Ever see someone and think, "He looks like someone I've seen before but I don't know exactly who?" Well, I've been saying that about "He's Just Not That Into You"-guy Greg Berhendt since the day I saw him. And it just occurred to me... 
Does anyone else see the resemblance? Look again...
Spooky, huh?
What do I do when Hayes isn't around? I eat lemons and attend Khalym's birthday parties! This particular moment happened over a month ago--hey, I've been a little busy. Despite the usual 30 days, November was a big month...mainly for Khalym, who celebrated her birthday three times! {No rest for the worthy}. Here's the last of the last of the last of the November pics {and I didn't post even 1/3 of them}.
Khalym & Chakaras (Not subtle, guys)!
Johanna, our Chef Girl-ardee
Kareem & Me (Mmmm-hmmm, I swallowed the whole lemon, folks...what).
As much as I like to pretend to throw down in the kitchen, it's hard to get creative with the cuisine when your biggest fan is a fastidious toddler who won't eat anything green. No sweet peas, no green apples, and definitely no asparagus. {Tasty as they may be}.
Scouring the grocery store aisle yesterday for a clever vegetable disguise, a recipe came to me from way back. Probably an old southern dish, it calls for fresh sweet corn, a drained can of french cut green beans and a pat of butter all in a pot with just a little water.
It was just as good as I remember. And Hayes ate every bean on his plate. {Green as they were}.
Here are some other green things Hayes is into these days...
Oscar
Sir Hayes T available in stores and at sirhayes.com this spring
A bedtime favorite
Cedi pinky ring. That's one of MY faves. Thanks Khalym!
I can barely recall the character Babar from storybooks when I was a child, so I most certainly was not a fan. Consequently, Hayes knows nothing of the elephant...king, is it? But yesterday when a life-size Babar showed up at the neighborhood bookstore for storytime, I didn't know how creepy these things can be. Remind you of anything?...
I picked up this chapeau by 7 A.M. Enfant in Park Slope on one of those days that starts out warm and gets progressively colder as the day goes on. I love it! It saved me from looking like an unfit mother. And it's fly enough for the kid too.
For those of you who were there, here it is again. For those of you who missed it, here's Hustlenomics the remix...
Khalym (who needs no introduction) & Brandon (BS Shirts)
Leroy Jenkins in the house! Upendo showin' off
Momma!
Me, Khalym and Ms. Dona Dee
Chris (BS Shirts hits Cali right after the party)
The artist formerly known as Our Man Ron (Leroy Jenkins)
Hana...and is that Ron?
Check out the Sir Hayes display...super cute! (if I may say so myself)
Aysha (Posh Media Group), Khalym and Kecia (Victoria's Secret)
Pen doin' his thing
Carmen & Steve...and is that Ron?
Lady Khalym (and lil' Poppa)
Purple stuff, y'all!
I suppose the difference between me and any other lady at a newsstand is the guilt that always creeps up at the thought of a purchase for myself, however small it may be. That is, unless the other woman happens to also be the mother of a small child. Afterall, it’s not a much needed spa day or Victoria’s Secret trip I’m contemplating. Magazines are superfluous compared to children with real needs like new winter hats, another box of diapers and wipes, more learning tools with Elmo on it…{You get my point}.
However, I admit to giving in to selfish indulgences when the opportunities arise. Afterall, I simply refuse to completely lose myself in this whole mommy-thing. And hey, it’s just a magazine! A few pages, a few dollars, a brief moment of escape. Right? Well, three actually. I couldn’t decide between Harper’s Bazaar, Jane and Real Simple because there isn’t one out there that appeases the appetites of my multiple personalities in a single issue. Harper’s Bazaar is for the fashionista in me, however closeted my inner glamourpuss might be. Jane is for the girl in me that’s not always so girly. You know, the one that likes to discuss new music and kicks, smart women and stupid politics. And the neat-freak mommy in me makes a bible of Real Simple for all the tips that make homemaking easier than it really is. So I grab all three. It’s just a few pages and a few dollars for a brief moment of escape. Right?
I was pleased—each and every one of me. I found a recipe in Jane for one of the most delicious and reasonably priced meals {$10} I have ever made, eaten, thoroughly enjoyed, and shared with friends. I referenced Real Simple for the shelf life of a package of mushrooms I found in the back of my fridge. {After three days, chuck ‘em}. And I was pleasantly surprised by Harper’s Bazaar. I mean, I do like to hear from the fashion gods about what’s hot and not. Really I just like to poke fun at fashion taken so seriously. But if it weren’t for the articles about Gwyneth Paltrow and Debi Mazar, both moms talking mommyhood, I might still be feeling small pangs of regret. One talks about the type of mom she aspires to be and the other can’t stop talking about the twenty extra pounds of baby weight. I cringed when one described how motherhood requires so much of her life and she "doesn't even have to change sheets and clean toilets." Albeit my life is different from any movie stars'--or anyone for that matter--still, being a mom is the most relatable experience I have with women with children everywhere. And I'm just glad my little self-centered splurge reminded me of it.
Dona Dee does it again. Don't miss Hustlenomics III this Friday. {Hayes and I will be there}!
To the left
To the left
Everything you own
In a box to the left
Told ya one day this would all make sense. Here's the Beyonce video I saw in the making... Irreplaceable (give it a few seconds to start).
