M.I.A

I know I have been missing in action for while. No I haven't dropped off of the face of the earth, life has been so hectic and a bit overwhelming. Its amazing how much pressure we put on ourselves. With a 2-year-old, school full-time, husband whom I barely see because our schedules are ridiculous, my grandfather whom I have to care, add on top laundry for everyone, cleaning the house, running a million and five errands I am exhausted. I have had my share of break downs because I have these impossible expectations of myself.
Well I'm going to start do the things that gave me pleasure like updating this blog and working out, because I realize I am starting to lose myself. I refuse to be full of resentment. So to all the overworked moms you're not alone.

Make sure to check out my girl Sweet AL over at MommyDelicious if you're in need of stress relieving tips.
Be sure to follow her and enter in her GIVEAWAY

Daycare Choices

Choosing the right daycare for your child can be such a daunting task for parents. So many questions run through your mind:

How will my child react?

What’s the staff really like?

What curriculum will they be teaching?

What’s the teacher-to-student ratio?

Private or Public?

What's the cost of tuition?

If you’re like me choosing, a daycare is/was a tough task. I am online researching facility after facility, making sure to tour them and see how the teachers are reacting. I prefer to do unscheduled tours where I just stop by and ask questions or information so I can see what the staff is really like. I have seen price ranges from $168 per week to $210 a week. Then there’s the private school with their various tuition rates. What’s a parent to do? I have narrowed it down to about five different places. Each has their positives and negatives. A few are out of the way, while others offer internet access so I can check on my pooka-poo whenever I want. Well as I make my decision, I ask if anyone had a difficult time choosing the right daycare.

I can't go natural beacuse....

How many times has someone come up to you and said, "WOW you're natural that's great, I can't go natural because [insert reason here]"

I seem to get those comments quite often. People have many reasons why they feel they cannot go natural. I don't think it’s my place to judge because making that leap is a big decision and it took me two attempts to finally make the plunge and stick to it. I bring this up because the other day I was having a conversation with someone and she said she couldn't go natural because she would have to buy new clothes. LOL. That has to be one of the funniest comments I have heard in a while. I reassured her that her hair didn't define her style. I think many people are under the impression that to be natural you HAVE to be Afrocentric. Not the case.

Being natural to me is a choice to accept your God-given hair and enjoy it for what it is.

I don't preach about natural hair but I do encourage. I have gotten more people to become natural just by leading by example. When they make the choice to attempt to be natural, I provide them with encouragement and support on their journey.

At the end of the day, you are your own person and what makes you happy is all that matters.

So have you heard any funny reasons or have you had any interesting reasons for not being natural?

Being A Student

I am glad I have the opportunity to pursue my goals and further my education. As a young mother it is difficult to manage all of my different hats: mother, wife and student. Finances aren't always the best and you feel resentment and guilt. I know that sometimes I truly hate school. I wish I was already done and in my career. I feel guilty because when I come home my son wants his mommy time. He wants me to be able to play with him those are the times I resent school. While other parents come home from work and leave their jobs at the door and can enjoy an evening with their children I have to so much to do and worry about (I am aware that not all professionals have this luxury).
What I do when I come home is play with my son, get him down for a nap, do some cleaning, get dinner started, wash the dishes after dinner, give him a bath, watch 30 minutes of TV, read a book and he's down to sleep at 9:30 (I put him down later because dad works evenings). By this time. I'm exhausted so of course I fall asleep and wake up at 4am so I can study and do homework. Its such a balancing act. I pray the day I can just be a working professional quickly approaches.

Picky Eaters

My son is 2 years old (26 months to be exact). He is such a picky eater. It has been a cause for worry for me because his eating habits are awful. A few months ago, his diet was better. Nowadays, all he wants are Hot Dogs. Yes hot dogs for breakfast, lunch and dinner. So I after searching Google and speaking to his pediatrician have been reassured that this is indeed normal.
What I have done is supplemented his diet various items:

Vegetables and Fruit: He refuses to try so I purchase either V8 Fusion Fruit and Vegetables or Apple and Eve Fruitables. They provide one full serving of the necessary fruits and vegetables. Fruitables has 1/3 less sugar and is only 70 calories. He gets about (2) 9oz cups of this juice a day

Milk and Dairy: He loves Chocolate milk so I purchase the NesQuik Ready-To-Drink 8oz bottles of milk, which is about 100 calories, 12 g of sugar and made with low fat milk. He drinks 2 of these a day.

Grains: It’s difficult to get him to eat from this food group at times but when he’s up for it, he eats about 1-3oz of rice for dinner.

Vitamins:I give him Flintstones Vitamins to supplement for any vitamins or nutrients he isn’t receiving

It can be difficult to get your child to eat all things they are supposed to but with some maneuvering, they can get the nutrients they need.
Although I have said all of this, I still suggesting offering your child a variety of foods and allowing them to try. Just because he/she doesn’t like something today doesn’t mean they won’t like it tomorrow.

Swim Suits

Its 4th of July weekend and its time to pull out those swimsuits. I think some care should be taken when choosing the rigth swim suits. You must find a suit that compliments YOU! Not the manequin you got it off of. Here a few swim suits to compliment your figure. These are examples od swim suits which are all from Target so they will fit into anyones's budget. Whatever you choose make sure you enjoy yourself and pack up the sunscreen.


Monokini


One-Piece




Two-Piece

Rompers

The cutest (revamped) trend of 2010. I keep saying that I need to get a pair of these. They are adorable and can be dressed up or dressed down with the right accessories. The are affordable as well, you can find one to fit in any budget. I think Fourth of July may be the day for me to wear on, along with a big braid or twist out and chunky accessories.
So how do you feel about rompers?


Fab Embroidered Romper
$14.50
Forever21


Kouture by Kimora Romper, Sleeveless Scoop Printed Racerback Romper
MACYS


Silk One Shoulder Romper
$129.00
bebe

Fros on the Fourth

OK...Passing along the word.... taken from www.keepitsimplesista.blogspot.com

So what if we took over July 4th and made it National Afro Day ...and
we go to all the cookouts, firework display, and family events with
our fros big and beautiful?

Wear your afro tees and natural hair shirts and all that good junk.

And all you relaxed ladies can join in too do a braid out and fluff it out real big!
Let's do this!

A logo for the event, feel free to use it for your website, blog or to make your own iron on transfer shirt.

Rocking Shoes

Eva Marcille had some fabulous shoes on at the BET Awards by Gasoline Glamour, they came with a stylish price tag of $3000. Ah, a girl can dream.

Potty Training

My son is 2years, 1 month old. I have been trying to potty train him. It seemed like he was ready a few months ago and would tell me if he needs to go. Now he’s no longer in the “mood” LO. Over the weekend, I tried the “No Diaper” method where I let him roam bottomless around the house. It worked, sort of. He actually held it most of the day, he wasn’t pottying throughout the house and if he had to go number 2, he’s let me know but that was it. It left him and I frustrated. I have vowed to just let him be. I have heard that at times, you have to let them come into their own and I guess I’ll just have to be patient. He knows what the potty is he’s just not interested. What potty training method has worked? Hasn’t worked for you?