Ya'll - once again, Jayla does not disappoint! She was very well-behaved in dance this week so I told her that we could go to the store and pick out a treat. She could have whatever candy that she wanted.
We went to the CVS down the street and she walked in with her ballerina clothes on saying, "I want some purple." So, she went down the candy aisle looking for purple. First, it was bubble gum. I explained that it was gum so, she put it down. Then she said, "how about this?". It was Skittles! I almost jumped up and down.
Skittles have always been my favorite candy to the point that in high school I would just have Skittles and water for dinner. I could destroy an entire pound-bag of Skittles in a day - multiple days out of the week. There was no stopping me.
And now, Jayla just made my entire day by realizing that Skittles are the superior way to consume copious amounts of sugar. She makes me proud...
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
To Zion
This weekend I was in class all day on Saturday. One of the class activities involved everyone bringing a song to class that they felt relayed some important part of their identity. The idea was that as consultants, we could use the song to help tell a potential client more about who we are.
I decided to use the song "To Zion" by Lauryn Hill. It was one of my favorite songs back when that CD came out during my sophomore year in college (1998). And it seemed just perfect to tell the story of what really shapes the way I view this world. My actions are very much guided by my faith and my family. Here are the lyrics:
We spent an entire 2 hours of our day listening to songs that reflect our classmates' identities on Saturday. It was time well-spent.
I decided to use the song "To Zion" by Lauryn Hill. It was one of my favorite songs back when that CD came out during my sophomore year in college (1998). And it seemed just perfect to tell the story of what really shapes the way I view this world. My actions are very much guided by my faith and my family. Here are the lyrics:
Unsure of what the balance held
I touched my belly overwhelmed
By what I had been chosen to perform
But then an angel came one day
Told me to kneel down and pray
For unto me a man child would be born
Woe this crazy circumstance
I knew his life deserved a chance
But everybody told me to be smart
Look at your career they said,
"Lauryn, baby use your head"
But instead I chose to use my heart
Now the joy of my world is in Zion
Now the joy of my world is in Zion
How beautiful if nothing more
Than to wait at Zion's door
I've never been in love like this before
Now let me pray to keep you from
The perils that will surely come
See life for you my prince has just begun
And I thank you for choosing me
To come through unto life to be
A beautiful reflection of his grace
See I know that a gift so great
Is only one God could create
And I'm reminded every time I see your face
That the joy of my world is in Zion
Now the joy of my world is in Zion
Now the joy of my world is in Zion
Now the joy of my world is in Zion
Marching, marching, marching to Zion
Marching, marching
Marching, marching, marching to Zion
Beautiful, beautiful Zion
(repeat to end of song)
We spent an entire 2 hours of our day listening to songs that reflect our classmates' identities on Saturday. It was time well-spent.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
A Quickie...Then Back to Work
A few weeks ago, I was talking to the Professor that I work for. He likes to analyze me. You know - figure out what makes me tick and how I tick. He's the kind that has every Meyers-Brigg type description memorized but, "I would never put you in a box".
So, anyway, he was telling me about how he thought I was a crammer. I adamantly declared myself to NOT be a crammer. I was one in college but, I have turned over a new leaf and am now a very serious doctoral student with a husband and a 2-year-old, which leaves me ample time to get everything done in a timely manner. And yet, this week, I've done nothing but cram! Somehow I only have two weeks left in the semester and every body wants me to complete stuff all of a sudden. So, that is why you have not heard from me this week and that is why this is the end of this post.
Except, I have to tell you that the past two nights Jayla has slept in a pull-up...something she has not done since late January. But, after about a solid week of bed-wetting, I relented and let her wear the pull-up to bed. I'm not entirely sure whether it is a medical thing (my husband's vote), a behavioral thing, or a lazy thing. I lean towards lazy because if it were behavioral, she could have just kept acting out at dance class. That beats washing her sheets everyday (and I totally, totally don't mean that!).
So, anyway, he was telling me about how he thought I was a crammer. I adamantly declared myself to NOT be a crammer. I was one in college but, I have turned over a new leaf and am now a very serious doctoral student with a husband and a 2-year-old, which leaves me ample time to get everything done in a timely manner. And yet, this week, I've done nothing but cram! Somehow I only have two weeks left in the semester and every body wants me to complete stuff all of a sudden. So, that is why you have not heard from me this week and that is why this is the end of this post.
