AFRo

For the Mister

noreply@blogger.com (AFRo) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 03:47:00 +0000

Even when you're an ass, I'm thinking of ways to make you happy. Yes. I can think about multiple things at a time these days which enables me to hate you/love you at the same time. Yes. I think this is normal. After all, I don't believe anyone can make you angrier than the person that you love the most. Right?

Anyway, it just so happened that just before our knock-down drag-out tiff the other night, I had been reading my therapeutic book for crazies and it suggested that I find something positive in someone I love and focus on it. As you already know, I have started my, "reasons I love my husband" list. I always wondered why Mama Kat had a list like this, but it makes total sense now. It does give me something to focus on when I'm so mad that I could spit at you in true Delta Belle fashion.

Here's my start:

I love that you are so dedicated and passionate about things that our boys enjoy, such as soccer.
I love that you are my khaki pants boy. I always said that I would marry one and you made that dream come true.
I love that after 12 years I can still fill up an entire trash can with the garbage that you fill up your car with. It's disgusting, but SO you.

I really do heart you. MOST of the time.

© 2008 AFRo. All Rights Reserved.

Patience

noreply@blogger.com (AFRo) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 18:38:00 +0000

It's something that I've always struggled with.

My lack of patience is part of why I quit my job 3 weeks ago. I wanted better and I wanted it right then. That fact, coupled with the misery that I felt going into work and leaving my children all day created the perfect storm that got me to were I am now...

Unemployed... but happy as ever.

I know that immediate gratification is NEVER a reality, but I can't help but dream. In my dream world, my husband would've already passed his CPA exam and would have his career well established... enough so that I could pursue my desire to be a stay at home mom and have have 2 more children. We would own a home in an area that we'd never have to worry about property values falling drastically every year.

That's all I want really. That's the epitome of my dream world and all of the wants that after 9 years of marriage, I'm wondering if we'll ever make those dreams come to fruition. Then I consider patience. Ugh. It's so hard.

So, I'm trying this new "leap of faith" thing. Since leaving my job, I've found a new peace and sense of serenity in my life and it has allowed me to relax and mostly let go of my impatience with my "wanners."

I truly believe that good things are going to happen for me and my little family in the future. But, I've decided to stop focusing so hard on trying to make those things happen. Instead, I'm focused on today and what I can do to make TODAY a success for myself and my family.

Wish me luck.

© 2009 AFRo. All Rights Reserved.

Happy 8th Birthday Nate!

noreply@blogger.com (AFRo) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:20:00 +0000

My dear sweet oldest child, Nate. Today is your 8th birthday and what can I say about the things you've learned this year? There's so much! It was a year of firsts... First grade, first tooth, first trip out of the state/country, first camp experience, first crush and the list goes on and on. You've also developed a bit of a rebellious streak that I can only work with because I know it was me who gave it to you. We're going to work that out though.

In November of last year you created the Waventure (weekend + adventure) for us. You showed me that a 5 hour drive with two kids could be nothing short of interesting. I learned a lot in that time. It was a great idea. That photo up there is of you, "CuzII" (BFF's son) and your little brother is on the right.... it was taken on the last day of the Waventure.

This was the beginning of the summer with you and your other cousin, "KMart" and little brother freezing on the pier because no matter what I said about the water wasn't warm enough yet to swim in, you were determined that Memorial Day weekend you were getting in!

This is one of my favorites of you from this year. It was taken in April on the streets of Progresso, Mexico where we learned that you are a savvy traveler and can haggle just as well as any of us. (You bought a $5 black onyx dolphin for $3. I was so proud!) You enjoyed every sight there was there and haven't stopped talking about the next trip. I love that you're a traveler. I am too.

That's your little brother poking his eyes over the chair at the camera. He was totally disrupting you and Syd's alone time on the ship. Sydney was your first ever crush. You told us that she was so hot that she could be from France or something. LOL. It was cute to watch. She even pinned you with her Carnival pin before we left the ship for good. She really was a cute little girl, I am so grateful that she lives about 8 hours from us because that is trouble waiting to happen.

One last picture from the Mayan ruins in Mexico. You climbed to the top and found a window to sit and meditate in. It was hilarious. But, again, you are an awesome traveler, not afraid to soak yourself in the local culture. I'm so proud of you for so many different things.... these are only a few that are on my list of reasons that you steal my heart over and over again. I'm so proud of the little man that you are growing into and I love you so very much. Happy 8th Birthday to you!

Crackbook Etiquette

noreply@blogger.com (AFRo) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:04:00 +0000

This is kissy face:

*Edit* Posting without one because I've deleted them all and cannot locate one to post, but will return and indulge you all when one surfaces. Read on anyway.*

I hate kissy face pictures. HATE them. But, alas, I am stupid and have allowed numerous people to take kissy face pictures of me throughout my *insert sarcasm* fabulous night life over the past year. I hate kissy face pictures so much that at some point, I decided that I was a superstar and needed to go out "incognito" from now on, so that people would not take pictures of me because they wouldn't know who I was. Good logic, right? Maybe.

