Hey, Y'all!

If you'd told me I was speakin' I'd have washed my hair

Yesterday, Marcus and I (and several of our colleagues from across the state) spent the day in lovely Wetumpka, AL, at the Alabama Conference of Theatres fall summit.  Marcus is the vice-chair of the college/university division and I'm the state auditions coordinator.  We figured we'd be listening to a lot of folks presenting in the big morning session, then talking about our own things in our "break-out sessions" at the end of the day. Imagine our surprise when we registered and got our agendas and saw our names on the list of speakers.  Then imagine Jen at the free coffee station filling her cup to the top while she furiously writes down a few notes to share with the group, all the while praying they don't throw fruit at her.

The impromptu speaking would have been ok if :

a.  I didn't tend to ramble on like a moron when caught off-guard.  I am very used to "winging it" in front of college students, but it's different when you're in front of your peers.  I somehow don't think they found me nearly as amusing or charming as my college students. Or maybe they just needed more coffee, too.

b.  I had not used a new leave-in conditioner that morning.  I had no idea how said conditioner would affect my hair.  It said to smooth it into wet or dry hair to make your split ends go away and your frizzies become tame.  I used it on top of my head to try and tame a cowlick.  It kind of looked like I hadn't washed my hair in 4 days.  I'm sure I'm now known as "that girl in the white sweater who doesn't wash her hair."  Oh, well.  Better than having bad breath or pit stains, I suppose.

No one threw fruit (or veggies, for that matter) and everyone seemed pretty happy with what I had to report, which is kind of a whole lotta nothing until audition registration opens up in a few weeks.

I got to see a lot of old friends and meet some new folks.  I'm thrilled with the results of our elections for new board members and I'm looking forward to getting more involved with the conference.  It looks like I'll be taking some day trips soon to do a few "How To Nail Your Audition" workshops.  I wish there were a better title for it than that...

Classes start tomorrow!  On Thursday, our departmental secretary killed an entire forest copying my syllabi for my 97 INTRO STUDENTS.  Someone hold me.

In other news, my mom has discovered Skype.  If any of you have Skype, you should send me your  usernames so we can chat it up and you can delight in my accent. :)

My Yes To Girlfriends Houseparty was kind of a flop.  Only one person showed up. It was still a fun night, but I wish more people had been there. 

A few folks asked me to explain why saying MACBETH in the theatre is bad luck.  Way back yonder in the days of Mr. Shakespeare (well, after him, actually) if your theatre was in trouble, you wanted to do a really popular play that would pack people into the seats.  That show was almost always Macbeth.  (Now it's Hamlet.) Over the years, that play been associated with bad luck in the theatre. (If you're doing Macbeth, your theatre must be in trouble.) Bizarre things tend to happen during productions of that play.  I worked at a summer theatre in Oklahoma once who had done Macbeth (commonly referred to as "The Scottish Play") as the first show to open their new space.  During the rehearsals and production period, the director fell and broke her hip, their light board fried and a car drove through their lobby.   Many, many people have big-time superstitions about saying Macbeth out of context anywhere in a theatre building.  If you're actually doing the show, you can say it, but not otherwise.  You also can't whistle backstage because they used to counter-weigh scenic pieces with sandbags and the way to cue the sandbags to drop, thus changing the scenery, was to whistle.  So if you whistled backstage, you'd likely get a sandbag dropped on your head. Yay, a little theatre history lesson from Jen. I feel more ready for class already.

Finally, I want to give a big shout-out to Frema who is wrapping up her Parents blog, Parental Discretion Advised, today.  I met a lot of you through the comments section of that blog, so this kind of feels like the end of an era.  Her Parents blog was the first one I ever read that wasn't written by someone I know and was definitely the basis for my involvement in the online community.  So thanks, Frema, for two great years of honest, funny, heart-warming writing, and for connecting so many of us.

 

Comfort Food Saturday: Marinated Cheese

A friend of my mom's introduced me to this recipe.  She served it as an appetizer one night and Marcus and I practically begged for the recipe.  Since then, this recipe has been our go-to for any and all social gatherings.  Marcus once asked me to make it for dinner.  It's that good.  The recipe makes it sound very time-consuming to make, but I made mine in about 15 minutes the other day.  Your first batch is the hardest, then it's just muscle memory.  The colors in the marinade make this a gorgeous addition to any table.

