Thursday, January 30, 2014

Even Villains Smile

I am getting really fed up with the amount of mean that radiates from school. Don't get me wrong - I've worked with kids and sometimes they are little shitake mushrooms. Everyone loses their cool. I get it. But if you never smile, might want to rethink that delayed retirement. 

Anyhow, here's what happened today:

During music, we had a minute of silence. The tone and volume level of that punishment made even me cringe. 

So I am sitting at the piano, trying to put the decrepit music binder back in order. Daven is sitting next to me, because even after all of the progress we've made this school year, he still won't sit with his class while I'm in the room. The one minute of silence has already started over once, because, let's face it- they just don't get it. And what does my child do? He starts breathing like Darth Vader. 

I look away, trying not to laugh. I can feel the piercing glares of the teacher's assistant. But he was just breathing. Granted, it was noisy and more than likely done out of spite, but he wasn't talking. 

Seriously, this woman is like this:

She's like the female version of Mr. Wilson. And she never smiles. 

Do I worry about writing things like this?  No. His teachers don't even own computers. If you know the TA I'm talking about?  Have YOU ever seen her smile during preschool?  $5 for anyone that can capture that on camera. 

Come on. Even Disney Villains smile. 




Have you ever encountered someone that always seems grumpy?  Tell me about it!

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Chocolate Breakfast Bars

Ingredients:

3 ripe bananas
2 cups oats
2 scoops Arbonne Chocolate Protein Powder
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

* We added sugar for extra sweetness, but this recipe will function without it. We would have used honey, had we not been out of it!

Mash the bananas and blend everything together. I used our blender to break up the oats a bit and also to make the bananas super smooth. Daven and I are texture eaters, and mushy chunks of banana just don't do it for either of us. 

Pour into a pie pan and bake for 30 min. 

Cool, cut and enjoy!

I should mention that Daven has decided that he no longer likes bananas. He doesn't even like our homemade banana ice cream. But he ate these and went back for seconds!  They still do have a banana flavor to them, but I think that blending the naners beforehand took away what he doesn't like about them. 

I am enjoying mine with a cup of hot lemon tea, willing this bronchitis to go away!  The powder alone has 20g of protein, plus the health benefits of the bananas and oats. And they look like no-bake cookies!

Need some protein to try this yourself?  I can hook you up. 


Monday, January 20, 2014

2013: Books in Review

These are the books that I read in 2013.  They are not categorized by genre, and I apologize for that.  With my three (almost four) year old, I can never seen to find the quiet focus to do that.  This post, as it stands alone, has taken weeks of interrupted work, trying to piece together reviews, along with my list.

If the book title has a link with it, that link will take you to the review I wrote for it.  For authors in which I have read more than one of their books, I have tried to place them together on the list. 

If you have any questions about any of these books, please do not hesitate to contact me.  I'd love to chat with you and help you in any way that I can.


Trust Me? by K.E. Osborn

It Happened Under the Mistletoe by Valerie Bowman 


Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman by L.B. Lynn

Further Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman by J.B. Lynn

The Hitwoman Gets Lucky by J.B. Lynn

The Hitwoman and the Family Jewels by J.B. Lynn

The Hitwoman and the Neurotic Witness by J.B. Lynn

Nearly Departed by J.B. Lynn


Campbell by C.S Starr


The Conduit by Stacey Rourke

Sacrifice by Stacey Rourke

 A Pirate's Tale by Stacey Rourke

Ascension by Stacey Rourke


Seven Steps to Closure by Donna Joy Usher

Murder of an Oil Heiress by Candy Little

The Bionics by Alicia Michaels


Easy Bake Coven by Liz Schulte

Hungry, Hungry Hoodoo by Liz Schulte


The Faceless One by Mark Onspaugh

What a Mother Knows by Leslie Lehr

Playing Hooky by Rita Webb

The Boat - Zombie Survivors by Christine Doughtery


Destine by Katherine Polillo

Devoted by Katherine Polillo 


Lifeboat by A.B Sheperd

Chasing Invisible by Karen Pokras Toz

Vogel House by John Forrester

Marbles by Ellen Forney

Fat Girl by Judith Moore


The Mystery of Mercy Close by Marian Keyes

A Child Called It by David Pelzer

The Lighter Side of Large by Becky Siame

Confessions of a Scary Mommy by Jill Smokler

Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris

Afterlife by S.P Cloward



Night Chill by Jeff Gunhus

Jack Templar Monster Hunter by Jeff Gunhus

Jack Templar and the Monster Hunter Academy by Jeff Gunhus


Pink Balloons and Other Deadly Things by Nancy Tesler

Friendkeeping by Julie Klam

Reflected in You by Sylvia Day

Not Like my Mother by Irene Tompkison

Wildflowers by Scheldia Benefield


Divergent by Veronica Roth

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Allegient by Veronica Roth


Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick

Temple Grandin by Sy Montgomery

Notorious Nineteen by Janet Evanovich

I Am potential by Patrick Henry Hughes


Live to Tell by Lisa Gardner
Love you More by Lisa Gardner
The Other Daughter by Lisa Gardner

Open Heart by Elie Wiesel

I Love you, Miss Huddleson by Phillip Gulley

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

The Morganville Vampire Series, books 1-8 by Rachel Caine
Glass Houses
The Dead Girl's Dance
Midnight Alley
Feast of Fools
Lord of Misrule
Carpe Corpus
Fade Out
Kiss of Death

Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince by J.K Rowling

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K Rowling


Sea Change by Robert B. Parker

Schooled by Anisha Lakhani

Eolyn by Karin Rita Gastreich

Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

Girl Walks into a Bar by Rachel Dratch


Asylum, The Complete Series by Amy Cross:
The New Girl
Doctor Lava
Husk
A Case of Crows
Life of Horror
The Nun and the Janitor
Tragedy Day
Burning Down the House

Dark Season, the Complete first Series:
 The Last Vampire
Sentinel
Army of Wolves
The Civil Dead
The Life, Death, Life and Death of martin Keller
Gothos
Testament
Dead End


The Fault in our Stars by John Green

A Beautiful Mess by T.K Leigh

Mommy but Still Me by Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar

Unselling by Peter Bourke

Entwined with You by Slyvia Day













Monday, January 6, 2014

Sensory Play Snow

It hasn't really snowed here like it has a few hours north of us, but it's TOO cold outside. I believe the actual temperature today is 1, with a wind chill of -20 degrees. Record-breaking low temps are truly a bummer. So let's make a mess inside!

There are plenty of activities to do at home with a snow theme, and I had fun looking through the lists to pick out what to try first. I decided on sensory play snow. It's soft, smelly-good, and maliable. 

Sensory Play Snow:

4 cups flour
1/2 cup baby oil

That's it!  Scoop, measure and mix!



Give it all a good stir, and then get to squishing!  The choices for play are endless. I got out some of his playdough tools, some of his sandbox toys, and a few of his trucks. You can tell by the pictures what Daven played with most!






He used his bulldozer to scoop the snow into the cup, and then buried a treasure gem within. 



Here, he's feeding the dinosaur some snow. And check out who's driving the steam roller!



Here is Daven showing off his "treasure mountain". 


We had fun playing with this pretend snow. It's inexpensive, easy to make, and a fun way to kill some time when you're stuck inside.