My absolute favorite wellness...mind,body, and soul website!!

"MindBodyGreen"





I came across this treasure via Facebook last week. I love this site. It offers everything to do with the body, mind, and soul! Health tips, weight-loss tips, healthy recipes, sex talk, relationship advice/talk, and so much more! This site literally has anything and everything on it. I know you will love it as much as I do...no matter if you are on the low to high of extremes to this wellness lifestyle! Here is the link;



http://www.mindbodygreen.com/


Enjoy!


You can also "LIKE" and follow them on Facebook;



https://www.facebook.com/MindBodyGreen


Remember, to wear a SMILE, LAUGH, and LOVE!
Xo

Damaged, limp, hair loss? This may help you!!

So, if you have read my post before this one...you will know that 2014 will be my LAST year in my 20's. With that said, I am focusing on everything...mind, BODY, and soul. 2013 was such a MESSY year for me to say the least. Health scare, migraines, and just STRESSED about life itself. I know we all go through our own personal struggles. I am a VERY private person, and 85% of the time I can be dying on the inside and will nt let anyone know. I found out, when I do this..I am holding onto a lot of stress. A lot of inner stress. That stress was affecting my body (weight gain, hair began to become limp and I suffered a little bit of hair loss, and grey hairs started sprouting out of nowhere)!! When I started to really evaluate the situation, I knew something had to give, something had to change! I needed to FOCUS on myself...all of me. For many mothers out there, you know how this story goes...you have kids, your life kind of pauses, while all of your attention goes to your kids and your husband. My kids are older now and although I am not done raising them, they are now old enough that I can focus on ALL of me.

Hair to a woman is everything, kind of like putting clothes on in the morning. So when I realized stress was really affecting my hair and the follicles...I needed to step up to the plate. I wasn't happy with the state of my hair and people started to notice the difference in my hair. I had been good with my hair before; not using heat, and wearing it naturally curly. But as life went on, I wasn't treating my body right, let alone my hair. It has become so damaged. I started to research some things that I could start doing for my hair and scalp. I researched and YOU TUBED some videos.

Of the things that I found; the MAIN ones that help with hair growth and a healthy scalp are;

Rosemary
Tea Tree Oil
Peppermint Oil
Cedar Wood Oil

I purchased this EXACT Rosemary Conditioner::

*You can find this on Amazon*


After I washed my hair with my regular shampoo, I used this conditioner and after washing it out, my hair felt so light, clean, and moisturized. I just bought this...so I will need to do a update later to see if it has indeed helped with my hair growth, but only time will tell.


I also bought a similar Tea Tree Oil::

After you wash your hair (shampoo and conditioner) place a dime size of this oil in your palm and run together and gently massage into your scalp. You can repeat the process in the morning as well. I do it twice a day to make sure I lock in that oil in the hair follicles. When you have curly hair, your hair absorbs moisture twice as much as straight hair, which I have been reckless and forgetting about. Although I am mixed...I still have "African American" hair texture. So I need to treat it as such. So far, I have loved this product. Tea Tree Oil can be used on the skin as well. When I was younger, I remember buying this amazing tea tree oil from The Body Shop. It was soo good on my skin and never knew it would be as great on the scalp as well :) You can purcahse Tea Tree Oil from almost anywhere!!


Ladies, I hope this has helped you and don't be embarassed by this funk you're in with your hair. You are MORE than just the hair on your head! Remember that. Its also sometimes hereditary or could just be your age. As you age, your hair follicles shrink and become limp. Also, I know a lot of women who have just given birth go through hair loss. Its a hormonal thing. So if oyu just gave birth and notice some hair loss, then these two products could really help you. LIVE LIFE STRESS FREE and use any of these produts above that I have mentioned and it will help greatly!!


Remember to SMILE. Remember to LOVE yourself.
Xo

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

It's been awhile blog world! But I wanted to WISH everyone who stumbles upon my blog a HAPPY, BLESSED, HEALTHY, LOVING, JOYOUS 2014!!