MARINATED CHEESE

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 1/2 cup white wine vinegar

• 1--2 oz. bottle diced pimento, drained

• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

• 3 tablespoons minced green onion

• 3 cloves minced garlic

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 3/4 teaspoon dried basil

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 1--8oz. package sharp cheddar cheese (a block)

• 1--8 oz. package cream cheese (a block)

Before making marinade, place cream cheese in freezer, just to help it firm up a bit. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients except cheese.  Whisk together until blended well. Set marinade aside.  Cut cube of cheddar cheese in half, then slice into 1/4 squares.  Take cream cheese out of fridge and repeat cutting and slicing.  Place cheese on a serving board or platter with every other slice cheddar, every other slice cream cheese. (Yellow...white...yellow..etc.)  Pour marinade over cheese and refrigerate at least 3 hours.  Serve with crackers or crostini.

 

Birthday Cake is a permanent feature on their menu

The unthinkable has happened--a new restaurant opened in Montevallo!  I was on Facebook this afternoon sending a message to someone when the lady who runs our favorite coffee shop posted this as her status:

Main Street Tavern opening tonight for dinner!  Support local businesses!

Let's just say you don't have to tell me twice!  I showed it to Marcus, we asked the lady where the new place was, and as soon as she answered, we dressed our baby and hit the road.  It's a cute little place right in the middle of downtown.  The bar is absolutely gorgeous.  It's mahogany with very intricate carvings. The owner said it was made in the '30s.  The whole restaurant is decorated in black and white and there are old pictures of the university hung all around. 

The food was great!  I had a Philly Cheesesteak with sweet potato fries, Marcus had Jerk chicken pasta and Dean had penne with marinara sauce because OF COURSE he did.  The staff was friendly and the owners talked to us for quite a while.  It's nice to have a place in town besides the Mexican restaurant where you can have a good dinner that's not served in a basket or a wrapper. (Actually, my sandwich DID come in a basket, but you get my drift.)

I've enjoyed reading your horrified comments about my HUGE intro to theatre class. I've just done another overhaul on my syllabus and I think all 96 of them should enjoy at least a day or two of the class. :)  Seriously, I'm looking forward to it.  Kind of.  We have a couple of freshman stage management students coming in, so I'm really excited about meeting them.  Marcus is directing MACBETH in the spring, so I'll also be helping him choreograph swordfights this semester so they are already set to teach the cast once the show is in rehearsal.  (Can you say MACBETH on a blog? I guess you can.  You know you can't say it in the theatre, right? You have to say "The Scottish Play."  I can tell you why if you wanna know...)

On Saturday, Marcus, Emily the costume designer and I head to lovely Wetumpka, Alabama (yep. Wetumpka.) for the Alabama Conference of Theatres fall summit.  There will be committee meetings and budget discussions. "Lunch will be furnished." (that's what the invitation said.)  I'm sure I'll be bombarded with questions about our state screening auditions (I'm the coordinator.  Go, me.).  My friend Mike, who teaches at Troy State, keeps saying we  should live-tweet the day.

I'm having a Ladies' Night get-together here on Thursday. I wish you could all come. Well, the ones of you who are ladies, anyway.  There are goodie bags, which I'll show you pictures of in a later post.  I'm going to make cupcakes and marinated cheese.  Marinated cheese is GOOD.  Maybe it'll be featured for Comfort Food Saturday.

My segues are really awful this evening, had you noticed? I've also used 5 sets of parentheses. Anyway, I'm off to read a bit before bed.  Make sure you check out Foodie Mama this week. I did a feature on feeding sick toddlers, a subject I've become an expert on over the past couple of weeks, and Ilina has a great article about pizza.  Happy Hump Day!

Students and Teachers

Dean completed his first week of "school."  Monday was fantastic!  He went right in, walked up to a little red-headed boy and stole his pacifier.  (Lettin' em know who's boss right off the bat.)  He made a craft project with rubber stamps, threw his butter cookie on the floor (when will they learn?) and had a good day.  On Wednesday, he cried a little when we turned him over to his teacher, but apparently calmed down as soon as we left.  When we picked him up, his teachers commented about what a good eater he is.  They also giggled a little at his lunch food.  Ya see, Dean doesn't eat like a normal toddler.  He doesn't like bread, so sandwiches are out.  After thinking and thinking and emailing the likes of my mom and Eva for lunchbox ideas, I went with our safe food:  pasta with tomato sauce, string cheese and fruit (nectarines and blueberries to be exact).  He apparently attacked his food with vigor and ate every morsel.  On Friday, he brought leftover meatloaf and peas and a bowl of canteloupe.  The teachers got a BIG giggle out of that one and declared him the best eater in the class. 

