For as long as i can remember she has always been bedridden. I am not sure what exactly she suffers from, but i remember her always complaining of body aches, her feet so swollen and always kept her up at night due to the pain. She had not always been that way. She was the most wild, outgoing female in the entire family. My mom used to say, if there was anything new , anything in style back in her youth she had it. She was soo full of life. She never stayed in one place for long. She had 7 children. She was a widow and never remarried. So she was left to be cared for by her children and now grandchildren.

As a teenager, i always went to visit her  when i was home during school breaks. I would take groceries and clothes to her. I remember the first time i went to see her in 1992. I was a freshman in high school, she just started crying when she saw what i brought her. She had me walk to her bedside, she looked soo thin and weak. She hugged me and kissed me, and said  to me ” you have your mother’s heart. Thank God for you. You have all my blessings. come back and see me again.” I did. I did go back to visit her whenever i was home. I was in a boarding school, so typically the longest break we had i think it was like a month or so.

When i was done with high school, she got better and for the first time in like 10+ years she was pain free, able to walk do things for herself and started enjoying life again. She would come and see us at work and she would walk past my dad and tell him ” forget you. forget you, you never took care of me when i was sick but your wife did. ” My dad always laughed and he would tell her ” you have mental issues.. you are mental you know that. so where to now?’.. she would laugh they would hi-five and she would say ” God made this  two feet for walking, this two eyes for seeing, and you see the sky, John look up.. see the sky.. i am not mental, i am going to see the world” Then she would ask for me and just hold my arm and we would walk away together. Dad always used to yell at her, something along the line.. she is at work, or she has things to do leave her alone.  They would exchange words, some curse words.. then she would win.

We would take a little walk. She brought me a facial cream one day.. i used to have really bad acne then. She would tell me, make sure you wash your face and put this on. Jeez Sophia you need some lipstick too.. next time i go shopping i will get you some. She didn’t have money, but she  always found a way.

I loved her and she always made me laugh.

Well, it had been years since i last spoke to her. For the past 12 years she was beddridden, couldn’t even do anything for herself. Now she is able to do some chores again even talk. The one person she has been looking for and wanting to speak with was me. My mom had my sister go to her house and she called me from there.  I had been thinking about her and wondered how she was, but again we live continents apart now.  So when i spoke to her today for the first time in 10+ years, i was in tears, She was soo happy. She was screaming on the line. She asked me not to be sad, she said this was a happy moment. I told her i got married and had 2 kids.  She remembered things i did for her that i don’t even recall.

She said she gets very cold at night and needed pants. I asked my sister to go shopping for her. I ask she get her some clothes and   groceries for me.  I had her talk to my husband too. She was so happy..she was begging my husband to let me go see her My husband kept on telling her, i would never stop her from visiting you.. the next time she comes home, she will definitely come see you.

You are talking about a woman in her late 70s… My sister said, she had reached a point where she wasn’t even able to talk anymore. So this sudden recovery is shocking, and  the only person she asked for when she did talk was Sophia. I don’t know why, but my husband thinks it was because i was always kind to her.  when i was home i always took time to go visit our extended family members, especially the sick and elderly. When i did go see them, i would get groceries and clothes to them.  My mom always gave me money to spend on them whenever i asked, so she was really the reason why i did it.

So again, i don’t know why all of a sudden my great aunt happen to recover and all she wanted was to speak to me, my mom told my sister she better make sure she get me to talk to her just in case she dies before talking to me. My mom said maybe she just wants to bless me since i  was always kind to her. I don’t know, but i hope so.

The lesson to this is, If you know anyone in your life that is less fortunate, sick, needs a helping hand… just stop by and help them out. It may be nothing to you, but it sure can make a difference to another.

Stay blessed!

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So this grandpa, 61 years old decides to slap a stranger’s 2 year old girl on the face 4 times… i mean slapped a child 4 times on the face!!!!! because the little girl, was cranky and lord knows maybe tired, crying on isle 7 at a Wal-mart store in Stone Mountain, Georgia.

I was reading this story on CNN and all i could think of is, what i would have done if it was my child. I mean he walked up to the mom, and said to her ” if you don’t shut up the child i will”. He came back grabbed the child and slapped her across the face 4 times, then said to the mom “See, I told you I would shut her up,” .

Oh , so help me God! We would have ended in jail together, i mean i would definitely forget this was a human being. I would pick whatever was on that isle and it would have ended up right across his face. How the heck would he have felt if someone did that to his sorry ugly behind.

