Curb your Enthusiasm!

Pregnancy is viewed as a celebration; birthing of a new life. The problem with it is that everyone expects that the pregnant woman is as enthusiastic as the well wisher ALL THE TIME.

Dear well wishers,

 I’m going to need for you to curb your enthusiasm a bit; as it gets ridiculously annoying by the time one gets to the end of the 40wks. Bearing in mind that it’s multiple well wishers versus ONE person receiving the same message from them ALL. Anything in excess is not good; the same goes for well wishes.

Think about it. From the time a woman begins to show in her pregnancy (for some that’s month 3 or 4) until she delivers, friends, strangers and family members firmly believe that it is their job to:

1. Rub your belly

2. Tell you their pregnancy story

3. Give you all of the pregnancy advice that they can remember

4. Expect you to be excited all the time; they ask that same damn question ALL THE TIME “So you excited yet?” If I say yes, will they stop……the answer sadly is no. steups

Now I have dubbed myself the Pregnancy Scrooge lol because my pregnancy has been uneventful including those supposed hormonal mood swings. However, it really is overbearing hearing the same thing from week 20 to 37. So forgive me if I don’t want to be asked again.

To family and friends,

I will tell you when I go to the hospital and I will notify you when the child is born. If you want to talk to me, please talk to me about something else beside the pregnancy.

Between the pregnancy app on my phone, my doctor’s secretary and the growth of my stomach, I know how far along I am and the proposed due date. Trust me no one wants the baby out more than me.

What exactly do you want me to be excited about???

a. The ripping of my crotch voluntarily (tearing) or being cut (episiotomy) during vaginal birth

b. The fact that I may be cut 6 layers deep into my skin and muscle tissue, with a recovery period of 2-6weeks if I have a C-section. Not to mention that I won’t be fully able to take care of the baby in this state

c. The risk that all of the placenta may not come out right away or my uterus may not clamp down and I could bleed to death

Like I said, I DO want to meet my baby, see what he looks like, smells like and feels like, I’m just not excited about the process, so please stop with the overbearing happy shit.

Love you guys, but I got to keep it real.

CT

Add a spark to your world, be a FireCracker!!

My baby shower issues

So I’ve never been the absolute girly girl. Now I can talk, shoes, clothes, makeup all day long but I don’t do the overly emotional drama queen role. I’m kind of a slightly sweeter Kelly Cutrone lmao. So when I was asked if I was having a baby shower or wanted one, I wasn’t and still am not completely into it.

Somehow as a woman there are certain things that people deem as a rite of passage, i.e. the bachelorette party and now the damn baby shower. Well I opted out of the bachelorette party because the idea of some greasy man that was not my man rubbing on me I viewed as gross, and I’m not intrigued by eating penis candy or cake. 

However, my family thinks that I only get one ‘get of jail free card’ and having used it (the card) on the bachelorette party; I should have a baby shower. Le sigh.

If I knew that having a baby was going to come with all these bogus requirements, I might have put a little more thought into having one. These are my personal issues with a baby shower:

1. I have to sit there for long hours; as a pregnant woman, sitting in one place for too long can be torture

2. I am going to be subjected to lame, mushy, girly games. Rolling my eyes and feeling the vomit coming up my throat just at the thought.

3. Exactly how many people do you invite? And who’s going be offended if they don’t get invited? And who’s going to piss me off if they don’t show up? lol. Like the wedding, all over again!!!!!!!!!!!

4. Please don’t make me open the gifts in front of the guests. I’m absolutely terrible at hiding my feelings/facial expressions. I don’t want to offend or hurt anyone. Really! It’s not done intentionally. I just like what I like and like any parent, they believe their kid deserves only the best. Besides there is always that one family member that comes with a crazy gift that has everyone wondering wtf. Lol

5. Now I have to spend money of catering etc. Hello! the baby is coming; I want to invest most of my energy, time and money into the preparation of that, not catering. My name ain’t Kim Kardashian or Tamar Braxton. Reality check, I’m not a baller YET!

Am I wrong to feel this way? Maybe I’ll do something nice when the baby is safely here and baptized. :-)  As for right now I just need a spa day.

What are your views on a baby shower. Are they necessary?

Add a spark to your world,

CT

What's really been going on

Be careful what you ask for! In preparation for maternity leave I’ve been putting all of my business in order at the office. I currently work in the sports industry and I didn’t want to give the men any reason to say that I couldn’t do my job because I was pregnant aka a woman.

Running one’s blood to water while being 8 ½ months pregnant is no fun, but somehow I managed to get the job done. One day in all of my frustration (in private) I lifted my head and hands to the ceiling and yelled “I need a f%*king rest!” Well apparently, the Lord heard me and agreed. So the day after releasing my frustrations, my laptop crashed and my fingers began to swell, making it difficult to type, hold anything or even pick my nose (yes I know it sounds gross, but that’s just how little function I had). 

