Tag Archives: Mommy and Daughter Bond

On the Fourth Day of Christmas, My Daughter Gave to Me, Some Snowy Fun with Our Puppy!

By

On the Fourth Day of Christmas, My Daughter Gave to Me, Some Snowy Fun with Our Puppy! There’s something magical about experiencing snow for the first time. Actually, there’s something magical about witnessing a kid or a cute puppy experience snow for the first time. Though it’s not quite winter, my family and I absolutely love the snow. So this is a wonderful early Christmas gift. Though there isn’t enough to build a snowman quite yet, my seven year old is ready, and I am too!

We’re expecting anywhere from six to ten inches through early tomorrow, which is perfect for sledding, some snow ball fight fun and building a snowman. While there’s so much doom and gloom with Covid restrictions, one of the benefits is that we don’t have anywhere to go except to go out and play in the snow! As the snow covered his little hat, he just looked around and took it the beautiful sight of the falling snow. We’re not quite sure how our six month old toy poodle will do with a lot of snow, but he seems to just be curious right now. We can’t wait to have some fun and see his adorable little paw prints in the snow.

All the best,

Tanya

On the Third Day of Christmas, My Daughter Gave to Me a Willingness to Accept and Love Me Just as I am!

By

On the Third Day of Christmas, My Daughter Gave to Me…a willingness to accept and love me…just as I am! I’ve always loved Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, especially his story, and we’ve had him as a Christmas decoration for years now. But this year we had some new editions: the land of misfit toys characters.

Interestingly, my daughter didn’t recall most of these characters, so we rewatched the movie together in hopes that she would like it just as much as I do. I revealed to my seven year old that I identified with Rudolph, Hermey and the Land of Misfits toys because there’s been times, especially when I was younger, that I didn’t feel like I belonged and that I was nothing more than a Misfit.

She came towards me and put her hand on my shoulder to give me a hug and then told me, “Mommy, you’re not a misfit. Even if you felt that way when you were younger, you never were a misfit because you’re perfect just the way you are!” Hearing my seven year old say that melted my heart. I felt like a little girl again yet this time, I felt a healing from her words rather than a brokenness from my own inner thoughts as a child.

Now, when I look at the Land of Misfits characters all lit up in our yard, I think of hope and the benefits of being different and special all thanks to my daughter.

All the best,

Tanya

On the Second Day of Christmas, My Daughter Gave to me… Terrific Teamwork Decorating Our Christmas Tree

By

On the Second Day of Christmas, My Daughter Gave to me…terrific teamwork decorating our Christmas tree. After selecting and bringing home our Christmas tree, the excitement to decorate it with my daughter quickly builds. We stuck with our theme of pink, purple and blue this year since blue is my favorite color, and pink and purple are Quinn’s top two.

For the first time, we actually filmed hanging decorations from start to finish as part of her YouTube video, but as I reviewed and edited the footage, I found myself in awe at how we worked together as a team. We asked for advice on what should go where. I made sure to not hang certain ornaments I know she loves so that she’d have the opportunity to hang them herself. And we managed to get the tree decorated from top to bottom with the lights, ornaments, tulle and start within less than an hour.

We both love looking at our lovely tree all decorated for Christmas. It most certainly puts smiles on both of our faces.

All the best,

Tanya

On the First Day of Christmas, My Daughter Gave to me…fun times picking out our Christmas Tree!

By

On the first day of Christmas, my daughter gave to me…fun times picking out our Christmas tree! With Covid restrictions in place, some of our usual Christmas traditions just won’t happen this year. Even though we’ll miss spending time with family, going to see Santa and having fun dining experiences, that won’t stop us from having extra special moments this Christmas season.

One of our favorite activities is selecting our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. Usually, it’s just us and a handful of other families, but there were far more this year. It was nice to see how many people were already in the Christmas spirit. Quinn even decided to do a video for her YouTube channel on picking out our tree. Our tree isn’t as big as the previous years since we have our puppy Zack and weren’t sure how he would do with the tree, but we love it just the same. We both just love this time of year!

All the best,

Tanya

Bending Over Backwards: The flexibility of a Mother Daughter Relationship

By

A few weeks ago, my seven year old started practicing “back bends” and was absolutely ecstatic when she was successful at doing it. Now, she wants to teach me, her mother who’s definitely not as flexible, how to do it. This got me thinking about how flexible we must be as parents, especially during these COVID restriction times. I may not be able to literally bend over backwards for Quinn, but I am more than willing to bend over back for her figuratively.

