Monthly Archives: April 2013

Happy Birthday Sophia!

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Hello everybody!  I hope you guys are well.

Today is a very special day for me.  It’s my daughter’s birthday.

Happy Birthday Baby!

Can I even call you that anymore?

Because today you’re 3 years old.

Your brilliance astounds us, you’re stubborn as a mule, your sweet, adorable face charms the wits out of people instantly, you’re fierce (just ask your big sister who you try to “lovingly” knock down), and you’re definitely a comedian in training, hence the picture above.

You keep me on my toes and make my nerves go haywire, but then you stretch your arms out wide and declare that you want a big hug, which is always followed up with a big, sloppy kiss on my cheek.  You coyly say “I love you Mami,” and melt my heart away.  I then want to devour you, figuratively speaking, of course (us mothers can’t help this feeling, it’s just there) and I tell you so, prompting you to say with a very serious face, “No Mami, you can’t eat me.”  Ok, maybe not today, so I tickle you instead.

You’re filling my mind with sweet memories and I hope I’ll never forget them.  Two days ago, we watched a squirrel munching away on something and you giggled with delight.  You have a love for animals and aren’t afraid to venture close enough.  Not even big dogs deter you.  You’re amazing.  On our way back from the supermarket, we spotted another squirrel.  He disappeared around the massive tree and you asked, “Where he go?” I told you to look up and there he was.  Suddenly, he turned and looked straight at us with his beady, little eyes.  I’ve never seen that before and I whispered to you, “he’s looking at us,” and you slowly backed away, making me laugh.  I couldn’t resist and said, “Run!”  We held hands and started running and laughing down the block.

You bring me joy, you drive me nuts, but most of all I’m so honored to be your mother.

I love you baby girl, ‘cause you’ll always be my baby, no matter how old you become.

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The many faces of my little girl.

There’s the “don’t-take-my-picture!” look, mischievous (that’s grandma’s lipstick on her face, which she secretly applied and got caught red-faced, HA!), and pure happiness!

Happy Birthday Sophia!  We love you!

🙂

Take good care all.

Until next time…

Spring is finally here…but I’m not ready to venture out!

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Hello everybody!  I hope you guys are well.

Spring finally made an appearance yesterday, but in my opinion, it felt more like Summer.  It was hot.  I don’t like hot and my body and mind are not ready for this weather.  At least not yet.  My husband made a comment the other day that we don’t get to experience days that stay in the 60’s or 70’s weather wise.  No, it goes from 35 degrees one day to 80 degrees the next.  What the freak?  I haven’t even started packing away the winter clothes and looking for the summer ones.

It takes me awhile to adjust to the warmer weather because I’m an introvert, but my children prefer to be outside so I start negotiating with myself.  Take them outside for a little while because it’s nice.  At least 45 minutes, that’s not too bad.  You can handle that.  Repeat a couple of more times throughout the week until you’re ready to venture out more.  This is how my mind works.  This is how I convince myself to go outside, even though every fiber in my body wants to stay indoors, but I do it for my daughters because they do need some fresh air, sun, and outside playtime fun/exercise.  And I guess I need some of that as well, but don’t quote me, please.

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Speeding down the block

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Scooting and three wheeling

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Water station

As parents we sacrifice a lot and going outside your comfort zone may not seem like a big sacrifice (or deal) to some people, but it is to me.  I’m working on myself and trying to evolve for my little family.  I have a lot of quirks a.k.a. fears that I’m trying to conquer little by little, at my own pace, and I know it can be frustrating to some of my family members and friends, but in the famous words of Popeye (remember him?) “I yam what I yam.”

Please take it and don’t leave it.

Take good care all.

Until next time…

A glance at today’s school lunch from home

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Hello everybody!  I hope you guys are well.  Many thanks to those who liked my happy faces lunch.  I do enjoy making them for my daughters.  I wanted to share how I make my oldest daughter’s lunch for school.  At first, I was very scared of what I would pack for her since I’ve never packed a lunch before and I wanted to send her off to school with food that was healthy and, of course, that she liked.  This is what I packed for her today:

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I try to do as much as I can the night before.  When I’m making her Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwiches, I basically prep the bread by cutting the crust with a Good Bites cutter (yellow thingy above in the pic), then I seal it away in the sandwich container.  I do the same for the veggies.  I cut and place in the fridge.  In the morning I put the PB&J on the bread and a little bit of salad dressing on the veggies.  I also cut a piece of banana and put some peanut butter on it.  This is one of her faves.  I also include a snack like goldfish crackers with raisins.  As for her drink we do water one day and the next day I add a small juice box plus her water bottle so she drinks juice for lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

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The containers that I use held baby food once from Target’s brand Up & Up.  They’re pretty handy and stack up well in my daughter’s lunch bag.

