A Day in the King's Castle

I had wanted to go natural for quite some time but never knew what or how to do it. So, I didn't. Than I had daughters. 3 in fact, and since I'm the mommy, I'm in charge of their hair. I did my best braiding but it was nothing adventurous. So, after staying home with them for just over a year and NOT having my own money, I stopped perming my hair. Then I found a 'natural' salon and I did the 'big chop'! My husband calls me an african now and my girls loved it, at first. Now, it seems I'm at even more of a loss of what to do. I wash and condition it when I can and I wear it in a, mostly, unkempt afro! Then I found this amazing woman on YouTube and she's teaching me how to deal with my girls' hair. I have tried a few cute styles and thank's to her chanel, washing and detangeling their heads has been SOOOO much easier!  One day I'll have time to try her techniques on my own head. Check her out here. This is what MAK would LOVE for me to do...

I've been without a smart phone for about 5 months now and life is very different these days. My girls play games less. My friends and family hear from me less. Texting is such a hassle now, too. But some good things are no more texting and driving. More real face time with the people I'm with and best of all, my phone bill is a mere $30 a month! That also means more dough for other things, like food! ( side note: am I the only one who's paycheck  is depleted at the supermarket?) I actually feel a little more free now that I'm not tied down to my phone. Leaving the house without it isn't such a big deal anymore! I wrote that almost a year ago. Today, I've got a Samsung Galaxy that I don't hate. How was my life affected by un-teching it back then? My kids only have 1 app on my phone which, honestly, I play with more. I still don't text and drive...go me! I mostly use it as a clock and to text. I text quite a bit but to only 2 or 3 people, my husband, m...

Hello friends! Do you spring clean?... is my REAL question. I have never been a spring cleaner... at home. At work (My Gym) I had a bi-yearly cleaning schedule that my staff and I did religiously. But at home, it's a different ball game. Running around after my three, wonderfully loud kidlets makes thorough cleaning very difficult. In past years I often said my husband and I were a great cleaning pair. I'm the day-to-day tidy-upper and he's the down and dirty Sunday scrubber! For us, it was a great system. The socks and crayons and food bits were taken care of daily by me and the real disinfecting was taken care of by my awesome man! Flash forward to today, My husband's new career keeps him very busy on his feet for at least 12 hours a day and he's exhausted by the time he's home. To add insult to injury, he gets two days off a week but they aren't usually consecutive. What does that mean for me? Mostly, I miss my husband but secondly, I miss having a gr...

Almost 5 years ago I moved to New York City with a dog and a car. This week I left with a family! I never could have imagined what my life would become at that time. I hadn't really dated much and hadn't even had a serious boyfriend.  My first apartment was across from where the new Yankee stadium was being built, I worked in my brother's office and knew no-one. My husband is the love of my life and my best friend rolled up in one!  We met while working together and I dragged him all around Manhattan trying new foods, seeing new places and trying new things! We had a blast and fell in love during the process.  Together we have build an amazing family! So, here's the story of our trip: We started packing up our house on Thursday.  How crazy were we to think we could pack it up and get on the road on the same day! Insert sit-com laughter now... By Friday night, 6:00, we were finally ready to do the walk through with our landlord and retu...

Update: I am a SAH mother of 3 little girls. MAK will be 4 next month, MEK is 2.5 and the baby MLK is 15 months old! I have been in survival mode for the last year. Just trying to see past the next few hours. Having a third baby and staying home with a toddler and preschooler was not easy. People always say they don't know how I do it and quite frankly, I don't know either. Crying, yelling, tantrums, silent treatments and vexing was involved...and let's not even start listing the behaviors from the girls! lol!  To make matters worse, our lives were completely uprooted by the two little girls' excema problems. We've been seeing a dermatologist and went on an elimination diet as well as an allergist for the baby. Results: MLK is allergic to dairy, eggs and all nuts except almonds (pretty much). Wheat is a major trigger for MLK's excema so, I let her indulge every once in a while but I've really gotta keep tabs on her intake. So, now that I'm on the ...

Cane Stripe Christmas Turn your favorite photos into personalized Christmas cards . View the entire collection of cards.

Is it a rule of the universe that when you travel with your kids they must always get sick? We just returned from visiting my mom in Florida for just over a week and this trip was actually different! Instead of one kid getting a little cold, two kids got a virus that landed one in the ER and one at an urgent care clinic! To make matters even worse, my tooth chipped and I had to go to a dentist the morning of our return flight! Talk about a whirlwind! Now were are back home and I have the pleasure of schedulling all of our follow up care. Love it!

