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  • Our Summer 2020 Garden

    This post contains affiliate links. I will make a commission for purchases made using some of the links below.
    The kids and I had such a great time planting and harvesting our vegetable and fruit garden last summer. So we’re giving it another go this summer as well. My green thumb may be more of a black thumb when it comes to houseplants and flowers but grateful I seem to be able to keep fruits and vegetables alive. Here’s a look at what we’re growing this summer.

    What We Planted

    This year we did a mixture of new and old plants. Last year, I was the decision maker when it came to what we planted. This year I let the kids pick out some of the seeds. I have to say that I’m pleased with the selections they made. They picked vegetables that I wouldn’t have considered planting otherwise.
    Rainbow Swiss Chard | This was Bud’s (JJ) pick. Swiss chard is a leafy green that I’ve only eaten a handful of times. The kids have never had it at all. This will be our time trying the rainbow variety period.
    It’s going to be interesting seeing what they think of the taste. Our experience growing these from seed has been mostly positive. They sprouted pretty fast. So far we have mostly reds and light purples. We had one neon yellow but it died after I transplanted it to a bigger container.
    I’m hoping these don’t bolt though because the temps have definitely intensified. We’ll keep them in a partially shaded area for the time being. Also, I planted a second wave this past weekend to see if we can get some more neon yellow ones.
    Beets | I was surprised when Moo picked these out. She’s not a picky eater but I didn’t think she’d find beets appealing. Our plan is to pickle the majority of them. We want to use some to try our hands at making an all natural dye for a tie dye T-shirt craft.
    These took 6 days to sprout. We’re growing the Detroit Dark Red variety. Their vibrant red stems are so beautiful and will be a welcomed burst of color to break up the sea of green in our garden.
    Alaska Peas | Bud helped me pick these out. He’s not a fan of beans but I am. Plus, these have been very easy to grow. Definitely a great seed to plant if your have kids who love to watch things grow. 
    Our sprouted in 4 days and are getting longer everyday. We trellised them up some branches we found in the yard. We’re keeping these in an area that gets sun in the morning but gets shady by afternoon when the Carolina sun is blazing. We just planted a second wave of these and can’t wait until they sprout.
    National Pickling Cucumbers | The kids and I chose these together. We’ve been wanting to make our own pickles for some time now. This is our first year growing cucumbers.
    We’re hoping they won’t be too hard to fruit. They seem to be doing well so far. I’m also going to try to plant a second wave for our fall garden because I heard they produce more in the milder temps versus the blazing hot summer sun we have now.
    Cantaloupe | My mom gifted us these seeds via a cantaloupe she purchased from the grocery store. I simply rinsed them off well and left them to try on the counter before we planted a few. 
    It took about a week for them sprout. Initially, we planted six and three actually sprouted. So we’re planting 12 more the end of the week and hopefully we’ll get six to ten of them to sprout.
    Watermelon | We had so much fun growing our Crimson Reds last year. The squirrels gave us a run for our money with these last year and kept eating our seeds. Then when they sprouted we had to save them from other critters.
    Fingers crossed we don’t have that issue this year. Our seedlings have been safe so far. I’m making sure to give these lots of sun and consistent watering.
    Green Bell Peppers | This is another crop we tried growing last year. Unfortunately they didn’t survive the deer. I’m ready this year though. Looking forward to having some peppers for my pasta dishes and my homemade salsa.
    Grand Mix Bell Peppers | Did you know bell peppers can be  off-white and ombré colors? We didn’t. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that we get at least one bush of off-white bell peppers and one of ombré ones.
    We planted fifteen seeds and had almost all of them sprout. Can’t wait to see what colors we end up with.
    Beefsteak Tomatoes | These are pick we all agreed on. Bud doesn’t eat tomatoes but as we discovered last year, he loves to watch them grow. We stuck with cherry tomatoes last year but decided to move up to a bigger variety this year.
    We planted twenty-five seeds thinking only half would come up. Y’all, all twenty-five of those seeds sprouted! So I’m splitting the seedlings with my aunt who’s also growing a summer garden. 
    Zucchini | The first time I tried zucchini was on a trip to New York. We stopped by this Italian restaurant and had it fried with breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese. It was delish!
    So now I’m growing my own. We only have three seedlings. Fingers crossed they all fruit and survive.
    Green Apples | I’ve wanted an apple tree since I was a kid. I love apples. Like A LOT. Granny Smith aka green apples have always been my favorites. 
    So I took a seed from one and decided to see if it would sprout and it did. Y’all, I’m thrilled to be growing an apple tree. It’ll take a few years for it to mature but I can be patient. 
    Organic Pink Lady Apples | Motivated by my success with the Granny Smith seedling, I decided to try my hands getting an organic Pink Lady seed to grow. I planted about seven to ten of them. So far only one has sprouted but it’s thriving and doing very well. 
    Prayers up that we get more seedlings to pop up because I kind of promised this apple tree to my niece but I’d love to have at least one to keep for myself. Again we have a few years before this will be mature enough to fruit. Nevertheless it’s going to still be lots of fun watching it grow. 
    Spaghetti Squash | This is yet another seed my mom contributed to our garden. She made spaghetti using a spaghetti squash one night and I decided to save the seeds to plant. We only planted six and had three sprout. Out of those three only two survived. 
    Unfortunately we couldn’t plant more because I stored the remaining seeds too soon.They weren’t completely dry like I thought they were and ended up getting mold on them. Needless to say I had to throw them away. I will be purchasing another spaghetti squash and harvesting the seeds from it to seed if we can get it to grow in our fall garden. I’ve heard that you have less issues with squash bugs and pests if you plant them when the temps are mild. We’ll see.
    Jack O’Latern Pumpkins | I’ve always wanted my own mini pumpkin patch and it looks like I’ll have just that this year. We all decided on pumpkins because we love them a lot. They’re just so cute. Anyways, we are looking forward to having lots of pumpkins to carve and decorate come October.
    Our pumpkins were not that hard to sprout and seem to be thriving in their containers. I kept them in the shade for a while when they first came up but now I’m getting ready to move them to an area where they can get lots of sun.  I’ll keep these well watered as well so that they don’t get dried out.
    Lima Beans | The kids got these in a summer reading kit from the library. They have been beyond easy to grow. Bud’s beans sprouted in less than 48 hours. Moo’s took about three days to finally break through the surface. But they’ve been growing well since.
    We did have a brief issue of some ants cutting the leaves but I think we’ve got that solved. I’m hoping we’ll see some pods starting to form soon.  We’re probably going to plant more of these towards the end of the month because four vines just isn’t going to yield enough beans for a proper harvest.
    Overall, our 2020 summer garden is looking very promising. The hardest part by far is going to be waiting for everything to mature. I’m super excited though that despite not being in our own place, we’ve managed to expand our garden and plant more than we did last year. You can follow along with our garden process here on the blog or over on my Instagram stories. I’ll also be posting video updates to my Facebook page and YouTube channel.
    If you’re interested in really immersing yourself into gardening and the homesteading lifestyle, consider buying the Gardening & Sustainable Living Bundle 2020 from Ultimate Bundles™. It has 6 courses, 21 eBooks, and 5 planners & printables.
    If you’re like me and love vegetable gardening the How To Start A Container Garden ebook, Raised Bed Mini Bundle eCourse, and the Think ‘Inside’ the Box: An Essential Guide to Edible Container Gardening eBook will definitely come in handy especially if you’re a beginner gardener.
    You’ll also have multiple planners to help you plan out and keep track of your gardening progress once you get started. This bundle also includes resources on canning, pest control, and even worm composting. Live your best gardening life with bundle. Don’t say I never tried to put y’all on to something good.
    Do you garden? If so, what do you grow?

