Spasagne... and life just got a bit more complicated

We just had a total whirl wind weekend - a trip to my mom's place five hours away, my sister's bridal shower, a drive home immediately afterwards so that I could get up early to run on a marathon relay team with my coworkers, and then my husband heading back down south to start a new job.  Phew!  I think we'll all be using this week to recover.

My husband's new job is a pretty exciting prospect.  It'll put him working closer to home and with shorter working hours so he'll have more family time.  And it's in a field he loves - it couldn't be better!  The tough part (which is making life a bit more complicated) is that there's a long training period which will take him away from home Monday to Friday for months.  This week my mom is visiting to help out, which is amazing.  Absolutely amazing.  But, she won't always be here, so I'm all about finding ways to simplify everyday tasks and keep myself sane.

And so, I thought I'd share the dinner I prepared tonight.  I inadvertently invented and named it a couple of years ago, and it's been making regular appearances on our menu ever since.  Yesterday I found myself officially out of meal planning ideas, and decided to throw Spasagne in the mix as an easy option for a Monday.  I prepped it while the kids were munching on cheese, crackers and fruit yesterday afternoon, and today it just needed to be popped into the oven.  It was a delicious dinner, with almost no effort! 

So, I give you...

Spasagne (hint: it's a cross between spaghetti and lasagne)

Pasta and Homemade Meat Sauce - just add cheese

1 family portion of spaghetti (cooked)
1 family portion of meat sauce
1/2 - 1 c grated mozzarella cheese
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

1.  Cook spaghetti to al dente consistency.  Note that whole wheat pasta is not appropriate for this recipe, as it tends to lose texture.  We use 'Smart' brand pasta and it works well.
2.  Combine meat sauce and cooked pasta.
3.  Transfer into casserole dish and top with cheeses.
4.  Cover and bake at 350F until heated through and bubbly.  Let rest five minutes, cut into square slices and serve.

Note - To make ahead, follow steps 1-3, then refrigerate overnight. 

Hot from the oven and ready to enjoy!

And, in the spirit of keeping things simple, here's a short list of what I love about Spasagne:
1.  It's quick and easy.
2.  It incorporates the cheesy goodness of lasagne, without the fuss of layering pasta and sauce.
3.  I can make it with the homemade meat sauce that I have in my freezer, so it's a weeknight, home cooked meal ready in no time.
4.  I can sneak extra veggies into it via the sauce; kids will probably be too distracted by the cheesy goodness to even notice.
5.  My family loves it.  My mom even went back for seconds tonight, and that never happens!   

Fantastic Family Fun

Mini Muffin is a big fan of soccer.  One day last year she suddenly proclaimed "I'm a Soccer Rocker!!!" and ever since she hasn't turned down a chance to kick around a ball.  I have no idea where Soccer Rocker came from, but it's now the official name of soccer in our home.  Not surprisingly Mini Muffin started ploughing through her dinner last night, giving us "Almost there!" updates after every bite when asked if she wanted to play Soccer Rocker after supper.  We'd decided to diverge from our normal weeknight routine of dinner, a few minutes of play and then bedtime; instead having a quick dinner so we could all go play in the backyard!  Mini Muffin ended up having a pretty big dinner, and before long we were all outside playing with a regular soccer ball, a mini soccer ball and a small net.

This was one of the first times we've been able to include Little Smiling Man in outdoor play.  Previously he'd be in the carrier or stroller watching from the sidelines, but now that he's walking he wants to be in the thick of it!  He spent most of the time toddling around on the uneven ground, trying to kick the mini ball, as well as picking up, carrying and throwing it.  When he got tired, he hung out by the shed watching, occasionally coming back into the foray to try and score a goal (or steal the ball)!  Not only was the fresh air good for him, but the activities were great for his gross motor skills.  Walking on grass is a lot more difficult than a smooth indoor floor, and his balance was noticeably improving by the time we headed inside.  And of course kicking and throwing skills are also great to practice.  I also liked that he got one on one active play time with each of his parents, as well as his sister and got to watch all of us interact as we played.

