Pookalitas

My Jackson Five!

2009-07-02T10:33:00.004-04:00

I miss Michael Jackson. When I look back at it Michael Jackson has been through every part of my life with me. He was definitely my first crush, Donna and I would argue over who gets Michael and she would have the nerve to always throw Marlin or Randy my way(sorry guys) but I held out for Michael all the time. We would put that record on and played it until the grooves wore off and it was funny because growing up we lived on one floor and we played that record in our living room for hours and just recently Donna and I looked at each other and said, "Where were mommy and daddy?" I asked my mother and she just laughed, "Yes girls, your father and I were very patient, LOL!". We actually saved our own money to buy that album which made it even more special and our very first concert, yup, the Jacksons. We've known them our entire lives. Growing up we would play Jackson Five with friends of our family and we would do all the steps. We each had fedora hats borrowed from our dads (except for me, now that I think about it,since I was the youngest and we were out of cool hats, they always made me wear my ski cap, not cool guys, not cool) and sang all night long. There was always a song along my path to adulthood from "ABC" to "Thriller" to "You give me Butterflies". And please tell me what girl didn't put on the knee pads and straighten out her bangs and try to jump over a chair like Janet did in the pleasure principle?!!!Who else except family has been with you through everything! I will always love Michael Jackson, The Jacksons and Janet! yeah, yeah randy and marlon too, Donna!

We're Havin a Par-Tay!!!!

2009-06-24T14:47:00.010-04:00

Hello Pooka People!

Hope everyone is having a blessed week! Just wanted to drop you a note to invite you to our Pineapple Summer Splash! For all of you people who call me all year long and ask me, "Why is the pineapple gone!!!?", this day is for you! Every year around this time we bring back everything Pineapple for one day. We make a great day of it, we make food, have a fabulous DJ and pass out Pineapple Pookaladas! I hope you can drop by and officially launch summer with us. If you're out of town our delicious pineapple products will be on the website for just one day, Saturday June 27 or you can call in and place an order. Make sure to check back next week when we put up the pictures, you might see yourself gettin your dance on, LOL!

See Ya Saturday!

Saturday June 27, 2009
Pooka Warehouse
364 Glenwood Ave.
East Orange, NJ
973-954-2471
10:00am-4:00pm

Our Not So Sex in the City Day Out!

2009-06-08T07:42:00.007-04:00

Well Pooka family I’m here to tell you things have changed! Remember the sassy girls who put on their stilettos and had cosmos and dinner before going to see sex in the city? Yeah, well they’re gone! This Friday April and Wesley invited us to Williams (her 7 yr old) spring concert. So Tricia, Taiye and myself went and it was so very cute.. We decided to go out to lunch at Tricia’s favorite place PF Changs(she also suggested Cuban Petes but you all remember what happened the last time she had the Ricky Riccardo!) Now why we would take 3 children to PF Changs we’re still trying to figure that one out! We sat down at our nicely set table knowing that wouldn’t last. We all ordered and William told me he wanted Shrimp my man! (aka Shrimp lo mein, cute!) During our tasty meal as I was sipping on an Organic Agave Nectar Martini(you heard right an organic martini! Guilt free drinkin) William whispers to his mom “Yuck, I don’t want to see auntie dawns B-U-T-T!(and he had the nerve to spell it out!) Nothing makes you realize quicker that the time for wearing low riders has passed than hearing a “Yuck!” As I slowly tucked my butt fat back in my jeans I quietly ate the rest of my meal. When Tricia whipped out a boob to feed Taiye it was then that I knew we were no longer hip and sassy, no sex in the city here! Wesley drummed on the table with his chopsticks for the entire meal and managed to only poke himself in the eye once before falling out of the booster seat landing under the table. I was tempted to just pass him his plate under there and let him finish, it would have definitely been quieter! I licked the inside of my Organic Martini glass hoping to find just one more drop to get me through the rest of dinner, but no luck! Our table now looked like a war zone it was definitley time to go home. Will, April and Wes had gone to the bathroom, Tricia and I were paying the bill when an older gentleman walked by our table with Will following close behind him. Tricia and I just stared blanlky as William ran after this man, we hear, "excuse me, excuse me" and then William has a quick conversation with him and walks back to the table. We ask him what he said to the man and he says "I told him he didn't wash his hands in the bathroom that's disgusting!!!" Tricia and I exploded with laughter as we were wondered if we were going to have to fight this now angry gentlemen! April returned from the bathroom with Wesley and a toilet paper trail stuck to his shoe. We quickly exited the restaurant. So people while we are definitely not wearing stilettos we're going to make a conscious effort to not throw on our orthopedic shoes just yet!

