Hot date!

Well, it's a date, anyway. And not just a night of sharing popcorn and not talking to each other at the movie theater. Tonight, Mike and I are going to a bonafide soiree -- a black tie shindig. I even shaved my legs for the occasion. (And the few toes that required it, too.)

We just made the plans to attend yesterday, so I hadn't given much thought about what to wear. (This will not surprise my college roommates who were privy to my last minute "what to wear" freak outs for sorority dances.) When I did think about it today, I began to hyperventilate just a wee bit. There was NOTHING in my closet that would qualify as "formal."

Dress Barn to the rescue! They actually had a several contenders in the social occasion dress category. I had Robbie with me. He waited outside the dressing room and I would come out to show him each option. I really thought I was in trouble when he said "Mom, that's really weird" at the first selection. But he was able to help me narrow it down to three choices.

Not wanting to leave my fashion fate up to a nine-year-old who believes socks and underwear are optional, I asked the sales girl to help me decide from the final three. The winner is a deepish v, front and back, with some rusched fabric under the "girls," followed by a black and gray sequined skirt.

I actually feel kind of sexy in it -- as long as I don't look in the mirror. Looking like you have a pumpkin shoved up your dress is cute when you're pregnant. Not so cute when your "baby" is almost 10-years-old.

But that's an insecurity for another night. Tonight is date night. I'm wearing a pretty dress and make-up -- it's been months since I've worn make-up. I have on panty hose and dressy, but comfortable, shoes. I'm carrying a black lacy evening bag and wrapping my shoulders in a silk pashmina.

And I'm going out on the town with the man I said "I do" to 19 years ago this Tuesday. It's all good.

(I'll post pictures later. My carriage awaits.)

Friday Fragments: The Sleepless Edition

I wish I were sleepblogging right now, unaware that I'm posting my Friday Fragments at 3am because that would mean that I would actually be asleep. But alas, for the second night in a row, I'm awake at 3am. No chicken tonight, though. Just joining Mrs. 4s for her weekly Friday Fragments.

So without further delay, I give you Friday Fragments: The Sleepless Edition



Last week, Charlie failed his hearing screening at school. It's not the first time. He's got a funky double barrel ear canal, which sometimes makes hearing tricky. So I trotted him off to the ENT. When they attempted to do a more specialized hearing test, they couldn't because he had wax in the canal. Well, duh, don't we all? Oh no...not like this. I think the doc must have pulled 3 or 4 mini-M&M size chunks of wax from just one ear. It was disgusting and fascinating all at once. After he got both ears cleaned out, his hearing was much better. Now he has no excuse for not emptying the dishwasher when I tell him to.



Last week when B invited us to talk about our favorite date nights, I couldn't remember the last time Mike and I actually went out on a date. But last night, we went to a Butler basketball game -- with free tickets, which is the only way we're doing anything in this post-downsizing era of our lives. We had lots of fun, especially when I thought we were sitting next to Jared the Subway guy (false alarm) and despite the fact that our kids got locked out of the house while we were gone (thanks Kate for taking them in!).



For Catholic Schools Week this week, the kids got to go roller skating. They all had a great time, especially Robbie. One of his teachers stopped me in the hall today to tell me that SHE had a great time watching Robbie because he was SO excited -- "Look at me! I can go FAST!" Given all our struggles with Robbie and his finding his way at school, having her tell me that was a real gift. Thanks Mrs. F!



My honey-do list became a Jose-do list this week. Thanks to Vera for passing on Jose's name. He painted Annie and Robbie's rooms this week and hung the door to my pantry. Next up on the list, the garbage disposal, the screen porch, flooring in the bedrooms. Just as soon as we're double income again!



Robbie and Annie's birthdays are next week (hence the new paint in the bedrooms -- a bday gift from their great-grandmother). It's Annie's golden birthday -- 13 on the 13th, so she'll be having a sleepover. For Robbie's 7th, we're planning an at-home Lego party. A boy party in my house. Totally goes against my "no boy parties at home" rule, but I'll try anything once!



We're supposedly expecting a big snowstorm this weekend. I'm trying not to get my hopes up. But I'm totally going to the grocery store, just in case.



The Superbowl is this Sunday. I don't understand this whole "Who Dat" phenomenon. The Colts may not have a catchy phrase in the stands, but we have the goods on the field. Hope all those Saints fans are ready to drown their sorrows in Hurricanes and gumbo when the Colts are finished with them.



And those, my friends, are the sleepless frags for this week. Same place, hopefully different time, next week.

What's your name again and why are you sleeping in my bed?

If you're a parent, you know that sometimes you forget a little bit about who you are. And if you are a married parent, sometimes it seems like you might have a roommate who keeps going in your wallet for money and occasionally asks to see you naked. Yup. Sometimes life interferes with really living and it's important to remember to make some time to re-connect.

B at Life in the BAT Cave is hosting a Date Night Restaurant.com Giveaway. Seeing as it's been so long since Mike and I have been on a date and our cash flow is currently involuntarily restricted, I thought I'd toss my post into the ring.

To enter, you just have to blog about your favorite date night, then submit your link to B. If you don't have a blog, you can just tell your story by commenting on her blog.

Hmmm...my favorite date night. That's a tough one because really it has been about 100 years since we've gone on a date. Our standard fare is dinner and movie, followed by perusing the local bookstore -- Mike in the magazines and me in the mindless chick lit section.

Last summer, we did have a great night at Conner Prairie. Picnic spread, Symphony on the Prairie, terrifying hot air balloon ride. Ok, so maybe that's not a good choice for "best date night."

