“I’m going back to Cali, to Cali, to Cali. I’m going back to Cali—LL CoolJ
Fed up with Winter 2015 crownheightsmom seriously considers relocating to a warmer homebase! YIKES, Say it ain’t so!
Snow filled avenue in Crown Heights, Brooklyn
Like most New Yorkers presently I’ve had it with the repetitive snowfall after snowfall that’s hit NYC this winter season. Plus, though cushiony I have fallen on my bottom more times than I can count. Plus, I can no longer stand the deep freeze temps, the mile high mounds of hard ice lining the cross-walks and the muscle power I have exerted towards shoveling and cleaning snow off the car. It’s more times than I like .
Getting the snow off vehicles
I like snow cones in the summer . Slush in the wintertime, I can definitely do without because who knows what lies within those black cesspool-like puddles. I can also do without the slow moving traffic that turns a normally $12 cab ride into a $30 snail ride to nowhere.
Dirty, yucky slush in the streets of NYC
Right about now, I want Ole’ Man Winter gone. So go vamoosh! goodbye! get outta here, beat it, see ya later and don’t come back.
Don’t get me wrong. I love the Wintertime. In fact my husband will tell you whenever it snows I am the first one with my hands up to go out the house to play in it or grab my Akita Hiro to head to Prospect Park.
My Japanese Akita loves the snow
Dogs+Kids+Snow=MAD FUN!
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The kids will let you know that I will grab their snowboards for them and off we go to have crazy fun but, this love has been tested. This winter season in NYC has been a long one with an endless and relentless beat down by mother nature.
The kids grabbing their snowboards to enjoy the snowy downhill ride in the backyard of our Poconos home .
There’s nothing more beautiful than looking out your window and seeing fresh snowflakes falling . Seeing a doe and her family playing in the snow- thats the beauty of nature .Living in the suburbs or in the countryside definitely allows you to appreciate the beauty of a freshly fallen snow.
A deer family in the countryA friendly deer family
For city folks the beauty of having it snow week after week wears thin. Not being able to get around as fast as one wants to, amounts to loss of incoming dollars .
Traffic back-ups and slow moving trafficLate arriving food trucks the local neighborhood store
In Brooklyn, particularly in my nabe of Crown Heights we have been weathering the snowstorms as they come and has dealt with the results of it—-un-shoveled sidewalks, no parking spaces, traffic congestion, pot holes in the streets and the unseen doggie poo and gosh knows what else mixed in with the snow alongside the sidewalks. Trust me, it has not been a pretty picture this winter.
Hanging in the streets
So right now I am praying to the Sun Gods to come . Is it too much to ask for Springtime to arrive NOW and bring on the flowers, the butterflies and the bees.
In Bloom: Springtime is just over the horizonThe bee are ready to pollinateEaster egg hunting time is just around the corner
Just four days after appearing on WPIX TV 11 in NYC talking about mom guilt I found myself laid up in bed with the flu and feeling just awful inside about getting it.
I was pretty much feeling annoyed at myself for coming down with the flu . I mean it’s not like I have super powers to shield myself from all colds and flu but the “It’s your own fault” voice echoed over and over heavily in my head. Blame myself I did because as of the writing of this post I still have yet to get a flu shot.
I know, but I just never got around to getting it. I meant to but kept putting it off because I rarely get sick and whenever I do get the flu shot I end up sick two weeks after. So this year I said to myself I will see if I can make do without it and like many healthy people who take their vitamins supplements, exercise, eat well and run daily. I figured, I would be ok.
Looking back, I should have visited my docs office when I saw the glaring headlines stating that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention had released flu data reports showing that the 2014-2015 flu season was at epidemic levels with 8.5% of deaths occurring due to pneumonia and influenza. The report also said that this was an increase from the year and with 19 reported deaths. There was no data for adult death as the only keeps tracks of children’s death and the 19 CDC reported cases were all of children having died of the flu across the United States.
Weighing heavily on my mind since coming down with the flu were thoughts of ‘I do not want the children to catch it.’ I felt assured that they wouldn’t because my husband and I made sure they’d received their flu shots when school began in September. My only hope was in that the vaccine would protect them from this bad strain of flu going around hoping their little immune systems stay strong. Right after the first snowstorm in November we started to give them daily does of elderberry vitamins to help boost their immune systems and I began to pack an orange a day in their lunch boxes and have been giving them more tangerines and grapefruit slices to boost that Vitamin-C intake . Knock-on-wood, I can say that so far so good. These have helped.
Zarbees Elderberry for kids helps their immune system stay healthy
Day 5 of being bed bound, I literally crawled out of my bed and forced myself to go outside taking our dog Hiro with me out for a walk. This was more so because I really needed the walk more than our Akita did . I needed to feel the cold air biting my cheekbones and passing through my nostrils. Doing this would somehow cleanse me of this flu bug that had invaded my body and rendered me down, but definitely not out.
Going for a walk with our dog Hiro helped big time!
I was definitely thankful that it was the long MLK holiday weekend so the worry of shuttling back and forth on the subway with the kids I did not have to do until Wednesday. This thankfully gave me some extra time to recover at home.
