The Mothership

Among most people who are raising smaller humans you can hear a mantra, "I'm just tired..." And I'm not sure that it goes away - encouraging, I know.  When you have an infant you are exhausted because of loss of sleep. And the days can be long. And as they grow older you get more sleep - so to speak. But the days can still be long. And see, I'm thinking there is a culprit at the head of the game of tiredness...the things I find where I am loosing my patience the most... Teachable moments...they draw their weapons and yell " I'll be your huckleberry "...(movie reference) every single time. The amount of opportunities for me to have a teachable moment with my children is exasperating. It’s not just once a day - more like 20 times a day...per child. "Hmmm, I haven't had to teach or model or reinforce anything today." said nary a parent. And that's not to say that I haven't had awesome days filled with wonderful memories ...

 I'm not sure if it is because of my lackadaisical ways through the summer - but man it seems like this summer is eating a whole through our path of normal order and structure.  At the beginning of every summer I always am so relieved to have a free schedule. I feel like Julia Andrews in the Swiss Alps.   My regular mode of planning every event is thrown out the window. As we move through the summer days we seem to leave a wake of forgetfulness and that feeling of perpetual "no responsibility."  It's like I think we are on a really long vacation. I'm good with it, really, but clearly I am not a responsible adult when structure isn't a top priority. Also, I'm convinced the pool has an under-layer of THINGS that have collected...like a whole underworld litered with pretzels, water bottles, clothes, and all the torpedos you could ever dream to dive for...like a scene from Ninja Turtles...you could totally survice if you needed. You might be in "su...

My grandmother was KNOWN for her salsa. My mom and I spent lots of afternoons trying to figure out the secret to her recipe. My mom finally duplicated it...I have not been able to and since this isn’t my mom’s blog, i don’t think i can divulge the secret. I like to make recipes with fresh ingredients that don’t take a lot of time and that are healthy. I try to make things from scratch when I can - especially fresh easy recipes. However, when it comes to salsa there are so many brands and they all do the job for my late night cravings of tortilla chips and the tomatoey goodness. However, a lot of brands can be full of sugar, preservatives, and other ingredients that are just not needed. This recipe takes less than 15 minutes to put together and is always a crowd pleaser. If you gather all the ingredients and use a good chopper or food processor before you begin it takes even less time. I always make one too many trips to the refrigerator. This recipe is written for the food chopper bu...

To my friend whose life has changed since Thanksgiving...hearing your voice speak THAT word... such an ugly word; chemo...cancer. And they both mean the same thing essentially...poison in the body. And yet, might I say, you are NOT changed for the worst. This disease is only that, a disease.  You have NOT let it define you! I will never know a day in your shoes, and nor will I ever pretend to know what your mind, heart, and body have been through. But there are some things you have taught me these past 7 months. You have taught me... there is absolutely NO excuse to not getting my laundry folded...not even the fitted sheets. my excuses for NOT exercising carry no weight...they are just empty words. what humility looks like...accepting and receiving help is not easy - at least I know not for you and me. how smart and clever you are. I knew it before, but the amount of information you keep in your head - even after children and chemo - is astounding. that children are const...