Phenomenal Mama

Moved

2011-04-10T14:11:00.006-05:00

Trying something a little different to contain all of my creative aspirations. . . this is will be my last post on blogger. Please visit my new blog here. My main site is twmomie.com. I hope to see you at my new place ;-)

Blogger Is Evil

2011-04-07T15:07:00.004-05:00

Okay, I have to rant a minute and post this random entry because I am totally paranoid that someone read my last post before it was edited and they are laughing and pointing at the screen saying, "SHE THINKS SHE CAN BE A WRITER?"

The unedited post was full of stupid typos and I was trying to fix a problem with the DIV tags when the post was automatically PUBLISHED! Yikes. If anyone read that unedited rubbish, I am truly sorry for abusing the English language. It has been fixed.

That is all.

(And now my template is screwed up. . .is the sidebar is gone? Is it just ME? WTH?!)

Express Yourself

2011-04-07T14:04:00.015-05:00

I debated whether or not I should even mention this but because I obviously have a problem. . .right after I typed the title of this post I immediately thought of the N.W.A video. . .ahem.

It was not my intention to evoke images of Compton's Most Wanted and all of their jheri curl splendor. . .instead this post is supposed to be about creative expression, which I'm sure N.W.A. would argue that it's exactly what their song is about.

I am facing extreme burnout with "corporate America". Seriously, I am so ova all of the policies, procedures and politics. I really want to find a way to pursue my passions without having to give up something critical like shelter or my iPhone.

I have been a closet writer for roughly 28 years. I should have published about 10 books and had something optioned as a movie by now! But I've mostly kept my writing to myself as an outlet for the myriad of thoughts and ideas running rampant in my head!

Okay confession: I haven't exactly kept them all to myself- I may or may not have published quiet a few stories on a fanfiction site that shall remain nameless. It's actually my guilty pleasure. It's not that I'm ashamed of the writing, it's actually pretty good, if I must say so myself it's just that well- I'm more embarrassed than ashamed because I've written some pretty *cough* raunchy stuff. So, I use a pseudonym and maintain an anonymous relationship with my readers and reviewers. That way I don't have to lower my head and avoid making eye contact with people I actually know.

BUT I have been working on some actual stories- as in plural- which is part of my problem. It's like I have ADHD and once I get started on one story another idea pops in my head and I'm off to start another story. . .what was I talking about? Oh yeah, I'm working on actual stories and am committing myself to actually completing one within the next year that I can present to an agent and hopefully get some representation that will allow me to start querying publishers.

In all honesty, I would LOVE to see one of my stories made into a movie. I usually approach my writing that way, visualizing each paragraph or chapter as it would appear frame by frame in a movie. In addition to writing I also have this concept for producing educational materials (books and videos specifically) that feature children of color. I already have a name and even a logo/mascot that I own. Ain't he cute :-)

I've also been doing some blog banners, Photoshop editing and playing around with Dreamweaver. My mind is in total creative mode right now and it just sucks that I don't have enough time to really dedicate to the stuff that I really love doing (other than being a mommy ;-). But I'm making moves. . . I've got some schemes and plans that will hopefully have me unchained before the end of 2011. Because I honestly feel like I'm drowning and I really want to break free from this abyss so that I can soar among the clouds like God intended. Well, I'm sure he didn't literally mean for us to fly- that's why he created birds- but I mean he didn't put us here to be ordinary either.

I bid you adieu with this little gem (now I couldn't exactly play the N.W.A. version, this is a family oriented blog ;-)

Princess Power

2011-04-05T16:30:00.008-05:00

I survived the weekend (mostly) and made it through to another Tuesday. There seems to be a theme developing here with posting on Tuesdays. Maybe that's a good thing, at least there will be some level of consistency in my life.

ThePrincess turned TWO on Sunday and the diva persona was definitely kicked up several notches. As soon as she woke up on Sunday, her brother told her it was her birthday and she immediately commanded that we all sing "happy birthday" (so we did) and then she wanted to eat cake and blow out candles. . .I had to draw the line somewhere, I mean it was only 9:00am. If it had been 10:00am. . .maybe. . .

She was in a demanding, loud and obnoxious mood for most of the morning- not so different from other mornings except she kept adding "it's my birthday" to the end of every command when we didn't respond quickly enough. Her brother, ThePushover (formerly known as TheGenius) agreed that she should get whatever she wanted because in case we didn't hear her the first 500 times- IT'S HER BIRTHDAY!

Geez, I swear I don't know where she's headed with this. . .okay, I kinda do- I mean I petitioned for my birthday to be a national holiday until I was 30 then I just wanted the presents but not the acknowledgement that I had grown another year older as a single, childless woman (ah, the good old days).

I'm kidding (sort of), I think ThePrincess is fabulous and by all means on her special day she should have total and complete attention and compliance. Otherwise she might turn us all into frogs!

TGIF!!

2011-04-01T14:48:00.006-05:00

I'm so glad it's Friday but my weekend is going to be super busy! Studying plus ThePrincess turns two on SUNDAY! Where did the time go? This morning I stopped by TheGenius' school for an award ceremony he had four 100's and one 99 on his report card and he ranked above 99% (isn't that 100?!) on the IOWA tests! I am just sooo proud of him. I truly hope his genuine interest in school and learning continues FOREVER!! He was so cute pretending like it wasn't a big deal I was there but blushing like crazy and pointing me out to all his friends! I <3 him, hard! Well, I'm sure there will be plenty of hijinks and antics this weekend, so I should have a full report next week! Stay light and breezy! :-)

M.O.M

2011-03-30T20:21:00.006-05:00

You know that saying "she's been here before"? Well, I think that totally applies to my daughter. I think my great-grandmother has come back to haunt me.

There is no way this kid is about to be two years old. She's more like 72 or 82. Her entire demeanor reeks of overconfidence. It's like she doesn't need to watch where she's going because she's been there before. . .

I've been watching her a lot lately and her mannerisms are so decidedly feminine but they are somewhat bold and graceless, a lot like Tyler Perry's, Madea. From wanting to take her purse (in the crook of her arm) AND her baby to daycare everyday to wearing mu-mu's and hats. All the signs are there!

By the way, the post title refers to her first, middle and last name initials. Coincidence? I think not.

Work Life Balance

2011-03-29T15:28:00.005-05:00

Okay, so I've had several hours to take some deep calming breaths since that last post and get past the idiot who sent me not one but two RANDOM comments about something posted on my blog two years ago.

That is the risk of having a blog and putting yourself out there to share your experiences, every now and then you have to deal with the crazies.

Moving on. . . .

I have been "working from home" every Tuesday for the past month and I have to say it has been WONDERFUL. The only thing that would make it even better is if I worked from home EVERYDAY. I know there are a lot of challenges with working from home namely the lack of face time, which can hurt your career and the feeling of isolation from your team.

But in my opinion the pros definitely outweigh the cons, especially for mothers working outside of the home. Shall I list my personal faves:

1. No commute

2. Saving on gas

3. No commute

4. Literally rolling right out of bed to log on

5. No commute

6. Throwing a load of laundry in the wash while waiting on an email

7. Putting a roast or chicken or whatever in the over while on a conference call

8. Grocery shopping on your lunch hour

9. Picking your children up from daycare/school early instead of ten minutes before the daycare closes(!)

10. Did I say NO COMMUTE?

Not having to get on the freeway and fight my way through traffic is the biggest plus for me because when I work from home not only am I always on time but I don't spend thirty minutes talking about the idiot who cut me off in traffic on my way to the office. No stress. Very peaceful way to start the day. I honestly find that I am way more productive when I work from home also because the proverbial water cooler is missing.

I think most people who work a typical 8 to 5 office job spend quite a bit of time socializing instead of actually working, i.e. congregating at a co-worker's desk gossiping, in meetings that last way past the scheduled time or taking group lunches that last more than an hour. Or is this just me and the people where I work??

But when you eliminate those distractions, it's a lot easier to be productive. You've got to make sure you're disciplined enough to work from home or it can be a disaster. I have three main rules I follow:

No t.v.
No kids
Set up computer in a separate workspace- not my bedroom!

This has been a wonderful accommodation by my employer and because it is going so well, I may get to add another day.

I feel so much more refreshed and calm when my kids get home on Tuesday evenings because dinner is already done and I'm not all wound up from sitting in traffic and feeling rushed to get a meal on the table. I have more time to focus more on them and we can spend quality time together as a family.

Madness

2011-03-29T09:34:00.005-05:00

Why would people log on to blogs of people they don't know and leave idiotic comments on posts that were created TWO YEARS AGO?

Oh, I know because it is a very underhanded way of trying to drive traffic to your own site. Haven't you ever heard the saying, "you catch more flies with honey?"

My comments are moderated. . .I'm a busy woman and if you don't have anything constructive to say then keep your comments to yourself and stay off my blog. I'm not interested in you or your products.

Black Marriage Day

2011-03-27T19:53:00.004-05:00

Today is Black Marriage Day. Really. It says so right here.

I'm just a little confused because I'm black and I've been married almost 9 years and we celebrate and collaborate EVERY DAY. It's not always easy but we are committed to each other and our family and we make it work. But I guess it doesn't hurt to have a reminder about what marriage means and why it's important to strengthen that bond. So, in honor of Black Marriage Day, this post is dedicated to my marriage and in the spirit of Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married I give to you my reasons:

I got married because. . . .

I love him immensely
He makes me laugh often
He adores me
He desires me
He makes me feel like I can fly
I knew he'd be an amazing father (and he is!)
He supports me
He challenges me
He respects me
He is very smart
He holds his ground
He is a gentleman
He can fix just about anything
He loves to travel (like me!)
He is passionate

Although his Aquarian idealism often clashes with my pragmatic Taurus nature, we still respect each other's space and opinions. Sometimes our political views differ but we are totally in sync when it comes to parenting. We both want to ensure our children get all of the love, attention, discipline, and encouragement they need to become well adjusted, emotionally stable adults.

And I hope that one day they will be able to find a partner who sends them into a fit of giggles with one look or who shares their dreams without restrictions and loves them they way they deserve to be loved. And I hope that they reciprocate 100% because that's what marriage is all about.

Catching Up

2011-03-26T13:19:00.012-05:00

My last full post was at the end of 2009. 2009! I haven't blogged in over a year! Wow. I thought long and hard about why it has been so long and wondered if I had run out of things to talk about or if I had so much stuff to say that there would be no way in hell I could fit everything in. I'd like to the think it was a combination of both.

The truth is that life with two kids, working full time outside of the home and taking classes is EXHAUSTING and the last thing I want to do (I think able is a better word) is log on and share my day or my experience with the blogosphere.

But lately I find myself needing that outlet again as I'm contemplating the next chapter in my life. I turned 40 last year (gasp) and my priorities have been shifting big time.

The title on that magazine cover is hilarious "WARNING: KIDS". Ha! Yeah, they should totally come with a warning label. I think the hardest thing for me has been trying to further divide myself and give enough time, love and attention to yet another person! But even harder is the subsequent guilt I feel when I don't think I've succeeded at giving everyone what they need.

I can hardly believe how fast the past two years have flown by. My baby girl is turning two in 7 days! That seems so unreal to me. I've been here with her every day and present in her life but in many ways I feel like I've missed so much. It's strange because it was the exact opposite with my son- seems like he was a "baby" much longer and I can remember specific milestones with him. I'm ashamed to say, I can't tell you exactly when my daughter started walking. It's like we looked up one day and she was on her feet!

I'm trying to slow down and focus more on her (and my son) but that often means sacrificing any time for myself and that's definitely not a good thing. In order to be a fully functioning parent you need to take time for yourself to refresh and renew. WOO-SA!!

(Sidebar- of course WOO-SA came from Bad Boys 2, did y'all hear there was going to be a part 3? I LOVE Bad Boys but seriously? Will and Martin are getting older and can't be running around like they used to. . .but I guess that didn't stop Mel Gibson and Danny Glover with the Lethal Weapon movies. .. but I digress)

Last year we took some family trips to see how well baby girl would travel because TheGenius is a travel pro! His first trip was to Jamaica when he was like 20 months old and he did not cry or fuss AT ALL during that entire trip!

Baby girl wanted to stand up in the seats and jump around on the flight to Philly. She did okay on the flight to Minneapolis, she was just a little loud. Okay, she was really loud! She wants her way constantly and that is going to be a lifelong struggle between the two of us. She's an Aries and I'm a Taurus so we're always locking horns!

We haven't traveled since the end of last year (a quick road trip to Dallas) and I have the cabin fever! I want to go somewhere!!! So, we're looking at Easter weekend maybe going to Florida or California- I need a beach!

Sorry if my thoughts are all over the place, it was a lot harder jumping back into this than I initially thought. My intention was to talk about what I've learned and what we've done over the past year and a half but I guess that will be the next post ;-) In the meantime, here is a video that highlights our 2010 escapades! Enjoy!

I'm Baaack!

2011-03-25T22:16:00.007-05:00

Kinda. I want to start blogging again. I'm on Facebook and Twitter but there just seems to be something missing. Not sure if it's the character limitations or all of the people posting conflicting statuses that's got me a little down. I guess what it really boils down to is I just miss rambling and talking about being a mommy.

So, I'm back. It'll be light initially but I plan on diving back in full time within the coming weeks. I'm sure I'll have to re-establish myself (i.e., find people who will log on and read my ramblings) but I look forward to it. I'm also looking forward to re-establishing some great connections and meeting some new bloggers.

Please standby. . . .

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-23T09:44:00.001-06:00

Best e-mail I've got this holiday season:

With days before Christmas REMEMBER:
Jesus is Better than Santa
Santa lives at the North Pole.
JESUS is everywhere.
Santa rides in a sleigh
JESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water.
Santa comes but once a year
JESUS is an ever present help.
Santa fills your stockings with goodies
JESUS supplies all your needs.
Santa comes down your chimney uninvited
JESUS stands at your door and knocks.. and then enters your heart.
You have to stand in line to see Santa
JESUS is as close as the mention of His name.
Santa lets you sit on his lap
JESUS lets you rest in His arms.
Santa doesn't know your name, all he can say is "Hi little boy or girl, What's your name?"
JESUS knew our name before we did. Not only does He know our name, He knows our address too. He knows our history and future and He even knows how many hairs are on our heads.
Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly
JESUS has a heart full of love.
All Santa can offer is HO HO HO
JESUS offers health, help and hope.
Santa says "You better not cry"
JESUS says "Cast all your cares on me for I care for you.
Santa's little helpers make toys
JESUS makes new life, mends wounded hearts, repairs broken homes and builds mansions.
Santa may make you chuckle but
JESUS gives you joy that is your strength.
While Santa puts gifts under your tree
JESUS became our gift and died on the tree.
It's obvious there is really no comparison.
We need to remember WHO Christmas is all about.
We need to put Christ back in Christmas.
Jesus is still the reason for the season.

May the Lord Bless and Watch over you and your loved ones this Christmas 2009
And may He prosper and bless the work of your hands in the New Year.

Heart & Soul

2009-12-17T15:18:00.004-06:00

I’ve been overwhelmed by the emotion I feel at being a mother. Sometimes it is all consuming and I feel like I don’t have a single second to myself. But most of the time it is extremely exhilarating and I feel like I learn something new everyday and my capacity for love and patience grows exponentially.

I think about the different dynamics that my son and daughter bring to my life. My son, TheGenius is of course my first born- he is what I like to refer to as my heart. He is at the age where he can hold some pretty stimulating conversations and challenge everything you thought you knew about life to be true. He is smart, intelligent, handsome, funny and caring. He loves me unconditionally and proudly proclaims he is a mama’s boy. Usually the connotation for “mama’s boy” brings to mind images of spineless, wimpy kids who cling to their mother’s skirts wishing they could still be breastfed- that is not the case with my son. He is very independent and he challenges me daily but he just genuinely enjoys being with his mama. We laugh, talk, do craft projects, play superheroes, read and I listen while he talks incessantly about Ben 10. We are just cool like that. Ha ha! He is truly amazing and I pray daily that I am around to see him grow up into the phenomenal man I know he’s going to be.

My daughter- oh sweet baby girl- I like to refer to her as my soul. My daughter is me revisited. I see so much of myself in my daughter already that it’s scary. Even my aunt and other relatives have commented not only on the physical resemblance but also her personality and attitude, which she has already developed! She usually just sits back and observes everything not really calling much attention to herself but when she does bless you with a smile or a laugh it’s like a beautiful blinding ray of sunshine! When she sees something she wants she’s pretty tenacious and she’s a tough little cookie not really prone to crying for anything other than food or getting her way. Ha ha! I look at my daughter and I get so excited about the possibilities of all the things we will get to do together but I have to remind myself to tread lightly because I already realize I’m planning on being able to have a “do over” with my daughter. In other words everything I didn’t get to do or wish I would have done (even things I shouldn’t have done) I want a chance to do them with my daughter. If I’m being honest, I want to guide my son to make his own decisions and with my daughter I want to help her choose. I can’t wait for the first Barbie and Easy Bake oven! I want to start a spa day tradition and I definitely want her to get her college degree right after high school and land a fabulous job that she will LOVE.

I am very blessed and I hope God continues to allow me to remain healthy both mentally and physically so that I can be a part (and involved) of my children’s lives for many, many years to come!

Happy Holidays

2009-12-14T20:18:00.003-06:00

It took me three tries to sign on to this blog. Forgot my user name and password. Pathetic. I've been away much longer than I anticipated. Blame Facebook! I was addicted for a minute. I think I might still be addicted . . .jury is still out. But anyway, I was reading over some of my older posts on this blog and got a little tickled. So, I was inspired to add a new post. Not sure how many more will follow but I just thought I'd start. . .

A LOT has happened since April and the arrival of The Princess. First of all, you might want to sit down for this one- can you believe she is already EIGHT MONTHS OLD?! I can't! And to whoever thought I was announcing another pregnancy: BITE ME! Ha ha! See I haven't lost my sense of humour.

Anyway, life has changed DRASTICALLY, I swear I blink and the days just keep passing sometimes without my active participation. My son is now in kindergarten, I'm back to working full time, finished a semester of school and the ICING on the Sock It To Me cake that is my life- is that my dear husband got a quasi-promotion at work that requires him to be out of town three days a week every other week. So on those weeks I refer to myself as a single, married mother. I don't think he likes the terminology but if the shoe fits. . .it gets extremely overwhelming sometimes and my biggest fear is that life is rushing by so fast that I'm not giving "enough" to my kids. Everything is such a damn routine. Homework, dinner, bath, story, bed time. Repeat. Agh! I hate it. I am thisclose to biting the bullet and just becoming a stay at home mom. They still make Spam, right? Ooh, with Ramen noodles. Yum.