  • 40 Books To Buy To Add Black Representation To Your Child’s Bookshelves

    This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a commission for purchases made through the links in this post.
    In our household we take our Blackness seriously. We feel that it is something that we should celebrate not only during Black History Month but every day of the year. One of the best ways to do this with kids is through reading.
    As a Black mom it is important for me to be proactive in surrounding my children with a vast collection of books that tell OUR stories through OUR own voices from all different walks of Blackness. Representation STILL matters. I want my kids to be surrounded by stories that tell our history as well as stories that celebrate our beauty, uniqueness, accomplishments, strengths, and resilience. 
    With the current state of race relations being in major upheaval, if you are non-Black it is also important for you to immerse yourself in our culture as well. One of the best ways to do so without appropriating Black culture is through reading Black own voices stories as well. Doing so will challenge and stretch the way you see Blackness and hopefully assist you in starting dialog with your children about racism, diversity, and equality.
    That said, here are 40 Black stories written by Black authors that I’m challenging everyone to buy for their child’s/family’s bookshelves.

    40 Black Books For Kids

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    If you’re interested in more Black books by Black authors, I’ve compiled this list of over 300 Black own voices books. Happy Reading!

  • 5 Disney Movies On My Radar To Watch This Year

    New year, new selection of movie releases from Disney to enjoy.  Yes, if you didn’t already know, we are big fans of Disney movies including Marvel Studios. Last year Disney kind of knocked it out of the park with so many great releases like Endgame, Toy Story 4, and we finally got a follow up to Maleficent. This year, I have five movies that I’ve been amped to watch since I saw the trailers last year and am looking forward to seeing each of them.

