First Night in New Orleans - Galatoire's

On the way to the Omni Hotel, our airport shuttle driver remarked, "If you don't like the food in New Orleans, then you just plain don' like good eatin'!"

Baird had roses waiting in the hotel room for me - they were beautiful!

We picked Galatoire's for our first dinner. Galatoire's is old school New Orleans Creole and has been open since 1905. It's got a dress code but the atmosphere was lighthearted and warm - not the least bit stuffy. Trina was our waitress and her knowledge of each dish was impressive.

Shrimp Remoulade. It's supposed to serve 6. We were supposed to share. I singlehandedly devoured it all!

Fried Eggplant. I'd always eaten fried eggplant in thinly sliced rounds, but this way is delicious too.

Baird's entree: redfish topped with crawfish etouffee

My entree: crab yvonne

Baird's dessert: sweet potato cheesecake drizzled with honey and garnished with spicy pecans His was the better dessert

My dessert: caramel custard

No Mercy

The Shattuck clan is pretty competitive when it comes to card games. This afternoon Drew and I were taking a break from the heat and playing Uno Spin in the comfort of our air-conditioned living room. Drew soundly defeated me 7 hands in a row, at which point I was begging for mercy. He replied, "Mercy not spoken here!"

T-Ball Championship Game

Tonight was the t-ball championship game between the Yankees and the Padres.

The Padres came out strong right from the beginning, building a 10-2 lead.

The Yankees battled back, scoring the go-ahead run in the top of the 6th (last) inning.

But alas, the Padres wouldn't be denied, and won the game in the bottom of the inning.

Drew played his heart out, having some key at-bats. He also had 2 flawless innings at 1st base.

The thing I love most about Oak Park is that sense of community we have. Several of the Yankee and Padre families knew each other. While we each cheered our hearts out for our respective teams, when it was all over there was an awards ceremony for both teams in the infield, and a combined picnic afterwards. Families stayed around for over an hour after the game was over. The parents chatted and the players from both teams practiced their pitching techniques, with Yankee Coach V using his new radar gun (a gift from the Yankee families) to measure the speed of the pitches. It was a great ending to a great season.

The Thunder Rolls

When it looks like this outside, you know you'd better take cover!

The Chicago Tribune captured this dramatic photo of the storm clouds over Soldier Field this afternoon, shortly after the storm had passsed through Oak Park.

We thought we were in for a hot, sunny day. Drew was looking for playmates. I had just checked the online weather forecast, which predicted absolutely no rain until well after dark. Drew started calling friends to see if someone could come over and play catch. All of the sudden it got very, very dark outside.

This is what true "lake effect" weather is all about. Cold air from Lake Michigan began swirling around oppressively hot, humid air and a very intense, 90-minute thunderstorm ensued. So much for playing catch!

So, what to do with unexpected rain? Invite the Renny family over to make a batch of those perfect chocolate chip cookies. Add Emm&R to the mix, and it was a blast!

R thoroughly enjoyed the cookies, and got almost as much on his face as he did in his mouth!

Happy Father's Day

Father's Day was today, the end of a crazy busy weekend. In addition to everything else, I was up late last night participating in the 2nd Annual Southeast Oak Park House Walk - I was a house captain -- and while the after party wrapped up fairly early, the after- afterparty was still going strong when I left well after midnight.

All Baird wanted to do today was go to church, BBQ at the Renny's afterwards, go see Up, and then get ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery, and that was ok by me. I must admit, however, that I've been dragging my feet on seeing Up. I'd read the reviews that said it was great. I'd listened to friends tell me that I'd laugh and cry and walk out with that warm fuzzy feeling. I still wasn't convinced. I mean, come on - a house floating away by balloons with a main character that's pushing 80? How is that funny? Or sad enough to make me cry?

All I can say is, if you haven't yet seen this movie, you must make plans to do so right now. I'm not a big cry-er at the movies, but this one caused me to well up not once, not twice, but three times! Who knew?!

To my own dad, happy Father's Day. And thanks for everything you've taught me over the years. I know you've always believed in me.

To Baird, the father of my children, thanks for all you do to be a positive influence in the kids' lives.

A Dream Come True

All Erin's wanted to do for the last 4 years is participate in Brookfield Zoo's Deckside with the Dolphins program. This morning her wish finally came true. The program allowed her to go behind the scenes at the zoo and work with the trainers.
Her day started with practicing husbandry with the dolphins.  She gave a fake ultra sound and pretended to test for blood.  She learned that these practices are woven into the trainers' daily care of the dolphins, so when the animals truly need these things done, they are not spooked.

Erin was up close and personal with the seals...

...and the dolphins.
We were allowed a private showing of the dolphin show area to observe Erin working with the animals.

She learned the hand signals to use to get the dolphins to do their tricks. I don't think I've ever seen her smile so big!

Erin was the only one doing the Deckside with the Dolphins program on Saturday, so she had the trainers all to herself. They were impressed with the insightful questions she asked, and told her she's well on her way to becoming a marine biologist.
Erin said it was the best day she's ever had!

A Walk Across Asia

It seems like so much of my life is taken up with the mundane routine of being a suburban housewife, it hardly seems worth mentioning. Weeks can sometimes go by without too many eventful moments, and then all of a sudden there's a huge flurry of activity packed into a few days. This weekend is one of those that's packed with notable events, starting off with this evening.

A few months ago, I made a deal with my friend J. Renny that if she would keep my kids while Baird and I went to New Orleans for our 20th anniversary, I would cook her and her husband a rather memorable Asian-themed dinner, and keep her kids overnight afterwards. Our anniversary's in a couple of weeks, and tonight I held up my end of this bargain. I cooked and served the Rennys a total of six courses.

I learned to make this meal at Mel's cooking class last year, and as I've mentioned before, Mel's an amazing cook and a great teacher. While my camera battery died before I could photograph each dish, here's a peek at the first few courses:Shrimp toast with spicy cucumber relish and wheat grass garnish

Korean bulgogi. The Rennys said this was their favorite dish. I went easy on the kimchee.

Wild mushroom dumplings with spicy dipping sauce

Vietnamese salad roll with choice of spicy dipping sauces

And the rest of the menu, sans pictures:

Pineapple cilantro marinated pork tenderloin with orange rice and peapods

Five spice tea cake with cardamom cream and berry garnish, served with hot jasmine tea

Preparing this meal and serving it to dear friends was truly a joy!

Mud Ball

Kelsey's co-ed soccer team has been fun to watch this year. There's been a true spirit of comraderie, and they've played well, compiling a winning record.
Today was the championship game and the Yellow Team came out victorious...and very, very muddy.
It rained off and on all day today, but somehow the kids were still allowed to play. While waiting their turn for the field, they begin to write nicknames in mud on each others' backs. Kelsey's nickname: Killer.
The final game was more about who could stay on their feet the longest, as the field at Taylor Park was an absolute mess. The middle of the field was complete mud with no grass, and the western goal was nestled on the far side of a growing lake. At one point Kelsey slipped in mid-field and went down quite literally with a splash. She was covered in mud from her feet all the way up to her back.
The mud brought an unusual lightheartedness to the game. After all, it's hard to take yourself too seriously when you and all your teammates are covered in mud!
Hmmmm, maybe, for a little perspective, all competitive sports should be forced to play in the mud once in a while!

Three Baseball Firsts

Tonight was the Oak Park Youth Softball/Baseball organization’s annual trip to Sox Park. I took Erin and Drew with me. Erin’s a die-hard White Sox fan, and Drew, being the t-ball player, was the one that got us through the door. All the OPYSB players and coaches get to walk out on the field, parade style. It’s always a great event. Tonight, however, was magical from the very beginning.

You can always tell the rookie players – they’re the ones who are wearing enormous grins on their faces as they jog out for warm-ups. They still can’t believe they get to wear a major league uniform. Aaron Pedora was just called up from AA ball, and tonight was his first night in a White Sox uniform. You could see as he left the dugout for the first time that he’s thrilled just to be on the field, and that he was trying to savor this first night of play. We caught his eye and waved, and he jogged over and started signing autographs. Erin got her hat signed. We hope that he follows in the footsteps of another Sox pitcher who went from AA to the majors…Bobby Jenks.

Another Sox player, Gordon Beckham, is also in his rookie season and he’s been struggling offensively. I cannot even imagine the pressure on these guys when they get up to bat, but to be hitless in the majors your rookie season…well, that’s gotta be rough. And yet tonight, to the delight of all the fans there, Beckham hit a solid shot to the outfield and got on base. The scoreboard recognized his achievement and the fans not only cheered, they gave him a standing ovation. When the cameras zoomed in on the rookie, he was grinning from ear to ear, clearly enjoying his first hit in his first season of play in the Majors.

