Thanks in part to my redesign, I ended up with a back log of blog posts. Throwback Thursday will be my day to share old non-published works, as well as old photos with the stories behind them. I hope you enjoy! ~ Erin

It didn’t take long for Widget to develop a healthy obsession with the outside. We were constantly on our guard for those mad dashes to the doors.  One stormy night however, we went to bed without locking up and the next morning, we had ourselves a very quiet house. 

Typically, from the moment Widget sees me flick on my phone, there is a steady stream of meow… meow… meow. This morning, there was nothing. I turned on the lights to see the front door wide open. Beyond the door, rain was coming down in sheets. A text from our alarm company reported, the door had been open like that for 2 hours. I wasn’t sure if she’d leave in this weather but by now, who knows how far she could have gotten? 

We ate breakfast, dressed quickly and began the search. When searching on foot proved unsuccessful, we got in the car and began calling for her. We searched every street in the neighborhood and still there was nothing.

The next morning, I shook her food bag outside calling to her. Nothing. And while dinner cooked that evening, Will went out on walked the streets again, There was no sign of her. My heart sank. I kept reminding myself of several cats we’d owned growing up, disappearing for weeks if not months and returning unscathed. I couldn’t imagine her being gone for that long. It had only been 2 days. Where was she?!

On Day 3, I resigned myself to the fact that Widget was too good of a cat not to have been taken in by a nice family somewhere.Thankfully, she had been tagged and microchipped. If she had been found, hopefully they would call.

As it just so happens, the phone rang later that afternoon. “Are you Widget’s Mommy?” a voice inquired. “Yes!” I squealed. Widget had been found in a neighbor’s attic. She was doing just fine. They had posted on a picture on facebook of her little face peering out of the attic window but nobody had claimed her. It was their son who had gone into the attic that afternoon to rescue Widget and thankfully, her collar was still intact. As it turns out, Widget hadn’t gone too far. The voice on the end of the phone lived at the end of our street.

I raced home, pulled up to their house and knocked on the door. Behind it was  lovely family. Like us, they too had children, loved animals and had friends on the East Coast. If it hadn’t been for Widget, we might never have met them. Later that evening, I received a friend request from the neighbor who first saw the cat in her attic. She was happy to hear Widget had made it back home.

Today, I remain stunned by how much these 2 families could care about a little cat belonging to a neighbor they had never met. If you’re reading this, thank you again.

Will: *Coddling the dog* You’re just jealous! You wish you had eyelashes like that!

Will to the Dog: You just flutter those cheek lashes and you can get anything you want Sweetheart.

With Oakley in his lap, Will decides to roll down his window. Oakley gives him a concerned look.

Will: What? Who let the outside in!? Who did that? Ok. I’ll put it back outside  *Rolls window up*

While trying to cool the car, the a/c has been turned to max.

Will: Who turned the inside on?! What just happened?! 

Oakley: Chomp. Chomp. Chomp Chomp. (Biting at the breeze)

I let the dog out of her crate and upon my exit, discovered a very pretty luna moth perched near the door. I finally found a spot in the cabin where I had just enough signal to send off my Mother’s Day greetings.

It wasn’t long after that we sat down to freshly made cinnamon rolls. Will had baked for us! I was feeling very loved.  I was then asked what I had wanted to do. It was Mother’s Day after all and I was grateful that for once, my mind was made up. I wanted to hike up to Robber’s Cave and revisit  the lake if we had time. Ideally, we’d hit the road around noon. 

We packed up quickly, checked out and got a map detailing our way. There were 3 trails but getting to the very top of the mountain,  meant an intermediate level hike for 3 novice hikers. This was Kylie’s, Logan’s and Oak’s first time but they took to it with enthusiasm.

The rock formations were breath taking. They towered over us with 100 year old graffiti carved into some of the faces. We followed the orange markings around until finally coming upon the famous hideout of Belle Starr and Jesse James. We paused.

Some of the older children had told our kids the place was haunted. Kylie was hyper aware of the situation. Scarier than the place’s history, was the fact that no railings had been installed at the site and our son was just as fearless as I was when it came to skirting the edges. Adding to the suspense, were the deep fissures and loose gravel we crossed to get to the top bluff. 

In the end, it was worth it. We had actually made it. It had been an adventure to say the least. Incredibly, the trail that was supposed to take 2 1/2 hours only took 45 minutes giving us plenty of time to check out the lake.

We loaded back into the car and navigated the narrow roads back to the water. The kids  immediately remembered the dock and were given a dollar’s worth of fish food to show Daddy what the fish had done yesterday. Sadly, the fish were feeling very lazy that morning and most of the food went untouched. We decided to rent a paddle boat instead. Neither Will, nor the kids, nor the dog had ever been on a paddle boat before.

It was a gorgeous day for it too. It couldn’t have been more than 70 degrees out. The sun was shining and there was a light breeze.

