Great Day to be Alive

And it's a great day to be alive
I know the sun's still shinin' when I close my eyes
There's some hard times in the neighborhood
But why can't every day be just this good?
                                                        -- TRAVIS TRITT

Mexican Chicken Salad
Since the heat is in for summer, I thought I'd share my most favorite refreshing and hearty salads.

What you need:

2 chicken breasts
1 head romaine lettuce
1 can Rotel tomatoes with Cilantro & Lime, loosely drained
1 cup frozen corn
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 small tomato, chopped
1/2 small onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 handfuls of Hot & Spicy Cheez-Its
Newman's Own Lite Lime Vinagrette
Chili powder
Paprika
Blackened seasoning (optional)

Directions:

Cook chicken breasts on stove in fry pan with non-stick spray.  Sprinkle with chili powder, paprika, and blackened seasoning while cooking. Cut into strips when cooked through.

Rinse and spin-dry romaine lettuce. Place on individual plates.

Top lettuce with spoonfuls of the Rotel tomatoes.

Run frozen corn under warm water in a colander to thaw.  Place on top of salads.

Top with spoonfuls of black beans.

Layer with tomatoes, onions, peppers, and cheese.

Place cooked chicken on top.

Crush a handful of Cheez-its and place on top.

Sprinkle with Lime dressing.


Delish.

Try to Remember

Try to remember the kind of September
When life was slow and, oh, so mellow
Try to remember the kind of September
When grass was green and grain was yellow.

Try to remember the kind of September
When you were a tender and callow fellow
Try to remember and if you remember
Then follow.

Try to remember when life was so tender
That no one wept except the willow
Try to remember when life was so tender
And dreams were kept beside your pillow.

Deep in December, it's nice to remember
The fire of September that made us mellow
Deep in December, it's nice to remember
And follow.
                                                     -- ROY ORBISON

Today is laundry day.  While I don't particularly enjoy doing laundry, it offers a great time to reflect.  I love the smell and warmth of freshly cleaned and dried clothing being pulled out of the dryer.  When I go for runs, I can pick up the smell of clean laundry from any house leaking out of the dryer pipe. I usually slow down for a bit and take in very deep breaths. No matter what kind of detergent or softener you use, the smell is enjoyable, relaxing, and reminiscent.














I remember when Chad was born at the aching early hours of the day, at 3:35am to be exact, and lifting him up to smell his sweetness and feel the warmth of his face against mine.  I remember kissing him so softly and checking out all of his little toes and fingers to see his uniqueness. I remember how he fell asleep so gently against my chest and breathed so softly and peacefully.

I remember how I thought he had grown so much in just a few days after we brought him home. His wrinkles began to unfold. He had shape to his head and body. His eyes were exploring more and more around him. He was beginning to recognize home.

And how alert and captivating he was at just two weeks old. How he still had not taken his eyes off of me since he was born. He knew at every moment exactly where I was.

I remember being so excited to share my baby at Christmas. To celebrate the holidays as a foursome family and how I could not wait to bring him downstairs to explore the lights on the tree and any goodies Santa had brought him in his stocking.  I was so antsy to get him downstairs to see his big sister tear through her gifts like wildfire. 

At 6 weeks old, Chad had developed a full on personality.  He knows what he wants, when it wants it, and substitutes do not count. He is a purist, plain and simple. Give him the real thing.  He'll give you the real thing back, guaranteed.

I remember Chad sitting up for the first time, and he was instantly addicted to his newfound skill. The smile on his face said it all. "Look at me!! I can do it!!!" However, his newly discovered ability did not make him any more independent.  Still addicted to Mommy.

Each day, he changes so much.  I am amazed at how he is growing so quickly. It seems to be going by much faster this time around than it did with Cari.  Perhaps because my time is split. Perhaps because resources are split.  But my heart is not split. Love is not split. It is multiplied.

I love how when I am rocking him before his naps, he looks up at me so sweetly and gingerly and lets out a huge grin, from ear to ear, letting me know that he is in his happy place. Nothing could light him up more than that.  Being held tightly, close to my heart, eye to eye.

I love watching him from the rear view mirror at the oh-so-many stoplights as he slowly opens and closes his fingers, one by one, clutching onto the air as if it will fly away if he doesn't hold on tight enough. His eyes look in wonderment as his fingers are moving, not understanding how it all works together, but in awe of the magic of it.

I love how his big sister is beginning to love him just as much as his father and I do. Slowly, but surely, she is coming around.  The kisses prove it.

My son is growing right before my very eyes.  Time is sailing by. Lest I remember the days when it was so tender.

How Sweet It Is

I close my eyes at night
Wondering where I'd be without you
Everything I did was just a bore
Everywhere I went seems I'd been there before
But you brighten up for me all of my days
With a love so sweet in so many ways
I want to stop and thank you baby
I just wanna stop and thank you baby.

How sweet it is to be loved by you,
How sweet it is to be loved by you.

