Category Archives: Children

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…

Celebrating a couple of anniversaries on vacation

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Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

We’re back from vacation again.  This time around we invited our family members to join us for a week at a Massanutten resort http://www.massresort.com/v.php?pg=2 in McGaheysville, VA.  The place was lovely and the condo we stayed in was spectacular, but your wallet takes a beating if you want to do several of their activities.  We mainly stuck to the playgrounds and the pool, which were free.  The one activity we decided to pay for was going on a pony/horse ride along with petting and feeding the farm animals.

My daughters and I rode on a horse for the first time ever.  This was pretty exciting and the smiles on their faces filled my heart with sheer joy, especially my youngest who we thought was going to bail, but instead her grin extended from one ear to the other and it stayed put from the moment she got on the horse until we said goodbye to “the horsie”.  I was very proud of them because when you’re far away from the horse and just looking at them, it seems like it’s not such a big deal, but once you’re up close and about to get on, it’s a different story.  The ride wasn’t long, but it was definitely a great introduction and there are a couple of riding schools where we live that I’m going to be looking into.  Hey, you never know and the more experiences they get out of life, the better.

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 My cowgirls!

We also had fun at the feeding/petting farm.  I was definitely hovering over my youngest because she was getting a little bit too close to the animals and I was afraid of them biting her.  There were ducks, a turkey (who looked pretty mean so we stayed away from its cage), goats, donkeys, a camel, alpacas (my youngest, Sophia, couldn’t stop feeding these guys and she giggled the whole time with them), pigs, rabbits, and a zebra.  Yes, a zebra.

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Olivia was fortunate to be able to feed a baby camel named Clyde.  She also had a lot of fun feeding the donkey who was eating up a storm.  Sophia’s faved animal was the alpaca and she also enjoyed feeding the zebra.

During our vacation I celebrated my blog’s first year anniversary.  It sort of crept up on me and I was shocked that a year had gone by even though it’s around the same time as my wedding anniversary, which I also celebrated.  My sweetheart husband and I have been happily married for twelve years now.  Our family members made a special dinner and we enjoyed it together.  We didn’t need to go out by ourselves because we wanted to be with our family and to make things less stressful we decided to not give gifts, just celebrate together and enjoy being on vacation.  By the end of the week, Olivia desperately wanted us to stay for another day and my four-year old nephew was not happy that we were leaving.  In fact, he was down right mad and didn’t want to say goodbye, but I still kissed him on the forehead real fast.  🙂  The kids not wanting to leave just showed me that they had a wonderful time together and we will definitely be doing this again come next year.  I told my sister-in-law, “Let’s make this family vacation a tradition because we all had a great time.”  I just need a calendar for 2014 so I can jot it down asap.

Take good care all.

Until next time…

Funny face friday and congrats are in order

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Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

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I made this funny face lunch for my oldest daughter today.  It consisted of a mini raspberry muffin/doughnut, two mayo and cheese sandwiches, apple slices (in a bowl to look like a hat), mini marshmallows, mini chocolate chips, a big cherry tomato, and green salad.  I wasn’t able to make another one for my youngest because she was resting due to a fever. 😦  Once she woke up I gave her liquids, Cheerios, and apple slices.

I also wanted to say CONGRATULATIONS to my lil’ sis whose been a great supporter of my blog (reading and liking my post entries).  She was promoted today to Detective in the NYPD!

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We’re very proud of you Detective!

Keep shooting for the stars and hitting them hard, but always stay safe!

Take good care all.

Until next time…

Funny face lunch times two

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Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

You know I love making funny faces in the form of food for my daughter, Olivia.

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I made this funny face monster (apple slices, banana, marshmallows, mini chocolate chips, white cheese and mayo sandwiches) for her lunch the other day and made something else for my youngest, Sophia.  Well,  Miss Sophia was not happy that I didn’t make her a funny face lunch as well and the reason why I didn’t make her one is because she can be picky with her food.

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Cut to a few days later and I made these funny face lunches using apple slices, a cherry tomato, banana, marshmallows, mini chocolate chips, a cheese stick, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  Both girls loved seeing these funny faces, but only one of them ate the whole thing up.  Take a wild guess who didn’t finish her plate, but it’s ok.  She has her days and I will continue to present her with these special lunches until she says enough.  Until then, bon appétit

Take good care all.

Until next time…

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DIY felt Goomba, Bullet Bill, and Mario Star

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Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

My daughters absolutely LOVE Super Mario and friends.  They’re always looking at videos on YouTube and love seeing the cartoon on Netflix.  Two weeks ago my oldest found a tutorial video on how to make your own Super Mario star using felt.  Inspired by that video, my husband and I decided to make a couple of star buddies for our daughters.

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Fortunately, I already had a foam star from my daughter’s birthday decorations, which became a perfect template.  I traced four stars, front and back, on yellow felt with a disappearing ink pen (found in the sewing aisle at the craft store).  I cut those out along with four little rectangles using black felt for the eyes.  That was my job.  The sewing part went to my husband who’s better at sewing.  We used cotton balls for the stuffing since we didn’t have anything else.  Once the stars were done and presented, the squeals that ensued were proof enough that they came out great.

Then my daughter declared that she was going to make Bullet Bill.  She told me that she needed black, red, and purple felt.  And tape!  Those aren’t exactly the colors of Bullet Bill, but I indulged her anyway.  With her scissors she got to work and asked me if I could cut out two big circles from the red felt and two smaller circles from the purple felt.  These circles were going to be the eyes.  She tried her very best and taped something up that was supposed to look like Bullet Bill, but wasn’t quite holding up since she used tape.  My husband soon stepped in and improvised with what we had in hand (supplies were running low).  Without a template, just a picture of Bullet Bill and their creativity, a felt buddy/villain was created.

