The First Day of School!

Today was a big deal...the first day of Middle School for Sinobia!  In classic Sinobia style, she made sure everyone saw her coming in her bright yellow jeans!

Junior year for Gabby this year... AP classes, college visits, SAT and ACT tests!  No bright jeans, just Gabby being Gabby, cool, confident and comfortable.

Big day for mom too...this was the first year that I did not shed a single tear on the first day of school!  I was feeling a little tear tug this morning, but contained myself for fear of embarrassing the children:)

My Cousin Clint

Yesterday I attended the funeral of my cousin Clint.  Clint was young and his death was unexpected.  My heart is heavy because Clint and I were in a fight/disagreement when he died, we had not spoken to each other for some time. 

The reason for our disagreement is irrelevant now.  The fact is, Clint loved his family with all his heart and he attempted to reach out to me and mend things between us. I was being my usual self, stubborn, and did not accept his advances to make-up.  I had thought about it a lot, and I knew that I loved him dearly and  one day we would come to terms with our difference of opinions and get back to the way things used to be.

The tragedy in my thinking is that I assumed we had more time. I assumed that there would be a tomorrow for Clint and that I could take my time to let my anger subside and forgive.  I took the gift of time for granted and lost out on the opportunity to reconnect with my cousin.  I feel like an awful person.  I let my pride and anger cloud my judgement.  I pushed forgiveness aside for a moment too long.  I have learned a lasting lesson in a terrible way.

It's too bad that most of our eye opening and profound wisdom comes when it is too late.  All week I have been mindful of every time I part from those I love and cherish.  I want them to know that I love them when we part.  Was I mad at the girls when I put them to bed?  Did I kiss Eric goodbye when I left for work?  Did I say "I love you" when I hung up the phone with my mother?  I never want to feel this way again, I am filled with guilt.  I never want to have to experience this again, the feeling of knowing that I will not have another opportunity to tell someone that I love them. I have learned that there are no "do-overs". 

I hope that Clint's spirit is standing over my shoulder, reading my thoughts and my blog. In fact, I truly believe that his spirit knows that I truly loved him and that I was on the road to forgiveness. I believe he knows the anguish I feel for what has transpired I know that he has forgiven me, he already had it in his heart to do so.

Why am I purging myself on my blog?  Because, I needed to get these thoughts out and put them to words.  I needed to remind myself out loud to cherish the time I have with those I love and to open my heart to forgiveness.  I needed to share my late and tragic wisdom with others, to spare a few hearts the pain I am feeling.

The end of Summer (for Mom).

Yesterday marked the end of my summer vacation.  I'm returning to work today to prepare my room for my  little kindergartners that will be joining me at school in a week. 

I have been waking up with headaches the last few days and just not feeling well.  Eric asked me if it could possiby be anxiety about going back to work.  Humm...I hadn't thought about it that way!

Anyway, I went out of summer with a bang, taking the girls to an end of the summer concert to see Katy Perry.  We all had a blast!  It was a fantastic concert.

I rolled into bed a little past midnight, way past by school night bedtime.  Much to my suprise, I jumped out of bed this morning ready to go.

The girls still have another week of summer vacation left.  My guess is they will be doing some sleeping in, getting in some TV time (before the TV rule begins to be strictly enforced) and beach days before it's all over for them.

Thanks for spending your summer with us.  I''m looking forward to some great back to school blog entires!

Home-Sweet-Home!

Day #12 and we have arrived back home in good old Evanston, Illinois!  We're just a little tired and hungry, but we are mostly glad to be back at home so we can sleep in our own beds.  The girls counted it up, and during our 12 day road trip, we slept in 6 different beds!  I'm anticipating some grand sleep tonight!

We thoroughly enjoyed our summer vacation!  Sinobia noticed that I had not written about any of our fights in the car or how we occasionally got on each others nerves.  Yes, I admit, we did have quite a few of those moments...what family wouldn't?  The fights were not the highlights of our time together.  We shared most of the highlights with you as we chronicled our trip.  Thanks for following along with us:)

Back to our regular lives tomorrow...work, Dr's appointments, unpacking, laundry, school supply shopping and Chipotle!

Our Last Day of Vacation:(

Day #11 of our Aiden road trip and we are stuffed from dinner and exhausted from our day in DC.  There was more walking, some train riding and visiting museums today.

We explored several Smithsonian Museums, The International Spy Museum and the Capital Building.

