I also have to keep you updated on the workout plan. I have 12 lbs to go - Yay! The last few ones are the hardest, but I’m as determined as ever. After all, I started from 60 lbs. By the way, I realized that the way I was updating you all was a little daunting, so I have decided that if any of you have questions about diet or exercise tips, you can simply email me/leave a comment. I’m happy to help/share.

By the way, I will put up pictures of the end result. Lol!

I have a pretty interesting post coming up tomorrow, so stay tuned…

I have been trying to keep a journal of my meals, but I have a pretty serious case of baby brain that I don’t even remember the last thing I said - not to mention what I had to eat an hour ago, so if I don’t write it down immediately, that’s valid information gone down the drain. Lol.

Also, It seems like I’m only reporting what I eat on days that I workout, whereas I’m supposed to fill you in on my daily diet. Hmm…

So, please, help me. We need to figure something else out.

As mentioned in the previous workout post, each day, I up the distance/speed I run. On day six, I ran for 53 mins and burned 850 calories. It’s not my usual, but hey…baby steps.

I have any of the below for breakfast, lunch and dinner..

Breakfast: tea/coffee, apple or cottage cheese (again, I’m not the breakfast type - some say it’s bad, though.)

Lunch: Oatmeal, Greg’s baked chicken, Organic lentil soup from Trader J., quinoa and veggies, or quinoa and baked chicken

Mid-day snack: 80 calorie dannon yoghurt, cottage cheese, low calorie rice cake.

Dinner: Tofu salad, baked chicken & quinoa, salmon & veggies, lentil soup, or baked chicken & veggies.

We were watching a documentary on Turkey, the country. Our little man turned to us (his parents). “Why is it called turkey?” Before we could respond…he says, “Is it because there are a lot of turkeys there?” *crickets* Seriously, what do you say to that? Both my husband and I were dying on the inside, but just sat straight faced.

My husband managed, “Well, that’s just what it’s named. It’s just the way it is.”

Hahahahahaha…gotta love the kids and their brains! Have a fantastic weekend, lovers!

My exercise regimen started on Sunday, the 24th of May. Though, I have been watching my diet and completely cut out certain things as stated here, I cheated a couple of times. Lol. I had rice. It’s OK. As long as I don’t over do/eat.

So here goes it;

Day 1

I power walked/ran on the treadmill for 30 mins. Burned 450 calories. Since I haven’t exercised in months (duration of the pregnancy), I have to ease myself in. Same goes for starters - if this is your first time working out, or if you have not done so in ages. It felt good to be back on the treadmill again. What I don’t like about the first time, however, is the fact that my body itches. I dread it..it’s so distracting. That’s why I couldn’t do much, but it’s quite alright. It means I’m listening to my body, and so should you.

Meal: I had a huge cup of coffee for breakfast. I’m not a breakfast type of gal. Lunch, my mama’s oatmeal. Dinner, Greg’s salad w/low-fat Newman’s Honey Dijon dressing (Greg’s salad is a huge plate of lettuce, chicken/salmon, corn, Roma tomatoes, herbed fresh feta, and a bit of salt and pepper).

Day 2

I ran for 35 mins. Burned 550 calories. Again, easing my way into my 60 mins run - Which usually burns 1200 calories for me. It depends on how fast you run. I like to run fast. I love to sweat. Besides, running slow aka jogging makes me tired. I did weights and floor exercises for 20 mins.

Meal: Breakfast, a cup of coffee. Lunch, baked salmon and vegetables. Mid-day snack, 1 low cal rice cake. Dinner, 1 piece of baked chicken and a side of G’s salad.

Day 3

I ran and power walked for 43 mins. Burned 650 calories. For 35 mins, I did weights and floor exercises.

Meal: Breakfast, Lipton tea and an apple. Lunch, 1 piece of baked chicken with vegetables. Mid-day snack, 1 low cal rice cake. Dinner, Oatmeal.

I have lost 3 lbs since I started on Sunday. 21lbs to go.

I did a wee bit of research to find out how common this was, and while it’s not severely common (a handful of cases), it does happen. I read of another story in China where the husband suspected after one of the twins came out really big, weak and sickly. In addition both kids had different blood types. Eventually, the wife confessed to having an affair with her ex-boyfriend. Boy!