Will and I paddled around while the kids and their dog watched the boat house disappear. Initially, we paddled together but after the hike, we were pretty worn out. Will then suggested we take turns paddling. I knew then that every bad thing I had eaten on this trip had just been accounted for. What a work out! Finally, we settled back on peddling together to drive the boat back into shore. It was fun but next year, we are definitely getting a canoe.

As we pulled in, the boys from the boat house came out and gave us a hand tying off the ropes. Ky and Lo were happy to see the playground again but the puppy didn’t want to leave. After a failed bit of coaxing, Will grabbed the dog and sat down at a picnic table. While the kids played, I made sandwiches. We ate our lunches together there under a giant oak tree. I couldn’t help thinking how perfect the day had been.

As if on cue, Will got up and bought us our first snow cones of the season. At 12:01, we were on our way home.

We left on Saturday at 4:30 in the morning with both kids and Oakley in tow. Robber’s Cave is 3 hours due north and we had already missed Friday night of our trip. Truthfully, I needed that extra day for so many reasons. I have no regrets.

The kids did surprisingly well. They slept through nearly half the ride waking up just in time for breakfast and to witness their very first sunrise. Dutifully, my husband hung himself out the window to record the occasion.

Finally, after a 2 hour excursion at Walmart, we had arrived. We unpacked, had “lunch”- it was 9:30,  and cracked open a couple of beers. The kids had gone across the street to check out the playground. I was absolutely stunned by how gorgeous the place was and instantly committed myself to next year.

The other kids met up with Kylie and Lo at the park but it didn’t take long for them to notice we had brought a puppy. Soon our cabin was host to a constant flow of extra children. Oakley was having the time of her life! There was always somebody to play with and she could chew up all the pinecones she wanted without getting yelled at.

The kids and their friends soon opted to go cabin to cabin; checking in periodically to ask “Can we have __________ at so and so’s house?” I’m pretty sure we said yes to all kinds of things we probably shouldn’t have but we were just grateful for a break and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

After I had made myself and our cabin presentable, we headed down to the lake. The kids were delighted to see yet another playground. There was also a small dock wear a group of kids was feeding a school of catfish. Kylie and Logan were thrilled that I just happened to have enough quarters on me to let them join in. When the food ran out, we headed to the sand box before discovering the nature center. 

I didn’t want to do too much without Will. He had been up all night and was taking a nap back at the cabin.  I had to make dinner anyway. The kids were getting restless so I decided we should turn in. They were pretty bummed to leave their friends behind but my promise of red velvet cupcakes smoothed things over.

Kylie had picked these out for my birthday. I never really understood the craze behind red velvet but these cupcakes made me a believer.  As far as birthdays go, this was absolute perfection.

Dinner that night was a pot luck meal.  Everyone was to gather at 5 p.m. and at 5:05 it began to rain. There was some confusion as to what to do next but thankfully, the rain let up and a fire was lit. 

The food was amazing and one by one people were stopping by to get to know Will. He seemed to be handling himself rather well without me so I ran off to get some help with Ky’s cookie cake.  

As dinner was winding down, the children (all 20 of them) were gathered to sing Kylie happy birthday. But just before doing so, Kylie made it known it was my birthday too.Thankfully, we also had 2 other birthdays in the group. So it was a very happy birthday for everyone. What could be better than a chocolate chip cookie cake followed by fire roasted s’mores?

It was a wonderful evening catching up with our friends but by 8 p.m., we gave in. We loaded up and headed back to the cabin and 1 hour later, everyone was asleep.

1. Every mother wants to wake up on her own accord. If you must wake her up, do so with a mimosa in hand or at the very least, a hot cup of coffee followed by a minimum 60 seconds of silence.

2. There will be absolutely no fighting or complaining in front of Mom. Maybe this means bribery. Maybe it means sending Mom off to the spa. Nobody wants to hear that crap on their holiday.

3. No cleaning products, safety equipment or fitness gear unless Mom herself has specifically requested it. 

4. “Well, she’s not my mother.” is null and void on Mother’s Day. Chances are she puts up with your nonsense, you love her for it and that’s close enough.

5. Please give the kids some role in choosing or making their own gifts for Mom. Hearing “I didn’t know we got Mom an Ipad!!!” is very awkward to say the least.

6. Moms should not have to cook on Mother’s Day (unless she wants to). Take her out or plan a special menu for Mom. There are plenty of pre-planned menus on the web so no excuses!

7. Moms not do dishes on Mother’s Day. Period. Dot.

8. Moms do not do Mother’s Day dishes the morning after.

9. Plan on being presentable the entire day. Put on a clean shirt, brush your teeth and comb your hair. Family photos are highly probable.

10. If you can’t be with your Mother this Mother’s Day, call her. Video chats would be better but seriously, a social media shout out is not going to cut it this year.

Moms, if you have anything to add to this list, please comment. I will repost accordingly

Yes, I was consuming 1300 calories a day. Yes, I was exercising but did you know how bad those artificial sweeteners are? Clean Eating was a buzz kill.

Then a friend of mind issued a challenge for 30 days of clean eating without cheating. This would be the time to commit. Memorial Day is just around the corner and we all know what that means.