New Jersey's Newest Hot Spot

2009-06-01T12:49:00.002-04:00

Hey Pooka Family! You have to check out New Jersey's newest Hot Spot! You know how we're always saying, "There's no mature adult spot for us to hang out." Well, this is it..the VIP Game Lounge is the new thing to do! I had such a great time Friday night @ the Game Lounge! I am so very proud of Joe Campbell, the proprietor of the VIP Game Lounge, because he's created an event for the mature crowd (i.e. 28 and older seemed to be the age range) to go to and have a great time! The Game Lounge travels to different locations so you have to check out the website to see where it will be next (http://www.vipgamelounge.com/). Friday's Game Lounge was at the Newark Marriott Hotel. It was a great space for it because it was large room, parking was free with the passes Joe provided, you don't have to wait in a long line to get in, and there was food & drinks and some nice neo-soul music. We played Taboo, Pookalita Pictionary, Wii, Bid Whisk, Spades, etc. Now the girls will tell you, I am very competitive so I let my hair down when it comes to Spades. I met some new friend's playing cards that night. Sedica was my partner in Spades and next time Sedica, I promise not to be so conservative with my bidding. Next time we will run Boston's on everyone who sits at our table! Also, don't get me started about Pookalita Pictionary! It was the guys against the girls and let me tell you family..the guys cheat! Ladies, we know we won that game! I'm telling you family, we had a good time! And I got home just in time for Taiye's 2 AM feeding.

The next VIP Game Lounge will be at NJPAC on Friday June 26th. I am looking forward to it. Hope you guys will come and check it out.and don't forget to bring your "A" Game! One more thing Family, there's also a Gospel VIP Game Lounge. Check out the website for the date and time for that one also.

The Nose knows!

2009-05-26T08:28:00.002-04:00

Okay so everybody knows I have two children, William (7) and Wesley (3). Now you would think that having two of the same sex children would be easy right? I mean whatever you did for the first one that worked should work on the second, WRONG!!!!! I have two completely different children, that Wesley is a work of art. Everyone always says that the second/middle child is the one to watch out for and boy are they right! The second/middle one talks faster and LOUDER, jumps higher, and eats way more that the first! The first one cares about mommy's feelings and doing the right thing, the second/middle doesn't care about doing the right thing or ANYONE'S feelings but their own. The first one likes to be clean, the second one LOVES dirt!!! I can actually deal with ALL of that EXCEPT for one thing! Wes loves to stick stuff up his nose! You don't understand how many times I've had to dig up that boys nose to retrieve, peas, raisins, rocks etc. I just don't understand it! I ask him "Why are you sticking things up your nose?"
He just looks at me and says "Because I want to!" Because you want to? WHAT? " Do you think mommy likes digging up your nose?" "Yes."................................. Insanity. But I guess I get what I deserve being the second/middle child myself!

Yeah, yeah...ok I am back: Welcome Back Kotter!!!

2009-05-19T07:36:00.002-04:00

Greetings Pooka Family!!

