Eggs and Bacon ...

My son James Charles is now fascinated with eggs and bacon.  Not really the food, but an entire world he has created for them. They're James Charles' new imaginary friends.

It all started about a month ago.  We were encouraging him to eat his breakfast when he suddenly started singing "Eggs and Bacon" to the tune of "Frere Jacques" (also known as "Where is Thumbkin?").  Hubby and I joined him, thinking nothing about it. He's a picky eater. For us, it's whatever works to get him eating some protein.


Now he sings it all day long.  He has even called both sets of grandparents to sing it. At first we thought it was so cute. This lasted a few days until Jason decided the song needed to be revamped.  Simply singing "Eggs and Bacon" was just not enough.  Later I learned Jason had come up with a new song.  It goes something like this:

"Eggs and bacon
Eggs and bacon
Good for me
Good for me
We eat them every morning
Down in my tummy
Mmm mmm good
Mmm mmm good."

Yes, being a parent will take you there.  But James Charles isn't done with his new obsession.  "Eggs and Bacon" will often become "Eggs and Audrey" or "Eggs and Mommy," sometimes without warning, just when the mood hits.

A few days ago (no the story's not over yet) "Eggs and Bacon" began to show up in his room. 

How was your weekend?

I didn’t mean to go so long without posting anything.  To be honest, my kids weren’t so generous to me in the sleep department last week. But that’s a post for another day.  For now I’ll relish in the simple weekend we shared.

Usually our Saturdays are packed with running errands, cleaning the house, visiting family or going to somebody’s birthday party. (We belong to a large church, so it seems someone’s always having a party or event.) But on this Saturday, we took it easy.

Mastering Deadlines

In high school I wrote an essay at the last minute and won a college scholarship.

Things like that used to happen to me quite a bit.  I'd tell myself I'd gradually work on the assignment, but then I'd wait until there was barely any time left to even get started, and suddenly I was a genius. I'd make A's on science projects and English papers. I'd make band tapes the night before and get First Chair (Yes, I was a band nerd). I thrived on the pressure and enjoyed the rush I got from succeeding under unrealistic self-inflicted deadlines. 

But the truth is that the success I had, despite my extreme procrastination, always came at a price.  I had to miss a party I really wanted to attend in order to write that essay.  In fact, I wanted to forget about it since I'd dug myself in such a hole.  Can you believe I'd had two months to prepare for it? My thinking went: "It's too late now, and my friends are calling me asking if I'm ready to go. I got a new outfit!" But my parents insisted that I stay home until I finished writing.  I ended up spending my Friday night in front of the computer pouring my heart out for some college moolah.  Thank God my parents made me suffer the consequences for my bad decision-making, regardless of whether I got the scholarship.

That was about 15 years ago and I still struggle with procrastination.

Morning madness ...

Happy Tuesday! I hope your week is starting off where you want it. I'm already tackling one of my goals for the New Year -- getting organized.

I'm not talking about the kind of organization where you trash everything, I've already done that. My problem is more of a day-to-day kind of disorganization. I've been "winging" it for a little too long and things are starting to spin out-of-control.

Here’s an example of a typical weekday morning:

"Hey Jason, have you seen Audrey's other sock?" (She's screaming and squirming as I'm putting her in her car seat) 

"James Charles, get your cup to take to the car! Wait, why did you take your pants off? You know we're about to leave!" (He hops up and down and guts out an evil laugh)

"Jason, don't forget to grab your lunch and please get my water. I have the diaper bag! Yes, snacks are in it." "Oh no, where did I just put my keys? Oh there they are.  Let's go."

Jason grabs Audrey and James Charles trails behind, swinging his cup. I lock the house, set the alarm and we get into the car.  I breathe a sigh of relief, seeing we're not going to be late.

But it's short-lived.

I realize my phone's still on the charger next to the bed.

Happy First Monday of 2011!

Before putting up the Christmas tree, I gazed at it one last time.

Its glow warmed me once again while lounging on my couch in front of the TV, sipping hot chocolate accented with a candy cane.  With the family sleep, I was glad to have the day behind me.  My boy, James Charles, had a rough, tantrum-filled day.  His sister Audrey seemed to be (I can only guess at this point) irritated by teething.  They got sleepy in the nick of time, when I thought I couldn't take it anymore.  My husband must have felt the same way; he crashed as soon as our kids' bedtime routine was over.  So finally, having a moment to breathe, I decided to relax and think about the year ahead.

Welcome to my blog!

Hi! Welcome to my blog!  The new year is here and I'm so excited to dive in to one of my many goals. I've been itching to start my own blog for a while and on this first day of 2011, on a Saturday night, as I watch my husband dance with our kids in our living room to some James Brown, I'm finally making it happen.

A little about me: I'm Takisha Roberson, married nearly nine years and a mom to two rambunctious kids.  Our boy is three and our baby girl is nine months.  Four years ago, (boy how time flies) I took a break from a career in front of the camera reporting and sometimes anchoring news, and opted to be at home full-time with my then-infant son. I spent a few years working at stations in Dayton, Ohio and in Detroit, Michigan. Now my "deadlines" consist of getting the kids to playdates on time, "reporting" to my hubby to keep him in the loop when the kids do something cute or are driving me up a wall, and making sure there's something decent for dinner.  My "live truck" where a lot of my time was spent working is now a crossover SUV. And no more business "power" suits. I've finally learned how to dress for a visit to the park for a power walk pushing a stroller instead. It's a life I never imagined I'd have -- and I love it.