Good Hair

While I often use this blog as a forum to embarrass my children, the time has come for a little self-embarrassment. This post is inspired by Chris Rock's new documentary "Good Hair". While I havent actually seen the movie, I can certainly appreciate its theme of African American women and the time and money spent managing their hair.

I recently wore my hair in microbraids. For this, I visited an African braid shop where two Senagalese women teamed up to put in a ton of braids using human hair extensions. $150 for the labor, $45 for the hair, 6 hours, and 2 Tylenol later, I came out with a very versatile and manageable hair-do. It was perfect as I was in the middle of a very busy season at work and not having to deal with my hair was a bonus.

Well those things couldn't stay in forever, but, I certainly got my money's worth. After 3 months, I started the task of removing the braids. Needless to say, the process took days. I eventually had to call in my sitter for help, and we tackled the last few in 3 hours! When all was said and done I looked like a mad woman! (Note... this shot was intentionally taken from behind so that if you ever tried to use it against me, I can claim it's not me!)

But a few short hours later, I visited my stylist in Houston for a good relaxing, washing, conditioning, flat ironing... and Voila... GOOD HAIR!

'Canes vs. Tors

While the remants of Hurricane Ida wreaked havoc on the east coast, a few storms were brewing in the southwest. And if you've ever wondered whether a hurricane or a tornado is stronger, we got the answer on Saturday. The Hightower Hurricanes stormed over the Galveston Ball Tornadoes in a 48-21 R1 playoff win. Next up... "Canes take on Beaumont Westbrook at Galena Park ISD stadium on Saturday at 1pm. Hope to see you there!

Courting Gen Y

A few weeks back, I was interviewed by C&EN News for this article, which appears in the November 1st issue. Check it out.

http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/87/8744cover3.html

9-and-Oh My God, Is This Season Going to Be As Long As the Last One?

The 2009 Hightower Hurricanes ended regular season play with a record of 9-0. James' defense has dominated with the first string holding the opposing teams to an average of 2.2. points per game. This has earned them the spot as the #1 defense in the state. The 'Canes will face Willowridge High School in the District Playoffs this coming Saturday. While I certainly look forward to another great playoff run, something about the prospect of high school football at Christmas time makes me cringe.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/hso/6695628.html

Proud Pee-Pee

Jay has decided not to wait for us to potty train him. A few weeks ago, he said"I potty! I potty!". Those words were followed by a frantic move to get his pants down, and yank his diaper off. Next came the full speed sprint to the potty. James and I took the "yeah right" attitude, and decided to just let him entertain himself. Well... he actually did go potty and he's been occasionally going on his own ever since with no direction from us. He's so proud of his pee-pee that he trots it around, showing it to each of us, before sending it to its final demise. After the flush comes a self-awarded "yay" accompanied with lots of hand clapping. Here's a shot of the big guy proudly prouncing around with pee in hand. Luckily all boy parts are concealed.

Red, Blue - GO EAGLES!

Janai started cheerleading in the Pearland Football League this summer. She really enjoys it, even though she is the youngest person on her squad and often has a hard time focusing. Here is a shot of her at the first game. The cheerleaders were in tanks/shorts because the people who made the uniforms did a pretty poor job, so they all were sent back and are in the process of being made by a different vendor.




Anyway, the Eagles won this game. Lady Long Legs then trotted around in the boyshorts and tank for the rest of the day. It's hard to tell here, but the tank has a megaphone on it and reads "Go Eagles". The funny thing is, we went to James' game later that evening (Reminder: Janai still dressed as shown above), where his Hightower Hurricanes were taking on the Eisenhower (you guessed it) Eagles. Way to cheer for the other team Janai!

School Dayz

We are two weeks into the school year here in TX. Janai started the first grade, and in case you need to be reminded ... first graders don't take naps! What has mommy learned over the last two weeks? Well, I've learned that first grade costs too much! Reality check... they use real books... lots of real books... reading books and work books that cost up to $300! (Is this college?) Oh, and a Spanish book ($10)... and a dictionary from Scholastic ($10), and a supply fee ($100). Oh, and lest I forget the tuition!!

