Fourth of July Family Celebration

   I have always wanted a big family.  You know the kind that gets together for special occasions or on Sundays to celebrate the fact they're a big family.  Cousins, uncles, aunts, grandparents, second cousins and great grandparents, all there, with a homemade dish in hand waiting to great you and say "It's been too long!".  

   You see, I come from a small family, my mom is an only child and well, my dad acts like he was.  I didn't have any cousins to play with and my brother was 9 years younger than I.  As a child, I yearned for many brothers and sisters, for aunts and uncles.  It didn't make a difference that my parents friends had children, which I played with.  I wanted an uncle or aunt with annoying cousins, etc.  Today 30 years later and this is still an overwhelming desire in my heart, I had the same wish for my son also.  In God's infinite wisdom, he blessed us with a very large and diverse extended family on my husband's side.  Of course, Carr is too young to fully enjoy this familial bliss, I enjoy it for him.  When I wished for a big family, I really didn't know what I was getting myself into!  It is, to say the least, challenging to remember all the names and titles, and I have been a member for the past 5 years!

   We get together on important holidays or on special occasions like Christmas and the 4th of July!  My father in-law has a large family and my mother in-law also.  Both blended their families into one,  once they married, having 4 children: Marion, Kim, Hunter and my husband Chip.  All of the brothers and sisters married and forming their family, yay cousins for Carr!  Some even have become grandparents!  Carr's Papa is making a family tree for him so he knows how lucky and blessed he is for having such a big family.

   Back to celebrations, Papa's sister Aunt Nancy has enormous family get together at her home for the 4th and for Christmas.  She decorates her home with festive details and always takes the time to great each person that arrives with the warmest of smiles.  Mind you this is an incredible feat because I have seen over 50 guests at her parties with their extended family!

Here are some of my favorite photos of the Loving Family 4th of July Celebration!

 This is before family starting arriving.

 Setting-up

 Meal-time!

 Chip and our nephew Asher

 Papa and Aunt Mimzy

 Mommy and Carr

Weekend Life

Lately, I have been trying to do something interesting on weekends.  Things that for me are out of the ordinary, things that get postponed, overlooked and wished for, these are the moments I am trying to have at least once every weekend.

Community Market & Saturday shared with Mimi

I think the smartest decision I have made this year was to join a farmers co-op.  I took these photos the first Saturday I went to pick up my produces.  This has become a highlight of my weekend.  I love the romantic idea of buying straight from a farm, no grocery store involved. Funny how the simple things bring a smile to your face.

 Lynn and I went antique shopping.  I fell in love with this particular piece.

 We also went to a nursery.  I love the smell of fresh soil.

 Local cafe.  Such a quaint coffee shop, look at the antique copper coffee machine.

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 New bakery at the farmers market, which I highly recommend...delish!

 Farmer's Market

I love marigolds.  They are so simple and bring a smile to my face.

Blackwater Trail - summer walk

I always wanted to go walking in the blackwater trail.  It was a great Sunday, we had breakfast with Mimi and then went walking.

First day at the Pool

We spent the day at Mimi's pool.  Carr found a Dora doll and played with her all day.  He is hesitant of the water, which is fine.  I rather that than him trying to jump in on his own. 

Some special moments jumbled together
This particular Sunday it was filled with guilty pleasures.  We played trains all morning and then had a soy fudgesicle. 

Henry's Birthday - Natural Bridge Zoo

We had a blast at Henry's Birthday!  It was also Carr's first time at a zoo, something I had wanted to do for quiet some time.  I took off a day from work to share this with my family. Please enjoy this pictorial.

 Chip and I learned a new thing about Carr, he really doesn't like Carr rides.  He gets car sick, not enough to have an upset stomach but Carr gets all quiet and stares straight out the window.  We finally got there and Marion gave up these cute water bottles for the kids.

 Goldfish!

 "Mommy I want a lion!"

 Taking some time-out to snack!

 "I don't wanna share!"

 "Gosh, he loved the llamas!"

 "I wanna another ride on the elephant!"

Father's Day

Funny how sometimes you plan a day to a tee and it just doesn't come together.  Well, I need to be honest and fess up that I had not pre-planned anything for father's day, it just came together.

Carr and I baked Chocolate muffins with chocolate chips.  We finger painted and made daddy a card also.