It resulted in this:

A little better, but certainly not stellar and did you notice my lean toward the kissy face despite my incognito attire?!? WTF is wrong with me? I definitely prefer the ghetto fabulous look to the kissy face/*one too many* pictures. So... now that you've seen what I'm working with, let me pose this question:

If you took either of these pictures of me and posted them on your Crackbook the following Monday morning for everyone to see, do you think it's prudent that I request that you remove them at any point in the future? This subject has caused me some pretty petty controversy in the last few months.... that we are so over now.

Evidently, it's my method of requesting the removal. But, kissy face pictures make my skin crawl and usually I do come with a comment like, "You gotta take this down. Seriously." I can't say that I normally ask for the picture to be removed because the people who post them are supposed to be my friends and not be all pissy because I tell them that I don't like a picture of myself and want it to go away. It's not like I'm saying, "Hey! This picture of you looks like shit, take it down.

Seriously. If I told you to remove it in a manner such as that stated above, would it piss you off? What is proper Crackbook etiquette here?

Papa 'Fro: July 31, 1957 - June 16, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (AFRo) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 03:45:00 +0000

It kind of sucks when your daddy dies 4 days before Father's Day. You can read further on this here... but I cannot discuss it again. Having to move through the motions of the last week have been painful enough... I kind of feel like tomorrow just adds insult to injury. But, that's the only pity party I'm going to have for now because I told myself I could only wallow for 3 days about it, then I have to move forward.

Here's my moving forward... sort of. In my weird way... but I'm not sobbing so it's gotta be working right?

I want to share my adventure from earlier tonight: We buried daddy yesterday and evidently after they cover him up with dirt, they put all of the flowers that people send all over the top of the grave. (This is the first death I've ever experienced... give me a break. Okay?) Anyway, earlier tonight, my mother wanted all of us to go and put up an iron cross that one of daddy's friends had made and given to us on the grave because the headstone is not ready yet.

Alright, for those of you who have never experienced a "Dirty D" summer, let me just tell you it was well over 95 degrees today with a heat index into the triple digits and everyone knows that direct sunlight + plants just laying around = dead plants. So, when we left my mom mentioned that it made her sick to see all those dead flowers lying on his grave. This was around 6:45 p.m.

I had no idea that cemetery's closed...again, never done this before huh-lo... and I was never one of those who just enjoyed hanging out at night in the cemetery. You know? As a matter of fact, tonight at 8:30 p.m. I was racing sunlight to go get rid of the dead flowers for my mother because there was no way I was doing it after dark.

Thankfully, as I was pulling out of my mom's driveway, my little brother pulled up and asked where I was going, when I told him, he and my future sister in law volunteered to come help.We arrived at the cemetery around 8:45 p.m. and low and behold, the gates were all locked. But, my mother said those flowers made her sick to see and they had to go. So, in true AFRo style, I pulled my car all the way up to where it touched the gate and jumped the fence from the hood. In. Flip. Flops.

Then it dawned on me that I was so genius that I hadn't thought of how I'd get back out. Whatever.

Poor future sister in law hasn't done a lot of delta summers so she was unprepared for the swarm of mosquitoes that attempted to cart us off during our disposal of the flowers... I was dressed in a long sleeve shirt and came prepared with a pair of daddy's hospital socks because every delta belle knows that if you don't have the delta perfume (OFF with deet) you better not show skin. That poor girl is probably eaten alive. Bless her heart.

Anyway, I managed to make it back over the fence by boosting myself off the chain that had it locked and landing back on the hood of my car just as I broke a flip flop. But, we did it. (Just like on Dora... you know.... we did it... we did it... we did it... hooray!) I think it might have been a tad bit illegal, but it was for the greater good. Right?

Daddy would've been proud or at least amused with us. He did teach me that sometimes rules are made to be broken... but only if the end justifies the means and I believe this one did.

Happy Father's Day to you all. I hope that you enjoy every minute of it... and I'm going to try to.... real hard.

ETA: I am working in serious OCD fashion to restore the formatting to it's normal state with paragraph breaks. Stupid blogger gets all freaked out about pictures. So, please excuse until I have it fixed.

Textiquette: Lesson 5589

noreply@blogger.com (AFRo) — Wed, 13 May 2009 14:14:00 +0000

On holidays, it is very thoughtful of you to send friends a "Happy Mother's Day" text. (Example) However, when you are up at 6:00 a.m. getting ready for church on Sunday morning and sending these wonderful words of love. Please consider that the recipient may, in fact, still be sleeping.

Said recipient, may or may not be nursing a tequila hangover from the bachelorette party that took place the Saturday night before. Therefore, a 6 a.m. text about Mother's Day can be recepted with hatred rather than the love it was meant to convey. So, think about your audience when sending mass texts. Then don't do it.

I'm just sayin...

© 2009 AFRo. All Rights Reserved.

