A Sweet Little Nugget from Nya...

Last night, Nya and I reviewed "The Happy Way is to Obey" chart from her school.  We discussed the importance of listening to and obeying our parents, teachers, and God.  Nya was very excited about getting her chart filled in so that she can turn it in for a special treat.  Anyone who knows Nya knows that listening is a challenge for her.  So I was excited about her enthusiasm as well.  She went to bed without much drama and about a half hour later, I went in to check on her.  I thought she was sleeping and was about to leave the room when she called out to tell me that she loved me.  I told her that I loved her too.  To that she responded with, "Mama, when I don't listen, it breaks my heart."  I was so surprised to hear her say that...!

How Cute!

So, I came across this idea for DIY holiday flats.  I am going to definitely make a pair for Nya and I to have for Christmas!

http://www.sayyestohoboken.com/2011/11/diy-gold-toe-flats.html

Wish me luck!!!

Bliss...via Wegmans....

So I am loving the fact that there is a Wegmans about 10 minutes from the house.  They have so many delicious pre-packaged meals, fresh produce, a huge selection of organic items, and just alot of other fun stuff.  Over the weekend, something new that I came across in the store was the Orange Pomegranate Martini Coctail mix (http://www.wegmans.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10052&catalogId=10002&productId=656019).  Sunday evening I whipped up a batch mixed with a tropical vodka and it was amazing!  Even my father-in-law, who rarely indulges in adult beverages, enjoyed sipping on one!  It was nice to just have some quiet time to sit back, enjoy my beverage, and read one of the latest books from one of my favorite authors, Elin Hilderbrand. 

Being Thankful

During this time of the year we are reminded to be thankful.  I want to work really hard at being more thankful every day of the year.  One of my co-workers reminded me that if you have a home to go to with  people that you love there, you should be grateful.  Thank you, Ms. Matthews-very true words!  Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the day to day routine of DC traffic, school, errands, keeping up with Nya and my other two kids-Kwesi and Chuchu(smile), etc.  I have to keep reminding myself that all of those things are blessings.  Traffic is frustrating but at least I am in traffic because I am going to work.  School can be exhausting but thank goodness I have a job that I really enjoy and helps support my family.  Nya, Kwesi, and Chuchu are very needy, but I am sooooooo thankful for my family.  The good times we share are truly a blessing.  I vow to show each of them how special they are to me each day.  There is a blessing and a positive in everything and I plan to work hard to stay focused on those blessings.  Stay blessed!!!!!

"Fallen leaves lying on the grass in the November sun bring more happiness than the daffodils”-Cyril Connolly, Engish writer

The leaves are so pretty during this time of the year!  Over the past weekend, Nya and I enjoyed raking some of them.  We didn't make much progress but we had tons of fun!  My girl was determined to jump in the leaf piles.  At first, I told her no, because I was thinking that it would be too dirty and germy, but then I told myself to stop acting crazy and let her experience being a kid!  That's why we take baths!  Nya had a great time.  The weather was perfect this weekend so we had lots of fun outside time.  If the weather could remain this way, it would be amazing.  However, I have the feeling that we have some rough weather ahead of us in the not too distant future, but I love the snow, too!

Nya was so proud of one of our leaf piles!

Chuchu was loving it out there, too!

Girls' Trip NYC

It is November and I am reminded of how thankful I need to be every day.  I am especially thankful for the opportunity to take a mini-girls' trip with Lauren and Steph.  We went to the taping of the Anderson daytime talk show in NYC.  It was amazing.  I had never been to a show like that before.  The show is taped in Time Warner Center.  We arrived around 7:45 and were the second group in line.  Once they allowed us inside, the production crew came around asking to see who had questions about the show topics for Anderson.  Of course, Stephanie had a question!  Unfortunately, while the show was being taped, they ran out of time for questions.  But that lucky girl did get the opportunity to ask Anderson a question after the show was finished taping and got a big hug as well!  He is hot-a true silverfox!

Me and my sis in Central Park

After leaving the show, we did some shopping and sightseeing.  It was a beautiful day in New York!  We did lots of walking and it was great to catch up with the girls.  We had planned to have a fancy dinner but ended up feeling really tired so we settled on a yummy lunch at an excellent NYC deli.

We had planned to really party it up and get wild, but it wasn't in the cards for us (we are definitely in our 30s).  But again, it was just sooooooo great to get away for a couple days and spend time somewhere different. 

I did miss my family, though.  My parents watched Nya and they told me that she really missed me, too.  That's my girl!  It's crazy to think that as she gets older it is actually harder for us to be apart!





Rockerfeller Center ice skating







Yummy lunch...