Category Archives: Parenting

Toy hangover

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Hello everybody!  I hope you guys are well.  Christmas has come and gone and now we’re dealing with a massive toy hangover.  My daughters got so many presents toys that they’re walking around the house now dazed and confused.  It’s so overwhelming, even for me.  They’re jumping from one toy to the other while I’m running after them to clean up after each toy they dumped on the carpet before they move on to the next.  It’s crazy over here and I’m not even innocent to the crime of toy overload.  I’m guilty as heck.  I wanted to firmly stay at a two present limit per child, but I went completely over that limit.  I went totally mad, with happiness of course, when I saw this at www.walmart.com:

supermario5pack

Set of 5 plush dolls of Mario and company

My oldest daughter just got introduced to Mario, so when I saw this I knew she would love these little plush guys and boy did she ever.  I almost bought them individually until I spotted the set, which saved me a lot of money.  I simply couldn’t resist myself and when I told my husband, he certainly didn’t put a stop to my craziness.  In fact, he said, “I’m not going to deny them anything,” so we’re both guilty.

I’m seeking a new plan and some major will power for next year.  Also, I need to include books in their wish list, which I did this year, but nobody gifted.  I’m going to have to emphasize this to family members that books are great gifts as well.  Yes, most kids don’t want to unwrap clothes and other stuff that’s not toys, but we have to try to change that.  I’m trying to teach my girls to appreciate any gift that’s given and not to compare how many each one gets or if one is better than the other.  It really bothers me when I see kids not being appreciative or whining that they want more gifts.  I also understand that I do create this sort of attitude by supplying all of these gifts so I’m definitely going to scale back for next year.

So no more crazy, toy madness.  I’m going to take some inventory and try to place my children in an environment that’s not over stimulating, even though I created it.  Ouch, that reality does hurt me.  My solution for now is going to be to put away some old toys while they’re playing with the new ones, give away toys they’ve out grown, for example the baby puzzles with the pegs on them (I have a stack of those that need to be given to new babies) and read, read, read a lot of books.

Take good care all.

Until next time…

Winter Assembly Show

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Hello everybody!  I hope you guys are well.  Today was another first for my husband and me.  OUR DAUGHTER SANG IN HER FIRST SCHOOL SHOW!  Teachers, faculty members, and volunteer parents did a fantastic job in making sure that everyone, who came to see the show, signed in with their identification cards.  You could sense the anticipation and joy in the air.  Once the lights were dimmed, it was show time.  Two classes were brought into the auditorium, while the other classes waited out in the hallway.   A student from each class was chosen to announce their respected classes and the song they were going to sing.  As soon as the first class started singing, I immediately thought of the Sandy Hook tragedy and my eyes started welling up.  I took a deep breath and composed myself.  After the students finished singing, we clapped for them and they got escorted back out into the hallway as the next classes made their way in.  Olivia’s class was last and they were singing the songs, “Mamacita, Donde esta Santa Claus?” and “All I Want for Christmas”.  When her class finally came in, we waved like mad so she could see exactly where we were seated.  As they positioned all the kids into their places, my daughter’s teacher guided her to the front and I was so surprised to see that she was going to be one of the announcers.  I was so excited and nervous for my little girl, but she did a great job in announcing her class and the name of the song.   I was so proud of her.  We had a wonderful time hearing and seeing her perform.  All of the kids did a great job and I made sure to clap extra hard for each class because I believe it made them smile more to hear how much we were enjoying their performance.  We can’t wait for more moments like this and we’re definitely going to treasure it for the rest of our lives.

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My beautiful star, Olivia, before going to school this morning.

Take good care all.

Until next time…

A pin about motherhood and a lasting marriage

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Hello everybody!  I hope you guys are well.  I came across a couple of pins on Pinterest that completely resonate with the way I think and feel about motherhood and marriage.  I wanted to share them with you and see how you feel.

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I have two little girls, ages five and two, and we have a night time routine implemented since they were babies and we do our very best never to break it, even on vacation.  They are so used to the routine that if we don’t keep up with it, they get very CRANKY!  Bath time starts at 8 PM and by 8:30 – 8:45, the girls are in their beds and mommy is very happy!  🙂

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I completely agree with this pin and have always thought this way.  Hence why I’m happily married to my high school sweetheart.  It takes two to build and keep a lasting relationship.

Back in August of this year, we celebrated 19 years together since the day he asked me to be his girlfriend.  In 1993, Angel came over to my house and presented me with a rose and we declared that day to be our dating anniversary.  My mother suggested I place the rose in a book so I can keep it forever.  Always listen to your mom, because I have that rose, from 19 years ago, framed on my wall today.  From the beginning of our relationship, we told each other what we expected from one another and we respected that.  Respect and acknowledgement of each other’s importance in the relationship are key to a lasting union.

