The Ketchup Dilemna

I admit it, the boys and I go through the Chick-fil-A drive-thru at least once a week if not more often. The boys are addicted to the nugget Kids Meals, and I like the classic sandwich. Usually, we stop at CFA on the way home from The Little Gym on Thursday. The boys are really good at eating in the car. We have this scheme worked out, I credit Rick, of dumping the fries and nuggets in the Kids Meal bag and eating them right out of there. My boys don't understand ketchup is an option in the car...whew! No mess, no spills, bliss.

Mom on the other hand needs Ketchup, yes I admit it, on her sandwich. Usually, the helpful CFA employee will politely ask if I'd like any condiments with my meal to which I'll reply that I'd like two ketchups. 2 is such a simple number, right? I mean, CFA doesn't want to waste money giving away unnecessary condiments, right? That's why they don't just dump a handful in every bag. I have to tell you that it is rare for me to get just two. Sometimes every bag in the order gets two (or more). Sometimes I get handed a handful. I guess they just hear 'ketchup' and wing it after that.
Now, this isn't just a CFA thing. I repeat, I love CFA. This is really a reflection of what people say vs. what people hear. I have politely responded with, "Really, I just want two." only to get a blank stare. Oh well, I'll keep trying.

Zoo Day

The boys and I went to the zoo today with Patrica and the boys. It was a special Wake Up With the Animals event. They do this at least once a year. We went last year too. Members get free McDonald's breakfast and a chance to get into the zoo early. The big deal this year is that the new elephant exhibit is open. I'll let Patricia blog about the elephant experience, but wanted to share some happy boy pics from the zoo. It rained, and we ended up only seeing Africa, but I think it was well worth it. Look at these cute faces!

The rest of the pics are here. For more information on the zoo, go here.

School Picture Day

Today is school picture day. The boys will get their pics taken alone and together. It was quite the fiasco last night looking for just the right shirts to wear and finding blue jeans that didn't have worn out knees. I tried to find new long sleeve shirts at Wal-Mart and Target without success. Johnny is going through a 'I won't wear short sleeves' phase:-( Luckily, I had these shirts in the closet in roughly the right sizes. Joey gave the thumbs up all excited about the horse embroidery, and Johnny agreed to his too. Yippee! Oh, we've had fights in previous years/sessions over what Mom wanted the boys to wear vs. what they wanted. Johnny's shirt ended up being a 5T and a little too big in the sleeves and body, but there was no turning back this morning. I took these pics before school. The boys were excited, and so was Mom.

The rest of the pics are here including Mom and Joey's parent lunch and Johnny being reunited with Buster.

Happy Easter

We had the annual kids' spring party at our house today. Some years it is a Shamrock party and other years it is an Easter party. For a while this year, the party had an identity crisis due to the holidays being so close together. But, in the end, it worked out to be an Easter party.

We couldn't have asked for a nicer day. We hit a high of 75 here in Willow Spring. Wow! And, double wow!!!

The kids did the usual assortment of crafts, and I was happy that we got through the ones I wanted to do and that the kids were into them today.

We ate...lots. Chick-fil-A nuggets followed by cupcakes and cookies and of course the bingo (candy) markers.

The kids got to do an Easter egg hunt and a 3-legged race. Next year, a sack race for sure!

It was great seeing everyone. The kids were all really good today. Fun!


The rest of the pics are here.

Signs of Spring

I noticed the first butterflies of the season earlier this week flying through the yard. Usually I spot them on my azalea bushes along the front of the house, but those aren't quite in bloom yet. Then, while I was outside with the boys this afternoon, I saw a bunch of them on one of my yoshino cherry trees. It was tough leaning my neck back to track the butterflies and snap these pics, but I'm glad I didn't give up. These are pretty cool:-)

My bradford pear tree is about done. My forsythia is in full bloom. The late blooming daffodils are going strong. Azaleas are waiting for just one more day to burst open. It's a pretty spring. Jack Frost stay away!

The rest of our late afternoon pics are here.

Here Comes Peter Cottontail...

The cute little Leprechaun is gone, and the Easter Bunny has arrived! For a mom that does a lot of decorating and holiday preparation, having the two holidays within the span of 1 week is a bit much! But, hey, I do what I gotta do. The boys were thrilled to come out this morning to find that I'd put up the Easter Bunny after they went to bed last night. The rest of the photos I took are here.

For a trip down memory lane, take a look at Joey from 3/26/04/. He's about 18 months old, and I'm pregnant with Johnny.

The Wheel Is Turning!

The boys and I visited Yates Mill Pond again today. We've been so many times recently that I've forgotten how many times we've been now. Besides being a gorgeous 60+ degree day, they were running the water wheel and actually grinding corn today. For $5 (kids under 6 are free), the boys and I were able to go inside on the ground floor and learn a lot of cool facts about the mill. We saw how the mill grinds corn up close:-) It was really quite fascinating to hear the tour guide talk about the mill even if the kids were spinning around like tops for part of the tour. Of course the highlight for me was getting to take pictures of the mill with the waterwheel turning. Wow! And double wow! We walked the loop around the lake and spent a few minutes inside the 'museum' building too. Nice:-)

On the way home, we stopped by Lake Wheeler Park to feed the ducks. The seagulls ended up coming over too (that's never happened before at the fishing pond). Of course I took more pictures.

Enjoy the few pictures imbedded below, or go here for the rest of the pics.