SPRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!

Sunday:

E models the latest in fashion: a ginger-shaped hat

BOOM! MOE’S!

Bubble rocket launcher in action

Monday:

He gets an A+ in relaxing

Special Monday treats: shopping alone, Sbux, and driving the new car

I don’t feel the need to explain my art to you

Tuesday:

I make the EXACT same face when anyone tries to wake me up in the morning

Yarn store visiting

Monkey see, monkey do

Wednesday:

Inside fishes first!

Bacon, tomato, caramelized onions, blue cheese, mozzarella on sourdough

Peek a boo at the Seaport

Thursday:

Hat

These cookies are full of LIES (and regular sandwich cookie cream, not taffy)

This one’s for sale and only 2 blocks away. Be my neighbor!!

Friday:

The queen on her throne

Feeding ducks

I have no idea what this is

Saturday:

Trendsetter

Bluff Point

Rainbow sprinkles = MIND BLOWN

Our spring-like weather looks like it’s here to stay but since this is New England I’m not taking anything for granted. We’ll be repeating this week with extra locations (zoo, beach, etc etc etc) thrown in for the next two months. More baths + later bedtimes are going to cut into my blog-writing time, but I’m OK with that. Sometimes it doesn’t hurt to remember we can live our lives even if I don’t write about every second of it online.

It’s What’s for Dinner! I’m hoping resurrecting this feature will encourage me to cook more. I like cooking. It’s better for me and my family than the pizza/fast food/frozen stuff cycle we’ve been on while E’s schedule was totally crazy. Even if I’m not making intentionally diet-friendly recipes there are definitely more vegetables in these than in a #2 from McDonalds (large size, with a Diet Coke). So here’s what we’ve been eating for the past week:

Dragon Noodles – Budget Bytes (A++++ Will make again (and again and again and another million more times.) It’s too spicy for the kids so I have to make them something else but it is totally worth it.)
Pesto Shrimp Skewers and Malt Vinegar Oven Fries – SkinnyTaste and BabyBabyLemon (my fries were delicious but not photogenic)
Korean Beef – Lizzy Writes (I added sriracha, so of course it was delicious)
Baked Hummus and Spinach Dip and Homemade Whole Wheat Pitas – Naturally Ella and Budget Bytes (E had work so I was just feeding myself and the kids, so hummus was a perfect choice)

Cheeseburger Quesadillas – Skinny Taste (she made hers with buffalo meat, but I used my delicious grass-fed cow)
Greek Salad with Beef Kebabs – ripped out of Rachael Ray’s magazine (salad was delicious, kebabs were a little meh but BOTH kids ate a ton of meat and cucumbers)
Summer Vegetables with Sausage and Potatoes – Skinny Taste (yummy)
Crockpot Beef and Pepper Tacos  – I made this one up! See below for the recipe…

Crockpot Beef and Pepper Tacos
Serves at least 4, with leftovers

1 Beef roast, 2-3 lbs
Bell peppers, various colors, sliced
1 onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped (or more, to taste)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 T chili powder
1 T garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 T salt
1 tsp paprika
Black pepper
Red pepper flakes, to taste
2 cups beef broth or stock

Mix the spices together in a small bowl and rub them all over the roast. Put the roast in the crockpot and surround it with the peppers, onion, jalapeno and garlic. And 2 cups beef broth (more or less, depending on the size of your crockpot – it should come up about half way on the roast) and then put the lid on. Cook on low for 5-6 hours or until the beef is fall-apart tender. Shred it up and put it on a plate for serving. Put the cooked beef and peppers in tortillas with lettuce, pico de gallo, and avocado. I put hot sauce on mine too, since it was good but a little boring – I love spicy! Caroline liked it though, so mild was definitely a good choice.

I made the pico de gallo too. I win at dinner this week.

So, have you tried any really great recipes recently?

What crazy week. Thank God the gingers had no idea how crappy it was in the real world and just enjoyed their spring break.

Sunday:

Look! A totally uninteresting part of a 60 year old submarine! You STILL can’t see the interesting parts (where E works on the modern ones).

Running away from their BBQ pork. Obviously they were switched at birth. Both of them.

Reading with Aunt Erin

Monday:

7:30 am in New London, CT

The first time I tore myself away from the news that day the moon was already out

I let the kids stay up for extra cuddles and totally mindless children’s shows

Tuesday:

I spy ye, matey!

Even pirates need a cup of milk sometimes

Passed out with her (old) Easter hat

Wednesday:

Good morning, this is my tongue.

The gingers are doing their best impression of a cheesy movie slow motion run

Reading hat

Meal plan + shopping list = What’s For Dinner? will be back soon

Thursday:

Stroller Strides at the beach EFF YEAH

The view made working out less sucky

Children’s Museum Hat

A B C’S ARE BETTER WHEN THEY ARE AS LOUD AS THIS SIGN

Friday:

Caught red handed!

There are approximately 300 of these on my phone from this day, since the kids got the iDevices while I watched the news…

…and read ALL the Twitters.

Saturday:

And sometimes my view during Stroller Strides is LESS inspiring

Introducing the gingers to Moe’s

Swinging is fun

 And now school vacation week is OVER and I get some Suzanne-time back. I love love love my children more than life itself, but there’s a point during the day where I want to lock them both in a closet. THE WHINING OH THE WHINING. It’s amazing what a difference 5 hours a week makes to my sanity and patience. Oh and P.S. World? Try not to go totally INSANE again next week, ok?

Ahoy Mateys! Pirate Days at Mystic Seaport was pretty crowded – we generally skip the Seaport on days when we won’t have the place to ourselves – and the kids varied between LOVING the pirates and HATING the pirates, but we had a pretty good time.

Checking their treasure maps

On a schooner (that’s a sailboat)

Walking the plank

Digging for treasure

Treasure keeper

On the lookout

We’ve got gold dubloons! Grab ’em, and go!

I can’t even believe Easter was only a week ago. Longest week ever? Possibly. Another super long week starting tomorrow? Yep.

Sunday:

The Easter Bunny came!!!!

Walking to church

Model train building with Daddy

There’s a child eating a red velvet cupcake under all that hair somewhere.

Monday:

Plaaaaaaaaydate

THE GREEN ONE! I WANT THE GREEN ONE!

Facetiming with Daddy

Tuesday:

Tour of the charter pre-school includes this view

Dear pregnant relatives: Surprise! This is what you’re getting at your baby showers. What do you want the author to write in it?

Discussing the advantages of pressure treated vs. non-pressure treated wood.

Wednesday:

Successful forward roll…five seconds ago.

Library book reading to MorMor

Book reading with Bumpa. So many books!

Thursday:

Yard work! When my parents come to visit we (er, they) get so much done.

That is called a frog fish. Now you know.

Hello fish.

Friday:

Special Helper Birthday Ribbon at school!!!! So exciting!!!

Frickin mice chewed a frickin hole in the bottom of my dishwasher. GOOD TIMES.

Busy, busy, busy girl is tired.

Saturday:

Birthday time!!!!

Happy Birthday Evan!!!!!!

Friends 4 Life – or at least for 90% of Evan’s life so far.

And now I am going to collapse, just like my kids did 30 seconds after I tucked them in.