Jay started in Toddler I. If you follow me on Facebook, you know that I was a little shocked that my little 22-month old has to wear a uniform to school. But as the last few weeks have gone by, I must admit that it makes my life so much easier. Nana has complained that we haven't posted pictures of the kiddos in their uniforms. So, here's a shot of mini-me and mini-him finishing up breakfast this morning at school.

Talking Head

Earlier this year, the pediatrician was in a bit of a panic because Jay wasn't clearly saying any words. I was never concerned because I could tell that he was communicating, but simply choosing not to do so verbally. The pediatrician ordered a home visit by a speech therapist - and she reached the same conclusion that I did. Well we were both right. In his own timing, Jay has started to become more vocal and is quite the talking head. It is pretty entertaining. Here is an excerpt from the Jay Dictionary:

WOO WOO WOO - is what the dog says - and the sheep, goats, elephants, birds. You name it, it says WOO WOO WOO

BAAAHH- it's not what the sheep says. When you do something that he doesn't like, you're BAAAHH (BAD).

DOWN - This one is pretty clear.

AHPANE- Airplane.

INOPLAY - means I WANT TO PLAY... say it fast enough, and it makes perfect sense.

NOMO- means NO MORE.

OUT - This one is pretty clear.

BIRRRR- Nope, it's 100 degrees in TX, so this one doesn't mean that it's cold. Instead, its a BIRD.

HOT- Pretty clear, except it doesn't matter whether it's really hot, room temperature, or cold. (and you have to see the hand signals that go with this one)

BOO - Why are you scared? He's just pointing out the color BLUE.

OUTSHY - means OUTSIDE.

NYENYE - This has dual meaning. He could be saying GOOD NIGHT, or calling his big sister NAI NAI

More to come...

A New Gig

It seems that I have yet again been a disappointment to my blog followers. I didn't find time to post a single blog in the month of June. I could blame it (as I have in previous blogs) on Facebook... or the 10-day vacation... or downright laziness. But there's something else that has me tied up these days. I have accepted a new role at Dow as the R&D Leader for Strategic Recruitment and the Research Assignments Program. For me, this is a great opportunity to work in an area where I have true passion. For you, it means perhaps less frequent postings and updates on the Williams Family happenings ( I know... you're probably devastated :-). The good news is that the blog is here to stay. And I promise you that as I can get to it, the updates will come. Keep holding me accountable.

The Graduate

My... how time flies! Janai recently graduated from kindergarten at Silverline Montessori School. Now the real work begins in the first grade. Here are a few shots from the big day.

Janai during the pomp and circumstance (check out the hair!)

Janai and classmates after the ceremony (remember Princess Hilary?)

Janai at home after the ceremony posing with tulips from daddy.

Lights... Camera... Wait!

As many of you know, I have been traveling quite a bit over the last month. I've spent the weeks in Midland, MI and Spring House, PA only to come home for 36-48 hours, unpack, repack, and head back out. As much as I hate to admit it, Mr. Mom has done quite well without me. The kids seem to have enjoyed "daddy time". There was only one minor issue while I was gone. The school randomly decided to schedule pictures. I came in on a Friday night, was scheduled to head out on a Sunday, and pictures were for Tuesday. Grrrreaat! Rather than rely on James to make sure the pictures were decent, I simply negotiated with Janai to not take the pictures (like all of other friends at school) and promised to take her for pictures once I returned. Or so I thought...

At least the pictures were not hideous, but clearly Daddy forgot to rehearse the diva smile before dropping Janai off at school. And... where's the little sweater that matches that dress? Argh! At least one of the teachers brushed down the fuzz so that her 10-day old braids looked presentable.

Then there's Jay with a winning smile! But, nobody thought to brush his little beeddy balls on top. If the photographer was smart, he would have ducked! A big cunning smile and a throwable object in hand??? Uh Oh!

Travel Season

Hello to my friends in the blogosphere. My apologies for the delays in blogging. I've tried to make up for it tonight by posting a few updates. It is quite a busy season for me. On April 1st, Dow officially closed on its acquisition of Rohm and Haas Company to become the world's largest specialty materials company. That has set into motion quite a bit of travel. Please pray for traveling grace. I'm heading to Michigan for the week on Monday. Back for a day and a half, and then out to Philly for the following week. I'll see you on the other side!

Toodles.

Chicken Little

One of the kids' favorite places to eat is Golden Corral's Buffet. Mommy actually likes it to - especially at the end of a long week, on a night when daddy has a track meet, and there are no good ideas as to what the kids will eat for dinner. It's quite an ambitious undertaking to roll solo to a restaurant with the kids by myself. But it helps that Golden Corral has really cool high chairs on wheels. So I can push Jay and still have hands free to carry plates for all.

On the last visit, Janai passed on the second chicken leg she had on her plate. While taking her back up to the buffet for dessert (and pushing Jay along), I noticed that people were cracking up as we rolled through the restaurant. Jay had apparently jacked Janai's plate for both chicken legs (the bare and the spare). It was a sight to see this little kid putting down chicken like a grown man. He was even biting into the bone.

I couldn't help but snap this shot. I guess my little man is living up to the stereotype of black folks and fried chicken!

Suburban America, Part II

Perhaps, you read the recent post from me about the pressures of suburban america. And... you've also heard about Janai's obsession with nails. Well, what happens when you put the two of those together? See the photo below. Enough said.

WWF

So it seems that our little ones have taken a liking to wrestling. Now, we obviously don't expose them to the real (or... not so real) WWF. But it seems that the kiddos have created a league of their own. Click on the video below to take a look at a typical Williams' Wrestling Federation pre-bedtime match. One might think that this is an unfair, inter-weight-class-match-up. But... watch the near 17-month old hold his own against the 5-year old.

Easter 2009

Here are a few shots of the kids from Easter Sunday 2009.

Suburban America

If you've spent any time around me, you've probably heard me gripe about the pressures of Suburban America. I've lived in several places across this country including, but not limited to, Midland, MI (small town USA), Urbana-Champaign, IL (college town USA), and my hometown of Norfolk, VA (independent city). But there is something pretty special (and annoying) about suburban America. Take a wild guess... KID BIRTHDAY PARTIES!

I could be way off base... but play along with me for a moment as I go off on what promises to be a hasty generalization. I don't remember having a single birthday party growing up, so perhaps I'm just a little bitter (or maybe just forgetful). But, the birthday parties these days seem to be a bit out of control.

1. We get random invitations to parties for kids that we don't really know that well. So my general rule of thumb is that if I have never heard the kid's name, "we no go" (excuse my pigeon english, but I've been hanging around with my Nigerian co-worker).

2. Not having a birthday party for your child is not an option... apparently. Who made up this rule?

3. House parties are so lame... apparently.

4. Themeless cakes like the ones that mom used to make with the crunchy candy letters on top? Long gone. So not cool.

Instead, you must have a real venue. You must have a theme. And you must have a cake/decorations to support that theme.

We recently attended a fabulous 5-year-old birthday party for Janai's friend and classmate, Hillary. Ahem, I mean... Princess Hillary. Formal invitations were sent. Girls were asked to wear princess attire (crowns included). Janai opted for Snow White over Princess Belle. Check out this shot of Princess Janai with Princess Ariel (actually her real name) and Princess Hillary.

The event was held at the Sugarbaby's Cupcake Boutique in Houston. It was set up like a tea party and the chairs were covered with satin coverings much like what you would see at a wedding. Yes, seriously...

Cinderella made a guest appearance, played magic games with the girls, spoke in the highest pitched voice you could ever imagine, and also did some face painting.

The spread of food was excellent and included fruits, pastries, and sandwiches in the shape of butterflies. The table was set with real (or at least it looked to be real) china and the girls sipped on lemonade. What ever happened to Caprisuns? Juice boxes? Little hugs?

Next came the cupcake decoration. Each little princess was given her own cupcake to decorate with candies and sprinkles of her choosing. Moms were able to choose from Sugarbaby's Chic line of specialty cupcakes, including Velvet Rouge, Carrot Cake, and Chocolate Truffle... just to name a few.

Did I see a photographer snapping shots of the grand affair? Yes! And thanks to her, I have a few the pictures to share with my friends in the blogosphere.

Princess Janai (Snow White) Williams sipping on lemonade

Princess Janai and Princess Hillary doing a majic trick with Cinderella

Princess Janai and Princess Ariel decorating their cupcakes

All jokes aside, this was truly a great party and all of the girls thoroughly enjoyed themselves . Hats off to Queen Stephanie for hosting such a divalistic gig.

Me, on the other hand... well, I've tried really hard not to be a sucker for this suburban birthday party madness. Although I haven't quite reached Queendom, I must admit that I have fallen into the trap.

Mr. Clean

Jay is coming up on 16 months old and he is showing himself to be quite the Mr. Clean. Well... sort of! Aside from the fact that he still takes great pleasure in throwing certain foods from the high chair down to the tile floor and he shreds any paper or magazine to the smallest of pieces, he is expressing great interest in cleaning and cleanliness. Take your pick - a mop... a broom... a full length duster... dust pan... it doesn't matter. At any given moment, on any given day, it's likely that you'll find him with one of those items... or maybe even more than one if you're lucky. Check out my mini-multitasker!

He also has a complete obsession with brushing his teeth... all 10 of them. No toothbrush is safe. He'll pick up any one he sees and go to work in creating the best pearly whites you've ever seen in a woddler. It also hilarious to me that he insists that the water remain running so that he can rinse his toothbrush. Poor Ms. Janai has often caught the bad end of this obsession. If he sees her on the stool brushing her teeth, it's common practice for him to bull-doze her off of the stool and take over.

I'm enjoying this while it lasts. I know that the time will come when mopping and sweeping is no longer cool, and something as simple as brushing his teeth might be looked at as a chore and not just good hygiene!

Puppet Show

A few weeks back, I took the kids to the Children's Museum here in Houston. Janai decided to entertain Jay and I with a puppet show. Here goes...

Once upon a time, there was a raccoon and a lizard.

and a cute little brother who stole the show...

The End.

Busy Times

It's yet another busy season in the Williams household. James is in the middle of track season. Janai is busy doing what 5-year olds do. Jay is growing like crazy. And, I am... umm... well... just running ragged. It's been a while since I posted. There are a few legitimate reasons, but no excuses. Will update you soon.

Antmother

Janai is a pretty smart cookie, I promise. But this one had me confused for a while. The newest addition to the list of Janaisms....

Antmother: also known as aunt; pronounced 'unt' to some, 'ant' to others; defined as the sister or sister-in-law of one's parent.

Used in a sentence: "Mommy, who's my antmother?"

Turch

Spelling is one of Janai's greatest interests these days. Tonight, as we were riding in the car on our way to church, Janai says, "Mom, we're going to church. I know how to spell church: T-U-R-C-H". Since she was so sure of herself, my attempt to correct her turned into a neverending conversation (ahem, argument). It's not like church is a new thing for her - she's been going for all of her 5 years of existence. So it was strange to me that she would get this one wrong. And then it hit me, we've always referred to church as KidsLife, the name of the wonderful children's ministry at Lakewood Church. So now that she's a big girl, and we call it what it is, it should be easy for her to spell it right? Well apparently not. That little chatter box argued me down about how "you don't even make sense... I hear the T sound... see listen... Tah - urch".

