Quote of the day

Last week we visited some friends who live about an hour away. To pass the time, we all played a couple of games of 20 Questions. Just yesterday, Patchie and I were driving to pick up Sam at school, when he says, "Hey mom- let's play that fun game again!" "What game?" I ask. "You know, Hundreds of Questions!"

I love that kid.

Quote of the day

So they tell me it is spring, but you would never know if from the weather we've been having here lately. Cold and so so rainy. It feels like it has been raining for months. I hesitate to complain about the weather in Northern Cali, as I know many of you have experienced a really bad winter this year. A Real Winter. But, with three little boys, being stuck indoors day after day due to high winds and incredibly hard, driving rain is no picnic either.

Today Patch and decided to bring a little spring-y cheer into our house. We call it the butterfly effect and it is definitely sweet and cheery.

Don't you agree?

While we were making these little lovelies, Patch casually remarks, "Wouldn't it be a good idea to put a persian rabbit on one of these?

Hmmmm....Your guess is as good as mine!

Theatrics

My boys seem to have a flare for the dramatic. I would not say that they are especially emotional or high strung- in fact they seem to generally be a pretty mild mannered group. But they do all love to dress up and imagine they are someone else. This urge seems to hit pretty young, and arrives with a penchant for accessories. As you can see here, Atti has outfitted himself with an over-sized hat, a back pack, a cooler bag, and a water bottle. I'm not sure where he is going, or what he will be doing, but it looks like he will be well prepared when he gets there!

Kind of reminds me of this boy...

And this one too...

Do you think think they might be related?

Quote of the day

We are having quite a heavy rainstorm right now. Patch and I are at the back door, watching it come down, when Patch remarks, "It's like a rain of arrows." And, indeed it is!

This is obviously an old picture of Patchie, but such a good one! I came across it while browsing through our photos recently and had to share it (again, probably, as I am quite sure it has made it's appearance on this blog before!

My dad dressed me

Quote of the day

Overhead in the kitchen this evening-

Patch: "Dad, what are we having for dinner tonight?"

Jeff: "Crab cake tacos and cabbage salad." (This is a riff on fish tacos, for anyone wondering)

Patch: "Oh! I had crab crackers at Trader Joe's this morning!"

Jeff: "Really? I've never heard of those..."

Patch:"Yup, crab crackers were in my tomato soup."

Jeff: "Ok."

(The sample at TJ's today was tomato soup with oyster crackers.)

9

My oldest child turned 9 last week. 9!!!!!!! Craziness I tell you. My first baby is just one year away from double digits! I don't even really know what to say about this. It makes me feel kinda old, but also kinda proud. Very proud of Sam, of course, but also proud of myself- 9 good years of parenting under my belt and going strong! Being a parent is the hardest job around, for sure, but also the best. I've had such fun these past 9 years, caring for, teaching, loving, hanging out with Sammy. What a great kid he is, if I do say so myself!

Turning 9 is a pretty intense time of change for a child as well. It reminds me a lot of the time when you slowly watch your child morph from a toddler to a real kid. Sam is going through similar changes, but its a morph from kid to...older kid, I guess. He's not a preteen yet (thank goodness!!), but he is also not a little kid anymore. He has moments of such surliness and attitude, that it feels like we are living with a teenager already. I sometimes wonder- where did my sweet little boy go? And then he reappears, happy to play with his brothers, spin around the block on his roller blades, or just contentedly lay on the couch and read. Emotions are riding high, and close to the surface at this age, even for mellow, steady Sam. He is emerging from the shell of childhood, and starting to peek through to the adult world out here. And I imagine it can be kind of scary sometimes, and exhilarating at others. Kind of like life.

Sam chose to celebrate this birthday with a trip to Alcatraz. He, Jeff, and friend Fynn spent the day in SF, taking a ferry out to the island, tour of the prison, lunch in the city and a trip to the vintage arcade nearby. We also had a family party for him with Grannie and Grandpa. Sam's menu included Grannie's world famous mac n'cheese, cauliflower cooked with bacon, and a green salad. I made him a vanilla roulade cake, filled with Meyer lemon curd and covered in whipped cream. We ended the evening with, drum roll please, a viewing of Star Wars!!!!! Sam and Patch were SO excited to finally watch this movie and I'm please to report that everyone made it through the entire film, with no problems. Empire Strikes Back, here we come!

Opening presents with brothers.

Legos still rule!

Star Wars!!!!

Alcatraz.

It was a beautitul day for a ferry ride.

Listening to the tour.

Obligatory cell shot.

Working on their Alcatraz ranger badges.

Beautiful San Francisco.

Happy Birthday Sweet Sam!