if life gives you lemons...

Make lemon bars? I'll be honest, this hasn't been my favorite week. It's been a tough one and I can't wait for it to be over. Last weekend we told the kids I nanny for that I would be moving to South Africa at the end of the summer. This didn't go over well. Madeline told me that I broke her heart. Maxwell told me that he wasn't going to talk to me for the rest of the summer (and he really kinda hasn't). The mom I work for went into panic/paranoia/organization mode this week and mind you all three kids are home for the week before camp starts. I've run a thousand errands, organized the playroom, cleaned out closets, broke up several sibling rivalry fight, supervised playdates, baked, got beat at chess twice by a seven year old, lost three times in a row in a battle against Max in guitar hero, swam in the pool 7 times and counting, potty trained Marshall (well, sort of), and planned the menu for the pool party this weekend. I'm totally hammered.

I am absolutely going to admit that at these times when I am stressed I get sucked into emotional eating, and hence...emotional baking. So in the midst of all this, I decided to try yet another Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) recipe. This woman is genious and the lemon bars are SO delicious. To get the recipe, visit my recipe blog at http://savorysauce.blogspot.com. These tart sugary delights are almost gone and I feel much much better now. :)

Disclaimer: This post is not to take away from what my amazing mommy friends go through every day, all the time. I just wish they were my own kids so I could discipline them the way I want to. I do love Max, Mad and Marsh and will miss them dearly when I leave.

where's mr. darcy?

I spent the past ten days at Bovey Castle in the brilliant English Countryside. It's possible that this much time away from technoligy and too many afternoons spent drinking tea and eating scones with clotted cream sent me into Pride and Predjudice mode, but as I walked around I couldn't help but wait for Mr. Darcy to come walking down the path at any given moment. Maybe just wishful thinking? It's true that single women really shouldn't watch shows like Emma and Pride and Predjudice because your expectations of men suddenly become unachievable. I mean, what woman doesn't want a gentleman with an accent who says things like, "You have bewitched me body and soul and I love...I love you and wish to be a part of you from this day forward". Sigh. Well...that didn't happen while I was in England but here are some photos of this beautiful country anyway. Love the sheep. They just hang out there in the middle of the road like they own the place. I guess it's thier right hey.