HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY

and I am tired as all get out
I am half asleep COMMITTING to completing this post for tonight.


Everyone in my household is asleep for we had a very long day. We spent Memorial Day out at my MIL's house. The weather was perfect as we spent a majority of the day outside enjoying the weather and each other. Rick and Pa Pa Erskine battled for the Grill King award for the day...

We kept calling Rick, "Barbe-Que Bobby" and I must admit...Rick is great grilling, which is one reason I love when it gets warm...he does most of the cooking on the grill...I just have to do the sides and work on the clean up crew.

Allegra spent most of the day using her chalk on the sidewalk...I tell you, that girl always has pen and pad in hand, she always wants to write or draw something.














Alexandre' spent time playing with his Uncle Ben, Rick's brother. They have a very special relationship as everyone says that Alex acts like Ben use to act when he was younger...being a Momma's boy and just the way he plays and goes about doing things. Every time that Ben and Alex are together, Alex is always climbing on him and hugging on him...I hope that they will continue to have a great relationship.








A friend of the family came by with their little dog and the twins were immediately into him. They really had a good time playing with him and even asked us for a little dog. I wanted a little dog too and Rick came home with Mac...Mac is a great watch dog and maybe...with a little persuasion, we can get a little dog next spring.







We ate, drank, watched movies, ate and drank some more...which is what holidays are all about.

On a sad note...Rick's Auntie Rochelle was also there, the one that just lost her husband. I could look in her eyes and see that she was tired and missing him as did her two sons, Christopher and SteveBo. We just have to keep them in our prayers and be there for them.

Gotta go put all of this food away that we brought home and then I am crawling in the bed with R.L. and off to dreamland

TTFN
Hugs & Kisses
Me

RELAXING SATURDAY

Woke up this morning and was not really in the mood to go anywhere or do anything

We are still down one car so I did not take Alexandre' to basketball and we did not go to my friend's little boy's birthday party. I even missed my pledge daughter's baby shower. I can not wait to get Rick's van fixed...hate being down one vehicle but very appreciative that we at least have a car.
So we totally relaxed in our pajamas all day. I do love days like this...I let the kids color, watch television and eat whatever they wanted.

Once Rick came home, we watched Alex's favorite movie, ET and then we all went to bed fairly early...
Let us see what tomorrow will bring

Hugs & Kisses
Me

Butterflies are FREE!!!

That is the theme for today

Started out waking up early this morning since Alexandre' and Allegra had to be at school in the morning as opposed to being there at our normal time (noon). Getting them up was not hard at all like I thought it would be since Rick and I had prepped them the night before letting them know that they had a "Butterfly Release Party" at school today. We went to school early and Alex and Allegra had their first cafeteria breakfast....it was nothing fancy but I think once they do attend school full time, I will be making their breakfast at home.

Here is a photo of them enjoying the cafeteria food.

After breakfast...both the morning and the afternoon class met together and we headed outside for our Butterfly release party. The kids have been preparing for this for awhile now as Ms. Graham and Mr. Phillips obtained caterpillars and over the course of time, the kids in both classes watched as the caterpillars transformed and turned into butterflies...today was the day to finally release them outside. It was a bit nippy outside so we did not plan on staying out to long. I did stay to help out with the kids and also with the official release. Once the butterflies started to come out...one just so happened to land on my fingers and Allegra was so thrilled that I was not scared...I was even able to let him crawl on her little hands for a quick moment.

Afterwards...we all went inside and the kids decorated butterfly shaped sugar cookies and boy...did they make a mess, especially my Alexandre'. All of the kids had a really great time and were ready to do it again.

Once we got home, we all took a nap.

Dinner was simple and I let the twins watch Disney channel, just for a little bit before retiring to bed for the evening.

I am off to bed myself

Hugs & Kisses

Me

Feelings..

