Baby's 1st Birthday

Baby's first birthday can be so exciting and overwhelming. My niece turned 1 this week and my sister had a party planned for her at the park. However, the threat of rain caused her to rethink the party and she decided to just celebrate her with her siblings at our home.

Sometimes keeping the celebration simple creates a space for the family to focus on baby and each other. I captured pics of my niece in her awesome outfit my sis found on Sweet Chubby Cheeks etsy store.

How cute is her birthday fashion? Do you prefer intimate or lavish parties for baby's 1st birthday? Either way make it fun, make it fashionable, make it memorable and embrace your journey!

Know your Breasts!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Earlier this year I got a scare (after having a mammogram) that there was a spot on my breast that needed further tests. It was my first time being faced with a breast health issue and I was scared. 3 breast fed kids, healthy lifestyle, no history of breast cancer in my family and breasts that have been headed south for quite a while, I, in my ignorance, thought that I was out of the woods.  I clearly didn't know enough about my breasts.

However,  I later learned that about "85% of breast cancers occur in women who have no family history of breast cancer." This caused me to take my breast health more seriously.
The reality, 1 in 8 U.S. women (about 12%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.

Current year estimates for breast cancer

The American Cancer Society's estimates for breast cancer in the United States for 2016 are:

• About 246,660 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women.
• About 61,000 new cases of carcinoma in situ (CIS) will be diagnosed (CIS is non-invasive and is the earliest form of breast cancer).
•  For women in the U.S., breast cancer death rates are higher than those for any other  cancer, besides lung cancer.
• About 2,600 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in men in 2016. A man’s lifetime risk of breast cancer is about 1 in 1,000.

Risk Factors include:

Being a Woman

Age (risk increases as you get older)

Family History 

Genetics

Being Overweight

Pregnancy History

Race/Ethnicity

Breastfeeding History

Unhealthy Eating

Click here for a complete list and explanation of risk factors.

Some steps you can take to reduce risk factors include regular exercise, healthy eating habits, limit alcohol consumption, no smoking and checking your breasts often. Get to know your breasts and visit your physician if you feel or see any signs of irregularities. 

Your health is your greatest asset and that includes breast health.  Be informed, be aware, be healthy and embrace your journey.

RESOURCES

Breast cancer statistics

American Cancer Society

National Cancer Institute

Back 2 School Dinner

Back to School calls for organization and structure for the kids and especially, the parents. The freedom which accompanies the warm summer months are now behind us. It's back to PTA meetings, homework check, lunch box packing, after school sports, breakfast in the car, piano lessons, school dances, field trips.... and so much more. In the midst of all of these, I choose to focus on dinner. The meal that I have control over...where we connect and share our day's experiences.

Dinner can be challenging, and even though there will be days when dinner will take place in the car or at the pool (the kid is a year round swimmer); the days when we dine together at home, I make sure to prepare healthy, delicious meals that don't require hours in the kitchen. We sometimes make it fun by creating themes. For example, Meatless Monday, Taco Tuesday, Wildcard Wednesday, Trinidad Thursday, Fast Food Friday.

The best way to ensure stress free dinner prep, is to plan your meals for the week.
I plan my weekly menu with everyone's input. That way it's a collaborative family effort. They are simple meals but my son thinks my dinners are gourmet. Lol.

Following these steps can also help you save money by sticking to the list and not buying items you don't need.

Meal planning steps

• Create menu
• Type menu and place on refrigerator
• Create shopping list 
• Go shopping
• Prep meal the night before 
• Prepare dinner with ease

Below is a meal I prepared under 30 minutes for Meatless Monday! Vegetable penne with asparagus, mushrooms and tomatoes in a roasted garlic cream sauce.

Ingredients
1 head roasted garlic
6 Tbsp butter
1 3/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp Montreal chicken seasoning
1 tsp cornstarch + 2Tbsp water
1 box vegetable penne pasta
Asparagus (cut to your preferred size)
Mushrooms (sliced)
Cherry tomatoes (cut in half)

Instructions
Cook pasta according to instructions on box. Put aside
Sautee mushrooms and asparagus in olive oil. Put aside

Cream Sauce recipe:
- Remove cloves of roasted garlic and mash with a fork.
- In a medium saucepan over MED-LOW heat, add butter and melt.
- Pour in cream and garlic and heat to a simmer.
- Whisk in the seasoning and cheese.
- Add cornstarch and water mixture, (it will be a thick paste), and whisk to remove any lumps.
- Continue to whisk until sauce has thickened, a few minutes.

Add sauteed veges and tomatoes to cream sauce stir.
Remove from heat.
Place pasta in serving dish
Pour veges and cream sauce onto pasta.
Serve.

Get organized, be stress free, plan meals and embrace your journey!

College life...drugs, sex and alcohol

This week I saw quite a few moms commenting on social media that their kids would NEVER indulge in underage drinking or drugs. They were responding to Malia Obama's alleged pot smoking at the Lollapalooza concert in Illinois. My immediate reaction was GTFOH!

Parents need to stop attaching their self-worth to their children. If your kid makes a good decision you're a good parent. If your kid makes a bad decision, then it stands to reason that you're a bad parent. That's just sad.  My husband and I did the best we could with what we knew and we realized a long time ago that our children are individuals who will mess up from time to time. That doesn't make them or us bad. It makes them human. How do they learn if they're not allowed to make mistakes? We're there to love, inform and guide. The rest is left to them. Hopefully, the lessons you imparted upon them in their early years would be a strong influence on their young adult lives. And of course, prayer still works.

Now back to alcohol and drugs. Most kids are introduced to drugs in High School. So if you have HS kids and you haven't had discussions with them on the topic, you're behind the 8 ball. Open dialogue is very important and a very open mind. Most importantly, you must be honest. Don't sugar coat the negative effects. When my kids talked about pot and alcohol at the dinner table and how many of their friends used, I wanted to pull their behinds out and homeschool them immediately. That thought lasted about 2 minutes. I don't have the temperament to teach, especially teens. So back to school they went and we kept an open line of communication and have an ongoing conversation especially now that they're in college.

If you have young adults who are about to embark upon a college career, please take your head out the clouds and talk to them about drugs, drinking responsibly and protective sex or abstinence. It's a public health issue. I can assure you that most of them indulge in one, if not all. You should not send them off without equipping them with the information needed for their protection.....and please be honest!!! If you need help in starting the discussion, click here.

When my daughter was leaving for her first year, I kept reiterating to her to not let ANYONE mix her drinks and don't leave her drinks unattended. I told her be sure to drink lots of water and limit herself to one drink.  Sure it was uncomfortable, but I had to ensure that she had the information because I know she would be drinking. Get to know your kids. I have a zero tolerance about drugs and my kids know that. However, if they choose to try it, there's nothing I can do to stop them. Luckily for me, the one who tried it, didn't like the feeling and decided that there is no way that they would ever do that again. Whew, one less thing for me to worry about. I'm also grateful that in trying it no harm was done. Even though I was happy that that child shared with me, It was also frightening. So before you go judging other kids and their parents, think back to your college years and guide your college kids accordingly. Get information so that you can be knowledgeable on the topic and can guide them openly and honestly, equipped with facts.

Be prudent, be open minded, be loving and embrace your journey.

RESOURCES
www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov
www.drugabuse.gov

Working 24/7 will not bring you success

One thing I've learned over my 17 years in business is working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week doesn't make you successful but it will make you crazy. I see so many women in business celebrating "no sleep" as they "build an empire". If they keep that up, they may never see or enjoy the rewards of their empire.

We must take time to recharge and rejuvenate. Rest is a key component to success. If we follow the example of our Creator we will recognize the importance of rest. There is no greater creation than the universe and the world we live in; yet, the Creator rested on the 7th day.  In Genesis chapter 2:2 it states, "By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done." If God rested why do we think in order to be successful we must forgo rest?

I have learned to make the most of my weekends and defy society's standard of success and entrepreneurial practices. My weekends are for faith, family, friends and fun. Worship and serving those in need rejuvenates my soul. Going for a walk, reading a book, sitting by a body of water or taking myself on a date  is a surefire way to recharge my creative genius.

That old adage, "Life is too short" rings true. I intend to make the most of my time here on earth and though building empires are essential to survival, building a life and relationships are more important to me now. The older I get the more those whom I love have become central to my existence. We must make time to spend with our loved ones. A legacy of love is what I hope to leave my family. It is my hope that they will remember me as hard working, but more importantly, one who loved completely. I speak with my brothers often, however, I need to spend more one on one time with them. I have to intentionally make a commitment to succeed at this. Family is essential to business success also. They keep you grounded and motivate you to be better and fight those daily battles which can leave you feeling defeated. The love of family and weekend rejuvenation give you the energy to not give up and win! There's no success like the love and support of family and friends. We must work diligently to develop and maintain our relationships. We cannot accomplish this feat if we work 24/7.

Use your weekends wisely. Spend quality time with the ones you love. Get rest. Worship. Serve others. Play with your children. Connect with self. I guarantee that if you use your weekends wisely, your weekdays will become more productive and business will improve. 

Be well rested, be connected, be rejuvenated and embrace your journey.

Thoughts of an 11 year old

My 11 year old spends his quiet time writing poetry.  Events which have occurred in the past few years have influenced his writing.

No matter how much we assure our childten that they are safe, the constant occurence of  black men dying at the hands of  police officers leave them feeling scared and powerless.

My son, Simon, uses his poetic voice as his activism and as a means of reclaiming his power.

After hearing about the recent killing of Mr Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, he asked me to publish 2 of his poems which he wrote many months ago.

The following poem was written by Simon John Armstrong - Age 11

INSANITY

Wash me clean
Do you think I'm mean?

Let me rest
I'm trying my best
I'm wearing a hoodie
don't be a bully
I have a fake gun
Don't shoot me tackle my sister and run

Let me walk
I don't have a gun load
Please. Don't put me in a chokehold

What do I do now that I have gone?

BLACK LIVES MATTER...don't get it wrong

------------------------------------------------------------------
The following poem was written by Simon John Armstrong Age 11

HUGGABLE and LOVEABLE

Help me, HELP ME PLEASE
Would you not help me
Because of the way I look the way
I read a book or the way I cook
To you am I a thug?
I have all the stuff you have, a rug, LOVE, and a hug
In your mind do I have no purpose more than a bedbug?
LIES LIES LIES! You think of us as nothing more than flies
Through the night in cities you hear our cries
No. But to you they're all lies without one look without my hand shook you think I'm a crook and still you look at me with not one look.
I am huggable and loveable.

GROWTH.....It's a Process!

One thing I've learned about growth is that it's a process. As your seed is planted, you water it with hard work and dedication in anticipation of blossoming. However, the process is littered with an array of circumstances. Pests, storms, weeds and pruning. When growing anything, love and care are imperative to the process.

Pests seek to feed off your progress. They come into your sacred space only to benefit from your growth. They feed off your growth, take what they need and in the process hurt you, sometimes unintentionally. You must be able to control the pests without killing them. Build resistance against them and forge forward. Pests will make you believe that you cannot grow. You dont deserve to grow and will attempt to infect you with negativity and doubt. Your strength will be tested by your tenacity to grow in spite of these pests. Though you may not be able to stop them, you can mitigate the onslaught of an infection by building an immunity to fight them. Believing in yourself and the process, meditation, prayer and other selfcare practices to reinforce your confidence and focus are ways to vaccinate against pests.

Like pests, you cannot stop storms from coming through. Storms facilitate growth. Accepting and experiencing them prepare you to enjoy the blooms that will emerge afterwards. During the storm you will be tossed around, beaten up, bent and some parts will even break off. The parts that break are the weak parts that needed to be removed so that your genius can flourish. When the storm passes, the very essence of who you are will remain rooted, steadfast, consistent and strong. You cannot withstand the storm without selfcare, love and acceptance. These elements protect and fortify you.

An integral part of protection and selfcare during the growth process is weeding. Weeds will choke you and stifle your growth. People and things that prevent you from growing must be removed. You need space and light for your creative branches to develop and bloom. Fertilizing your life with persons who feed your potential, bring you light and encourage growth is imperative. Surround yourself with people (truth tellers) who will help you clip and prune habits that stagnate your growth. The removal of bad habits and unproductive thoughts through pruning allows the energy to be rerouted to your core purpose to maximize your potential and growth. Authentic friends who love you and want to see you blossom will prove helpful during this process.

Dig deep. Stay rooted. Pursue your passion. Do what you love. The growth process will make you uncomfortable and you will have unpleasant experiences. However, the lessons you learn will prove to be very fruitful. Forge ahead. Don't give up. Include Selfcare Practice in your daily routine. GROW. Your blossoms will emerge. Be determined, be strong, be steadfast and embrace your journey.