Tammy Mitchell Photography » Everyday Life

everday life: first in july and cute ideas for homemade patriotic t-shirts

Tammy — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 01:38:49 +0000

i have to laugh. i LOVE the first in july. at least that’s how it’s known in our house thanks to our sweet little ash. fourth of july is first in july. and it’s one of her favorite holidays. as a matter of fact, that is how any patriotic item is known… it is “in july.” if she sees a flag it’s “look mom…there’s an in july flag.” anything red, white and blue “mom, did you see that in july shirt??” it’s just too cute, i know i should correct her, but i’ll let it live on a little longer. my days of all this four year old cuteness around the house are numbered!

we had the best first in july this year. it was a wonderful weekend filled with great friends, too much food, beaches, games, late nights, hot dog and marshmellow roasting, lots of red white and blue, fireworks, freezing waterparks, finishing eachother’s sentences (lol, guys!) and america’s favorite pasttime. it was the perfect way to start the month! and we’re lucky because we get to end it the same way!! hurry back allemans! we are anxiously counting the days until you return!!!

i got the bright idea to make all the kids matching shirts at about 10pm friday night. after a trip to walmart and target to get everyone shirts and supplies, cute and crafty skye arrived to help me finish…thank goodness, otherwise it would have meant going to bed at 4am instead of 2am!! but i do have to say…they turned out so cute!!! thanks to the fun idea from “i am momma, hear me roar” (click for the tutorial) i changed it up a bit for the shirts we were using and think they turned out so fun! and i can’t for the life of me find where i saw the little girls shirts, but it was simply red jersey fabric (an old t-shirt) ruffled up and stitched on to a white t-shirt with a blue square of fabric. so fun! (something’s up with the colors in these and photoshop is being wierd. i’m too lazy to figure it out so they are being posted as is. )

have a great day!
-t

make this: summer fun advent calendar

Tammy — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 16:05:59 +0000

So, have you heard it yet…I’m SURE you have. The kids (at least around here) have now officially been out of school for 5 days…it’s the dreaded “MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM I’m bored” and “what are we going to do today????”

Remember my quest to be more organized this summer?? I think I may have just managed to do it!! And, it’s not too late for you either! I have come up with something that I’m hoping will give the kids something fun to look forward to every day and keep the summer a little exciting and fresh…all while still being easy for me to accomplish!! Whew! A tall order, I know.

So, here it is…the Summer Fun Advent Calendar

The idea behind it is simple. Give the kids something fun to look forward to everyday…it can be something little that takes 5 minutes, or an all day activity. The key is to mix it up. But, the biggest excitement of all is that it’s kept a secret until the day of. They are left wondering each day what the next day’s activity will be. So far, so good in our house! The beauty of it for us moms is that it’s totally changeable if something comes up…because it’s a SECRET and a WHITE BOARD you can change activities to fit your schedule as unexpected things come up without the kids knowing anything about it! I’ve also devised a system to prevent arguments between kids as far as who gets to reveal the day’s activity. By making the squares with numbers you can assign odd/even days if you have two kids, and by making them different colors you can assign colors for more than two kids!

Here’s what you’ll need to make your very own:

Dry erase generic calendar (I got mine at walmart for $7.88)

A dry erase marker

alphabet stickers

number stickers

8 sheets of cardstock (any colors you want)

I think the instructions are pretty clear just by looking at the picture. Just make a fun header and title for it…you can definitely customize the whole thing…it does NOT need to look just like mine that’s for sure! Add your activites under each day, stick your paper on with a piece of tape and wa-la!

Now…the impotant part…coming up with the activities. Like I said, some activities may take all day, some may take 5 minutes. The important part is just to give the kids something to look forward to and something that they know they are doing that day to hopefully prevent them from asking you all day!!

