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• Really super dooper long time

  Friday, Oct 10, 2008 10:30AM / Members only

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• Happy Father's Day

  Monday, Jun 16, 2008 6:34AM / Members only

  Happy Father's day to you all!!
  
  
  Here is a video I would like to share. It is of my dad, singing the national anthem for the Delaware Valley Veterans association which he was inducted to last week. He was in the Army, 82nd Airborn
  
  
  Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX7ZCkXvFQc
  

  
  
  

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• Busy Weekend ahead

  Friday, Jun 13, 2008 11:29PM / Members only

  We have a very busy weekend ahead of us the next three days!
  
  My MIL & FIL are having guests over tomorrow.. around 25 people, maybe a few more!
  
  So.. with that being said you can imagine all the cleaning and cooking that needs to be done..
  My MIL decided to ask me to help her cook that day.. Not a problem, Im Italian and I love to cook.. So I will be making Sausage and peppers tomorrow (for 25 people) and also will be making a chocolate creme pie with a chocolate graham cracker crust and then a banana creme pie with a regular graham cracker crust, and what ever else she asks me to cook.. Phew.. this is the most people I have ever cooked for all at once.. Im tired just thinking about it... And then of course the mess to clean up after 25 people leave! LOL Sunday is Father's day... A day about father's.. I made the father's day cards already.. Just have to make one from the kids to my FIL and one to my dad from the kids. (they will be going out in the mail late, but better late then never!) I also had to make a wedding card and birthday card. A friend of mine is getting married July 1st and then my 2 older daughters step mom's (who is a friend of mine as well) birthday is June 19th.  So.. as you can see.. there is A LOT going on.. We are also still doing preparations for Jessa and AJ's birthday party on July 5th. We are ordering their cake. It is a Mickey Mouse club house cake that is decorated like a present. My mom also took the liberty (even though she can not be here in Florida for their birthdays) of ordering all the party supplies for the party. It is a Mickey mouse club house birthday pack, complete with balloons, streamers, forks, napkins, cups, plates, confetti (which I plan on putting in the envelopes that contain the thank you cards, so people get a nice little surprise!) LOL and then she ordered Birthday Rubber Ducks that we can put in the pool. I plan on putting little colored stickers on the bottoms and having the kids find a set that matches and handing out prizes.. make a little game out of it. Should be fun.. I think! LOL
  
  Well.. my MIL & FIL should be getting back from the store soon (they went shopping for tomorrow)Albert and Jessa went with them,,Jessa, as she puts it, wanted to go "Shoppy". She is definitely her mother's daughter, and loves to shop.. But the thing is.. she never asks for anything.,. You know how alot of kids her age will see something they want, and when the parent says no, the kid has a fit?? Well.. Not Jessa. She will see something she wants play with it for a second and put it back on the shelf. And if she does see something she wants, and we say no.. she puts it back, and says Okay, I okay (She gives us a lot of ideas for birthday's and holidays that way! LOL)  She just loves to go and look though, point at everything and talk about it...
  
  Well I am gonna run. Have a wonderful weekend everyone..
  
  Happy Father's day to all you Grand-fathers, fathers, step fathers and too those of you who have "Fur Babys" or reptilian babys!
  

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• Long time no blog.. again

  Wednesday, Jun 11, 2008 11:03AM / Members only

  Well it has been a while since I blogged.. Sorry.. Life happens but thats ok.
  
  Since being gone I have had a few things happen.
  
  The 1 year anniversary of my great grandmother's death came around.. June 7.
  It was a very hard day to go through.
  
  Another thing that happened... I am an active member on a parenting forum.. I was a member their before we moved here to FL but when I moved they remodeled and I lost touch.. I since then joined back up and was promoted to a moderator on that forum, and then yesterday I was asked to become part of the admin team! Woot!!
  
