Lots of food and baby face photos this week. Both are delicious.

Sunday:

It must have been E's morning to get up with the kids because there's no way *I* dressed the kid in stripes and plaid.

Wii Basketball counts as both exercise and toddler entertainment

She looks vaguely distressed at being naked. HOLD ON TO THAT FEELING, at least until you're 30.

Monday:

Bossing everyone around after Stroller Strides

Caroline really looks up to her friend Maddie. BA-DUM-CHING.

FaceTime with Daddy, who was out of town for work.

Pasta with herbed butter, goat cheese and heirloom tomatoes. My FAVORITE summer meal (especially since I had actual fanct heirloom tomatoes!) but E hates it.

Tuesday:

I wasted a dollar on the merry-go-round in exchange for my kid putting his shoes back on.

HEY MOM WHATCHA DOIN???

Fun fact: E and I had one of our first dates at Sticky Fingers in Charleston, so I always buy the sauce when they have it at Stop & Shop.

Wednesday @Mystic Seaport:

The Amistad. Like from the movie. I think. One of my friends was the only woman to help build it. I think. Wow, I am FULL of facts. Maybe.

Playing pirates with Maddie in the children's building

This game is called Skittles. It's really dumb. E was OBSESSED.

Thursday:

Stroller Strides. NO PICTURE PLEASE.

Feeding the ducks at Oldeeee Mystickeee Villageeee. The extra "e"s make it AUTHENTIC.

I guess she got over her issues with nudity.

Friday:

Look kids, this is what we used in the old days, before Pinterest. YES PLEASE FALL.

What are you waiting for, a written invitation? It's nap time Mama!

Squash at the CSA. For eating, not just decoratively arranging as a centerpiece. Which is what I do.

Baby Faux Hawk

Saturday:

Sponge Bob Coma. Blame the husband.

Vanilla french toast for breakfast

Finishing up my living room redecorating

The recipe for Monday’s pasta is ripped out of a Rachel Ray magazine, but here it is online. E was gone Monday-Tuesday and Thursday-Friday, which might have made this the longest week of my life. By Friday I had given up on leaving the house and succumbed to endless Nick Jr for the toddler and nursing for the baby. The rest of this weekend will be spent on the cleaning and laundry I neglected in favor of naps and hiding in the bathroom taking deep breaths. I’m hoping to have my colorful new living room photos up on Monday, a new recipe later in the week and video of Caroline being adorable somewhere in between. Cross you fingers for a tantrum-free Saturday so I can get my sanity back!

Did you take any camera phone photos this week? Link up with one or lots using the linky below and grab the code (so it shows on your blog too!) over at Amy’s . It’s really fun!

My weekly recap of camera photos is officially full term, so even if this is two days late I can’t possibly skip it. Rest assured there are a minimum of BlogHer pictures – those get their own post. Posts. Postsssssssssss.

Sunday:

Reading blogs & watching Shark Week is officially the BEST way to spend a Sunday

Pulling up. EVEN WORSE than the crawling. I swear I'm going to staple her to the ground.

Weight Watchers approved dinner: dijon pork chops. SUPER delicious.

Monday:

I felt guilty I was leaving so I bought them toys. Caroline realizes theres a future in this.

Packing. I brought way too many shoes. The sparkly notebook, however, was a wise choice.

Serious toddler is serious.

Tuesday:

Caroline's fan club at Stroller Strides. I am RUINING this child.

Not yet fried green tomatoes at the CSA.

Disguisting green slime on my feet during my "spa" pedicure. Should have been called a spew pedicure. BA-DUM-CHING.

Wednesday:

Sometimes your sister is so cute you can't stop yourself from hugging her

This is the stupidest playground equipment ever. The kids get to sit on a platform and the parents have to work to turn the super-stiff crank so they move. Playground! Ur doin it rong!

Shoeless Hobo Baby: The Sequel

Thursday:

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go (with plenty of colored fine-tip Sharpies for some unknown reason)

Leeeeeavin' on a jet plane! You're welcome for the earworm BTW.