                                       -- JAMES TAYLOR

What do you on a sunny Saturday afternoon when you have nothing planned? The laundry was fresh and clean. The carpet had those nice racing stripes. Muffins had been baked and the kitchen smelled so sweet. Nothing to do but enjoy love and family.  Andy was wonderful this morning and gave me the morning out to go shopping on my own.  He stayed with the kids and played games, read books, built towers, and chased little feet in circles. 

I did the same for him after lunch. He enjoyed a nice 18 holes of golf in the fresh air, away from the hustle and bustle of suburban life.  No schedule, no commitments, just chasing a little white ball around lush green grass and having great conversation with friends.

At home, Cari was not so happy that her favorite person in existance had left.  She tugged on my pants and cried, "Mommy, hold you...." as I made her peanut butter sandwich.  After I told her that we were going to each lunch soon, she looked down at her little hands, tucked her dimpled chin onto her chest and said, "I'm sad."  This was the first time she had ever verbally expressed her feelings.  I decided that after her nap, we'd have to do something to cheer her up.

We talked about taking a walk around the neighborhood.  "On stroller wheels?" she asked.  While that was more fun than sitting inside the house, it still wasn't thrilling, as you can tell.

Until I mentioned that when we returned from the walk, we'd make a mad dash through the sprinkler.

This surely got her excitement exploding. She could barely contain herself and almost lost her hat.

Into the stroller she and her little brother went.  We walked up and down the hills as Cari narrated each one and encouraged me on the way. "Mommy going uphill? Big, big mountain. Good job, Mommy."  How can you lose motivation when you have cheers like that?  On occasion, Chad would fuss and thrash in his seat, as is normal for him.  Cari would place her little hand on his arm so softly and gently pat, saying, "Ees okee, Chaddy-Chad."  This would calm him for a moment, as he loves the sound of his sister's voice. 

Sweet little Cari has never forgotten a thing.  As soon as we hit the bump at the end of the driveway, signaling that we were home, she exclaimed in her little excited voice, "Spwinkers?" This was the perfect way to cool down from a brisk walk in the muggy heat anyways.  To the backyard we tromped.  We stood under a tree for a few minutes to ease into the sprinkler as Cari kept yelling, "It's raining! Raining!" She needed just a little encouragement from me to get going, but once she figured out she could drink water from those little streams of water shooting everywhere, she was hooked. 

Chad and I took a couple runs through the sprinklers as well, but he wasn't so fond of the little droplets pelting him on his face and teeny little toes. I cannot wait until he's a little bit older and can enjoy the same fun things as his sister.  In the meantime, it is a joy to be able to still have one-on-one time, of sorts, with her during these experiences.

He enjoyed sitting and watching his crazy sister dash through the grass into and out of the sprinkler and listening to her squeals of delight.

As you can guess, she was not all to thrilled when it was time to come in.  No matter what we are doing, Cari always finishes up with a good swipe of mud to the nose and forhead. Oh, and of course into the mouth.

I didn't think much could top this afternoon. What a wonderful way to spend an afternoon that ended up being sunny rather than rainy and amazingly, not too hot.  Until, my incredibly thoughtful and loving husband came home with these..........

......which he picked on the 14th hole and placed them into his styrofoam water cup.  To think, all the while we were apart, each enjoying our relaxing and lazy Saturday, he was thinking of me.

How sweet it is to be loved by you.

Time in a Bottle

If I could save time in a bottle
The first thing that I'd like to do
Is to save every day
Til eternity passes away
Just to spend them with you.
                               -- JIM CROCE

Some days you just realize that time is passing all too quickly. That if you don't slow down and just sit and observe, you are likely to miss something. And miss it so quickly that you won't even regret missing it because it passed so quickly that you don't even know you missed it.

Today was one of those days.

I love our morning coffee time.  The kids get up, we get our coffee and juice, and sit on the couch together as the sun finishes rising.  We sit and chat about the coming day and just marvel at each other.  As I stood up to get a refill on my morning coffee and placed Chad in the Boppy pillow to steady him, I glanced back and realized, "Oh my goodness, my son is already 5 months old." What I saw sent flashbacks of Cari at his age, sitting in the same spot in the Boppy during our morning coffee over one and half years ago. My how time flies. I wish I could bottle every moment up and save them forever.  I wish I had a pause button for life so the clock would stop ticking, responsibilities would subside, duties would stop calling, and time would carry on forever.

This is what I saw when I glanced back as I went to get my refill (Chad at 5 months old):

And this is what I had flashbacks to (Cari at 5 months old):

And this is what I came back to after I got my refill:

And so it begins.....the end of peace coffee and the beginning of make-peace coffee.  But it is the beginning of relationships, bonds, love, and most of all, family.

All you need is love.

All you need is love.
All you need is love.
All you need is love, love, love.
Love is all you need.
                       -- THE BEATLES

My Mother Kept A Garden

My Mother kept a garden,

a garden of the heart,

She planted all the good things

that gave my life it's start.