Mini Muffin was all over the place and loved every minute of it.  She chased down balls, dribbled and kicked both balls and was pretty shameless with using her hands to get the ball away from Mommy or Daddy.  She loved racing to get the ball from every corner of the yard as well; there was a lot of huffing and puffing!  Towards the end, my little Soccer Rocker was pretty tired so she turned her attention to throwing and catching the mini soccer ball.  Her catching skills are getting better, and she completely cracked us up when she missed catching the ball and would laugh saying "Silly Mommy!" or "Silly Daddy!".  As if it was our throwing skills that were the only issue!

My husband and I got to take turns playing with each of the kids, and we had some of our own soccer rocker battles full of laughter.  My husband is much better at controlling the ball than I am, so really all I could hope to do was deflect the ball, or kick it away from him.  In any case, we both managed to score a goal or two on each other, which was fun!  And, it was nice for me to clear out the cobwebs after a pretty dull and sedentary day at work. 

When bedtime was approaching we headed inside to give the kids a quick bath and tucked them happily into bed.  I really do hope that this kind of family time will form some the kid's earliest memories.  All of us having fun together, laughing and being active!

Sleep Update

Last night, I slept through the night!!!

This is not a milestone I expected to celebrate with one and (almost) three year olds, but a significant event it turned out to be. 

Here's why -

After getting his allergies under control in January, Little Smiling Man quickly got into a great sleep groove.  To recap, before we started actively managing his allergies, he was one itchy little guy.  He'd go to sleep pretty easily between seven and eight, probably due to sheer exhaustion.  Four hours later he'd be up, and he'd be up pretty much every hour until morning.  Sometimes it would take a good hour to resettle him, only for him to sleep an hour and be up again.  After nine months I was one sleepy mama!  Within a week of starting antihistamines, he went to bed even more easily, and was up maybe once a night.  Two weeks later he was able to sleep 11h straight most nights.  The change was amazing!

Then, two weeks ago my little guy got sick.  He had a nasty gastro bug that gave him tummy pains, and after three days that transitioned into less tummy distress with a high fever.  All in all, it was nearly a week of illness, and a week of him needing parental intervention from about 1am until morning.  He wanted comfort, to be held, to be rocked, etc.  It made for a very tiring experience for all of us, but he's been better for about four days now, hooray!

Breaking the nighttime comfort habit took a lot of willpower on my part.  We were all so tired from being up half the night for a week that the easiest thing to do would have been to give him what he wanted and spend the night dozing with him in a recliner so we all could get some rest.  But, instead we mustered up our strength and settled, and resettled and re-resettled him in his crib until he realised that the nighttimes of being held for hours are over.  The first night it took two exhausting hours, the second night it took one hour, then fifteen minutes.  Last night was golden - back to sleeping through the night!  Ahhh!

On the Mini Muffin front, bedtime continues to be a challenge.   I've previously written about our naptime power struggles, and her general need for comfort and having a parent with her to fall asleep.  We tried extending the strategy to bedtime, going through our routine and then letting her do what she wanted (so long as it was quiet and in her room) until she was ready to sleep.  It was an epic failure.  Mini Muffin really enjoys playing independently, so we ended up pulling the plug on the whole philosophy when after a week she was consistently still playing at 11pm when we'd go in and insist it was bedtime.  So, the bedtime process continues to be long (minimum of an hour, and often two) and full of frustration. 

My husband usually handles her bedtime, and they're pretty good at winding each other up, which also exacerbates the situation.  Last week, I interjected one night when it was becoming clear that my husband needed a break.  I tried something new and gave her a flashlight.  I told her that she could play with it until she was ready to sleep, but that she had to do it quietly and stay in her bed.  The consequence of not following that direction was that she'd lose the flashlight.  It's been almost a week now, and it's working wonderfully!  We do her bedtime routine of vitamin, pjs, teeth and face, good night to myself and her brother, stories with daddy ending with "Night Night Little Pookie", and then lights out.  We ask if she's ready to go to sleep (one night the answer was actually yes!), and if the answer is no, she's offered the flashlight.  My husband then leaves the room.  When she's ready to sleep she calls for one of us, and we put away the flashlight, tuck her in, start some white noise, and hold her hand for a few minutes until she drifts off.  Without an audience, and being fairly still and in the dark, flashlight time seems to help her settle down more quickly.  Without the frustration of sitting with Mini Muffin while she mucks around the tries to keep herself awake, we all have less frustration.  And since no one is getting frustrated, the calmer atmosphere seems to really help bedtime progress more quickly.  It's still a bit more of a production that I'd like, so there's still work to do, but overall we're all happier and Mini Muffin is sleeping on average half an hour earlier than she was!

