I forgot to take my Zoloft over the weekend – three days in a row total – and I started to feel pretty lousy. Not losing-my-mind crazy but irritable and anxious and unfocused. I thought maybe I was overreacting but decided it (probably) wouldn’t kill me to take an extra pill to get back on track. So on Monday I took one at noon and one at bedtime – which is when I usually take it. Oddly, if I take it in the mornings I have really vivid crazy house on fire naked Christmas farm animal Barry Manilow pregnant high school war opening night Hunger Games dreams. And that’s even if I DON’T read dystopian fantasy novels while I fall asleep. So I took two and hoped I wasn’t over medicating myself into a coma or a heart attack or something.

INSTEAD, I did ALL THE THINGS in the past two days. And in a good way, not a “I’M BORED, LETS CUT BANGS” way.  I finally dealt with the mountain of baby clothes in Caroline’s room and organized her summer wardrobe (because yeah, girl has too many outfits). I bought plastic totes and put away craft supplies and decorations from Evan’s birthday party that happened *ahem* more than a month ago. I steam mopped all the floors. But not only is the house clean, I’m competing in an imaginary contest for Mother of the Year Week. We did puzzles (I HATE puzzles) and put on boots to splash outside and blew a billion bubbles and went to the library and read the same books over and over and over and over and over and tracked down all the balls to all the toys and let the kids them jump all over me and sang songs loudly and let them ride the elevators even though we didn’t need to and let them eat the last giant marshmallow. Even when I was annoyed I calmly explained to Evan he needed to listen better or I would have to use my angry voice – and I KNOW, saying stuff like that sounds RIDICULOUS but when my 3 year old says “Mommy, I can’t want you use your angry voice and I can’t want use my angry voice so let’s have hugs and kisses” I dies of cuteness so I don’t care how ridiculous it sounds. Plus, it worked. He now recognizes my angry voice AND his angry voice and knows how to stop them.

(Extra bonus cuteness: Evan had to have a blood draw for his anemia test an he was REALLY sad – although again, I handled it a zillion times better than I normally would have – and afterwards I asked if he wanted a Happy Meal and he said “No Mommy, I need a Sad Meal”.)

(Double extra bonus cuteness: Evan has stopped calling Caroline “Baby Sister” and started calling her “Stinky Pants”…which, oops, but when he yells “COME BACK STINKY PANTS!” across Target I can’t stop laughing long enough to breathe let alone feel bad about the nickname.)

ANDPLUSALSO I gave myself an at-home hair treatment – honey and olive oil, which sounds like a crazy mistake but actually did wash out and made my ends softer – and finally tried no heat curls (my hair says “MEH”) and I’m feeling pretty good about myself in general, despite eating too many ice cream sandwiches.

So now I’m wondering if I should call my doctor and ask to raise my Zoloft dose or just blame my sudden productivity on the domino effect of accomplishment – you know, where you get that happy buzz from seeing an empty kitchen sink so you decide to wipe down the cabinets and then the floors and then BAM you’re suddenly hoping the UPS guy shows up just so you can be proud of your super clean house when you open the door. I don’t think two days is long enough to definitely say my medication is why I’m doing so well but with everything else still as stressful as it was last week (E hasn’t seen the kids since Sunday because he’s working such long hours, rainy days, Evan is still three) I am desperate to keep it up. I LIKE being productive and happy. It’s definitely preferable to anxious, grumpy, shouty and tired.

WHAT SHOULD I DO, INTERNETS? Please come over to discuss, so I can show you my spotless kitchen counters.

p.s. Anyone still interested in a home tour link-up/blog hop/whatever? I should show off this place before it all goes to crap again.

Thank you so much for subscribing to bebehblog! I appreciate your readership. If you liked Happy Days Are Here Again, please click over and share your comments or email me anytime at bebehblog@gmail.com xoxo Suzanne

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Happy Days Are Here Again originally appeared on bebehblog on May 17, 2012.

More photos on my Facebook page!

Thank you so much for subscribing to bebehblog! I appreciate your readership. If you liked Wordless Wednesday: Puddle Jumper Edition, please click over and share your comments or email me anytime at bebehblog@gmail.com xoxo Suzanne

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Wordless Wednesday: Puddle Jumper Edition originally appeared on bebehblog on May 15, 2012.

To be honest, I am not a huge fan of green beans. The only time I ever really like them is battered and deep fried but by that point they’re barely a vegetable any more and definitely not a health food. And although I’m sure some kids eat green beans willingly for breakfast, lunch and dinner, mine prefer french fries…and I do too.

So I made my green beans into fries. Sort of. Healthy ones!

Baked Green Bean Fries
Serves 4

12 oz green beans
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup egg substitute (or 1 egg)
Splash of water
1 cup Italian panko bread crumbs*
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and coat a rimmed cookie sheet with non-stick spray.

First you have to blanch the green beans, which sounds like a long, fancy, unnecessary step, but is easy and quick. Bring a large pot of water to boil and add a little salt. Toss in the green beans and boil for 3 minutes. As soon as the time is up, drain the beans in a colander and then put them in a bowl of ice water for at least 3 more minutes. They should still be green and crunchy.

