Tag Archives: Tanya Franklin

Red, White & Blue: Mommy’s Little Girl’s a Sparkler Too!

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“Ooh, it’s sparkling all over, Mommy!” my six year old  said while the sparkler illuminated as she held the end of its stem. This Memorial Day weekend, we had an intimate family cookout to not only remember the fallen soldiers but to celebrate my husband’s birthday too. As my daughter eagerly put on her red, white and blue romper and was ready to spend time with her family, I knew it was going to be a fun time.

As the day went on, I pulled out the sparklers I purchased. These are one of my favorite little fireworks from childhood. Though it may not cause much stimulation for adults, I knew the kids would enjoy them.

When I attempted to light the first sparkler, the wind picked up each time making it more difficult to get a spark. So we had to find a corner to shield the wind and find the right angle to light the sparkler. Even with trying to get the “right” angle, it took a little time. But once we developed a technique and realized that we couldn’t just hold the flame at the tip but had to slowly move it up in down from the tip a few centimeters, we finally go the sparkler ignited. After getting the first one, the others were much easier to do.

My daughter was so patient throughout this process. Yet at first, she was a little nervous about holding the sparkler. But once she did, she held the sparkler confidently and asked, “Can I do another one, please?!” Lighting the sparklers made me think about how much of a sparkler my little girl is. She truly illuminates my world. When her eyes light up about something that sparks interests within her, it fills me with hope and reignites some sparks in me that I thought fizzled years ago.

A sparkler may last just a minute or two, but the fun and experience from holding and waving them, for me, lasted well into adulthood. It is my hope that the passion and hope my daughter currently has will last a lifetime keeping her filled up and determined to leave her spark on the world.

All the best,

Tanya

So Happy It’s Not a Chore to Get My Little Girl to Do Chores!

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“You know, Mommy, sorting and rolling socks together is actually kind of fun,” my newly six year old informed me yesterday as she helped with the laundry. Since my daughter was a toddler, she’s been helping around the house with basic tasks like putting away her toys, sweeping, clearing the plates from the table and even washing dishes. Most people would agree that chores can not only be a time consuming but be the tasks they dread doing the most. So it pleases me that my daughter has actually been begging for more chores to do around the house.

When she was a toddler, she’d help sort clothes by color or by item, such as tights, shirts or pants. But now she’s insisted on doing more, so she helps with folding undershirts, underwear and socks. “There’s a lot of socks here, Mommy!” Quinn started counting them and told me, “I folded together twenty-one pairs of socks, Mommy!” I love chores that stimulate critical thinking and allow my daughter to use math. Even afterwards, on her own, she decided to carry several of the socks in her shirt wrapped up at the bottom so that she could carry more at once. “Very clever technique, Quinnie!” I told her.

While I am sure there will come a time when Quinn may dread doing a certain chore, for now, I am grateful that she has fun doing them and understands the importance of contributing towards our household.

All the best,

Tanya

It’s My Mommyversary! Six Wonderful Years of Motherhood

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In 2013, just a week after giving birth to my little girl, I celebrated being a mother for the first time. Now, six years and hundreds of blog posts later, I have many baby steps behind me yet many more to go! Being a mother is such a rewarding experience, and my daughter has played a significant role in helping me to grow not just as a mother but as a person. I truly am lucky to have my own mother available to share advice and words of wisdom and to have a thoughtful and caring daughter who both make the challenging journey of motherhood an absolute joy.

Here’s to all of the mothers everywhere! May your baby steps into motherhood turn into bountiful leaps and jumps of joy filled with wonderful memories.

All the best,

Tanya

American Girls on the Move and All Dolled Up!

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Unable to contain herself, she repeatedly said, “I’m sooo excited! I”m just soo excited!” For my daughter’s sixth birthday, we drove a little over three hours on Friday night to Vienna, Virginia, right outside of Tysons Corner, so that we could get a bright an early start going to the one and only…”American Girl” store! Though the store opened at 10am and our salon appointment wasn’t until 10:15am, Quinn begged if we could just go to the mall and walk around until the store opened.

Would you believe that we spend nearly three hours in the store and bistro?! Would you believe me if I told you I could have spent all day in the store even if my daughter wasn’t with me? There was so much to see and explore. It was like going to an interactive doll museum. With this in mind, over the next week, I plan to do separate posts about our experience as “American Girls” on the move. If you’re a doll lover, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it as much as we did! Until then, check out this video preview.

