If it just wasn’t SO hot.

So, there are some happenings to catch up on here on the blog. My plate has been a tad full lately. My darling Ruby was in great shape after recovering from her cold nonsense, but an intense cough soon returned, mostly at nights and naptime, keeping us awake for hours in the middle of the night, and leaving me without much of a break all day (which is truly crucial for the wellbeing of the entire family-especially when I’m sleep-deprived). I started to go a little crazy from being on the couch every night to keep her somewhat upright so she could sleep. And no amount of nebulizing, humidifying, Vicks, fluids, or pleading seemed to help stop her from waking up in a cough attack, so I took her to the doctor. It was hard to pull the trigger on taking her in when most of the day she is absolutely angelic and bubbly, but the other parts of the day and night, she gets in a coughing fit that only goes away after a long bathroom steaming, among other things we’ve tried. It just seemed like it would go away one of these days, but we hit our limit.(We’ve actually had some pretty fun middle-of-the-night moments together. She really likes to bring her spazy self out in the wee hours.) Anyway, the doctor put her on a six week, once daily, preventative nebulizing treatment. Silly asthma. Hopefully after that (ugh) long period she’ll be as good as new. If not, we'll look into acid reflux. Fun, fun. The boys have been their happy, healthy, great-sleeping selves (knock on wood.) So, that’s the haps, and now onto the catching up.

I’ve always loved the summer. I’m sure it’s rooted from being a kid and finally out of school. But now that I’m an adult, and school schedules don’t apply to me (yet), I kind of dread the summer. It’s just too hot for me and the kids to go anywhere and enjoy ourselves. And forget taking them to the pool or the beach. That had danger written all over it. But, I’m doing my best to make the most of it all the same. Here are some things I’ve enjoyed about this season so far.

We fired up the grill! And made ice cream! Elise’s birthday fell on Memorial day, so we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have a little shin-dig. Grilled pizza will forever be one of my favorite foods. You’ve really never had pizza until you’ve grilled it. And what makes it even better, is when you finish it off with homemade root beer, and homemade vanilla bean ice cream. Thank you Costco for now selling vanilla beans! It really hit the spot, especially paired with a tart lime pound cake I made for Elise. We’re definitely looking forward to more outdoor cooking in the coming months.

And we may have run through the sprinkler set up for the kids.

I’ve also been loving our family walks in the morning. There is NO WAY I would attempt taking walks alone in our neighborhood with kids this size. There are too many hills, and too many lbs. KC and I have to join forces to get up the hills. But when we all go together in the morning before it gets too hot, it’s just gorgeous. Just before sun rise is my absolutely favorite time of the day. It’s so peaceful and quiet outside, the kids are pretty mellow, and it just feels so good to breath in the fresh air to start out the day. I hope we keep this rejuvenating habit up.

The neighborhood farmers market is also a highlight. Those ham and cheese croissants are heavenly. I also bought some locally made Italian sausage. It's great to have a little market to enjoy so close by.

And you really know it’s summer when you’ve had your first bite of Key Lime Pie. That’s the true taste of summer for you. We had a great time with KC’s cousin Alicia and her husband Dustin while they were in town. When they came over for dinner, I thought it was a great occasion to make my favorite summer dessert. I’m sure I’ll be juicing limes again very soon.

So, I’ll do my best to find the good parts about this sticky season. Even it it means I gain a few extra founds from eating more homemade ice cream and pie!