Sophia's Blog

Posted By Sophia on February 7, 2010

The weekend is gone with a blast !with the New Orlean’s football team snaching  the win  from the Colts through an interception by Tracy Porter …which by the way awesome, but of course sad for Manning!

My boys weren’t feeling too well Julian caught a cold and that triggered his asthma. He was rubbing his nose so hard, so of course he ended up nose bleeding very bad on Saturday. I had to lay him down on his back and placed a support pillow under his head and placed a warm washcloth on his forehead and that helped with the nose bleed.

Today he was doing much better. This time his asthma wasn’t as bad as before, and could be because we had been giving him his flovent daily. We placed him on the yellow zone and again we have it under control, so we did not have to take him to the hospital…which is truly  great.

Eli kind picked up some of the cold symptoms from his brother, and had been a bit fussy, but not too bad either. Eli has been trying to stand up while holding onto things and has been balancing himself pretty good. I spent time with him on the floor and my Goodness, i don’t need the gym at all. If you have been around children, i am sure you know the feeling. There is the bending, sitting, reaching, lifting , carrying and if you are breastfeeding like i am too… I mean that is a work out on it’s own

Julian has been doing great. He was able to tell us that he was feeling sick, even before we could tell, and he asked for his medicine, and has been able to say when he felt better.

The boys are both asleep right now and am tired and ready to retire too.

I am sure if you are in New Orlean’s right now, the party is yet to stop and chances are you are either going to call in sick tomorrow or your company has already announced they will close tomorrow, and either way..I don’t blame you, i would have been in there with you!

So goodnight, and good morning to you!

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Posted By Sophia on February 7, 2010

And the Saints won the super bowl! I am relieved actually. I could not take to see them lose, the entire city of New Orleans was praying fo this, and given what had happened during Katrina, i can go to sleep happy tonight, because no one deserved this win better than those Saints.

So here’s to you . Who dat? who dat?  Goo Saints! Congratulations on your win. Peyton Manning has been a winner before, so this was a long time coming for the saints… I am a very big fan of Peyton but tonight i wanted Drew Brees to take home the win and they did.

Yaay to those Saints!

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Tags: news

Posted By Sophia on February 5, 2010

We know this topic has been debated over and over again by experts and parents. Those who are for it and those against it, both have strong points about it. Let’s face it, even the experts can’t really seem to agree on it.  I believe parental instinct should be the determining factor, only you can decide what’s best for your child and be able to live with whatever the consequences if any.

I let my 2 boys watch TV . They watch educational programs, absolutely no adult or violent shows, though except for sports.

I have found that  because i am not being too restrictive of their TV time they are not even watching  2 – 3 hours of  TV. They are on the floor playing with toys, we have time to read books and some time on computer too.

I believe the key thing is moderation.  I watched TV  growing up and so did my siblings, we turned out ok. My son can read, count, etc  and for a 3 year old that is good. I am not going to lie that some of this he didn’t learn from watching TV or playing some games on pbs kids, but hey people need to be  realistic.

Let’s be serious…how many times as a mother or father  don’t you just want to go into the kitchen and fix yourself a cup of tea or coffee, or cook and be able to just do that without having to keep on carrying  your baby around. Yes, when am cooking in the kitchen, my baby is usually on his exersaucer playing with his toys and on the background there is of course good ol’ TV,  and so far they are just fine.

For the parents that just feel awfully guilty because you are not following what experts say here or there , i mean … Follow your parental instincts and i don’t believe your child is going to end up with ADHD or so because you let them watch a little TV or too much TV.

love them, hug them, kiss them, read to them, and sing to them daily even if you can’t carry a tune and if you have to let them watch a little TV is not bad either.

Happy Friday!

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Posted By Sophia on January 31, 2010

What’s up with folks with salads? I know…It is everywhere, Africa, Europe, Asia and of course America. I grew up eating salads as a side dish with rice, and our salads do not have the heavy dressings that are readily available here, and neither do we add on cheese.

Here is another salad that has no dressing whatsoever just the flavor from the meat and veggies…

1 pork chop – grilled

1 handful of baby carrots

Iceberg lettuce/ iceberg salad mix

1/2 sliced yellow bell pepper, onion, and red peppers

salt and black pepper to taste

1 lemon – freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 pinch of Thyme, basil, parsley flakes

1Tbsp of oil

I seasoned the pork chop with salt, pepper, Thyme, basil, parsley flakes then squeezed half the lemon on the meat .  I spread the oil on the pan and grilled the chop one side at a time till the meat was well done. I added the carrots, bell peppers, and onion and squeezed the rest of the lemon and covered so all the flavor can spread out to the veggies. I turned of the heat and let the veggies sit for about 5 min on the stove covered while i sliced the meat. I brought the lettuce and added in my veggies and that was our Saturday dinner.