  
  My 8 year old daughter Ilanna was getting black eyes at school , getting picked on and what not.. My exhusband went to the school and the school did nothing... So my daughter.. strong, independent  Italian just like her mom, took it upon herself to settle this bullying. She wrote a note to this girl, telling her she was a F***** B**** ( I do not condone that language) and to leave her alone..Well because of that my daughter was almost expelled and it was put down in her school records that she is known for bullying.. I am sorry BUT WTF!!?? Ilanna is anything BUT a bully. This is the first time she has ever gotten in to trouble.. she gets hit by another girl at school and they do nothing.. she tells the girl in a note how it is (again, I do not condone that language) and my daughter is the one labeled as a bully! Bull sh*t! So now my ex husband and his wife are fighting this against the school board. ( I will say that the school district sucks, it is as bad as NYC schools.. and my daughters, and their step brother's and sisters are 1 of 4 white families in the school)  So.. I am just ticked about that.. Of course I do tell Ilanna NOT to use that language.. but I do tell her, stick up for herself and defend herself.. BUT Never to hit anyone.. If some one punches her, hit them back (self defense) and then go tell an adult. NOT that any of the teachers in that school will do anything because they are all a bunch of a$$holes!
  
  
  Then today.. Tops it off!!
  
  Jessa's second birthday is July 11 and A.J's 1st Birthday is July 17th.
  SO we go today to get their birthday pictures done... Well let me tell you I am so disappointed with J.C. Penneys! portrait studio!
  
  We get their 30 minutes early so we have time to change the kids in to their birthday clothes, and then change them again 1 time each so we get some different poses with 2 different out fits.. Well as soon as we get there, she says ok.. which one first, we said A.J.. so.. She tells us, well hurry up and get him into his clothes.. so we rushed to get him in his outfit.. Well.. She could not get us in there fast enough.. Her tone of voice was very rude and she was rushing us, and making the kids upset with her tone.. A.J's pics came out OK, but she only took 5 pictures of him in ONE outfit and then called it quits on him..So then came Jessa's turn.. well the lady again started speaking with a rude arrogant snobby tune to her voice, we get Jessa all ready and she starts crying because the lady is talking harshly to her asking her why she is acting like such a baby!! WTF.. so I take Jessa out of the studio and we get her something to eat and to get her calm, then we go back.. Well the same thing continues!! The stupid B**** only took 2 pictures of Jessa and they were both from the chest up and Jessa was not smiling in either of the pictures!! WTF (Yes again) This is suppose to be a happy time for my babies and in Jessa's pic you can see her eyes filled with tears!  SO..I paid for the packages and I left. We were suppose to have 30 minutes for each child, she spent maybe 5 on each, IF that!!
  
  Finally we got home and  I called JcPenney to complain about the way we were treated today and about the pics.
  
  Well.. The lady told them she spent over 2 hours on each kid taking pics.. NOT true. We were there(at the mall) for maybe 1 Hour, and then she spent about 5 minutes on A.J and 5 on Jessa!! and then the rest of the time tending to other customers!
  
  So.. JCPenney is sending me out a voucher to get the kids pics done AGAIN.. complimentary by the portrait studio's manager who will do the 14 poses for each child( how they were suppose to do it) and not count the ones that don't come out good.. PLUS I get to keep the portraits we had done today. AND if everything goes well.. when I pick up the pics on the 25th, they will be also giving me a portrait cd with all copyrights to the pics and another picture cd for the next set we have done, ALL Free!!  It pays to B****!!
  
  So in the mean time I now have to either have Jessa's dress brought to the cleaners because some how, there is stains on it now (mind you, she only wore it for the 2 pictures she had taken) OR I have to find a different dress GRR!!
  
  It just never freaking ends!! I swear!
  
  So I bought papers and stickles the other day from one of the local stores. I have to make some father's day cards.. The local scrap store is going out of business and the woman told me to come back in, in about 2 weeks and she will let me know... But she has a few boxes of every color (35 colors in just the regular stickles and about 15 of the ice stickles) and kind of stickles (glitter glue but better) that will be thrown in the trash if they don't sell, so if I come in, she will give them to me all brand new still sealed in the boxes!`
  
  Albert and I gave Jessa an early birthday present this morning.
  
