Hello everybody!
I hope you guys are well.
I make my pledge for parity and I hope you will too!
Today is International Women’s Day and one day I will.
I’m striving for that day to come sooner than later.
Check out these wonderful websites so you can learn and do as much as you can!
http://www.internationalwomensday.com/
https://www.womenwill.com/?hl=en
https://www.womentechmakers.com/
Take good care all.
Until next time…
Hello everybody!
I hope you guys are well.
I’m a strong believer in giving to charities that will help people and animals in need. I donate to charities like St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital , Autism Speaks, Feeding America, PETA and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has a student series and I’m proud that schools in my area are participating with this campaign. I set up a page and you can click on the link below. Any donation and I mean any is greatly, hugely appreciated! THANK YOU!
http://events.lls.org/pages/cpa/PaxtoniaElementarySchool/AMercado
Take good care all.
Until next time…
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.
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…
Hello everybody!
I hope you guys are well.
This is a special post for my friend
and for anyone else who needs it, YOU’RE AWESOME!
Always support your girlfriends in good times and in bad.
Take good care all.
Until next time…
Hello everybody!
I hope you guys are well.
The holidays are fast approaching and my mind is about to explode. Please SLOW DOWN!! Wishful thinking, I know. Anyway, the other day we went to my mom’s house and I decided to take a gingerbread kit, which I bought at Ikea (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90218783/), with us because we’ve never constructed a gingerbread house before and I thought my girls and I would have a lot of fun putting it together with Grandma Rose. That was an understatement because we had a BLAST!
Along with the kit I also bought a bunch of decorating goodies:
Marshmallow fluff
Mini marshmallows
Mike & Ike candy
Fruit Snack Gummies
Twizzlers
Mini M&M’s
Skittles
The laughter was non-stop between my youngest licking her fingers (germs galore, yikes!) and dealing with the stickiness of the marshmallow fluff. We did our very best to stack the house, decorate it, and keep it in tact, but…
…it didn’t work. By the end of the night, one side of the roof was falling off and the fluff was melting causing the candies to fall down with it. Oh well, we still had so much fun building it and then eating it.
Take good care all.
Until next time…
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…
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.
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…
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!
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.”
Celebrate the one you love!
Take good care all.
Until next time…
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.
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.
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…
Hello everybody!
I hope you guys are well.
I haven’t posted anything for a while because well, I’m blocked. My brain hasn’t been able to produce any new words or ideas. It’s so frustrating and when I try to create something new, there’s two little, beautiful girls screaming their heads off right behind me so needless to say, I can’t concentrate on my writing. In my house there’s no room where I can lock myself in and write, with the exception of the bathroom, but they still find me in there and literally sit outside the door and wait for me to come out. Precious, I know.
Anyway, a milestone was celebrated yesterday and I wanted to share it with you. My husband and I still celebrate our dating anniversary. We don’t do gifts, just basked in the day, each other, and the knowledge of how long we’ve been together. 20 years ago, my husband came over to my parents house and presented me with a red rose. The previous day, over the phone, he had asked me to go out with him and I had replied yes. We decided to make the fourth of August our anniversary because it was the day when we saw each other and the rose sealed our commitment as newly boyfriend and girlfriend. Yesterday, we spent the mid-morning into early afternoon at the beach, on a beautiful day, celebrating with our two little girls.
Don’t you just love the way I shield my bathing suit body with my daughters. 🙂 Works every time!
We like going to the beaches at Far Rockaway, specifically Beach 59. We’ve never had a problem there and afterwards we decided that a good pizza pie was in order. We finished the day at home relaxing.
I hope to celebrate many more years with my high school sweetheart and I hope I can inspire you all to simply LOVE.
Take good care all.
Until next time…
themercadoproject 