Go Naked for a WEEK!

I follow Oprah on facebook.

I'm not really an Oprah nut, but since I don't sit long enough to watch the show I figure I can at least know what she is talking about every day. I follow Ellen and Rachel Ray, too because, well Ellen is SUPER DUPER funny and Rachel might cook something I can try at home one day.

Anywho, Oprah is doing a show today where she asked two families to give up their stuff for seven days. Go Naked! Not really naked, you perves! But she is asking them to give up their TV's, computers, cell phones... You know, technology.

Like giving up your clothes, if you ask me.

The question is, can I do it?

The only thing that I'm so sure that I couldn't give up would be my cell. I just think that now that I'm so use to having it and so use to being able to make calls anytime anywhere, I couldn't do without it. You see, I'm not the brightest star in the sky and I tend to forget things, tend to forget to do things. I even have trouble keeping in touch with people. I remember all of that stuff when I am in the car drving and have time to think. It's like, "OH I, need to call my grandmother!", "OH, I have to make that doctor's appointment." Plus it has a calendar to remind me of all the things that I'm sure to forget.

I think technology has made my brain lazy. Perhaps someone should do a study on that.

Giving up everything else wouldn't be that hard. I mean, I'd have kids for entertainment. And I believe....... No, I KNOW that they are not that addicted to TV and video games as to where they can't stop using them for a week.

I think that it would be fun to have to think of other things to do as a family to entertain ourselves. I would love that we sit down and read together. That's one of my real wishes that may never really happen. I'm so sure that Hub's would not be game for that. My kids love when we play board games as a family. Maybe, without TV we would take more walks.

My neighbors did the whole no TV for a month thing. They fasted the boob tube for a WHOLE month! Who DOES that?? Just because. There was no prize at the end. It wasn't because Oprah said so. They just went without TV, all 6 of them. And they enjoyed it. Okay, but the Johnson's are just crazy like that.

Do you guys remember the Berenstein Bears book, "No TV for a Week"? Well the kids (little bears, or whatever) and Papa were constantly engulfed in watching TV and Mama had enough and made the whole family give up TV for a week.

Well, Papa was like, "Yo, how am I suppose to get the news? How am I gonna know what Obama is doing in the White House, who is winning the NBA Playoffs and what's gonna happen to Michael Vick now that he's out of prison?" (paraphrasing a little)

Mama was like "READ THE DARN PAPER! That's why we subscribe to it every month! It's not just used to light the barbeque grill, you know!"

Anywho, it ended up that they enjoyed themselves and learned more about each other during that time.

So, can you go without technology? Can you go naked for a week? Could you give up your cell, you TV, your ipod, you Blackberry internet devices for a whole week?

I would try it, but you go first. I challenge you to enhance your family life with quality time by GOING NAKED for 1 week! Let me know how it went, then maybe, when school lets back in and I only have to occupy my own kids for a couple of hours afterschool, MAYBE I can get up the nerve to give it a try!

Babysitting equals ME time

I'm babysitting this morning. As you can tell. And although this is something that I won't do as a full time job considering that I rarely like my own kids (sorry, kids, you know mommy loves you!).

See I can deal with watching kids that don't require a lot of attention and maintenence. You know, those that occupy themselves and don't require pamper changes and food or water.

No, really, these kids are great and make babysitting easy. A 4 year old and a 2 year old.

It's like:

Hey, why don't we watch a MOVIE!!!

and I sit at my computer and google "hot summer shoes"!

Miss Missy best buddy is a little boy that lives a few houses down. He and his little brother often come by to visit and it's like being in heaven! I actually INVITE these kids to come over! Miss Missy and these boys play together and I don't hear a word out of them. No tattle-tailing, no crying, no issues. I mean, 2-3 hours of ME time with Miss Missy occupied and not asking me to be in her band or giving me a makeover!

I'M sad when they leave!


So if you want a sitter that interacts with your kid and actually takes her eyes off of the computer while your kids is at my house, if you expect that someone older than 4 will be keeping an eye on them, or if you feel that you'd like a sitter who uses something other than TV video games and snack to occupy your kid's stay, DON'T bring them here! That's NOT how I ROLL!


