YUMMommy

Tag: Family Life

  • 100 Creative Journal Prompts For Middle Schoolers

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    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.

    –

  • 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

    This post contains affiliate links and I may make a commission (at no cost to you) if you make a purchase using my link.
    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?

  • 3 Reasons Why Family Meals Are So Important

    I received this product for free from Moms Meet to use and post my honest opinions.  Compensation for this post was provided and this page may contain affiliate links.
    Summer is still in full swing.  And if you’re from the Carolinas, you know the heat down South is nothing to play with.  One of the measures I’ve been taking to keep the house cool is taking a break a from turning on my stove. I may not be cooking as often these days, thanks to Wildscape, family dinners have been going strong still.  Eating dinner as a family is the one thing, I refuse to give up. While there are tons of scientific and medical studies about how beneficial family dinners can be for children, I’m sharing 3 of my own personal reasons why family meals are so important for my family.

    3 Reasons To Eat Dinner With Your Family

    It’s not what’s on the table that matters, it’s who’s in the chairs.

    So it definitely matters what’s on my table because I have picky eaters, but it definitely matters that we all eat together.  When I became a mom, I made a promise to myself (and my children) that we would always eat dinner as family no matter where we are.  And I can say without doubt that I’ve done a great job of keeping this commitment.  I can count on one hand the number of times my kids and I haven’t been able to eat dinner together so far and I’m hoping to keep it that way.
    While I always had dinner with my siblings growing up, it wasn’t until I reached junior high that my mom’s work schedule allowed her to consistently be home in time for dinner. Breaking bread as a complete family definitely mattered.  It always felt incomplete those nights she wasn’t there.  And I know that it matters to my kids that I’m sitting with them at the dinner table every night.

    Some of the most important conversations I’ve ever had occurred at my family’s dinner table. -Bob Ehrlich

    The first time Moo told me she hated public school was during family dinner.  We had just finished saying grace and I had asked her to tell me about her day at school.  I knew kindergarten had been rough, but she’d absolutely loved her first grade teacher and I thought she was adjusting well to second grade.  That summer we moved and it was during family dinner again that I told her she could homeschool with her brother.
    Family dinners have a way of putting us at ease and giving us the courage to be vulnerable.  Shoot thinking back on my own life, I can count numerous times when I had serious and important conversations with my mom and siblings while sharing a meal together.  There’s just a comforting intimacy when it comes over us that comes with sharing food as a family.

    This much I know.  If you are what you eat, then I only wanna eat the good stuff. ~Ratatouille, the movie

    Somewhere between going off to college and before having kids, my diet and eating habits were crappy at best.  Having kids, especially kids with food allergies, forced me to really take a hard look at what I was not only putting in my body but on our dinner table overall.  I quickly found out that all frozen and prepared meals weren’t made equally and it wasn’t long before I was cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner from scratch 365.
    Thankfully, frozen meals have come a long way and we now have brands like Wildscape who understand the importance of frozen meal options made with natural ingredients that I can actually identify and name.  They have 6 different recipe options to suit different dietary needs.
    • Gochujang Cauliflower: Gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegetarian.  Does contain soy and cashews. (P.S.-This one is my favorite! It’s spicy but not overwhelming.)
    • Peri Peri Portobellos: Dairy-free and vegetarian.  Contains coconut flakes
    • Seared Steak: Gluten-free, nut-free, and dairy-free.  Does contain soy.  (This is the kids’ favorite.)
    • Togarashi Beef: Dairy-free and nut-free.  Does contain soy. (I can’t wait until my store gets this one.)
    • Cilantro Lime Chicken: Gluten-free, nut-free, soy-free, and dairy-free. (This is delicious by itself, but it’s even better when poured over some tortilla chips.)
    • Chimichurri Chicken: Dairy-free. Contains almond butter.  (Waiting for my store to get this one too.)