So, I'm back for a minute to wish everyone in the blogosphere a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a safe, healthy, prosperous New Year. Live, laugh and love life! And come back. . .I might start kicking it here again. I have so much more material now ;-).

The Genius and The Princess in the photo after take 57. . .not bad.

PEACE!
MzM

Little Miss Sunshine

2009-04-08T13:25:00.002-05:00

I didn't think it was truly possible to love a second child as much as the first but I was dead wrong! Although baby number 2 was a surprise, after one look in her gorgeous eyes I can't imagine life without her. I am officially on hiatus from this blog and hope to return in the near future. THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!

Update

2009-03-27T14:53:00.003-05:00

What I've been up to:

1. Final ultrasound appointment (it's still a girl) on March 16th at that point the baby weighed (estimated of course) 6 lbs 3 ounces with almost four weeks to go.

2. Family & friends baby shower March 21st. Not a lot of attendance but great gifts and great company. My cousin did the cutest party favors. . .a little poem about me having a bun in the oven on the front of these cute bags ties with cute ribbon and inside was a delicious honey bun.

3. SURPRISE baby shower at work March 25th and I got a TON of stuff!! The generosity that people show for wedding and baby showers has always amazed me. The little princess' closet is already full of clothes, diapers and wipes! PLUS I have like $250 in gift cards for Target and Babies R Us!

4. Doctor's appointment March 26th reveals I am THREE centimeters dilated already. My doctor was a no show so I saw one of her partners who tried to convince me to be induced on April 3rd. That's NEXT Friday! Ten whole days before April 13th. . .um no. I think I'm gonna pass on that offer.

5. I took three quizzes and finished three papers (one pagers) all last weekend in preparation for my impending childbirth. I have to go on campus for a quiz on April 1st and have yet to study!

6. My ankles and feet have been on SWOLE for almost three weeks! It's to the point now that I am wearing FLIP FLOPS to work! I have no other choice. . .I refuse to buy new larger, wider shoes to wear for two weeks and half weeks.

7. Finally, been sleeping on the couch for the last few nights because I cannot get comfortable in our bed. Sleeping on my back and side is not working and I can't sleep on my stomach so I pretty much sleep sitting up. Not very comfortable at all!!!

Yeah, just a TAD bit overwhelmed and TIRED.

Cute Keepsake

2009-03-19T14:17:00.002-05:00

I have been a loyal customer and big fan of Snapfish since my son was born. I've gotten some really cool products including an annual photo book of my son's milestones every years since his birth. I consider them my "coffee table" books and they are a great and classic way to capture those precious moments.

My son is also quite the "artist" and he has been known to create some masterpieces that he usually has to explain. . .but it's only because of my apparent lack of imagination. Ha ha! Anyway, Snapfish now has this cool product that allows you to upload the scanned images of your child's artwork and turn them into a book!! How cool is that! Not to mention you don't have to worry about all that refrigerator CLUTTER- one of my serious pet peeves!

If you have a budding artist you should check it out!

Sibling Revelry

2009-03-16T12:43:00.000-05:00

Yesterday my son attended a new sibling course at the hospital in our neighborhood. I saw a description of the class online and thought it was a neat idea especially for children who have been the only child for a while. But I must admit once the time came to attend the class I was tempted to blow it off- if for no other reason than I am a lazy, tired, and overwhelmed pregnant woman who will be giving birth in less than three weeks!

But my son was beside himself with excitement so I pulled it together and off we went- with hubby in tow. I am very glad he had the opportunity to attend. They showed a video about how babies grow and what happens when the baby comes home (crying, eating, sleeping, pooping, crying, and it starts all over) and the important role of the older sibling.

The soon-to-be new siblings got to put a diaper on a fake newborn baby, my son totally mastered the diaper changing thing, which is very scary- note to self: hide the diapers. I think he’ll probably use them like he does the superhero band-aids. Put a new one on “just in case” the baby has an accident. They also got instructions on how to hold the baby and wrap the baby in a blanket. The instructor also talked about keeping toys off the floor and out of the baby’s reach so that she won’t choke on them. Finally, at the end of the class they received gift bags with books to read the baby, coloring books, stickers and a stuffed animal.

I thought the most interesting part of the class was when the instructor played therapist and started asking the kids if they thought things were going to change around their house and how they felt about it. When she asked my son what he thought was going to change he said he would have to start sharing. Apparently that was his only concern. I was actually shocked that he even said that- because from day one his mantra has been, “I’m the big brother so that means I’m the boss”. I’m sure there are times he will assert his “big brother” rights but I also know this little girl is going to have him wrapped around her finger.

(I’ll post pics from the class later.)

Forever and A Day

2009-03-06T15:07:00.004-06:00

Oh, yeah I have a blog. . .

My BABY boy turned five on March 2nd. I am still in denial. Sometimes it feels like he's much older but most times it seems as if he just turned two the other day. The thing that's so weird to me is that he's always the age he is now. . .translated- my best and sharpest memories of him are when he was four. I remember little things he did at two and three (barely anything at one) but it's like he was born at his current age. I don't know if that's a deficiency on my part as a mother or if that's how it is for everyone.

I've promised myself to slow down a bit and enjoy the "precious moments" a lot more with Baby Girl (who by the way will be here in four and a half weeks!) especially since this is my LAST hurrah! No more babies for this old broad!

Life has been moving along. Work is totally kicking my ass and the psychology course I'm taking is proving to be a bit more challenging than I had originally anticipated. I had to talk myself out of jumping from the highest bridge when I made a 75 on an exam! Since returning to college as a grown ass woman I have never made any grade less than an 90. . .but then again I haven't been applying myself or preparing myself at all. I'm one of those sickening people who cram for a test a few hours before and usually get an A. Not so much this time. I think I might have to actually READ (gasp) and study the material if I plan on pulling out an A in this class!

What do you think it means if someone you work with is asking you a million questions about if you're going to start a baby registry and what is the theme of your nursery. . .someone who is not really a "baby person". Mmhmm. My presumptious nature smells a surprise baby shower in the works. I just hope it's not on one of my down days when I roll in with my "natural" hair and something I found in the back of my closet to stretch over my stomach! Looking a hot ass mess while everyone is yelling SURPRISE! Ha ha!

Anyhoo, I'm currently at work taking a break from the monotony of a huge project that I'm starting to lose focus on. I promised to have it completed before I left for maternity leave but now that I'm on the downhill, swollen ankle, Braxton Hicks contractions side of things- my focus is leaving me. I am doubting this project will be complete. I guess I might need to tell somebody. Part of me thinks maybe leaving something undone might give me a little job security. . .I would hate to have them come to the conclusion- in my absence- that they can do without me! I just sincerely wish I could totally do without them!

Here's my sweet prince on his special day!

My Life.

2009-02-18T09:54:00.004-06:00

Okay, one day before I totally decide to shut down this blog I promise to post a video of my son and one of our stimulating conversations. I want to do this just to prove that I am NOT making up some of the stuff this kid says! Last night he left me speechless during two conversations in the span of thirty minutes. I literally did not know what to say to him and I think it's because he always shocks me. It's never anything I expect.

Case in point, his father was going over results from a comprehensive physical that he (my husband) takes every year. So, my husband is at the table in the breakfast room and my son and I are listening to him from the family room. My husband is going on and on acting as if his over production of creatine is a death sentence when my son out of the blue asked me, "Mama have you ever had leprosy," I stared at him extremely puzzled because I'm thinking there is no way he just asked me if I had leprosy. I barely know what leprosy is surely a 4 year old has no clue what that means. "What?!" I asked. He repeated the question- slowly, for my benefit obviously. "Where did you hear that? Do you even know what that means? Why did you ask me that?" I hit him with a barrage of questions.

He grabbed my hands like he's trying to soothe me and he said, "Leprosy is when you have a bunch of sores or scales on your body, like on your skin. We learned about that in a Bible story at school. But don't worry because Jesus can heal you if you get that," My super parental reply? I started coughing and had to go and get some water. By the way, I've never had leprosy unless Jesus cured me before I realized I had it.

Less than ten minutes later I am in my bedroom, while my husband is STILL reviewing the results of his physical, when my son comes in and says he wants to talk to me. Oh, no more conversations about leprosy! This time he tells me he would like to share a secret with me. I TOTALLY encourage the sharing of secrets because while sometimes they are innocent and ridiculous they could eventually be something totally serious and life threatening so, I always want him to be able to share secrets with me. . .actually I try to discourage having secrets from mama in the first place.

Anyway, he tells me this little girl- who he talks about constantly as he's blushing and grinning from ear to ear- this little girl in his class (who is also FOUR) told him that she is falling in love with him. My mind was still reeling from the leprosy thing so I asked him if we could share his secret with daddy. He hesitated but shook his head, "yes". So I go back to the kitchen and tell my husband a little girl is falling in love with your son, please handle.

His head snapped up from the report and this idiot- I mean wonderful man that I married- started grinning and asking "who"? UH, not helping daddy. I do not want my son to be labeled as the pre-school sexual deviant because he ends up kissing this girl or holding her hand. We are living in a totally different society and while on one hand it makes you cover your heart and go," AWW," on the other hand all it takes is for one little innocent action by him to totally turn this into a suddenly serious situation.

So, his father proceeded to tell him that this girl probably just really likes him because he's smart and handsome but they are just friends and that he doesn't want him trying to kiss or hug her. He goes on to say they are too young to be talking about love and just be her friend and play together like he does with everyone else. I thought that was a good answer until my husband started talking about all the little girls who adored him in school when he was growing up too. If I weren't pregnant I probably would have taken a Valium (or two) and went to bed!

Pray for me!!

Letter to My Little Prince

2009-02-16T10:12:00.002-06:00

There are so many headlines featuring black men in the news lately. Stories ranging from the ridiculous- Chris Brown, baby, what the hell!? To the sublime- President Obama. . .regardless to all the hateration I'm still floating on cloud nine. . .a black President?!!!

My husband and I were watching a reality show (Road to Redemption) on MTV starring T.I. and I thought it was great!! He's not trying to teach Hustling 101 nor is he trying to mold the 'hood's next superstar. He is actually trying to make a difference in young people's lives who are headed down the wrong road. On the episode we watched he took a young man to a FUNERAL HOME to see the dead body of a young man who was hustling just like him- to show this kid "this could have been you". Talk about keepin' it REAL!! Anyway, after watching the show and just checking out all the latest news headlines I was inspired to write a letter to the little black boy I'm raising:

My Dearest Son,

I am writing this letter to you from the bottom of my heart to let you know how much I absolutely adore you. You are such a wonderful, smart, funny and handsome little boy and I am enjoying being your mother so much. Although there are times when you try my patience I am extremely proud of you for being so inquisitive and being able to discern what’s reasonable from what’s bullshit at such a young age. I think you will make a great lawyer or politician someday as long as you don’t get things twisted.

In all honesty I would love to chart the course of your life because as your mother I just think I know best. But I promise to try and stand aside and let you live your own life and make your own decisions but I can’t promise to stand by and let you make decisions that I know will destroy your life. The main thing I want you to get out of this journey is to live it to the fullest and always give your best. Get the best possible education you can because that is something no one can EVER take away from you. Pray, read, travel, laugh, always use condoms, don’t lead women on, never hit a woman no matter what, have babies after you’re married and always call your mama.

Although it’s your life I wouldn’t be a mother if I didn’t mention how stupid it would be for you to use drugs, smoke cigarettes, steal, lie or cheat. And FYI- the police will have NO tolerance for you so, please stay out of the criminal justice system until you become a lawyer. Jail is not a place you want to live or visit- do not place that burden on your mother to see her first born locked up like an animal. You may as well cut my heart out of my chest with a dull knife!

You also need to know that I will ride your ass like a mechanical bull if you don’t do well in school. If you are having problems I will be the first person to try and help you either myself, by hiring a tutor or having you tested for learning/ developmental issues. But I will NEVER EVER accept excuses or laziness where school is concerned. I might let you get away with a lot stuff throughout your time with me but NEVER will you be allowed to get over on mama when it comes to school. Besides I already know how smart you are so you have to keep it up!

Finally, never let someone else (including me) define for you what it means to be a man. You are a unique manifestation of God first and foremost and by serving God and your community you do a great service to all mankind. I sincerely appreciate you for being the first person to ever teach me the meaning of unconditional love, patience and selflessness. I hope your star shines brightly for many, many, years to come! There are no "do-overs" in life so be sure you live it right the first time.

Love You Forever,
Your Biggest Fan,
Mama

Friday the 13th: Looking for better luck!

2009-02-13T13:59:00.006-06:00

Okay, so here' s goes my um. . .weekly post. I know I lied but I did try. I tried to keep up with the blog and tried to keep it relevant just like I've been trying to keep motivated at work, engaged with my son and enchanted with my husband. That last one has been tough considering dude was working my nerves for a about a month or so at the end of the year!

At any rate, I've felt like a major failure on all fronts. Of course I'm thinking a good idea is to totally blame EVERYTHING on this pregnancy. I didn't do it all with my first pregnancy (I was like ridiculously calm and energetic) so I figure I'm going to milk this excuse until this kid is at least TWO! Ha ha!

Anyway, my life is back to feeling like I'm being tossed around in a food processor at high speed. This month, this short little month of February, I have SEVEN of my family members- close family members (hubby, mom, both/only nieces, uncle, only aunt and step daughter) who have birthdays- three of which are milestones (16, 18 & 60). Everybody is having a party or celebration that requires my attendance and there are only FOUR weekends in the month. You do the math.

Then March rolls around and that first week my son turns 5 and is having a party on the 7th. Then I've been told a baby shower is being planned for me on the 14th. That leaves FOUR short weeks until Bambino Number 2 makes her debut. Oh, but wait in between that time I have a presentation due for school AND a ginormous project at work that I've just been told is expected to be completed before I go on maternity leave.

And on top of all of this my laptop is out of commission. . .I have been forced to use the antiquated desktop in our game room that is temperamental as hell. But the best part of my week was being sick- I'm talking complete with throwing up soup (sorry I know that's TMI)- for most of this week. Fevers, night sweats the whole nine. Just some random bacterial thing going around. My son was down for the count also so, I'm blaming those snotty nosed kids at his school! No, really I'm blaming their parents- I never send my son to school if he's really sick, i.e, has a FEVER of 100.9 or higher. Everyone knows or should know if a kid is running a fever they are more than likely infectious/contagious and can make other kids sick!

Ah, but I digress. . .or not, this started off as a rambling post and I guess it's best to finish it that way. Tomorrow is my husbands b-day, yep he's a Valentine's Baby. His defense when I tell him he's being a little too touchy-feely- he says he can't help it because number one I'm so irresistible (yeah, me and these extra 24 pounds) and he was born on the day of love. O. . K. I bought him this gadget from the Apple Store that he's been wanting and my son and I plan on making heart shaped cookies. I know the restaurants will be a mess tomorrow but it's been kind of a tradition to go to Pappasito's every year so, I guess we'll get started early.

Hope everyone has a great Valentine's Day! And be careful not to let any black cats cross your path tonight! Although it might have the opposite effect on luck for me. . .

Party Over Here

2009-02-10T10:46:00.005-06:00

This past weekend I took my son to a birthday party at Minute Maid Park. Houston's baseball stadium and home to the Houston Astros. I didn't even know you could have birthday parties at the stadium! But leave it to my friend to find the most awesome places for her children's parties.
The party was really NICE! So nice in fact, that most of the adults were saying they were going to have their birthday parties there! We met outside the stadium and our party was escorted by a hostess to one of the box suites with the most incredible view of the field. Once the children finished their personal pan pizzas, drinks and gourmet cookies we headed down to the field.

The kids got to walk around the diamond with strict rules NOT to touch the perfectly manicured turf. They also got to sit in the actual dugout and take pictures and then it was on to the play zone appropriately named Squeeze Play. A two story enclosed play area with slides and things to climb on and run across. There was also as spot where the kids could hit balls of water that came up over a mock version of home plate. My son's favorite thing was racing against this cardboard cut out of one of the players.

I highly recommend Minute Maid Park for a unique party experience even if your child isn't a fan of baseball they are sure to love this place!

Frogs, Snails & Puppy Dog Tails

2009-02-02T09:36:00.004-06:00

Okay, I know in the beginning when I found out about our little accident, er, I mean blessing from God. . . I had hoped it would be another boy. My thought was that a boy would be "easier" since I've already experienced parenting a boy up to age 4.

Well, now I cannot wait for more estrogen to enter our household! My son is slowly evolving from a sweet, docile little mama's boy into a straight up maniac! If he's not jumping from the highest point in the house (apparently thinking he can fly!) he's running through the house screaming battle cries and doing high kicking karate. Often he won't respond to you unless you address him by his superhero name or unless you know the secret password.

I know that for the most part this is normal "boy" behavior but I am in such unfamiliar territory. I grew up in a single mother household with a sister. We operated on emotion and logic. Right now my son is operating on pure IMAGINATION! I think he sees something else in his mind instead of what's real. Like perhaps when he jumps off the top of the couch he sees himself landing in an ocean or perhaps a bed of soft cotton instead of hardwood floors! This boy has banged his head, foot, arm, knees and shoulder so many times in the past few months I am shocked he hasn't broken a bone yet.

Ah, the joys of boys. . .WHATEVER. He's nutty as a can of Planter's! I can't wait for my little princess to make her debut. I'm actually looking forward to Barbie dolls, tea parties and manicures! And I know pink is kind of passe when it comes to being the color of choice for girls but I cannot wait to buy a cute PINK frilly dress with a bunch of flowers and lace that screams I AM A GIRL!!! Ha ha! I do absolutely ADORE my son but I can't wait to even things out in our household.

Confused

2009-01-28T09:34:00.002-06:00

I am confused about something. Why is it when some people decide life is not worth living anymore they also make that decision for others? I seriously don’t understand the murder-suicide phenomenon. I hate my life so much that not only am I going to kill myself but I don’t want you to live either so, I guess I hate your life too???

I mean if a person is so determined to end their life then DO IT and claim that one way ticket to hell. But by all means don’t take other folks with you! I was shocked to hear about the man in L.A. who killed his family and then himself. How in the hell do you kill FIVE little children, your wife and then yourself? Because he got laid off (I think his wife also lost her job). Sorry if this sounds crass but if he really wanted to turn a selfish act into a selfless act he should have found away to terminate his life that would appear to be an “accident” and then perhaps his family could have collected some type of insurance policy. I’m just sayin’. . .

