YUMMommy

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  • 5 On Friday

    It’s here!!!  Happy November!  Can y’all believe that Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year are just around the corner?  I’m definitely ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  The New Year?  Idk.  While I’m looking forward to all the awesomeness that 2014 is going to bring, I can’t help but find myself wanting a few more weeks to be added to this year.  Anyways, I’m sharing five things/goals that I’ll be working on this month.

    THE GOOD LIFE BLOG

    {~ONE~}
    I’ve been working on my novel for what feels like a lifetime.  Well, it’s time to stop dragging my heels and get this thing done.  So, I joined a writing group.  This way I’m accountable to someone other myself.  And I need that because while I’m already published in nonfiction, writing fiction is what I’ve always dreamed of doing.  
    {~TWO~}
    I’ve been natural for a while now.  And while I love my natural hair, I haven’t a clue what to do with it.  I usually just wear it in a ponytail.  However, this month I’m committing to switching up the flow. I’ve been thinking about experimenting with some semi-permanent color. We’ll see.  Either way, I’m ditching the mom ponytail.
    Pinterest
    {~THREE~}
    I’ve feel off the fitness wagon and the it’s starting to show on the scale.  My goal is to workout at least 5 days a week for at least 30 minutes.  I’ll also be cutting back on my junk food intake.  YouTube Zumba videos here I come!
    {~FOUR~}
    You might remember that I posted about my fall fashion wishlist a while back (here).  Well, now it’s time for me to started actually adding those items to my wardrobe.  As of right now, I only have three pairs of jeans that really fit me.  The rest are from my plus size post JJ pregnancy days and are too big.  I’m thinking about taking them to get tailored but depending on cost it might just be cheaper to buy some.
    As Macklemore would say, “I’m gonna pop some tags.”  I plan on hitting up my favorite thrift stores and checking out the clearance at Target and Old Navy.  My goal is to purchase at least two more pair of pants this month because it’s ridiculous to be trying to rotate three pairs of jeans every week.
    {~FIVE~}

    I’m officially starting to save for a car.  This one car situation no longer works.  With the Mr working shifts a lot of the week, the kids and I spend way too much time in the house.  They’re cabin fever crazy and so am I.  We haven’t been to a playdate or the library in ages.  The weather here too all over the place again to venture out on foot.  Like these past two days it’s been well over 75 degrees but Friday and Saturday it’s suppose to be rainy and back back in the 60s or high 50s.
    NaBloPoMo November 2013

    Don’t forget you can catch me on these other hot spots

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  • Thankful Thursday

    Happy Halloween!!  Remember to be safe while you’re out and about with your little ones.  The Mr is working a double shift today which means that the kiddies and I will be staying in.  I’m not complaining though because honestly, I don’t think the people in this neighborhood pass out candy.  So, we’ll be hanging out getting candy wasted and watching kid friendly spooky movies on Netflix.
    I’m thankful that everything went well at JJ’s follow up with the pediatricians on Tuesday.  I got the official report back from his allergy test with the numbers telling me what class each of his allergies are.  And boy was it scary.  God has really been looking out for us because a lot of his allergies were Class 4 and higher. 
    In fact, he’s so allergic to peanuts that it was off the allergy scare.  The scale goes from 0.0 to 100.0 and his allergy level was over 100.0!  So pretty much if he looks at peanut wrong, we could be in serious trouble.  Thankfully, due to Moo’s peanut allergy we feed the kids any type of nuts.  The Mr has had peanut butter in the house, but he was only allowed to have it after the kids went to bed and he had to thoroughly wash his hands and everything he touched afterwards. Yep, it’s that serious around here when it comes to nuts.
    I’m thankful that JJ is finally coming around to these new gluten-free, soy-free pancakes I have been making him.  At first he wasn’t feeling it, but now he likes them.  I’ve been thinking about just cutting out breads from our diets all together and just do meats, veggies and fruit but then that I wouldn’t leave us with much to eat for breakfast because both kids are allergic to eggs too.  I’m personally starting back with my fruit smoothies.
    I’m thankful that the Mr has been supportive and understanding through everything.  I’ve been feeling very overwhelmed with the food allergies and the speech therapy starting and Moo not being able to go to preschool.  Yea, thanks to the government shutdown, the extra funding needed to allow a new wave of preschoolers to start class didn’t come through in time.   No worries, we’re still learning at home though.
    I’m thankful for creative inspiration.  I’m back to working on my novel and the ideas for future chapters and even a sequel have been flowing really good recently.  I’ve been jotting down notes so that I don’t forget anything.  I’m really excited and giddy about being back to writing fiction again.  I’ve gotten a lot of inspiration from music (thanks Spotify), old writing notebooks and even my diary. 
    I still don’t have a working title for it, but I’m sure that it will come to me soon.  I’m definitely going to be releasing this book in print and working my butt off to get it on shelves in major bookstores.  I’m thankful that I was able to give one of my blogger friends some words of encouragement recently.  She’s going through a very rough time at the moment and my heart breaks for her and her family.  I want to do something special for her, but I’ll definitely have to recruit some help to pull off what I want to do.  I’m sending up a prayer to God that He’ll open up a couple of doors.
    What’s on your list of things to be thankful for?
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  • Eat, Read And Grow Together

