YUMMommy

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  • Thankful Thursday

    Welcome to this week’s edition of Thankful Thursday.  I can’t express how important it is for me take a day out of my week and just express my graditude and humblness for all that God has done and is doing in my life.  In last couple of days, several people from my hometown have been passed away.  Sad to say that almost all of them were killed in some kind of car wreck.  Just hearing about so many people that I know die so young makes me even more grateful.
    So, this week I am especially thankful for still having my life, health and strength.  I am thankful to have my family and that they are all in good health as well.  I am thankful to be back home and enjoying their company.  They are all excited to see how big JJ has grown.  They can’t believe that he’s already doubled his weight and looks so different than when they saw him a few weeks ago.  I am sure he will be somewhat spoiled by the time we go back home Sunday.
    Speaking of JJ, I am thankful that he is five weeks and healthy.  As any parent knows, anything can happen to your kids.  This first year is especially dangerous for them.  There are so many germs and illnesses that can cause them be very sick.  Thankfully, JJ hasn’t caught anything and everybody has been cautious of making sure that their hands and stuff are clean before interacting with him.  It means a lot when your family is proactive about helping your baby stay healthy as well.  I have known some people to get offended when asked to santize their hands before handling a baby.
    I am thankful that Moo is still very in love with her little brother.  She’s not threatened by his presence at all.  I was very worried that she’d resent him for stealing her spotlight.  However, she still gets her spotlight from Grandma and everyone else.  In fact, she likes to show her little brother off by asking everybody if they’ve seen him.  It’s really cute.  I hope that she continues to feel loved and appreciated by us.
    As many of you know, I have been working as a freelance writer full-time for a while a now.  Let me just say that this is not a career for the faint of heart.  It has taken me a year and some change to finally start getting an almost steady stream of offers and opportunities coming in.  I’m not even close to being rich or making enough money for my family to live off of month to month, but I am making money that is going towards rebuilding our emergency/down payment fund.  I am thankful that if need be I can contribute to gas for our car, money towards groceries and other expenses.
    I’ve always been very independent.  The transition from a working outside the home to being a stay at home mom was quite the adjustment for me.  However, it was well worth it.  And I am thankful that I have had this time to start this blog, interact with you all and pursue my dreams again.  I am glad and thankful to announce again that I got my first article published by Yahoo! (Check it out here.)
    It’s blessing.  The door is now open for me to write more pieces for them and get paid.  As long as my articles keep getting views I will continue to make money off of them for months and years to come.  I am very thankful for this opportunity to reach millions and to share what I have learned. One of my biggest dreams has always been to be in a position where I am able to inspire, help, motivate, etc.  And freelance writing with Yahoo is giving me that chance.
    So, I hope that  you all will continue to support me over there.  If you haven’t read my article on ways that my family and I save money, I encourage you to head on over and do so.  While you’re there please feel free to retweet, share on Facebook and click the Helpful button.  The more exposure I get, the more people I can reach and touch.
    Last but not least, I am thankful that YUMMommy is growing.  I’m getting more readers and supporters.  I’ve had people approach me on Twitter to ask if they can guest post about parenting and to ask me to guest post and netework with them also.  It’s just so humbling to feel the love and support you all have for me and my writing.  Please don’t think for a minute that I take it for granted because I don’t.  So, continue to comment and visit.
    I will be doing more giveaways to show my appreciation because it goes both ways.  I do think you all should be rewarded every now and then for commenting and reading my stuff.  I promis I’m not going to turn this into one of those review and giveway only blogs.  I have too much to say and share to ever do that.
    What are you thankful for this week?  Has anything happened in your life to remind you how fortunate you are?

  • Romance Wednesday

    Well as you can see Wedding Day Romance Wednesday has been renamed Romance Wednesday.  We took a vote on it last week over at The Yeyo Diaries.  Anyways, as some of you know my husband and I eloped Carrie Bradshaw and Big style almost a year ago.  We’d been through a really bad break up that lasted a year.  And before that we’d gotten so caught up in trying to plan the perfect wedding that seemed to be taking us years to decide on.

    However, I haven’t given up my dream of walking down the aisle and wearing a wedding dress.  I still have a subscription to Bride’s magazine and I still pull out my wedding planning notebook every so often.  I didn’t think my husband noticed but yesterday he mentioned that he saw me looking at them.  He asked if I wanted to have the whole traditional large wedding. Traditional and large? No.

    Instead, we’re going to have a small and intimate vow renewal ceremony.  And I’ve found the perfect song to walk down the aisle to.  Check it out below and let me know what you think.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Wm1r9mSjkg]

  • Romance Wednesday

    Well as you can see Wedding Day Romance Wednesday has been renamed Romance Wednesday.  We took a vote on it last week over at The Yeyo Diaries.  Anyways, as some of you know my husband and I eloped Carrie Bradshaw and Big style almost a year ago.  We’d been through a really bad break up that lasted a year.  And before that we’d gotten so caught up in trying to plan the perfect wedding that seemed to be taking us years to decide on.

