R.I.P. Dr. Maya Angelou

     I found out about Dr. Angelou's passing during my conference period at work, and I am just blown away. Reading remarks from different people about how her works have touched their lives had me all in my feelings. But why? I mean it's not like I've read any of her works lately, or even in the last decade. It's not like I keep up with her life. So why am I sad? 
     It's because I remember. I remember reading "Phenomenal Woman" for the first time as a middle school kid. I remember reciting it for a drama festival (and winning a superior for it). I remember how it made me feel: strong, invincible, gifted and talented. Remembering how her words affected me. Hearing the wisdom in her words, for sayings like, "if someone shows you who they are, believe them", "If you don't like something,,change it. If you an't change it, change your attitude", "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel", "Nothing will work, unless you do", "While I know myself as a creation of God, I am also obligated to realize and remember that everyone else and everything else are also God's creation" and so many other sayings that hold such wisdom. 

     The people who mourn her don't just mourn the loss of some truly awesome poetry and books, we mourn the loss of wisdom. We mourn a soul that has touched millions. A friend (Symone) said that she looked at Dr. Angelou as a grandmother. Someone she could sit at her feet while she sat in a rocking chair while she imparted priceless wisdom and knowledge. This is true. I think back to the movie, "Tyler Perry's: Madea's Family Reunion" and I think back on what it would have been like to sit at her feet while she recited the poem "In and Out of Time". I'll never know, but I get the feeling it would have been life changing and nothing short of amazing. 
     I'll never get a chance to meet such a fabulous person and amazing soul. I'll never get to sit int he back of an auditorium and hear her speak. I'll never get to just see her in person. I will however, get to remember her through her works of art. She once said that, "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." I'll never forget how reading her works made me feel, how empowered I felt in that moment. Thank you, Dr. Maya Angelou for your contribution to my life and for your contribution to countless others lives. Rest well.
     

My princess, Nala Rose

I'm back! LOL, I haven't blogged in a while (I've been super busy) but here goes:

So I teach and coach and I love it. My daughter is now 3 (where did the time go?!) and the hubby and I have been together 10 years and we're coming up on our 6 year wedding anniversary. Man, how time flies! We're all healthy and happy.

Ms. Nala is a handful! We successfully conquered the terrible twos, which turned out to really be the terrific twos because we didn't have problems! Then...she turned three and it was like night and day! Nala started having tantrums and becoming stubborn (I blame Shaddean, lol). She was already a picky eater, but not she's taken it to another level!

My angel is not a morning person (that's from me). Waking her up is a nightmare, especially if it is before 9:00 AM. We have to wake her up every week day at 6:00 to get her ready for school and dropped off by 7:00 AM. She cries (loudly) and kicks and screams...all of which work my nerves. I try to be understanding (inside I really really really want to do the same thing when my alarm goes off at 4:30 in the morning); but I've got to train her to wake up early, she'll be in kindergarten before you know it! So, I have to be mean tough mommy (no nice voice, very stern). This is hard because I just want to hug her and cuddle her, but that doesn't help her at all, it actually makes things worse.

So, then it potty time! NOT Nala's favorite time in the morning! The floor is cold, the toilet seat is cold, the bathroom is cold. To Nala, EVERYTHING is too cold. Put slippers on her feet? Nope! She complains about having them on. Bottom line: she just doesn't want to get up in the morning! After having her tantrum on the toilet, she finally handles her business. Now, on to getting dressed! Yep, another battle. She doesn't want to wear her uniform, she doesn't like those shoes or those socks. She doesn't want to wear those undies. Nothing is ever right, lol!  Then to the bathroom to brush her teeth...this is the ONLY thing Nala likes to do in the morning! No complaints or tears there! Then, it's time to wash her face, more tears and complaints.

Now, one of the most dreaded morning routines...getting her hair combed. It's like pulling teeth! She knows it's coming because as soon as her face is clean, she says, "I don't want to get my hair combed". It's sooooo hard to comb her hair with her squirming, crying, and being uncooperative! Then, once it's finally combed, she'll sometimes look in the mirror and say, "not that bow mommy" or "I don't like it". Grrr!

