My Natural Hair

 Earlier this month, I stopped using heat on my hair. I'm really looking forward to rocking the natural texture of my hair!  I have a lot to learn about my hair, because I've had perms and weaves most of my life. I don't remember when I got my first perm. Unlike a lot of new naturals, I'm not angry at my family do chemically treating my hair. I didn't grow up around a lot of black people, so my childhood vision of beauty meant straight hair. Ironically, no matter what I did to my actual hair; it would never be completely straight! Also, my grandmother has arthritis. Styling my very thick hair was probably painful for her. :(

My mom has straight hair & extensions also. That's another reason  why I think I was so set on having "white girl hair." Our mothers have more influence on our looks than you would think!
If I ever have a daughter, I don't want her to think she has to go to unnatural, drastic and even painful measures to be beautiful. However, if she wants to, that's her hypothetical prerogative!
 I also would prefer if Anakin has an open mind about what is beautiful. I think we are steering him in the right direction on that.








I felt like a hypocrite when I put all this stuff in my hair to straighten it because I try to live a healthy lifestyle. I thought it was silly of me to freak out about organic toothpaste, but put a toxic waste dump & heat in my hair. 
Some days, I don't feel as attractive. But I'm sure that as soon as I learn new hair styles and find the perfect products for my hair, I will feel pretty good all the time. So far, I like twist outs and braid outs. I'm working on mastering flat twists. Even though they're not perfect, I like the way they turn out the next day.  I seriously have so much to learn! I don't even know what my "curl type" is. I think it is a 3C, what do you think?



 I was afraid that Tre would think I was ugly, or not understand why I was changing how I look. Boys actually used to make fun of me because of my hair and so I can be really insecure sometimes about it. If you've ever followed me on tumblr, theres someone that has spent the past four or five years saying how ugly and gross my hair it.   
I'm really surprised how well he took it. Anakin loves playing in my hair. Sometimes his hand will get stuck, but I think he's learning how to touch it without getting hurt!

  Do you have natural hair? What's your curl type? What are your favorite products?

Pretty Little Liars Spoilers.

Pretty Little Liars returns to ABC Family on June 11. Here is the synopsis of the first episode of season 4, titled A is for A-L-I-V-E

The Liars are desperate to uncover what new scheme “A” has in store for them in the wake of the lodge fire, and have no choice but to turn to Mona for answers, now that she is also being targeted. Aria struggles with seeing Ezra in the wake of their breakup, and Emily starts to make plans for life after high school. Meanwhile, “A” sets Toby on a new path, what’s in the trunk is revealed, and a shocking discovery reverberates through Rosewood.

More spoilers:

Hi Melissa

• Mrs. DiLaurentis is moving back to her house o' horrors. As far as she knows, Jason is ok. Hopefully, he is not in Wilden's trunk.
• It's possibly the end of the Hanna/Caleb romance. Tyler Blackburn has signed on to join the PLL spinoff "Ravenswood". Other people from PLL will be on the spin off, but it's my understanding that Caleb has a starring role. 
  
• According to Keegan Allen, Alison and Toby were "actually friends". There will be a flashback with Alison and Toby before Jenna came to town. 
• Aria's brother will have a storyline. 
• Whoever the "woman in black" is going to be a mystery. It's definitely not: Aria, Emily, Spencer, Hanna, Jenna, or Mona.   You can see them in promotional pictures not wearing this outfit in this particular scene. Looks like a mask to me, what do you think? I'm not going to rack my brain like the whole: "Who's the Black Swan?" debacle.
• Ezra is teaching at Rosewood High again (lol what a loser.) Aria gets a new love interest in Jake, (Ryan Guzman) a martial arts teacher. But we all know how that's going to end. Shippers ruin this show, like they did with Gossip Girl. 
• Sean Farris will be Rosewood's newest cop Gabriel Holbrook He shows up after what appears to be a funeral. Which means Wilden is probably in his own trunk (lol what a loser). There's another cop that will be played by the fabulous Roma Maffia!

• Cece and Wren both return.



Is it me, or does every dude in Rosewood look the same?

• There's a Halloween episode that doesn't take place on Halloween. If they care about the timeline.

Are you excited for season four? Was season three a let down? Are you excited that Pretty Little Liars has already picked up for a fifth season?

On Diaper Changing in Public.

My least favorite part of motherhood is diaper changes. No, I'm not alligator wrestling; Anakin just has a dirty diaper. Lately I've been noticing that people have been going crazy about diaper changing in public. There was even a picture going around on Tumblr that featured a woman changing her child's diaper on a fast food restaurant's table. I am in no place to judge because shit happens...literally. If you ever find yourself in that position, here are a few options

• Change the child in the bathroom's diaper table. If there's not a diaper table, find a discreet area that would can sanitize before and after and change the child. 
• If there's a "poop-splosion", wipe off everywhere (& everyone) that got covered in poop & change the child in your car & go home. Everyone could benefit from and bath. I think Anakin enjoys baths more than playgrounds, but that could just be him. 
• Carry a potable diaper station. I have one because I had trouble finding a cute diaper bag. I can hold wipes, about four diapers and other baby things in a case I can roll up and fit in my purse. It even has a pad I can change Anakin on.  (purchase here) I usually chose changing him in the car over the bathroom because the toilet flushing scares him. 

