled that my child, in Kindergarten, could possibly already know the 'F word'!!!!  I looked at her amazed and asked her where in the world she learned such a word..... Weatherly looked at me with guilt stricken eyes and told me she learned it on the bus.  WHAT!!!!  The dreadful bus?!?!?!  I took a deep breath..... I then asked her what the 'F word' was - in hopes it had a different meaning at such a young age.  Weatherly then looked at me with very shy eyes and with a very soft voice, which is totally unusual for her, she whispered............... FART.................  I could not believe my ears.  What a wonderful word - FART :).  I smiled at her and told her that was exactly right....  'FART' is the ultimate 'F word'. 

I love the innocence of a young child!!!! 

 I also love the bonding moments we have after bath time!!!!

Too hot for the park

Today I took the kids to the park to play with some of their friends from church.  The park was awesome, I have never seen so many great things to play on for all different age groups.  The biggest problem with the park was there was NO SHADE.  We were baking in the direct sunlight, sweat pouring off our faces, our hair drenched like we had just gotten out of the shower - little Mikel even could not stand being outside, he started begging to go home after an hour.  Next time we go it will have to be a first of the morning thing or wait until fall gets here.  Despite the heat, the kids had a great time for the hour they lasted....

         

 Tomorrow we are going to the pool :)!!!

Our Pets....

We have a problem - the Sebren children have asthma & they cannot have pets (except for fish, but that is more of a decoration or hobby).  So we have turned to more unconventional, non-obligatory types of pets.  We first got the kids little caterpillars that turn into butterflies - that was truly fun for the whole family.  We watched these little bitty larvae turn into full grown caterpillars which turned into cocoons and then we watched 10 beautiful butterflies emerge.  Once their wings had dried & they had filled up on sugar water we watched them fly away to continue their short life cycle.  Not long after the butterflies flew away we put up some bird feeders outside our kitchen windows.  Now we have constant company with multiple birds & a little chipmunk (Alvin) that has figured out a way to put his little face in our 'bird-only' bird feeder.  It is so fun to watch his little cheeks start to get full as he fills them up with bird seed.  I am loving these educational low maintenance non-asthmatic pets :)!!

         

Mikel turns 2!!!

Mikel finally had his 2nd birthday party & he thouroughly enjoyed it.  We had our cousins & Tatiana, his biological sister, over to share his special day.  It was so fun to watch all the kids play so good together & to see them love each other unconditionally.  I LOVE my family!!!

       What's a party without glow in the dark bracelets?!?!?!

i ♥ faces - flowers & faces

A year ago my wonderful friends, Ken & Laura, were married and I was the lucky photographer.  This is one of my favorite pictures from the shoot - you can see the happiness on their faces in this candid unposed moment.

I am now entering it into a photo contest with other fabulous pictures, please click the link below to see everyone's entry...

http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com/

 

 

Hangin' with the boys

Today after pre-school the boys & I decided it was time for us to spend quality time together.  Mikel had taken an early nap so we had 1 hour to play before Weatherly got home & we had to get ready for gymnastics.  We rode our bikes, played baseball, played on the swing set, helped Granny in the garden & finished our fun waiting for Weatherly at the bus stop.  I know one day my quality time with my boys will be limited once they find 'another women', but until then they are all mine :)!!

      Aren't they precious :)!?!?!

It's beginning to look a lot like summer....

Today was pretty warm, so warm my kids (Weatherly & Tennyson - Mikel was taking a nap) didn't really want to play outside too long.  To keep the outside momentum going I treated them with a little water....

 

It was perfect :)!!

A Blessed Day

What a beautiful, blessed & fulfilling day I had :)!!!  Today, after I helped get Weatherly & Tennyson ready for school, Mikel & I drove to The Garden to spend a day with a resident at the homeless shelter.  She has been living at The Garden for about 2 years after she lost her job as a teacher.  Not long after she lost her job her self-esteem plummeted, she ran out of her severance money & found herself with no where to live.  At this point she had no clue what to do - she prayed for guidance and God led her to The Garden, a shelter for women and children.  She found comfort, refuge and a family there.  Now, 2 years later, she is trying to gain control of her life again.  Today Mikel and I took her to get a photo ID and open a bank account.  Social Security is beginning to pay for her disability so she will be able to start going to a doctor and get her health under control which will allow her to get a job and in turn rent an apartment.  What a blessing!!!  God is so good :)!!!!  I can not tell you enough on how she blessed my life with her beautiful spirit, her friendship and her love.  I could not have asked for a better day....

Thank you Lord for bringing us together today and allowing us to praise your name together and enriching our lives further with your love.  You are an awesome God!!!!!

 

Happy Birthday to you & you...

I have failed miserably at blogging lately - time has been beyond limited & photography has taken a lot of my time lately.  However, I do enjoy writing about my family, so I will attempt blogging again :).

 

This past weekend my sweet & sensitive Tennyson turned 4 years old.  He is so proud to be older & I am in disbelief the way time flies.  As cliche as it sounds, I still remember bringing him home to meet Weatherly & Uncle Brad on a very cool & windy day (Jason thinks I am crazy for this memory).  It is also amazing to see how much changes in 4 short years - we moved, Granny came to live with us, Brad passed to a better life & we adopted Mikel.  WOW!!!  I wonder what the next 4 years will hold :)?.....  

Speaking of birthdays my wild, crazy & big hearted Weatherly turned 6 years old this year (in January).  It has been a hard year for her - she started 'Big School'.  Kindergarten is not what I remember it being.  Some odd years ago (like 1980) when I started Kindergarten it was half day school days which included coloring, singing, playing and gluing. Now (in 2010) Weatherly is expected to spell, read, write, do phonics, add, subtract & understand money.  I think these are fabulous things, however I was not prepared!!!  So it has truly been a challenge for everyone.  Despite the challenges & changes we have faced - Weatherly is still Weatherly. She lives for social time at school & she loves to come home & cuddle with her parents :).

 

Next month it will be Mikel's 2nd birthday, can you believe it?!?!  Mikel has been our son for a year and a half & legally for 9 months.  He was 9 1/2 months when we picked him up off the cold streets of Atlanta one late night in March.  What a blessing he has been to our family!!!!

 
 

Ace of Cakes Pictures

 

   

 

 

 

 
 
 

I meet Duff on Ace of Cakes!!

Last December Ace of Cakes came to visit CHOA.  It was so fun to meet a cake celebritiy - he was sincere, nice, friendly, warm, a jokester & very approachable.  He was absolutely fabulous with the patients & families - Duff made sure he spoke with everyone on the floor & spent time in the rooms of patients that couldn't come out to the family room.  Duff is just the same in person as he is on TV.  Plus his cake was delicious as well as beautiful.  It did not even look like a cake - I was amazed!!

The episode airs this Thursday, April 15th, at 10:00 pm on the Food Network - and if you miss it you can always check it out on the computer later.  Don't miss it - tune in so you can see our amazing cake!!