I think I mentioned this is the best weekend to live in Eastern Connecticut a time or two hundred in the past couple weeks. Last year we were in South Carolina so we missed it (although I wouldn’t exactly say I was missing it, Bob). This year, E had to work all weekend but I was DETERMINED to do ALL THE THINGS with the kids. I’ve spent the summer learning to drag them both around plan fun outings with two kids on my own and this was sort of like the Olympics of solo-parenting. Three food festivals plus a town fair – and for the record, I only cheated on my diet a tiny bit.

The kids did a GREAT job the whole time. There were zero tantrums and only minor threats needed for cooperation. Evan did a ton of walking so I could use the stroller as a single (although I still got stopped at least once every 15 minutes to talk about my City Select) which was like a vacation for my arm muscles after pushing it as a double for 20 months. I feel sort of really actually completely terrible that we had so much fun while my husband toiled away at a job that’s driving him crazy. I know it hurts him that he’s missing so much. But I keep telling myself it’s not the kid’s fault that Daddy has to work so much and they shouldn’t be punished. I don’t even want them to REALIZE their grown ups are stressed and tired and miserable. All they should worry about is how they’re going to have room for ice cream AND funnel cake for breakfast.

Another breakthrough from this weekend: I threw out all my shame regarding hauling my giant camera around and acting like I had a press pass allowing me to shoot whatever the heck I wanted. Which means I took an epic number of photos. I’ll try to keep this post down to a semi-reasonable number but I’m going to add a break after a couple so the page isn’t INSANELY long. And be sure to check Facebook for the whole album – I mean, if you’re interested in gingers and food porn and New Englandy stuff.

Friday:

I gave the bread to the kids and ate the insides. Go paleo!

They both got COVERED in powdered sugar eating cookies

We walked home across the Chelsea Parade (it’s a big empty square of grass where the militia used to muster) and the light was SO PERFECT.

(more…)

Our last week of summer went out with a bang (and a few naps).

Sunday:

This is her “I didn’t like anything all day but as soon as you tell me it’s time to go home I’m going to cry” face.

CARS ON BOATS ARE WEIRD

Thinking about how nice his mommy is for buying him an orange soda.

Monday:

9:30 am

1 pm

Grape thief

Tuesday:

One story before Daddy goes to work

Birdwatching

This is how she feels about bubbles

Wednesday:

Ready for some high bars

Searching for books about fire trucks, obvs

Mommy needed a rest from pushing the stroller up the hill on the way home, so we sat on someone’s steps.

Thursday:

I DO NOT CARE FOR THURSDAYS.

We saw the amazing sunset…from the car.

Paleo fried rice is not actually rice – it’s cauliflower. I liked it, E did not.

Friday:

Caroline insists Evan’s new fall sweatshirt is hers.

I wouldn’t mind bribing them so much if Caroline didn’t make THAT FACE.

Peek a boo! I have impetigo! Let me rub my face on you!

Saturday:

SNo one gets to sleep past 9 am in this house.

I’m on a boat!!

Aaaaand time for more naps.

E’s command realized that the guys were all pretty close to losing it with their crazy schedules, so they got the weekend off. I’m torn between over scheduling the crap out of all of us – the beach! the fair! walks! shopping! hayrides! – and just sitting on the couch for 48 hours watching Disney movies and letting the kids jump all over him. So far we’ve sort of split the difference – boats this morning, naps alllllll afternoon – and I’m loving it.

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!

You know what the cure for a sad-for-myself kind of week is? A so-busy-I-barely-sleep week.

Sunday:

Daddy attack!

Jam thief

He is very suspicious of those blue things in his pancakes. Mommy never does anything that fancy.

Monday:

Evan: Uh, Mom? Someone took a bite of this Styrofoam apple. Caroline: My bad.

Dropping off some more money for safekeeping at the marina. Too bad they don’t ever give it back.

Don’t hold my hand Mommy, I’m a big kid.

Tuesday:

Caroline’s new favorite book: The Sailor Dog

He insisted I buy the BIG carrots and couldn’t even wait until we got home to eat them.

I’m sorry, I can’t hear you over the sound of my empty uterus crying.

Wednesday:

My nice healthy lunch – before Caroline stole it and ate the whole thing.

Peek a boo

Where we go when the kids request the aquarium at 6 pm.

Thursday:

Loves

That’s Caroline’s “WTF Whale?” face

Peace out, Connecticut!

Friday (Sesame Place!):

Helping a friend

Elmo’s World Live was the best day of her life (also, proof I didn’t actually torture her the ENTIRE weekend.)

I command you to buy season passes! (OK)

Saturday:

This was the farthest away the characters were for this entire show – usually they were literally touching distance.

