Author Archives: Tanya H. Franklin

Mommy’s “Monday” Moment: She’s Daddy’s Little Girl

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Quinn and Her Daddy

Quinn and Her Daddy

From the first day my little girl was born most people, including my mother, have said, “She looks just like her daddy!” Every once in a while, someone will say that Quinn looks like a combination of the both of us. Either way, there’s no denying that she’s a “daddy’s girl.” I’m so happy that my soon-to-be three year old has such a close bond with her daddy. He even works from home two days a week to care for her on the days when I’m not working from home, which is wonderful. But the way in which she greets us is a clear indication that she is a “daddy’s girl.”

When I arrive home from work, she says, “Hi, Mommy,” gives me a quick hug and will then continue whatever she was doing. Every once in a while, she’ll display a heightened level of excitement to see me. For my husband, on the other hand, she will stop whatever she is doing and excitedly begin chanting, “Daddy, Daddy, Daddy! How was your day, Daddy!” Knowing that there are many children who do not have their fathers in their lives  and wish that they did makes me feel blessed knowing that Quinn has her dad in her life. I am also grateful that he plays such an integral role in her upbringing and has been a good role model. But if I am to be honest, I do occasionally have moments when I wish I had the same bond they have. Though we both can be “fun,” I tend to be the “enforcer” when Quinn is misbehaving or not listening. Is this just the way it is in most relationships where there is a mother and father or parents who automatically assume default roles such as the fun parent and disciplinarian? Some of my friends who have older children or even adult children say this does sometimes shift as children get older. These are just some thoughts I have from time to time. At the end of the day, I’m okay with Quinn being a daddy’s girl, and I am grateful for the bond we have as well, even if it is different than the one she has with her father.

All the best,

Tanya

So Much Fun With My Little One: Easter Bunny Hayride at Linvilla Orchards

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Yesterday’s weather was perfect to have some family fun outdoors, and with Easter a couple of weeks away my husband and I decided to take our little girl, along with my mother, to Linvilla Orchards to take a hayride to meet the Easter bunny. What’s great about Linvilla Orchards is that there is no fee to enter, and even if we did not do the hayride, we would have still had a lovely time.

The actual hayride price was nine dollars apiece, which is not too steep, but I must admit that I was a bit disappointed that all of the passengers, including us, simply remained on the hayride upon arriving at the Easter bunny’s house. Based on the advertisement, I assumed that the fee included walking around for a little while and being able to take pictures with the Easter Bunny in front of his house and to take pictures of the other Easter and spring decorations. Despite my minor disappointment, Quinn was very happy as the Easter bunny and his helpers stopped by to deliver a little goodie bag with some jelly beans, lollipops and other candies along with a high-five or bunny hug. Maybe I’m just a big kid, but I was hoping to get a little good bag too. As I said, it was a nine dollar fee for everyone. They did, however, give everybody the opportunity to snap a photo or two as the Easter bunny went around to visit the passengers, which was nice.

What really helped me to not fret to much over my absent goodie bag was being able to see the farm animals, such as chickens, roosters, goats and sheep, with my family. We actually spent a great deal of time feeding the goats and sheep carrots. Linvilla Orchards also has a fabulous park area for children of all ages. It was tough getting my soon-to-be three year old to leave. Even though it would be nice if we were able to get off go the hayride, overall, we had a great time and will certainly return to Linvilla Orchards for future activities.

All the best,

Tanya

What Would We Do Without it Wednesday: Enjoying the Outdoors with My Little Girl

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2016-03-08 16.54.55Both my daughter and I love spending time outdoors. Though it’s not quite spring, today was absolutely lovely. Of course, my soon-to-be- three year old  enjoys going to the park, but she also likes to explore nature. She wants to run up and down hills, which makes me a bit nervous at times. She points out the clouds, blue sky, squirrels she sees running around and even birds she hears chirping. “Are the birds chirping because they’re happy, Mommy?” she inquires. To which I respond, yes, they may be happy or talking to their friends and family. It’s nice to slow down some and enjoy the simple things and important that we do not take nature for granted. What would we both do without lovely days to explore and enjoy each other’s company?

All the best,

Tanya

Terrific Toy Tuesday: How About A Scoop or Two of Ice Cream?

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Quinn figuring out which scoop to share and which to keep.