She turned me to the sunshine

and encouraged me to dream,

Fostering and nurturing

the seeds of self-esteem...

And when the winds and rain came,

she protected me enough-

But not too much because she knew

I'd need to stand up strong and tough.

Her constant good example

always taught me right from wrong-

Markers for my pathway

that will last a lifetime long.

I am my Mother's garden.

I am her legacy-

And I hope today she feels the love

reflected back from me.

Author Unknown


HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to the world's greatest mom. I love you and hope and dream that I can be as wonderful a mother as you.

Life is Good

Life is good, the grass is green,
The good Lord smilin' down on you and me.
Gonna knock on wood,
Sweet sunshine everywhere I look,
You love me like no one could,
Life is good.
                                    --KENNY CHESNEY

For Mother's Day, we decided to spend time as family, outside and enjoying the beautiful weather.  We took a trip over to Washington Farms in Lawrenceville, and although the trip there was quite long and twisted in traffic, the arrival there was fresh and exciting.  We loaded Chad up in the carrier and took off running up the muddied up parking lot to grab our one-gallon buckets to plunk our freshly picked strawberries into.  One for Cari, and one for the rest of us - we are good to go! 

We head off across the fields to find a row that was not so crowded with anxious pickers and made our way down one that was only knee high to us, but waist high to Cari

The ripe berries were right at eye level for her and she had the perfect line of sight to grab at them, placing her little fingers around each one, squeezing tight with flourescent red juice dribbling down her fingers and dripping to her little white sandals, until the berry came of and she was able to toss each one into her bucket.  She doesn't discriminate - big, little, red, white, brown, squishy, hard, round, warbled, they all went in.

Chad enjoyed being in the sunlight, and of course being carried around.  He is an observer and a snuggler.  He never made a peep, just rode on his Daddy's back and sucked on the straps.  He soaked through two layers of shirts with drool, but he was happy, peaceful and content to be in such a wonderful place. Life is good.

After we finished filling our buckets, we decided to settle down under a shady tree and enjoyed a delicious picnic lunch. The wind blew, the sun glistened, laughter abound and children played. 

After all of the hard work of picking the berries, Cari certainly could not contain herself any longer.  And she forgets that her Mommy can see her through the lens of the camera.  Caught, red handed, literally!

They were worth every moment spent in those fields of joy.  The sweetness, the coolness, the juiciness flowing everywhere.  Afterall, "strawbies" are Cari's favorite anyways.  Life is certainly good.

As Cari ate, Chad ate.  He loves being outside, in the open, the fresh air, the breeze whisping.  He and his Daddy had a special time together at the picnic.

Although most people left the farms with buckets full of large, succulent, beautiful and flawless berries, we took home a gallon of delicious, red, squishy and juicy berries. Nothing could taste better.

Thanks to the friendly staff at Washingon Farms, we were able to get a family picture in, which is quite rare!

A few more pictures to share.  This will probably be one of my favorite Mother's Day pictures.

Cari's expression says it all in this picture. We are heading to the picnic tables to eat our lunch, as Daddy and Chad are coming back toward the fields. She turns around when and sees him coming she quickly spins around on her heels to look at me in sheer excitement in the moment she realizes he is coming for her. She loves her Daddy. Her Daddy loves her.

My little snuggle bunny.

And after the big day in the fields, someone is quite tired.

Isn't She Lovely

Isn't she pretty
Truly the angel's best
Boy, I'm so happy
We have been heaven blessed
I can't believe what God has done
Through us he's given life to one
But isn't she lovely made from love
                                             --STEVIE WONDER

I love days like today. No where to be, no reason to do chores, the sun is out, smiles are abundant and laughter is contagious.  Each morning when I put my make-up on, Cari has to have "her" brush, and "her" lipstick.  She stands next to me and brushes her soft little cheeks with her brush watching her mother do it, copying every move.  She then grabs her chapstick, and coats it on every crevice of her lips.  She smiles and spins, putting on her beauty for the day, saying "Mommy? Mommy?" as if she is thinking, "Do you approve? Is this right?"  After we finish our make-up and put it all away, she says to me in the sweetest, honest little voice, "So pretty, Mommy."  I need to hear nothing else.  All is perfect in the world. My flaws are gone.  I am so pretty in the eyes of my daughter. She sees past all of the mishaps, mistakes, and shortcomings. To view the world from a two-year old's eyes.

Today was make-over day.  When her little brother was peacefully taking a nap, we cranked up the radio, pulled out the make-up and went to town.  Her favorite was the lipgloss and lipstick, of course.  Although, it does take a little bit of practice to get the hand-eye coordination down!

Fantastic work, Cari! This is just your color.  And, you are right, applying lipstick is serious stuff - it takes a lot of concentration.

How does it look?

Maybe next time, we'll try some eyeliner.