Tis' the Season for My Love and Dislikes

I have a love/dislike relationship with the holiday season. 

Being an only child and a self proclaimed black sheep I have rarely ever had the big holiday gatherings that I have dreamt of. I rarely get invited to gatherings and when I do, I rarely want to go. I usually avoid gatherings as to avoid my own personal "awkward black girl" thing. To me, the actual holiday itself is usually disappointing, mostly because after eating the meal or opening the gifts the rest of the day is boring. Most people I've been around during the holidays tend to retreat to their designated corners to tinker with their gifts, take a nap or watch T.V. Honestly, I don't know what I expect.  

The stress that comes along with the holidays from having to uphold your end of the "bargain" by giving gifts or being appreciative when receiving a gift gives me a headache. I don't want gifts for the holidays. I want something more. I'm still uncertain as to what. I do know that it is filled with warmth, sparkle, warm fuzzies and holding hands. I'm a dreamer. I dislike feeling as if I need to get something for people on a certain day. I feel like this mostly because life is already stressful enough without having to remember to buy a gift and to get the gift right. Have you ever stood in the middle of a mall trying to figure out what to buy for a person with no clue of where to start? I'm sure I may be a bit biased in my stress because shopping is just not my thing. I'd rather take a cold shower on the coldest day of the year with my heater broken. Speaking of gifts, sometimes they are just not in my budget. I'm more concerned with what's on my budget like, making sure my kid can take dance lessons or saving enough money so I can update things in my house or finally giving my family that awesome vacation that we deserve. Can't we have a holiday day where we give love instead of stuff that cost money? Is it possible for this to exist and people REALLY just be appreciative of the moment instead of how many items they receive or what someone else brought to the table?  Give me gifts on my birthday. Those are fun.

We have been so conditioned to expect things due to the commercialization of holidays. I love the holiday decoration, the traditions, my own beliefs for the season and the spirituality that comes with the holiday time. I love the goodwill towards men. I love the holiday spirit. While the actions of others to give toys, food and other items to collection organizations give me the warm fuzzies, the stress that is put on parents to find these places, qualify to get the items and in some cases, swallow their pride to wait in line to get the items makes my heart hurt. Why does this even have to be a thing? I mean...I get it...but geesh......I dislike the commercialization.

After all of this, yes, I dislike when the holidays are over. It's so sad to me that all of the decor comes down. I get a little misty eyed knowing that I can't just turn on the radio to hear Christmas music. I often wonder why the kind gestures from people that come from being in the holiday spirit goes away. Can you imagine what an awesome world we could have if we stayed in the "holiday spirit" all year. I do like that we can get back to our regular schedules and that my businesses slow season comes to an end. Happy Thanksgiving Eve. Appreciate your family and take it easy on yourself. Don't let others expectations, determine your expectations.

No doubts

Let me tell you what not doubting God and staying positive in a storm will do: 

Yesterday after an awesome day at AP I went outside to start my car and it would not come on. I called my husband several times but could not reach him. I posted to FB about me being "stuck". 

Honestly, I was happy that it was at AP where I had AC! Finally, I called my mom and she came over to pick me up. She dropped me off and about 5 minutes later my husband arrived at home. His phone had died and he had forgotten his charger. I told him about the car and we ventured back over to AP to see if he could get it on. No luck. I could see the frustration in his eyes. (Our cars are 2000 models, we really need NEW cars. One of the ways we've cut cost over the years WHILE TRYING TO ESTABLISH A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS is by having no car payments. The downside has been the maintenance of the old models at times over the years. I am even grateful that my car was given to me by my mother...at no cost when we really needed to get another vehicle lately). I told him not to worry and that God would take care of us! I asked him not to worry but to instead to pray and BELIEVE that God would provide just what we needed. 

Back to my story......

He took Amaya and I back home so we could prepare for the evening. We ate dinner after which he began searching for a rental vehicle. I would need a vehicle because he goes to work early and I would need a way to get Amaya to dance camp and for me to get to work. It's the Independence Day weekend so all of the vehicles are a much higher cost than normal.  Once again I called my mother for the rescue. She agreed to take Amaya to camp in the morning and to take me to work as well. I love my mom......So it was all settled, I didn't need the car. Next up was calling AAA. Thomas set up the tow truck and we ventured back to AP.  It was 10pm.  I dropped him off with plans of picking him up from the mechanic shop after the car was towed.  I got Amaya back home and prepared for bed with a heads up that I may need to wake her up so we could go get daddy. Around 10:45pm I got a call from my husband saying that he was on his way home with my car. AAA got the car to turn on! Apparently the car gear was not completely in park therefore it would not cut on!! Seriously?! Lol! 

I'm so grateful to God! Something that would have been way more stressful and could have cost us a LOT of money was no issue at all!  Not once did I doubt God for a solution or get frustrated about the situation. God is truly good! 

 

Meet our Newest Family Member!