    Want to know the biggest reason that I love McDonald’s?  They care!  And I’m talking about my money.  They care about me and my family beyond being customers.  And this me and my family can testify about, especially my baby brother who received McDonald’s scholarships two years in a row to help pay for his college education!  The McDonald’s in my hometown has donated to multiple charity and school events that I had the pleasure of being a part of.
    There are hundreds more stories and hundreds of more individuals from across the country who could probably tell you stories of how their local McDonald’s have gone beyond the duty of just taking orders.  McDonald’s commitment to caring is something that their company as a hold is about.  There latest display of this commitment will be taking place starting November 1st on National Family Literacy Day.  
    Dedicated to being advocates for children’s happiness and well-being, McDonald’s will be putting an original McDonald’s Happy Meal Book inside every Happy Meal ordered between November 1st to November 20th.  Over 20 million families here in the US will now have access to limited-edition children’s books that will combine nutrition, imagination and play in a fun and enjoyable way while helping our children to devlop a sense of community.  Each book will feature McDonald’s Happy Meal characters like Ferris, Deana the dinosaur, Goat, Ant and Doddi the dodo bird.  Your children will recognize them from the new McDonald’s Happy Meal commercials.
    McDonald’s has also partnered with Reading is Fundamental (RIF) in effort to help families discover the joy of reading.  RIF will be will distributing 100,000 copies of Happy Meal Books to families across the country who do not have access to books.  “Books are essential for inspiring children to explore, dream, and achieve, yet far too many children do not have this basic resource,” says Carol Hampton Rasco, RIF CEO.  “To change this unfortunate reality, RIF is uniting with McDonald’s, a company that embraces the transformative power of books and is committed to helping families and communities thrive.  Together, McDonald’s and RIF can truly help enrich kids’ lives through access to books and by putting the fun back into reading.”
    Also, partnering with McDonald’s is award winning global publisher DK Publishing.  In addition to the print books inside of the Happy Meals, families will also be able to access interactive digital books starting November 1st through the end of 2014.  These books will be available through McDonald’s Happy Meal app, McPlay, McDonald.com and MeEncanta.com.  The first interactive e-book will be The World’s Greatest Cities, part of DK Publishing’s new Amazing World Series.
    This Friday, the YUMMommy will be helping our local McDonald’s to celebrate going beyond encouraging families to eat together by attending Family Reading Together Night!
    We love books.  Around here we’re not just committed to eating together,  but reading and growing together.  So, I challenge all you parents, uncles, aunts, grandparents and guardians to commit to eating, reading and together with our children!!  They are our future and that future will only be as bright as we help them to make it.  Let’s commit to caring more about giving them the tools they need to succeed and have a good life.  Be sure to check with your local McDonald’s to see if they will be hosting events for National Family Literacy Day.

