So, I’m going into my second week of being a puppy mom, and I definitely have my hands full. Prepping meals for Quinn and Zack, tending to both of their needs and carving out a little time for myself has been tricky this week. Thank goodness for my seven year old who’s been helping me along the way. Just like a new born baby, Zack, woke up a couple of times throughout the course of the night to “go potty” leaving this puppy mom with four or five hours sleep.
Luckily, for the past few days he’s been sleeping through the night, possibly because he’s starting to feel more comfortable, we’ve been playing with him even more and running him up and down the block with him for a little while after he’s “gone potty,” which he seems to really enjoy.
Though he’s not a human, I love seeing how happy Quinn is with her puppy brother. I have a feeling that they are going to learn so much from each other, and I’ll continue learning so much from the both of them as well.
Motherhood is full of countless emotional roller coaster rides, trial and error, hope, happiness and even concern along with rewarding moments. As I prepared for the the arrival of our new addition this Friday, the range of emotions I experienced with my daughter, who’s now seven, all came rushing back. But this time, there’s one major difference. Our new addition is a puppy!
Zack is an eleven week old toy poodle who’s just too cute for words. But this is our family’s first time having a puppy or dog, for that matter. I never had one as a child, nor had my husband, so this is completely new. While I’m excited, I am nervous too because I want to be a good “puppy mom.”
I’ve done tons of reading, watched several a videos from the leading experts and probably over-purchased toys, food, treats, grooming items, you name it, to make sure Zack has a smooth transition and loves his “fur ever” family.
Something that definitely helps me as I take baby steps as a “puppy mom” is the help from Quinn, my sweet little girl. She too has read through her puppy training book, watched videos, been loving towards Zack and wants to help take him out to go potty and to get his food ready.
We’re only two and a half days in to having Zack join our family, but having him here and seeing how happy my daughter is and how well she interacts with him lets me know that I’ll have her hand to hold as I take on the journey as a puppy mommy.
This morning, it just occurred to me that we’re just about five months into the COVID-19 pandemic, and though some restrictions have been “lifted” or modified in my area to allow people to return to work, exercise and dine out, we’re still nowhere close to being back to “normal.” Even still, I’m thankful for all that’s been revealed during these trying times.
This summer is quite different than many anticipated, but whenever my daughter and I go on a walk, play at the park, or are simply out and about, a smile most certainly would be revealed underneath my mask and under hers too. While I was initially concerned about my seven year old feeling disappointed about the limitations to our outings, Quinn actually said, “I’m just glad that we get to spend time together and are healthy, Mommy!”
Several people are having so many revelations as they make sacrifices and continue to adjust to these ever-changing restrictions, and I’m no exception. But when I look at how well my daughter is handling everything, from wearing her mask to using sanitizer and being conscientious about washing her hands to just going with the flow, it makes it that much easier for me to do the same.
Anyone who was around 1980s and 1990s May be familiar with catchphrase, “Time to make the donuts,” somberly uttered by “Fred the baker” in Dunkin Donuts commercials. While he didn’t necessarily sound happy to wake up at the crack of dawn, he took pride in doing his job and preparing the best donuts.Of course, Dunkin Donuts being the “best” is debatable, but I can definitely relate to the character Fred.
Though I‘m tired sometimes, I love being a mother and take pride in being there for my daughter and giving my time and hopefully plenty of wonderful moments to cherish. Last week was a scorcher, but my seven year old was looking forward to making donuts together, as was I. Instead of frying them, I located a few good recipes for baking them and allowed Quinn to pick the flavor: vanilla glaze with sprinkles.
To our surprise, they didn’t take too long to prepare. Even though they had more of a cake taste than donut taste, they turned out better than we hoped. During these times of COVID 19 restrictions, there’s so much more on our plates, especially parents. But that won’t stop me from “making the donuts” and sweet memories with my little girl.
Before my daughter took her first steps, I remember her coasting by holding onto furniture or even using my leg or her dad’s leg so she can stand up and balance. Though she’s now seven years old and can walk, skip, run and jump, she still holds onto my hand on many occasions.
While my blog may be called “Mommy’s Baby Steps,” I must give credit to my husband, Quinn’s dad. His presence on my site is rare since he’s not a very public person, but he’s been walking with me as we support each other in parenthood from day one. He’s been a wonderful father who is loving towards our daughter and builds her up with confidence.
Even though they have a special bond quite different than the one I have with Quinn, perhaps even stronger, I admire their relationship. Knowing that he’s occasionally holding my hand and giving me the balance I need allows me to feel more confident in my ability as a mother to take steps towards raising a well-rounded, caring, independent and intelligent daughter.
Sadly, on Father’s Day, some may say, “I don’t even know who my father is!” or they may have a fractured relationship with him. For me, it’s the former, and I’m at peace with that since the relationship was toxic. That’s why I’m so grateful my daughter has her father in her life showing her the steps a man should take to be there for his little girl.
Wishing him and all of the stand-up fathers, pop-pops, uncles and father-like figures a wonderful Father’s Day! I couldn’t imagine nor do I want to do this without him.
A few weeks ago, posted about the puzzle my daughter and I started and how I found the experience to correlate with the puzzling times we’re currently experiencing. While I focused on the frame of the puzzle, my seven year old focused on sorting the matching colors, a strategy I eventually employed once the frame was complete.
