Calgon, I need you!

What a week! On Monday, we lost power for 5 hours. Not nearly as long as some of our neighbors to the south who have been without power for days(!), but still.

On Thursday, we lost power again for 8 hours, long enough that we were worried about all our refrigerated food, but so far most things seem to be okay. It pays to have a fridge that routinely freezes food when you're not paying attention!

Last night, Toddler E woke me up at 2am with a fever of 102.5 and croup, AGAIN!

Then, today, we woke up to find 2 inches of water on the kitchen floor and more water dripping from the cabinets, so much that when Toddler E came into the kitchen with me before I realized what was going on, he said "Mommy, it's raining!"

Honestly, I'm waiting for the locusts.

At least we had a fun 4th of July in the interim! We went to a free kids' movie in the morning, the only kind of movie we go see in a theater, since Toddler E lasted about 30 minutes and J about 60. But it was a fun outing nonetheless. When we got back, we finished our preparations and went to a picnic at a local park with some friends from church. The husband and I are involved in a weight loss competition so we tried really, really hard not to eat lots of junk. Mostly we succeeded, with grilled chicken and grilled pineapple and mango salsa and LOTS of veggies. It was sweltering but we had a pavilion and only the kids were out in the heat, with me following them around with sunscreen and water. They didn't seem to mind the heat. There were walls to climb, giant rocks to scale, hills to slide down, ducks to feed, swings to ride, enormous leaves to turn into impromptu umbrellas (yes, that was my child's idea, thank you very much!), and fun to be had! The boys did actually eat for once before they began their adventures, so everyone was happy! Here we are, post picnic, sweating. And J is using the "umbrella" he made out a big leaf he found. Because that's the kind of thing my eldest child does while other children romp around like banshees. I swear, he's Ferdinand the Bull, but I love him for it!

And you know you want that salsa recipe, don't you? So here it is:


Mango Plus Salsa

1 ripe mango, chopped

1 large ripe nectarine, chopped

½ pint grape tomatoes, diced

¼ red or sweet Vidalia onion, diced (and microwaved briefly if very strong)

2 stalks green pepper, chopped green and white parts

½ bell pepper, chopped

The juice of 1-2 limes or equivalent bottled lime juice

Chili powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients except spices. Add a few shakes of chili powder, a few shakes of pepper, and a generous sprinkling of salt. Combine and taste. Adjust seasonings—you may need more chili powder if you like more kick or more salt if your lime juice is overpowering the other flavors. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Eat by the spoonful!

I almost always double this recipe since it gets eaten very quickly. Therefore, I use nectarines (or firm peaches or even pineapple would work) to extend the mangoes since they are so expensive. The husband would like me to add a diced jalapeno, but I don’t like things very hot, and I’m making the salsa, so I don’t, but feel free to do so since most mango salsa recipes do call for a jalapeno, silly them!