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  • Bible 365: Week 43

    Happy Monday!!  This weekend I had planned on getting out of the house, but it was just too cold to be out and about with the kids.  We all just had a cold recently and I didn’t want to risk the chance of anybody getting sick again, especially with JJ’s doctor appointment tomorrow.  I ended up using the weekend to clean, rearrange and catch up on my blog reading and commenting.
    Week 42, was all about seeing how God can change the heart of the worst sinner and use him/her for the spreading of His word.  You see, Saul hated Christians with a passion.  He persecuted them to no ends.  He testified against them to have them sentenced to death, threw them prison and even beat them severely.  To say that he was on the path to Hell would be accurate.  However, God had different plans for Saul.
    He sent Jesus to appear to Saul and his friends one day.  Jesus asked “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:4).  Of course, Saul was afraid and wanted to know who was it that spoke to him in such an loud, authoritative voice and had appeared to him as a blinding white light.  When he found out it was Jesus, I can imagine Saul felt panicked and probably thought that Jesus was coming to seek revenge on him for everything he had done.
    Jesus blinded Saul and told him to continue to Damascus and there he would find out the reason for Jesus’ visit.  I’m sure Saul never imagined that he would end being baptized, have his sight restored, his name changed to Paul and that he would become a disciple for Christ!  You see, a man who once sentenced Christians to death had now been converted to the very thing he once hated so vehemently (Acts 9:20-22).  All I can say is look at God work!
    Paul (formerly Saul) then gained first hand knowledge of what the Christians he had persecuted felt.  The Jews had it out for him.  They tried on several occasions to kill him and even have him sentenced to death.  In fact, Paul spends much of the book of Acts in and out of prison for preaching the word of God.  With the conscience of the those who had rooted and had a hand in the killing of Jesus weighing heavy, anybody who preached about Jesus, especially the fact that Jesus was not dead, but had indeed risen on the third day, were not well received. 
    However, God was with Paul all the way.  Even when Paul was in jail, God made it so Paul was able to see who wanted, still preach the word and live like he was still among the free.  The best example I can give of Paul’s jail condition from our society would be Martha Stewart.  Paul might have been in jail, but God made sure he still had the same comforts he would have had if he wasn’t in jail. 
    Paul’s transformation from Saul hold an important lesson that we as Christians often times forget and that I was reminded of both in my bible study and in watching Joel Osteen last night.  We get too hung up on people’s sins.  Joel Osteen used the example of how a lot of churches discriminate against those members who live the gay and lesbian lifestyle.  They tell them that they can’t be on the choir, they can’t help with Sunday school, etc.
    But here’s the thing, God put us here to love, not judge.  If God can take a man who was murdering people and turn him into a man who ended up leading hundreds of souls to Christ, certainly God can do it again with those who we often times consider lowly sinners.  As Joel put it, “Love the person, not the sin.”  We’ve all fallen short of the grace of God.  Some of us fall short of the grace everyday, but that doesn’t stop us from getting back up.
    Where we are right now in our walk to Heaven isn’t necessarily where we’re going to end up.  And the Jews failed to see that about Paul, just we often times fail to see that about people who live a lifestyle some of us don’t agree with.  I for one can certainly testify to that.  I’ve come a long a way as Christian.  I too was once living a lifestyle that wasn’t pleasing to God.
    I lived as man and wife with my husband for years before we actually became man and wife.  I knew what I was doing was wrong, but reasoned it ok in my mind because I had never really witnessed a successful marriage in my life.  Marriage scared me. I had a child out of wedlock and got pregnant with my second before I was married too.  But it was part of my journey to get back to God and I’m thankful for it.
    God knows that we’re hardheaded.  That’s why He invented forgiveness and sent Jesus.  However, that doesn’t mean we should be out there sinning for the sake of sinning.  At some point, He does expect us to get on the straight and narrow and stay there.  God won’t be played for a fool!
    Do you find it hard to NOT judge people who had a bad reputation in the past?
    Week 44 Readings
    10/28: Romans 4-5
    10/29: Romans 6-8
    10/30: Romans 9-11
    10/31: Romans 12-16
    11/01: 1 Corinthians 1-4
    11/02: 1 Corinthians 5-6
    11/03: 1 Corinthians 7
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  • The Invisible Girls

    Disclosure: I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Jericho Books. I received a product sample to facilitate my review.  All opinions expressed are 100% my own.

