Thankful Thursday

"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver."

- Proverbs 25:11

Happy Thankful Thursday!  I'm thankful we're getting closer and closer to Thanksgiving Day.  I can hardly wait.  What about y'all?  I'm about to burst from the excitement of not having to get up early because it'll be Fall break and I can just be surrounded by my family for a couple of days.  Of course, I'm excited about the food!  If you haven't already check out my Thanksgiving menu for this year.

Also, Moo started riding the bus to and from school this week.  The struggles of being a family with only one car.  Thankfully, her bus driver has a good handle on the kids and makes it her business to become familiar with the parents.  I like that if she sees a problem brewing she will point it out to parents and ask for their help in resolving the conflict.  Having worked in the school system, I respect school staff who try to get parents involved with their kids in any way possible and work together to not only make sure our children are getting a good education, but so that they can be kept safe as well.

JJ is continuing to make great progress.  I'm so grateful that he's finally catching up developmentally to other kids his age.  We've been working hard and it's showing.  He can count to ten (sometimes 12), he knows all of his primary colors, he can now pronounce everyone's names properly and he's popping new phrases everyday.  His phrase for today is posted below.

Most importantly, I'm thankful that I had the opportunity to have a pretty serious conversation with a trusted friend.  I confided in her about a few of major personal stresses that are going on behind the scenes, some frustrations about being a WAHM and the blogging world and how I felt like the walls had closed in on me.  I'm grateful not only for her listening ear, but for her words of encouragement and support.

What are you thankful for this week?

Adventures With Toopy and Binoo

Disclosure: I received Toopy and Binoo products in exchange for a post about the show.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Moo and JJ absolutely enjoy watching cartoons.  So, when I asked if we would be interested in checking out the Toopy and Binoo cartoon, I said sure.  And after almost two weeks of watching Toopy and Binoo, I'm glad we did check them out.  In today's society so many children's shows are becoming more and more grown up.  It's been refreshing to not have to screen every episode.

Now for those who aren't familiar with Toopy and Binoo, it is an animated tv series from Canada that takes kids on the fun adventures of a tall and funny mouse, Toopy, and his adorable best, Binoo, who is a white cat.  I know a cat and a mouse being friends seems strange but I like this unlikely twist.  This series is designed for toddlers and preschoolers ages 2 to 6, but I can see kids up to age 8 enjoying this as well.

I like that Toopy and Binoo help to teach kids about imaginative play, the value of being a good friend, and using manners.  It's been proven that kids learn better when they are having fun be it through play or watching cartoons.  I like that Toopy and Binoo is a show we can enjoy no matter where we are because it is now available for US audiences exclusively the Toopy and Binoo TV YouTube channel.  We can watch it at home on our TV since it has YouTube on it, the iPad, the computer or a smart phone if we are on the go.

The Toopy and Binoo TV YouTube channel has over 100 episodes to choose from.  Each episode is roughly five minutes long which is perfect for younger children since they often get bored easily. And what I like most is that Toopy and Binoo remind me of Moo and JJ.

Moo is more of a Toopy because she's super friendly,  full of humor, outgoing and very talkative.   Then there's JJ who is quiet, more cautious (sometimes) and logical like Binoo.  All in all if you have young kids check out this series and see how they like it.  You don't have anything to lose because it's FREE to watch on YouTube and like I said you don't have to worry about filtering out unappropriate content.

But if you want to know or learn more about Toopy and Binoo, feel free to join @ResourefulMom today at 1 PM EST for a fun Twitter party!  There will be some awesome prizes to win, too.  Make sure to follow and use the hashtag #ToooyandBinoo.  You can also like Toopy and Binoo in Facebook and follow them on Twitter!

A Grieving Friend

Today was a very sad day.  In fact, this whole week has had a sad undercurrent to it.  One of my closest friends loss her mom earlier this week unexpectedly.  Needless to say she isn't taken this tragic event well.  I was in shock when I first heard her mom had died.

Although, I had only met her mom a few times, the times that I met her she left a lasting impression on me.  She was beautiful and had such a glow and lovely personality.  The times I can remember being around her, I always see her smiling.   And she was so talented when it came to making cakes.  In fact, I was going to ask her to make a Princess Tiana cake for Moo's birthday.

I know she was a great mom because my friend talked so much about her parents and how loving they were.  Plus, I saw first hand how much they adored their children and grandchildren.  During my friend's son's first birthday, I would see her parents glancing her interacting with her son.  The look in their eyes was pure pride and love as if they were saying "We did well."  At the end of the day that's what every parent wants to be able to say about their parenting skills.

Seeing my friend so distraught over the loss of her mom just tugged at my heart strings even more.  To see such a person who I know as being strong, tough and doesn't take shit from anybody in such a fragile state made me tear up.  Today, as I offered my friend words of comfort, I wished I could take half of her pain away.  Even as I type this I'm tearing up.  She was so drained and exhausted.  I can hear the sound of cry and almost childlike voice as she tried to hold it together.

I've been to my share of funerals and memorial services but it's something different when you see your friend grieving so hard and you know the one thing/person that can heal them is never coming back.  I can only pray that God will be a fence around her and her family.  That He will protect them from further hurt and pain and comfort them in a way that I can't.  

Have you ever had a friend grieve the loss of a parent or spouse?  How did you try to help them get through it?

