Foolery: Things that made me go hmmm...

I missed this last week but wanted to still post about it.

I often spend time browsing through the internet when I am pumping in the evenings. I have since dropped my evening pumps so I will have to find another time to catch up on the world :-).

If you didn't see this, you should. I didn't watch the VMA awards but there was so much chatter about this that I had to find the clip on YouTube. I mean, REALLY? I was SHOCKED to see this. What happened to Hanna Montana? This girl is really very troubled and someone needs to get her some help. I refuse to believe that she actually thinks this is art. No way no how! This is not art. This is FOOLERY!
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-miley-cyrus-vma-performance-media-reacts-in-shock-20130826,0,7040383.story

I was HORRIFIED when I read this article. I can't believe someone actually did this. Kudos to this lady for not focusing on it and moving forward.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/28/world/europe/italy-politics-racism/index.html?c=homepage-t

I want to really grow my hair. It grew quite a bit when I was pregnant but post partum shedding and not having time to care for my hair has taken a toll on it. Trying to get back to where I was before. But I saw this article and had to scratch my head. How on earth does she carry this around?

http://shine.yahoo.com/beauty/woman-longest-dreadlocks-8220-never-cut-hair-8221-210200279.html

Reading this article makes me feel like my efforts have not been in vain (NOTE: This is NOT a knock on women who didn't breastfeed or pump. Being a mom makes you AWESOME regardless).
Breastfeeding/nursing for me has been quite a challenge (latching issues, plugged ducts, mastitis...). I am glad to say that after 10-months, I will be stopping soon to get my body back before we start trying for another. I also have enough pumped milk to last JOE through 14-months. 

http://news.msn.com/science-technology/breast-feeding-tied-to-childrens-intelligence

Last weekend...

Last weekend, hubby, JOE and I went to MA to visit with family and also to attend a family friend's wedding. It was a really awesome event and I am so very happy for the couple.
It was a chance to catch up with my family and I always love that.

JOE was not happy during the flight there. She REFUSED to sit still and kept wanting to get up to flirt with the folks in the seat behind us. I wanted to sleep so that made for a bad combination cause I kept trying to make her sit and she wanted to stand. That child of mine is STRONG-WILLED!

On Saturday, we had breakfast with the family at IHOP. It was a splendid time.

Afterwards, we went home to get changed and head out to the wedding which was in Cambridge, MA. We left JOE with my parents around 2:30pm. It was our first time leaving her with anyone other than her nanny for that long. Well, around 8:30pm, I  guess she had had enough because my dad called and told us to head on home. The reception (in true Nigerian style) had not yet started so we left right after the couple had their first dance.

The rest of the weekend was spent hanging out with my siblings and their families. Always fun.

Without further ado, here are some pictures from our weekend.

Mi familia

Me and my "little" bro. The best man.

Siblings. My youngest brother and youngest sister. I love them so...

Hubby & I. 

Yummy drinks. I got a pineapple mojito (middle). It was delish!

The beautiful bride and her groom behind her.

The entrance. I loved the decor...they also had a sweetheart table. We had the same. I loved the intimacy it provides.

Beautiful decor

The sweetheart table.

The picture doesn't do it justice. The centerpieces were really nice!

The cake. Wish we got a chance to have some but we had to leave.

That's how we do. The bride's mother and her friends dancing into the reception hall Nigerian style.

Their first dance...moving...

Our little JOE at church. She was playing with different things on the ground.

JOE and her dad after church. She was laughing so hard, I had to capture it :-)

Phone dump...my busy week

Its been such a busy few weeks and will be even busier in the next couple of weeks. But its been a good busy so I can't complain. 

I am doing a phone dump because I have a few pictures on there that I meant to blog but kept forgetting so I am just going to post them and comment on the pics. My version of a "lazy blog" :-).

We had a few friends over after our patio was completed. I made my first ever kabob. It was seasoned chicken gizzard and a couple of veggie ones for one of our guests who is a vegetarian. Quite YUMMY!

