Monthly Archives: January 2021

Quinnie’s Fun House: Watching My Daughter Blossom on YouTube

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Just a little over a year ago, my daughter did her first YouTube video for her channel, Quinnie’s Fun House. I recall her being excited yet nervous. I too was excited and a little nervous too. I told her if she’s uncomfortable or wants to stop, just let me know. So far, that day has yet to come. With each video, she’s become more comfortable and has so many wonderful ideas. It’s brought us even closer together as I share my input, record and edit her footage. Sometimes, I just watch the videos as they chronicle her growth over the year.

I’m so glad this has been a good experience for her. It is truly Quinnie’s Fun House, and I am grateful to be a part of the experience!

All the best,

Tanya

Sugar Rush Family Edition: Baking Puppy Cupcakes

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About a month ago, my daughter and I have a fun time having a “Sugar Rush” Zoom bake-off with my sister and niece, so since we all had off today, we decided to do it again, and it was just as much fun if not more! Our theme was animals, so of course we immediately knew what we wanted to create: cupcakes that look like our eight month old puppy, Zack!

He’s been with us since August 7th and is such a wonderful addition to our family. After looking at various ideas on Pinterest, we decided on a chocolate cupcake with a caramel center. We tinted our buttercream frosting and used star piping to mimic his coat. For his eyes, we used black sixlets. After giving some thought, we decided on halves of milk duds for the nose, which turned out better than we expected. For his cute little tongue, we used Starbursts by heating it a little to remold it, cutting it into fourths, reshaping it and using a toothpick to give the line in the tongue. For his floppy ears, we used Werther’s soft caramel creams.

Our cupcake is almost as sweet as our puppy. We can’t wait to do this again in February!

All the best,

Tanya

Partner Yoga: The Flexibility & Balance of Parenthood

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“Look at us, Mommy! Daddy and I are doing partner yoga!” Quinn excitedly told me. I quickly went and got my phone to take a picture because I just couldn’t help myself. As my husband and our seven year old balanced together, it made me think about how flexible we try to be as parents. As a child, I didn’t have much say and just did as my parents told me. Though this parenting technique may work for some, I am finding that the more in tune we are with our daughter, the stronger our bond becomes.

Of course, it’s necessary to have balance, just like with partner yoga. But some of the best decisions we’ve made are from being flexible and open to listening to our daughter rather than automatically discarding her thoughts or telling her to just do what we say with no explanation. I look forward to doing partner yoga with Quinn as well and plan on being there to guide, protect her and to offer balance.

All the best,

Tanya

Breathe and Just Be: My Daughter, Barbie and Me!

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“Repeat after me. I am strong!…I am loved…I am unique.” These are positive affirmations we all can benefit from, especially children. While I’d like to take credit for sharing these with my daughter, it was her new “Breathe with me Barbie” leading my seven year old in a brief meditation.

Watching Quinn close her eyes and repeat these words made me think about how powerful words can be and how important it is for us all to take a few moments to relax, relate and release any negative feelings whole letting in positive ones. Though we’ve meditated together on a number of occasions, we haven’t really included positive affirmations. I think I’ll be taking Barbie’s lead and making sure we include them in ours in the future.

All the best,

Tanya

“Exercising” and Strengthening My Mother and Daughter Bond

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“Kickboxing class starts in just ten minutes, Mommy!” my daughter excitedly told me. For the past couple of weeks, my kickboxing studio has been closed due to COVID restrictions. Though I’ve missed being in the studio, I’ve enjoyed taking kickboxing Zoom classes with my seven year old.

For almost every workout during winter break, my mini me was by my side pushing me to go harder. She put in her little boxing gloves and gave it her all. This upcoming week, it’s back to school for her, and the studio will be open again, but we both agreed that we’ll miss doing the kickboxing classes together.

Thank goodness for pre-recorded Zoom videos so we can still workout together whenever we want to bond over exercise.

All the best,

Tanya