Shelaghs 4th Birthday Party

I swear Shelaghs birthday is a 2+ week celebration. We have a separate family party b/c Joe is 1 of 5, everyone has kids, and his 1st cousins + kids are always included as well bringing the "small family gathering" count to 33. Plus, Shelagh has 3 other cousins with birthdays all within a 2 month period so we traditionally have 1 party for the 4 girls.

It would be way too crazy to have friends included too, so we did her party for her friends at an indoor play gym. It's a small place that has a membership base along with doing outside parties. The parties are lead by 2 teachers, are completely interactive, and they do all the setup and cleanup. We just show up with the cake and the kid. The place is really clean and good for multiple ages which I think is great for the inevitable siblings that come along, including Rory.

Here is the little princess posing with her tulips from her recital with the outfit she selected for herself (I love the dress but the tights were a little crazy. I knew they would come off at the play gym though so I let that go and actually it was pretty cute with her new sneaks); eating her Tinkerbell cake; and baking with her new baking set and coordinating chef clothes she got from one of her friends yesterday.

Her actual birthday isn't until Wednesday so we still have cupcakes to send to school tomorrow and family dinner on Wednesday. The celebration that never ends...

Shelaghs 1st Dance Recital

Yes, I cried. Not only for my kid, but for all the other kids too. I choked up dropping Shelagh off beforehand. I blubbered and had a lump in my throat watching all the other numbers. I about lost my shit watching her on stage. She saw Joe waving at her when she first got out there and waved back right away. She kind of froze a few times, but she did some moves and made it off stage in one piece. At the end of the show, all the kids were on the stage with their trophies. When I went back stage to get her, she said "Mommy, whose tulips are those?". I think getting the flowers was her favorite part.

Here is Shelagh beforehand all dressed up in her costume. While applying makeup to my 4-year old was a bit disconcerting, I think she looked so beautiful in this picture. Don't worry...I won't be sneaking lip gloss and mascara onto her regularly. I thought I was pretty subtle with just a little brown eye shadow, a small amount of brown mascara (she has insanely long eyelashes too), a small bit of blush and lipstick (which looks darker in this pic than it did on her. Oh well).

And here she is giving her best "CHEEEEEEESE" while simultaneously annoyed that we insisted on taking a bunch of pictures:

I'm so proud of her!

Meal Planning wk of 5/16

Other than the brisket disaster, last weeks meals turned out pretty good. The Sesame Rice and Teriyaki chicken were so good and easy. The apricot stuffed pork tenderloin was great too...we've done that one before, but I forgot how good it was. The kids ate both with us (as long as Rory has sour cream to dip in he seems to be doing better. we'll deal with the heart attack food later...at least he's eating dinner!)

Below is what we'll be having this week...

Friday - Leftovers
Saturday - Shelaghs recital and a birthday party - take out probable
Sunday - Shelaghs 4th birthday party!
Monday - Tri-Tip Roast (Beef), Sliced/Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Broccoli
Tuesday - Patty Melts from Cooking Light - they look so good in the picture.
Wednesday - Shrimp & Snow Peas on Pasta or Basmati Rice for us and Annies Mac & Cheese with corn for the kids as it's Shelaghs 4th Birthday and that is her favorite dinner.
Thursday - Chicken Cutlets, Spinach, Pasta or Rice leftover from Wed

Family Day at the Arboretum

We went to the Arnold Arboretum this morning to stroll around and look at the flowers. The lilacs were in full bloom. You can see a good view of what they looked like on the main webpage. Yes, I forgot my camera. And, Shelagh was wearing purple and would have looked so cute surrounded by all the purple flowers. Oh well. It was a fun time until I spotted a snake. Ew. The kids, of course, thought it was cool and wanted to touch it. I, on the other hand, wanted to scream but kept myself together so they would continue not to be scared of them.

Shelagh is turning 4

I cannot believe Shelagh is turning 4 next week. I remember thinking 4 was so old when my nephew got there and thinking "Wow, (my sister) is the mom of a 4-year old!". Well, that's me now. Crazy.



Here she is with me and with Joe before her family birthday party (she has 2 cousins that also turned/will turn 4 a month before and after her - we do 1 big family party with her other cousin who is older). She let me give her "Magic Porridge Pot" hair which is my favorite on her. It's basically just 2 buns up high. There is an old Russian/German (Brothers Grimm) folktale (have seen it referenced both ways) we read to the kids and listen to in the car on CD called The Magic Porridge Pot in a beautiful book of stories called The Story Tree from Barefoot Books. If you haven't seen any of the Barefoot Books, go here and check out what they have for books, books w/ CDs included, CDs and puzzles. They are beautifully illustrated and make awesome gifts.

The Horror that was the Brisket from Top Chef

This is too bad to let pass by...I attempted the slow-cooked Brisket Richard made from Top Chef last week and it is a MISERABLE FAILURE! In hindsight, I should have known that the brisket that I got from the store was much smaller than the mammoth hunk of beef he used on the show and adjusted the cooking time accordingly. Alas, I did not and at 10 hours, the shoe that was my brisket came out of the oven and the "off", sort of burnt, sort of mustardy smell wafted throughout my house. Dry, bland, overcooked, no sauce, but it did shred nicely. I do have to say that the recipe is written terribly...you'd think they'd work a little harder at that seeing that this is a competition for CHEFS! I digress. I have to try this again...next time, in the slow cooker instead of the oven, more salt and spice to start with, browned on the grill instead of in a pan, a little fattier, and MUCH less time (say 7 hours on low?). My poor family will have to have this again next week as now I am determined to get a juicy, melt-in-your-mouth brisket. I know I can just go to my moms recipe, but I want to get this one right somehow!



It's a good thing I have a sense of humor...look at what happened to my roasting pan from the brown sugar???

Mothers Day Picnic at the Beach

I had a wonderful Mothers Day yesterday. Joe got up with the kids to make pancakes while I slept in (glory!). Then, I woke up to my homemade cards from the kids (from Shelagh "Mommy, I worked very hard on it for you so you'd like it"), a beautiful letter from my husband, and a surprise picnic! After breakfast we head up to Salisbury Beach and Park on the border of MA and NH. It was a beautiful, sunny morning with slightly crispy air. We hit the playground first and played for awhile on the great climbing structures.

Then we hit the beach with our blankets and picnic basket. It was kind of windy, but strong sun and snuggly kids made it okay. There were people riding horses and flying kites and my brave children and husband hiked up their pants and splashed around in the water a bit. They were so happy to be at the beach and despite some detailed explaining about how it wasn't warm enough to swim yet but that we could still play and have fun at the beach, they were perfectly okay with just dipping feet and throwing a ball around.

From Rory..."Mommy, I just want to lay down and not talk. I lookin at the ocean. Will you lay with me?". What a perfect Mothers Day heart-melter!

Nothing like fresh ocean air to wipe out a toddler...

We finished the day off at Annas Taqueria and then JP Licks for ice cream cones with rainbow sprinkles. Perfect. I couldn't have had a better day. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful family - everyone is healthy and happy and being together outside in the beautiful weather with the breathtaking scenery just filled my heart today. Thank you, my most thoughtful husband :)