I think my sister has a problem with shoes. And these are NOT all her shoes! I do have shoe envy :-).

Hubby's "play pet" when he was young was Donald Duck. He "just knew" that JOE would love her pet duckling. Thankfully, that was not the case. She just sat there and starred at it :-). Hubby had just come back from work. Gotta love a man who isn't afraid to get down with his baby while still in his work clothes.

We went to MA last weekend for a family friend's wedding as well as time with family. Here is JOE (on the right) and her cousin who is 4-months younger on the left. My dad was having so much fun with them!

My family. Going home to MA just makes me feel really full. JOE was sleeping in her carseat so she's not in the picture. This is just a small number of us. I am one of SIX kids! That's my dad at the head of the table and my mom to his left.

Our community often has bunco night once a month. I made some banana chocolate chip pudding to take with us. It was quite tasty. I think I will be making it again for us to enjoy at home.

JOE is quickly GROWING! We got her a new "big girl" carseat. It is still backward facing but it is higher and isn't a carrier. She loves the extra space and the fact that she can now see more when we drive. Happy Baby!

Went for a walk last Friday to get cupcakes. I had to take a picture of this. You'll never see the monument like this again. Not unless there is another earth quack. It is being repaired.

Here is JOE playing with her cousin't legos at my parent's house. She had a blast with them!

Hope you had an awesome weekend. I will post pics from the wedding later on this week. It was a fun time!

What I am loving now...

Happy new week! It has been a pretty busy few days and I feel like I am ready for some time off again and an very much looking forward to spending some time with family next weekend.

I am loving this picture of hubby and JOE in the kitchen.

I am loving the way these goodie bags turned out. They are for our little JOE's birthday. One project down and a few more to go. Next, I will tackle the birthday banner and then the menu cards.
I plan on adding a birthday sticker of my baby girl in there as well. I will post items as I complete them.

I am loving these "just because" roses hubby brought me last night. I love me some him :-). He is staying home today with our princess because our nanny has an engagement.

I am NOT loving this turtle who managed to freak me out when I got back from a walk with JOE last week. I wanted to call animal control on it. Yes I was that freaked out! I called J and he talked me off the ledge :-).

Have a fabulous week guys!

Vacation 2013

This year, for our vacation, we went to The Hague in the Netherlands. We initially planned on going to Germany for a few days but decided a week before we left to scrap that and save Germany for when we actually have time to do real tours instead of rushing through.

With that said, my baby got to go on her first international flight and she did GREAT! She wasn't a fan of the flight going but coming back, she was a pro! During our time in The Hague, we also visited the beach. It was amazing. We got to walk on the beach and JOE DID NOT like it one bit. She kept screaming the minute her feet was put in the sand. We had to carry her while J & I walked on the beach. Oh well...she takes after her momma in that regard :-).

She also got her first stamp on her passport. Hopefully, she'll enjoy traveling as much as I do :-).

I didn't put these in order because there's a lot. But I didn't want to do multiple posts so here are our vacation pics!. Enjoy!

View from one of the tallest buildings in the Hague. We also had a light lunch at the top of the building.

Portrait of judges at the Peace Palace. It was good to see all races represented here.

This was at a gas station. Check out the website. Yup...big brother is watching!

My family!

Peace Palace

JOE & I at the Peace Palace. She was clearly more interested in the person standing next to her dad than in taking this pic :-).

At the beach. Looking cool in her sunglasses!

While out for a walk.

What is that saying? A picture is worth a thousand words?

 

A small scale version of the Peace Palace

Thought this was interesting.

Are the guests easy or is it the location?

At the Peace Palace. Check out his age!

My handsome hubby <3

No free refills so I had to SAVOR every single drop :-).

<3

At the Peace Palace. Can this book tell me how to become rich? I thought the title was interesting.

I have never eaten with wooden utensils before. This was certainly a first for me :-)

Overall, we had a blast. It was 8-days of R & R with my family. JOE had a good time but its been a little challenging for her getting back into her routine. Hoping it gets better soon.

Have a fabulous week all!