    The best part of these meals, besides the natural beef and antibiotic-free chicken, is that each meal takes under 6 minutes to cook in the microwave.  And Wildscape has layered each meal in a special way to make sure everything maintains its proper texture and you don’t end up with chewy meat or mushy veggies.  Did I mention how I love that the bowls are resealable as well as recyclable?
    This is perfect since we’ve been doing a lot of eating outdoors and have been working on reducing our waste even more.
    Wildscape Meals are available at Publix, Harris Teeter, H-E-B, and AmazonFresh.  Click here to find a store near you so that you can pick some up for your next family dinner.  Be sure to follow Wildscape on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date on new product releases, sales, and more.
    Do you do family dinners at your house?

  • Friday Five Recently | Week 6

    It’s a rainy Friday in the Carolinas but I’m not complaining.  This rain is greatly appreciated because we need it.  Our yard has been looking like a dry cracked desert for weeks.  We’re supposed to get more rain throughout the weekend.  So we’ll be hanging out indoors for the most part.  In the meanwhile though, let’s catch up friends!

    Recently . . .

    Ended |  Our 2018-19 homeschool year has finally ended.  Hello Summer Break!!!  These last 8 days of being able to sleep-in have been glorious y’all.  Although, the first day I forgot to turn off my alarms and ended waking up early.  This school year was a bit of a challenge.
    I’m definitely going to sit down and write out my thoughts to share with you all.  Homeschooling is something that I’m very passionate about but I realized it’s one of the things that I don’t really go much into detail about here on the blog.  I want to change that.
    Designed |  Remember when I told y’all that I restarted bullet journaling?  Well, I finally got around to designing the start of my June spread.  It’s nothing elaborate but I love the bright colors.  I’m toying with the idea of giving each week of this month a different spread design.  We’ll see how it goes though.
    Excited |  Our vegetable garden is really taking off and we’re so excited.  So far we’ve harvested two pea pods.  I know that doesn’t seem like a lot but it is considering everything else we planted takes about 3 months to harvest minus the collard greens.  We started everything from seed with the exception of our lone tomato plant.
    When you start things from seeds versus buying seedlings or plants from the store, it can seem like it takes forever for things to really get on and popping.  I am disappointed that our lettuce bolted though.  I’ve done some more research though and I’m ready to try my hand at replanting it.
    Watched |  We saw The Secret Life Of Pets 2 and it was adorable.  The overall theme for this movie was about learning to face and overcome our fears.  I think it’s worth a watch.  The kids have already asked to see it again.  I’ve also started watching the Charmed reboot now that the first season is available on Netflix.  So far so good.  I love that the Charmed Ones are POC/Black Latinas this time around.
    Participated |  Lashawn from Everyday Eyecandy started a #FifteenSecondsOfSummer project and I’ve had a blast participating in it.  I missed two days this week because I started feeling under the weather but I’m hoping right back on the wagon.  I love that once summer is over we’ll have these little clips to look back on.
    What have you been up to recently?  Let’s chat in the comments.

  • Rosie’s Easter Bash 2019

    Happy Belated Easter!!  After almost two weeks of being on house arrest thanks to the insane amount of the pollen that has been suffocating the Carolinas, we finally made a break for it and journeyed outside.  This past weekend, I loaded up the kids and we went into downtown Lancaster for the annual Rosie’s Easter Bash community event.  

    This was our second year going.  The weather was less than stellar because we had series of really crazy thunderstorms the day before and it was actually really cold the morning of the event.  Nevertheless we still lived our best lives and had a great time at Rosie’s Easter Bash 2019.  Take a look at some of our adventures below.

    What We Did At Rosie’s Easter Bash 2019

    • Petting Zoo |  We (Moo and I) were thrilled to see that the petting zoo was back again this year.  JJ was still a little weary of the farm animals but at least he didn’t run in the opposite direction like he did last year.  He stood patiently off to the side while I snapped animal photos until my heart was content and Moo got in her bunny cuddles.  