I still find it amazing that my kids are so different in their sleep habits.  I did a few things slightly differently between them, but I think most of it is due to nature as opposed to nurture.  I continue to learn a lot along the way, and while our sleep situation (with Mini Muffin in particular) continues to have its moments of frustration, we really have come a long way!
  

Shrek Juice

Today we practiced what seems to have become a weekly ritual.  Today was our official try-to-sneak-green-food-into-your-strong-willed-and-picky-toddler day.  So far I've been having the most success with putting greens into beverage form, and have previously posted about some of our favourites (Shamrock Mock-shake and "Chocolate" Thick Shake).  This time, I decided to revisit a favourite of Mini Muffin's that I haven't made for a few months; Shrek Juice.

Gloriously Green - Shrek Juice!

The recipe for Shrek Juice came from Homemade Smoothies for Mother and Baby by Kristine Miles, that my husband picked up for me on a whim at the grocery store about a year ago.  It's been the source of a couple of good ideas for kid friendly smoothies, a few good mama smoothies and, well, a few flops along the way.  From those we've tried, Shrek Juice is a definite gem!

So, without further delay -

Shrek Juice

1 1/2 c coconut water
Large handful of baby spinach
2 dates
1/2 avocado
1 ripe banana
Ice

1.  Soak dates to soften.  I like soaking them overnight to get them as soft as possible.
2.  Add spinach, then dates, then coconut water to blender.  Blend well (no chunks should remain).
3.  Add banana and avocado, blending until smooth.
4.  Add ice, blend and enjoy!

I find this smoothie to be very well suited to the toddler/preschooler pallet.  The banana and avocado make it creamy, the banana and dates make it naturally sweet, and the banana flavour does a great job at hiding the taste of all the other ingredients.  And of course it's a wonderful shade of green that could only be favoured by ogres!  I also like that it gives Mini Muffin healthy fats from the avocado, electrolytes from the coconut water and of course a good helping of spinach! 

Since it's been a while since I've made it, today was Little Smiling Man's first Shrek Juice experience.  He's not as tough a customer to please as his sister, but he greeted it pretty enthusiastically and screeched for some of mine as well.  Mini Muffin eyed it up, then she eyed me up, then conceded to try a sip.  Happily, that sip turned into her drinking her cup.  I think Shrek Juice is officially back in my rotation!

Whole Wheat Carrot Muffins - A Hit!

A couple of months ago I started cleaning my fridge out every Friday.  It's made a huge difference; reducing fridge clutter and food waste simultaneously.  It gives me a good view of what I have, what I need, and what I need to use up in the very near future.

This past week, I realised that a jar of unsweetened applesauce had been open for a while, and needed to be consumed quickly.  Instead of trying to feed my kids a lot more applesauce than normal, I thought I'd turn it into muffins.  My quick recipe search was uninspiring; oatmeal applesauce muffins galore.  Then, I found a fantastic recipe for whole wheat carrot muffins at 100 Days of Real Food.  Now this was a recipe I could work with!

So, after a few tweaks to meet my family's tastes, here's my version:

Whole Wheat Carrot Muffins

Still warm and ready to be enjoyed!

1 1/2c whole wheat flour
1 tsp gluten flour (optional)*
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
pinch of salt
1/2 c butter, melted
1/3 c honey
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 c unsweetened applesauce
1 c grated carrots


1.  Preheat oven to 350F and prepare muffin tin (grease or use muffin cup papers).
2.  Combine whole wheat flour, gluten flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Mix well.
3.  Add grated carrots and mix until carrots are coated.  Create a well to receive wet ingredients.
4.  In a small bowl, combine butter, honey, egg, vanilla and applesauce.
5.  Add wet mixture to the well in the dry ingredients.  Stir until just combined.
6.  Divide among muffin cups and bake 22 - 24 minutes.

