A Hot Mama

When Morris was in preschool, some parents put together a laminated placemat as an end of year momento for the students. Even though Morris has parted from his preschool comrades, he still enjoys using the placemat at mealtime.

One night at dinner he requested it and was occupied so nicely having “conversations” with all his buddies.

Look at all the nice smiling faces from Mo’s preschool days.

Little did I know what my “sweet” Mo was up to.

The school owner and teachers got a heavy dose of Mo’s artistic skills.

Teacher Carolyn was spared “because she likes Brett Favre.” (That’s my boy!)

No mercy!

At least he’s loyal. No Sharpie makeover for himself or his preschool girlfriends, Samantha and Devin.

One thing I’m learning about having 2 kids is all about sibling relationships. Morris and Bronson are 4 years apart. They want to play with each other,  but sometimes it’s hard for a 5 year old to communicate with a 1 year old and vice versa.

I’m learning the fine line of parental intervention and when to just let them “work it out”. I don’t want Morris to feel that I’m always taking Bronson’s side then Mo feels alienated and like I chose “the baby” over him. At the same time, I don’t want to teach Bronson to be passive and feel like I’m gonna always step in and save him when there’s an altercation.

So lately, I’ve just been sitting back and watching how things play out and intervene at the last minute as a last solution.

Mo: Look at my cool R2D2.

Bronson: Hmm…what’s my brother have? Looks kind of interesting. I’m gonna check it out.

Bronson: Oh yeah, that’s cool. I sure wish I could play with it…

Mo: I said “NO” you little shit. Buzz off.

Mo: Beat it Bronson.

Bronson: Ok, fine, if you’re not gonna show me how R2D2 works, I’ll just read my books.

Mo: Ok, fine, it has a remote control that makes it work…

Mo: Then, R2D2 starts moving and talking…

Bronson: I don’t get it…lemme just get a little closer.

Mo: That’s too close little brother. Back it up.

Mo: You got too close bro.

Bronson: Just lemme see the remote then…please…

Mo: This kid is annoying.

Mo: When are you gonna get it through your thick head…

Bronson: When are you gonna get it through your thick head…

Mo: I’m gonna have to show him who the BIG BROTHER is around these parts.

Mo: I’m locking R2D2 in the bathroom. Now, scram half-pint.

Mo: Lie down and take a nap.

Bronson: Don’t do that brother…I’m warning ya.

Mo: OUCH! Ok, fine you can see R2D2

Bronson: I warned ya.

Sometimes, situations just have a way of working themselves out.

I associate various memories with certain cities I’ve lived in or traveled to.

Decatur, GA- Wonderful childhood memories.

Baton Rouge, LA- Favorite college memories.

Atlanta, GA- The best food.

Phoenix, AZ- Great shopping

Maui, HI- Favorite hotel and beach

Santa Barbara, CA- Favorite local getaway and spa

My most life changine memories though have been in Los Angeles. This where my kids were born, I established my early career, and I bought my first piece of property. But most importantly, LA is the city where I have re-discovered “myself”. Fashion designer and Hot Mama Rachel Roy said it best:

“When it comes to matters of the heart, people get better with age. As you grow and become truly happy with who u are, you can then be happy with those around you.”

Within the last year, I have grown so much spiritually and emotionally that happiness was inevitable. Once you open your heart and mind to new possibilites and remove negative forces from your life, being happy comes quite easily. I feel so fortunate to live in such a great city that is full of sunshine, smoothies, salads, and gansta rap. The year round beautiful weather keeps my spirits high, and body active outdoors. Being happy with myself has allowed me to be a better mother to my boys and a better friend to those around me.

I have nothing but pleasant and inspiring thoughts about the great city of LA. I LOVE THIS CITY! I just might get “LA” tattooed on my face!

People are always asking why I don’t talk about my younger son as much as Mo.

That’s easy. Bronson is 19 months. He doesn’t really do much besides laugh, hide my beloved posessions, eat, and sleep. Nice life.

Sometimes when I write, he likes to play in the kitchen opening drawers, rearranging snacks in the panty, etc.

The other day I was writing and when I looked up, I saw he found Mo’s arts and crafts box. Thank goodness those Crayola markers are non toxic.

At least he didn’t write on the walls.

I love kid birthday parties. It means free cake, food, and bottled water for me. It means a playdate for the boys.

But with 20 kids in Mo’s Kindergarten class, old preschool friends, neighbors, and friend’s kids, that can mean a lot of birthday parties which can add up to a lot of money in gifts.

