Little Sis Is a True Artist in the Making
Dear L,
You do not like to be still, you always want to be on the go and make us happy. If you do something wrong, you beg me and say mommy mommy, please don’t be mad at me. After you say that, you will proceed into “You are the best mommy in the world.” You definitely know how to get to my heart every time.
Artist, dancer, singer are three words that would describe you right now for sure. We find you sitting in your little rocking chair and singing a song all the while playing your guitar. OR… you will be in front of the radio dancing your little heart out so graceful. OR…. you will be sitting at the table drawing the cutest little drawing and say “Mommy, I have a surprise for you.” Today, I was shocked when you showed me your drawing. It was a Jellyfish you proclaimed…. I couldn’t believe how well you really did draw a jellyfish.
Just seeing your smile just warms my heart over and over and over. You know how to get to mommy just like you kept rolling down the window today and I said L… “but mommy I just wanted to get some fresh air.” Your comebacks are always words that are for sure going to make me forget why I was even calling you down.
You are always smiling no matter what. Right now you are having the worst time trying to breathe, but you still are trying to make us all smile (even the doctors who think you are just the cutest) by your little artsy ways!
Just keep being you baby girl. Just keep being you!
Love always and forever,
Mommy
No tags for this post.The Story of the ZING ZANG ZOOM
The snow storm that took over NC this past weekend was determined to make us miss my girls first circus ever. Guess what? We were one up on the weather. We changed our tickets from the Saturday show to the Thursday show. I’m so glad we did because I heard that lots of people couldn’t make the weekend shows but luckily Ticketmaster was doing refunds due to the snow storm.
To see the girls faces during the show as just amazing! The show lasted a little over 2 hours, but the girls did not complain at all. They are at the ages of 5 and 7. Since due to the weather my step-daughter was not with us, we took my little cousins age 9 and 11 (boys). They were equally amazed as well.
They included the family in on lots of events during the show. Seeing the magic being performed and then watching the amazed looks on the children faces just couldn’t be beat.
I am always in awe of the acrobats and so I just knew my girls would be as well. Much to my surprise the boys couldn’t stop watching either. How they are so flexible and strong will always be a wonder of mine? They have so much faith on each other to which I’m sure they have a huge bond with one another. Just seeing them do the flips, balances, jumps and climbs was just awesome.
I will have to say, that I have never seen a real life cannon ball and guess what… I was finally able to see one!!! I think I was jumping up and down as much as my girls were. My youngest daughter just couldn’t quite figure out why the women were getting into these tubes and her mouth just dropped open when they shot across the stage. Amazing!
Oh the animals were a HUGE HIT! All the kids were on the edge of their seats during the whole animal scenes. I was so cracking up at the elephants… they can sit their big booty on these little stools and never miss a beat. Too cool! Also how they would all line up and swing each other’s tales to hold on to each other. So cool!
I was a little anxious for the tigers when it was time for their scene. They never skipped a beat with the trainer though and all did their tricks perfect. Amazing!
At the end was a huge parade and all the kids joined in and clapped their little hearts out!
It was such a great experience for the whole family. My hubby and I were just into the show as much as the kids were. We definitely recommend this for a family outing 
Check to see when the ZING ZANG ZOOM is coming to your area and use this special offer to get your tickets really cheap .
A SPECIAL OFFER FOR YOU!
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Also, be sure to get to the arena early to check out the All Access Preshow.
Step onto the arena floor and into The Greatest Show On Earth® at the All Access Pre-show! Come an hour before show time to join Clown College® and learn how to be a circus clown.
10 Reasons You Can’t Miss the All Access Pre-show!
1) An amazing elephant paints right before your eyes.
2) Learn juggling, makeup and fun with the world famous Clown Alley.
3) See a one-of-a-kind special Ringling Bros®motorcycle as built by Orange County Choppers.
4) Meet the performers up close and get autographs.
5) Witness Klose’s Performing Canines jump through obstacles and hoops.
6) Be amazed as Zingmaster Alex teaches magic to audience members.
7) See performers jump rope and do tricks on the low wire.
Watch the contortions and table juggling of the Chinese Qi Qi Har Troupe.
9) Try on actual clothes used in The Greatest Show On Earth.
10) It’s FREE with your ticket, so get in on the fun!
What age was your children when they first went to the circus?
Full Disclosure: Our family was provided these tickets in exchange for this complete review. This review comes from my heart and the complimentary tickets did not persuade my views at all!
