LIFE LATELY: JUNE 2019

Hello!!!!!

Happy July! We're officially in the second half of the year. How are you feeling about it? As usual, here I am with my update of the previous month. You can keep up with my monthly updates here.

LITTLE MISS COCOA
Of course you know the most exciting part of June was Cocoa's birthday!!! She is now officially a toddler, and yes, she's being a typical toddler. She's being more assertive (aka saying No to what she doesn't like or want). She's letting me know she feels (aka throwing tantrums). She's pushing the limits (aka seeing how far she can get with me). I have started disciplining her (aka, introduced her to Spanky Spoon and looking for the designated Time Out Corner). Anyone who says motherhood is easy must have 2 to 3 people helping her per child!

She's saying a lot more words now. Just yesterday, she said to me, "Mummy make a mess. Stop." I'm like, "You're the one eating cornflakes and spilling everywhere young lady!" I overheard her count up to twelve or thirteen the other day. She's moved up in class at her daycare and at church too. The church movement has been very easy for her, because she likes the older kids toys. The daycare move has been tough! New teacher, new room, her friends have not moved up yet, so it's been a struggle.

I think we're getting closer to her sleeping through the night more often too. Keep us in your prayers please! She's even stopped sleeping in her crib - she's sleeping in the bed in her room. I know it's kinda early for her to move out of her crib, but life is not One-Size-Fits-All.

In summary, Cocoa's doing perfectly fine! Thank God for His blessing and provision. It has not been easy.

READ
I borrowed two books from the library in June. I got them because Madeline reviewed them on her blog some time ago. I only got to finish one - Queenie.

I was a little slow in starting the book, to be honest. But once I got into it, I could not put it down! I thought it was going to be a light book, truthfully. However, it was quite heavy emotionally. It follows the downward spiral of Queenie who's had a pretty tough life and is now dealing with a devastating breakup. Eventually, things get bad enough that she's willing to try counseling/therapy. As a black woman, and child of immigrants, of course there's push-back. But it's something that she needs. And I'll tell you that it's something I'm pursuing as well. Getting Mental Health care is very important and I'm glad more and more people are speaking out about getting therapy and counseling. This book is a must-read!

WATCHED
Since Game of Thrones is finally over, I had the plan to only consume wholesome, family-friendly content. Shows that I wouldn't feel guilty about watching, and that wouldn't have a negative impact on my life or emotions. For whatever reason, I assumed going the Nigerian route would be the way to go, and I started watching two different shows.

The Men's Club on RED TV. I started watching it because I'd heard the title of the show a few times but wasn't quite sure what it was about. I recognized a few of the actors from other shows and I got into it pretty quickly. I don't think it's a bad show at all, but I'll let you know what bugs me about it below.

Oga Pastor on Ndani TV. This series just started a couple of weeks ago, and I think the timing is so weird, considering the current/ongoing scandal of the allegations of rape and sexual misconduct of COZA church's senior pastor. Oga Pastor follows the lives of a pastor couple, newlyweds and other characters who somehow tie into the storyline. The first episode starts off with the pastor announcing that he's stepping down due to an affair that he's had or been having. My favorite part of the show is whenever Ini Dima Okojie is onscreen - she might be my favorite Nigerian actress! As much as I'm interested in finding out who's sleeping with whom, I have an issue with it.

My biggest issue with the shows above is that I'm kinda tired of watching shows that portray only bad marriages and bad relationships. Where are the happy couples?!?!?!

NEW NEW
As you already know, I started a new podcast in June, called the Mommy Oyoyo podcast. Honestly, I'm very very very excited about it! Almost more than this blog *hides face* We finally reached 1.5 million views here by the way, so YAY US!!! But please subscribe to and share the Mommy Oyoyo podcast. I'm very grateful for your support along the way. You guys don't know how much I appreciate you :)

TRAVELED
I didn't travel per se. Wait, if you go on a day trip to a location that's about an hour or two away, does that count as traveling? I think it should actually. My family and I drove to Helen, Ga (which I've blogged about before for my Discover Georgia series). We drove up on June 1st for the annual Hot Air Balloon festival - which was nice, but a tad disappointing as we didn't get to ride one of them like my sister and I hoped. I'll try again next year, or find other Hot Air Balloon events to go to :)

How was your June? Are you ready for the second half of the year????? Share what you're hoping for for the rest of the year in the comments!