Independence Day honors the birthday of the United States of America and the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

It's a day of picnics and patriotic parades, a night of concerts and fireworks, a great reason to fly the American flag and sing the Star Spangled Banner.

Here are 2 of my favorite renditions of our National Anthem.

Morris at 22 months old, and Whitney Houston.

Both of them give me chills.

Which one is your favorite?

I have taken it upon myself to announce that Mother's DAY isn't enough.

Come on, I can't count how many sleepless nights, missed meals, or downright exhaustion I've experienced as a mom. Granted, what we do isn't done to be documented, but I think we need more than 24 hours for recognition.

So, I am going to continue celebrating the relentless efforts of moms everywhere.

That's right, I am oficially extending the Mother's Day festivities (cheers and jeers).

So, in the spirit of celebrating all the smart, stylish, and strong Hot Mamas, enjoy this beautiful tribute from producer, singer, songwriter (and Harvard grad) Ryan Leslie.

Watch it once and enjoy the photos of his mom and their story.

Then watch it again and really listen to the words.

Then watch it again and listen to how beautiful his voice is.

Then watch it again because you're bored.

Then go watch your kids before they break something, or get your butt back to work.

Oh wait....as an added Mother's Day bonus, check out this JAMMIM, SMOKIN HOT video clip of Ryan Leslie playing piano freestyle to Lil Wayne's "Lollipop".  Sorry, I couldn't leave you all sappy and sad. Let's take it up a notch...

WARNING- YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SIT STILL WHILE LISTENING.

(and if you can't dance, you will at least bob your head or tap your foot)

What a true talent. I am so amazed by people with musical and artistic ability. I never should have quit piano lessons (yes I should have...I sucked and never wanted to practice).

I have been really busy lately. You probably can tell since I haven't written a blog entry in a couple weeks. Don't take it personally. I really did miss you.

A video was shot at Mo's elementary school to raise awareness about the insane budget cuts in public schools in California. They used 5th grade students, the principal, and parents from our school community.

Unfortunately, I was so busy, I was unable to attend and support this great cause. I was however, thrilled that they chose Transformer actress Megan Fox to portray me. Awesome, right? (I was thinking more along the lines of Mariah Carey, Roselyn Sanchez, Brooke Burke, even Vanessa Hudgens, but hey....I'm not complaining).

Seriously, my 5 year old attends the public school this PSA was filmed at. California public schools, and schools across America are experiencing gigantic budget cuts which will greatly affect our kids and ultimately our future.

I attended public school from Kindergarten up to college. Aren't I shining example of what public education produces.

Please watch the video and sign the online petition to help support our children's education.

When it was Mo's turn to be "Scientist of the Week" at school, he knew exactly what he wanted to demonstrate for his classmates.

I was a little nervous about being able to create an erupting volcano, but it turned out to be pretty easy.

The kids enjoyed it, and Mo thought he was hot shit.

Here's the steps:

Materials:

playdough/clay

empty film canister

tablespoon baking soda

tablespoon vinegar

food coloring

1. Use play dough or clay to form the shape of a volcano.

2. Make a hole in the top big enough to tit an empty film canister inside.

3. Insert empty film canister into hole.

4. Now add the ingredients to form "molten lava". Put the baking soda and food coloring in the film canister first (this way the color will surprise the audience) then pour the vinegar into the canister.

ERUPTION!!!!!!

Mo saw the movie Rush Hour (not my doing) and has been infatuated with the humor of Decatur's own, Chris Tucker. Check him out saying his favorite Rush Hour one-liners.

Please note, this behavior is not encouraged, but I do laugh when Mo isn't looking.

As you know, Mo is obsessed with Michael Jackson. Here are his rendtitions of Thriller, PYT, and Beat It.

Is there a kid on Earth that doesn't love the song "Boom Boom Pow" by the Black Eyed Peas? 

That song is like musical crack to kids.

Of course, Morris LOVES it and even little Bronson gets in on the action when he hears it. 

Here's Morris's version. And if you know me, you will definitely see a lot of my personality in my sweet Mo. :-)

***DISCLAIMER**

Please excuse the messy playroom. Who has time to clean up?

And check out me and Morris goofing off. His rendition of "Teen Titans". I love my silly clone!!!!

"Well, my name is Roxanne, a-don't ya know
I just a-cold rock a party, and I do this show"

Those are the lyrics to one of my favorite female rap songs, "Roxanne's Revenge" by Roxane Shante. Most kids that grew up in the 80's are familiar with the Roxanne battles. Yes, before Lil Kim, Foxxy Brown, and Salt N Pepa, there was Roxanne Shante.

Many have crowned her the first queen of hip hop. It's amazing she was only 14 years old when she scored her hit, Roxanne's Revenge.

But what's most amazing about her story is what happened after her hit single. 

Like many young, new artists, she had problems getting paid royalties from her record label and found herself in a financial struggle when her MC career stopped. However, she remembered an unusual clause in her recording contract that said Warner Music would pay for her education for life.

"I'm an example that you can be a teenage mom, come from the projects, and be raised by a single parent, and you can still come out of it a doctor."

She went on to earn her bachelor's degree from Marymount Manhattan College and her Ph.D in psychology from Cornell University which was funded by her record label (after much legal battle). She is currently married with 2 children (the first born when she was 14 years old) and has a practice in Queens.She also owns Hip-Hop Ices ice cream parlor in Queens.

Now, that's what I truly call Roxanne's Revenge.

As usual, I am the last to find out about all the cool and funny stuff.

First, it was Pandora, then the Phillipine prisoners doing the Thriller dance. Oh, and let's not even talk about how I was still on myspace (thinking I was SO cool) even though everyone kept sending me facebook friend requests trying to get me to sign up.

The "JK Wedding Entrance" video has received over 11 MILLION hits on youtube and over 58,000 comments. They have been featured on countless tv shows, websites, and blogs (including this lovely one).

Seriously, how come no one came up with this sooner?

Were the really the first couple to re-invent the wedding entrance?

I always thought it was so lame and boring how everyone walks into the wedding doing the old "step-together, step together"....so blah!

Jill and Kevin, you ROCK! I didn't know they could move like that in St. Paul, Minnesota.

If I get married again, this is how it's going down!

We're doing the entrance JK style, of course to Mariah though (and she'll be singing live).

Would you do this at your wedding? If so, what song?

And, if not, you suck.

Just kidding.

Morris's school had the cutest Mother's Day celebration. The kids baked muffins and scones, created lovely tablescapes with custom art projects, and made Mother's Day cards and broaches. But, the best part was the concert. A medley of 4 songs sung by all the kids.

This is my favorite song for 2 reasons:

1. It's called Mommy, I Love You.

2. Morris wouldn't look at me during the first 3 songs and was sort of goofing off. I kept trying to get his attention but he couldn't see me (was ignoring me). But for this particular song, the teacher instructed them to "look directly at your mom and sing it to her like you really mean it." And he actually looked at me the whole time.

It just goes to show you, usually they don't listen to mom, but they ALWAYS listen to the teacher.