Let me upgrade ya...

*Isaiah and Ryder at Sk8 town* 1/26/2010

Ready for a Blog upgrade?
Yep, that is the cause of the long pause... I decided to change up my blog and turn it into something more useful.
I will still do updates on the family and such but I am going to have more of a main topic that I will stick to. So until I get to that blog makeover, I will fill you in on how the week went.

Sunday afternoon we took the kids to see Avatar in 3D! It was L-E-D-G-E-N-D-A-R-Y.... I am a big fan, it was full of action, romance and morals. *Would not recommend taking a busy 3 year old girl along* The movie is 2 hours and 40 minutes long.
We want to go see it again!
Tuesday evening Tim and Isaiah met me after work and we went out to Port Orchard. Ryder met us at the Sk8 town for his school skate party. The boys had a blast! Ryder introduced Isaiah to his buddies from school and they all skated, fell and laughed together. It was just pure classic entertainment... I think they had more fun falling then skating, but by the last half hour they were jammin on those skates. The boys want to go skating again, so I'm thinking before Isaiah goes back to Tennessee we will go for another round, this time Tim and I will skate too!

Thursday evening was Ryder's very first basketball game ever. He did great, for being a newbie. He had a crowd of fans in the stands to watch and cheer him and his team on. Grandparents, an auntie, a cousin, little sis and two uncles. Thanks for all your support guys!

Tonight will just be a nice relaxing movie night, with a little Rock Band and maybe a dart gun WAR!
Stay tuned for the NEW makeover.... Hoping to get some tips from a friend who is attending a conference next week. Go Jana!
Smooches,
Andrea

A day to remember.... Repost from 2010

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Wow the power in those words still amaze me...
Now that I am 29 years old and a mother of two I have come to realize on this day how far we have come. Back in 1976 when my parents met in Key West Florida and fell in love. They married 4 months later, it had only been legal for 11 years (1967) when they married. Since my father is black and my mother is white... They still got the stares and the glares from people. Being a interracial married couple down south must have been hard. Well that didn't stop them... They moved to Guam (my mother was stationed there NAVY) and had two girls (My sister and I). As a little girl I remember the stares from people at the store, in the car and pretty much everywhere we went. We would ask "Mommy why are they staring at us?" her response was always "cause they think you are pretty". Wow did that give us big EGO's. Thanks Ma you always made us feel special! Growing up bi-racial had its up's and downs... I remember thinking to myself why can't I have white girl hair ( I had a blonde afro)? Or answering all the questions people had about me or my family. The one that I will never forget was in 2nd grade (1988) I was drawing a picture of my family at Girl Scouts. A little girl sitting next to me said "YOUR MEAN!" glaring at me and I just looked at her wondering why she said that (I was extremely shy as a kid) then she said "Your coloring your Dad like that?". Being 8 years old I was very puzzled about this accusation. I looked at my family photo that I was so proud to draw/color and see my Mom, my sisters (both white w/blonde hair) and my Daddy brown just as he was. I couldn't understand how that made me mean? Thank goodness the little girls mother (the Scout leader) knew her daughter so well and chimed in and said "Charlyne be nice"! Hi Char, yes she ended up being my best friend for the past 20 years. Love you girl! I have heard it all in my school days, most people had no clue I was bi-racial. If I was ever made fun of for it, that is when Char (yes the little girl from girl scouts) stepped in. She became my body guard and if anyone gave me crap she was there to give them a rude wake up call.
As an adult I have learned I am under cover or how you say in disguise. My children are only a quarter black and they are beautiful... I have been teaching my son as he is getting older about our history on my black side. He is very interested in this now. When he was little he did not quite understand where I was coming from when I would tell him I was half black and half white, even when he was around my Dad. It just goes to show that children do not see color! I love that I can read to my son about MLK Jr and teach him how far we have come.
When people stare me down now I just tell myself ok "they either are wondering what I am or wondering how tall I am?" I only respect the people who don't stare and actually ask. I am a bi-racial woman and that is what I consider myself. Now if they would only give me that option when filling out paperwork or going to the social security office (they make you choose one).
Now that it is 2010 and the world is a melting pot it pretty much makes this statement a joke that we can all laugh at or shake our heads in shame.

"Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix."


How does this special day make you feel?

What is new?

Just that time to do a little updating on what is new....


Lets see, Ryder started playing basketball for the first time. So we have been busy going to Monday and Thursday evening practices. His Daddy (Miles) and his Uncle (Trent) are his coaches. We are only three weeks into it and I am thinking my son is not too interested with this here sport. We will see how the season goes, they should be starting games real soon.


Ryder is excelling in reading, he has improved so much from October. So I have high hopes he will reach his reading goal by the end of the school year and be just fine. His most recent hobby at home is playing Xbox 360 and Rock band (he jams out on the guitar). That is one of his most favorite items he got for Christmas.