The other thing that shocked me is that this was a BLACK man. Surely he was aware there were other options. Was he that proud or just an idiot? I’m thinking the latter. I have had some low points in my life, which when you really think about it is what makes life well. . .life. You have peaks and valleys. It’s never perfect and there are ALWAYS tests of strength, will and faith that you have to get through and I guess it’s true that only the strongest survive. The weak apparently take their lives (and the lives of others) because they figure it’s easier. Like I said, I’ve had some low points but NEVER, EVER, NEVER would I ever kill myself.

In all honesty I can say that I’ve thought about what “life” would be without me. Would I be missed? But those thoughts always had to do with me either never having been born or dying of some natural cause. I can barely swallow those big ass prenatal vitamins so I know I couldn’t take any pills. I would never try to shoot myself because what if my aim is slightly off and I become paralyzed instead? And why in the world would someone stick a knife in their chest over and over? I like to think I have a high tolerance for pain but come on. It just doesn’t make sense to me.

Life is already short enough and regardless to how much we dread it or even fight it the fact is we will ALL die someday anyway- why hurry along the process. Find the light, the love and the goodness in life and enjoy it while you can. Sorrow don't last always. . .

Untitled

2009-01-26T10:13:00.004-06:00

Man, it's been a whole week since I even THOUGHT about this blog! It's getting kinda sad. . .

Hmm, I guess I could recap my week:

1. BARACK OBAMA is in the WHITE HOUSE!!!! Was that not the most AMAZING inauguration ever?! Although there were some white conservatives HATING on the event because- get this- they were focusing too much on black people. I ain't making that up. They felt the media focused "too much" on black people in the crowds and that the majority of the entertainment and speakers were black. So, when things are reversed and a white president has white supporters and white entertainers/speakers. It's okay? Got it. Moving on from all things ignorant. . .

2. Had another doctor's appointment and the little princess seems to be growing and doing fine. April 13th will be here before you know it and I will NOT be ready. But it's been my experience that it all ends up working out. :-)

3. Enrolled in a Psychology course. Theories of Personality. I can already tell it's going to be an interesting semester. Maybe I'll continue this blog to psychoanalyze people in my family and the media.

4. I think I might be mildly obsessed with the Twilight book series. Yeah, I know that's supposed to be a "young adult" series. I don't really want to elaborate except to say although Stephenie Meyer is not the most prolific writer in the world she has to be given credit for creating one of the most enthralling modern day fictional characters (Edward Cullen) in a long time.

5. I am tired of working. 'Nuff said.

Hopefully I'll be able to get some more interesting/relevant postings in this week.

Sing Sing Celebrate

2009-01-19T09:54:00.004-06:00

Keep the dream alive! I LOVE this song/video!! One of my favorite to commemorate the King Holiday! I remember having this blonde hair spray/dye that I put in the front of my hair like Stacey Lattisaw! Ha ha! Not only is the song poignant but looking at all those old school artists takes me waaay back! Whodini, Fat Boys, New Edition, Stacey Lattisaw, Melle Mel, EL DEBARGE (OMG! I had the biggest crush on him!), JT Taylor, Stephanie Mills and of course the incomparable Whitney Houston. ENJOY!

Enough Already

2009-01-12T16:03:00.002-06:00

Okay, there is one downfall to having a child that's so smart. Sometimes they are too smart. I mean smart as in shut-your-mouth-before-I-have-to-slap-you-in-it smart.

I subscribe to the 65-35 method of parenting. 65% old school and 35% new school. I realize that we are living in a totally different time than when I was a child but at the same time there are some things that will never change:

1. Children have no business in grown folks business!
2. Children should not talk back and/or disrespect their parents.
3. No negotiating with children. It makes them think they have the upper hand.
4. No telling children to do something 3 and 4 times.
5. Spankings help children see their options a lot more clearly.

I incorporate these old stand-by's into my daily parenting routine because of the simple fact that I have a FOUR YEAR OLD asking me questions like, "Why do we have to always do everything you want?" "Why can't I get to choose when I go to bed?"

I have NO patience for stuff like that!! I suppose I could get down on his level and say something like "because Mommy knows what's best for you" or "because Mommy wants you to get your rest". But I prefer that old adage "BECAUSE I SAID SO". You give these kids an inch they want to take a mile! I don't want to set a precedent that everything is up for discussion!

I don't know if it's hormones or what but me and my little MISTER have been bumping heads a lot lately. I've got to nip this in the bud with the quickness before Baby Girl's arrival. So I have been known to walk around the house with a belt over my shoulder to let him know I mean business however I never get to use it ;-( because all it takes is one word from his father and he's scrambling and tripping over himself to straighten up his act!

I think that he will probably end up being a lawyer because not only does he ask questions- and I'm not talking about typical inquisitive kiddie questions- he ask questions directly related to him getting what he wants and he has already developed this ability to make you second guess your answers so that he can prove his point which is- THERE IS NO REASON I SHOULD NOT BE ABLE TO GET MY WAY. I pray for him daily that he does not become a victim of a back hand from his hormonal mother. If he's starting this mess at FOUR. . .I'm thinking he better have a back up plan like where he can go and live by the time he's TEN because I ain't having it!

Momversation

2009-01-09T15:17:00.005-06:00

I found this clip over at dooce.com (one of my guilty pleasures). I thought it was very interesting and although most of my experiences are from the perspective of a black woman I found myself wholeheartedly agreeing with these women on many different levels. I guess the one truism in life is, regardless to your race, motherhood and marriage ain't no joke!!

(Sorry about the Christina Aguilera commercial be patient it's worth the wait.)

Condolences

2009-01-05T09:18:00.004-06:00

I felt compelled to write this post this morning before I started my work day. I have always really liked John Travolta. Not saying that I'm a big fan but I do enjoy his work. At the risk of dating myself, I remember original episodes of Welcome Back Kotter and I found his ditzy Vinnie Barbarino character adorable. Not a big fan of Saturday Night Fever but loved him in Grease (I'on care who you are, you KNOW you had at least two songs memorized from that movie!) But one of my favorite roles of his was from Face Off with Nicolas Cage. I know I've seen that movie at least ten times!

So when I heard about his son, Jett (whose name I knew from seeing him in random interviews and he mentioned him practically every time) dying for some reason it really pierced my heart. I'm sure it's mainly because I'm a mother and I don't ever want to think about my son leaving this Earth before me. . .but also because it was so apparent that he absolutely adored his son. It is so tragic for a life to be taken so young (16) and I pray that the Travolta family can get through this tragedy.

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T15:00:00.003-06:00

Why does today seem like Sunday?? I guess because I have to go to work tomorrow. Me and my two favorite guys spent a quiet evening at home last night watching the spectacular fireworks display our neighbors put on every year at New Years and Fourth of July. We feasted on chips , cheese, boneless BBQ wings and pizza. Then at midnight my husband poured a glass of Welch's Sparkling Grape Juice for my son & I while he toasted with champagne. It was the perfect evening.

We slept until 10:00 this morning, then my husband got up and fixed us breakfast. I put on a roast and plan on topping the meal off with potatoes, black eyed peas, greens and cornbread. Maybe that's why it seems like Sunday- Soul Food Sunday to be exact. It's days like this that I think God has blessed me over-abundantly. I am EXTREMELY thankful although I know at times I am undeserving.

I usually don't make New Year's resolutions. . .but I do set goals. As a New Year begins I am mainly focused on ONE thing: having a HEALTHY baby in April. But aside from that there are some things I need to accomplish this year:

1. Keep pushing forward with school even if I take one class a semester
2. Get rid of the disgusting carpet in our bedroom
3. Get a new car (it's been WONDERFUL not having a car note for 10 years but the gig is up- we need more space)
4. Take my son on one last trip before school starts. . .I am dumbfounded that this kid starts kindergarten in the fall!
5. Get my children baptized!

Other than that I am going to TRY TRY to watch my language since my husband says I curse three times as much as I did when he first met me. . .wonder why?!?!

Anyway, I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe New Year and that 2009 brings you everything you wish for and more!!!

(The picture is of TheGenius getting his shave on Christmas morning.)

Post Holiday Greetings

2008-12-30T13:29:00.004-06:00

Ho, ho, hum. . . . Well, another Christmas bites the dust! The madness and the mayhem was over within a matter of hours. I enjoyed this Christmas and tried to take it easy because, God-willing, next year I will have TWO children at Christmas- AGH! So, I enjoyed just having to focus on one child and play one game of pretend instead of being stretched between two children and feeling like I'm not devoting an equal amount of time.

Now that the holidays are about over I am starting to focus on how my life is about to drastically change in FOURTEEN short weeks! And I doubt seriously that I will even have time to take a breath. . .in addition to New Year's, my husband is running the Houston-Chevron marathon in January, hubby's birthday (along with 2 nieces, my moms, & only aunt birthdays) is in February, my son's b-day is in March and then BAM! Baby girl is due in April. OMG! People have been asking me about names. . .I am sooooo far away from thinking about names it's not even funny. I think I'll probably get it together after my son's b-day (March 2nd) maybe. . .I really need to FOCUS! I tell you what I am looking forward to the MOST (besides having a healthy baby) is taking THREE MONTHS off after my delivery!!! I am exhausted!!! Okay, I'm getting tired just thinking about it. . .

Instead I'll share my favorite story from Christmas. Christmas Eve to be exact. My son, got a ridiculous amount of STUFF from my family (as usual) and as he was opening his presents I was taking them and hiding them in the closet- because we open family presents at midnight and afterwards he needs to go to bed so Santa can make an appearance. One of the presents he received was a Batman shaving kit. It came with all the fake razors and a small can of foam a.k.a shaving cream.

After my family packed up and left (around 12:45am) I told my son it was time to go to sleep so that Santa could stop by and he started to have a MELT DOWN!!!! He had big crocodile tears and he was saying, "But I have to do something first," And I'm like- WHAT YOU COULD POSSIBLY HAVE TO DO AT 1:00 IN THE MORNING?!?! He started stuttering and blubbering that he: NEEDED TO SHAVE!!!!!! Bwahahahahahaha! He was sooooooo serious and looking so pitiful but I bust out laughing!!!! My husband didn't find it as hilarious. He told him he could shave in the morning and proceeded to march him upstairs. In less than three seconds he was out cold. He didn't wake up the next morning until almost 9:00!!! After he checked out what Santa left for him, he ran back upstairs to SHAVE!!! (I'll post pictures later).

I was still beyond exhausted so after playing one round of Power Rangers I went back to sleep. As I was nodding off that movie, A Christmas Story was on t.v. When I woke up it was still on so I thought I had only slept about twenty minutes- turns out the show was on a continuous 24 hour Christmas marathon loop and I had almost slept through it TWICE.

Now, I'm back at work still a little out of it. . .good thing Christmas only comes once a year because if it was more than once a year, I'd be celebrating Hanukkah!

Hope everyone had a safe and happy Christmas!!! I wish you much peace, love and exponential blessings for 2009!!!!

Balancing Act

2008-12-16T20:54:00.004-06:00

Yesterday, my co-worker was going on and on about how she thought I was such a wonderful mother and that I seem to have found such a perfect balance in my life. I swear I just stared at her blankly for a few minutes because I thought she was gonna start laughing and say, “SIKE!” If anyone perceives that I have perfected “balance” in my life let me set the record straight: IT’S ALL SMOKE & MIRRORS.

I think one of the lessons I have learned- begrudgingly- since I got married and had a child is that, unfortunately, life is not all about ME anymore and that I have to put my selfishness aside. Armed with this knowledge, I have been able to avoid a lot of frustration and disappointment. Don’t get me wrong I still feel extremely overwhelmed from time to time but when I do, I just breathe and think whether or not it’s worth me losing my mind. And sometimes I TOTALLY fly off the handle to get my point across and to let the people in my life know without a shadow of a doubt : she’s kinda crazy. It’s been my secret weapon for years! :-)

Another thing that has really given me more sense of “balance” in my life is accepting my job for what it is. A job. It is not my “career”. I do not have delusions of grandeur or thoughts of climbing the corporate ladder. For the most part, I enjoy what I do and I when I am here I give 100% (it ain’t brain surgery, though) but I do NOT work overtime (I am salaried and don’t get paid for it), I don’t take any of the b.s. or politics home with me (I’m too busy pretending to be a Power Ranger with my son), and I don’t get involved in office cliques (I’m too damn old for that).

So, I have relieved an incredible amount of stress from my plate by not letting my job consume me or my time. For the first time in my life, I feel like I have options and I could work here or not and it’s not going to cripple me or my lifestyle so the way I see it, my job is pretty lucky to have me, not the other way around. And I say that strongly even in the current economic environment.

Besides I’m only one person and there is no way I can give all of myself completely to my job or to my husband or even to my son. It’s just not humanly possible. And there are times that I still feel like I am failing miserably in some area in my life but I just try to do better the next day. I want my mind to be strong and sound for decades to come so, I can’t afford to start losing bits and pieces of it now.
One thing that is out of balance is the weather in Houston. We keep going from 40 to 77 degrees (and vice versa) overnight! Here's a picture of my son playing in the snow from last week!

Totally Random

2008-12-11T09:34:00.005-06:00

The most random thing happened in H-Town yesterday evening. . .IT SNOWED!!!! Earlier that afternoon I was running errands and it was COLD (32 degrees) and raining and at times the cold combined with the rain made it feel like ice was hitting my face but I never thought it would SNOW!

Let me just clear something up for anyone who doesn't know about weather in the South. First of all, anything below 70 is COLD to folks born and raised in the South. Second, this weekend is supposed to be around 74 degrees. So, color us a little shocked to get enough snow to stick to the ground and cars for more than an hour. Some places on the outskirts of the city actually got about 2.5 inches of snow.

The other thing that's so fascinating and somewhat cool about all of this is when I picked my son up from school yesterday he asked me if it was going to snow. I laughed and said I don't know. His teacher (remember he attends a Christian day school) however told him to PRAY and maybe God would make it snow. When we got home my son asked me if it was okay to pray for snow and who am I to challenge prayer? I told him to go right ahead. He took a prayer posture- clasped hands, bowed head and closed eyes and he prayed: "Dear God please make it snow today, in Jesus name, Amen."

When my husband called us around 5:30 and told us it was snowing my son- to say he was excited is an understatement. He kept running from window to window exclaiming "I made it snow! I made it snow!" I had to explain to him that he didn't make it snow, that God did. And he countered with, "But that's only because I asked him to," I didn't even bother. . .

It would have been really cool if this miracle could have taken place on Christmas like it did 4 years ago. It actually snowed on Christmas Even in 2004, my son's first Christmas, and hasn't even been that cold on Christmas since. They are trying to tie the snow to the hurricanes and some freaky weather pattern. Whatever the case, it was pretty awesome, that is until this morning when Houstonians all over town went sliding and crashing into each other. There should be a city-wide rule that if it snows in Houston or if there is ice on the ground- the city is CLOSED for the day! We can drive in rain but snow/ice? Not so much.

Tomorrow I'll post pics of my son throwing snowballs. . .

Little White Men

2008-12-09T09:26:00.004-06:00

As I was pulling decorations from the Christmas crates I noticed that I have unconsciously started a collection of ceramic snowmen!! Aw, I'm either getting anal or old (perhaps both). Actually I think it stems more from me not wanting to buy Caucasian Santa's- I have one black Santa but he was hard to come by. . .anyway, in an effort to keep it merry and bright I've started this collection that I actually think is kinda cool.

My son probably won't appreciate this treasure after I go to the great beyond but I'm sure my baby girl will. . .unless she's like my mom and my sister who don't have a sentimental bone in their bodies!

Anyway, I'm still freakin' out because there are only 16 days until Christmas and I still have over half of my family to buy for. . .I would just get everyone a gift card but my family is so anti-gift cards. They prefer ripping open presents and pretending to be excited and then calling each other behind your back and saying, "what in the hell, why would he give me that ugly ass scarf," Ha ha! 'Tis the season!

Like Butta

2008-12-05T09:24:00.005-06:00

Today I am taking a break from my hormone fueled rantings about marriage and focusing on the holiday season. After all 'tis the season to be jolly fa la la la fu- WTF?! Is it really 0nly 20 days until Christmas?!?!?

Okay, I am so not ready and this is so NOT like me. . .but I'm nothing like myself lately anyway so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I went out last weekend (not on Black Friday) to try and do a little shopping and ended up buying a few decorations and a gift for myself. They have this bath robe at Bath & Body Works. . .OMG!!. . .it is soooooooo soft and cuddly! I imagine that's what clouds might feel like. . .before you fall through them and come crashing to the Earth- but I digress, the robe is like butta! I LOVE IT! And I scored such a deal. It was on sale in the store for $29.99 and I had a coupon to get $10 off any item so I got this delicious robe for $19.99! The best $20 I've spent all year!

If you need a new robe or you want to give one as a gift you've got to check it out! It comes in it's own over sized box and a variety of colors. All you have to do is wrap it! Happy shopping!

Role Play

2008-12-04T13:53:00.004-06:00

Okay, remember when I was ranting about the roles we play in marriages? Well, I almost went ballistic last night when my husband starting making snide comments about ME not cooking. Then he did the ULTIMATE and started to mention how his mother, God rest her soul, used to work full time and still managed to cook a hot meal every night.

First of all, I think I startled the entire neighborhood when I yelled, "I ain't yo mama!" Second of all, she had EIGHT kids! And I'm thinking at some point one of them should have been old enough to put some chicken in the oven. Apparently the lady had Julia Child aspirations.

I will be the first to admit my son could probably benefit from a lot more nutritious meals but one thing is for certain he eats EVERY night! Let's get that straight first. Now, regarding me being Suzy Homemaker. There was a time for a couple of years after we were married that I would come home after working 8 hours at a job that I HATED ( complete with a 1 1/2 hour commute one way) but endured because my salary was CRUCIAL to our household (still is) and I would cook a delicious, hot meal. I'm talking a meat and two sides! Sometimes dessert!

But as time marched on it seemed it went from being appreciated to expected. The number one thing I hate about cooking is that not only do I prepare the meal but folks sit down at the table and want you to bring them a plate and then I have to clean up the kitchen too?!?!? Oh, HELLLLL no! I found the kitchen stays a lot cleaner when nothing is cooked in it. Ha ha!

Seriously, can we step in to the new millennium DEAR HUSBAND? I mean I do work full time, my commute is about 35 to 45 minutes longer than yours, I go to school (taking THREE classes), I'm preggers, trying to be the best mommy I can be to our son and you think I'm gonna come home (when you're already at home) and start frying chicken and snapping peas?? Baby, I regret to inform you that you married the wrong woman. So sorry. No refunds.

I think I should probably call and tell him to stop and get a burger on his way home tonight. . .or he is more than welcomed to hook up a big pot of spaghetti tonight- he actually makes it better than me. So, what's really going on? I guess because he cuts the grass and changes the oil in the cars, boiling spaghetti is just asking too damn much.