Honestly, as long as a person is keeping the area where they change their baby clean, I don't care where it is. As a parent I know that you can not plan for everything, children do not have a script. But this is what you don't do:

On Friday evening, Ruth Burgos of Denver changed her one-year-old son’s diaper on the seating area of a Starbucks because there was no changing area in the bathroom. An employee tossed a rag at Burgos, according to her husband Alex, and told her in a “demeaning” tone that she should sanitize the seat. “He said make sure to wipe the seat when you’re done,” Alex Burgos recounted. “They started talking amongst themselves and laughing about it.”

So her husband, naturally, decided to pour his venti coffee all over the floor. “And I said make sure you clean that,” he said. Employees and Alex Burgos then “exchanged strong words and hand gestures.” Starbucks responded, rightfully so, by calling police on them. (thefrisky)

Everything about that is grody. If the people at Starbucks were really being demeaning, that sucks. But pouring your coffee everywhere is immature and wasteful, two traits you do not want to teach your kid
I don't change my son in public because he goes crazy and it looks like I'm alligator wrestling. However, in my younger and more vulnerable years* as a parent, I did and a woman helped me change him in the bathroom. Like I said earlier, Anakin is afraid of toilets. She helped me calm him down, I love people like that. She didn't have to help me and she did. I want to help new moms too, she inspired me.

*I am shocked The Great Gatsby is getting terrible movie reviews. I just want Leo to get his Oscar!

Oh...Lent

For Lent, I gave up my favorite drink. Cranberry juice! I'm lame and don't drink alcohol often; cranberry juice is what I drink when I go out & still want to drink something with a pretty color. Lately, I've been drinking a lot of flavored water. Instead of being lazy and grabbing the Crystal Light or Vitamin Water, I've been making infused water. I was inspired by Jamie Oliver. I even added different kinds of herbs to a few of them in order to make my beverages extra special. Even if you're not celebrating Lent, or picked something else to give up, flavoring your water is a great way to mix it up and still get enough water in the day.
I tried the following combinations:

❀ Lemon and Cucumber
❀ Blueberry and Mint
❀ Strawberry and Basil
❀Orange and Ginger
❀Blackberry and Peppermint

My favorite was Blueberry and Mint. I think it's common knowledge around here that blueberry anything is my favorite. (: Just throw some blueberries (I used frozen, because they're obvious more cold) and some mint in a pitcher of water. I waited two days and my water turned this pretty purple color. A great thing about mint is, it helps with stomach pains. It's a good thing to drink if you're not feeling well, but it's too hot for tea. 

 It's nearly Spring in Las Vegas, I'm very excited and happy for the sunny days ahead! What's the weather like where you are?

Great Things You Can Do for YOU!

Lately, I have been feeling so run down. Tre's health, Anakin's growth spurts, and family drama have caused me to really neglect myself. This has caused my nails to break and my skin to become sallow. I think I went three days without brushing my hair. That's the life of a dedicated wife and mom. I'm not complaining, because I love my family more than anything.
The fact is, being stressed about taking care of people is really crappy for your health. I can tell you right now, taking care of sick people, was starting to make me sick. These are things that I have learned to do to aviod feeling like the weight of the world isn't on my shoulders. If you think you are dealing with caregiver's stress, I suggest (I'm not a doctor) to do one of these things for yourself once a day.

Take a bath, or even a shower.

Call someone you care about.

Make a playlist of nineties songs that you still love. I like N*sync, J.Lo and Good Charlotte!

Paint your nails.

Eat dessert first.

Meditate/Pray

Wear a fancy outfit because, yolo.

Use a hair mask

 Babywear!

Go on tumblr & send words of encouragement to other people. Their reactions are worth it, even if you don't witness it

Try a crazy make up look.

Make pancakes, have breakfast in bed.

Draw something. get creative!

Attempt a braid you have not tried before.

Have a cup of tea!

 Cut your own bangs! (only if you know what you're doing.)

Get out of your house! Go for a walk, Ride your bike, roller-skate, have fun on a swing set

Make cookies (here is the recipe for my favorite!)

Buy something for yourself. This one is hard for me, because I am addicted to buying clothes for Anakin. I like to buy makeup from eyeslipsface.com. Almost everything I have purchased has been awesome quality. They have makeup for as low as a dollar!

Have a movie day! Watch your favorite movie, or watch one you haven't yet. Or, better yet, have a Harry Potter movie marathon

How do you treat yourself?