hate it

Monday, May 25, 2009

I hate hate hate hate hate hate hate waking sleeping children. It's so wrong. Whether it's to pick up a sibling at school, or just because they have slept a long time and need to get up ... I just hate it.

saw Earth today

Saturday, May 23, 2009

It was really good. Some amazing photography. Some scenes where I cringed just a little - but the kids handled it fine. Elaina was pretty oblivious to the whole thing. She kept asking when the Transformers were coming on. LOL There was a big Transformers movie stand-up in the lobby. Andrew really enjoyed it and got it and we talked a little about "the circle of life" ... so it was good. Definitely recommend it for ages 6+ as long as they aren't oversensitive. Even I don't like watching the scenes where the lion is chasing the gazelle, etc. They were very good about it - there was no blood or anything but it was generally pretty obvious what was happening..to me and Andrew. Like I said, Elaina was oblivious.

Suffer the children

Thursday, May 21, 2009

It is just overwhelming.

Caylee Anthony
Haileigh Cummings
Jessica Lundsford
Sandra Cantu
Shari Coleman and 2 sons strangled by their own father
baby boy thrown from car window and killed
man on PCP bit out his 4-year-old son's eyes
boy buried in sand at park
father threw kids off bridge
Laci Peterson with unborn baby boy killed

I know I need to stop watching Nancy Grace but whether I do or not doesn't change these stories. And these are just the ones at the top of my head. It is so sick and sad. I am almost crushed by the weight of gratitude that my children were given to ME - a mother who will not hurt them and who loves them and will protect them - and not some sociopath. Not all of these kids were killed by their parents but most were.
It's been on my mind a lot and I just had to get it out.

A Prayer for the Children… by Ina J. Hughes



We pray for the children

who put chocolate fingers everywhere,

who like to be tickled,

who stomp in puddles and ruin their new pants,

who sneak Popsicles before supper,

who erase holes in math workbooks,

who can never find their shoes.



And we pray for those

who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire,

who’ve never squeaked across the floor in new sneakers,

who never had crayons to count,

who are born in places we wouldn’t be caught dead,

who never go to the circus,

who live in an X-rated world.



We pray for children

who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions,

who sleep with the dog and bury goldfish,

who give hugs in a hurry and forget their lunch money,

who cover themselves with Band-Aids and sing off-key,

who squeeze toothpaste all over the sink,

who slurp their soup.



And we pray for those

who never get dessert,

who watch their parents watch them die,

who have no safe blanket to drag behind,

who can’t find any bread to steal,

who don’t have any rooms to clean up,

whose pictures aren’t on anybody’s dresser,

whose monsters are real.



We pray for children

who spend all their allowance before Tuesday,

who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food,

who like ghost stories,
who shove dirty clothes under the bed,

who never rinse out the tub,

who get visits from the tooth fairy,

who don't like to be kissed in front of the school,

who squirm in church or temple or mosque
and scream in the phone,

whose tears we sometimes laugh at and
whose smiles can make us cry.



And we pray for those

whose nightmares come in the daytime,

who will eat anything,

who aren't spoiled by anybody,

who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep,

who live and move, but have no being.


We pray for children who want to be carried,
and for those who must.

For those we never give up on,

and for those who never get a chance.

For those we smother with our love,

and for those who will grab the hand of anybody
kind enough to offer it.

day of deals!

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

I recently took Liam to JCPenney for his 2 year pictures. But Tina, you ask, aren't you a photographer? Well, yes I am. But you know, sometimes I get tired of chasing around children (especially my own) and then spending hour upon anal-retentive hour in photoshop in my quest for perfect photos. Well you get what you pay for. LOL These 2 pictures are cute - the big one is freaking adorable and I LOVE it- but the rest of the pictures were crap. Oh well. $8 right? And hey - I didnt have to do it.
So but anyway, today I picked up the pictures and so begins the Day Of Deals. When I got them, I saw that their frames (some of them) were on sale. So I got the 5x7 frame here for only $5!!! And I liked it because it matches some other frames I have. It was originally marked $18 which it is not worth but it's still a steal at $5!



OK So my next deal is actually FREE. I needed a 10x13 frame for this bigger picture. Being the queen of pictures I knew I had to have something laying around. I found this one in the garage but it was oak. Blech. So I took out my white spray paint, gave it a few coats, then I sanded it a bit to rough it up and voila. A shabby chic frame for FREE.

(oh, and hello?!!?! how stinkin' cute is he?!!)


I cant really take credit for this one. I ran into 2 friends at Kohl's and they told me about these great memo boards on clearance for $13 in the back, and loaned me a 30% off coupon. So I got it for about $9!!!

Happy Birthday Baby!

Saturday, May 16, 2009

ok I am a few days late on this post, but Monday was Liam's 2nd birthday. I don't know how 2 years have passed since that moment I kissed his squishy little face for the first time. He is such a joy, so much fun, with such an incredible personality right from the start.
On the Friday before his birthday, we had cupcakes at the park for our playgroup.
As you can see from his expression, he wasn't sure what to make of it all.





On Monday morning, his birthday, he woke up to find some toys. Andrew & Elaina picked out a Mickey Mouse Racetrack for him. John and I gave him a VTech computer and a sand and water table. I initially set up the sand and water table in the living room - minus the sand and water of course - just so he could see it. I didnt want to put it outside right away because it was a school morning and we were in a rush. So after I got home from school drop-off we took it outside and put the sand and water in. He LOVED it. He probably stood there playing without even moving for about 45 minutes. I knew he would love it.








That night we went to Chili's for his birthday dinner. Yummo.





Tomorrow we are scheduled to have breakfast with Mickey. This will be a huge treat for Liam since he LOVES Mickey, Minnie and Goofy. Last time I was there, they had all 3 of those. I will definitely post pictures of that. You never know how character meetings are going to go. He might love it - he did like the princesses at Disney - or he might completely freak out. Either way, it will be fully documented with pictures!

back with muffins

Friday, May 1, 2009

Yeah it's been a while. But I am back now. Kind of over Facebook. LOL I am not going to do any kind of big update sort of thing. I am just going to pick up where I left off. And so with that, here are some muffins that I made today. Elaina loooooves these. In addition to the ingredients in the recipe, I also add a little shredded carrot and some ground flax seed, which I add to almost everything. So here is the recipe for Disappearing Zucchini Muffins! Enjoy!

Note: You don't have to peel the zucchini before shredding it for this recipe. It won't affect the taste and the peel will provide some extra fiber.

Prep time: 30 minutes

What you need:

1½ cups shredded zucchini (about 2 small)
2 cups whole-grain pancake or biscuit mix
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
2 eggs
¾ cup brown sugar
¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
powdered sugar (enough to dust the muffins)


Wash zucchini and remove ends.
Shred zucchini using largest holes on grater.
Place grated zucchini on paper towels and squeeze to remove water.
Measure 1½ cups of squeezed-dry zucchini.
Preheat oven to 375° Fahrenheit.
Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
In a large bowl, mix whole-grain pancake mix (or biscuit mix) with spices.
In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, brown sugar, applesauce, and lemon juice.
Fold the egg-sugar mixture and shredded zucchini into the pancake-spice mixture; do not overmix.
Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full with batter.
Bake 10–15 minutes or until golden.
Remove muffins from tin and cool on a wire rack.
Sprinkle muffins with a dusting of powdered sugar.
How much does this recipe make?

About a dozen muffins.