    5 Disney Movies I Want To See This Year

    Onward (March 6, 2020)

    What would you do if you could bring back someone you loved from the dead?  For me personally, I’d jump at the chance to bring one of my grandmothers back even if it was only for 24 hours.  My maternal grandmother passed away when I was a baby.  I have picture of her holding me but that’s it.
    My paternal grandmother succumbed to her battle with breast cancer before myself or any of my siblings were even a thought in our parents’ minds.  My father loss his mother when he was my son’s age and that loss has had a such a profound effect on him. I’d love the opportunity to see how much of who I am was inherited from those two women and to have the chance to have some in-depth conversations about life with them.
    In Disney Pixar’s newly released animated movie, Onward, elf brothers Ian and Barley Lightfoot find themselves gifted with a magical staff, a gem, and a spell from their late father.  Of course things don’t go as planned.  They end up destroying the gem stone and conjuring on half of their dad.
    So Barley and Ian go on an adventure to find another gem in less than 24 hours before their chance to reconnect with their dad is gone forever.  I haven’t a chance to make it to the theaters yet to see (because life) but I’m planning on taking the kids to watch this soon.  I’ve already got my tissues ready because the overall plot of this movie seems like it’s going to hit close to home and trigger some waterworks.

    Mulan (March 27, 2020)

    I’ve seen many mixed responses and reactions to this movie already due to the movie trailers and the fact that supposedly none of the original songs or Mushu will be making an appearance in this live action remake.  I have to say that I am among those who are disappointed that there is no Mushu.  He provided so much comedic relief to what would have been an otherwise very intense family movie.

    Nevertheless, I am still interested in seeing the final product and supporting this movie with my POC dollars.  My heart is happy for the Asian community and that this is yet another drop in the bucket to more Asian movies making it to mainstream media.  Representation STILL matters folks.  Mushu or no Mushu, songs or no songs, I hope that Mulan will be amazing and huge hit at the box office just like Black Panther was.
    Listen Jet Li playing the emperor and Jason Scott Lee playing Khan is enough for me to part with my dollars.  I don’t think I’ve ever been disappointed by any of their works before.

    Black Widow (May 1, 2020)

    It wouldn’t be a good year in terms of movie releases without a movie from Marvel Studios.  And I know ScarJo has let her mouth (and bad judgement) get her caught up in some controversy in the not so distant past, but I’m hoping she can keep it together until AFTER the Black Widow release.  My baby but not a baby sister and I have already planned out our Sisters’ Date Night to go see this.  The kids will be hanging with Grandma since this is one Marvel movie that I have deemed not kid appropriate.

    They’re bummed they have to sit this one out because they’ve seen all of the Avenger movies thus far.  They’ll live tho.  I’m looking forward to this movie because out of all the Avengers, Black Widow is the one character whose backstory I know the least about.  Although I’m still mourning the loss of IronMan and Stan Lee, I’m hoping we see a little nod or something to both of them in this movie.
    More importantly, I hope this woman gives off all kinds of Girl Power vibes.  Black Widow does not play.  She kicks ass first and takes names later.

    Soul (June 19, 2020)

    This is the one Disney movie the kids are actual skeptical about seeing.  They can’t quite put a finger on why but we’re still going to be seated in the front row when it comes out.  I mean it’s an animated movie with a Black main character, of course I’m supporting it with my Black dollars when it drops this summer.

    Soul is a movie about a band teacher named Joe who finally gets the opportunity of his dreams to play at the best jazz club in NYC.  But a wrong step lands him in a fantastical world called The Great Before.  TGB is like the last stop for souls before they come topside to Earth in human form.
    Joe meets 22 and tries to convince her that being a human is all kinds of wonderful but what actually happens is that he ends up learning a few things himself. Peter Docter, who directed Inside Out, also directed Soul.  You this means we may want to be on the safe side and bring some tissue.
    Also, I’m hyped about seeing this movie because Jamie Foxx will be voicing Joe.  I love when Jamie Foxx lands musical roles because he’s a very talented singer.  Ballads like those from the remake of Anna are my favorite to hear him sing.  So I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Disney let him do his thing in this movie and that he’ll also be recording some original songs for the soundtrack.

    Jungle Cruise (July 24, 2020)

    I’m glad The Rock made the decision all these years ago to team up with Disney.  I’ve never been one to watch wrestling but he was on my radar from having seen his posters plastered all over my cousins’ walls and listening to them talk about matches and them trying to impersonate his famous eyebrow lift.  In my mind, I always thought he’d make a great hunky movie star.  Looks like the universe agreed.

    Hitting theaters this July, Jungle Cruise looks like it is going to be a nonstop adventure that the entire family can enjoy.  The kids are hyped about this one.  My little guy is excited that “Maui” is back in a movie that he can watch. 
    I’m invested in seeing Jungle Cruise because it gives off female Indiana Jones meets The Mummy vibes.  Also, I love Emily  Blunt!  We will definitely be enjoying this movie at one of the IMAX theaters so that we can get the full effect.
    If you’re a Disney fan, please let me know in the comments or via social media what movies you are excited about seeing this year.

