Sandbox and Yard Work

While Vincent went to Chinese class this morning, I rushed over to Toys R Us and bought a sandbox and sand. It barely fit in the back of our car, but I was able to safely drive us home.

Tyler was so excited, he stood up and stomped around happily, while Vincent did some serious diggin' around.

Vincent's been asking for new sunglasses, since Tyler broke his last pair, so I picked up new ones for each of them.

I thought, for sure, Vincent would ask if he got Lightning McQueen, but instead, he asked, "Did you get me Spiderman?" I almost, but opted for the Hot Wheels one because they looked bigger than all the rest.

With all the sunshine, David and I couldn't help but do some diggin' around of our own. While the boys napped (or so we thought Vincent was doing), we pulled weeds, dug up plants and moved them, planted new ones, and put in grass seed. I also started a container box of lettuces and chives. We really love our new outdoor space. It's so much work, but mostly pulling weeds.

Here is one of the beds I worked on, and the bed that David dug up to put down grass. 

Seems a bit of a shame to pull out all those plants and flowers, but we did move a bunch of them, and most were weeds.

And, with all our hard work, we, no I opted not to cook dinner. I was in the mood for Fuji Sushi in the I.D. So good. The boys were a little tough to start because they were really hungry and Vincent was demanding his food, "Right Now!"

Here's Tyler, happy to have eaten some food. He was curious what the sushi chefs were doing, so I took him over to watch a little.

Another cool thing about our new house is it's proximity to a market. It's not big, but not terribly small, either. They have a couple of ice cream cases. You know, the kind that sells similar stuff as you can get off an ice cream truck, minus the character pops. We took the boys there to pick out dessert. They both wanted Push Ups.

Spring Break, Day 5

It's Vincent's last day of spring break. I guess, techinically, he has this weekend.

We dropped Tyler off at daycare, and Vincent and I went to the gym. We made plans to meet David for lunch at Tutta Bella. I don't know if all their locations do this, but the one at Westlake offered a lunch special: $10 for a small salad or soup and an 8" pizza, with about 5 to choose from. David and I did that, and we ordered Vincent a bambino, basically a cheese pizza. It's their regular 12", and he can eat about 1/2 of one of those. He loves their pizzas. I traded him one of mine, since he liked the salami on it, for one of his. He said, "Mmmmm, this is so super yummy."

I had planned on taking him to the Seattle Bouldering Project afterwards, but during lunch, he seemed like he may have wanted to go home and rest. He kept saying, "I just want to relax with you, Mommy." We both ended up taking a nap, to which he was quite sa about afterwards because ran out of time to do anything fun. I felt so bad, so I offered for us to have a movie night this evening (more on that later). He think he has come to really enjoy these afternoons we have together, and so have I.

We picked up Tyler, and headed to PCC market to pick up chicken. I've heard that they let kids pick out and eat a free piece of fruit while there, but I've never tried it, until today. Apple for Vincent, banana for Tyler.

This is what we had for dinner.

Note the beautiful grill marks on this chicken that David made. I'm so proud of him with how well the chicken came out tonight. We also had grilled Essential Bakery whole wheat rolls, and whole wheat pasta with crimini mushrooms, zucchini, brocolette, and tapenade. There was a little bit of Swiss chard from last night's meal thrown in as well. The tapenade was something I made yesterday, too. Just chopped Castelvetrano olives, capers, garlic, and shallots with a little olive oil all mixed together. It's my new thing to throw a teaspoon or two into stuff.

Ooh, also, check out what Vincent drew in drama class yesterday! I discovered it this morning when I was cleaning out his lunchbox to replace with a new snack for the day.

Seriously, this is awesome! He wrote his name, and clearly, this is an owl. Okay, I thought it was a squirrel, and he corrected me. Just a couple months ago, he was drawing these weird cone-shaped things with lines across and a tail coming out the bottom and calling it a rocket ship. And, now, a squirrel-like owl. My dream of naming him after two artists so that he may one day follow in their footsteps is fast coming true.

Oh, and the movie tonight. The Dolphin: Story of a Dreamer. NOT GOOD. NOT GOOD. NOT. GOOD. There's a reason why some movies are for free on Netlix's watch instantly.

Spring Break, Day 4

Thursdays are my cleaning day. I get a small chunk of time to run around the house, frantically trying to clean, and then squeeze in a shower. I don't know how professionals get it all done in a couple of hours. I vaccum all the floors, but forget about washing 'em, too! At least today, I cleaned our bathroom on top of vaccuming. I even washed the floors in there. It was actually quite gratifying, especially taking a shower in a nice clean stall afterwards.

Vincent started back up with drama classes. Today's book was called, Owl Babies , by Martin Waddell.

When Tyler woke from his nap today, he wanted me to get into bed with him. Of course, I couldn't climb into his crib. Instead, I took him out and we layed in Vincent's. When I tried to get him out, he wanted to stay, so I took his picture because he looked so cute in the big bed.

