Thank You and A Give Away.

I want to say Thank You to everyone who has been listening to the podcast from the first day till today. If you are just listening for the first time, welcome and thank you.

To show my appreciation, two people would win a Christmas stocking made by my very talented mother-in-love. To Win, enter your email address and share your favorite episode.

USA entries only this year!

Winners would be announced on November 30th!

Best Wishes to everyone.

*Update*

The winner was announced on Instagram- Best Hogan!

Congratulations!!!!

Season's of Life

Hello Everyone.

I am hoping this finds you well and if you are in an area that your Fall Season is getting colder, I am hoping you are staying warm.

This week, a lot of things happened that has not happened in a few years, my whole family got on one schedule. We started working early in the day, and Othniel went to school.

I was a bag of nerves prior to this week and I made sure to document how I felt after I took him to school.

Are you the parent who cries after the kiddo goes to school or are you one who says, this is life and we have to live it by doing both easy and hard things. I am hoping to be the latter parent :)

The first day I took Othniel to school I recorded my emotions or feelings. On the second day, it was hard to leave him at school, I must admit. It was hard to hear, mommy, I do not want to go to school, I want to stay with you.

You might ask, what did you tell him? I reminded him that his favorite TV characters- Catboy in PJ Masks, Clark Kent in Superman all had to go to school to learn and then save the world. It gave him a reason to think and then he calmed down and I left.

Does it get easier? I hope so. Parents/ caregivers who have had to take toddlers to school, let me know what your experiences were.

He was asked to bring a few essentials to school and I decided to make one of the items. They had asked for a blanket and I decided to make it from the stash of fabrics I had laying around. I will attach the work-in-progress and then show you the finished product.

Here is to wish you a great week and I would see you in the next episode.

God bless,

Ezanya

Quilt/ Blanket being made or the work in progress

We Moved to A Different State

Sort Of!

Hello, Dears,

How are you and how was your day, your week and everything?

I am hoping great so far.

So We moved! Yes, we moved from Florida to Kentucky. Some of you who know me, know that I used to live in Louisville, Ky and then moved a few years ago.

I must add, that I have lived in 3 different states in 3 years! Let that sink in for a bit! And no we are not a military family. I have a lot of love and a lot of respect 💪 for the military for their services to the countries they serve in.

Louisville, Ky

I lived in Louisville for almost a decade, worked here, got married here, had my baby here. I have loved this city, I might add, it has loved me back- I call Louisville home and the friends I have here are (almost) family to me. My husband and I moved in 2017 from Louisville to Naperville, Illinois.

Naperville, IL

We lived here from March 2017- June of 2018. We decided to move to warm and sunny Florida since we visited FL every year since 2015.

Tampa, Fl

This is where my husband and I have been coming to for a bit. I loved it (still do)- the palm trees, the warmth is the closest thing to being in Nigeria lol. The Jamaican food that I had brought back food memories about the food I ate in my grandmother’s house in Nigeria. My colleagues at work made the best coffee brew yet- super strong Cuban coffee, a few sips and you are good to go. I decided right there and then, some of the best home-brewed coffees should include Instant coffee- ask me the brand of coffee if you want to try it.

Back to Louisville

You might ask why did you choose to move? I will tell you in one word- FAMILY.

We moved to be with family and close enough to visit them and not spend days (when you travel with a toddler) on the road.

God is a faithful God, and He blessed my husband and me with jobs in less than a month of applying. We got hired and we made the decision to come back to Louisville, Ky. I can unashamedly tell you that we MISSED being in Louisville.

The Move!

It was not easy, I made the short video to show you a glimpse of the day of travel. We - No- my husband packed the UHaul truck and I must add, one does not think they have much stuff until they have to move. We found items from our first move from Louisville. We got rid of old stuff and the stuff we could carry, we carried in the truck.

We stopped in Macon, Georgia and stayed at the Hampton Inn & Suites Macon I-475 and rested. The guy at the reception desk that night -Tommy- was very kind to weary road travelers like us. We slept, woke up, had breakfast and got on the road and drove the remainder of the 6 hours to Louisville. We arrived in the rain. I did not worry. It was GREAT to be back- after being on the road for about 13 hours. (This is not an affiliate link and I am not being paid to post this)

And by the way, we arrived on Sunday night and I began work on Monday!

That’s all for now- there is so much unpacking to do! You might see UHaul boxes in most of my pics on Instagram where I post often. You can reach me there and by email (theizorapodcast@gmail.com) to keep up with what is going on, join me there.

♥️

♥️

For all my readers and listeners to the podcast, Thank you. You were with me in Florida and I say, thank you and hope you would keep reading and listening.

Hope you have a great weekend and I will see you in the next episode,

God bless,

Ezanya

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A (Device Free) Way to Travel with a Potty Trained Toddler at Night

For updates check my twitter and Instagram and the name is theizorapodcast.

Hello everyone
How are you?
On this episode, I am coming to you live from my beloved Louisville Ky.

I just celebrated my birthday, and Granny Ann's birthday.
In vacay mode currently- celebrated my husband's grandmother's birthday too.


