A day with Carson and Adelyn

My cousin and her husband joined the thousands of faithful Parrot Heads at the Jimmy Buffett {party/} concert on Saturday. That means, I got to spend the day their beautiful, amazing kids. Carson is a typical 3 year old boy in love with sports who could spend every waking hour running around outside. Needless to say, by 8pm I was just as close to crashing as he was. Adelyn is an adorable, sweet 1-year-old with a beautiful smile.

We began our day playing outside in the sprinkler, then headed into the backyard to play on the swing set for a while, went inside to finish a {huge} puzzle, then we drove downtown for the afternoon {stopping at a coffee shop so I had the energy to keep up with Carson}, played at the park by the marina, stopped at a ice cream shop for a treat, made dinner at home, finished another puzzle, watched a little TV and finally fell asleep. Whew. It was a busy day. But oh so much fun!

Big. Fat. Hit.

The Greendale Community Theatre closed their regional premiere of Broadway's Hairspray with a toe-tapping, hips-wiggling, heart-jumping bang. I went to their final showing on Saturday night and it was absolutely amazing. {But, I may be slightly biased as my cousin Laura starred as Penny Pingleton and she was utterly hilarious.}

The choreography was intricate and executed perfectly, the songs were strong and fabulous and the acting was incredible. It honestly was so great. I was especially impressed by how well they used the stage for the different scenes. I knew it would be used well as soon as the cast walked on stage holding flattened houses on boards above their heads during the opening number 'Good Morning Baltimore.'

A few other numbers that I especially enjoyed, were: 'The Nicest Kids in Town,' 'You're Timeless to Me' and 'You Can't Stop the Beat.' {They had so much emotion and energy for every song, especially the last one! I even was about to dance out of my seat.}

Though all were great, my favorite song, by far, was 'I Can Hear the Bells.' Brittany Radocha as Tracy Turnblad was amazing throughout, but the execution of that song was perfectly hilarious. Link Larken and the cast froze in comical poses to the beat, the company boys drew bells from behind their backs and Penny Pingleton wandered the stage, confused. My stomach hurt I was laughing so hard.

This is the second show I've seen at GCT- the first being the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, another hilarious show- but this was so much better than I could have ever expected. Bravo.

Director Brian Bzdawka and everyone else involved in the production did a great job! I can't wait to see what they'll do next.

{poster via GTC}

Adelyn Rose

My cousin Katie and her husband welcomed a beautiful daughter into their little family three weeks ago. Big brother Carson is loving his baby sister, though, he said, she's not very exciting yet. It's so cute, he's already trying to play baseball with her, but she's not very good so far. I'm sure he will be a loving big brother and teach her some day. Congratulations Katie and Matt!

Isn't she just the cutest little peanut? I mean, all babies are cute, but she's just a bit more.

Visiting from New York

In just about two weeks, my big sister and her husband are flying in from New York to spend the weekend. I'm excited to finally see them both again. It's been over four months since I helped them move into their new place in Poughkeepsie. That's so long. Phone calls and text messages have been great, but it's just not the same. I miss sitting at the coffee shop talking with Maggie or going out to dinner with the two of them. I know they're really enjoying their time out east, but I miss them dearly.

And so does everyone else. They're going to be ridiculously busy trying to visit all their friends and family in such a short time, but I'm sure it will all be worth the exhaustion.

Two weeks! I can't wait!

Zoo Trip

I was lucky enough to get an extended holiday weekend and I wanted to make sure I didn't waste one bit of it. Friday, I collected my family from their various lives and we all headed to the zoo. With our busy and much different schedules, we haven't been able to do that in years. It was great, but made me somewhat nostalgic for past trips.

Besides some minor sunburn, it turned out to be close to a perfect afternoon. The sun was shining, the animals playful, the zoo busy but not crowded and the ice cream delicious. If it weren't for the necessary smells, it would have been perfect.

Pride.

Before Gay Pride Month comes to a close, I thought it was important to honor it properly. Everyone should be guaranteed equal rights no matter gender, race, sexual orientation or other groups with restricted rights.

Earlier, I mentioned that my cousin wrote a poem to honor Gay Pride, dedicated to gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders. {And more specifically, his brother, Charlie, and his partner, John.}

You Know Who Else Had More Than One Father? America!

Here in America, we have built quite a myth
It's one Americans should all be concerned with
It's the myth of family, and what that entails
As if kids couldn't be raised by two loving females.

Opponents say children need a mom and a dad
"Two mothers? Two fathers? It would just end up bad.
There's a model fam'ly you should strive to achieve."
Ward and June Cleaver? Jerry Mathers as the Beav?

With a divorce rate of nearly half and rising
It is difficult not to find it surprising
That we do not yet allow same-sexes to wed
And enjoy the same right to a marriage they dread.

"It just isn't right to have multiple fathers."
No matter the stats or how little it bothers?
"Nothing is conceived by multiple fathers -- duh!"
Oh? Not even a li'l place called... AMERICA?

