Some footage of the girls at ballet class.  I just want to share some of the things we do to show a positive way to stay active and raise our families.

 It's really important to have your children involved in extra curricular activities.  It helps them find positive outlets to express themselves, get exercise, and also socialize with kids their age that are active as well.  The last part is really important because kids that don't have anything to do will find bulls#@! to get into like sex, drugs, and all other forms of delinquent activity.


We have 5 children (3 girls, 2 boys).  One of our rules is to make sure everyone stays active.  Everyone plays soccer, except for our baby.  The boys play basketball and the girls take dance class and will probably start cheerleading this year.

They usually have something else going on in addition to that stuff as well.

We live right next to the girl's dance school.

They go twice a week.

All of the girls head to dance class together.  Our baby just sits and watches.

She can't wait to get started though.  I can tell.

Nani's class is longer than her younger sister so she patiently waits for her turn.

You know the face.  LOL

Captain Puerto Rico. Did anyone else catch that?

We flew over 7 hours straight with four children and everything went smoothly.  Here are some tips on how you can replicate complete with some pictures and video from our trip.

This is basically an update to a post I made years ago about an international flight with my children.

It doesn't have to be torturous or horrible if you plan ahead.

Have plenty of activities, snacks, and it doesn't hurt for them to take a little sedative (like Benadryl) beforehand.  I'm definitely not ashamed about that part because I've witnessed how horrible it can be if you go without.

Pre-Flight Check

Make sure you have games, toys (preferably new), medicine, movies if possible, and a parachute just in case they kick you guys off the plane.  We stopped at the Subway in the airport and fed everyone right before we checked in at the gate.  After that everyone except for me and daddy had a dose of the pink stuff.  That is so crazy that there are Subway restaurants all over Brazil.

Games, Games, Games

You definitely want to give your children plenty to do.  We had a laptop and an iPad on our long flight.  We've since upgraded.  All the children now have child-safe tablets called Funtabs.  These

Exclusive: Joell Ortiz details his lifestyle changes, how it affects his music and why you should opt for fruits and veggies instead of Newports during your next bodega visit.

 During a casual listen, it sounds like Joell Ortiz is having a great time on his 2007 single, “Brooklyn Bullshit.” “So what I ask for an ace on your cigarette / On the first and third I’m happy ‘cause all the fiends get a check,” he rhymed. But by his own admission, Joell says that behind the jovial talk of chipping in for a bag of weed and buying beers on credit was an excellently crafted rhyme about essentially poisoning himself with an unhealthy lifestyle.

“I was living what you call the rock star life—nightlife heavy, and diners at 5:00 or 6:00 am,” Joell explained. “I was eating cheeseburger deluxes and things of that nature and just not taking care of myself.”

Despite the preventable deaths of emcees such as DJ Screw and Big Pun, living a healthy lifestyle has long been one of Hip Hop’s taboo topics for some. Conventional thinking holds that we would rather have our favorite emcees healthy so they are around longer. Granted this isn’t new territory, as artists such as 50 Cent, dead prez and others have released products to help incorporate their own healthy lifestyles with their musical careers and business interests. But in the wake of New Year’s resolutions of shedding weight and living better—resolutions that often don’t make it to March—Joell Ortiz lays out a non-preachy blueprint for a balanced way of living. The Brooklyn emcee is considered dope by many regardless of his weight. But here, he explains how he woke up one fall morning in 2012 and decided to change his way of living.
Joell Ortiz Speaks On Changing His Lifestyle & How It Affects His Music







HipHopDX: What does September 3, 2012 mean to you?

Joell Ortiz: Oh, I woke up that day, and a long time before that day I tried doing the same