It has been some time since my last post. I told myself that I would try and keep up with this blog and have a new post up at least 2 times a month. As you know, I am a mommy FIRST...so that has taken front seat to everything and anyone. My babies are growing up so fast. I can't believe that I will be a mommy to a soon to be 9 year old (in April)! Crazy, huh? And...my 29th birthday is rolling close...ahhhhh! 29 will be my last and final year and I break into my 30's, who would've thought! Tis' life. I thought I'd stay in my 20's forever, lol.

With that said, I have a couple more months until I turn 29. I have dedicated 2014 and my final year of my 20's to nuturing and loving the mind, body, and soul. This means; eating healthy (less processed food), no more soda, no more juice...ok ok, maybe juice on a cheat day! For the mind, live STRESS free. This is a BIG one for me to get control over. But I have let my worries and fears become a BIG stress in my life that has affected me. So its time to let the devil go and give my all to Christ. I have been making baby steps. But I really want to inhale and exhale everything God worthy..this will help me live a stress free life. I also want to nuture the soul by starting to practice yoga and meditating. The mind, body, and soul go hand in hand. When one is outta wack...they all tend to be. So treating my body, mind, and soul equally will give me the best results.


I want to shar some passages that keep me going, that keep me motivated, as well as inspired <3 CHEERS to a NEW YEAR. A NEW beginning. A new start. A new chapter...start writing yours today!! Xo

March Favorites

I am back with a few of my favorite things!

I hope you all have been well :) As usual, I have been a BUSY little bee. Parent-Teach conferences, school Talent Show, play-dates...never ending. In other news, I turned 28 on the 9th of March. It was low-key. Took my kids to see the new movie; Oz. If you haven't seen it yet, GO SEE IT. It was GREAT! After the movie, we went to a fave restauraunt of ours in Brooklyn. We had a good time though! Shout out to all the March birthdays, sending love and blessings your way! Now...let's get started, shall we? Let's go...


#1) I am OBSESSED with "Khloe Had a Little Lam Lam" by Nicole O.P.I.
This color is just beautiful. My favorite color is green and its variations. This color is a mix of emerald and seaweed green. That combo might not sound appealing, but believe me it is. I might just be bad at comparisons.

Here are pictures of the bottle and the color on the nails:






#2) Some hoard shoes, purses, nail polish, magazines, I hoard lip sticks. I am NOT a professional MUA, however, I like make up (always have and will). No matter the occasion, you will never spot my lips in the nude! I love colors on the lips..from reds,to deep plums, to coral peach, to lavendar, pinks, and neons. I LOVE color. I am always looking at the lip stick aile when I go to a pharmacy. I came across Maybelline's Color Whisper collection. They are a matte lipstick. They remind me of Baby Lips mixed with a matte color. They aren't as BOOM in your face as the newest colletion from Maybelline.

Some images of the colletion:






#3) I really don't like to put foundation or concealer on my face since I don't have perfect skin. Since the BB cream's have made their American debut, I have been using ONLY a BB cream for my face. Since I have had skin flare ups, I was looking for something with a little more coverage. I ran across L'Oreal Super Blendable Concealer Stick. Since buying it and using it...I fell in love. This product to me IS super blendable. It went on my skin effortless. It was a true match to my skin tone as well. I applied this product FIRST, then wouldapply a little BB cream all over my face and blend everything evenly in. I highly reccomend this product. I also love how it came like a pencil. EASY to use and NOT messy!

Here is the product; I bought the same color on right;





****ALL PRODUCTS THAT ARE MENTIONED ABOVE, REPRESENT MYSELF AND WHAT I LIKE****

*****I AM NOT A PROFESSIONAL MAKE-UP ARTIST*****


Until next time, XoXo

HAPPY ST. PATRICKS DAY (Sunday, March 17th, 2013)

New Year, don't forget about YOU!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone

Hope your start to 2013 has been great to you :) As a woman, we wear so many hats. Its in our nature to want to please everyone all of the time. We want to please our kids, our husbands, in-laws, friends, co-workers and many times...we forget to please ourselves and put ourselves FIRST. How many of you are mothers? I am a mother to two; a boy (almost 8 in April) and a girl (almost 5 in June). They arethe light to my world. They truly are my everything. I became a young mother at a early age, so for almost 8 years out of my life (I will be 28 in March) being a mother and girlfriend/wife is the only thing that I have known for years. When I look back, sometimes I get jealous of friends of mine that waited to have kids and areliving thier life first before they add kids into the mix of things. We all know that once you add kids into any mix, things def change! I wont sugar-coat anything. Those are facts. Now to say that my life isn't as fun as the next girl without kids would be unfair to say. I have acepted my life for what it is at the time, being a mother full-time (no days off) as well as being a full-time girlfriend with no days off, lol. I would not change any of this. This is MY life. But I have learned through this all is that for many years I was neglecting myself. Once you have kids, this is not the end of YOU. Having kids is adding to you not the end-all. Once we get that, life will become that much more fullfilled. Let's not forget about us ladies. Don't give up on hopes and dreams just because your a full-time mother or wife and don't let anyone's judgements about you affect you. Remember, this is your life. Not theirs. If you choose to be a full-time mom or wife, then hey...more power to you! Not everyone is the same. I am thankful everyday that I am with a man where I don't need to work right now. Not saying it isn't a struggle, but I am blessed. Don't look to others to compair yourself too. When you do that, you are loosing. Never compair yourself to anyone else, because at the end of the day...we don't know why women are stay-at-home mothers, we don't know why a woman would rather work, work, work and not be there for her child. We all have different circumstances that we are dealt. Here are a few things that you can do to get back to appreciating and putting YOU first! - Join a gym. Work out 3 times a week if you can. This is YOU time. No kids allowed. Have the hubby/boyfriend/best friend watch the kids for a hour or two while you work out. - If you can't get to a gym, pick a quiet place in your house or apartment and choose a time that fits with your schedule where you can work out. Usually for me, its the morning when my kids are both asleep, or when they are in school. - Find other moms in your neighborhood and set up weekly meetups or monthly meetups. It can be a meetup to a coffee shop or hair salon, a shopping trip to H&M. Its always good to get out for a bit andhave girl talk with someone who isn't the age of 4 or 8. :) - Take a bubble bath. Yes, its so relaxing. Bring in some of your favorite music, light some calming and relaxing candels to set the mood. - Make an appointment at least once a month ot get something done for yourself (hair, nails, waxing, make up) Anything that will make you feel better and put yourself first. - Schedule monthy date-nights for you and your hubby! - Schedule weekly-bi-weekly night out with your closest girlfriends! Dinner and drinks, movies, or wine night at one of your friends house. Just to get out. - Make time to gather yout thoughts. Keep a diary, a journal. Have a quiet place, just you and your thoughts. Write. Very therapeutic. I hope this helps someone out there reading. Just never loose who you are as a person because you put everyone and everything ahead of yourself. That's not fair to you. Like I said, as a woman...we juggle so many different hats on any given day, and in the midst of it all, we end of loosing ourselves. Always remember, YOU are so worth it. being the BEST you is a priceless present that you can give anyone that you love in your life :)

Yummy Salmon that EVERYONE will LOVE...even your kids!!

So in my household, we don't eat pork or beef. Only chicken, turkey, and fish...mainly salmon though! This recipe is SUPER easy and tastes so good that kids will ask for more (even my kids ask for seconds). If you love salmon and are looking for new ways to make it OR you want to try something different out so that you can get your kids to eat salmon, then PLEASE continue reading below :) Okay, so FIRST you need 2-3 salmon fillets. We buy ours pre-packaked from Costco. They come sealed and skin off. I grab 3 out of the bag (I use 2 for dinner that night and use the other for my lunch the next day) so depending on how big or small your family is, you can decide how many pieces of salmon you will use. You need: 1/4 Cup of Dark Brown Sugar 1/4 Cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil 3 Tablespoons of Soy Sauce 2 Tablesppons of Lemon Juice 2 Tablespoons of Water 2 Cloves of Garlic Lay salmon down in a tupperware that has a lid to it and is deep enough to hold slamon and the marinate. Once you have laid salmon fillets down, please pour evenly the marinate all over salmon fillets. Once you have done this, cover up fillets with lid and place in fridge for half-hour, then flip fillets over and wait another 5-10 minutes. Once fillet has soaked up for about 35 minutes. Place fillets in oven on 350 degrees for about half an hour to an hour (always checking, fillet cooks fast). OR place fillet on a small skillet pan on top of the stove on low-medium heat for about 20 minutes or so. Again slamon cooks pretty fast. You can garnish with some finely chooped garlic and it's done :) I usually serve this with brown rice and fresh salad and my home-made vingarette that you can find on this blog! Enjoy!!

