So here’s some Valentine’s Day gift suggestions for tween girls:

Custom Made Clothing from Fashion Playtes: Girls can create their own clothes! From dresses to pajamas and jackets to messenger bags, your tween girl can also make clothing for her Littlest Pet Shop Pet. We’ve used Fashion Playtes before and my daughter had a blast making and wearing clothes she designed. Free Shipping on orders of $40 or more with code FS212 until 2/29 at FashionPlaytes.com!

Stuffed Animals One of the favorite Valentine’s Day gifts no matter your age is a stuffed animal. If you’re a Disney fan, how about
”Be My Valentine” Duffy the Disney Bear Plush Toy — 12” H? So cute!

Gifts for Hobbies Find a gift for your tween girl’s hobby, especially if it’s one that you share with her. I love Flirty Apron’s Children’s Aprons. Dad’s you can find matching aprons for your wife and daughter. What an adorable idea!

On Sale from $24.95 to $19.50!

Journals or Diaries Some tween girls find writing in a journal an easy way to deal with stress, changes, and feelings. Others need help to get started and keep going. Embossed Never Stop Thinking Leather Journal – Lined is for those girls who can freestyle write. 365: A Year of Journal Prompts for Teens: A Journal Workbook provides that guidance. Both make lovely gifts that tween girls will treasure for years to come.

Do you purchase Valentine’s Day gifts for your tween girl? Do you have a favorite gift or does she?

Affiliate links included in this post.

He’d sing a song, half real, half with his own lyrics and I’d laugh and dance. On Saturday mornings, my sister and I would jump into bed to wake him up expecting tickles and and stories.  When I was old enough, I’d walk to the corner to wait for him to come home from work and I’d see his smile get bigger as he walked towards me. Every test, every report card, he’d ask me, this is the best you could do, with a twinkle in his eye. He couldn’t hide his pride.

When I began to date, he’d dress up in his Sunday finest (think the Godfather) and talk to the poor young man who was taking me out, while twisting his pinky ring. Not too many of them showed up again. He’d ask my mother, “Why is she going out at 11 pm?”, but learned to accept it. He was the one who came with me to take my admissions test for college. I made him wait outside, like I didn’t know him. When he was getting ready to walk me down the aisle, he told me that I could walk out the front door with him. The limo was still waiting. After my daughter, Alicia, was born, he stayed awake with me during those late night feedings. He held her so much that she wanted him to put her down to sleep. He  spoiled her from the day she was born.

His Godfather Look

Of course we bumped heads, especially when it came to me wanting my independence and with men. According to him, I should live at home until I was married. And no man was good enough for me. Every job I had that was close enough to him, he’d visit. When I wasn’t there. To speak to the boss. To make sure they knew I had a father who watched out for me.

I get my love of family and food from him. His favorite place to be was in his own home surrounded by his family, his daughters, their husbands, their children, in-laws, cousins, nieces, nephews, significant others, all eating and yelling and laughing. He always wanted laughter. Do anything to get it. Put on a funny hat, say something outrageous, call people by their wrong names, but never tell a joke. He didn’t need to.

As he got older, he loved to cook. He’d bother my mother as she stood by the stove, telling her to add this ingredient. Until, soon, he’d do some of the cooking on his own. During the holidays, grocery shopping was more important than buying gifts. And the menu was planned days in advance. The cooking done with love. The food shared with anyone who entered the door. When I’d eat, he’d watch me. He’d tell my mother that I knew how to enjoy food because I ate (still do) slowly and savored (still do) each bite.

When the pain became too much to bear, he finally told my mother, who wondered why he would sit up at night in the other room. We were so angry with him. He didn’t stick to his diet, didn’t follow the doctor’s orders. If only, if only. I only understand now that his agenda was to live each moment of his life to the fullest. Eat the best food. Play with the grand kids, even if it meant he’d have to sit in a chair while they threw a ball to him Smoke a cigar.  Visit his family and friends.

