Spring Has...Not Yet Sprung

We were teased for a while. Beautiful sunshine, balmy temperatures, tons of outdoor fun. And just as I began packing away the winter coats and boots...BAM! It's winter again. I should know better, I really should. It is the Northeast after all.

However the warmer weather does not come without its challenges. In the spring, I have to give myself about two weeks to adjust to the fact that our windows are now open, and the whole flippin' neighborhood can hear me yelling at my kids about the two dozen Disney stickers plastered to the coffee table.

This indecisive weather is really messing with my adjustment period.

I offer up my apologies to the residents of Ahern Ave. Really, I'm not a crazy mom...unlike the lady behind me who screams at her kids so much I keep expecting Jo Frost's Mini Cooper to pull up for an emergency SuperNanny intervention.

I don't think I yell at intervention-level just yet. Hopefully my neighbors will agree!

Ready for some sunshine...

Still pretty grey and dreary.

Grace is ready to be playing outside.
And Seamus is thinking of trying out a new 'do for spring. What do you think?

Short & Sweet

I suppose that title could refer to one of two things...this cute little song or my cute little man :-)

My Birthday Weekend

It's great to be 28!

This past Saturday I celebrated a great birthday with family, friends...

And a scrumptious Hannaford birthday cake. (Have I mentioned I love Hannaford?)

Then this lucky mommy took off for a weekend in NYC with two of my college housemates. We had a great time catching up and wandering the city.

I've decided to embrace getting older, although I am now being faced with the realization that my body is turning against me.

Like when I put on eyeshadow in the morning...after I sweep the makeup brush across my eyelid, the skin stays all bunched up at the outer corner of my lid. And I have to blink a few times to smooth it out again.

Is that reality smackin' me right in the face or what??

Leprechaun Sightings!

As the saying goes...

When Irish eyes are smiling...

They're usually up to no good!



We've had a visit from some mischievous little leprechauns!

You'll find them wearing silly hats and causing trouble wherever they go!

Be on the lookout, and don't let their cuteness fool you!

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone!

Hey POLPs...

Today we received the results from Seamus' sleep study...and I need advice!

According to the report, he had only one episode of obstructive sleep apnea, lasting 10 seconds.
Great news!

But...he had 110 episodes of "transient arousals." What the heck!

His ENT (who is wonderful and we love him), says that his tonsils are definitely enlarged. His quality of sleep is not good, because he is waking himself up an average of 14 times per hour. The ENT believes that the sleep quality will improve if the tonsils are removed - but he is not pushing it on us. He said we can wait a while, use these results as a baseline and test again later this year.

What do you all think? Do any of you sleep study experts have some insight to this situation?

For your participation, you will now be rewarded with a video of the goofballs taking a pretend trip to McDonald's. Enjoy! And thanks for your help!

A Hibachi Adventure

Last week we went to dinner to celebrate Daddy's and Aunt Ashley's birthday.
We went to a Japanese hibachi, which is super fun because we don't have to wait long for the food and then we get entertained by a crazy chef with giant knives!


Did that guy really just crack an egg on my head? Whoa!

I see that you're cooking some rather interesting things there...salmon, shrimp, steak...it's a good thing I brought along some Rice Krispies and banana in my Diego cooler bowl! They really didn't think I'd be putting any of THAT in my mouth, did they?

Chopsticks are great for so many things...poking my sister, waving like a wand, or turning myself into a triceratops at the the dinner table.

Mommy, I'll smile for this picture, but I gotta tell you...I don't trust that guy with the big hat one bit! Did you see that fire? And the way he squirted water at us?? I'm scared...is he gone yet?

Good Eats

I have a secret. I hate to cook.
I really, really, hate it.

But I loooooove to eat.

And when I say love, I mean dream-about-it-day-and-night, want-to-marry-it-and-live-happily-ever-after kind of love. It's deep.

My hubby loves to cook and is great at it. But we decided long ago that we would take turns cooking, each taking a week at a time. It's only fair. When it's my week, I pout and whine (and wine!) and sometimes want to cry a little. When it's his week, I smile and giggle and cheerfully set the table (but I still wine a little. Okay, more than a little.)

I'm pretty sure the reason why I hate cooking is because I am terrible at it. Recipes are like jibberish to me. I don't understand cooking terms like braise and sear and all that jazz. If the recipe has more than 5 or 6 ingredients, I start sweating and have to call my mom for clarification of what parsley looks like. I burn, I over boil, I overcook, and I under salt.

I want to be a good cook, or at least not detest it so much.

Enter the Pioneer Woman. We all know she pretty much rocks at everything she does, but the reason why I am so happy she has entered my life is because she blogs recipes with PHOTOS! Step by step, idiot-proof, illustrated instructions. As long as I look at the pictures, I really can only screw up minimally.

Last week I attempted this fabulous creation:

WHOA MAMA, was it ever good!

Mine looked almost exactly like that. Mine was a little less saucy, because I followed all of the instructions right up to the end, when all there was left to do was dump in the pasta...and that's where I screwed up. I neglected to read the part where PW says to only dump in 3/4 of the pasta. Of course, I didn't read that part because in my head I was saying, "What moron can screw up dumping pasta into a skillet?"

Obviously I can.

It must be a gift.

So here is my contribution to Jaime's awesome weekly recipe roundup. The Pioneer Woman's Penne a la Betsy! Enjoy!