Finding Courage in Friendship

 In The Dragon and the Turtle Go On Safari, written by Donita Paul and Evangeline Denmark, best friends Padraig the dragon and Roger the turtle to camp outside at the base of Mount Sillymanborrow aka the backyard.  And what starts out as a fun adventure on the safari roasting marshmallows and eating baked bugs quickly turns frightening under the blanket of night. For these two young friends the darkness and sounds of the night heighten the boys imaginations as squirrels, elephants and other safari animals are transformed into ferocious beasts.  Padraig who is obviously the more scared of the two tries his best to hide his fear from his best friend.

However, Roger senses Padraig's uneasiness and works hard to be a source of comfort to him and encourage him to not give up on their adventure.  The boys nestle up in their tent prepared to call it a night until a loud cry for help draws them out on a true adventure.  Armed with a flashlight they set out to help whomever or whatever is need.  They put aside their fear and find courage in their friendship to vier out into the darkness and unknown to help another.

This is a great story to help teach children the true meaning of being a friend.  Paul and Denmark do a beautiful job of writing a story that is not only easy to read but easy for children to understand.  And thanks to Vincent Nguyen they have lovely illustrations to accompany this wonderful tale.  Also, the reading guide at the end makes this a great book to use in a church library and teach children about how God is always with us even during our time of fear.



The Dragon and the Turtle Go On Safari
Authors: Donita Paul and Evangeline Denmark
Illustrator: Vincent Nguyen
Release Date:  January 2011
Pages: 40
Genre: Children's, Fiction

*Please stop by and rate my book review here.  I was not compensated for this review. However, I did receive this book free of charge.  All opinions expressed above are my own.*

I'm Still Me

If you've been reading my blog from the beginning then you know that I started off as a single mom almost a year ago.  Well, since then I've reconnected with my daughter's father and we decided to put all the bull behind us and get married.  I have to admit that being married seems to have changed our relationship for the better.  There's no doubt that I love married life and being legally bonded to the man who has helped me to be  blessed with soon to be two wonderful children.  He's always been supportive of me pursuing my dreams, getting an education and having a life of my own outside of us.

However, while marriage has been great for my relationship with my husband, it seems to have taken a tole on some of my friendships.  Before, I got married and I was just a single mom and even before I got pregnant, some of my girlfriends used to call me and want to hang out all the time.  We all babies back to back. Seriously, I was the first to get preggers and then a few months later my bestie got preggers and a few months after that some of our other friends got pregnant.  Our moms and male friends joked that it must have been something in the water. LOL. They might have been right!!

Anyways, we all seemed to somehow stay connected even  after I moved almost two hours away to my hometown.  We were constantly calling each other, texting each other and writing on each other's Facebook walls.  We exchanged pictures of the kids via text.  And being the old soul that I am, I made sure to mail out cards for all the holidays and even just send them letters for the sake of just keeping them updated on other stuff that had been going but that I hadn't wanted to mention over the Internet.

So, when I decided to move back to the Queen City, I was thrilled because just about all of us would be in the same city again.  I imagined playdates with all of the kids, mommy afternoons at the nail shop or the mall, joint parties for the holidays, etc.  However, what I noticed when I announced that the hubby and I had eloped was a decrease in phone calls, hardly any text messages or posts on my Facebook wall.  And even though we all live within 30 to 45 minutes of each other, they always seemed too busy to come visit or for me to visit with them.  Then, I got preggers again and was on lock down because of my severe morning sickness. So, of course I couldn't exactly go to visit them because just riding in the car more than a few minutes made me almost vomit.

I felt like I had been exiled!  And with my bestie in Philly, I became in more engrossed in my blog and Twitter friendships that were forming.  It still wasn't the same as having my girlfriends who lived in the same city as me to hang out with though.  I finally came to the conclusion that they figured marriage had changed me.  Not the case, I'm still ME!!  Granted somethings have changed like I have to make sure the hubby doesn't have plans for us before I commit to going places on his days off, but otherwise nothing has changed about me.

Our college days

I still like going to nail shop when I can.  I still like going to the mall. I still like just kicking it with the girls while the kids play and we catch up on some gossip.  So, why can't they see that?  It almost feels like I suppose to choose between the love of my life or my friends.  I have to admit that this past weekend one of my girlfriends did come by to visit and we're making progress on trying to get back to the interaction we had before.  It felt awkward at first because honestly I didn't know what to talk to her about because we hadn't really talked in so long, but eventually fell back into the swing of things.  Before she left we vowed to keep in touch and visit each other more so that the kids could get used to each other.

The bestie & I in NYC

However, I've realized that maybe it's time for me to expand my friend base.  I signed Moo and I up for a local mom & playgroup on Meetup.com and I have to say those women have welcomed us with open arms.  We went to our first meetup this past Tuesday and it felt good to be surrounded by other moms who weren't judging me or writing me off because I was married.  I bonded with a few of them right away and am looking forward to future meetups.  Moo didn't quite warm up so easily but that's because she's been an only child for two years now and is used to playing by herself or with me.  However, that is another plus of having joined this group.

She'll get to interact with kids her age and learn how to socialize on a toddler level and I'll finally get some female company that I have been craving.  Listening to some of the other moms talk, I know that I'm not alone in having had friendships suffer because of my change in status.   I'm thankful for my God seems to have shown me and led me to a better situation.  After all life is a lot more fun when you've got girlfriends you can call and text or just hit the mall with.  And it's even nicer when those girlfriends know that you're still you even though your status has changed.

So, have you encountered any strains on your friendships due to motherhood, marriage, career advancements, etc?  If so how did you deal with it?