Taken out the window of a taxi driven by a guy with a death wish going 65 down a highway full of STOPPED TRAFFIC. I win at iPhone photograhy.

Friday:

Things you don't see in Connecticut: tropical streams running through the pool area of a bayfront hotel

View from my hotel room. I told E I think the next time he gets orders we should ask for San Diego. (Five years from now, FYI)

Fire pit, wine, wrappers from two super delicious red velvet cupcakes I shoved into my face hole. This sums up most of BlogHer.

Saturday:

Bob Harper. He was extremely good looking and charming. And also kicked my ass.

Queen Bee Market. It is also going to get an entire post. SO CUTE.

Delicious dinner organize by my friend Eileen. It was so great to sit and chat and drink cocktails at a table with NO HIGHCHAIRS. I ate my weight in fresh ahi tuna.

After an extremely long travel day yesterday I am so happy to be home, although adjusting to normal life is surprisingly hard. Why has no one told me they like my hair? What do you mean my boob tattoo that says “Internets! Hell yea!” is inappropriate for the grocery store? Where are my free Twizzlers? Ah well, back to mom life I go. Until next year. NYC in 2012 Baby!

Did you take any camera phone photos this week? Link up with one or lots using the linky below and grab the code (so it shows on your blog too!) over at Amy’s . It’s really fun!

Today is my 7th wedding anniversary. According to Wikipedia, the traditional gifts are copper, wool or a nice pen set. Instead of any of those, I gave my husband the gift of 2 babies – one of which refuses to eat from anything but my body – to single parent for four days while I went to California to party like a rock star. I won’t be surprised if he shows up at the airport tonight with his own one-way plane ticket to a dessert island far far away from groin-punching toddlers, teethy biting babies and dogs who are trying to shed themselves hairless. I wouldn’t blame him in the slightest.

But despite my jokes, I know he WILL be there tonight, with two happy and fed and clean and dressed and safe children who he loves and who love him. As much as I rolls his eyes (I swear they’re going to fall right out of his head) when I talk about blogging, he knows it’s important to me and so he supports me. The same way he supports me on the days he comes home from work and I’m lying on the floor covered in babies and practically in tears because all I want is FIVE MINUTES OF PERSONAL SPACE OMG so he sweeps the children up and away before he even takes off his uniform. The same way he supports our whole family by recommitting to serve his country twice, even though I know he sometimes dreams of civilian life. He is consistent and steadfast and strong and honest and just a really, really good guy who lets me write about (and complain about) him on the internet.

And tonight I will be exhausted and grumpy and dirty and hungry and want nothing more than to just hug everyone and then crash for 12 hours. Luckily, E took Monday off to help me recover (and vice versa).

I think I owe him a REALLY NICE pen set.

Obligatory wedding pictures (taken in the stone age on actual film, before everyone used digital)(that I’m pretty sure I’ve posted before) for the anniversary:

Happy 7th Anniversary, Evan. I wouldn’t take back one second of it.

Sunday:

Lazy parenting 101: Babies love feet

Lazy Parenting 102: Beach balls rarely break things in the house

Lazy Parenting 201: Forget that strawberries are one of those food you're maybe not supposed to give an infant. Infant is fine.

Monday:

Don't worry, children, you won't be trapped inside today

Lake Compounce!

Now he needs a teeny tiny leather jacket

If I had remembered to bring my knitting, this traffic would have been a lot less annoying. For me. E was driving.

Tuesday:

Angry Birds on the iPad

Angry Birds in real life. They're scary.

Demanding we walk down to see the vegetables at Town Farm

  So I fed him to a pit bull. Just kidding. Big Boy is a very nice dog.

Wednesday:

Watcha doin' mama? Can I play? Can I can I can I?

Get me out! I think he's gonna poop!

Thursday:

Jazz Hands!

Hanging at the lake, stuffing pickled cabbage into his face. You know, normal toddler stuff.