Amaya Papaya is closed all week! I get to play, complete projects or do basically whatever I want to do for 7 full days!  I'm calling this time my "rejuvenation week". I plan to relax, complete some projects, refocus spiritually and organize my house for summer!  

One of the things I've wanted to do for the longest was adopt a dog that I could make my running buddy. He would ultimately be Amaya's dog so he'd need to like her a lot and be willing to sleep in her room or close by.  Since I'm off for a few days I figured this may be the best time to incorporate a new addition into our family life. On Monday, Amaya and I headed to the animal shelter after school to check out the dogs that were available for adoption. We visited the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando and Seminole County Animal Control. There were so many dogs. Most of them were older. We definely had our hearts set on getting a younger dog that could grow through the tween and teen years with Amaya. We finally came across a cute boxer named Benji. We were able to sit with him, walk around with him and interact. 

He was perfect! We decided to rescue him and immediately completed his adoption paperwork. One of the things we noticed was that he didn't really respond to his name. Amaya decided that she wanted to change his name to one that fit our family personality more. That would mean naming him after a Disney character of course!  After she selected a few names I posted to my Facebook page asking for help with deciding upon the best name. Stitch was the overwhelming choice of most. Luckily it was......that's the name Amaya picked as well!! 

When he arrived at our home. We introduced him to our 12 year old chihuahua Simba. Simba has been with my husband and I since before we were married. He's seen us get married (literally, he was in the wedding) and he was right there when Amaya came home after she was born. I think it may take a few days for Simba to adjust. He's not used to being around other dogs. Please pray that his adjustment is peaceful and fast. ☺️.  

Stitch loved his first encounter with our huge back yard. He ran in circles so fast! He's also great at fetch! Currently, he is sleeping at the foot of Amaya's bed. He's snoring so loud! I hope this finally keeps Amaya in her own bed. 😁

I'm looking forward to our new journey with Stitch. I hope he likes his new home. Amaya is sure happy that he has join our family.     

What does the Amaya Papaya logo mean?

As we take time to reflect on the importance of Mothering, I would like to share with you my inspiration for the Amaya Papaya name and logo. AMAYA PAPAYA is a TERM OF ENDEARMENT FOR MY DEAREST DAUGHTER (and best business partner ever) Amaya.

When I was pregnant with Amaya I dreaded the thought of getting STRETCH MARKS!! It was not until 2 days before I gave birth that the first stretch mark appeared, from that moment on they spread like wild fire! I was devastated (or so I thought, vain I know).

Once Amaya was born my favorite song to sing to her was MY GIRL by the Temptations. The first line was so true..."I got SUNSHINE on a cloudy day".... Amaya was truly my SUNSHINE in the mist of anything that I was going through as a new mom.

When Amaya began to speak she would ask me about the boo boo's on my belly. I would tell her that they were not boo boo's at all. I began telling her that the stretch marks where SUN RAYS that I was blessed with when she was inside my belly.

As I began to think of a logo for Amaya Papaya, I thought that nothing would be more fitting than the SUNSHINE to represent Amaya and every other child that a parent has been blessed with. If you took the sunshine in our logo and turned it sideways where the sun rays are facing down it would appear as if it were a mama's belly with sun rays beaming from it.  Isn't that beautiful and so true! 

Ask Amaya....she will tell you how she put the SUNSHINE on mommy's belly! If your ever at Amaya Papaya and you hear the song "My Girl" playing please excuse me if I get a bit teary eyed. After all it's "our song" and it reminds me of my forever blessing.....MY GIRL. 

I am ever grateful to have been chosen to be her mommy. I come from a long line of amazing women and I look forward to watching Amaya become an amazing woman as well. 

Now with the addition of my new mission and movement, Bomb Mom, I hope to inspired and support other moms to be their greatest self.  Bomb Mom grew out of my daily interaction with mothers at Amaya Papaya.  Through those moms I see a need for a motherhood empowerment movement that will address the mental health of mom, her need for non-judgemental bonds with other moms and overall support for her on her journey as a mom. 

Happy Mother's Day Bomb Moms! 

Captain America: Civil War Epicness

I had the chance to see an advanced screening of Captain America: Civil War.

The action was continuous from start to finish! My husband, daughter and I are huge super hero fans. We have seen every movie that Marvel has released over the years. This movie delivered what all of those movies of the past deliver and more! It was by far the best Marvel production ever! The stunts were epic. I think my heart palipitated through the entire movie! The roster of super heroes that joined the cast in this movie was a super hero fans delight. Each hero delivered on their individual character and we even got to see some huge surprises.  By far,  my favorite character was Mr. Chris Evans, Captain America himself. Ladies, this man in gorgeous (sorry, I had to say it, lol). I am Team Captain America...because his heart was in the right place, of course. 

This movie is a must see for the entire family however,  I will caution parents that there is some language to be mindful of(the movie is PG-13).

*The views expressed in this blog are those of Amaya Papaya's mom. I was not paid to review this movie.