My son is OBSESSED with Mustangs (the car).

Whenever we’re driving, he points out every single one that passes us.

I drove my husband to the airport for a business trip and our son was in the backseat. I was telling my husband about the bank his father had given The Boy and that The Boy was saving up for a Mustang and had asked me how much one cost.

Me: I told him it was a couple of thousand dollars.

Steve: You mean a couple of tens of thousands of dollars.

Me: It doesn’t matter to him. He’s nowhere close to having even one thousand dollars.

Noah: Well, I will be getting a Mustang soon, you know.

Me: Soon? Really? How do you figure that?

Noah: I am almost 16.

Me: You’re almost 16?

Noah: Yeah. Look, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17…16…see? I’m almost 16.

My son is on a punishment today because he was mouthy and defiant last night getting ready for bed. He can’t watch TV which is a hard one for me to enforce since my office/work area is two rooms away and he likes to turn the volume way down so I don’t know the TV is on.

Anyway, he’s been pretty good today and I told him that if he turned on the TV he couldn’t play with his friend.

So, I was sitting at my desk and suddenly I hear the back door slam. I figured he’d seen a friend outside but decided it would be a good idea to just go check.

I went out and saw him getting his bike while his friend, another little boy about 8 or 9, had his bike and was waiting. They both looked at me when I came out of the house.

Me: I just heard the back door close and I wanted to see what was going on. I guess you’re going to go play.

His friend: I wanted to tell… (He stands with his arms spread wide.) How do I look?

Me: You look fabulous. (He’s got on a blue and yellow striped shirt and blue shorts.)

He: You…I like your shirt (my old pink flowered T) and you look beautiful. (He dropped to his knees and bowed.)

My son watched all this, kinda confused.

Me: Noah looks fabulous. You look fabulous. We all look fabulous.

He: I think so.

Then the boys rode off talking about bowling parties for their birthdays.

I love days that start like this!

This morning, I went into the kitchen to make my usual morning smoothie and Noah was watching some TV, as school is out for summer and his friends hadn’t started ringing the doorbell and banging on the front door.

Me: Did you finish your breakfast?

Noah: Yes. Can I have some milk?

Me: Sure. Bring the dishes into the kitchen.

As he brought his plate in, I poured him a glass of milk. I took the plate.

Me: Here’s your milk.

He turned and walked back toward the living room, without the milk.

Me: Noah, here’s your milk.

He turned back to me and said:

“Oh, I thought you gave the Vashta Nerada the milk.”

I took Noah to Chick-fil-a after he got out of school at noon for the next to last day on Tuesday.

I hadn’t packed him a lunch as I figured he’d come home and I’d take him out.

In the car, he told me that they’d had eggs and bacon at school. Don’t really get that and he isn’t always the most reliable witness, so I was confused, but then I always am with school stuff.

Anyway, we went home and he changed his clothes. When we got to the restaurant, we saw lots of cars with stickers from his school, so I told him maybe changing hadn’t been necessary and he’d have lots of friends to play with.

Now, normally, the lure of the playplace is too much and he doesn’t always eat all his lunch. Also, his ADHD meds sometimes take away his appetite, so I didn’t expect him to eat much. And if he’d had food at school…. It didn’t matter. This trip was just so he could play and he and Mommy could do something special together.

At one point he told me he was ready for his milkshake, which is a traditional end of our trips there. I asked him if he was done eating and he showed me that he’d eaten everything.

“Wow,” I said, “you scarfed down those chicken nuggets.”

“I was hungry,” he replied. “That’s what a Noah is.”

My father-in-law in very involved in the Marine Corp League. He was commandant of the detachment in New Jersey at the time that we moved from the Philadelphia area to Baton Rouge. I remember this because he drove down here with me and we jokingly called my van “Bulldog One” when we’d call home.

His wife and my daughter weren’t as amused as we were.

Anyway, they moved down here about two years ago and the first thing he did, even before they actually moved, was to find the local Marine Corp League detachment.

After they moved, we started getting invited to the MCL parties. He would buy us tickets and include us at his table. We’ve been to two Christmas parties, and as Noah is usually the youngest person there, he always helps Santa pass out gifts. We’ve won door prizes at the Christmas party. It’s actually pretty cool.

Well, a week or so ago, my mother-in-law told us that there was a dinner for the installation of the new officers and my father-in-law has been selected as commandant here. I understand how this stuff works; he the newest guy and no one else wanted it, so he got it. (That’s how I ended up a President of HeartLA for two years!)

She told us it would probably be boring for us, but it’s a big deal to him so we said we’d go.

Turned out that was the day our son threw up in school and consequently, my husband stayed home from the dinner and just Juliette and I went.