It's me.Donna.the one who never writes..the anti-blogger!! I can't believe it is May already. I kept meaning to write and time just passed me by. Do you know what I mean Pooka family?? So much happening and so little time to write. What has been happening with you Pooka family? Did anyone miss me?? I have been keeping up with all of you through my Pookalita sisters. The most difficult step is the first one. Now that I have written this I am back!! So many topics to discuss: Almost summer and my backyard oasis is still in progress, experimenting with new recipes from your favorite Foodie(can you say lasagna in a crock pot!!,Right Denise!!), a new health & wellness regime in effect(does anyone know about high blood pressure), the ultimate anniversary trip(almost 3 wonderful years of marriage in October!!,Right Husband!!), hmmm...winning the Mega Million vs Working, WILL I EVER HAVE A BABY?!(now that blog might continue straight through until 2010 not sure if I want to go there), still love Barack and Michelle and the girls and new puppy even more(if that is humanly possible), Is it likely that anyone else despises the Geico commercial where the money has eyeballs more than me!! So many more topics but I will not share now so I can actually write about them. It is good to be back family because I realize that it is I who have missed you. Until next time no really..I promise!

Ps-Dawn I saw your little blog prank and now I am finished writing because I am going to tell Mommy!

Blog Tricks!

2009-05-11T22:40:00.006-04:00

Hey everybody!

I know it's been a while and we apologize. Everybody has been busy with life! Tricia and the new baby, April and the boys, Donna and marriage and work and me, well you know! I want you all to help me to get these girls steady blogging. If you've looked at the latest posts, who's missing? Hmmmm..........that's right Donna! We need to hear from her people. So I need you to help me prank Donna! Send Donna an email to info@pookapureandsimple.com and in the subject line write, "Donna, where's your blog!"
Let's see if we can fill up her inbox people!!! Ahhh the joy I get from these little things, I need to get a life, LOL!

PS - If you can't get enough of me, LOL, follow me on twitter and facebook

Facebook!
www.pookapureandsimple.com/facebook

Twitter!
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Happy Earth Day!

2009-04-22T11:18:00.003-04:00

Hello family!
As many of you may or may not know today is Earth Day!! Yay!!!
Now, what does that mean you might ask? Earth Day is a day to appreciate our earth!
We’ve got to start taking better care of our planet so we have something to leave our little ones and we need to start enjoying the great outdoors! The best thing you can do today is GO OUTSIDE!!! Enjoy nature, if you see some trash on the street, pick it up!(okay, use some latex gloves, yuck!) I challenge you to get started enjoying our planet! Below are some tips from the Nature Conservatory:

1. EXPLORE NATURE NEAR YOU.
2. FIND KID-FRIENDLY ADVENTURES. A trip to the zoo, playground or beach is way more
exciting than video games.
3. PLAN A PERFECT DATE NIGHT. Treat your special someone to a picnic in the park, an
outdoor concert, or some simple stargazing.
4. EAT HEALTHY, LIVE GREEN. With a backyard vegetable garden, you can eat well, save
money and help the environment.
5. ENJOY NATURE FROM A NEW PERSPECTIVE. Warm weather is perfect for kayaking,
canoeing or white water rafting.
6. DON’T FORGET FIDO. Walks outside are great exercise for you and your pet.
7. START A HEALTHY COMPETITION. Trade in office happy hour for kickball, flag
football or paintball challenges.
8. DE-STRESS FROM THE DAILY GRIND. Unwind from the 9-to-5 with bird watching, hiking
or sleeping under the stars.
9. GET FIT, HAVE FUN. Shake up your gym routine and shape up with jogging, walking,
hiking or biking.

My First Day Alone with Taiye

2009-04-15T13:48:00.003-04:00

Well as many of you know by now, my husband and I have a beautiful baby girl! She is soooo cute if I must say so myself. Being a Mom is a new experience for me. My husband brought me all the books to help me get ready i.e. "What to expect when you're expecting", "The Pregnancy Journal" and "What to expect the first year". Of course I consulted all my Mom friends (April, Tonka, Jana, Lauren) to make sure I was fully prepared, but as they have told me over again, you're never fully prepared for Motherhood! So of course, I call in for reinforcement.My great Aunt Fedelma! Aunt Fedelma is our family matriarch. She is my paternal grandmother's sister who lives in Ohio. She's 84 years old but don't think her age dictates her livelihood. She has a full schedule. Aunt Fedelma goes to line dancing classes, aerobics, monthly bridge club meetings, vacations including cruises to Alaska and Panama. Wale and I were lucky to get her here to Jersey for the first week Taiye was home and let me tell you having her here was absolutely FABULOUS! Aunt Fedelma helped me to get acclimated to being a mother. She showed me how to effectively manage my time (something which I am very good at with IBM and Pooka but takes on a different spectrum with the role of mother). For example, Aunt Fedelma showed me how to take advantage of the little time I have i.e. when Taiye sleeps, I should sleep in order to get my rest and maintain my energy. She also taught me how after a feeding, burp her and put her down. Don't let her sleep to long in your arms or else when you try to put her down she will start crying. Take advantage of short pockets of time to get things done i.e. take a shower during her morning naps. This one I struggled with because I like taking long hot showers but as Aunt Fedelma says, "you are going to have to cut down on your shower time so you can get other things done." Having Aunt Fedelma here during the first week was wonderful, but now she's gone back to her life in Cleveland and it's just me and Taiye...the anxiety has already begun! Taiye woke up screaming bloody murder the day before Aunt Fedelma left as if she knew Aunt Fedelma was leaving. What am I going to do without Aunt Fedelma? How will I manage? I never realized how important it is having someone you trust to help you with a newborn. I'm not sure how Taiye and I are going to manage, but we will find a way! So begins, my first day alone with Taiye.

And the winner is.....

2009-04-13T12:38:00.005-04:00

Well after loads of entries submitted, we randomly picked and the winner of our Organic Easter basket is............

Seskeia Gombs from Chesapeake, VA!!!!!

Now wait a minute everybody, don't go anywhere! Seskeia has tonight until midnight to contact us, if we don't hear from here there will be another winner chosen tomoroow, so.................SESKEIA we need to hear from you, LOL! Email us at info@pookapureandsimple.com to claim your basket!

Stay tuned for more contests and prizes......... Starting, today!

If you are in the New Jersey area email us and let us know that full names of all of the Pookalitas and you can win a free ticket to the VIP game lounge! Email us at info@pookapureandsimple.com, winner will be announced on Wednesday!
Check out the VIP Game Lounge event
at www.vipgamelounge.com

Say it aint so!

2009-04-01T14:35:00.003-04:00

Well what can I say? The economy has finally caught up with me. On friday I got laid off.....................YES LAID OFF. My boss called me into his office and asked me how I was doing, I said fine except for a little cold I have from the kids, I asked him how he was doing and he said "Not so great, I have to lay you off." HUH? What? I couldn't really hear anything he said after that. "I know your upset, I'm upset too (your upset?) Wait, wait, wait a minute................did you just lay me off? "Here is your package blah blah blah, check to see if everything is alright (Uhm................NO EVERYTHING IS NOT ALRIGHT, YOU JUST LAID ME OFF!)The economy is really bad, he says..(No kidding and now your just adding to it.) I dropped a couple of tears, asked a couple of questions(I have no idea what they were) and left his office. In a fog I called my assistant to come into my office (oh no, not MY office, the company's office) and explained things to her. She started to cry, next thing I know I'm walking out of the building, away from a job that I actually liked and was really good at(Marketing Director). The weekend was a blur,(I was trying not to think about it) because that's what they are when you have kids and Monday morning saw me back at my house trying to make sense of it all. How was I going to pay the rent, buy food, clothes, take care of my kids, myself for that matter? I prayed and the spirit came over me, this is not the end of the world, God has other plans for me and just like that job came when I needed it, the next opportunity will come so I must be ready to meet it. Prayfully it will be OUR COMPANY POOKA and I can write about how we moved into our new office space! ( I still want a window with a view!)