Friday's drop-off was a scream-fest, not just for Dean, but for 4 other kids.  The teachers were still in their morning meeting when we arrived, so we waited in the hall for a few minutes.  Dean was all smiles, talking to one of his new friends and such.  The minute the door opened, however, a symphony of toddler wails filled the room as, one-by-one, we parents handed our little screaming darlings over to their teachers.  Mrs. Debbie, Dean's favorite, said this is normal, especially at the end of the first week.  He was still napping when I picked him up Friday afternoon and only started crying when I tried to change his diaper.

So all in all, a good first week.  I feel like they are taking excellent care of him, especially when his eczema gets itchy. (We send his anti-itch cream to be applied whenever he gets uncomfortable.)   I feel SO STRANGE being home without him, though.  It's nice to be able to do some stuff around the house without worrying about waking him up if I make too much noise, but I really miss him when he's not home with me.  It will get better, I'm sure, when I go back to work. 

Classes start on the 31st for Marcus and me.  My syllabus is done and I'm anxious to get started.  At last count, I had 96 students registered for my intro to theatre class. (help me...)  Did I tell you that last semester, my arts management class made up a drinking game about me?  They did it in class, obviously not with alcohol (at least I don't THINK so...), but with their coffee or juice or whatever.  A lot of theatres use the term "the human experience" in their mission statements.  I started saying it all the time, just to get a laugh. I noticed one day that they all drank when I said it.  The next day, they did it again.  I asked what was up.  My one sweet freshman 'fessed up, " We made up a drinking game about you.  Whenever you say "the human experience" or "think outside the box" we drink.  If you mention Dean, we drink twice."  Very funny, kids.  You should have made it whenever I mentioned Lincoln Center, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, said the word "demographic" or got chalk dust on my butt.  THAT, my friends, would have given you a good caffeine buzz!

How's YOUR back to schooling going?

Comfort Food Saturday: Tomato-Basil Soup

Before we commence with CFS, I wanted to thank everyone for their encouraging words during Dean's first week at Mother's Day Out.  There have been some tears, but he's done really well!  He has eaten every bite of his lunch every day that he's been there and is having fun making friends and doing crafts.  And I didn't cry at all...today. :)

We have all had a nasty summer cold  for the past week.  Everyone's been coughing and sneezing and I've been chasing Dean around with Kleenex and Boogie Wipes, much to his dismay.  Just when we thought it was gone, done, finis, Marcus started feeling icky again this afternoon. 

Whenever we're sick, my family turns to a tried and true comfort food:  Tomato Soup.  This version features fresh basil, perfect for those of us trying to use up as many of our fresh herbs from our gardens as possible before fall is upon us. (And it'll be here soon, y'all!)  This soup is fantastic when served with a grilled cheese sandwich, especially one made panini-style.

TOMATO-BASIL SOUP

• 2 1/2 pounds peeled tomatoes, coarsley chopped (about 6 cups); OR 2 (16 oz) cans diced tomatoes

• 1/4 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves (or a tablespoon of dried basil)

• 1 cup vegetable broth (or chicken broth)

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 1 dash each sea salt, ground black pepper, ground red pepper, hot sauce

• Fresh basil leaves cut into strips for garnish

Place about half the tomatoes into a food processor or blender with the 1/4 cup of basil leaves.  Cover and blend until mixture is smooth.  Tranfer to a medium saucepan.  Repeat blending with the other half of the tomatoes.

Stir broth, salt, pepper, hot sauce, and sugar into tomato mixture.  Cover and simmer 30 minutes.  Serve immediately or transfer to a covered container and refrigerate.  When serving, garnish with fresh basil strips.  Can be served hot or cold.

Worless Wednesday: First Day Of "School"

The End of Summer

I hesitated to use that title, as it's the title of the saddest song I've ever heard from one of my favorite musicals, BABY.  But today is a little bittersweet, so I'm going with it. Pardon my dramatics.

This summer has been nothing short of perfect.  When I look back on these past few months, I imagine this summer will always stand out as one of my favorites.  For the first time in years, neither Marcus nor I worked full-time. (YAY, University job that allows us 3 months off.  BOO, that means we have to work extra-hard next year to be sure Marcus gets enough work credits to get tenure.)  I used to think the perfect summer would be spent sleeping late each day, doing whatever I wanted, staying up late with friends and travelling.  Needless to say, a little 19 month old fireball is all you need to throw that little fantasy offline!