When I was pregnant with Annie, our date nights seemed to always end at Babies R Us, looking at the endless equipment we imagined our new baby would need. Now, we've graduated to Home Depot where we inevitably disagree on paint colors, light fixtures and which home repair project should take priority. Ooops, arguing. Not a good date night.

Sometimes we try things a little off the beaten path -- an art gallery exhibition, a college basketball game. And sometimes we just stay in.

Actually, that's a good one and something we haven't done in a long time. Feed the kids early, something easy like chicken nuggets or corn dogs. Put them all to bed (or at least confined to their rooms) around 8ish. Then we'll have sushi and one of those fancy desserts for two from the corner grocery store, watching a movie on Apple TV. And if I don't fall asleep before the end of the movie, I consider the date a success.

So there you go, B. Sushi, dessert, and a movie. All in the comfort of your own home, which is convenient in case your "roommate" does ask to see you naked.

(For some really good dating ideas, check out Just Heather's Alphabet Dating.)

Mockingbird sings a powerful song

Most couples with kids can define their lives in two parts: BC and AC -- before children and after children. In our BC life, Mike and I did lots of cool cultural things, like going to the theater (the kind where the floor is not sticky with spilled pop). Tonight we had a BC date and went to see "To Kill a Mockingbird" at the Indiana Repertory Theatre (IRT).

After we picked up our tickets at Will Call in the IRT's new lobby, we checked our coats (and Mike's ever present Indiana Jones hat) before being led to our third row left seats. Mike had gone to see the show on Thursday with Annie's class and sat on the right side of the house, so he was glad for the different perspective.

I perused the progam to refresh my memory about the plot and to see if any of the actors have appeared on "Law and Order" -- (yes, two of them). I read To Kill a Mockingbird in my freshman honors English class in high school. But considering that was 24 years ago, I didn't remember much -- except going to the Marianists' house, where our teacher Brother Jim Brooks lived, to watch the black and white film version of the novel. Even so, all I remember of that night was that Jay Flynn used the old "I'm just reaching for the popcorn" trick to put his arm around me. Guess the swooning erased the memories of the storyline from my mind even all these years later.

Quentin Toetz as Jem, Tessa Buzzetti as Scout,
and Joseph J. Mervis as Dill (left to right)
Credit: Julie Curry

Set in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s, much of the first act involves the Finch children -- Jean Louise, known as Scout, and her older brother Jem, as well as tagalong kid Dill. There is talk among the children, the Finch's black housekeeper/nanny Calpurnia, and their white neighbor Miss Maudie first about Boo Radley, the mysterious recluse who lives nearby, and then about the fact that Atticus Finch (the children's father) is representing a black man -- Tom Robinson -- falsely accused of raping a young white teenager.

A handful of tertiary characters -- Sheriff Heck Tate, grouchy ailing neighbor Mr. Dubose, Gladys Kravitz-like Miss Stephanie, the stuttering Mr. Cunningham -- all add layers and color to the story.

Probably due to the difference between greenhorned actors and seasoned actors (it felt a bit as though Scout should have been called "Shout"), it wasn't until mid-way through the first act when Atticus made a more lengthy appearance that I forgot I was watching a play and began to lose myself in the story which includes themes of prejudice, race, poverty and justice.

Melissa Fenton as Mayella Ewell, Mark Goetzinger as Atticus Finch,
and Jonathan Tremaine as Tom Robinson
Credit: Julie Curry

In the second act, which opens in the courtroom where Tom Robinson is on trial for his life, I found myself leaning forward, searching for some foreshadowing of the outcome (though my knowledge of American history should have led me to it sooner). I think I must have fallen asleep during that movie at the Marianists' house in Dayton because I really didn't remember what happened next.

And I will not tell you here what does happen, because I think you should do one of three things.

First, go see the play. If you live within reasonable driving distance of the Indiana Repertory Theater, you have 15 more opportunities to see the play there. It is such a great venue -- small enough that the actors don't even need to wear those annoying mini mikes taped to their foreheads, but professional in every sense of the word. Except that there are not kiosks at which people are hawking overpriced souvenirs to theater-goers who can't live without a t-shirt or some other trinket to remind them of their experience.

Second, if making it to the IRT is unlikely for you, watch for it at a theater near you. Sure you can rent the movie, but it won't hold a candle to live theater.

After the play was over, Mike and I stayed for a post-show discussion with the actors. Many of the audience's questions were directed toward the young actors who, other than exhibiting some typical young actor affectations, did a better-than-respectable job in their stage roles. There was also some honest and enlightening interchange with some of the older folks, especially Jonathan Tremaine who played the accused Tom Robinson. If you have a chance to stay for the post-show discussion, do.

My final recommendation, read the book. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee will be packed in my carry-on bag next week when I leave for a much anticipated vacation with my sister. I'll likely be highlighting quotes I'd wish I'd written, like:

"One thing does not abide by majority rule -- your conscience."

"We've given him the highest tribute you can pay a man. We trust him to do right."

"Courage is knowing you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway."

and the one I'm going to use on my kids when they say "Everybody is doing (whatever it is they want to do and I don't want them to)..."

"Everybody less one."

Harper Lee was 34 years old when To Kill a Mockingbird was published. She has never published another book and lives in relative seclusion. Maybe she is waiting for society to embrace the lessons put forth in her Pulitzer Prize winning first effort. If so, thank goodness for the IRT and other theater companies around the country who continue to give voice to her message.