Stay alert, stay alive.

Until next time…

We saw Santa…Yay!!

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Hello everybody!  I hope you guys are well.  Yesterday, we did it.  We got dressed up and quickly made our way to the mall so we could take our annual family photo with Santa.  I say family because we have to sit down with the girls since they refuse to sit with Santa alone.  It’s our third time going to the same mall with the same Santa.  He’s kind and sweet, but my oldest is shy, while my youngest is not warming up to Santa yet.  Not even a tiny bit.  I don’t mind taking the picture, but sometimes I wonder if it’s cheesy.  I suppose it might be to some, but I really like going to see Santa with the girls.  I like dressing them in their Christmas dresses.  I might not get a smile from both girls, but I do get a sweet memory.  After taking the photo, I went to pick out the best shot and Santa gave the girls a choice of either a small plush kitten or unicorn as a gift.  My girls chose the unicorn and they thanked Santa.  It was cute watching them skip around the mall in their dresses while holding their little unicorns.  Before we left they hopped on a mini carousel.  With no meltdowns, I say the mission to get a picture with Santa was accomplished.  Whew!

     

Our picture with Santa will be posted on Christmas!

Stay alert, stay alive.

Until next time…

School pictures are in and first report card!

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Hello everybody!  I hope you guys are well.  I understand it now.  Parenthood is a very tricky world, to say the least, and I’ve always known about that part, in fact it almost made me not want to enter it, but the joys that come along with being a parent are many and every moment that’s new for me, as a parent, is very exciting.  I used to think, “What’s the big deal?” whenever a friend, who happened to be a parent, gushed about simple things their kids did.  But I get it now.  It’s the fact that it’s your kid going through or learning something and you get to share in their joys or sorrow.  You have a powerful connection with them and of course you want to share it with the world, but not everyone will see it through your eyes or heart.  They’ll politely say, “That’s nice,” but they can’t feel your enormous bond with your child.  It’s uniquely yours and I understand it now.

A few days ago when I went to pick up my daughter after school, I noticed all the kids were holding something in their hands.  It was a large envelope and even from afar I could see my daughter’s sweet, little face peering through the clear cellophane paper in the middle of the envelope.  It was their school pictures! My heart leapt inside of me with so much anticipation.  Oh, I couldn’t wait to see the pictures and my daughter couldn’t wait to show me.  She darted towards me, holding out her envelope with pride.  We looked at it, said “WOW,” and broke out in giggles.  Needless to say we hurried home.  Her portrait picture came in various sizes and I loved searching for her little face in the class picture.  When I found her, I thought, “there’s my daughter” and I wondered if my mom thought the same thing when she received my first class picture and searched for my face.  I understand it now.

As for her first report card, we went yesterday and it was a thrill to hear that our sweet Olivia was meeting all the standards and impressing her teacher non-stop every day.  It filled my heart with pride.  I’m really enjoying these new moments as a parent of a Kindergartener, even though I still have to let her go out into the real world.  Can you imagine what I’m going to be like once graduation rolls around?  I’m going to go insane with happiness.

My pride and joy!

Stay alert, stay alive.

Until next time…

a pin for my kids and a couple for my husband

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Hello everybody!  I hope you guys are well.  Things are a bit frustrating over here in NYC.  The subway is trying to get back on track.  My husband told me this morning that they have a subway recovery map on www.mta.info.  It’s weird/amazing to see the subway map shown in a different way.  This recovery map highlights the trains that are currently working, while showing the trains that aren’t (the subway lines are faded out).  If you’re entering Manhattan via car, you can’t drive in solo.  There has to be three people or more with you!  And let me not forget to tell you that gas stations are running low on GAS!  Oh boy, it’s tough out there, but New Yorkers are tougher.  All the best and safe travels to all.

A pin from www.pinterest.com for my kids that speaks the truth!  In my case, I have to think thrice.

 

Here’s a couple of pins for my husband.  He’ll see them as comedic as well as many other men, but unfortunately for them, these are simply true!  🙂

Stay alert, stay alive.  Until next time…

My sane and healthy approach to school lunches

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Hello everybody!  I hope you guys are well and safe.  The trains and buses are semi running here in New York City.  It’s great to see everyone working hard and together to get this city back on track.  All the best to those currently working outside, safe travels to and from your destinations and may you all recover swiftly.