    I fell in love with this one goat that I named Billie (pictured above).  I’m not sure if it’s a he or a she but it was so cute and friendly.  Billie greeted everyone that passed by and enjoyed being in the spotlight.  Also, like last year one of the alpacas was not thrilled or amused by us humans and tried its hardest to eat through the fence bars.  Watch my vlog below because I got its attempted breakout on camera.
    We did miss the sheep this year.  They were replaced with Billie’s crew but the baby/miniature goats were back again this year.  And just like last year, Moo tried to talk me into talking the farmer into letting us take one home. LOL.  The country is finally growing on my city girl and it has done wonders for bringing out her animal lover side.
    Now if we could just get the country to work its magic on my little guy.  So far the only animals he gets remotely excited about are birds and horses.  Like he loves horses a lot.
    • Train Station |  Unfortunately by the time we arrived at Rosie’s Easter Bash, the egg hunt for JJ’s age group was already over.  This may have been a blessing in disguise as he is NOT a good egg hunter in crowds.  He gets overwhelmed and freezes up.  We learned this the hard way last year.  However, there is one thing that he loves without fail no matter what the crowds look like and that’s trains!

    So we were both happy to see the “Train Station” roller coaster ride.  The “conductor” was very nice and did a great job of interacting with the kids.  As you’ll see in the vlog, he hoped on and off the train with the kids several times throughout their ride around the tracks.
    • Egg Hunt |  JJ missed his hunt but Moo was right on time for hers.  This year the egg hunts were split into three different categories.  The last group to go were the big kids and the adults.  At first I didn’t think any adults were going to join in.  I seriously thought they’d leave all the egg collecting to the older kids and teens.  I was so wrong.  Watch the vlog to see some of the egg hunting action.

    • Balloon Animals |  I don’t think they had a balloon artist at Rosie’s Easter Bash last year.  If they did, we definitely missed it.  Thankfully, we didn’t miss it this year.  While Moo went back to play with the real bunnies, her brother got an adorable balloon bunny bracelet made by the balloon artist.

    Let me tell y’all, I was just as mesmerized as my little guy looks in picture above.  I love watching balloon artists made their creations.  I mean their hands move so fast while they’re twisting and tugging those balloons this way and that way.  This is definitely a skill that I wish I had the patience the master.
    • Face Painting | So one of the last thing that we (Moo) indulged in before leaving Rosie’s Easter Bash was the face painting.  To our delight our favorite face painters were back.  I can never remember to grab their names but those two ladies are awesome.  They work quickly to keep the line short but man do they do some amazing work in such a fast time period.  Moo opted for a rainbow and JJ opted not to get his face painted.  I wanted to get my face painted but adult acne is currently ruining my life right now. 😩

    Do you see that orange AirHead peeking out?  Also a special thanks to  TapSnap for the complimentary Easter Bunny photo.

    • Easter Bunny Photo |  Originally, I thought we had missed out on our chance of getting a photo with the Easter Bunny as well.  Thankfully though we didn’t.  That was actually the very last thing that we did.  Unfortunately, my little guy would not let our photo be great.  Right as we got in position for our photo, he decided to put the big wad of AirHead that his sister gave him in his mouth.  So he couldn’t smile properly and he refused to look at the camera. 😑 At least we got a photo, I guess.  Also, they handed out free stuffed bunnies again this year. Yay!

    Other Activities At Rosie’s Easter Bash 2019

    So there were a few things that we bypassed this year.  The first was the bouncy houses.  If my memory serves me correct the bouncy houses that they had last year were bigger.  My kids are not fans of being in small enclosed spaces.  So they both nixed the bouncy houses.
    Also, we passed on the Fire House experience this year.  So the Fire House is a mobile unit that they fire department uses to teach kids about how to safely put out fires as well as how to safely escape their homes in case of a fire as well as what to do if you can’t get out and have to hang tight until help arrives.  They stage a real fire with smoke from a smoke machine and kids get to learn how to climb out of a window.
    Since I’ve been doing this experience since I was a kid in school, Moo’s done it 2 or 3 times already, and JJ has done it once, we decided to pass on doing it again.  There were some food trucks available but we passed due to our food allergy issues.
    There was also some kind of sand art craft but by the time we got done with all the other things the kids really wanted to do they were packing up the table to go.  I don’t remember if there was a craft last year.  If so, we missed out on it then as well.
    And as always, they had a great DJ and an amazing hostess.  They played some of my jams while were there but the kids threatened to disown me if I started dancing or singing along.  Y’all see how kids will try to suck away our fun but not their own?!  No worries next year, I’m inviting Grandma for backup.  She loves to get down in public, especially if they drop the Electric Slide. 