As usual, this dinner was held at a local beer bottling plant. The owner is a big support of the League and his conference room/meeting space is very nice. The Christmas parties are held here, too. The bar is always free, but it only offers the brands of beer made there. Wine and water is available, too, but the beer is always SUPER cold and yummy.

Anyway, when Juliette and I got there, everything was set up the way it usually is, including a long buffet table to one side of the room. It took up about half the wall and was covered with a black cloth. At one end were two small steam trays, covered, and the plates and utensils.

I figured we were late, but since the food hadn’t been set out, I figured we were okay.

There was some socializing and my mother-in-law talked to Juliette about school and such for about 15 or 20 minutes. Then the guy who was the commandant stood up and had the chaplain lead us in prayer and then he said we’d start the buffet with the head table. And he pointed at Dick.

My father-in-law stood up and glanced at the still nearly empty buffet table and said, “Shouldn’t we wait until the food comes out?”

Well, the woman who, I presume, was the caterer, came out and uncovered the two small steam trays. There was roast beef in one and mashed potatoes in the other.

That’s it.

That was the dinner.

No salad.

No green vegetables>

No rolls.

Not even cookies for dessert.

Roast beef and mashed potatoes. The was the whole “buffet.”

As we were the head table, we finished our dinner long before the last table had even gotten theirs. When the line finished, Juliette went to the table again and said there was only potatoes left.

We decided that she and I aren’t Marines and we wouldn’t be missed if we went out and got ice cream for our table! We didn’t, of course, because we didn’t want to miss Dick’s installation.

But on the way home, when we stopped to get some ginger ale for my poor sick son, we did get muffins at Target and ate one each as our dessert.

So, what was the worst catered meal you’ve ever had? Or maybe not even catered. What’s your worst “horror” story about dinner out?

This is an early Alfred Hitchcock film (1938).

Storyline from IMDB:

Travellers on a trans-European train are delayed for a night due to bad weather in a small fictional country called Mandrika. The passengers cram into the small village hotel where socialite Iris Henderson meets an old governess called Miss Froy. Shortly after the journey restarts, Miss Froy disappears.

If you saw Flight Plan with Jody Foster, you can get a feeling for the basic plot of The Lady Vanishes, but the stories are only similar, not exactly the same.

I love Alfred Hitchcock movies, for the most part, but I have to say, this one was not one of my favorites. I don’t know if it was the similarity to Flight Plan, which I enjoyed, or because it’s an early Hitchcock and therefore, not up to the quality of some of his later stuff.

This is one of the Criterion Collection films, so presumably someone more qualified than I am has judged this to be one of the best films from this master story teller. I don’t want to give away the ending for those who want to see it and judge for themselves, but I was disappointed. I really didn’t feel it was up to the standards I expect from Hitchcock.

High School Never Ends

So, I wasn’t one of the popular kids in high school – whatever that means. My mother thought I was since lots of kids signed my yearbook. After all, popular means lots of people like you, right?

Anyway, we know that it didn’t mean that then. And I don’t know that it means that now, but you know what? I like who I am and where I’ve come to and what I’ve gone through to get here.

And deep down I don’ t want to be one of the popular kids even now, but….

A few weeks ago, I got invited to the Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon at Noah’s school. I’ve worked in the library a couple of times this year (when she actually had something for me to do) and I helped out with two of the three second grade science days (geography and weather).

To be honest, I almost didn’t go to the luncheon because it was a busy week and I had something that took me out of the house every day. I thought I could just bag it, but I thought I remembered going last year and it was fun, so I decided to go.

I don’t think I remembered going last year.

I walked into the Activity Center and there were all these tables set up, and 8th graders milling around with people in suits and nice dresses.

I was wearing my pink HeartLA t-shirt and jeans.

I went to another room in the Activity Center and found a woman I know is also a volunteer and her daughter’s in Noah’s class. She said yes this was the right place and that the 8th graders were going to be servers.

So, not a casual buffet, I’m guessing.

Anyway, the bottom line of all this is that it was a dress up luncheon – which was not stated on the invitation but everyone but me knew that. There were also reserved tables for an award winner and the board of the Home and School Association, to which I don’t belong because I just don’t want to pay extra for dues and all that.

So, we had a nice lunch of Mexican Food to celebrate Quatro de Mayo (it was May 4th), the Home and School Association presented the Mother Seton Award. This award goes to a woman (maybe it could got to a man, what do I know) who has worked with the Home and School Association for at least five year.