Of course, I had to get one of Vincent, too.

Yes, he is wearing his race car driver costume, again. He's been wearing it since Monday morning. Well, he wears pajamas to sleep, and he didn't wear it to soccer.

Dinner tonight, I made meatloaf. In order to get Vincent interested in it, I asked him to help me with it. He seasoned the meat with salt. While he was doing that, Tyler was screaming in the background, "I help meatloaf!!" So, I let him dump the container of chopped vegetables into the mix. Later on, we had to check the temperature of the loaf, and when I asked Vincent to carefully insert the thermometer into it ("The pan's hot..."), he did so, but burned himself. And, he screamed and cried. Geeze, I felt so bad. He was fine after a few minutes, and did end up eating a little meatloaf at dinner.

Spring Break, Day 3

Vincent joined Tyler and I at Seattle Central this morning. David was planning on taking the car in to have our mirror fixed, so I planned to take the boys on the bus. The car thing didn't work out, but since I didn't need to drop off or pick up Vincent, I decided we'd take the bus anyway.

I put Tyler in the sling for the first time in ages. He still fit pretty well. He was still heavy, but it helped free up my hands. I could also hold Vincent's hand without my other arm getting super sore.

While at school, Vincent did pretty well. He had one of his favorite friends there today. They have a great time together, but can get a little rough, or bicker. I told him ahead of time my expectations of him while there. Like I said, he was good. Tyler, on the other hand, was upset about something. He cried for the first half of class. I kept asking if he'd like to go home, but his answer was "no." Finally, I snuck a couple of crackers from the ktichen for him, which calmed him, and then it was snack time. We make it all the way to the end, and even went to lunch with friends afterwards.

Both kids took afternoon naps. Thank goodness, cuz, even though it was a good morning, I was spent.

This is what I made for dinner tonight.

What is is? Cabbage-and-kielbasa salad (warm)

I found this recipe from America's Test Kitchen's 30 Minute Suppers magazine.

2 Tbl Dijon mustard (I only used 1)

2 Tbl honey

2 Tbl cider vinegar (I didn't have it, so I subbed with Banyul wine vinegar)

5 Tbl olive oil

1 pound kielbasa, cut on bias into 1/2-inch slices

1 red onion, halved and sliced thin (Doh! I read the recipe wrong and only used half of the onion)

1/2 tsp caraway seed

1 (16oz) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (I used Great Northern)

salt and pepper

1 head napa cabbage (about 1.5lbs), sliced thin

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill (didn't use it)

1. Whisk together mustard, honey, vinegar and 4 tbl oil in bowl. Cook sausage in large skillet over medium-high heat until well browned, 3-4 minutes per side. Transfer sausage to plate and tent with foil.

2. Add remaining oil, onion, and caraway seed to skillet, reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and browned, about 12 minutes. Add beans and 2 Tbl dressing and cook until warmed through, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Reduce heat to low, add remaining dressing and cabbage to skillet, and toss until warmed through and slightly wilted, about 4 minutes. Off heat, stir in dill and season with salt and pepper. Top with kielbasa and onion-bean mixture.*

*I skipped the dill (as mentioned). I cooked the cabbage with the onions-beans, and tossed the kielbasa into the whole pan.  Now that I'm typing it all, it seems maybe they meant for the onions-beans to be cooked separately from the cabbage. Nonetheless, it turned out very nicely. I cooked the cabage a bit longer than it calls for, which produced a nice broth. I also roasted some fingerling potatoes, with I topped with this "salad."

After dinner, we went to Bellevue Square for the kids to play and for me to indulge in Red Mango.



And, this one's of Tyler waving at Vincent on the other side of the play area, yelling, "Hey Vincent!!"

Spring Break, Day 2

We headed to the gym, again, this morning. One of the gals that works in the daycare, along with her 2 year old daughter, were absent today. That was uncool with my boys. They love Nicole and Piper. Vincent was okay with Danielle, Nicole's sub, but not Tyler. He clung to me a little, and when I was able to pry him off my legs a little, Vincent jumped in on the clinging, too. Sigh. I finally squeezed my way out the door, while gently pushing them away from me.

Got my workout in. 40 minutes on the treadmill, walking the first 1.25 miles then running another 2. Felt pretty good. I tell ya, though, this gal is not losing any weight. I only want to lose about 2 more pounds. Instead, I've been gaining. Sigh (again). At least I feel pretty good, and that's what's most important.

I rushed the boys out of the daycare and we headed south to the gymnastics academy for some tumbling. While driving down there, we passed McDonald's. Tyler announced, "That like McDonalds." Well, yes, Ty, it is. Vincent said, "Can we go there?" My answer was maybe, even though I secretly had it in my head already that we'd stop there on the way home. I try to save our trips there for times of necessity. Today was one of those.

At gymnastics, Tyler ran around totally elated. Vincent had accidentally jumped on top of another kid right at the start, and that put him in a funky mood. He did alright, but was definitely a little off his game. I decided we needed to leave early, which they did okay with. But, once they found out that we were stopping at good ol' MickeyD's, it was happy times.

