FITNESS | LIFESTYLE | FASHION

  Introducing learning early is so vital in a child’s development. However, learning and respecting every child’s learning style is also very important. My daughter LOVES TO LEARN. Since she was a baby she was interested in every little thing. The ceiling fan and how it works, she loved watching educational nursery rhymes on YouTube, and absolutely gave us her undivided attention when we were teaching her something. My son Jax on the other hand, will rather slam everything in his hand to see what kind of sound it will make, and likes to see what every flashcard tastes like, and if it’s different then the one before. His learning style is different. I have to incorporate music and make it a little more animated to keep him engaged in learning. We are teaching him his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. He already signs for more when he wants more food, so the next step is to identify different parts of his body, starting with his face.  I have to admit, baby #2 doesn’t get all the ear...

  Taking care of black hair can be difficult as times. It takes work, no doubt about it. We can’t just wake up with tangle free hair and go. There’s a lot of moisturizing and detangling involved. For breaks, we straighten our hair. Here are some tips to grow long hair for my black beauties. Start off fresh. If you’ve neglected your hair and have not trimmed it in forever, start off with a trim and deep condition. I first want to get rid of the myth that trimming will make your hair grow faster mysteriously. Absolutely, not! Your hair grows from the scalp and has no relation to the ends of your hair. Your scalp is fresh growth while your ends are the oldest part of your hair. To maintain length and not run into breakage, trims are needed, but it will not make your hair grow faster. I recommend a good trim every 3-6 months depending on the health of your hair. Let’s move to deep conditioning. This should be done weekly. Start of with a deep moisturizer. Check out youtube to find tips...

This photo is of my actual bedroom, and yes its possible to keep a clean white comforter....while being a mom! So here’s the trick!! Have two comforters. I use the white one when my bed is made, and my teal one to sleep with. This will allow you to have bright white pillows and a beautiful crisp comforter because they are NOT BEING USED. Easy right? This is a trick that many stagers would use when selling a house that is actually being lived in. You will always have a fresh, clean look. Option two is to buy two of the same comforter and switch them out often. This will prevent wear and tear, but can get expensive if you have expensive taste. I learned this trick from my mom, who did this with every bedroom set. However, she would use two different prints to change things up a bit when she would get tired of a look.  I hope this helps! I do take the entire comforter and pillows off the bed, but you can also fold it at the foot of the bed, and drape your other comforter over you when...

  With my husband owning a marketing and branding company, I know the power of the internet and how it can help a business. Social media can be used as a tool to promote your brand. Social media can also be a tool to USE YOU to promote ‘THEIR BRAND.’  I see a lot of pimping happening on the internet. Companies are no longer spending money on tv commercials. They are pouring their money into social media advertising and using people to promote THEIR products. This is causing a surge of so called ‘influencers.’ People who will do anything to gain a ‘following.’ You guys I almost fell out of my chair yesterday when I saw an ad in my stories on an app on how to purchase followers.    Followers to people means companies reaching out to them to make money $$ to sell THEIR    products. How credible are you really if you are spamming those numbers to make YOU money? What confuses me is the emphasis on ‘followers’ and credibility when there is nothing that person ca...

  You know those times as a little girl when you think of those moments of one day being a mom. I knew I wanted to have kids in my 30’s and I knew I wanted a boy and girl. Sometimes God may have different plans for your life,  but I’m thankful he heard and granted my desires. I am very close to my little brother, and seeing my kids play and interact, it brings back memories. Memories of how close we were growing up. My brother and I are 4 years apart. My kids are two and a half years apart. By the grace of God, I’m anxious and looking forward to seeing how close they will become as they grow into their teens and early adults. Philippians 4:6. Read that scripture when you get a chance and tell me your thoughts on it. Do you sometimes forget to share your desires to God? Signed, A very grateful DSTFITMOM

Avoid feeling overwhelmed Living in a microwave society, we have adopted a bad habit of impatience. We want things to happen now. We don’t take the time to nurture our tasks. We drown it in water, and hope for it to survive. When we take on these tasks and try to expedite, it gives birth to feeling overwhelmed. When we feel overwhelmed, we give up. Here are some tips on preventing this unfortunate disease. Breathe and pray! Talk to God. Ask him to show you the best possible way to start a new task. Ask for patience and guidance throughout the WHOLE process. Write down your plan! Do you know that when you write down your plan, it’s like seeing it manifest before your eyes? It’s the faith that gives us the power to move forward. Organize your steps, place them in order, and make sure you include a plan B. I drive my husband crazy but I always make sure we plan for a ‘what if’ situation. That prevents any disappointment and irritation which might throw you off your game, and cause you to ...

 Sweet Tooth I’ve always had a sweet tooth. It’s been my weakness even through my fitness lifestyle. My biggest downfall is the love for chocolate. I can usually be disciplined at home, but as soon as I go to work, the temptations of cookies, donuts, and candy take control.  My steps to help this that I committed to recently 1. Have gum with me! When I see sweets at work, I’m going to pop that aspartame free gum in my mouth. 2. What I noticed that worked last week, was when I was craving chocolate ice cream, I sipped on some Naked Green Juice my husband bought. This thing is loaded with sugar and is rich and creamy, but I would rather sip on some greens and fruit rather than ice cream. 3. Mute those delicious IG accounts that you follow! This has helped TREMENDOUSLY. I used to order cookies from a local bakery and have them delivered every week. By muting their stories and posts, I haven’t ordered a single box in 3 weeks. 🙌🏾 That’s HUGE!! Let me hear some of your tips that h...

  “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed." ...  Mark 1:35 There are countless scriptures depicting Jesus being in solitude while speaking with God. There is something about solitude and silence that will put you in a place of peace. Letting away with all distractions, you are able to give your all to God. I challenge anyone reading this to find that one special place in your home, and spend at-least 20 minutes a day speaking to God alone with no distractions. Even if you have to lock your self in the bathroom and sit on the toilet. And when you take time to speak to God, don’t dump all your problems on him. Yes, I admit there may be times you feel the need. But just thanking him for everything he has done and will do in the future.  👏🏾👏🏾