She's Finally Here!

2009-03-26T08:13:00.006-04:00

Our little Pooka girl is finally here! After a long labor Tricia delivered a healthy, beautiful baby girl on Monday. For all that entered the contest she was 7lbs even, so we'll let you know who the winner is! Taiye Amanda Akinwande, now for those of you who are challenged like myself It's pronounced Tie - A. I always think of the song Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the old Oak Tree (Okay that just made me seem really old!) Tie A!!

Let me walk you through a little bit of Tie-A's birth......We got the call at midnight from hubby and he said he was taking her in. I was prepared to go to the hospital and Tricia would push and the baby would be here. Now let me explain, Tricia is our "Pit Bull" she's tough as nails, so we knew this would be no problem for her. Well........while hubby was telling us he was on his way there was some slight screaming in the back ground! What is that?" THAT'S TRICIA!!!, he screamed. Wow, I was floored, could pregnancy turn the pit bull into the puppy? We all raced to the hospital and there was our little Tricia lets just say quite uncomfortable! We rallied around her and hubby, held her hand, counted through contractions, made her breath and did anything we could do to make it easier. We were like the 3 stooges, at one point feeling nauseous she announced she might have to throw up and with as many adults in the room the best we could find was a Styrofoam cup which I proudly held under her mouth as she filled it and my hand and the bed and the floor! What did you eat! I yelled. Oh I had a Ricky Riccardo from Cuban Pete's and tuna fish and some girl scout cookies! Ladies and gentlemen these are 3 items that are now permanently removed from my food rotation. She was finally able to get some sleep and after the pain medication kicked in she even paid some Pooka bills! What dedication! So after almost 24 hours of labor little Taiye came into the world. Once Tricia was in her room she looked at April and said, WHY DIDN"T YOU TELL ME!!!! We all cracked up and April just smiled. Can I say and not because I'm biased as an auntie, but this is one of the cutest little girls I've seen in a long time! Now I'll have more Auntie blogs to add to the millions William and Wesley have given me!

CONGRATULATIONS TRICIA AND WALE! WE LOVE YOU!

We're Back!

2009-03-16T22:27:00.009-04:00

Well family,
We did it! We made it to an event there and back with no drama, LOL! We had a great time and met lots of folks in North Carolina. Weather wasn't too great but we made the best of it. I even got to have the best sushi ever! Check out our pics from the event and stay tuned Tricia didn't have that baby yet!

Let’s try this again!

2009-03-12T07:27:00.004-04:00

Well everyone we are going to try this again! Another Pooka road trip! You might remember how our last Pooka tour road trip to Howard University ended? Yeah, check out the video, let’s just say it was a long journey home, LOL! Today is going to be a different story! We are on our way to Raleigh, NC to the 2009 Women’s Empowerment Expo. Very excited! We will have a booth(#12) but we will also be teaching a seminar on natural beauty products. If you are in Raleigh make sure to stop by. It’s at the RBC center, Saturday, March 14. Now make sure you stay tuned to the blog because I will be updating you and letting you know how the weekend is going. Let me start off by saying it will be me, Cathy, April and my parents riding down in a mini-van, right off the bat this has makings of a great blog, LOL! Donna’s flying in Friday night and Robert and the crew from Just1touch are driving the U-Haul for us! Also since momma Tricia is due in 8 DAYS! She can’t make the trip but she wanted to work the warehouse this Saturday!!!!! She’s stubborn so there was no telling her “NO”. She told me to make a sign that she can put on the warehouse door just in case she goes into labor and has to leave quickly (now that’s dedication!) So if you drop by the warehouse on Saturday make sure you bring hot water, towels and rubber gloves, you might be delivering our next Pookalita, LOL!

Stay Tuned………

Tricia's Baby Shower!

