There's a Buttfly in the Chris-A-Mis

Anyone living within 30 minutes of Southlake Town Square looking for something to do this weekend should get their butt-a-flies over there for the Butterfly Festival.  I took the girls this afternoon, and they were fascinated.

Am I really holding a live butterfly?

Unfortunately, I think the festival organizers experienced their first butterfly casualty when we showed up.  I thought Haley having a butterfly on her nose would make the most adorable photograph.  As soon as it's teeny, tiny feet hit her face, she plastered that poor Monarch across her forehead.  I think the butterfly expert might have shed a tear.  Oops...so much for that photo!  

Poor butterfly's days are numbered

They had loads of butterfly merchandise for sale that I quickly steered Shelby right past.  However, I couldn't resist the chrysalises (chrysalii?) they had for $3.  I broke down and bought two.  Woo, big spender!  All the way home, Shelby kept talking about the sleeping butt-flies in the Chris-A-Mises.  I was cracking up!  Now, we can only hope to see some Painted Lady butt-flies by Chris-A-Mis...

Some local businesses were handing out free treats, and Shelby quickly gravitated to the cotton candy snow cone.  She is a true descendant of mine with that sweet tooth of hers!  I bet even our Chris-A-Mises would love a little bit of this sugary goodness.

Our Own Little Slice of Paradise (Pond)

My good friend Bev introduced me to Paradise Pond about a year ago.  It is an old sanctuary converted into every toddlers' ultimate dreamland, including a bounce house, huge obstacle course, dress-up room, plastic roller coasters, Dora's corner of plastic crap, climbing wall, lego-land, and on and on and on...

When we first went, Shelby wasn't quite old enough.  Like every mom wanting to set a good example for her kids, I lied about her age.  She certainly could get around better than most kids her age anyway.  Here she is discovering the grocery store:

And here's Haley doing the exact same thing a year later:

Some various other crack for toddlers:

All in all, I would give Paradise Pond a big thumb's up.  For $1/person, it's money well spent to expend some energy!

Squid Dogs

Every heard of squid dogs? Nope, me neither until I saw some instructions on how to make them. I decided it would be the perfect playdate activity for Shelby and five of her friends. Boy, did all those girls have fun stabbing spaghetti into hot dogs! Elizabeth made an airplane dog. Shelby made a short-haired dog. Paige, Selene, and Avery made deformed squids. Arden just sat the whole thing out, realizing how juvenile it was! Haley ate more than anyone. Needless to say, we will be making squid dogs again!

Squid Dogs

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• Rated by 16 members

These odd-looking but tasty treats (we call them squidlings, pasta dogs, stringy sausages, or hairy dogs, depending on our mood) are an ingenious combination of two toddler favorites. Let your kids play with their food: they'll find it nearly impossible not to.

Ingredients

• Hot dogs
• Dry spaghetti

• Butter or ketchup (optional)

Instructions

To cook up a batch, simply cut a hot dog into sections, then spear the hot dog pieces with dry spaghetti as shown. Boil the spaghetti dogs until the pasta is tender. Serve with butter or ketchup, if desired.