Poem in your pocket day

Posted on April 24, 2014 by themercadoproject

Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

Today I sent my daughter to school with a poem in her pocket for “Poem in your pocket day.” At the beginning of each month, I receive a detailed calendar from my daughter’s school filled with PTA meeting dates, workshops, test dates, and special fun days like today. Parents were asked to send their children to school with a poem in their pocket.

I went on Google and searched for children’s poems. This article, http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/poems-for-kids, stood out the best and I chose one of the poems featured in it because it was fun and short.

Rabbit by Mary Ann Hoberman

A rabbit

Bit

A little bit

An itty-bitty

Little bit of beet

Then bit

By bit

He bit

Because he liked the taste of it

This poem is a bit of a tongue twister, which is great for my daughter’s speech. She loved how silly it was and couldn’t wait to share it with her class and teacher.

Happy poem in your pocket day!

Take good care all.

Until next time…

It’s that time of the year…let’s dye some eggs!

Posted on April 16, 2014 by themercadoproject

Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

Easter’s fast approaching and the dyeing of the eggs has come upon us. While my girls were being distracted/entertained by the television, I quickly set up everything we needed in the kitchen.

I got the PAAS Egg Decorating kit in Marble Magic. This kit included 16 egg stands, 6 dye tablets, 2 egg dippers, 2 packets of gloss and 1 polishing fabric. I also got the Color Cups and that came with 5 dye tablets, 1 egg dipper, and a magic crayon.

Instead of mixing the tablets with just water, I added a tablespoon of vinegar to half a cup of water so the eggs would dye brighter in color. I also taped down a small, white recycle garbage bag on my girls picnic table so clean up would be easier and there would be no staining on the table.

Even though my little one was not feeling well, she still had fun, as well as my oldest. The toothless smile says it all. 🙂

In order to get the marble effect you had to add a tablespoon of oil to the color mixture. We also used the magic crayon to make designs before dunking the eggs in. Whatever was marked with the crayon, didn’t dye with color (my youngest drew lines on the purple egg while my oldest drew circles on the pink egg).

We used the gloss and fabric to get the glossy effect.

My oldest daughter’s favorite egg is the very first one: the purple and aqua blue marbled egg

Egg dyeing mission for 2014: Successful

Next mission: Filling up plastic eggs for the Easter egg hunt

Take good care all.

Until next time…

DIY Peppa Pig Birthday Banner

Posted on April 14, 2014 by themercadoproject

Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

My youngest daughter turned 4 years old this past Saturday. I wish I could have captured on camera how her morning, sleepy face transformed into sheer happiness upon hearing us say, “Happy Birthday Sophia!” It was magical and so sweet. I did take a ton of pictures after we got all dressed up, but I have to sort through them first. For this post, I wanted to share with you how I made her a Peppa Pig birthday banner.

Enjoy!

This banner was super easy to make and didn’t take long. I found the banner template online. I had foam flower cut outs saved from a great find at the dollar section in Target. I did the happy, birthday, and letter circles myself on Word, then glued everything together and strung it up with pink ribbon.

I absolutely loved how this banner came out and my daughter loved seeing it up on the wall. The theme was Peppa Pig and she loved seeing all the different pictures of Peppa Pig.

More pictures to come.

Take good care all.

Until next time…

April Fool’s Brownies

Posted on April 1, 2014 by themercadoproject

Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

Happy April Fool’s Day! My oldest daughter, Olivia, woke up today super excited because it’s April Fool’s Day and she really wants to pull a prank on someone. That someone is her dad so I went on Pinterest and searched for silly pranks. There was one in particular that was cute, simple to do and silly enough for a six-year-old to enjoy.

So we’re baking a batch of brownies for dear old dad, oh wait did I just say/write baking brownies. No, what I meant was we’re making brown E’s for unsuspecting, dear old dad. Check it out:

I left some E’s for Olivia to cut out once she got home from school, then we put a book inside the baking pan (so it could feel heavy), placed all the E’s inside, and closed it up with aluminum foil.

I even put it inside the oven, which prompted my youngest to say, “Oh no, the E’s are going to get hot,” even though I didn’t turn it on. 🙂

Needless to say, once my husband got home from work, the girls couldn’t contain themselves. Sophia kept shouting, “April Fool’s Day!” so I quickly told my husband to sit down ’cause we made him some brownies before our prank was revealed.

We brought the pan of brownies and told him to uncover the pan completely.

The result:

My husband was surprised and happy with the brown E’s, but then really sad ’cause there wasn’t any real brownies. 🙂

Happy April Fool’s Day everyone!

Take good care all.

Until next time…

Adieu March

Posted on March 31, 2014 by themercadoproject

Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

Before we bid adieu to the month of March I wanted to share some pics with you as well as an update on my daughter’s speech therapy.

The month started with my family celebrating my mother’s 62nd BIRTHDAY! It’s so wonderful to celebrate her birthday.

Then on St. Patrick’s Day, I surprised my daughters with a green breakfast:

GREEN PANCAKES WITH SPRINKLES

I just used a little food coloring, but totally forgot that the butter was going to brown up the pancakes…oh well, the girls still loved eating green pancakes for St. Patrick’s Day!

