Jourdan

Joseph worked very hard on his Father’s Day gift this year, so hard that he didn’t want to give it to Solomon when it was time. 😂 he was like “I painted it, give it to me.” (I drizzled the paint and let him have at it with the paint brush.) But once he saw how excited Solomon was about it he was happy. Happy Father’s Day to all the dads, step-dads, adoptive & foster dads out there.

“What to the slave is the 4th of July?” Tops: typicalblacktees

I was going to wait until next week but what the heck, I’m gonna share now. I was brought on to nyam.fit to design the logo, packaging label and website. I did some food photography for the launch as well and as you can see Joseph was ready for me to be done so he could eat this. He ran off with this cake and ate it in his room 😂. Now, I know someone is going to read this and think “omg, she’s letting her toddler eat cake!” But, this isn’t your average cake. It’s a HEALTHY cake! It’s gluten-free, sugar free (sweetened with monk fruit) and has whey protein in it. These cakes have 26 grams of protein in them once they’ve been made and they’re a freaking lifesaver. My eating has gotten so bad since becoming a mom. Not because I’m just eating junk, I’m just legit forgetting to eat sometimes! I get so wrapped up in making sure he’s good that I before I know it it’s 4 o’clock and I haven’t eaten since Joseph and I had oatmeal. By this time Joseph has had meals, snacks, fruit, apple juice, water and a nap and I’m sitting here feeling lightheaded looking crazy. I need to get my life together 😂. I’m so happy I was brought on to this awesome team who has created an amazing product I can feel comfortable feeding Joseph. If you want to give them a try you can use Jourdan as the coupon code to get 15% off. My favorite flavor is the fit fit, hooray then the matcha second. Joseph likes the fit fit, hooray too but I think it’s just because he likes picking the sprinkles out and eating them one by one. 😂

At a time like this I’m happy to have the connections I do with businesses and brands. Being a #FableticsPartner was something I hoped I could do but, didn’t hold my breath. As a lifestyle model I’ve been passed up on so many opportunities because they wanted the “American girl next door” look a.k.a. skinny white girl. When I stopped straightening my hair the opportunities got less because being natural is considered a “political statement” to a lot of people. Even in the fitness industry, blacks don’t get enough love from brands and event hosts. I’ve been fortunate enough to work with some pretty cool brands over the past few years (I can’t post the images because the brands haven’t posted them) like sabra, siriusxm mobile radio, smoothieking completenutrition to name a few. I hope I can continue work with more brands who see and appreciate their black customers and fans. I’ll continue to do my part in sharing what I know to help the black community lead healthier lifestyles. Even if it’s something as simple as buying new workout clothes to help motivate you to get up and get active. You can grab these leggings and so many cute other ones in the link in my bio. They have a great 2 for $24 deal. (I’m wearing an xs top & leggings, I’m 5’8” and around 142 lbs) I’ll be announcing a new partnership next week that I’m so exited about! The company mission is to help bridge the gap between healthy eating in the black community without having to give up flavor. Y’all know I’m a Louisiana Creole and my mom 4kimmiekake doesn’t play in the kitchen, I’ve never had an unflavored childhood so this is right up my alley. 😂

The other day Joseph and I were in his room, dancing to a video on YouTube as usual and I just started tearing up as his future flashed before my eyes. . At some point between the age of 9-13 this beautiful face will be Lyon to be seen as a threat. One day a woman will clutch her purse when he passes. One day a someone will follow him around a store. One day a school security guard will want to “random” search his backpack or locker. One day the school will call me saying he’s been suspended for an “outburst”. One day he will be pulled over for driving through a nice area. One day a kid on the playground will call him a racial slur. One day a kid will say they don’t want to be friends with him because he’s black. One day he will “fit the description”. One day his civil rights will be violated. One day his life will be in danger. . I can’t change it and I can’t love it away. No matter how many times I call him smart, strong, handsome, worthy or loved someone else will call him a bum, uneducated, weak, less than or a thug. We can put him in the best schools, live in a great area, drive a nice car, make a lot of money but we’re still black and that’s still a threat. In 20 fucking 20! There are self driving cars, robots that do inventory in grocery stores and women giving birth using uteruses that were transplanted from another woman’s body but y’all can’t figure out to stop hating people because of their skin tone and hair texture?! We need to get it together and quickly. . No lives matter until #blacklivesmatter! . 📷: w_photogrphy

The pool at our apartment complex opened today and Joseph had a blast! This dress I got from restyledbyizzy made such a cute coverup. It’s linen so it’s lightweight but it’s lined so you don’t have to worry about it being see-through. We’ve been patiently waiting for it to reopen, now we’re just waiting on the gym to open. 🤞🏾 Swipe to see some cuteness.

How is he so perfect? 🥰

Mom still thinks I’m Dino-mite! 🦕 Swipe for the original Dino photo shortly after getting placed. (I need these shoes in all sizes they come in lol. They’re his favorites.)