It's funny, but I tell everyone that I don't have a tolerance for kids. MY kids tell their friends that I don't like kids! But I think it really boils down to I really don't tolerate my own as well as I can tolerate others. Unless of course they are brats. Then they can stay at home!

Making Leis and Summer Plans

The last day of school is quickly approaching. Next Friday is it, and while I am relieved and completely understand how the teachers feel about the summer, I don't know that I'm ready for a summer home with the kids.

I have one more project to finish, though. I opened my big mouth and asked Runnin' Man's teacher if she wanted me to make leis for her class for their luau next Friday. I was hoping that she would say that she'd had them donated by another parent. Because after spending 2 hours on 2 leis as a test, MAYBE making them isn't such a great idea!

So, today, I'll be on my way to the dollar store to buy a LOT of tissue paper in an attempt to make at least 25 leis by Friday. I'm almost considering purchasing them instead. But this will give Miss Missy and me something to do together. I think she's tired of watching the Wizard Of Oz over and over.

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I have tried HARD to convince my mom to keep the kids for a month this summer. I mean, she is their grandmother and she does live all the way in Connecticut and that IS a good ways a way from the south and she NEVER gets to see them except maybe once a year. You'd think that she'd want to spend some time with them.

HA!

Would you believe that she thinks that we should all come and visit for a week, she keep them for a week, and we come back and pick them up! WHAT! Has the woman lost her marbles?? Does she not realize how long that drive is to drop off and come back a week later?

My mother is SO not the grandmotherly type. Her theory is that kids can't stay with her until they can "wipe their own a**". (She was a huge Big Daddy fan) Why is it that when I called her to tell her that I was giving her her first grandchild, do you think she was happy?

Uhhhh NO!

She just kept saying, "I can't believe you're making me a grandmother? Do I look old enough to be a GRANDMOTHER?"

Nevermind the fact that she takes 10 years off her real age and has forgotten how old she really is.


NEVERMIND MA!


Which is fine. I always find things to do with the kids. I'm hoping that this year won't be as hot as usual (FAT CHANCE) and that we can actually get out and enjoy the summer. Swimming, picnics, and of course, library trips. They'll be content with anything outside the house.

Have you met my mother?

Have I ever told you about my mom?



Growing up seemed so easy to me. I had a good life and my mama always made sure that I was happy.



She was a teenager mom, not exactly an easy thing to do. She was 15 when I made my world debut. 15 and poor. Very Poor. Our family consisted of my mama, my grandmother and my aunt... and then came me. My dad, 16 at the time, live 4 houses down with his mom and 6 siblings.



I can vaguely remember the house that we lived in and from what I can remember it was tiny and the furniture was broken down. I always called it the red house. I was this tiny little thing painted red. Now, it's a different color, but it will always be "the red house" to me.



Mama didn't let my birth hinder her in her studies too much. She went on and graduated high school and worked to keep food in my stomach.



My parents were married, I believe when she was about 19, after my dad was old enough to join the military, move from Michigan to Kansas, and shortly after had my brother. joy.



Already living a stressful life, my mama lost her mama right after that to diabetes. I simply can't imagine what it was like to be all of 19 with a family and suddenly have the love and guidance of your mother stolen from you. There was no one else. Her grandmother lived in Indiana and had nothing to do with us. Her sister was left in Michigan with a "play" aunt.

You see, my grandma, Granny, as I called her, was forced to leave her family. Banished, I guess. The way that I remember the story, My great-grandmother and grandfather were part Indian and part Irish. Their skin was as fair as any white person you might run into. Of course, back in those days, it wasn't cool to be black. Black people had it hard, struggled for everything. My great-grandparents were in that rare position to choose which side of the fence they wanted to be on.



Of course they chose the white side. Who wouldn't?



Granny, on the other hand, chose the road less traveled. She had her kids by black men. The first, she was force to give up for adoption. The girls she kept, but her mother disowned her, wanted nothing more to do with her.

(My sister graduated last year)

I wish that she was alive today because I would surely want to know more to that story.

From what I know, my mother, aunt and grandmother lived a hard life, moving around from place to place, trying to keep a roof over their heads and food in their bellies. It's strange because my mother was ridiculed and taunted because of her light skin. She said kids would tease her and were just down right mean. I wish she had understood that they did this because they were jealous and not because her light skin made her ugly.

