Baby Don’t Cry

It’s always tough times when you have a sick kid. Mari (my 22 month old) woke up a bunch last night and then stayed up from 3 am – 5 am with the start of a cold, so getting up at 7:00 wasn’t easy this morning. She’s had a constant runny nose all day and has been so clingy I couldn’t make us lunch (thank god my sister provided a save there), but otherwise she’s been pretty good about it. It was a good day to watch TV – Dora the Explorer, Curious George, The Aristocats, and Peter Pan. Then all the standard after-bath entertainment, including the tried and true Bob Marley videos from YouTube which she demands every night. I’m not sure how her love affair with the dreadlocked one came about, but it’s awesome. She requests/requires that we sing “Three Little Birds” or “Stir It Up” (which she signals by moving her hand in a stirring motion) before she goes to sleep at nap and bed time (either that or Dave Matthews Band, my husband’s favorite). She’s still wearing the Bob Marley shirt we got her at the fair last year, even though it’s too small and barely fits over her 95th percentile head. And she mimics all his movements in the videos she watches, especially when he puts his finger to his mouth like he’s thinking. If she was going to have an obsession with a musician, Bob Marley is about the best I could hope for. At least I love his music and he has a massive catalog of stuff I can play through without having to repeat. Although she likes to hear the same songs over and over, so I guess that negates that one…

This is almost a year ago, when the shirt actually kinda fit. Man, she was round. =)

HelloHiHey

So this is my new attempt at blogging without the dreaded self-censorship.  I’ve been repeatedly told that I have to fastidiously segregate the various facets of my personality which are supposedly conflicting – such as being a mother and hip hop head (gasp!) – so I’m branching out to WordPress and trying to merge two of the biggest parts of my life.  I’ve recently seen ads for some random financial institution (bank? insurance agency?) that are targeting the “hip” group of younger fathers, purporting to be there at the intersection “where ‘dude’ meets ‘dad’”, so I figure I can exist where “hip hop” meets “mother,” right?  Thus was born Hip Hop Mama.  To be honest, I have no clue what I’ll be posting here as opposed to elsewhere, but I know I don’t want to be worrying about alienating anyone by writing about my escapades with my daughter, who is almost two and provides infinite fodder for the blogosphere.  

With that as my auspicious introduction, I offer you the following “mama” related songs, some more relevant than others.  

2Pac – Dear Mama  **you knew this one had to be in there

Pharcyde – Ya Mama

Atmosphere – Mama Had A Baby And His Head Popped Off

Ben Harper – Mama’s Got A Girlfriend Now

Black Eyed Peas – Hey Mama

The Mamas & The Papas – California Dreamin’