Brian's Public Enemies Review

Brian's first movie review came out today compliments of our friend Gina Z. or more commonly known as "Bean".

And now, Going to the Show with the Regular Bean:

In the role of a lifetime as prisoner extra #6969 in the movie Public Enemies, seminal actor Brian Stage shows us that no role is too small to showcase his oeuvre of seismic proportions. Small in stature and Big on talent, Brian literally has you believing he truly is a felon or other person of dubious interest. As we pan across the sewing room in one of the film's beginning scenes, we see Mr. Stage sitting in his chair fidgeting, thus gazing about...I truly did believe he was a real crook looking for his spool of thread to start his day. Even though, in several marching scenes we may not actually see his movie star visage; we do, however sense his brooding prisoner presence. If you're like me, and I know you are :-) then you will not want to miss this remarkable performance of a lifetime, and take pride in saying I knew him when he was just a fraternity pledge trying to get some sigs and drinking too much beer. Bless his heart that he found a good, beautiful woman to guide him and keep him humble on his path to Hollywood stardom.

Review #2 by Linda:

"Love it Bean!! I waited in anxious anticipation for my glimpse of our movie star....looking right past Mr. Depp, and quickly hit rewind several times to catch every nuance of his performance. I don't think prisoner #6969 could have been played more true to character than by Mr. Stage....I dare say that the excitement I felt in saying, "I knew him when", was uncontainable!! I can't wait for his next film, where we will undoubtedly hear his first onscreen spoken words. Great Job Mr Stage....you're on your way!!"

Brian's response to Bean's review:

Yes, Bean, my oeuvre is truly off the Richter scale......and I am genuinely flattered by your incredibly hilarious review with a thesaurus full of rich vocabulary (even a brooding prisoner such as myself can appreciate good language!). Even though it was no secret that your review had been conjured up in your psychic mind before even seeing my turn at stardom (as if you were channeling your inner Dillinger), I see that your eye for detail was in full focus, even to the point of noticing my fidgeting (I think that's the whole reason I was saved from the cutting room floor....my fidgeting talent!).Yes, I have come a long way from my Purdue days.....although I think my dabbling in lawlessness and run-ins with the excise police paved the way to my current pinnacle of success!

Happy Birthday To Me

Brian was selected by his employer to attend a leadership development class at Indiana University. He left on Tuesday....

Normally things run smoothly when he is out of town. This was the exception.

It started with William... who woke up and crawled into my bed. I kindly escorted him back to his bed because he was sick and I didn't feel like being coughed and snotted on (yes, I'm mean like that). William wasn't happy, but went back to sleep in his own bed.

Next, Claudia woke up (as in totally alert) at 3:30am and crawled into my bed. She started poking and kicking me. Then she started talking...

With all her jabbering, she managed to wake up Snoopy who began to whine and bark. I let Snoopy out of his crate so he could join the party taking place in my bed. He happily joined in on Claudia's plan to keep me from sleeping. After a stimulating conversation with Claudia, Snoopy jumped off the bed and took off to either amputate a few Barbies or potty in the house.

I managed to drag myself out of bed to search for the amputater. As I hustled down the stairs, I stumbled and slid down half the flight. I made it to the kitchen fairly quickly because I can slide faster than I can walk and shuffled through a puddle of dog pee. Yup, Snoopy relieved himself before I could let him out. Even though he had already peed on the kitchen floor, I opened up the back door to let him out. He looked at me like I had two heads and boogied into the living room. I had to pick him up and toss him out the door. I cleaned up the mess, let Snoopy back in the house and went back upstairs where I told Claudia she was going to go back to her own bed.

Do you know what she said? She said "okay" and grabbed my hand as we walked back to her bedroom. Miracles do happen!!

I actually fell back to sleep with Snoopy by my side until I was woken up a few hours later by William. We went downstairs together to discover that Rosie, the cat, had vomited in the dining room. Just as I began to search for a rag to clean up the pile of regurgitated cat food, Snoopy began to clean it up for me... by eating it. At least he's good for something! As disgusted as I was by his act of kindness, I was relieved that I had less vomit to clean up (I don't do vomit).

Meanwhile, William had woken up very congested and not feeling well. His cold developed into an ear infection which required a trip to the doctor's office and two trips to the drugstore... one for antibiotics and then another trip for numbing ear drops. The earache has caused William so much pain. He has never cried so much... which led to him to vomit twice... once in the kitchen which Snoopy "marked" before I could clean it up. There's nothing like the combination of vomit and urine!