Drain the beans again and pat them dry. Put them into a dry bowl, pour the flour over them and toss until they’re all coated. Put your egg in a bowl with a splash of water and scramble it, then put your bread crumbs and salt in another bowl. This next part is a little tedious but I tried doing it other ways and they didn’t work as well. Working a couple beans at a time, dip them in the egg mixture, then roll them in the bread crumbs until they are well coated. Put them on the cookie sheet. Repeat until they are all coated and in a single layer on the sheet (use another cookie sheet if you run out of space). Bake for 18-20 minutes until the coating starts to brown.

Serve with your choice of dipping sauce for little fingers or something spicy for grown ups (I dipped mine in Kraft Horseradish Dijon Mayo but if you were REALLY fancy you could make your own).

*If you wanted to make them spicy, add cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes to the bread crumbs. I was trying to keep them kid friendly for the picky 3 year old (the baby loves spicy stuff).

Caroline approved!

I calculated the Weight Watchers Points Plus and each serving is only 2 points – so feel free to eat most of them in 1 sitting. Or all of them you can keep away from the kids. Enjoy!

Thank you so much for subscribing to bebehblog! I appreciate your readership. If you liked Baked Green Bean Fries, please click over and share your comments or email me anytime at bebehblog@gmail.com xoxo Suzanne

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Baked Green Bean Fries originally appeared on bebehblog on May 15, 2012.

One of my favorite things about meeting internet friends is finding out they are EXACTLY the same as they seem online (and surprisingly, almost everyone I met has been). It’s even better when their KIDS are exactly the same as they seem online (spoken: adorable and charming). The cherry on top is when my kids are also adorable and charming and everyone has a fantastic day. The end. Well, except for this set of pictures of Kim’s kids being awesome with mine at Dinosaur State Park in Rocky Hill.

Caroline + O

I think she likes him.

Awww, he likes her back!

Such good picture takers (notice the missing child)

The kids thought the best part was playing with the gravel on the trail

Oh no, I fell over! Look at me! I'm still adorable!

Caroline decided Kim was just as good as Mommy

Dandelion wishes

You will not be the least bit surprised to hear JD is a child model

No guys, the camera is THIS WAY

They match, hilariously.

I consider this a perfect group shot, considering there are 4 kids in it

LOUD NOISES

Caroline is all "SIT STILL, I WANT TO MAKE SURE SHE GETS MY GOOD SIDE"

Kim + Me = Awesome

Goodbye Hugs

Thank you to our friends for the wonderful day – at to my husband for helping us wrangle two VERY energetic boys.

Thank you so much for subscribing to bebehblog! I appreciate your readership. If you liked 2 + 2 = Cuter Than Ever, please click over and share your comments or email me anytime at bebehblog@gmail.com xoxo Suzanne

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2 + 2 = Cuter Than Ever originally appeared on bebehblog on May 14, 2012.

Despite the fact that it rained – a lot, or at least it felt like a lot – this week, we certainly made it out of the house every day. Which is why I just ate a giant ice cream sundae to celebrate surviving.

Sunday:

Tiny hockey player

I cleaned Caroline's room. It lasted 45 seconds, until Evan found the puzzles.

What, you don't plan your garden while watching Game of Thrones?

Monday:

We borrowed this stroller from a friend and Caroline is in LOVE with it. If anyone knows where I can get one, please let me know.

Playdate lunch - mac'n'cheese and watermelon

WHOA, WHAT IS THIS?? (Answer: soft serve from Sea Swirl)

Tuesday:

A rare moment of peace in a shared cart

He used his magic ginger powers on me. Kid is unstoppable.

Evening self portrait

 Wednesday:

Oh looks, it's raining! Wet!

I've put this damn floor puzzle together every day this week.

Sure. Whatever. Just get out of my house.

Thursday:

POOR CHOICES CAROLINE

Form a line, please! I'm in the front!

Giant bubbles are fun

Friday:

E wore his fancy clothes for a boat thing - I lay in bed.

Beautiful day for Stroller Strides

Caroline learned to say "quack quack". It's the cutest thing ever.

Saturday:

For Mother's Day, I bought myself flowers that will last a lot longer than a bouquet

Caroline was unimpressed by the dinosaur tracks.

It would have been cooler with a voiceover that said "WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH!!!"

Despite getting to sleep in Saturday, it was a REALLY long day so as soon as I finish typing this post I’m going to bed. I dragged my very patient husband off to meet my internet friend Kim – who was just as awesome in real life as she’s been online for the past 3 years. The boys had an amazing time running (away) together and Evan cried all the way home because he didn’t want to leave his fwiends. It was adorable. And also exhausting. Sunday is more hockey, more gardening and my first attempt at making artichokes for dinner. Happy Mother’s Day!

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!

Thank you so much for subscribing to bebehblog! I appreciate your readership. If you liked My Week(80) in iPhone Photos, please click over and share your comments or email me anytime at bebehblog@gmail.com xoxo Suzanne

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My Week(80) in iPhone Photos originally appeared on bebehblog on May 12, 2012.