    Have you ever felt invisible? I know that I have on more than one occasion. At Ralph Ellison put it, “I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me.”  Sarah Thebarge shares her emotional and difficult journey of surviving breast cancer and an encounter with a family of Somali refugees, Hadhi and her five daughters, that changed her life in the memoir The Invisible Girls.  She shows us that while even in our darkest hours, some people would rather pretend we’re invisible to avoid dealing with our situations, we’re not alone.  Sometimes, the first step to becoming visible is reach out ourselves.
    When I heard first heard about Sarah Thebarge and how she was first diagnosed with breast cancer at age twenty-seven (my current age), I knew that I had to read her book.  Breast cancer is a disease that has greatly affected both sides of my family.  My paternal grandmother and great aunt died of breast cancer, I’ve had at least six family members defeat breast cancer and currently I have two cousins who are still battling breast cancer.  So, I express my passion for wanting to cure this dreadful disease through donating and supporting anything breast cancer related.
    However, once I started reading Sarah’s memoir, I quickly learned that her book wasn’t just about her battle with breast cancer, but about how her breast cancer diagnosis had made her invisible, her battle to overcome that invisibility and how a group of fellow invisible girls changed her life along the way.  Sarah met Hadhi and two of her girls while the riding the train and she had no clue what she was getting herself into.  What started off as just a friendly and Christian gesture quickly blossomed into a relationship that transcended friendship 

    You see, Hadhi and her five girls had moved to America to escape the violence of Somalia thinking they’d have a better and successful life.  And while their lives here was a slight step up from what they had experienced back in Africa, they were invisible and alone in our society.  I think that on some level Sarah connected with the feeling of being alone and feeling like nobody was seeing the pain, the struggle or silent cries for help.  Sarah battle breast cancer more than once and throughout her battles she lost a lot.  She was and felt alone with her friends on a different coast, her family hundreds of miles away and the boyfriend and church family she thought she could depend on ended up flaking on her when she needed them the most.

    Throughout the book, Sarah tries to figure out why God is allowing this to happen her.  As a Christian, I have definitely had moments where I felt like God was punishing me for something in my past.  It’s not easy going through hard times without any answers as to why.  But you have to stop focusing on the why and instead focus on the process of getting through…of using your faith to survive. Asking God for help instead of a reason.  In fact one of my favorite parts of the book is when Sarah is in the hospital and she’s trying to walk to the nurses station. She writes “Help, God,” I whispered with every step. “Help, God. Help God. Help.”

    If you haven’t read The Invisible Girls, I definitely recommend that you pick up a copy.  This book is amazing, heartwarming, funny at times and beautifully written.  I’ll warn you now that you might want to keep a box of tissues handy because Sarah and Hadhi’s stories will move you to tears in some parts.  This is hands down one of the BEST books I’ve had the pleasure to read this year!  And if you want to learn more about Sarah Thebarge, Hadhi and the girls check out her site here.
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  • 5 On Friday

    Happy Friday! For some reason, I’m extra giddy that this is the last weekend of this month. I think it has to do with the start of November bringing me closer to my two favorite holidays-Thanksgiving and Christmas! Now on to my 5 on Friday list.

    THE GOOD LIFE BLOG

    {~ONE~}
    Source
    My baby sister is obsessed with all things Tinker Bell.  So, being the nice big sister that I am, I’m going to hunt down a pattern for this blanket and crochet it for her!  I’ve never done tapestry crochet before, but I’m a quick learner.  I taught myself how to crochet from just looking at pictures in some old holiday craft books my mom had from the late 70s and 80s.
    {~TWO~}
    Moo has decided that for her birthday this year, she doesn’t want a party.  Instead, she just wants to get a few friends together and go to the movies to see Frozen.
    And I’m not complaining.  There are still plenty more birthdays left to have parties.  It’s her special day and I want her to enjoy it and spend it the way she wants to.
    {~THREE~}
    Next month is NaBloPoMo (National Blog Post Month) and NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month)!  I’m going to be doing both.  I’ve really slacked on blogging these last few months since our move and I’m looking forward to the challenge of NaBloPoMo.  It’s really pushes you to be creative and to develop discipline as a writer.  As for NaNoWriMo, I’ve been dragging my heels on finishing up my novel.  This will give me the motivation to finish it.
    {~FOUR~}
    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THzotYiwFsY]
    I’m totally obsessed with that song Almost Is Never Enough by Ariana Grande and Nathan Skyes.  I was going through some stuff and ran across some old love letters from an ex, got caught up in my feelings and well, this song sums up why he’s not Mr YUMMommy.   In love and marriage, almost isn’t enough for me.  I was all in our relationship and he was too busy riding the fence because he still wanted to chase skirts.
    I moved on to somebody who was willing to commit and willing to go all in and I don’t regret it.  He’s recently moved on too, but not before putting it out there that I had ‘broken’ him.  Not sure how he was the one who ended up broken, when I was the one getting cheated on.  Anyways, reading the letters just took me back and made think of how my life would have been different if I had settled for almost.  I’m pretty sure my pillow would have seen more than its share of tears.  
    It may seem like you’re close to being in love, but don’t settle for being close when you can be in love!  Know your worth and know when to walk away.  Even when it hurts like hell.
    {~FIVE~}