Hot, super tired baby did NOT like her beloved TV characters 7 feet tall.

We accidentally watched the parade for the 3rd time. Now I will NEVER get the song out of my head.

Despite Caroline being pretty miserable for large chunks of the trip we had an amazing time with Kim and her boys. I’ve already decided we’re going back ASAP. But after playing “family of four” all weekend I might be rethinking this third/fourth baby situation.

Oh wait, I just went to link with Amy and the pictures of her tiny, squishy newborn made me totally forget all the hard parts of my week. Carry on with plans to expand the ginger army (eventually).

I’m not a food blogger, but I play one on the internet. I love reading blogs about food, pinning recipes on Pinterest (my Food and Drink and Dessert boards are my fullest by far), reading articles about food photography and – every once in a while – try my own hand at creating recipes.

I’m not an expert by any means, but when BlogHer told me about two new programs from ConAgra I knew they could feed my love of food blogging.

Before I tell you about ConAgra’s site, I wanted to say when I first read the email I was a little doubtful about working with them. But once I realized how many of their brands I had in my kitchen right at this exact moment (Alexia fries, Gulden’s mustard, Egg Beaters, Hebrew National hot dogs, Hunt’s tomato sauce, Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn, and Reddi-wip) it seemed silly to pass it up. If this isn’t your thing, that’s totally cool too and feel free to skip it.

The Dish is an online resource center for all bloggers who post food content or who WANT to post food content.

In their Seasonal Spotlight section you can find tips for keeping your blog content fresh and seasonally relevant.

Under Ask Our Team, they have put together an expert panel that includes Phil Lempert, savings expert; Dan Skinner, editor-in-chief; Abby Penich, ReadySetEat Community Manager; and several bloggers.

The Recipe Resources section is just what it sounds like – a round up of some of the best recipes from ConAgra’s recipe site ReadySetEat. Free tip: do NOT go look at the recipes when it’s 5:43 pm and you’re starving. Seriously, how much do I want this corn on the cob now? SO MUCH.

But in my opinion, the best part of their site is . Through the site you can sign up to receive coupons, samples and other exclusive content – and all you need is a blog URL. It would a great way for someone looking to expand into food blogging to find new ingredients to include and for seasoned food bloggers to get expert advice and tips to share with their readers.

There’s some great content on The Dish already, but I’m hoping they plan to expand in the coming months. I’d love to see even more focus on fresh, local ingredients that can be used in conjunction with their products to make easy family meals.

ReadySetEat has tons of great, fast, easy recipes that can be sorted by very useful categories (vegetarian, healthy, etc) but I’d like to see The Dish feature more of them, especially grouped by type – for example, Mexican recipes featuring a veggie option, a beef option and a chicken option.

Or even one recipe that can be used all three ways. Hey, that’s actually a great idea for a recipe series – see, The Dish has already started inspiring me to blog better!

Does The Dish/First Look, First Taste sound like something you’d be interested in? You can visit The Dish here, sign up for and follow them on Twitter at @ConAgraDish.

Want to be entered for a chance to win a $50 Visa gift card from BlogHer and ConAgra Foods? Just leave a comment below telling me which section of The Dish sounds the most interesting to you!

Rules:

No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods: a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post b) Tweet about this promotion with hash tag #sweepstakes and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry. This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here. This sweepstakes runs from 8/22/2012-9/8/2012.

Be sure to visit ConAgra Foods’ brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!

I’d never had baked oatmeal before I saw this recipe on Pinterest a few weeks ago. I decided it would be a quick and easy brunchy-type dish for my first local blogger get together and something my family would eat. In typical Suzanne fashion I only had half the ingredients on hand so I improvised and created my own Berry Almond Baked Oatmeal.

Berry Almond Baked Oatmeal
Serves 8

2 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup slices almonds
2 cups raspberries
1 cup coconut flakes
2 cups milk
1 large egg, beaten
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 ripe banana peeled and sliced

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking dish (7×11, 9×13, whatever you’ve got – just watch baking times if it’s bigger) with non-stick spray. In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients, the almonds, half the raspberries and half the coconut. In another bowl, mix the milk, egg, butter and vanilla.

Spread the oats, etc out in the baking dish. Top with the other half of the raspberries and coconut, then put the banana slices on top. Pour your milk mixture evenly over the oats and let it sink down. Bake 40 minutes or until slightly brown around the edges.

Delicious! And it’s super easy to add/subtract ingredients for other ones if coconut or almonds aren’t your cup of tea. One of the benefits of a baked oatmeal casserole is you can cut and serve rather than eating it with a spoon. The kids think they’re getting cake. Shhhhh…don’t tell!