All the best,

Tanya

Six Wonderful Years: Celebrating My Little Girl’s Birthday!

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Six is a nice, even, perfect number and symbolizes beauty and ideals. Today, it’s also how many years my little girl has been on this Earth! Quinn is such a sweet, caring, thoughtful and confident person. Of course, one may think I’m saying this as her mother, but in her short six years of life, she truly has made a positive impact on so many lives of children as well as adults.

Interestingly, six also represents completeness, and I truly didn’t realize how much my life was missing until she became a part of it! I am so grateful and happy to celebrate her special day and want to make sure that she always knows how much I love her not just today but everyday.

All the best,

Tanya

What’s the Word of the Day? Learning with My Little Girl

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“So Mommy, what was your students’ word of the day?” my little girl inquired. “Today’s word was languish,” I told her. She perked up and asked what it meant. After telling her, she then longingly said, ” I wish I could learn a word a day.” I then recalled seeing an advertisement for a book that gives children a word a day with pictures, definitions along with other features and thought it would be perfect! I showed the web site for Mrs. Wordsmith and samples to my soon to be six year old and asked her if she would like me to order it for her to which she eagerly replied, “Yes, please!”

I decided to order the word a day along with the story dictionary for children ages 6 – 12. (There’s one for 3 – 6 year olds too). Quinn checked the mailbox after school everyday. Finally, after almost two weeks, the materials had arrived! I was just as eager as my daughter was to tear open the package.

She asked, “Mommy, can we keep my word a day at the dining room table so that I can read the word and definition when I’m eating my breakfast and then practice again for lunch or dinner?” With a smile on my face, I nodded, “Of course!” “Since she’s in kindergarten and not quite six yet, I wasn’t sure if the materials would be too advanced since it is up to age 13, so I thought the dining room table would be the perfect location so that she may get assistance from her father or me with the words.

Thus far, I’m very impressed with how well Quinn is doing with sounding out and reading not just the words but the definitions and explanations too. The pictures are so colorful and nicely detailed to help not just children but adults who might not know some of the words. Something else that I love is that she is making an effort to create sentences using the words or making associations with the words.

There was, however, one word Quinn associated with me that caught me off guard. When I came home from work after not seeing Quinn in the morning during breakfast and asked her about the word of the day, she said, “Today’s word is describing you, Mommy. It’s conceited!” I tried to convince her that I wasn’t conceited, but then she showed me the illustration. “See, conceited is someone who likes to take a lot of selfies, just like you!” (Interestingly, when I was younger and even in early adulthood, I was always shy and self conscious about taking pictures.) I blushed and thought to myself, I guess I better cut back on all of the picture taking some.

If you are looking to help your child not only enhance his or her vocabulary but possibly yours as well, I strongly suggest purchasing the Storyteller’s Word a Day and Illustrated Dictionary. Quinn’s only been using it for a little over a week and loves getting her word a day!

All the best,

Tanya

STEM Fun: Dyeing Easter Eggs with My Little Girl!

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Two years ago, I did a blog entry about how much fun it was to dye Easter Eggs with my little girl. Now that she’s almost six, the activity is not only fun but an absolute learning experience involving STEM, or shall I say STEAM. Quinn was eager to do just about everything from start to finish. She organized everything on the counter and even suggested that we organize the cups in the order of the rainbow colors.

When it was time to add the tablets, she recalled from last year that her fingers should be dry so that none of the dye gets on them. Without me informing her, she remembered that the vinegar would go to the first measurement line, and the water would go to the second line.  “Alexa, set a timer for one minute,” she said after the eggs were in the cups.  We took a look, and she said let’s leave them in a little longer so that the color will get darker.

Since we had one egg that cracked as it boiled, we decided to experiment with it. “How about we dip it in blue first and then dip it in red so that we can get a purple eggs?” she suggested. I love how she’s always thinking and experimenting. Then came the artistic component. She designed each colorful egg and made them look so cute, almost too cute for me to eat! I felt like the one I had was begging me not to eat her with those big jiggly eyes.

Even if you don’t celebrate Easter, doing this activity is a great way to teach children colors, how to do measurements,  how to have patience, trial and error and how to get creative. Another bonus is that it’s a wonderful bonding experience that results with a treat to eat.