All this chaos took place in this week. Today is Friday and my 40th birthday. This morning I was woken up at 3:00am by Snoopy vomiting in his crate (tossing up the limbs of the dolls he has recently amputated). I tried to go back to sleep but Brian made it entirely impossible by serenading me with God awful noises.

So... happy birthday to me. I hope my day involves a nap and possibly some Valpo Velvet ice cream with hot fudge (got that Brian?) and maybe even a glass of wine (but not the ice cream and wine together... maybe a cold beer and ice cream... just kidding....ewww!). And... Brian, don't forget to hire the cleaning service and personal chef. I'll be waiting for them today.

I certainly hope that this week is NOT an indicator of how the rest of my year is going to turn out. On a positive note, my kitchen floors are spotless due to the constant mopping up of vomit and dog urine and I had several hours of quiet time all by myself this morning! Bring on the rest of the day... and year!

Don't Answer the Phone!

During lunch today the phone rang. I looked at caller ID and did not answer the call because the number was unfamiliar and the caller was labeled as "unknown".

William said, "Aren't you going to answer the phone?"
I replied with a simple, "No".
William then stated, "I bet it's Purdue looking for money so they can buy new basketballs."

I found this really funny because we did receive at least 697 phone calls from Purdue (always after 8:30 pm) before we agreed to contribute to their "we need more money to build another red brick building" campaign. I guess William was paying attention when he heard me repeatedly say to Brian, "If it's Purdue AGAIN, don't answer it."

What We Did Over Christmas Break

I having been trying to write about our Christmas and what we did during our break from school, but there has been little time to get on the computer... so here is the shortened version. Check back later for details and pictures.

The kids had their last soccer game. The kids went to Mimi and Papa's house to bake cookies... the kids ate too many cookies. Claudia had a Christmas party at school. William had his Christmas program at school... heard a very memorable version of "Go Tell it on the Mountain" done with kazoos. The kids hung out with Grandma. We all went to the dentist. Claudia had 2 cavities (probably from too many cookies). Went to tree farm for our Christmas tree...brought tree home and decorated it and the rest of the house (Brian took out EVERY decoration we have and found a place in the house for each one). Snoopy ate a chunk of the Nativity Scene. The cat, Rosie, became a permanent part of the Nativity scene. We took Claudia to Children's Memorial in Chicago to see a pediatric orthopedic doctor who recommended she stop wearing her leg braces. Took the kids to the Wiener Circle on Clark... sat on bar stools, ate hot dogs and fries and watched people.... Took the kids on the "el" brown line from Diversey to the loop... Walked to Macy's... Saw the windows at Macy's, ate Frango Mint pie and saw the Christmas tree in the Walnut Room... Took the "el" red line back to Fullerton. Went to visit Santa.... Claudia asked for a talking pony and William asked for Pirate Legos. The kids went to Mimi and Papa's for the day so Mom and Dad could wrap, clean and cook. Christmas Eve was spent at Grandma's with the Bentons... I made a delicious beef tenderloin. Christmas Day was spent at home with Mimi and Papa and the Novaks... our table was set beautifully with our Wedgwood Signet Platinum.... used for the first time in 10 years! Went to the Brookfield Zoo in the evening with the Bentons... very COLD... still defrosting. Kids spent the night at Mimi and Papa's then went to the Museum of Science and Industry with Mimi and Papa and the Novaks. Claudia went to the dentist to have one tooth filled (they would only do one filling per visit!?!) Stayed home on New Year's Eve and drank sparkling wine from a water goblet because I was too lazy to move the Christmas decorations that were blocking access to the flutes. School and swim class started today. Attempting to return back to our normal schedule.

Christmas Past

ChRiStMaS 1974

Viola (mom), Me, Santa, Gayle and Grandma Claudia

Don't Drink The Leaves!

Last night at dinner, Brian and I were discussing cordials. Our conversation went like this...

Me: I don't like Bailey's.

Brian: I don't like Bailey's either.

Claudia: I don't like Bailey's.

Me: Claudia, tell me what Bailey's is.

Claudia: You know the leaves you put into soup.

She was referring to BAY LEAVES

Magic Reindeer Food

When I was teaching elementary school, I always sent a bag of this special food home with the kids to be scattered on the lawn on Christmas Eve. The kids loved it... so do mine!

Recipe:

1/2 cup uncooked oatmeal
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup red or green sugar crystals (as used for cake decorating)


Add this poem:

Be sure to take this magic food and sprinkle on the lawn.
On Christmas, Santa's reindeer travel miles before the dawn.
The smell of oats and glitter path will guide them on their way.
And you'll wake up to Santa's gifts next morn on Christmas Day!


Note: many recipes for Magic Reindeer Food call for craft glitter, which can harm birds or wildlife if ingested. For safety, substitute colored sugar crystals and be kind to animals!