Mazie Lue is still doing her ballet/Tap combo class every Saturday. She will be getting fitted for her costume tomorrow. Her first recital is in June, I can't wait!
As for pre-school it is in the works... She started out in September and it was put to a holt in October when her Dad was laid off work. I gave Mazie her very first hair cut last month... I had no intentions to do it but once I had her hair all flat ironed and strait (my Mazie Lue has a head full of curls) it was not only to her lower back but the ends were very dry and frizzy. So mommy with the support of Auntie Alisa trimmed Mazie's hair, well does 2 inches count as a trim? I didn't want to do it but it had to be done and I'd rather it be me than someone else. Mazie loves her hair strait, she just wants to wear it down.

Last Thursday we got a visit from Isaiah, he is here for a visit from Clarksville, TN. So our weekend was full of excitement, rough play, dart gun wars and video games. I was busy cooking and baking in the kitchen all weekend. Not complaining I love to cook especially with my little helper Mazie Lue by my side, It was great therapy too!
So for the weeks to come we have many of adventures underway and I can't wait to share them with you all.

Smooches,
Andrea

My sissy bear......

Alisa and I June 2009

My big sister...
Boy do we have some stories to tell.
My sister and I can always talk about the horriable things she use to do to me and just laugh it off.
Growing up I always looked up to her, well until I was about 14 and was taller than her. Don't get me wrong my sister isstill considered tall 5'9" (pssst I think she shrank too) but when she hangs out with me she feels average with her height.
Lately I have been going through some crudd and my BIG sissy has been there for me so much.
She was just recently living with me through the holidays (Nov-Dec) while she was waiting for her new place to be ready.
I loved having her company during that time. We got so much closer too... She even started to build a relationship with my T.
Those two got along very well, its was actully starting to backfire on me. I realized that those two are so much alike. I think it has to do with them both being the oldest of four. So I had plenty of flash backs of being a kid who was picked on... Gosh my sister and T picked on me so much, I know they both were joking but geez.
So now my sissy moved in to her own place after Christmas and I miss you so much. Now I find myself going to visit her more than I ever did before.
Although we fought a lot, when we were getting along we had the best times together.
My most favorite thing we did together was DANCE. We had dance compititions all the time. Don't get me started on when we got our Kareokee machine for Christmas (thanks grandpa). Now here we are raising kids of our own. She is now 31 and I am 29, my sister has become one of my best friends. She is the one I can call at 1:30 in the morning and say hey I'm coming over and she is there everytime.
We may have had our ups and downs but I am so very blessed to have a big sissy that I can count on, vent to and just cry on her shoulder.
Smooches,
Andrea**** the middle sister****

Is that a baby bump?

The un-written rules for women.....
Apparently some females need some education on this matter.
I am here to educate you on this on behalf of my friends and co-workers out there...
So we all know the number one un-written girl rule and that is.... Never date, or have a relationship or mess around with your friends exes.
The other MAJOR un-written girl rule which is never really mentioned or talked about mainly cause its a no brainier or just plan rude if you do ask... would be the question yeah you know that question that you want to ask but you just don't...
ARE YOU PREGNANT?
Now listen up ladies... If you think or are even wondering if someone is preggers or looks preggers keep it to yourself. If they want you to know they will tell you. Please do not just randomly go up to someone and ask that totally rude question. I am not talking about your sister or friend coming to you and saying: something to make you question this matter. I am talking about the many shapes and sizes of woman. If a girl has a bit of tummy/belly going on it is NOT okay to ask her if she is preggers. Nor is it okay to assume that she is and bring it up in conversation with the person. You know why? It hurts, its rude and someone who may be comfortable with their size may not feel so comfy after that. Or if someone is already feeling down about their weight and then they got to hear that question just puts them down even more about how they feel about them selves.
It happened to me just back in September I was standing in line with my boyfriend and our kids (2 boys and 1 girl) the guy working the line asked me "will this be for 5 in a half (pointing to my tummy)?" I was offended right away. First of all no just 5 buddy and gee thanks for pointing out the 5 pounds I gained this summer. RUDE! My story does not compare to others, at least a bone headed man asked me.
I have girlfriends who get this question asked by other woman. What? It just boggles my mind to think of other woman asking other females this un-written rule. One of my good friends was asked this question today by a co-worker when she was telling me about it I could see the pain and tears in her eyes. She is already struggling with her weight and self esteem. So being asked this question by another female today sure did send her over the edge.
So this topic was brought to my attention once again and I figured I would post a blog about it.
So ladies just remember those un-written rules and if you are not sure about what is okay to ask. Maybe ask yourself how you would feel if someone asked you? I have seen this very question ruin my girls days just cause one person has to know or ask something that is really non of their biz-ness.
Smooches,
Andrea
I would like to know of any other "un-written" rules I did not mention that should be?