All the best,

Tanya

The Importance of Kids Helping Kids: My Little Girl Reading and Raising Money for the Ronald McDonald House

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A little over a month ago, I posted about my little girl reading for a good cause: raising money for sick children at the Ronald McDonald House. A few weeks after that post, we were notified that she was one of the top fundraisers at her school and would be recognized at a special event sponsored by the Philadelphia Eagles. She also received a congratulatory packet with a certificate, shirt, stuffed animal and a free happy meal. This was such a proud moment for us both.

At the event, we got to interact with people from multiple schools, run around on the football field, take pictures with Swoop, the Eagles mascot, and hear wonderful stories about how the funds raised will help children in need. The children were also rewarded with books to keep readers, which I thought was awesome.

“I can’t wait to raise even more money next time. I think it’s great that I’m a kid helping kids,” Quinn told me. It makes me feel so good that my soon to be six year old, only in kindergarten, is so thoughtful and cares about others.

All the best,

Tanya

It’s All Downhill from Here! Life Lessons from My Little Girl.

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“You know what the best part about going up a hill is, Mommy? Getting to have fun going down it really fast!” my little girl informed me as we traveled the neighborhood on our bike ride. You know what else, if I’m using my scooter, I can just put both of my feet on the board and save my energy. When we’re on the bikes, we don’t have to pedal as much either! While this may seem obvious to most adults and even some older children, what’s not so obvious is the deep rooted lesson my soon to be six year old shared with me.

How often do we focus on the difficulty of  a task or how it’s going to be an “uphill battle” to achieve our goals? As we climbed a very steep hill on our bikes, Quinn was already thinking about the fun part of coasting along and enjoying the ride down the hill we managed to climb. One hill was extra steep, and I struggled with my sweet girl hooked up to the bike trailer to get us up the incline. I even asked her, “Are you pedaling back there, Quinnie?” “I sure am mommy! We’re almost up that hill. Then we get to go down!” she said happily.

Then, we made it! It seemed like we’d never get up that one hill, but once we did, a weight was lifted, and we both were eager to speed quickly down the hill with the sun shining and breeze blowing in our faces.

Upon making our way home, she couldn’t wait to inform her dad about our struggle. She chuckled and said, “Mommy could barely make it up one hill, Daddy! But we made it. Then we got to go down the hill really fast. It was so much fun!”

Most of us have heard the phrase “Life is filled with hills and valleys.” However, most people view the valley as a negative place and the hills as the positive climatic moments in our lives. I’d like to think that the hills give us that challenge we need to thrive and be successful, and the valleys or declines from those hills give us the wind in our faces, time to rejuvenate and to simply enjoy the coast.

All the best,

Tanya

Play Dates: Not Just for Kids but Parents Too!

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“Please, Mommy! Can you give me another clue? Who’s coming over for a visit tomorrow?” my little girl pleaded. Quinn is an only child and does well playing by herself or even playing with her dad or me, but there’s no denying that there is something special about having time to play with children around her own age. Yes, she has an opportunity to play at recess or interact during gym and music, but an actual play date involving an activity or even just going to a family member or friend’s house or having them come to our house is a wonderful experience for us both.

While some parents may dread play dates or just don’t see the significance of them, I look forward to them just as much as my five and a half year old does. For the most part, she is a cheerful, easygoing child, but the smile that comes over her face when she has a play date let’s me know that it is something she enjoys immensely. Also, it gives me an opportunity to see how she interacts with children directly. Does she share, is she kind, is she a good sport if they are playing a game?

Yesterday, when my cousin visited with her daughter, Quinn did a wonderful job sharing and cared about her cousin’s interests by taking turns while helping to bake a princess cake. She also allowed her cousin to pick out her headband color first since she was our guest as they worked on their other crafty project. I also enjoyed being able to observe them and help them go through the process of preparing and baking their cake.

Something that impressed me was how the both of them were able to go with the flow when the fondant for the cake didn’t quite turn out as they hoped. It was a teachable moment that sometimes you may follow the directions, but the results may still not turn out as you anticipated. I was able to quickly whip up a buttercream frosting and match the pink of the fondant, and the girls were eager to decorate the dress. They commented on how pretty she looked and said, “We can’t wait to eat her for dessert!” This gave me such a chuckle!

From baking to crafting to playing games and eating together, it was fun for all. I’m so grateful we have family and friends to get together with for good-old fashioned fun!

All the best,

Tanya