My middle daughter Malia developed eczema when she was about 4 months old. It started on her face and progressed to her entire body by the time she was 18 months old. She's about to have her second birthday and her skin is so dry, it's the worst it has ever been. She has an uncontrollabe urge to scratch her skin and recently she's even made herself bleed. I give her oatmeal baths and use aveeno bath products. I also lather her in aquaphor to keep her skin hydrated and she still wakes up most nights ( early mornings) scratching and crying in pain and frustration. I am not only sleep deprived but I'm at my whits end! I do all I can to keep her comfortable but she still has issues. I wish I could take it on for her, as most mom's would want. So, my baby, Madison, is now 7 months old and she also developed eczema! Just my luck. Now I have 2 itchy kids. The worst part is seeing her little face look at me as she's scratching her skin with a pleading look ' mommy...

I just celebrated my 36th Birthday! My day started out as any regular mommy day. Awake with baby Madison at 5:30.  Mikayla woke up super early at 6:15 and started demanding things like juice and snacks and Strawberry Shortcake episodes. I tried to do some grocery shopping and a few errands but couldn't even leave the house. I had Mikayla and Malia all dressed and ready to go but Madison wasn't having it. By the time I got her fed, changed and settled, it was time to get the older girls ready for lunch and nap. So, when they were all down, I had a chance to clean up a bit, shower and figure out what I was going to wear for my surprise date night! Mark left work early but we still started our night out running late. In spite of our time crunch we had a wonderful time! Dinner at a Korean Bar-B-Q, tango lessons and a trip to the Empire State Building! Once we were home long enough to relieve the babysitter, Malia woke up crying for mommy and my carriage turned back into a pumpkin! ...

I am the mommy of three little girls all under the age of 3 years old! What?!?! That sounds so crazy! During my 20's I told everyone I wasn't 'birthin no babies'. There was always a part of me that wanted to be a mom but I never thought I would find love. I never really had any steady boyfriend either so it wasn't a part of my reality back then. Flash forward to my 30's, I moved to NYC, met and fell in love with Mark and now, here I am with 3 under 3. Not only do I have 3 kids but I am a stay at home mom. That means that I'm working 24/7 instead of 9-5! Not only am I on call 24 hours a day but I'm called upon most of the time also! When I was young my mom used to say ' I'm changing my name' and I only recently understood what she meant! I'm sure all mommy's know exactly what I mean. My husband is a great help! He does 90% of the cooking and he is great with the girls! In fact, we just signed Mikayla (2.8) up for swimming lessons a...

Ok, the purpose of this blog was for me to start writing. I used to write stories and such and I always enjoyed the process. It has been more years than I would like to count since I have done any of it. As you can see, I have only 2 entries. Being a new full time stay at home mommy, preparing for baby #3 whom is due at any moment and trying to find time to write has been a huge challenge. I have decided that I really need to make the time to sit down and begin... Let's begin with this week. The weather has been unseasonably warm this week. We have had more outings than normal. We have our regular playgroup session every Thursday. Mark came with me this Wednesday for my weekly Doc visit which was a nice change. They went to the playground at least twice this week! We played out on the front porch, and a few trips to the corner & grocery stores. Phew! Lots of walking for a very prego mommy but good times! I did have a few days of very intense lower back pain. I thought ...

The girls and I took an extended vacation in Florida this year. We had a great time with Grandma and GG! We really enjoyed the warm weather and visiting with friends and family. Mikayla can't stop talking about Uncle & little cousin Erin, Chuchia Maymie, Debra and Aunt Lina! Now we are back in NYC, locked up in the house for the most part. It is very cold outside. We've seen a few flurries but no snow as yet. As of today, the countdown to the next baby is 5 weeks! I can't believe it! I have nothing ready, including myself! I'm ready to not be pregnant anymore, but I would never want to rush the little one. I still haven't finalized a name yet. Mark suggested Madison and I'm still leaning towards Lindsey! This entry is going to be a short one. I hear my little ones waking up!

Today in the end of my first week as a stay-at-home-mom! This week was full of ups and downs! Some of the ups were playing with my girls, starting a new session in our playgroup and seeing old friends, plus all of the hugs, kisses and smiles I got to witness throughout the week! As for some of the downs; Mikayla bit a hole through her lip at the playground on day 1. Malia had a diaper explosion all down the hallway on day 2. Mikayla had a total meltdown at the laundry mat on day 3. Malia was rough housing with one of the girls at the playgroup yesterday ( I think the girl's mom was annoyed). Plus, I ran myself into the ground yesterday and had to call daddy in for a Tag-team moment. He was awesome last night! He gave them dinner, bathed them and tired them out/ watched them while I got to rest and make a phone call! Go Daddy! I know this time with the girls is so precious! They will only be this little once! One thing I've heard all parents say is how quickly kids grow up. E...