Out of the Mouth of Babes

noreply@blogger.com (AFRo) — Mon, 11 May 2009 18:08:00 +0000

Mama and Papa 'Fro will be coming home tomorrow. After his 3 year battle with cancer, we have run out of options and we have all agreed that we would rather have him home for his remaining time on earth than lying in a hospital for them to do research on him. I cannot even put into words how hard this is for my family and I have no idea what the remaining weeks will hold for any of us, but I wanted to post this conversation for posterity because it reminds me that sometimes our children know more than we do.

(Saturday Morning - May 9th - Over Coffee on the Back Porch)

AFRo: Papa & Maemae are coming home.

Oldest: Is Papa going to make it Mom?

AFRo: We don't know honey. But, it doesn't look like it.

Oldest: Why? I been prayin and prayin and why is it not working?

AFRo: Well baby, sometimes when God decides that he needs a new angel, there's nothing we can do to stop him from taking one of us. I think God really really wants Papa to be his new angel, so we have to let him go to heaven and we'll have our very own special angel up there.

Oldest: (matter-of-factly) Well Mom, miracles happen every hundred years and we can just start praying for a miracle. God might give us one.

This is just a piece of the conversation that was had that morning. Of course there were more questions... which included him asking my mom the next night if Papa could take a cell phone to heaven so we could still talk to him. As heart wrenching as it is, I am so proud of him for reminding me that even when your hope is gone, or so it seems, that we should never stop believing in miracles.

God I pray that you give us all the strength and wisdom to do whatever it is that you have in store for us, because from where I'm standing it looks like it is going to be too hard. Please help me to have the right words when I need them and to just stay quiet when I don't. Please give us all comfort because today... it hurts.

In Jesus name. Amen.

© 2008 AFRo. All Rights Reserved.

Airing Dirty Laundry

noreply@blogger.com (AFRo) — Tue, 05 May 2009 13:36:00 +0000

Dude.

It's bad.

No matter how hard I work, no matter how many mountains I conquer, the laundry in my house is friggin overwhelming. It never ends. I watched an episode of the Duggars one night on TLC and Michelle was talking about how she just focused on teaching her children how to stay on top of dishes and laundry... as long as they got that mastered, they could handle everything else. This is probably one of the only things that she has ever said that I completely agree with.**

I have a really bad OCD thing with laundry though. I can't explain it in detail for this post because it really deserves its own. Which I will try to get to soon... because I know you all want to be schooled by a laundry specialist.

Back to my point: I have this thing about clean laundry having to be folded straight out of the dryer. I think this comes from growing up with a "laundry couch." Did any of you have one of those? You know, the one couch in the house that is the catch all for the clean laundry and it all gets folded once the couch is so covered that you just can't tell it's a couch anymore? And folding became a family event because there was no possible way that one person could do it without being swallowed whole by all those clean clothes.

Then there's that dang sock basket... Are you with me? BFF and I were discussing this last weekend at her house. I swear... the sock basket is the epitome of why I grew up being late everywhere I go; because no matter what the occassion, I had to search through every single sock in the house to find a matching pair and there were 5 people in my house... so you can imagine. But with that many socks and a laundry couch that was already full, we were just grateful all of the socks were in one place and we didn't have to search through mountains of other clothes to find a set. Ah... childhood memories. Aren't they great?

I also do not like for other people to touch my clean laundry. The only exception to this is towels and I let the minis fold those. Everything else must be folded by me. Mr. AFRo does his part by hanging all of the stuff that goes into the closets, but that's about all I'll allow unless I'm just dead tired then I'll ignore the fact that he's folding and shut myself in my room so that I don't see. Crazy? I know. I have friggin issues okay?

As a result of all of the things described above, I end up with a bedroom floor that looks like this on occassion:

I know. It's shameful, but it does get done eventually. Mr. AFRo is going to be so pissed that I posted this picture. He watched me take it and was adomant that I should not post it for people to see, but seriously, I cannot be the only working mother on the planet with laundry issues. So, we'll just cross our fingers that Mr. AFRo doesn't notice the picture. K? Sounds like a plan.

Now... what should I do? I don't want the run of the mill suggestions on this. I know that it would be prudent to do one load a night to keep up, but in reality, I am a working mother with two kids that have to be carted around a lot, so that's really not realistic. Please take my OCD nature into consideration when making suggestions. But, I would like to know what works for you.

**Disclaimer**: I still think Michelle Duggar is completely insane for having that many children.

Starbucks vs McDonalds

noreply@blogger.com (AFRo) — Mon, 04 May 2009 14:02:00 +0000

I heard this morning that these two are about to launch ad campaigns that are targeted at competing with one another. Does this make sense to anyone? I don't think that either target the same individual as the other. Can we say waste of advertising dollars?

I consider myself to be the average American woman, which is exactly who these two should be targeting for coffee sales because we represent the majority of the household decision making on this particular matter. So, when I want to treat myself to a Double Ristretto Venti Nonfat Organic Chocolate Brownie Frappuccino extra hot with foam and whipped cream upside down, double blended.... you think I'm going to hit up Mickey D's for it? No ma'am. That would be ignorant.