As if the mom wasn’t embarassed enough/already. I mean do you think it is easy to get 2 year olds to comprehend what the heck is going on.  It is called the terrible twos for a reason.  I mean, sometime kids just cry. You know what i would have done you old man. I would have been understanding, felt bad for that mom that she can’t get that child to shut up. I would have shown some kindness, i have found that sometimes a stranger could get  your child to keep quiet, just by saying something nice to your child. Hey and if you could offer a nice treat, do it, of course ask the mom for permission first. Kindness people, just kindness won’t kill you. I bet this old man can’t babysit his grandkids .. i.e if he has any. Jeez.

Well another shopper held that sorry face till the police came to arrest his behind. He was charged with first-degree cruelty to children. I don’t know how much time he will get but i hope it will be a lesson to anyone else. Man, this aggravates me. If anyone should lay their hands on a kid, let it be their parent, and it should be on their bottom, not on the face, period.

What the heck was this so called Roger Stephens thinking! He has just won the meanest stranger award of the year 2009, Enjoy your jail time!

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America’s 10 Best Places to Grow Up
1. Virginia Beach, Va.
2. Madison, Ala.
3. San Jose, Calif.
4.Overland Park, Kan.
5. Boston
6. Denver
7. Rochester, Minn.
8. Cedar Rapids, Iowa
9. Plano, Texas
10. Edison, N.J.

This was posted on Yahoo news.. We are planning to move to Overland Park, KS  beginning of next year. I am glad it made it on that list.  When you have children,  location matters a lot.

For more see the link below.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnews/20090820/ts_usnews/americas10bestplacestogrowup

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Potty Training .. Is it true it is easier for girls than boys?  I don’t know.  I recall potty training my little sister.  She learned fast!

So for moms getting ready to call this an easy task…

You think it is easy? wait till you try… Man it can be a challenge. It is truly a test of patience. There can be days when you start by singing the no no no song, other days you are singing praises…you did it! great job! and clapping, hi fives, and the rewards….mmmh mmmh mmm. Who knew i could bribe my own son to go use the potty. It worked , for a very long time till Eli came along.

Yes i use to bribe him with honey Graham crackers, lol. This are his favorite crackers. I used to buy that huge box from Sams club and hide them. I would only leave enough for the day. Like i said, they worked…Till along came a sibbling..little brother called Eli.

mmh..I wonder whether he felt like Eli snatched the attention right from under his feet. We spend time alone with him  often. Someone at work actually mentioned this to me today, ‘ imagine how much attention he would get if he stops using the potty all together’ mmmmh… I guess this makes sense.

Julian was fully potty trained before June 8th 2009. He used to potty and come back saying he did it. He would wipe, flash then wash his hands. Then he started seeing how happy mommy was when cleaning up Eli. Then he saw how happy daddy was when he would open the diaper and find it was only wet, ..yes he tries to clear the room anytime he knows Eli has taken care of his business, of course when am home . Diaper duty is usually mommy’s when mommy is home.

So Julian decided he will only use the potty to pee. He would hold on till we put that pull up on before nap or bed at night then he would poop. Yes, i said it . Poop. Do you know the difference between a 30 year old poop and a 3 year old’s … yes?… none. none.  Then he calls …’daddy dadddyyyy , come clean it up’  OMG.. You get there frustrated, raising your tone, and when you are done.. he tells you  ‘ok, i won’t do it again’ ‘ok, daddy’ ‘ok, mama’..yeah right Julian. Well yesterday i saw him moving around like his thighs were stuck together..yes that little dance. I led him to the potty. He screamed , no let me go mama..stop it , let me go’ well i decided to let him know if he did not sit i was going to take away his computer.

That threat didn’t work. So i took off his  pants. He screamed for them, i said no. I closed the door and i sat on the floor and watch him cry. He eventually sat on the potty and pooped.

This morning he peed in his pants. He came and told me he needed clean pants…’mama am wet, give me pants’ oh boy. Whatever happened to my fully potty trained 3 year old Julian!

So far his dad has been reminding him to go pee again. As for the poop we have to look for the signs , and make him go sit on the potty while we sit at the door and wait. Honestly, i thought we were done. Mmmh what now? I guess we have to start all over again. One thing for sure, we are definitely not giving him pull ups. I won’t give in   We are going to start reading in the potty again. I used to take a book and sit on the floor while he sat on the potty. Before he knew it he would relax and go. We used to sing  his favorite rhymes sometime . We  will  definitely continue to praise him even when he just pees. Boy o boy… I want my Julian back on track.

What am really telling myself is, relax, don’t make a big deal out of this. Give it time. I mean, he will potty …eventually

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Are your kids getting enough Vitamin D?

I didn’t understand the ramifications of not getting enough Vitamin D till our pediatrician started explaining to us how they are seeing a lot of kids having all sorts of issues including Rickets.

If your kids are not in the sun for at least 10-15min a day and at least twice that much for dark skinned kids and are not given a Vitamin D supplement, Then they are not getting enough Vitamin D, and could be deficient.