Decided to get cute today. Since becoming a #FableticsPartner I’ve been trying brighter colors than I usually wear lol. I’m not sure how I feel about this top but it’s definitely giving me 🍑 vibes. This outfit is really comfortable though, almost like a second skin. The leggings fit so bomb. (Click the link in my bio to score 2 for $24 from fabletics) It came with a jacket but it’s way too hot to wear it since it’s 91 degrees today. Thank the Lawd the pool at our complex opens next week in time for this Texas heat. I was hoping we’d be on a cruise headed to a tropical destination right now for our anniversary trip but we’ll be chilling on the patio instead. Thanks to everyone who reached out yesterday and told us happy anniversary! 🎉 We appreciate all of you! What are your plans for the long weekend?

5 years married & 10 years together! Originally I was going to plan a big anniversary party to celebrate such a milestone but clearly that didn’t happen. 😂 A lot has happened over the years but I can honestly say it’s all been worth it. 10 years ago when I saw him I knew he was mine and I’m happy to report he still is! 💜

Who else didn’t know today was Friday? 🤦🏾‍♀️ At least I looked cute today in my new nike leggings from restyledbyizzy . . Swipe for giggles in the hallway.

What’s something new or interesting you’ve learned about your spouse or partner during quarantine? I learned Solomon says “10-4” a lot more often than I initially thought. 😂 At first I thought it was something he threw out randomly, it’s actually a very active term in his vocabulary. . Photo by: sandrachilep

Hey hey friends! I haven’t posted a lot of fitness related stuff because I felt like everyone’s timelines were being bombarded with home workouts. I know mine was. People who have never been a trainer or coach took the opportunity to showcase their home workouts and a lot of them did the moves incorrectly or with bad form. It was a sad sight to see 😂. But I also wanted to focus more on helping Joseph through the change. Some may say “he’s a baby, he doesn’t know the difference” but he does. He’s used to going outside pretty frequently so he’ll tug at the doorknob on the front door to get outside. After a few minutes he’ll look for the keys to try and unlock the door himself and he knows which key is for the door. 🤣 . I myself haven’t felt motivated to workout so I’ve been cleaning, hanging out with Joseph and listening to a lot of podcasts. I did get a few continuing education certifications for fitness & wellness and I’m helping start a new business so I haven’t been completely wasting my time. But I just wanted to tell you it’s ok to be in a funk or unmotivated. Sometimes I have to stay up late after Joseph & Solomon go to sleep to get something done. It’s ok to have to change up your routine, it’s hard to keep a routine at a time like this. Don’t let anyone make you feel bad about how much tv you watched, not doing your hair or not FaceTiming people all the time. We all cope with things like this differently. I finally did some passion twists after looking like a homeless person for a few weeks. So that’s why I didn’t post any photos on my birthday, I looked crazy 😂. . I hope you’re taking the time to focus on maintaining your sanity. I’m gonna go motivate myself to clean the kitchen and switch the clothes. I’ve been washing the same load for the past few days because I keep forgetting to put it in the dryer. 🤦🏾‍♀️

Barely missed my goal of 2.23 miles for #irunwithmaud because it started getting dark. We live in a nice neighborhood, I’ve lived in nice areas basically all my life. My mom busted her ass as a nurse so we could live in good areas and go to good schools. But we were still black kids and I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have a gun pulled on myself or my brother adhd_247 because we were out running. We were athletes growing up and often ran around the . Now I walk/jog with my own black son and would like the privilege of being able to make it home with no extra holes in my body. . Another thing I’ve noticed since wearing a mask out, I’ve gone out of my way (more than usual) to make other people comfortable with my presence. They just stare trying to determine if I’m about threat; then when I wave and say hello their shoulders loosen up a bit. I move out of the way to let them people pass by. Why? Not because I’m in the way. There’s plenty of room for them to pass if needed. But because black kids in the US are taught to smile so they look less threatening. At one point in time blacks had to step off the sidewalk and into the gutter to let a white person pass. If you, a black person, were driving down a road or bridge only big enough for one car at a time and a white person was coming from the other direction you had to back your car up to let them through. Even if you were almost off said road. Whites got the right of way. Always. Even though these things were allowed and deemed acceptable years ago they’re still embedded into the minds of black kids of how to act. Because no matter how much you make, where you live, how well you speak or the skills you have there are still some people who see us as three-fifths. . I haven’t watched the video and I don’t plan too. The last time I watched the videos of blacks being killed I couldn’t sleep. All I saw when I closed my eyes was #AltonSterling bleeding out while in a choke hold. All I could hear was #PhilandoCastile girlfriend crying. And every so often #MikeBrown stepdad yelling “burn it down!” So in an effort to protect my spirit I won’t watch it, I can’t.

Solomon was talking about how much he missed wearing his shirt and I was like “what shirt?” He comes out in his lalabubaby dad shirt and tried to put Joseph back in it. This shirt has a max weight of 15 lbs so it wouldn’t go past Joseph’s butt 😂. . So 2 things: 1. Solomon needs his own baby carrier (he thinks mine is too complicated to use). 2. He has full blown baby fever. . (And yes, Joseph is wearing Christmas pajamas.)