"Give it up for . . . Chummy Caravan!"

I totally jacked this game from the lovely and talented Ms. Balou.

Who would I be if I wasn't me??

Play nice,  now.

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car)
Chummy Caravan

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fav icecream flavor, favorite cookie)
Dulce de Leche Nilla Wafer (or is it pronounced "weifah?")

3. YOUR "FLY Guy/Girl" NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name)
MDar

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)
Red Cat

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)
Maria de la Habana  (You can find me in Telemundo)

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first)
Darma  (whoa... just had a LOST flashback there...)

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink put "The")
The Pink Perrier (sounds much more like a "sidekick" than a superhero - sigh)

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)
Fernando Antonio (actually that has a sort of Mariachi ring to it, doesn't it?)

9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy)
Safari M&M (there's really no danger this being a career choice for me anyway. =D)

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother's & father's middle names )
Aurora Antonio

Go ahead and leave your 10 names in the comments section.   

I know what you're thinking. . . I've got waaay too much time on my hands (or maybe that I really could be a rock star if I would only apply myself.) =D

Thanks for playing! And thanks a bunch for the game, Balou! ;-)

Six degrees of dinner conversation...

The discussions around our dinner table are never dull. We are constantly trying to stump each other with questions. Sometimes we play "Twenty Questions" or "World's Worst." But we always get back to movies.

We love movies.

We (by choice) don't have cable, so we don't watch tv. (although, I admit we do have some tv on dvds)
But we love movies.
Old movies. New movies. Animated. (and yes, I do admit to bowing down to the Animation Gods of Pixar. =D) Action-Adventure. Drama. Sci-Fi. Musicals. Comedy. (pretty much anything but Horror, unless it involves Boris Karloff or Bela Lugosi -who are, to me, the most deeply terrifying actors of all time, but that's not important right now - in fact, I should really save that discussion for my therapist).

By default to all this movie love, we also seem to talk a lot in movie lines, or at least whenever we are witty enough to do so.
One of our many favorites, when one of us makes the "uh-oh" sound:
"What did you do, Ray?" (Ghostbusters)

We love playing movie trivia games, too.  Like Celebrity Taboo.

But our very favorite movie-related pastime is The Kevin Bacon Game.  Or Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.
The premise is that Kevin Bacon is at the center of the entertainment universe and you can link actors from movie to movie and always get back to Kevin Bacon.

For example:  I was quite proud of linking Marilyn Monroe back to Kevin Bacon.
It goes like this:
Marilyn Monroe was in "Some Like it Hot" with Jack Lemmon (1) ,
who was in "Grumpy Old Men" with Darryl Hannah (2),
who was in "Splash" with Tom Hanks (3) 
who was in "Apollo 13" with Kevin Bacon (4).

Pretty good considering we started in the 1930's. But then I remembered Eli Wallach.  Marilyn Monroe was in "The Misfits" with Eli Wallach (1), who was in "Mystic River" with Kevin Bacon (2). Bringing the Kevin Bacon rating on that one down to a two.  I RULE THIS GAME! - (Partly because I have seen tons of movies, but partly because of my age.) =D

So that's the game. I get phone calls from some of Adam's friends randomly. I answer the phone: "hello?" The voice at the other end says: "Johnny Depp" and I'm off...
"Johnny Depp was in "Edward Scissorhands" with Dianne Wiest (1),
who was in "Footloose" with Kevin Bacon (2).  Oooh - 2 points!

And then, because he has been on my mind..... I wonder about Andy Garcia.
Andy Garcia...
was in "The Air I Breath" WITH KEVIN BACON (1!!)
It is just as I suspected.... it is actually Andy Garcia who is at the center of the entertainment universe.
Hmm... so that means that to get from Marilyn Monroe - "The Misfits" , you could still go through Eli Wallach (1)  (bless his character actor's heart), who was in  "Godfather III" with Andy Garcia (2).

That's it! I am so inspired now. 
A Cuban at the very center of the entertainment universe.
It is as God intended.  ;-)

You're welcome to play with me if you like.
Try these:

1) John Lithgow
2) Robin Williams
3) Rene Russo
4) Pierce Brosnan
5) Mary Stuart Masterson
6) Gene Hackman
7) Dolph Lundgren
8) Michael Keaton
9) Will Smith
10) Chevy Chase

(hint - www.imdb.com has all the information you need and want)

We're having some fun now, aren't we? =D

Our motto? Laugh. Eat. Play.