We have not slept-in one single morning this summer.  Instead, we've gotten up with Dean (and often with or before the sun), gone downstairs and made breakfast.  We discovered a new recipe for French Toast and gave our coffee pot quite the workout.  Dean discovered that he likes sausage and bacon.

Our days have been anything but routine.  Sometimes we go to the library, sometimes the park, most days our back deck to play in the water, and sometimes on grand adventures to exotic places like the Bass Pro Shop.

We've done our fair share of travelling:  Oxford, Mississippi;  Montgomery, Alabama; Sunset Beach, North Carolina; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Washington DC.  Dean experienced the beach and the ocean for the very first time.  We visited our families, and these were good, long trips to visit our families, not the quick in-and-out weekends we've gotten used to having with them.  Dean caught his very first (and second through fifth) fish. We got to see friends from several different phases of our lives and Marcus and I even had a couple of date nights. 

On the home front, we've battled eczema with a vengeance.  And it shows no signs of stopping.  Seriously, you should see my baby's shins.  If anyone has a miracle cure, I'm all-ears because we have tried EVERYTHING.   We rejoiced last week when our dishwasher, which has been out of service for three months, miraculously started working again after a power outage. (Note to self:  If dishwasher breaks, flip the breaker!)  We have eaten and cooked and snacked like champs.  I have Shredded.  We had our first visit from friends with a kid, which was an absolute blast!

I write all this to say that we've had a lot of quality time together this summer.  It's been all about what we WANTED to do, not what we HAD to do. We've played with Dean and laughed together and watched movies and read books.  It means so much to have had the luxury of time, because here in the "real world," we are rarely granted that luxury.

Tomorrow marks the end of our summer.  Dean heads to Mother's Day Out in the morning (Jen breathes into paper sack)and I go into the office for the first time since May to get crackin' on my syllabus and lecture-writing.  Marcus says he refuses to work this week, since we don't go back to school until the 31st, and that while I'm at work, he'll be fishing.  Ok, then.  Perhaps once my paperwork is well underway, I'll take a moment while Dean's at school to actually do a scrapbook.  If anything is scrapbook-worthy, it's this summer.

Edited to add:  Dean had a great first day!  He walked right in, went up to another kid nand took his pacifier. :)  I bent down to try and say goodbye to him, but he was far to busy playing with a toy phone.  He made a craft project with rubber stamps and ate almost all of his lunch.  An excellent first day!

 

 

 

 

Comfort Food Saturday: Deconstructed Antipasto

 Everyone in my house has The Crud.  This is a technical term, apparently, used by medical professionals in our area.  Here is a direct quote from the doctor who treated me at the Urgent Care Clinic in November: 

Dr:  Yeeeep.  You've got The Crud.

Me:  The Crud??  What, pray-tell, is this Crud of which you speak?

Dr:  You know, just The Crud. No infection, just The Crud.  I learned that from the $65 worth of blood work I just ran.

Me:  Can you give me some medication for it?

Dr:  No.

Me: ???

Dr:  But I can give you a celestone shot if you're interested.

Me:  SOLD.

Anyway, I digress.  Due to The Crud and the hot weather, no one really felt like cooking today, but we did want something with a strong flavor so we could, you know, taste it.  If we were in NYC, we'd trot across the street to the Italian deli where we would find such delicacies as homemade antipasto, fresh cheeses and enormous meatballs.  Tonight, we had to settle for me getting creative at Publix.  The result was a sort of "deconstructed" version of antipasto, since they didn't have any of the prepared stuff and we were already starving so there was no time to marinate anything.  It was extra-delicious and even won the Dean stamp of approval for approximately 5 bites before he tossed it onto the floor and demanded blueberries and lasagna.

The following is more along the lines of "instructions for assembly" than an actual recipe. But look! There are pictures! Squeee!  I need more Claritin.

DECONSTRUCTED ANTIPASTO (for 2)

1/2 pound sliced hard salami

1/4 pound each smoked gouda, extra-sharp cheddar and fresh mozzarella cheeses, sliced

1 loaf Cuban or Italian bread (We like Cuban bread because it's kind of flat, so it has more surface area)

Olives and Pepperoncini peppers (as many as you like)

Extra virgin olive oil (for dipping)

Black Pepper

Slice bread into 1-inch-thick slices and place in a bread basket.  Slice cheese as desired and arrange on a cheeseboard or cutting board with salami slices.  Garnish with pepperoncini and olives.  Pour olive oil into a bowl and grind black pepper into it.  Dip bread in oil.  Wrap cheese with meat.  Eat many olives (gag) and pepperoncini peppers.  Smile.