We are so tired...too tired to eat our last Georgetown Cupcakes (they will make a great breakfast tomorrow). 

Off to bed.  Back home (home-sweet-home) in the morning!

Washington DC

Day #10 of our Aiden road trip and we are in Washington DC!  There is plenty to do and today we walked a little over 5 miles checking out monuments, attractions and landmarks.

Our first stop this morning?  Georgetown Cupcakes and coffee from TLC's DC Cupcakes TV show.  There was a short line, but it was so worth the wait!  Today is auntie Stephanie's birthday, so we ate a cupcake in her honor (Happy Birthday Stephanie!) and then bought a dozen to snack on in our hotel room:)

After cupcakes, coffee and strolling down M Street in Georgetown, we headed up to Georgetown University to check out the campus.  We sat through an information session, took a tour of the beautiful campus and then had lunch at one of the campus restaurants.  From Georgetown University we headed over to Howard University to explore their campus.

This is where all the walking begins.  Next stop...The White House, photos in front and of course the gift shop for postcards and magnets!

The Washington Monument came next.

Jefferson Memorial.



Lincoln Memorial.

We were sad to find out that the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial will not be opened until the end of August.  Eric and I decided to try to get a glimpse of it even though it is still under construction and fenced off.  The girls were not so adventurous and sat this one out (resting their feet on the lawn).  Much to our surprise, we were able to get an awesome view of the memorial (without climbing the fence)!

We have headed back to the hotel and of course, Sinobia is in the pool!  There will be a little late-nite dinner, cupcakes and movies before bedtime.  Another full day awaits us tomorrow!

(We avoided the rain today.  There was a rainbow behind the girls that I was trying to capture in the picture)

We're on the Move Again!

Day #9 and we were sad to leave Clifford, Ollie and Doris.  We haven't visited them in a long time and truly enjoyed our short time together. There are always tears when we leave their house.  There is no describing the love and nurturing that we get from them each time we come to Hamlet. 

Thank You Clifford, Ollie and Doris.  We Love You!

Today we are heading to our Nations Capital...Washington, DC.  We are planning to do a little site seeing and possibly visit a few colleges while here.

This evening we walked downtown Georgetown and had a little late-nite dinner.  It started pouring down rain as soon as we entered the restaurant!  Luckily for us, our timing was just right.  As soon as we were finished eating the rain stopped.  We took off walking (very briskly), hoping to make it back to our hotel before the rain came down again.  We made it!!!

Big Ollie/Little Ollie

(Uncle Clifford, Sinobia, Gabrielle, Aunt Ollie)

Day #8 of our Aiden road trip and we are still in Hamlet, North Carolina visiting Uncle Clifford, Aunt Ollie and Aunt Doris. 

(Gabrielle Ollie with Ollie Ruth)

Gabby's official name is Gabrielle Ollie Aiden.  She was named after her Aunt Ollie.  Eric wanted to make her first name Ollie, but I was too much in love with the name Gabrielle, so we compromised and gave her the middle name of Ollie.  She and Ollie are forever connected by their name and their love for each other.

(Uncle Clifford, Aunt Ollie, Me, Eric)

Today we spent the day visiting with Uncle Victor and Aunt Carol (who reluctantly took pictures, but asked not to put on facebook or blogs).  There was a super sale at the JCPenny's in Rockingham, so we did a little school shopping, walked to Hardees for lunch and then settled into dinner at Fatz Cafe with Clifford, Ollie, Doris, Molly and Tom.

Doing laundry now...tomorrow we are off to Washington, DC for some sightseeing and college visits.

North Carolina

Day #7 of the Aiden road trip.  We are in Hamlet, North Carolina today visiting Eric's family.

On our way from Savannah, Georgia Eric wanted to take a detour to the coast. so we headed to Hilton Head, South Carolina.  Wow...I think we have another vacation spot to put on our "places to vacation" list.
It was sunny, breezy and the water was amazingly warm. 

On our way up to North Carolina, we drove into a monster storm!  There was thunder, lightning (which Eric and the girls swear was within a few miles from us) and pouring rain.  Cars and trucks were lined up on the side of the road with their hazard lights on...there was no driving through this storm.  Scary stuff...good thing I slept through most of it:)

Today was a visiting and spending time with aunts and uncles day.  it's nice to have the opportunity to slow down the pace and sit around the kitchen table most of the day and catch-up with each other.

