Catch!

Nathan's 3rd grade class visited the Pike Place Market last week as an end to their study of the history of this famous Seattle destination. Nathan had the distinct privilege of being the recipient of a flying salmon courtesy of the fish mongers...and he caught it! Good for him. He said it was a bit slimy, so he used his coat to catch it, but we are so proud.

Stress Part 2

We lowered the price of our house 10K in hopes of "goosing" (as Scott puts it) someone in to making an offer. We had an Open House today, so we'll see. We have until 9 pm tomorrow night until our contingency runs out. We've asked for an extension of this contingency, but haven't heard back yet from the seller. ugh.

Stress!

I haven't blogged for awhile because I haven't had regular access to our computer. We put our house on the market and have been living with my mother-in-law in order to keep our house clean and accessible...three boys and a dog make that near to impossible. We bought a cosmetic fixer in a GREAT location and can totally see the potential. We bought this house contingent on our house selling in 14 days however. Our house has now been on the market for 12 days and we have received NO OFFERS. We are stressed. If we do not receive any sort of an offer by Monday, we will probably kiss the house we made an offer on good-bye. We'll know more in 24-48 hours. Yes, stress indeed.

Houston, we have a problem...

Drew just found a very long-lost Binky-- one that has been missing for months. Uh-oh. He was able to give up his Binky(s) with really no incident when he turned 3 last month. The Binky Fairy visited one night and took the last remaining Binky and left a box of Swedish Fish. Out of sight, out of mind. But now, today, he has been reunited with a long-lost friend. He keeps saying, "I'm not done with Binky."

I think the Binky Fairy needs to pay us another visit.

Update: Mission Binky Fairy complete and successful. No tears or drama, just a delicious collection of gummy bears and M&Ms to enjoy.

Natapoc

This past weekend 10 adults and 13 children headed over the mountains to enjoy a weekend together in a cabin on a river in the snow. What a blast we all had. Sledding, snowshoeing, a scavenger hunt, hot tub, yummy food, games,...a complete party atmosphere for all. Drew sledded for the first time and has a road rash on his cheek to prove it. Nathan and Thomas snowshoed for the first time. Scott and I won the "Not-So Newlywed Game". We had to. 20 years together, how could we not?

Great times with great friends. I love our Mah Jong Family!

Upcoming Test

WASL anxiety is starting to set in for Nathan. Not sure why. He has nothing to worry about- he's only in 3rd grade and a great reader and mathematician to boot. But I guess when you are a perfectionist, like he is...like I am...it's normal to worry about an upcoming measure of skills. (WASL stands for "The Washington Assessment of Student Learning"). Tonight he says, "You know what the best thing about the WASL is? We get extra snacks!" Not sure who is providing these rewards, but I'm happy to help out if I can.

Perfectionist he is...but also, he is the SNACK KING. He loves a good snack. Actually, with him, it's not quality, it's quantity. Hey, whatever gets you through, Nathan.

Mid-winter Break

ANOTHER vacation from school for the kids. Why didn't we have mid-winter break when we were growing up? Lucky dogs. Anyways, we went down to the beach and had quality family time. The weather was sunny and warm for this time of the year. I read 1.5 books-can't remember the last time I even read a book. A nice time to decompress for all.

Date Night B, C, and D

Date night was put on the back burner for awhile. Not exactly sure why. I guess the fall was a really busy time for our whole family, and our babysitter. Our sitter is more available this quarter, so we are looking forward to more regular date nights. We did manage to go out a few times and visited the following:


We visited Bai Pai on 65th back in December with our friends Mike and Audrey. We had a great evening. The lights are dimmed a bit and the tables are nicely set, making for a nice atmosphere. The service was very friendly. The food was some of the best Thai I've had. I had Phad See Ewe with tofu and it was delicious. The portion was hearty, and the tofu was cut into good-sized cubes, which were very satisfying. Bai Pai has a nice wine list, and a full bar. I think we've found a new neighborhood favorite!

For "C" we headed to Madison Park to try Cactus, a restaurant we have heard a lot about. Gotta say, not very impressed. Our server was really the only thing we liked. Scott ordered steak fajitas and he said the steak was tough and not flavorful. I had the spinach salad with the prawn skewer. At times, my salad tasted fine. Other times, I would bite into a portion that was just COLD, almost frozen. Yuck. Our table can be seen in this photo. Almost every time a server walked past me, s/he would bump into my chair. I think I can safely say we will not return.


