The Package Store

I know this topic has been discussed numerous amounts of time but it still annoys me. If you have ever been to my house you know that I live not too far from the well known "Bankhead". I am in no way afraid of my people, embarrassed of my people or above my people. So frequently I roll through their streets every now and then even if its only to take a shortcut into the city and avoid traffic. But don't get me wrong I aint trying to roll through these parts at extreme hours of the night. But anyway, my question is why is there a liquor store on every corner in the hood. I know the answer but it still burns me up. Why are they always owned by Asians? Whether it be Indians or Chinese/Vietnamese. Hell, why are they not afraid of us like folks from America? Well this one liquor store in Bankhead is so ridiculous. It has a 24 hour security quard and guess what people?....shopping carts! Yes these folks got buggies for you to push around and help kill yourself with alcohol. What's even funnier is that almost everyone in there is pushing one and filling up their buggy especially on the weekend. The parking lot is so full that the security guard often comes out and assists people with getting in and out of parking spaces. You would have to see this mess to believe it!

And no I aint in there with no buggy. I don't even drink...well an occasional spirit every now and then.

Green Army Grenade

Last night as I am bathing the boys in the bathtub. Preston is sitting in his little bath seat singing da dad and having fun. I turned to reach for the soap and he got quiet all of a sudden. I didn't think about it at all because Trey was talking and playing with his cars, balls, toys etc while in the bathtub too. When I finally looked at Preston (15 seconds later) he had dropped a magic "green army grenade" in the form of poop in the bath. Luckily it all clung to the bath seat so I didn't have to evacuate everyone out of the tub immediately. Trey helped me out and reprimanded Preston by telling him "Preston that's a no no. Poo poo in the potty not the bathtub. I'm going to pop the bottom!"

Thanks Trey!

Losing friends

Last week I lost two friends, Melville and Cindy. Both of these ladies were very close to my heart although I only saw them maybe once a year when visiting Houston. Melville was my super duper prayer warrior friend. She always had an inspiring word, testimony or pray. We emailed each other often to keep in touch since I moved away. I would send her pics of the kids and everytime she would come back with "when is the little girl coming" and I said NOT. I will miss her dearly.

My good old friend Cindy was an old nursing buddy at MD Anderson. She was a different kind of women with a big heart. She wasn't married nor did she have any children but she gave her all to the friends that she loved so much. She suffered this past year with her second battle with cancer one that would eventually take her life. Cindy was a very remarkable person because of the way she was raised. She grew up in a little town called Vidor in Texas. This town was predominantly white during her childhood and was extremely racist. She would tell me about black people not being allowed to stop at stores and restaurants even after desegregation. She would also tell me stories about her uncle being the Grand Wizard for the KKK in which she went to a couple of meetings. But God shielded her heart from this evil called racism and she loved everyone as Christ did. I will miss hearing my country friends voice.

I pray we all take time daily to tell those around us that we love them and we care. Always try to be positive and shy away from those things that are negative and foolish because time waits for no man.

"My name is Paul!"

For the last couple of weeks my eldest son has been telling us to call him Paul. He is now pretty adamant about it. He got upset with me for calling him "Trey" a couple of weeks ago and last night he told daddy that his name is not "Pop Pop" (which is Paul's nickname for him). He got in our face and said "my name is Paul no Trey and no Pop Pop, my name is Paul." We both found it a little hillarious for him to be exercising his rights but he is correct his name is "Paul." I tried to explain to this 2 year old that his family and friends call him both names and its okay but he said no "my name is Paul mommy!" Well I guess he's right cause that's what the birth certificate reads "Paul Alphonse III" not Trey, Pop Pop or Pop!

On another note if you want to see a good movie you should check out 'Not Easily Broken' with Morris Chestnut and Taraji Henson. It was an awesome movie dealing with hard lessons in life. It makes you evaluate what unconditional love is and the sacrifices it takes to make it work. It also makes you understand what is most important in your life. Its a great movie for married couples and couples thinking about getting married.

It also doesn't hurt that Morris is looking absolutely delicious in this movie! My God.............

Finally!

Preston slept 9 hours straight last night. I hope this is the start to something great!

