(Prada Mama's NOTE: I have always had a morbid fascination for sensationalized crime cases. I used to watch Court TV before it was even IN to watch Court TV, just to catch a glimpse of the latest murderer du jour.

Oh, excuse me. I meant ALLEGED murderer du jour.

Last November 12, Scott Peterson booked a one-way trip to society's underbelly, so we don't have to do the PC thing of adding "alleged" as an afterthought anymore. It's now official. Peterson has joined the ranks of the Menendez brothers, OJ Simpson, Amy Fisher and Susan Smith in the annals of the abhorred.

I happen to live in Modesto, CA. My family joined legions of mourners who congregated in front of the Peterson residence when Laci and Baby Conner's bodies were found. A news photographer even took a picture of Lance putting a flower in front of a makeshift shrine at their front lawn.

But last November 12, when the jury foreman read their decision after deliberation, I was gleefully unaware of the guilty verdict. Oh, I wisened up soon enough, even writing my thoughts on the matter in "Having My Baby", my latest post at 87 GENTLE STREET. But on the night of November 12, when exultant crowds celebrated by hugging each other and honking their car horns, I was at Chuck E. Cheese's, celebrating something else. It was my son Lance's birthday, and he was turning five.)





KING FOR A DAY

Four months after Troy's "Spiderman 2" MOVIE PARTY, my sons' love affair with Spiderman was still going strong.

Therefore, I wasn't surprised when Lance requested to have another Spiderman party for his fifth birthday, which we celebrated at Chuck E. Cheese's here in Modesto.




Good thing I didn't exhaust all my Spiderman ideas on Troy's party. I still had a few tricks up my sleeve, left over from July. For starters, Lance wanted to have a Spiderman ice cream cake, just like Troy's. Unfortunately, Baskin-Robbins only had one cake design for Spiderman 2. Since we didn't want an exact duplicate of Troy's cake for Lance's birthday, I tapped the services of my local supermarket's bakery, which came out with this masterpiece:


(As usual, Troy's fingers got to the cake before I got to take this picture!)

Wasn't it perfect that Lance's Halloween costume this year was Spiderman? I also had some leftover party favors from Troy's birthday, which I added to Lance's loot cups. Aside from the Spiderman pencils, party blowers and paddle balls we had the last time, I added water squirters shaped like HUGE spiders and bags of Spiderman fruit snacks.




Yes, I try to keep my treats healthy and educational. With little paint sets and activity pads rounding out the mix, there was just enough space left for a mere sprinkling of candy, which was fine by the other Moms in our party. Our kids were already bouncing off the walls in excitement, even without the extra sugar!




We have always celebrated birthdays by taking our kids to Chuck E. Cheese's, but this is the first time I actually availed of their party package, which included two slices of pizza, unlimited soda and 20 tokens per child. We also got brownie points for bringing our own cake, which netted us an extra 20 tokens.

Chuck E. Cheese's also provided the table decor and place settings, and the birthday boy got a special Tonka cup and a bag of cotton candy. But the most important component of the party package was our personal party helper, Marisa, who took everybody's orders, got us all drinks, and just made sure everyone was happy. There were 17 kids and 10 adults in our party. I needed all the help I could get.




The party started out with everyone eating pizza. Many of the adult guests also availed of the all-you-can-eat salad bar, which was YUMMY, if I may say so myself. The pizza had a delicious thin crust, but I doubt if any of the kids noticed, since most of them downed their slices with giant gulps of soda before proceeding to bug me for tokens. I held them off for as long as I could, telling them Chuck E. Cheese was going to dance for Lance first.




It was at this juncture when my esteem for Marisa, our personal party helper, went up even more. The poor girl bravely joined her other colleagues in front for Chuck E.'s special show for Lance, even though she had no terpsichordial talent whatsoever.




See the relief on her face when Lance's friend, Anthony, joins them in front.




If I couldn't dance I would BEG someone to take the spotlight away from me too!


(Troy was also dancing...)


(...along with his sidekick, cousin Vernon!)

I feel a tug on my sleeve. Lance and the big kids are getting antsy.

"Now can we have our tokens?"

No, we have to sing "Happy Birthday" for Lance first.




(Lance makes a wish and blows out his candle. Marisa brings the cake back to the kitchen for slicing. I then ask the kids what I knew would be a rhetorical question:)

Would you like some cake?

"Maybe later, we're not hungry. NOW can we have our tokens?"

Yes, you ca...HEY come back here!

And they were gone before I could even finish my sentence...








After an hour, we managed to pull Lance away from the herd to open presents...





(Lance with his classmate, Noe, who gave him MORE Spiderman stuff!)


(The girl who has her arm on the back of Lance's chair is his other classmate, Nathalie, whom he has told me he "likes".)

When everybody's tokens were all used up, they turned in the tickets they won for more treats at the redemption center.


(Only BOYS would choose such weird treats as these...)

Troy got the most tickets, but he squandered his winnings on fake bugs!




He also got his baby sister Reanna a little toy clapper, which was sweet of him.




By the end of the evening, the kids finally finished their ice cream cake. Fueled by the sugar rush, my nephew, Thomas, and my niece, Christa, joined Anthony, who was dancing in front again!




Then it was time to give away the goody bags, before the guests said goodbye.




Pretty soon, we were on our way home too.

And when we got there, Lance and Troy each got a Power Rangers Dino Thunder toy from Mommy and Daddy.




Yes, they BOTH get presents. Always.

No matter whose birthday it is.


(Happy Birthday Lance!)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

(Prada Mama's NOTE: It was in the news recently that La Toya London of "American Idol 3" was to sing the National Anthem in one of the Raiders games.



