Potty Training

When my oldest son was three years old and was in school, his teacher told me not to bring any more pull-ups to school, but rather underwear. At this time, I was very surprised and shocked being that I had tried countless times and methods to get him to use the potty to no avail.

I tried food coloring to change his urine and make going potty more exciting. Didn't Work!

I tried having him aim at cheerios in the potty. Didn't Work!

I tried bribery with money, toys and anything else I thought he might want in hopes of him desiring to go on the potty. Needless to say, none of those worked either.

But, I reluctantly obeyed his teacher and took underwear to his school along with extra clothes of course. And to my surprise, I would say within a week she had him potty trained. Wow! What did she do that I hadn't tried? I was stumped! Ever since then, he has been going potty by himself and has become such a big boy.

Then we moved and the kids had to switch schools. What was I going to do without that teacher? I still had one more boy to be potty trained. Of course I couldn't do it, I was just his mother. What was I going to do?

When my youngest turned three, I thought it was a good time to start trying. I even had big brother to help me in the process. Who didn't want to be like their older sibling when they were young?

And so we tried and tried and are still trying. I just don't get it. The boy can talk in complete sentences and is very intelligent. Why won't he go continuously on the potty? I just don't get it. But all I know is that I'm tired of cleaning up poop and pee from his clothes and off the floor. When will this stage end?

Well I will not be defeated by this phase of potty training. I will continue to encourage him and I know one day he'll get it. Hopefully before he goes away to college. LOL!

Frugal Spending

If living on one income hasn't taught me anything, it has taught me how NOT to overspend. Yes, being a family of four cost money, but I have learned to bargin shop and how to cut and use coupons.

The 99cent store has become one of my favorite places to shop. While many may frown upon shopping at this place for whatever reasons, I have found out that so many of our needs are met here and I don't have to spend a fortune.

Years ago, my favorite place to buy things was Target. I only shopped at Target. But with me not working yet, our budget just doesn't allow many of the cost Target is charging, so now I shop at the 99cent store and Walmart. Walmart has many items which are priced reasonbly, but even still why would I pay $1.99 for fruit snacks, when I can get them at the 99cent store for a dollar less.

No, I'm not cheap. I'm smart. Our bi-weekly money has to last.

And no I'm not a spokesman for the store, I'm just a wife and mother who was forced to learn how to save a buck especailly in this economy.

But please don't get me wrong, some items are not for buying at my now favorite store. Yes, this is my own opinion, but such things like toothpaste, deordarate and some food items should be left to purchase at Walmart or Krogers. To me, they just don't taste or work the same.

But those items in which I wouldn't recommend are my own preference and are few to name because this store is the greatest store ever, especially when you have little children who always think their toys, coloring books, snacks or crafts aren't enough.

Often times, I reward my children by allowing them to pick out a toy from the store. They find great enjoyment when doing this. They don't know the difference in where they are getting their gift, they're just grateful and happy to receive something.

I don't think I'll ever stop shopping at this store even when I start working again because a great feeling comes over me when I go in with twenty dollars and walk out with about nineteen things. Hey, can't forget about tax.

So no matter what the economy may do as long as I have my 99cent store I'm happy and grateful for the many things it offers to this mom with a growing family.

God will make a way!

When me and my husband got married we knew from the very beginning we wanted to start a family right away and we wanted three children. Being my husband came from a household of seventeen children and I a mere two, we decided the number three would complete our family.

Within the first month of our marriage, we got pregnant. Well, I was pregnant, but of course he helped with the process. The pregnancy wasn't what I expected, because I was always sick, I ended up on bed rest and gave birth to preemie. But we were blessed in spite of. Our baby, although very tiny was healthy. Thanks be unto God!

As he grew older, we decided that we wanted to have another child so that they would be close in age and hopefully be best friends and play nicely together. So, on the first birthday of our first son, we tried again for the next child.

We had making babies down to a science and God blessed us once again to conceive according to our plans and with no difficulties.

The second pregnancy went well. No complications at all. The baby was growing as he should and I was able to gain the proper weight for a healthy pregnancy. The only issue towards the end of the pregnancy was I had to inject myself daily with blood thinners because the doctors didn't know why the first child came early.