When you stop by the Burger Shack tonight be sure to hold the onions and mayo on mine!

Blah-Blah-Blah

2008-12-02T10:55:00.007-06:00

Happy Belated Turkey Day!! Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Mine was awesome. We went to my sister's house and gorged on way too much food! It was divine. Also, saw some family and friends that I had not seen in a while.

The day before Thanksgiving I had a doctor's appointment and it was confirmed that I am having a GIRL! Let the drama commence! Ha ha! My son didn't really mask his disappointment and he still refers to her as a "him" I guess he thinks if he wishes hard enough things will be different when April gets here. . .you never know. . .but I think both doctor's are pretty certain there are no boy parts in there.

It's getting to a point with this blog- unfortunately- that it's just another thing on my "to do" list. And I can almost predict its demise. It's been fun but I honestly don't know how much longer I'll keep it up. It was supposed to be an interim type thing while I regrouped with my parenting website but it kinda took on a life of its own and I never started the other website so I used this one for an outlet.

But with school, work, the holidays and a second child on the way- a sista is tired and totally not feeling the blog. I know it's getting bad because I don't even lurk around on other blogs like I used to. Although you wouldn't know it by the comments I actually get quite a few hits on this site about 50 a week. . .but there are only a handful of people who comment. I sincerely appreciate Super Dave, TheDad, Veronica and Don for taking an interest and leaving comments.

I am going to try and keep this going at least until the baby is born- don't want to leave everybody hanging but I apologize in advance if the posts are sporadic or just not that entertaining. Winds of change are blowing in. . .

The Greatest

2008-11-24T09:59:00.004-06:00

My son and I have been left to our own devices since Thursday because my husband was out of town. We had a great weekend that consisted of "movie night" (we rented DVD's because my son confessed he doesn't like going to the movies, he's so strange), library day, shopping, pizza and games @ Gattitown, sleeping late and lounging in our pajamas all day Sunday.

I think I fell in love with him all over again this weekend. I simply cherish these days because he is such a sweet, smart, funny and just wonderful little human being. Everyday when I pray to God, one of the things I ask is that my son maintains some of those endearing qualities throughout his lifetime. And I pray that I remain strong and healthy enough to be positive influence to keep him on the right path.

Here are some of the priceless highlights from this weekend:

Me: (tickling him mercilessly) Now what are you gonna do, huh?
Him: (screaming in between fits of laughter) Stop, stop! No tickling!
Me: (I stop because I'm out of breath) Whatever, Egghead!
Him: (scrambling away from me) You said exactly what you are
Me: What?!
Him: What did you call me?
Me: Egghead.
Him: (laughing) That's exactly what you are (runs from room laughing)
Me: (mouth hanging open and thinking to myself- man, I'm gonna have to use that one!)
______________

Me: (giving him a vitamin) You've gotta take your vitamins so you can be big and strong
Him: (chewing it without complaint) So nobody will try to be a bully to me
Me: That's right, you let them know you are not the one!
Him: That's right, if somebody comes up to me and pushes me I'm gonna push them back and say, 'Not today, brother,' (but it totally sounded like BRUDDA).
Me: (laughing so hard I almost choked).

_____________

Me: So when your new baby brother or sister comes along, you are going to have to be in charge and show them how things work around here.
Him: Like the t.v.
Me: (laughing) Yes, but I'm mostly talking about the house rules.
Him: Like what?
Me: Like who's in charge, where things go, no whining, picking up after yourself, -
Him: Helping me clean up my room

Oh yeah, he is so ready to be a big brother! Ha ha!
_____________

Daddy will be back today and he was missed. He ran the Philadelphia Marathon in 32 degree weather in 4 hours 22 minutes. That is truly amazing to me! Twenty six miles?! Are you kidding me?! I couldn't have walked twenty six blocks! Hell, after two or three blocks in 32 degree weather I would have been dying!!

I'm really proud of him and can't wait to see him this evening. See, how absence makes the heart grow fonder. Now, if I could only get him to be gone for a week every month, I am more than certain we'd make it to ten years! :-)

Dead Wrong

2008-11-20T13:25:00.004-06:00

No, I am not referring to my post from yesterday, although hubby was way too sweet yesterday when he got home. Don't know if it's because he was leaving to go out of town for four days or because he read the post. . . .

Anyway, why did I go to Subway for lunch today and see this unsupervised little Hispanic boy around 3-years old hanging out at the door as people were leaving the restaurant. Seriously every time someone left he all but followed them as if he were trying to hitch a ride home.

I go into Subway and he is running all over the place. As I am in line I notice a woman, who I assume is his mother, get him and promptly place him in a booth between her and another lady. OMG! He starts screaming bloody murder. His voice was literally echoing off the walls and irritating the shit out of everyone in the place. So, his "mother" allows him to get down and continue his running rampage with every stranger he encountered.

As I am paying for my sandwich I notice the person sitting across from this woman and another woman has on a Subway uniform. So, I think they must be friend's of this Subway employee and they are visiting her at lunch.

Unt-uh. I go to get my drink from the fountain machine and I see a JOB APPLICATION on the table between them. This woman is on a freaking INTERVIEW with her kid wrecking havoc everywhere! When I passed by I couldn't help but give the Subway MANAGER a look of disapproval when she says to the woman, "Can you start Saturday?"

That is why customer service in minimum wage paying service industries is so BAD!! I don't care if you are interviewing to be the person who scrapes gum from under the table at McDonald's- you should always be PROFESSIONAL! Proper attire, knowledgeable about the position and you come ALONE!!! What in the HELL! And as a manager doesn't that lady realize she is hiring someone who apparently has BABYSITTING ISSUES?!?!?

It would be funny if it wasn't so doggone SAD! I mean I can appreciate the fact that she is trying to get a job but why couldn't her "friend" or whoever the other lady was sitting with her, stay in the car with that little boy or push him around in a basket at Target next door until the interview was over?!?!

That's a big part of what's wrong with this country- mediocrity is accepted and common sense is overlooked!

Why Did I Get Married?

2008-11-19T09:43:00.005-06:00

When Tyler Perry's movie came out earlier this year I ran to the theater to see it- not because I'm huge fan of Mr. Perry's (although I do think his accomplishments are phenomenal) nor because I was a big fan of anyone in the cast. I ran out to see it so that I could perhaps gain some understanding of this thing called marriage. Sadly, I wasn't given any insight- no more than I already had, which is not saying much.

I've been married six years and while it seems like a lifetime to me, it's nothing when I think about people who've been married 50 plus years or even my own sister who got married at 18 and has been married 17 years. I guess part of the secret to a long marriage is either marrying the "right" person to begin with or having the fortitude to deal with whatever bullshit comes your way and not give in or give up.

But I wonder what happens when the person you thought was "right" changes in to someone all wrong. Or perhaps you change and that person is no longer what you need. How do you deal with that? Will you constantly be forced to change who you are or suppress your true needs in an effort to make things "work"? And then when children are thrown into the mix-man- I think most of the time couples find themselves trying get along just for the children's sake but meanwhile their (the couple) relationship is suffering.

I think what honestly happens in most marriages is that as men and women we get settled into these roles. The man is supposed to take care of the house, fix the cars, cut the grass, etc. While the woman makes the house a home, decorating, cleaning, cooking, washing, etc. Eventually these roles become very lopsided and one person- usually the woman- is doing WAY more. ESPECIALLY if she works full time AND has a child.

So, then the woman voices her need for some assistance and perhaps because she's fed up with having to pick up dirty socks off the floor everyday, the request may sound more like a complaint. So now she is tagged as a "nagger" (gasp!). Simply because she wants her mate to pick up after himself. And the unraveling begins. . .

Most men talk about wanting an "independent" woman or a woman who is successful or ambitious but I think they also want that same woman to cater to them. You can't have it both ways. Women like that want a man to cater to them. And some of us are so selfish in our relationships that we establish a "quid pro quo" rule. If you do this. . .then I'll do that. Instead of doing something for your mate and not expecting a damn thing in return. I am more than sure there are married couples out there who operate on the no expectations principle but more often than not I'm sure their efforts are reciprocated by their spouse. But there are probably also those unions where one person is doing all the giving and the other is being a selfish receiver.

I started this post because I was beyond PISSED at my husband. And as I washed out a RANCID skillet that he scrambled eggs in on Sunday (yes, today is WEDNESDAY) and buried at the bottom of the sink still full of eggs that stuck to the pan. I began having these thoughts that if I was SINGLE I wouldn't be washing out this stinky ass skillet or having to waste time cleaning up instead of DOING HOMEWORK, which is why I am off on Wednesdays, so that I can catch up on homework and attend class! But instead of finishing two quizzes online and getting ready for my 1:00 class here I am cleaning up because apparently I am the only person in this house that cares whether or not mushrooms start growing up through the floor! And don't even get me started on wiping PEE from the top of the closed toilet lid. I only have one thing to say. When I pee I am 99.99% sure it is going IN the toilet.

ARGH!! There are times when I consider myself extremely blessed to be married and have a family, my health, a home and a decent paying job. And there are other times like today when I wonder "why did I get married" and where would I be in this moment if my time, my life and my future were my own and not tied to another person?

But I am married and I know why I did it: L-O-V-E. I married a great guy and although I want to tie him up and stuff him in a closet sometimes- I do love him. And we've created a great family that we will (God willing ) be adding to pretty soon. So, I will more than likely mention the skillet episode to him. He will more than likely down play it. I will more than likely get mad and keep stressing how disgusting it was. He will more than likely tell me that I need to give it a rest. I will more than likely tell him to go hell. We won't speak for thirty minutes. We'll go have a nice dinner out with my son to wish my husband good luck on the Philadelphia Marathon this weekend. And it will be over.

I guess I probably should just let it go since I am getting a TREAT this weekend. My husband leaves tomorrow morning for Philly (he has relatives there) and won't be back until MONDAY! Woohoo!! Maybe a little taste of "single life" is just what this married girl needs!

I LOVE this song by Anita Baker. . .I thought it was appropriate for this post. No more fairytales! Marriage can be wonderful but it is HARD WORK! I plan on hanging in there for the long haul! :-)

I Like To Move It, Move It

2008-11-13T12:40:00.004-06:00

Yesterday, my husband and I took my son to see Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa. Mainly because WE (my husband and I) wanted to see it. One of the benefits of having kids is using them as an excuse to go see animated movies.

Anyhoo, I am a big fan of the first Madagascar film and had high hopes for the sequel. Hopes that were promptly squashed. Despite the rave reviews and the $63 million it raked in the first weekend, I was disappointed in the sequel. Perhaps there was just too much going on. . .too many story lines to follow. . .too many damn zebra's! I don't know! But I just didn't enjoy it nearly as much as the first one. I was however excited that the penguins got more screen time. They are hilarious. **Spoiler Alert** When they jacked that jeep and asked if the old lady was dead and one of them said, "no" so they went back to run her over. . .MAN! I was laughing so loud! I know that's horrible, right? But I did think the whole thing Skipper had going on with the dashboard hula doll was kinda corny. King Julian was another reason I was able to sit through this one, Sacha Baron Cohen is a nut!

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the good job the late Bernie Mac did as Zuba, Alex's father. Not really funny but I think he was a good vocal choice for the character. And Will.I.Am did a great job as the sexy hippo hunk, Moto-Moto. So, nice you've got to say it twice. . .ha ha! He was killing it with that Barry White voice.

That's just my two cents. My husband enjoyed it. . .now as for my son, the verdict is still out. I don't think he really liked it because about an hour in to it he asked me when was it going to be over. He kept saying he was ready to go home. But then he kept talking about his "favorite" parts when we got in the car. Go figure. If you just want to drop some serious duckets on a family outing this weekend and have nothing better to do, then check out the movie otherwise wait for it to come out on DVD in two months.

Another Year, No Divorce

2008-11-10T16:29:00.011-06:00

Hubby and I celebrated our 6th year anniversary on November 8th. We started the celebration on Thursday by attending a Maxwell concert (she says screaming and swooning simultaneously). I knew there was something missing from music today and after attending his concert I realized: Maxwell was missing from music. He is a phenomenal performer but his dancing KILLS me. . .he's the guy who asks you to dance at the club and the minute he starts jumping all over the floor you regret you got up out of your seat. But what he lacked in rhythm he more than made up for in sex appeal and singing.

The day after the concert we boarded a plane to Salt Lake City, rented a car and then drove to Park City and holed up there for the weekend. IT WAS COLD. I'm talking snow on the ground cold. Although anything below 70 degrees is cold to this Southern girl, it was legitimately cold there with the temperature hoovering around 40 degrees. We slept A LOT, shopped, ate and took in the beautiful landscape.

I am so officially OVER traveling for a while now. . .maybe it's the hormones talking but I don't want to leave the great state of Texas for at least 6 months to a year! On another note, somebody please tell me I'm trippin' and that THANKSGIVING is not in TWO WEEKS! AGH!

The only good thing about time flying by is that before you know it I'll have (God willing ) two children to post about. Pregnancy is definitely NOT my friend the second time around!

Here's my FAVORITE Maxwell song. . .Enjoy!

If I'm Dreamin'

2008-11-06T10:12:00.006-06:00

If I'm dreamin', then just let me sleep

Don't wake me up until my dream is complete

--I'm Dreamin' by Christopher Williams

I am STILL reeling. . . . I KNEW there was no way he would lose but man, he REALLY won!!!!

Now we've got some serious work to do, people we gotta help a brother out and do our part to get this country on the right track. You can start in your own home with initiatives like recycling or carpooling to help impact the environment, invest in the stock market even though it's down (it WILL be back up) to help stimulate the economy, mentor a child or volunteer in an underprivileged area to help save one young person from any pitfalls that lie ahead. Don't be passive and wait on President Obama to be a savior otherwise you will be thoroughly disappointed. His win should inspire you to want to do and be more not expect him to fix the world.

If his Presidency is considered a failure it's because WE (as a country and a people) failed. Be encouraged and do your part!

BARACK THE VOTE

2008-11-04T10:25:00.004-06:00

Okay, I had to do a double post today. . .the Red Beans & Rice were delish but I had to get serious for a minute.

I voted early in my state on Wednesday, October 22nd. It took me all of 15 minutes. It was the first time I voted early and can't believe I never thought to do it before. There are a lot of people who didn't vote early for various reasons (maybe your state didn't allow it) but today is do or die!!! I have called and harassed everybody I know that is registered to make sure they vote!

So much has been made about this being a "historical" election that it's almost a cliche. This is BEYOND historical. This is destiny. This is more than Dr. King probably ever even dreamed of. Not only is there a black man running for President. He could ACTUALLY win!!! And he's not just any black man. . .he's intelligent, smart, informed, dignified, distinguished, family oriented, funny, attractive, and just totally awesome.

But I do not for one naive minute think that Barack Obama is going to come in like Superman and clean up the economy and end the war in his first hundred days. Realistically it might not even happen during his presidency BUT I do think he will leave a mark that will forever change politics and this country. I think an Obama Presidency will mean that America regains the respect of other world leaders, an Obama Presidency will seriously force America to deal with this ugly thing called racism that eats away at our society every day and most importantly an Obama Presidency will make black children and ADULTS aspire to do more and be more because ANYTHING is really possible if we work hard, treat people right and never give up.

Please, please, please VOTE today if you are reading this and you haven't already cast your ballot. I do not want to wake up tomorrow and feel like it was just another dream deferred. This is real and it can happen VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE!!!!!!

French Quarter Flavor

2008-11-04T10:14:00.006-06:00

Looking for a quick meal with homemade appeal? Try Zatarain's Red Beans & Rice Mix. All you need to do is add sausage (Chappell Hill brand made in Texas is my fave) and a little garlic spice or Tony Chachere's to kick it up a notch. (I made a big pot last night and can't wait to get home for leftovers!)

Make a pan of "from scratch" cornbread to accompany the meal. If you've really got the time and want more down home flavor try Chef G. Garvin's recipe for Southern Fried Chicken:

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons pepper
2 tablespoons garlic salt
2 tablespoons seasoned salt
2 tablespoons paprika
olive oil (enough to deep fry)

Instructions
1. Coat skillet with enough olive oil. 2. Pour flour in a bowl. 3. Season flour with seasoned salt, garlic salt, and paprika. Mix. 4. Remove chicken from ice bath and set on plate. 5. Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper, garlic salt and seasoned salt. 6. Coat all sides of chicken with flour. Pat off excess. 7. Place each piece in heated skillet. 8. Fry for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. 9. Remove chicken from pan. Place on paper towel to soak up excess oil.

Enjoy!

Potential Drama

2008-11-03T11:37:00.003-06:00

I had a routine prenatal visit today and my doctor, God love her, says to me, "it's looking a little girl-ish," Ha ha! She said she felt about 75% sure that I was having a girl. I'm 16 weeks, 5 days today and won't find out 100% until I'm 20 weeks. But I've been saying all along I think it's a girl also, just because I feel totally different than when I was pregnant with my son. I basically feel like crap EVERY DAY. I think this is a sign that I'm growing a little "princess" inside of me- I think drama is on the horizon in our household.

I guess I shouldn't be so sexist considering I am a woman BUT because I am a woman I know what this could mean. There were three females in my house growing up: me, my sister and my mom. For the most part the drama was extremely mild and I think that was the case for two reasons- 1.) there were no men in the house, 2.) my sister and I KNEW there was only ONE woman, one QUEEN in our house and that was our mother. Period end of story. But there were those times I would run through the house screaming bloody murder because my sister not only borrowed my clothes without permission she put a hole in a shirt or got food on my pants.

We would yell and fight about the most petty, random ISH ever! But at the end of the day it was all good. And to this day my sister and I have a really close bond. My cousins on the other hand- two boys- would wrestle and play karate all day and unless one of them accidentally hurt the other one for real trying to be Kamala the Big Ugandan Giant (remember him?!) they never really fought or cared if someone was wearing someone else's underwear let alone a stupid shirt.

I don't really anticipate drama between my kids. . .since I'll have a son that's 5 years older than his female (potentially) sibling. I think the drama will be the fact that my husband will allow a daughter to get away with ten times the things my son will be allowed to get away with. . .I've seen it happen. Never mentioned it before but have a step-daughter who is about to be 11 and when I tell you SHE CAN DO NO WRONG IN HER DADDY'S EYES. . .it's kinda sickening. All I have to say to the potential princess is that she just needs to always remember who's the QUEEN and everything should be copacetic. Ha ha!

I'm kidding. . .kinda. . .seriously, I just want her (or him) to be as HEALTHY as possible! Besides I have no doubt this child will know their place once they arrive since my son mentions EVERY DAY that he's going to be the big brother, which means he's in charge! Like I said. . .drama is a-coming!

Boo to You!!