Even today I talk to her and she just doesn't see how beautiful she is. I mean, I'm jealous! That's how amazing she looks. AND LORD KNOWS I HAVE THE BIG HEAD! LOL!

When I was in high school, I had boys giving me their number TO GIVE TO MY MAMA!

Some signed my yearbook leaving shout outs to my mom.

There wasn't a day that went by that a horny little high school boy asked how my mom was doing.

And you know what? I think my boyfriends stuck around just to catch a glimpse at her!

And get this, after I graduated, one dude have the NERVE to write her a LOVE letter! Seriously! Trying to holla at my moms! Saying that he always had a crush but that he was all grown up now! Seriously??? A love letter to-my-MOM????




Gosh, do I love her. I mean, we have always been really close (until she up and got married again, moved to the TOP of the united states and found some else to talk to... but I ain't salty) and she always stuck by me no matter what. She taught me to be strong through the many sacrifices she made and the challenges she has conquered. And I hope that I am the same kind of mom for my kids as she was for me.

The Unhappy Housewife reviews and a givaaway!

I'm an Unhappy Housewive and here's why:

It's Saturday, and do you know what I do on Saturdays?

I Clean!

Normally I turn it into a family affair. The kids become slaves and we get down and dirty into the cleaning.

Today, I let the kids be kids and I went into a world of my own as I cleaned the kitchen, did some laundry, dusted, vacuumed....

And in order for me to spend Mother's Day tomorrow not having any housework, I figured I'd better do it today!

So it got down to the vacuuming. Well, let me tell you. A few months ago, I had to buy a new vacuum cleaner. The other one went Kaput! No it wasn't because I kept running over things that had no business going into a vacuum. Must have been one of the kids!

ANYWAY.... I don't remember what kind we had before... whatever it was I didn't like it... but this time around we purchased a Bissell. Well, we didn't buy it for the name, anyway. We bought it because it is the

BISSELL LIFT-OFF REVOLUTION (that little R should be right here) PET.

It said it would work like "MAGIC" on pet hair. Well, Ginger has been shedding a lot now that the hot weather has kicked in, so this simply HAD to be the Vacuum for us!

Okay, I'm not that thrilled with this thing.

We, as moms, are constantly looking for appliances and products that make our lives much easier. I buy the magic eraser because it quickly erasers spots and does wonder at cleaner the kids' sneakers, we buy mops so that we no longer have to get on our hands and knees (although I have an Italian friend, who, for the first year here in the states never bought a mop. The chick used a sponge and got down on her hands and knees and wiped her floors down, pregnant and all! I was like, "GIRL! You simply have to get you a mop! We are not in the medieval times anymore! You really give truth to the phrase 'Bare Foot and Pregnant'!" Don't know if she ever did get that mop. Last I checked, she'd passed the task on to her daughter.), and I'll go out and get a new product simply because it says it cleans faster. Anything to make cleaning quicker and more exciting. I'm now hoping that one day my old washer and dryer will simultaneously break down and I can go get the new Frigidaire Affinity washer and dryer set with the "MORE ME TIME GUARANTEE" just because they claim to wash AND dry in 30 minutes. (really, I don't want my set to break down because CAN'T afford one of those, but the thought....), and we buy vacuums so that we don't have to SWEEP the dog hair out of the carpet.

So this vacuum that claimed to pick up great and pick up dog hair "LIKE MAGIC"....... Again, not happy with it.

I'm use to having a vac that can pick things up. I'm not talking about dust and regular old dirt. I mean stuff like beads and uncooked macaroni noodles. You know, stuff THE KIDS might drop on the floor from one of their art projects. It is so low to the floor that it just pushes that kind of stuff out of the way. And if you happen to maybe like lift the thing up a little just to vacuum up a bead (not me, of course. The KIDS), then that bead will NEVER get sucked up in there! Instead it rattles around until you turn the thing off and it falls out.

AND IT GETS CLOGGED A LOT!

Okay, one of my peeves is to have my carpet vacuumed and to have those vacuum lines all pretty and fresh. You know, you vacuum back and forth in a zigzag pattern in individual rows. Okay, you might not know what I'm talking about because it is a tad obsessive.