So yes you can have salads, tasteful salads without any heavy dressings. So here’s a base recipe that can be modified to your liking.

Enjoy…

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Posted By Sophia on January 31, 2010

So Eli was tested for food allergies, same foods that his big brother is allergic to and Dr had confirmed that he was allergic to wheat and could have everything else. I gave him scrambled eggs works and he was fussy but fine. Then i gave him scrambled eggs with the whites ( the most allergenic part) and that boy threw up everything else he had had for the day and could not keep anything down. It was scary since am at least used with Julian we see a rash right away, but with Eli there was none. It was more of internal, so we are holding off on eggs for a while, regardless of what the allergy results said.

The lesson here, if your family has a history of food allergies it is always a great idea to get tested, but even if the results show negative, if you absolutely have to eat or feed your child the food, do it from your own home first and monitor the results before you introduce that food permanently…in other words, do your own home test first, then go from there.

I am calling it a night so i can wake up early for church.

Good night or good morning to you!

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Posted By Sophia on January 31, 2010

Time is precious and every second  spent counts… I was out half of the day today and all i could think about is what i could be doing if i was home with my children. I work during the week so weekends are precious to me. They are our family time. One of my co-workers brought me some children books that his son had outgrown, so Julian had me read every one of them first thing when he woke up this morning.

I should be proud, really that i have a son that wants and loves books. He is at the age where he understands the story line and transfers that knowledge everywhere. We came from church Sunday and he stood outside looked at the sky and just stood there, then he called out to me and said, mama that’s a seahorse!  Lord and behold, that cloud was really shaped like a seahorse.  I could go on and on about him and how big he is getting, and  i am truly proud of him.

He has come a long way, from the kid who was always shy and quiet in his daycare class… I am sure if his old teacher would run into him now she would be shocked. He is far from quiet and knows a whole lot more. I am so big about teaching your children what you know, taking about 10-15 min a day just reading to your children, and making learning fun. When we are in the car we count objects, learn about the color of the car passing by, or read some road signs etc, so engage your child every chance you get. Children understand way more than we give them credit for, or challenge them to.

So enough with Julian and now about my Eli, Eli, Eli…That is all i call out most of the day when am around this ever mobile boy. He has pulled my hair, bite my fingers, pulled my clothes, drooled all over his brother, and making bubbly sounds all day. He is all fun to be around. I just look forward to when he falls asleep on my shoulder after a long play time. I can count his little heartbeats, the sound of his breathing, and at times snoring. I look at his face and he is absolutely peaceful. I love them, and yes those moments are priceless but quite memorable.

Hope you are enjoying your weekend, it sure passes fast!

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Posted By Sophia on January 28, 2010

I know i haven’t posted for a while. It has been busy, but everyone is doing great.

Eli is crawling, climbing into stuff, and getting under anything that has room for him. His big brother thinks it is the funniest thing ever and his favorite thing to do is just pull him out. We have been always on our toes now. If we hear Julian scream ” turn around Eli..” Then you drop whatever you are doing and get to Eli’s rescue because, Julian holds Eli’s head and literally try to pull him around… Mmmh I know. Very scary.

All in all, there is nothing but love between those two handy boys.  Eli has been ’slobbing’ kisses all over our faces.  He actually makes a sound while kissing us and just smiles. I love that. Any parent would agree, it feels great seeing your child happy.

I have been keeping up with my workouts, yesterday i did Aerial Silks yoga and boy oh boy my arms are sore. It fills like i hiked Mt Kilimanjaro with a rope, lol.  Aerial Silks is literally Silk fabric hanging from a hook in the ceiling and you hold the fabric and pull yourself up into different positions. I did a somersault and i tell you  that was not easy at first.

All in all, life has been good. I am looking forward to my trip to Africa this Easter, so there is a lot to look forward to this year… I just can’t stop talking about it, and yes i can’t wait! I will get to see my family after almost 5 years, so yes am excited!

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Tags: Living Life

Posted By Sophia on January 21, 2010

I truly feel like i haven’t blogged forever. I  miss writing… So here we go.

Most of us are quick to see our own flaws, our problems,  what we don’t have, and just about anything negative about ourselves. We worry  sick about everything,  day in and day out, we worry about things that we can’t even control, things that  would clearly survive us.

Good example right now, have you watched the news lately about what is going on  in Haiti? Iraq? some parts of Africa?  Well even here at home, in your own  neighborhood? I bet you, someone out there  has  it worse than you. 