Getting her to school is next...and it's hit or miss. She'll either walk in on her own, or have a tantrum when I refuse to carry her in (she's about 3'9 and weighs about 35 lbs). Then on to the cafeteria. If there is anything but cereal on offer, she's about to blow up. She doesn't like funny textures (grits, oatmeal, mashed potatoes, etc.). She doesn't like the school's french toast, toast, or pancakes. It's gotten to where when they see Nala, they'll go get her cereal...special treatment just to prevent her from acting out. When she does act out...watch out! Her tantrums can last for a while. Thankfully (on one hand) she doesn't do this at home, but it still baffles me when she does it at school. She cries, screams, kicks at the table, pushes the table..Just destructo-bot. It's embarrassing! No amount of talking or soothing works, because once you walk off, she starts back up. She likes the school and the tantrums only last until after devotion. Once she's in the classroom, she's fine. It's the dropping off part that's dicey.

Pick up is wonderful, she's my little princess angel for the rest of the day...for the most part. Anything involving getting her hair combed and not getting her way equates to a very unhappy Nala. At home, there's punishment (time out, spankings do not work on this child), so we're able to handle her discipline effectively.

Weekends are awesome! We both sleep in (the earliest we get up if we have nothing to do is 9:30), we eat breakfast and we just play! We'll watch My Little Ponies, Doc McStuffins, Mickey Mouse, Princess Sofia, and the Baby's First channel. We'll play with her toys, read work on counting and alphabet sounds. We'll go visit people, basically we just have fun in a low-key relaxed way. Weekends are obviously our favorite time!

One of the qualities that I absolutely love about Nala is her love of books. Maybe because it's one of the few things she gets from me (she is truly her Daddy's child, they look like twins!). Shaddean took her to Toys R Us and told her to get anything she wanted...and she picked out a book! Makes me proud! She always wants you to read to her, and we frequently oblige her.

She loves playing doctor too! She has a Doc McStuffins play clinic and she'll sing the "Time For Your Check Up" song while using her doctor's instruments on me. It's too cute!






Now, my little one is a DIVA...when she wants to be. How she can be picky about her clothes and nail polish, but hate getting her hair done is beyond me. Shopping is a chore because she has definite opinions on what she likes. "No Mommy, not that one", "It's too small!", "It's too big", or "I don't like it" are frequent phrases that I hear when shopping for her. I let her pick what she likes, she has to wear it, but within reason. I like having her make decisions (like clothing), letting her have a little bit of independence and being able to see her decision making skills. She loves nail polish! WARNING: if she ever comes to your house hide your nail polish and makeup! If she gets ahold of your nail polish, she will take them all out in order to pick her favorite one and then ask you to polish her nails and her toes. If she picks an "adult" color, I gently take it away and direct her to pastel colors.

MAKEUP! This little girl LOVES makeup. obviously, I don't let her wear it, but...one day I left the makeup out on the counter in the bathroom and let me tell you...! So I'm laying down in my bed on my Nook Color. Nala is supposed to be watching My Little Ponies in her room...but it is too quiet; I don't even hear the TV...now any parent knows that when it's quiet, the little ones are up to something. So, I get up and walk into Nala's room, only she's not in her room but in the sink area of the bathroom (the sink area is separate from the bath and toilet). Lo and behold, Nala's face is painted with makeup! (FYI: I do my hair and makeup in her bathroom) She has on silver eye shadow and I think she tried to put eye shadow on her mouth using the makeup brush. She's swirling my makeup brush under the water and is using the brush to paint the counter-tops! So, what did I do? Snap a picture and laugh! I shouldn't have left my makeup on the counter, and I should have shut the door to her bathroom. I washed her face off and then made her come in the room with me to take a nap.

The best moments of my day with Nala? Sleeping! I love to hold and cuddle Nala when she sleeps. It's relaxing and it's like a natural stress relief. I can't possibly be upset or stressed when my angel is in my arms...although this has created a problem...she still sleeps with Mommy and Daddy for the most part. I'm working on weaning myself off of holding her and making her sleep in her room all night. She'll start off in there, but get up in the middle of the night and come into our room.  She has a hard time sleeping by herself because she likes to cuddle.

Life as the mom of a 3 year old is: hectic, overwhelming and crazy...but it's also amazingly beautiful. I love that little girl. She's sweet, sassy, and spoiled;  but she's mine (I graciously share her with Shaddean...especially when she acts out or has to get shots, he gets to be the "bad" guy).