Tag Archives: Mommy and Me

Autumn “Leaves” Fun Chores for My Little Girl!

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“This is the best chore of the day, Mommy,” my five year old excitedly told me. It’s that time of the year where autumn is in full swing. Trees display beautiful leaves in hues of red, yellow and orange that we all gaze at and admire. Unfortunately, those very leaves eventually fall to the ground leaving behind that dreaded chore for many adults to continuously rake them all up for the next month or longer, depending on how many of these beautiful trees surround their homes.

I actually don’t mind it so much because I often daydream about when I was younger jumping in the leaves or just making that crunchy sound as I walked down the street stepping on leaves. My daughter has the same love for nature that I have. This morning, after getting home from my kickboxing workout, the sun was shining, and the leaves covered most of our grass and portions of our sidewalk, so I figured that I’d get a little more exercise by raking the leaves.

Automatically, Quinn said, “I want to help too, Mommy! I love raking the leaves!” My sweet girl has been helping since she was just one years old, and each year, she gets better and better. We made it a family activity along with her dad and spent about an hour outside clearing the colorful leaves. She even wanted to hold onto some of the leaves so that she could identify what trees they came from.

I love how we can have fun doing chores and truly enjoy each other’s company. These are the colorful moments we share together, and I will always cherish them.

All the best,

Tanya

What Do You Call a Fairy & and Mermaid? Mommy and Daughter Halloween Fun!

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Carousel Fun and the Please Touch Museum’s Monster Mash

Halloween is such a fun time of year not just for my daughter but for me too. What makes it extra fun is the strengthening of our mommy/daughter bond. Since she was two, she began picking out a costume not just for herself but for me too. She’s been Doc McStuffins, and I’ve been Lambie. When she was three, she was an astronaut, and I was her rocket. Last year, she was Snow White, and I was the Evil Queen. This year, she decided to be a fairy and asked me to be a mermaid with a similar color scheme: purple as her favorite color and blue as my favorite color. I thought to myself, what a great idea! She’s already thinking about next year wanting to be a princess so that I can be her unicorn, and I love it!

I feel like dressing up together, going to parties, special events and trick or treating brings out the best in us both and brings us closer together. Sometimes, life just gets so hectic, and work even gets stressful, so I thank my daughter for allowing me to just have fun and enjoy life as different characters. Here’s to a happy fun-filled Halloween. Time with my daughter is the ultimate treat!

My Birthdays Are So Special With My Little Girl!

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On October 11th, I reached my own milestone and turned a year older. While the level of excitement is not the same as it once was when I was younger, my daughter’s enthusiasm and secretive planning for my big day truly made me feel special. Her planning actually started in the summer. I would overhear her whispering to my husband (her dad) about what she’d like to do and what she gift she would like to get me.

So when the day finally arrived, she could not contain herself. I have to leave early in the morning to get to work and did not see her until the afternoon, so as soon as she arrived home from school, she screamed out, “Happy birthday, Mommy!” and gave me a big, long hug. “We have special plans for you,” she informed me. My five year old selected Outback Steakhouse as the restaurant. “I know you love their salmon and baked sweet potato, Mommy,” she said. I thought to myself, wow, she knows me so well. Usually, she sits next to her dad, but she said that she wanted to sit next to me since it was my birthday.

At the restaurant, she presented her card and gift to me. The card’s wording was perfect and selected by Quinn. The gift was a beautiful key locket necklace. My husband later told me that she picked it out herself and insisted on getting me a pretty necklace since she knows I like wearing them. She even gave input on the cake and wanted blue to be used since it is my favorite color.

Knowing that my daughter is so caring and was excited to make me happy for my birthday warms my heart and is truly the best gift I could ever ask for.

All the best,

Tanya

Preparing Patriotic Punch: A Knock-out with My Little Girl

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“This is actually tasty,” my five year old exclaimed as she twiddled her straw slurping up some more of the beverage she helped to make.  With July 4th comes barbecues, spending time with family and friends, parades, fireworks, you name it! So I thought a fun project while celebrating America’s independence would be to prepare a patriotic drink (non-alcoholic of course) with my little girl.

