family - Justice Fergie Lifestyle Media

The 3rd Annual ‘Mama’s Day Our Way’ Campaign: a sponsored story

May 2, 2013 By Justice Fergie 2 Comments

I spent 10 minutes in the greeting card aisle on Monday, searching for a card to congratulate one of my besties on her newly announced pregnancy. I ended up leaving the store without a card in hand because I could not find something appropriate for the occasion – so frustrating! My only options were cards that congratulated the parents-to-be on their first baby (it will be my friend’s second) or on their ‘baby boy’ or ‘baby girl.’ Well, given that she’s early on in her pregnancy, the baby’s gender isn’t yet known (and what if she and her husband decide to be surprised?). I was really disappointed in the card selections and decided to use a blank card and write my own message.

As a content creator, that experience really annoyed me because I was being limited in my choices; it was like the ‘powerful, all-knowing greeting card wizards’ had decided exactly what situations warranted a particular New Baby card, and my friend’s wasn’t one of them.

The good news is, I did have another choice. I could head home and create my own card, reflective of the joy and excitement of a new, second baby whose gender was yet-to-be-determined. It’s this same concept of taking control of the mainstream image of Mother’s Day that’s resonating with me with this year’s Strong Families ‘Mamas Day Our Way‘ project.

According to the 2010 census, nearly 80% of households in this country do not reflect the traditional nuclear family form – with 2 heterosexual parents and their 2 biological kids.

That’s an amazing percentage! And one that is certainly not apparent from a walk down the greeting card aisle at your local store, right? Which doesn’t make any sense – think about the single-parent or adoptive or same-sex parent households that you know, for example. That’s why I think it’s so cool that, today, Strong Families, a national initiative of Forward Together, announced their 3rd annual ‘Mama’s Day Our Way‘ e-card series and campaign. Their goal is to “highlight the real experiences of mamas in our lives, and providing a more meaningful celebration beyond flowers and traditional greeting cards.”

They’ve partnered with a diverse group of artists who have designed a fun, thoughtful and non-traditional set of Mother’s Day e-cards. You can share them, for free, with a mama in your life across Facebook, Twitter, taking action in support of policy reform that supports families, and engaging in dialogue about families during their #MamasDay tweet chat on Thursday, May 9 at 11am PT/2pm ET.

If the mainstream isn’t providing us with content that reflects our lives and ideals, we should create our own. Now that’s a bandwagon that this content creator can jump on.

Filed Under: family, Sponsored, Uncategorized Tagged With: #mamasday, Mother's Day, Sponsored, Strong Families

#GoMighty Life List Check-In: On Navigating An Entire ASL Conversation

April 22, 2013 By Justice Fergie Leave a Comment

I’m about 4 classes into my ASL course, sponsored by Olay and Go Mighty, and while I am still stumbling along in the communication department, I’m proud to say that during the last class, I managed to follow a 2-hour conversation entirely in ASL!

Or ‘mostly’ follow anyway.

One of the great things about ASL is that it’s based on concepts rather than specific words, so you can get by picking up the gist of an idea rather than having to understand every single word in a sentence, like in English, for example. Last class we started off by reviewing Unit 13: More Ways to Express Yourself, and our instructor started telling us about her life story to demonstrate some of the signs. Before we knew it, it was 90 minutes later and she had shared her challenges growing up in a small town in a school where she was the only deaf student, and where her teachers and principal didn’t know “what to do with her,” to her desire to become a math teacher but getting discouraged in college when she couldn’t follow along with the lesson in class, to her ascent up the management chain at various government agencies, to her finally fulfilling her passion to teach, as an ASL instructor years later (yay!).

And she shared this entire, moving, riveting story in ASL.

Read the rest on my Go Mighty page…

Filed Under: family, life, Sponsored, success Tagged With: Go Mighty, Olay

{sponsored} Why Your Should #TalkEarly w. Your Kids About Serious Issues, Before You Have No Choice

April 16, 2013 By Justice Fergie Leave a Comment

Yesterday was hard day. It started out like any other – the kids at school, Hubby and I both working from home. Then I went to do my kid pick-ups and got settled again, back in my home office to get some more work done before dinner. I had the television on, volume low, and looked up to see the news about the Boston Marathon tragedy. Of course, like everyone else, I was glued to the TV, trying to understand what was going on while going from moments of disbelief to sadness to disgust.