He had to have a bypass done, or he’d continue to live with that horrible pain, or have a stroke or a serious heart attack. He’d already had a number of them. My Dad, the man who never had surgery, who feared it with every bone in his body, agreed. We were told his chances of survival were slim. We prayed. We spent hours with him. We cried with him. We laughed and talked about what is was like, but he talked about what it was going to be like. He laid down the law. His wishes. Our futures.

After hours of surgery, after all the other family members went home, we were still there. The doctors had a hard time finding a vein from his leg. His heart muscle was so weak. It didn’t look good. He lasted a few days, but there was no hope. His organs were failing. I felt as if my life was being sucked out of me. He didn’t want this, he told us. He didn’t want to be on a machine, with us waiting, afraid, sad.

When I said goodbye, I felt like that little girl who used to say, “My turn, Daddy!” because I wanted him for something. Except it was his turn. And he did it with dignity as any Italian man of his background would do. As any man who loved his family more than his own life did.

For this I’m grateful – for a father and grandfather who put himself last every day. I say to you Daddy, I love you even more now.

My Mom, daughter Alicia, My Dad and my Aunt 1994

Love with all of your heart, until you feel you might burst. Forgive your family and friends. Be thankful for those who give of themselves. Happy Thanksgiving.

Link up with Andrea and other bloggers for a Week of Thanksgiving.

I can blame my moods on being sick, or going through menopause, or a myriad of other things, but I’m old enough to control my outbursts by now. And even though his back hurts and he works a stressful job as a mail carrier, he’ll still listen to my phone calls where all I do is complain. He’ll come home from work and make me dinner and tell me it’s going to be alright when he wants to be taken care of instead.

Now please don’t think I’m an ogre, although I play one on TV and in my home. I can be nice too, but what I’m thankful for is my husband’s patience and understanding. I honestly don’t know how he does it, but I hope he doesn’t stop.

YesVideo can help you preserve, organize, share and relive your favorite video holiday memories. They can even take your photos and create a DVD or HD quality BluRay to share as a new holiday tradition. One of my all time favorite holidays was the year that my daughter, Sammi turned one. She was able to take part in our Christmas celebration and so was I (her birthday is December 17th). My older daughter, Alicia was still at home and we had a special day together.

The house was decorated. The morning watching my daughters open gifts gave me goosebumps. Our meal was delicious. And our extended family and close friends came to visit. There were lots of smiles and laughter throughout the house and I had nothing more to ask for. I have lots of photos from that perfect day and sharing them reminds us of how important family is. With a YesVideo DVD, we can pass along those holiday memories to the rest of the family and be sure the photos won’t be damaged.

I’m sure you have photos and VHS tapes filled with your own holiday memories. YesVideo is offering a 15% off discount on your total order for transfers by using the coupon code TRANSFER15.

YesVideo’s Fall Contest

The Fall Photo Contest is simple to enter.  Just share your favorite Fall photo on the YesVideo Facebook page.  No voting and no judging will take place.  Winner will be selected at random.

YesVideo Twitter Party #HolidayMemories

Date: Tuesday, November 15
Time: 8:00 PM CST (9 PM EST)
Hashtag: #HolidayMemories
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Whatever your favorite holiday memory, YesVideo is at your service to be sure that your photos and video tapes are safe and easily shared.

This is a sponsored post for YesVideo. All opinions are my own.

My family when things were better

Just about a month ago, I wrote about some serious issues that were happening in my family. Specifically, my mother became the caregiver of my aunt who has been residing in a nursing facility. And after about two weeks, my mother realized the task was too difficult.

To update you, my aunt was hospitalized, then moved to a new nursing facility, where she became depressed. She wasn’t eating right, refused to get out of bed, take a shower and even have discussions with us. Within 4 days, she was back in the hospital and in ICU. Her white blood count was extremely low and her hemoglobin was also low.

