So in the past, I've spoke about yet another bad experience I’ve had as a mother of interracial children. I want to start off by saying that I’ve encountered many positives comments and feedback from strangers about our family unit over the years. Still, the ignorance and negativity displayed by people is extremely annoying and needs to be addressed. For many of you who know me personally, this blog may be your first glimpse of my true feelings on this issue. Many of you have said some of the very statements and questions I will list below. Maybe it will make you think first the next time you…

For some time now I’ve listened to my friends, who were working moms, get excited for the weekend. Some metaphorically, while others literally would break out the champagne early Friday morning before heading to work. I’d just smile, though I did look forward to hubby being home at night during the weekends, I just couldn’t identify with that feeling overall. Staying at home with the children meant that days tended to blend into each other, unless I was paying a bill, turning in homework, or taking the kids to an appointment. There was little use for a calendar, nor concerning myself with …

For the past couple of years, I’ve been preparing to become a teacher. Throughout that time, I’ve continually asked myself why would I choose such an under appreciated and under paid profession. Though I’d rather not admit it, I’ve thought about switching to something more lucrative and respected. Those thoughts never turned into action because I genuinely believe my purpose in life was to teach and help counsel the youth of tomorrow. Many new teachers have an ideal view of teaching that is unrealistic and doesn’t prepare you for the realities on the ground. For this very reason, I requested …

So the other day hubby and I went on our weekly trip to Sam’s Club and of course, we received the usual curious glances and stares. Glances at our family held longer than usual is a normal occurrence for us. We are what many may consider an odd couple. He’s white. I’m black. He’s 6 feet 2 inches and I’m 5 feet 2 inches. The list goes on. Our children are also a source of curiosity. My son happens to be considerably paler than his father, our middle daughter has a more caramel complexion and she tans, our last daughter is only a shade darker than her eldest brother. My son has blonde/brown …

I’ve been ignoring the barrage of weekly discounts touting back-to-school must-have deals. I want to fold my arms, stomp my feet and yell, "I…Don’t…Want…Summer…To…End!" I know, the kids have been home for three months, I should be going crazy right? I’ll admit, I had my hair-pulling moments during the past couple of months and school starting means savings at the supermarket but I’m apprehensive about September for a number of reasons. September will bring an avalanche of change to our lives. My eldest, who turned five in April, will be attending kindergarten. I am actually still in denial …

Two words that I dread every week is "food budget," especially since my now 19-month-old devours food like her elder siblings. I’ve finally come to terms with the fact that I’m now shopping for a family of five. Add to that dietary restrictions, the fact that we’re trying to complete the process of only eating organically grown fruits and vegetables and the constant climb in food prices and food shopping can become a burden. For once in my life, I'm heeding the allure of coupons, they are a must. I stalk the Sunday paper faithfully and when I forget to pick it up on Sunday I know what Dunkin …

Every Sunday night we do dinner at my family's house. It’s a time to come together, talk, pray, and of course, eat hearty meals from our master chef (my adopted mom). This past Sunday was extra exciting, one because we’d taken a break for the past couple of weeks due to scheduling, sickness and vacation. The second reason is because at about 8 p.m. the start of Ramadan began -- a holy month in the Islamic faith where Muslims fast from sun up to sun down as a way to show our devotion to God. However, Ramadan is also about reflecting on those who have less than we do and doing our part to help …

If you have a child or children then chances are you know what’s like to be a first time parent. Our son was born while we were both still in our early 20s so we didn’t know much about babies except what we’d been expose to with our younger siblings and cousins. We could handle diaper changes, but there we had no idea what to expect from the more nuanced issues that parents face. One thing that we never thought about until we were pregnant was what type of schedule we wanted to put our child on. Everyone offers advice on caring for babies and of course has their own input on how to tackle …

A picture could never capture the true beauty or essence of a thing, nor could a video. It is just a snap shot of a moment in case our memories, the true cinematic wonder, should fail us. These words I thought as I watched my children sleep and pondered taking their picture. I wanted to capture the essence of how I felt but I realized that it never could or would happen. Looking at a picture could serve as a refresher to stir those feelings up inside but capture that moment truly? No. For my son, that picture would show a curly haired, sleeping boy nestled inside of his sheet appearing to …

Kids say the most profound things. It must be amazing to look at the world with clear, unjaded, yet rose-colored eyes. As parents, we are always wondering what goes on in their little heads, how they are processing their daily interactions and surroundings.  A few weeks ago, my son gave me a glimpse into how he’s processing the role of mother and father after making an off-the-cuff comment on cooking. A classmate’s father was speaking to his teacher about what he was going to make for dinner. My son in response said, “Daddy’s don’t cook in the house, mommy’s do. Daddy’s cook outside on the …