It's Been Awhile

I have been M.I.A for awhile now. :( So much has been going on (usual). Kids went back to school. Can't believe my oldest is in 2nd grade now and my youngest is in Pre-K!! Aahhh, they aren't really babies anymore, but they will always be my baaaaabies forever and ever, lol. So yeah, school has been going on, my daughter takes ballet classes every Thursday until mid-December...so with school, homework, cooking, baths, ballet classes, play-dates...I am SUPER busy. What mom isn't though! I wanted to share with you all some pics of what's been happening on my end of the woods! Enjoy, and I will be back with more posts!! Love you all, xx

My Home-Made Salad Dressing

I'm baaack! It's been almost a month I think since my last post? This summer has been fun. I keep busy every day by taking my 2 babies out and about...museums, parks, beaches, or we just chill here at my place ;) Can't believe that summer is almost over, eeeeeek! :( My son isn't looking forward to it. He's going into the 2nd grade, so I told him that he really needs to buckle down this year and FOCUS. I don't know how many readers out there have children school aged in the NYC public schools, but this aint a JOKE! Kinda feel bad for him, lol. I don't remember all this craziness when I was his age in school :/ I could go ON and on, but this isn't what this post is for. This post is all about this home-made salad dressing that I make. I don't even buy salad dressing anymore (only if I know that someone is coming over, I will buy one or two). BOTH of my kids LOVE this dressing, they ask for seconds of salad every-time. What parent wouldn't love for their kids to ask for seconds of veggies? :) Okay, so here is what you need. This is SUPER easy and simple. You need: 1. Vinegar 2. Olive Oil (or another oil that you like to use, I prefer OO because its healthier. Other suggestions could be coconut oil, and canola oil) 3. Onion (I use red, but either could work just as well) 4. 1 Clove of Garlic (or buy chopped garlic that they sell in some whole food stores) 4. A small round Tupperware with lid 5. Dicing knife (Any knife will work just fine though. But a dicing one will get garlic and onion thinly sliced to how you want) 6. Spoon So after you gather all those things, start dicing HALF of a onion into fine, thin pieces. Continue to do the same thing to the garlic. The more garlic that you dice up, the more zing the dressing will have. I LOVE zing, so I use a lot of garlic. Okay...so now you should have onion and garlic chopped. Grab that small Tupperware and place chopped onion and garlic in the tub ;) Now...take about 1 1/2 cup of vinegar and pour into the Tupperware. Covering onions and garlic. You can add less or more vinegar depending on how many people will be served. I always eye the amount that I make. Next, add in 1 teaspoon/1 tablespoon of olive oil. Okay, so now all the ingredients are in there =) Take your spoon and stir everything around for about 20 seconds...and you're DONE! So easy, super simple. Depending on how much you make, you can cover this up and save it for tomorrow nights dinner. Here at my place, we have salad almost EVERY night, so I will make enough to save for tomorrow. Let me know if you TRY this at home and how it turns out! Like I said, my hubby and kids love this!! **The picture below is a friend of mine who tried the recipe and posted it and tagged me on FB. So this is thanks to her ;)**

Vinegared Cucumber Dish

I found some FREE time =) Whoot whoot. This is going to be VERY quick because the state of my apartment is offically a disaster zone! 0_o I blame this on my kids, lol. Anyways, whenever I am hungry and I want something light to eat, I ALWAYS find myself making this quick and easy dish. Quick and easy is like 5 minutes MAX. With summer here, my kids out of school (they love this too) I like to make this as a treat OR a veggie side for dinner. Let's get to it... It's vinegared cucumbers!!

