I just love my "toe socks" as I call them. I don't know the real name for them but its what I call them. Too bad I hardly ever see them in the stores anymore. :-(

Buns, buns, and more buns

Life has gotten in the way of me being diligent about my hair and I can see and feel the affects of it. I had an emergency c-section and a 6 week premature baby. Who had the time for hair? Once life calmed down somewhat I decided to do an Aphogee protein treatment. I let it get 80% hard and then rinsed it out. I didnt let it get as dry as I probably should have, but only because it was about 12am and I was very tired. Because of that it didnt turn out as I would have liked. It still feels a little weak so until I feel like doing another Aphogee I'll just be wearing buns, buns, and more buns!

Avatar

All I can say is wow. Just wow. This movie was awesome!

First off, the imagery was strait eye candy. Im a sucker for forests, trees, flowers, ect and this forest was just beautiful! We saw it in 3D so it made the experience that much better. I honestly dont even have the words to adequately describe the visuals for this movie.

As far as the story line, well it really showed the mentality of those in power as it relates to the indigenous people of the planet and how they view the rights of others and how they dont respect others or the planet we live on. Bottom line.  It was very obvious to me the symbolism of the movie was not very subtle as they called the natives of Pandora "savages" and "blue monkeys." The people of the planet were blue (or people of color) and we all know that the black and native people of this country have been called savages and monkeys. The same fate of Pandora mirrors what has happened to the Native Americans and Africans and all other native people on this planet and unfortunately they have been called similar names. We cannot ignore the similarities of some of the darker people on the planet with the people of Pandora. The Na'vi wore face paint during war and wore feathers in their hair or on their garments ( reminiscent of the Native Americans). The Na'vi also had very prominent features such as large lips as well as large noses and wore braids with beads and other ornaments ( reminiscent of Africans). Im sure you see where Im going with this.

This movie also has the theme of a "white saviour" which as I watched the movie reminded me of movies like Dances With Wolves where a white man comes into a native tribe and learns their ways and thereby becomes one of them. Afterwards in a battle or series of battles, he saves them and becomes the hero. This story has been repeated many times and this author summed it up nicely. I wont repeat it here but again, all this was very obvious with this movie.

All that said, it was still an awesome movie. There were lots of spiritual messages as well. The oneness of God was a major theme. It showed how man, nature and the Creator can and should live in complete harmony with each other and when we do, there is nothing that we cannot accomplish. It shows how with unity you can defeat your enemies in the face of apparent insurmountable odds with the backing of God. The movie touches on male/female relationships and how if done properly, it shows how the two can accomplish what they will, together. I could go on and on. Point is, go see it! ;)

2010

I am not one who makes new years resolutions because I never seem to be able to keep them. Instead I declare intentions. I have declared only a few intentions for 2010.

I really dont like cooking. Matter of fact I HATE cooking but heres the dilemma. I LOVE eating. See, if I have to cook, it kills my appetite and I wont want to eat once its done. Weird I know, but it is what it is unfortunately. Then I have this little thing where I a not very good at menu planning. So, here is what I am intending to do. Expand my menu making skills and cook at home more. I spend too much money eating out.

I really need to cut back on my online time. Its gonna be kinda hard since I have to sit in front of the computer teaching my children, but I dont think I have to count that time. Id go insane sitting there being bored to death teaching multiplication tables and climates around the world if I couldnt be on Facebook and reading blogs So, if Im not dong schoolwork I intend to drastically cut back on my online time.

I have only read about 2 books this year. That is so not me. I usually read about 40-50 books a year so this year I intend to jump back on my book reading. I love reading so much and I miss it so I want to devote more time to reading and cramming my head with thousands of random facts and information.

*le sigh* I have a tendency to be on the negative side. Yeah, I admitted it. Yeah I said it. Now that I got that part out the way, I intend on focusing on the positive aspects of situations and not focus on the negative. I like to call what I do "calling it how I see it" but this year I intend to "see" it in a more positive light.

Above all I intend to be more grateful. God hates those who are ungrateful and I am certainly not that, but i want to express my feelings of gratitude more often than I do. He gives me so much and I could never ever repay Him for what he has done and is doing for e. The LEAST I could do is show more gratitude by expressing it to Him more, and paying it forward by helping others. This year I intend to do just that.

So with that, I say lets get started living life basking in the sunshine of a new year!

Baby Girl Aisha's Arrival - DRAMA!!!

This time I planned to go all out and do things different with this birth, since its going to be my last. Little did I know that it truly was VERY different from any other birthing experience that I had before.

This pregnancy was very difficult. VERY difficult. I stayed sick practically the whole 9 months. I had one ailment after the next but anyhoo, I decided that since this was my absolute LAST child I would do things a bit differently.

I decided that I would have my baby at a birthing center in the whirlpool tub. I had always wanted to do it, but there were no facilities in my area. Since I live less than 5 miles from one, I decided to go ahead and take the plunge, especially after the tour and orientation that the midwives gave me.

When I was 33 weeks pregnant I went back to my hometown an started having contractions. I spent the night in the hospital and they stopped the contractions. A few days later I started having neck pains. I brushed it off thinking I slept wrong and had a crook in my neck. Everyday the pain got worse and worse until on a scale of 1-10 it was an 8. The pain was constant with no let up. It was actually worse than labor. Seriously. I thought that my chiropractor could work my neck out and the pain would go away, but he left early for the weekend and I had to suffer for 2 whole days, 48 hours, 2,880 minutes, 172,800 seconds of excruciating non stop pain. For 4 days my chiropractor worked on me and for the first 2 days it bought the pain down to a manageable 4 but the last 2 days it was back up to level 8 on the pain scale. What does this have to do with anything? I'll get to that.

