Wanted: Blogroll

Dear readers, I know there are those of you who stop by this blog, for hours at a time (no, I don't think you're reading that long, you probably left your broswer open, but hope springs eternal, right?).

The goddess is doing something SO rare that you'd better sit up and pay attention. I need a blogroll. I had a great blogroll, but when I checked the links recently, my precious blogger sisters had either given up the blog or the page was just.....gone. So I need some bloggers.

You don't have to be black, you don't have to be domestic, you don't even have to be a goddess, although that will help your case :).

How do you get on the goddess's blog roll with her measly Google page rank of 2? Well, leave a comment with your link to your blog. Now, don't try to fool the goddess with affliate links and the like - she's wise to those type of shenanagians and tomfoolery. If you like my content and really want to be on my blog roll, please comment.

I can't really delineate exactly what I'll choose, especially since my interests go from soap making to gardening to html to proper portrayal of superheroes in the movies but I'd like a good mix of at least 20 blogs.

So, comment with your link and I'll check ya out!

Ah, motherhood!

I've been reading over my blog as a whole and I see that in some place I've gotten away from my 'saga' of being a black stay at home mom. So, since the little ones are currently coloring and fighting over crayons (what else is new), I can steer the blog back to the stated direction.

A few working moms have asked me "How do you do it? I would go crazy at home with just the kids." "What do you do with them all day?"

Well, after being strictly at home for the past three years (four in September) I've finally got an answer for those people.

I want to start by saying that in no way do I condemn, judge or even point a finger at those moms who don't stay home. Some moms want to, and can't. Some moms can and don't want to. It's everyone's individual choice and to be strictly honest, I don't care what you do. For those who may (or may not with my track record) comment on the blog about how self-righteous I am or whatever, save your upload bandwidth, because I don't care. Yeah, I 'm being REAL Dick Cheney-ish today. (On a side note, you gotta love the dude for being totally direct and honest, right?)

Ok, here's my secret to being a housewife, homemaker, a Yale-educated black chick who chooses to stay at home. I do it because I CAN, I HAVE to and I LIKE it.

I can: We live frugally enough that I can stay home with my children. My oldest is in a preschool program, so don't get the idea that I'm huddled up with a shotgun, canning peaches and homeschooling by candlelight. (Even though something about that IS appealing!).

I have to: Ever read the paper/listen to the radio. I am a worry wart by nature, but these stories about children getting killed by other children in day care (home-based), babysitters strapping children in carseats to watch DVDs or television all day, unsanitary conditions, babysitter's boyfriends/girlfriends/relatives/friends, whomever, coming in and knocking children around, children being locked in daycare...I could go on and on. And certianly for every organized day care incident, there are parental incidents, where parents are doing the very same things to their own children. Nevertheless, the last time I looked, I wasn't crazy (I checked last week)so my children are safe with me.

Plus, I'm a paranoid person. I don't let my children out of my site in the local Target, so how the heck could I let them out of my site for an entire day while I take care of someone else's children? Nope, as George Bush I says, Not gonna do it.

I LIKE it: Look, they're pretty funny as a whole. I love watching the way they interact with each other and how they "tell each other off" (in a little child way of course.) I've laughed out loud at some of the things they say to each other, especially when they are trying to mock me or DH. Mr. J, at 2 years old, is a hoot when he tells Caleb to "go to you(r) room! :)

"Don't you miss talking to grownups?" Ummmmm, in a word, NO. Hey, I'm not anti-social, but I've worked for 15 years in education, and honestly, I prefered the children to the adults for the most part. Adult conversation is overrated and you all know what I'm talking about.

What do you do with them all day? Well, let's see. I: change diapers, have conversations, look at pictures, make playdough, wield a firm hand, comb hair, pat heads, change diapers, encourage potty use, encourage flushing the toilet encourage washing hands, cook food, serve food, discourage writing on the wall, discourage hitting, discourage tattletelling, admire play dough creations, help find monster trucks, check email, write blog posts, hide out in the bathroom, pick up clothes, watch lovely TV programs like:Miffy (did you know she went to Africa?), Truck Competition (monster truck jam), Curious George, Arthur, Sesame Street, shoo children out of the kitchen,shoo children off the windowsill, read the paper, check email, advision on 3 year old fashion choices....the list goes on.

So I'm real busy. LOL

I do love being at home and being secure in the fact that my children are being cared for by ME. This is not to say that I don't spend a portion of some days hiding out in the bathroom from a droopy-diapered stalker, HOWEVER, I wouldn't change it for the world.

Plus, if I were a working mom, how many hilarious stories would you be able to read?