Anywho, when I can not get those lines in my carpet, it is an indication that something is clogging the suction in my vacuum.

This happens QUITE often with this vacuum! I get so many clogs and I have to get a wire hanger (am I the only one that still has some of those?), twist it and bend it to the right shape to try to dig out that clog. The hose is in such a inconvenient place on that thing that it's hard to get to the clog!

I spent 45 minutes trying to get a bunch of dust and fur out of the hose this morning. 45 minutes! That's just short of an hour! I'm a MOM! Do you have any idea what I could have done with that time?

Okay, if you can think of 5 things that you would do if you had an extra hour and you want a chance to win a pair of the Frigidaire washer and dryers like I was telling you about earlier, Go over to MomSelect where they have teamed up with Frigidaire to give some away. I'm not trying to give out too many details here in hopes that you WON'T go over there and get in on this fabulous giveaway and I'll have more of a chance.

It's not that exciting. Really. Just stick around here and keep reading my blog!

Oh, and I'm so sure that READING MY BLOG would surely be in your top 5!

Music Today.. MAN, NOW I GET IT!

Way back when, when I was a teenager.......... you know, when teens were the coolest thing in the world and anybody over 30 was considered OLD............. I remember so many days riding in the car with my parents and thinking, how could they possibly listen to all these OLD songs from the 70's and the 80's.

Why wouldn't they leave the station on E 93, the hottest radio station on the air?

Nobody wants to hear some guy singing about sittin' on the dock of the bay (why is he just sitting there?) or some dude havin' a thing goin' on with Mrs. Jones!

It's funny because when you're a teen, almost nothing your parents do could be considered cool. Especially when it came to the oldies.

My dad use to literally HATE when I listened to 2Pac (My all-time fave and biggest star crush ever) in my room... at full blast... with my door closed.

I just didn't get it? What did he have against a true rap legend expressing himself through rhyme?

You'd think that he woulda taken the time to realize that Pac wasn't REALLY disrespecting women when he dropped the track, "Wonder why they call you B*TCH" He was trying to get girls to stop doing things that get them labeled.

LOL! It's funny now when I look back because I just didn't understand what was really wrong with writing SEX YOU UP going down the pant leg of my jeans and why that almost caused me to get a beat down.

It was just a song! I tribute to Milly Vanilly!

Fact is, I have grown into those two people that raised me. I've lost my music hipness, so to say and have completely stopped watching to BET and MTV.

My best friend asked me WHY and at that time I really couldn't express an answer, but truth be told, today's music, and music from when I was a kid, often is offensive and degrading to women. I'm not ready for my 9 and 7 year old boys to start calling women B's and talking about the chick in a bikini with the fat a$$ dancing up on Lil Wayne.

It's pretty bad that it has come to this point that there is so much in music that I am not ready for my kids to be exposed to.

Even favorites such as Soldier Boy have influences in the lyrics that are not exactly kosher for kids, yet it surprises me to hear it played at school events.

Now, I'm not saying that I ban my kids from music all together, because we do still listen to what comes on the radio, but I'm much more cautious now because I know some of these songs are likely to say ANYTHING.

I've always got my finger in the pointing position and ready to change the station at a moment's notice!

I completely understand why my parents were more into the oldies now. Because they certainly were and still are considered goodies.

And most of them have less cause for concern.

Lots of music today seems to be just something thrown out there coming from that part of the mind that is SENSELESS!

I mean, what the heck is a STANKY LEG????

Perhaps I'm just selfish.

It's Teacher Appreciation Week. This is the week that got me started in PTO, thanks to my efforts last year to make sure our new school celebrated this event.

This year, I'm sorry to say, I haven't been all that enthusiastic about it. I had all intentions of getting all excited and everything, but I just can't. It could be that at this point I am all PTO'ed out! It's the end of the year and I'm just ready for it to be DONE!

I NEED A BREAK! I work for free, PEOPLE!




Okay, we had a breakfast for the teachers and staff on Monday, which everyone loved and thanked us for. I love to feed them because they are always so appreciative for what we do, even though we do it to thank them.

I cook everyday at home and NOTHIN'!!!

Well, that's not entirely true, Sir-Talks-A-Lot always tells me thank you for cooking. I think if I stopped cooking all together, he'd whither up and die.