  • 100 Creative Journal Prompts For Middle Schoolers

    This post contains affiliate links.  I may receive a commission for purchases made through links in this post at no additional cost to you.
    I’ve always been a lover of the written word.  My mom jokes that I was born with a book, a notebook, and an ink pen in my hand.  Now as a homeschooling mom and having worked in the education field, I know that not all kids are born with a natural love for writing. 

    For some kids this is a skill that has to be cultivated and practiced over and over again.  One of the ways, I’ve gotten my kids to at least NOT hate writing is through prompt journaling.  I learned early on that part of their dislike for writing came from them not having a clue what to write about.  So I look the guesswork out of it by giving them FUN and sometimes personal prompts to write about. 

    Today I’m sharing 100 of those prompts with you.  It is my hope that these prompts will help your child either enjoy writing more or at least dislike it less than they currently do.  And in the process they’ll be honing their writing skills and on their way to becoming better and hopefully less reluctant writers.

    100 Writing Prompts For Kids

    1. My favorite thing in the whole world is . . .
    2. If someone asked me to describe myself I would say . . .
    3. Five things I like to do on the weekend are . . .
    4. Look a window and describe what it looks like outside.  What colors and shapes do you see?
    5. One thing I want to do when I get older is . . .
    6. Describe your favorite place in the world.  Where is it?  Why do you like it? What does it look like there?
    7. When I grow up I want to be . . .
    8. Someone that I admire a lot is . . .
    9. Name one personal object that is very special to you.  Describe what it looks like.  Where did you get it and why is it special to you?
    10. My favorite holiday is . . .
    11. If I wrote a book it would be about . . .
    12. Describe one thing that you are good at.  How did you learnt it? Do like being good at it?
    13. Name three things that make you sad.  Why do they make you sad?
    14. One thing or topic I would love to learn more about is . . .
    15. Write a short story about a dog named Spike.
    16. If I could be any animal for a day, I would be . . .
    17. Have you ever done something that you wish hadn’t? What was it? How did it make you feel?
    18. What is your favorite television show? When do you watch it? Why do you like watching it?
    19. If you could breathe underwater like Aquaman or fly through space like Captain Marvel, which would you pick? Why?
    20. My last dream was about . . .
    21. Describe your perfect day. What would you do? Where would you go? Who would you spend time with?
    22. Two things that make me excited are . . .
    23. If I was stranded on an island I would take . . .
    24. If you could hang out with one famous person, who would it be? What would you do with them?
    25. If I had $100, I would . . .
    26. What would you do if you could travel to outer space?
    27. Who is one person you trust?  Why do you trust them?
    28. What is the best book you’ve ever read?  What was it about? What did you like about it?
    29. Do you think homeschool should be banned from school?  Why or why not?
    30. Which animal do you think would make a better pet- a fish or a bird?  Why?
    31. Describe your dream vacation.  Where would you go? What would you do there?
    32. What are four foods that you dislike? Why do you dislike them? Do they taste awful or have an unpleasant smell?
    33. In my free time I like to . . .
    34. Set a timer for ten minutes and write about anything you want to.
    35. If you go invited to a costume party what would you wear? Why would you choose that costume?
    36. Do you like snow days?  Why or why not?
    37. Describe your favorite snack food.  Is it homemade or do you buy it from a store? How does it taste?
    38. What does family mean to you?
    39. Three things I want people to know about me are . . .
    40. If I could change one thing about my community it would be . . .
    41. What is one thing about yourself that you are really proud of?  Why does this make you proud?
    42. Name three things that make you laugh.  Why are they funny?
    43. What is your favorite animal? What does it look like?  Have you ever seen it in person?
    44. If you could make one new law, what would it be?  Why would you make it?
    45. List four things that you own that are in your favorite color.  What do they look like?  Where did you get them from?
    46. Write a poem about Spring.
    47. Write your full name.  See how many words you can make using just those letters.
    48. I feel my most happiest when . . .
    49. To me freedom means . . .
    50. What makes a person a good friend?
    51. What is your favorite meal to have for lunch and/or dinner? Do you know how to cook it? How often do you get to eat it?
    52. Write about two things that happened to you today.  How did they make you feel?
    53. What is your biggest fear and why?
    54. Write a letter to your future self.
    55. If you could have one superpower what would it be?
    56. What is your favorite hobby?  How did you learn how to do it?
    57. What are things that you are grateful for right now?
    58. What do you love most about yourself and why?
    59. Write a short story about a butterfly.
    60. Do you think kids should be get paid for chores? Why or why not?
    61. Something I wish adults understood about kids is . . .
    62. If I could do anything next month, I would . . .
    63. What is your dream pet and why?
    64. Would you want to live in a world with no adults? Why or why not?
    65. If I were principal for a day I would . . .
    66. What is the best gift anyone has ever given you? Who gave it to you?  Do you still have it?
    67. My favorite thing about summer break is . . .
    68. In five years, I think I will . . .
    69. Why do you think the chicken crossed the road?
    70. If you could learn one new skill this month, what would it be?  Why?
    71. What are two thing you wish you knew about the future?
    72. If could invent anything, I would create . . .
    73. What kind of animals would you own if you had a farm like Old MacDonald?
    74. Make a bucket list.
    75. Do you think kids should have cell phones? Why or why not?
    76. What do you like about your neighborhood?
    77. Write three original “Knock, Knock” jokes.
    78. If I found a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, I would . . .
    79. Would you want to switch places with your parents or guardian for the day? What would you do?
    80. How would you decorate your room if you had no restrictions and an unlimited amount of money?
    81. Write a letter to your best friend.
    82. My least favorite holiday is . . .
    83. What is your favorite kind of music to do listen to?
    84. If I could pick any celebrity to replace one of my teachers, I would choose . . .
    85. Today, I feel . . .
    86. If you had a treehouse, what would you keep in it?
    87. Write a poem about the moon.
    88. What would you do if a volcano erupted in your neighborhood?
    89. I think kids should be able to vote because . . .
    90. My least favorite thing to do is . . .
    91. If I could choose anyone to put on a dollar bill or coin, I would choose . . .
    92. The last time I cried was . . .
    93. Do you think punishments really help people learn their lessons?
    94. What is your favorite game to play? Why do you like to play it? Do you play it with anyone?
    95. Would you ever run for president?  Why or why not?
    96. What is your favorite movie?  What is it about?
    97. What do you think you were like as a baby?
    98. If I could ask my parents three questions, I would ask them . . .
    99. I think social media is . . .
    100. One thing I can do to make this world a better place is . . .
    To make it easy to try out some of these prompts with your child, I created this free downloadable pdf. This way you can print out this list and have it handy at all times.  You can also purchase my official 10 Min Writing workbook journals here and here or using the widget below or you can purchase printables from my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