Yields 12 muffins

* Gluten flour is an optional ingredient and was not included in the original recipe.  I find adding a bit of gluten flour to whole wheat baked goods results in a more tender texture.  Essentially you get all the goodness of the whole wheat flour without the toughness it sometimes yields.  Gluten flour is available in bulk stores, as well as in the health food section of many grocery stores.

I am so pleased with how these muffins turned out - I will absolutely be making them again!  They're moist, lightly sweet, and have quite a delicate crumb.  Mini Muffin ate an entire one with gusto for her "sert" (aka dessert) last night.  And while each muffin only contains just over a tablespoon of grated carrot, I'm in full support of any extra little bit of veggies that my kids can eat - and enjoy!

My kind of Saturday morning...

This morning, we broke from our usual Saturday morning routine of waffles, play, and then Mini Muffin's gymnastics.  Instead we had breakfast and playtime, my husband started switching over to our summer tires, and then he took Mini Muffin to gymnastics solo.  Little Smiling Man and I packed up and headed to a mom to mom consignment sale instead!  Now, I've previously sung the virtues of my favourite consignment store, but now it's time to heap praise on how amazing mom to mom sales are!  I seriously recommend checking out what's available to you locally; there are great deals to be had!

The sale I attended was an annual one hosted by our local multiple births society.  The vendors aren't exclusively twin parents, but many of them are which means that there are lots of good quality items... in multiple. Last year I had some great scores on everything from potties to swim gear to sippy cups.  Pricing is often better than consignment stores since the sellers want to be sure they sell everything they've brought, and there tends to be lots of variety.  My strategy for these sales is that since you never know what you might find, go with a shopping bag ready to fill with treasures and an open mind (e.g. no shopping list). 

Little Smiling Man and I arrived to a packed parking lot about an hour after the sale had started.  Once I finally got a parking spot, I popped him in the carrier and headed in.  After my first survey of the tables I mentally sighed that you win some, you lose some.  I was not inspired.  Most tables were almost exclusively clothes, and as you might recall I really dislike sifting through second hand clothing looking for gems.  Many had the same pricing as my consignment store, so I figured I may as well sift through well organised racks at my leisure, as opposed to heaped tables in a crowded gymnasium. 

Then, I found it - the table designed just for me!  The seller must have had boy/girl twins because everything was being sold in the same sizes for boys and girls.  Her organisational scheme was fantastic; Ziploc bags with three of this, or five of that at super low prices.  I didn't get to see exactly what I was buying, but at $1 for three 4T skirts, I didn't have much to lose.  So, I stocked up on great finds for Mini Muffin this summer, and for Little Smiling Man a year or two from now.  All I can say is $29 can go a long way... and that includes the $2 entry fee.

Here's what I came home with:

• 1 pair size 9 girls rubber boots

  

  The Haul - I love a good bargain!

• 1 pair size 9 girls water shoes
• 1 pair size 4 boys sandals
• 2 insulated sippy cups
• 1 straw cup
• 1 gender neutral tshirt
• 3 size 4T skirts
• 5 size 4T girls tank tops
• 2 pairs size 4T girls pjs
• 1 size 4/5T girls Columbia brand coat
• 3 pairs size 3T boys pants
• 2 size 3T boys dress shirts
• 1 pair size 3T boys dress pants
• 6 small toy trucks

All in all, I'm feeling pretty pumped about my finds.  I love that they're all good quality, and they're all things we need and will use.  And, I love that they were a small fraction of full price.  What a great way to start the weekend!

So Long Man Cave!

Over the weekend we finally packed away Little Smiling Man's bouncer/exersaucer.  In all reality we could have done it a couple of months ago since it's been quite some time since he'd let us put him in it, but it's had a few extra uses for him so we waited.  First, since he learned to pull to standing he's enjoyed playing with the toys while standing next to it.  Second, since almost the day we brought it out he's loved playing under and behind it.  So we dubbed the bouncer Little Smiling Man's "Man Cave"! 

Often, he'd pull a few toys underneath and sit there playing, occasionally peeking out to check out what the rest of the family was doing.  Sometimes he'd just go down there to hang out and possibly to escape Mini Muffin's attentions(?).  Other times, he'd head behind the bouncer to play with whatever he'd squirrelled back there days before.  However, his favourite thing to do in his Man Cave was to play with and disassemble the foam letter tiles we had stacked behind it.  Mini Muffin even joined in at times, treating them as little puzzles.  Did you know that the outline of a foam tile 8 also makes an excellent crown?  Or that the center piece of an O makes a great play phone?

