A perfect autumn

A not so perfect Monday. Included baby boy bumping his chin resulting in a bloody mouth. As a mother, nothing freaks me out like seeing my baby bleed. It wasn't anything serious but blood just makes everything appear worse than it is. And to add to that, my body hasn't been fully functional or rather let me say my vocal chords haven't been performing well. The sore throat has persisted and my voice is now reminiscent of a pubescent teenage boy. What I hate more than the uncomfortable feeling of being sick is being sick and having chores pile up. And luckily after nearly two years of marriage, Robdawg is well aware of this. So we tag teamed and managed to restore things to order. I may or may not have mentioned that we're currently living with my in laws which makes for a busy household. Because my mother in law is a serial list maker (a gift we share), there's a list on the refrigerator which maps out each person's responsibilities. True story. And part of my responsibilities during the week is to have the kitchen squeaky clean in time for grandpa Schamel to create magic for dinner. And that's because, like me, he has an undiagnosed phobia against cooking in a messy kitchen. Today I barely managed to get that simple job done, including laundry and dealing with the by product of an upset tummy. TMI? Oh well.

Congratulations, you've made it through my Monday blues in one piece. Barely. And thankfully from here onwards things begin to lighten up!

Let's start here - While browsing my husband's Facebook page (because his is way more manageable than mine AND we have an open door policy when it comes to social network spaces - more on this later, if ever), I found these gorgeous scenic photographs taken by my sister in law - a lot about the in laws here today. She, Amanda, will quickly tell you that to her photography is just a hobby, but I think she could develop it into a little business. Her family recently moved to Bonanza in Arkansas and they're loving it. These photos make me want to move to the country! And if their autumn (fall) is this gorgeous I can only imagine what spring looks like. I'm so glad she posted these, they did wonders for my spirit.

Speaking of wonderful things, I certainly do hope you are all well and happy and that the weekend was worth remembering. Ours certainly was. Sunday is an especially good day in our week. We attend church in the morning and if the Broncos aren't playing, we manage to fit in an afternoon walk. Oh and by the way, baby was taught by his uncle Andrew to say TOUCHDOWN (this happened a few weeks back but since it's an in law post today, why not add one more tidbit). And now baby's ever increasing vocabulary lists as follows: dada, mama, mother, boo, no, hayi (which is no in Xhosa), thank you, some inaudible sounds, lots of nah nah nah nah nah and sometimes, if we're lucky, he'll say "mess you" when someone sneezes. And forgetting to say bless you after he sneezes is a federal crime. Earlier in our marriage Robdawg used to refuse to say bless you when I sneezed. I took great offense and would tell him so. I grew up in a family of 'bless you' after every sneeze. Even if it's a succession of 3 or 4 - I think after 5 you get disowned. So a 'bless you' was really really important to me. After a while I started developing an "ahem...bless me" followed by a side eye to the husband. And then one day baby boy let out his first little sneeze and who was the first person to reply with an eager "bless you"? Feeling the question mark on his back he promptly replied "he's my son". And I'm your wife! That Robdawg.

I've certainly eased up since then because, you know, marriage is a lot about compromise. Once in a while I do get a "bless you" accompanied by a see-I-do-care-about-you smile. That smile gets me every time.

And I hope these photographs will have you smiling too.