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  • YUMMommy Book Club

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    What do you do when you love talking about books almost as much as you love reading them?  You start a book club of course.  Having talked about books here on the blog and pretty much everywhere else, it seemed like the next logical step for me was to start a digital book club.  Thus, the YUMMommy Book Club was born.

    About The YUMMommy Book Club

    My hope and goal is that this book club will be a space where we can bond, connect, and build a community through our shared loved and enjoyment of reading.  In a nutshell, it’ll be like doing one big group buddy read every month in which we all read the selected group book and then share our thoughts on it after we finish it.

    Book lovers everywhere know the feeling that takes over when you’re all the way in and can’t wait to turn the page–or have to brace yourself before turning it.  You just want to tell somebody!  You want to share the experience! … For me, the only thing more thrilling than being captivated by a brilliant book is being able to share it.  -Oprah Winfrey

    What the YUMMommy Book Club will NOT be is a place to pass judgement or spew bigotry.  While we read a mixture of non-fiction and fiction books, some of those tackling hard topics and some not, I hope that everyone will be mature enough to keep it classy and save the drama for their mama.

    First Book Club Read

     With it still being February, I thought it would be a great idea to start with something befitting of Black History Month.  Therefore, our first read will be Motherhood So White: A Memoir of Race, Gender, and Parenting in America by Nefertiti Austin.

    Author: Nefertiti Austin

    Genre: Non-fiction, African American, Memoirs
    Publication Date: September 20, 2019
    Publisher: Sourcebooks
    Buy Here: Amazon | Target | Walmart

    In America, Mother = White

    That’s what Nefertiti Austin, a single African American woman, discovered when she decided she wanted to adopt a Black baby boy out of the foster care system.  Eager to finally join the motherhood ranks, Nefertiti was shocked when people started asking her why she wanted to adopt a “crack baby” or said that she would never be able to raise a Black son on her own.  She realized that American society saw motherhood through a white lens and that there would be no easy understanding or acceptance of the kind of family she hoped to build. 

    Motherhood So White is the story of Nefertiti’s fight to create the family she always knew she was meant to have and the story of motherhood that all American families need now.  In this unflinching account of her parenting journey, Nefertiti examines the history of adoption in the African American community, faces off against the stereotypes of single, Black motherhood, and confronts the reality of raising children of color in racially charged, modern-day America.

    Honest, vulnerable, and uplifting, Motherhood So White reveals what Nefertiti knew all along– that the only requirement for a successful family is one raised with love.
    I think this will be a powerful read that many of us will be able to identify with and relate to while for others it may cause you to challenge the way you view motherhood and Black moms.  I hope you will join me in reading Motherhood So White.  If you feel like this book selection isn’t for you feel free to sit this one out and join us after March 20th for the next book club pick.

