Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Thank you all for making 2011 a wonderful year! Enjoy the holidays and we'll see you back here on January 2, 2012. May all the peace and blessings of the season be yours...

Birthday Tea Party, Anyone?

I love showing off creations by our talented readers at Beautiful Brown Babies and African-AmericanBrides.com. Take a look at the 100% edible (but-almost-too-pretty-to-eat!) pastries Utica Gray made for her daughter's 6th birthday tea party.




This takes talent, folks. Have something you want to show off? Let us know!

Talking to Children About Sexual Abuse & Speaking Out

I'm a firm believer that once the genie is out of the bottle, you have to deal with him. So I wanted to pose a question to parents: In the wake of the Penn State scandal, what are you telling your children about sexual abuse? Also, at what age should you begin talking to children about private parts and improper behavior? It's not an easy question to answer, even for my family. Experts have their opinions, but I would love to hear what everyday parents have to say.

My little one is 5-years-old. We want to let him know that he is in charge of his body and that if something doesn't seem right, he is empowered to trust his instincts and let us know about it right away. But, as I've been told several times over the years, we allow our son a lot more freedom of expression than African-American households are known for. I don't know if that sentiment is actually true, but I know that parents can't wait until something happens to tell children they are free to talk to you about any and everything - they just won't believe you. In my experience, allowing him to own his feelings and opinions now helps us keep the lines of communication open down the road. What do you think? Were you allowed to express yourself with your parents when you were a child? Did you feel you could tell your parents anything at all? Let me know in comments!

PowerCapes Review

This week we had a chance to try out a nifty handmade item from PowerCapes.com. It was a bright, shiny orange cape with a big blue star. My 5-year-old was instantly eager to try it on, so I through it around his neck and easily secured it with the velcro fastener. And voila! We normally like to set up for nicer pictures (I'm also still learning to work my new camera) but here is a look at our impromptu try-out taken right after opening our package.



My 5-year-old really enjoyed playing the superhero and even wanted to wear his cape to school. That's a success in my book!

Now, if you're an adult who likes to dress up for Halloween (I sure do) and you want a cape of your own, don't despair. PowerCapes also makes capes in adult sizes. Most of the designs are under $25. You can choose from 11 cape colors and more than 29 emblem colors and 8 emblem designs. PowerCapes.com also has custom tutu options for all of the little princesses.

In my opinion, the capes leave lots of room for improvisation and I can envision them being part of lots of different costumes. But this is also the kind of thing that would be great for birthday parties as well. I've been known to let my little one wear a crown for his birthday celebrations, so why not a cape instead?!

An Uphill Battle Becomes Even Steeper for African-American College Students

by guest blogger
Lisa Tucker, mother of two

As a professional, college-educated African-American woman, I can attest to the importance of an education – particularly a college education. What education has afforded me is unparalleled. And as a mother, I wish the same – if not more – for my two sons. For generations, like many other African-American families, education ranked alongside our faith as two crowning testaments of our way of life. This school year marks a monumental milestone for my eldest son, a graduating senior in high school who will be beginning his first year of college in the fall of 2012. However with the rapidly increasing costs of college and so much financial uncertainty gripping our country, we wonder if we’ll be financially equipped to meet these demands after his first year of college.

Sadly, this is the paradigm facing a number of families right now. So many college students of color are confronted with perhaps the toughest choice of their young lives: for some it’s “do I attend college or not”, and for others, “do I stay enrolled or drop out”. Persistent funding deficits, a struggling economy, and significant tuition increases have created an “imperfect” storm for many students, and African-American students are particularly vulnerable. In fact, two-thirds of African-Americans who drop out of college cite finances as the reason for the decision. Couple this with congressional efforts to deepen cuts to federal aid and loans (low-interest Federal Stafford Loans and the Pell Grant) and today’s Black college students face seemingly insurmountable odds.

