Black History Month: Happy Presidents Day

It's Presidents Day and for the first time in my working career, I have off. 

Happy Presidents Day to our 44th President Barack Obama. 

"Rosa Parks sat, so Martin could walk... Martin walked, so Obama could run...  Obama is running, so we all could fly" ~ Jay-Z NYC Concert 10/5/08

nkoyo

Black History Month: Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes (1902 - 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance.

I remember the first time I ever heard the name Langston Hughes. It was a Saturday morning at the Venettes Cultural Workshop, my dance school in Long Island, NY. I went there every weekend (almost) from the time I was 21 months until my sophomore year in high school. I learned a lot about dance, myself, and most importantly my heritage. I remember my Aunt Vanessa saying you will all need to recite this poem for your dance. Langston Hughes', "Ballad of the Landlord".

I learned that poem...

Landlord, landlord, My roof has sprung a leak.
Don’t you ’member I told you about it / Way last week?
Landlord, landlord,
These steps is broken down. / When you come up yourself
It’s a wonder you don’t fall down.
Ten Bucks you say I owe you? / Ten Bucks you say is due?
Well, that’s Ten Bucks more’n I’ll pay you
Till you fix this house up new.

 

And have yet to forget it. 

Thank you for your contributions, your shoulders we stand on.

nkoyo

Black History Month: Alvin Ailey

Alvin Ailey (1931 - 1989) started the famed Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater with a performance in 1958 at the 92nd Street Y in New York City. Since then, the company has gone on to perform for an estimated 23 million people in 48 states and 71 countries on 6 continents.

Mr. Ailey created his dances from his experiences growing up in Rogers, Texas. I love, love Alvin Ailey productions and my favorite ballet by far is Revelations. Check out the video below to learn more and click here to see when the Alvin Ailey Company or Ailey II is in a city near you. 

Thank you for your contributions, your shoulders we stand on. 

nkoyo

Black History Month: Camilla Williams

This week it's all about the arts. 

First up, Camilla Williams, believed to be the first African American in a major U.S. opera company.  She made her debut in 1946 with the New York Opera Company, singing her signature role, Cio-Cio-San, in Puccini's "Madama Butterfly". 

Highlights: 

• Retired from Opera in 1971
• Taught at Brooklyn College, Bronx College, and Queens College 
• First African American professor of voice at Indiana University 
• In 1983 guest professor at Beijing's Central Conservatory
• Retired from teaching in 1997 

Camilla Williams recently passed, January 30, 2012 from complications from cancer.  To learn more about her story click here. 

Thank you for your contributions, your shoulder's we stand on. 

 

nkoyo

Black History Month: Philip Emeagwali

Nigerian born (1954), Philip Emeagwali's is an expert in mathematics, physics, and astronomy, Emeagwali won the Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers' Gordon Bell Prize in 1989 for an experiment that used 65,000 processors to perform the world's fastest computation of 3.1 billion calculations per second. Emeagwali's computers are currently being used to forecast the weather and predict future global warming. 

Thank you for setting the tone, your shoulder's we still stand on.

nkoyo

Black History Month: Mark Dean

Mark Dean (1957) led the team of IBM scientists that developed the ISA bus—a device that enabled computer components to communicate with each other rapidly, which made personal computers fast and efficient for the first time. Dean also led the design team responsible for creating the first one-gigahertz computer processor chip.

Highlights: 

• Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1997  

Thank you for setting the tone, your shoulder's we still stand on.

nkoyo

WordFUL Wednesday: George Washington Carver

"When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world." - George Washington Carver

Carver was an agricultural chemist who discovered three hundred uses for peanuts and hundreds more for soybeans, pecans and sweet potatoes. To learn a bit more click here. 

Your contributions live on and your shoulder's we stand on.

nkoyo

Black History Month: Edward Alexander Bouchet

Edward Alexander Bouchet was the first African American to graduate from Yale College (1874). In 1876, he  received his Ph.D. in physics from Yale, and became the first African American to earn a doctorate degree. Bouchet spent his career teaching college chemistry and physics. 

Edward Alexander Bouchet (1852-1918) 

Thank you for the paving the way, your shoulder's we stand on.

nkoyo

Black History Month: Rebecca Cole

Continuing with the theme of scientist/doctors & inventors, Rebecca Cole was the second black woman to graduate from medical school (1867). She joined Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, the first white woman physician, in New York and taught hygiene and childcare to families in poor neighborhoods. 