Caroline is "pre-loving" the projects I'm knitting

Friday:

Hotness. Literally, it was really hot & I was at Stroller Strides.

Awesome lunch: homemade black bean & corn salsa, avocado and crab in a sundried tomato wrap. Low fat & SUPER filling.

Hung out at the yarn shop all day & managed to finish my shawl

Saturday:

YARD SALE YARD SALE! It looked promising but whoever priced all the junk seems to think "old and broken" meant the same thing as "pricess antique"

My friend Miranda blogged about these, so when I saw them on clearance I HAD to buy them.

I got my hair trimmed, and then took this picture with the AC blowing in my face for maximum Cosmo cover effect. Ask me for my 10 tips to make your crush think about you while he's on vacation!

 Whoa, three pictures of myself? What is this, The Suzanne Show? I promise next week I’ll focus more on the ginger babies because that’s what you come here for. Oh, wait, that’s a total lie because this is the week I ABANDON MY CHILDREN so I can go pretend I am a Fancy Business Woman in the Blogging Industry with Influence Over Important Things Who Also Wears High Heels and Earrings. (More accurate title: super awkward scaredy pants mom of two whose only goal is not to throw up on anyone for any reason.) But AFTER I get back from San Diego I’ll be taking so many pictures of the babies you’ll practically feel like you live with them too.

Did you take any camera phone photos this week? Link up with one or lots using the linky below and grab the code (so it shows on your blog too!) over at Amy’s . It’s really fun!

We went to the Sunflowers for Wishes event last year (with teeny tiny Evan – seriously, he looks like such a BABY in those pictures) and it was really fun but crowded and hot and although it mades a great photo op I wasn’t sure I wanted to try it with two babies. But Sunday was a little overcast with predicted showers so we headed out right when they opened for the day and it wasn’t too warm or crowded. Plus, ice cream made it totally worth it.

Buttonwood Farms

Even better, I had mentioned our plan to my two best mama friends (mamas to Little Evan’s two best toddler friends) and we ran into both of them before we got on the hayride! I love having real life friends and I love that we’ve lived here in Connecticut long enough that we often just “run into” people I know when we’re out doing stuff (Except of course when I run into my OB at the grocery store in my pj’s. True story.)

Hayride! They gave us hay to feed the cows this year and the toddlers LOVED it.

Little Evan was ready to throw his entire body out of the wagon to get closer to the Cow-Moos.

Cow-Moo. Don't you love his coloring?

I put E in charge of pictures because of his fancy new photography class skills, but unfortunately for all he’s learned about aperture and focus and ISO, he still doesn’t have an eye for (what I consider) PRETTY pictures. I think the technical term is “composition” or maybe “figuring out how to zoom so you cut the strangers out of the background.” He also sucks at getting the kids to LOOK AT THE DAMN CAMERA. I’m looking forward to Caroline being slightly more self-sufficient so I can take control of the camera again without a baby trying to eat the lens.

At least you can see Caroline's adorable sunflower clippie. I'm wearing one too. MATCHING SUNFLOWERS OMG WE'RE TOO CUTE FOR LIFE.

And now no one is looking at the camera. But I have cute hair, so I'm posting it anyways.

Sunny Baby!

That's the SMALL tractor wheel

Amelia declared the tractor DIRTY but Evan tried to convince her it was cool

And then it was time for ice cream. Amen.

So what if she's not my kid? She's adorable!

Bouquets

She drew a crowd with her cuteness and she loved it.

I love my ginger baby

I will just stop now before I post the other five dozen shots of sunflowers in fields

If you’re seeing this and thinking “Oh no! We didn’t go this weekend!” don’t worry! You’ve got all week to go take your own gorgeous sunflower photos. I highly recommend 10 am sharp as the best time of the day.

The clippies Caroline and I are wearing came from Audry & Ulric, who I’ve written about as one of my favorite handmade shops before. The wonderful Samantha sent them to us as a lovely surprise thank you for mentioning her in my post last week. Isn’t she sweet?! I can’t even tell you how many people stopped me to compliment them.