No tags for this post.What Is In a Grandparent Name
My beautiful girls call my mom an unique name. I’m not so sure if she ever thought she would be called this when she was a grandparent, but it warms my heart that my girls came up with this ever so cute name on their own. My girls call my mom Yay-Yay! Yes… you heard me right . Now, you see how this name came about is very interesting. When M was about 6 months old, my mom would call M on the phone and go yayayayayayayayay over and over to her on the phone. She did this until M was well over a year old because M would just crack up and do the cutest little baby laugh. Mom was over at our house one day and M out of the blue looked at my mom and said plain as day Yay-Yay. Her little mind put two and two together that she was the woman that always did Yay-Yay to her so that must be her name right? Ever since that day, my mom has been known as Yay-Yay to the girls. When L was born and old enough to talk, she naturally just started calling mom Yay-Yay as well. Is that not just the cutest story?
Now let’s just say if you gather a group of young kids today and ask them what they call their grandparents…. you are going to get a different answer from each one. You’re bound to encounter the run-of-the-mill Grandmas and Grandpas, but things really start getting interesting once the Gramies, Lulus, Gagas and Boo-boos start popping up. Where did all these names come from? Are the grandparents planting them? Is it just a matter of young kids butchering the annunciations? Regardless of origin, the nicknaming of grandparents has taken on a life of its own, and as a result BabyCenter has published the top 10 most popular names from grandparents:
Popular Grandmother Names:
Grandma
Nana
Grammy
Granny
Mimi
Gram
Nanny
Oma
Mamaw
Gran
Popular Grandfather Names:
Grandpa
Papa
Granddad
Gramps
Pop-Pop
Poppy
Papaw
Pop
Opa
Pappy
In addition to the top ten, BabyCenter also collected dozens of other sweet, fun and downright odd names while compiling the list that can be found here.
What does your kids call their grandparents? I would love to see if it falls into the top ten from above or is unique to your family .
Music To My Ears
Our family is a big music loving family. We always have some sort of music and even have music going during the night for the girls and I on low. I was very sad when they took music and arts out of the classrooms this year at my daughters’ school. I think school should be more than just sitting at a desk all day as children learn also through arts. Studies show that kids who are exposed to music from an early age do better in school. Unfortunately, most U.S. schools just like our’s have cut back or even eliminated their arts & music programs due to shrinking budgets.
Kidz Bop realizes this as well. My girls love to listen to modern day music but sometimes the lyrics are not always what I want them to hear, so I love how Kidz Bop breaks it down and creates musical CDS for children of all ages. They also want children to appreciate music as they are growing up and have provided tips on how to introduce kids to music.
KIDZ BOP’s Tips for Introducing Kids to Music.
Sing Along!
Sing to AND with your child from an early age. Whether it’s “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” or a hit song by your favorite top 40 artist—kids love to sing along and share their favorite music with you! You don’t have to be a great singer—just
get into the moment and create happy, shared memories.
Sing to Learn!
Music is a powerful teaching tool. Kids can learn the alphabet, numbers, vocabulary and rhyming—keys to building early literacy skills—through singing or listening to music. After you’ve shared a song together, talk to your child about the words. What do you think this song is about?…What does that word mean?…What words do you hear that rhyme?…How do you think the singer is feeling?…Why?
Turn Off and Tune In!
Turn off the TV and turn on the radio or iPod. Cultivate your child’s musical taste by exposing him or her to all different genres of music, including pop, rock, hip hop, classical and country. Music is a kid-friendly vehicle for introducing tolerance for other cultures, styles and tastes. Play Along! Numerous household items can be turned into musical instruments to help develop your child’s inner rock star. Make drums out of pots & pans and empty boxes, musical shakers and maracas out of coffee cans or water bottles filled with dried beans (make sure they are securely
closed) and horns out of paper towel tubes…the possibilities are only limited by your imagination! Educational experts consider imaginary play to be a fun and valuable tool for developing your child’s reasoning and
comprehension skills.
FREE Musical Instruments:
Musical instruments are expensive. When your child shows interest in picking up the clarinet or violin, don’t despair! Check out websites like Craigslist or local swap and barter clubs to find cheap second hand (or better yet, FREE) instruments.
Just Dance!
Music is good for the body and soul. Redent reports find that almost 1 in 3 kids (ages 2-19) in the US are overweight or obese. Dance is not only great exercise, it helps teach rhythm and coordination. So channel your inner “Dancing Queen” and “Twist and Shout” with your kids.