I divided my activities up into categories: in the kitchen, crafts, outings, and fun around the neighborhood. I also tried to keep things very inexpensive or free to help keep costs down. Here are some suggesstions to get you started:

make popsicles

get a slurpee

have a waterballoon toss

run through the sprinklers

tissue paper art

corn syrup painting

make ice cream

go to the pool

go to the library

make tin can phones

have a lemonade stand

beach

free movies at the park

dollar tuesdays at Baskin Robbins

silly string fight

bonfire and smores

bowling

sprinkler park

make a fort

have a picnic

movie night

play a game

water guns

make iron on shirts

that’s enough to get you through a whole month!! (I only did M-F since we often have other things going on on the weekends) The best part is you can repeat many of these things! Who doesn’t want to have a waterballoon toss or go to the pool more than once during the summer??? Hopefully this will help make your summer fun and easy and minimize the curse of summertime boredom!!

I would love to hear fun ideas for things that you find in your community. Leave a comment with any suggestions you have here on this post so we can help each other come up with stuff!!

Have a great day!

-t

everyday life: my little fish

Tammy — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 12:58:22 +0000

Our first summer activity this year is getting the kids in swim lessons to make sure they are good and ready to spend the summer in the pool! Big kids lessons don’t start for another week, but Ash got to start this week. Unlike Andy, Ashley is afraid of EVERYTHING…and I do mean everything! It’s been quite the challenge getting her to try new things and warm up to things like strange noises, dogs, rides at disneyland, water, just about everything. I thought for sure we were in trouble when we drove by the pool on Sunday night as kind of a test run to make sure she felt more comfortable on Monday and she started telling us she was scared of lessons. (nevermind the fact that she had been swimming just the week before and in the pool for nearly two hours swimming like a fish) When Monday morning rolled around she couldn’t stop taking about how much she didn’t want to go to lessons, how her tummy hurt, the teacher might not be nice…etc, etc. Amazingly enough, when we got there she hopped right in the pool and then begged to stay when lessons were over. Each morning since she gets out of bed, puts on her swimsuit and asks when we get to leave for lessons about every 2 minutes. That makes for a VERY long morning considering her lesson aren’t until 1pm!!! Hopefully all of these lessons will make her a great little swimmer this year! Even if she can’t swim she sure looks adorable in the gear!

a little after workout nourishment…

my little bathing beauty…

(on a side note, I bought her three swimsuits to get her through the summer because they are usually thrashed pretty quickly…(yay for $4.97 suits at the gap!) but each morning she comes down in the pink one assuring me that she will wear the other ones “tomorrow.” )

have a great day!
-t

everyday life: where does the time go????

Tammy — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 21:55:49 +0000

ok, ok….i know i’ve been a terrible blogger and I’m starting to hear about it from you guys so I guess i better get on it!!

i came home from new york to be thrown into the last week of school chaos. parties, awards assemblies, teacher gifts to plan for etc. last week was the busiest week i’ve had in quite some time! i was grateful for yesterday when things slowed down a little!

due to all the craziness I am WAY behind on editing my pictures. i can’t believe that I haven’t even posted Ash’s birthday yet…and that was in MARCH!! YIKES!!! the two thousand pics from NYC are breathing down my neck. here are a few just to old you over….

Yankee Stadium…more on this once in a lifetime game to come…

lady liberty…SO amazing to see in person

WTC site…so many memories came flooding back from that day…so emotional

our stay at the one and only Plaza Hotel….AMAZING!!!

hopefully this will help until i can get it together and get the stories to go with it.

have a great day!
-t

orange county children’s photographer: it’s a…..

Tammy — Mon, 17 May 2010 22:39:10 +0000

GIRL!!!!!! NO, I’m not pregnant. But my cute sister-in-law is and I couldn’t be more excited!!! We’ve been anxiously awaiting the news and it came today. I will have a little model for all the Pink Peppermint Design headbands I can create here in just few more months. I am going to be an aunt and I CAN’T WAIT to spoil this little cutie!!!

To hold you over until then here’s a few of another new cutie that I got to spend a few minutes with last week.

have a great day!