That Thursday I had my regular check up with the midwives. Here you check your own weight and protein levels in your urine and when my levels werent normal I let them know of course. The midwife said it was one of two things. Either I had something minor like a bladder infection or my blood pressure was high. Well unfortunately it was the latter. My pressure was 170/110. This is extremely odd for me because my pressure runs low and I have NEVER had high blood pressure.

Of course I had to go strait to the hospital to be monitored. They did an ultra sound and not only was my amniotic fluid low, but my placenta was failing. I was 8 months pregnant but the baby was only the size of a 7 month old fetus. All that was code for immediate c-section.

Imagine my shock. Going from the most natural non invasive, least expensive method of childbirth to the most invasive, unnatural, most expensive method of childbirth. I am thinking Im going to my Drs visit and end up in the hospital for an emergency c-section. It made my head spin.

Aisha was born on November 6th at 12:23 pm and weighed in at 3lb 7oz and was 16 3/4 inches long. She stayed in the NICU for 3 weeks with no complications and I am VERY thankful for that.

So what did all that neck pain have to do with anything? In hindsight my midwife said that the early contractions I had that had to be stopped was a sign that my placenta was failing. My liver and other internal organs began to signal the body that the baby was a foreign object that needed to go and that made my blood pressure go sky high. High blood pressure can manifest itself thru pain and this is the reason for my severe neck pain. It as amazing that as soon as she was normal my pain went away.

Aisha: our newest addition

My namesake! She came 6 weeks early but she is blessed and precious!

What to do, what to do??? Is it all its cracked up to be?

I have been on a mission to grow my hair long, and now that it is, I dont know what to do with it anymore!

Its either in a high or low ponytail.

I cannot seem to self relax anymore either. Its just too difficult to manage now. Even doing my cheat rollerset, its very difficult to do. I dont know.  Maybe I should cut a few inches off or layer it. I have thought about cutting some bangs too but Im not too sure about that either. So..what to do what to do????

Cloth Diapering; Its really not as bad as you think!

Yeah, I know. The first thing you think of when you hear those two words is "Hell no!" or "Ewww thats gross" or even "No freakin way!!!" If you didnt think it, I shole did the first time one of my online friends mentioned it to me. I was like, there is no way Im stepping back in time to that. What for? Especially when you can just go to the store, buy a pack and throw it away.

The more my friend detailed the how to's and hit me up to the advances in cloth diapering it got my wheels to turning. I have to admit, when I found out I was pregnant again the very first thing I thought of was " DANG!!!! You mean I got to buy diapers again?!?!" Yeah, such an inspiring thought but its true. I hated buying diapers, especially when I had to take my last dime to go buy a pack of diapers.

So after MUCH research I decided to take the plunge. I found a system that would be the most economical and perhaps the easiest to use and stocked up. Of course I only bought a little at a time here and there but I managed to build a stash to last me my babys entire diapering career.

Cloth diapering is not simply just a piece of cloth folded on your babys butt and pinned up with safety pins, although you can go that route if you want. Now they have diapers that actually mimic regular diapers. The lay-under-them-and-snap-or-velcro-close just like your Pampers and Huggies.

I decided to go with prefolds, or the old fashioned kind that you fold and pin. Not with a safety pin but with a Snappi. I also got 3 dozen flats too with lots of diaper covers to go over them so that there will be no leaks. I also made a few wool covers. Im just crafty like that! LOL!!!

If the idea of folding turns me off some days, I can use these All in 2's that act like regular diapers, only they require a cover.

Washing the diapers isnt hard either. Since infant baby doo is mostly water its water soluble, you can just throw it in the machine and go. Once the baby starts eating solids, I plan to use liners that you can toss and flush down the toilet. I must admit that I do love the fact that after the initial investment, I dont have to spend another penny on diapers.

Now I know you are asking yourself, "Well what do you do when you have to leave the house?? Where do you stash the dirty diapers?" Well they have these cute wet bags that you put your dirty diapers in inside your baby bag. They dont leak or smell so that problem is solved.

So you see, its really not all that bad!

DISCLAIMER: the posted links are not ads. I just did a web search so you can get an idea of what Im talking about. :-)

Whoa!!!!!

Its been 9 months since my last post?! Good Lawd!!! lol!

The Importance of a Healthy Self Image

Children form opinions of themselves early in their lives, and that opinion is shaped by the most important people in that child’s life: the parents. It is incumbent that children see themselves in a positive light so that they will not go thru life thinking they are less than, not able to cultivate the best parts of themselves, and accept sub par treatment not only from others outside of themselves, but they will not indulge in behavior that is self destructive.

Most young girls learn from their parents self love and self respect, in particular from the father figure in her life. This man teaches her what is acceptable behavior from other males, he shows her how she should be treated by a man, and he shows her how valuable she is by offering her a certain type of protection only a father can give. If young women do not see the value that God has placed on them by the attitudes and lessons learned at home thru loving and strong parenting, then they will begin to accept disrespect from others all while disrespecting themselves.