Visit to make music & videos online with your kids at Kidz Bop LLC.
Disclaimer: No cash was given to make this post. I just feel like music should be a part of children’s lives and wanted to share these tips with you all
Mommy Jesus Brought Him Back
Last night in the super cold weather, our little Kingston decided to dart out the door when I was bringing in groceries. My girls immediately started crying. L said, mom we have to think about this. She went and got me the flash light since it was pitch dark outside.
So we go trekking through the snow and ice down our road to see if we can grab him. He is super fast but
1) It was too cold for him to stay outside (below zero wind chills)
2) I was afraid he would get hit by a car
We all three are walking up and down the road calling his name. I hear M behind me whispering something but couldn’t make out what she was saying. All of a sudden we see car lights… thank you Lord. Those car lights were shining into a yard and there was our precious Kingston. He came running straight to us.
We hurried and got inside and M said “Mommy, do you know who brought Kingston back to us? It was Jesus. I was saying a prayer while we were walking.” Melt my heart. That was the whispering that I was hearing behind us. She said see mommy prayers really do work. Yes, they do indeed my beautiful girl!
No tags for this post.Happy Birthday to the Best 7 Year Old
It all started here baby girl 7 years ago:
and how did we end up here this quickly?
M, it was this day 7 years ago you made me a mom. This is my Mom Anniversary just as it is your Birthday. Isn’t it neat we get to share such two great events on December 19th every year? M, you continue to amaze me each and everyday.
This year you have participated in Clogging, T-Ball, Community Theater, Swimming, Soccer, GA’s and Children’s Choir. You absolutely love staying busy and you handle it so well too. I follow your lead and let you decide what all you want to be involved in.
M you love to make everyone happy. You get your feelings hurt if you realize that you may have hurt someone or did not do the right thing. You are very apologetic and just want to help out in any way you can.
You are the best big sister. It’s not always easy being the big sister, but you take it and run with it. You help guide Lyndsee and I hear you both when you are playing, hugging each other and saying “I Love You”. Your teachers at school tell me all the time how you both make sure to find each other during the day so you can give each other the “I LOVE YOU” sign. That just melts my heart. Yes, you both have your fights but you two are definitely best of friends.
M, you are doing so great at school. You are reading 3rd grade level books and just love to read your chapter books. Everywhere we go, you ask to take a chapter book with you so you can read. There are still times at night though you enjoy mommy still reading to you.
M, you still love to cuddle with mommy which just makes my heart so warm with love. I love you so much and when you want me to pick you up out of bed to carry you into living room… of course I still do it. I want to keep you little as much as I can… even though you are inching up height wise up on mommy 
.
M, you love mommy cooking you waffles each and every morning. Some mornings when I am running and late and fix you cereal… you make sure to show me that face that you are not too happy with mommy. So, yes mommy sets the alarm clock 15 minutes earlier every morning now so I can make sure your waffles and warm and ready when you wake up.
M, you so enjoy helping me cook in the kitchen. You want to be right there to pour the ingredients or stir. I love this time M. You little suzy homemaker
M, you are such a great all around daughter. God blessed me with a wonderful soul. I’m so happy you love him as much as I do. He has a plan for you and I cannot wait to see it.
M…. HAPPY 7th Birthday my dear. Mommy loves you sooooo much. You will just never know. Let’s go have a super fun day at Magic Kingdom. Just what you have requested. Here’s to many many many more birthdays and mom anniversary celebrations together.
Much love,
Your Mom
Cheerios 100,000 Book Giveaway!
We are a huge reading family. Each night we take time to sit down for family time and M reads her chapter book to us and then I will read to the girls. I just love having this time each night with the girls. Also, the girls love books. They are always asking for new books and so delighted when they see new books come in.
Cheerios has teamed up with Jon Scieszka and First Book to distribute 100,000 new books to kids in need across the country. Through the 100,000 Book Giveaway, the five states receiving the highest number of votes will each receive 20,000 new books for local kids – and we need your help to decide where the books should be donated!
By answering the trivia questions featured in this challenge, you can help select the states that will receive new books for local kids. For every trivia question you answer correctly now through August 31st, 2010, you can cast one vote for the state you want to receive new books. The more questions you answer correctly, the more votes you cast!
We take so much for advantage and don’t realize how a simple book is wanted so bad by children that just cannot afford them in their household and county school system. We are very fortunate here in our school system for the Pre-K division. Each week a new set of books is sent home in a reading bag for myself to read to L. We were so thrilled when this program started for the first time this year, but I never realized till Cheerios brought to my attention how this is wanted so badly by other states and school systems!