So is the story of 20 year old, Mia of Dallas, Texas. She claimed that she was shocked to find out that her twin sons had different dads. Justin and Jordan Washington were born seven minutes apart 11 months ago and doctors have since confirmed that they were fathered by different men. She had their DNA tested after noticing that the boys looked so different from each other. Mia did admit to cheating on her partner, James Harrison with another man.

According to medical experts, chances of twins having different dads are a million to one. However, the test showed that there was only a 0.001 per cent chance that Justin and Jordan have the same father. Apparently, since women release multiple eggs during ovulation, if one has more than one sexual partners in that period, two eggs can be fertilized by separate sperms.

The boys sort of look alike - I don’t think I’ll be able to tell otherwise until they are much older, or if they are standing side by side.

Luckily for Mia, her partner, James, decided to stick around and raise both boys as his. The identity of the other dad has not been disclosed. And check this, Mia is expecting another child again. This time she says “I can guarantee there’ll be no questions raised this time around.” OK, Mia.

Do you think the kids have a right to know? Or at least the unidentified father? I think so. Mia indicated that she won’t reveal the situation to the kids until they are old enough to make decisions on their own. I don’t think I agree with this, but curious to find out what others think.

photo credit: The Sun

I’m quite sure I’m not the first with three beautiful kids, which includes a newborn and staying up all night, a business, 2 blogs, 3 cats, 2 dogs, and 1 snake. All the while, I have all these different “social media” accounts to keep up with, phone calls to make and return, emails to read and respond to, and I seriously feel like I’m failing at it. (OK, this is the part where everyone says, “aww” and you feel sorry for me).

What makes it more insane is that somehow, I have to fit a 2-hour workout routine beginning next week. This was my life(style) before the new baby and I certainly love to keep it up. My workout regimen consists of 15 mins stretch, 30 mins weights, 60 mins run and another 15 mins stretch.

I promised you all that I was going to keep you updated about my weight loss, and we were going to go on this journey together - per your request.

So, I’m going to chat with you with all honesty. I gained 56 lbs with my third child. Yes, I didn’t think it was possible. Lol. I wondered why I kept running out of breath. Go figure! It’s been 3 weeks now, and I have lost 36 lbs. I have completely changed my diet. Nothing drastic because I’m nursing, but my next post will include my daily diet. It is safe to say that I don’t eat carbs: Rice, bread, pasta, bananas, sugar, or juice, etc. I’m also doing my best to avoid red meat.

I have 24 lbs to go, and I’m giving myself 3 more weeks. It will be a little bit below my pre pregnancy weight, but it’s OK. Then, of course, I will maintain it by continuing my workout regimen and eating right.

Will do my best to blog as much as I can - along with my daily posts on Style Pantry so keep the questions/email coming. Don’t be threatened by my schedule. I’m not. Hehhehe..

I’m sure this is sort of normal for every new mom parent - at least I hope so. To assure us that we are not insane. I’m sure this is a temporary feeling, and it will come to pass. The good Lord will help us.

She is asleep here, and I still made her take a pic with her big bro and sis.

How many of us will do this? Raise your hand….

Seriously, I remember going through it with Sidney and Zurhi temporarily, but the pain was not this serious, and I didn’t bleed. Yup! So, I have been swallowing Ibuprofen every three hours to alleviate the pain. I have also been using Lansinoh by Lanolin; an ointment for breastfeeding mothers to prevent cracked nipples and scabbing. It looks like it’s helping.

More importantly, I have continued to nurse with that sore, cracked, bleeding nipple/breast. According to my mom, that’s the best way to heal. My mom, who is a self proclaimed mid-wife, said the baby’s mouth is the best medicine (by the way, I confirmed this on other websites too). Isn’t it great how the body works?

I also tried having her latch on differently, which made a huge difference!

I love the act of nursing and everything that it entails. The bonding experience, when your baby stares in your eyes…like “thank you mommy for this delicious milk.” Hehehe..priceless!

Feel free to add on any additional tips and suggestions by leaving a comment. Thanks.

photo credit: google images

A big thank you to Dr. Jay Goldberg who delivered Ameenah (and Zurhi, too). Thank you to the team at Cedars Sinai Medical Center. What a fantastic hospital and workers.

Now that I got all of my shoutouts out of the way, I’d like to share my exit with you all. It’s nothing sophisticated - lol.

Here is the conversation that took place…

Nurse: “So, congratulations again and see you next time, right?”

Greg & I: Oh, for sure! Absolutely! We’ll be back with #4…hehehe.”

Nurse: “Alright, mom your wheelchair is right outside the door.”

Me: “Wheelchair? I’m rolling outta here in a wheelchair…oh noooooo. I’m OK! Trust me, I’m OK to walk.”

Nurse: “No ma’am. Sorry, it’s the hospital protocol. Don’t your remember from the last time?”

Me: “No!”

Greg: “Don’t worry, honey, the paparazzis are not outside yet.”

Me: “They are not???” Dumbfounded.

Greg: “No hon, we didn’t call them yet.”

Me: “Shoot! Well, you never know. To be safe, I’ll put on my big glasses, hold on to my fancy bag and still go ahead and exit in style.”

Nurse: “Uhm…maam, No. You need to carry the baby on your lap.”

Me: “I do? Shoot! So, who carries my bag?”

Aunt Em: “I will take it.”

All of this drama to find out that we were parked in a gated, roofed, secured, valet parking lot, and didn’t run into a soul. Not even patients or visitors. Lol. No one noticed us. We exited quietly, and with no hassle. If you haven’t noticed, I’m a drama queen!

Stay fab, lovelies.

So, as stated in a previous post, I’m not ignoring any of your thoughtful direct msgs/concerns/comments on the blog. You know I always respond. I really appreciate you - I feel like we are all family at this point. We are a community that continues to grow. I will update you all here as much as I can.

As always, keep checking back. Everyday! And you never know, I may surprise you with something…like maybe some pictures of our new addition this week. *smiles*

PS- Don’t forget to keep checking us out over at our lifestyle blog, Style Pantry -  it’s not just me working over there. It will be updated regularly with fun stuff. Lots of pictures too. Enjoy and get involved.

Much love to you all.

The last thing I want to do is judge anyone for making certain decisions due to circumstances they find themselves in.

That being said, here are my thoughts. Having a baby with your partner is NOT a reason to get married. I feel for the poor innocent baby. Such pressure on him/her. Whatever happened to love, eh? Love and mutual respect for one another are substantial reasons to get married. There may be a couple of factors in there that may make it OK. For instance, you’ve been a couple for quite sometime or you are currently engaged. Love should be the foundation of producing babies, no? Otherwise, the child is going to end up suffering for this.

If you love each other first, and marriage was discussed prior to, sure, you might as well go ahead and seal the deal. But I don’t think you should make it about the baby/pregnancy. That’s a lot of pressure put on everyone involved. Did I already say that? Oh, thought I should reiterate. Bringing a baby into this world is a joyous moment, at the same token, it does places a strain on some relationships. Financially and emotionally, so if you don’t have a solid relationship to withhold the strains, it could cause havoc, and possibly show you that you married for the wrong reasons.

I actually think this should be the other way around. Marriage should be a reason to get pregnant. Start a family.

Now, I agree that not everyone has to adhere to the traditional views of society. Being legally married on paper does not guarantee the success of any relationship. You can choose to do things your way, have kids and not get married at all. As a matter of fact, I have seen those kind of relationships last longer that traditional ones.

It’s OK to stay together if you found out that you’re pregnant, have the baby, wait to see how things go (while you two are raising the child together), and decide if the love is still there and enough to hold a marriage. Ask yourself this. Would you have gotten married if you weren’t pregnant? Did you see yourself spending the rest of your life with this person?

You know one thing I learned early on in relationships? It may sound corny, but I have always done this and it usually works for me, so it doesn’t hurt to give it a shot. On a piece of paper, write down 10 things you DON’T like about this person: 10 nuances/flaws/dislikes/habits. When you’re done, go through the list with the notion that this person you are about to marry will never change these things about themselves (afterall, you can’t change a person, right?) put a check mark next to things you can deal with, and x mark next to the ones you can’t see yourself dealing with. If the check mark out numbers the x, there’s your decision, and vice versa.

This is my own little 2 cents. Hope it helps.

I was trying to have a convo with Greg this morning. I had just one thing to say, and my poor hubby had to stand there for half an hour just for me to complete my sentence. Why? I was catching my breath after each word.

Seriously, times like this, I wish everything was close by in the house. I wish all the rooms in the house were close together. You know, like a step away. Lol. Now I know what penguins go through, I see why it takes them eons to get from point A to B, as I feel like a tuxedo’d wobbler myself right now.

Doc Hollywood (errr, 90212), has placed me on “strict” bed rest. For me, that’s like being in solitary confinement. I’m usually on the “go.” From morning till crash time. Even when I’m asleep, my brain is still running on overdrive. So, you can imagine how hard this is for me. But like the title of the post reads. It’s any day now. It’s all a waiting game at this point and she can decide to come right after I finish writing this post.

If I’m MIA, you know why, right? I certainly don’t want to leave you all hanging - especially since I have been receiving lovely msgs from some of you asking after me, to see if baby #3 is finally here, etc. (Thank you for the well wishes and thoughts, my friends. They’re greatly appreciated.)

Posting may slow down a bit. I try to post every other day. Actually, I post everyday because I run two blogs. This and Style Pantry. So, when I’m not writing on here, I’m writing on SP - in addition to managing the WeWe Store. Bear with me, OK? Just for a few weeks. I will keep updating and writing as often as I can until things get back to normal.

By the way, let me take this opportunity to reiterate to the moms (you don’t have to be a mom to join) that we are going to lose the baby weight together. I will be sharing my daily diet/meal and exercise regimen, so stay tuned.

But first, I’m praying for a safe and healthy delivery and baby. Keep me in your prayers. I have been truly blessed. Thanks to you all.

Her dad bought her a sign book when she was much younger, and after she turned a year, big brother was so excited and eager to teach her to converse with us in sign language.

This little girl has it down packed. It’s so cute, but I get confused…lol.

She says please, thank you, I love you, food/eat, more, milk, and the list goes on. What confuses me, however, is the food/eat/more. She gets up early in the morning and does a sign for “more” and I’m like “More? Of what? Sleep? You want to go back to sleep?” Please be my guest.

But she is actually asking for food.

When she is hungry, she signs for “more” before she signs for “food” or “eat” which I think is cute…depending on the circumstance Like I mentioned above, waking up from sleep and signing “more” only tells me that you want more sleep (I know better now, of course - at least, so I thought).

This morning, I was massaging the back of her knees. She signed for more, so I went to get her food. She refused to eat. Now, I’m really confused. She kept signing, and I kept handing her food. We were back and forth for like 5mins. Then it occurred to me that she was probably enjoying the massage. Duhhhhh!

I put her back in bed and continued massaging. Boy, you should have seen the huge smile on her face and the sense of satisfaction. She was almost falling asleep.

And then as soon as I was done, of course, she got up and signed for “food.” I thought that was “more”?? Are you all confused now? Join the club….lol.

I was fuming, smoke oozing out of my ears. I turned red, and since I have really dark skin it’s pretty amazing that you could see the red in my face. I was not ready for what I saw, so I fumbled. Here is the conversation between Z and I. Keep in mind, she is 19 months old.

Me: “Holly Smokes, Z what are you doing?” Her dress is wet, her hands are drenched in toilet water, and she has toilet water all over her face.

Z: In her soft baby voice…speaking in Spanglish. “But I wan agua.”

And here I am trying to decide if I should respond in English, Spanish or Yoruba. So I mixed them all up.

Me: “No no no no! No toilet agua for you..drink! Ki lo de.” (Ki lo de = Why?)

Z: She gave me the confused look. Like WTF was that? Because right now, you are bad at all three languages.

G: Laughing uncontrollably in the background, shaking his head and wondering what happened to my brain and speech.

Man! I picked her up, washed her and santized her hands. I can’t santize her mouth now…can I?

Have a fab friday and enjoy your weekend!

In the news yesterday, there was yet another report of a mother in Houston abandoning her new born baby girl in a clothes dryer. And check this, the umbilical cord was still attached!!!!!

How insane, ruthless, heartless and mean?  Didn’t these women carry there babies for 9months and developed some sort of bond? I’m seriously trying to understand their chain of thought, but I’m not getting it.

I’m sure there are some underlying factors, but it still doesn’t add up. Sorry!

Can you imagine telling these babies when they get older? That they were found in a clothes dryer and their mothers placed them there? That will trouble them for the rest of their lives.

Let’s get it together people, can we?

Alas, try to have a good weekend, folks!

Was she referring to Skid Row or anywhere the homeless gathered as “the district of public failure”? Because some of these people didn’t choose to be homeless. Condition subjected them there - conditions such as: unemployment, high rent and the extreme cost of living, runaway teens, drug addicts, alcoholism, to mention a few; therefore, we can’t knock them collectively.

