Photo credit: Kim Le Photography Can you imagine marrying your fifth-grade pen pal? (Who even remembers having a pen pal?) That's exactly what happened with Melissa and Ryan Clinton. Check out their wedding trailer in the video below, and get their full love story at Munalunchi Bridal. Melissa and Ryan's Short Film from Table8 Films on Vimeo. … [Read more...]
VIDEO: Tisha Campbell-Martin Wedding To Duane Martin
A lot of people hold Will and Jada as the Hollywood standard for a long-lasting black marriage, but their close friends Tisha Campbell-Martin and Duane Martin have been married for nearly two years longer. Tisha recently posted this video on her YouTube channel and if you look closely, you'll see Jada, Tichina Arnold, and Tasha Smith and her twin sister Sidra as they help … [Read more...]
Why Is It So Hard To Find A Babysitter You Can Trust?
I spent last year adjusting to life as a work-at-home mom and I realize now that much of the stress was because I was trying to do two jobs simultaneously: parenting my kids to the best of my abilities and meeting all my clients needs at the drop of a hat. I could have used some babysitting help but was too stubborn to admit it. Besides helping me out with my workload, … [Read more...]
Do Kids Kill Your Sex Drive?
After I had my first child, there was a severe drought in the bedroom. I thought my husband (then-boyfriend) would die. We hit the four-month mark and there was no signs of any activity whatsoever. What the heck happened? I'll tell you what happened. Exhaustion, coupled with postpartum depression, coupled with wedding planning, coupled with finishing up my undergraduate … [Read more...]
Are Single Mothers Under Attack – Again?
Wisconsin Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) introduced a poorly worded bill that has set the internet on fire with its implication that the Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board should more forcefully emphasize that single parenthood is a contributing factor of child abuse. From the bill: Section 1. 48.982 (2) (g) 2. of the statutes is amended to read: 48.982 (2) (g) 2. … [Read more...]
Act Like It’s Your First Date
A couple months ago, my husband and I went out to dinner. When we were done, the waitress asked, "Separate checks?" You could have knocked me over with a feather. Separate checks? Did we look like work colleagues? Brother and sister? Just two folks who were hungry at the same time but didn't want to sit at the bar? We are married. Didn't we look like married … [Read more...]
How Much Are You Willing To Spend To Improve Your Marriage?
At my son's preschool, the director was passing out discount codes for a nearby marriage retreat. Two and a half days of focus on our marriage with no other distractions sounded heavenly right now. We're not struggling by any means. Quite the opposite, we're in a good place right now. But I know trials and tribulations can pop up at any time and I want us to be prepared. We're … [Read more...]
Do You Treat Parenthood Like A Real Job?
Parenthood is a real job. Of course, in this country, we don't treat it like that. But it is nothing short of a "real job." It took me a long time to realize this. I wanted to be a great mom. An impeccable mom. That meant being available for my children's needs, putting them first, bending over backward to make sure they had what they needed. Planning for their growth … [Read more...]
I Need A Vacation (Without The Kids)
As I sit back and really think about it, I haven't been on a vacation (a real, honest-to-God vacation) in over 5 years. Last one that kind of counted was our honeymoon. But I was 6 months post-partum and had to lug my breast pump to Vegas so I could pump and dump every three hours. How sexy. How romantic. Since then, I've been on plenty of airplanes, sure. I went to Disney … [Read more...]
You Won’t Be Married Long If You…
Most of the married couples in my family get married and (the most important part) they stay married. I've got more than a handful of 30-year-plus marriages to draw inspiration and lessons from. Here are some of the best lessons I've learned from watching these marriages up close: You won't be married long if you... ...decide you will only care as much as your spouse … [Read more...]
10 Things Grown Women Shouldn’t Do – Part Two
Read 10 Things Grown Women Shouldn't Do - Part One here. #6 Stop getting overly frustrated when you are faced with things you can control and the things you can't. When I have a problem to solve, I feel anxious, even when the solution is fairly straightforward. And this must stop. And when I don't have the solution or I'm not the one who can solve the problem? I need to be … [Read more...]
10 Things Grown Women Shouldn’t Do – Part One
Read 10 Things Grown Women Shouldn't Do - Part Two here. I turned 26 a month or so ago. And now that I'm closer to 30 than I am to 20, I'm feeling some kind of way about the behaviors I exhibit and my reactions to every day events. Somehow I feel like I'm supposed to be wiser, calmer, more she's-got-her-life-together than I really am. Some days I wake up and I'm like, "Crap, … [Read more...]
VIDEO: Amber Riley Covers Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” On Glee
Amber Riley, who plays Mercedes on Fox's Glee, brought some big pipes to her rendition of Whitney's "I Will Always Love You." Like so many, Riley was more than just a fan and really felt crushed when she learned of her death: [blackbirdpie url="https://twitter.com/#!/MsAmberPRiley/status/168505894932463617"] [blackbirdpie … [Read more...]
How Did Life Get So Busy?
A couple years ago I bought myself a 2009 car. It was the first car I ever owned and I wanted it to be more reliable than the 1997 Buick I was currently driving. My favorite feature? XM Radio. But now I'm about to cancel my XM subscription because when I'm bopping my head to my favorite song of the moment, I miss out on the exchanges like this in the backseat: Ayanna: I … [Read more...]
What If Going To A “Good School” Means There’s Few Black Kids There?
When I was in undergrad at a primarily white institution, it was an inside joke among all the black students that we were the "sprinkles" on top the amazingly vanilla student body. During freshman year, when I was frequently the only black student in class, it didn't bother me so much, but the novelty of being the only one with brown skin (and brown experiences) wore off … [Read more...]