On the mend . I owe my recovery to a little vegetable called Ginger root . Yes, thank goodness for ginger root. I live by this veggie’s properties which act as a herb . I am drinking my ump-teenth glass of ginger tea, which as far as I am concerned is the reason that I am feeling so much better. With my appetite gone, my six times a day freshly grated ginger root tea became my constant companion. Simmered in hot water with a teaspoon of brown sugar to taste I devoured a cup of it every two hours .Boy, did it work wonders. It got me on the mend and I cannot recommend it enough. It also helps that it tastes oh so good. It has definitely been my savior.
Ginger root does the body good
HOW TO PREPARE YOUR OWN GLASS OF GINGER ROOT TEA .
What you will need to begin –
Frozen ginger-root gratedGrated ginger root in hot water
Wash 3 roots of fresh ginger and freeze overnight in a zip lock bag.. (Note – fresh ginger root is usually sold at your local supermarket, in the fruit and vegetable section. You can also find at the Korean Vegetable grocers . Pick up enough to last you a few weeks .. You are freezing the ginger because it makes it easier to grate it .)
You can choose to peel off the beige skin or keep it on. I usually peel mine.
Grate one root and scoop the grated contents into your personal coffee mug
Add hot water and sweeten with brown sugar or your chosen sweetener to taste. You can also choose not to sweeten.
The ginger root’s pulp will settle at the bottom of your cup. Stir it up and drink up all the contents . It’s the grated pulp thats the secret weapon to curing you and getting you on the mend.
With my flu ebbing away as I sipped on my ginger tea my only wish was that it would also cure the mom guilt I felt about getting sick. I finally decided that I was going to stop beating myself up about it. I am not a genie or a wizard with powers to protect myself from getting sick. It’s nature, it happens and I was over feeling guilty about it .
Looking into the subject of Mom Guilt I found that moms all walks of life—-rich, poor, black, white all experience this guilt. Although usually attributed to working moms —-as was discussed on WPIX-TV 11—-and moms balancing home and work life I found that mom guilt attaches itself to a woman the moment she gives birth and stay-at-home moms battle it just as often as working mom do .
Looking back at my own mom guilt , I tried to recall how far back it ran and hit it on the nail at the newborn stage when i would feel guilt if the babies cried too much. I remember usually thinking maybe I didn’t nurse long enough or maybe I didn’t spend enough time burping. As they got older the newborn guilt transferred into the toddler guilt and those feelings included the am I spoiling them, am I giving in and lifting them up whenever they cried , is the temper tantrum a result of my not being in control., there was also the diaper rash guilt feelings of feeling responsible for leaving on that wet diaper way too long, and the not packing enough snacks or clothes when we went out for when messes occurred. The list goes on and on and it made me ask my husband if he ever experiences any dad guilt feelings. He said of course dads get it too. But my response to this was not in the same way moms do .
When I appeared alongside Denise and Melisssa of the MOMS on PIX 11-TV NY discussing this topic morning news anchor Sukanya Kirshnan gave out tips to help combat it. See below.
I am happy that my husband held down the fort while I was out of commission helping with the take home homework, making breakfast, lunch and dinner and doing the food shopping. He allowed me to get all the rest I needed in order to get back to a healthy place.
Cheers to him as I sip on another cup of ginger tea . Baby, I am back!
I am in Love and man, oh mannn, have I fallen hard!
Yup, ya heard me right. There is a new man in my life . He is such a puppy so maybe it’s puppy love.
I don’t know. All I know is that I just love everything about him.
I was thinking that it’s his cuteness because he takes full advantage of this factor and it renders me useless. But, he is learning that the cute face isn’t working for him all of the time .
It is hard not to love him. He has all the lovable qualities a girl wants. He’s loyal. Yes, ladies I said loyal. You can trust him- although I wouldn’t trust him near my plate of food because boy can he eat!
He’s soft and warm all over which is great for hugs . He gives wet kisses and you can even play with his ears, with permission of course!
Meet my new love. He goes by the name of Hiro aka Hirothewolf.
I got nothing but love for you Hiro!
The love affair. It started in late May and has since grown in leaps and bounds just like he has too. In fact too quickly if you ask me. I still yearn for the return of his puppy stage.
First Day home May 2014
We all immediately melted at the little cotton fluff. At 4-weeks
Someone’s getting bigger and cuter
Keeping him healthy and his coat thick and white as snow. Daily brushing, massages and hugs and of course food and water. Kudos goes to Trader Joes because they carry a wonderful dog food brand that’s healthy and affordable. Top this off with raw veggies and fruits like carrots, bananas and peeled apples from the farmers market .
Trader Joe’s natural brandcarrots
carrots
His love is infectious. Just ask the kids.He does everything they do…..like skateboarding.. He’s even in the Dillon Cooper music video KNUCKLE UP.
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Kids and their puppyProtector alwaysThe playful puppy
An unconditional love between us that will go on and on.
Always the protector.Always on the lookout to protect usHiro has swagg. He’s a G!