Mr. Mookie out of Control

I realize that I really have to schedule myself in order to write on this blog on a regular basis. I've got a tremendous amount of topics, as you know the life of a stay at home mom is NEVER dull, but haven't had the time to actually sit down and write about them because of these non-ceasing exciting events.

As many of you may know, I also run a bath and body products business. Well, that's been taking off, but somehow, the children just haven't given me enough time to focus on it. Imagine that!

But let me get to the title of my post, as it is so easy for me to go off on a tangent, especially when I'm trying to write as well as oversee the building of a skyscraper in my living room.

The children were enjoying their TV time when I peeked in to see what they were watching. Hmm, Big bird is on, but the hour is not quite right. Basically, Sesame Street starts at the top of the hour, which means Elmo's World begins about twenty to the hour. Elmo was jumping around about twenty five after the hour,so something was up. Turns out, Mr. Mookie ordered a Sesame Street ON DEMAND. This is what he told me he did:

"I pressed 'on demand' (which is a big button on the remote.)....I scrolled (I kid you not) down to Kids (how the heck did he know the word kids)...then PBS then I chose Sesame Street."

Mr. M also knows how to turn the television to his other favorite channel, the Speed Channel.

He's five. FIVE!!! How is this little dude ordering Sprout on Demand????

Mr. Mookie is FIVE

Well, dear readers, the goddess has passed yet another test of moms all over. The birthday cupcakes. Last year, I passed the test of providing SNACKS so this year, while not a breeze, at least I knew what to expect.

Mr. C, is turning five on March 8th. Since he has all these little friends, or "his children" as he calls them, we decided to have a bit of a celebration at school. Of course, Mr. C, aka Mr. Mookie, can't just be provided with store or even bakery bought cupcakes - I mean, as a stay at home mom, how would that look? So, Betty Crocker to the rescue. Say hello to 18 yellow cake, chocolate frosted cupcakes with little sprinked on top. Thank goodness DH took them, along with Mr. Mookie to school - I could just see myself struggling with him, Princess E, and Mr. J, cupcakes, and goody bags. Talk about a diaster wating to happen. Glad I didn't have to risk it.

Of course, I waited eagerly at home for my report. "What did the children say?" (like they were the food critics from Iron Chef, right?" DH complied and said, "they said oooooooooooooooo when they say the cupcakes.?" And for some reason, that completely delighted me. Now I know just as well as the next person that preschoolers when preschoolers meet cupcakes of ANY caliber, there will be an "oooooooooooooooo" elicited. It feels good all the same. Plus, as an added bonus, after Mr. Mookie came home from school and after he talked about the whole little cupcake escapade, he asked, "Who made the cupcakes?" DH told him, "Mommy did." My little first born said, "They were so good. Thank you mommy!" And that was the best accolade of all.

So for all you moms out there who want to make a good impression on those preschoolers in your lives, look to Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines. Throw soem sprinkles on them from Party City and you've got it made!

I can't believe Mr. Mookie is five!!!

Vague Ramblings

Dear readers...I have absolutely nothing of consequence to write about today, however, my pledge is to keep up with this blog and to give you all something new to read every week. This week, the goddess welcomes the return of the stomach flu to her household. I simply cannot describe the happiness I felt when Mr. J showed me dinner again, in the middle of the kitchen floor. Yay, didn't know chicken and broccoli looked like THAT after being in contact with the bubbling hydrochloric acid contained within his stomach. And then he had the nerve to cry! He wasn't the one who had to clean up all that vomit.

Ok, Mr. J, put away, tucked in for the night, clean, no vomit smell. So, as a good goddess mama does, I went in to check on my little ones in the middle of the night. As I patted Mr. Mookie (The big C) on the back, he sat up, then got on all fours, coughed a bit, then.......(drum roll please) vomited, retched, then vomited again.

I admit, as I was patting his back (too late to try to run him to the toilet and I had to change the sheets anyway) I was laughing. Don't judge me, it was pretty funny. I mean, think of it like this, I was up at the plate and 0-2 (for it's one, two, three pukes you're out.....) (Of course, I didn't let Mr. Mookie see me laugh - he's very sensitive). So the goddess cleaned another round of stomach regurgitation. Ah, motherhood. Just waiting for Princess E to get the pukes and that's no laughing matter. At least the boys puke, rince their mouths and keep it moving. Princess E, on the other hand will vomit into her pillow, rub her hair in it (accidently of course) then cry, scream and carry on for the next 30 minutes. During the first occurance of the stomach flu, I left her in the capable hands of her father for if I heard her screaming one more time, I would rinsed her hair out in the toilet bowl. (Don't even blink, if you've got girls, you KNOW how it is!)

Times like these, makes me wanna go to rehab....how can I get an involuntary 72 hour hold like Britney Spears???