    However, I haven’t given up my dream of walking down the aisle and wearing a wedding dress.  I still have a subscription to Bride’s magazine and I still pull out my wedding planning notebook every so often.  I didn’t think my husband noticed but yesterday he mentioned that he saw me looking at them.  He asked if I wanted to have the whole traditional large wedding. Traditional and large? No.

    Instead, we’re going to have a small and intimate vow renewal ceremony.  And I’ve found the perfect song to walk down the aisle to.  Check it out below and let me know what you think.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Wm1r9mSjkg]

  • Tell Us Something Good: Happy 5 Weeks

    The Life of Rylie...and Bryce too!

    I haven’t done one of these in a while.  But let’s just get right back into.  This week I am glad to announce that JJ turned 5 weeks old!!!  Yes, my little man is no longer a newborn.  He is well on his way through infanthood and I am beyond excited to see how changes.

    So, he’s doubled his weight.  I have my lovely boobs to thank for that.  They’ve done great at producing some really yummy milk for him.  I was a little bit afraid that after having nursed Moo for almost two years, that I would have trouble building my supply back up.  Not so though.

    He’s gotten used to his bassinet.  Although, he picks and chooses the nights he wants to sleep in it.  Regardless, he some how always ends up in bed snuggled next to me at some point.  And I kind of love it because I get to wake up looking into his beautiful brown eyes.  Plus, I have my own personal alarm clock.

    He prefers to sleep slightly on his side instead of flat on his back.  We’ve tried several times laying him down on his back and somehow he always ends up on his side.  It’s a little bit scary because I wonder if he’s strong enough to just keep rolling over on to his face.  Thankfully, his chubby little body won’t allow him to do that.

    JJ has a bad habit of pulling his own hair.  He even does it in his sleep.  So, I’ve started to put socks on his hands.  I tried mitts but they were snug enough around the wrist to stay on.  Thankfully, the socks don’t seem to bother him.

    In fact, he’s not a fussy baby at all unless he’s hungry, tired or has gas.  He’s pretty low maintenance which is more than I can say for Moo.

    Another good piece of news is that I got my first freelance piece published on Yahoo!  It was very exciting.  I applied thinking I was going to write one piece and actually got approached to write something totally different.  I was nervous because I was sure it was going to come back with lots of edits but to my surprise it got published in less than a few days.

    So, now I’m working on some more freelance opts that are in my assignment box from Yahoo. Be sure to comment, retweet, share on Facebook this article.  I’m proud of it and look forward to growing as a write.

    What good news do you have to share? Link up here.

  • Tell Us Something Good: Happy 5 Weeks

    The Life of Rylie...and Bryce too!

    I haven’t done one of these in a while.  But let’s just get right back into.  This week I am glad to announce that JJ turned 5 weeks old!!!  Yes, my little man is no longer a newborn.  He is well on his way through infanthood and I am beyond excited to see how changes.

    So, he’s doubled his weight.  I have my lovely boobs to thank for that.  They’ve done great at producing some really yummy milk for him.  I was a little bit afraid that after having nursed Moo for almost two years, that I would have trouble building my supply back up.  Not so though.

    He’s gotten used to his bassinet.  Although, he picks and chooses the nights he wants to sleep in it.  Regardless, he some how always ends up in bed snuggled next to me at some point.  And I kind of love it because I get to wake up looking into his beautiful brown eyes.  Plus, I have my own personal alarm clock.

    He prefers to sleep slightly on his side instead of flat on his back.  We’ve tried several times laying him down on his back and somehow he always ends up on his side.  It’s a little bit scary because I wonder if he’s strong enough to just keep rolling over on to his face.  Thankfully, his chubby little body won’t allow him to do that.

    JJ has a bad habit of pulling his own hair.  He even does it in his sleep.  So, I’ve started to put socks on his hands.  I tried mitts but they were snug enough around the wrist to stay on.  Thankfully, the socks don’t seem to bother him.

    In fact, he’s not a fussy baby at all unless he’s hungry, tired or has gas.  He’s pretty low maintenance which is more than I can say for Moo.

    Another good piece of news is that I got my first freelance piece published on Yahoo!  It was very exciting.  I applied thinking I was going to write one piece and actually got approached to write something totally different.  I was nervous because I was sure it was going to come back with lots of edits but to my surprise it got published in less than a few days.

    So, now I’m working on some more freelance opts that are in my assignment box from Yahoo. Be sure to comment, retweet, share on Facebook this article.  I’m proud of it and look forward to growing as a write.

    What good news do you have to share? Link up here.

  • Guest Post: Stop, parent time!

    I am, what you may call, a quiet hermit. I like my own company and I’m pretty comfortable just being in the house working. I don’t like straying from a routine, and moreso, I hate surprises.