    How To Be Apart of the YUMMommy Book Club

    Join the YUMMommy Book Club on Facebook: This is where everything will be going down.  Having an official group instead of just hosting the book club on the YUMMommy Facebook page will offer us more privacy.  I want us to feel comfortable sharing our real thoughts on the books we read as well as sharing any personal connections that we felt. Often times being vulnerable in a very public place is hard for many us.  So a private group gives us a more intimate setting to interact.  You can find the book club here.
    Read the Group Book by March 17th: We’ll start sharing in-depth conversations that will hold spoilers after this date.  So if you don’t want anything spoiled for you, get ‘er read!
    Attend the Live Show: I’ve tentatively scheduled a liveshow/book chat for Friday, March 20th at 8 PM EST.  Turn on some cartoons for the kids (or put them to bed), grab your snacks (and your book), and join us.  No worries if you miss it.  The replay will be up in the group for you to watch.
    Invite a Friend:  I really want our book club to be successful.  And in order to do that we need members.  So be sure to share this post on your social media so your friends can join us too!  Friends don’t let friends read good books alone, right?! 
    I’m really looking forward to reading and talking books with y’all this year!  Seriously, I’m so giddy that I started a book club. See ya over in the YUMMommy Book Club group. 📚
    Have you ever been a part of a book club?

  • Last Minute Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas For Adults & Kids

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    Happy Monday!  Valentine’s Day totally got the drop on me this year.  Usually I have gifts already purchased and hidden by the end of January.  Unfortunately it’s looking like I’m going to be out here in these streets with the rest of the procrastinators and forgetters doing last minute shopping.
    Thank goodness stores like Target and Walmart offer same day pickup and/or delivery.  Anyways, if you’re like me and will be last minute shopping, check out some of the gift ideas below.  There’s a mixture of traditional and non-traditional suggestions.

    Adult Gift Ideas

    Jewelry | We’ve been using jewelry as a way to show our for centuries now.  It’s hard to go wrong with earrings, a ring, or maybe a watch in your loved one’s favorite color.

    Books | Did you know more people visited the library last year than the movies? So it’s safe to say that a book by your loved one’s favorite author will be right up their alley.  Also, another fun concept would be get a book that you can buddy read together.  Reading always even more fun when you have someone to talk about all the juicy bits with as you read.

    Treats | They say food is the way to a man’s heart and I’m here to say that food is the way to EVERYONE’s heart.

    Beauty & Grooming | Listen I have never turned down gifts of lipstick, hair care products, or skincare stuff. I love it when my loved ones want to help me look and feel my best by investing in me via beauty product gifts.

    For The Home | I wish other adults understood how much their peers appreciate simple gifts like a new set of coffee mugs, towel sets, candles, and other home goods.
    Flowers | I know flowers seem like a cliché gift to give but studies have shown that having fresh flowers in a home reduces stress.  So get the flowers.

    Entrepreneurship | There’s more than one way to support your loved one’s business.  Something as simple as a planner can go a long ways to helping them get organized by giving them a central place to jot down business meetings, lunch dates, and more.

    Kids Gift Ideas

    Toys & DIY | I don’t know a kid alive who turns down the gift of toys after Christmas.  My little guy loves getting toys for all the holidays.  And Moo, my tween, is all about DIYs.

    Treats | Remember food is the way to everyone’s heart including kids!

    Clothes | In case you didn’t get the memo, kids love clothes too.  Moo has hit the tween age and she’s all about clothes and shoes.

    Books | Don’t let these kids fool you, they love reading too!

    What is your favorite Valentine’s Day gift?

  • Friday Five Recently | Week 8

    This post contains affiliate link, which means I may get a commission if you make a purchase using one of those links.

    Happy Friday!  We are another week closer to Christmas.  Naturally, the kids can hardly contain their excitement.  I’m not ashamed to say that they get their love of Christmas from me.  I’m a holiday baby.  So the love of Christmas is in my blood.

    Anyways, they’ve been asking Alexa almost everyday how many days we have until Christmas. It’s so cute to watch.  Their joy and excitement is so infectious and just what I need right now.
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    Recently …

    Decorated | As per our family’s tradition, we decorated our holiday tree for Christmas on November 1st. I know this may seem a bit too early for some but it’s been the perfect tradition for us.  This year I let the kids take over the decorating.  Watch the video below to see how they did.

    Also, I want to point out that we call our Christmas tree a holiday tree now because last Christmas I made the execute decision to leave our tree up year round.  We simply switch out the decorations on it.  So think cute bunny and egg ornaments for Easter and pumpkin ornaments for Fall.  I definitely recommend doing a holiday tree if you don’t need to use the space where you put your tree.

    Exhausted | I made the mistake of slacking off on giving the kids (and myself) their daily Sambucol elderberry syrup.  Now I’m paying the cost because both kids (and myself) are sick.  And as usual, Moo got sick first and then it spread to her brother.  Since I’ve been taking care of both of them around the clock, I have a little tickle in my throat too.

    I hope that we all get to feeling better by the end of next week.  A mama is exhausted.  I’m tired of cleaning up vomit, replenishing ginger ale and Kleenex rations, and getting up all hours to dispense out medicine every 2-4 hours.  Not to mention, we’ve still been homeschooling through all of this.  Definitely learned my lesson about skipping the elderberry syrup.