2008-10-31T09:42:00.005-05:00

Happy Halloween!!! I've posted a preview of the tonight's costume. . .what else would TheGenius be but a POWER RANGER?! He woke up at the crack of dawn this morning all excited because today is "pajama party" day at his school and he got to wear his "cool" Batman pajamas- two superheroes in one day?! Life doesn't get any better than that!

We sat together this morning and watched the sunrise since he woke up so early. I was late to work but who cares? That was a priceless, special moment. I know people say this and then go on love their other children just as much BUT as I was sitting watching the sunrise with my son, witnessing the wonder on his face and hearing the excitement in his voice as he talked about his upcoming party, I started thinking to myself, "there is no way this second child will be nearly as special and awesome as this one," I KNOW, I KNOW. . .that's horrible, right? But this new baby seriously has a tough act to follow so far.

I just hope and pray that baby number 2 arrives (God willing) healthy first and foremost but I also hope that we at least have another laid back, go with the flow kinda kid that just meshes with the family dynamic we've established. The last thing I need is a high maintenance, drama prince or princess. I seriously don't know if I'd be able to deal. My husband is super laid back and unflappable (for the most part) and I am about the most low-to no maintenance chick around. And usually when you give my son a choice to do something, go somewhere or wear something he says, "whatever you want me to do Mom," LOVE IT!! I just get this feeling that this baby is gonna come along and shake us up and mess up our little cocoon of comfort! Ha ha!

Anyway, enough of my baby bashing- already giving this unborn kid a complex! I hope all of you have a SAFE and Happy Halloween!!!

Mama's Boy

2008-10-30T10:29:00.007-05:00

It's no secret that I love the fact that my son is a mama's boy. He told me the other day that I was his one true love! Of course this was after he asked me what that meant because Bruce Banner said it to Betty Ross on the Incredible Hulk. But I digress, despite our "love affair" I do realize there are times when I need to "turn him over" to his father for some tougher love and discipline. Being the little Pisces that he is, my son, is always looking for rationale. It's not enough to say to him, "because I said so," he wants to know WHY are you saying so and why is it not up for negotiation. He tries to play that game with me all day long but something in his father's tone let's him know that perhaps he should not have all the answers to life's questions at FOUR so, he backs down and does what he's told.

Now when it comes to him not feeling well is where I draw a line in the sand with my husband. It incenses me sometimes when he tells him to "shake it off" or tries to make me feel bad for "mothering" him when he feels bad. He says I take it too far and I MAKE him act like a baby. . .AH! The nerve!! For example, last week my son had an allergic reaction to soap that contained perfume and dye (don't ask) - his entire body broke out into a rash and he was miserable. He was itching ALL OVER. We gave him Benadryl and lathered him in Cortisone and Calamine but the relief was not instant. So, there were times- not even that often- that he would take his nubby little fingers and start a scratch fest (he has NO NAILS because he's starting to bite them again). My husband would chastise him saying he was going to make it worse and not to scratch. The little Pisces says to him, "Daddy, if it itches I have to scratch." OK!

So, me being the mother that I am, hating to see him suffer through any discomfort no matter how small, I had the bright idea to take a sponge that was for the most part soft but it had just enough texture to provide relief if you rubbed it over your itching body. I took off his shirt and proceeded to give him a rub down with the sponge. My husband came UNGLUED! He actually said what I was doing was GAY and that I was going to turn my son into a marshmallow.

If I wasn't so pissed when he said it I probably would have laughed because he sounded so damned stupid. I proceeded to yell, "HE IS FOUR AND HE IS ITCHING!" Gimme a break, I'm nine times his age and if I was itching I'd want to scratch too! I never pegged my husband as homophobic and I happen to know for a fact he had a sappy relationship with his mom, God rest her soul, so I don't know why he's trippin'! I think that my son needs and deserves equal parts NURTURING and discipline. I don't want him growing up to be some cold, heartless, MAN because of the idiotic notions that his dad is unconsciously planting in his head. Hubby and I need to have a serious heart to heart because this morning my son told me, "Men don't cry,". I proceeded to tell him he's NOT a man yet and that REAL men do cry if they are hurt. I want him to be a strong, righteous, noble, man who is not afraid to be in touch with his feelings because of some bullshit societal rules that are imposed on him.

Besides as much as I love him and want to protect and nurture him I KNOW when it's time to put the hammer down and get tough and trust me my son, knows when he's pushed THAT button. But for the most part I just love him, nurture him, teach him, hug him, kiss, show him right from wrong and just try to enjoy each day with him DRAMA FREE. Because ten years from now if he's getting into all kinds of trouble he will NEVER be able to say he didn't get enough love or hugs from his mama!

Jack Move

2008-10-29T09:45:00.003-05:00

It appears throughout my business travels I have become the victim of a form of identity theft. I remember sitting in the airport, after my flight had been delayed for two hours, realizing I forgot my American Express card. So, I called my bank to transfer money since all I had was my debit card. The balance in my checking account seemed a little low but I was semi-delirious and didn't really think anything of it so I just made a mental note to check it once I returned from Orlando.

The alarm went off when we checked the mail this past Monday and there was a envelope from my bank that resembled an insufficient funds notice (there was a time a couple of decades ago that I got those all the time!) so I rip open the envelope and it's a notice saying they tried contacting me via e-mail but the message was returned undeliverable. I'm thinking why are they trying to contact me. . .so I call and check my balance. . .it's really low so I listen to the transactions that have cleared and the first cleared item threw up a red flag. I press zero to speak to a representative while simultaneously checking the transactions on line.

Someone has gotten my debit card number and charged $636 within a three day period at the most random places. They paid their T-Mobile bill, ordered some movies from Comcast, $200 for flowers, $200 at some bar, and the purchase of eyeglasses.

The bizarre thing is that I actually have my card, this has never happened before and I am super cautious about when & where I use my card. I never even use it online. So, apparently the last time I went out to eat someone jacked my number. Now I'm thinking I might need to just start taking the AMEX card and paying it off at the end of each month. Because I think I was extremely lucky that this sorry bastard didn't charge more or put me in an extreme financial bind.

But what's really crazy about this entire thing is that they were able to use my number in person at most of these places. . .they had to have a connection at these places. I don't think I could go to Chili's or Macy's or Eyemasters and say, "Oh, I don't have my card but here's the number" I wonder if they duplicated my card?? That settles it I'm carving a hole in my mattress! Why are people so damned devious?!?!? If they would only use their evil powers for good!

I'm Baaack!

2008-10-27T12:57:00.008-05:00

Man, I totally forgot I even had a blog! ;-p It even took me two tries on the password. So much for trying to blog once a week this month. . .this month has been totally insane. Here's the recap:

1. Traveled to six different locations for annual enrollment meetings at work.

2. Verbally assaulted by wonderful co-workers in Newark. Such a classy bunch.

3. Got snowed on in Salt Lake City. Seriously, snowflakes in my hair!! Needless to say I was semi-afroed for the remainder of the trip.

4. Was able to fly first class to Orlando after sitting in airport for 2 1/2 hour delay due to weather.

5. Tomorrow will mark my 16th week of pregnancy. . .

Yep, I know who cares about 1 through 4, more on this number 5 bombshell. First of all, I am very hesitant to even talk about my pregnancy because if God forbid, something goes wrong and I don't deliver a healthy baby or any baby for that matter on April 13th then I'll have to address my feelings about that. . .which might not be a bad thing. . .

But I digress, I am expecting and this was TOTALLY unplanned and I have been in denial for three months. Especially after this tirade. Still scratching my head on how this happened. . .I mean I KNOW how it happened but still. . .anyway, I'm getting a little excited and will also get FIXED when this is over. I thought one was enough but I'm certain TWO will do! I think I'm most excited for my son. He will have a sibling and get the opportunity to impart his wisdom on another human being who will think he hung the moon. He will also get a chance to boss someone around, blame things on and from time to time be best their friend. I can't imagine my life without my sister and hopefully he will develop that kind of bond with his un-gender known sibling as well.

We haven't really specifically told him that he's going to be a big brother but we've spoken more in hypothetical terms and he is beyond excited at the prospect. He even has every one's role figured out. He will feed the baby, I will change the pee-pee diapers and daddy will change the poopie diapers. I love that plan! I think the age spread between the two will be perfect also because my son will be old enough not to still want to be a "baby" and require so much of my attention so, I'm hoping there won't be much jealousy or regression. Besides my " first baby" will be starting KINDERGARTEN next year! (She says throwing herself on floor and crying hysterically) I cannot believe how fast the time flew by. . .and to think just when I got him all trained to be semi-self-sufficient here I go bringing another person into this world who will be totally dependent on me. I think I know how this happened now. . .it was the blue pill that I took with the shot of Patron. . .

Needless to say hubby is ECSTATIC!!! This has been his plan all along! Come to think of it he gave me the blue pill! Ha ha! I have been in a shitty mood everyday exhausted, nauseous, bitchy, craving weird stuff and then not eating it, did I mention exhausted and bitchy? Whatever the case, I'm taking good care of myself and I ask for God's mercy daily and hope that he will bless me with a healthy child at the end of 40 weeks. I'll keep you posted as this journey continues on.

Whassup

2008-09-30T09:13:00.003-05:00

My new goal is to try and post at least once a week. . .I am about to start a whirlwind travel schedule for work so I may as well just write October off as a month lost from my life! So, sorry if I don't update the blog as much as I'd like. Hopefully the more time away will give me more (better) things to post about.

Here are some more GEMS from The Genius:

1. Me: (convincing him to get a haircut) Don't you want to be handsome?
Him: I'm already handsome. I don't need a haircut for that.

2. Him: (to his dad) Okay, I need for you to call my school every morning to see what they are having for breakfast so I can decide if I want to eat at school or at home.
His dad: **blank stare**
Him: For real.

3. Me: (in between kissing him a million times) I'm so glad God sent me such a smart and handsome little boy. I didn't know you were going to be so smart and handsome.
Him: You thought I wasn't going to know anything when I grew up?

4. Walking through Target looking at Halloween stuff we come upon a skeleton used for decoration.
Him: I can name all the parts of the skeleton.
Me: (intrigued) I don't believe you!
Him: Watch (so he starts as I point to the head) Brain, chest, stomach, arms, PENIS, legs. . .
Me: (laughing loudly and covering HIS mouth) Boy, a skeleton doesn't have a penis!
Him: Is it a girl?

Man, oh man life is just about to start getting FUN!

Bad Parents

2008-09-26T14:59:00.004-05:00

Prior to the hurricane my son had an episode of vomiting, high fever and pain in his ear- yep, you guessed it, it was a full blown ear infection. So the doctor prescribes an antibiotic that my son is supposed to take for 10 days.

Two days later we evacuate for the hurricane. Needless to say my son probably received two doses of the medicine. Exactly one week after the hurricane my son throws up again and is complaining about his ear. Shit. So, we go back to the doctor and I tell a pretty convincing lie that when we evacuated we FORGOT the medicine at home and since it had to be refrigerated it ended up spoiling because we lost power. She gave me the side eye but wrote another prescription.

So, September 19th we get another prescription that he is supposed to take TWICE a day for 10 days. Although the hurricane is over the aftermath still lives on and to say our schedule/pace has been harried is the biggest understatement of the year. My son has not taken the prescription- correction his horrible parents have not given him his medicine in two days. My fear is that if we go back to the doctor she will excuse herself and call CPS from the another room.

I seriously feel like a major failure. It breaks my heart when he's sick and although he has been fine- wrecking havoc all over the house- I know the infection is probably still lingering and will rear it's ugly head again and it will be all our fault. If we have to go back I'm going to put a reminder in my phone to ring when it's time for his medicine- I know I should have done that at first, hindsight makes me feel even worse. I pray to God he gets better and that we don't have to go back to the doctor. Internet please send positive vibes our way!

(that picture is from my collection The Genius @ 10 months old)

Slowly but Surely

2008-09-22T10:37:00.004-05:00

As you can imagine things have been a little crazy ( or crazier than normal) in my world. We're finally trying to regain some sense of normalcy. . .our power came on Thursday evening around 6:30 and the way we found out was hilarious (in retrospect). My husband- bless his heart- had gotten the hook up with a 15,000 watt generator (yeah, he could have powered up the entire street) and he also had an AIR CONDITIONING WINDOW UNIT- I didn't even know they still made those. . .I have no idea where he got this stuff and while I was grateful I was somewhat leery.

I kept thinking something was going to blow up or we'd have carbon monoxide in the house. So, I was extremely paranoid. At one point I was sitting on the couch watching this monster in our backyard with all these cords coming out of it and all of a sudden I hear this grinding sound and I start screaming. . ."Oh, my GAWD it's gonna blow!" Turns out the grinding noise was our GARBAGE DISPOSAL. Someone had flipped the switch and when the power was restored that was the first thing that came on. After I nearly gave my husband a heart attack we started celebrating. We went outside to tell the neighbors who were all outside in their driveways. My son ran out and started yelling, "hey everybody we got lights!"

Although I am EXTREMELY grateful that the power has been restored at our house (we still have friends and family who are without power) and while I did miss it- things weren't that bad when the power was out. We learned to improvise. We stayed closer together. We went to sleep earlier. We talked more. We were still.

Now that the power has been restored we're back to our frenetic pace. Today was my son's first day back at school and he was feeling the pain. He's been on "hurrication" (vacation due to hurricane- heard that on the news last night) and it was hard for that young brother to get it together this morning. As for me, man oh man, I was already struggling to stay on track and now I have to kick it in to the highest gear possible to get caught up before my ridiculous travel schedule (for work) kicks in next month. Next month. . .do yall realize that' s NEXT week?!

AGH!!

Safe and Sound

2008-09-17T13:58:00.005-05:00

Hurricane Ike has come and gone. It tore through Galveston and Houston like a beast on a rampage. Praise God, my family and I are okay. So are the majority of friends that I have been able to contact. We sustained minimal damage to the outside of our house and that's it. No electricity but the weather was great last night and it was our first night back home.

Not sure how much longer we'll stay without power. . .hope the 4 week rumors aren't true. I'm at work today trying to regain some sense of normalcy. At least there's electricity and INTERNET at work! It is surreal to see all of the landmarks I'm familiar with in the city (on my side of town) torn down or hanging by a thread. Ike beat up the city pretty bad. . . but I know H-Town will bounce back in no time at all. It's a big ass inconvenience right now but it could have been so much worse.

My son, just realized the severity of the situation when we were returning home yesterday (we sought refuge in New Braunfels and Katy)- the playground structure in front of his school is GONE! He gasped and his eyes widened (even larger) and he said in his most devastated voice, "Oh, no the hurricane took our playground what are we gonna do?!"

To have a child's priorities. . .hope anyone who was in the area during the hurricane survived and all is well with you and your loved ones.

Things I Would Grab in a Hurricane

2008-09-09T15:24:00.003-05:00

You know every since Hurricane Katrina and her sister, Hurricane Rita tore through the Gulf of Mexico people in Texas are always a little on edge when it comes to hurricanes because we have been thisclose to experiencing the devastation that our cousins in Louisiana and Mississippi experienced 3 short years ago. Whenever there is a disturbance in the Gulf we make sure our tanks are full of gas (after taking out a loan!!) and that we have our contingency plans mapped out in case we have to haul ass out of State (it would take you six months to get out of the State so, we all just head as far North Texas as we can)!

Well, the last time we vacated for Rita’s impending arrival I was at a loss when it came to deciding what priceless mementos I should cram into the trunk of my car. Let me stop here and say I am a total nostalgia geek! I have saved everything from ceramics that my late maternal grandmother made me in 1986, my 8th grade memory book, volleyball trophies (and I wasn’t even a starter on the team) photo’s GALORE, and even locks of my son’s hair from his first haircut.

Now I should clarify and say that because I am such a neat freak all of these items are neatly stored away and if you were to come to my house its cozy and somewhat minimalist appearance might shock you. . .there are no photo’s nailed up on the walls or stacks of old newspapers turning yellow in the corner. But there are certain things I just can’t seem to part with just yet.

Anyhoo. . .back to the topic at hand. I’ve thought about it and if I only had time to grab a few things (with the idea that everything else would be loss and this doesn’t include my husband and son) I would snatch up the following items:

1. My purse- contains the plastic loot, my drivers license and my phone
2. My passport- I might need to leave the country and grieve over the loss of my material possessions (might as well grab my son's while I'm at it)
3. Three photo albums (childhood pictures, some travel and my wedding) - the photo’s weren’t digital so this is all that exists
4. My laptop- all of my digital photo’s and some important documents are on my hard drive
5. My Chi flat iron- If nothing else I might be able to PAWN it if times get hard
6. The Power Strangers- the only way I'll have some peace

7. Underwear- we might be stranded somewhere for a minute

Amazing, that’s all I could really think of that I would be lost without. My priorities aren’t as screwed up as I thought. Since Hurricane Ike is hovering in the Gulf like he’s looking for Tina, I might need to start packing tonight!

Next Avengers

2008-09-09T12:13:00.005-05:00

My son has been in total superhero worship mode for the past few months. Superman, Incredible Hulk, Spiderman, Transformers and of course his beloved POWER RANGERS. So, Friday when I stopped by Hollywood Video to pick up some new releases I also decided to get one kid-friendly movie for him. After picking my selections (Street Kings & National Treasure 2) I immediately focused my attention on the cartoon superhero section.

Their selection was scarce to say the least not to mention he had already seen most of the movies on the shelves. So, I wander back around to the new releases thinking maybe there would be something worthwhile yet not extremely violent for him to watch. I picked up a DVD case for an animated "movie" called the Next Avengers. It's a story about the children of the Avenger superheroes: Captain America, The Giant, Black Panther, Black Widow, etc.- yeah, I never heard of them either- just Captain America. Anyway, I figure he would like it since it was dealing with superheroes not to mention an old (as in aging) Incredible Hulk and Ironman were on the cover.

I take the movie home and of course he wants to watch it as soon as I show it to him. So, we settle in an began to watch it. I have to admit I was actually planning on reading while HE watched the movie and I would provide the occasional, "wow" "that was awesome" or "cool" in response to the action on the screen that I missed. But instead I actually started watching it and it was GOOD! Really good!

The animators did a great job with the action scenes and the story line was really good. Turns out all of the kids were orphaned (their parents lost a major battle and died- what a twist- superheroes dying) and they were raised under the radar by their "uncle" Tony Stark (yeah, IronMan- he's like a 60 years old). They find Bruce Banner (the Incredible Hulk) hiding out in the desert and need his help to help defeat the evil that has taken over the world. And although Bruce is about 70- the Hulk is still the strongest superhero alive and boy does he prove it! I thought it was a bit overkill (no pun intended) for him to rip someone in half (robots) and pound them over and over with boulders. But I guess he was trying to prove a point.