-t

{Picture Perfect} Online Digital Photography Classes and a family favorite recipe

Tammy — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 16:59:05 +0000

If you’ve been trying to decide whether or not to join us this session, you only have 3 days left to decide!!! You CAN learn how to use yor camera and take better pictures in this 6 week, low stress, flexible and fun class. Class starts Saturday. Only 2 spots left!! You can register and find more information here:

{Picture Perfect} Class Info and Registration

And, just because I have a hard time posting without a picture, I thought I’d share one of our favorite recipes. If you don’t have Tyler’s Ultimate Cookbook, I HIGHLY recommend it. I make more stuff out of that book than probably any other and my kids scarf it down!! Here’s one of our favorites that I made last night…bon apetite!

Tyler’s Ultimate Rustic Rigatoni, Sausage and Eggplant (we don’t like eggplant so I omit it!)

Ingredients

Kosher Salt
Extra-virgin olive oil
6 links fennel pork sausage (about 3/4 pound)
1 large eggplant (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 large can (28 ounces) peeled whole tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
Leaves from 1 small bunch basil
1 pound rigatoni
1 pound fresh mozzarella
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat for the pasta. Get yourself a 9 by 13-inch glass or ceramic baking dish.

Heat a 2 count of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausages and toss in the hot oil for 3 to 4 minutes, you want them nicely browned on the outside but still rare on the inside. Put the sausages in the baking dish.

Turn the heat down to medium. Add a generous 1/3 cup of oil to the skillet and get it hot. Add as many eggplant pieces as you can comfortably fit in a single layer and sprinkle well with salt. Cook, turning, for 7 to 8 minutes, until the eggplant is nice and browned, crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Use a spatula to put the eggplant into the baking dish with the sausage. Cook the rest of the eggplant pieces, adding more oil to the pan, as needed, and putting the finished eggplant into the baking dish.

Add another 2 count of oil to the skillet, then your onion and garlic, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until translucent. Dump the whole can of tomatoes and their juices into a bowl and crush the tomatoes with your hands to break them up; add that to the pan with the basil and cook it down until pulpy and relatively thick. This will take about 15 minutes.

By this time your pasta water will be boiling. Add the rigatoni, give it a stir, and cook for 6 to 7 minutes, it should be slightly firm as it will cook further in the oven. Ladle out 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water and reserve; the drain the rigatoni.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Chop the sausages into nice big, bite-size chunky pieces and return the pieces to the baking dish. Add the tomato sauce, rigatoni, and the reserved pasta water. Break up half the mozzarella over the mixture, season with salt and pepper, and gently mix with your hands or a spatula. Dust with the Parmigiano and drizzle with more olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes. Spread the remaining mozzarella in an even layer over the top and continue to bake for another 10 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

Yum!! Have a great day!
-t

everyday life: tickling the ivories

Tammy — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 16:10:17 +0000

Yesterday marked a milestone in our family…the first piano recital. There were some pre-show jitters, but he was all smiles on the way…

Once we arrived he was all business concentrating on his performance…even while the other performers goofed around…

As he took the stage he stumbled a little on the first few notes, (and no, not because I was in his face taking these pictures! ; ) I had him recreate the moment for me after so I didn’t put any extra pressure on him!!) but very maturely gathered his thoughts and started again, playing the song flawlessly…even though his hands were quiverring furiously….I wanted to run up and give him a giant hug!

He played “get away” and “when the saints go marching in” which after playing for only 3 months was very impressive. It was so cute. I remember as a kid being completely nervous and stressed out about having to perform in front of an audience. Andy has always had a tremendous amount of confidence. He used to volunteer to sing solos in front of the congregation at church and just generally didn’t mind being in front of a crowd. Recently, I’ve noticed him becoming much more self-aware. It makes me a little sad to see him retreating into his shell. I hope as a parent that I can do a good job at encouraging him to be confident and building his self esteem so that he won’t completely lose that streak of confidence. It will definitely have to be more of a lesson of do as I say, not as I do though! I still don’t like a crowd!!

Have a great day!
-t

Thursday Funny: The Next Survivor Series

Tammy — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 15:44:51 +0000

A good friend sent this to me yesterday and I thought it was too funny not to share with all you moms out there. Enjoy!