“May I have three scoops of ice cream, please?” I inquire. “Yes you may, here’s one, two, three,” my soon-to-be three year old responds. Ice cream can be more than just a tasty treat. I came to this realization after purchasing an educational toy  for my daughter.  She enjoys pretending to work at the ice cream shop…as long as the scoops of ice cream don’t fall to the floor.

This toy, Learning Resources Smart Snack Rainbow Color Cones, comes with two ice cream cones and ten different ice cream flavor scoops. What I like about the color cones is that it promotes imaginative play, and the interaction is never exactly the same. There are times when Quinn will ask, “What flavor would you like, Mommy?” To expand her vocabulary and cognitive development, I will often specify certain flavors she may not be familiar with, and I can see the wheels turning as she takes a moment to figure out which scoop to give me. “I’d like a scoop of strawberry ice cream,” I say. Quinn, without giving it a second thought, will give me a scoop of the pink ice cream. “May I have one more scoop of strawberry ice cream?” I request. “We’re all out of strawberry. How about some banana?” she suggests, reaching for the yellow scoop.

She also loves stacking the scoops of ice cream and then counting how many she has. Just recently she said, “You can have the ice cream cone with one, two, three, four five, six, seven scoops, and I’ll have the cone with three.”

Though we’re still working on her not getting so upset when an ice cream scoop or two fall to the floor after she’s stacked them high, this toy is a fantastic way for my little girl to learn about colors, counting, sharing and even how to deal with the occasional mishap.

All the best,

Tanya

Mommy’s “Moment” Monday: Perfecting Fun With My Little One

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Getting a Lesson in Abstract Painting from My Daughter. (Can you guess which bunny is hers and which is mine?)

It may sound cliche, but not a day goes by that my little girl doesn’t teach me something about motherhood, childhood, myself or just life in general. One moment that’s been on my mind just occurred this past Friday. My daughter and I were doing an Easter painting  project with large plastic bunnies I purchased at Target. Since I’m a big kid at heart, I purchased one for her and one for me so that we could both have a little fun.

As we got started with the project, I labored over what colors to use and if I should use some painter’s tape to ensure that my lines were straight. I even thought of drawing a little sketch of how I wanted my bunny to look so that it would be perfect. My soon-to-be three year old, on the other hand, was just excited to be creative with the paint and wanted to use all of the colors. She was eager to mix the yellow and blue together to make green while I tried to keep the colors separate on my little painting plate and warned her not to dip the brush in the different color paints because it would change the color. I even found myself making commentary on her bunny, in a cheerful yet judging way. “Your bunny sure does have a lot of paint everywhere, Quinine!”

At that moment, I stopped and briefly thought about what I was doing. I was stifling her fun and making a great activity into work and projected my a perfectionist ways onto my daughter. Though she did not appear to be bothered by what I realized I was doing, it bothered me because I want her to enjoy being a kid and to explore her creativity. She actually taught me to relax and to not worry so much about everything being perfect. Sometimes it’s nice to just have a little fun without following all of the so-called rules and expectations.  In the end, we both enjoyed painting our bunnies, and I am looking forward to more teachable moments courtesy of my daughter.

All the best,

Tanya

Silly Sunday Sayings: What My Little Girl Says About Boogies

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Though closely related to the Boogie man, kids never got too worried about a visit from the Booger man.

Though closely related to the Boogie man, kids never got too worried about a visit from the Booger man.

Who hasn’t heard the phrase, “Kids say the darnedest things?” As my little girl continues to leave toddlerhood and enter the preschool phase, her outlook on life and the way she interprets it ceases to amaze me. This evening, Quinn, her father and I were driving home from a restaurant, and she said, “I need a tissue! I have a boogie in my nose!” I let her know that we’d get her a tissue as soon as we got home, which was just about ten minutes away. Moments later, she informed us that she was all better and could breathe again.

“It’s okay! The boogie’s gone now.” When her dad asked where the boogie went, she responded, “He went to be with his family.” Of course, I don’t want her thinking it’s acceptable to use her finger without a tissue to get rid of a “little nose blockage;” nevertheless, I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself as I asked her where the rest of his family was. To that inquiry, she never gave a direct answer, so now I’m wondering if there is a family of boogies somewhere hiding in my car.

