The Randomness

I just started Christmas shopping for the boys. *sigh* My mojo is so off this year. At least the tree is up and we did decorate gingerbread houses. It’s a start right?

I gave up coffee for two months. I am back on the wagon. The good news is that I am only drinking one cup a day and it’s a small size. I have decided that moms of boys who work ten hour days and workout at 5:30am are entitled to their morning cup of coffee. Period.

I want to try my best to give up sugar next year. The problem? I love sugar. Not sure how that’s going to work.

I just got a pair of training flippers and a new pool buoy for training. SOOOOOOO excited. You have no idea how much sports/exercise gear excites me.

I love cookbooks but hate ones that have no pictures. What the fudge is that all about? How do I know what it’s supposed to look like?

My kids had the best report cards last week and I am so proud of them. They work hard and are reaping the benefits. I love those boys.

The Wu-Tangs have “refreshed” their holiday lights. I say refreshed because they kept half of them up all year. WHO DOES THAT?

My kids are into these little larvae robots from hexbug.  I almost got into a fight with Mr. 1969 about them. He thinks they’re a waste of money and that they’ll be broken by the end of Christmas Day. I think boys break all toys anyway and they’re cool.  Guess who bought two of them?

I am considering making shortribs in my crockpot tomorrow. Any recipes? I am thinking they would taste delicious with a nice sauce over some creamy cheesy grits or polenta with roasted veggies. (Yes, I still don’t eat meat but the men will love it!)

 

 

St. Patrick’s Day-Wu Tang Style

The Wu Tang house still has their Christmas lights up. They aren’t on, but they’re still up. The ones on their hedges look crazy since they have been out there over two blizzards and more than a few rainstorms.  Mr. 1969 and I shake our heads everytime we look over there.

This morning, I returned from the gym only to notice all of the lights on the hedges were gone. (The ones on the house are still up).

Me: Babe, the Wu Tangs finally took the Christmas lights down just in time for St. Patrick’s Day.

Mr. 1969: No they didn’t.

Me: They did. Look out the window! See, the one’s on the bushes are gone.

Mr. 1969: I know. I took them down.

Me: What?

Mr. 1969: I took them down. I got tired of looking at that sh*t and I went out there last night, took them down and put them in a trash bag and left them on their steps.

Me: *crickets*

Mr. 1969: Top O the morning to you. Now take your sh*t and put it away.

From our house to yours……………….enjoy the St. Patty’s Day festivities and toast a green beer in honor of my hubby and his ongoing battle with the Wu’s.

Bearclaws

We had one of our friend’s sons spend the night with us last night. He is a fun nine year old and he and my boys were having an awesome time. Mr. 1969 had all three boys for most of the day as I spent Saturday in NYC with my brother and Mama 1969 celebrating her birthday.

Mr. 1969 picked me up from downtown Philly and as we were driving home, all three boys were laughing and playing in the backseat. I started talking to Mr. 1969 and we filled each other in on our day. The music was playing and it seemed that everyone in the car was talking at the same time. All of a sudden my acute mother hearing (2nd only to doberman pinchers and creatures in the Amazon rainforest) heard the following “if a girl has her period, she can get pregnant” and it didn’t come from either of my boys.

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH. Party done.

Instantly, I shut the music off, told Mr. 1969 to pause mid-sentence and turned all the way around and said ”Hey guys, I don’t think this is a conversation we need to be having right now in the car. What do we want for dinner?”.Hey, it was all I could think of on short notice without putting that kid out on the curb and banning him from ever seeing my kids again.  It worked and all talking turned to discussions of Chik-Fil A.

As I drove home, Mr. 1969 kept giving me the “don’t lose your cool eye” which could be confused with the evil eye or side eye since they all look the same when you’re angry. As the kids played Wii in the living room, we talked in the kitchen in hushed tones.