    I’m clueless as to what to do with my natural hair. It’s grown out from my hair cut. I’m thinking of just keeping it in a rod set, but that would mean buying a hooded dryer and those things cost money for a really good one.  Either way I’m headed to my friend’s salon soon to get some shaping done because my hair looks so lifeless when it’s straight.  I’ll post pics on the blog when I decide what my do will be!
    What’s on your agenda for the weekend?

    Don’t forget you can catch me on these other hot spots

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  • Thankful Thursday

    Just one more Thankful Thursday to go before we’ll be saying hello to November.  I’ve been absent from the blog and social media since Monday because today was my first meeting with our case worker/service coordinator for JJ’s therapy.  Even though today wasn’t his official evaluation, I was still a little bit nervous.  During today’s visit she just wanted to observe us in our environment a little bit, go over some paperwork and what will be happening once he’s officially accepted into the program and she asked questions about his likes, dislikes, allergies and my major concerns about his development.
    I’m thankful that she was very warm and likable.  I had talked with her previously over the phone, but I wasn’t sure what expect from her in person.  Sometimes people come off as warm and inviting over the phone but end up being really stuffy and formal in person.  I don’t do well with the stuffy type.  So, we have an official evaluation scheduled for the week after next.  She’ll come back with a speech therapist and psychologist.  I’m very hopeful that we will have my little man back on track with his verbal communication skills in no time.

    I’m thankful for all of the support that I have been getting in regards to JJ’s situation with this speech delay/regression. It’s a blessing to have people constantly uplifting me and reminding me to stay positive.  It’s even more of blessing to know that those people are keeping us in their prayers because prayer changes things.

    I’m thankful that the drama with this apartment is almost over.  We’re looking for new places and have a few that we’ll be heading to check out in person.  I’m so looking forward to celebrating Christmas in a new and bigger space.  What I’m looking forward to even more is leaving this landlord drama behind.

    I’m just thankful that in the mist of all that is going wrong in our lives, we still have so much that is going right!  I’m thankful to still be able to have joy and happiness.  I’m thankful for my loving family.  My kids keep so motivated and so grounded.  They remind me that life shouldn’t just be all about us, but others as well.

    What’s on your gratitude list this week?