And the kids were all home.

My husband had the news on upstairs too and suddenly my 8 1/2 year-old was full of questions: “What happened? Who’s hurt? Who’s fault is it? Was it an accident?” And my 4 1/2 year-old had his own questions: “Why are all the police there? Why is this on TV, again? Who is the bad guy?”

Fortunately (unfortunately?), we’d had the conversation with our kids before about tragedies unfolding on the news – most recently with the Newtown tragedy. We let them know that they were safe, that there were more ‘good’ people than ‘bad,’ and that there are always people around whose jobs it is to help everyone and keep them safe. Having already had that kind of conversation made yesterday’s terrible development a little easier to swallow when it came to explaining the events to our kids.

The same line of thinking applies to hard conversations with our kids about other serious issues, like underage drinking. I’ve wrestled with this topic a lot because in my mind my kids are just babies and why the heck would I be talking to them about alcohol at this stage. But reality sets in and I see just how fast they are all growing up. Chatterbox is in third grade and the subject matter that gets discussed during recess is shocking – I can see that conversations amongst her peers about alcohol are, sadly, not that far off.

And so, we’re being proactive and making it a point to #TalkEarly with our children about it. Explaining why it’s ok for Mom and Dad to order a cocktail at dinner or have a beer at a BBQ. Talking to them about the law and why they need to be 21 before they can drink. I think the most important conversation for me will be where we discuss the potential harmful effects of alcohol and why they absolutely must stay away from it until they are old enough to make proper judgment calls. We’ve had this discussion about smoking and they all seem to have internalized that smoking = death. It’s a bit harder with alcohol, though because my husband and I, and our friends and adult family members to drink socially, so there isn’t the same kind of taboo associated with alcohol in our kids’ minds.

I’m also expecting the depth and focus of the conversations to evolve as the kids age. But we’ve already started the discussions and want to maintain an open line of communication. Talking with them early will allow us the time to answer specific questions and prepare them for dealing with situations on their own, rather than waiting until a situation arises where we have no choice but to dive into the issue.

Something we managed to avoid yesterday.

Wondering how to #TalkEarly with your kids about underage drinking? Talk with me & experts tomorrow, 4/17 at 1:00pm ET on Twitter for tips & info. Follow the hashtag: #TalkEarly and @AskListenLearn @TheMotherhood @JusticeFergie

{Disclosure: This post is a part of a sponsored project that I am working on with The Motherhood and The Century Council. All opinions are mine.}

Filed Under: family, Sponsored

Mother’s Day Must-Have: The Genet Scarf by ONE and fashionABLE

April 11, 2013 By Justice Fergie 1 Comment

My last Rock Your Party newsletter focused on the magic of successful collaborations. Besides JT and Jay-Z collaborating on “Suit and Tie“, there’s another recent collab that I’m in love with: The Genet Scarf – the beautiful and brilliant product created by my beloved ONE Moms (I’m a community partner), fashionABLE and ALT Summit.

Here’s the story:

Congratulations to Janette, ONE Moms, the ALT ladies, fashionABLE and, most of all, Genet, for taking a grim situation and using your talents and strength to turn it around and create something so positive and so beautiful. A very Happy Mother’s Day to all of you!

Filed Under: family, Style, thats my style

A MUST See!: Three Little Birds at Adventure Theatre {and I met Cedella & Rohan Marley!}

March 25, 2013 By Justice Fergie Leave a Comment

Last weekend we attended the press performance of Three Little Birds at Adventure Theatre in Glen Echo, MD. When the theatre folks reached out to me to offer complimentary tickets to the show, I was beyond excited because of the cultural story that I knew the performance would tell in a way that would be entertaining and educational for my kids. We always enjoy each show that we see at ATMTC – most recently their Christmas performance – but I had a feeling we’d be in for a special treat with this one, and I was right!

The first happy surprise was seeing the set; it was bright and colorful and had elements reminiscent of the Caribbean: corrugated metal ‘walls’ and the actual stage was designed to look like a steel pan (something that SocaMom pointed out to me afterwards). The second happy surprise was that members of the Marley family were in attendance that afternoon to see Cedella Marley’s book – “Every Little Thing,” on which the performance is based – come to life. As a lifelong reggae fan, I was over the moon.