I love reading other parents perspectives on parenting; it gives me ideas of my own when it comes to my children. It’s always interesting to also see how parents from different points of view approach parenthood. I came across such an article a few days ago telling mothers and fathers to stop calling their little girl’s princesses. It was written by a man so it initially caught my attention, but as I read further into the piece I realized how incongruent the author’s thought process was. Who knew that calling your daughter a princess would lead her to a life of promiscuity, sexy dressing and …

We’ve all seen it, the cute little 3-year-old girl who knows all the words to the latest Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, or Beyonce songs. Everyone oohs and aahs in amazement, proclaiming how the pint-sized singer is so adorable as she belts out the adult content of partying in a club or sexual innuendo that a child her age (hopefully) knows nothing about. You wonder how in the world her parents allowed her to listen to adult music enough to memorize each word. Now you ask that same little girl to sing her ABCs she blinks slowly and replies that she doesn’t know that song. The smile on your face…

We live next to a grave yard. No big deal right? It is when you have curious young children who want to know what everything is and why everything is. As we rode pass the graveyard one day my 5-year-old finally noticed. “What’s that?” I didn’t want to have the death talk just yet; I knew that it would shatter his naiveté about the world. How to answer? In my effort to keep things simple and to head off any more questions, I replied that it was a graveyard. “What’s a graveyard?” I told him that a graveyard is a place where people who die go to be buried in the ground. “Why?” Was his next …

A few weeks ago I talked about my experience applying to one of the top private schools in the area. Towards the end of my blog, I said I was looking forward to the challenge of teaching him at home to make up for the inadequacies in the public school system. So I figured this week I’d share some ways in which I am already working to make sure he is at or above level in kindergarten and also where I get most of my materials from. 1. The most preparation we can give our child is the gift of technology. What do I mean? Well, most of us have computers at home and many of us have more than one …

Every once in awhile I go against better judgment and travel down the "What if?" road. I’m a mother of three. Does it define me? Does it limit me and the career I chose? I would hope the answer to both questions is a resounding, "No." Unfortunately, after each job rejection I find myself repeating over and over I am more than a mother. I married in 2005. My son was born in 2006 and at that time I was a junior in college, 20, great GPA, on the fast track to graduate a semester early and take the LSATs. Then he came and my entire world changed. I went into college as a criminal justice major, I…

I was always told boys are harder to potty train than girls. Of course, I wanted and just knew my first-born would be a girl anyway so I thought, ‘Good, I have nothing to worry about.’ Then came the surprise that I was having a boy. It wouldn’t be until the baby shower that the thought of potty training reentered my mind. I was gifted three potties. Finally when my son turned two, I began to get use out of them. He liked sitting on it fully clothed but wouldn’t dare go to the bathroom on it. As he got older, his resolve to pee-pee on the potty hardened. What was a mom to do? I kept pushing, …

As I dressed my daughter for school this morning, I think back to almost one year ago when we were in Target. I can’t remember now what the trip was for, my guess would be stocking up on our favorite snacks and stopping for a bite to eat. In any case, after we finished shopping we picked up some pizzas and sat in the eating area. As we began to munch on our food, I noticed an older women looking at my then, only girl, Sahar. The woman said, “She is just so cute! And I love the way you dress her. That’s how little girls should look. These women dress their kids too grown now a days.” I smiled …

When we first found out we were carrying a boy over five years ago, we immediately began to talk about dream schools. I know it was a bit early, but we were first time parents, naive to many things, and excited to see what something the size of a little mustard seed would become. Last year, our baby turned four and we immediately began discussing what school he would go to next year. I already had a school in mind, the same one I’d talked about before he was born. There was only one problem; our dream school had a price tag that would leave any reasonable person short of breath. Seventeen …

Okay so I don’t know about you guys, but I always looked forward to baby’s first birthday because it not only meant ice cream and cake, which I love, but also turning car seat to forward facing. Like most moms, the benefits of keeping your infant rear-facing until the age of one far outweighed the joy of being able to interact with baby in the mirror at a red light. However, I know so many moms who say they were relieved when it became safe to turn baby around because it made traveling so much smoother. For us, it was especially helpful during long car rides because baby could interact with …

Road trips: A necessary, cost effective archaic mode of travel. Okay, okay I’m exaggerating with archaic, but it definitely isn’t the fastest most comfortable mode of travel for a family of five. However, since it gets us from point A to point B for a fraction of the cost ...ah well, road trip it is! Honestly, our previous experiences with trips on the road haven’t been too bad. Since we have family in New York, Massachusetts and vacation in Maryland, we always embark on at least one trip a year. Last summer, we drove to Ocean City, Maryland for a three-day vacation. We arrived on Monday and …