Yes, those shots hurt. But a mom will do what she has to do to maintain the health of her child.

My faith in God played a major role in both pregnancies. I claimed nothing but health and delivering at full term with the second and God answered my prayer.

And so, our family grew. One child for me to attend to and one for dad to attend to. Perfect in a lot of ways. Only when I was alone with both of them did I fill out numbered, especially as they grew older and became more busier.

The funny thing about our family is that one son looks exactly like me and our other son looks exactly like my husband. One lady from church calls the boys, "little mommy and little daddy."

As time passed, yes we always knew we wanted to have a third child, but with our finances not being where we want them to be, we planned that I would go back to work and we would try for number three in about a year or two. We had it all planned out, so we thought.

But then, life took us by surprise. As I was in the process of applying for my license to start working, I got pregnant. Not our plan. We were in shock. My husband kept asking, "How did this happen?" Weird question I thought, being that he already had two children and so I figured he knew how babies were made. But I understood where he was coming from. Me being pregnant right now changes a lot of things.

But God will make a way!

And so I'm still in the process of applying for my license to work, but as that is being completed I running behind two VERY active little boys with a growing belly. I'm very tired and all I want to do is eat and sleep.

The boys understand that I baby is coming and they are very excited because they love babies. I wonder if they will feel the same way once this baby starts taking their things?

I know this time, this baby will be a girl because that's what we desire. And God gives us the desires of our hearts. But after this child, this baby making shop is closed. Three is enough. Well hopefully it's just three and this baby is not a twin. I don't know how I would break the news to my husband if the doctor heard two heart beats.

But regards of what's to come, we're a family. A complete family with God as the head and us as his children.

To read more about my life as a mom in "Half Eaten Chicken Nuggets and Cold Mac-n-cheese" please visit http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/adrianparker00athotmaildotcom to order a copy of my book.

Surrounded by boxes...again

Once again, we're moving. Where? Don't know quite yet. Maybe Austin. Maybe staying here in Katy. All I know is that I'm tired of moving. One reason is because I'm the one who has to do all the packing. Luckily for me, this time, the boys are older and love helping me pack the boxes. (Of course their help requires me to re-pack everything, but I do appreciate their enthusiasm.)

There is so much going on in our family life. I'm in the process of finally obtaining my RDH license so that I can go back to work. Sorry kids, you gotta go to childcare so mommy can work and you have food to eat. But honesty, they will be fine. And I will be too because I will soon be amongst the working again. I can't wait to see my first pay check. I can't wait to clean teeth again and meet new and interesting patients.

But until then, I'm packing and eating a lot of course.

Soon the Ajebons will be plus one more.

Then it will be no sleep again. Well kinda like now since the boys always find their way in the dark into our bed in the night. And when they fall deep into a sleep, they twist and turn while kicking me and hubby and all of our body parts. A lot of fun I must say.

But it's our life for now and one day we will buy a home again and be settled. I'm patient. As long as we're together, I'm happy.

Well, I could be happier with a good nights rest too!

Because we move so much, more than half of our stuff is already in boxes. All I have to do to some is tape them back up and they're ready to be moved. I've become a pro at this moving thing. But it is getting old.

For now it's boxes, later it will be toys, then athlete gear. There will always be something to move as the children grow older. I know one day I will look back at these times and remember them as times in which we learned a lot from. And I will appreciate how we stood together as a family through all the changes.

2010, the year of the unexpected!

For many 2010, was a great year. While for others it was a year full of disappointments, hurt, fear and lack. But thanks be to God, for all of those who made it to see 2011, there is still hope. I've learned, you must have hope.

2010 taught me so many lessons and also showed me how strong the Lord within me is. Because without him, I think I would have given up the race and hung my lace less shoes on a hook.

2010 started off rocky, became unbelievably hard and ended with the biggest surprise our family could have imagined.

It's so easy to watch different television programs and see the different challenges of other families, but when it's our own family who is faced with such challenges, it puts everything into a different perspective.

The lack of finances really played a dominate role in our lives this year. Maybe if I went back to work things would have been different, but I really needed to get over or get pass the difficulty of working with small children in childcare. That was very unbelievably difficult for me; traumatic almost.

