E had this past week off, but instead of doing tons of super fun stuff I made a list of every single I-should-really-get-that-done-but-I’m-exhausted-from-chasing-the-kids chore I’ve been putting off for the past 3 years and started crossing them off. Hang pictures! Sort clothes! Organize the attic AND the basement! Get a new eyeglasses prescription! Wind and store all the yarn I’ve been hiding behind the elliptical trainer in the guest room! Do ALL the laundry!

I’ve got today and tomorrow to finish the rest of the list plus give the house a once-over cleaning, decorate for Halloween and finally make the loaf of almond bread and the pear-gorgonzola tart I’ve had bookmarked for weeks.

Sunday:

What do you MEAN this is the only picture you took all day? I'm freakin' ADORABLE!

Monday:

Friends who hold your baby enough that your baby likes them are the best friends

Dino nuggets taste way better than regular nuggets. Just ask my toddler.

I restarted C25K and felt like I was going to die

Tuesday:

Second to last CSA pick up makes me a sad panda

Giant carrot for lunch. Gotta keep that hair orange.

Obviously, she's mine

Day 1 of act like a grown up and take care of my skin. I even bought EYE CREAM.

Wednesday:

Breakfast of Champions: egg wrap-up with hot sauce, banana, Diet Dr. Pepper

Sleepy girl

Epic Michael's trip for Halloween decor. I decided the terrifying skeletons would be a poor choice for a kid's party.

Thursday:

I patched, sanded, and painted the walls going up the stairs.

Pair on the left cost $300. Pair on the right was free. I got both.

Picture gallery on the upstairs stairs

Friday:

I thought this baby looked like Caroline so I bought this book. I'm going to knit the crap out of that sweater.

Chilling at the yarn store

The ice cream stand was shockingly uncrowded on a Friday night. Maybe because it was only 60 degrees out.

Saturday:

Stop lookin' at my waffles like that.

My friend from @CostaFarms sent me a giant box of houseplants because she thought I'd like them. My goal is to keep them alive at least a week.

Bye-bye Back-yard-gans! Sing song! Bye-bye!

Time to go finish knitting Caroline’s fall coat, bake, mop the floors, play legos with my kid, catch up on this week’s TV and read all my friend’s blogs that I’ve been neglecting all week. I’m looking forward to all of 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!

Hurricane Irene blew through Connecticut on Sunday:

Back patio at 8 am. For the record, we piled all the outdoor furniture over in that corner - the hurricane did not manage to stack our chairs quite so neatly.

This is a game called "Ew, you're stinky!" in which I get a whiff of the toddler's diaper and shout "Ew, you're stinky!" while poking him and making him laugh hysterically. We played for 45 MINUTES.

Rednecks. I'll forgive them since it was REALLY hot in the house with all the windows closed.

Fascinated by the storm

Biggest branch that came down. Luckily it came down on a bush and not through my window.

Skeptical baby thinks we are all fools for going outside.

We didn’t end up with much more than some broken branches and broken patio lights (we forgot to take them down) but being cooped up inside all day might have made us a little stir-crazy. As you can clearly see in the most embarrassing video of myself I will ever post on the internet.

The fact that Little Evan “played” dinosaur with me might be my best parenting moment to date so far.

1. Denial and Isolation
Oh, this bathroom really isn’t THAT dirty. I mean, it’s a bathroom, it’s not like anyone’s going to be eating off the floor. I have 2 kids and am very busy and important. I’m sure everyone’s baseboards could use a good wipe-down. That smell isn’t pee, it’s just general bathroom smell and as soon as I remember to light a candle in here it won’t even be noticeable. No honey, I don’t really want to have anyone over for a cookout. No, let’s have a playdate at YOUR house. No guy doing the estimate for the yard work you CAN’T come in and use our bathroom. Sorry.

2. Anger
WHY is this bathroom such a mess?! I’m certainly not the one who keeps peeing on the floor. I already spend my days cleaning up crap, why should the bathroom be my job!? I don’t wanna! It’s not fair and I’m not going to stand for it!