And, the sweetest of the firsts: Drew acquired his first home run game ball. It happened in the 10th inning of play. The game was tied at 6-all, and the Tigers were up to bat. Miguel Cabrera was in an 0-for-12 slump. The pitch from Linebrink was in and BAM! A solid shot to center field. Sox CF Brian Anderson leapt up the wall to try for the catch but it was too far gone. The ball dropped in the well between center field and the bleachers. There were about 30 boys from Oak Park who were right there, and they watched the ball fall out of reach.

While the rest of the boys stood around and chatted about the homerun that put the Tigers up 7-6, Drew was over by the Sox bullpen talking up the security guard, trying to get autographs.. As I’ve mentioned before, Drew will talk to anyone, anywhere, anytime. The security guard was pretty much ignoring him, but Drew was not to be deterred. When Drew saw where that home run ball had landed, he asked the security guard to get it for him. There was no response. After awhile Drew finally gave it up and walked back to the center field bleachers.

A few minutes later, the security guard walked on over and picked up the ball. The boys in the bleachers went wild, each one vying to better position himself as a candidate for the ball. The security guard stepped back and acted like he was going to put the ball in his pocket and walk away. His eyes scanned the pack of boys until he found Drew. “YOU,” he said. “Was it you who asked about the ball?”

“Yes! It was me! I’m the one who asked you.”

The security guard put that home run ball straight into Drew’s glove. And totally made the night of an 8-year-old-boy.

Seeing the look on Drew’s face as he broke away from the crowd of boys with his first ever game ball – a home run ball no less – I knew Drew was as excited over his baseball first as Pedero and Beckham were of theirs. There’s just something magical about ballpark memories.

Now, if only the Sox had won!

An Irving Tradition

Mr. Sak has been teaching at Irving School for awhile now, and Drew was lucky enough to have him for a teacher this year.

Mr. Sak has a tradition on the last day of school: at least one student from his class gets his head shaved. Drew came home a few days ago asking if he could be the one. I said yes and signed the permission slip.

Drew and Chris H. were all smiles as they showed off Mr. Sak's handiwork!

As Drew and I left Mr. Sak's classroom, we walked down the stairs near the 1st grade pod area. We ran into Ms. Gedvillas, Drew's 1st grade teacher. She looked at Drew and said, "Look at you - Mr. Sak did your hair! My boys had Mr. Sak shave their heads when they had him as a teacher."

Drew was all smiles as we passed the art room, where we saw Ms. Linne. "You must've had Mr. Sak this year! My brother had his head shaved when he was in Mr. Sak's class too!"

Tonight at the end of school year party at Rehm Park, several older boys approached Drew and said, "Mr. Sak did my hair too when I had him as a teacher!"

By the time Drew went to bed tonight, he realized that getting his head shaved by Mr. Sak was pretty special, and he's proud to be a part of such a cool Irving School legacy. What a great way to start the summer!

Pomp and Fire Drills

Tonight was Kelsey's 8th grade graudation from Percy Julian Middle School, held at Oak Park & River Forest High School. Once we took care of the crazy "stick on" collar, we thought we were good to go...
...right up to the point the fire alarm sounded, delaying the start of the ceremony by about 20 minutes. Turns out there was a theater performance in another part of the building, and the intense lights plus all the body heat from the performers and patrons set off the heat alarm in the room, triggering the alarm. Mandatory evacuation of the entire building ensued, so we all headed outside. At least it wasn't raining!

Once we all returned to the auditorium, the cattle call -- I mean, the ceremony -- began.

I didn't graudate from 8th grade, I simply moved on to high school. No fanfare. No robe. No ceremony. No party. I don't feel the least bit deprived. Finishing 8th grade should be, after all, the midpoint of your academic life, not the end. No one celebrates Wednesday the same way they celebrate Friday. School board member Peter Barber put it this way in his speech to the graduating 8th graders: "In Oak Park, we expect you to go on to high school, and we expect you to go on to college after that."

In spite of my somewhat cynical attitude about the 8th grade graudation ceremony, it gave our family a chance to celebrate Kelsey in a special way...

...and it gave Drew something to look forward to in another 6 years.

Congratulations, Kelsey. I really am proud of you!