Golden Corral

This post is really about our nation and our inability to take care of our health. I had lunch at Golden Corral this afternoon (I know what your thinking...what the he##!) I typically enjoy going there only because I want a wide variety of things and its inexpensive. The food is not that bad if you like cafeteria style food. So as I am sitting there eating alone I started to observe everyone around me. I then started to realize that at least 50% of the people in there was obese. What's even more sad is that the obese people were the ones with the biggest plates and the most frequent trips back to the buffet. It was so sad that I felt sick. This one guy was no less than 300 pounds and he had every type of meat, starch and fried treat on all his plate. He never once ate any vegetable, salad or fruit. I know this is the south and we are the largest group of people in the U.S. but what are we doing to change it. We (GA, AL, MS) have the highest number of obese adults and children than any other state in the US. Aren't there 50 states? That is so sad. Don't get me wrong I am not trying to be mean to anyone who is weight challenged, I am just saying I want us all to be healthier. I am always fussing at my mom and aunts to lose weight because I don't want anything to happen to them. Often times it really stems from your upbringing. If you grew up eating fried food and starches everyday then your likely to continue to cook this way when your an adult and have your own family. But somewhere down the line someone has to make the change for the better. I read a study a few years ago that revealed that insurance companies prefer people with comorbidities because they die sooner than healthy people. If everyone was healthy and lived to be 90 years old then insurance companies would go broke paying their premiums for all those years versus someone who is unhealthy and will probably die by 50 years old.

My old friend from church in Houston had a stroke last night and it has me really sad. She is only in her mid 40's but was obese (not saying that caused her stroke) but as a nurse I know it didn't help prevent it.

I actually told myself earlier I was going to comically write about Golden Corral to blast them about aiding folks in getting phat but it turned into a plea to be healthier. But not just for myself but for all my people. Stop putting all that mac and cheese, potato salad, rice, mashed potatoes, bread, fried chicken, crab cakes, bread pudding etc on your plate. As a matter of fact don't even cook that $hi!.......dang I got carried away.

6 Months Old!

Preston is growing so quickly. He is now 28.5 inches long and 19 pounds. He is such a sweet baby that will not sleep all night...HA! Unfortunately, he couldn't get his shots today because he has another ear infection. Yes, I know it sucks. But anyway he is a joy and a blessing and I thank God for him daily. His favorite thing to do right now is sing the "Da Da Song." They really grow up fast!

Daddy Day

Unfortunately, I had to work on yesterday (yes on MLK day). Paul however was off and spent the day with the boys. I am so proud of him too. He planned a full day with them and they were up ready to rock and roll by 9am. He took them to Ebeneezer Baptist Church for the annual MLK program and then out to lunch. After lunch they went to the Martin Luther King Center downtown and spent a couple of hours. I can just imagine seeing him with diaper bags, strollers, carriers and a loud 2 year old but when I got home they were all clean and happy. I know that Trey drove him crazy though because when I walked in I heard him whispering to Trey to go upstairs and talk to mommy. Trey told him no that he wanted to talk to daddy...hillarious!

Vomit

It is just hard being a mommy! We arrived at home today at 6pm as usual. I nursed Preston and put him in his swing to play. I then sat Trey down at the table to color and have a snack while I prepared some homemade chili for dinner. We ate dinner and headed upstairs to get ready for a bath. On Friday nights I typically let Trey stay up a little longer and we play together for a while. We pushed his cars around on the floor in his room while Preston sat there and giggled. Eventually of course we made it to the bathroom for our bath. Both the boys were clean and bathed without any drama. As soon as I took Preston out of the tub Trey stood up and looked at me with a strange look then started vomiting! It was so disgusting people. All of his dinner, snack and milk sitting in the bathtub. The only thing good about the story is that Paul walked in as soon as he barfed the last heap of chicken nuggets(wasn't interested in any "soup" aka chili) and apples so he took Preston and I rebathed, cleaned the bathtub and comforted Trey.

As I always say, life is great!

13 degrees

It was a very cold 13 degrees this morning. I did not want to bundle the kids up and leave the house....brrrhhhh!

ATL Housewives

I am not sure if a lot of you guys watched the Bravo series Atlanta Housewives but they were talking about them on the radio this morning. I only watched a few shows because I was so upset about how these women let money change who they really are. I am okay with anyone being rich, not jealous at all. What upsets me is when you look down on the people who are not in your social class. But anyway, they announced that DeShawn Snow did not have her contract renewed to appear on the next season. Why you ask. Because she did not bring enough "drama and dysfunction" to the show. What the heck! This is ridiculous that they would cancel the one sister who actually had a stable life, morals and values. Per the radio disc jockey's report they needed to continue with the "black" dramatic diva, gold-digger like vibe that was presented so fabulously (might I add) in the first season. So they did not want a well grounded sister in the mix taking away viewers.

Are we seriously that eager to see and praise dysfunctionality? That's why I hated that show! I have several wealthy friends and none of them act this way.