Anyway, it was a great cartoon and if you have an aspiring Superhero on your hands, he or she will love it! (BTW- I think this maybe debuting on the Disney channel or Jetix pretty soon. If it hasn't already. . .)

Don't Believe the Hype

2008-09-05T10:14:00.004-05:00

I've said it before and I'll say it again. . .I consider myself to be pretty involved and engaged when it come to politics in this country but that's not why I started this blog- to debate or promote my views. HOWEVER I am compelled to throw out factual information in the face of bullshit. (Note: This is from a credible unbiased Associated Press writer.)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080904/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_fact_check

P.S. If the audience at the Republican National Convention is any indication of WHO McCain and Palin are representing then I think we all know what needs to be done. . .

Eight is Enough

2008-09-04T09:51:00.005-05:00

My new guilty pleasure is watching the show Jon & Kate plus 8 on TLC. OMG! Have you seen this show? There’s this couple, Jon & Kate, who started off with twin girls and they wanted one more baby and ended up having SEXTUPLETS! Yep, that’s SIX kids, three girls and three boys. So, now they have EIGHT kids! The twins are 8 and the ‘tuplets are 4. Straight madness!!!

But the thing that intrigues me is how freaking “calm” Kate seems to be despite the fact that she has EIGHT kids under the age of ten!!! She appears to be a typical mom, cooking, cleaning, playing around, teaching, loving and disciplining her kids. But did I mention she has EIGHT kids. I refuse to believe she is not on drugs. Valium, Paxil, marijuana. . .SOMETHING! I have ONE child and from time to time I just want to turn up the Nyquil bottle.

I know there’s probably some extra’s on hand helping out or something- there has to be. But typically when they show Jon and Kate going somewhere alone (which is hella rare) her sister, Jodi takes care of all EIGHT kids plus Jodi (I think that’s her name) takes care of her own four kids. That’s a total of TWELVE kids!!! AGH!!! My sister would be like, “Um, I gotta wash my hair, I’m not gonna be able to watch them-ever!”.

But what I love most about the show is the REAL relationship between Jon and Kate. There is no pretense. She told him the other day, I love you but sometimes I can’t stand you. And he smiled and said, “The feeling is mutual”. Ha ha! I mean I think I’d be pretty bitter too if I didn’t leave well enough alone with TWO kids and then to have SIX more! I swear if my son would have been a twin I would have been like, “Okay, tie up my tubes right now!” She’s also prone to giving him “love taps” across the head every time he makes a sarcastic comment, which he does quite often.

Another endearing thing about the show is the close relationship between the kids. One episode had Jon taking the boys on a “boys only’ excursion and the little sisters all came over and hugged them and gave them kisses and told them to have fun. It was the cutest thing! I was sure they probably staged it but they all seem to be very affectionate towards each other that is when they’re not throwing toys and antagonizing each other. Even the older girls, Cara and Maddy seem to be taking all the chaos in stride.

Jon and Kate did this thing that I thought was pretty cool but I wonder how often they will be able to do this- each kid had their own special day where they were they got to spend time wherever they wanted with their parents ALONE. So, it was like they were an only child for a few hours and Jon and Kate got to imagine how life would be if they only had one kid.

I guess the reason I really like the show so much is because it takes parenting to a whole new level and it helps me to put things in perspective. My house is a calm, peaceful, RETREAT in comparison to the daily pandemonium that household!

New Initiative

2008-09-02T10:21:00.004-05:00

After doing some research and watching programs on television advocating for the reduction of our carbon footprint on the Earth, our family has decided to start recycling plastic containers.

We drink a lot of bottled water and my husband drinks a lot of Gatorade, even my son’s Juicy Juice containers are recyclable. I’m sure a better option would be to get a filtration system to avoid buying plastic water bottles and we could get reusable containers for our water. But you gotta crawl before you can walk. . .

So, we are setting up a slim garbage can in the garage for plastic bottles. We’ve explained this entire initiative and why we’re doing it to my son and he’s quite excited. Although he initially thought we could recycle everything plastic including bags, which is a no-no. Once a week I will drop the containers off at the large center in our neighborhood on my way to work. I’m hoping this is a habit we can start and keep!!

This is just a small step (one of many) we plan on making in the coming years to do our part to help save the planet. Here are some recycling facts from http://www.earth911.org/:

--In 2006, Americans drank about 167 bottles of water each, but only recycled an average of 23 percent. That leaves 38 billion water bottles in landfills.
--Bottled water costs between $1 and $4 per gallon and 90 percent of the cost is in the bottle, lid and label.
--According to the Beverage Marketing Corp, the average American consumed 1.6 gallons of bottled water in 1976. In 2006 that number jumped to 28.3 gallons.
--It takes over 1.5 million barrels of oil to manufacture a year’s supply of bottled water. That’s enough oil to fuel 100,000 cars.
--Eight out of 10 plastic water bottles become landfill waste.
--In 2007 we spent $16 billion on bottled water. That’s more than we spent on iPods or movie tickets.
--Plastic bottles take 700 years before they begin to decompose in a landfill.
--If everyone in NYC gave up water bottles for one week they would save 24 million bottles from being landfilled; one month would save 112 million bottles and one year would save 1.328 billion bottles from going into the landfill.

Fairy Tales

2008-08-28T14:33:00.007-05:00

The Princess and the Frog is an upcoming animated musical feature film currently being produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and based upon the classic fairy tale The Frog Prince. It will be the first traditionally animated (2-D) feature film in Disney's animated features canon since 2004's Home on the Range. The film is set in New Orleans during the 1920s Jazz Age, and Tiana will be the first black Disney Princess.

While it seems this might be a GREAT thing for us. . . there are critics who say the Disney story is too-little, too-late and that the story line is full of racist elements. I say to the critics: SHADDUP!!!!! And I say this mainly because the majority of the critics are black folks or “well meaning” white folks who have appointed themselves our representatives.

First of all, Disney is the ONLY Company that has even thought about, considered or put into action any type of plan to include a diverse group of characters in their portfolio. Why didn’t some of these critics come up with the idea or beat Disney to the punch? Why haven’t black owned studios or television stations created programming or movies that cater to little black girls to show them that they are just as beautiful (even more so) than Cinderella.

There are even critiques about the storyline, which takes place in the 1920’s in New Orleans. People who got an early taste of the film were “shocked” that there was a plantation owner and that the main character was a chambermaid and that her name was Maddy. Um- correct me if I’m wrong but wasn’t that pretty much how things were in the 1920’s in the South?!?!? So as not to offend (and to protect their bottom line), Disney tweaked the story line and now the plantation owner is a “sugar cane farmer” and the main character while still a chambermaid her new name is Tiana.

Again maybe I’m crazy but I thought ALL the Disney princesses were poor or down on their luck before they become “princesses”?! That is the Disney formula!!! Rags to riches. Wishing on a star and making your dreams come true. Who cares if Maddy/Tiana is a maid or that she lives on a plantation? As long as in the end she gets the damn prince and they live happily ever after!!! Seriously people, there are much bigger fish to fry and other issues that need our immediate attention. If we could get people as engaged in protecting the lives and education of our children as they are with fighting over the image of an imaginary, animated character- then we’d probably make some serious progress!

I think it's going to be a great film and has the potential to be a classic just like the others. But what will probably dictate it's success is whether or not Black folks go out and support it like they should! Check out the trailier: http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/princessandthefrog/

Phenomenal Mama of the Year

2008-08-26T09:37:00.001-05:00

Lately it seems I have been struggling to keep up. Struggling to get everything crammed into a short 8 hour day. And our last excursion seemed to wipe out what little determination I had left. As much as I enjoy this blog and as committed as I had become I also found it becoming a struggle. A struggle to post something worthwhile. A struggle to even sign on in the evenings after to work and connect.

But last night I was given a burst of energy. Renewed motivation and a hot topic to discuss: Mrs. Michelle Obama. A Phenomenal Mama for the ages!

I almost did myself a disservice by not watching Mrs. Obama because I was tired and it was getting late but I felt drawn to the television as she took to the stage in her vibrant turquoise dress, with her perfectly coiffed hair and infectious smile. So, I copped a squat and turned up the t.v.

I felt riveted and a bit emotional throughout Mrs. Obama’s speech. There is something about her that’s almost Oprah-esque but she definitely has a certain flair all her own. She’s very quick witted, intelligent, and articulate (the Anglo’s favorite word) but she also possesses this down to Earth “sista” quality that reminds you of your best friend, aunt or co-worker who tells it like it is. . . . although she’s the closest thing we have to black “royalty” she also comes across as very approachable and able to relate to the masses.

But the thing that I admire most about Mrs. Obama is her absolute adoration and devotion to her children. It is so apparent that she is a nurturing, attentive and engaged mother. I admire any woman that can juggle motherhood, marriage, work, etc. and make it seem effortless but to do it on a world stage with so many people watching and so many people judging. . .that to me takes some serious confidence and courage. I have been on Team Obama since the beginning and not only am I rooting for Barack Obama to become the next President I’m also rooting for this family to continue to be strengthened throughout this process (and his presidency) so that all Americans can see the shining example of what a family is supposed to be and what really matters in this life.

Melancholy

2008-08-25T20:21:00.008-05:00

I remember when my son was first born. . .it was a scary and exciting time. Scary because he wasn't exactly breathing when he was born. They had to rush him next door and suction him to clear his lungs. But soon I heard the cat-like cry that let me know he was okay.

I look at him now and sometimes I get emotional because although he is only four years old I can barely remember him at the various stages that he's gone through without the aid of pictures. I guess because I'm so focused on him now, it seems as if he has always been this age. As we sit and have "philosophical" conversations (like about how this boy in his class is not telling the truth about his age because he should be in kindergarten- I swear my son said this!) I marvel that I had anything to do with the formation of this little person. A little person whose intellect is already apparent and has his own thoughts and ideas about how things work. Not to mention he constantly reminds me that God is the only one who knows EVERYTHING.

Sometimes I miss the little baby I use to hold in my arms and kiss in to oblivion. But I absolutely adore the little boy who can walk, talk and use the toilet unassisted. And every now and then he lets me hug him tight and kiss him a hundred times. I know much too soon he will become mute and unaffectionate and I will sit and get melancholy wishing that I had that four year old who would talk and make me laugh everyday. So, I'm treasuring these moments because I know they will be gone all too soon.

(The picture is The Genius at 9 months old. That HAIR was out of control!!!)

Paying for the Sins of the Undisciplined

2008-08-20T19:33:00.004-05:00

Have you ever found yourself overcompensating in the discipline department because other folks aren't disciplining their kids?

When we were in the airport waiting on our flight there was this "family"- I use the term loosely because the roles didn't appear to be very defined. There were two women who looked to be about the same age (35+), one man around 30 and SIX kids. Two older girls probably 11 and 13 and FOUR kids under the age of 8. . .three boys and one girl.

To say they were unruly is an understatement. I have never in all my years of traveling ever seen AIRPORT security have to come tell someone about their kids. And the thing that made it even more painful for me is that they were black. The only other black family in the waiting area with us. Sidebar- in addition to their behavior being out of line they looked a hot mess, very unkempt.

At one point both women disappeared, the two older girls were into their MP3 players and the other four kids were in the middle of the floor- as in the area where everyone is walking to get to their gates or get to baggage claim- playing with cars and making all kinds of noise. The "dad" (I heard one of them call him that) was just sitting there totally oblivious. I checked out the expressions of the other people around us and everyone seemed to be perturbed by their unruly behavior. They were just LOUD and rowdy. I know they were just kids but at that age they should know what behavior is unacceptable. . .then for the adults to just sit there and allow the behavior to continue.

The best thing that happened to us was getting bumped from that plane. I couldn't have even imagined being on a plane for 12 hours with all that madness. (I also found out later they were visiting someone at an airforce base in Okinawa and all three adults worked for the airline so they didn't have to pay for the tickets.) As a result of their behavior my husband and I kept giving my son stern reminders about being "good" and if he raised his voice to ask a question we both got all up in arms. Ridiculous, I know. . .but for some reason it was almost like we were trying to prove a point that not ALL of OUR children act that way. There are a few of us who have children who know better.

The thing that was hilarious (in retrospect) is that every time we would tell my son things that were unacceptable he would say, "I know" or "I don't do that" or "Why are you telling me that?". Although we had NO problems out of him (nor do we ever have problems when we are out in public) I just want to make sure we reinforce what's acceptable because being a black boy who will someday become a black man people will already have a preconceived notion about him- I just don't want him giving them any ammunition.

Konnichiwa

2008-08-17T18:10:00.017-05:00

So, my last post was kinda vague, I know. . .bet you thought I was in Brooklyn or Bangor, Maine. No, try a little farther East. We spent a week in Japan. The Tokyo area to be exact. We visited friends who are stationed at an air force base on the continent.

I was a nervous wreck prior to the trip and tried to be prepared to the tenth power because my son was going on this trip and the flight was 12 hours non-stop. I know that I have a tendency to brag about him from time to time but this time it is soooo deserved! He was the perfect little traveler! He asked ONCE in twelve hours when we were gonna get there. . .he slept half the flight so that helped but otherwise he watched movies or played games from the back of his own personal headset screen or ate snacks from the duffel bag full of goodies we brought on board or played with the Power Strangers (yeah, they are still holding up).

As for me, I was beyond tired and stressed out from the time the trip began until it ended because I let some outside influences affect me as we were preparing to leave and it continued throughout the journey. I enjoyed seeing my friends and experiencing a different culture- sidebar: why is the United States the only country that caters to people who don't speak our language? If you don't know some Japanese you will be LOST in that country! I found that to be the most frustrating part even people who understood a little English still couldn't really comprehend the questions I was asking.

Anyway, we visited the Sensoji temple in Asakusa, the Ueno zoo, ate a restaurant where we were sitting on the floor but our feet were hanging underneath us; the portions were MINIATURE but very good- my son loved the noodles, we rode the train to our destinations and did A LOT of walking, we also got to see some of the Yokota Air Force Base. My only regret was that we went all that way and didn't get to see Mt. Fuji. We were supposed to arrive on Sunday and take a tour on Monday but because we were a day late I guess we missed our chance. . .such is life.

Anyway, I was extremely glad to be back in the good old U.S. of A.! We arrived in Newark Friday evening and flew to Houston that night so, that was a total of 15 hours on an airplane and again my son was a complete angel! They only problem we had once we returned home was that he was still on "Japan time", which is a 14 hour difference so, at 1:30am our time he was up running around playing saying he couldn't sleep. We were all pretty jet lagged, I still don't think we've adjusted to our own time zone. I can't believe how fast that week passed and that we're back into our daily routine.

As of now, travel is officially ON HOLD until the work in my bedroom is done. So, Mo I hope you're reading this!!!!

Far East

2008-08-11T00:08:00.000-05:00

Be back soon. . . .

That's What's Up

2008-08-06T17:00:00.003-05:00

This makes me swell with pride as if he was my own son. . . .

Say It Loud is a youth film that explores the importance of education for African-American boys. When Jordan Coleman was 10-years-old he became a voice over actor on Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. show The Backyardigans; he's the voice of Tyrone the moose. Jordan's parents challenged him to use some of his earnings to make a positive contribution to his community ... he hired a film crew and began interviewing African-American boys and men for his Say It Loud film.

Check out his website: http://www.sayitloudfilm.com/

Decorating Sense

2008-08-04T16:36:00.005-05:00

My priorities are all screwed up. Have I said this before? I was too lazy to sort through the archives to see if I have in fact been singing this same old sad song. But pardon me as I go on again. . .the family and I have taken travel to a new level this year. So far we have gone on four pretty big trips this year. . .not to mention we just returned from San Antonio this past weekend. Spent the night on the Riverwalk (cha-ching) and took my son to the Backyardigan’s Live Show at the Majestic Theater (can you say orchestra seats and souvenirs!). But wait it doesn’t stop there. . .we are gearing up for a trip so monumental next week that I’m not even going to post about it until we get back.

Meanwhile. . . the carpet in my bedroom looks like it has been the playground for several wet, muddy animals with Cheetos on their paws. Uh- no, we do not have any pets.

Last year we finally ripped up the carpet in the living room and replaced it with hardwood and just recently (for cohesiveness) my husband ripped up the carpet in the ½ bath and extended the wood inside- why would a home builder think carpet in a bathroom is a good idea?!- so now that my husband has mastered putting wood down in this 6’x 3’ space he thinks he is ready to conquer our bedroom which is at least 10 times (or maybe 7 times, not too good with square footage) as big. I am excited about saving at least $1,500 in labor costs but I am concerned about his timetable. I can just see me having to call one of those home improvement shows to fix the mess he made after we've been living in it for six months!

My point is (yes, I have one) while traveling is my most favorite thing ever, I enjoy coming home even more and instead of spending money to stay at all these random hotels I really feel like we need to invest more into our house. Namely our bedroom. So, after our trip next week all travel will CEASE until our bedroom has been completed- I'm talking the whole SHEBANG- paint, hardwood floors, bedding, new fixtures and vanity in the master bath, art work and window treatments. Now of course after this is all said and done there will be no money for traveling so, it will be nice to kick back in my “luxury hotel” themed bedroom.

Did I mention my husbands "helper"? After TheGenius made that comment about not having to work because he's a kid- he got a quick lesson in Earning Your Keep 101.

Let The Music Play

2008-08-01T10:31:00.005-05:00

Sometimes my son and I dance around the house until we are both out of breath. I seriously need to do this EVERYDAY and it would solve my exercise dilemma. Anyway, his two favorite songs are Life is a Highway by Rascal Flatts (it’s the Cars theme song) and My Mic Sounds Nice by Salt-n-Pepa. Ha ha! Eclectic, right?

I play these songs (as well as others) over and over and we sing loud, off key and dance ourselves dizzy. I used to do this a lot by myself when I was a single gal and had my own apartment. I would have CD’s (and CASSETTE TAPES) all over my apartment and I would dance and lip sync in front of the mirror. This was seriously my workout back in the day.

I’ve always had a love affair with music. I love it just about as much as I love reading. Songs have the power to lift you up and make you smile or bring you down and hold you there for a while. I find music to be inspirational and empowering. Sometimes in the ears of the wrong listeners it can also be motivation for madness.

I have a particular affinity for “old school” music. I listen to everything from Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics to What Is Love by Howard Jones to I’ve Been Loving You to Long by Otis Redding to Sweetest Taboo by Sade to Baby Baby Baby by TLC. My most favorite music is anything by Prince in the 80’s and old school hip hop from the 80’s. The 90’s new jack swing era also holds a special place in my heart and I have every CD Jodeci ever made. And do I even need to mention the love for Tupac and Biggie? But oddly enough, I also LOVE Dolly Parton’s theme song from 9 to 5 and I think Kenny Rogers’ song, The Gambler is the best metaphor for life:
You got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em, Know when to walk away and know when to run.You never count your money when you’re sittin’ at the table.There’ll be time enough for countin’ when the dealins done.