3. Bargaining
Ok, maaaaaaybe I should pour some bleach in the toilet or I’ll just call house cleaning services auckland to do it. And take out the trash. And clean the hair out of the shower drain. But then I get to go take a nap. Or read a book. Or take a nap AND read a book because it’s important that I keep my strength up. You know, for PARENTING. I bet I could get E to clean the bathroom if I do ALLLL the dishes for the next week. Month. Year. TEN YEARS.

4. Depression
I hate this bathroom. We should just rip the whole thing out and install a new, magical, self-cleaning bathroom. Like those port-a-potty things in Europe. Man, I wish I could go to Europe. I never get to go ANYWHERE. My life is terrible.

5. Acceptance
Fine, there, the bathroom is clean. Enough. For now. Just don’t make me ever do it again, OK?

Happy Friday!

Sweet tea, homeade sugar cookies & a beautiful bouquet of irises on the front porch. Bliss.

Yeah, I’m relaxing right now but not for long – it’s officially the start of patio weekend here in Connecticut! The weather looks like it’s going to cooperate (although we’re going to be literal hot messes by 10 am every day and chugging water by the bucketful) and Lowe’s came through with our pavers even though they told us LAST NIGHT they were out of stock everywhere. We’re ready to turn our crappy back yard into a fantastic family spot.

Here’s the before, as I write this, right now view of our future patio:

YIKES.

Wish us luck and no broken toes!

One of the disadvantages of living in an old house is a lack of closet space. Lucky for me, a previous owner did some rearranging and found room in our first floor hallway for a pantry. Bless their heart. Unfortunately, it’s not actually in the kitchen so when I’m putting away armfuls of stuff after making dinner I tend to just toss it onto the shelves so I can make as few trips as possible. Then I have groceries to put away and that stuff just gets shoved onto other shelves and before long I have fourteen cans of chicken broth because I didn’t see the ones behind the nine kinds of vinegar (<—– not an exaggeration. I use a lot of vinegar).

Also, I have pantry months. If you don’t have those in your part of the country, just count your blessings and enjoy not having to wrap up your pasta in Ziplock bags. So while I cleaned and de-mothed and threw out canned pineapple that was supposed to be used by June 2007 I decided to reorganize.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Better, right?

I put a plain old shoe organizer over the door and filled it with anything that fit. Now I can see if I have taco seasoning or cocoa powder without digging through my shelves.

I put the stuff I use the most right at eye level and the stuff I only need once in a while high and low.

I painted the left wall with chalkboard paint (oh how I love chalkboard paint!) and attached chalk to a string so I can keep a running list of stuff as I use it up.

I reorganized items by how often I need stuff – that middle shelf is things I use almost ever night for dinner. Because I put so much on the door I now have enough room to see what I have and stock up on things we use most often, like tomato sauce and couscous. I added the stripes to make things fancy – I’ve been looking at too many Martha Stewart pantries on Pinterest. The stripes reminded me of an old fashioned grocer.

I used $1 baskets and bins to sort things that go together – cookie decorating stuff, tea, seasonings, herbs and spices, my emergency candy (labeled: emergency candy).

I used two $1 shower caddies for onions and potatoes. They’re on hooks so I can take them off the wall and rinse them out when I inevitably forget about a potato and it ends up molding.

I put all my flours and sugars into sealed containers to keep the months out. I splurged and bought large, wide mouthed ones at Target because I HATE trying to pour dry ingredients instead of scooping them with my measuring cups. They were the only part of this whole project that wasn’t either free (I already owned the paint, brushes and tape) or $1 (the baskets and smaller plastic containers).

See that top shelf? That’s apple, peach, strawberry and cherry jam plus sour cherries for pies all homegrown and hand-canned by my mother-in-law. Are you jealous yet? Come over and I’ll make you a pie – after I force you to admire my pantry in person. Yeah, I might be just a little too proud of FINALLY getting this mess cleaned up.