We had a great day at the children’s museum today, despite having all the children of the city there to join us. It rained all day and apparently we weren’t the only ones who had the brilliant idea to find something fun to do indoors today.

I’ll spare you the 100 photographs I took and instead share just a few of my favorites.

First up!

Guess who tied this shoe?? (Hint: NOT ME!)

I practically fell over this morning when she tied her own shoe. She’s been working on it for weeks now. No pressure here, this is all her. She finally got it this morning and has told every stranger on the street “the big news”, as she put it.

Yes, those are her exact words. The BIG news.

Guess who didn’t listen to the “5 items only” rule? (Hint: someone who is just learning how to count.)

Guess who’s moving to Alaska? (Can’t think of a clever hint, but that’s what Ava said this post card said as she read it to me.)

Guess who can’t get this song out of her head? (Hint: someone old enough to know the slinky song.)

And guess who had a fun flash from the past at the Videotopia today? (Hint: 1988 called, they want their video games back)

I heart Super Mario.

After such a busy day, I still managed to scrape together enough energy to make dinner.

Veggie Spaghetti Pie

The Crust: Half a pound of whole wheat spaghetti, cooked and drained. Stir in a splash of oil, 1 egg (beaten) and a few shakes of parm.

The Cheese: 1 cup 2% cottage cheese, 1 cup shredded mozzarella, 1 egg (beaten) and a few shakes of parm and frozen, thawed spinach.

The Sauce: diced onion, garlic, mushroom, shredded carrots, zucchini sauteed in olive oil. Crushed tomatoes stirred in once veggies are soft.

Layer spaghetti, cheese and sauce into a 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake 20 minutes at 350, uncovered. Top with parm or mozzarella and bake an additional 5 minutes. Allow 5 – 10 minutes to cool and enjoy!

This could also be called “Lazy Man’s Lasagna”.

I was ready to eat when I put this in the oven, so I put my salad together and chowed that down while I waited for it to bake.

The best part about eating a huge salad before the entree is that by the time the spaghetti pie was ready, I was no longer starving and ate a smaller piece than I probably would have otherwise!

I’ve recently learned that using cottage cheese in place of ricotta is not only a huge calorie saver, but is not at all gross like I fully expected it to be. I also am not usually a fan of whole wheat pasta but in a dish like this, I don’t even notice it.

So yes, a rainy day… but there’s always a silver lining!