All the best,

Tanya

What Would We Do Without It Wednesday: Laughter is the Best Medicine

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Though my little girl will be three in May, she’s already experienced just about every emotion. She’s had happy moments, sad moments, frustrating moments, excited moments; you name it! But some of my favorite moments are the humorous ones. Not only do they help to get the both of us through the sad and frustrating times when Quinn becomes inconsolable or whiny, but they lighten my spirits and make it so that I can’t be upset with her for long if she displays a displeasing behavior or makes me a little frustrated.

As the old adage goes, “Laughter is the best medicine.”  Help Guide, A trusted non-profit guide to mental health and well-being, provided an online article on this very topic stating, “Laughter helps you stay emotionally healthy.” I truly believe that the humor and laughter I experience with my daughter is helping to build a solid bond between us and keeps me motivated to be the best mom I can be. It puts a smile on my face too! What would we do without humor and laughter?

All the best,

Tanya

Terrific Toy Tuesday:Let’s Role Play!

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2016-01-10 13.41.15“Let’s go to the kitchen and make some food, Mommy!” My little girl excitedly says. But as she scurries off to towards the kitchen, she stops in her tracks, “First, I need to put on my chef outfit and get my supplies for cooking.”Quinn will be three in May, and she loves playing dress-up and pretend. Then again, most children do. There’s something terrific and just plain fun about playing dress-up. So for Christmas, Santa brought her a chef outfit by Melissa and Doug. This outfit comes with a chef hat and jacket, a name tag, wooden spoon and spatula, measuring spoons and an oven mitten.

Sometimes, she loves playing in her kitchen in the playroom wearing her outfit, but often she enjoys helping me prepare actual meals and special treats. I just love watching her face light up as she puts on her chef hat. I’ve also observed how her vocabulary has expanded. “What ingredients are we going to need, Mommy? Let’s check the recipe. I need my measuring spoons so that it will taste just right! How many teaspoons do we need?” she inquires. Imaginative play tends to become real-life play. Just the other day, we prepared turkey burgers, and she raced to put on her chef outfit. Though it is not the typical toy, she certainly does have fun, and it is giving her skills she will be able to apply for many years to come. I am tempted to purchase her a couple more of the role play sets or might even try to create my own little outfits for her using some of the old clothing and items we have around the house.

All the best,

Tanya

 

Mommy’s Monday Magic: One, Two, Three..Poof! Be Gone Whining and Unbecoming Behaviors

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multicolored numbers

“Do you want me to start counting to three?” I ask in a stern voice.”No, Mommy, please don’t count to three!” “Then I need you to use your in-door voice and to use your words.” I tell my soon to be three year old. Three is already known as a lucky number and often appears in fairy tales and animal fables such as “The Three Little Pigs,” “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” and “Three Billy Goats Gruff.”

In my household and probably many others, it’s also known for getting a toddler or pre-schooler to stop, listen and follow directions. For instance, at bedtime, my little girl loves jumping on the bed and wants to play around after her bath pretending to be a ghost with her bath towel and delaying getting her pajamas on and brushing her teeth. No matter how much fun she’s having, more times than not, she’ll come running towards her father or me to get her pajamas on once she hears, “One!” Thus far, we’ve just had a handful of incidents where Quinn challenges the magical countdown to see what will happen if she does not come. This is when our “I Can Do It Reward” star chart comes in handy and occasionally having her take some time out to think about why it is important to listen and how her behavior has upset her father or me is necessary but not often.

On occasion, I imagine using the one, two, three technique in my classroom or even with people who just don’t listen or who are displaying unbecoming behaviors. How great would it be to solve problems and get people to stop, listen and follow directions just by sternly saying, “One, two, three!”

All the best,

Tanya

My Baby’s Gone! But I’m Going to Be Okay.

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Just a few days ago my good friend was blessed with her second baby. As I held her baby girl, who was not even a day old, in my arms, I was brought back to the moment when I held my newborn baby girl in my arms. She was was so delicate, so precious and just observing her new surroundings outside of the womb. Everything about her captivated me.

Though my soon-to-be-three year old is obviously no longer a baby, it really set in when I was holding my friend’s new little girl. “My baby is gone, and she’s never coming back!” As I recalled and even mourned the loss of her no longer being my little baby dependent solely on me and her father, I also embraced the many wonderful moments I’ve experienced with her within these past two and a half years and am in awe with how much she has grown physically, emotionally and mentally.

My baby may be gone, but I’m okay with that and look forward to the many different milestones to come.

All the best,

Tanya