America is a child with fathers galore!
More than two or three, and ev'ry one of them fore
They broke from mother England to raise us this way
And that's back in a time when happiness was gay.

But then the debate turns to a biblical sell
"It's Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve!" they yell
And yet the forefathers include, would you believe,
Multiple Adams and at least one guy named Steve.*

There wasn't an Eve in the whole congregation
Except for the night before founding this nation
That prides on equality, colors that don't fade
It has all the makings of a gay pride parade!

The Declaration and Constitution in mind
Let's thank our forefathers and their eye for design
Think on their queerness; America, for the win,
The same-sexiest fam'ly that has ever been.

*John Adams, Samuel Adams, Stephen Hopkins

Chicago's 41st Annual Pride Parade

{Wish I could have made it to the parade. Looks like they had amazing costumes and support.}

Also, Brent Sopel, of the Chicago Blackhawks, brought the Stanley Cup to the Pride parade to show his support.

{Drawing by Maggie Dosemagen, all photos via Chicagoist}

mount rushmore smooching

my sister and cousin are teaming up on a project for an art publication. he's writing a poem and she's doing the drawing to accompany it. the topic: gay marriage. it's an absolutely hilarious poem that makes you think of gay rights in a different way. i love it.

here's a sneak peek at the artwork:

happy graduation

my little sister isn't so little anymore. i knew this day would come but it always seemed so far away that i never really expected it to arrive. this saturday, my little sister, cecilia claire, graduated from high school. i'm so proud of her. i know she's been busting her but at school lately and i'm glad she'll finally have time to relax and appreciate all of her hard work.

i wanted to do something really cool for her to celebrate this moment but i could only come up with some pretty cheesy "oh, the places you'll go" moments. but that's exactly what i'm feeling now, so i'm going to go with it. i'll be the one tearing up in the bleachers as my little sister crosses the stage and accepts her diploma.

congratulations ceci!

little felt creatures

my mom's artistic. my sister's artistic. it seemed to skip me though. anything, absolutely anything involving artistic creativity and ability, my big sister is good at. a couple months ago, she started needle felting. she's already taught classes at a local art shop and has made a bunch of cute little creatures. {like these} she includes such intricate detail as eye lashes and i can't seem to make the stuff form a ball.

maggie made me an orange, purple and red duckie creature as a thank you for moving her to new york. i absolutely adore him. {what a sweet gesture too, so much more meaningful than a gift card.} she's also made creatures for her nieces' birthdays and others. i think she should also open an etsy shop but i have no idea where she would start with that. i think there are a lot of people who would want to have such an adorable animal around.

i heard she's finishing up natural disasters and moving on to a sloth next. i'm excited to see what other creatures she comes up with.

{all photos by mags}

a day with the animals

my friends and i are planning a zoo trip soon and i couldn't be happier. i absolutely love the zoo. when i was young, my parents would buy family zoo pass every year to the milwaukee zoo.

we loved spending the day with the animals. we always fought over which animals to see first, though that never mattered because my mom always had a planned route. we would take turns pushing each other in a cart but as soon as we hit the hills, my sisters and i would all jump in and let my dad push {downhill was always the best}. when we got hungry, we'd unpack the amazing lunch my mom made. but for desert my dad always bought us our favorite ice cream treats. i loved sitting by the pond, feeding popcorn to the ducks, always for over an hour {a long time for tykes}. we loved watching the little ducks fight swans for a kernel.

we always stayed a little longer at the favorite exhibits: penguins for my mom, fish for my dad, monkeys for my older sister, tigers for my younger sister and giraffes for me.

dilemma: should i buy a zoo pass for this year? hmm...

shameless plug

my cousin recently started blogging for the comedy section of the huffington post online. and believe me, he's funny.

"Andy McDonald is a writer and comedian in the greater Chicago land area whose work appears mostly on his awardless sites FiveJokes.com and Zoltrog.com. His writing has also been featured at Second City as well as on Gawker. A former Comedy Central intern, Andy enjoys telling people he was a Comedy Central intern."

a few favorite entries are: 10 reasons why getting laid off is like getting laid, scott baio files for legal separation from lesbian hairstyle and other GOP amendments added to derail health care reform.

check him out.

happy mother's day

to the best mom ever who is always supportive and gives her love unconditionally. i love you. i'm taking her out to brunch at our favorite place, just the two of us. {the perfect way to start a day.} and my little sister, dad and i are taking her out for a nice dinner. {it seems a little unfair that we all get to eat out on her day, huh?}

this is one of my favorite pictures of my mom {long before she ever thought of us}. she is on the far right.

also, happy mother's day to one of my best friends and newest moms, sam.

first day at the cia

i was such a proud sister sending my brother-in-law off on his first day of school at the culinary institute of america. he was so excited and that excitement definitely spread to my sister and i. {it was sweet how excited and proud of him she is.}

while patrick was at orientation, maggie and i sat in on a few discussions on parent-student transition and an informational session about the school. we also explored the area and ate twice at theapple pie bakery cafe, a restaurant in the school where all baking students work before graduating.