Reindeer Poop

Claudia has been rather feisty lately. She has been little less than cooperative when it comes to hygiene (she no longer likes water unless it is in a swimming pool), will not get dressed on her own because she "can't remember how" or wear shoes in public places (it doesn't matter to her that it is only 20 degrees outside).

Yesterday I reminded her that Santa is watching her and can hear every word that comes out of her mouth. "And, Claudia, if you continue to yell at me, Santa is going to bring you a giant pile of reindeer poop instead of toys!" Coal is foreign to her... poop she can visualize.

William turned to her and said, "Claudia, if Santa gives you poop, I'll share my toys with you." That's just like William... always looking out for his sister.

Claudia then looked at me with a smirk stating, "William's going to share his toys with me." But what she was really saying was, "Ha! Got you Mom!"

Thanksgiving And The Big 40!

Brian and kids

Jordan, Brian and Gayle

Matthew and Snoopy

Mimi and Papa

Monica and Brian

Brian and Grandma

What a busy holiday week we had!

Our days prior to Thanksgiving were filled with shopping for Thanksgiving and Brian's 40th birthday party. In addition to all the shopping, I managed to paint a bathroom and touch up paint on the inside of the house (due to William repeatedly ramming his trucks into the baseboards), cooked and cleaned and cooked and cleaned.

I always tell myself prior to parties that I'm not going to do "big" cleaning such as wiping down all the baseboards, scrubbing floors and steam cleaning carpets because as soon as the guests leave, I have to clean everything again. But I did the cleaning because I am paranoid that someone might notice the "fur" growing on the baseboards or the stain on the hallway carpet (as if people really search for these things).

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This year, Thanksgiving Day was spent at my mom's house with my sister's family. Gayle and Randy made a delicious turkey! The kids had fun playing with their cousins and enjoyed all Grandma's desserts. Both Claudia and William decided that they both love pumpkin pie and requested to take a piece home. We ended the evening kind of late (for us) and went home with two tired children.

Black Friday morning Brian went to the Tractor Supply Company to buy Snoopy a new dog crate. They have great prices on pet items plus the crate was 40% off. Snoopy has grown a bit bigger than was predicted by the vet and no longer fit in his old crate. I was teased by a few people for loving the Tractor Supply Company, but I'll tell you that they have the best customer service in Porter County! Brian said the young man working there not only retrieved the crate off the shelf for him, but also held it while Brian stood in line to pay and then carried it to his car! How often do you find that kind of service? Sure beats Macy's!

We avoided the rest of the early Black Friday lines and headed out Friday afternoon to finish shopping for the party. We were lucky because the lines were not too long which was great because I had a lot of prepping at home to do for the party.

Saturday was Brian's party. We invited family and friends to help celebrate his big 40. All of Brian's college roommates came minus a few that we no longer keep in touch with. We had a great time reminiscing about Purdue and all the fun we had during our college years. I noticed that my sister's 15 year old daughter was listening to the stories with great interest... she may have to remind her parents of some of the "not so legal" things they did when the opportunity arises. Hope you have a good memory Jordan!

Saturday night, Brian's sister, Monica, and two of her daughters stayed the night along with one of my sister's daughters. They kids had fun sleeping in their sleeping bags on William's floor. What a great way to end a festive night!

On Sunday, my friend from Purdue and her family stopped by for a visit. They were on their way back home to southeastern Indiana after spending Thanksgiving in the Chicago burbs. We had a great visit with them and look forward to them coming back soon for an extended visit. Got that Kathy?!!!!

Sunday evening, Gayle and her family came by to pick up there daughter and celebrate Brian's official 40th birthday. Thank goodness for leftovers!

By Sunday night, I was wiped and was in desperate need of a cleaning service. Unfortunately for me, the only help (or lack thereof) I had came from two uninterested preschoolers and one tired OLD man. Even though the house was once again a huge mess, the birthday party was great and well worth all the work!

Happy Birthday Brian / Daddy!!! Hope you enjoyed your party!

Ho Ho Ho...

William,

You are really excited about Christmas this year!

We've been decorating at home and you've been busy at preschool practicing for your Christmas program. You have been asking a lot of questions about Jesus, the "activity" (Nativity) scene, mangers and, of course, all the Santa questions...

Last night, long after we thought you were asleep, you tiptoed into the hallway and shared a LOUD, "Ho, Ho, Ho!" with us and ran back to your bed.

This morning, very early, you crept into my bed and stated, "I love our family. I love Santa's family. But most of all, I love Santa's elves!" Then you fell back to sleep.

Merry Christmas William,

Mom