ALL you need are the following; 1. 1 or 2 large cucumbers 2. Vinegar 3. Ground Pepper 4. Ground Garlic 5. Ground Onion 5. Tupperware that is LARGE enough to hold cucumbers and vinegar (pref with a lid). 6. Peeler (peel off skin of cucumber) 7. Knife (Veggie cutting knife, if you have) **5 and 6 are OPTIONAL** (You don't need to add chopped onion, I prefer the EXTRA zing. You also don't need to peel off skin of cucumber, BUT I choose to). Okay, FIRST thing first...have all items close by. Wash off cucumber(s) in luke-hot water for 10 seconds. Grab your peeler, and peel of entire skin of cucumber. Rinse again... Grab veggie cutting knife and thinly cut cucumber from front to back. Chop off the front end and back ends though. With Tupperware, add cucumbers and 1 1/2 cup of vinegar. Add in 1 teaspoon-1 tablespoon of ground pepper (this depends on your liking). Add in 1 teaspoon-1 tablespoon of ground garlic. Add in 1 teaspoon of ground onion (optional). Grab a spoon, and mix the cucumbers, vinegar, pepper, garlic, and onion so that the cucumbers get soaked with all ingredients. Cover up this dish and let sit in refrigerator for 20 minutes-half hour. ENJOY (Sometimes I eat just as is when I'm done with all steps. The more you let sit in the refrigerator , the more taste the cucumbers will have).

Summery and Anytime Nails!

Heyyy =) Can you believe it already June?!? Eeeeeeeeek! I am hardly swim wear ready yet, but its a work in progress. I haven't posted in a couple weeks because I have been hitting the gym hard! You guys don't even know! I have never been more determined in my life to get my hot body back where it once was PRE-kids. I think I will do a mini-post about that in a week, basically to update you on my gym routine, and eating habits! =) Yay!! I wanted to sneak some time in (my hubby took our 3 year old daughter out for some QT together, cutest thing evvvver, so I am home with my 7 year old and he doesn't bother) to do a quick and I mean QUICK post about my 3 colors that I have been rocking on my nails! 2 of them are brand spanking new and one is a older one that I fell back in love with all over again!! Let's get down to business, shall we?!? First up, I purchased "Innocent" and "Unicorn" by Sinful Colors Innocent is this pretty pretty lime green color. Unicorn is a pastel yellow, both are perfect for this summer trend forecast (neon's and pastels) Here is INNOCENT: (Sorry the lighting was off on the last picture) This is UNICORN: As you can see, both Innocent and Unicorn are perfect colors to wear on your nails this summer! This brand of nail polish is CHEAP too! I paid $1.99 each at Walgreen's. You can find Sinful Colors at most major pharmacies =) Last but not least...one of my absolute oldies in my collection, but favorite! I will wear this color year round...it's Revlon's Grey Suede such a PRETTY light grey color. I applied 2 coats of this and made my nails looks as if it were a gel finish! Extra plus! I forget how much I paid for this, but it wasn't more than $7. I purchased this at Target. Here is the look: Well, that's it for now. Told you it was a super quick one!! Maybe I gave someone out there some ideas for some pretty nail colors for summertime and anytime ;) PLEASE check back in a week or so with a detailed post about my go at this weight loss thing! Ughhh ;) Thanks dolls xoxo

Drug-Store HAUL and Review

SO, the other day I headed out to get a few items that I needed, but its so me to always grab an extra item or two =) I grabbed some hair products, skin product, and some make up items. Since I have tried out most of the products that I have purchased already, I decided I should do a mini haul/review! First up, let me start with the hair care products! I have been looking for the right shampoo and conditioner for my hair that doesn't contain all the harsh chemicals that most hair products out there contain. Many of you don't realize that the products you are using, really damage your hair. It's so important to take good care of your hair, which means not buying products that contain sulfate, salt, dyes, and perabens. I came across; RENPURE ORINGIALS Brazilian Keratin Straightening Shampoo and Conditioner.