Please take a moment and go to the site and answer some of the trivia questions to cast your votes to where the books should be sent.
Cheerios sent to us through My Blog Spark a gift pack.
All the books shown above were included and also a box of the Frosty Cheerios. They included a Barnes and Noble gift card as well. Each book was the perfect shape to fit into travel bags for the girls and just the right length. Each night we would read one, and the girls just loved sitting there listening then asking questions at the end. No book is the same, so I really recommend at the end of each book you read to your child, to let them ask questions to see how much of the book they actually do comprehend!
Cheerios through My Blog Spark would like to offer one of my reader’s this same gift pack. All you need to do is:
1. Leave a comment about your reading routine with your family.
Then to receive extra entries:
1. Tweet this contest
2. Facebook this contest
3. Subscribe to our feed
4. Blog about this contest
Leave an extra comment for each entry that you do!
I will close this contest on Dec. 19th at 11:59pm EST.
Full Disclosure: I did receive the Cheerios, prize pack, information, and giveaway from Cheerios through MyBlogSpark.
No tags for this post.Its Not Always About The Material Things
During this holiday season, I want to make sure we are all remembering the reason for the season… Jesus . I try to instill this in my girls and two separate events in the past week has assured me… I must be doing something right!
M came home last week with all her Thanksgiving projects she had done at school. One of the projects brought tears to my eyes. I’ll post a picture here:
Look at all she is thankful for! I had to show this off to everyone in our family. I have always said she is such an old soul and really cares so much for others. She is thankful for Family, Dad, Mom, God, Jesus, Freedom, Home and Food. Is that not awesome? There are no material things listed and that just warms my heart so much.
Then, this leads me to this past weekend. I was creating all my lists for my family this year for Christmas. I asked L what she would like for Christmas this year. She sat there for a minute and put her little fingers on her chin, like she was thinking. She said ummm… then said I know Mommy. All I want for Christmas this year is for daddy to love me, mommy to love me, my sister to love me and my doggy to love me. Oh I just swooped her right up and hugged her so tight. There was not one item she could tell me she wanted… all she wants is love. Is that now just the coolest thing?
I love my girls so much and often wonder if I am doing a good job at this mommy gig… but I think I couldn’t receive a more better answer than this do you?
So remember as we go into this wonderful Holiday Season, its not all about the money. It’s all about the thought and love!
Day 12 Thankful for Time in NYC
Today I am thankful for getting one on one time with my two daughters M and L in NYC. I was nervous about taking them, but the nervousness totally went away once we got into the city.
The first task to cover was getting L on the plane. She did NOT want to fly at all. I stayed really positive and upbeat with her and the plane ride went so smoothly. Both girls were just amazed and kept looking out the windows. L was teary eyed when we first got on, but after she realized how cool it was, she had everyone laughing on the plane.
L would say, mommy look there is water, we get to land in the water! Ummm no sweetie we will land on the pavement . Then she said mommy, will we get to jump out of the plane? WHAT!! She would say, oh I have a headache, I need to close the window. Then 2 minutes later, oh I need to see the sun let me open the window. She had us all cracking up and she was so enjoying every minute of not having to be in a carseat .
M was so laid back, taking in all the sights and asking some really good questions about the landing and just the airplane in general. She has wanted to ride on an airplane for so long and it made me so happy that she got the chance.
Once, we arrived in the city. The girls were so excited and ready to take the city head on. We first were took by taxi cab to Dylan’s candy store.
Oh my the taxis. Needless to say, we only rode in two taxis the whole time we were there because they scared me so bad with their driving. They could care less who they cut off or cut in front of and how close they get to someone! EEEEK….
Once we arrived at the candy store, the girls did a short video shoot for the Show. Each child ages 5 to 8 was interviewed individually some questions. I heard the producers cracking up laughing, so I knew it was going to be pretty funny. I made sure I seen the questions first before I agreed for my girls to be asked. The producers came out and said the girls did so good and I would get to see the video the next day.
So we headed onto the city.. just the girls and I. I loved having this mother/daughter time with them. We took the subway. The first couple of times, I kept getting on the wrong subway and the attendants were so nice to let us get on the correct ones without charging us haha. After a while, M said mom you are really getting the hang of these subways . The girls just loved taking the subways to get to everything.
Our first stop was Central Park. It was so beautiful. We didn’t do the whole five mile walk of the park, because I knew the girls would get really tired so we just did the outskirts of Central park.