Except, I have to tell you that the past two nights Jayla has slept in a pull-up...something she has not done since late January. But, after about a solid week of bed-wetting, I relented and let her wear the pull-up to bed. I'm not entirely sure whether it is a medical thing (my husband's vote), a behavioral thing, or a lazy thing. I lean towards lazy because if it were behavioral, she could have just kept acting out at dance class. That beats washing her sheets everyday (and I totally, totally don't mean that!).
Thursday, April 10, 2008
The Beach Party
For the past two days Jayla has been asking me about her beach party. She apparently wants a beach party for her birthday and she already knows her guest list. She wants to wear her "baby suit" (swim suit) and she wants to get in the water and get her hair wet with Dominique, Skyla, and Leah. So, she's basically planned the entire party in her head. There's only two problems: (1) I have to listen to her talk about her party for the next 4.5 months and (2) I have no idea how to throw a beach party.
Monday, April 07, 2008
It's Totally the Thought That Counts
I've been sick for the past two days. I am pretty sure it is all allergy related now that I know that I am prone to allergies. I think walking around outside all day on Saturday didn't help because I did not sleep well at all on Saturday night. I couldn't breathe and just couldn't get comfortable. On Sunday morning I woke up feeling like 2 trucks had run over me during the night.
Jayla came into my bedroom as usual around 7:15am and my husband immediately told her that I did not feel well. I was rather impressed that he picked up on that with all of my tossing and turning and mouth-breathing during the night. So, Jayla strategically asked me which body parts hurt and kissed everything that I told her was hurting me. She even asked me if my eyes were sick, which is basically her way of asking me if I have pink eye. It was cute.
She also apparently prayed for me in the car on the way to church. I stayed home in the bed (and slept until 10:30am - GLORIOUS!!) and she and my husband went to church as usual. He said that he told her that they could pray for me to feel better. He said that just seconds later he heard her mumbling and then she said, "In Jesus' name, Amen." She then explained to him that I was not sick anymore because she had prayed for me. I thought that was the sweetest thing EVER! Granted her prayer for me began with "God is great, God is good, and we thank him for our food..." but, I'm sure He knew where her heart was.
Jayla came into my bedroom as usual around 7:15am and my husband immediately told her that I did not feel well. I was rather impressed that he picked up on that with all of my tossing and turning and mouth-breathing during the night. So, Jayla strategically asked me which body parts hurt and kissed everything that I told her was hurting me. She even asked me if my eyes were sick, which is basically her way of asking me if I have pink eye. It was cute.
She also apparently prayed for me in the car on the way to church. I stayed home in the bed (and slept until 10:30am - GLORIOUS!!) and she and my husband went to church as usual. He said that he told her that they could pray for me to feel better. He said that just seconds later he heard her mumbling and then she said, "In Jesus' name, Amen." She then explained to him that I was not sick anymore because she had prayed for me. I thought that was the sweetest thing EVER! Granted her prayer for me began with "God is great, God is good, and we thank him for our food..." but, I'm sure He knew where her heart was.
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Saturday Attire: Bling Bling Edition
We spent the day outside at the Houston Children's Festival. The sun bouncing off the bling on her back pockets nearly blinded us.
Friday Night Brain Dump
I am so glad that it is Friday. Well, actually, it's 16 minutes into Saturday. But, I actually took a quick (10-ish minutes while Jayla was catching up on her Dora the Explorer) nap this evening so that I could enjoy Friday evening for as long as possible. It's not that I had a long week - quite the contrary...my weeks go by entirely too fast! And now, here at the end of the semester, I'm suddenly being asked to actually produce work. This week, alone, I had like a trillion things that I needed to get done and I think I finished 3 or 4. But, alas, my secret weapon is here - the weekend. This is usually when I surprisingly get caught up on alot of things that I slack on during the week. Imagine that...me...slacking on something.
Jayla's been learning to skate on the kitchen floor this week. So, now I'm itching to take her to a skating rink. Deep down I must be still in the 8th grade because that is when I went to the skating rink twice a week, religiously. And my sister and I spent 20 minutes reminicsing on those days tonight. I looked up our local skating rink online tonight and parents can skate free on Sundays (after paying for their kids' admission, obviously). That got me excited but, then again, not really. My husband (look Cecilia, I'm going to talk about him!) plays basketball every single Sunday afternoon while Jayla and I take a 3-hour nap. He is very protective of his basketball time and so, it will be difficult for me to convince him to give that up one day.