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  • Bible 365: Week 42

    Happy Monday!!  Can y’all believe that we’re two months and about 10 days from being in 2014 and to end of the Bible 365 Challenge?!!  If it wasn’t for this blog and my Bible 365 Challenge, I wouldn’t know where the year has gone.  Time truly waits for no man (or woman).  Anyways, it’s been interesting reading the happenings of Jesus through John’s perspective.  
    You can just tell that his relationship with Jesus was different and probably closer than the other disciples’.  Still, I’m certain being Jesus’ best friend only made it harder to bear his death.  I don’t know if I could stand to side and let one of best friends be crucified without putting up a fight to save him/her.  But John knew that this needed to happen in order for God’s word to be fulfilled.  I’m telling y’all some of these people back in the day had some supernatural emotional strength!
    So, in Week 42 we finished up the book John and I learned something new.  I had always thought that Jesus had only appeared the disciples one day, but it turns out that Jesus appeared to them on multiple occasions.  I had just always heard about people talking about Jesus rising on the day and just assumed that after that the disciples didn’t see Him again but they did.  Here’s what else I learned:
    1-“His brothers therefore said to Him, ‘Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.  For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly.  If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.’ For even His brothers did not believe in Him.” (John 7:3-5)  It’s sad that not even some of Jesus’ siblings believed He was the son of God!  I mean did they did that Mary and Joseph were lying about Jesus was conceived?  Just proves that blood is not always thicker than water.  At the end of the day it’s easier t get strangers to believe in and support you before your own family will.  At the end of the day we don’t get to choose our family like we do our friends or the people we associate with.
    So, sometimes you have to either take your family as they are or keep moving as Jesus did.  Don’t let their lack of support hinder your progress.  The Old Testament talked about how adversary is often times natural for within families.  That’s one of the reasons why I believe God wanted us to marry.  We get to distance ourselves from that if needed and create the family and support system that we need.
    2-“The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.” (John 7:7)  You know how sometimes you’re sitting in church and the pastor starts preaching about something that you’re guilty of doing? Stepping on your toes as most church folks refer to it.  Well, some people don’t like being called out by God.  Not everybody responds well to God’s criticism and reminder that we have fallen off the path of righteousness.  So, you might see that sometimes you don’t see folks at church for a few Sundays until their wounded egos have healed.  And you even have those who get so angry at being told what they’re doing is wrong that they start to hate God.  At the end of the day life as a Christian has rules and you’re either fully in or you’re completely out.
    3-“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10  Jesus was sent so that we could have better lives.  God tried to give us a chance to have a perfect life, then Eve got tricked into the eating the apple.  He tried again with the Israelites and they disowned and renounced God at every turn.  Their faith was shorter than a baby’s attention span.  Without Jesus coming to save us, I guarantee you nothing about our lives would be abundant except for our troubles.  There was just too much wickedness going on.
    4-“If you love Me, keep My commandments. …He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent me.” (John 14:15, 24)  I’ve said before… love is an action.  We have somehow classified it as emotion, but at the end of the day why do we feel loved?  It’s a response to someone’s actions.  Likewise, you show your love through your actions.  Therefore, we can’t just say we love God, we have to show Him by following the rules He’s laid out before us.  Lip service does not get you into the Pearly Gates!
    5-“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)  Jesus didn’t let the world conform Him. Instead He changed it!  He was and will forever be the original Game Changer!  This scripture really speaks to me as I weather through my own tribulations in life.  I’m determined to not let hard times and adverse people break me.  I will continue to let my light shine and give thanks for all that is good and that all that will be greater!
    Do you find it easier to get support from strangers and friends than family?  And are you a conformist or a game changer?
    Week 43 Readings
    10/21: Acts 5-7
    10/22: Acts 8-12
    10/23: Acts 13-15
    10/24: Acts 16-18
    10/25: Acts 19-21
    10/26: Acts 22-28
    10/27: Romans 1-3
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  • 5 On Friday

    Y’all know the drill. I’m linking up with Christina (Carolina Charm), Dari (The Good Life Blog), Natasha (Hello! Happiness) and April (A. Liz Adventures) for their weekly link up and sharing five things.

    THE GOOD LIFE BLOG

    {~ONE~}
    After JJ’s appointment at the hospital on Tuesday, I decided to take the kids to my favorite park and have a little lunch.  Plus, they could have some time to run around and enjoy the playground.  JJ is absolutely obsessed with slides.  He hates the swings, but if he sees a slides it’s on and poppin’.
    While we were there, I took the kids out on one of the piers to see the ducks and the geese.  JJ is also obsessed with those as well.  Anyways, I had a little bread and decided to give the kids some so that they could feed the birds.  They loved it!  JJ thought is was the greatest thing in the world the way the geese and ducks surrounded us on the pier.  He cried a little bit when we got up to leave.
    We’ll try to do this at least once a month.  We have geese and ducks here year round.  They don’t all fly further South for the winter.  So, the ones that are still at the park will be in for a nice treat once a month!  And I’ll get to experience the joy and looks of wonder on my kids’ faces over and over.
    {~TWO~}
    Well, we’re finally getting into the swing of fall and Halloween around these parts.  Moo and I both made Halloween mugs.  Can you tell which one is mine and which one is hers?
    {~THREE~}
    The results came back from JJ’s allergy test today. I got the call just as I was starting this post.  Turns out he’s allergic to stuff I had no clue about.  Stuff like latex.  And just Tuesday while we were at the hospital the nurse asked if he had a latex allergy and I said no.  I didn’t know because the results weren’t back then.
    I decided to research latex allergies so that I could make sure that I keep him away from all the wrong things.  Man, do y’all know how much stuff has latex in it?  Toys, bath mats, toothbrushes, diapers, glue, rubber bands, remote controls and balloons to name a few.  And looking back, I should have suspected he had an allergy to latex because he’s broken out in hives on several different occasions after handling a few of the things above.
    Like once his hands were swollen up so bad after we had been playing with balloons all day.  And he got a hold of a pair of latex gloves once and he dropped them so fast, you would have thought they had set his hand on fire.  I just didn’t put two and two together.  I have such mom guilt right now because I feel like I’ve given both my kids bad genes.  He also has more food allergies, which means we’ll probably be shopping full-time at Trader Joes and Whole Foods now.  Thus, our grocery bill is going to triple.
    I’m really re-thinking whether not I want to still try for baby #3 the end of next year.  I just don’t know if I can handle having another child with so many health issues and allergies.  It’s super expensive and makes me an emotional wreck.
    {~FOUR~}
    I don’t know if y’all remember, but a while back there was a news story about young Black student who had been found murdered and rolled up in wrestling mats inside a school gym.  Crazy right?  Well, his death is not being ruled a homicide but an accident.  Wait, there’s more.  His second autopsy showed that he was actually killed from blunt force trauma.  And to make matters worst during the first autopsy, his organs were removed and thrown away.   Somebody then stuffed his body with newspaper! 
    There are also pictures of what he looked like when his body was found.  All I can say is that if you’ve ever seen the pictures of Emmett Till, then imagine if he was one shade darker and had dreads.  KJ’s death was no accident.  It pisses me off that the police are content to let his murderer roam free and chalk this up to just another Black kid being found dead. 
    Also, not adding up are the pictures from the security cameras in the gym.  There is footage showing KJ walking across the gym alone and then it magically just cuts to his being rolled up in the wrestling mats.  Everybody wants to know what happens in between him having went to get his shoes from the other side of the gym and ending up stuck in the mat? There was also blood found the wall that was not his possibly that of his attacker, but of course, police there was no match in their system.  I wonder if they cross checked with local hospitals?  Please just keep his family in prayer that justice will be served.  You can read more about the case here.
    {~FIVE~}