  *I realize those are not pepperoncini peppers. They are banana peppers from my garden. I grew them with luv.  The pepperoncinis were in a jar.

 

Dean also had hummus and cucumbers.

Heh, heh, yeah, you'd better take your picture now, lady.  Soon I will have HUMMUS HANDS!  And you know what that means...HUMMUS HAIR is soon to follow.  Bwahahaaaa! 

My butt is waaaay to wide to sit in itty bitty toddler chairs

Dean had Orientation at Mother's Day Out last night.  Anyone else find that hilarious?  I mean, I know they needed an orientation so we could see the room, meet the teacher and ask questions, but when I hear "Orientation," I"m taken back to my own Freshman Orientation weekend for college, which involved a dance, a lot of coffee and sleeping in a dorm room.  For some reason, I halfway expected to walk in and see a bunch of toddlers wearing khaki shorts and learning the daycare fight song.

It was a nice (albiet short) evening.  We met Miss April, Dean's teacher, and he got to play with some other kids who will be in the toddler class.  He'll be attending from 9-2 on MWF while I teach and work from home.  Miss April gave him a cookie, which he gave right back to her, then, when she wouldn't take it back, threw onto the floor.  I told her he wasn't into sweets...

I felt like a doofus going into the evening for several reasons, the first of which being that I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do about lunch.  We have to send his lunch and I, the Foodie Mama Toddlers Editor, had absolutely no clue what to put into his little pirate-themed lunchbox.  What if I send somethine he can't get onto his fork by himself?  Am I supposed to send a sandwich?  But Dean hates bread! (What's THAT about?) Will someone help him eat if he needed it or is he on his own?

Guess what?  These people are actually EXPERIENCED with toddlers!  They know how to feed them, even! It's like they've done this before or something.  Guess that's how they got those fancy-schmancy early childhood education degrees, huh?  (You may now roll your eyes at me dramatically. Silly Jen.)  Miss April assured me that:
1.  Dean could sit in a booster seat with a tray if he wanted or needed to. (I was concerned that he'd try to escape from the table. Apparently that's happened before! With other children even! Wow!)

2.  The staff will be happy to help feed anyone who needs help.

3.  They have a full kitchen with a fridge and microwave, so Dean can bring whatever he likes for lunch.

WHEW!

After that, I just sat back, watched Dean play and giggled a little at the very young and very pregnant mom who was FUH-REAKING OUT to Miss April and another teacher. Apparently, this woman wasn't sure if her kid should start on Monday with everyone else. Like, maybe he needed a "special" first day. She also wigged out about the schedule. (A schedule which ROCKS, by the way.)  Her kid still takes two naps (don't I wish...). At "school," naptime is at noon.  This has been pointed out to us in 3 different letters since we registered in February.  They even sent one out in May saying "Try to get your child on our schedule NOW if possible so it won't be a shock to his delicate little system" or something like that.  I sort of felt bad for this mom because I really thought she was going to cry when they explained that the kiddies will eat at 11:30, then nap around noon.  I think my favorite line from the exchange was when the young mom exclaimed "Well, if he crawls up into your lap and goes to sleep, you'd better let him!"  Poor lady.  I didn't have the heart to tell her that at that very moment, her little darling was over in the corner con-ing one of the assistants into giving him his 5th cookie.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little apprehensive about Monday.  I have complete faith in the staff and I imagine Dean will have the time of his life, what with new toys to play with, new friends to dazzle with his killer smile and Goldfish crackers to be eaten. But MAAAAN, I'm going to miss him! I don't start teaching for another 2 weeks, so I'll be filling my Dean-less days with writing a syllabus for my intro to theatre class and reading for my work-from-home job.  And possibly, a haircut.  (My split ends have split ends.) 

So everyone think of me at 9am CST on Monday as I drop my precious boy off for a day of fun and learning. (The theme for his class next week is FLOWERS.)  I have a feeling I'll fill those five hours with very productive tasks.  I also have a feeling I'll be running for that door at 2pm to get my hands on my Muffinhead.

"2 Weeks in DC" OR "A Barf Story"

Wow.  I've been gone from the internet so long, every site I visit is asking for my password instead of automatically signing me in.

HI THERE!  Next time I decide to go this long without real internet (my phone does not count...cannot blog on phone...cannot read the blogs on the phone...sad day), someone slap some sense into me, k? K.

I'll tell you specific stories about things we did in the next few posts, but here are the funniest parts, mostly about vomit.