2009-03-04T08:28:00.009-05:00

Well we did it,(sort of!) We surpised the nosy lady! We had a great time at Tricia's shower and now it's only a matter of days! 14 to be exact! I don't know, am I ready to be an aunt again? Will I have every game and toy the baby needs? Will I......wait a minute! this isn't about me is it? Alright, alright! Well we just want to say congratulations to Tricia and Wale!

WE ARE HAVING A CONTEST IF YOU GUESS THE WEIGHT AND DATE OF THE BABY YOU WIN A POOKA BASKET! SEND US AN EMAIL WITH YOUR NAME, ADDRESS AND YOUR GUESS, IF YOU WIN A POOKA BASKET IS ON IT'S WAY TO YOU! SEND ALL EMAILS TO INFO@POOKAPUREANDSIMPLE.COM

The Countdown is On

2009-02-20T08:36:00.000-05:00

Okay, this is it! In approximately 5 weeks I will go through the most exhilarating, emotional, euphoric, energizing and exhausting period I will ever face in my life! I have done almost everything that I can to prepare for this day. I've gone to my prenatal yoga classes, attended Lamaze classes, been diligent with my doctor's appointments, taken my prenatal vitamins, gotten my exercise by walking up our 3 flights of stairs at Pooka every week and gotten at least 9 hours of sleep every day. I think I'm ready. I'm actually not scared but am looking forward to the day. I know I can do this and yes, I'm going to do it without the epidural because I feel as though I have prepared myself mentally to do it without drugs. This will be my NYC marathon and I am ready to reach the finish line!

Click to see the Free Stuff this Week

2009-02-19T08:24:00.003-05:00

We're giving away free Elbow Grease this Friday! Don't miss it, and if you're local drop by the warehouse and take a spin on our prize wheel!

Join us on Facebook!

2009-02-17T14:54:00.002-05:00

Hey Everybody!
Join our group on Facebook! Join the "Lovin My Pooka Products!" group and get updates, specials and...........FREE STUFF! Come on people let's stay connected, LOL!

Click on the title and it will bring you right to the group!

See ya there!

We're Coming To Atlanta!

2009-02-12T08:18:00.004-05:00

Hey Atlanta People!
We've gotten such a great response for all of our Atlanta family, that we're coming for a Pooka Party this weekend! Drop by the Embassy Suites - Atlanta Perimeter Center - 1030 Crown Pointe Parkway, this Saturday and say "Hi". We'd love to meet you!

First Crush

2009-02-05T14:29:00.003-05:00

Well it's happened.................I knew it would one day, it's supposed to, I understand, it happened to me....BUT I just wasn't ready for it to happen to my baby. Oh, he doesn't really KNOW its happened, But I do. William has had his first crush! It started out innocently enough, we talk at dinner about how his day went at school and he drops a few names of friends yah de yah de yah da. I listen, make comments BUT I guess I wasn't listening enough because one day we went to Tae Kwan Doe and he was very shocked and surprised to find one of his classmates there. Of course I had to meet her and her mother and father and sister. From then on (this was about 4 months ago) thats all he ever talks about _______ said that! ___________is so funny! ________ goes there too!________is my friend. At first I was like "Oh please get a grip!" I'm so tired of hearing about _________. Then I started thinking back to my first crush "Benjamin". The cutest little brown skin boy you ever saw! I was in first grade also and he appointed himself my best friend. I liked him and he liked me. We sat together at lunch, we played together on the playground, we walked home from school together (with my older brother Mark, friends Leah and Missy). It was the first time in my life outside of my father and brothers/cousins/uncles etc. that a male liked me for me. It was so Innocent! You did'nt have to do anything you didn't want to do, wear anything extra(that made you look hot or sexy) or act like you were really interested in everything they were interested in. You were just able to be you. Those were the best of days until Ben moved. I cried my eyes out for weeks! My family didn't understand what was wrong with me and I couldn't explain it. Eventually I got over Ben and there were more crushes to come, but there is nothing like the first. So now when Will tells me about his friend I smile a little secret smile of understanding, these will be some of his best days.

