The Randomness

Only I would have the day off and volunteer to go on Tali 2′s trip for Earth Day. Let me sum it up for you…loud, excited kids, wet, muddy field, no zyrtec, loud, excited kids, bugs, kids running and falling in wet, muddy field, lunch, loud, cranky, tired kids that smell like young farm animals on packed school bus with no ac…home. *teachers are underpaid and should have a drink subsidy in their check*

Did I mention, that I am now headed out for girls night out and will be expected to look cute this evening despite the fact that I woke up at 6am to catch the Royal Wedding, spent the day with Kindergarten children and am longingly staring at my fluffy bed?

You know you’re old when your pre-party drink is iced coffee before you hit the club not anything in a brown paper bag.

Yes, I watched the Royal Wedding. You know why? CAUSE I’M A GIRL! I may love football, rum and playing with a field of muddy boys but I still love Princesses, wedding gowns and castles. Shoot me.

Facebook is ruining my style. Now when I wear something cute, I try not to post any pictures cause I may need to wear that outfit again and I feel like all of my friends have seen me in it. I know, I’m vain…I’m working on it.

Humidity + Curly Hair = Chaka Khan Frizz

I love my new job, Prince Harry and Harry Potter.

I may meet a celebrity tonight and if I do meet him, one of you readers is gonna be soooooo jealous. #hint

It’s Penn Relay weekend in Philly, if you are on the quad tomorrow, holla at your girl as I get my stroll on.

Shouts out to my linesisters, yesterday makes 21 years as AKA’s. Skeeeee Weeee!

Angry Black Woman

The political events in the United States in the last week have really disappointed and angered me.

The simple fact that the “Birther” movement was able to challenge the highest ranking official in our country and force him to have to show his birth certificate is ridiculous. I am all for democracy. I am all for the people having the right to question the actions of elected officials.

However, I am certain there is someone who has the job of making sure the candidates and people who run for office are legal and have the right to do so. If you want to question Obama’s birth certfifcate, shouldn’t that be directed to the person who verified the information? How do you bypass that individual and go driectly to the President and question him when he has already accepted the position? You are challenging him directly to prove he should be there?

Now, they are calling for him to produce his transcripts? Enough is enough.

When a black man is standing in the room as your Commander in Chief and probably has among the best credentials of any of his consitituents and he is still being asked to produce proof that he deserves to be there, it’s RACIST. Simple and plain.

If we never asked Bush to show his C average transcripts from Yale, why are we challenging Obama who had an impeccable Harvard education? He also didn’t come from money so his “Daddy” never made any phone calls or greased any palms to get him into school. He worked for his.

I am so disappointed by this turn of events. Even if you don’t care for his politics, you have to take a good hard look at our nation when a twice divorced (and he was in my NY hotel when he was served with papers from his first wife as he was lunching with his current mistress) shady real estate publicity seeker can challenge the highest ranking official in our land on his credentials.

Yes, I am going to say it….this WOULD NOT happen to a white President.

Food Rules

On weekends, we typically have lots of little boys running around our house. This weekend, one of Tali 2′s little friends came over for a playdate.

To give you the backstory, he is an only child and his mom kind of gives in to his every whim. His diet primarily consists of chicken nuggets and fries. Whenever he is coming over, she usually warns me  ”you know Little Johnny may not want to eat anything”.

This time when we went to pick him up, she shared with me that Little Johnny has been very sick lately.  When I inquired what was wrong, she elaborated that he wasn’t eating any food. She can only get him to eat chicken nuggets from McDonald’s. *insert side eye* She was having such a hard time with him and she was very concerned. I assured her, we would make sure he ate.

We took the boys to the park and they played football and tag for about two good hours. When we came home, we fired up the grill and made turkey burgers.

Little Johnny instantly let me know that he doesn’t like turkey.

I made three turkey burgers for the boys and had baby carrots with dressing on the side. The Tali’s were cheering and eating their turkey burgers. Little Johnny just stared at his.

When I realized he wasn’t eating it, I made my mom announcement :

“Everyone has to clear their plate or they can’t go play.”

In ten minutes, I looked back into the dining room and lo and behold, he had eaten his entire turkey burger and was making quick work of his carrots.

When his mom came to pick him up later in the evening, she started apologizing for his lack of food interest. “I hope he wasn’t too much trouble. If he didn’t eat, it’s okay. I will feed him on the way home.”

“Actually, he was fine. He had a turkey burger and carrots.”

Her face was classic! She couldn’t believe he ate food. She wanted to know what my recipe was, etc. Now you know, the recipe had nothing to do with it.

He knew I wasn’t his mommy and he saw my boys eating. He figured out really quickly that eating was expected over here.

I’m not saying her method of parenting is wrong but I think sometimes as parents, we love our kids so much that we end up hurting them. A little tough love can go a long way. Chicken nuggets everyday? Nope. I won’t do it because that’s a treat item. What happened to vegetables, fiber, whole grains? As an adult, you wouldn’t eat fried chicken everyday so why would you continue to do that for your kids?

I do agree that some kids can be picky eaters but you can’t just give up and give them what they want. I know parents get frustrated and feel like they’re just happy they are eating something…I say keep trying.

Don’t give up on introducing new foods or old things in new ways. Also, look at your plate. Are you eating any veggies? My girlfriend hates veggies and never cooks any. Her kids now hate veggies as well.

Feeding picky eaters can be challenging but you have to find creative ways to make food tasty and fun. I know I want to raise my kids with good eating habits.

It’s Friday Bytches!

Guess who got up at 6am and ran through the streets of Philly like I was a broke version of Rocky? Yup your girl!

So I am on a runner’s high, fueled by a grande starbucks coffee and my new running theme music. If you don’t own this remix….you ain’t living!

Happy Friday…..

Tali 1′s Baking/Recipe Project

Since everyone in the other class who presented their food last Friday seemed to make cupcakes, brownies, jello etc… we decided to do something a little different.

Voila….Mini Cherry Cheesecakes

As much as I love to cook, I am not keen on baking. I like to create and baking is so exact. I love to bake recipes that I can’t mess up. This is one of them and they always look way more impressive than they are.

Recipe:

2 pkgs softened cream cheese

1 cup of sugar

2 eggs

Tsp of Vanilla extract

Nilla wafers

1 can of your favorite pie filling (we like cherry).

Heat oven to 350. Line your cupcake pan with foil cupcake wrappers. In each one, place a Nilla wafer, flat side down.

In a mixing bowl mix cream cheese, eggs, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Pour into each cupcake cup. Bake for 20 minutes.

When you remove them, they will be fluffy like cupcakes. As they cool, the middles will sink down. Once cool, spoon your favorite fruit topping onto each one.

Voila! 30 minutes to mini cheesecake.

Making Waves

So, I am swimming but need to do a better job of doing it more days a week. My stroke mechanics are ten times better. Now all I need to do is work on increasing the number of laps I can do. Unlike some heffas *cough* who can swim 800 meters in 28 minutes…I am still trying to build up my distance without needing to stop and catch my breath. Two months to go. *sigh*

Today I want to share a few items that have helped me with swimming.

Speedo Kick Board

If you are looking for a great cardio workout (even if you can’t swim a lick), get yourself one of these! Hold on to the top of it and kick the length of the pool. Do as many laps as you can stand. Trust me, your abs will be on fire and your whole body will feel it. I got mine at Target on clearance for $4.99 (and it’s pink!)

Vaseline Cocoa Butter Gel Oil

I am not one for greasy stuff on my skin. That being said, after swimming, my skin feels like beef jerky. The answer? I take a nice hot shower, come out and putthis stuff on. Can you say HEAVEN? The trick is to not put too much and to do it while your skin is damp. My skin has never looked better and it feels like silk. It’s got Brazilian Nut Oil, Almond Oil….and it smells divine!

Moroccan Hair Oil

I have waxed poetic about my obsession with Moroccan Hair Oil before. If I loved it when I wasn’t swimming, it’s lust now that I am. It fights the chlorine damage like nothing else and it’s chemical free. Non-greasy, moisturized hair. What could be better?

A REAL Swimsuit

Ladies and Gentlemen….please do not show up to swim laps at any pool in your thong or string bikini. Get yourself a good, sport swimsuit. When you swim….you move around alot. ALl of your limbs are in motion. You don’t want anything springing loose turning your breast stroke into a BREAST stroke, feel me? And I don’t need to see it either. LOL There’s a reason they make these suits. They hold everything into place.

Lastly, don’t be afraid of the pool. I haven’t been swimming in years and doing laps? Almost never. If I can learn, so can you. Embrace your fears. It’s a great workout and it works EVERYTHING with no pounding or stress on your joints. Try it!

Friday Night Randoms

I have been cleaning and organizing my house since about 4pm today since Mama 1969 will be here tomorrow. It’s 8pm and I just finished laundry and mopping the kitchen floor. I am spent.

The good news? We purchased several new items with our dependents and homeownership rocks tax return. One is a new grill and it is a doozy. The other is a brand new king sized bed with a Four Seasons hotel mattress. It arrived today and I threw some 500 count thread sheets on that bad boy and yes, I fully plan on sleeping like the Princess that I am tonight.  Say it with me “God is GOOOOOOOD!”

The bad news? I will be up at 6am running with Team Diva. *sigh*

We are celebrating Tali 1′s birthday with his Nana tomorrow and he is psyched. Knowing her, she will come bearing loud gifts.

Is the government really going to shut down? I mean really? What the fudge?!

I can’t believe Pia got kicked off Idol. (Shhh….I was watching it but don’t tell anyone!)

Speaking of good shows, if you like good TV, check out “The Killing” on AMC. It just started and you can catch the first episode on demand. It airs again on Sunday night. Great concept. Great acting.

I love clementines.

I got my new account list at work today. Guess who now has the sports market? If anyone reading this works at Drexel, Temple or La Salle…email me at bklynaka10@yahoo.com. Seriously.

I am missing my sorority regional conference in Atlantic City this weekend. It’s all worth it to be with my baby for his birthday. On my list of priorities, he trumps everything. (That being said, a weekend with my girls in AC would have been off the chain.)

Tali 1′s class project for April is that they each have to wire and prepare a recipe for the class to sample. *cough* You know I need him to have the best recipe and dish right? And because he’s my son, you know he came home and said “Our recipe is gonna kick their butts right mom?” Yeah….blame me.

Have a great weekend!!

Happy Birthday Tali 1!

Nine years ago today, my world changed for the better. You already know how much I love my boys and to be able to celebrate how much my oldest Tali has grown is a special blessing.

He is an all around great kid and I couldn’t ask for more. He is an excellent student, athletic, has a killer sense of humor and is the most compassionate kid I know. He cares about everyone around him and has a kind and giving heart. He loves to help others and is a wonderful big brother.

Not much has changed since the day he was born. He was attached to me at the hip then and he still is. If I go to the store? He’ll go with me. If I cook, he will hang out in the kitchen and keep me company. If I have to go to the track and run? He will run next to me. He is so special to me and I thank God for him every single day.

I just want him to know that his Daddy and I are so proud to have him as our child. We feel blessed that God gave him to us and we will be there for him always. No matter what he chooses to do with his life, we know he will be successful because we believe in him and all of his gifts and abilities and we will support him 100%.

Wishing you a very happy 9th birthday son. We love you so much and hope this is the start of another great year for you.

Love you!

Wonder Woman Reflections

It’s no secret that my life is hectic. I work full time, raise two sons, go to soccer and swim practice, manage a household, try to be a good wife, stay active in my community through my sorority and finally, decided to throw in a triathalon cause, you know, I had an extra hour of free time.

So many of my friends are always asking me how I do it. I was thinking about this the other day. My main answer would be “I have a great husband who supports me in all I do and helps me with everything”.

What I do is what all mothers do. Seriously. My life is no different than any other mom. I multitask and stuff gets done because it HAS to. I am blessed to have help. Mr. 1969 does housework and laundry. He helps get his boys ready for school in the morning. He helps to drop them off and will take them out to play when I need a mental break. He’s a supportive daddy.

So many women do what I do alone. So many women do what I do with a non-supportive partner. I feel blessed but I make no bones about having support physically and emotionally. He helps me be great.

The real wonder women are out there doing it alone. Motherhood is a thankless job. Sure you get a card once a year but what about all the other days? What about all of the sacrifices and hard work that is expected of you or you fall into the bad mommy club? Moms have to act like this job is the greatest all the time or we will get the side eye from everyone….other mothers, men, single women, old folks, etc. We get judged harder than anyone else and we are often our own toughest critics.

As I reflect on my crazy, hectic life…I realize, yes, I do alot. However, I don’t deserve any kudos for it. I just do what I do. Look around, there are better folks doing exactly what I do with so much less help. Those are the real unsung heroines. It may not be mother’s day yet, but kudos to all the real Wonder Women out there!

Happy Monday!

It’s going to be 75 degrees in Philly today. I love the sunshine and (finally) the warmer weather. I start training officially today so I am trying to get some work done before I take a lunch break to swim and then run.

Have you guys ever been to www.cakewrecks.com ? Hilarity.

If you want to laugh today, check it out. I will be back to post more later. Gotta enjoy the day!