My mother was scared and blamed herself for my aunt’s deteriorating health. Instead of berating me as before, she became child-like. She asked me to drive her to the hospital, to call the doctors and nurses back after they had already spoken to her. I realized that my mother didn’t remember what she was being told. So, although my mother is my aunt’s health care surrogate and I’m named second in case my mother can’t fulfill her duty, I told the hospital to call me about everything.

I learned that my aunt had a bad reaction to a new medication. She had lots of tests and needed plasma and medications to increase her blood levels. I am the main person that visits my aunt and makes decisions about her care.

My mother is even more forgetful than last month. She calls me to tell me that she doesn’t feel well almost every day. I had to rush over there Sunday, only to find that she had an upset stomach and felt weak. I’ve called her primary care doctor about all of the issues including her anger, paranoia and forgetfulness. She had just seen him for a regular check-up. All I was told is that this is expected because of her age (82) and that she is actually one of the better patients when it comes to memory loss.

I’ve also been in touch with her therapist after another visit to her with my mother. We are trying to get my mother to accept moving into an apartment in an assisted living facility. I’m not putting a lot of hope into this, though.

The name calling and yelling has stopped and I am grateful for that, but I do watch what I say and how I say it as to not set my mother off. There’s another appointment with the therapist mid-December as we continue to work on communication and decision making.

My aunt will return the nursing facility when she is able. And, I’ve made the decision to request someone else take over as her financial guardian (if possible). With the responsibility of caring for my mother increasing and the needs of my daughter remaining the same, I have to put things in priority.

This is very stressful. I’m the only child and the closest living relative to my aunt (there’s actually a long story about that, but let this suffice). I’m the only Mom that my daughter, Sammi has too. And she needs me.

Did you have to make difficult choices about caring for your elderly family members?

Self-Esteem in Girls Matters

Today we are bombarded with photos of perfect looking women. They’re on TV, in music videos, online, in advertisements. And girls see them. They can easily be swayed to believe that they too need to achieve this level of beauty. It can cause girls to feel inferior, too fat, even ugly. Those feelings can continue for a lifetime and have devastating effects.  The Dove Self-Esteem Movement is working to break that cycle and help change it for those already caught in it.

Self-Esteem Study by Dove

Dove held a research study (SOURCE: Dove Research: The Real Truth About Beauty: Revisited)  about self-esteem which included girls and women:

• Only 4% of women around the world consider themselves beautiful (up from 2% in 2004)
• Only 11% of girls globally are comfortable using the word beautiful to describe themselves
• 72% of girls feel tremendous pressure to be beautiful
• 80% of women agree that every woman has something about her that is beautiful but do not see their own beauty
• More than half (54%) of women globally agree that when it comes to how they look, they are their own worst beauty critic

How You Can Help

Take one hour to spend time with your daughter, girl you mentor, niece or a group of girls. This is a special time for bonding and teaching, for fun and soul-searching. It’s your choice what you do, but be open to listen and to make that amazing girl feel that’s she’s the center of your world! Dove has a Self-Esteem Movement Map on Facebook where you can take the pledge to join us during October 21 – 23. Just enter your activity on the map or find others that are being held locally. I’ll be sharing some ideas for activities soon.

I’ve already made my pledge and can’t wait to see yours. One hour can make a huge difference in the life of a girl. Are you going to join in?

I wrote this post as a Dove Self-Esteem Champion.  I’ll be receiving a Flip Video Camera for my participation. I believe in this initiative and am happy to share this information with my readers.

Since she’s been anxious about the procedure for the last few days, it is probably best that she be monitored at the hospital. With anxiety, her heart rate can go up. Not having fluids also can increase her heart rate. We don’t want a problem with sinus tachycardia while we’re over an hour away from All Children’s where her specialists are located.

My husband and I are able to spend the night with her in her hospital room. We have our own bed and our own TV, plus a small refrigerator. Sammi is excited about having her own TV which is connected to a game system with a large selection of video games. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that she probably will be discharged before she’ll feel like playing games, but I’m praying that I’m wrong.