  We bought her a little 10kt gold name plate (but small) that says Princess on it!! It really looks good on her and she loves to wear it because she matches Mommy (I have a name plate that says Mandi, that my mom and dad got me for my 25th birthday)
  
  Here are those pics..
  
  
  
  And just a few other pics..
  
  
  This last pic, she was singing her little heart out!! She just loves to sing!
  
  

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• Why toddlers Scream

  Monday, Jun 2, 2008 8:01AM / Members only

  So Jessa loves to scream at the top of her lungs.. Not cry scream, but just randomly scream.. Some one is not happy about this....
  
  (for all you other parents out there who have toddlers who love to scream..)
  
  Gotten from..http://www.babycenter.com/0_screaming_1200985.bc#section0
  
  

  Why toddlers scream

  
  Believe it or not, your toddler's volume is turned way up not because she means to annoy you, but because she's full of that wonderful toddler joie de vivre. She's exploring the power of her voice, and experimenting with what she can do with it. Why must she always cut loose when you're at the supermarket or the bank? "There's a lovely echoing effect when you scream in big open spaces," says Roni Leiderman, associate dean of the Family Center at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. "And if the behavīor is reinforced, toddlers know they can get more attention from their parents if they scream in public."
  
  Some toddlers scream whenever they want their parents' attention. It's their way of saying, "Hey, look at me." Others scream when they want something they can't have — like a piece of candy. In that case, the shrieking means, "I want my way — give it to me now!"
  
  

  What you can do about it

  
  Screaming at your toddler to lower her voice won't help — it'll only send the message that whoever's loudest prevails. Your best bet is to avoid situations that'll tempt your toddler to raise her voice — and to divert her attention when she does scream. Here are some ideas on doing just that:
  
  Run errands on her schedule. It's not always possible to work around your toddler, but whenever you can, make sure she's well-rested, with a full stomach and an empty bladder, when you leave the house. "If you were tired and hungry you wouldn't have the patience or energy to go grocery shopping in a cold supermarket, would you? The same is true for your toddler," says Leiderman.
  
  Stick to noisy stores and restaurants. When you have your toddler in tow, stay away from quiet, intimate, or formal places. Instead, go where other families go. You'll be less embarrassed when your child screams in an already loud restaurant, and less likely to reinforce her behavīor by trying to cajole her into settling down.
  
  Ask her to use an indoor voice. If your toddler's screaming because she's happy, try not to comment or criticize. But if it's really getting to you, ask her to use her "indoor voice" and stop yelling. Lower your voice so she'll have to quiet down to hear you, and calmly say, "I can't stand the screaming, honey. It's giving me a big headache."
  
  Make a game out of it. Try indulging her need to be loud by saying, "Let's both shriek as loud as we can," and then join her in letting it rip. Then turn down the volume by saying, "Now it's time to see who can whisper best." Then, like a Simon Says game, switch to other movements, such as putting your hands over your ears or jumping up and down. This'll make screaming seem like just one of many fun things she can do. "If you're in public you can make the game quieter even sooner by saying something like 'Oh, you sound like a lion! Can you sound like a kitty cat?'" says Leiderman.
  
  Acknowledge her feelings. If your toddler's screaming because she wants your attention, ask yourself whether she's genuinely uncomfortable or overwhelmed. If you think the environment you're in — say it's a huge supermarket packed with people — is too much for her, rush through your shopping and leave quickly. Then make it a point to shop at smaller markets (or visit the big ones during off-peak hours) and work your way gradually up to the larger, fuller ones again.
  
  If you think she's just a little bored or cranky, acknowledge her feelings. Calmly say, "I know you want to go home, but wait just a few minutes, we're almost done," and push on. Not only will she be comforted that you know how she feels, it'll help her learn how to put her feelings into words.
  
  If you know your toddler's shouting because she thinks she can get you to hand over a cookie that way, don't give in. You'll only reinforce her behavīor by giving her what she wants when she screams. Instead, calmly say, "I know you want a cookie, but we have to finish this first. You can have a cookie when we get home." Don't bother saying that she can have the cookie later only if she behaves better immediately — by the time she gets it, she probably won't recall what she did to earn it. Simply offer her a cookie later at home.
  
