Smile Sunday

"In today's world it is good to know what you want and go for it."

~Mama Hen

Little Chick has always loved to carry my purses around. I ended up buying her a variety of her own purses to choose from. Each time I tell her to get her shoes on so we can leave the house she says, "Let me get my purse." She then picks some toys to put inside. It is so cute how she carries it over her arm. It brings a smile to my face every time. On Saturday we went back to Mystic Aquarium to see all of Little Chick's marine life pals. With all of the endless snow storms we have been having, we look forward to taking these drives and getting out of the house. Little Chick was so excited to see both the penguins get fed and the sea lions. We stopped at the gift shop to get our favorite lollipop and she wanted to buy a penguin. I told her we can't buy something every time we come and she said, "Mommy, I really like to buy things!" Oh my! my little baby loves to shop! We had a spectacular day! Have a great Smile Sunday!

Love What You See

"Look in the mirror and love what you see. " ~Mama Hen

The greatest gift we can give our children is love and plenty of positive praise. I love my daughter more than anything! I make it a point to praise her as much as I can. The world can be tough on us all and we can be rather hard on ourselves from time to time. However, if there is an underlying positive feeling instilled from early on I believe we can get through anything.

Guess Who is Reading?

"To fill a mother's heart is to see her child reach the wonderous milestones in life." ~Mama Hen

I am one very proud Mama Hen! My beautiful Little Chick is reading about 28 site words and I am so proud of my little baby. We love to read together! Little Chick enjoys listening to books on tape in the car while we drive and then reading the books on her own. Our day is always filled with reading. Now I can see her excitement in being able to read many words by herself. This is such a great accomplishment for my little four year old. Some of the words she is reading are: home, better, the, and, all, school, little, small, great, cat, stop, big, me, see, up, dog, ball, play, and so much more. I am so proud of you Little Chick!

My Greatest Influence

"What an impact one person can have on a life. That is why we should always choose to be as positive and giving around the people in our lives. You never know who you are influencing for a lifetime." ~Mama Hen

Here is the greatest influence in my life - my Dad. I love this picture for several reasons. First, I miss how my Dad used to always put his hand under my chin. Second, He was the wisest person I have ever known and everything he did and said was with such a kind heart and strong compassion. The third reason is that my beautiful godmother, Julie, is standing with us. She passed away in 1994 from breast cancer. When my Dad entered a room he was full of life and he carried a light. Everyone would notice him. His smile was constant and contagious. People were drawn to him and what he had to say. When he talked, people listened with such concentration. He was uplifting, encouraging, and very caring. He wanted to help those who wanted help and he made it possible for people to have a "chance" in life. When my friends needed advice, they all went to him. He was amazing! The amount of lives he touched and lifted up are endless. The greatest life he influenced was mine. I miss him terribly and I thank him very much.

Who has been the greatest influence in your life?

My Little Marine Biologist

"It does not take much to ignite the spark to a lifelong passion." ~Mama Hen

I think my daughter just might want to be a marine biologist! Her passion for marine life is contagious. She just loves to go to aquariums and learn all about all the lovely sea creatures. As I had mentioned in another post, Little Chick loves to watch documentaries on Penguins, Polar Bears, Whales and so much more. If given a choice she would choose one of those over any cartoon. Today we headed back up to Mystic for a little day trip. We stopped in Old Saybrook for a little "ladies luncheon" and then headed up to the aquarium. It was a freezing day, but sunny. My daughter could not get enough of the touch tanks. She thoroughly enjoys touching the sharks, crabs, and sea stars. Her friends the penguins were too cold to be outside where we usually can see them. However, they had two penguins on display behind a glass wall in a room. As you can see they were intrigued by Little Chick in the picture above. It was a beautiful day!

We love the Beluga whales.

Our new tradition! A lollipop from the gift shop for the long ride home.
Have a happy Smile Sunday!