These products do NOT contain perabens, dyes, salt, and sulfate. I was unsure about this product, but once I washed and conditioned my hair, my hair has never felt so soft. I also used this on my 3 year old daughter's hair. She has hair very similar to mine. Her hair was left soft as well. I give this product a 7.5 out of 10. Each product costs about $5.99. I purchsed mine at Rite Aide. I would purchase this product again! Next, (another hair care product) my mother gave me a sample of Moroccan Oil from her hair stylist. It was a small bottle and I have lots of hair, so needless to say, it did not last long. Moroccan Oil hands down is the best oil for your hair. It leaves your hair feeling so soft, adds moisture with out the greasy look, and gives your hair a nice healthy shine to it. Since I got a FREE sample and ran out, I have been looking around for some or something very similar to Moroccan Oil. However, at the drug store that I was at, they didn't have any, but I did come across; Organix Hydrating Macadamia Oil

I used this product (a pea size) in my hair after I washed my hair with the Renpure Brazilian Keratin Shampoo and Conditioner This was amazing. Smells so wonderful and works just as great as Moroccan Oil. Moroccan Oil however to me, smells better. But I think the results were just the same. This is great for using after a wash and conditioner to your hair. Put a pea size in your palm after you have air dried or towel dried your hair, and you can wrap your hair when going to bed with this product on and believe me, your hair will feel so soft the next morning! I purchased this product from Rite Aide for $7.99 Only complaint I have, is its a little over-priced for such a small 3.3 fl oz. Onto skin care! Recently my skin has been so dry. Hate every second of it, especially when I apply make up and my skin looks dry!! Worst thing ever. I have been looking for the perfect moisturizer for my face that is lightweight and lasts all day long. Browsing through the aisle, nothing was popping out to me, until I saw GARNIER Nutritioniste Moisture Rescue Lightweight UV-Lotion

At first, I wasn't thrilled about this product. It has a great smell to it, very lightweight like it claims, but when I first applied a pea size to my skin, it kind of felt sticky on my skin. After about 20 minutes of it being on my face, my skin has never felt smoother. I have to try this out more to see if I really see a difference in the 24/hour moisture protection, so come back for a final review on this product! So far so good though =) I purchased this from Rite Aide for $8.49. A little on the pricey side, but I was willing to spend that much on a good moisturizer. There is also lots of product for your bucks ;) My last and final purchase was on make up! I have been hearing about Revlon's Lip Butters for some time now, and really wanted to give them a try. I ended up purchasing two colors; Sugar Plum and Gum Drop. Sugar Plum is a rosy, pinkish reddish color. And Gum Drop is a lavender, glittery color. The lip butters are supposed to be a moisture rich lip color for your lips. However, I wasn't really thrilled about this product. The colors are nice, but I needed to add Maybeline's Baby Lips FIRST before I added Revlon's Lip Butter. So if you are looking for a nice color then by all means go buy this product. But for me, I wasn't exactly happy about paying for a product that says "lip butter" to find out its not exactly how its described. Maybeline's Baby Lips did this all for me. Gave me color and moisturizer all at the same time! I would give this product a 6 out of 10. Would I buy again? Maybe...as long as I knew I had Baby Lips by Maybeline on deck ;)

Okay, that's all for now ladies! I hope that this helped someone out. Any questions or comments please leave down below! Yours Truly, Court xoxo