After heading to my favorite go-to app, Pinterest, I came across several samples and decided to go with the drink containing, red punch, sprite, and a blue gatorade. Come to find out, it was actually like a science project because after filling the glass with ice, the different color beverages were able to sit on top of each other without blending because of the grams of sugar. Indeed, we would not regularly have a drink with that much sugar, but it was a nice treat and a great way to not only spend time with my daughter but to have her think critically questioning why the colors did not merge.

If you haven’t done anything like this, give it a try with your child(red). It’ll be a big hit, I’m sure!

All the best,

Tanya

Never Too Young for “Old School” Toys: Slinky Fun!

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“Mommy, what’s this called again?” my soon to be five year old asked as she played with one of my favorite old school toys. “A slinky, I told her.” She then followed up asking, “How does it work?” I was so eager to tell her, and once I showed her once, Quinn was hooked. It wasn’t a tablet or electronic device that made a lot of sounds. It wasn’t a video game nor something that would interact with her. It was just a basic slinky, and it consumed her for at least half hour or more as she strategically held on to the slinky trying to get it in the perfect position to reach her goal: get it to “walk” down an entire flight of stairs.

When her dad arrived home from work, she couldn’t wait to show him how she mastered the slinky. I too was excited for her to show him her new skill. Oftentimes, people say that kids these days only want the latest gadget or handheld device, I say that just isn’t totally true. Sometimes an “old school” toy can keep their attention and give them fun for hours. It was a nostalgic moment for me, and it felt so good teaching my daughter how to use and have fun with a slinky.

All the best,

Tanya

 

 

A Happy Easter Weekend with My Little Girl

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This Easter weekend flew by so quickly, but I couldn’t let the day go by without acknowledging and celebrating the fun moments I had with my daughter. We spent time with our family, something we both look forward to doing. We went on an Easter egg hunt yesterday, dyed eggs, and at Quinn’s request, we made rice crispy treats. She woke up excited to see what she received in her basket and immediately wanted to divide up her treats with her father and me so that we’d have some Easter treats too. I’m so grateful for such a sweet and thoughtful daughter. Happy Easter to you and yours.

All the best,

Tanya

Mother and Daughter Twins: Flattery from my Little Girl

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“Mommy, do you think we can dress alike or wear the same colors for the performance tonight?” My daughter asked. “Sure, honey. Why do you like dressing alike?” I inquired. To which Quinn exclaimed, “I love when we’re twins! Then I’m just like you! Do you like being me twin?” I smiled and said, “Of course, I do.”

Since my daughter was a baby, I’d often dress us alike or in color coordinated. Now that she’s almost five, it melts my heart that she wants to dress alike and will request that we do. Though, in my opinion, she resembles her father more than she resembles me, I am so flattered that she wants to be just like me. We do have similar mannerisms and personality traits. Many people often tell me that I am a caring and thoughtful person. These are attributes I clearly see in her.

Of course, I would never intentionally try to make my daughter a carbon copy of me. I simply want her to learn from me and always put forth her best effort. It am, however, flattered that my sweet girl looks up to me and wants to be my twin.

All the best,

Tanya

Celebrating Multiculturalism Preschooler Style

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Tomorrow starts multicultural week at my daughter’s preschool, and the children will bring in special snacks that represent their culture or heritage. Quinn’s very excited about it, and I am too, but I initially drew a blank on what we would make to represent our culture or ethnicity. There will be Greek, Polish and Ecuadorian snacks, which is awesome, and while I know my genetic makeup from 23 and me, (There’s some West African, South African, Asian, Irish, English, Scottish, Indian and a few others in there), when it comes to my culture and ethnicity, I simply identify as African American or simply American.