    Sad | The holidays are usually a happy time for me but this year I’m a little sad.  Death was not kind to my family this year and so this year we’ll be celebrating the holidays without some familiar and cherished faces for the first time.  Our hearts are heavy folks.  Keep us lifted in your thoughts and prayers this season.

    Ready | We are officially ready for Day of Thanks aka Thanksgiving.  Instead of getting an entire bird we opted to get two Butterball Ready to Roast Boneless Turkey Breast.  These don’t require any thawing and they’re already seasoned.  You just take it out of the freezer, unpackage it, and put in the oven/roaster.

    Watched | Netflix has a hit on their hands with their new Christmas movie, Klaus.  It started streaming today and of course I had to watch it.  It’s so good!  The perfect animated movie about the spirit of Christmas and how Santa came to be that whole family will enjoy.

    Have you started preparing for the holidays yet?

  • Our Traditional Style Family Christmas Tree

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    Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, we’ve been all year to decorate you!  So those clearly aren’t the lyrics to “O Christmas Tree” but still the kids and I have been counting down the days until we could put up the Christmas ornaments again.  And yes, we continued with our tradition of putting our tree up on November 1st!  Keep scrolling for more Christmas tree goodness.

    What We Did Differently

    This year when it came to decorating the family tree, I tried to let the kids take over and have free reign of where all the ornaments went. (Click here to see last year’s tree.)  It’s the tree that will be on display for visitors to see when they stop by and the tree we put gifts under.  So instead of making it “perfect” or “flawless,” I decided that it should be a reflection of our family.  And I have to say the kids did a great job of doing just that.
    Moo says we need to add more ornaments and get some tree garland to fill in some of the bare spots.  So I’m sure there will be a second round of decorating for this tree in the next week or so.  I’ll keep y’all posted.
    Another thing we did differently is that we left the actual tree up all year.  Yep, you heard right, we didn’t take down our tree after the holidays.  Instead, we removed all of the ornaments with the exception of the lights.  Our goal was make it into a year round holiday tree and not just a Christmas tree.  So think hearts for Valentine’s Day, flowers for Mother’s Day, and pumpkins for Halloween.  This is a cool way to keep some holiday cheer going throughout the year and I definitely recommend this if you don’t need to take down your tree free up space.
    This year we also ditched our old tree skirt.  It was cheap and not very exciting to look at.  Originally, I hadn’t planned on ditching it but it came up missing when we pulled out all of the Christmas decorations.  A blessing in disguise in my book.

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    And the last thing we want to do differently this year is have additional trees.  No worries we’re not going to go overboard.  The kids each want their own personal trees for their rooms.  I think this is a great idea and we’ve already started rearranging furniture and hunting for the right trees to fit their respective spaces.  Fingers crossed we find them.

    Why We Went With Artificial

    Growing up my mom was the hostess with the mostest.  She made sure we always had a real tree.  She didn’t switch to an artificial tree until after I had moved out.  It was always my goal to continue my childhood tradition of having a live Christmas tree.  
    However, when I met my husband, I found out that not only was he NOT a fan of real trees, but that the smell made him sick.  And now years later, we still have an artificial tree.  
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    I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this year will be our last year without a live tree as I want to get a live one to go on the porch next year.  We’ll keep our artificial ones inside, but I’m determined that the kids will experience at least one holiday season with a live tree.
    Also, from a money standpoint, having an artificial tree is more practical because we can use it year after year and save money on getting a live one.  

    What We Want To Do Different Next Year

    I know Christmas 2019 hasn’t gotten here yet but I’m already planning ahead to next year.  The first thing we want to change up next year is our tree.  We love our faithful one but have decided to get something that is fuller and prelit.  Ideally, I’d love get one of those trees that spins as well but I’m not trying to break the bank.
    We’ll also be saying good-bye to our current tree topper.  It’s just a $3 star that I think my husband picked up from the dollar store because we couldn’t find our one after our move.  I wanted to replace it this year but I didn’t catch any of the toppers I wanted during the after Christmas sales last year.  So, I’m just going to save up and keep hunting.
    We’ll retire our current tree and topper to either my office or the kitchen.  The kids also want to try adding some ribbon to the tree.  Moo said we need to have a “fancy” tree next year.  Guess I’ll be brushing up my ribbon skills until then.
    Lastly, I want to get some personalized ornaments and get the kids to make more handmade ornaments.  Some of my favorite ornaments on our tree are the ones the kids made.  It gives the tree character and makes it feel homey.

    So who else has their Christmas tree up and decorated already?  If not, let me know when you usually put your tree up below in the comments.  

    Happy Holidays!