As far as current music goes. . .I think Jill Scott is phenomenal and I’m waiting with bated breath for Maxwell’s new CD. I like Raheem DeVaughn and Anthony David. Guess my tastes lately reflect a more “mature” woman. However I do like Lupe Fiasco (or maybe just that Daydreamin’ joint because of Jill Scott). One person I am NOT a fan of at all and I am scratching my head trying to not only figure out what he’s saying but how he got famous is Lil Wayne. Don’t get me wrong -back in my backsliding days I used to love me some Cash Money Millionaires, “Number one stunna- what, what what?” and I even liked Weezy’s first song, “The Block is Hot” but that madness he’s spittin’ lately? I just don’t feel inspired, empowered or entertained by much of the muck on the radio these days. I guess I really am getting old. Whatever. Let me get back to MY music. . .this was my most favorite song to lip sync to. . .okay, so I admit I was lip syncing to it last night! (And YES, I do the choreography complete with pretending to play the drums! Ha ha!)

Shelia E Glamorous Life

Swimming Pool Safety

2008-07-31T11:25:00.006-05:00

So far this year, 24 children have drowned in the Houston area. The majority of these children were minorities. Statistics show that six out of ten black children cannot swim and 56% of Hispanics cannot swim.

If you own a pool, live near a pool or your children come in contact with a pool it is extremely important that you teach them pool safety and never leave them unattended. It is also a common misconception that just because a child can swim they are not in danger of drowning. In addition to having skill in the water they need to also follow safety tips such as no horseplay around the pool where they are likely to slip and hit their heads, no horseplay in the water especially as it involves actions that could cause them to take in a lot of water into their nose and no diving into the pool from the shallow end.

As a parent if your child spends a lot of time in or around a pool you should consider becoming certified in CPR and make sure to always keep rescue equipment (such as lifesavers) nearby. Also, remove any toys from around the pool or in the water that might lure young children. The best pools to frequent are those that have a certified lifeguard on duty.

USA Swimming has started a program called Make a Splash to help children, specifically minority children learn to swim. One of the programs biggest supporters is a young black man named Cullen Jones. The 24 year old professional swimmer will be competing in the Beijing Olympics this year. At the 2008 Olympic swimming trials, Jones broke the American record in the 50 meter freestyle with a time of 21.59.

Learning to swim is definitely a plus when it comes to pool safety however it does not guarantee that a child will not drown if they are not careful in the water. Make sure your children are smart and safe while they enjoy cooling off this summer!

School Days

2008-07-29T09:21:00.005-05:00

My son will be entering kindergarten in THIRTEEN short months. My husband and I are contemplating sending him to a charter school versus a public primary school. Currently he enjoys learning and he is very interested in reading, writing and exploring his artistic side. We want him to be in an educative environment that will nurture these interests and not have the same expectations for every child by teaching to a standardized test that will measure (often inaccurately) their level of knowledge and intelligence.

The charter school we’re considering is a constructivist environment. The term constructivist refers to the idea that learners construct knowledge for themselves---each learner individually (and socially) constructs meaning---as he or she learns. I know it sounds a little hippie-ish but if a child is in an environment where they have the opportunity to learn things in their own way then I feel they will stand a better chance of thriving and being successful in their studies.

My son is very bright and is already mastering many of the things that educators will focus on in kindergarten and I have absolutely, positively no doubt that if he attended public school he would do very well. . .that is until he no longer finds it challenging, which is what happens to a lot of children in public school. The lesson plans become monotonous and on many levels I think it stifles children’s intellectual growth. That is why so many public schools have “honors” or “gifted and talented” programs. I don’t think that it’s necessarily because the children in those classes are geniuses but mainly because those children have outgrown the lesson plan in the traditional classroom setting.

The biggest investment you can make in your child is their education. I want my son to know from DAY ONE in kindergarten how important it is for him to go to school and get an education not to mention I want him to be engaged and concerned about his academic future. So, we’ll sign up for the “lottery” in March to see if he will get into the school we have selected. The lottery is allegedly “random” but I think it’s all about how impressive you come across on your application. So, mama is planning on working her MAGIC to make it happen!

More Words of Wisdom

2008-07-27T11:30:00.005-05:00

Everyday my son, says things that entertain (and sometimes infuriate) me but here are some of this weeks gems:

1. I don't want to talk about dying because you don't get to live anymore.

2. I'm really smart, I can figure a lot of stuff out.

3. Power naps give you rest.

4. I'm a kid so I don't have to do any work.

5. Being good is easy, all you have to do is listen and pay attention.

He is just getting too big and too smart too soon! I have to admit I am enjoying him a lot these days and all the "intellectual" conversations we have, ha ha! I'm sure the day is coming when I will be wishing he would just HUSH but right now I'm loving it!

100th Post/First Baseball Game

2008-07-23T10:56:00.009-05:00

Woohoo, this is my 100th post! I've had two other blogs and this is the first one I've posted to consistently! I'm enjoying myself if even no one else is. . .this blog has become an outlet as well as a means of creative expression and I'm going to try and hang in there for the remainder of 2008! It's really helping me to focus and move forward with other goals that I've set for myself. Yay for me!!

Moving right along. . .my husband and I took my son to his first baseball game. The thing that sucked more than the Astros was my son getting sick and totally not being that into the game. He had an earache and the chills. We hung in there (watching the home team get slaughtered by the Pirates) until the start of the 7th inning then we headed home.

Once he got a dose of Motrin and some Similasan drops he was a brand new kid! It was bed time but he got his second wind and was having a full blown conversation with himself in bed at 10:00! I guess that power nap he took in the car got him all refreshed.

I myself am NOT a fan of baseball so, the "make up game" will have to be just him and his father. I would much rather soak in a hot tub, give myself a facial or curl up with a good book! I know, I am such a girl!

(I took that picture from my phone, we had decent seats in the area over the Astros dugout.)

Pizza Hut Pasta

2008-07-22T09:37:00.006-05:00

Looking for another quick, delicious meal you don't have to cook? Why not try the new Tuscani Pasta from Pizza Hut! Don't sleep! This pasta is actually VERY good! Hot and made to order with just the right amount of Italian spices. We tried both the Chicken Alfredo and regular meat sauce. Both were scrumptious, just don't expect a heaping amount of chicken. You also get hot delicious breadsticks with each order. Just toss a salad and pour up a glass of cold lemonade (or your favorite vino) and dinner's ready!

Enjoy!

The Red Table

2008-07-20T17:00:00.010-05:00

The Red Table is where children who don't pay attention in my son's preschool class have to sit and think about their transgressions. My son has been a frequent resident of The Red Table lately. We want him to know it's not acceptable but at the same time it's almost inevitable when you have a preschool class full of 4 year old boys who are constantly playing Power Rangers, karate and Incredible Hulk vs. Spiderman; they will get side tracked from time to time. Especially now that it is summer time and they aren't following a strict school curriculum and everyday is a themed fun day like bubble day, swim day, pajama day, etc.

But regardless to the lack of structure over the summer he still needs listen to his teacher so, my husband and I have resorted to threatening him with no toys or television if he goes to The Red Table. But I get the feeling he's past the point of dreading his fate because he already knows staying away from The Red Table will be a struggle. In the mornings if you ask him if he's going to The Red Table he says, "I'm going to try not to," The other day while he was in the bathtub we had the following conversation:

ME: If you hurry up and wash up you can catch the last Oswald show before bed.

HIM: Is it a new show I never saw before?

ME: I don't know.

HIM: (seriously thinking) Hmm. . .well, Daddy told me if I go to The Red Table I can't watch my shows on t.v. so, maybe next time.

My mouth was hanging open (as it usually does when I'm dealing with Mr. Four going on Forty) because I didn't know he had gone to The Red Table but I think mainly because he was being so "compliant".

Another "punishment" for going to The Red Table was to write I will not go to the red table (actually the word "the" was left off by dad) on a full sheet of paper. When I got home from work he was all excited because he was writing "I will not got to red table" and he was making such perfect letters.

So, bottom line he tries his best (according to him) not to go to The Red Table but the wicked forces at work in his preschool class are often against him so he just accepts his fate and takes his sentence like a four year old.

Home is Where the Motivation Is

2008-07-17T11:01:00.002-05:00

I’ve been a busy bee lately. Work is kicking my butt! I even “worked from home” yesterday to try and get caught up.

I really wish I could work from home 4 days a week and only go into the office 1 day a week. I was so productive yesterday. Not only did I get a lot of work done I was also able to get a lot done around the house. All the clothes are washed and folded (did this while on a conference call), dishwasher loaded (while waiting for stuff to print) and during my “lunch” I went to the grocery store.

I think working from home would really provide me with a better work life balance. Usually my hectic day at home is followed by a hectic commute and by the time I make it home at 6:00 I’ve got to cram in cooking, spending quality time with my family, cleaning the kitchen (cannot got to bed with it dirty- OCD, remember?), bathe my son, put him to bed, talk politics and debrief (ignore the innuendo) with my husband before I yawn 100 times and drift off into a fitful sleep.

Not to mention when I’m at work I don’t get nearly the same amount of work done due to the constant interruptions, Internet surfing and long lunches.

(Of course the key to successfully working from home means my son has to go to his daycare school otherwise I’d have to find thirty minutes to play or color with him.)

Anyway, I think I might propose working from home a couple of days a week to our department Director. . .might even put a spin on it about me trying to do my part to save the environment by having one less car on the road. Seriously, I think that might win me some points with her.

I’m in the office today. .. tried to keep up the momentum from working at home yesterday but so far, I am failing miserably.

Just the Two of Us

2008-07-14T10:00:00.002-05:00

My son spent the weekend with my aunt and for the first time in four years my husband and I were the only occupants in our house for more than 24 hours. Usually if he stays with my aunt or my sister is because we’re out of town or he will be gone just over night.
But this time we dropped him off Saturday and he won’t be home until tonight.

It was the weirdest feeling. My husband and I both remarked that it felt like something was missing. He is such a huge part of our lives and when he’s home there is constant noise, hustle and bustle. But for an entire day it was just the two of us. I think so often when you get married and have children your marriage becomes more about parenting than anything else. The kids are at the forefront of your conversations and a big part of your social outings. They become your “life” on a lot of different levels.

That’s why I think it is very important that parents allow themselves some alone time (whether you are single or married) to reconnect with the person you were before your children came into your life. Granted, I know for some people their children saved their lives and they wouldn’t want to go back to the person they were but I guess what I’m trying to say is get in touch with who YOU are and the things you like and what you want to do. Because our children are only ours for a brief time; when it’s all said and done we will have to let them go so they can live their own lives.

My husband and I enjoyed the peace and tranquility of our house and we spent the entire day together shopping for furniture and groceries. Although we missed our son, it was great to spend some quality time together. He will return tonight and our family routine will happily resume and we will probably wonder how we got along with out him.

A Song For You

2008-07-11T15:20:00.005-05:00

My son came home yesterday crawled in my lap and sang to me:

"I love you forever, I like you for always, as long as I'm living my Mommy you will be."

I got a lump in my throat and tears filled my eyes as I showered him with hugs & kisses because I thought he was such a brilliant, sensitive child who had composed a special song just for his mother. He explained (as he gasped for air) that his teacher read a book in class and the song was from the story. But he said it could still be my special song and he would sing it to me whenever I wanted him to. God broke the mold with that one. . . ;-)

In case you're interested (or maybe I'm the only clueless one here) the song is from a book by Robert Munsch called "Love You Forever". The crazy thing is that I've seen the book cover before and I thought it was about POTTY TRAINING! Ha ha! A literal example of not judging a book by it's cover!

Get Fit or Die Tryin'. . .

2008-07-10T11:23:00.007-05:00

Okay, so in my attempt to adopt a healthier lifestyle I'm starting off with a detox "diet" to get my system back on track. I bought some Dannon yogurt, which is actually pretty good, and to kick it up a little I add a teaspoon of Special K Cinnamon Pecan cereal (I could eat this DRY all day!).

I just noticed today as I ate the last cup of yogurt that the package says "Light Fat Free". Huh? How can something be "light" AND "fat free"? No wonder I've been STARVING at the end of every day!

Actually, yesterday was my breakthrough day- I went the entire day without even thinking about chocolate. I even feel a little lighter. . .although that evil tool of the devil (the scale) only shows that only one pound of fat has melted from my body. I'm not letting this detour me in any way because it's not actually about really seeing weight loss so much as it is about getting healthy and re-energized.

But I swear it's a conspiracy because the stuff that's supposed to be the healthiest for you is EXPENSIVE as heck! While on the other hand the bad stuff is cheap and ALWAYS on sale! It's the devil I tell ya!

Choo Choo!

2008-07-09T19:45:00.005-05:00

Looking for a fun summer craft project? How about homemade magnets?

You can purchase magnetic paper for your laser/ink/deskjet printers from the local office supply. Find a picture of your child's favorite animal, cartoon or superhero and paste it in a word processing document and hit print. Cut along the edges of the picture for a customized look. If you want to be a little more creative try a free hand sketch of a flower or other design on the paper with permanent markers.

My son and I made a train magnet. I found a simple train engine coloring page online and printed it on regular paper. I then cut out the train and used it as a stencil to trace the image on the magnet paper. My son completed the magnet by adding his own artistic touch coloring it a variety of colors. Another masterpiece!

For the time being it has a place of honor on the front of the refrigerator but it will probably end up on the washer and dryer (remember my OCD, I can't have a cluttered refrigerator door!).

You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry

2008-07-07T16:51:00.004-05:00

My son has developed a fascination with the Incredible Hulk. He has never seen the television show (the reruns actually come on some random cable channel), nor the movies or even a cartoon.

He did however see a commercial one time and a coloring book so, he understands when the guy is mad (usually because he’s picked on) he turns into the Hulk. Whenever I pull out the camera he wants to do an Incredible Hulk pose. Whenever we play a “game” it involves him being the Incredible Hulk. And the other day he wanted me to find him an Incredible Hulk game on the computer.

As you can imagine I’ve had my fill of the Incredible Hulk!!! That is until I witnessed him turn into the Hulk. My husband left a Gatorade bottle on the living room floor (don’t ask) so, when I walked into the living I pretended to trip over the bottle and fall on the floor (seriously, I was just playing, ain’t no shame in my game if I would have fallen I’d admit it, like that time I was in the Jamaica, or when I was walking to catch my bus. . .) anyway, I do a pratfall and call out for help.

My son was in our bedroom with my husband and is the first to arrive on the scene. “Mama, what happened are you okay?” he asks. “Your daddy left this bottle on the floor and I tripped over it and fell,” I say with dramatic flair. “Daddy!” my son yells- because my concerned husband has not moved from the bed (he’s used to me falling). My son heads back to the room and meets my husband halfway with a GUT PUNCH!!!

He hit his daddy right above the belt as hard as he could and said, “You made my mama fall! You should have put that bottle in the trash!”

I was stunned- so was his father. I laughed- his father did not. I think it’s awesome that he defends me and so does my husband but he doesn’t like to be on the receiving end of the beat downs. My son was given a stern talking to by his father and I suggested that he just not hit so hard. . . . . of course I missed the whole point. . .or did I?

What He Said

2008-07-05T16:02:00.004-05:00

Much respect to all the phenomenal mother's and father's out there! I love this piece from Def Poetry Jam by Jon Goode entitled, "Barbara" and ode to his old school, no nonsense mother. Priceless!

Warning: May contain offensive language

Stars & Stripes

2008-07-04T13:02:00.007-05:00

Well, 4th of July in H-Town is off to a great start. . .it's raining and the wind is blowing pretty hard. But unless it's a hurricane I doubt that will stop our neighbors from engaging in their annual fireworks competition. They buy crazy amounts of fireworks and set up in the cul-del-sac and try to out do each other. My family and I pull out our lawn chairs and watch from the driveway. Good thing about this rain is the dampness will hopefully prevent the grass from catching on fire (again) or the roof.

Speaking of 4th of July, I've been thinking about how everyone (namely the media) has been questioning Senator and Mrs. Obama's patriotism. I personally don't know too many black people who are "patriotic" but that doesn't mean we don't love this country just the same. Despite the fact that American soil is stained with the blood of our ancestors and they toiled (and died) in slavery to build most of this country. We may be bitter. A tad angry that racism STILL exists and that we always have to be twice as good as our white counterparts. Nonetheless we are still proud Americans. Just because we don't have an American flag in our yard or we don't put our hands over our heart during the national anthem doesn't mean we are anti-American.

Think about your extended family- you know how everybody has that drunk uncle who you can't control and he embarrasses the hell out of you? But at the end of the day he's still fam and you love him anyway and if anybody tried to hurt him you might let his drunk ass take a few blows but in the end you'd step in if he's totally getting his ass kicked. That's how I like to think of the relationship black people have with America.

Afterall, when the United States won it's independence slavery still existed for almost a hundred years following the country being "set free". Yep, black folks aren't necessarily the most "patriotic" but we are here, this is our country and we ain't going NO WHERE. Now if Senator Obama wins the White House in November maybe you'll see a lot more flags in our yards.

Now if you'll please rise. . .

Back in the Day

2008-07-01T20:38:00.010-05:00

Back in the days when I was young I'm not a kid anymore

But some days I sit and wish I was a kid again. . . .

Yesterday, my son told me he can’t wait to grow up and be a grown man like his daddy. He’s four!! I told him he should stay a child as long as he possibly can. When he asked why I told him being an adult is not as easy as it looks. . .

It got me to thinking about my own childhood and some things I can remember so vividly and others I've probably forgotten about long ago. But one thing is for certain I never knew how good and easy life was back then. . . .playing outside until the street lights came on, getting a note from the boy you have a crush on asking you to check “yes” or “no” if you wanted to be his girlfriend, spending the summers at Astroworld (I still get teary eyed about it’s demise), playing “school” with my cousins, impromptu foot races in the parking lot, making the bomb desserts with my Easy Bake Oven, hours of fun with black Barbie a.k.a Super Star Christie as we cruised around the house in her pink Corvette, watching kung fu movies after Soul Train, scrounging up 25 cents to get a kool cup from the kool cup lady, jumping rope (ice cream, soda water, cream on top. . .), parades on Homestead, watching original episodes of Good Times, getting all giddy with anticipation every time a new Michael Jackson video premiered, hula hoops, riding the BIG yellow school bus, Chico Sticks, Halloween parties at our house every year, Easter egg hunts at my grandmother’s house every year, Po-Ke-No games at my grandmother’s house (all the kids would be in the back room and come out eyes wide when someone yelled “Five a Funky Spades!”), trips to the country (Delhi, Louisiana) during the summer (getting eaten alive by mosquito’s!) and just being surrounded by family friends and so much love!