    I haven’t a clue what the kids are going to be for Halloween.  Although, we’ll be doing our trick-or-treating earlier at some local stores because the Mr has work that night, I still want them to dress up in costumes.  We’ll have our very own movie and gluten-free junk food night!

    Don’t forget you can catch me on these other hot spots

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  • Thankful Thursday

    Today is a special day here in the YUMMommy household.  What’s so special about today?  Well, it’s the Mr’s birthday!!  And I’m so thankful to be celebrating his being another year older.  Life is so precious, especially with all the bad things happening this world.  So, we take the time out to celebrate birthdays around these parts.
    He already treated himself to an early birthday present by getting the new iPhone.  And the kids and I picked out a fancy new watch for him.  I think he’s going to like because he’s really into watches.  I’m looking forward to Moo’s birthday and my own.  As we get older together as a family, I feel like we grow and learn so much more about each other.
    I am also thankful that we will be starting JJ’s therapy soon.  We’re going to try a program that is offered through the school district/city.  I talked to our case worker today and she sounded very nice and did her best to reassure me that everything would be ok.  And I truly believe that will overcome JJ’s speech delay and that once we’re over the hurdle it won’t have any lasting impact on him.  So, I meet with her next just to over my initial concerns, fill out paperwork and give her our insurance information.   And then after that we have another appointment for an official evaluation and they’ll screen him for everything.
    So, keep us in prayer.  This is has been an emotional and stressful journey so far.  I know it’s going to get even more emotional (in a good way) and hopefully less stressful.  I’m also thankful that one of my blogging friends will be moving to the Carolinas soon.  She’s been such a great supporter of the blog and always checks in on me. We’ll be a few hours apart, but I’m hoping that we’ll able to meetup and hang out in person.
    I’m also thankful that I have an awesome giveaway coming up that I think everyone will love.  This giveaway worth almost $100 once you up the cost of all the products!    Of course, if you haven’t heard the government shutdown is officially over!!  Thank you God!!   Now, I hope that the government plans to go back and pay those who were out of work their lost pay.  I have a few friends and family members who really need their full pay checks.
    I’m even more grateful for that fact that it didn’t get to the point where we would have been financially affected because it was about to get there by the end of the month.  And Lord knows with two kids and all their health issues, we don’t need to be short on money.  Not to mention, we have another upcoming move.  The apartment drama is still not over.  I’ll fill y’all in the latest in tomorrow’s post.
    However, despite everything going on around us, I feel like my faith is getting stronger.  Today, I woke happier, more determined, more confident and knowing that God has a sweet blessing waiting for us at the end of this rocky ride.  And for that I am thankful because to have peace of mind and be able to trust God with all of our troubles has been a weight lifted off of my weary shoulders.
    What are you giving thanks for this week?
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