October 2006 Archives

Patrick was Rocky Balboa, The Italian Stallion, for Halloween. He won the neighborhood costume contest. His costume consisted of baggy shorts, bulky robe, plastic mouth guard, boxing gloves, wrestling shoes, face and torso made up with cuts and bruises. He carried around Stephen's Ipod plugged into a miniature speaker, that he carried in his robe pocket, with the theme from Rocky I and the one from Rocky II playing continuously. He owns the set of Rocky movies and is a big fan of them. He does a good imitation of "Yo, Adrienne!"

1948 Still deathly ill
1949 Wore winter coat first time
1950 Homecoming with Bob Gormley
1951 Went to Passion Play with Johnny Mrsich
1961 Mrs. F. took Janine downtown for first haircut. Short, curly still.
1985 Bought freezer/refrigerator at Campo's. $1299.
1987 Everyone came to eat Chicken Sauterne.
1988 Lunch at Felice's. David bought car from Devron for $500.
1989 Gave blood at work. Pressure 110/68.
1990 Amy Erickson baptized. Nice day.

And there you have it. My whirlwind of a life back in the day. Thank goodness today's life is a little more laid back, less frenetic.

There were many "as ifs" in RV, but if one suspended disbelief - this movie was very entertaining. I give it a thumbs up. Jeff Daniels, Robin Williams. I enjoyed the commentaries just as much as the film.

Bunk and his friends met at Kasey's house (his girlfriend) last night for the photo op before the Homecoming dance. We had to hurry as we were due at the dance to begin our chaperoning duty at 6:30. The photo op started at 6:00 and, of course, not everyone was on time. They went to a Japanese Steak House in Atlanta for dinner - all 22 of them. David said it was a lot of fun and he had been disappointed that they weren't going to Caraba's Italian Grille for chicken fettuccine. They got to the dance at around 9:45 and stayed until it ended at 11:00. I was starting to wonder if they were going to make it to the dance at all since it started at 7:00. The party continued at Kacey's where Kacey's parents were cooking out for them. They were also going to have a bonfire, watch movies and crash in her basement. This was our 6th year chaperoning. We worked in coat check this year and it's a great place to be because we get to see everyone all dressed up. The usual check-in is the guy's coat and then the girl's purse, shoes and corsage. Later in the evening, a girl handed Scott her wadded up pantyhose to have him put in her bag with her other things! He didn't realize what it was until he dropped it into the bag. Gross! We wish we were at the Christening today, but are glad we got to share Bunk's last High School Homecoming with him.

This weekend is Luke's christening (today, actually). Stephen, Brianne, Kellie, and Greg are in town for that. Yesterday, they all went to those still devestated areas that people are still trying to recover.

Last night was devoted to seeing the French Quarter. I met up with the young people - all of them - at The Gold Mine" on Dauphine and St. Peter's. Christina did the driving. We played a few games of Foosball at the place and then went walking on Bourbon St.

I remember how the legs swinging out of the window of one of the cabarets, suggesting a scantily clad lady just inside the window, was risque and tantalizing when I was very young. I am not even going to mention what kind of pictures, and suggestive women, they have outside the doors of these clubs now.

Mary Catherine was in her high school production of "Midsummer Night's Dream". She played a fairy. She looked beautiful and has great presence on stage. I am sorry that I forgot my camera. I am trying to get Aaron to go see it tonight with Jim. This will be the last performance. I have stayed away from all Shakespeare because of the thickness of the language, but this was a great rendition of that play. It was set in the 1980's - which made it very cute. Mary and the rest danced to "Beat It" - MTV style. They also had a dance part in the beginning, but I can't recall the song. There were lots of 80's hits as the scenes changed, including "You Can Dance if You Want To" - which I think is actually called something else. Plus, there was a synopsis in the program that told us what the story was - in case the dialogue was over your head. I needed that. The acting and costumes were great. It made Shakespeare much more digestible. Way to go, Mary Catherine.

This was taken at Elizabeth's last week on Luke's 4 week birthday. Angela, Samuel and Luke stayed until Julia and I could get over there for a visit. Luke was very alert.

Speaking of visitors, I will have Joe Soule today after he gets off school. He is going to spend the night. Just because. Wednesday will be Polina's turn to spend the night. Joe is easy. We'll play games - including Life, which I introduced him to. Polina will be another story. She is a Curious Georgette. That's when Julia Mattia earns her keep.

Friday night, this gang of boys from his school came over from 6-10. I baked a red velvet cake for the occasion. Michael built a bonfire, and I provided hotdogs, chili and cheese, and other dipping things - chips and vegetables. There was a lot of laughter, so I assume they all had a good time. Three mothers showed up early and visited with us in the kitchen. They each brought home cake, so we had none left over. It was nice to get to know other mothers. Aaron does not associate much with kids from school - outside of school. I went to his open house last month and knew noone.

Then, last night, he had Jimmy Soule and his friend, Cal, over to go to video game heaven with. We gave him Harvest Moon for Nintendo 64 - an apparently hard to find game, but reputed to be the best version of it. I know nothing of that stuff. Aaron put it in my "favorites" after looking on-line for it. It would have cost me $75 plus s&h from Amazon. I got it for $42 at a trading place in the Slidell mall, and that salesperson gave us a spiel on how lucky we were to find it. I baked a chocolate cake for the occasion.

Then today for his birthday, he is meeting all of his theatre pals at an afternoon showing of "Employee of the Month". I wonder what he's doing for his birthday tomorrow. I joked that I was baking a carrot cake today for his birthday. He said I already baked him two and didn't need to make another one. I can't believe he thought I was being serious.

This week was homecoming week at Ashley and Nicole’s high school. There were lots of festivities and they had a great time. Each day was designated as a particular theme for dress up, i.e.: school color day, class color day, etc. There was a football game (which they lost), a “fun night” at the school after the game, and a dance on Saturday night. Both Ashley and Nicole went with a group of friends and had a blast both at the dance and at the friends’ house afterwards. Here are a few photos from the week. Carol

Here's the Superman himself. He had a pottery party - all the kids got a choice of a turtle, butterfly, or frog to paint. I can't wait to see the finished result.

Joe and Jackson; a great duo if there ever was one.
The budding artist, Polina.

The nannies. I had to set an imaginary timer so both girls could have equal opportunity to hold Luke. He is so precious. So is Samuel, but I am finished with uploading pictures right now. I have to get ready for work now. I got to hold Luke while Julia and Shelby worked on their projects - both chose the butterfly to paint. He never uttered a sound, and only once, he tried hard to open his eyes. Some little boy whispered loudly in Jacob's ear, which the girls overheard, "why did you invite those big girls?" He answered, "because I like them. They're my favorite cousins." Good for Jacob. He's my Superman. Er, boy - Superboy.

These greet us at our door from early September through the first freeze in December.