I’ve found adulthood is mostly filled with obligations and commitments with very little time to spend doing the things you really want to do. If you work full time you either have to cram everything into a single weekend or the few hours that remain at the end of the work day and before you know it, it’s time to start the vicious cycle all over again. Being an adult is VERY overrated!

I don’t want my son to worry about growing up, God willing- he will be an adult much too soon because it seems the years are passing by at warp speed. Besides I’m enjoying reliving my childhood with him!

(BTW- That’s a picture of me at 4 years old- cheeks for days!!)

Life's A Beach

2008-06-30T17:05:00.005-05:00

I’m back from my weekend getaway in California. My husband and I took my son to the Golden State to get away from the Southern heat, humidity and RAIN this past weekend. We mainly visited beaches on our short journey (Manhattan, Santa Monica & Venice) but we also did the tourist thing and headed to Hollywood Blvd. to check out the stars on the Walk of Fame, took pictures at the Hollywood Vista point (good spot to photograph the Hollywood sign although the drive up Mulholland is treacherous!), and we drove down Rodeo Drive (didn’t see any celebs though). A highlight of the trip was eating at Sizzler! Ha ha! Don’t laugh! That was a big deal in H-Town when I was 16 but the buffets ran them out of town so, it was a bit of a nostalgic trip to get the steak and endless shrimp with the all you can eat salad bar. Reason number 4,576 why I need to go on a diet right now!!!

Anyway, even though the trip was brief it was nice and relaxing and helped me focus even more on what’s important in life. God, family and love. Nothing more, nothing less. I am so grateful for so many things and as I stared out at the majesty of the Pacific ocean I started to compile a list in my head of what I’m most grateful for:

1. Being in God’s favor
2. A husband who adores me
3. The unconditional love of my son
4. My sister (for incessant laughter)
5. Sight
6. Mental health (some days ;-)
7. Physical health
8. Freedom
9. Books
10. Chocolate

Gone Fishin'

2008-06-26T10:27:00.002-05:00

I'll be back!! Needed to get "Far Away" for a few days. . .

Book Spotlight: Ruby and The Booker Boys

2008-06-25T18:31:00.004-05:00

Eight year old Ruby Marigold Booker uses her style, charisma, talent, and all out girl power to make it in a household full of boys. But these aren’t just any boys; her brothers (Tyner, Ro, and Marcellus) are Hope Road Academy’s and Chill Brook Avenue’s famous Booker Boys. She’ll do whatever it takes to get out of their shadows and make a name for her self.This colorful and rhythmic new series in children’s lit is all about the love and support of family and community. Ruby finds the strength and confidence to overcome any obstacle and accomplish everything she sets her mind to.New Ruby books are scheduled to be released every three months!
(Excerpt from derrickbarnes.com)

These books are from the creative mind of Derrick Barnes and illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton. This series is sure to follow in the footsteps of the Willimena series by Valerie Wilson Wesley. There aren't many books marketed to young black children especially with illustrations that look like them. Be sure to support this series and Mr. Barnes.

Inviting Images

2008-06-24T15:48:00.004-05:00

Looking for stationery, labels, invites and more that are designed especially for US by US? Check out My Mimi Pie. Too key-ute!!I

Get Moving

2008-06-22T22:09:00.004-05:00

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about making some life changes. The number one thing I need to do is commit to getting healthy for life instead of just losing weight and going on diets every time I have an event to attend or a vacation coming up. I need to start eating healthier and exercising daily. I feel so much more energized when I exercise on the regular and it seems the older I get my ability to drop 7 to 10 pounds within a couple of weeks is starting to diminish. My metabolism is almost at a screeching halt.

Not to mention I want to be around and healthy for a long time to come- my son is only four, I can’t afford to be falling a part. I’ve got to be around to cheer him on at his college graduation! I think I’m going to meet with a nutritionist and set up a plan for healthy eating, I’m also going to start walking in the downtown tunnels at lunch coupled with working out two days a week at the Y, and 15 minutes of yoga in the mornings.

Adopting a healthy lifestyle is a great thing that parents should do not only for themselves but for their kids. In this high tech/computer and video game era we live in childhood obesity is at an all time high. But parents have the power to help change their children’s sedentary routine and dependency on snacks high in fat and sugar. When children grow practicing healthy eating habits and getting regular exercise they are more likely to continue these habits into adulthood. I’m fortunate because although I definitely need to step up my game when it comes to physical fitness, I am married to a runner and exercise enthusiast. My son is definitely influenced by his marathon running father and he participated in his first kid’s race a couple of weekends ago. He loves to run, play all kinds of sports and he gets daily exercise at school each morning, so I would say he’s off to a fairly good start. Now, if I could only get him to eat his broccoli and understand that peanut butter and jelly sandwiches do not constitute a well balanced meal!

H-Town Review: The Woodlands

2008-06-22T19:32:00.009-05:00

The Woodlands is a suburb/city North of Houston. Many of the residents of this 55,000+ populated city have no reason to leave their hometown unless they are unfortunate enough to work outside the city limits.

The Woodlands has a plethora of retail shops (Wal-Mart to Pottery Barn to Anthropologie), restaurants (McDonald's to Grotto), a two story mall (with a Children's Museum inside), Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion (which showcases concerts featuring some of the hottest acts in the country), a waterway (you can hop a water taxi for a scenic view of the area), a hospital, hotels (designed especially for conferences), and top corporations like Anadarko, Hughes Christensen, & Hewitt Associates.

We spent Sunday afternoon in The Woodlands and let my son run through the water fountains at Market Square after having lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. Our trip to the Woodlands was about 50 minutes one-way but a great way to spend the afternoon. I highly recommend this excursion for visitors and hometown residents as well.

Pay it Forward

2008-06-20T09:34:00.001-05:00

I've talked about my passion for reading and how my son is following in my footsteps not to mention how we both get giddy about trips to the library. Well, in addition to checking out books from the library I also buy a lot of books. So you can imagine that our bookshelves are little over run from time to time.

We have some books that are like old friends, they contain a favorite passage or they were a special gift or perhaps they were signed by the author- those books we will cherish and keep forever. Other books that we enjoyed but have no interest in reading again are finding new life at the local library.

We donate our used books to the library and even if the library has those titles already they have programs that give the books to needy children or children in hospitals or they will sell them for a $1 at their annual book sale to raise money for library programs.

So, I encourage you to gather up all those books you don't read and have forgotten about and take them to the library! I think it teaches children a good lesson too when they feel they are doing a good deed for someone who may be less fortunate or like my son says, "a little kid who is learning to read will like these books,"

Whatever the case it's a great thing to do and your local library will be extremely grateful.

Heavy Heart

2008-06-19T17:13:00.004-05:00

I had another post prepared but right before I was about to publish it I changed my mind and decided to compose this post instead.

A very dear friend of mine lost her baby yesterday. She had two previous miscarriages and after carrying a baby full term -40 weeks and 2 days- she went into the hospital for an emergency C-section and the umbilical cord had strangled the baby in utero.

I have never known anyone including myself who wanted a baby as bad as she did and I am beyond devastated and heartbroken for her and her husband. She is the kindest, generous and most genuine person I know and to say she would have been a good mother is an understatement. I don't know if they are planning to try again or not. . .but if I could ask God one question it would be why does something like this happen to someone like her and there are other people I know that have babies and abortions like it's nothing and then they don't provide the right environment for the child when they get here and . . .I know you can't question God. . .maybe he has bigger plans for my friend that may not include motherhood.

I pray for my friend, her husband and her family that they are able to get through this tough time. In the meantime I implore all readers who stop by (I have site meter so I know you're looking you're just not commenting) if you have children- hold them tight, love them right and thank God for the blessing daily. I know I take for granted sometimes that my son is healthy, he's smart, he's well adjusted, and that he's even alive. But I want to take this opportunity to throw praises up to God for making it all so, in Jesus name, Amen!

Movie Review: Kung Fu Panda

2008-06-18T10:43:00.004-05:00

Okay, so I broke down last weekend and bought my son a Happy Meal (something I had been really good abut NOT buying because after spending $1million on Happy Meals I finally wised up and realized all he wanted was the toy) and he gets this Kung Fu Panda toy and he starts saying he saw the “commercial” on t.v. and he wants to see the movie.

So, we go as a family last night (in shock and awe that my husband agreed to attend) and almost $50 later we were seated to watch the feature presentation of Kung Fu Panda. It started off interestingly enough like a flat cartoon (like I used to watch as a kid- without all the 3-D wizardry) but it was just the main character, Po having a dream.

I found the movie to be funny and very clever. Dustin Hoffman is awesome as Master Shifu, he sounds like an ancient Asian sage. As a fan of martial arts movies I thought the creators did a good job of representing the genre. However I was shocked that some parts were so dark, serious and real. I realized that maybe it was a bit much for our son, who has only been 4 for a little over three months, when my husband and I both look down at him in the middle seat and he looked a little. . .um…petrified. His eyes were twice the size and he had suddenly gone mute. We asked if he was scared and he shook his head, “no” but he admitted later that he was a little scared.

The fighting scene when Tai Lung breaks out of prison is very cool but also pretty violent and it kinda came out of nowhere so, I think it totally took my son off guard. Although he likes to “play” karate, jump off the stairs, wrestle, and run into walls he’s really a softy at heart and he doesn’t like it when people (or animals) get hurt for real. So, I had to assure him repeatedly that it was all just pretend. I thought he was going to have nightmares for days but it turns he wasn’t as traumatized as I thought because he fell into a deep coma like sleep and didn’t wake up at all throughout the night.

So, a word of caution to anyone making plans to see it, beware that there are some parts that might startle or frighten young kids.

Daydreams

2008-06-17T14:38:00.005-05:00

I’ve been daydreaming a lot lately. At random times about random things. Usually I’m thinking about the next thing I have to do instead of focusing on what I’m doing but mainly it’s been pretty random. For example:

In a meeting the other day: We’re having a conference call and I’ve totally zoned out and I’m staring out the window and noticing how close the buildings are (from the 20th floor) and I’m thinking to myself I wonder if I could JUMP from building to building.

On the bus: I take my car to a lot and park it and ride the bus into town (gotta save on gas so I can have cash to buy all that stuff my son doesn't need!) and it always amazes me how people have no bus etiquette. They put their bags in the seats or they are having a full blown telephone conversation on the bus. Talking loudly. There was a guy in front of me who I imagined myself tapping on the shoulder and saying, “Who are you talking to? Can I talk to them? Can you ask them what they think about global warming or when the war in Iraq will come to an end? I mean since your conversation is obviously so important you are sharing it with everyone on the bus!”

At my desk: I am surrounded by pictures of my son and I start thinking about taking him to see Kung Fu Panda (we’re going this evening) and then I start thinking about Angelina Jolie and all of her kids and think it’s just not fair that she gets to have all those babies, a nanny (or two) to help her out, a boatload of money AND Brad Pitt.

In the car on my way home: I start daydreaming while simultaneously riding the bumper of the car in front of me and refusing to let in those people who get in the lane that is ending and want to cut in front of you after you patiently waited your turn in line-anyway I daydream about a story I’m writing about a married couple who met in high school. I think about Common and Nia Long playing the characters on the big screen but then I think they kinda look like they could be related.

At the library with my son: We are the only black people in the library except for two girls on the computer who are logged into myspace. I wonder what other parents I know are doing with their kids. I think about my sister, her kids are probably locked out of the house while she’s getting some sleep. Just kidding, that only happened once. (maybe it did. . .maybe it didn't. .)

At this moment: I should totally be working instead of chronicling my latest daydreams because I am already imagining my supervisor trying to get an update from me at 5:00 and me looking at her like she has six eyes.

Yawn. All this daydreaming is making me sleepy. Speaking of daydreaming. . I love this song. . .had no idea who the heck Lupe Fiasco was/is but I'm a huge fan of the incomparable Miss Jill Scott!

My Son the Teacher

2008-06-16T10:29:00.003-05:00

The other day my son and I were coloring pages in his coloring book and I flipped to the cover to see how the characters looked to make sure I colored them just right. My son asked, "What are you doing?" I replied, "Looking to see what color Tyrone's shirt is supposed to be," He stopped coloring looked at me and said, "Mama, use your imagination it can be any color you want it to be. You don't have to do it like everybody else,"

My mouth hung open. It hung open even wider when I asked, "Who told you that," his reply: "You did,"

Wow. Not only does he listen to me but apparently I am a hypocrite who doles out advice but doesn't follow it. Several people have been quoted in various languages I'm sure about the importance of walking the talk and action speaking louder than words. I wonder then how often I send my son mixed messages. I'm always telling him to try his best meanwhile I complain that I'm not getting anything accomplished. Am I trying my best?

A simple activity like coloring served as the wake up call I desperately needed. I can't expect my son to take anything I say seriously if I'm not following my own rules and advice. Starting today I pledge to arm him with information to help him on his journey and to also practice what I preach so, that I can have positive examples to SHOW him when he questions whether or not mama know what she's talking about.

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-13T16:17:00.008-05:00

Often the contributions father’s make to their children’s lives go unnoticed and uncelebrated. Instead of receiving accolades they receive criticisms. We hear stories about “dead beat” dads all the time who fail to pay child support or father’s who choose not to have any contact with their children. Even worse are stories about father’s abusing and in some extreme cases killing their children. But I am willing to bet the moon (if I owned it) that the number of active, involved, loving, caring father’s far exceed the number of bad father’s we hear about so often.

Studies have shown when children grow up with a father who plays an active role in their lives, they are more confident and have better relationships with their peers. No matter what type of relationship the parents have it should never affect how either interacts with their children because children need the love, affection and attention of both parents.

As someone who grew up in a single parent household raised by a single mother and little contact with my father, I am ECSTATIC that my son has the benefit of his father being active in his life daily. My husband is a wonderful father and this Father’s Day I want to let him know how much he is loved and appreciated. What I love most about his relationship with my son is:

**He can be gentle or stern when he is doling out discipline, depending on what our son needs
**He’s teaching our son to respect and protect me
**He plays with our son and is genuinely engaged
**He reads to our son and changes character voices
**He is able to laugh at himself and it’s okay if our son is amused too
**He’s is always encouraging our son to try his best
**He loves our son unconditionally

And as a result of this dynamic relationship my son thinks his Dad is cooler than Superman. Happy Father’s Day MO!!!

The Answer is the Question

2008-06-12T13:32:00.006-05:00

My reason for creating this blog was two-fold: to share my parenting/life experiences and to try and hone my writing skills. I do not purport to know everything or anything for that matter about life or parenting. These are simply my experiences and observations.

However I have made other wildly random observations that led me to write today’s post. Because sometimes you don’t have any answers just all the questions:

1. Why is it when you really don’t want to be bothered with someone they suddenly want to talk to you and ask you all sorts of random things that you could careless about?
2. Why is it in 2008 there are black people who still appear to think being “light skinned” automatically makes someone attractive?
3. Why do men always get caught in lies?
4. Why do people who are abrasive and rude always get their feelings hurt so easily?
5. Why does food that is the unhealthiest for you taste so good?
6. Why do children instantly mock your bad behavior?
7. Why isn’t the rest of the world like children under five who see no “race” (when they are playing everyone is their friend)?
8. Why did Michael Jackson go crazy?
9. Why did Tupac, Biggie, Aaliyah and Left Eye have to die?
10. Why are so-called “Christians” the biggest hypocrites on Earth?
11. Why does your elderly relative still treat you like you’re ten when you’re almost forty with kids of your own?
12. Why does America cater to non-English speaking folks?
13. Why isn’t educating children a top priority in this country?
14. Why do some people buy their children name brand clothing before they can even read?
15. Why do mothers carry around so much guilt?
16. Why do we waste our time, energy and LIFE doing things we really don’t want to do?
17. Why do we set bad examples for our chilren but expect better behavior from them?

I am serioulsy at a loss. . .

Site to See

2008-06-11T11:02:00.004-05:00

I am a personalization freak!! I love things that you can get your name, logo or picture printed on. I truly believe that's how my son learned to spell his name at such a young age (around his 2nd birthday) because he saw it everyday all over his room!

Here is a new site that specializes in personalized books, posters, & placemats. I love the coloring book idea and the zoo book with your child's name hidden in the background is a must-have! Enjoy and happy shopping!

http://www.frecklebox.com/

New Friend

2008-06-09T19:07:00.000-05:00

I know quite a few parents who have made the pilgrimage to the Build A Bear Workshop and spent a grip on stuffed animals and accessories. I thought I'd managed to avoid that pitfall since my son is four and totally into all things car related. The last thing I thought he would be interested in is a stuffed animal.

As usual I was WRONG! We were in the mall the other day- the same mall he's been in a dozen times- and suddenly he noticed the big huge bear in the window and asked, "What's that place?" I shrugged and replied, "Some place to make stuffed animals," He literally yanked my arm and pulled me into the store.

$35 later we brought to life a Triceratops complete with the team uniform of his favorite home town team. Then we had to come home and register the Triceratops online and play an interactive computer game. He's been attached to that thing like it's his new little brother. Well, that may be as close as he's gonna get so, more power to him!

And as for me, I really need to start making trips to the store by myself!

Delicious Trick

2008-06-08T14:32:00.005-05:00

My son LOVES spaghetti! He would eat spaghetti and pizza everyday if I let him. Unfortunately the only vegetable I can get him to eat consistently is green beans. So, I finally tried the old vegetable in the spaghetti sauce trick and it worked!! He ate THREE small bowls of spaghetti, which was full of SPINACH and he at every bite!

I must toot my own horn- beep beep- and say it was quite delicious. You can make your own sauce (courtesy of Patti Labelle):

1 pound ground beef (or ground turkey)
1 large onion
2 tbs. olive oil
3 garlic cloves
One 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
Two 6 ounce cans tomato paste
2 1/2 cups water
2 tbsp chopped basil
2 tbsp chopped oregano
1/2 tsp crush red pepper flakes

If you are time challenged or just don't want to do the work PREGO works just fine! Just be sure to season your ground meat with garlic salt and ground pepper before browning and adding it to the sauce. The final ingredient to your sauce is the vegetable of your choice! Dice or grind the vegetables really fine to avoid the little ones catching on and picking out pieces. Let the sauce simmer for at least 20 to 3 minutes for ultimate flavor. Pour over your favorite pasta (I prefer angel hair) and enjoy!

Warm garlic bread and a side salad complete the meal. Delish!