And then the show started and I found myself smiling and laughing and swaying and singing from beginning to end. The story was about Ziggy Marley as a young boy, afraid of outside and only interested in staying indoors and watching the weather report on television. His friend Nansi – who obviously has a little crush on Ziggy – has her eyes set on adventure and tries every trick in the book to get Ziggy out of the house. When she finally does – they’re in for roller coaster ride because ‘Duppy’, an evil spirit, is out to get the kids…and their hair.

The entire show is perfectly choreographed to Bob Marley’s music and my kids were glued the entire time. The writers also did a great job injecting insights into Jamaican culture – from the starring role of mangoes, to the folklore of duppies, to the childhood games, to the history of the island and its mix of cultures. After the show we got to meet Cedella, and Rohan Marley and I even spotted Rachel Stuart from my younger days of watching Caribbean Rhythms on BET and chatted with her for a bit.

I’ve been on a mission to expose my third-generation immigrant children to their Caribbean heritage…this performance was a welcome opportunity. Go see it if you can – it’s so worth it!

ADVENTURE THEATRE MTC ANNOUNCES A WORLD PREMIERE REGGAE CHILDREN’S MUSICAL, THREE LITTLE BIRDS

BASED ON A STORY BY CEDELLA MARLEY WITH MUSIC & LYRICS BY BOB MARLEY

GLEN ECHO, MD – Adventure Theatre MTC (ATMTC) announces a world premiere musical, Three Little Birds, the fourth in its Professional 2012-2013 61^st Season, March 15 – April 14, 2013, based on the book by Cedella Marley with music & lyrics by reggae legend Bob Marley. Tickets are $19 each and can be purchased online at www.adventuretheatre-mtc.org or by calling 301.634.2270.

Ah…yasso nice! Three little birds sing their sweet songs to Ziggy, a very shy child who is happy to see the world from the T.V. in his room. His tricky friend Nansi wants him to get out and enjoy the Island nation of Jamaica. But, Ziggy is afraid of hurricane, mongoose and evil spirits. Their worldly adventure is enlivened by the fantastic songs of renowned Reggae artist, Bob Marley. Roots, Rock, Reggae!

Directed by Nick Olcott and adapted for the stage by ATMTC’s Producing Artistic Director, Michael J. Bobbitt, Three Little Birds brings to life not only a beautiful story, but an African-Caribbean culture and music that heavily influenced African-American music in the mid 1900’s and continues to influence it today. As a result, Three Little Birds is the 3^rd of Adventure Theatre MTC’s African –American Adventure Series. The second of this series, The Snowy Day, is nominated for Outstanding Production, Theatre for Young Audiences in the 2013 Helen Hayes Awards and the first, Mirandy and Brother Wind was a finalist in the 2012 NY Musical Theater Festival.

Three Little Birds is recommended for Ages 4+. Tickets are $19 each with group and field trip rates available. Children under the age of 1 are free. The press performance will be Sunday, March 17 at 2pm. All performances will take place at Adventure Theatre MTC, 7300 MacArthur Blvd, Glen Echo, MD, 20812 in the historic Glen Echo Park.

Michael J. Bobbitt, Producing Artistic Director at Adventure Theatre MTC says of the show, “Jamaica may be a small island nation, but its presence has been felt globally, especially in America. We have been so blessed to have support from Cedella Marley, who was amazing to work with on this project and allowed us to introduce her words and her father’s music to a new generation.”

ABOUT ADVENTURE THEATRE MTC

Adventure Theatre (founded in 1951) and Musical Theater Center (founded in 1986) merged into one organization, Adventure Theatre MTC, in 2012. Located in Glen Echo Park (Glen Echo, MD) and Wintergreen Plaza (Rockville, MD), ATMTC cultivates new generations of artists and audiences by creating memorable theatrical productions and by providing young people the highest quality musical theater training. ATMTC serves students at all skill levels and families from diverse communities, approximately 75,000 people annually.

Filed Under: family Tagged With: culture, Family Life, live performances, reggae, shows

Our President’s Day Weekend Roadtrip to Ottawa!