There is no comparison here. Sure, I would definitely not feel guilty getting a cup of regular coffee from McDonalds every single day because it is cheap and granted, the way things have been in the economy, I look for ways to cut costs just like the next person... and I can get 4 cups of McDonalds coffee for the price of one Starbucks blend. But, they are just not the same animal and whomever came up with the idea for a fast food place to go head to head with a coffee giant deserves to be demoted at the very least.

That's it for today. Thoughts?

© 2008 AFRo. All Rights Reserved.

MEXICO IS CLOSED

noreply@blogger.com (AFRo) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:30:00 +0000

It is terribly sad to say, but it is ridiculously true... Mexico is closed.

Mr. AFRo and I took the minis on a cruise last week for 5 days and our two stops were in Mexico. The picture above is one Mr. AFRo took of our beach in Cozumel. It was absolutely gorgeous there!

With all of the Swine Flu crap swirling I can't help but think of all the wonderful Mexican people that we met in Progreso & Cozumel. Like the old woman who taught my little one to blow on a conch shell properly to make it sound like a horn. She couldn't speak English at all, but she was so gentle with him and patient. It was an experience that I know he will never forget.

Yes, we mingled with the locals. No, we didn't drink the water nor did we bring back any diseases. But, when traveling, I fully believe in the saying, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." How else can you experience different cultures and truly get the most out of your trip? I just hate that this swine flu thing has happened because it will inevitably be devastating to an already unsteady economy in Mexico. It's just one horrible thing after another down there. I can't help but feel sad for them.

I'm just rambling. Thought I'd rub it in that I had a fabulous vacation, but I started this post an hour ago and the writing bug has passed so I will sign off, but remember our neighbors to the south in your prayers... hopefully they'll catch a break soon.

ETA: Oh no! It's my first post in over a month and this whacked out formatting paired with my OCD nature is going to make me delete. Seriously. Ugh.

ETAA: AHHHHHHH... I need paragraphs!!!

© 2008 AFRo. All Rights Reserved.

Papa 'Fro

noreply@blogger.com (AFRo) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 19:34:00 +0000

I have tried really hard to seperate the things that go on with Papa 'Fro from my blog because at times it can be all consuming and I didn't want my blog to turn into Papa 'Fro's story.... I wanted him to be able to write that so we set up a CaringBridge site for him and that is where his story is told. However, since last Thursday, my life has been all consumed with Papa 'Fro and I just need to organize this in my mind and all of you wonderful readers have always been there for me when I needed you. So... here it goes.

Friday 3/13: Papa 'Fro received a chemo round and left Nashville to come home.

Saturday 3/14: Bone pain so bad that they had to take him to the local emergency room for a pain shot. At which time, doctor checked his lungs and they were clear.

Wednesday 3/18: Woke up struggling to breathe. Knew it was probably the start of pneumonia, drove to local hospital.

Thursday 3/19: Pneumonia progressed to the point that it was decided to call my family to come and spend some time with him over the next few days.

Friday 3/20: They moved him into ICU. Pneumonia continued to progress. Family called in immediately and waiting began.

Saturday 3/21: Airlifted him back to Vanderbilt. I drove the 5 hours here with my mother. Back in ICU at Vanderbilt. Doctors determined he was in congestive heart failure.

Sunday 3/22: Waiting and wondering. Congestive heart failure is still the same. Pneumonia seems to be better.

Just waiting. His blood counts usually drop 7-10 days out from chemo, so that is another worry because as some of you know a drop in white counts will not help him fight off whatever is going on in his body. Please pray for us. It has been a scary time.

Bad Mommy: It's a no go. (You know what I'm talking about.)

© 2008 AFRo. All Rights Reserved.

Hey You

noreply@blogger.com (AFRo) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:03:00 +0000

Yes you. With the murder weapons plastered to your fingers. Yes, I was taking pictures of you while we were standing in line at Wendy's... I know that you saw the flash, but I did a great job of playing it off like I was showing Mr. AFRo something didn't I?

Seriously though... no ma'am! Those things are not okay. That is gross. I heard you tell the lady at the counter that they were real and you seemed awfully proud that you'd accomplished such a feat, but what you didn't realize is that everyone in the line behind you enjoyed watching the fear across the employee's face when you whipped out a $20 bill with those things. It was priceless. Trust me. I understood because I felt a little scared myself being in such close proximity with nails that looked like that.

Out of all the fingernail polish colors out there, you had to choose one that looks like blood? Gross. You really could use some lessons in personal hygeine. How do you even go about daily life as "Edward Scissorhands?" I don't even have the energy to continue my thought process on this... so cut those things off. I'm just sayin.

© 2008 AFRo. All Rights Reserved.

My Only Birthday Wish

noreply@blogger.com (AFRo) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 21:35:00 +0000

So I promised this was coming and so what if it's a week late, I've been working hard on it... this is my one birthday wish from you guys....

Donate to my Relay for Life. Just $1.

If you feel inclined to donate more, then I will be grateful for that too, but please. Just $1 for an organization that has done so much for my family and millions of others who are waging the same war against cancer.

Any links to my Relay site are just bonus birthday gifts to me... any support you guys can give to help me raise more money than everyone on my team put together. I've challenged them and I plan to deliver... with ya'lls help. So don't let me down. Please.