THE
NEXT SURVIVOR
SERIES
Six married men
will be dropped on an island
with one car
and 3 kids each
for six weeks.

Each kid will play two sports
and take either music or dance classes.

There is no fast food.

Each man must
take care of his 3 kids;
keep his assigned house clean,
correct all homework,
complete science projects,
cook,
do laundry,
and pay a list of ‘pretend’ bills
with not enough money.

In addition,
each man
will have to budget enough money
for groceries each week.

Each man
must remember the birthdays
of all their friends and relatives,
and send cards out on time–no emailing.

Each man must also take each child
to a doctor’s appointment,
a dentist appointment
and a haircut appointment.

He must make one unscheduled and
inconvenient visit per child to the Emergency Room.

He must also make cookies or cupcakes
for a school function.

Each man will be responsible for
decorating his own assigned house,
planting flowers outside, and keeping it
presentable at all times.

The men will only have access to television
when the kids are asleep and all chores are done.

The men must shave their legs,

wear makeup daily,

adorn themselves with jewelry,

wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes,

keep fingernails polished,

and eyebrows groomed

During one of the six weeks,

the men will have to endure severe
abdominal cramps, backaches, headaches,
have extreme, unexplained mood swings
but never once complain or slow down
from other duties.

They must attend weekly school meetings
and church,
and find time at least once to spend
the afternoon at the park or a similar
setting.

They will need to read a book to the kids eachnight
and in the morning,
feed them,
dress them,
brush their teeth and
comb their hair
by 7:30 am.

A test will be given
at the end of the six weeks,
and each father will be required to know
all of the following information:
each child’s
birthday,
height, weight,
shoe size, clothes size,
doctor’s name,
the child’s weight at birth,
length, time of birth,
and length of labor,
each child’s favorite color,
middle name,
favorite snack,
favorite song,
favorite drink,
favorite toy,
biggest fear,
and what they want to be when they grow up.

The kids vote them off the island based on performance.

The last man wins only if…
he still
has enough energy
to be intimate with his spouse
at a moment’s notice.

If the last man does win,
he can play the game over and over and over
again for the next 18-25 years,
eventually earning the right
to be called Mother!

have a great day!
-t

everyday life: seriously

Tammy — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 15:47:59 +0000

our lives have been a little chaotic lately. we’ve got some major life changing decisions that we’re facing and both hubby and i have been a little stressed out to say the least. with all this on our plate and so many events to prepare for over these last few weeks i’ve been kind of at the end of my rope. it was on a drive the other day when i turned around in my seat at a stoplight to find this staring back at me:

this cute little gum smacking, tinkerbell sunglass sporting, watermelon lip smacker wearing four year old that made me bust up laughing and realize that i need to start taking my wild life a little less seriously and start enjoying the moments more. thanks for the reminder ash!

find a reason to belly laugh today!

-t

everyday life: andy’s baptism

Tammy — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 18:37:45 +0000

i still can’t believe that i have an 8 year old. i used to think that people who had eight year olds were old themselves. i guess now i was either wrong about that, or i’m officially old. this was a big birthday for Andy. he got to get baptized. it was a special day for us and we were doubly blessed to be surrounded by good friends and family. our house was full of little ones and big ones. and when i say full…i mean FULL. but you know what, even with all the work before hand, the chaos during and the clean-up after i LIVE for these moments. i always want my home to be a gathering place. i LOVE nothing more than to be surrounded by the ones i love. i believe that if you feed them they will come. i’m happy to cook and clean until i cannot cook and clean anymore as long as they will keep coming. thanks to all who shared this special day with us!

these are the moments i want to remember most…the little things like how excited Andy was to be wearing his first “real” tie and the memory of daddy helping him tie it:

a few of the special little ones who helped us celebrate.

and now, our busy season is over. i can finally rest. three birthdays, two parties, one Easter and one Baptism all in the last three weeks. i need a vacation!!

have a great day!

-t