Since it's tricky for adults to manoeuvre the Man Cave, we generally just let it be, and soon there was a massive mess of foam letters back there.  Every few weeks we'd tidy them up, but generally they were just left as a jumbled pile for playing.  Below is a picture of Little Smiling Man from before Christmas playing behind his Man Cave.  The tiles had recently been straightened so there's still a semblance of a pile - picture them in their normal state, as one big mound of disassembled tiles.  Fun for kids and rather unsightly for everyone else!

Playing with letters in the Man Cave

Post Man Cave - easily accessible and untouched!

Sunday night, after the bouncer was packed away and the kids were in bed, my husband and I decided to at long last tidy up the letters.  Since every single tile had been disassembled there were quite a few to put together.  I'd find a matching pair and my husband would put them together and stack them.  We joked that it was a bit like being a Sesame Street Muppet - we had to tidy up and organise our letters before bed.  To us it sounded like a task worthy of Bert and Ernie!

Now that everyone has easy access to that corner, it seems to have lost its allure to Little Smiling Man.  The tiles have remained untouched for five whole days!  However, I suspect he'll rediscover them at some point and we'll have the same old mess; just with easier access to clean it up.  Who knows, maybe Little Smiling Man will even return to his Man Cave someday when the bouncer is returned to the corner for his future sibling.

Simple Kitchen Sink Quiche

When I’m home with the kids our daily routine sometimes seems to revolve around food – breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner – and everything else needs to fit into the gaps.  With the responsibility of nourishing small, growing people my own eating habits have definitely shifted.  I eat more fruits and vegetables, fewer processed foods, and certainly eat more regularly than I once did. 

Since my return to work some additional changes in my eating patterns have been necessary.  On a work day, I’ve generally finished my breakfast by 5:30 (as opposed to the leisurely 8:00 I enjoy when at home).  With nearly six hours between breakfast and lunch, a morning snack is more of a necessity than ever!  And, let’s call a spade a spade; because my morning is so long, my morning snack is more like a small meal than a quick bite.  With that in mind, I’ve been trying to make sure my morning snack is a) enjoyable, b) varied from day to day, and c) packs a nutritional punch.

This morning I snapped a picture of my morning snack since it was looking so good, and thought I’d share the recipe!  This quiche can be whatever you want it to be; mine changes every time based on what I have in the fridge and want to use up!  It’s simple and quick to make, can help to reduce food wastage, and as I’ve learned this week makes a great snack or meal for young children and mamas alike!

Simple Crustless Kitchen Sink Quiche

Simple Crustless Kitchen Sink Quiche

4 eggs
1c 2% milk
1c self raising flour
1 medium zucchini*
2-3c of other veggies, meat and cheese, finely chopped or grated** 

1.        Preheat oven to 350F, and grease a casserole dish or baking pan (approx 10” square).

2.       Grate zucchini and combine with other finely chopped or grated ingredients.

3.       Add self rising flour and mix well.

4.       In a small bowl, whisk eggs and milk.

5.       Add eggs and milk to zucchini mixture and stir until just combined.

6.       Transfer to prepared pan and bake until firm in the middle and lightly browned around the edges; approximately 40 minutes.  Time will vary based on size of pan and thickness of quiche. 

* Grated zucchini is a key ingredient for this dish – it gives the quiche its final texture and helps hold it together.  I do not recommend omitting zucchini from this recipe.
** You can plan this quiche (e.g. broccoli and cheese), or use it as a kitchen sink dish to use up odds and ends in your fridge like I do.  The quiche pictured contains – 1 zucchini, 1 carrot, 1 seeded tomato, 2 green onions, handful of leftover cooked broccoli and corn, cheddar cheese and peameal bacon.

To dress your quiche up, consider laying asparagus spears or tomato slices on the top before baking.  A quick spray with a non-stick cooking spray or oil atomizer will also help brown the top.