And now, the best for last. For Valentine's Day and the letter "D" we went to the infamous Dahlia Lounge. I had never been there before, which is hard to believe. It seems "everyone" has been to Tom Douglas' most famous eatery, but not me. I was excited to give it a try, but wondered if it would really live up to all the hoopla. It did. I loved it. I want to go back. Today. For appetizers we had french fries. Scott said they were reminiscent of Dick's, but better. We shared a grilled bread salad that was so flavorful. For dinner I had the Spanish tortilla- a vegetarian dish made out of potatoes, onions, and mushrooms. Delicious. Scott had king salmon with curried cauliflower that he loved. For dessert, we had the bag of hot doughnuts with sweetened Mascarpone cheese. Oh my goodness. Heaven. The whole experience was perfect. But really, how can you go wrong with fancy french fries and doughnuts?

Drew is 3!

Happy Birthday Drew-Drew!

Three years seems so old to me, yet you still seem like my little one. I guess it's time to realize that you are growing up. The first year of your life was a hard one. You were so sick for so long, and then were so fragile. Then Grandma Cheri became sick and it made us realize once again that without health, you have nothing.

The past couple of years you have grown into a social, stubborn, happy, and silly boy. We all love you...especially your big brothers. You mean the world to them, and us.

Happy 3rd Birthday!

Bye-Bye Boot

Today is the first day in 2 months I am able to wear a shoe on my left foot. Freedom!

Super Bowl Trophy

Meet Chili:

Chili was the 1st Place Trophy for the winner of the 12th Annual Chili Cook-Off, which is hosted by the Clark family every Super Bowl Sunday. This year, the winner was Scott with his entry entitled Mama Hopkins' Six Stitch Chili...appropriately named because the last time Scott made this recipe, he ended up in the ER in Illwaco with a sliced hand that required six stitches. Note: old can openers are not your friend.

Scott's entry was delicious (or so I heard...I'm not eating meat) AND the Giants won! Go Eli!

Lant

My friend Rebecca has challenged her blog readers to give up something for Lant ( a rename of Lent since she is not Catholic). I've decided to take her challenge and give up meat. Not a huge stretch in the beef category as I gave up eating cute cows many years ago. But chicken and pork are regular sources of protein in my diet, so that will require some adjusting. I'm excited to meet this challenge head on, and I am thinking that after Lant is all said and done, I may just remain a vegetarian. The news stories lately about the abuse at slaughterhouses is enough for me to make a dietary change.

Lant runs from Ash Wednesday, February 6th until Easter, March 23rd. I'm starting today, February 1st.

Waiting

I'm sitting here waiting for a painter. He was supposed to be here an hour ago. Why is it that contractors and doctors think their time is more important than ours? These two professions always run late. I don't think I could be either. I'm always on time, or even early.

So, the painter is coming because we have decided to bag the remodel and start sprucing up our house to sell it. We adore our little Cape Cod, but the 5 of us are busting at the seams. We need more space...oh, I hear a car outside.

It's the painter. Later.


Update: Dan and Dan Jr. are here to paint away. I think they are going to do us right. I always think it is so funny how professional painters wear white. Seems like an open canvas to me.

True Love

The grandfather of a good friend of ours passed away last Friday. He was is his nineties. The amazing part of the story follows. I received this email from our friend's wife:

As y'all know, Dan's grandfather passed away on Friday morning, somewhat unexpectedly. By Saturday, his wife of 69 years died of what can only be described as a broken heart. It was the first day they had ever been apart. They were buried together today. A love story for the ages.

Brought tears to my eyes and goosebumps all over. I can only hope that Scott and I go in a similar way, when we are very old and grey, of course. What an amazing ending to a lifetime together.

Tooth Fairy

I know I haven't written lately. I've been wallowing in all that comes with surgery to repair my broken foot. But, I refuse to write about it anymore. I will not be defined by my foot. So, I'm getting back on the blog-writing horse.