Rebecca Cole (1846-1922) 

Thank you for your contribution, your shoulder's we stand on.

nkoyo

Black History Month: Henry Blair

Thanks to Mr. Henry Blair the first seed planter was patented in October 1834 and soon after in 1836 his cotton planter was patented. Mr. Blair signed his patents with an "x" because he could not write.  

Thank you for your contribution, your shoulder's we stand on.  

nkoyo

Black History Month: Patricia Bath

Dr. Patricia Bath is the first female African American to patent a medical invention. In 1988 her Cataract Laserphaco Probe was designed to use laser to quickly and painlessly vaporize cataracts from patients' eyes. 

Thank you for your contribution, your shoulder's we stand on.

nkoyo

Black History Month: Daniel Hale Williams

February marks Black History month and I want to take the timeout amongst my mommy ramblings to highlight some of the greatest pioneers in America. I want to start the month with scientist/doctors and inventors. 

I stumbled upon this name during the time my Nana was preparing for triple-heart bypass surgery and my inquisitive mind led me to reading pamphlets on open heart surgery. I found a book on African American inventors and Dr. Williams' name was next to open heart surgery. I proceeded to tell my Nana how he could possibly be related to Poppy since his last name was Williams. :)

Doctor Daniel Hale Williams, was accredited with the first open-heart surgery, performed on July 9, 1893. 

Highlights: 

• 1891 - founded Provident, 1st American interracial hospital, which was also the 1st nursing school for Blacks
• 1913 - only African American member of the American College of Surgeons 
• Utilized antiseptic and sterilization procedures 
• Began practice in Chicago at a time when there were only 3 black physicians 

 Thank you for your contribution, your shoulder's we stand on.

nkoyo

Location, Location, Location

I am so extremely grateful. 

Being a working mom takes a lot finesse and having a flexible career makes it that much easier, in my opinion. Today, starts my working mom dream. I was blessed to be able to get a new position closer to home and closer to Yus. I can't even express my excitement through words... It's more like, Ahahahdklsfpjrkltls (that's my scream). 


I feel like, every working mom wants to be hands-on and be able to tackle both work life and home life and ultimately create a seamless work/home balance. Well folks, I finally have that now and I'm a believer that it's all in the location. 


Living and working in the same area in my opinion just makes everything easier. No more train/bus link-up pass. No more waiting for the bus in the rain, snow, and below zero weather. No more praying the train won't be delayed in the snow and then when it is delayed making that call to the hubs, "I'll be at least 2 hours late tonight". :-( 

Yes, to being able to pick-up Yus on-time. Yes, to swinging by the grocery store on the way home (I am no longer afraid of it and  I saved $33.95 my last trip). Yes, to driving 15 minutes to work. 


... and Yes, to starting 2012 with a BANG of a BLESSING! 

How do you balance work & home?

nkoyo

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas ... Happy Birthday Jesus...

I pray everyone has a blessed day filled with love, laughter and great memories.

Donny Hathaway - This Christmas

nkoyo

Weekend Grove Music: Harold & The Purple Crayon

The weekend before last Yus and I went with my brother-in-law, niece, & nephew to see Harold & The Purple Crayon live. It was a great experience and I loved the contemporary dancing. Yus enjoyed the lights and music and even clapped.

It was my first time taking him to a play and because it was interactive I think he enjoyed it a lot more.

Have a safe and blessed weekend!

nkoyo

Holiday Travel Plans

Off to grandma's house we go...

Growing up I lived just 2 hours (or 1.5 depending on how heavy my moms foot was) from my Nana & Poppy and the decision to fly or drive was always an easy one. I'd have to say that growing up in NJ you were always just a road trip away from NY, Philly, DC and the parks in VA. Now, living in the Midwest is a different story. Yes, in my eyes things are close, 3 hours to the Dells, 4 to St. Louis and 5 to the Mall of America; but I haven't come across many who love to make those kinds of drives on the regular. 

Either way, I have to say, I'd prefer to drive than fly but in the event you can't (like my Chicago to NJ/NC trips) I stumbled upon The Savings Experiment and her lovely Holiday Travel video. She mentions a great site called Befrugal.com where they have a "Fly or Drive Calculator" that calculates costs such as, time spent at the airport and pit stops.

I'll definitely be putting Befrugal.com in my family trip planning arsenal since it was also mentioned it's cheaper to drive when the trip is 4 hours or less. If the drive is planned during nap or sleep time and if there are enough movies and games to play it's definitely do-able. This past September I drove with mom and little sister from NJ to NC like always except this time Yus was with us. So we left at our usual time, 3am and he slept as planned until our first pit stop in VA (4 hours later) at the Cracker Barrel. We did the diaper change, ate, stretched and hit the road again. Four (4) hours and 2 movies later we were at my great-grandma's and he was ready to get out and run free.

