No rest for the weary

Can a weekend start poorly when you’re baking Almond Joy brownie bites?

I have scientifically proven that it can.

First my brownies gave me the middle finger when they came out of the oven and broke in half during the pan extraction process. I had to dig out some Hello Kitty polka dot mini cupcake wrappers to save them from the compost heap. Fortunately they were edible.

Lauren, who is nut allergic, wanted to know why on Earth I’d made brownies with nuts in them. After explaining that they were for a dinner party that night, she broke into tears, begging that I make a second nut-free batch of brownies.

So now, instead of enjoying the first 50 degree day of the winter, we were trapped inside like brownie lab rats, testing our dedication to the sport of baking.

And of course, when we make food, I must photograph. Because that’s what this food blog has done to me.

Yes, those would be my feet. I’m either perched on a chair, lying on the ground, or climbing onto my countertops to get my food shots. Maybe I’m doing it wrong. If so, please tell me because I’m spending a lot of time cleaning my countertops.

After baking all morning the kids started to pace like a pack of anxious wolves; they were ready to enjoy some sunshine. Our sunny day didn’t disappoint.

And I was eager to enjoy a little of the great outdoors myself. Forgetting that everyone swarms to the park as soon as we get a glimpse of warm weather, I suited up for our visit in a pair of stretch iridescent snakeskin pants, a yellow sweatshirt, and a wool vest that I bought in 2001. Witnesses will corroborate. Upon seeing friends and acquaintances in their skinny jeans and leather boots, the obvious choice was to run for the hills, which I did under the guise of a dog walk, leaving my husband to look after the kids.

With a quick fist bump to my girl, Jack and I took off.

I wasn’t the only one with that plan.

But it was a lovely walk. I cranked the music, the endorphins were pumping, the river was sparkling. I haven’t seen it sparkle in months. I missed the sparkle.

I got back to the playground to find everything as I expected. Lauren went missing. Lauren was found. Lauren was now showing the others how to knee slide…..

Emma found a sunny spot under the bridge, channeled her inner Elsa and belted out “Let it go”.

Sam made some questionable decisions. Questionable because there was an open gate right next to him.

Last but not least it was the adults’ turn for a little fun. We headed to our friends’ apartment to bottle our home-brewed beer. Stay tuned for an upcoming post on that adventure. We’ve either brewed something delicious or toxic waste that needs to properly disposed in sanctioned medical containers.

After drinking too much alcohol and getting too little sleep, we crawled through our Sunday on hands and knees.

Finally it was Sunday night. The kids took advantage of my unusual permissiveness and decorated each other’s faces with marker. Bath time ensued. Lauren worked some baby oil into her dry winter skin while Sam removed his fox whiskers.

And of course, no weekend is complete without a crescendo:

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From Almond Joy brownie bites to bath time mayhem, yet another reason why Mondays are synonymous with vacation in our house. Hope everyone had a great weekend as well…..peace out for now.