I am deceptively delicious!

As I've mentioned before, my main reason for writing this blog is so I have digital scrapbook of sorts to look back on someday. So I apologize for the detailed recap of weekend events, but sometimes this stuff is more for me than you. That being said, I'm glad you're here and reading about our adventures!

On Saturday we decided to take a little daytrip down to Freeport. It was a decent day weather-wise, so it was a great day to take a drive and get some fresh air. Mike needed a new suit and some stuff at LL Bean and I just love walking around the stores and trying to score a good deal. While Mike looked for a suit, I wheeled the boys around in the stroller. Hank was SO good, it was amazing. Usually he's the worst shopper EVER, so it was a nice surprise that he was so well-behaved. I think he really likes sitting next to Georgie in the stroller, so that helps. Georgie, who is usually so well-behaved, was quite the little stinker. He kept taking off his shoes and socks and throwing them out of the stroller. Now, it was a nice day and all but at 53 degrees still not warm enough for a 10-month-old to be outside barefoot. So we stopped countless times to re-sock and re-shoe George.

We ate lunch at Gritty McDuff's (yum) and then headed for the ocean, since we had promised Hank a trip to the ocean that day. (By the way, the reason he loves the ocean so much is because he thinks there is a small chance he might see Ariel there). But both boys fell asleep in the car, so we decided to literally take the scenic route home. That way, when Hank woke up, we would be near the ocean. It was so bizarre to be on Route 1 with relatively no traffic, although you could see Maine start to spring to life - hotels are opening for the season, restaurant windows are unboarded, the roadside seafood stands starting to pop up. It was a refreshing sight. We drove through Brunswick, Bath, Wiscasset, Damriscotta, Waldoboro, Thomaston, and then stopped in Rockland for ice cream and a quick stroll through downtown. We then drove through Camden, Searsport, and then turned up toward the Bangor area. We were tuckered out but it was a good day, a day when some of the stresses of life are put on the back burner and your biggest decision is what flavor of ice cream to choose. I didn't care about the laundry, the looming big stressor in our lives right now (more on that at a future date), keeping the house clean, or what the heating oil bill will be next month. I simply enjoyed the simple things, like the view from Route 1 and the smile on Hank's face as he scraped out that last bit of ice cream from his bowl. I need more days like that.

Meanwhile, I know some of you out there have Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious cookbook, so I thought I'd share some of my experiences with the recipes thus far. First, the purees are really easy to make, especially the butternut squash one. One butternut squash yields a ton of puree, as evidenced by the massive stockpile in our freezer. I add a 1/2 cup of the butternut squash puree to every box of Kraft Mac N Cheese I make and Hank cannot tell the difference. The brownies made with spinach puree are also a big hit, as are the blueberry bars (with spinach) and banana bread. I made the carrot cake muffins and those get a big thumbs-down from me, although Mike liked them. I just think that some things should be loaded down with fat and sugar and calories, and carrot cake with a hefty helping of cream cheese frosting is one of those things. Hank tasted the squash puree in the grilled cheese and naturally refused to eat it, so that one was another dud. The turkey meatloaf was also a hit.