I was disturbed. Mr. 1969 was not. His argument was that the boy didn’t say anything that was wrong. What he said was factual. Now while I agreed that we should not make a big deal out of what he said or make the child feel uncomfortable, I admit that it bothered me. I am far from a prude and I am a huge advocate of giving your child the correct information about their bodies and well, life. We have a very open policy as far as this line of questioning goes. I would much rather my kid hear things from us than to learn about it in the back seat of a car streets.

However, like I said, my spidey senses were tingling until that boy walked out my front door this morning. He is the sweetest little kid and he was no trouble at all. However, I had my trained eye on him. He has three older brothers who range from college aged to 13 so I am sure he has been exposed to a few lively discussions. I understand, but my soon to be 9 year old is a kid in every sense of the word.

This morning when tv was on, our guest wanted to watch music videos….my son wanted to watch Pokemon or Young Justice. See what I’m saying? I know I can’t shelter my boys from everything but DAMN…..can a kid just enjoy being a kid for as long as possible? I know that all of this is inevitable and right around the corner but I sure as hell was not ready for it on Saturday night. Can’t I have until he’s at least 10? I am still picturing this:

Somebody pray for me. Cause between this and the Wu-Tangs purchasing a motorcycle and riding it up and down my street….I am going to need divine intervention.

The Randomness

I was going to discuss the Golden Globe dresses but we all remember what happened the last time I commented on what dresses I liked or didn’t like. So erra….nope.

I was in the club till 2am on Saturday night and I had a blast. Some random man asked to take a picture with me. So I said sure and was about to pose with him. “Well actually, I want to take a picture of your shoes. They’re hot.” *crickets*

I meet with a swim coach tomorrow.

Tali 2 thinks he is running this house. Seriously. Somebody better come and tell him that he is just a kid.

My 8 year old eats more than I do.  What am I going to do when he is 16?

Congrats to all the Jets fans out there. They played a heck of a game yesterday. You do know that despite my love of Troy Polamalu, Mike Tomlin and Heinz Ward, I will have to root for the Jets next week just to make our house more interesting. I mean NY vs PA??? Mr. 1969 would die if the Jets won. LOL

The Wu Tangs have been so quiet lately. However, since their Christmas decorations that went up on Christmas Eve are still up…..I know they’re still the Wu Tangs. If last year was any indication, they will be up til they put up Easter decorations. *sigh*

I love Chef Tre on Top Chef. Yup. I still think Angelo or Richard Blaise will win.

I am dying to see Prince at the Garden but cannot bring myself to spend $400 on a ticket.

There are four boys in my house playing with my sons right now. There is crap everywhere. I hate having the “cool” house. *theybettercomegettheirkidssoon*

Somebody who shall remain nameless, has me out combing the stores for $22 moisturizer from Target and it’s sold out in every Target I stop in. *shakes fist*

I plan on writing about Facebook gangsters tomorrow unless I get swamped. Remind me!

Food & Sun….that’s all I need to get by.

It is 92 degrees right now in Philly. You already know….I AM LOVING IT!

On my way home today, I swung by the supermarket since I decided to make one of my favorite warm weather meals. I don’t know about you but I hate eating heavy foods when it’s hot. I also hate turning on the oven. No ma’am. Give me an easy light meal and just about anything off the grill.

With Mr. 1969 and the kids in the house, sticking to lighter foods can be difficult. It is VERY hard not to have goodies around and even harder to break them from eating potatoes, rice or pasta with every meal. Especially Mr. 1969. His family is from Mississippi and he grew up in Pennsyltucky Harrisburg where he never met a potato roll he didn’t like. With gravy.

What is my favorite dinner when it’s hot?

Caprese Salad.

I HEART this simple salad. Slices of mozzarella. Slices of tomato. Fresh leaves of basil. Salt and Pepper and a nice drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Easy to prepare and absolutely delicious.