I remember when I first moved to California. I thought, how ironic that California housed the richest people in the entertainment industry, and also seem to have the highest population of homeless. I was shocked to see that this is a huge problem in every major city in California: Hollywood, San Francisco, Venice, Ventura, Santa Monica, and San Diego to name some of the cities. They are everywhere. I have never seen anything like that before. Believe it or not, California is the homeless capital of America.

Coming from the East Coast, you only see them in certain cities/places. You’d seriously have to drive a distance to come across them. Not saying that the percentage is not high on the East Coast, but wondering if the government provides enough shelters to accommodate them, so they don’t have to be on the street. And if that’s the case, why California, one of the richest states, is not on board with this? Did it get out of hand? The demand for shelters and programs to assist them far exceeded the amount of homeless in each city?

Seriously, what are they doing to help? Where are the celebrities to the rescue? I feel like they, the celebrities, that is, are quick to jumping into assisting televised and publicized non-profits. So the masses can give them a pat on the back and they can be recognized for doing “charity” work or helping other Countries, yet, right under their nose, is a person like them that tried to “make it” in the industry, but luck was not on his/her side, or the stress of keeping up with the constant increase in mortgage or rent, the recession, whatever it is..little attention or effort is paid.

In my opinion, I think a lot of churches and non-celebrity non-profit groups, regular working citizens, do more work in helping and assisting the homeless groups.

If anything, most of these rich cities, like Beverly Hills and the like, put a lot of money into fighting against the homeless (who can’t fight back), making sure that laws are enacted to keep them away. Can we put these monies into good use? You know, like building more shelters? Programs that will reform and not add to the problem that already exists?

For me, what is making this more aghast, is the number of babies and kids you see on the streets. Poor innocent babies who didn’t ask to be brought into this, but are in it due to the factors I mentioned above. And even if their parents are fighting hard to get them out of that situation, the truth of the matter is that it is extremely difficult to recover from being homeless (if they want to).

How do you begin to recover? How do you get a job if you don’t have the proper attire for an interview, you don’t have the money to look presentable, money for transportation, access to a phone or computer, and all those little things that we don’t pay attention to. (Sidenote: read up on what Google has done with their GrandCentral service in San Francisco about this.)

Even if you do find a job, and you are on the track of getting a roof on your head, now you have to come up with the first month’s rent, the last month’s rent and security deposit. Let’s not forget about credit checks. Most give up during the process and just go back to living in the streets, shelters or their cars.

Besides, shelters can only do so much. Shelters, to my understanding, only allow for temporarily living. You can’t make it your permanent home. That being said, what sort of programs do they have at shelters to help get these people back on their feet?

The current recession has made it far worse. More and more people loosing their jobs, and ending up in the streets. My husband recently saw a lady standing on the side of the road just outside Beverly Hills with a sign reading: “Ex-Studio Exec, now homeless. Please help.”

Crime rate is way high and everyone is fighting and doing whatever to survive. Yet, the rich are getting richer. You can’t ignore reading the tabloids and seeing one celebrity or the other buying a new $10million mansion, a convertible Bentley, or simply spending money lavishly. Do we all see anything wrong with this picture? I’m not here to tell anyone how to spend their money, however, I am going to end with this:

Put yourself in their shoes. Imagine that you were homeless and sleeping in the streets when it’s negative 5degress outside, or it’s pouring rain, or it’s 110 degrees hot. You have nothing to eat, nothing to drink. You have no way of survival. You are dying slowly. You have health problems. You live in fear of someone attacking you or raping you. Even further, you are living with your child(ren) in the street. You are watching your child die of hunger, dying of thirst, waste away slowly. Or God forbid, someone rapes or attacks your child. Would you want someone to come to your aid? If your answer is yes, then I suppose you have something to think about.

We are so quick to give our compassion for areas of the world ravaged by extreme poverty and hunger, or by catastrophic devastation (read: Niger, Kenya, or Thailand in the wake of the Tsunami). But what do we do for our countrymen? Wherever you live or call home, shouldn’t the help start from there? Our brothers and sisters living in desperation, unclear of how they are going to survive the day and night. They require our attention. They need our love and compassion as well.

Stay blessed!

I know, I know, it’s not the same, but we are not in their world, so we can’t possibly tell how easy or hard this is for them.

I’m not sure how many weeks or months a hummingbird holds the eggs before they’re laid, and then how long the eggs take to hatch, but it seemed like we were “pregnant” at the same time and “delivered” at the same time. She became our little pet, and we were so fascinated by her. She was there every time we stepped out or came back in.

Unfortunately, she left right after her babies hatched and we didn’t see her again. We left the nest there - so that one day she might return - and she is back. Back to have another baby. How spiritual is that? We are going to have our babies at the same time again. The seasons are different, the time is different, but yet she is here.

This has a spiritual significance for us. Call us mushy or softies, but it feels like we are being protected by this beautiful creature, who we initially felt like we have to look out for. She is like part of the family now. And we already know that we’ll miss her when she is gone.

But I hope she knows that if/when she does return, she is on her own with the pregnancy. I’m done. Lol!

Happy Friday, lovely ones. Make it a fab weekend!

I am going to be as real as it gets on this post. And it’s either you take it, or leave it. If you can’t bear to handle the truth, don’t care to read, then please, click and surf away. As always, if my post can help just one person (as I know it does from my inbox messages), then my work is worthwhile.

I am in no way, in an abusive relationship. I am blessed with a beautiful man and lovely kids, however, I am going to include myself in this post. I will talk generally as a woman addressing all women in this situation, as I am in no way better, bigger, smarter, stronger or brighter than anyone of you. And most importantly, I am fighting for a cause.

That being said, I am amazed at how often women stay in an abusive relationship, why we don’t walk away the first time, or why we make excuses…convincing ourselves that being in a violent relationship is OK and will get better with time.

How does an argument between two people, that claim to love or to be in love with one another, quickly wind up in violence? How do you look at your girlfriend, wife, mother of your child(ren) and punch her in the face, beat her mercilessly, call her names, and then want/try to be intimate with her again and again? How is that possible? What sort of satisfaction can you possibly get from physically, verbally, mentally or emotionally abusing your loved one, this person you supposedly cherish?

This is yet another way for men to establish control over their spouse. By trying to create power through fear and intimidation.

Think about how many violent relationships result in murder. Either the man beats his wife/partner until she takes her last breath or the victim snaps one day and kills the man. Either way, relationships of this sort never end well. Why can’t we walk away or seek help? Why do we keep going back (if we leave) to this kind of relationship?

Is there a deeper biological behavior at the root? Is it low self-esteem? Is it fear? Is it because the man tells us that no-one else wants us and we’ll never find love outside him? Is it fear of being a single mom? Is it what your culture promotes? Is it growing up in an abusive household, as women tend to date/marry their father’s kind!?

What? We can surely do better!

In my opinion, this is a serious case of co-dependent behavior.

This is very similar to being addicted to drugs in a way. You know it’s bad for you, yet it gives you this temporary high. This roller-coaster feeling. There are good times, and there are bad times. We know deep down inside that we should never succumb to a man hitting or hurting us. We break up, move out, he comes back begging (knowing fully well that he has you wrapped around his pinky) and we go back to him. Thinking, this time, he’ll change. The relationship will be better. But it gets worse because the ugly truth is domestic abuse escalates over time.

We won’t actually change until the pain of remaining the same is greater than the pain of change. It is the fear of the unknown and the pain of change that are our greatest enemies and most formidable obstacles.

It is so hard for women to reach out. It is such a huge step. Some women view it as shameful. We end up with a black eye, bruises, cuts, and broken bones yet again. Scars all over our bodies. We make one excuse after another like “I fell off the stairs”, “I just want to make my marriage work”, “The kids need their father”, “I got bit by the dog”, etc.

Women, c’mon!

We are so much stronger than we give ourselves credit for, and in most cases, it’s about tapping into that inner strength of ours and finding the courage to move on. But until we do, the cycle will continue to repeat itself. It will never change.

This brings me to the case of Chris Brown and Rihanna. Reading one blog to another, some men made comments like “she was too envious and possessive,” etc. And? She deserved to be beaten because of that? Now, they are back together, and there are talks about them making music together, and possibly getting married. How disturbing is this? What kind of message is this sending to the younger generation of men and women that look up to these two stars? Why couldn’t she seek help, counseling and speak up on the incident, letting her fans know that violence is never to be reckoned with?