Please take the time to think of her or say a prayer. We really appreciate it. I’ll try to update about her condition on Twitter and Facebook if I am able to use my cell phone.

Be Prepared for Your Appointment

We try to arrive at least 14 minutes before our appointment time just in case there are new forms to fill out or someone has to use the bathroom. We appreciate that our doctor’s time is important. I write up a list of questions and concerns that we have and any prescription refills we need, and bring that with us. We are understanding when the doctor runs late if she spends quality time with my daughter. If we feel rushed for most of our appointments, then this is most likely not a good match for us. The only time, we may put up with this if the quality of care is extraordinary, but I will still speak up about the issue. I’d start with the office staff first, then with the office manager, then the doctor. If it can’t be worked out, there’s another doctor in our future.

photo credit: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1314903

Provide Information

Even if you’ve had your child’s medical records sent to a doctor, provide all information about previous surgeries, diagnoses, current medications your child is taking, etc. It may be annoying to fill out forms again and again, but you can’t expect a doctor to read through a medical chart to get the information you can easily provide. The questions are there for a reason. Also, let the doctor know about your child’s likes and dislikes, fears, personality traits or emotional issues.

Gain Trust in Your Doctor

Although you have the right and every reason to ask questions about your child’s treatment, to suggest treatments you have researched and to even get a second opinion, there comes a time, when you will have to gain the trust of your child’s doctor. This can be a long process, especially if you’ve had problems with previous doctors. It can come easily, especially if you all just click. It can depend on the doctor’s bedside manner, on his knowledge and experience, on how your child lights up when she comes into the room, on whether you can get in touch with him quickly if you have an emergency or a question.
As my daughter’s advocate, I want the best medical care for her. But I also want her to be respected by the doctors that care for her. I expect a doctor to see my daughter to be seen as a whole person, not as her diagnosis. There’s a two way street when it comes to building a positive relationship with your child’s doctor. Keep in mind how you act towards the doctor. Do you say thank you? Do you treat the office staff with respect? Inform the doctor of any new information about your child?

Do you have a good relationship with your child’s doctor? If not, what have you done about it?

For more inspiring photographs, head over to The Bona Fide Life, Better in Bulk, Shanamama, From Dates to Diapers, Not Your Momblog, The Divine Miss Mommy , High Impact Mom, BrainFoggles and Zensible Mama and link your own photo stories!

The night before, her clothes were set out, her book bag was packed, but sleep alluded her. She tossed and turned, got up for water, to use the bathroom, trying to get the sleep she so desperately needed. When she did fall asleep, it was fitful. Every little noise awoke her and for what seemed like minutes later, her sleepy eyes peeked at my from under the covers the next morning, begging me for “5 more minutes”.

Better to wake her up early and let her sleep in a bit. Better to have everything prepared the night before, so she is the main focus in the morning. Even though it takes her longer to get ready than in years past, I try to be patient. My mood is essential to her getting off to a good day at school. So I bite my tongue and help her with tasks that she would normally do on her own. She’s out of it, still feeling sleepy, so I can’t blame her.

Two classes a day at school (from 9 AM to 11 AM) and she’s worn out. She yawns in class, has trouble staying on task, but is grateful that the teacher is animated. Plus it’s two hours of reading – Language Arts and Critical Thinking – something she enjoys very much. When it’s time to leave, you can see it on her face, in her eyes, the tired look that comes over her, that she can’t control.

Back home, she eats lunch and takes a nap. So far it’s been about an hour each day. Then, homework, getting everything ready for the next day, a little TV, some time on the computer. Feeling tired again, but can’t sleep so close to bedtime. Eat dinner, take a shower, read, try to stay awake until bedtime. And it begins again the next day.

My daughter, with a diagnosis of Narcolepsy, going back to school so bravely.

photo credit: http://www.sxc.hu/browse.phtml?f=view&id=708400