So, to cut back on expenses, I let Mo make his friends a birthday card instead of buying one. This serves many purposes:

1. It is cost effective

2. It gets rid of useless junk laying around (sometimes he glues on buttons, junk mail pamphlets, old stickers, etc)

3. It keeps him busy

4. His friend gets a gift from the heart

5. It teaches Mo that all gifts don’t be expensive

The other day, I left Mo alone to make a special card for his #1 buddy, Max. Mo was excited because Max is one of his best friends from preschool. He’s such a great kid, I adore his follks, and he has a younger sister in Bronson’s mommy and me class. Mo was so excited to create something special for his friend and when he was finished, he was REALLY proud of his work:

The moral of the story: Do not leave your Victoria’s Secret catalog by the kids’ arts and crafts station.

BTW, still haven’t heard from Max’s parents. Not sure how this “birthday card” went over at the present unveiling ceremony.

Hmm……

Wow! Times sure have changed, especially when it comes to flying. I’m typing this entry on the plane en route to my hometown, Atlanta, Ga.

I’ve heard so many complaints about travel, but I am loving this. 

Mo is sitting quietly (relatively speaking) watching Harry Potter. He should be content for the next 2.5 hours. That’s $6 well spent.

And me? I’m on my laptop tapping away while listening to my stripper music playlist (R. Kelly if you’re wondering). So, the in air wifi cost $13. I paid it, but will be searching for an online coupon for my return flight internet connectioon. 

We just helped boost Delta’s economy by purchasing every snack available from the mobile food cart: hummus, fruit, Pringles, Peanut M & Ms, cheese plate, PB&J, turkey crossaiant. They even threw in a deck of playing cards. I wonder if anyone on board is up for a game of Spades. 

Yeah, everything comes at a price, but with entertainment options limited in the friendly skies, I’ll gladly pay.

Ok, back to facebook. Air travel gets 2 thumbs up from me. For today.

Merry Christmas!

I always stress out around the Holiday Season as to what to get for Mo’s teachers. Luckily, the class did a money collection and purchased gift certificates. Problem solved. I love the parents that take initiative. It enables me to be a slacker.

They also did a class photo of the kids and gave it to the teachers as well.

It turned out pretty good. I had absolutely nothing to do with the construction of it, so please don’t ask me any “how to” questions. I just followed instructions and sent Mo to school wearing all black.  (In case you’re looking, Mo is the left part of the “O”)

When Mo said he wanted a Lego Death Starfor Christmas, I almost fainted. $400 for legos and almost 4,000 pieces!? No thanks, I’ll pass.

Then, I heard about the gold plated Playstation 3. It a PSP unit plated in 24K for the bargain price of $5,000. Please note, this does not include the blinged out hand controllers. That’s extra. 

I guess it could be worse, Mo could be asking for one of these pimped out gaming units.

Thank goodness we’re a wii family. Looks like Mo could possibly be getting his Lego Death Star afterall. 4.000 lego pieces should keep my little guy busy for a couple of hours. Santa, hope you’re listening.

It’s that time of year: Christmas card time!

For moms, this is like our Fantasy Football, tailgating, and poker night all rolled into one. It’s our mommy moment of glory.

It’s the time of year we show off our kids to people that we never talk to. We dress our little ones up, make them sit still, and take goofy holiday photos. What happened to just buying the generic cards from Target? NO! Now, we all do the fancy online photo cards. We must show off our offspring, right?

Then we mail them off to many friends that we have lost touch with over time. Why does mailing a silly Christmas card give us a sense of redemption for neglecting family and friends over a year’s time? 

It’s so funny when they email you once they recieved it, “wow, the boys have grown up so much, and really changed.” Ya think? It’s been a whole year since you’ve last “seen” them. Remember? Last year’s Christmas card? We haven’t talked since then.

Oh well, I always have fun doing our family Christmas card. I look forward to it.

Last year, I sort of went a little overboard. It’s was Bronson’s first Christmas, so I wanted it to be really special. I tricked him and Mo out in coordinating Christmas outfits and went to a popular LA photographer.

This year, I was slack. Before I knew it, Thanksgiving was over and I hadn’t even thought about the  Christmas card attire. There has been so much going on, I have really put this project on the back burner. That is until I got the first card of the season….it was from my cousin. It promptly arrived on Dec 1 with the entire family (mom, dad, and 3 kids) all spic and span in matching ensembles.

All the good photographers were booked, and I really didn’t feel like buying another green and red button down set. So, I pulled out my trusty point and shoot camera and let the boys wear whatever they wanted. They were less than cooperative, but we sure had fun trying to snap a photo.

Bronson is 18 months old now and really into playing “chase” so he won’t sit still for one second (unless you’re giving him cheetos). And Mo is so into superhero and martial arts poses. To him, “nice smile” means one arm doing an uppercut and the other one strangling poor Bronson.

So, I got a little creative with the photo layout. If you’re on my Christmas card mailing list, check your mailboxes soon. 

Here are a few that didn’t quite make the Christmas card cut: