Mommy Diaries (Turkey Day!) Carmen Brown

Can you believe it!! The Holidays have officially kicked off and most of us have a short work week to enjoy. So many things to be grateful for, especially getting some much needed quality time in with my family. It seems like the days run faster and faster and sometimes it is easy to lose sight of the big picture.

Well, I am slowing down to enjoy this Thanksgiving. I am taking little Tyson over to his Great Grandmother’s house to enjoy her honey baked ham and turkey!! Yummmm… she cooks so well. There are not that many ‘mommas’ out there that can’t pull off Grandma’s cooking anymore, at least I know I would be struggling. Truth be known, I have never cooked a turkey. (ahhh- -did I say that out loud?) In the years to come, I’ll have to gain new skills in the kitchen to show little T that his mama has a little talent! One of my greatest blessings is that Tyson has a ‘Great Grandmother’. We are truly blessed. She spends at least one day a week with him and I have never seen her face light up so much. On top of that, my dearest cousin (newly married) is coming down from up North. This will be one of the best Turkey day’s ever. This will be the first time she will see my little man. She got married back in June, and well, I was about to pop so I did not make that trip up to see her get married. Can you imagine being on the road and your water breaking - -ahhhh - -that would be a trip…really a trip! So, needless to say, I stayed near the hospital at that time.

I hope everybody has a loving family to spend Turkey day with and will cherish that time. Even if you have that one crazy family member, brush it off (trust me, I know your pain – ha-ha) Make this year a beautiful gathering time and enjoy every moment. Another thought, if you have cans of food in your pantry that you can spare to help somebody…some family in need, go drop them off at a food bank. People are in desperate need right now, and we could never place ourselves above it. You never know. Stay warm and keep on keepin’ it!

As always, make it a good one! Carmen

Mommy Diaries (On a Light Note) Carmen Brown

Ok…Ok…So, I know my blogs recently have been a bit intense with everything going on in the world. I cannot help but to talk about it, that’s what I do…that’s who I am. It is very hard for me to walk with blind eyes. Let’s talk about my little man because WOW things are changing so fast. He is squealing at me right now followed by a blooooo…where bubbles come out of his mouth (h-ha). Too cute. If only I could capture that magic in a bottle. He is now 17 pounds and has an amazing personality. We have went through the ‘colic’ stage for the most part, just little gassy here and there. The past couple of days he has been under the weather because of a shot he had. His little leg knotted and swelled a bit, but we are making it through. Yesterday I took him to the doctor to make sure everything was alright. He checked out ok, but she said it may take up to 3 weeks to go away…ahhhh! Other than that, he has come so far. As of a couple of weeks ago, he can fully roll over, push all the way up on his belly (without getting frustrated), he is now eating cereal, being MUCH more vocal. It is so bizarre, but he has my laugh and is really loud when he plays. He is quite the independent baby! To all the moms and dads out there working full time and holding it down…YEAHHHH for you. It is a balance like no other. My typical day starts around 4 a.m. and goes till around 9-10:00 at night. If I am really lucky, I will get a nap at some point! Anyway, I just wanted everybody to know Little T is doing well, and so is mommy! We are about to go change a diaper!!!

We Aren't Sure Where Skip Got This From...

As I said yesterday in my e-mail, I’m fighting psychos.

I found fortunately my information was flawed so then

I was able to update it correctly, only slightly different.

This past week has been an interesting week for me.

I have been checked and cleared for free existence.

So I post a page of INFORMING on people who

are connected with The ACT Team and Triumph.

They are adherents to psychiatry with bad judgment.

In fact, they have resulted in permanent damage to me.

It’s not the end of the world, and my losses incurreda

are acceptable. Actually, the scope of events is a

miracle beyond understanding – such PROVIDNCE.

The Assertive Community Team and Triuimph of

1010 Northwest Boulevard are unacceptable, as they

are providently and unwitting making unpsychology,

people bent on dangerous criminality that should be

thrown out of the West End in our town as we mind

crime religiously and to the fullest extent of our Law.

Mommy Diaries - - Chit-Chat Talk! - - Carmen Brown

So far, so good this week, and the best part is that it’s Friday! Not that I don’t love you guys, but damn, a girl needs a break! My typical day during the week runs about 16 hours, so I’m a little worn out. It happens to the best of us. This has been a very productive week. Not only at work, but Tyson got his 4 month old shots and I got my surgical tape removed from my recent surgery on my tummy.

If you did not know, I had an operation about 2 weeks ago to repair a hernia and when my surgeon went in there, she found a mass she had to run a biopsy on. Thank God it was fine! It just goes to show how important our health is…without our health we don’t have anything, right?

So, I am recovering, still a bit sore, but getting better by the minute. Positive thoughts! Miranda and I also attended a wonderful women’s luncheon at the Piedmont club in downtown Winston-Salem. If anybody would like information on the luncheons they host once a month, let me know. They always have great, informative speakers, and the organization is ewomennetwork. I highly suggest looking into it. It is kind of expensive to be a part of, so it’s up to you if you have the money right now. We enjoyed ourselves VERY much and would like to thank Mary for inviting us!

Today I am getting some pictures of Tyson done from a good friend of mine. She is a professional, which makes life so great to have pro photographer! It saves a lot on the wallet and we all know how important that is these days. We are thinking on a Fall theme, maybe a little pumpkin and colorful leaves around him. I would really like to get my little dog in the pic, but good luck with that! I’ll be lucky enough to get Tyson to sit still and give me that BIG smile. He still needs help sitting straight up, he cannot do it by himself yet. I’m not sure exactly when that happens, but I know kids all develop at their on pace. He is more interested in trying to stand up right now!

Alright, you guys have a great weekend. Make it a point to get away from the TV and get outside! It is going to be beautiful according to the Weather Channel! Talk to you next week, and don’t forget to check out our pictures and videos on the website. There are a couple of Tyson and me, fun station events, and always me acting crazy and having fun! Oh, before I go, I have to give you my new quote I heard ‘Today is the First Day of the Rest of Your Life’ Love it!! As always, make it a good one! Carmen

From Skip

I hope you eat your chicken soup because this week I have been sick. Not just sick of Jeff and Carmen be the real thing. I'm sorry my blog is not about helping other country's , but mine is about trouble here in the triad. Please eat your chicken soup!

Mommy Diaries - -Serious Issues Around the Globe - -Carmen

My eyes swelled with tears after reading a news article where a journalist had interviewed Ashley Judd. She talked about her experience at her last visit to the war-ravaged Congo in Africa. After reading her article, I started to move my eyes away from all the political news and started paying attention more on the international headlines in dealing with the situation in Congo. Literally, as I write this, there are thousands of people living in refugee camps, some of which have been burned to the ground by rebels, women and children being violently raped, and people being displaced for god knows how long.

Reported as of today, the UN is trying their hardest to get food and medical supplies in, but the UN peacekeepers are already stretched thin. I am no political guru, but to my understanding the war is between the Congolese Troops and a Rebel Group lead by Nkunda. This goes back to the political issues during the mass genocide in Rwanda. You may have seen the movie and if you have not, I suggest you do. Educate yourself. You can go to msnbc.com as well, a very insightful news site.

To all the woman reading this, check out www.womenforwomen.org. PLEASE go to it and see ways you can help. Even if you can not afford to send monitory donations, you can send a message for women to read… inspirational quotes… anything you would like to send from the heart. Yes, I realize we have so many issues to deal with on the home front, but I am a firm believer in the world is ours together. Together we stand to help one another. We help our neighbors just as you would your sister or brother. It can not be ignored, just like if your own friend had been brutally attacked, how would you handle it? If your neighbor was starving and had not eaten in 5 days, would you give him food? What about the man on the street that you have never met? It starts with our own people, but like I said we can not ignore the horrific, shocking, brutal acts going in Africa right now. Knowledge is power. Use it. Please pay attention to what’s going on right now, we could find ways to help out, even on a small scale we can make a big difference.

To view the article about Ashley Judd, please visit www.newsweek.com/id/166488

Thanks for taking time to read this. As always, make a good one! Carmen Brown

Mommy Diaries (Beautiful Weekend) – Carmen Brown

Wow – What a gorgeous Halloween weekend it has been. It is unlike most Halloween weekends I remember growing up because the weather feels like Spring instead of Fall! When I was little I remember freezing my butt off in my costume and it being REALLY cold. Ha-ha…that seems sooooo long ago! Anyway, this has been ‘date night’ weekend as well.

Remember before you had kids and you would go out whenever you wanted and not think twice about it? My how things have changed! Emory and I had our first ‘date night’ in a long time. We went out with friends to one of my favorite Japanese restaurants and had a blast. Ahhh… I always over eat, but this time I thought about how I would feel later, so I paced myself. I’m like most women, my eyes are a lot bigger than my stomach and I want to order the lobster, shrimp, steak, scallops, the whole shebang…and then by the time the soup and salad come out I’m already working towards being full. Hey, you know what’s really cool and saves money on the pocket too…you can split your dinner and only get charged like $7 dollars to do it and it is still too much food for both of us to eat. We have a box full of leftovers in the fridge this morning and split our dinner last night! Don’t get me wrong, we both have a healthy appetite…it is just sooooo much food. There is my tip of the day. Hope that helps if you are tight on a budget and still want to go out…do it…you will still fill up unless you are training in football camp…then you might need to order 2 dinners (ha-ha). I also enjoyed a glass of wine…that’s been a while too. I savored every minute and even got a bit light headed (ha-ha). These days I’m a pretty cheap date, but that’s not a bad thing, right?

Today I am going to do my usual Sunday routine. This is the day I get organized for the week…go grocery shopping, stock up on formula and diapers, clean the house, get some laundry done, and maybe catch some E Entertainment on the tube. As a first time mother, I have figured out I do not have to be super woman…I do not have to be Martha Stewart ( nor would I ever want to be), I can just get my game plan going on and try my best to get it all done. I have to admit, it’s not easy, but it’s not that hard either. Women do it every day and hold down full time jobs, and I also have a great team player that splits all the duties with me. It takes a small village to raise a child. I don’t care what anybody says, it is so true! I am very blessed to have a great support team that can deal with me! That’s saying a lot in a nut shell.

Oh… How could I forget!!! Yesterday I went to vote and it was an experience to say the least. I met a lot of really nice people in line and guess how long we waited to vote? Almost 3 hours! This year’s election is hotter than ever, and I saw more younger people voting than I have ever seen in my life. It was so exciting. I know some of these people had voted for the first time…maybe had just turned 18. I could not believe the turn out. It felt so good when I finally got to actually cast my vote…almost like I had just won the lottery! Ok, maybe not that extreme. Hey, just food for thought. With all that time I had to think while standing in line, that thought crossed my mind. Do they go stand in the lines just like you and I do, or do they cast an absentee. How would you react if you were standing in the same line with Jerry Seinfeld? Ha-ha…would people even care and make a commotion or would they just go about their business like everybody else waiting in extremely long lines? I have no idea why that came to mind…but just food for thought. I think we should call some big names and ask them if they went to wait in line. I’m not hating, just thinking outloud. Did people ask for their autograph? 3 Hours can make you think of many things. Well, I am on my way to Target, my favorite place and stock up. As always, make it a good one! Carmen