This weekend, the DUMBO block party brought all the usual family fun we have come to expect--food, music, graffiti art, one of those big blow-up bouncy houses, and two of the most random things I've ever seen in Brooklyn.
bales of hay!
It's one of those toy machines. But instead of dispensing a toy, for fifty cents this one will give you a collector's item miniature building made of clay. {Please email me if you can figure this one out}.
Five years ago my apartment was a bachelorette pad of sorts. I had minimal furniture, bare cabinets and music galore. So, with not so much as an inkling of a child in my very near future, all of my most treasured cassette tapes, CDs and vinyl inadvertantly became mainstay decorative pieces. Fast forward 17 months into this mommy thing and I can say that not much has changed, except for the food part. And why? Well, because I like it that way. And also, because I just can't get into childproofing my apartment. Don't get me wrong, all the emergency-type stuff has a safe home far away from Hayes's reach {no scissors, knives, plastic bags, wires or bite-size thingys at his level}. But cabinet doors and the toilet lid remain unlocked. My tables' sharp edges remain completely exposed. And my cassette tapes, CDs and vinyl are all there tempting Hayes into trouble every second of every day.
Sure, part of the reason I won't childproof is purely aesthetic. I'm mean, those extra locks and pads they sell to parents don't exactly blend into the decor. But more than that, I believe it's important for Hayes to learn what to touch and what not to. This, of course, requires a certain level of attention and energy on my part since my valuables and his safety must be looked after. {But that's parenting, right}?
So today, when Hayes stood at my bedroom door, locking and unlocking, and opening and closing it for the first time all the while repeating the word "door," a part of me thought, "hey! look at my little genius go!" And then I remembered there isn't a key to that door. And there is barely a hole in the knob to pick the lock. For a moment I thought I might actually be forced to buy one of those awkward-looking childproofing gadgets to keep Hayes from locking himself in. But I couldn't...I just couldn't. So here's my bright idea. No better than a silly-looking gadget, is it?...
Month 17: Day 5
Of all that can be done at 11:15 on a Tuesday morning {like trying to make a phone call and keep a toddler quiet and engaged enough to have an uninterrupted conversation with the person on the other end while clearing the remains of breakfast off the walls and floor}, I’m glad today I did something fun before preparing a lunch that would end up smashed and under my feet…and it required only two hands! 
I took Hayes to Karma Kids Yoga at Yoga Works Studios for our first Parent & Child yoga class ever. It was 45-minutes of unadulterated fun for the both of us. I did downward facing dog {and a host of other animals} and Hayes did a few poses too, that is, when he wasn’t running around like a stimulated 17-month old toddler in a new surrounding.
The Parent & Child class welcomes children walking through 3 years of age so you gotta know that the serious yoga workout you’re used to is not going to happen because this one is all about the kids. And the bonding is priceless!
Latham Thomas instructs the Parent & Child classes at Yoga Works Midtown, 160 E. 56th Street, Tuesdays 11:15-12:00PM. She is also the co-founder of Panela, a hands-on, parent-child food education program that celebrates community and culture. {www.panelaproductions.com or 212.545.4159}.
Namaste!
Month 16: Week 3: Day 1
In Brooklyn, I took the uptown A. In Washington Heights, I hopped on the 1. At 242nd, I took the #6 bus then transferred to the #1, all the while getting closer and closer and more and more lost as I tried to keep with the directions, journeying farther and farther into the Boondocks. {I can’t help but think that all this drama could have been easily avoided if only I had a car}.
Omigod! Where am I?
Yonkers!
Pleasantville? Never heard of it.
After the bus, there was a walk down a winding, very hilly road lined with houses straight out of a one of Hayes’s storybooks. At the end of the street was a castle, {ok, I’ve never seen one in person but it was exactly what I imagine a real castle to look like}, a swarm of police cars, good looking people milling about and a team of crew members working hard.
At the door, I spoke the magic words to security. Inside were lights, cameras and good catered food.
Exactly what was all the hoopla about in Nowheresville today? Well, it was a real hush-hush affair. But I’ll give you a few hints: The title of this here blog, Mtv, Kelly and…Beyonce! {Sorry. A celebrity pic would have gotten me thrown out}.
Month 16: Week 2: Day 6
In life, some opportunities keep coming around and passing us by {like working hard to make money}. Then there are once-in-a-lifetimes that are too crazy for a girl like me to pass up {like making good money doing my everyday thing while a death metal band shoots a video in my apartment. Yeah, death metal...in my apartment. Wanna see a pic?}
I know what you’re thinking and I’ve got answers:
A friend of a friend works for a film company and was scouting for a location, my apartment was suggested and they liked it. Suffocation. Yes, they’re famous. It’s not exactly kosher to tell but it was more than $600 and less than $700 {tee-hee}. It wasn’t as loud or the day as long as I thought it would be. They have lots of hair, tattoos and were very, very pleasant. No, there was no sex or drugs involved, mom! And no humans or animals were harmed in the making of the video. You can visit Suffocation and hear their music at www.SUFFOCATION.us or www.myspace.com/SUFFOCATION. Huh?...I don't really know what I was thinking either. But mama needs a robe and a fresh pair of sneaks!
One of the coolest and most talented photographer's I know, that's who. {No kidding, he came all the way from Jersey on a cloudy Saturday and made sure a big, stray dog didn't ruin our photo shoot. Oh,... and he took lots of great pictures too}.
Still wondering about Mel? Go to WWW.OKAYPLAYER.COM.