Another Chapter Closed with a Happy Ending

I am BACK =)!! So, I have been meaning to write this post forever now, but just couldn't find the peace and quiet to do it. Having two kids run around, fighting with each-other is nearly impossible. Good thing I am a vampire and can get this out of the way in the night! Those who have read my past posting about my adoption story will know the 411, if you haven't checked it out, PLEASE do...because none of this will make any sense! Okay, so I am adopted. I was adopted when I was 4 or 5, I think. I had a GREAT child hood growing up and great parents! I was truly blessed. Never went without anything. Fast-forward years, in 2003 when I was about to graduate high school, my parents received a letter from the adoption agency we were adopted from (VA). The letter was from my sister and I's biological mother. In the letter she stated valuable information, such as my sister and I had 3 biological younger sisters who were also adopted. She wrote names. Fantasia, Mallory, and Lauren. That's really all I knew, oh and a location of Frederick, MD. Growing up, I always felt like something was missing, like I wasn't complete. Not sure if all people who are adopted feel that way, or I was just extra. But...I knew I could locate my sisters if I just kept at it and tried. I started searching in 2003 for my sisters. I literally would friend request every Fantasia, Mallory, or Lauren that lived in the DMV area (DC, Maryland, and Virgina). Sounds crazy, but I did. Had no shame about it either. I kept coming onto dead ends. For years I continued searching on and off, I would get frustrated because nothing I was doing would provide any kind of leads. Eventually November of 2011, I re-started the search. Destined to try one more time, after this and no leads, I was going to give up. This was it. I had no help, no faith, on the edge and was going to stop this entire search...until I decided to "Google" (Free Adoption Search) online. I randomly came across the first page and clicked, it asked me to leave some information about my adoption and who I was looking for as well as my info (contact info) and they would contact me back! I thought this was BOGUS. People pay lots of money to have someone locate biological family members. But, I was desperate and willing to give it a shot anyways! Within 20-30 minutes I received a e-mail from a angel named Cher Caldwell on yahoo. We began corresponding and she immediately began my search, still thought there was a catch to this whole process. She started hitting me with back to back e-mails of possible leads. We were up until the wee hours of the morning going back and forth...UNTIL...she sent an e-mail to me with 3 FB pages of 3 girls, named Fantasia Webb, Mallory Webb, and Lauren Webb. She proceeded to tell me that she thinks its them. At that moment when I saw their pictures, I literally just froze up. When you know something is true but you don't want to believe it because you have searched 8 years for them with nothing...I honestly knew it was them but just couldn't believe it. I was shaking, I was crying. I kept saying "Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God". I think I tried to phone my sister, Ilana at 3 something in the morning, I ended up FB'ing her. I was in COMPLETE shock! I really was. It took me a minute to calm down, because then...I realized that I was just looking at their page and I was yet friends with none of them. Who knows how they would take me messaging them, who knows if they even knew they were adopted, and who knew if they even knew that they had two other biological sisters? There was no telling. I was going into this blind. I messaged the three of them, saying the exact same thing on Facebook. I didn't get immediate responses back, but I did receive replies within the same day! We all started messaging each other back, except for my one sister Mallory...whom I don't think she knew what was really going on. Messaging turned to phone calls. My sister Lauren actually came for New Years for a visit with her boyfriend! It was so smooth and natural, I felt like we have never missed a beat at all. =) I speak to my sisters regularly! I gained 3 new best-friends!! This experience was truly amazing. I feel blessed. I really do. When I felt like giving up, God was right by my side pushing me to try one more time and he placed Cher Caldwell in my path as an angel. I am forever grateful to her, for helping me out free of charge. She spent her entire night/early morning helping me search. I didn't have to do anything besides give her information which I knew. Anyone reading this, please please don't give up. Keep trying. I can also place you with the woman who helped me on Facebook. She is an amazing woman. I have never believed more in God than I do now. I will be doing an exclusive interview with Cher Caldwell, so look out for that =) Remember, don't ever give up! Keep trying and keep searching. It may be a long, hard search like mine was for 8 years, but nothing in life that is worth it, is never easy! I can finally close this chapter in my life. I found my sisters. I am the oldest of 5 beautiful girls. Courtney, Ilana, Fantasia, Mallory, and Lauren! FINALLY this chapter is now closed! Keep faith... Xoxo, Court

ME- (Born March 9th, 1985 in Winchester, VA)

Ilana- (Born June 16th, 1986 in Winchester, VA)

Fantasia- (Born September 25th, 1988 in Frederick, MD)

Mallory- (Born November 20th, 1989 in Frederick, MD)

Lauren- (Born March 20th, 1990 in Frederick, MD)

I am on Tumblr!