Fresh Corn

Corn off the grill? Be.Still.My.HEART

Grilled Chicken

And that’s it. Easy dinner. Low calories and totally tasty and satisfying.

For dessert?

I heart Edy’s frozen fruit bars. The boys love them and most of the bars are only 60 calories. A great alternative to ice cream.

And as an adult “put the kids to bed treat” serve them in a glass tumbler but pour a little something over it. The Lime bars with a tequilla shot? YUM. The Coconut bars with a shot of rum? DELISH. The Tangerine bars with a shot of Vodka? YEAH….a nice end to a busy day.

Enjoy the warm weather. What’s for dinner tonight?

Take that Wu Tang

So the other day, we were pulling into our driveway (which is behind our house). The Wu Tang offspring (two boys aged about 9 and 7) were hanging out on their back deck. As we got out of the car, the two boys start chanting and pointing at my boys.

“We have birthday cake! We have birthday cake! You can’t have any.”

Just as I was about to usher the Tali boys inside…your boy Tali 2 says to them:

“Oh yeah? Well you ate too much cake cause your stomach is fat.”

*DEAD*

I snatched him up and told him that was not a nice thing to say despite the fact the boys were wrong for taunting. He said sorry and as I shut the front door and went in the kitchen I heard the following whispered conversation:

Tali 2 “Nobody wants their old stinky cake.”

Tali 1″He WAS fat. Good one Tali 2.”

I could be wrong but I distinctly thought I heard a high five.

Clearly, we need to do better.

The Return of the Wu

It’s Easter Sunday. The celebration of the Resurrection of the Savior. We wake up. Eat a special breakfast and head off to service. We come home, pack a lite snack and take the kids to the playground.

We come home, fire up the grill and start cooking. After a lovely, incident free Sunday…we see the cars pulling up to the Wu Mansion around 6pm. *sigh*

It’s 6:41pm. When everyone else’s Sunday evening is winding down, the Wu celebration is just getting crunk started. There are about ten cars out front. They have folding chairs, one dining room chair, etc…out on the front steps. Not in the back in their yard. Not on their deck. Not in their house. Nope, out front. So at this very moment, there are about 25 adults and kids outside looking like the after-party let out in front of their house.

Mr. 1969 and I are staring out our window like two old, angry neighbors. We felt bad until our other neighbor came out of his house a few minutes ago and told them to keep all of their kids off his lawn. Hooray, we are not the only ones that have to deal with the craziness.

**UPDATE**

Mr. 1969 went outside a few minutes ago to tell two adults that they can’t sit on our steps and eat their plate of food. *sigh*

“Oh, we’ll move right now sorry!”

Common sense didn’t tell you that you are sitting on someone else’s steps? iCan’t

**2nd UPDATE**

Mr. 1969 says they have until 8pm and then he is going out there and hose people down. LMAO! He’s waiting until 8pm because it’s Easter and he’s a good christian. LMAO!!! 

**3rd UPDATE**

Wait….Mr. 1969 just said that one lady is wearing a belt that looks like a damn “restraining device”. Let me go get my husband out of the window before his pressure goes through the roof. Like John Witherspoon in house party. LMAO!!!

Happy Ressurection Sunday!

It’s a Wu-Tang Christmas….

Twas the week before New Year’s and all through the house not a creature was stirring ….except for the Wu-Tangs. *sigh*

We were away for the holiday and it was lovely. We spent the day with our entire family and had a great time. The best part? Great food and it wasn’t at my house! LOL

The Tali twosome throughly enjoyed themselves. They got an air hockey table, a Hot.Whe.els super jump raceway, N.inte.ndo DS….they are in little boy heaven right about now.

So we returned home on Christmas night around 8pm after driving back from Jersey in the rain. You would think the fact that it was Christmas would mean that everyone was snuggled indoors sipping eggnog by the fire right?

Not the Wu-Tangs. No….they were huddled outside their home, sipping from a bottle and talking and laughing at the top of their lungs. Who does this? Why can’t you all take two steps back and do that ish in your own home? Why congregate outside and then I can hear you all from my house?