I was off today so I pretty much took it easy. Was up early doing my never ending chore...LAUNDRY.
I did not have a great morning with Alexandre' and Allegra. I had to raise my voice, which I do not like doing. I cleaned their room and they do help me clean their room...but then the mess it all up to the point where I do not even want to go in their room...Land Mines of toys and clothes all over the place. Anyway...I dressed them for the day and Allegra can not find her gym shoes...well the ones she wanted to wear with the outfit she had on. Alex helped her and then I help and we only found one shoe and not the other and it was already noon (preschool starts at noon) So now we are late and I am getting very upset as I throw clothes and toys around trying to find her other shoe. I am also upset at Rick as I blame him for letting them go to bed the night before without picking up in their room (I worked late at Windy City Scrapbooking) so it was on his watch. Well...Allegra ended up putting on gym shoes that she did not want to wear and that causes her to cry and get whining and that causes me to raise my voice...to the point that Alex tells me to relax and take a Time Out...his exact words: "Mommy...you should just relax over in the time out area...you will feel better"...I raised my voice responding: "NO I WILL NOT...YOU ARE LATE FOR SCHOOL" and I grabbed the both of them and rushed off to school. My kids can tell when I am not happy with them and their behavior as it was very quite in the car on the ride to school. Once we pulled up...I immediately started to feel bad and apologized to them for raising my voice to them and I told them that we had to work together to keep their room in order. They said they were sorry too and told me to have a good day and hugs and kisses. I just love my little ones...they are so in touch with their feelings and mine too. I know they get that from me.
After I dropped them off, I picked up my mother and we ran errands. I love when we hang out with each other. Now that she is getting much older...our time together is so precious to me. I want to always remember her as being active and upbeat. A lot of her friends and our family memmbers are getting older and dying off and she is not getting any younger (my mother is 83 years young)

Once I picked up the twins, we went home and did the usual...snack, nap, and I started dinner.
I plan on going to bed early today as I am not feeling to well
Until next time

Hugs & Kisses
Me

An angel...

sheilded my family and I from harm today
We started out our morning regular with me getting the kids dressed and Rick driving me to work (we are down one vehicle)
While driving on the Kennedy Expressway this morning...we experienced a BLOW OUT and I mean a BLOW OUT on the drivers side front tire. Yes...we all had our seat belts on and luckily, Rick was able to keep control of the car and no one hit us as we went over to the side of the road. Of course, Alexandre' and Allegra started crying as they heard me scream as I was sitting in the passanger's side half asleep and was awaken by the loud sound of the tire BLOWING OUT.
Rick got out to survey the damage and this was the first time...in a long time I saw him cry...not the ugly cry but his eyes did water up as he exclaimed DAMN and threw his fist up in the air. The impact of the BLOW OUT did some damage to the side fender of my car...but again, none of us were hurt. Rick proceed to fix the tire using the spare and drove me to work. For the rest of the day...I worried about him getting the tire fixed and I was releived when he called me at work to tell me that he got it taken care of.

We were kinda of busy at Windy City today and I got to work with Susan today (which I have not done in a long time)
Rick and the kids picked me up and we had a late dinner...Rick is up watching the New Orleans vs. San Antonio basketball game...I hope that New Orleans wins as it would do a lot for the city.

I am up surfing the web...web shopping and planning our summer outings...travel wise. With the rising cost of gas, the Colemans may just do Chicago this summer or do a couple of mini vacations in nearby places.

I really need to start scrapping again...gotta get my mojo back

Hugs & Kisses
Me

Another Sunday...

and man am I tired...as always
Rick and I attending his uncle's funeral yesterday and we were gone ALL DAY. Alexandre', Allegra, and my mother went with us

I know that his family will heal from their loss of his Uncle Steve, it will just take time.

We did go out last night after all of the sadness, to my ship, Angela's 40th birthday party. Her sister, Dawn came in town for the festivites and it was good to see all of my sorors who I have not seen in a long time...some have not even seen the twins and I will admit that it is my fault. I do plan on getting back involved with Delta as it will always be in my heart.

We did not stay long and celebrate with Angela, Rick was drunk from drinking all day and he really was not in the mood to party...we just wanted to make an appearance...you can tell in this photo that we are tired.

Today, we just relaxed and I fixed a big dinner. The twins did their usual of playing and making a mess in every room that they played in...I need to get a maid

Off to bed now
Hugs & Kisses
Me

Hard to Believe...

That just last weekend...Rick's uncle Steven was alive and we just had his funeral services today.
We ended up taking the twins with us since my mother attended the services with us. The church had a children's area so I was able to take them with me and they played while services were going on. I was able to see the services and hear the services since they had a large window for viewing along with an audio system. I did go and peaked at the body...just a little and paid my respects to the family. Alex and Allegra were completely oblivious to the whole day as they did not ask about what was going on...and I kept it that way.
The service was nice and there were alot of people there as Steve was loved by all. It was good to see family despite the circumstances. Everyone held up well for the most part. We were with Rick's family the whole day. Here is a photo of us with Rick's mother. I was actually able to get alot of photos of Rick' s family.





We just stopped off at home to change clothes to go out to my ship Angie's 40th birthday party. Gotta go...no time to do the 2peas Blog Challenge


Hugs & Kisses
Me

WHAT"S IN THE BAG?

The All About Me Bag!
That was the theme for today as Alexandre' and Allegra had their first Show and Tell at school today. They came home with a bag and the instructions were for them to fill it with items that described them and their favorite things. Allegra wanted to take everything imaginable and Alex did not have a hard time either. I had to also list the items that they brought just in case they were to get scared and did not want to do their presentations in front of the class.
I had not been staying to volunteer for the past few Thursdays but you know I did on this day as I could not miss the twins doing their 1st presentations in front of their classmates.
Since Alexandre' is the oldest, Ms. Graham had him go first. He was not scared to present but his voice keep getting low during his presentation
Here is his presentation (this is from the typed copy that I handed it...these are his words exactly as he was practicing the night before)

My name is Alexandre’ Johari Coleman
This is my ALL ABOUT ME BAG
I have a picture of my family…my Daddy, my Mommy,

my Adonis and my twin sister Allegra…

we are 4 years old
I have my basketball…I go to basketball on Saturday mornings
I have on my basketball jersey which is my favorite
I have my crash car…it is my favorite color green
I have my COOL sunglasses
I have my Power Rangers…I have two of them but I have more at home.

I like watching Power Rangers on television
I have my ET movie…this is my favorite movie and I am not scared of ET
I have my dinosaur…I like playing with my dinosaurs with my Power Rangers

Allegra was up next and she did the same thing...that is her voice getting lower as she did her presentation...here is hers...

My name is Allegra Imari Coleman
This is my ALL ABOUT ME BAG
I have my family picture with me, Alex, Mommy, Daddy and Adonis.
I have a ballet dress because I do ballet so much
I have a heart pencil for me to draw at school…I love to draw
I have My Little Pony Christmas Tree with the little pony named CANDY GIRL

I have a Little Mermaid book…I like Little Mermaid and I want a Little Mermaid room
I have my baby Amina…She goes everywhere with me
I have Skate Girl…I may get a skate girl room…I am not sure
I have a makeup…it is so pretty, I only have yellow lip gloss left…I LOVE lip gloss
I have a puppy from The Littlest Pet shop…I got it for Christmas
I have a bracelet from McDonalds and a bracelet I made
I have on my favorite shirt…the Minnie Mouse shirt which is my favorite color PINK

So they did their presentations very well...they were not scared at all but we have to work on them keeping their voices loud enough

After school, we came home and I just let the kids play as I prepared dinner

After dinner, baths, books and bedtime for tomorrow is another day

We called Rick's mother to check on how everyone was doing as they continued to make funeral arrangements for Rick's Uncle Stevie...the funeral is this weekend, so I have to mentally prepare myself as I do not do well at funerals, especially since I had my father's 9 years ago.

2peas Blog Challenge: What are the values that you cherish even though they run counter to societal

values?

I do not think that my values run counter with society. My main value right now is my family and all things that correlate to them.

Hugs & Kisses

Me

Prayer Request...

for Rick's family as his aunt's husband passed away the day after Mother's Day. We were all together on Mother's Day at my MIL house as Rick bar-b-qued for the family. We had a great time just catching up, telling jokes, reminiscing, and the men ended up watching the basketball game. Rick's uncle Steven was there and was in rare form as always, telling jokes and being his all around nice guy self. Rick's aunt and him have been married for 33 years and they have 2 sons. I was in shocked when Rick and I got the phone call that he passed away yesterday...just the day after Mother's Day at his mother's house (he had went by there to work on her plumbing) Everyone is stunned and shocked by his death. I just had to hold onto Rick and kiss and love him because tomorrow isn't promised to anyone.

2peas Blog Challenge for today: Brainstorm 10 reasons why you need to write now

I write now so that I will not forget
I write now so that I can have some type of document to refer back to when needed
I write now so that I can reread what I have written and maybe understand how I am feeling
I write now to relieve stress
I write now so that I will remember

I could not think of 10 but I at least came up with 5

Here is a photo of the twins and I on Mother's Day
I am off to spend time with the family
Hugs & Kisses
Me

SO TIRED...

I am really tired this morning as I did not go to bed until 3am and once I feel asleep...Mr. Alexandre' Johari Coleman woke me up to let me know that he had an accident in his bed. He has urinated 3 times this week in his bed and when I ask him why he does not get up when he has to go, his reply is he is too sleepy to get up. I made him change his self and also change his bedding by himself...under my supervision. I can remember urinating in the bed until I was about 6 years old and I use to get up in the middle of night and change my sheets so that I would not get in trouble...of course my mother would find the soiled sheets in the laundry...I hope Alex will not continue to do this...not sure if I should put him back in pull ups or wake him up in the middle of the night...I have to do some research on this one and get some advice.