The kids are out of school and in this part of the country it's like a feeding frenzy trying to get kids signed up for "camps."

Yes. That's the hip thing to do.  (of course, I am anything but hip -  sigh)

If you don't know how to just be with and enjoy your child or help them entertain themselves for the summer, you sign them up for "camp."  (Not a criticism, just a fact in my South Orange County white-bread world)

They can choose soccer camp, sailing camp, movie making camp, swimming camp, acting camp, art camps, theater camps, etc. Not only that, but a parent could easily spend thousands for that happy and memorable experience for their child. And you usually get a cool camp shirt, too. Good stuff.
I'm thinking that with those extra thousands I could be saving here, I can buy that little Mac Mini beauty and maybe just come up with some clever ideas for "camp" myself.  ;-)

I'm thinking theses could be really fun:

• Surf camp (for sure, Dudes.)
• Painting
• Cooking
• Swimming
• Stargazing
• Science
• Scrapbooking
• Movie Making
• Teen Fitness
• Sewing
• Improv - definitely
• Then of course, there are movie nights. I'm thinking a Danny Kaye film festival. (or maybe the Marx Brothers?)

I have tons of ideas for these and more.
Let me let you in on my secret:  I'm just pretty darn childish myself. 
Seriously. I come up with ideas for stuff I'd like to do and suggest it to my kids.

I've pretty much got all the resources I need including the willing victims students campers.

The truth is that we do something like this every year.  We like to call it. . . "summer."  ;-)

Now all we need is a cool camp song. . . hmmm. . . =D

Full House

I always wished that mine would be the house where all the kids wanted to hang out. (even though it makes me absolutely crazy when kids say they are just going to hang out.)
But I am so not "the cool mom."
I'm pretty strict about voices and volume and feet on furniture and doors being open. I insist on "pleases" and "thank yous."

And they have to do stuff, not just sit around. (I know. Meanest Mom in the Whole Wide World.) They've learned.

Now their friends all know: if you're going to be at the Darbys, you're not just going to be hanging out, you're going to be doing something.
Today, we had a house full of Lucy's friends over. That's right: Junior High age. What I love about these kids though, is that they are all homeschooled and totally get it when I tell them they are welcome to be here all day, but they need to be doing stuff.
Today they played ComedySportz. Or group improv games. (like the tv show,  "Who's Line Is It Anyway?") Adam used to play in high school and I asked him to please teach this group.
Too. Much. Fun.
After they all went home, the phone lines were buzzing.
"That was the FUNNEST DAY EVER!"
"Can we do it again NEXT WEEK?"
"Will Adam teach us MORE games?"

So it seems we will be hosting more kids next week and every Sunday from here on out. =D

The real comedy in this is that Adam was on the phone to his friends, too. These are the same group of guys who used to come over here all the time when Adam was in high school.
"Hey, guys! ComedySportz at my house every Sunday afternoon! Who's in?"

Answer: ALL. OF. THEM.

Ay! Dios Mio! 

Be careful what you wish for...

For the love of Bricks.

• My mom calls him "Cerebrito" or "Little Brain."
• He doesn't let anyone, except his immediate family, call him Jon.
• He prefers Jonathan.
• He is a thinker of deep thoughts.
• He has an extraordinary sense of humor.
• He is intensely focused when he is building with his Legos.
• We sometimes call him "Captain Distraction."
• He will be turning 11 in just one month.

This evening while he and Lucy were at the rehearsal for their Christmas play, I snuck off to go Christmas shopping. The closest Lego shop to us is at Downtown Disney.  For Lego lovers, it is like Mecca.

It is there that I found this:

1. It is a Lego Creation.
2. It is a Robot.
3. It came with passes to Legoland.

The Trifecta of Christmas Gift Perfection for my soon-to-be-11-year-old.

I left Lego Mecca with the giant shopping bag in one hand and a smug smile on my face.  Well... after I took pictures of the giant Darth Vader standing under the enormous giraffe. 
I confess. I LOVE LEGOS, too.

Don't mention that to Jon, though. He doesn't really think it's appropriate for mom to get involved in things like this. After all..."It's a guy thing." (secretly, I can't wait to get my hands on the thing)

So... if I'm the complete opposite of "cool," does that make me "hot?"

(didn't think so.)