© 2008 AFRo. All Rights Reserved.

Another Birthday...

noreply@blogger.com (AFRo) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 17:18:00 +0000

I love birthdays. Seriously. I do. But I've decided that I really like the age 27... it was just an all around good year for me. 28 may prove to be a better one... I certainly hope that it does, but for now, I'm thinking that I want to be 27 forever. So, here's my math:

We will celebrate my 25th birthday this year. (even though technically I'm 28) that way in two years when I turn 30, I'll be celebrating my 27th and I can just stop there for the rest of my life. Makes good sense doesn't it? I think so.

I do not, however like that my 25th fell on a Monday. That's like the crappiest day of the week to have a birthday. I woke up this morning and remembered that we were out of coffee... that is how the day started. Anyone who knows me IRL, knows this is the worst possible way to start my day. Ugh. But, it's gotten better so far. The ladies that I work with gave me a gift certificate for a pedicure which I plan to save and use right before my cruise.

I do have a request from you guys for my birthday, but I don't have it all set up yet, so I'm going to ask that you wait to give me birthday love for when I have everything ready. It's top secret until then. Me and the girls aren't celebrating until this weekend, so I'm going to pretend that my real birthday is Saturday. Whateva. I do what I want.

It snowed in Mississippi this weekend. Like 3 friggin inches. I wore short sleeves to work on Friday... it stormed it's boo-ty off all day that day. I arrived home at 5:30 p.m. to no power... which we did not get back until close to 9 p.m. By Saturday morning, it was COLD and there were some flurries throughout the day and by Saturday night, it looked like a freaking blizzard had arrived. Crazy.

I ordered a camera last week because my old one is craptastic and doesn't work 98% of the time and I needed a new one for our cruise. It was supposed to be here Friday, but of course it was not. Wal-Mart.com sucks like that. So, I don't have any good snow pics for you guys. But spring break is on its way and if it's a repeat of last year (with close to a foot of snow) I'll have plenty of the minis and their snowmen.

So this post sucked. I know. Sorry. I'm trying to get back in the groove and I resisted the urge to delete it just because. Hope you all have a great AFRo birthday!

© 2008 AFRo. All Rights Reserved.

Do You Know: This One Is For Mrs. Ashley

noreply@blogger.com (AFRo) — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 19:47:00 +0000

...because I know she's a Rob & Big fan. My BFF introduced me to this video last weekend and it's been my source for laughter everytime I've needed one all week... Do work.

© 2008 AFRo. All Rights Reserved.

Bring It On Home With A List

noreply@blogger.com (AFRo) — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 16:08:00 +0000

1. I LOVE T.I. and J.T. so when they got together, it was a sure thing that I would LOVE the song. But, every. single. time. I listen to it I think of my blog and my support group that lives over here. I'm scared that the old me is "dead and gone" because of my total loss of anonymity, but I continue to remind myself that I'm a no holes barred kind of person and that this blog is crucial to my mental health and that my readers have a choice... to read or not, so I will be drudging on... hopefully more regularly.

2. There has been a ton of drama going on in AFRoland this week. Since I evidently do not know the entire story yet, I'm gonna hang on to it, but it just has me in knots because I have never encountered any individual like this in my entire life and he absolutely disgusts me. He is Mr. AFRo's brother so I've been a little reserved about my comments, but when I say "a little" I mean it wholeheartedly. I've pretty much made it known how I feel about him to not only Mr. AFRo, but directly to his brother. Now, I'm having coffee with Mr. AFRo's mom in the morning to discuss my comments.... I'm not sure if I'm looking forward to it or not. We heart each other, but I think we have totally opposite opinions on all of this for obvious reasons. I just really hope this goes well.

3. Mrs. C is still working on my computer. Evidently I had all kinds of viruses and she's having to gut it and whatnot to fix it, so I remain without a connection from home because I'm not spending any funds on another one. I refuse. Access at work has been limited because the new supervisor has been on my ass about every single thing I do and my blog has been mentioned more than once. He despises me... it's pretty clear... but the feeling is totally mutual.

4. My little sister is totally pissed at me because she is planning to go on a mission trip in 3weeks to Mexico. She turns 20 next month and has no understanding of why I would be worried about her traveling to Mexico. Okay. I love her so very much and as you will see from the picture of the two of us she is a tall, blonde hair, blue eyed, drop dead gorgeous target for any of the kidnappers that are parading around Mexico right now and I cannot help but worry. So I questioned her about it on Tuesday this week... okay, maybe I grilled her. But after looking into the region of the country she is going to, I found it to be relatively safe in comparison to what's going on around the U.S./Mexico border. But, she text me two nights ago and told me that she was never telling me anything again and that she was pissed at me. I still don't really understand what's up there, but she won't speak to me now.

5. I heart my baby sister. There is an 8 year age gap between us, but it makes no difference. I think I have every right to worry about her safety. The picture is per Chris' request, but I thought you guys might get a kick out of what the family photo session at Thanksgiving turned out. Yup. That's a couple of Delta Belle's if I've ever seen 'em. And yes ma'am... that is an OFFICIAL Red Rider BB Gun I'm holding.

6. Big Kid and Little Kid are doing good. Nothing new to report here other than I've begun reading them a chapter out of the Hardy Boys mystery books every night and they are loving it. When we finish this one, I'm going to start reading the Ramona Quimby books to them.... because those were my favorites growing up.

7. My birthday is this Monday. I'm turning 25! Can you believe it?!? Me either... it seems too good to be true... but it is. I swear. *wink*wink*

8. We're going on a cruise in April!!! I'm pretty pumped about it. Sailing out of New Orleans for 5 days with the boys. It's going to be a blast. I've never done it before, so I'm a little nervous, but I'm looking forward to checking something off the "bucket list." I even bought a bikini... not real sure if I'm going to actually wear it, but I'm trying to convince myself that I can because nobody will know who I am anyway... right? Any opinions on cruising are welcomed... we're doing the Carnival's Fantasy ship...

9. It's da first of da month....

10. I miss my Bad Mommy and she is blogging still in a top secret location, so I'm not going to link her because some of her stalkers are still hitting me up daily looking for her. Yes ma'am. Daily. OCD anyone? She has encouraged me, along with my real life BFF to get back to business over here... so I'm getting an A for effort today.

That is all I've got. Have a good weekend and leave me lots of comment love because I tried really hard to "bring it on home" today.

Geez. WTF?

noreply@blogger.com (AFRo) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 16:59:00 +0000

My Feedburner says that I have 2 subscribers as of today. TWO.

I know I've been slacking, but life has thrown chaos my way again and again lately. Papa 'Fro is going through the ringer up in Nashville and while it's a constant weight for me, life is just tough at the moment. But I am okay. I promise.

Thank you all for loving me despite my slacking. I am about to break a cardinal rule in blogging, but for the sake of uplifting my family, here is Papa 'Fro's site... please pass it along and please sign the guestbook (as it is their only link to the "outside world" right now). www.caringbridge.org/visit/markflemmons

I love you all and I will be back soon. I promise.

© 2008 AFRo. All Rights Reserved.

We Need To Talk

noreply@blogger.com (AFRo) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 23:44:00 +0000

About babysitters. And paying them.

Is it right to charge your family to babysit their kids? Like your neices and nephews? I've always felt like it was optional to pay my little sister, but because she was a struggling college kid, I never really minded forking over some money in appreciation. I've also paid my sister in law to babysit during the school breaks so that I could work and I knew that she needed the money.

My normal rate of pay is $25 per day or night. Even if it's only 2 hours, I pay $25. If it gets to be late, Mr. AFRo usually throws in $10 or $20 more depending on the number of drinks he consumed while we were out.

I always felt like this was fair. Especially when you consider that daycares in my area would charge about $110 for 2 kids to stay a week. So, if I need a sitter all week, they make $125 + I have to buy food, drinks, etc. Which I do not mind at all doing. But this weekend, I was totally raped by a family member on babysitter cost.

BFF and her husband came up and we all wanted to go out Saturday night. My sister in law and her husband are in a very similar situation to MU & The Saint, so I knew that she'd want to make an easy $50. Sure we were talking 5 kids total, but we weren't going to leave until 8:00 and the two toddlers would have been asleep. The other kids are 6 and 7, so they're a cakewalk and would be passed out by 11 at the latest.

Well, SIL told me that $50 wasn't worth her time. WTF? I was dumbfounded. She followed the statement with telling me that her cell phone would be cut off the next day because they couldn't pay the bill. WTF? We scrounged up another $25 and called her back and she came for $75. I was pissed though. I didn't even spend that much going out with my husband that night and there were multiple libations consumed.

So... thoughts? Sorry it's short... I'm out of time, but I'm still just sick that I paid someone that much to babysit kids that weren't even awake half the time she was there. Ugh.

P.S. I missed you guys.

© 2008 AFRo. All Rights Reserved.

Hooray... Today Is My Blogoversary!!!

noreply@blogger.com (AFRo) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:20:00 +0000

Woo Hoo!!! It's my blogoversary today!!! One whole year!!! Imagine that. If I actually made money on this blog, I'd have a contest or something, but as it stands, I'm poor, so you'll just have to be happy with the poll I put up. Be sure to vote. If you're confused, go read this.

All I want for my blogoversary is lots of comment love. As I said before, linky love is icing on the cake. I'm a little nervous about which story ya'll are going to make me tell though.

On another note, Big Kid lost his two front teeth Saturday night and because I think it's absolutely adorable, here's a pic:

ETA: Um. The Poll. Yup... it's up there in the upper left hand corner. Click in if you're reading me in a reader... Seriously... I need votes here.

Yup. I'm still alive.

noreply@blogger.com (AFRo) — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 10:12:00 +0000

So, I suck. I know. But, guess what. I'm here now and that's all that matters right? We have some VERY important news. My blog's anniversary is in two days. Can you guys believe that I've been at this for an entire year... with 267 posts total which is far beyond what I ever imagined. It has been a wonderful year and what I'm wishing for (because this is like my birthday right?) is lots and lots of comment love from you lurkers and non-lurkers alike. Linky love would be icing on the top of the cake. Okay? Good.

I have a treat for you today. A guest post courtesy of BFF!!! We have compiled a list of the top 25 most memorable moments from the last two months. In honor of AFRo's anniversary, you guys get to nominate your favorite quote for me to tell the story behind it. The three that receive the most nominations will be voted on starting Tuesday, which is the official anniversary. Here we go...

1. Oh...there's my $5.
2. I'm an organ donor, but I don't think they'll want mine when I'm done with them.
3. Cassandra
4. We gotta get out of here.
5. I don't like penises
6. Whatever. We'll hit that bitch with a bottle.
7. Didn't you get the memo?
8. Oh my god. They're talking to me.
9. Who?
10. Are you sure that's not the neosporin spray?
11. How did this happen?
12. This may be a problem later. We need to take care of it now.
13. Bedtime story?
14. I swear to God, if it goes off again, I'll unplug it.
15. We don't tell people the name of it.
16. That's how we roll.
17. There will be no texting.
18. Rule #3. No Cigarettes or drinks on the dance floor.
19. Lil' Dr@@m@
20. Alright ladies. It's time to go.
21. Just dance, it'll be ok.
22. We are in a predicament now.
23. Seriously? Seriously.
24. How do you spell shenanigans?
25. To all that we've lost, and all the mistakes we have made.

© 2008 AFRo. All Rights Reserved.

Meet MU and The Saint

noreply@blogger.com (AFRo) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 18:47:00 +0000

What would you do if you were a stay at home mom to twin girls and one day your husband up and decided to quit his job and refused to look for work? This is a close friend of mine's predicament... we're going to call her The Saint because there's no way in hell I'd still be married to this man whom we will refer to as MU from here on out. (Mr. Unaccountability)

A little background:

The Saint and MU have been married for about 4 years. They have 3 year old twin girls. The Saint has been a SAHM for at least the last year, maybe longer. MU quit his job as an installer for a satellite company because he did not want to get up and make it to a weekly employee meeting that was held at 8:00 a.m. His bosses warned him that there would be repercussions for missing it/being late. He didn't listen. So, for a week they did not give him any installs. No installs = no paycheck. Instead of straightening up and showing up on time once a week, he quit and launched a plan to start his own business doing satellite installs, etc.

At the time that he quit his first job, the family was already living hand to mouth. But, The Saint stood behind him because it was something that he'd always said he wanted to do. MU went into the venture pretty gung ho, but I don't think he ever considered start up costs, etc. and they really didn't have the money to go into a venture like this without some other source of income.

I don't know how long it's been since MU quit, but he did about a month's worth of work with his new business and basically just stopped. For the last month, he has gone deer hunting everyday with the exception of maybe two days that he finished up a job that he'd already been paid for. Sidenote: He gets up some days before 8:00 a.m. to go hunting.... and to add injury to insult, he hasn't even killed anything.

The Saint recently got approved for food stamps and Medicaid for her girls because there was no income to give them the basic necessities such as food, clothing and shelter and at this time, it doesn't look like there's any end in sight. So, she has done what is within her control to take care of the immediate need. She is now about to look for work because they are going to get behind on rent and utilities. Which means that their heat will be cut off in the dead of winter or worse, they'll be evicted. She said that the garbage is not being picked up anymore because they are so far behind on the sewer/water bill already.

She has pretty much come to the conclusion that she cannot depend on MU for anything and is putting on her big girl panties now to deal with her life. She does not know where to go from here though. I think she's pretty much decided that once she finds work, if he's still shirking his responsibilities that she wants him out of the house. But, how do you throw a grown man out of his house? So, the question of today is what would you do if faced with this situation?

Disclaimer: This story is published with permission. I have relayed the "Cliff Notes" version to you guys because there is no way I could fit in every detail and for the record, I have no idea what MU's side of the story is, but quite frankly, I don't care. I don't know what advice to offer up because I've never in my life encountered someone so irresponsible. I know many of you love to delve out the advice when you can, so bring it on.

ETA: What if she loves him and really wants to make it work? Why should she have to move her girls to another home? And yes, I'm sure they've discussed it, but there is no real concern on MU's part obviously because we all know that actions speak much louder than words.

© 2008 AFRo. All Rights Reserved.

The Christmas Pickle

noreply@blogger.com (AFRo) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:45:00 +0000

Here's another cute holiday idea that I got from my little Grandmother... The Christmas Pickle is a tiny ornament that you can hide in your tree and it's harder than you think to find it... the tradition at my house is the first child to find the pickle gets $5 cash. My nephews come to my house and start looking for it almost immediately after my tree goes up.

You can't be one of those anal retentive moms that gets all pissy about the kids messing with the tree though. Because if you are, this tradition will only drive you insane. If you don't fall into that category, I highly recommend you purchase a pickle... it's tons of fun and a great tradition to start in your home that will be remembered by the kids forever. I promise. And the searching process makes for great photo ops as you can see above... that's LK & my youngest nephew raiding the tree for the umpteenth time... even though they'd already found it and had it hid again no less than 3 times.