Before my daughter started Kindergarten, my husband and I decided to take her to eat lunch a few days at her future school.  They offered free lunch to children during the summer.  I wanted her to get acquainted with the cafeteria and I also wanted to see if she liked the food that they served.  Some days, she ate well (hamburgers and sandwiches were a hit), but the day she was given pasta and meat sauce separately, she took a small sampling of the meat and left it completely.  She did it eat some of the pasta, and I tried to convince her to eat more of the sauce, but she wasn’t having it.  Of course, she had no complaints with the desserts they offered.  Neither with the plain or chocolate milk and fruits, but the main dishes and even the vegetables were mostly a miss.  I knew then that I would be making her lunches for school.  At first, I was nervous because I wasn’t sure what to pack in her lunch.  I’ve never done this before so I searched online for ideas.  I saw so many wonderful pictures of lunches packed by fabulous parents!  They were educational and inspiring.  Also, her school has implemented a healthy eating program.  It was one of her first projects.  They wanted her to draw or cut out pictures of healthy food and glue them onto a piece of paper resembling a plate like this:

Go to www.choosemyplate.gov for more great information

We all learned a lot with this project!  Now, I consult this clip art, which I made into a mini poster and placed it on my kitchen wall,  in order to send my daughter with a healthy portion from each group.  I went to Wal-Mart and bought small food containers and I place everything into my daughter’s lunch bag sort of like a bento box.  Also, in order to remember what she ate Monday through Friday, my husband placed a big dry/erase white board, which he found outside a while back, in the kitchen for me to jot down all the foods per day and keep a list of foods to pick from.

This is what keeps me sane!  I’m a visual person so this helps me out a lot.  FYI: If you spy the word KRAVE under Monday’s menu this is Kellogg’s new cereal that we’re totally addicted to.  It’s so delicious.  It doesn’t last two days in the house, because of me! 🙂

The board looks different this week because I’ve written “school closed” for the whole week and at the bottom there’s a short hand version of her lunch for each day.  It’s the norm now so I just keep it up.  Many thanks to all those moms and dads who post pictures of their children’s lunches.

Stay alert, stay alive.  Until next time…

Taking advantage of this warm weather

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Hello everybody!  I hope you guys are well.

Sophia and I decided to take advantage of this warm weather so off to the playground we went again.  She even met a little friend there and they proceeded to scream, laugh, run, swing, slide and simply have a lot of fun together.  It was adorable!

      

Chalk is always fun and educational.  I kept telling her to do a circle.  I think she has the idea! 🙂

Daredevil Sophia swinging from the top bar above the big swirly slide.  Making my heart race!

Take good care all.  Until next time…

Let the gushing begin!

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Hello everybody!  I hope you guys are well.  Yesterday, when my daughter came home from school and I checked her folder, I found a letter informing us that Olivia was chosen to be the September 2012 “Student of the Month” for her class.  It stated that she was given this honor for showing great effort in class work and homework, attending school regularly and on time, and showing kindness to others.  Needless to say, I was gushing and my sweet, innocent little girl didn’t quite understand her accomplishment.  I explained to her that she was going to get a certificate of achievement and a star student pencil the following morning.  She simply replied, “Ok.”  🙂  So subdued and adorable.  Love it!

Even though it was gloomy outside this morning, inside the school we (my husband, Sophia, myself and a family friend) were beaming with pride.  We smiled and clapped when they read Olivia’s name and handed her her first certificate.  May she receive many more and I will do my part in helping and encouraging her to greater success.

Congrats Olivia!

Take care all.  Until next time…

Warm day = playground memories

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Hello everybody!  I hope you guys are well.  Since my oldest daughter started Kindergarten and the weather has been a bit chilly, I haven’t had the chance to go to the playground with my youngest until yesterday and today.  It’s been a while since I’ve gone to the playground with just one child.  It’s definitely less hectic, but my Sophia still keeps me on my toes.  In the past, I would constantly battle with her because she wanted to climb the bigger play areas.  Since she’s climbing better now, it’s not so much of a battle, but she is easily distracted by other kids so I have to remind her to pay attention to what she’s doing.  My husband calls her a social butterfly and that’s great, but the ouchies, not so much.  She bumped her forehead today against the metal rail and I swear I saw her skin dent in.  It was a quick tap, but obviously that bar is hard so that scared me and I thought she was going to start crying, but she didn’t.  I reacted more than she did.  It’s a overprotective mom thing that I can’t shake.  Anyway, we had fun and I look forward to making memories and spending time one on one with my Sophia.

A warm hello from my Sophia (2 years old)!

Take care all.  Until next time…