Lets see...what has happened lately? Nathan, at 8 1/2 still hasn't lost any teeth. His friends are snaggle-toothed and getting braces. A tooth finally broke ground on the bottom, but the baby teeth have no intention of falling out. His bite has become rather cock-eyed, so the dentist thought we should pull out his bottom two to at least fix his bite. So, after the tears and hysterics were calmed by the laughing gas, Nathan lost (had pulled) his two bottom teeth. He actually looks older- or at least more like his friends. He didn't seem too excited for the Tooth Fairy and I wasn't exactly sure why...until I read this note he left:



Request granted.

Advice Needed

OK, so I found out yesterday that I do indeed have a fracture in my foot. I found out today that I get to have surgery...on New Year's Eve. Happy flippin' New Year's.

I will then be on the road to recovery for about 3 months. So, my question is this...how am I not going to gain weight? I will not be able to continue my 4 days/week walking regimen until I'm healed, so what can I do? I need something that does not bear any weight on my foot. Any suggestions?

I returned my Danskos. I told the fellow that I sprained my right ankle wearing them and then I broke my left foot wearing them. I told him I never wanted to see the shoes again in my life. I got my full refund.

Now we need to contact the city to see about filling the hole in the street in front of our house.

I'm having a hard time being jolly right now. I'm not really a Grinch, more just lacking excitement and energy to make this the most wonderful time of the year.

The Hustle and Bustle of the Season...

has come to a screeching halt. I'm actually a little pissed about it and haven't found the humor yet. But a couple of people who will remain anonymous think this is perfect blog material. I did this yesterday:



I stepped into a hole in the street in front of our house and went down. I've torn ligaments and tendons in my left foot and cannot walk. The x-ray did not show any fractures or breaks, but it is so swollen, that the doctor said we will know for sure if anything is broken in the next few days once the swelling goes down. I'm on crutches in addition to the fashionable black boot, and I'm bitter. I hate being clumsy. I have three busy boys to take care of, and a holiday season to stay on top of. Still haven't found any humor in this. I'm off to go ice.

The Ni-Ni has been tagged

Next to his binkie, Drew's favorite possession is his Ni-Ni(s). He has five, but he especially is fond of two in particular. They are the yellow ones. The blue ones just don't measure up. Ni-Ni makes naps, evening bedtime, and sad moments tolerable. I used to have the rule that Ni-Ni could not leave the house. But Ni-Ni really keeps Drew calm, so Ni-Ni pretty much comes everywhere with us, it (or they) just usually waits for us in the car.

I needed to move Ni-Ni off the kitchen counter this morning to make breakfast. (This is another Drew-ism. When Ni-Ni is not being held in Drew's loving hands, he usually "hucks" it up onto the kitchen counter to ...keep it safe? Keep it away from his brothers? Henry? Not sure. One time the blue Ni-Ni was thrown onto the stove top for safe keeping and started to catch fire. That one is now singed and rarely cuddled with.) Anyways, when I picked up Ni-Ni to move it off the counter today, this is what I discovered:



The graffiti artist in this case is Thomas. While the sentiment is nice...why couldn't he use PAPER? And too bad he made a mistake. Thomas claims Drew "forced" him to do it. I thought graffiti artists were proud of their tags.

We'll have to see if it comes out in the wash.

Sayonara Mountain Ash

We said goodbye to this tree this week. It was the largest and oldest tree on our property- 30-40 years old, according to the tree guy- so, not so old by tree standards. I really liked it when we first bought the house, but have since become not so fond of it. It was messy: dropping leaves, berries, pollen, twigs each year. The berries made Henry AND Shelby OH SO SICK one night, but I'll omit that story so I don't have to re-live it. The tree died this past summer, so we bid it adios. The neighbors loved the firewood it produced. The boys are excited to have more space in the backyard. I think I want to plant a new tree, but I may be outvoted on that one.

Sunday Sleepwalker

The past two Sundays, Thomas has sleepwalked. He never fails to keep us on our toes! Both times it occurred between 9-10 pm while Scott and I were watching Desperate Housewives. He is silent, disoriented, and has a hollow look in his eyes. It is really strange. The first time, he safely maneuvered down two flights of stairs, climbed up onto the couch, then onto my lap, and continued sleeping. Last night Scott heard some noises, went up to our main floor, and found him walking around. I did some research and found out that sleepwalking occurs more often in boys, and often the onset is around age 5 or 6. It can be caused by fatigue, stress, or a genetic component. I have since been reminded that I used to sleepwalk. I'm sure everything is fine and he will outgrow it like I did.