  Keep her occupied. You can make errands more fun for your toddler by engaging her in an activity. Two tactics to try:
  
  Play a game. One 15-month-old's mom told us, "I just talk to my son when we're out running errands. I tell him what I'm doing, what's going on around us, and who's nearby. I've learned that he's quiet when he's busy." Ask your toddler to help you pick things off the shelves at the supermarket. Or, make up a song about what you're doing. "Just singing, 'We're looking for bananas, bananas, bananas!' makes it more fun for your child," says Leiderman.
  
  Offer toys and snacks. Just be sure to give them to your toddler before she screams. If you wait until she's screaming to give her a cookie, you'll reinforce that behavīor by sending the message that she gets what she wants when she raises her voice. Offer her a snack or toy while she's being quiet, and see if you can't give it an extra twist. One mom's secret: "I bought my son a little bowl that has a rotating lid so he can't dump the food out. He's entertained by trying to get the snack out. Then once he does, he's too busy chewing to shriek." Another mom says, "My son has a toy that stays in the car, so it's more special to him than the toys he has in the house and it really holds his interest when we're running errands."
  
  Finally, ignore the onlookers. For many moms the most difficult part of coping with a toddler who loves to scream is brushing off other people's dirty looks. Here's how one second-time mom handles it: "My 12-month-old daughter screams at the top of her lungs. She isn't hurt or frustrated — she just wants to scream. At 12 months old, she doesn't understand why she shouldn't do this. When I was an inexperienced mother, this would have embarrassed me. Now I just think, what difference does it make? I've finally realized it doesn't matter what other people think." And if that's not enough to convince you that you're not alone, take this ex-onlooker's advice: "I never thought I would be the one saying this because my husband and I used to be the ones who glared, but I say let them stare! Obviously, if you're someplace like a church or quiet restaurant where your child's screaming is truly disruptive, take him outside for a while. But in a place like the grocery store, let them look. They'll get over it!"
  
  
  

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• 
  ianaferro

  posted on Thursday, Jan 1, 2009 1:37AM  [Report]

  feliz ano novo!!
  
  happy new year!!
  
  新年快樂!!
• 
  ianaferro

  posted on Thursday, Dec 25, 2008 10:51PM  [Report]

  feliz natal!!
  
  merry christmas!!
  
  shendanjiekuaile!!
• 
  casara

  posted on Thursday, Dec 25, 2008 5:55AM  [Report]

  Merry Christmas!!!
• 
  LClem71304

  posted on Sunday, Sep 21, 2008 10:14AM  [Report]

  Hi! Thanks for dropping by at my page!
• 
  Batforce

  posted on Friday, Aug 1, 2008 10:37AM  [Report]

  You are very fortunate to have such a beautiful family.
• 
  casara

  posted on Wednesday, Jul 16, 2008 6:00AM  [Report]

  mine was fun!..
  
  guess what?!?!.. i got access to my msn now!.. lol... im so happy!
• 
  casara

  posted on Tuesday, Jul 8, 2008 8:24AM  [Report]

  hey !!!!
  
  so how did the 4th go for you guys??.. you looked like you had a lot of fun!!XD!P
• 
  AlbertV

  posted on Friday, Jul 4, 2008 8:13PM  [Report]

  Hope you have a very Happy 4th of July =) Love you xoxoxox Oh wait, you'll b e with me..Duh!!! LMAO =D
• 
  JustKelly

  posted on Tuesday, Jun 24, 2008 2:14AM  [Report]

  hahaha! Yes! You are so funny! Btw, Albert said in his blog that you may have found a new job? That would be great! I hope it works out for you. :)
• 
  casara

  posted on Saturday, Jun 7, 2008 10:22AM  [Report]

  haha..
  
  no worries!.. its not like this site is your life..
  
  Ive been great.. starting tomorrow, im going to be working like 24/7!!! no freedom for me.. ='( but thats okay, i find work addicting...
  
  Well Im off to bed...
  
  nite**
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