I wanted to do the horse and carriage rides around Central Park, but wanted to save that for when hubby is with us so we can do it as a whole family.
Next stop was FAO Schwartz Toy Store. It is a really HUGE toy store and the girls just went wild. They loved it.
Even the employees get right in there with the kids and begin playing with the toys.
We then walked by Rockefeller Center, but my wonderful batteries decided to die in my camera so I don’t have pictures. By this time it was starting to get dark in the city, so we headed back to get something to eat and get in for the evening. I didn’t want to be out much past dark with myself and the girls.
The next morning, we were up very early and out of the hotel room by 8am to go to Times Square.
The girls just loved all the lights and billboards. We also went to see where the different News people were. We happened to catch Kris Allen on Good Morning America.
We just had so much fun going in and out of stores and just taking in all the sights and sounds of Times Square. We then headed over to Bryant Park and let the girls enjoy their donuts.
We also got to meet up here at Bryant Park with my wonderful co-worker who works in NYC. I just adore her and was so happy we got to meet up. It also warmed my heart that this meet-up with Dina was one of M’s top 3 things that she loved about NYC!
My girls really showed off for Dina . The girls got to see the people ice skating there in Bryant Park as well. That was very cool!
We then headed back to the subway, and as you can see on the girl’s shirts. They LOVE NYC!
It was time to get ready for the show. We were not allowed to take any cameras or cell phones to the show, so I don’t have any pictures of this part of our trip. This was one part of the trip, I was nervous about. I didn’t know how everything was going down, but one thing I knew is that I would control what my girls heard at the show. Once we were taken back to the green room with all the other ages 5 to 8 children and their moms, we realized we were the last show to tape that day. She tapes 3 shows a day, I believe 2 times a week. Going in, I knew this show was about Do you talk to your kids about sex and what do children face in today’s world? I know my morals and values of how I want to bring my girls up. I am very protective over them, so I wanted to give my opinion and see how other mom’s were approaching this same topic.
So all the mom’s got their hair and make-up done… didn’t I look fabulous? hehe!
Then it was almost show time for us to go on stage. I know there were teenagers and moms on before us, but I have no idea what they talked about as we were kept in the back. So I’m not sure how that went down. It was our turn so they led the moms onto stage of the 5 to 8 age group. Each mom was asked a couple of questions. I was asked about an incident of a little boy that kept kissing M last year in Kindy and then the second question I was asked if I had ever talked to my girls about sex. My response was, Absolutely not. I think they are too young and yes I want to be the one to talk to them, we are a very conservative family, that loves God and is guided by God, we have several morals and values in our family and I want to make sure I do it the right way. They then showed us the video they had taped of the girls from the day before. OMG… this will by far be the best part of the show. It is sooooo funny. Oh I loved it. L cracked up everyone and the whole audience was laughing. The video is like a Kids say the darndest things and oh did they LOL. It went very well, I was really pleased. They then said ok let’s bring out the little girls. Once they brought out the girls, they went into asking them more about their answers. So since L’s answers were so darn cute… once question was Where do babies come from? L said from a Doctor. They asked L on stage where the Doctor gets the baby from and she said from the babysitter. Then they said where does the babysitter get the baby, L said from the doctor. OMG it was so funny and cute. LOVED IT. M said that the baby comes from God . God picks out a special baby to place in mommy’s belly. It melted my heart. They didn’t talk to M on stage and she wanted to speak so she was sad they only spoke to L, but I assured her that she was on the taped video from the day before.
Overall, I was really pleased. Again, I don’t know how the first few segments went, but I was really pleased how my girls and I presented ourselves and glad that they could provide some clean fun laughter .
It took a very long time to tape so by the time we were done, it was time to head to the airport to fly back home.
We were in the car headed to the airport and I heard L sound like she was crying. I said what is wrong… she said mommy I am going to miss NYC. Oh it broke my heart, it was then I was soooo happy we did this and I had the chance to let the girls experience NYC. It was such a fun time and we all can’t wait to go back .
M was so excited about flying at night on the plane and L as you can see slept the whole time back home on the plane .
Fun times and I love the memories that we created!
No tags for this post.Day 10 Thankful for My Daughter’s Tribute to Veterans
I am so thankful for how M loves to perform and really gets into music. I also am very thankful for her school involving sign language into her class last year and this year. Here is a video I took of her tonight singing the songs she did for the Veterans that attended her school on Friday.
No tags for this post.
