I recently shared with you our yoplait vanilla yogurt with blueberries pops. It's one of those things that the kids enjoys and something that is so easy to make that you'd wonder why you never made it before. I'm a big fan of yogurt and especially the Yoplait brand. Those who are new to reading Growing Up Madison may not realize that I'm former military. What that means is that I'm used to be up at the crack of dawn and out of the house before most people are awake. There have been times when I have had to be at work at 0430 in the morning. That's 4:30am for those who aren't military. What that also meant is that I don't usually eat breakfast. Now that I'm in the civilian world, having retired from the army, I still very rarely eat breakfast. I do however keep my refrigerator stocked up with healthy snacks.

Summer is almost over and that means for us with kids that schools will be reopening. Unlike the East Coast our kids go back to school in the middle of August. That means that we've already done our school shopping and we're already Back In School. Summer is filled with lots of sunshine, fun and for some travel. This Summer has been special this year when it comes to SUBWAY® Restaurants!

Participating SUBWAY® Restaurants located in the U.S.A. and Canada came together with several charities as an act of giving back to communities. Their campaign “You Share. We Share” is being participated by over 7,800 SUBWAY® Restaurant locations to help support different charities. Charities is something that we here at Growing Up Madison love to promote.

Yesterday August 19th, I lost one of the most important people in my life. My mother and my best friend. My mother has been there for me since day 1 and now my life feels empty without her. She was not only a mother but a grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt, cousin and a great friend to many.

The words cannot describe how I'm feeling at the current time but I know that she's in a better place now, no longer suffering in pain and for that I'm grateful. Gone too soon but would never be forgotten. May her soul rest in peace and one day I hope to see her again.

Those who frequently visit Growing Up Madison, I'll be gone today to prepare for her funeral in the Caribbean. I'll be back on the 30th. Thank you to those who offered their condolences via Facebook and texts. Our family is currently in mourning but with your prayers, we will persevere.

I'm not a fan of shopping for back to school. I absolutely hate shopping because of the crowds. It's one thing to go into a store and everyone is looking for the same thing. It's another to go from store to store and not find what you're looking for. This back to school shopping this year has been super hectic for us. I have one child heading into her 2nd year of college, one going into his second year of high school and yet another just starting out in Junior High School. So what's a mom to do when you have three kids to shop for and so little time. You go to Walmart and shop #LikeABoss.

My pre-schooler was born with a head full of hair. As a newborn all that was required of me to recreate the perfect hairstyle was a brush. As she got older and her hair got kinkier I realized that a brush wasn't going to cut it. Being Caribbean-American as I like to call us, our hair need a lot of tender loving care. My oldest daughter has decided to go back au-naturale and has been transitioning. When she was younger one of the products that I found worked wonders in her hair was the Just for Me haircare line. Yes it's been around for as long as I can remember. Back then we lived in New York City and it was easy for me to find it. Having moved to Colorado it was a little difficult to find here so I started using other products. I was so happy to hear that Just for Me is now available at Walmart.


Living in Colorado there is a lack of humidity which means that our hair tends to be really really dry. No matter what we do it's a hassle to keep it moisturized. I think I've tried almost everything under the sun and with no result that lasts for as long as I would like it too. The new Just for Me Milk Hair Collection was a change from the others.

Now the line includes quite a few products and I was sent 5 of them to test out.

The Just For Me Hair Milk Leave-In Detangler - This is by far our lifesaver. Whenever it's time to wash Madison's hair, because of the thickness of it, it usually gets tangled and it hurts to detangle. It's why we try and avoid washing for as long as we can. This has made washing her hair so much easier. It is so easy to use and can be used on dry hair as well.

Just For Me Hair Milk Mosituresoft Sulfate Free Cleanser - I like products that don't strip the natural oil from her hair so I always look out for Sulfate Free on the bottles of shampoo whenever I purchase them. As I mentioned, it's very dry here in Colorado so what little oil she has we need. This cleanses her hair and leaves it squeaky clean without stripping it. Her hair feels so soft when it's washed and smells really good too.

Just For Me Hair Milk Pre-Wash Softening Detangler - Now who would have thought that you would want to detangle before washing? I've never done it before and I'm happy that I was able to give this one a try. If you co-wash this is perfect for that. Just add it to your hair before washing and comb through and it makes it so much easier.

Just For Me Hair Milk Silkening Conditioner - I always condition our hair because we need the moisture. Sometimes we co-wash (meaning we wash with just conditioner instead of using shampoo) and this is perfect for that as well. It leaves her hair feeling silky soft and the smell is awesome. It states that it minimizes breakage and I've noticed that when I used it I didn't see as much of hair on the comb when I pulled it through. Amazing!

Just For Me Hair Milk Hydrate and Protect Leave-In Conditioner - Now this is our lifesaver and by far one of our favorite. I'm going to say it again. Our hair gets very dry here so we're always having to moisturize. Since this is a leave-in conditioner it can be used whenever we feel the need to moisturize and I have used it quite a lot since I've gotten it. As a matter of fact, it needs to be replaced soon.


The Just For Me Hair Milk Collection is enriched with a blend of natural ingredients, including shea butter, soymilk and honey.  It seals in moisture to help soften hair and prevent breakage and leaves it visibly softer so that you can run your fingers through it. Now Just for Me has a 5 Finger Challenge that they want you to try.

The #5FingerChallenge demonstrates the efficacy and benefits of the Just for Me detangling products. All you have to do is run your five fingers through your hair as proof that you accomplished the challenge. How easy is that?

So what are you waiting for? Check out the Just For Me Hair Milk Collection and give the Just for Me Five Finger Challenge a try today.



Disclosure: Growing Up Madison receives products in order to conduct reviews. No monetary compensation was provided unless noted otherwise. All opinions are 100% my own. Some posts may contain affiliate links that I receive commission for payment from in exchange for referrals. In the event of a giveaway, the sponsor is responsible for delivery of the prize, unless otherwise noted in the posting. Giveaways are not sponsored by Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ or any other social media site. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I personally believe will be a good fit for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

With this being summer we have hit temperatures in the 90's and it's been a scorcher. There have been days where all we've done is just curl up on the couch with a good book, a movie and lounge with the central air keeping us cool. On the days however when the kids do want to go outside it's always great to have a healthy and nourishing snack. You may have heard me say quite a number of times that we don't do soda or sweets in our house. It's a very rare occasion that it may be seen, like the case of party. We are lovers of fruits and yogurt and one of our faves is Yoplait and boy do we love to get creative with it. Today I want to share one of our favorite. Yoplait Vanilla Yogurt with Blueberries Pops.

We absolutely love fashion! Mommy has been dressing me up for as long as I can remember. I've had clothing from almost every company that sells children clothing under the sun. I've even had impractical designer clothing that costs absurd sums of money that I was only able to wear once. Clothes, shoes, it's all about the fashion! Now while I love fashion there is also one other thing that I just love as much. That's my dolls. I have quite a collection of them and while it's great to buy the fashion from the doll store, most of the time there isn't anything to match that would fit me because of my age, and sometimes I want to look just like my doll do. So where do you go when you want your diva to shine through right along with your favorite doll? You go to 4EverPrincess USA. That's where! They have matching outfits for your little princess from ages 3 to 12 that can be worn anytime and anywhere.