That's why Allstate is raising funds to benefit The Tom Joyner Foundation and provide much-needed scholarship dollars to assist African-American Students through the Quotes for Education program. Here’s how the program works, Allstate will donate $10 to The Tom Joyner Foundation for every insurance quote (auto, renters, homeowners and more), up to $200,000.

The Tom Joyner Foundation's primary mission is to help keep students enrolled in Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs) and since 1998, the Foundation has raised more than $60 million that has assisted more than 14,000 students and benefited more than 100 HBCUs.

Supporting Quotes for Education is as simple as Click or Call and Quote:
• Click - Go to www.allstate.com/quotesforeducation to find a participating Allstate agent near you or get a quote online
• Call - Allstate at 866-998-2188 to speak to an Allstate representative any time, day or night
• Quote - Receive any insurance quote from Allstate through December, 31, 2011

You can get involved and support this worthwhile cause to help our students stay the course and get their degrees!

Just When You Think No One's Watching

WEEKS ago, the lovely Sabrina over at Pinkytopia gave me The Versatile Blogger Award. I'm just getting around to blogging about it, and now that I'm finally back on the blogging bandwagon, I honestly think it means more to me at this time than it did when I first received it. I'm SO happy to be versatile. Many many thanks, Sabrina!!! I will be following the rules that accompany the award. Meaning I will

1. Thank the person who gave the award and link back to them in my post.
* Done!

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

* I only eat the red skittles
* I love the beach
* Fall is my favorite season
* I like (slightly) burned popcorn
* I can’t draw to save my life
* I'm from the Deep South
* Music enriches my day!

3. Pass this award along to 15 recently discovered blogs.
Doing it now and will come back to update.

Thanks, again!

So Long, August

What a weird and wacky month. East coast earthquakes, hurricanes, and power outages. If I haven't been blogging as much as usual, it's because we've sort of been through the wringer. On top of that, my little one started Kindergarten on Monday and turned five on Tuesday. (Happy Birthday, Pumpkin!) His party is planned for Sunday, but everyone around us is so fatigued (is that a word?) we don't really know if anyone is going to show. We're going to make the best of it anyway, if only for this reason: In spite of all the weather/seismic/electrical activity, we're still here! Plugging away, barreling through, grinding it out, making headway. I don't know where we're going, but we're getting there. As for you, August 2011. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Summer Sale at Wild Dill

One of my favorite online children's boutiques is having a sale and I want to make sure all the mommies of little ones know about it. Wild Dill (I'm a total sucker for their organic cotton graphic tees) is putting lots of items on sale through Monday August 15th. Here are some of the adorable things that are reduced this weekend:









So hop over to Wild Dill while there's still time.

Opening Up

I'm a smiler. Or at least that's what people tell me. I love smiling and laughing and it shows. But this wasn't always the case. When I was a young child I had dental issues that made me less confident in lots of ways - everything from covering my mouth when I smiled to being hesitant in approaching new people. I had a huge overbite and jumbled, crooked teeth. When I became a teen I let my parents know that I wanted to wear braces - they agreed, thank goodness - and I learned to take care of my mouth and teeth. You would think that braces would give me yet another reason to be shy, but they didn't. Little by little, I began taking chances when it came to socializing and found that the only thing that was ever holding me back was my own lack of confidence. Going to college, finding new friends, and becoming more open gave me proof positive that I could be successful by "putting myself out there." It all started with loving myself enough to make a change in the first place and knowing that I didn't want to go through life as a fearful person. It's a lesson I'm passing on to my little one.

Thanks to Crest for sponsoring my participation in the LifeOpensUpProject.com and for giving me the chance to tell my personal story about having a confident mouth.

Your mouth is more than just teeth and gums, it's your most important feature when it comes to expressing yourself and engaging with the world. The Crest & Oral-B Life Opens Up Project will highlight individual stories that showcase how a healthy mouth has played a role in opening up to life and to the world. www.LifeOpensUpProject.com





Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Crest & Oral-B via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Crest & Oral-B

Summer Parties & Boursin Cheese