Uncle Mike and Amanda

Uncle Mike has celebrity status at or house (at least in the eyes of Sophie and Jack!). We were lucky to have him and Amanda join us for the weekend of his birthday, which coincided with his audition with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

It also gave me an excuse to make the infamous chocolate cake we've dubbed "salmonella cake" that our Mom made when we were growing up. It's the best chocolate cake you'll ever eat, and it's nickname is derived from the raw eggs in the icing. Not something that I would normally endorse as a dietitian. But, manipulating the recipe to make it meet food safety standards has proven to be unsuccessful. It just doesn't taste the same without the raw eggs. So I'll take my chances because it's just that good.

Mike usually has to ramp up on his sleep before AND after visits with us, as his bachelorhood doesn't require the same kind of energy that being an Uncle of 2 preschoolers does. I must admit to feeling envious when he typically goes down for a nap right around the same times as Jack. It was nice for Sophie (and me!) to have a companion while the boys napped each day. Amanda was always up for a craft or a game with Sophie - it was sweet to watch Sophie respond to her so nicely.


While it took Sophie no time at all to warm up to Amanda, Jack was a little more timid. The first day of the visit he awoke from his nap in a grumpy mood. He took one look at Amanda and burst out crying. Fortunately she took it in stride and by Day 2, it was game on.

The weather was beautiful all weekend which allowed us to be outside much of the time. Uncle Mike pitched a lot of balls and blew a lot of bubbles, and the kids were delighted to be with him as always.


We even enjoyed a fun double date consisting of dinner and an ASO concert, which was an added bonus for me and Eric, who don't seem to get out as often as we'd like.