MAG PICS & EXCERPTS: VANESSA WILLIAMS & HER KIDS IN EBONY MAGAZINE; BEAUTY TAKES THE PHRASE 'BLENDED FAMILY' TO ANOTHER LEVEL.

Singer/actress Vanessa Williams graces the cover of Ebony (read my reasons for not posting this sooner after the jump) magazine's annual Mother's Day May issue. In her heavily-detailed feature story (on stands now), the green-eyed beauty talks about her relationships with her four children (Melanie Hervey, 20, Jillian Hervey, 18, Devin Hervey, 15, and Sasha Fox,8), her two failed marriages to their fathers Ramon Hervey and former NBA baller-turned-actor Rick Fox, and how she juggles the responsibility of motherhood, a full-on dramatic career and a bi-coastal lifestyle. And if you all were like me and thought Jada and Will reigned supreme as the titleholders to the coveted blended family crown, you may want to think again. Ramon, the father of Vanessa's three oldest children, says from the beginning they devised a plan of action to care for their family. The fact that Ramon lives a mere two block away has made it easy to manage for all these years. They system stayed in place even after Vanessa remarried, had Sasha and then divorced for the second time. But now, it includes all four children and often Rick's son Kyle, 13, from a previous relationship, whom Vanessa says really acts like he's Devin's blood brother. 'The boys truly feel like they're brothers and they miss each other a lot,' she says.

Let this family tell it and they really do all get along, so much so they continue to share holiday meals together with everybody present. Jillian says, 'We've had Thanksgiving with mom and Rick and my dad. Everyone is here and it's totally fine.' That 'everyone' included all four kids, Jillian's boyfriend, Ramon, Rick, Kyle, Helen Williams (Vanessa's mother) and Chris (Vanessa's brother). So far no new love interest for Vanessa, Ramon or Rick have been added to the mix. Vanessa's brother gives his sister credit. 'Any woman who can have one ex-husband cook Thanksgiving dinner and have the other ex-husband clean up after dinner, that's pretty special...'

(CLICK PICS TO VIEW IN THEIR ORIGINAL SIZE)



THERE'S MUCH MORE TO READ ABOUT VANESSA AND HER BLENDED FAMILY. JUST CLICK ON 'READ MORE AFTER THE JUMP! ON THE BOTTOM LEFT.

'....My sister is an amazing cook, but she had to work and was flying in. My first brother-in-law cooked an amazing meal. We all ate at the same table together and afterwards my second brother-in-law cleaned up. She has great relationships with both her ex-husbands. They are very much involved in their children's lives and that's really important. Even if you have personal differences that lead to divorce, maintaining the family atmosphere is important.'

Vanessa trades calls and text messages with Ramon and Rick all day long--no matter where she is in the world.

In Los Angeles, Sasha get to see her dad Rick daily. Sasha says, 'My dad comes over every day to do homework with me. It's great.' But there are downsides for kids having a celebrity mom. Sasha says, 'It's difficult because I never had a normal life. I wanna see what it's like for one day. Like, normal life. Like, if nobody knows my mom was famous. Just for one day.'

Also, in the article, Williams' other three children also voice the hardships they've had to endure at the end of their mother's marriage to their father. But they weren't the only ones hurting. Vanessa says, 'Divorce is the hardest thing I've ever gone through in my life, It's like death, and it doesn't get easier either time. Because it's a dream that dies, and it's heartbreaking. It takes a long time to repair and to men--and also the choice to move on or not. So listening to sad music, crying all day, not wanting to get out of bed...It's a grieving process. You have to feel the pain in order to process it. A big part of that is also forgiving the other person and forgiving yourself for feeling like you failed.'

READ MUCH MORE OF VANESSA'S INTERVIEW IN THE MAY ISSUE ON NEWSSTANDS NOW, BECAUSE QUITE FRANKLY, A SISTA LIKE ME IS GETTING TIRED OF TYPING!

SO WHEREVER YOU ARE AS YOU READ THIS, GOOD DAY, GOOD NIGHT AND/OR GOOD MORNING

Note: Blame BeyJayCe for this delayed blog post. I meant to serve it up to you all days ago, but with the sudden alleged nuptials of Bey & Jay's courtship, needless to say, I got a bit sidetracked. I reckoned that's my bad.