Oh and about Sir-Talks-A-Lot...... Monday was Flower Day. Everday the kids are to bring in a certain item for Teacher Appreciation. So on Saturday, they kids and I went to Home Depot because I needed to get some flowers to plant in my yard. Though I can't stand the sun, it is springtime and a little yard work won't kill me, right?

Well, Sir-Talks-A-Lot wanted to buys something for his teachers and they had flowers for a buck. Why not, I thought. Runnin' Man didn't show the slightest interest in buying a flower for his Mrs. Collins.

"Are you sure you're not gonna get a nothing?" I asked.

"No," was his nonchalant answer.

"I'll get one for Mrs. Collins," Sir-Talks-A-Lot said.

After a few minutes, Runnin' Man decided that he WOULD in fact buy his teacher a plant, since Sir-Talks-A-Lot was buying 3. One for his teacher, one for the parapro and one for Runnin' Man's teacher. (Or his favorite 2nd grade teacher, who he has already chosen for next year.)

Well, Monday morning I had to get the boys up early and take them to school because I had to be there to help set up the teacher breakfast. The boys had to wait in the library with their friend, who rode along with us, for the bell to ring. The other kid didn't have a flower.

Now here's where the selfish part comes in. Right before the bell rings, I hear the boy telling his teacher, Mrs. Collins, who had just come in for breakfast that he bought her a flower.

Didn't this kid just tell me this morning that he was going to get her something tomorrow?

So later I find out that Sir-Talks-A-Lot had given the boy his 3rd flower to give to his teacher.

I don't know why, but I wasn't pleased about this. I mean, I should have been happy that he was nice enough to share with the boy, right? I should have been proud. I wasn't. I guess that fact that I know that the other kids around us are older that Sir-Talks-A-Lot and try to get over on him sometimes made me forget that he had actually done a good deed.

But me, in all my selfishness could only think that Sir-Talks-A-Lot had taken the time and his money to think about his teachers, while this other kid didn't. I say he shouldn't have given him the plant! That's just the way that I feel. Selfish me! I mean, I do everything I can to show appreciation for the teachers. Some parents don't take that sort of time to do anything.

Kudos to my son for sharing, even if I don't agree with the circumstances.

My Secret

I have a dirty little secret that I have to share because I heard somewhere that if you confess your obsessions they will..... uhhh... go away...???

Or maybe it was the truth shall set you free.

Anywho, I have a confession that I have to make.

For the last few days...........

I have been in a secret love affair.............

With.............

MY SIMS

Yes it's a game. Yes, it is a DS game that Sir-Talk-A-Lot got for his birthday and NO I haven't let him play it much since I picked it up the second day after he got it.

Look! I was addicted to Sims when I had it on PC 7 years ago. And although this one is more child-like, it has trapped me in their cartoon world.

It's an addiction, is what Sir-Talks-A-Lot likes to say when he catches me trying to secretly play it when they aren't looking.

It's sad, I know, but at least I put it down long enough to write this post!

My baby is 7 and a trip to Carowinds!

It's been a while since my last post. Two weeks and that's unusual. I figured I'd better check in before my bloggy friends start to wonder if I gave up blogging.



No I haven't. Been a little busy I guess you can say...



First and foremost, I must must MUST make sure that I blog about my

NEW SEVEN YEAR OLD!



Yep! My baby is now 7.



Sir Talks-A-Lot celebrated his birthday on the 27th. He is all MAN now.



For his birthday, we took a family trip to Carowinds, an amusement park in N. Carolina.



We had a blast! All of us! I don't think I've seen Hubs smile so much.



The boys were excited and Sir Talks-A-Lot got to ride his first roller coaster.



He also vowed to NEVER ride the boat again. Okay, you guys all remember the "Pirate Ship" at the fair, right? Some may know it as the "Sea Ray"? The one that rocked back and forth and then let you off? This was NOT that ride!



Okay, we saw that from a distance and got all excited to ride it. I had just come off of a Dora hot air balloon ride and was on the verge of puking (yes it was a kiddie ride, but it was spinning around and.... SHUT UP! I got sick okay!), so I decided to sit it out with Miss Missy who was too small to ride the boat ride. So while I sat by a tree trying to regain my stomach, Hubs took the boys and jumped on the boat.