I really liked La Toya London. In fact, I gave birth the day after she was voted out, my irritable uterus egged on by my irritation at the American voting public. La Toya was a lot more versatile than Dianna DeGarmo, and would've been a better foil for Fantasia Berrino, maybe even giving her a run for her money. Needless to say, I lost all interest in "American Idol" soon after she left.

As you can see, I took "American Idol" quite seriously. I was pregnant, on strict orders of bed rest. I had read all the Dan Brown books I could lay my hands on. There was nothing else to do.

In the interest of sparking more interest in "THE REANNA MONOLOGUES" on 87 Gentle Street, I am recounting those days of ennui to the tune of "HAVING MY BABY", Paul Anka's grand gesture to gestation, which topped the charts in 1974.

And while we're on the subject of sappy songs sung by singer-songwriters in the seventies, let me tell you about my husband, Lorenzo, who, last I heard, was...)


WEAKENED IN NEW ENGLAND

(cue dramatic music...and Barry Manilow)

I feel the change comin'
I feel the wind blow
I feel brave and daring!
I feel my blood flow...

Actually, it was nothing major. He was just hungry.

This, just three hours after downing a steak dinner with his boss, complete with all the fixin's. It was midnight in New Hampshire, and Lorenzo's stomach was growling. Blame it on jet lag, considering it was just nine o'clock in California, about the time he would be raiding the pot on the stove again for seconds.

Instead, he unwraps a protein bar. My husband used to dabble in bodybuilding. To this day, he still measures his meals in protein grams.


(Here he is doing a tricep pose in competition.)


Lorenzo is in New Hampshire again on business, visiting Stonyfield Farm, the parent company of Brown Cow Farm, where he works as a Production Planner. He was just there last August.

I miss my husband. I miss everything about him: his voice, his TagBoard "I love you's", even his snoring. I'm not used to having him gone for so long. Considering we are never apart for more that a few hours a day, three days might as well be forever.

As I talk to him on the phone, I imagine him, lying in bed in his hotel room, just like the last time. My mind's eye doesn't have to improvise much, since he took these pictures when he checked into the same hotel last August.






Tomorrow, he will be leaving for work again...




...for another day of meetings at the Stonyfield plant, just like the last time.




Seeing him in this picture last August with Stonyfield's top brass...


(In white, Steve Inamorati, Logistics VP; In khaki, Gary Hirschberg, President and CEO.)


I find it hard to believe that just ten days before it was taken, we were celebrating his birthday, eagerly anticipating his first day in this new job.


(At the Thai restaurant in downtown Modesto...)


(...where Troy helped blow out his candle on top of mango and sticky rice.)




And now, three months later, Lorenzo is back in New Hampshire.
Learning more and living more...




Hmm...hopefully not loving more?...(kidding, BABE!)




I can't wait for tomorrow night, when he comes back home to us. I hope his flight doesn't get cancelled again, just like the last time.


(Waiting interminably at the terminal...)


(...only to spend the night at another hotel room in Chicago.)


As I write this, I thank you, Lord, for my wonderful husband, and for your continued provision over our family. I pray that you bring Lorenzo back home, safe and sound...


(Uhh...I said "safe and sound", Lord?)


...so that we can have another happy homecoming.

Just like the last time.








We miss you, Daddy!

(cue dramatic music building up to a crescendo...)

And tell me...
When will our eyes meet?
When can I touch you?
When will this strong yearning end?

And when will I hold you...
Again?

(Prada Mama's NOTE: With Halloween over and Thanksgiving looming ahead, paving the way for the 2004 Holiday Season, methinks it's high time to wrap up "THE BOYS OF SUMMER" series. These are the summer stories I would've told but didn't have the time, as my days were literally consumed by a ravenous baby, who insisted on being fed at the breast every hour, on the hour.

And so, with your indulgence, I am coming out with my last entry in...)


THE BOYS OF SUMMER (Reprise)

Are you going to Stanislaus Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Remember me to the one who lives there
He once was a true love of mine.

Lorenzo and I were married four years ago last July 31st. We celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary amidst family, as we took our kids, along with their friend, Anthony, to the Stanislaus County Fair.

I had never been to a County Fair before, but it was exactly what I expected.

From the animal stalls...







...to the carnival rides...










...to the ever-present food stalls. Amid the usual fair staples of funnel cakes and hot dogs, we discovered Mexican and Chinese food booths. We gladly sampled their wares, standing in the long queues, even though I've always HATED the idea of lining up for food. Yes, hunger can do wonders to the human ego!




We also watched America in concert...




...above the din of the tractor pulls! (Modesto is an urbane island surrounded by the fertile farmlands of California's Central Valley.)

At the end of the evening, we finally succumbed to our inner child and went on one last line, leading to the giant Ferris Wheel, looming regally at the threshold, looking over her subjects like a queen, benevolently taking us on a breathtaking tour of her kingdom...








(Don't mind the funky hairdo. It was WINDY up there!)


And when the night was over, we celebrated the early hours of our 4th wedding anniversary feeding four hungry kids at McDonald's.


( Troy and Lance. NOT IN PICTURE: Reanna and Anthony.)


Three days later, Lance would board the school bus...




...taking him to his first day in kindergarten...




...marking the end of our summer vacation.

And so I finally put "THE BOYS OF SUMMER" series on the shelf.

That's a wrap.


(p.s. Speaking of wrap, that's exactly what I will be doing after this post as Lance will be celebrating his fifth birthday tomorrow in Chuck E. Cheese's. Pictures to follow.)