Have you traveled with a toddler? How did that go?
I'd share my experience here

I got off work and my hubby picked me up. They had dinner earlier. I came home, Showered and got ready to ge in the car. We had 13 hours to go since I was not going to drive but my husband was my goal was to make sure we all had all we needed and we were comfortable

Thing We Took:
-Water
-Snacks
-Fruit
-Turkey Jerky
-Books for my toddler to color on
-A tablet for the toddler with downloaded apps not needing Wifi- just in case you need it.
-Favorite toddler books and colors
-Knitting yarn for me
-Chargers for devices
-Audiobook(s)
-A favorite cd with songs for the toddler
-Potty Seat for toilet
-Pull ups n big kids under wear



What We used
-Water
-Snacks
-Turkey Jerky
-Audiobook
-CD w favorite Song

How it Went Down…
One thing I am glad we did was to get little one in his pj's. I had him wear his pull ups and made sure all he had to drink was water... Juice makes the kiddo pee a lot 😓
When we got in the car, all we did just chitchat for a bit and soon enough, lil one fell asleep. I read a book on my phone and the hubs listened to sports on the radio ( Sirius FM- is awesome for roadtrips👍🏽).
After about 5 hours, toddler woke, are we there yet? Nope
He ate jerky with us, sang his favourite songs .. I fell asleep 😴😴😴

When we stopped for gas, we all got out to stretch and use the resroom, even lil man did too.
We got into the car and kept driving... Toddler and I fell asleep while the hubs listened to his audiobook till we got to our destination.

What I learned
1. Communicate. Yes even here it is important. I started telling to little one months ago we where going to travel to see his extended family, why we were going and my inlaws also talked about it. We made sure to build excitement around it- we were happy to be taking a vacay too so our excitement I think spilled out to the little one. When we were in the car, the little one was excited; we talked and sang and talked and he fell asleep. He was excited to see his Nana ❤

2. It is easier to enjoy your audiobook and also stay awake listening to it if the lil one is asleep. Be careful not to pick something with eerie sounds or loud noise in it- you might startle your kid. If it is possible, listen to it prior to the trip or read reviews before you buy it just to make sure

3. Stay dehydrated. Rather than soda, drink water on the road. It keeps from swollen legs if it is a long drive.

4. Understand how much your toddler uses the bathroom if they have water vs juice and choose the best drink for them. In my opinion, juice makes them go every other couple minutes, so we drank water.

5. Choose the right apps that do not require wifi for your tablet or phone for your kid. I had read a post about some good apps for traveling but the apps where not for android phones.
Here are some free ones I downloaded for android:
- Coloring and Learn, it has many sections and he seemed to like it.
-Baby Panda Robot Kitchen, we played this when we got to our destination, even adults might like this one.

Finally,
Enjoy your time on the road... It is better to have all you need packed than not enough. I had a charged tablet ready for my toddler to use but I was hoping he slept on the drive so would not bring it out. I am glad he did sleep. It made for an excellent next day where he was not cranky but ready to have a good time.


Changes
Episodes would be going out on Saturdays not Wednesdays like before, I'd talk about life changes happening in my life on the next episode.

As always, remain blessed and I'd see you in the next episode.
Ezanya

When we stopped for gas, guess who was asleep ?

Was surprised at midnight with a Birthday cake. I was getting help blowing out candles

Happy 85th Birthday Granny Ann ❤

Made a quick stop in Louisville, Ky

What Do You See In The Mirror?

When you look in a mirror what do you tell your self?

Do you tell yourself positive words like the words from Aibilene Clark in the movie- The Help:

“You is kind”

“You is smart”

“You is important”

I asked this question on Social Media and Roselomon responded that she told herself that she was favored. I appreciated that. That mindset I believe makes opportunities happen- calling things into existence. I really like that.

Mirror Mirror

In Snow White, the evil queen often asked, “Mirror Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest in the land? The mirror would respond “My queen, you are the fairest in the land.” You can Google Snow White and read about it.

This episode is not about Snow White, it is about me. This week is my birthday week and I have been thinking.

I went to Ross to find a dress for an event and for the first time in a long time, I really looked at myself in the mirror!
Yes.
It was a full-length mirror.
I have not had to buy a dress for a while- no major event requiring a new dress and all. For other activities, I have got tops, and pants and my good ol' pair of jeans!
You might ask, why.

WHY is this important?

I knew I had gained weight after having my Lil one and I will tell you, we have moved two states in the past 3 years too. And would be moving again, I started school and so on...
And I have to add I worked nights! Some of the baby weight I lost before that job came back with love and a vengeance
I knew where the coffee and donut spots were and the kept me company in my bid to stay awake working nights.
Guys life happened!
Does this relate to you or anyone?

I did try on a couple of dresses and bought one, a top and a pair of pants. I loved the dress. I also noticed I had dropped a dress size from when I got a dress in December. That was worth rejoicing. I ended up returning the dress the next day.

Returned Dress
I loved that dress, it was aquamarine and the cut of the dress was just what I liked. I could dress it up or down and wear it to any occasion. I returned it because it did not suit my goals!

Starting Again

When I stood before that full-length mirror, I saw myself. For some reason, this time I really saw myself.
Look,
-I love who I am- a child of God fearfully and wonderfully made.
-I love my kiddo and my husband and I know that I am loved.

However,
I am not being a steward of what God had given me by neglecting to take care of myself. I work in a hospital and have seen that some things can be prevented. I am also not helping my joints by carrying all this weight so I have decided to begin again.
I am not going on a diet, this is a mindset change and discipline about food and exercise.

Hebrews 12: 11 states: “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”

This will entail discipline and by God’s grace, I am ready for it.

Would you join me? If your answer is yes, message me here on Instagram or email me at theizorapodcast@gmail.com.

If you have changed your lifestyle and it has helped you, please share with me and the readership of this blog and podcast!

Thank you.

I end with this

Do you remember Micheal Jackson's Man in the Mirror song? He began with

I'm gonna make a change,
For once I'm my life
It's gonna feel real good,...

I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer...

So I ask you when you look in the mirror, what do you tell your self? I am hoping you see yourself and say that

Just as you are; you my dear are absolutely loved- John 3:16

Always,

Ezanya