Now, of course, it started rockin'.



And rockin'



AND ROCKIN'!



And to my surprise.... and theirs, based on the looks of their VERY HIGH FACES..... it started to go upside down!



Did I mention that Sir-Talks-A-Lot is only seven?



Okay, the look on Hub's face was priceless as I could see, even from 50ft down, that his eyes were bulging out of his head and the words "OH, S*@T!" passed his lips.



My mouth hung open the entire time as I watched my kids hold on for dear life in terror. Sir-Talks-A-Lot was in tears. I forgot to take out the camera.



When they got off, all I could do was laugh because the look on the boys faces were priceless.

"Did you have fun?" I couldn't hold in the laugh as they gave a simultaneous NO! I probably should have been more concerned and a little more sensitive to their feelings, but I'm just not that kind of mom. THAT WAS FUNNY!





Aside from that, they had a ball!



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I would post pictures, but as of lately, my computer has been in DINOSAUR mode and it might take another week to load them.

Tell It Like It T-I-Z Tuesday - Spanking

Better late than wait until next week!


I was watching The Today's Show this morning with Kathie Lee and Hoda... or at least it was on my TV while I was bouncing from room to room trying to get ready for Miss Missy's doctor's appointment... and I had to stop when I heard a segment come on about disciplining other people's kids. I have some opinions on that issue, but the main part that I tripped off of was about SPANKING.

AHHHH, the dreaded and most steer clear subject on the blogs.

Well, today, I feel a little controversial and a little brave at the same time, so I'm going to go ahead and open up this can of worms.

Yes, I am aware that all of my 3 or so readers won't agree with me or my parenting tactics, but everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I'm about to give mine.

Sorry guys, but I. spank. my. kids.

And when this chick, Linda Fears, editor and chief of Family Circle magazine said that if she saw a mom in Bloomingdale's spanking HER kid, she would walk up to her and tell her that tell her to stop I almost coughed up my omlet! She says that she in entitled to her opinion, even if it isn't her business.

HA! You know what? If she walks up to the WRONG one on the WRONG day she might get her opinion knocked down her throat! Many of the parents I know may not take well to Miss Thang's "expert opinion" while little Johnny is running through the clothes, tearing them from the racks and screaming about getting gum from the bubble gum machine. Not something my kids have done, of course, but you get the point. LOL!

Sorry, but I'm not the one to constantly ask my our kids to "please stop or I'm going to call your daddy". Nun uhh! And I refuse to leave a store because some little pint-sized mini-me want to scream his or her way through the store. AND, I'm not going to handle it when I get home! We are going to rectify the situation right then and there. Get it together or "I'm going to embarrass you in this store!" is what my mom use to tell me! And I use those same words today.

I'd rather spank my kids now than to have them growing up being spoiled rotten, not understanding that there are harsh consequences for their actions and pulling a Columbine type thing of some kind, or thinking it's okay to sue your parents.


I know that all the studies show that spanking is no longer the "right" way to discipline children these day. I'm aware that psychologist and psychiatrists alike will tell you that you should never hit your children in any way. I've heard it all. I just really don't believe the hype!

I love my children more than I love myself, and guys, that's a whole lotta love! But I have come to believe that for me, and for my family, the mere threat that there may be a swat to the butt if you mess up keeps my kids in line. They know that momma means business when she starts talking about the belt and most of the time that is enough to get them back to walking that straight line.

I have very good children. I have very few tantrums thrown by them. There are never times when I feel that I can't take my kids to the store for fear that they are going to act out and embarrass me. They know the consequences of their actions and for the most part choose not to travel down that road.

Does that make me a bad mom? I don't know if it does by your standards, but I have three very happy, well rounded and well-behaved kids that are constantly in a competition to see who can get the most hugs from me before going to bed at night, and who happen to think that I'm the best thing since sliced bread! And that tells me that even though I discipline my monsters with the fear of spanking, they have turned out to be wonderful kids.

So screw your studies!

So that's the way I see it and that's how I TELL IT LIKE IT T-I-Z!!

Wanna join in? I'm not gonna add Mr. Linky, but you can just leave me a comment so that I can some over to your page and ready what you have to Tell It Like It T-I-Z about this week!