I didn’t abandon y’all. God just tried to grant me my wish in his own weird way. Sigh.

Add a spark to your world!

CT

Stepping up to Success

                                       Jihan Roberts in front of her retail shoe store, Fashion I.S

Whether you have spoken to her directly or follow her on twitter, you’ll notice very quickly that 31 year old Marie Jihan Roberts speaks her mind and goes after what she wants. It’s this attitude that has propelled this single mother into success and this week’s FireCracker spotlight.

Jihan, as she is known to many, wears many hats: she is the owner of a shoe and accessory store named Fashion I.S., a personal shopper and stylist inclusive of photo shoot production and styling, she runs a clothing line, 36EDR, with her cousin and she helps manage the family’s carnival band called Image Nation.

Constantly questioned about her personal style by friends and strangers Jihan decided to enter the retail business; but this journey wasn’t an easy one.  She began this business venture by pedaling a suitcase from office to office, building up her clientele. After several years of doing so, she was finally able to open a brick and mortar store (Fashion I.S) in 2010, where those clients and new customers could now peruse her wide selection of shoes and accessories.   

But Jihan isn’t all about business. Her family and personal downtime is important too. Most of her working hours take place while her teenage son is at school. She closes her store at 5pm, which allows her to make it home in time to do homework and have dinner with him. As for her personal time, dating or partying takes place outside of the hours she spends with her son, e.g. her son’s bedtime is 9pm, so dating or partying may take place after that time or on the weekends. She spends her downtime shopping, chilling with her son, at the beach or sleeping.

Her advice to pregnant working women is to pace yourself; go for your goals but know when to put your feet up and have someone rub them for you. Additionally, she doesn’t believe in using pregnancy as a time to overindulge. She states that you should eat until you’re satisfied keeping in mind that the more you overindulge, the longer it will take to shed the pounds post-pregnancy. Her fashion tip for pregnant moms is to invest in flats and great accessories.

To women starting or currently running their own businesses, she advises the following:

a)      Don’t quit your permanent job until you have sufficiently built up your clientele

b)      Customer service is paramount

c)      Most importantly – YOU ARE YOUR BRAND! You’re a walking advertisement for your business. Always represent what you do e.g. she sells shoes, so she believes her shoe game needs to be on point.

In ten years time, Jihan hopes to open another retail shoe store at a lower price point, a plus sized clothing store, and a ‘working man’s’ eating place. She would also like to become a merchandiser for an internationally recognized brand while her son pursues his Masters degree.

If you would like to visit or purchase shoes and accessories from Fashion I.S. you can go to #3 Mathura Street St. James, Port of Spain. They’re open Tuesdays to Saturdays from 11am to 5pm. To contact Jihan for any other services you can call 1-868-797-4141, follow her on Twitter @shoesbyfis or on Instagram at shoesbyfis.

                                                Get familiar with the logo for Fashion I.S.

                           
                                                              36EDR's first collection

 

Be a  FireCracker. Add a spark to your world!

Love CT.

The New Make-up 'It' Girl!

There’s nothing sexier than a beautiful woman with brains. That’s why I love Leslie Liseli Rollock. This 30 year old has decided to dedicate her life to making other women feel beautiful. The once Credit Officer of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is now a make-up artist and designer of promotional wear for various brands. She also juggles motherhood. Yes! She is the mother of three children under the age of 12; one boy and 2 girls. WOW!

So how did this Credit Officer end up in the fashion industry? She states that she always had a love for make-up and fashion. After years of experimenting on herself, she decided to take the plunge and become formally trained. She took professional courses from Sacha Cosmetics, The University of the West Indies’ School of Continuing Studies, and Ephraim Hunte’s Make-Up Academy. 

She credits her success in the industry to her family. Her fiancé and parents help with the children when she has a job to do and she says even her children are supportive of their mom’s work. She admits that it does get hectic sometimes so, her down-time consists of sleeping, going to the beach, swimming or doing something outdoors.

As a mother and business woman she advises other moms or moms-to-be to continue to work as they usually would, once they have no health complications. She believes that the more you tell yourself that everything is okay, the more it works out that way. For those interested in her specific field she believes that they should become professionally trained and then just get out there and start working.

Of course as a make-up artist she has beauty advice for pregnant women.  She advises women to pamper themselves: get your hair, nails or eyebrows done. Get tons of massages. Pregnancy is a beautiful thing and you should try to enjoy it as much as possible.

As for her future, she is looking forward to getting married and continuing to raise her children. Professionally, she plans to keep up with all the fashion and make-up trends. She hopes to produce her own line of clothing and open a retail store. 

If you need make-up services or promotional wear for an event, feel free to contact Liseli through her contact details listed below.

Address: 11 Tiara Blvd, Diamond Vale, Diego Martin

Telephone: 1-868-486-8845

Email: lrccreations1@gmail.com

Facebook: LRC Creations or www.facebook.com/lrccreations