Now, most of you know I'm challenged in the area of breaking things down for 5-year olds. So I tried to help her by saying that the c-h sound in the word church is just like the beginning sounds of the words "cheese", "children", "chicken", "chitlins" (just kidding on that last one). But the child isn't folding - she's holding her ground on the turch thing. What's a girl to do?

Anyway, all that aside, the turch service was excellent. Dr. Paul gave an awesome message in the big turch out of Luke 12, and Janai and Jay enjoyed a great lesson on Elisha in KidsLife.

Hannah Montana Obsession

I've tried to keep this Hanna Montana chick out of Janai's sight. But somehow she's become obsessed.

Not with the tv show... that would be too much like right.

Not with the music... of course not, the child couldn't sing the lyrics of "Best of Both Worlds" if she tried.

Not with the crap loads of paraphernalia that is in every store on this planet.

No... it's the god-awful Hannah Montana nail kit that the guy in the big red suit with the long white beard left at our house on Christmas eve. Actually, by the time Janai reads this years from now, she'll know that mommy and daddy are the real Santas. So let me tell you the truth. In late November, I asked Janai what she wanted Santa to bring her for Christmas. On the list was nails... "you know mom, like, the nails that are like long, and like pretty, like that you can like glue on, ok?". So one day while shopping in Dillards (weeks before Christmas), Janai spotted a Hannah Montana nail kit conveniently placed next to the coat that we were there to purchase. The whole thought of waiting for Santa to bring nails for Christmas was out of the window. She cried and passed out on the floor because I wouldn't buy it for her right then and there. I mean, she seriously cut the fool - all the while, the clerk was bagging it up with the cute little coat we bought.

On Christmas day, she was so thrilled to find that Santa bought her exactly what she wanted. "How could he possibly know?" It's been down hill ever since then. We've been counting nails everyday to make sure we have all ten. I've had to go to the drug store for real nail glue, "because mom, this stuff isn't sticky enough". We've had to take them on and off over... and over... and over again. And, I am so over it. Say bye-bye to the nails! Maybe I'll blame their mysterious disappearance on the baby brother? Maybe the cleaning lady? Who know... who cares... they're gone and don't try to stop me!

Fast Forward

Christmas was, for many reasons, a bit of a blur for the Williams Family. Lots of toys, books, clothes, food, a half-done gingerbread house...and little to no pictures to show for it.

So fast forward to January 2009. Happy New Year from our family to yours! And... Happy 5th Birthday to Janai! Our little angel (ahem - calling those things that be not, as though they were) is growing up so quickly on us. She celebrated the occasion with 16 of her friends last Sunday at Incredible Pizza of Sugarland, TX. What fun! They enjoyed an evening of all-u-can-eat pizza, birthday cake, classic games like Musical Chairs and Red Light/Green Light, and then 1 hour of unlimited arcade fun! The kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves, while the parents all had the same "who's bright idea was this?" look on their faces. Here are a few pictures from the event:

The Barbie and the Diamond Castle theme is a carryover from Christmas.

Our party host, Ja'Leah (pronounced Julia), led the kids in a games of Red Light/Green Light.

Ms. Mea and Janai take a spin on the go-karts.

Jay watching (ok...maybe he's not watching) as the big kids ride on go-karts.

Matthew Webb strikes a pose in the arcade.

Wyatt Doyle puts on a smile for the camera.

Admitted Addict

So, you've probably been wondering where I've been, huh? No blogs in 3 weeks or so? A major holiday... a new year... a kid's birthday... and no new pictures or postings? Well, thanks for your concern. It's time that I come clean about what's been going on behind the blogs. I'm tired of all of the secrets. Today... at this hour... for the first time ever... I freely admit that I stepped away from blogging to feed my newest addiction... Facebook!

I tried for the longest to avoid it, but the temptation got the best of me. I know I've disappointed you. I was spending late nights up on the computer reconnecting with friends, chatting, posting photos... and all the while, you missed three weeks of happenings in the Williams household. How dare I? I know it's been tough for you. And, I promise, I'll do all I can to make it up to you.

Please find it in your heart to forgive me!