I try to stick to serving sizes because that’s important and I do change up the menu days so my daughter doesn’t get bored with the food.  I’m always on the look out for new food ideas to include in her lunch bag, especially healthy ones, and I’m doing my best with food labels, which can be tricky.  I’m not going to say that I don’t let my daughter indulge in sweets (lollipops, ice cream sandwiches, cookies, etc.) because that would be a lie, but my husband and I try to keep her active by taking her to the park, Saturday mornings they train in Judo, and every week-day, as long as the weather is cooperating, I take her scooter with me when I’m picking her up from school so she can scoot home.  Every little bit helps and counts.

Take good care all.

Until next time…

Double the fun

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Hello everybody!  I hope you guys are well.

The other day I made my first double “happy faces” lunch.  Since my youngest, Sophia, is getting bigger, I decided to surprise her and her sister with this special lunch.  Unfortunately, Sophia, who’s a picky eater one day and a hungry little monster the next, decided that it was a “let me torture my mom by not wanting to eat anything day!”  At least, my oldest, Olivia, enjoyed her plate.

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Food used to make these happy faces:  strawberries, apples, bread w/ cream cheese, PBJ sandwiches, banana, raisins, and cheese sticks

Take good care all.

Until next time…

Autism Awareness Month (April)

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autismSpeaks

http://www.autismspeaks.org

Hello everybody!  I hope you guys are well.

It’s Autism Awareness Month and I just made a donation to autismspeaks.org in honor of my little cousin, Nicholas, who has come very far and will go even further than the stars.  He is a wonderful little boy who is loved by many, but especially by his dedicated and super mom Rosie, his hard-working dad, Waymon, and his big bro/HERO, Gabriel.  I love hearing about Nico’s accomplishments, which have been many and I’m so proud of his mom, my cousin, who takes such good care of him.  It’s TOUGH, but she has kept her ground and the rewards of that bravery and pure love come in the form of smiles, hugs, words, and songs that come out of her little boy.

I love this family so much!

If you are able to, please contribute to this cause.  Thank you!

Take good care all.

Until next time…

What’s rare? A good night’s sleep

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Hello everybody!  I hope you guys are well.

As for me, my oldest daughter almost gave me a heart attack at 3 o’ clock in the morning today!  I’m peacefully, sound asleep when all of a sudden something is touching me and this is how I wake up: literally yelling and bouncing off my bed.  I don’t know why I wake up this way, but I do and it drives me (and my husband) absolutely nuts.  My nerves get shot to hell and my poor little girl is standing there in the dark not knowing what to do.  She woke me up because her fingernail was bothering her after she had picked at it and wanted me to cut it.

At three o’ clock in the morning.

I couldn’t see (due to darkness and bad eyesight), I’m cursing in my head, and I desperately want to close my eyes and go back to sleep, but I can’t because my daughter needs me.  So I grabbed my eyeglasses and a nail clipper, turned on the blinding light, clipped away that wretched fingernail, and tucked my daughter and myself back into bed.

I remember reading an article a long time ago about this woman who loved to sleep.  That was the whole article.  She had an immense love for sleep and loathed anyone or anything that took it away from her.  She even shuddered at the idea of becoming a mom and losing her beloved sleep.  I enjoyed reading that article, especially that part because I knew what she meant.  Before I became a mom, I loved to sleep as well and there were no interruptions.  Now, a good night’s sleep is rare and I know that I’m not the only one out there seeking sweet, pleasant dreams.  From the person who can’t sleep because they’re worrying about their finances or job, to the sleep deprived new mom who has to wake up every two to three hours to feed her newborn child, the single dad who has to take care of his sick child who can’t sleep, or the person who has a loved one in the hospital.  We’re all in it together.

Sleep, where art thou?

Please come back!

One day I will sleep again and no, I’m not talking about the temporary kind.  That can stay far off into the future, knock on wood.  I’m just wanting some good ol’ restful sleep because once that happens, your body and mind feels the difference and you’re hooked.  Some nights I do go to bed late and that’s because I want to see TV, but I’m about to be scaling back on the tube time because I’m missing the zzzzzz’s too much.

Good (luck) night!

P.S. Breaking news on the wiggly tooth.  My brave daughter wiggled and wiggled her tooth until she pulled it out herself last Friday.  The tooth fairy came that night and left two golden, chocolate coins, two dollar bills, and a small certificate.  My daughter, without a second thought, generously shared her new gifts with her little sister!  🙂

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Take good care all.

Until next time…