Road trips and flights with the little ones take crafty planning but don't hesitate to add 30 minutes or an hour to the trip for the kids to stretch and play. It will do you and them some good. My motto is to tire them out for the ride by any means necessary and the people who look at me crazy in the airport clearly have NO kids at home and get smiles from me in return.

Have fun planning your holiday trips if they are not planned already!

nkoyo

The Lighting of Magnificent Mile: Sweet Coco's

Yayayay! Mickey, Minnie and the gang are coming tomorrow and I'm definitely more excited than Yus. He has no idea they are coming, let alone who they are. The 20th annual Magnificent Mile lighting kicks off the holiday season here in the Chicagoland area and this year we're having a party.

So, while my SiL is in full on party planner mode. I'm perfecting my Mickey Mouse cupcakes to give to the kiddos. Thanks to Frenchie and Flea's  for the peppermint patties ear idea for the cupcakes and to Martha for a great yellow cupcake recipe. I can say now that I am no longer a box cake girl!  

I started baking last night and will finish tonight (there was no way I could bake 50 cupcakes in one night). I'll wake up early tomorrow morning, decorate and box my Mickey cupcakes and head downtown to my MiL's house for the festivities.

Click here for more info on the 2011 Magnificent Mile lights festival and I'll add some cupcakes pictures to this post over the weekend.

Does your family have any holiday traditions or starting any this year?

EDIT:
Here are the Mickey Mouse cupcakes I made

nkoyo

West Suburb Activites:

I'm always scouting for weekend and evening activities in the burbs to attend with Yus. These are some really fun one's that work for working moms...

Barnes & Noble Story Time: 

• Joliet Friday Night PJ's 11/11 @ 7pm (recurring event)
• Naperville Evening Story Time ~ Friday's @ 7pm (recurring event)
• Oakbrook Character Story Time ~ Saturday 11/12 @ 11am w/ Biscuit the Dog!

Dupage Children's Museum (DCM) Family Fun Night: 

~ this Friday, 11/11 have fun Sculpting a Fairy Tale in the art studio from 5-7pm and the museum is open until 8pm on Fridays for extra family fun.

nkoyo

Sunday Blessings:

A family that prays together stays together...

Be blessed! 

nkoyo

Fall Season Excitement: Sonny Acres Farm Adventure

This past weekend Yus and I headed out to Sonny Acres Farm. We arrived at about 11:30am and the farm was hoppin'. Not too crowed but just enough to make it an adventure. He had taken a nap on the car ride over so the first 15 minutes was wake-up time. Not so bad, since I had to get my barrings and get tickets for the pony ride and kiddie koral.

The farm is amazing to say the least. It truly does cater to families and has something for everyone. Since, I knew Yus wasn't going to last long. I only purchased 6 tickets, $6. Just enough for the pony ride, 3 tickets and the kiddie koral, 2 tickets per child and 1 ticket for adults (but if you have more than 1 child the adult doesn't need a ticket). 



Mr. Pony



Yus was a little hesitant with the pony. It was funny, the girl that took our picture said, "He's not too impressed with this pony." Hahahah! The ride wasn't too long and I was glad I decided to wear my sneakers instead sandals. Not a good look to have pony poo in the toes.

He walked/ran around the kiddie koral. It's like a small gated obstacle course for the little ones, I'd guess for ages 1 - 7. Yus went through a tunnel, that I thought was dark, but my little man has no fear, so I wasn't stopping him. He also thought it was a good idea to touch everything. We both learned he's not a big fan of hay.





Kiddie Koral



By the time we did those two things and I took pictures of him by the pumpkins it had already been an hour and half and we were both tired. Sonny Acres does have a petting zoo but I thought he was a little too young for that. Next time I'll add it to the list of to do's.

Suggestions:

~ Do take a stroller - they do offer wagons for older kids

~ Do bring sanitizer and hand wipes - they have Porto-potties and an outdoor changing area for little ones - not sure if there is an indoor changing area for chillier/colder days

~ Food is carnival style - tons to choose from and moderately priced - although we didn't eat

~ Do take a picture by the scare 'How Tall This Fall' it makes for a great height chart and can become a tradition



'How Tall This Fall' 2 feet



All in all, it was a lot of fun and we'll definitely be returning next year.

nkoyo