I've been craving sweets the last few days, so Ollie is making a cake for tonight!  I can't wait.  My diet/healthy eating lifestyle is also on vacation.  Cravings, carbs and this morning I had coffee, biscuits and bacon for breakfast!  Back on the elliptical machine next week.

Savannah

Day #6 of our Aiden road trip and we are in Savannah, Georgia.  It is a beautiful city.  It's also super hot here, feel like it's in the 100's...we are sweating!

We explored the River Walk, Downtown, the Market Place and settled for lunch at the famous Paula Deen's restaurant, Lady and Son's.  It was over an hour wait for a table at the restaurant, but it was well worth the wait!

We also ventured over to Savannah State University, where my brother, Uncle Jason attended years ago. The University has changed dramatically.  Everything looks brand new, restored and bustling students.  This is an all-black university that has been around since 1890. I remember the campus being a little old and unkempt.  I had to call him to tell him how beautiful the campus looked!  We drove through the campus, hoping to peak Gabby's curiosity.

Our next stop is North Carolina!

Back on the Road

Day #5 of our Aiden road trip and we are off to Savannah, Georgia. 

We are driving along the coast on this trip and it is a beautiful day...hot, but gorgeous.  Every time we take this trip, Eric wakes us up when we get close to the battleships in Mobile, Alabama.  We always give a look and then go right back to sleep.  Today, we exited highway 10 and headed over to the Battleship Memorial Park to see the ships up close.  How could we deny Eric this little excursion, He's driving us all up and down the coast? 

Much to our surprise, we all enjoyed exploring the ships, submersibles and planes. 

There was a group of tourist that were taking pictures of each other, I offered to take a picture of all of them together.  After a few photos (they took our picture too) and some chatting, we discovered that they were from Illinois too!  It's such a small world.

A quick stop to the gift shop, a bathroom break and we're back on the road again!  Eric's a happy camper/driver!

Oh yeah, I can't resist...here is a photo of my all-time favorite Louisiana sign:

It' cracks me up every time I see it!



A Bad Habit!

I've picked up a bad habit on our trip.  Does anyone remember the candy cigarettes they used to sell when we were kids?  I used to love those candy sticks (and pretend that I was smoking).  We'll guess what I found at Stelly's Truck Stop and Casino in Palmetto, Louisiana?  CANDY CIGARETTES!!!!!

I bought a pack, I couldn't resist.  Back in the day, they we 10 cents, yesterday I dropped 59 cents for a pack of Luck Lights.  I brought them over to Eric and kids to share.  I handed them out:

"Yuck!"
"These taste like chalk!"
"Mom, you are so weird."

Well, that just meant more for me. They tasted just the way I remembered them:)  Throughout the day I grabbed my pack of cigarettes, offered one to everyone, "Would anyone like a cigarette?"(I knew they didn't want one, but of course I'm always trying to be cute and funny) and then happily munched all by myself.

I just munched my last cigarette.  I guess I've got a pack a day habit now.  Can't wait until we get to the next gas station...I'm running in to search for a few more packs!

This Is Where I'm From.

Day #4 and we are still in Louisiana.  Why are we in Louisiana for our family vacation?  This is where I am from...I bet you didn't know I was born in Louisiana! 

Both of my parents were born in Louisiana and my family roots are here.


Today is the 3rd anniversary of my dad's death.  There are times that it feels like he has been gone forever and then moments when it seems like it was just yesterday that he left us. It's hard to be here in Louisiana without him.  I sometimes expect to see him in the fields with his cows, there have been times that I believed that I did see him way out there.  There is no longer the smell of cigarettes in my mother's house, the adventurous road trips into the swamps and bayou and the festive parties that he would throw in our honor are not quite as grand as when he would throw a party.  There is a void in Louisiana without my dad here.  I feel it, my girls feel it and Eric feels it.  We are happy to be here with my mom and my brother, it has been a great visit, but I will always miss my dad when I come to Louisiana.

I was feeling very sentimental and nostalgic today.  I wanted to go visit the hospital where I was born, I bought an Opelousas t-shirt (the city where I was born), went to take pictures of my grandfather's church, which he founded and preached at for many years and visited 2 of my dad's sisters. 

I am thankful for my beautiful family today.  There are so many lessons about being a parent and raising a family that my dad taught me.  Many of those lessons, I paid absolutely no attention to when he was "preaching" them to me, but many of them I truly understand, respect and honor. 

I miss you and love you forever daddy.

Part 2: You Know You're in Louisiana When...

• You see Sinobia driving!  Steer clear....