From the party that me and my ship Angie went to last Friday night...we had our photo taken by one of the promoters of the party/website and it was on it's NING group page...It is a very cute picture of us if I might say so myself...especially since we are both pushing 40...actually Angie will be 40 in a couple of weeks. We will be 20 years old in Delta this fall and we are planning to get together...all four of us from my line Delta Ship Sweet Renaissance, Fall 1988 Bradley University (Peoria, Illinois) Theta Epsilon Chapter...OO-OOP
Here is the photo

I was suppose to attend our Mocha Mom's Spa Day today , but I had a change of plans as Rick had to work and my mother had other plans so I did not get a chance to attend. I stayed at home doing what I do best...being Mommy. We played games (Ants in the Pants, Hi Ho Cheerio, Junior Scrabble), we watched movies ( Spider man 1 and 2, Princess Barbie) and we read books and worked on the computer. I even let them skip a nap today for I knew that I would put them down early for bed once Rick made it home from work.

Being that it was the eve before Mother's Day I did not cook...we ordered pizza for dinner. Once the kids were in the bed, Rick and I went downstairs in the basement to watch movies and just catch up. I love our time together and that we can always find things to talk about besides the kids...have to keep the marriage/relationship fresh and new.

2peas Blog Challenge....

What are your scrapping plans today?

My scrapping plans today are to Make Memories. (Smile)

Hugs & Kisses

Me

BAD BLOGGER...

That is what I have been, and believe me...I hate that I have not been blogging. I do keep a journal so I still write down my daily happenings and feelings but I am aware that I have family and friends following my blog so I apologize for being a slacker...

Okay, back to blogging and I promise that I will try to stay updated and current.
So since my last post when I was "Punked", the only thing that I have been doing is taking the twins back and forth to school, and work at Windy City. I did teach a Mother's Day Accordion Album class and I might say that the album turned out very cute. I plan on giving it to my mother for Mother's Day and I may make one for my MIL.

The twins are out of school today so we just got finished eating blueberry pancakes and sausage and they are now flipping and jumping around while I am trying to catch up on my emails and take care of things around the house. I am going to run errands with my mother a little later and then I am going to work at Windy City. It is the crop tonight so I will be working late.
Rick is well and he is so into the Playoffs this year. He is going with New Orleans...actually, I am too and I hope this young team can pull it off not to mention what it will do for the city.

Last weekend...I did something that I have not done in a LONG TIME. I hung out with my Sorors. My ship, Angie's daughter, Ashleigh, went on her Junior Prom and Angie had a little get together for Sorors to come by and see her off. I was not going to miss this as I can remember when Angie was carrying Ashleigh. Ashleigh will be a Delta no doubt as we are all she knows. After she left...we ate and drank, was merry and just caught up with each other. I do miss hanging out with my Sorors and I must admit...no matter how long I have been gone, once I come back around it is like I never left. After getting a little buzz (Malibu and Orange juice was my poison for the night), we went to a House Music Party...Now I must tell you of my love affair with House Music. Growing up in the 70's and 80's that is what I listened to...Disco and House Music...this type of music fuels my soul and just makes me happy and carefree whenever I hear it. While in high school...I dated a couple of DJ's...and in college, my college sweetheart was one of the DJ's that was used for parties and my husband is a DJ (hobby for him...he has been doing it since he was 13) so my love of music has also influenced my love life. Anyway...we went to this party and had an awesome time (so much fun that I came home at 4am) Rick was glad to see me go out since only time that I do is to scrapbook...of course he was curious as to who I danced with and such, and of course he knows he has nothing to worry about...let us just say that I still have it (smile)

Scrapbooking wise...
I have not scrapbooked really since my girls and I got back from Cassopolis Michigan...
I do plan on being able to scrapbook more since I will be cutting back on my work hours at Windy City especially once the twins start Summer Play Camp. I will have more time for myself and of course my family.


I thought that the 2PEAS Challenge was appropriate for me today...
If you could choose a different time period to live in, which would it be?

Now I would have to say the 70's...why? Because of DISCO and HOUSE MUSIC and the lifestyle (being open and free) I would say that I am a child of the 70's anyway as I was born in 1969. I would have probably been a fixture in Studio 54 and I would have gotten my roller boogie on and all of that.

Well...I am off to bed

Hugs & Kisses
Me