    Overall, we had an amazing time.  It was nice to get out of the house.  The kids are already asking what I think Rosie’s Easter Bash 2020 will look like.  Honestly, I’m just hoping that the weather is warmer and less wet.  Also, I will be prepared to get in on the egg hunt action as they give away prizes if you find one of the special eggs with a ticket inside. 
    If you celebrate Easter, what are some of your Easter traditions?

  • Friday Five Recently | Week 5

    TGIF!!  Y’all have no idea how happy I am that it’s finally Friday.  And it’s no just any Friday either.  Nope, today is the Friday before Spring Break.  Which means starting this weekend, I get sleep-in for the next 11 days!!  Won’t He do it?! 

    So since it’s Friday, that mean it’s time for another catch up session.  Also, this post does contain affiliate links.  So if you click on the link and purchase something, I could potentially receive a commission.

    Recently . . .

    Watched |  So I took a break from watching YouTube vlogs to watch The Umbrella Academy.  It’s a Netflix show based on the comic book series of the same name written by Gerard Way and illustrated by Gabriel Bá.  It’s about a group of adoptive siblings who were born with extraordinary abilities and then were groomed to be superheroes as kids.  Anyways, things went left and they all ended up going their separate ways but a family tragedy brings them all back together only for them to discover that they have 8 days to save the world from an apocalypse.  I definitely recommend giving this a watch and am looking forward to the second season already.

     While we’re talking about Netflix shows and second seasons, I started the second season of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.  It took awhile for me to get into the first season and I was pretty much just watching it because of Ross Lynch but it’s grown on me a bit.  There have already been so many surprises this season and I still have 4 episodes left.  I would like to note that this is NOT a show you want to watch with kids or really anybody under the age of 17.

    Also, if you’re not familiar with the Sabrina the Teenage Witch series, then let me warn you that this show deals with witchcraft.  If you don’t like shows or anything that deals with the supernatural, then steer clear of this show.

    Read |  The folks over at Harlequin and Park Row Books were nice enough to send me an ARC of Beautiful Bad last month and I loved it!

    Thrillers have always been my first love when it comes to books.  When I was growing up the Young Adult genre didn’t exist.  There were children’s books, middle grade books and then it seemed to skip straight to adult. Anyways, back to Beautiful Bad.  This book is about a love story that goes bad.  It’s told mostly from Maddie’s (the wife) point of view.

    Here’s the thing you should know about Maddie though.  She’s not the most reliable narrator/storyteller because she’s suffering some mental health issues after a head injury.  So as a reader, you have to kind of decide how much of Maddie’s telling of things to believe.  I will say that this book keeps you on the edge of your seat.  Also, if you think you have the whole mystery of “The Killing” figured out, you don’t. 

    This book has all kinds of twists at the end.  Pick this up for sure if you love thrillers as well.

    Re-started |  The kids and I had a great workout routine going after the New Year.  Then February aka my Depression Month hit and we (I) fell off the wagon.  Well we hopped back on it and have been doing some workouts from the POPSUGAR Fitness page on Facebook.  Listen those workouts DO NOT Play! 

    However, I know that results that will come from resuming our nightly workouts will be worth it.  Plus, I really want to set a good example for the kids when it comes to taking care of their bodies through exercise. 

    Excited |  Would you believe me if I told you that it snowed here last week?  It’s crazy, I know.  The kids and I were super excited about it as it snowed everywhere around us this past winter.  It only lasted a day but I was a little worried because we had just moved our seedlings outside to the garden.