And with that I think I may have officially emptied my entire brain. Good night.
Jayla's been learning to skate on the kitchen floor this week. So, now I'm itching to take her to a skating rink. Deep down I must be still in the 8th grade because that is when I went to the skating rink twice a week, religiously. And my sister and I spent 20 minutes reminicsing on those days tonight. I looked up our local skating rink online tonight and parents can skate free on Sundays (after paying for their kids' admission, obviously). That got me excited but, then again, not really. My husband (look Cecilia, I'm going to talk about him!) plays basketball every single Sunday afternoon while Jayla and I take a 3-hour nap. He is very protective of his basketball time and so, it will be difficult for me to convince him to give that up one day.
And with that I think I may have officially emptied my entire brain. Good night.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Hair Experiment Results
Oh - sorry to keep ya'll waiting. I know you're on the edge of your seats wondering how the hair experiment turned out. Well, the answer is somewhere between 8 and 12 hours. I'm going to go with 9 hours and 17 minutes. That's how long that hairstyle lasted without me feeling compelled to change it up. The photographic evidence -
Here is Jayla Sunday morning after waking up (and eating a chocolate muffin). She refused to sleep with anything on her head to help protect the style on Saturday night. So, it actually may not be quite as bad as I thought it would be:
But as promised, she had to wear it like that to church on Sunday:
Her hairstyle proceeded to die a horrible death throughout Sunday afternoon to the point that this is what she look like at 6pm when we went out to dinner:
However, as I am never one to be defeated, I thought I'd give it another try. What I learned from the first experiment is that Jayla is not going to wear anything on her head to sleep. So, each morning, I'm likely going to hate what happened to the front and sides of her hair while she peacefully slumbered.
So, Sunday night, I decided to try for a combo style where I would twist the back but not the sides and front. I was thinking that even if I could just not have to do the back side of her hair every morning, that would save me some time. So, I spent about 20-ish minutes re-twisting the back on Sunday night and it paid off Monday morning. I only spent 5 minutes on her hair Monday morning! Most importantly, it allowed for 15 more minutes of uninterrupated Backyardigans watching before going to school. Here she is Monday morning before school:
What's great is that I still felt good about sending her to school with it again today, having not redone it. Now, I am going to have to redo it tonight, I'm sure. But, I'm happy with knowing that we may have discovered a style that will last two days with minimal re-working on my part.
I think I may be on a new mission now. I'm trying to decide if braids would last longer. They would certainly take longer to do but, I'm not sure the return would be worth it because braids are never meant to look messy where it is okay for twists to be messy. And now, my friends, you know what I will be thinking about for the rest of the day as opposed to this 20-page paper that I should be writing right now.
Here is Jayla Sunday morning after waking up (and eating a chocolate muffin). She refused to sleep with anything on her head to help protect the style on Saturday night. So, it actually may not be quite as bad as I thought it would be:
But as promised, she had to wear it like that to church on Sunday:
Her hairstyle proceeded to die a horrible death throughout Sunday afternoon to the point that this is what she look like at 6pm when we went out to dinner:
However, as I am never one to be defeated, I thought I'd give it another try. What I learned from the first experiment is that Jayla is not going to wear anything on her head to sleep. So, each morning, I'm likely going to hate what happened to the front and sides of her hair while she peacefully slumbered.
So, Sunday night, I decided to try for a combo style where I would twist the back but not the sides and front. I was thinking that even if I could just not have to do the back side of her hair every morning, that would save me some time. So, I spent about 20-ish minutes re-twisting the back on Sunday night and it paid off Monday morning. I only spent 5 minutes on her hair Monday morning! Most importantly, it allowed for 15 more minutes of uninterrupated Backyardigans watching before going to school. Here she is Monday morning before school:
What's great is that I still felt good about sending her to school with it again today, having not redone it. Now, I am going to have to redo it tonight, I'm sure. But, I'm happy with knowing that we may have discovered a style that will last two days with minimal re-working on my part.
I think I may be on a new mission now. I'm trying to decide if braids would last longer. They would certainly take longer to do but, I'm not sure the return would be worth it because braids are never meant to look messy where it is okay for twists to be messy. And now, my friends, you know what I will be thinking about for the rest of the day as opposed to this 20-page paper that I should be writing right now.
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