One Hot Mess!

Because I have been absent from my little blog for the last few weeks, I will try to catch you up on the crazy that is my life.

Last Thursday Cole developed a fever.

It continued on Friday.

Our family vacation was to begin on Sunday.

Are you still with me?

Good....just checking.

Between Friday and Sunday, Cole saw the doctor twice.

His fever remained over 104 most of the time.

This mommy was freaking.

But only on the inside.

I sent my husband and two other children on to the beach.

With my suburban.

And our boat.

And all the food in our refrigerator.

The plan was that Cole and I would join them on Monday.

That was a great plan.

In my mind.

However, Cole continued with fever.

Shots were administered.

Blood work was ordered.

Tests were given.

The fever continued.

So we stayed.

And snuggled.

And watched movies together.

And ordered out, because our cupboards were bare.

And we dreamed of sunny days playing at the beach.

Finally we got the "go ahead" on Wednesday.

We drove as fast as we could to the beach.

The next morning, we enjoyed 10 glorious minutes at the pool before the rains fell.

And fell.

And didn't let up until late afternoon on Friday.

Do you see where I am going with this?

Yup, one day of sun and fun.

One.

Saturday.

But it was glorious!

Cole?

He is just fine.

They never found any serious reason for his high fevers.

We are just thrilled to have our energetic little five year old back!

Even if our vacation...really wasn't.

My Camera May Just Be Smarter Than Me

A friend of mine called me earlier in the summer and inquired if I would be interested in taking a photography class.

Absolutely!

I have owned my precious Nikon for over a year and I must admit that I rarely shoot unless I am in the auto mode.

You can pick your jaw up off the floor.

And stop rolling your eyes.

I know it is really unconscionable to think I have a nice SLR camera and I am not taking full advantage of all it has to offer.

I know about white balance.

I have read about apertures.

I have heard about ISO's.

But I don't get it.

So I signed up for an intro class.

And after my second class last night I am thrilled to report that I STILL DON'T GET IT!!!

I took great notes.

I listened intently.

I reviewed what I learned on the way home.

Then I spent the day at the pool with the kiddos and my Nikon.

I started thinking about white balance.

And apertures.

And ISO's.

By the time I figured out what I wanted my settings to be...the moment was lost.

And most of my photos were of the splashes left behind when my more than frustrated kids swam away from me.

At one point...Cole had a mask and snorkel on.

He looked adorable.

It was THE perfect moment.

It was taking me so long to make a decision the mask started to fog up.

And Cole took it off, gasping for breath.

Really?

Was it too much to ask for him to hold his breath, short of turning blue, so I could get the perfect shot?

Hopefully my next class will address that.

Just Peachy!

A friend dropped off a few bags of peaches the other day.

Fresh peaches.

Delicious peaches.

Over 75 peaches.

What's a girl to do with so many peaches?

Make stuff.

And so I did.

I decided to share with you one of my favorite new found recipes.

It is beyond delish.

Your taste buds will thank you.

And beg for more.

What is this recipe you ask?

Peach Salsa.

Now before you go sticking your nose up and saying yuck...try it.

You will thank me.

Again.

And again.

You will need the following ingredients for your salsa.

2 cups of chopped Fresh Peaches

1/4 cup of chopped red onion

1/4 cup of chopped red pepper

1 jalapeno pepper chopped and seeded

Arrange all your ingredients in a bowl so it looks pretty enough to photograph.

Then you will add 2 teaspoons of lime juice and 1/4 tsp of salt.

Stir.

Hello lover.

Cover and chill.

The only thing that would make this better is fresh cilantro.

Which I intend to add later.

If I have any left.

You might as well double or triple this recipe.

You are going to kick yourself if you don't.

Not that I would know anything about that.

Happy eating.

Prayers for Stellan

Today is Monday.

Monday for me usually means a big, fat, Not Me Monday post.

Those posts are hosted by MckMama.

Her little boy, Stellan, is very sick today.

Very, very sick.

You can read about him here.

And here.

Instead of posting...I will be praying.

He really needs prayers.

Won't you help me say a few?

Thanks.

Forever

When I think of my own wedding I have wonderful memories.

But hey it was MY wedding.

I hardly think my guests remember the color of my bridesmaids dresses.

Or the flavor of the cake that was served at the reception.

I am not sure I remember the flavor.

One thing is for sure.

The guests at this wedding will never forget it.

And those friends who didn't attend are kicking themselves for not replying.

Enjoy!

Overheard

Me: "Cole, you need to pick up these toys and put them back in your room."

Cole: "You've got to be kidding me!"

...........................................................................

Nana:"Those Charlie horses really messed up the grass in my front yard."

Me: "Really? How do leg cramps cause issues for your grass?"

Nana: "My legs are fine, but my grass has dead spots from all those Charlie horses the roofers had laying around."

Me: "Multiple roofers were thrashing around on your grass from leg cramps?"

Nana:"No silly they put boards on their Charlie horses"

Me: "Boards? I haven't heard that one. I was always told you need to eat more bananas."

Nana: "Okay...am I not using the right word again?"

Me: "I think the word you were looking for is Saw horses."

Nana:"Yeah...that too!"

................................................................................................

Claire: "Could you take me out to the country one day and teach me how to drive?"

Me:"Um... You have six years before you will be driving."

Claire:"Well, I need to start practicing."

...................................................................................................

Chase: "May I mow the grass? It looks like it needs cutting."

Me: " You are my favorite."

Note that all my children are my favorite, but at that very moment...Chase was.

It Is Possible To Teach An Old Dog New Tricks

If you follow me on Twitter then you know I have been taking a continuing education class this week.

Effective Teacher Training to be exact.

All. week.

All. day.

Every. day.

I will admit that I was not looking forward to it.

I envisioned a little old lady standing at the front of the room reading to me from a text book.

With those glasses on the end of her nose.

All. day.

Every. day.

Thank goodness I am not good at the envisioning.

I have the most amazing teacher.

A. maz. ing.

In three days, I have not seen her look at a note.

She hasn't read to me.

Or put me to sleep.

She knows her stuff.

And she is quite entertaining.

I even find myself disappointed we have to break for lunch.

Can you imagine me not wanting to eat?

I know...me either...but try to imagine it.

Now I am going to let you in on a little secret.

Shhhh.

Come closer.

I have learned a lot about myself this week.

A. lot.

I am not going to lie to you...it ain't all good.

I have been blaming my kids for most of what is wrong around our home.

Imagine my surprise when lo and behold I figured out it was mostly me.

Moi.

So I came home Monday and regrouped.

Reevaluated.

And applied what I learned that day.

I can not begin to tell you the difference it made.

Life changing even.

In three short days, my kids are behaving differently because I am.

I have not told them of the changes.

But I am quite certain they are aware of them.

They have to be.

I just wish I had been given this information 13 years ago.

You know back when Chase was born and I was given the
Everything-You-Ever-Wanted-to-Know-About-Motherhood Manual.

You got one....right?