A lesson learned

Posted on September 25, 2013 by themercadoproject

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

Posted on September 17, 2013 by themercadoproject

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

Posted on September 15, 2013 by themercadoproject

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…

Celebrating the one you love

Posted on September 14, 2013 by themercadoproject

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…

Back to school!

Posted on September 9, 2013 by themercadoproject

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.

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.

Good luck my 1st grader!

Take good care all!

Until next time…

A Dream Come True Playground

Posted on September 5, 2013 by themercadoproject

Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

What if all playgrounds had a name like this?

Or were developed in this manner?

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.

I love the names of each area.

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

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.

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

Posted on August 29, 2013 by themercadoproject

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…

Obsessing over my visual board online

Posted on August 15, 2013 by themercadoproject

Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

I’ve been spending a lot of time over at Pinterest browsing and creating boards for myself since I’m in a writer’s rut at the moment. I’ve mentioned before that we’re house hunting so browsing through pins on home decor is immensely inspiring. Putting together a visual board online allows me to see what I want for my future. I try my best not to pin things that are out of my league, financially speaking, but if it’s an idea that can be done another way that fits my budget then it gets pinned onto my board. So far I’m obsessed with the chevron pattern, which is weird, because I have nothing in my current dwelling with that pattern, but after seeing it as a design on a single wall complimenting a room or even on the floor as a design, I was hooked and can’t wait to try my hand at it. Hopefully, it doesn’t turn out to be a disaster or a “nailed it” picture (type in “nailed it” in Pinterest and you’ll see what I’m talking about.) Check out some of the pins that I’ve been currently obsessing over:

paint colors

http://pinterest.com/pin/459578336945243811/

http://fabuloushomeblog.com/2013/01/20/colours-ive-heard-that-hawthorne-yellow-and-revere-pewter-were-the-best-colors-in-the-paint-world-good-yellows-are-very-hard-to-find-so-im-remembering-this-one/

chevron wall

http://pinterest.com/pin/459578336945124253/

http://www.ruthiehart.com/2012/05/diy-chevron-wall_09.html

chevron floor

http://pinterest.com/pin/459578336944920275/

http://pinyourhome.com/

small laundry room makeover

http://pinterest.com/pin/459578336944725069/

http://www.viewalongtheway.com/housetour/

There are so many talented people in this world and I’m so happy they want to share their ideas and creativity.

Take good care all.

Until next time…

DIY Moving Announcement

Posted on August 9, 2013 by themercadoproject

Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

I’m currently hooked on the HGTV channel and learning a lot about homes, renovations, design and concept. I’ve been watching shows like Property Brothers, Love It or List It, House Hunters, and My First Place. It’s great to see homes that need some TLC or more come to life with the right renovations and design touches. I also like the advice and tips that are given, for example, in kitchens today the soft closing feature on drawers and cabinets enable you to close them without a loud banging sound or pinched fingers. When you have kids this is definitely a feature you want in your home.

We are currently house hunting and all this newfound information (open concept, travertine floors, neutral colors, etc.) is going to come in handy once we find and settle into our new home. When that happens I thought of a crafty way to announce our new address. Here’s a DIY moving announcement that you can make and it’ll be a nice keepsake for yourself, your family and friends:

I found this cute, little house cut out made out of wood at AC Moore craft store. It’s less than a dollar and weighs less than an ounce so mailing it won’t be a problem. I also bought a couple of Martha Stewart acrylic paint and I already had a booklet of rub on letters, which is going to make the wording on the house a whole lot easier if you’re not comfortable with your hand writing skills. If you are, then you can always use a fine point sharpie marker. The sand paper came in handy to make the house a little smoother around the edges.

I gave the house two coats of this great color, front and back.

I used the second color on the edges of the house, which made it look like snow.

Using painter’s tape I painted a door.

I outlined the door with black paint using painter’s tape as well and with a red pen, drew a heart for the door knob. Of course, if you’re more artistic than I am you can add more details to your house. Just leave enough space for your new address.

Using my computer, here are two examples of wording for your moving announcement. Again you can write it in yourself with a fine point sharpie marker or use rub on letters.

I think this is a unique and fun way to tell your family and friends about your new address. You can also drill a hole at the top, add a ribbon and make this an ornament or hang it on your wall.

I can’t wait to make some more of these moving announcements once we close on a house, fingers tightly crossed.

Take good care all.

Until next time…

Celebrating 20 years together!

Posted on August 5, 2013 by themercadoproject

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…