Monthly Archives: September 2013

A lesson learned

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Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

This past Sunday, my daughter lost her second tooth.  I know what you’re thinking, “here comes another crazy mom detailing every single milestone her child goes through.”  And yes, I do that once and awhile, but there’s more to this story and I wanted to share it with you.

My daughter had wiggled her tooth to the point where it was unattached (in the back), but still hanging on tight (in the front).  This, of course was driving her nuts because she wanted a certain fairy to pay her a visit so she begged me to take it out.  I tried, but couldn’t bring myself to complete the mission because I didn’t want to damage her gums or something, I don’t know.  Then my husband calmly came into the bathroom with a tissue in hand and gently, but swiftly, took the tooth out like nothing.  Olivia and I were shocked and then the excitement ensued.  She wanted to place the tooth under her pillow a.s.a.p.  I, on the other hand started panicking a little because I wasn’t ready with the little surprises the “tooth fairy” was going to leave behind and it was already bedtime.  Lucky for me, my husband came to the rescue, once again, and found two chocolate gold coins for me, I mean the tooth fairy, to place under Olivia’s pillow as well as a crisp dollar bill and a lost tooth certificate (I printed that out after my daughter went to bed).

As we prepared to tuck Olivia into bed, she suddenly remembered something.  She told us that a classmate had taken her tooth to school to show everyone.  We asked her who and her excited face completely shifted into a more serious, sad-looking face as she remembered something else.  The same little girl didn’t want Olivia to sit next to her one day.  Olivia’s quivering voice and innocent, sad eyes simply broke my heart.  She continued to tell us how this little girl didn’t want to be friends with her as well and that she didn’t know why.  We reassured her that it was ok and with that my daughter remembered her tooth and her excitement returned.  Just like that and I learned a lesson from my daughter.  She wasn’t going to let that incident in the past take away from her current joy.  Of course that lesson learned was short and sweet for me because it wasn’t easy to go back to the happiness at hand.  I was still dwelling on the fact that my daughter’s feelings were hurt.  It was gut wrenching seeing my little girl’s smile turned upside down and hearing her say, “I don’t know why she didn’t want to be my friend.”  As a parent, you never want your child to get hurt, but deep down inside we know that it’s part of life and that it’s going to happen, no matter what, because we can’t be with them 24/7.  We can though teach our children to be kind to others and stand up for those who need help.  Those are the lessons that I’m going to be teaching my girls as well as many others.

Take good care all.

Until next time…

Dads Take Your Child To School Day

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Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

Today was a special day at my daughter’s school.  It was their annual “Dads Take Your Child To School Day” (A project of the NYS Office of Children and Family Services and NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance).  It’s special in my household because I’m normally the one that takes my daughter to school while my husband goes to work early, but today Olivia got to walk hand in hand with her daddy all the way to school.  Just them, and the smile on her face as I waved goodbye from my window was priceless.  It’s very important for children to have a male figure they can count on in their lives.  The flier that was sent home with my child inviting dads to this event also stated that “If dads are unavailable to attend the event, invite grandfathers, foster fathers, step-fathers, uncles, cousins, big brothers, significant male caregivers or male friends of the family.”

I applaud this project and their efforts to promote awareness that everyone in the family plays a very important part in a child’s life.  My husband absolutely loved taking part in this event because he’s a devoted father and he’s always curious to see how things run, especially his child’s school.  He was able to see Olivia in her class first hand and she was able to introduce him to her classmates.  It was a win, win situation that’s worth it in the long run.

Start building a great relationship with your child and their school today.

Take good care all.

Until next time…

Comfort Cross

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Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

Have you ever given a gift that turned out to be the perfect gift at that particular moment?  I experienced that with my mom when she was in recovery at the hospital after falling ill two years ago.  I will never forget the sheer happiness and comfort that washed over her face when I presented her with a comfort cross.  My mom is a religious person and at that time in the hospital, she was struggling with her injuries, both physically and mentally.  I’m always searching online for unique gifts that still have a connection to the person that I’m pairing it up with.  I also receive a couple of catalogs, which is where I found the comfort cross.  I knew instantly that my mom was going to love this item.  I was banking more on the comfort part of its name because that’s what I wanted more than anything for my mom.

comfort cross

Image from catalogfavorites.com

http://www.catalogfavorites.com/itemdy00.aspx?T1=V10350&ref=us

When I walked into my mother’s room in the hospital, she was taking a nap.  Her face was scrunched up as if she wasn’t having a good rest.  I was chatting with my dad and my aunt who were in the room as well when she finally woke up.  I hugged, kissed and teased her that I had a special gift just for her.  When I showed her the cross she immediately grabbed it just like the image above and brought it close to her heart.  The smile that came across her face stayed there as she closed her eyes and fell back to sleep.  Her face wasn’t scrunched up anymore.  She looked, well, comforted!  If you go online there are many versions of this cross.  I’m very happy to have found this item and even happier that I was able to give it to my mom because she means the world to me and I’m so thankful that she’s st.

Take good care all.

Until next time…

Celebrating the one you love

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Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

My husband celebrated his 37th birthday last week.  We decided to spend the day at the New York Aquarium as well as the kiddie rides in Coney Island.  The aquarium is currently under construction, due to Hurricane Sandy, so many of their exhibits were closed, but we were able to see the seals perform.  They were magnificent!

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We finished our Coney Island adventure/birthday celebration by taking a quick walk on the beach.  My husband and I gazed at the cruise ships as they sailed away, while the girls played with the sand and filled up their shoes with it!  🙂

We got home late and I was so happy that we had given the birthday boy his card and gifts early on in the morning.  I want to share with you the words that I wrote to this extraordinary man in his birthday card.  Why?  Because I want to celebrate the one that I love.  I do believe that I hit the jackpot and I’m not going to apologize if you think that I’m bragging because finding a companion that truly accepts you and takes everything into consideration is hard.  He is by no means perfect, but he has so many qualities that many men lack or simply don’t want to share with their significant others.  We say, “please” and “thank you” to each other.  These simple words can mean the world.  He says to me, “Thank you for taking care of our children,” and that fills my heart, soul, and mind with calmness.  I feel appreciated.  I say to him, “Thank you for working hard to support our family,” and that shows him that I value him going out into the tumultuous world and sacrificing time with his family in order to give us what we need to survive.  We NEVER curse at each other because we RESPECT one another.  I’m not saying that I don’t curse because I do and so does he.  If I stub my toe, oh yes, the shit word will be flying out of my mouth, but if we happen to have a disagreement, curse words don’t help.  They make things worse and the respect card gets thrown out the window.  It’s as simple as that.  Plus, it helps that we genuinely love each other so there you go.  I wholeheartedly believe that friendship before a relationship is a great foundation for an everlasting union.  Just think about it, there are many people who are friends for life.  So, why not incorporate that with the one that you love?

To, Angel

Love, Angie

“Thank you for loving me and taking good care of our family.  You are the greatest example by far of what a real man should strive to become:  A loving husband who understands and respects his wife and a proud, doting father, who’s also hands on, and loves his children to pieces.  Thank you for your commitment and your strength.  I hope all your wishes come true because YOU deserve it.”

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Celebrate the one you love!

Take good care all.

Until next time…

Back to school!

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Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

Today was the first day of school for my oldest daughter, Olivia.  She started the 1st grade and I will admit that my nerves were acting up, but I didn’t let them get the best of me.  Olivia on the other hand, was as cool as a cucumber so I hushed my neurotic side down because I wanted her to stay that way.  We got into the groove with our school routine.  Brush your teeth, eat breakfast, uniform on, hair done, backpack, and out the door.  Once we arrived at school, of course, things were chaotic, but manageable.  My husband and I were able to dodge and weave our way over to Olivia’s new teacher where we introduced ourselves.  She was very happy to see us both there with Olivia.  We said our “see you laters” and off Olivia went to sit with her new class.  I waved goodbye a couple of times and watched her from afar as she chatted up kids and showed them her summer collage.  I left with a small pang in my heart, but I was more calmer than last year leaving her in school because I could tell that Olivia was comfortable.  Here’s hoping that she has a great school year.

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Students were instructed to put together a summer collage and bring it to school on the first day.  I glued all the pictures and had Olivia write a small description of the things that she did and the places she visited during the summer.

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Good luck my 1st grader!

Take good care all!

Until next time…

A Dream Come True Playground

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Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

What if all playgrounds had a name like this?

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Or were developed in this manner?

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I think the world, at least the parenting world, would be a much happier place.  My sister-in-law, Vera, found this playground while searching for places to visit during our vacation in Virginia.  We couldn’t get out of the car fast enough to explore this place and yes, there was a huge parking area.  Brilliant!

I greatly appreciate a well thought out and constructed playground.  This place was so visually beautiful with the rainbow colors.  The play areas were age appropriate and even had a square umbrella on top that shielded the sun.  Again, brilliant!  There’s absolutely nothing like this where I live so my girls had a blast here.

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I love the names of each area.

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My youngest, Sophia, enjoyed making sounds in the musical area and perfecting her balance.

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There was your traditional swings as well as these that are for children who need additional support.  I love that concept as well as the safety guard that goes over the child (Sophia was getting off the swing so you can’t see the guard, which is in the back).  There was even a swing for children in wheelchairs.  I had never seen that before and I immediately thought, “That is so wonderful!”  Sorry, I totally flaked on this one ’cause I didn’t take a pic of the swing.  I was just too mesmerized with this place and running after Sophia.

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My oldest, Olivia,  and her cousins, AJ and Victoria loved the hammock.  I mean, c’mon, look at those smiles.  They’re beaming!

Of course, there’s a great story on how this playground came to life and if you would like to check it out then go here:

http://playandpark.com/news/press-releases/play-park-structures-helps-make-dream-come-true/ and here

http://www.harrisonburgva.gov/dream-come-true-playground

I say, “GREAT JOB!” in making this playground and including all of these features for all kids.  I hated leaving it behind and wished that something as beautiful as this was closer to me.  I can’t wait to visit it again and hopefully go more than once.

This place is definitely a dream come true and worth a visit.

Take good care all.

Until next time…