A Fresh Start

Since so much has changed in my life this past year, I've decided to start off fresh and begin a new blog. Come visit me over at Mama is a Bookworm.

I'm Back!

Wow, I kind of just dropped off the face of the blogosphere there didn't I.  Sorry bout that, things have been crazy.  And I apologize in advance as my life is just getting crazier so I know I won't be posting everyday.  I'm shooting for at least once a week.  I've got some catching up to do, I actually wrote several blogs that I just never got around to posting so I'll be trying to post those as well as some new ones.  I'm also planning to start doing some book reviews.  I've been getting some great books from LibraryThing and I really want to share them with others. 

So the craziness that is my life continues.....
I'm working part-time at Babies R Us which is a blast. 
Next week I start classes towards my Associate's Degree in Paralegal Studies.  I'll be taking 4 classes this semester, 2 online and 2 on campus. 
My little man has been promoted to the Preschool classroom at daycare which is exciting, but a bit daunting at the same time.  I can't believe he's almost 3!!
Christmas was great! I went a little crazy with the gifts for my little man but he loved everything he got and I'll be posting more about his favorites soon. 
The New England weather has been crappy as usual this winter but I'm actually quite proud of myself because I am successfully driving a stick shift car in the crappy weather.

I'm sure there's more I'll be posting about and I'm going to redo the layout and design a bit over the next few weeks.  It'll be interesting to get back into the blogging world after such an absence but I'm looking forward to it.

A Great Tragedy

I got a phone call this morning from David which wouldn't be unusual except that I talked to him yesterday and we usually try to stretch the money I put on the account by spacing out the phone calls.
As soon as he came on the line, I knew something was wrong. I could hear the tears in his voice and could barely understand what he was saying.  He called because of a news story he saw last night.  A man was beaten and left for dead over a dispute over a parking spot.  Read the news story here. 
The man who was attacked, Chad McDonald, was David's boss for 3 years.  Apparently, Fernando Aristy, regularly parked his car in a no parking zone in front of the warehouse where Chad worked.  There were signs stating that it was a no parking zone but Aristy parked there anyway.  He was repeatedly warned to move his car by Chad but would park there anyway.  Eventually, Chad called and had the car towed.  Aristy then came back with two friends and attacked Chad and then left him lying on the ground.  He was transported to the hospital where he later died from his injuries. 
Information on Fernando Aristy can be found here.
Chad leaves behind a large extended family in addition to his wife of ten years and their two sons ages 15 and 11.  The 11 year old will be 12 on Friday.
One of the worst parts of this tragedy is that Aristy has had a warrant out for him since September of 2009 when he was released from prison and failed to show up for his probation meeting.  He should have been back in jail for that but authorities hadn't found him so he was still out to commit this crime. 
Chad didn't have any life insurance so the loss of his income will greatly impact his family.  There is a benefit scheduled for November 6 at 8pm at the Lynnway Sports Center in Lynn, MA.  I am planning to attend and hope that a lot of others will as well. 
Chad was a great guy.  Hardworking and easy going.  Always had a smile for everyone.  He was a terriffic father.  He was always great with Davis when he and I would go by the warehouses to see David while he worked.  He will be missed. 

School Pictures

This is Davis' first year in daycare and they took school pictures, which I didn't expect.  It was a nice surprise though.  For some reason, no matter what I do, he always smiles more for people outside the family who are taking his picture.  With me, he can be acting goofy and smiling away but as soon as he sees the camera, he starts turning away and pretending to be shy.  If it weren't so frustrating, it would be funny.  Okay, it is funny but it's frustrating too.
Anyway, now I have a dilemma. They took 4 pictures and I like them all. I can't decide which one(s) I want to get 8x10s of.  I'm getting wallets of all of them, but I'm not sure which to get 8x10s of.  So here they are...Let me know what you think.

Picture 1

Picture 2

Picture 3

Picture 4

Sharing a Wonderful Blog

I just stumbled upon a wonderful blog.  I found the link on my Facebook news feed today and I'm so glad I followed it.  Single Dad Laughing is a well written, deeply thought provoking blog with a lot of humor thrown into the mix.  
The entry that brought me to the blog was, You just broke your child, Congratulations. It was an amazing entry and definitely should be a must read for every parent.  This post is written about dads but I think it pertains to moms as well. 
I know I'm not perfect as a parent and I never expect to be, but I know that I'm doing my best and my son knows I love him.  I spend time with him every day no matter what.  I know I'm extremely lucky to have found a man who is a loving and involved father and I'm grateful every day for that.  Even though David is away from us for now, he manages to show his love to Davis is a million ways.  And I know that when he is home again, he will be as involved and loving as he can be. 
If you haven't already, you should definitely go check out Single Dad Laughing, he's an amazing writer.

Toddler Talk Thursdays: GAMES

First off, I'd like to thank the Toddler Talk Moms for highlighting my blog this week!  It really made my day.

Now, this week's topic is games. Davis LOVES games of all kinds. 

He started off with things like peek-a-boo and what we liked to call "I'm gonna squash Daddy"

Which later progressed to "I'm gonna use Daddy as a jungle gym"

Yes, he was watching wrestling with us in that video, he's always loved it.

He has always been a sports fan, lately his favorites are soccer and baseball. 

I've recently started doing a lot of flash cards with him which he loves. They're not really a game, but he thinks they're fun so I think it counts.  We have seasons, animals, letters, numbers and sight words flash cards.  He's not quite ready for the sight words yet, I just show him the picture and then the word so he connects that the word goes with the picture. 

I'm really excited that he's getting to the point where he's about ready for actual board games now.  I plan to get him one or two for Christmas this year, I just don't know which ones would be best to start with.  I'm making my own memory/matching game with pictures from his coloring books.  We'll be trying that one out this weekend, I can't wait to see how it goes. 

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