P.S. If anybody knows Ben tell him to give me a call!

Call me Michelle!

2009-01-29T08:59:00.003-05:00

Wow, what an exciting time! I’m sure everyone watched as Barack Obama was sworn in as our president! Amazing! I watched the festivities all day from 10:00am-11:00pm. After the 6th ball and another dragging rendition of “At Last” I had to call it quits. I thought that Michelle Obama was regal and I was so proud of her. It made me start thinking………….Let me first start by saying growing up I didn’t like my middle name. There was nothing wrong with it but I just didn’t think it fit. My parents were into the matching names so we all had DMF initials. Donna Marie, Douglas Morgan and………Dawn MICHELLE. Yuck, I always complained to her “Why couldn’t I be Dawn Marie”, I thought that flowed so much better, “Donna get’s everything great!” I was soooooo dramatic and very much Jan Brady, the middle child! Well I can honestly say now that my middle name ROCKS!! Finally at ___ years old (you didn’t think I was going to put that in!) I love my middle name. When people call me Dawn I quickly correct them and tell them I go by my middle name now, Michelle! I was also thinking that If I can do some investigating in Africa and find out if Barack has a brother and we meet and fall in love and get married, I could be the new……..MICHELLE OBAMA!!!
A girl can dream can’t she!!!!!

Am I ready for Motherhood?

2009-01-23T12:24:00.002-05:00

Saturday was Wesley's birthday (April's youngest son and my Godson) and we planned his birthday party at Chuck E Cheese. Plans were all set; after we closed up at the Pooka warehouse we would all meet at the birthday party at 4 PM. Well, let me tell you.Saturday was an eventful day from start to finish! First: Wesley ate some of Auntie Dawn's breakfast muffin which contained nuts. His tongue began to swell and his eyes glazed over. April rushed him home to get some Benedryl. Afterwards he felt better but just to be on the safe side April took him to the pediatrician. After the pediatrician gave him a clean bill of health, April came back to Pooka to pick up William for his Karate School party. While at the Karate School party there was a piñata whereas when one of the kids broke the piñata Wesley was the first one to the middle of the floor to grab some candy. All the other kids rush behind him, leaving Wesley at the bottom of the pile and April franticly trying to pull kids off of him. Thankfully another mother was able to reach Wesley first and pull him out from under the pile whereas he graciously showed April the candy he was able to capture. Finally, we get to Chuck E. Cheese for the birthday party where there appears to be hundreds of kids laughing, playing, and eating pizza. The music was enormously loud and with all the yelling and screaming all I could do is sit at the table with my head in my hands and wonder..Am I ready for Motherhood? The worry, the stress, the noise, the energy of children.did I really think this through before contemplating pregnancy? Don't get me wrong, I know children are a gift from God, but am I ready for this gift? Not that I have years on my side to contemplate the decision, but WOW! Whether I am ready or not, in about 2 months I will be faced the biggest challenge I have ever faced in my adult life. Thank you God..I think

Snow Day?!

