Tag Archives: Tanya Harris Franklin

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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“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

What Would We Do Without It Wednesday: Let’s Exercise With a Shake Break!

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2016-02-15 11.27.40It’s a rainy day and too stormy to go outside and splash around in a few puddles with my little girl. We’ve played games, build towers with Legos and started doing some Easter decorating, but she’s still full of energy and says, “Can we have a shake break next, Mommy?” No, this is not a milkshake; it’s actually a fun, age-appropriate exercise video for young children that I found on Youtube.

“Pancake Manor” is the name of the organization that put together this video with characters who favor those from Sesame Street. Reggie and his friends get my two and a half year old dancing, singing and learning all at the same time, and her father and I can’t help but join in the fun. Since Quinn was just a couple of months old, we exercised together with “Happy Baby” workouts, and just last year around this time, I posted an entry about how much she enjoys going to The Little Gym. So it pleases me that she still looks forward to exercising and even says, “Exercising is fun, Mommy!”

If you want your child to enjoy exercising or just want him or her to burn off some energy while having fun, I highly suggest this video. What would we do without Pancake Manor for producing such a cool video and Youtube for making their videos accessible?

All the best,

Tanya

Terrific Toy Tuesday: A Civil Engineer in the Making (My Duplo Block Enthusiast)

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“Let’s build something, Mommy,” my little girls excitedly says. Three to four days a week, she puts in a request to build with her Lego Blocks. Well, they’re actually Duplo Blocks by Lego which are a little larger than standard Legos and easier for her to handle for her age. Since I was a little girl, I’ve always loved constructing my own buildings and looking at pictures of Lego constructions trying to recreate them. Now, Quinn is following in my footsteps.

For Christmas, one of her gifts was a Disney Princess Duplo Princess Collection set. At first, she wanted to recreate the buildings from the pictures. The Cinderella castle was her favorite, then Ariel the Mermaid’s castle and the Snow White’s castle. Within the past month, she has taken it upon herself to intentionally mismatch the pieces with the different castles to build her very own castle creation. “Mommy, this time Snow White is going to have a slide instead of Ariel,” Quinn informs me. I am also pleased that she is starting to build on her own without my assistance, other than asking me if I like her castle.

This is a terrific toy for kids from two to one hundred and two. I’m looking forward to eventually taking my little girl to Legoland or her first Lego exhibition. Who knows, maybe she’ll become a Lego enthusiast or even a civil engineer.

All the best,

Tanya

Mommy’s Memorable Monday : Learning How to Swing

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img_1640-1“It’s a nice day! Can we go to the park today, Mommy?” my little girl asked. Though it’s February, I honored her request on this unseasonably warm Monday, and this outing conjured up some childhood memories of my own while my daughter had fun and asked to get on the “big kid” swing all by hersel.

I remember like it was yesterday when my mother taught me how to swing. “When you go up, put your legs up. When you go down, put your legs down!” Wow, it still amazes me that I recall what my mom said and used the exact words to teach my daughter. Even though it’ll be some time before she is swinging like a pro, she impressed me with how quickly she caught on and followed these instructions. The level of excitement I had for her was similar to the excitement I had for myself as a child, if not more. I all sky wanted to giggle and cheer along with her as she went up and down in the swing.

Then, she decided to recite the alphabet as she swung…well excuse me my almost-three-year-old-in-May! Before I know it, she’ll be challenging me to a contest to see who can swing the highest and fastest. Who would have thought taking a quick trip to the park would be so memorable?

 

 
All the best,

Tanya

No More Hanging on to Secrets for My Little Girl

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2016-02-10 10.42.25While it was only a little over a year and a half ago that my little girl began putting together two and three word sentences, it seems like she’s been talking since day one. My soon to be three year old (in May of this year) has become so articulate, has questions about everything and wants to share information about everything too. This has been a wonderful experience because we’re having actual conversations where she is responding and engaged in what we’re talking about. She’ll ask me, “How was your day, Mommy?” or “Did you have a good night’s sleep?” When I tell her we will be going somewhere, she’ll ask, “Are we going to Target?” This is one of her favorite stores.

Now, she reminds me of those cutesy children on TV shows who tell any and everything. Just the other day when we were at The Little Gym, she informed her instructor, “We went to Target today. After class, we’re going home for lunch. Mommy said I can’t have a cupcake because I can’t have special treats all the time!” When her father comes home from work, she tends to give him a full report of what we did, and she will do the same for me when I come home from work. Interestingly, she even includes if she didn’t listen or misbehaved at some point throughout the course of the day. “We had breakfast. I ate waffles and sausage. Then I brushed my teeth and used the rinse cup. We played in the play room. Then we went to Target and got milk, cheese and some cereal for you, Daddy! When we came home, Mommy made lunch. I didn’t eat all of my sandwich, but I had a good nap.”

I knew my days were numbered when it came to purchasing gifts and other “surprise” items in front of Quinn, and now with her wanting to share everything she knows, hanging on to no secrets, it looks like I’m going to have to shop for those “special” items without her. When I purchased Valentine’s cards, she couldn’t wait to tell him that we got a special card for him.

On the bright side, my little girl not keeping secrets is great and will come in handy when she does eventually start preschool. It is comforting to know that she is capable of sharing what she did for the day and the interactions she has with others as this will put my mind at ease.

All the best,

Tanya