Continue to Reach for the Stars

"Firmly planted, our roots grow to astounding heights. With twists and turns, through all kinds of weather, strength and breaks, our branches continue to reach for the stars." ~Mama Hen

Life comes with many surprises! Much like these trees reaching up to the sky, we all must reach for our greatest potential. We may feel weighed down from time to time through stormy weather, and our hearts and bodies will be broken. However, with God standing by our side, and family and friends encouraging us to push forward, we grow - we grow stronger. It is all the elements we endure that help us to be who we are. The question is, who do we want to be? It can be easy to let life's challenges get the best of us, but knowing we can simply look up makes everything possible.

What keeps you strong and pushing forward?

Rewind and Thanksgiving Thursday

"To rewind in our minds to a time of such happiness is to be blessed with fond memories." ~Mama Hen

I came across these pictures and felt a rush of warmth and happiness when looking at them. I wonder if I would have remembered this day so vividly or at all if I had not found these, but I can recall the day perfectly. Our driveway had become a sheet of ice. It was a super slope for us to go sledding. My Dad put on my moms warm knit hat and I am obviously wearing my big sister's boots, which are clearly too big. All a set up for lots of fun! I am also wearing a pink jacket much like Little Chick's coat. It was a really great day followed by hot chocolate! I am amazed that my sister came along because she always avoided the cold as much as possible and still does. If I could rewind to that day once again I surely would. It was a really happy family day!

Check out that old station wagon. It was the seventies. Can you tell?
Look at little me giving my Dad and sister a push. I love sledding!

Thanksgiving Thursday

1.) I am so grateful for Little Chick and my family.

2.) For all the fond memories of my childhood. They are blessings that I will always cherish.

3.) Heat. I know I have said it before, but when you lose heat when the temperature is in the teens you really feel grateful when it is turned back on. It also makes me think about all the poor unfortunate people who are living on the streets. May they find peace and warmth in such trying times.

4.) My friend Marcy who is always a true friend and full of love, hope and inspiration!

5.) Our little Kittie cats. They bring Little Chick and I so much love and joy.

Determination

"Determination is the key ingredient to achieving one's goals." ~Mama Hen

There was a time that I thought that everything was within my reach. Everything! I was raised to be strong and determined by parents and grandparents who not only talked about it, but showed me through their endless perseverance. The past ten years has been quite a challenge for me. I have been sent one mountain to climb after another. There are times I feel as though I have lost a bit of my "determined" strength. When my Dad passed away twelve years ago I felt a rush of energy leave my existence. I have been trying to restore it since then. He was my rock and I miss him terribly as I climb each mountain. I know his spirit and strength live within my heart and soul and it is this knowledge that always helps me to push forward. These pictures carry that determined part of me that my father so diligently instilled.I can remember that day like it was yesterday. It was, in fact, twenty four years ago. I was at karate summer camp and some of the black belts were asked to break ice for the newspaper who had come to do an article. I was really scared. I had been doing karate for ten years at that point (since I was six years old) and had trained every day for years, but my insecurity of the unknown had gotten the best of me. The first time I went to break the ice I did not accomplish my goal. My hand, wrist and arm sent a pain shooting right through my body! My teacher yelled for me to do it again. The thought of my arm smashing against that ice again was nauseating. However, I did what was asked of me. Again it did not break. At that point I wanted to cry (I think I did) and my Dad's determination kicked in from deep inside of me. My teacher looked at my wrist and arm and said, "Enough!" and I told him I would not quit! So with a vengeance and a very blue swollen arm I shot through that ice with all that I had! It is moments like these that help remind us how strong we are within and without.

Pure Love - Smile Sunday

"The love of a child and also an animal is so innocent. Put the two together and you have pure love." ~Mama Hen It is Smile Sunday and we are so thankful to have our heat back! That is surely something to smile about with such brisk temperatures! Little Chick and her kittens are so adorable together. Cookie is very affectionate and lets my daughter carry her around everywhere she goes. Pure love! Have a great Sunday!

Little Chick and Cookie are always together!

I came down after Little Chick was asleep and found her best buddies sitting in her booster. They love to be wherever she has been!

What a Night!