    Some didn’t survive but that was okay because I just direct planted some seeds to replace them.  And this week, the garden seems to be really taking off.  I’m sure it’s because of the all the rain and the melted snow and ice from last week.  There’s just something about rain water that makes crops grow faster.  We’re excited to continue to watch our garden grow and can’t wait until we have our first harvest.

    Loved |  Moo loves snapping pictures with my phone.  Last week she took the photo below and I love it!  She took the time to adjust the brightness and focus.  I think I might have a mini-photographer on my hands.  I’m thinking about getting her a camera for a birthday.

    Is your area still getting snow?  Is your family on Spring Break?

  • Friday Five Recently | Week 4

    via GIPHY

    Hello February! The month of my people aka Black History Month is officially here! I’m looking forward to continuing to celebrate my culture with my family.

    via GIPHY

    This month also marks my official start of working towards knocking out my goals for the year. I used the entire month of January to really focus on what I want to accomplish and come up with plans on how to get those finish lines. So I’ll be sharing a few of my goals and resolutions for this year later on. For now let’s catch up. 

     Recently . . .

    Celebrated |  Moo and I celebrated our birthdays right before the holidays.  I totally forgot to document it here on the blog.  However, I did vlog Moo’s birthday which just so happened to fall on the same day as our town’s annual Christmas Block Party.  Watch the vlog below.

       

    I’m pretty sure I vlogged a bit of my birthday, but my video editor stopped working.  So, I haven’t gotten around to editing the footage yet.  I’ll save that for a Throwback Thursday or Flashback Friday post.  Also, we had a good time celebrating Christmas at my baby sister’s.  
    She and my brother put together a very delicious spread.  And we got the best Christmas presents which were my aunt coming from the hospital on Christmas Eve and my mom’s doctors were finally able to get her condition under control.  So she didn’t have to be admitted to the hospital at all during the hospital and she was feeling much better since they had finally found medicines that worked.  And I just want to say thank you to everyone who lifted her up in prayer!

     Pissed |  So since the whole Jussie Smollett incident folks on social media have been sharing their personal experiences and resharing other incidents from the new of other people’s experiences with racial and homophobic attacks, both physical and verbal.  Reading all of the stories has me even more pissed and more than a little hot under the collar that we even have to deal with these things STILL.  I’m pissed because I’m tired of feeling unsafe as a Black person, as a person with brown skin.

    I’m pissed because this “great” country is supposed to allow everyone the right to pursue life, liberty and happiness, but it seems that right is only applies to a select few.  And folks want to take about how much this country has come a long way and how we should be content with that for now.  Must be nice for those folks to feel safe enough to even think about feeling content with the way things are now.

    For people of color and the LGBTQ+ community, we’re not safe in our communities, in own homes, in our schools or churches.  We’re not safe walking down the street or coming out of a Subway restaurant.  Living in a constant state of having to always be on guard and hyperaware is mfing exhausting af.

    As a parent raising two Black children, I hate that enduring racism, homophobia, and police brutality (just to name a few) is still considered “the norm” for us.  Non-black people love saying, “Well, look how far your race has come” or “Slavery was years ago.”  And I just laugh because if we seriously take a look, we’d see that my race hasn’t come very far at all and that a lot of what we’re still fighting against today is still a form of slavery and Jim Crow!! 

    via GIPHY

    I’m over people trying to silence us because sweeping these issues under the rug doesn’t get anything solved.  And furthermore, why should we shut up, sit back, and just take it?  We literally can’t afford to sit in a corner and hope everything works itself out.  We’re losing our lives, our moms, our dads, our sons, our daughters, our husbands, our wives, our friends, etc. 
    Fail |  I had such high hopes for NaNoWriMo 2018.  I really wanted to reach the 50k word goal.  The universe had other plans though.  I’m not going to beat myself up about not hitting 50k in 30 days.  I’m still working on my novel and making good progress.

    I’m loving my current cast of characters and their story.  I can’t wait until this project is done and I can put it out into the world for consumption.  Plus, I’ll have another chance to hit 50k in this year’s NaNoWriMo.