Little Smiling Man and I have been enjoying this quiche for a couple of days now.  It’s quick and easy to add to his dinner, and he really seems to enjoy it.  Plus, it's firm enough for little fingers to pick up easily, yet still soft enough to be easily eaten before any molars come in.  I’ve had it both as a packed lunch with a side of spinach, or on its own as a snack.  It holds its shape well, and reheats nicely, so it’s a great work day dish!

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies for Baby

As I was getting ready to return to work, in addition to my flurry of preparing freezer meals, I worked on finding easy, freezable, wholesome finger foods I could make for the kids.  My vision was to have foods, preferably containing some form of vegetable, ready to go in the freezer so that when my hungry littles got home I could put something in their hands to help them wait until dinner's ready.

The first baked creation I tried was a tweaked version of Pumpkin Pie Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies from Amy's Healthy Baking.  It came highly recommended from an online forum I frequent, so I had to give it a try.  The original recipe looks absolutely delicious for grown ups, but for my kids I did need to tweak it a bit.  The end result was a moist and flavourful cookie that Little Smiling Man devoured each and every time I handed him one!  I definitely ate my fair share of them too, and I may or may not have had some breakfast at some point before they ran out...

So without further ado -

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies for Baby

Soft and delicious Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

1c instant oats
3/4c whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch salt
3/4c pumpkin purée
1/4c maple syrup
2 tbsp melted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4c raisins

1.  Preheat oven to 325F
2.  Blend dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl, created a well in the middle.
3.  Combine pumpkin, maple syrup, butter and vanilla.  Pour into dry ingredients and stir until just combined. 
4.  Add raisins, and mix until well distributed.
5. Spoon onto parchment lined cookie sheet.  Using a spoon, press down and form cookies.  These cookies do not spread at all during baking, so form the cookies however you'd like the final product to look.  I used a cookie-sized ice cream scoop to get the volume and round shape I was looking for, then just pressed them down.
6.  Bake 12-14 minutes.  The cookies should still be soft, and slightly browned on the bottom.  Cool on pan for a few minutes before transferring to a rack.

Makes 18 large cookies

Among the many things I like about this recipe (aside from the cookies of which I ate quite a few myself!) is that it gets its sweetness from raisins and a bit of maple syrup as opposed to large quantities of added sugar.  I also like that they work well with whole wheat flour, and have a healthy portion of pumpkin in them.  All in all, they're a well rounded cookie, and did I mention that they're delicious?   

Budget Helper - Springtime!

Spring finally made it to our part of the world!  After a sunny few days of above freezing temperatures, Mother Nature decided to end the teasing and bring back winter.  We've had a few weeks of below seasonal temperatures, and precipitation ranging from sleet to freezing rain to snow.  Everyone I know is totally over winter - even Mini Muffin was less enthusiastic to play in the snow.  Finally, this weekend the tides have turned and we're able to enjoy a sunny and unseasonably warm couple of days!  Yahoo!  I was marvelling on my run this morning that only a week ago I was having trouble navigating the ice and snow, and now the roads and bare and dry.  Fantastic!

Today also marks the seasonal return of one of my favourite budget savers - line drying!  The inaugural load is just sheets, so the photo isn't super exciting... unless you consider that those are winter sheets that are about to be packed away.  In that case, it makes it slightly more exciting I think!

A true sign of spring - sheets flapping in the breeze!

Now, let me tell you about my clothesline.  I've had it for three years now, and I love it.  It gets heavy use from late April through October, and is holding up very well.  With two young children, the laundry pile seems endless, so there are real savings there.  And, it saves heating up my house during hot weather by running the dryer. 

As you can see, it's a bit different than what most people think of when they think about clotheslines.  When I was researching them, I knew that I wanted one, but didn't want a permanent installation.  So, no strung across the yard jobbies, nor the umbrella style that my grandma used to have.  Collapsible racks to use on the deck just didn't have enough space.  And then I found this one - it's umbrella style, but also collapsible.  So, when I'm not using it, it's stored unobtrusively on the side of my deck.  And, when I am using it, it's a full sized umbrella clothesline.  Talk about perfect.  I'm glad I did some research as I certainly didn't know that this style existed, yet there it was as our local Canadian Tire! 

Here's to spring, and the return of clothes flapping in the breeze under sunny skies!