Tuesday Tens!

On Tuesdays, I will blog random tens... for the first Tuesday Ten:

Ten Things I love about summer........

1. Sand in my toes, sun on my face near water... anytime of year...
2. Watching Carlie run through the sprinkler
3. Fresh fruits and veggies and Saturday Market....
4. Popsicles on the back porch
5. BBQing and entertaining
6. Taking Carlie to the park and watching her ride the carosel
7. Camping.... one of my favorite things ever... always...
8. Crabbing...
9. Pedicures as my feet are the ugliest things I have ever seen... I NEED THEM...
10.The State Fair....

Uncle Bubby...

It is funny to me that his pet name as a brother lives on as an Uncle.

One thing in our home that is true, is that my children always have pet names. More than you can count.... tons of pet names. They are fun and cute and the kids loved them. Yet, there is one that stuck with Taylor. His sister's called him Bub... or Bubby, or Bubby Boy.... Bubs... You get it.... Bub! It is so fun for me to see that he refers to himself as Uncle Bubby to Bella. It makes me laugh and smile and it warms my heart.

This was a fun day that we had at Red Robin. Bella absolutely loves him. He is AWESOME with her.

The other day, on Father's Day, we took their dad to dinner. It was so cute. Carlie looks at her brother and said, Bubby, can I get a huggy from you. You could see him melt. He had posture, and was doing his best to act like a man, yet when he heard those words, he melted into the little guy that lives within as a young man living with Autism.

He amazes me.

Fresh Tomato Basil and Mozzarella Salad

I went to Trader Joe's today. If you really know me, you know I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Trader Joe's. So much so that yesterday was their fourth day open here in Salem and it was my third trip in... I love them that much. I think I will even go there today. EWWWWW... this may be a problem. Anyhow... there was fresh basil there that I will be planting in the yard so it will continue to grow. I love it. They also had a sample of a mozzarella cheese logs. This is fresh, where it is not hard, or in the string cheese form. It is soft and wet and ohhhhh so good. So, this was simple....

Collect fresh tomatoes. Aren't tomatoes fantastic right out of the garden and when they are fresh? I love them. So good to just eat with salt. Also gather fresh basil, and the mozzarella cheese for the salad. I put a bit of garlic powder in it as well...
This is what I am talking about... don't those tomoatoes look good... just slice the tops off and wash... eat them raw. So good.
I had to include the above photo... it is Carlie, my six year old daughter. She picked the basil off of the plant for me and was ripping the leaves and adding it to the salad for me. I love she is six and tells me... mommy it is so fun to cook together. It makes me so very happy.
Cut the tomatoes and add the basil as shown above. I love the colors and how they contrast against each other so much. It just looks so fresh and appetizing.

Slice and add the mozzarella cheese to the mix. Easy enough. Now... add balsamic vinegar to the salad. I also added, after the photo... a dash of salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I thought of getting wild and crazy (hahahaha, this is my idea of wild and crazy at 44) and adding red onion and olives to the mix. It was so very good. If you wanted a meat to the salad, a salami would be nice or prosciutto would be fantastic. I served this with some french bread, and it was dinner. Grantid, nobody in the house liked it. He didn't like fresh mozzarella and she didn't like balsamic vinegar. However, mommy loved it... and that, for last night is all that counted. THUS... I had to make a spinach salad as well and a turkey pita pocket for miss Carlie.

Back in the groove....

It has been a very long year. Some think that may mean a bad year, but it is not at all what I am trying to portray. It is just a year... of learning and more discovering who I am. (Do we ever really get there?)

Well, THE BIG NEWS!!! I am a GRANDMA... or as it is known to my grandbaby... I am Grammy! I thought it might bother me to be called Grandma... am I really that old? However, it doesn't bother me at all. The name Grammy is cute and it is fun, yet if I am called Grandma, that is A.O.K with me as well.

SHE is a doll baby. She smiles and slobbers and giggles and she bites. YES... she bites... she just bit me yesterday. She flashes me a grin afterwards and somehow it feels like all is well in my world with a throbbing finger with bite marks in it.

Bella Jo fits beautifully in my world... our world. She is loved by all who meet her. She is precious and I am just in awwwww I have a child with a child. She is a bald little princess that is slowly but surely getting a few curls here and there. She has people wrapped around her finger. She is a fashion diva and a heart stealer. She is a Bella Bean, Ms. Green Jeans, Bella Boo, Pee Pee Butt... Silly Jr Sis, Puddin Pie, Sweety Petey, Pumpkin Pie... need I go on? She is my daughter's daughter, and even as I write this, I tear up over that fact. My off spring has an off spring. WTHeck???? Where did my moments slip off to? But most of all, she is a miracle, as all children are. She is a child of God... and I am blessed to have her in my life.

Her Uncle Taylor makes her laugh. It makes me smile seeing how although his autism rules his world, he loves... and he loves her... and she adores him. My heart fills with pride and affection at this very fact. I am blessed. Carlie... for six years old.. she is the best Auntie around. Can you imagine? She is so dedicated to loving Bella and being a kind Auntie. They will grow up like sisters I am sure. There just is nothing wrong with this...

So Here it is... a new chapter to life as I try to start my blog again with all of my thoughts... and my life to share... blessings in your lives.... Wendy