    Survived |  We survived the first half of the school year!  Praises!  Homeschooling two kids in different age groups and grades isn’t for the weak.  We’re already counting down the days until Summer Break gets here.  This year was definitely a lot more challenging than last year.

    Also, I’ve realized that I need to do a better job of chronicling our homeschool journey.  There are so many stereotypes about homeschooling and even more about Black homeschoolers.  I want to be a voice and advocate for other parents, especially Black parents and parents of children with learning disabilities and special needs.

    Restarted |  Last year I tried to take up bullet journaling.  It started off well, but I didn’t stay consistent with it.  I started looking at other people’s bullet journals and getting a little frustrated with how beautiful their layouts looked compared to mine.  Comparison is indeed the thief of joy.  So I should have known better.

    This time around, I’m staying in my lane, coming to terms with my artistic limits, and just enjoying the process.  That said check out my bookshelf I drew to keep track of all the review copies of books I receive from publishers.  I think it turned out pretty good.

    Let’s chat in the comments.  Do you bullet journal?  Or are you counting down to Summer Break like me?


  • Giving The Gift of Love and Appreciation

    This post is sponsored by Artsy Olive.  All opinions expressed are my own.

    “Give me my flowers while I’m living.  Show me that you love and appreciate me while I’m still alive.”  Growing up my mom preached (and still does) the importance of showing and consistently letting those closest to our hearts how we feel about them before their time runs out on Earth.   Once our loved one depart permanently, you can’t rewind time and say all of the loving things you wished said or do the loving things you wished would have done.  Trust me, I learned this the hard way (again) when my surrogate grandmother passed a few weeks ago.
    It had been a while since I’d talked to or seen her and surrogate grandfather.  Last Christmas Break I put going to see because long story short, I thought I’d have time to see them this Christmas Break.  I didn’t.  
    Since my grandmother’s death, my mom’s words had really been resonating within my spirit.  I’ve mentioned here that this year has been really tough on my family, especially my mom.  She’s been in and out of the hospital and then there Hurricane Florence.  So, I knew that before 2018 closed out, I really wanted to give my mom a gift that would tell, show, and remind her not only how much I love and appreciate her, but how much her grandkids love and appreciate her as well.  That’s exactly why I decided on this personalized Amazing Mom print from Artsy Olive. 
    As a lover of words and writer, one of the main ways I like to show my love and appreciation for my loved ones is through words.  I know we all grew up with the whole “sticks and stones may break bones” saying, but the truth about words is that what we say (and don’t say) can really affect people.  My mom like me is a lover of words as well and would appreciate this gift and she would get why I gave it to her.

    It’s a gift that will last for years to come.  It’s a gift that she can put on her table or hang on the wall and whenever she looks at it, she’ll be reminded that she is loved and she is appreciated by me and the kids as well as what we love and appreciate about her.  I don’t get to see my mom everyday and there are times when play phone tag and miss each other’s calls and/or texts.  Knowing that we have given her her flowers so to speak for those days when we can’t be there, gives me a bit of peace.
    I can’t say how grateful I am to have been been introduced to Artsy Olive.  Finding out about this family-owned print company came right on time because I was really struggling with coming up with a gift that served a purpose, was cute, but yet could be personalized that I hadn’t already given her.

    And now that I’ve given her a print, I’ve been eying some of the other prints from Artsy Olive that I want to add to our home.   I love the variety of print designs and print sizes that they offer.  And customizing the prints is pretty much a breeze.  No rocket science required.  Also another big plus is that the prints come framed and you have a nice selection of different frame colors you pick from.  This is perfect, especially if you have rooms with different wall colors and tones.

    So whether you’re looking to give a loved one a gift of love and appreciation or just want to add a little positivity to your own home, an Artsy Olive print is definitely worth considering.  You can use the code blog15 to get 15% off your order.  Also, you can enter this giveaway to be one of 5 winners to receive a FREE print from Artsy Olive.

    How do you show love and appreciation to your loved ones?