Oprah Winfrey put out a statement via video stating that she’d be dedicating an entire show next week to “domestic violence,” and focusing more on the younger generation. That is how serious this has become. She also said the following: “He will hit you again!! Give it some time, get yourself some counseling, If a man hits you once, he will hit you again.”

Donald Trump even had this to say “She better get the hell out.  If she goes back, she’s a loser, and she doesn’t deserve to have any future success.”

Perhaps what’s needed more than anything else, is the supportive community of other women who’ve gone through this before. Find solace in knowing that there are tons of women who’ve faced the same demons and are now living happy, wholly useful lives free of violence and repetitious assault. Whether you are in a relationship, or have broken free of the cycle, there are people out there that need you. As recovering alcoholics need to keep passing their message of sobriety to one another to stay sober, we can help each other the same by sharing our stories and strength with each other.

My lovely ladies, I can’t scream this enough. Talk to someone, seek help. You owe this to yourself. You are beautiful, strong, and empowered. Free yourself from abuse, and remember this, “freedom breeds more freedom.”

Stay blessed!

“In the new issue of Us Weekly (on newsstands Wednesday), five people close to the situation - including two relatives of the other woman - confirm that Jon & Kate Plus 8 dad Jon Gosselin, 32, has been having an affair with third grade school teacher Deanna Hummel.

The most explosive blow-by-blow details are revealed by Deanna’s older brother - and roommate - Jason, who tells Us Weekly that he is speaking out now to set the record straight and to protect his naive sister.”

“At the Hummel house, Jason says Deanna and Jon would “pretty much stay locked away like two teenagers. It was weird. He’s a grown man. He also adds, “A lot of the time, it was pretty, um, gross listening to her, you know, um — how do I say this? The walls are thin. Let’s just say that. I mean, no one wants to hear his sister having sex, let alone with a married dude who’s, like, almost twice her age and who has eight kids and a maybe-crazy wife. Ick. Nast.”

ORIGINAL POST:

What’s this I’m hearing that the calm, cool, chilled, quiet Jon Gosselin is cheating on his wife with some college girls? Specifically, some ladies on a volley ball team in a local college in PA. According to media, he has been going out night, after night, hanging at sport bars and getting drunk. In some cases, playing beer pong with these ladies. Hmm…

I remember when the show first aired. My family & I were glued to the TV. In fact, we had the show Tivo’d because we didn’t want to miss an episode. This was going to be our “guilty pleasure,” a “new obsession.” We were looking forward to enjoying the show because they seemed like a young couple, and we thought, “Holy cow! Eight kids under the age of five? That’s insane!” I definitely wanted to see the craziness and chaos unravel.

That excitement quickly fizzled for me. A few shows into the first season, and Kate started to get on my last nerves. It was a bitter-sweet feeling because I really enjoyed watching the kids. They were a crack up. I adored the kids. They were so fun to watch and just too cute. Jon? He was super cool and laid back too.

However, Kate was just a constant disrespect to her husband. In my opinion.

She’d cut him off when it was his time to talk. Constantly yell at him, and was just plain rude and nasty to him. She publicly humiliated this man. To me, Kate completely came off as this control freak that had to have the last word, and was always right. Darn, was that harsh? Sorry, Kate. I’m sure the whole show is scripted *wink* *wink.* In any case, that rubbed me the wrong way, and I lost interest.

So, when this infidelity news surfaced, I was shocked! Quiet, calm, naive, passive Jon…cheating? That can’t be possible. Never! But you know, at the same token, I don’t put this past him or anyone for that matter. As shocking as it may seem, I have heard that the quiet ones are the deadliest. I am, by no means, validating this story. It could be a rumor for all I know. Neither Jon nor Kate have issued a public statement, so I am just basing this on good ol’ internet news.

Whether I liked Kate on the show or not, no one deserves to be cheated on. No one! Whether you don’t have any kids, have eight kids, or seventeen kids. It is completely cowardly. I can’t help but to be puzzled and wonder what could have driven Jon to this. Is he stressed? Did he finally hit a wall? Does he just want to be normal without living his life in front of the camera? Is he not getting laid? Does he now want a “trophy” girlfriend/wife? What?

I still don’t think any of the potential reasons above suffice. If anything, he should have confronted his wife, and they should have amicably split or sorted it out. Hurting the person you love(d) and the mother of your 8 kids in such manner is simply immature (I use the word “immature”, for the sake of being respectful).