But that wasn’t the end.  Oh no, another request, and a trip to the craft store (cotton balls finished), was made several days later.  Why stop now?  Let’s make one more.  Let’s make Goomba!  Again, with the help of a picture of this little villain as well as a sketch template of the body, which my husband did, they got to work and had a lot of fun seeing this little guy come to life, especially with its new stuffing (we purchased a 12 oz. bag of Poly-Fil 100 percent Polyester Fiberfill).

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Here are the newest additions (missing a star) to my daughter’s plush Super Mario and friends toys.  They absolutely love these guys.  As you can see my husband added some red and pink felt streamers to Bullet Bill (not part of the original picture, but creative).

I know more characters are going to be requested and we’re going to do our best in bringing them to plush life because it’s a lot of fun.

Take good care all.

Until next time…

Mini doughnut pan

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Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

Here in New York City, we are battling a heat wave.  The temperature is above 90 degrees, but the humidity makes it feel like 100 and above.  It’s horrible and disgusting.  We’re doing our best to entertain ourselves at home with the AC at full blast.

Enter our newest purchase, the Wilton mini doughnut pan, which we got at AC Moore craft store with a 50 percent coupon.  My husband fell in love with this pan along with the savings (the current plan is to get a second pan to make it less time consuming).  He tried it out first with Jiffy’s chocolate muffin mix, but he forgot to take pictures.  When it was my turn, I tried the raspberry muffin mix and it was definitely a learning experience.

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I was able to make two batches (24 total).  The first batch I put too much batter in the pan so the muffin/doughnuts came out like little bowls (open on one side, which is cool because you can put something inside for example whipped cream and eat/present it like that or just eat it as is).  The second batch I put less batter but I still got some that came out like bowls.  It’s a trial and error kind of thing.  I’m figuring that with more batches I’ll get the right consistency one day.  I’m looking forward to making cake doughnuts, that’s next, and of course finding a good doughnut recipe to try.  Duh!  In the meantime, these muffin doughnuts were delicious and a big hit with my daughters.  I also like that they’re small so consumption can be kept under control.

Bon appétit!

Take good care all.

Until next time…

I went away on vacation…

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…but I’m back.

Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

I have a love/hate relationship with packing for a vacation.  Of course, I LOVE the fact that we’re going away to someplace new or someplace where we had a great time before.  I HATE having to think of all the clothes, toiletries, toys, etc. that we need to take with us and packing for three people (myself and my daughters).  I try to pack outfits for each day for Olivia and Sophia, but then I start wondering, “what if it’s cool or what if one of them has an accident,” so more clothes go into the suitcase.  It’s great to have options, but I don’t want to over pack, but then again I don’t want to under pack.  Ugh!!!  See what I mean?  It’s a vicious cycle, but I think I did well last week.  We were able to pack everyone’s clothes and shoes in two suitcases and an overnight bag.

Since we had a wonderful time at a resort in South Lee, Massachusetts last year, we decided to return this year.  The resort (Oak N’ Spruce) does need some major upgrading regarding their townhouses (that’s where we stayed and the rug was FILTHY!), but their pools and mini golf course are great along with the location of the resort, which is situated to many great attractions.

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We travelled to nearby Pittsfield, where there’s a quaint little town full of shops and restaurants along with a library, which we dropped in.  The children’s section offered toys, several sitting areas, and books galore.  My girls had fun playing with a dollhouse and stuff animals.  Olivia was amazed with finding books that she had read in her school.  It was very peaceful in there.  I loved it!

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Olivia finishing up a book and Sophia having fun with the puzzles at the Library

We also visited the Berkshire Mall where we saw a movie, Despicable Me 2, for the first time as a family!  It was great.  We had a big tub of popcorn as well as a giant blue raspberry drink.  I know, it was sugar chaos/heaven, but we shared it together.

The ultimate find at the mall was a Bouncy House play area, which we went to twice.  I even snuck into one of the bouncy houses and bounced my heart out with Olivia!  🙂  Needless to say my girls had a blast!

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Awesome place!  If we go back to Lee, Massachusetts we’ll definitely look for this place again.

We ate at some great places and I got a chance to visit the Lee Premium Outlets (got my shopping on) throughout the week.  All in all we had a great time being together as a family and can’t wait to go on our next vacation in August to Virginia.

Take good care all.

Until next time…

Fourth of July Flag Craft Project

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Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

The Fourth of July is a couple of days away and I wanted to find a craft project for my kiddos to do for this day.  I found a great project with craft sticks and here’s what we did:

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You will need the instructions (http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/july4/craftstickflag/), craft sticks, glue, blue paper, white stars (I used a small star puncher that I have), paintbrush, and red and white acrylic paints.

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We painted the sticks, let them dry, and then glued one long stick in the back and broke another in two and glued those in the middle and on the other side of the craft sticks to make the flag sturdier.  I didn’t have enough craft sticks that were required in the instructions, but we were still able to make the flag.  No biggie!

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My kid glued a small blue square to the corner of the sticks and then glued on the stars.

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We glued the final craft stick to make the handle longer and I also used masking tape on the back of the flag and the handle to secure it better.

Happy “Early” Fourth of July

from the Mercado household and themercadoproject.com!

Take good care all.

Until next time…

Comparing First and Last day of School pictures

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Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

I wanted to share this idea, which I did with my daughter, that I saw on Pinterest.  On Olivia’s first day of school we took pictures, of course, but I also took pictures on her last day of school so we could compare and see how much she grew.  Boy, did she ever!

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Her sweet, little baby face has disappeared and in its place is a sweet, little girl who had so much fun learning.  I’m going to do this every school year so I can see my little girl grow into a fine adult.

Take good care all.

Until next time…