Yeah….you know Mr. 1969 decided to stroll outside and across to their house right?

The Wu Tangs: “Hey neighbor, Merry Christmas!”

Mr. 1969: *blank stare/mean mug/ice grill*

The Wu Tangs: “Is there a problem?”

Mr. 1969: “It’s Christmas. I have to listen to you guys being loud outside of your house all year. I’m not doing it tonight. Understand?”

The Wu Tangs: “Uh, we were just going inside.”

Mr. 1969: “Great.”

I stayed inside and watched the exchange from the window behind the curtains. LOL

All I heard Mr. 1969 say when he came in was “Merry Christmas now mothereffers…”

Yeah, nothing like a little yuletide spirit…Philly style.

The Chickens Coming Home to Roost

This is a big week for me. My Daddy is coming up from Trinidad on Thursday. This will be the first time he has ever been to this house. Needless to say, I have been cleaning and re-organizing like a madwoman. I redecorated the guest bedroom. New curtains, new sheets and comforter.

*cough*tookallofmywashedlaundryofftheguestroombedandfinallyputitaway*cough*

The boys are very excited that their Grandfather is on his way. They haven’t seen him in over a year. To tell the truth, I am excited too. I really am enjoying this new relationship I have with my Dad. I am looking forward to having him here and spending some time with him.

This Saturday, I cooked a good meal and Melonie came by to enjoy it with us. People….it was cold and raining and Miss Melonie rolled up at casa 1969 like a little ray of sunshine. She arrived with a cake and a bottle if wine. How’s that for being a good houseguest? I won’t even mention that on the nastiest day, Mel had on a cute sweater dress with a heeled suede boot and tights. Ahem. To lounge on the couch. I was rocking my husband’s fleece hoodie and sweatpants. Uh…yeah….little cute heffa.

We proceeded to eat and then chill on my couch for hours watching old school videos on VHI1Soul. The running commentary between Mel and I was hilarious. We were firmly interrupted by Tali 2 who announced “I’m SIRSTY and I need a DWINK!” Mel almost choked on her wine. Maybe now that I have a witness to the shenanigans, everyone will believe me. That boy was nice as pie until he got sleepy….he got his DWINK and was promptly sent to bed.

Thanks to Mel for coming by and making me laugh so much. Old school new edition (Mike Bivins ), Joe, Maxwell Bad Habits (Mel watched that one and said “Hold up we need to rewind and pause…what’s going on in that mirror?”  and our personal favorite of the evening…..GHOSTFACE.

Really…this has to be one of the greatest videos ever made. When he called her a ruthless chick? DEAD The best part is when he tries to get his ring back and he says “Oh, it’s stuck? Well, I’ll take the whole finger.” WU-TANG FOR LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How was everyone’s weekend?

Enter the 36 Chambers

I took a mental health day off yesterday. I woke up and felt like staying home for no reason and did it. LOL

In Philadelphia, the city is cracking down on folks with tickets because our city is broke and needs money. The cops have been cruising residential neighborhoods and running plate numbers.

To my delight, one of the Wu Tang Vehicles was booted. When the RZA came outside and saw his truck with the boot on it…..ahem….let’s just say he was NOT pleased.

How could I tell? From the loud azz expletives flowing from his person. “This is some bullshyt! They said I have unpaid tickets on this vehicle from 1987. I was 10 years old in 1987. What the FU@%!”

Now I sat with my nosy self all pressed up discreetly in my upstairs window watching the shenanigans unfold.

At the same time, Mr. 1969 was pulling into our garage. Like he usually does, he parked the car and then went to inspect his front yard. He had no idea the Wu vehicle had a boot on it.

He passed the RZA standing by his car and calmly said “Hey Bruh, park that in front of your house.” then turned and came inside.

Gotta love him.