Big Brother Paul

I must say that Trey, in my opinion, is the best big brother ever! He absolutely loves his little brother and tries to help with so much. Althought he was only 13 months old when I got pregnant he seemed to understand fully that mommy had a baby in her baby. He kissed my belly everyday and said his brother's name throughout the pregnancy. When I was in labor my dad took him outside of the hospital room when it was time to push and when they came back in he was amazed to see his little brother. Everyone asked him "who is that Trey" and he quickly said "Preston." I have been so impressed with how well he has adjusted to the new addition, well except for the potty training. He definitely regressed when Preston came along but anyway.

It is so cute to watch him with Preston. He reads to him, sings to him and tries to teach him animal sounds. It is so special to watch. Of course Preston just stares at him and smiles. He reprimands Capri if he gets too close to Preston as well. I should really be video recording these moments because both of them will grow up so fast and I will wonder where my little babies went. I just thought I would jot that down since tonight he was extra special with Preston. He even spanked the dog for trying to cuddle with Preston. Capri just takes it like a big girl because she definitely didn't do anything wrong. He loves to tell her "no Capri be nice and gentle with Preston or I spank the bottom."

Ciga-weed

As I was driving home listening to the radio a few days ago I came upon a station talking about whether marijuana should be legalized. Now in some states marijuana is prescribed for medicinal purposes such as pain relief and mostly disorders of the eyes. There are also some anti-nausea medications with marijuana derivatives in them to help patients with mostly chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting....but anywho. Instead of people who would actually benefit in some way for a law to be passed to help those in need calling in to the show to give their two cents about the topic only the crazy folks called in. This one lady Joanne called in to say that she feels marijuana should be legalized because it will make the world a better place. She was very adamant about her position and opinion. She also went on to say that the crime rates would go down because people who are "high" commit less crimes because they are "relaxed and cool." I know I am thinking the same thing you are "WHAT?" This chick went on and on and on about the same foolishness. I wanted to call in and ask her did she see any of the Friday movies with Chris Tucker! After listening to her brief everyone about how important marijuana is for the soul the disc jockey asked her if she smoked. She said yes, of course. He asked how old she was and she told them that she was 43 years old and started smoking when she was only 12 years old. Now I hate to pass judgement on anyone but this is too much. What child is thinking about smoking weed at 12 years old!

Well as a recovered weed head I have to disagree with Joanne. I do not think that being "high" would keep crime rates down by any means. Although many drugs are found naturally in the earth it is us the people who choose to use them unwisely. I did more crazy stuff high than I did sober!

The solution

My solution to getting some sort of decent sleep is to leave the little munchin in the bed with me. This is my absolute pet peeve (kids sleeping with their parents) but in order to function during the day especially at work, I have to sleep. I always start the night with Preston in his own room and bed, unfortunately he wakes up as soon as he realizes he is alone. I attempt at least 2 or 3 times to rock him back to sleep and put him back in his bed but it never works. Daddy also tries and he still wakes up screaming. So last night I put him in the bed with me and we both fell asleep at 9pm and slept all night. Well Preston woke up searching for nipples a few times but I didn't have to move a muscle or turn on any lights so I feel revived today. I guess my new motto is "by all means neccessary!" Hopefully, I won't regret this down the road.

Sleepless nights

I am still asking myself if I slept at all last night. Trey and Preston both have a cold. Trey woke up at 11pm and daddy went in to soothe him for a few moments. Then he woke up again at 1am, well it was my turn next. I went in and laid down next to him because he wanted to go get into the bed with his daddy who was comforting Preston who couldn't sleep. Well I laid down for 45 minutes and when I opened my eyes he was directly in my face saying "hi mommy how are you?" Then he ask if he could have milk, mind you its 2am by now. So in order to get him to try to go back to sleep I walk downstairs and get him some milk. This worked for a while because he laid down with his milk and rested until 5am. Back up again smiling with a big "good morning where's daddy." Meanwhile, Preston was still in the bed with Paul and I because he has a runny nose and cough. On top of that we discovered he has a soy allergy and had to have his formula changed which is making him a little gasey. So he woke up to poot every hour.

Boy life is great.............................

Sister

This year has already proven to be an exciting one. So much has happened in the last 8 days that I am not at liberty to even talk about them but believe me God is good. On top of all that I am getting my first sister, well she will be my sister-in-law but she already feels like a sister. My little brother Lamar (not really little because he is 28) popped the question to his girlfriend at my house last night and of course she said "yes." The ring is absolutely beautiful and I am so thrilled for them. Unfortunately he left tonight to return to Kuwait where he has 5 more months to live. So nonetheless, congrats to them and keep him in your prayers as he returns safely to Kuwait as we sleep at peace in our homes.

Big ups little brother!