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Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Cold Case

It's starting to get chilly (at least it is here in Atlanta. Sorry, Texas friends) and you know what that means: all the mommies are going to start forcing their kids to wear jackets and coats less they "catch cold."

I CAN'T TAKE ANOTHER SEASON OF IT! So I am putting it very clearly here in a PSA-style blog:

YOU DO NOT CATCH A COLD FROM BEING COLD

I know; it's really hard to wrap your brain around that if you've grown up thinking that stepping outside into cold weather leads you to contract a virus. Also, it's understandable that there is some confusion given that the disease is called a "cold" and the temperature is called "cold." 

Why oh why do they call it a cold? Because think about it: if they called it "a hot" you would probably worry that your sweaty children would catch it in the summer. And if they called it "a broccoli" you would for sure fear that consuming too much of that green vegetable would lead to a majorly runny nose. 

But it's just a coincidence. The two have nothing to do with each other. 

"Then why do more people catch colds in the winter?" you ask. 

Good question. Let me clear that up too. It's because we're all inside more, passing germs. The truth is, if we would spend more time outside (with or without a jacket), we would be LESS LIKELY to catch a broccoli. 

I put out this PSA for my own protection, really. See, the weather is in the 50s and 60s here and most people (myself included) are sporting jackets and hoodies. My kids don't care to do that--or wear pants for that matter. And I am sure many moms are thinking, "Those poor kids. Where are their jackets? And their pants? They're going to catch cold!" 

I try to get them to wear more suitable fall clothing--not because I fear for their health, but because I worry about the glares and public ridicule. And even I admit, they do look a little ridiculous. 

But then I think, if they are comfortable then what do I care? As Leo says, "It's my body!" And he has heard me say "you don't catch a cold from being cold" enough to throw that back at me.  Sure, if it were below freezing they could be at risk for hypothermia or frost bite. But we're not there yet. 

Like Jimmy Kimmel said about the anti-vaccine people: "You probably aren't going to take medical advice from a talk show host," (or in my case, a freelance writer/blogger/spin instructor) but "I would expect you to take medical advice from almost every doctor in the world!" 

And what they tell you to do is wash your hands, don't touch your nose and eyes a lot if your hands aren't clean and stay away from people who are sick. They say nothing about staying warm.

So this fall and winter, wear a jacket. Or don't. And definitely eat your broccoli. But don't eat broccoli after someone with a runny nose because that, my friends, is how you really catch a cold. 


Tuesday, October 06, 2015

Camera Captures

Sometimes I just peek at the pics on my iPhone's camera roll to see if any of them spark a blog topic. Well, apparently, the kids have been snapping pictures more than I have. And I have to say, their work is impressive considering they are so young. I think I might have a couple of budding Annie Leibovitz on my hands. 


A superb selfie from Gus: 


This is one of about a hundred I found that I call "Dark and mysterious." 



I call this, "Toes' view of the living room." 

And then, "Heel's view of the living room." 



The lighting on this one is spectacular.

One of the kids was experimenting with lighting and camera angles here.


The shadows and backlight here are quite haunting.


This blur was intentional, I'm sure, to show the movement of the floors.

Whichever kid took this one was really committed--tilting the phone just right AND executing the blur balance.



I call this, "Blurry Mommy." 


After Leo took this picture of Gus's Pull-up, he uploaded it to an app called ChatterPix where he made the Pull-up talk. Genius.



I see a rug. I see a suspicious object close up to the camera. This one really sparks my curiosity.

This shot of the door speaks to me.


I mean, who would think of shooting the foyer from the POV of walking out of the house? Only a brilliant photographer.




It's like the couch cushion comes to life.


It's like the ceiling fan comes to life. (Which would be nice, actually, since it is not working right now.)

Funky angle on the couch cushion. I dig it!



And then I uncovered about 200 of these selfie gems. I chose only the best ones:



















And lastly, a t-shirt selfie done my me, to show that, I may not have the photography chops of my sons, but I am the coolest mom on the block with my new Star Wars shirt.