Zucchini!!

I love zucchini! I love it baked with parmesan, stuffed with tomatoes and cheese, grilled, baked in muffins or breads, made into creamy sauce. Zucchinis are so delish!! I made the Mom's Zucchini Bread recipe today with just a few tweeks to make it healthier.
I used half oil, half applesauce
I used half white sugar, half brown
I added ground flax and left out walnuts (because I didn't have any)
then I sprinkled in a few chocolate chips for the kiddos.
Here's the link http://allrecipes.com/recipe/moms-zucchini-bread/detail.aspx

My Review of my modified version:

Sniif, Hiccup, Sigh

I am overcome today with 5 years of memories and emotions. I dropped my little bear off to school today and his baby sister off to pre-school. Seriously, they were JUST born!! I remember it, I was there, and I am telling you it was not that long ago....definitely not long enough ago that I am ready to send them off to be molded by strangers (aka kind and loving teachers). I am plagued by the feeling that I didn't teach them enough, tell them enough, give them enough for them to be ready to go out into the world without me.

How can it be that I am already done with being the biggest influence in at least one of their lives?

From here on out, Max will hear what I say and judge it with the echoes of other voices in his head. He will hear his teacher and his peers and decide for himself who's advice he will listen to for each defining moment to come.
And that irritates me!! I am the one who carried him, nurtured him, grunted and groaned through 19 hours of labour and almost 5 years of child rearing. My voice should matter for longer.
I can hope, and I will, that my voice will echo louder then the others...at least for a little while longer. I can also hope, and I will, that my voice over the last 5 years sunk in there somewhere and that decisions that he makes on his own are made with the values and morals that we tried so hard to instill in him. He and his darling sister have already made me the proudest Mama to walk this earth and any other, but for tonight I am also sad. I missed him today, I'll miss him tomorrow and a tiny part of me hopes he is missing me too...at least a little.

Come on Irene!

I know I know it's "come on Eileen"...but it sounded cute as a title. With Mark away, storm prep was up to me and the kiddos. I told them to gather all the toys they still wanted to play with and get them into the garden shed. Not surprisingly Max ran around like a mad man cleaning and Maddie watched. Anyhow we are all storm ready with the exception of garbage cans that I couldn't fit into the shed and refuse to bring into the house unless the I absolutely have to. So now I figure all the wind and rain they are calling for should be pretty tame. Every time we have prepared for one of these things, nothing has happened. It's when the wind storms come without warning that we get burned. Stay tuned! I'll post some pics if anything exciting hits us here in Greenwood :)

Shared photo book from Leanne

Click here to view this photo book larger

Dexter

OMG my butt is killing me! My husband took our laptop with him to Afghanistan and until my new one arrives, I am sitting in a wooden child-sized chair in our playroom watching Dexter starting at season 1. I am addicted and therefore watching episode after episode in the evenings...my poor poor butt!!

Sunday Baking

There is something about baking on Sunday morning that makes me feel like a proper housewife. Like a housewife from days gone by, baking goodies for my children to munch on all week long. I mean, I know the reality won`t play out the way I imagine it....in my imagined space the children come inside from playing and call a pleasant greeting. They sit at a tidy table, in a tidy dining room and eat their cookies and milk. The reality is more likely to go...."Mom!! I`m hungry" in the whiniest possible voice, "what can I eat?" and I call back in an exasperated tone, "You are NOT having another cookie!! Go back outside!!" But for those sweet moments while I'm baking I daydream *sigh*
Anyhow, so yeah, we baked today. We bake alot! They do love to bake and it is an activity I love to do with them because everyone is so happy! Today we made what has turned out to be a new favourite: Peanut Butter, Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Cookies. I got the recipe from allrecipes.com. In fact, if I write about something we made, it is safe to assume that is where I got the recipe. if you search there and can't find it, msg me and I'll send you the link. I love that site! I love it so much, I'm scared to use recipes from other sites because I can't read the comments and reviews to make sure the recipe is amazing before I even make it! Browsing the recipes is a favourite pastime of mine....in fact I think I'll go take a peek right now ;)

Babies Babies Babies

AHHH!! Will I ever stop wanting another baby? I mean seriously? Will I?
My husband and I made the decision after our daughter was born to go for the permanent birth control option (him, not me...I ♥ him). One quick trip to the Dr and a couple bags of frozen peas later we were officially done having kids. Most days I am still completely at peace with our choice. But last night snuggling the few day old baby of a friend I once again yearned for a new baby.
Part of the problem for me is that I had children before many of my close friends. Now that they are all starting their families I want to re-experience it all with them...with my own babies. I also hate the fact that money played a role in our decision. We had the so called "millionaire family" a boy and a girl, we would need to buy a new car to have another child, I would likely have to go to work at least part time, family passes everywhere are for families of 4!! the list of "reasonable" reason to stop having kids goes on and on.
But there will, I really believe, always be a part of me that wishes I was going to have another baby...and another....and maybe just one more Can you blame me when the ones I have are so darn cute?!