When the pediatrician learned that i would be exclusively breastfeeding my son, she wanted us to get him on the Trivisol vitamins right away. Breast milk contains enough calcium, but you would need to supplement for the Vitamin D. My Dr reminded me as well that now that am breastfeeding, i needed to continue taking my – prenatals vitamins for as long as i breastfeed.  personally, i am also taking a DHA supplement as well- I was on the Expecta Lipil ( non-fish base) …By the way CVS sometime have deals on their store brand DHA supplement 2 for the price of 1, can’t beat that.

With us women, as we age we need to maintain our calcium/D levels, so if you are not on a multivitamin, at least use a calcium/D supplement daily. I was reading this article about Vitamin D on CNN Health, Researchers were saying ..Adults can get low on vitamin D as well, you are talking about risk of getting diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and a lot of cancers, and when kids start out with low levels and never increase them, they may be at risk for developing all of these diseases at a much earlier age.

Julian is on the flintstones Gummies at the moment, i give him 1 gummy a day. Eli is on the Trivisol vitamin solution and i give him 1ML / day. This summer Julian spent a lot of time outdoors especially in the morning hours before noon. Vitamin D is only made if we are in the sunlight (Unprotected) for at least 15min, so if you know you are always indoors then get yourself a good supplement, and i would recommend one that has calcium/VitaminD as you need the Calcium to absorb the Vitamin D. Of course, take with food for better absorption.

The recommended daily amount of D is 400 IU.

Let’s stay healthy as much as we can.

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As I grow older, i tend to appreciate more of life. I appreciate my parents, brothers and sister for being there for me, through it all. I appreciate the sucrifices that my parents had to give up for me to be where i am. Be healthy, have an education, and have  my own family.

My mother didn’t get to finish high school, get a GED or go to college, but she is the smartest woman in my life. She is the kindest, most generous and every one that has ever met her feels like they have known her all her life. She always makes everyone feel at home. She taught me a lot, just through her actions. I can count the number of times my mom ever raised her voice at me. And for that and many more, i appreciate her.

I don’t get to talk to her every day, sometimes i go weeks then once i went a whole month without calling her. Not because i didn’t want to, because you get so sucked up with the daily life and routines that you don’t realize it has been that long… but i love her. I always start our conversation with an apology just for not talking to her for X amount of times. I call her every week now, i try to. every saturday or Sunday  i get my mommy talk with my mama.

Let us learn to appreciate the people in our lives and take time to check on them every once in a while.

My dad is always on the go, always busy.. very hardworking. He stopped at high school, but that man is a true entrepreneur. He has done very well by himself and am very proud of him. He taught me there  is no difference between girls and boys in terms of what you can achieve in life. He worked me as hard as my 4 brothers. We always had to earn our keep, i think. This mentality prepared me more than i could imagine,  and am glad he never just handed me everything on a platter.  I look at my boys and wonder where they will be at 30 years. I hope they will make something out for themselves.

My older brother has his own family, he is my security blanket. No matter what bind i got myself into, i always knew i can call him up and he will help me out. My little brothers amaze me every day at how smart they have grown to be, how well they are doing in school. One of them is already a business owner at 25, so  pride is all i can say  i have for him.

They always say, every family has one of those troubled souls… we have one of those. my brother Dennis. He has gotten himself in every kind of trouble that you could ever imagine. Let’s just say, trouble. . He never causes trouble for anyone outside the family… just mostly his own dad. The funny thing i always thought he was his favorite kid while growing up. He  is identical to my dad, literally , they look alike. He always got what he wanted as a kid…so i am not sure what happened, but  oh well… i still love him.

My baby sister Prolimina… She is smart, wise, and lovable. She is confused as to what school she should go to. I will be calling her soon to help her out. I think the sky is the limit for her. She could read and write at 2 1/2years old.

Both my grandmothers have passed away, but when they were around they loved me, loved all of us. They had a way of making all of us feel so special around them. Their meals were delicious , no matter what they cooked. I missed the smell of their cooking, their smiles, and the way they hugged. I appreciate all the memories  of my childhood with them, i think that was the best gift of all.

My grandpa, (dad’s) is still around but since loosing grandma he kinds lost it. He turned out to heavy drinking, and boy he loves that konyagi.  that is pretty much his cup of coffee. Forget about lunch who needs it when there is beer and konyagi.  He still plays a major part in all our lives, it hurts that it feels like he is just flashing his life away. He is the oldest in  our entire family. I wish he would realize that and honor that , but again we can only hope.

My husband and my boys, my brothers and sister, plus the whole family and my friends do indeed complete me. For them i am truly grateful for their presence in my life. So i appreciate all of you. Be blessed!

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