So instead of focusing on a treat that represents us as solely Americans, I thought it would be nice for Quinn and I to bake a treat that represents the importance of family and togetherness. “So your grandmother, my great grandmother, showed you how to make the chocolate chip cookies we’re baking, Mommy?” my daughter asked as we got all of our ingredients together to prepare baking. “Yes, she did, Quinn!” She then followed up, “And the hermit cookies too?” I confirmed, “Yes, the hermit cookies too.”

Even though she’s only four, she was more of the chef, and I was her assistant. She added all of the ingredients, with the exception of me cracking the eggs, and she even sifted the flour. “This is baking soda, not baking powder, right Mommy?” she asked. “Yes, you’re right, honey!” I told her. The experience of baking with her reminded me of the moments I shared with my mom and grandmother learning to cook and bake.

Then, when Quinn said, “I love baking with you, Mommy!” it melted my heart because, a cliche as it is, one of the main ingredients in baking is “love.” While we could have just went to the store and purchased some chocolate chip cookies, part of our culture is togetherness, teaching each other and being supportive of one another as a family. Today, was a wonderful experience, and I hope Quinn’s classmates are able to not just enjoy the cookies but taste the love and energy that was put into baking them.

All the best,

Tanya

I Don’t Want to “Let Go,” But I Must Let My Daughter Build Without Me, Occasionally That Is!

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She took a quick look at the next instruction and then surveyed the table in search of the next piece. “Here it is, Mommy!” Quinn said with enthusiasm. She then shared with me, “The pink piece goes right here!” Building with Legos was one of my favorite activities when I was younger. Well, actually, I still enjoy building with Legos, so I enjoy partaking in this activity with my daughter.

Before we got started with her new Lego set, she examined the box and informed me, “It says this is for children who are five years old to twelve, but I can still do it even though I’m four!” I shook my head in agreement and let her know that I can be her helper. “Thanks, Mommy, But I might not need your help. I just have to follow the instructions and pictures.” While I was proud of her wanting to do it by herself, in that moment I was a little disappointed that she didn’t need nor want my help.

She made me think about how there will be times when I need to just be content with observing and letting her take the lead so that she may grow and become her own person. I must be happy that she wants to build on her own and wants to be independent. Now, we can occasionally build using our Legos side by side with her knowing that I am there for her if she needs me to help with instructions or to locate a piece to construct whatever she may be building.

All the best,

Tanya

Happy Starting Off the New Year with Goals and Guidance from My Little Girl (2018)

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“Happy New Year,” my daughter said in a low voice as we all finished the countdown and watching the ball drop. With her party horn by her side and her eyes noticeably heavy, my husband hugged her and gave her a kiss on her forehead saying, “You made it, Quinnie! You made it to midnight! It’s now a new year: 2018! Do you want to blow your party horn?” She silently shook her head no as she gazed at the people celebrating on TV. Her listless response was a sharp contrast to the excitement she had earlier during the countdown2noon at the Please Touch Museum blowing her horn, cheering and dancing around. My poor four year old was determined to stay up to bring in the new year, but she was completely exhausted.

This morning, after getting some much needed sleep, my daughter excitedly informed me, “Today is a new year, Mommy! It’s January 1st, 2018! What would you like to do in the new year?” My response was, “I want to reach the different goals I have for myself.” She then said, as a matter of fact, “You know, you can do whatever you want in the new year. We can even work together to be happy and reach our goals…just like my goal was to stay up for the new year!” I was impressed with her logic.

How sweet, I thought to myself. My daughter has the right idea and is on to something many of us, including me, fail to realize at times. Often, when we establish goals in the new year and focus in how we can accomplish them all on our own when in actuality there are people in our lives who love us, care about us and are more than willing to lend a hand or just a listening ear to help us reach our goals.

Yes, my daughter may only be four years old, but knowing that she loves and supports me and believes in me and my goals makes them that much more attainable. Here’s to a happy new year filled with many goals accomplished (one including more family togetherness) in 2018.

All the best to you and your family in the new year!

Tanya