I don’t ever want my daughter to doubt the love that I have for her. I want her to always feel she can come to me, and that I will be supportive and help her in any way I can. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll be able to literally bend over backwards with her help.

All the best,

Tanya

Oh Snap! Selecting Circuit Fun with My Daughter

By

A few weeks ago, my daughter and I went to the Franklin Institute for their social distancing Halloween event and had a great time. Our day ended with her cajoling me into buying a $40 Snap Circuit kit. At first, I was hesitant because of the price, but after reading the box and knowing how much she enjoys doing projects, I knew it was perfect for her.

Yesterday, she did a couple of projects: lighting and LED egg and snapping circuits for a musical doorbell. She did these all by herself with me filming for her YouTube channel. I immediately wondered, “Where was this kit when I was younger?” I had to wait for science class in higher grade levels to do one of these projects.

My seven year old really loves the kit, and I do too. I even recommended it to a friend whose kids love projects too. I’m actually quite excited to do some of the projects with her during winter break.

All the best,

Tanya

Picture This: Covid-19 Second Grade School Photo

By
Mommy’s Digital Class Picture

As I looked over at my daughter’s first grade picture from 2019, it occurred to me that she wouldn’t have one for second grade, or would she? Thank goodness one of my avocations is digital design, so I was able to set up a special photo shoot just for her for 2020. She eagerly picked out the hairstyle she wanted, one where she got to wear some of her hair out. Quinn even selected the dress she wanted to wear and came up with some of her own poses.

Though we won’t have an actual “class” picture this year, I’m glad that I didn’t allow Covid-19 restrictions and the busyness of virtual learning for Quinn and online teaching for me to allow the significance of second grade to go overlooked. We’ll also be able to look back on this memory when we have all twelve of her class pictures, thirteen including kindergarten, and reflect on the year that we had extra memorable moments together.

All the best,

Tanya

Politicking and Celebrating the Election Victory with My Daughter!

By
Excited About the Election Results

As soon as my seven year old’s ten minute break from virtual learning started, she said, “Mommy, I need to check the numbers!”“What numbers?” I asked. To which she responded, “The election numbers of course! We need Biden to win!” I was pleasantly surprised at how involved my daughter became in the election.

I don’t talk a lot about politics with my daughter, but it’s all around us. Quinn made up her mind some time ago on who she was supporting. She emphatically told me that we need Biden to win because Trump is mean and doesn’t like us. As we waited for the votes to decide Pennsylvania, our state, Quinn couldn’t understand why Trump was winning at first. I too was and am concerned with the turnout supporting someone who clearly is negative and mean spirited.

Happy Days!

When the news finally came yesterday, we all cheered. Even many of our neighbors, in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania (who helped secure the win for Biden), specifically Cheltenham Township, came out of their homes to cheer in the streets. We had a great play date where Quinn and her friends even talked a little about the election and how they were very happy. Later on, Quinn asked if Trump had his temper tantrum yet, which made me chuckle because even she’s noticed his childish behavior.

In the evening, Quinn, my husband and I watched and were moved by the speeches of the Vice President-elect, Kamala Harris, and President elect, Joe Biden. Though there’s plenty of work to be done, it was a wonderful way to end our day. Quinn is happy and hopeful, and So am I!

All the best,

Tanya

Another Happy Halloween with My Daughter

By
Halloween Over the Years

For the first time in a long time, I failed to post a blog entry for the week. Little did I know, my daughter really looks forward to reading them and let me know early on Monday that she noticed there wasn’t a post. I felt so bad. Last week got away from me, and I was so busy working on her Halloween post that I forgot all about mine. It certainly didn’t leave me feeling like “Wonder Woman.”

Though Halloween was yesterday, the fun of the day’s events were so memorable. Something else just as memorable that has become a tradition, and I hope will remain, is our mother daughter costumes. This year, we were super heroes and even included our puppy Zack. My seven year old is definitely makes me feel like a super hero. She keeps me going, and her words, hugs and smile have a way of making me feel invincible.

All the best,

Tanya

Halloween Fun: A Great Adventure With My Daughter, Sister & Niece

By
Great Adventure Halloween Fun

Summer 2020 was very different for my daughter and me: no amusements parks, trip to the beach only once and limited outings to the park. So today was extra special when we, along my sister and niece, went to Six Flags Great Adventure. It was such a lovely day with a cool breeze and the sun shining.

We got on some rides, had yummy funnel cake, had some Halloween fun with a mirror maze, corn maze and trick or treating and enjoyed each other’s company. Though the experience was different with Covid restrictions, we had a a “great adventure!”

All the best,

Tanya