When the list of the winner’s contributions and accomplishments were read, I have to believe there was only five years out of her life when she WASN’T doing something for Home and School. She ran the auction for 20 years and was a room mother for 18 and did something else for 15 and some other thing for 8 and fourteen other things for 5 or 9 or 11 years and the list went on and on.

I kinda made some of that up since I can’t remember the “just a short list of her accomplishments” that was read to us before she got the award. I honestly wonder how she had time to raise her kids (two of whom were there with their spouses).

Now, let me say, this is a Catholic School and the people are genuinely nice, so no one commented on my attire and the ladies at my table (two of whom I kinda know and one has a son in Noah’s class) talked to me and it was pleasant.

It just wasn’t “fun.” I think In must be thinking of the VBS volunteer lunches because those are fun!

Anyway, next year, while I’ll still volunteer, I am bagging the luncheon.

So, this brings me to the next thing and a dilemma.

Noah and I decided yesterday that I’ll make rosaries for each of his teachers as end of the year gifts. We even went out to Hobby Lobby and picked out beads for each one. Today on the way to school, he told me I need to get working on them!

Then I open my email and there’s a note from our room mother saying that the Home and School has an idea for a gift for all the teachers. I don’t want to go into much detail on it because I have teacher friends and I don’t want to spoil the nice surprise, but they recommended that if we are planning to give a gift to our teachers, we donate to their cause instead.

They’re going to provide a list of all kids whose parents donated to the teachers, so I guess if they don’t get a gift from Johnny or Betty they’ll know why.

We’ve lived all over the country and Juliette’s gone to six schools from kindergarten through high school. Every year – EVERY YEAR – I never know what’s going on and I’m running to catch up. When Noah started kindergarten, I went to the new parents’ orientation and thought, Okay, I’m starting fresh and I’m the same as these parents. I’m new, too, and I won’t be behind because I didn’t grow up here or go to this school.

Then someone stood up and said, “If you plan to order supplies from Louisiana Office Supply, you can still do it.”

What? How does anyone know that’s an option if this is NEW PARENTS’ Orientation? When were we told about that?

Again, I was playing catch up.

I will never be part of the Home & School clique, as nice as these people probably are. I have one kid at the school so I won’t be volunteering for several grades every year. I love the school and the church and all, but I’m not emotionally invested in the building or the grounds or even the uniform. Those are trappings.

I love my son and I will fight to make sure he gets the best education and is treated well and fairly and his needs are met. I don’t know that worrying about auctions or parties or a big gift for all the teachers will do that. I will thank his teachers with a gift from my heart.

Maybe I’ll never be a cool kid, but I’ll be the best mom I can.

So, what’s happening in Brandt world?

The Boy did his First Eucharist on Sunday. That was exciting. He looked so handsome. I made him a rosary and we had a formal portrait of him taken with it, which I’ll post here and on Facebook when we get it.

We sat in the front pew, mainly because my mother-in-law doesn’t walk well and she wouldn’t be able to walk from too far back when it came to her turn to go up for Communion.

Noah was very quiet throughout the whole service. He said he wasn’t nervous, but when it was over he talked and talked and talked, so I think he was.

The children went up first, one at a time followed by their parents and a professional photographer took a picture as each one (the kids) received. When we got back to our pew, I asked him how it was and he said he forgot to take the cup!

“But you don’t have to,” he said. I think they wanted the kids to their first time, but he’s absolutely right. It isn’t required because both elements are the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus, so he has that bit of theology down!

We all went to IHOP for lunch after church.

My beautiful kids at IHOP.

That was Noah’s choice.

Juliette is finished with college for the semester, and for her junior year. I can’t believe she’s a senior in college! It seems like the time went by so fast. She was just a baby a few weeks ago, got her learner’s permit a few days ago and now look at her.

She’s been having some stress about what she’s going to do with her life. After some discussions with her father and me, she’s decided to start a book review blog. I’ve already got an author who has got a new book coming out with Wings in July who is going to have Juliette review her book as one of the first ones she does for her blog.

She, Juliette, is doing this because she needs to have something to show potential employers that show cases her writing and her love of books. Plus, she’ll be sitting as her desk all summer, and she might as well have something productive to do instead of watching YouTube channels all day.

Steve’s in Alabama this week for a business thing. Actually, he left yesterday and comes home tomorrow, so he’s not really gone long. He’s still working on our first book collaboration, The Lady and the Necromancer but he’s changed it so much I’m not sure if I know what happens in the book after all.

I’m still trying to cut 30,000 words from Sword & Illusion and working on a new book, possibly a series, this time urban fantasy instead of epic fantasy. I finished the preliminary edits on the book I’m editing for Crescent Moon Press. It’s with the author now, so I’ll be getting it back again.