Another strategy we both use was sorted the pieces into categories base on their similar shapes which actually helped when we could clearly see what type of shape belonged in what space. Though Quinn was a willing participant and helped out with the 500 piece puzzle more than I anticipated, at times, she became frustrated and a little overwhelmed as she struggled to figure out what puzzles pieces went where. That’s when I stepped in to keep progress going, which is something we all occasionally need.
Something else I realized as I stressed and drove myself nuts trying to find the last puzzle piece is that we could be overlooking most the obvious place to “literally” piece it all together. After about a half hour or searching, Quinn causally walked over and noticed that the puzzle piece made its way under the table cloth.
Within these last couple of weeks, not only did we have some mother daughter bonding time, but it was an eye-opening experience on all that can be learned from simply working on a puzzle.
My daughter made it to the last day of first grade, or should I say “we” made it! The first six months or so of the school year were filled with many wonderful memories from forming new friendships, becoming more independent and learning new skills. I never would have guessed that the last three months of the school year would be online learning at home with minimal interaction from her friends, only online feedback from her teacher yet way more involvement from me as a resource to ensure that she learns the materials required.
I’m grateful for Quinn’s resilience and eagerness to learn, and I’m also grateful that I had the flexibility in my schedule and opportunity to see my daughter grow, not just intellectually but socially and emotionally. While we’re not quite sure what the set-up for second grade will be with Covid-19 CDC guidelines, I am hoping that we’re able to have a wonderful, fun-filled summer break and that my seven year old’s love for learning continues for years to come.
Making Ice Cream CupcakesIce Cream Cupcake Results
Ever since a few weeks ago when my daughter saw an article on our Echo Show on how to make your own ice cream cake, she’s been dying for us to give it a try. It was for a strawberry crunch reminiscent of the Good Humor ice cream treats and caught my attention too considering that it’s been quite some time since I’ve had one. With her school year coming to a close and having hot and humid days all last week, I thought it would be a nice way to celebrate.
A few days ago, Quinn then saw another advertisement of a Reese’s ice cream cake and wanted to try that one too, so I figured why not do both of them on a smaller scale as cupcakes? After doing a little searching on Pinterest and checking out alternative recipes that were not too involved, I found the perfect recipes.
For the strawberry crunch recipe, we used golden Oreos, butter, vanilla ice cream, strawberry ice cream, cool whip and freeze dried strawberries. For the Reese’s cup treat, I just followed the strawberry shortcake recipe using Quinn’s ideas for the modifications. We used regular Oreos, butter, vanilla ice cream, Reese’s chocolate and peanut butter hard shell, chocolate ice cream, cool whip and mini Reese’s cups and pieces. Making the ice cream cup cakes was actually not as difficult as I thought it would be, but waiting overnight for them to set before getting to try them was for my seven year old.
As soon as we finished dinner yesterday, she said, “I’m so excited to try our ice cream cup cakes!” Since this was my first time trying to make them, and I modified the recipe slightly since I was doing cupcakes and not a cake, I wasn’t sure on how they would turn out. To my surprise, they were delightfully delicious! My husband and I both had the strawberry crunch ice cream cakes, and the golden Oreo and freeze dried strawberry crumble on top really did taste just like the Good Humor bar if not better! Quinn thoroughly enjoyed her Reese’s ice cream cup cake, and I’m tempted to try one for next time.
Summer isn’t officially here yet, but I’m eager to make many more treats with Quinn as these are sweet moments I will always hold dear.
As we biked down the road, Quinn said, “It’s so nice today. I love doing outdoor activities with you, Mommy!” It’s been nearly three months since the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted our way of life, and even though the transition to online learning for her and finding different ways to have fun while practicing social distancing has been going smoothly, hearing the happiness in her voice and giggle as we sped down the hill let me know how much she misses regular outdoor activities and outings.
Though it was hot yesterday, neither one of us cared because we were both just happy to be outside doing something more than a walk around the neighborhood. The light breeze, the beads of sweat forming as we pedaled in over time to get up those hills with the trailer bike, and whizzing down a hill or two were all greatly appreciated and sought after.
When we got home, Quinn eagerly asked if we can go for a bike ride again tomorrow and then said, “Even if we can’t do a lot of outdoor activities like last year, we can still have a fun summer.” This statement made me think about how resilient my seven year old has been throughout this entire ordeal. She’s went with the flow, is full of energy, which helps to keep me going when I’m feeling depleted, and she demonstrates hope for when “things get back to normal,” as she often says.
We all may find ourselves “spinning our wheels” longing for normalcy, but for now, I’m trying my best to mirror the hope, persistence and gratitude my daughter often displays.
A few days ago, we received a notice from my daughter’s school district informing us of the potential plans for the next school semester in accordance with the CDC guidelines. As I read the possible scenarios of continuing online learning, rotating in a biweekly schedule or a hybrid situation with online and in class time, it quickly became apparent that my hope for a “normal” second grade experience will not be a reality and will instead be replaced with more uncertainty.
While I’m grateful that these last two months of my first grader learning from home has been an overall good experience with her being eager to learn and do special projects, I know she misses her friends, teachers and simply being in the school atmosphere.
There’s just a few weeks left for this school year, so instead of growing concerned about how everything will play out come September, I’m trying to focus on right now and how we can still have a fun and memorable summer together.
Here’s to all parents and guardians trying to keep their children and themselves motivated while making it through these last few weeks of the school year!
Mommy's Baby Steps 