But not having for so long has taught me a valuable lesson, one must work in order to make it. And with the increase, God can bless us with more.

I miss having our own home, a savings account, being able to take my children to see the different kids plays, buying them what the need when they need it, having health insurance, being approved for a new car and so many other things.

But that is all going to change in 2011. This year I plan on going back to work. Maybe not full-time at first, but at least two or three days.

In 2011, I'm full of excitement as to what great things I'm going to accomplish. I excited to see how my family blossoms and my husband and I celebrate 6 years of marriage. WOW! And I look forward to watching the boys grow taller, as Darius starts kindergarten and Darren finally becomes a big brother.

Fireproof and Recession Proof

We've only been married five years. It may not be a very long time to some, but for us within those five years we've overcome so much. Yet, we still have a long way to go.

When we started our love journey we got pregnant right away. We both loved children and couldn't wait to expand our family. He's from Nigeria while I am from Michigan.

In a matter of a simple year we collided cultures. Looking back, I would advise others who date outside their culture to "court more." Learn more about the other person. Hey nowadays, even people who date within their culture need to do the same.

Baby number one popped out early, but even with the premature drama, we began working on the second baby when the first was only a year old. Within our story is never a dull moment.

So here we were with two handsome boys. Now who's going to keep them while we work to provide for them? Finding reliable childcare was very burdensome.

Eventually we moved down south, with the idea of me staying home with the boys while my husband worked to provide for us. This plan sounded great on paper.

The downward spiral of the economy affected many. Finding a full-time position with benefits became a problem. What were we going to do? We put our faith into over-drive.

Yes, there were days we argued about money and there were days when we probably both wanted to just leave. But despite what the human eye may see, we believed God would change our story. Although we didn't get it right every time, we were determined to make it together until the end.

Recession is not in our vocabulary. God will supply all of our need.

Overdrawn bank accounts, shopping at the dollar store for our everyday needs (I actually don't mind this, it's my favorite store) and cashing in coins are in the past.

And although we've had to put some of our plans on hold, like having baby #3, all things will work out in our favor in time. Patience is the key. Faith is the answer. We are going to make it, one day at a time. We're going to make it, together!

A mini vacation to Sea World 2010

The Princess and the Frog

Has anyone seen this movie? What are your thoughts?

I finally was able to watch this movie over the weekend and I have to admit, I was really taken off guard. I can't believe Disney allowed a movie with voodoo to be considered a children's movie.

After viewing this movie, I was convinced there was no way my children would ever watch it. Luckily for me, mine were busy playing Wii and wasn't the bit interested in what was on the television screen.

This movie takes place in the great city of New Orleans, Louisiana where we meet Tiana a hard working waitress who aspires to become a restaurant owner while fulfilling her late father's dream. Her goal was to save up enough money while working two jobs to one day open "Tiana's Place."

Later Prince Naveen graces the screen and is in search of marrying a beautiful rich princess because he has been cut off from his family's money.

While in La, Prince Naveen encounters Doctor Facilier; a evil voodoo magician who turns him into a frog while, at the same time, turns his butler Lawerence into the likeness of Naveen.

Facilier convinced Lawerence that all of his dreams would come true if only he were to marry Charlotte, the rich sugar baron's daughter. Once married, Lawerence would split the money with Facilier.

During the Masquerade ball, Tiana is also turned into a frog by a simple kiss from Naveen. Together they go to the bayou in search of Mama Odie; the voodoo queen of the bayou. Once meeting her they hope she can lift the curse and turn them back into humans.

As Naveen and Tiana progress in their quest, Facilier makes promises with, "the other side" of all the souls in New Orleans in exchange for Naveen's soul.

Despite the fact that Prince Naveen and Tiana end up falling in love, eventually becoming humans again and finally opening the long awaited Tiana's Place, demons take Doctor Faciliers' soul to Hell.

As a parent, these are not images I would like my children remembering.

So I would like to ask Disney, why demons? Why voodoo? Why such evil images for children?

Yes, there is finally a "black princess," but at what cost? The purity and innocence of children.