We got our green on…say cheese!

I made several happy, yummy faces throughout the month. Here are a few:

Made this mini bagel happy face for my youngest daughter one day and I thought the blueberry smile was genius on my part, but then she requested that smile to be turned upside down. She actually said, “No, I want it to be sad.”

“Okayyyy??”

Whatever, she still ate it happily…she can be a conundrum sometimes.

Then on another day she asked me for a one-eyed happy face. Okay, here’s happy cyclops.

It’s all about improvising and having fun. She loved this silly face.

As for my ongoing quest to get my oldest daughter speech therapy in her school, it has come to a complete halt. Why? Well, I decided to stop wasting time with people who keep giving me the run around or pretend not to know what my case is about. The straw that broke the camel’s back was when, let’s call her an administrator, said to me over the phone, “My hands are tied.” She said it nonchalantly and yes, I could be wrong. Maybe her hands are tied and she simply can’t help me, but at that moment, I lost it. I got emotional, which I hated, but I needed her to know, no scratch that, I needed her to fully feel and understand that all I was asking for was a little help. After that phone call was a bust, I continued my search online and finally found a great website, www.mommyspeechtherapy.com, that offers tips and ideas on how you can help your child with their speech including printables and an app (articulation station), which I got for my ipad. We also practice enunciating our words at home and my husband makes up tongue twisters with the specific letters that our daughter has trouble pronouncing. The tongue twisters are very helpful and we make it fun by saying silly phrases. So far that’s what we’re doing and we’re going to continue to research and look into other ideas and I’ll keep you updated.

We ended the month celebrating my father’s 62nd BIRTHDAY and were even given a surprise, but more on that later on! 🙂 Again, it’s simply wonderful celebrating his birthday as well.

So it is with a fond farewell to the month of March.

I can’t wait to share what comes next: april fools day, my youngest daughter’s birthday, spring cleaning, spring break, apartment egg hunting, and Easter.

Get the scrapbook paper and scissors out, Mama needs to make a Peppa Pig birthday banner!

Take good care all.

Until next time…

Butter Scotch candy + Funfetti Cupcakes = Yumminess!

Posted on February 19, 2014 by themercadoproject

Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

I made funfetti cupcakes with butter scotch candy toppers for Valentine’s Day for my family. It’s semi-homemade, of course, but here’s what I did:

Combine ingredients for cake mix and add sprinkles.

While the cupcakes are baking, melt butter scotch candy (found this at AC Moore craft store) in your microwave and fill candy mold. Place into freezer for about ten minutes.

I also melted Dolci Frutta chocolate and placed a dollop on each cupcake, then stuck one of the candies on top and placed into the refrigerator for a few minutes so the chocolate could harden.

My valentine cupcakes, but you can always make these for any day.

Take good care all.

Until next time…

I heart…

Posted on February 15, 2014 by themercadoproject

Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

Happy belated Valentine’s Day!

There’s a lot of pressure when “I heart day” rolls around, but I simply tell my husband that as long as he gives me a box of chocolates, we’re good. That’s all I want, chocolate. Oh, and a sweet kiss from him, of course. Anyway, I always like to gift my girls something as well as my husband and this year I stumbled upon some great “I heart you” gifts.

I got these cute balloon doggies for my daughters who love balloon animals, but hate when they deflate or pop!

They’re POP! Mini Series Balloon Animal ‘Pups’ 3 inch toys and they’re vinyl according to the description. They come in different colors, but you can’t pick the colors. It’s a surprise once you get it.

http://www.kidrobot.com/ShopAll/DesignerToys/MiniFigures/POPMiniSeriesBalloonAnimalPupsToys3Inch.html

I got this cool T-shirt for my husband who absolutely love it!

Purchase your own here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/112240997/beer-shirt-growler-t-shirt-drink-locally?ref=shop_home_active_6

Add some boxes of chocolate and my little family was very happy on Valentine’s Day

I heart how you, Olivia, passionately tell me what you’ve learn in school while we’re walking back home,

I heart how you, Sophia, pretend play with your toys especially Mario, Luigi and Princess Peach,

and I heart you, Angel, and your everlasting love and commitment to me and our family.

Take good care guys.

Until next time…

Return of the funny faces

Posted on February 5, 2014 by themercadoproject

Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

The weather outside is horrible so instead of trekking to school I kept my daughter home for today and I’m not even second guessing that decision ’cause we need a break from all this slush outside. Since I had both girls home today, I decided to make funny faces for lunch:

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Ritz crackers, banana slices, mini chocolate chips, cherry tomatoes, a cheese stick, and raisins make up these fun faces.

Here’s hoping that the weather clears up soon.

Take good care all.

Until next time…

I’m not mad at you snow…

Posted on February 3, 2014 by themercadoproject

Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

A snowy day can make you second guess whether or not you should take your child to school (in my area the school is ALWAYS open) or keep her at home (she doesn’t want to stay home, she wants to go to school),

a snowy day can make going to school on foot a little bit harder and wetter,

a snowy day can be majestic until you realize you have to shovel the walkway,

but that’s ok with me because after reaching the school safely and shoveling the snow, this is my reward: