Sick, Sick, Sick

This is one of the times that I start to seriously consider home schooling. My oldest lovely son brought home a cold from nursery school that has plagued us the entire month of May. Now I've got it and it's a doozy. Stuffy sinus, dizziness and a hacking cough - you know those kinds of coughs that make your chest tubes hurt. It's terrible.

I'm not the type of person to take a lot of medication, but let me tell you, honey, I was swigging that cough syrup. I could not sleep Monday night and ended up watching some special about the Star Wars legacy on the History Channel that was pretty interesting. Maybe I'll be able to catch it later when my head and chest are not swimming with mucous!!

At least the weather is nice. There is nothing worse than having a bad summer cold with that gross, sticky rainy humid days hanging over your head.

Hope you all had a great Memorial day weekend - it was really nice here in good ol' NJ!

Oy-vey - Frustration unlimited

Well, this is just a vent post, so feel free to skip over it. Since I'm at home with the little ones, I decided to do a little self-improvement: get a master's degree, start my own business - that way I had something else to occupy my time rather than the little ones. Well, started this business and have a website and all, but am supremely dissatisfied with the site as of now. It is soooooo plain! Certainly, I like purple but not the extent that it is used in the site. Plus, I am not happy with my webhost at all - too difficult (to me) to make changes and too much of a cookie cutter look.

Ok, now, onto the real problem - do I design my own website (which could take weeks) or just cough up the bucks for a new template. I've found lots of templates that i like for about 49 bucks. Maybe that's the route to go....oh, wait a second - I don't have that much cash to slap down AND buy supplies. The trials of a tiny business owner. Need to get some old baby clothes up on Ebay to make some cash.

More later.

Writing a Business Plan

Yes, like many stay at home mommies I do have a business. Yes, it is legit, registered with the state and everything. And, I have insurance. No fly by night operation here!! What's the problem then? NO BUSINESS PLAN.

Sure, it was okay the first few times out, but when I found myself ordering supplies for stuff that I never concocted, then it was time to sit back and not re-evaluate (because I never evaluated in the first place) but to evaluate where I'm going with this whole thing. Which is, right now nowhere.

So, I am sort of starting at square one with a lot of experience. In order to grow, I have to know where I'm coming from and where I want to go. Planning has always been a downfall of mine - yes, as a teacher I had to write lesson plans for two weeks (or more) and I hated the time that went into planning. Truthfully, though, it was rewarding in the end when I could simply open my lesson plan book and everything was right there for me.

Now back to my business. What do I do? I make and sell body and skin care products. My daughter has eczema and instead of loading her up with commerical products, some of which actually contained lye, I decided to do a litte internet research and find out what is "from nature" that would work for her. Right now I've got a formula that lessens her itching and breakouts (no, I have not found a cure for eczema- I just found something that works for her) which is great and want to pass out samples. But my inventory is a mess. I don't know what I have, I don't know what I need, I mean, really, now, is this any way for a Yale graduate to run a business?? I've got great ideas (no, I really, really do) but my follow through lacks punch.

So now, I challenge myself to write a comprehensive business plan in two weeks. Easier said than done with little ones at home, but hey, that makes the challenge even better, and I do love a challenge.

Ugh! When I have an update, I'll post it, I promise, y'all!!

Well, it’s about time

When you are black, most of the time it IS all about race. Except when it comes to making the best of the education you are getting and seeking more when you need to. I had the distinct pleasure of being a teacher for over 10 years in the classroom. One day, I asked my students what was keeping them from getting an education. Some said that they didn’t have a place to study or that there was no one to help them at home. These were all issues that could be remedied. However, one student told the class and me that the white man was keeping him from getting an education.

I was truly shocked. I then asked the student and the class about this mysterious white man. Was he at your house, turning on the television and video games while you were trying to do your homework? Was he standing at the front door of the school, blocking the door? When I broke it down to them like that the class laughed and, hopefully, saw the silliness in that remark. Of course, they were not really aware that there are factors that, later on in life, will indeed conspire to keep them from getting a good education, but I thought that might be a bit too advanced for fourth graders.

What this reminds me of, and now I come to my real point, is the Little Rock five. As a child of parents who lived through the civil rights movement, I was treated to a viewing of Eyes on the Prize when it aired on channel 13 and my parents’ VHS set. These students wanted a white man keeping them from entering the school? How about the National Guard of Arkansas?? Complete with guns? I so remember the video of those brave, brave children who walked the gauntlet of screaming, ugly white folks, hitting them on the heads with bricks and spitting on them. One of the girls, I think it was Elizabeth Eckford, who was memorable to me because of her shades, white shirt and gingham/checkered skirt said that the white people had spit so much that she had to WRING OUT HER SKIRT to get all the spit out. How foul!

All this, as usual, to say that the Little Rock Nine have finally been honored on a coin issued by the US Mint. See article here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/19/AR2007051901031.html?sub=new.

We have so much to thank those who were so brave so that we can be where we are today.

My Snobbish Children

I used to talk about people on foood stamps - how all they used to buy their children was fruit drinks and hotdogs. Now, as a mom of three children under four, I realize how expensive it is to buy good food for your children. Juice alone (100% juice, not juice drink or juice cocktail) cost anywhere from 2 -3.49 per 1/2 gallon - more expensive than gasoline! Now if you've only got a few hundred for the MONTH and trying to feed three little ones, forget it. You're picking up the cheapest stuff possible to make that food stamp last. It's such a shame because the poor nutrition these children are receiving is directly correlated with their performance and their basic ability to perform in school - who the heck can think straight on a belly full of fruit punch soda and a honey bun, where child in the next seat has had oatmeal, bacon/eggs toast and orange juice for breakfast. How sad that No Child Left Behind doesn't cover breakfast foods also.

That being said, the family attended a storytelling session sponsored by my local Mocha Moms. The refreshments included a choice between fruit punch w/ .02 percent juice (but oh, so sugary sweet and good, admit it!!!) and apple juice. I tried to pour some of the fruit punch for my children - since they only have 100% juice at home, i figured they would appreciate the surgary goodness. Heck , no. "Mommy,I want apple juice. I don't want red juice". I had to shake my head and my nearly empty wallet (well, my husbands nearly empty wallet). They won't eat canned spaghetti- Now they're Don Coreleone, right? "We want hot pasta, mommy. Can you boil some water?" Oh, how about McDonald's? "No, mommy, can you cook us a burger?". For lunch- How about a baloney sandwich (my secret vice, along with the sugary goodness of the red juice) " No mommy, can I have natural peanut butter and jelly?"

Yes, my crunchy, nutrition oriented children resist my attempts at tempting them with