  • Friday Five Recently | Week 7

    How is it back-to-school time already?  We’ve been rocking and rolling with homeschool for about three weeks now and I’m still trying to figure out how Summer Break went by so quickly.  Listen, I’m not the biggest fan of overly structured days, getting up in the morning, and having to cut back on my night owl hours.  In the words of Drake, “I come alive in the nighttime.” So needless to say it’s been an adjustment around these parts.  Anyways, I hope that the 2019-2020 school year has gotten off to a great start for your families.  Here’s a look at what we’ve been up to during my Summer hiatus from the blog.

    Recently . . .

    Gardened | Our gardening adventures have continued.  I’m so happy the kids and I decided to start growing our own food again. We had a small veggie garden on our balcony when we lived in our old apartment.  So it only made sense to give it another go now that we have a yard with even more space and we can actually plant into the ground.
    I will say that it hasn’t been all smooth sailing but it’s been a great learning and bonding experience for us.  We’ve enjoyed eating food we grew from seed and via our own hard work.  We recently came back from a trip to my hometown and discovered that our watermelons have finally decided to grow!  We were shocked and excited.  Bambi and his mama had been eating up our watermelon vine and buds every time they bloomed.  I had made up my mind that I was going to take up the vines and plant something else but I’m glad that I didn’t.
    Realized | While we’re on the subject of gardening, I’ve had the realization/revelation that I’ve become really passionate about growing my own food.  So much so that I want to give it a go doing it on a larger scale and throw some animals into the mix.  Basically, I want to start a farm.  I’m not shocked by this as I come from a line of sharecroppers and have family members who have/had farms.
    I’ve written about how my mom has an excellent green thumbs and our house was always full of plants growing up.  I’ve also talked about how I spend time helping my great uncle in his garden and the fun I had shelling peas and shucking corn on his screened-in porch with my siblings.  I just wish I would have realized how passionate I would feel about farming and how right it would feel deep down in my bones before I went to college and studied fashion merchandising.  
    Now I’m looking into taking some agriculture classes.  Better late than never for sure.
    Started | Somewhere between late June and early July, I hopped back on the couponing bandwagon.  Honestly, I’m wondering why I ever stopped to start with.  I’m not out here clearing shelves, but my favorite total at checkout has become $FREE.  I will say that couponing feels so much easier though this time around.
    I’m sure that YouTube couponers and my couponing groups has a lot to do with that.  It’s easier to find sales and the guesswork is pretty much taken out of doing matchups.  Not only has couponing been a great way to save money, but it’s helped me to earn money as well using cashback apps like ibotta, Fetch Rewards, and ShopKick.  I’ll go in-depth on this in a later post.
    Mourned | This summer has not been kind to my family as a whole.  A little over a month ago my Aunt G passed away.  While wasn’t out of the blue because she had been sick and was in and out of the hospital which ended in her having to have her leg amputated, it’s still an adjustment.  The first two weeks after her funeral were the hardest for me.  Memories of her kept popping into my head at will and I’d have rush off to the bathroom to cry in peace.
    Aunt G is on the right in the hat. 
    One of my cousins passed away the same day after he heard about her passing.  He was on his way back home to attend the funeral.  I’m not going to go into all of the other people from our family who’ve passed away this Summer but it’s just been a reminder that my aunts, uncles, great cousins, etc. are all older now.  So I know death is to be expected in some cases, but it damn sure ain’t welcomed!
    Resonated | I stumbled across this post that talks about how we should Stop Accepting Apologies That Aren’t Accompanied By Changed Behavior and it really resonated with me.  I think a lot of us struggle with putting our foots down, cutting people off, and leaving harmful situations be it romantic, platonic, and/or professional relationships.  We allow people to continue to mistreat us, disrespect us, and waste our time.  We stay mad for a little while, they give us an apology and empty promises, and we bury our emotions and open our arms and hearts right back up to them time and time again.
    I don’t want to get too deep or sound too preachy, but accepting apologies without changed behavior is something that’s heavily promoted in Black families.  Maybe not as much in this generation but enough that we still need to work on it.  I’m sure many of us have been told to accept so and so’s apology for the millionth time because “we’re family.”  I know I’ve heard this, both directed and not directed at me, more times than I care to recount.
    It took me a long time to realize that a lot of people let others continue to hurt them out of fear.  Fear of being alone, fear of not what’s next, fear of losing something/someone familiar and not wanting to have to start over or move on.  Reading this helped to me to come to terms with the fact that I want to break this cycle with my kids.  Also, I want to be conscious of what I’m teaching them about forgiveness.  I want them to know that it’s okay to not forgive immediately.  
    Some wounds won’t heal overnight or ever.  Take your time. Also, I want them to know that forgiving someone doesn’t mean you have to keep them around and give them the opportunity to screw you over again.  I want my kids to know their worth and what they are worthy of.  I want them to be ruthless about cultivating an environment that is safe and healthy mentally, emotionally, and physically.
    Let’s chat in the comments!  Have your kids started school yet?  If so, how’s it been going?