    Surprise no. 1:

    The Prodigy, as I’ve aptly nicknamed her, is the kind of firstborn child that hasn’t been schooled the meaning of  sshhh”. She’s overly energetic and unapologetically loud. She deems personal space a laughable concept (no,  really!). Her character and my own may be on either side of the spectrum but now, strangely enough, my “hermit-ism” of the past feels very much humdrum.

    And just when I thought I was getting the hang of running after The Prodigy and making sure she doesn’t burn, cut or maime herself, here comes The Progeny, the quiet one that likes to sleep alot.

    Surprise no. 2:

    (Side note: Why the names, you ask? I figured a grandiose name blesses a child; so rather than wait and see  whether greatness will eventually find them, I propose bringing greatness to them, you feel me?)

    Time fellas! That’s all it takes.  Bless @jerimasala for being so patient with me as I warmed up to being indeed “child-safe”.  It took time to get over the noise. It took time to get used to erratic sleeping patterns. It took time from work to just sit outside and play with kokoto and sticks.  But, it is a choice I made.  The line between responsibility and active fatherhood is a vast one. Providing diapers is not the same as digging holes in the sand for 2 hours with your child.  No father should miss bathing his child or miss the first time his child is able to peel a banana on their own (it took The Prodigy a minute).  With one child, you can atleast leave them with their mother for a time while you, you know, go off to do manly things.

    I work from home as a freelance designer/writer, and in between writer’s block and/or creative meltdowns, I help with the basic nannying duties most of you men would otherwise pay someone to do for you.  More than just being around my kids, I want to see them grow; to mold them and guide them towards whatever path their lives have set for them.

    So maybe it’s as simple as this: Rather than give a child what I may think they want, I’ll give them my time.







    In the blogging circle, I go by the name Chef Fatuma but people also

    know me by my slave name Mark Muchura 🙂 A freelance designer/writer and part time ninja by circumstantial trade, I regard my business more to do with raising 2 daughters.

  • Battle of the Migraine

    This post brought to you by Walgreens. All opinions are 100% mine.

    Pharmacist
    It was the summer of my second grade year when my battle with migraines started.  At first my mom didn’t know what was going on with me.  I was having these headaches that were so bad I would often cry from the pain.  Being as young as I was, I was a little scared that something really bad was going to happen to me.  My got worried too.
    At first, she thought that maybe the medicine in my glasses had weakened and that I was having the headaches because i was straining to see.  Well, the medicine was a little weak in one eye.  However, a few weeks after getting new glasses and the headaches were still coming.  Finally, we went to see our family doctor and I was diagnosed with chronic migraines.  Great these things would stick with me for life.
    Here I am today at age 25 and still having migraines that would bring even the strongest person to their knees.  However, thanks to Extra Strength Pain Reliever from Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Products I am managing a lot better. As a child there weren’t many products that I could take.  As an adult, I go to Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Products for medicines that I know will work and won’t break my wallet.
    In addition, to being a great bang for my buck, I use Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Products because they are recommended by Walgreens pharmacists, most contain the same active ingredients as national brands (think Advil, Tylenol, etc.) and they have a 100% satisfaction guarantee.  It can’t get much better than this when shopping for medication.  
    The next time you find yourself battling it out with a monster migraine, I encourage you to head to your local Walgreens and pick up some of their Extra Strength Pain Reliever.    You can check out these giveaways from select bloggers for a chance to win a Walgreens Gift Card and use  it towards that purchase.  Also, read about their Walgreens Way to Well Fund™ and how Walgreens is working to bring preventive wellness services to local communities. 

  • Summer Savings

    Well, we’re in the thick of summer. The weather is hot.  Dust has been blown off the grills.  Now, all that’s left for many of us is to update our summer attire.  Thankfully, being the frugal fashionista that I am, I was able to track down these lovely deals from Sean John, RocaWear and Dereon.  Enjoy and happy shopping!

  • Summer Savings

    Well, we’re in the thick of summer. The weather is hot.  Dust has been blown off the grills.  Now, all that’s left for many of us is to update our summer attire.  Thankfully, being the frugal fashionista that I am, I was able to track down these lovely deals from Sean John, RocaWear and Dereon.  Enjoy and happy shopping!

  • Thankful Thursday

    I know this post is coming a bit late in the evening, but I was busy working on some projects earlier.  But as the saying goes, better late than never.  So, this week I am thankful that JJ officially turned one month old today!!!  I can’t believe that much time has already flown by.  And he’s changed so much in this last month.  
    I am thankful that he is starting to sleep better during the night.  We still have some nights where he wants to party until almost 3 AM.  However, I can see that he’s at least trying to sleep longer hours.  That means he’s finally getting used to being outside the womb.
    I am also thankful for the writing opportunities that I have come my way in the last few days.  Best believe that I am taking advantage of them all.  My faith has been renewed and I know that God is the one allowing these doors to open up for me.  I am very thankful that He is enabling me to live out my dream of being a writer.
    What has happened in your life that you are thankful for this week?