Mels Box of Chocolates

Life is short. Tomorrow is not guaranteed.

2012-05-26T09:27:00.001-04:00

As soon as I heard the poor man who died in a construction accident was from Milford, I reacted as I always did. I quickly ran my mind down all the names of my students to see if the last names matched, then started thinking if I knew any students in our school who had the same last name. I couldn't match it up and with a sigh of relief went on with my life.

Then I went to school yesterday and heard the news.
The man, who was so young at only 47 years old, was the father of one of our 5th grade students. The father of a young boy, my own son's age. A father who had left his home Thursday morning to go to his job, just like every other day, taking for granted that the family would be back together that night.

But they weren't.

The little boy wasn't in school yesterday. Nobody was surprised by that. On the 8th he will walk the red carpet for our promotion ceremony bidding his elementary days goodbye and moving on to the next phase of his life. Without his dad. At 11 years old.

All day I couldn't help, but keep thinking of this tragic situation. I couldn't imagine the pain of having to tell your kids that their dad has died. He was my son's age. I can't fathom my son growing up without his dad.

The past couple of days I've been holding my kids a little tighter. Been a little more patient. Smiled at them more, and laughed with them often. Today I'm turning off the computer, ignoring the piles of laundry, skipping the sweeping in exchange for hanging out with my kids for the day. We are going to enjoy the beautiful day together.

Because...

Life is short.
Life is unpredictable.
Life is a gift.

Take time to enjoy your loved ones today because tomorrow isn't a guarantee.

Please keep this family in your thoughts and prayers!!

Cuddle Covers Make Soft Friends {Review}

2012-05-24T13:47:00.000-04:00

Last month we took our annual 16 hour car trip to Florida for spring vacation. Everybody always asks how we do it, but really it isn't that bad. Thankfully the kids have always been good car travelers and driving overnight helps as well since they sleep 3/4 of the drive.

This year, Zoe was lucky enough to have a Cuddle Covers pal to keep her company on the journey.

She got to test out Kit the Cat Cuddle Cover which is one of the six characters on this new line. The first thing she said after we stuffed Kit with the pillow was "Wow, mommy, this is so soft". Kit has slept with her since day one and has also accompanied her on a couple sleepovers. She is often found following Zoe around the house during the day too.

My favorite thing about Cuddle Covers is that you can remove the pillow for easy washing. You just unzip the one side, pop out the pillow, and throw it in the washer and dryer. We tried to do that to our other pillow friends and it didn't work so well. Kit is so much cleaner!

A couple of Zoe's friends have fallen in love after they've seen hers which made gift giving easy. Cuddle Covers are sold online and in select Bed, Bath, and Beyond Stores for $19.99, an affordable price for such a soft friend.

Happy Cuddling!

Conversation from the dinner table. Smelling like a burned pig.

2012-05-22T21:10:00.000-04:00

After enjoying dinner out with my family I decided to leave the kids with Dave (we had met for dinner after school and work) and stop in for a quick tanning session before heading home.

I was telling everybody bye and that I'd see them in a few minutes and Dave, being the great husband that he ~~was~~ is told me to take my time. I mentioned that tanning only took 10 minutes so I'd be home soon and Dylan, being the great kid that he is, told me to stay for four hours.

To which, Dave responded "she can't do that because she would come home smelling like burnt pork".

It's sad when your kids realize the error of their dad's statement before he does. Dylan with a look of mortification on his face, "Daaaaad. That was mean."

Meanwhile I was trying to make heads and tails about what Dave was really trying to say.
He claims I think way to much into what he says.
But, really, I do believe my husband just called me a pig! I mean, that is where pork comes from right? Could I possibly have read more into that statement?

Dinner conversations. Never a dull moment with our family.

I do know that is NOT what my husband meant. I still don't know quite what he did mean, but I promise that he is never that mean. However, this was just too funny of a story not to share.

Spot it! Can you spot the symbol before they do? {Review}

2012-05-22T14:00:00.000-04:00

My family loves playing games together so when The Blue Orange Team asked if we wanted to try out their game Spot it! we just had too.

The object of the game is to find the one symbol that matches on the cards. Don't ask me how they do it, but there is always exactly one symbol that matches on two of the cards. It could be larger or smaller, but it is always the same symbol. Crazy. It was fun to see who was faster at spotting the symbol, the parents or the kids. My mom was visiting when we received the package and she had fun trying to beat her grandkids at spotting the symbol.

Here is a fun video that The Blue Orange Team created demonstrating the quick game of Spot it!

According to the rulebook, there is a variety of ways to play, but to be honest we have only played the original way of flipping two cards and being the first to Spot it!

Blue Orange Games sent me an extra copy to share in my classroom as well and it is one of the first games to come out during indoor recess. My 5th graders play that the spotter keeps going as they see how long the winner can last. A few of them have asked me where I bought it so they can tell their parents.

Blue Orange Games have a ton of games for sale so be sure to check out their online site. They also provide videos, rule books, and extra information for the games on their website including Mystery Rules.

At Blue Orange Games,

We believe the simple pleasure that comes from sharing good times with friends and family around a great game to be very precious.

Love it!

Be sure to also follow Spot it! on Facebook and on Twitter.