Our trip to visit Marcus's side o' the family in DC was lovely.  It started off VERY rocky, but, fortunately, improved.  Our flight out, the only direct flight from Birmingham to DC all day, was delayed. And when I say delayed, I mean we sat in the airport for SIX HOURS.  Did I mention how maticulously we had planned out our airport time?  How we left the stroller at home because OH! We'll only be in the airport for a little over an hour, part of which will involve Dean sitting in a highchair to be fed, so we don't need no stinkin' stroller!  Um, pretty much wishin' we'd brought the stroller, y'all.  Dean was a trouper.  He made friends, had some snacks, took off his pants and wet through every single diaper we brought in our carry-on.  Seeing as we were the last flight scheduled to leave, we had the airport to ourselves, so he could run free up and down the aisles without disturbing anyone. UNfortunately, seeing as we were the last flight to leave, all the shops closed before I could run in and buy some milk for him.  A very nice bartender named Kenny sold me a bottle and the day was saved.  He was great on the flight. This will be the last time he doesn't get his own seat when we fly with him.  He didn't sleep much, but was in good spirits when we arrived.  Pop Pop (Marcus's dad) picked us up in his shiny new car, complete with pretty new carseat for Dean.  Dean didn't fall asleep on the ride home, which we thought odd, but didn't really worry about much.  We arrived at G-Mama and Pop Pop's house at 1:30am. I got out of the car, opened the back door and said "Dean, we're here!" just in time to see him projectile vomit all over the nice clean car and carseat. 

After hosing down the car and carseat and bathing Mr. Motion Sickness, we slept the sleep of the dead.  The rest of the first week was packed with trips to the park, the zoo, train and carousel rides and playtime with Adam, Dean's cousin.  I got to see Kitty, my best friend from my NYC days.  She and I worked together at Cornell and even shared a house for two years.  Seeing her brought me a joy I cannot begin to describe.  It was like I unzipped a coat to find a part of myself that had been hidden during a long winter.  I laughed and smiled like I haven't in a long time, probably since the last long visit I had with my other best friend, Meredith.  Kitty and I went to the mall and shopped at Bath and Body Works, just as we did when we were young working gals with nothing better to spend our money on than flavored soap.  We tried on scarves at Macy's and shared sob stories about having feet too small to buy "big girl" shoes.  After our shopping excursion, we came home, where Marcus took one look at the relaxed smile on my face and said "Oh! You found Jen!"  I needed some girlfriend time, yo.

During our second week, Marcus and I each had a case of the morning queasies, which we thought to be caused by eating at Red Lobster.  However, once Dean threw up all over the breakfast table, the floor and his grandmother, we decided we might all have a tummy bug.  That particular "puke rally," to borrow a phrase from the college crowd, sent us to the ER where Dean received baby motrin for his 102 degree fever, a pedialyte for dehydration and a popsicle for being cute.  Oh, on the way to the ER?  He barfed in Pop Pop's car AGAIN. 

Anyway, he felt better pretty quickly, so that night, Marcus and I were able to go on a little date.  Our friend Cliff was performing in a play in downtown DC, so we went to see it.  We enjoyed ourselves so much!  Not only was it great to see a show neither of us had any hand in creating, the entire cast and the script were fantastic.  Afterwards, Cliff took us to a pirate-themed place where I had an enormous basket of pommes frites while actually facing the table.  (Any time I can enjoy a meal or snack facing the table instead of sitting sideways to face Dean's highchair is a huge treat for me.)

Each night after dinner, we took the boys to the park, played on the slides, walked around the pond so we could see the beavers and turtles, then returned home for a popsicle on the front porch. Dean liked to share his popsicle with the neighbors' dog sometimes. (*gag*) 

We were sad to see our week come to an end, but ready to get home, as I have contracted a lovely summer cold.  Dean started coughing the day before we left.  Our flight home was going swimmingly;  we discovered the man sitting in front of us went to Marcus's high school and that his youngest son had just come off the road with a national tour of a show we liked.  Dean looked like he was settling in to sleep when suddenly...you guessed it.  BLECHHHH. All over Daddy.  The flight attendant was so sweet.  She brought a bucket of water, some rags and about 300 miniature lemon-scented moist towelettes for us to clean up with and stayed with us until we were sure Dean was ok.  We channeled our inner theatre artists, doing what I must admit was one of the smoothest quick changes of a baby's entire outfit ever in an airplane.  And poor Marcus had to  ride all the way home with barf on his jeans.

Good times.