You complain that you have no life…At least you woke up this morning and took a breath of fresh air, Thank God for that as someone else is probably in a coma right now and can’t  do any of that.  For the folks that complain about how much they detest their cars, are you one of them? You hate your car right now  for one reason or another, some  hate their car  because it is not  brand new, or doesn’t  have all the knicks and knacks, it is not an SUV or a BMW etc…well at least you have a car. I grew up with folks that walked miles and miles away with luggage on their head , and children on their back,  just to get to their destination, so thank God you have a car.

I know, i am guilty here. I complain about my children, sometime. I complain how Eli kept me up all night, and complain how Julian won’t  listen sometime, but at least i have them to keep me on my toes day and night. They have definitely made me appreciate my parents even more than ever. They have made me stop and get me  grounded,  and pretty much made me a better person. I can’t pretend that i don’t realize that  there is someone somewhere right now, who  would love to be able to have her own children, and would  gladly stay up the whole night holding and cuddling  them up…so yes be thankful for what you have, and i am!

Be thankful for where you are in your life. So you just hit 50  and  now you look back and find yourself  filled up with regrets of what you didn’t get to do, or what you don’t have yet. Stop yourself, and just look back at what you got to do. You chose a certain path in your life and i bet you, there are great memories there. Own that up and be grateful you were given that gift of life. Whatever else you have not accomplished yet, if you really  want it bad enough and want  to go for it, you can.  What is it that most say… you don’t have a degree? …go back to school and go for your degree, who said it is too late for your dreams? It  is never  too late for anyone to go after their hearts desires! By the way,  your neighbor just turned 77 and am sure he  would want to be 50 any given day! So love the age you are, everyday.

So you do not have a house yet,  your credit is very bad right now and no one would give you a loan, or maybe you were foreclosed.  All these are  temporary situations, they shall pass too. Credit can be repaired. If you want a house so bad and can’t afford to buy, go ahead and rent one. If you are already renting and are just stressed out because you can’t afford to buy your own house…please be gratefull you have a roof over your head. There was a quake that destroyed a lot of  houses in Haiti and the folks there were already poor to begin with, so trust me…you have it way better than you think!

So you hate your job…at least you have one! There is someone somewhere right now that would gladly switch places with you, so be grateful you have that job. Some people are in positions that pay 6 figures and still find something to complain about their jobs. It is like  the human nature to  not be satisfied with what we have. We are always looking outside our lives and just focusing on the cons. We stay up in bed tossing and turning over little things that we probably shouldn’t even worry about.  The funny thing is, when we wake up the next day, they will still be there waiting for us.. all the things that keep us tossing.

The point here is, take your time and see how blessed you are. You  have everything that you need to keep you content. Right in front of you.

Enjoy life!

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Tags: Living Life, self

Posted By Sophia on January 18, 2010

I know am not the only fan of this show out there, mmmh. This is the only one show i have gotten my husband addicted to. He was the one who actually reminded me about it yesterday. I still loove Jack Bauer!  I mean we can’t get enough of this guy. I want to own all the season DVDs, this is one of the shows that i do not mind watching over and over again.

I wanted to reach out and choke that new head of CTU, lol.  It is good to see Chloe is back and as usual we love her brains. Bauer’s daughter, Kim scares me. Now that there is a grand daughter in the picture, i am  yearning to know how they are going to play her. You know a twist will come up.  Well…Everytime Kim- Jack Bauer’s daughter shows up,  it complicates  things.

I hope the writers will let Jack Bauer have a relationship, a successfully relationship this time!  Either way. I am hooked!

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Posted By Sophia on January 16, 2010

Finally i have been getting more veggies and fruits in Julian without him  knowing about it.  I bought him the V8 Fusion light juices that are a mix of fruits and vegetables. He loves the strawberry banana and orange flavor. When i make his favorite dishes  i am cooking in veggies that he would never touch and he doesn’t even realize there in there.

Tonight i made him pasta. I added cauli flower and broccolli in the water and bring to a boil, then added in the pasta. By the time the pasta was cooked the cauli flower and broccoli were completely mashed.  I drained a little excess  water and added some olive oil, ground beef, and pasta sauce. He chowed it down and washed away with a cup of V8 fusion light juice.

Getting veggies in Eli’s diet has been way easier as i am blending his food. Tonight, i made him a blend of  cauli flower, broccolli,  celery, squash, carrots , green beans, corn and peas and 2 small potatoes. I added some flax seed oil to the veggies when they were cooked and just pureed them. This was not only tasty, but quite healthy too.

Oh dear, my husband just  fell asleep on the couch with one had on a can of beer! I have to go snatch it from his had before it hits the floor.

Have a good weekend.

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Tags: Living Life