Wanting to be certain I understood the rules, I found this article from Eating Well Magazine. As far as I can tell, clean eating means something different to everyone but I think these are some pretty solid guidelines.

1. Cut down on alcohol.

2. Cut down on sugars. 

3. Cut down on salt. 

4. Cut down on saturated fat.

5. Cut down on refined grains.

6. Cut down on processed foods.

7. Eat more fruits and veggies.

8. Drink more water.

9.Have more green tea.

10. Again with the whole grains. 

Effectively, stop buying processed foods. They are chock full of sugar, sodium and fat. Stop eating out. They are chock full of sugar, sodium and fat too. Eat wholesomely and do what you know you’re supposed to do… It’s easier said than done.

Well, I made it through 1 meal. You laugh but I’m totally serious. I ate breakfast and a stomach bug hit me like a ton of bricks. I haven’t been able to keep anything down for days but I can tell you there was a major difference in how sick I was when I cheated vs. how sick I got when I did not. 

Point taken, I plan on posting a series of clean eating recipes we actually love. Why? Because I’ve got a houseful of picky eaters and I’m sure you can relate.

Here is the recipe for my first successful clean eating breakfast. Rated: Awesome.

Honey Dew Smoothie

2013-05-04 16:11:04

Yields 2

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159 calories

40 g

1 g

0 g

2 g

0 g

414 g

59 g

38 g

0 g

0 g

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size

414g

Yields

2

Amount Per Serving

Calories 159

Calories from Fat 3

% Daily Value *

Total Fat 0g

1%

Saturated Fat 0g

1%

Trans Fat 0g

Polyunsaturated Fat 0g

Monounsaturated Fat 0g

Cholesterol 1mg

0%

Sodium 59mg

2%

Total Carbohydrates 40g

13%

Dietary Fiber 1g

6%

Sugars 38g

Protein 2g

Vitamin A

2%

Vitamin C

54%

Calcium

6%

Iron

2%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Does this look wrong?

Ingredients

2 cups honeydew melon, cubed

1 tbsp lime juice

1/4 cup plain nonfat greek yogurt

1-3 tbsp honey, to taste

1 1/2 cups crushed ice

Instructions

Add ingredients to blender and mix to desired consistency.

beta

calories

159

fat

0g

protein

2g

carbs

40g

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iluvem http://iluvem.com/

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Then I got this crazy idea to make these suckers homemade. Everything’s better homemade, right? It has to be.  In this case, homemade was miles better. I could totally rock a bake sale with these puppies. They were out of this world.

Ironically, for a cookie that good, it had been months since we’d had them. I think I went on a brownie kick and simply forgot I had the recipe in my arsenal. The one day, I myself got a craving for iced oatmeal cookies and began to gather my ingredients.

Sadly, I was low on so many things. Among them was honey. I would just like to go on record and say raw unfiltered honey with bee bits is probably only good for a science project and never again will I ever make such an outrageous purchase. The recipe would need a bit of tweaking to satisfy the substitutions. I will do anything to get out of going to the grocery store won’t I?

As soon as he heard the mixer, my baking buddy showed up. Logan was very happy to be making and taste testing everything that goes into those coveted cookies. Despite having to make some major changes to the go-to recipe, these cookies turned out great. They had a light gingerbready taste but were very much Will’s iced oatmeal cookies. I would definitely make these again.

Loving: My Nexus tablet and Manuganu. I haven’t been much of a gamer for the last decade but this action adventure game is awesome! Yes, the controls are touch screen but the graphics remind me of the old N64 games. I also heard somewhere recently that gamers have far less nightmares that non-gamers . +1 for gaming.

Reading: The Joy Luck Club is on my coffee table but I haven’t cracked the book open. It’s been over a week. The kids and I however, are reading a lot of Dr. Seuss. My favorite is Oh the Thinks you can Think. Kylie’s is Green Eggs and Ham.

Watching:  Oxygen’s Best Ink and TLC’s America’s Worst Tattoos. I never realized how bad my ink was until I got hooked on America’s Worst Tattoos. It’s amazing what they can do with tattoos now. Very very excited about scouting out an artist for my cover up.

Anticipating: Our first family camping trip at Robber’s Cave. Horseback riding and canoeing; I couldn’t ask for a better birthday/Mom’s Day/birthday weekend.

Listening to: Regina Spektor and Ingrid Michaelson and other happy Indie Pop Artists. I’m sure somewhere somebody just gagged.

Making me sad: Crimes against children. Maybe we’re more aware of it now because of the Amber Alert but I can’t help but wonder: Why? Why Children? I wish we could phone a smite and bring immediate justice to those who commit crimes against the innocent. Amber Alert? SMITE!

Making me happy: Ky’s school sent home a box to collect change for kids with cancer. What I love about this is the drive is strictly for the change in your home. Kylie spent an hour hunting down all the loose change in the house and gave half of the contents of her piggy bank. We are very proud.

Wishing: A big heap of money to fall out the sky. Seriously. Life is good

To read what I was currently doing 4 months ago click here http://iluvem.com/life/currently-pt-4/.