February 20, 2013 By Justice Fergie 5 Comments

Ok, I literally just realized the irony in us traveling to another country for President’s Day Weekend.

But it’s all good because the underlying goal is patriotism right? And I was teaching my kids all about the country where their mom grew up. They’ve been to Canada before – to participate in the Montreal Marathon about 5 years ago to celebrate my Grandpa, and for my uncle’s wedding about 2 years ago, but because they’re so young, they barely remember any of it (in fact, L’il Buddy wasn’t even around for that first trip). This trip was all about reveling in winter – sub-zero temps and all: we went ice skating at Winterlude and skiing at Edelweiss and even walked on a frozen-solid Rideau Canal on Family Day. My cousin and his girlfriend were perfect hosts – being patient with the all of the baggage that comes with a traveling family of 5 – giving us a tour of everything from Parliament to Byward Market to Fulton’s Pancake House and Sugar Bush.

My sister joined us for the 9-hour (each way) roadtrip and we reminisced about the – largely food-related – memories of our childhoods. We had poutine, of course!, and Slush Puppies, and St. Hubert BBQ, and Beavertails and brought back Montreal-style bagels and All-Dressed chips and egg rolls and and all of our favorite chocolate bars and Rickards.

But what made me happiest was to hear Chatterbox say: “I like it here, Mommy. Let’s come back.”

So do I.

Filed Under: family, life

#GoMighty Check-In: My First ASL Class

February 12, 2013 By Justice Fergie 5 Comments

Whew! Last night I had my very first ASL class – sponsored by Olay – and let me just say that I was definitely taken to school. My dear, dear, sister convinced me that I knew enough ASL to skip the beginner level class and start with ASL II.

Alas, she was mistaken.

We spent last night’s class “reviewing” the first twelve modules that her students had learned last semester. And by review, I mean flying through dozens and dozens of slides with the instructor asking the class to demonstrate the signs, hand shapes and concepts on each slide, and then breezing right along to the next one.

I should have started by saying that the instructor is deaf and uses only ASL to communicate with the students. It was both terrifying and at the same time, just what I needed. I managed to not make a complete fool of myself by reaching in the way back of my mind to recall signs that Lisa had taught me over the years and, doing a lot of fingerspelling. My biggest blunder of the night was probably when I (poorly) communicated that I was there to learn ASL because my babysitter was deaf. It took at least 5 minutes before I realized my goof-up. But no one laughed at me – a good sign (pun intended).

All in all though, it was a great evening. While I have a lot of studying to do, I realized that I did know a respectable amount and I really benefited from understanding the concepts that form ASL. The instructor was very patient and took her time demonstrating the application of the concepts with objects from the classroom and even showing us two very different interpreters signing the national anthem at the Superbowl.

What impacted me the most though was realizing how exhausted I was after spending two hours trying to understand and communicate in a language that was foreign to me. I told my husband on the way home that, if that was the way my sister feels after trying to read lips and stay in the conversation at Christmas dinner, I seriously understand her frustration.

Until next week!

Filed Under: family, life Tagged With: ASL, Go Mighty, Olay, sign language

Happy Holiday Countdown Week 6: Treat Your Vacation Like a Vacation

December 19, 2012 By Justice Fergie Leave a Comment

What a concept! But sometimes even the best of us need to be reminded. Most of us social media types, moms, entrepreneurs and what have you are highly productive overachievers who take advantage of every waking moment to “get stuff done.”

This holiday season, please please please take a day or two – or more if you can swing it – to give it all a rest.

Even if you’re not miles away from home on a sunny beach (like I may or may not be, ahem), you can still use this down time to relax, rejuvenate and reconnect with yourself. Here’s a few ideas on how you can capture that vacation feeling amidst the holiday hustle and bustle:

Ways You Can ‘Getaway’ During the Holidays {without actually getting away}

Make a date with yourself for a nightly bubble bath. If you’re like me, one random bubble bath won’t have a lasting effect on your mood. But 3 or 5 in one week will start to feel luxurious and start to seep into your psyche that you’re treating yourself. Not into baths? Pick any relaxing activity of your choosing – curling up with a good book or enjoying egg nog by the fire or even taking a nap (!) works too.
Take a Break from the Internets. The constant sharing and scouring of email and news feeds and streams can be draining, even if you don’t realize it. Not feeling the pull to post updates all day long will also force you to remain present throughout your day and enjoy your moments that much more. It will also make your loved ones feel like the center of your universe (instead of, ahem, your Instagram stream) and everyone will be that much happier!
Do Something That YOU Want to Do. Especially during this time of year, we’re all about doing things for others: our children, extended family, neighbors, charities - make sure to throw yourself in the mix. I had an “aha” moment when scheduling everyone’s desires for our Christmas vacation: fishing trips, sleepovers, etc. It finally dawned on me that I could add something to the schedule that MOM wants to do! And so, tomorrow, I head to the spa for a body treatment, the schedule be damned.

Whether you have 2 weeks “off” or 2 days, make the most of your vacation time by treating yourself to downtime and enjoyable activities. Trust me, your To Do List will be there waiting for you when you get back!

Filed Under: family, Happy Holiday Countdown, life

We Go On Vacation!: New Mommalogues Video

December 18, 2012 By Justice Fergie 2 Comments

The holiday break usually flies by for us because we are either in Miami visiting family or we have family in town visiting us. Down South, there is NO shortage of entertainment and activities for the kids to keep busy with! With three sets of grandparents, and a slew of cousins, there is always a BBQ, beach trip, holiday show or something going on.

This year will be no different as we’re heading to Miami on vacation in a few hours. My husband’s family already has a lineup of carnivals, family dinners and more in the works, and my mom has purchased Nutcracker tickets, horseback riding lessons and a hotel stay in the Florida Keys…I’d say the kids will be plenty entertained!

And we’re off!

Filed Under: family, life

Happy Holiday Countdown Week 5: Free Yourself From Holiday Card Guilt

December 12, 2012 By Justice Fergie 4 Comments

Admit it. The cutesy cards from friends and family have been landing in your mailbox since darn near after Thanksgiving. And it makes you feel…pathetic. December was here before you had a chance to throw away the leftover Halloween candy and you fully intended to have your family’s holiday photo taken – with the kids in matching outfits against a seasonally appropriate background – but you had to reschedule the photo session more than once and eventually gave up. But now you wish you hadn’t! The truth is, a part of you actually likes mailing out holiday cards and you know how much your family members across the globe like receiving them.

Here’s what.

All is not lost. About 2 years ago, I freed myself of the self-imposed constraints surrounding my family’s holiday card situation and it’s been delightful ever since. The best part is that I no longer suffer from Holiday Card Guilt.

Happy Holiday Countdown Week 5:
Tips for Easy, Guilt-Free Holiday Cards

Any Decent Photo Will Do.

When it comes to the photo, I just pick any random photo from the year that I think captures the essence of our family and/or whichever photo isn’t dark and blurry and has at least 2 out of the 3 kids smiling. Guess what? No one really cares that they’re not wearing red velvet pinafore dresses or a crisp button down with shiny shoes.

Skip The Holiday Letter.

What about the ‘requisite’ year-in-review letter that accompanies the card? It’s so not ‘requisite.’ And there are so many ways to cheat at this one. Almost all of the photo card services have an easy breezy template that lets you fill in a few tidbits about your year without you having to compose an entire, coherent, essay. You could even have the kids draw a picture and color copy it and shove it into the envelope with your cards. Or a video holiday card would be fun and unique too! Get as creative as you please.

Deadlines, Schmeadlines.

Usually, though, the most stressful thing about holiday cards is getting them to your recipient before Christmas (if that’s what you celebrate). I’m here to tell you that this, too, is a rule that is perfectly fine to break. We did Happy New Year cards one year and it was great – not only because I didn’t feel the need to rush to get them in the mail, but also because ours arrived after the bulk of others, so while the early achievers’ cards had long been tossed and forgotten, our family’s was front and center on refrigerator doors across the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean, without any competition. Heh heh. This year our card design isn’t tied to any holiday at all. Which is perfectly in line with my motto of: “it’ll get there when it gets there.”

This year, our holiday cards are a sweet combination of all three elements. Take a gander at the proof:

It’s cheery. It’s cutesy. It’s us. But most of all, it’s guilt-free.

Filed Under: family, Happy Holiday Countdown, life

The 3rd Annual ‘Mama’s Day Our Way’ Campaign: a sponsored story