Now, before you leave and wander through the great blogger abyss, tell me how your reindeer antler game went over or share something cool with me. Also, Bad Mommy, I made spaghetti last night and thought about you... have you made it yet? Oh... and this pickle thing is said to have originated in Germany, but word is, most Germans don't know anything about it.

My Little Player?

noreply@blogger.com (AFRo) — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 17:01:00 +0000

Mr. AFRo picked the boys up from school yesterday and he said they got in the car and Big Kid was singing, "Little Kid and B sittin in a tree.... Little Kid and B sittin in a tree..."

Mr. AFRo: The next part is k-i-s-s-i-n-g. But LK and B haven't kissed. That was a long time ago.

LK: Well, actually, B kissed me on my cheek today when I got ready to leave.

Mr. AFRo: Oh. Well, don't tell your mom.

BK: Right, 'cause she'll freak out.

Since I've raised them right, he did tell me about it last night and for the record, I did not freak out because I think a little kiss on the cheek occassionally is harmless and that little B is adorable... I swear she's the cutest one in the class... and she's as crazy as I am, so I'd say it was a natural choice for him.

Anyway, after LK finished his "snuggle time" with me he decided he needed to go play a game real fast so he crawled out of my bed and paused on his way out of the bedroom door to turn around and point at me like he was doing a pistol motion with his thumb and pointer finger and say, "Stay Pretty Mom."

WTF? It cracked me up though.

On a different note, I'm in love with this song:

© 2008 AFRo. All Rights Reserved.

We Can Rock It Like A Supermom On Occasion

noreply@blogger.com (AFRo) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 18:18:00 +0000

I know I've said before that you guys should never come here looking for cute stuff to do at parties and whatnot because I'm too lazy and don't ever come up with cool/crafty things where that stuff is concerned, but in light of the upcoming holidays, I'm making an exception to my rule.

This idea came from a friend of mine... her family did it at their holiday gathering and I thought it was a fabulous idea for Christmas parties... especially the kids'. Last year I played the game with a bunch of 5 year olds and they loved it and personally, I think the bigger the kid, the more fun it is, but you will need a minimum of 2 adults.

THE REINDEER ANTLERS

What you'll need:

1 bag of assorted colored balloons
2 pair of women's or little girls panty hose (no control top and I recommend the little girl ones for kids)

Divide the kids into two teams and pick a "team leader". Give each team at least 10 balloons and one pair of panty hose. They will have to blow up and tie off the balloons (the grown up can tie them off) and stuff each leg of the panty hose full of balloons until they stand up straight like "reindeer antlers." The team leader has to put them on their head and lead his/her team in singing a full version of Jingle Bells. The first team to finish wins the game.

Great for killing time at classroom parties and as you can see above, it's hilarious at any age.

It Really Is All About Me

noreply@blogger.com (AFRo) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:08:00 +0000

I feel better today. The boys will be out of school tomorrow for dentist/ENT visits so Big Kid is going to work on his make up work during morning recess today. I decided not to do donuts, more so because today is the 3rd which means a busy banking day, but I will credit myself for coming up with the genius idea. BK did not, to my amazement, fall apart when I told him. I just apologized and promised I'd do better.

This morning they walked into the school at 7:59 a.m. Take that beeotches.

So, my sister in law gave me a book that I've been trying to find for a couple of years. It's called The Language of Letting Go and I think it's targeted at recovering addicts, which I am not, but I love most of the daily meditation thoughts. Here's some questions from yesterday's that had me and BFF thinking...

We do not have to put our life on hold. There will be repercussions from doing this. Go on with your life. Take life a day at a time. What is something I could be doing now to take care of myself, make myself feel better, get my needs met in an appropriate, healthy way?

BFF and I struggled to find something that we could do just for ourselves. Our entire lives as mothers revolve around our household and the needs of others, so how do you separate that from your own needs and wants especially after you've trained yourself for years to put your needs and wants last? We both realized that our identities are so tied up in that of our families, that we have forgotten how to think about just ourselves and I think that is a problem.

I told BFF we should start small... what was one thing that she wanted to do daily that she just couldn't seem to make time for? Hers was reading the newspaper uninterrupted. I suppose I should mention the fact that BFF is a SAHM to 3 children under the age of 7. So, she and I formulated a plan that could possibly give her 30 minutes of free time for just her. I don't know when she's going to implement our plan though because life is so busy that there is just no time for it.

Mine was the whole getting up earlier thing, which actually ties into my duties in my household, but I'm justifying it as being for me because I could then relax in the morning and maybe even have a cup of coffee before I leave the house instead of running around like a crazy person in the limited amount of time I give myself each morning. This should translate into lower blood pressure, less stress and an all around better day for this mom. Right? My family will just reap the fringe benefits from it.

So, my question for you guys today is: What is something you want to do for yourself to make sure that your needs are met and that you feel like an individual human being today? [i.e. not a mom, wife, Girl Scout leader, soccer coach, banker, teacher, etc.]

© 2008 AFRo. All Rights Reserved.