for breakfast, i had a spinach and goat cheese turnover and maggie had an edleflower and chocolate creme danish. both were absolutely delicious. the danish just melted in your mouth.

for lunch, i had macaroni & cheese {tubetti pasta with gruyere cheese and parmesan cheese topped with crisp bread crumbs} that was to die for! my sister had a tillamook grilled cheese {with bacon and hudson valley apple served with a mache & arugula salad dressed with truffle cinaigrette}. yes, we are from wisconsin. the food was incredibly delicious. i wish i could have stayed longer so i had time to try everything on the menu.

also, the campus was absolutely beautiful.

i heart roadtrips

big news. i'm going to help my sister and brother-in-law move to new york this weekend. i know it's kind of a last-minute decision but i want to get in as much time with them as i possibly can.

we're going to drive out to poughkeepsie, ny {directly adjacent to hyde park, home of the culinary institute of america} on saturday in a uhaul and i'll fly back on thursday. i'm really excited to help them move and see their new apartment. i heard it's really nice and, i'm sure, has a ton of character already.

on tuesday, patrick's first day of orientation, maggie and i will be able to walk around the culinary institute campus and attend a few friends and family informational sessions. i'm interested to see what his school is like. {so far, i've heard it smells delicious :)}

i think we're also planning on doing a little poughkeepsie exploring, that is if the unpacking is done. i hope we get a chance to take a day trip to new york city but i kind of doubt there will be time. it's going to be a hectic few days.

i'm going to be terribly sad to get on a plane and leave my sister and brother-in-law hundreds of miles away. it's going to be weird to not have them around anymore. i'm going to miss them dearly.

{image via weheartit}

Struggle. Hope. Triumph. Love.

My cousin Laura stars in RENT next week at the Greendale Community Theatre in Greendale, Wisconsin. She's playing Maureen Johnson, a bisexual performance artist, and my favorite character in the play. I'm really proud of all the work she's put into the play and I can't wait to see it! Watch their video blog here.

It's definitely one of the best plays of my generation. I hope if you ever get the chance to see RENT in the theatre, you do.

Cute Little Story

He's going to grow up to be a stand-up comic or a politician.

At 1 1/2 years old, my cousin's son Carson is already a schmoozer.

A few days ago, as I was walking past him, I felt a tug on my pant leg.

"Uppie, uppie."

I scooped him up in my arms. He smiled, looked at me, looked at my glass of water and smiled again.

"Cheers!"

His juice bottled taped against the side of my glass before he took a sip.

"Down please, down please."

I set him back on the floor and he strolled away.

My Grandma

Today is my Grandma's funeral. My mom was having a really tough time coping with her mom's death so I offered to help out as much as I could. I was in charge of collecting photos from family members and creating a slideshow for the visitation service.

Some of her scrapbooks were so old the pages fell out as I turned them. The binding broke, the glue yellowed and faded, but the photos still told an amazing story. Looking through these photos, I realized that I never really talked to my Grandma about her life before us kids came along.

She lived through the Great Depression, prohibition and the Jazz Age, through World War II, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, through the Civil Rights Movement, Leave It To Beaver and the Cold War, through moon landings, Woodstock and the JFK assassination... and so much more.

I wish I had more time to talk to my Grandma, to ask her so many questions that I have, to hear more of her stories. Knowing her, I'm sure she had some great ones.

Isn't my Grandma such a cool lady? (She's on the left.)

Stuck in the Middle

I just read a blog post on the Glamour site: "Did You Ever Wonder If Your Parents Had a Secret Favorite?" It made me think. Overall, my parents did a great job making my two sisters and I just as loved as the other ones.

But growing up, I think my sisters (one older, one younger) got more attention than I did. I blame the fact that I was always the responsible, quiet one that always did well in school and never got in trouble.

I'm glad that I am more independent than my sisters but it's sad that it seemed like I had to get in trouble to get more attention. Birth order is supposed to say a lot about the person you are. My old roommate wrote a report in college on birth order and the middle of three girls is supposed to be the hardest.

I Heart My Big Family

I have a big family. A very big family. I love it.

On my mom's side, I have 9 aunts and uncles and 11 cousins; on my dad's side, I have one uncle; on my stepdad's side, I have 15 aunts and uncles and 23 cousins; and I'm pretty close with all of my parents' cousins and their kids. Like I said, LARGE family.

I think having a big family is great, I always had someone to play with growing up. Some of my best memories are of playing kickball or hanging out at family parties. I grew up with some of my cousins as my best friends, and some still are.

The only bad part about a big family is how hard it can be to keep up with everyone, especially since I have family on both coasts and everywhere in between. But I'd rather spend hours on the phone and sending emails than have a small family.

Easter Eggs and Family Parties

I had a great Easter weekend with family, it was great to get almost everyone together. I have such a big family that can get tough.

I brought my new camera to take pictures of family. My favorite photo is of my cousin Maxwell playing with binoculars outside.