2009-01-14T10:13:00.002-05:00

Over the weekend a big storm was predicted, 8 inches of snow! This was on Sat. and Pooka was open, at about noon the snow started coming down and Tricia had a great idea to have a Pooka snow day! Donna, was going to her co-op for some cleaning or better known as her summer home, so she said we could all come over there. I was in charge of getting the videos, Tricia went to Whole Foods to get some food, Donna was getting all the snacks and April should have been giving the boys benadryl so they could calm down (just kidding April!) We all met at Donna’s place at about 3 and set the kids up in her bedroom with their snacks and videos, while we/Tricia started cooking. Now let me say that Donna is trying to rent her summer home/apt, but it’s hard to do that when it’s still filled with your stuff! So Donna starts cleaning and proceeds to make us all take stuff home, she made piles for everyone! I got a porcelain horse, mismatched dishes, old candles and a bunch of other stuff that I didn’t want or need, but when I looked around my pile was a lot better than what the rest of the girls got so I shut up! Now I’m also looking out the window and the snow has stopped, maybe I could make it home and no one would notice! The kids came in and I asked Wesley, “what’s up?” and as he grabbed some popcorn off the table and went back to watch Horton Hears a Who, he said, “the ceiling” ahhh…. My auntie dawn magic is fading. Tricia made the dinner and when we sat down to what I thought would be burgers and fries, she lays out steamed mussels, shrimp, crab legs, honey chicken and salad!!! I will never miss a snow day at Tricias! Well we ate until we were sick and then went over to Donna’s snack table which was filled with every snack imaginable (including some sugar free for me) and started to watch our movies until we passed out. Now here’s how I sum up the snow day.
1. It barely snowed! I think the weather stations have a deal with farmers and grocers to call a snow day at least 3 times each winter to make us run to the store and pack our refrigerators like the world is coming to an end.

2. We collectively spent over $130 on our snow day in a recession!!!!

3. I now have a bag of wooden monkeys, porcelain horses and mismatched dishes for life!(these items will be on sale at Pooka!)

4. If you are going to have a snow day with men make sure they are older than 3 and 7

5. Never eat steamed mussels and kettle corn, they don’t mix!

Kids today have it sooooooo easy!!!!

2009-01-06T12:20:00.005-05:00

My sister-in-law sent me an e-mail about today kids and I want to share some of that and my own observations.....When I was a kid, my parents used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were when they were growing up! Yah know walking to school for 25 miles uphill both ways! Not having enough food to eat or clothes to wear! It made them tough and MY generation was soft compared to theirs. I remember promising myself that when I grew up, I was not going to lay that bunch of crap on my kids..................................well
ALL OF THAT IS OVER NOW!!!! Kids today have it sooooooo easy!!!!

First of all if we wanted to know something, we had to ask someone who was a lot older than us (even then we may not get the right answer! ) or go to the library and look it up ourselves!!!!!! THERE WAS NO INTERNET!!!!!!!

If we wanted to write to someone we had to write a letter (bad handwriting and all!!!) then find a stamp, find a mailbox or take it to the post office. THERE WAS NO E-MAIL

If we wanted to steal songs, we had to have a radio with a tape player so we could record them,(but of course the dj would be talking all over the record or your little brother would come into the room screaming, thanks Scott!) or go to the record store and steal the record yourself. THERE WERE NO MP3'S OR NAPSTERS!!!!!!

You couldn't get phone calls because somebody important might be trying to call your family and your tying up the line!
THERE WAS NO CALL WAITING!!!!

Plus you didn't know who was calling you, it could be your teacher, calling your parents to tell them how bad you did on that test in school today! THERE WAS NO CALLER ID!!!!!!

You were the remote control, if your parents or older siblings wanted the channel changed on the T.V. and then you had to stand there and keep changing untill somebody picked something!!! THERE WAS NO REMOTE CONTROL!!!!!!

Cartoons -ONLY ON SATURDAYS AFTER DOING ALL OF YOUR HOUSE WORK

This list can go on and on send me things that you want to add!!!

Dawn's Resolutions

2009-01-01T12:43:00.002-05:00

Well it’s the end of another year and I for one am excited about 2009!
It’s funny how we are all filled with such a sense of hope that a new year brings. Why is it that we only feel we can start over, clean up our finances, find love, correct wrongs, basically change our entire life at the end of the year, what happens during the year!
Every year I make huge resolutions and by March I can’t remember what they were and I don’t even think about them! I think that this year we should concentrate on making the entire year count. Don’t wait until New Years Eve to decide what needs to be done to enrich your life. Make resolutions every day and try to stick to them. (Obviously I’m in a preachy mood, LOL!) This year I really want to make some changes and I’m going to start by working on these things every day so that when 2009 is over I’ll be sad to see it go because such wonderful things were accomplished! So let’s work on it together people, every day!