"Keep your house tidy, you never know who will be showing up at 3:30 in the morning!" ~Mama Hen

Early this morning was one to remember with no heat, alarm going off, fire engine and Little Chick's Grandma coming to the rescue! Last night I noticed it started getting colder in my family room. At around 11:30 PM I checked on the furnace in the basement only to find that the reset button would not kick it back on. Yikes! I have an old house and it is filled with pipes that could freeze. It has been in the teens here and not a good time to lose heat. I got all the faucets dripping and had called the service company with no reply. After waiting for the service people to call me back I ended up going upstairs to go to sleep at 2:45 AM only to have the carbon monoxide detector alarm sound off. I called 911 and they said to take Little Chick out to the car (it was 15 degrees) and wait for them. My daughter was crying and crying and the sirens frightened her. Then my mom showed up and sat with her while she watched a DVD and she felt much better. About eight firemen were here and they were incredibly nice. It turns out that the drop in temperature was the cause most likely and that we were able to go back in after an hour or so. By that time it was 4:45 AM and the temperature in the house was at 40 degrees and dropping. What a night!

Snowed In - Thanksgiving Thursday

"Too much snow or the more the merrier?" ~Mama Hen

We woke up this morning to quite a bit of snow! Little Chick and I love the snow! We can't wait for the fluffy white stuff every winter so we can spend our days making snow angels, snowmen, and sledding as much as we can. This particular storm left us with so much we could hardly walk. Little Chick kept losing her boot as she got stuck with each step. It was a lot of work for a little munchkin like her to get from point A to point B, but her determination to get to our back yard so she could sled kept her pushing forward. Sure, she fell a bunch of times and so did I. But that is part of the fun! Digging a path to my car was quite a task with my bad back and was about all I could do before I tossed the shovel aside and headed to the backyard for some fun! Take a look at my car hiding in the blanket of snow! That will be fun to dig out!

Pudding looked out the front door and wanted to come back in!
Little Chick takes a look out the front door. Wow!
Mommy, this is fun!

Little Chick helps shovel the path to the car.

Little Chick pooped out already?

One determined Little Chick.

That is a lot of snow!

Are we there yet?

Cute Little Chick!

The path to the car.

That is a lot of snow!

Hot chocolate! Warm and yummy!

Thanksgiving Thursday

Here are the things I am so thankful for this week:

1.) Little Chick and my family.

2.) My beautiful cousin will be visiting us from Spain in a month!

3.) Little Chick's fervent passion for documentaries and learning about all baby animals.

4.) Hot chocolate on snowy days!

5.) The ability my daughter has to make me smile and laugh every day!

All I Need

"Take a look all around - all we really need is within our reach." ~Mama Hen

I was listening to one of Little Chick's CD's as we were driving in the car today and one sentence in the lyrics really got me thinking - "All I need....." As my daughter kept singing I began thinking about the things that I really need. There is so much stuff that is simply fluff. I think we can get lost in a sea of wants and desires, but when it really comes down to it we most likely have all that we need. So what is it that we "need" to make us feel "complete" and "fulfilled"?

All I need:

All I need is good health for my family, friends and myself.

All I need is a safe home filled with love.

All I need is to know now and always that my child is safe, healthy, happy and knows she is loved more than anything!

All I need is to be able to provide for my daughter always so that she will have nutritious food, a warm home, an education filled with the excitement and a desire to learn, clothing, and the knowledge to go forth with confidence, strength and a compassionate heart.

All I need is the precious gift of nature, the amazing seasons and the passion to always appreciate these gifts and to be able to pass on this love to Little Chick.

All I need is to sing and dance with my daughter.

All I need is to see my daughter laughing and smiling every day.

All I need is to love and be loved.

Cherished Moments Monday - More Penguins?

"Life is one big opportunity to have fun with the ones we love so much!" ~Mama Hen

Sunday was a beautiful day and Little Chick and I thought it would be the perfect day to take another "day trip" up North. When we went to Mystic Aquarium the other day we got a membership. Within two visits it paid itself off. I love memberships, because it allows my daughter and I to go to wonderful places and learn new and exciting things. Little Chick was so happy to see her best friends, the penguins, being fed today! It was so cute to see them waddling up to the bucket of fish and wait for their turn to gobble up a fish or two. She was also thrilled to touch the sharks! It was a fun day that we will always cherish!

Little Chick touching the sharks. Watching the eels. Little Chick's friends eating lunch. A fun day with my beautiful Little Chick!