We were so happy going about our business that we did not notice how loud we were and woke daddy up early (I wanted to let him sleep in).  We had breakfast together and we had french toast for lunch.  Yes, I know not very nutritious but yummy.  Carr and I did laundry and watered Mimi's plants, we played in their deck and took a good long nap.

Daddy woke us up, between you and me, he really enjoyed his quiet time to himself playing video games.  I started making dinner.

Scallops and asparagus sauce with Steaks

Fresh organic green beans, tomatoes, bacon with a honey balsamic reduction

Fresh organic cucumbers with dill and rice vinegar

Today, has been a great family day, we played, worked and ate as a family.  We are very fortunate to have each other.  Chip, Carr and I are so blessed having you in our life.  You are the father I always wanted and you're the husband I prayed for.  We love you very much!

Happy Father's Day Chip!

Roseolla, upset stomach and unknown bug

I had mentioned in my post "and life happens" that Carr had been sick.  When he has a bad night, restless, whinny, squirmy, you name it, that is always the prelude to a feverish day.  And so it began, fever of about 101/2 all day and then night hit where it ran about 103.  This is about when we started giving him Motrin. Chip doesn't like to over medicate our son, which is the main reason why he administers it, when, how much and frequency, obviously as directed by the pediatrician.  This is fine with me, I don't like to see my son suffer and get very nervous rendering me useless to administer any type of medication.  The next day we took him to the doctor, strep test, look over, you name it, and the pediatrician says..."I think it's a virus, it needs to run its course." Are you kidding me!?! Really?  You cannot pinpoint what he has, and you offer me no advice on how to get him better? I understand that doctors today fear liability but come on!  I would have really appreciated some input. Long story short, he had a even worse night until finally his fever broke.  The next day he was covered in red dots, like chicken pox but red.  Took him to an urgent care (my pediatrician closes for two hours at lunch) and they diagnosed him with Rosseolla.

One week after, he was getting better, he had started eating and had much more energy, he threw up for the first time.  My poor baby!  He didn't understand what was going on.  I think I held it together pretty well, I didn't freak out and I told him it was alright and normal, that probably he ate something that didn't agree with him and gave him water.  A piece of advice, never give them water right after, they are bound to through it up immediately, which he did.  He cried and hugged me, poor son.

Once again, about a week after, he had a fever again.  I called the doctor and we went to see her.  She said that this was worrisome, that he spent the month sick and she wanted to run some blood work.  Well, they did, BTW, he behaved like a champ, even hugged the nurse afterwards.  God I love my son!  Everything came back fine, he got better two days later and he has been fine ever since.

We have been very fortunate, our son has hardly been sick at all, other than teething.  One bad month is OK when you look at the big picture.  I just pray that it doesn't happen again this way.  Sleep deprived, stressed out and worried make for a very inefficient mom and wife.  My home has been a mess, I have over-spent in take-out food and stop doing things that kept me grounded.  Now I find myself picking up the pieces and slowly recovering to normality. Who would have thought routine and tranquility would be so desired in my life today.

And life happens...

It's been a while since I have posted a new entry. May has been a hard month to digest, literally.  While this mess has given me ample subject matter to write about, it has exhausted every shred of discipline I had.  Not only have I put the blog on hold, but my personal finances, relationships, etc have suffered from it also.  Now you can imagine me gathering up my life, like when you do housekeeping, trying to sort and put everything in its place.
The month started out as ordinary but quickly turned into what I like to call "mad house".  Almost immediately at the beginning of the month Carr got sick, and when I say sick, he didn't have a case of the sniffles.  Also my professional life was very hectic which added to the stress. Oh and by the way, Carr got sick again.  As if we didn't have enough on our plate, my parents are in a very nasty divorce and seem to be incapable of solving their own problems without trying to force me to participate. And ...Carr got sick yet again.
After only a month of utter madness, I have arouse with a feeling of accomplishment for having survived.  I know there are people that are going through worse.  I never forget how blessed I am. My point is Life Happens and one falls off the wagon so to speak. It's normal, it's human and it is to be expected.  What needs to happen immediately after you've taken a breathe, is  

KEEP AT IT!

Start all over again, take it a day at a time.

Your children deserve no less!