Hey everyone =) It's been a while since my LAST posting. A lot has been going on lately. I have crazy allergies and my youngest (my daughter) suffers the worst. She missed 2 weeks from school because of her allergies. Allergy season has been really bad especially since there hasn't been much rain fall here in the East. So I was going back and forth to the doctors with her due to her allergies. Poor baby! She is doing so much better now and just went back to school this Monday =) Yay! I needed a break too, lol. Anyways, I wanted to UPDATE you all who check me out, I am NEW to Tumblr! IF you are on Tumblr or were thinking about joining, please do and FOLLOW me =) My name on Tumblr is mixedbeauty39.tumblr.com Thanks! Xoxo. Court And HAPPY May!!

Easter Fun!

So this year for Easter I went to visit my mother, sister and adorable 5 year old nephew! It was so much fun and I was able to unwind and relax!! We decided this year to have a big Easter feast at my mom's. The menu was crazzy! My mother made lamb, stuffed mango chicken, and rice, and my sister and I made yams, mashed potatoes, lasagna, string bean casserole, mac n cheese, and peach cobbler. Well, I will only take credit for the yams and lasagna! ;) The food was amazing and we had friends over to help us dig in the food! So we did that, but before we started cooking, we had a HUGE Easter egg hunt for my two kids and my nephew! We hid about 40 plus eggs! Kids were VERY happy! Who wouldn't be? Isn't that the best when you're a kid? =) I also had my kids color eggs, they didn't turn out as pretty as I would have liked them to, BUT they looked pretty good if you ask me for our FIRST time coloring eggs! ;) I hope everyone enjoyed their Easter, if you celebrate it! Here are a few pictures from our weekend! Enjoy Xoxo, Court

Pacifire-FREE

What's up everyone?!? So this will be such a quick post...but if you have been following my blog since the beginning then you will know that I was trying to get my daughter off of her pacifier for the LONGEST time ever! I talk about it like its a drug or something, lol. But I mentioned on my Facebook how her paci was like what alcohol or shopping is to someone that is stressed. It really soothed her. I mean, she was sucking her fingers in the womb and she came out sucking on her tiny fingers! Needles to say, I am BEYOND thrilled for my baby girl. She is FINALLY paci-free for 2 weeks now! Whoo hoo =) So your probably wondering what we did (her father and I)? Well it was kind of by accident...meaning that every night she would loose her paci in the middle of the night and she would cry so LOUD that one of us would have to get up and search for it. That was soooo annoying. Messing with my sleep is a BIG no no ;) SO anyways, she lost her paci one day and kind of forgot about it until the night-time...she literally had a melt down but we still had no idea where her paci was (she has a habit of hiding her belongings). So for about a couple of days still no sight of her paci, she would be fine until it was bed time. She had about 3 days of crying in the middle of the night then she would put herself back to sleep. After her father and I noticed how she was able to soothe herself with out her paci, we both decided to NOT give her paci back to her IF we ever found it. Fast forward, it now has been almost 2 weeks and no paci =) I ended up finding it in one of my old purses that she likes to walk around in! I didn't throw it away but I put it in a high place where she could NEVER see it. She asked me the other day however when I picked her up form her preschool about where her paci is, and so I told her a little fib :/ (Its okay to lie in situations like this, right?...Lol) I told her that the "paci-fairy" came and took her paci while she was sleeping. She said "why?" and I said, "because the paci-fairy said that if you want to be a big girl, you can't have it anymore!" She was fine for like a minute, then she said "But Mommy, you were supposed to tell the fairy that it's mine and she is not supposed to steal" Awwww, I felt so bad but she had me cracking up! She is doing so well with out it and I could not be happier! If any of you are going through this, just be patient. Don't listen to what other people have to say when it comes to your child. Point blank. No one knows your child and their attachments better than YOU. So just be patient and keep trying. I say the best thing to do is just do a cold-turkey on the pacifier, and let them cry it out for a couple of nights. Some parents refuse to let their children cry for anything, so I am just speaking for myself and what worked for me. There are other tactics that you could try as well, such as throwing a party for your child to get rid of the paci, or mail it to a grand-parent or close family friend, or "pass" it down to a baby relative or baby brother/sister! I hope someone reads this and finds it helpful! Just remember, hang in there!! Truly Yours, Court...xoxo