Vincent decided to have a cheeseburger, to my surprise, while Tyler opted for 6! nuggets. Both boys were done with their food (not including apples and drink) by the time I pulled up to our house. WOW! And, when we got into the house, Vincent ate half his portion of apples, and a mandarin orange, while Tyler ate a 1/2 cup of noodles and an orange.

David and I had a date to El Mestizo for dinner. We had a Groupon. We also went to Madison Market on our date. The kids stayed home with Audrey, and she said they were very good. Apparently, Vincent was super polite. They were, of course, crazy when we got home!

Spring Break

Finally, it's spring break for Vincent. Not that I was looking forward to it, but it just seemed like everyone else was having it, and he wasn't. I suppose the nice thing is that things shouldn't be as busy around town now. I don't have much planned for us. Mostly just taking him along to the gym, which is where he went this morning.

Afterwards, we had 2 friends over for lunch and a playdate. Both boys were very happy to see the friends. They all did well, but were definitely rambunctious. No tears, though, which is always a winner in my book.

However, Vincent did get a little cranky after lunch, and was starting to rub his eyes. I was really surprised, and kindly asked our guests to excuse us (leave) so that the boys could get a little nap in.

Ahhhhh, quiet.

David came home early to take Vincent to soccer. Tyler and I met them a little later. Tyler enjoyed walking up this slope on our way to the car. It's actually steeper than it looks from this photo.

When Vincent woke from his nap, the first thing out of his mouth was, "Mommy, can please I have a lollipop?" Um, if it means he'll get out of bed and ready for soccer, SURE! I let him finish the pop from yesterday, on the condition that he stop eating it when he gets to the community center. He agreed. And, when soccer was done and he got back in the car, guess what went back in his mouth:

Ooh, we had a delicious dinner from Panacea. It was risotto with peas, and the boys ate it up. Tyler even asked for more peas. And, I steamed a couple of globe artichokes, just because. I was so surprised at Tyler's willingness to try the artichoke, and then amazed that he couldn't seem to get enough of it. With all this luck of him eating vegetables, I asked him if he wanted some lettuce. He said, "no." Couldn't hurt to ask, right? Vincent took some salad, and also had artichokes and peas. Praise the Lord!

Happy Easter 2011

We woke up to the sound of Tyler yelling, "Ma-meee! Ma-meee!" at 6:30am. I know, for many of you, that's not early, but for us, it is. At least, it has been the past couple of months. The boys usually wake around 7:30am. That's not to say that every couple of weeks (like this morning) one of them doesn't change it up. And, for the record, most nights, we're up once or twice to deal with wet undies, wet sheets, a lost NuNu, or just a need for comfort.

Luckily, this morning, Tyler came into bed with us and fell back to sleep. Not long after, though, Vincent woke up. David got up and took him to get us some breakfast and flowers. So sweet. Ty and slept until about 8am. That's sweet, too.

Once we were all up, the boys received their Easter baskets. It wasn't over the top. There were two treats and a couple of toys. Vincent also received a cookie making kit.

Next was the egg hunt! (sorry for the blurry photos)

Tyler found eggs!

Vincent tried to find the last egg...and he did!

Tyler checks out his loot.

Finally, this is what I walked into after breakfast.

They were watching a cartoon we recently discovered called, "Oswald." It's mellow, and sweet. They were so sweet. Oh, and these were in their baskets...

This afternoon, we went to dinner at the Hutyras. The boys received TWO MORE baskets, and got to do another hunt. So fun! 

In The 60s!!

It's pretty pathetic how much I talk about the weather. At least, the past couple days it's been nice. Warm, even. Like t-shirt, no jacket, no socks!

I worked in the yard during the boys' nap/rest time. It was so gratifying to pull out so many Spanish Blue Bells. I also tried trimming our maple tree that stands only about 1.5 feet tall, but has about a 6 feet diameter. It's a pretty tree, but it needs some serious help. I gave up, since I didn't want to cause more growth issues to it. Even though our front yard isn't great for playing in, I'm really enjoying it. It's feels more manageable than our old place, even though it has just as many plants, maybe even more. I also planted some strawberries. I love spring!

We did more backyard (pre-dinner) and schoolyard (post-dinner) playing.

Happy Earth Day 2011

Ahhhh, and it was sunny.

Vincent and I had our Friday afternoon date. We didn't do a whole lot. I had a few ideas, but never followed through. Instead, we ate lunch at home, and read a book about explorers. It was nice out, so we called up my friend, Jen and went over to her house to play in the backyard with her boys.

It's amazing to me how sunshine can brighten your spirits. When it came time to leave and pick Tyler up, Vincent made a fuss, but it just didn't seem to bother me much. Was it the tiny dose of Vitamin D? Probably hanging out with Jen made a difference. Or both.

When we picked up Tyler, he was outside riding around on a little car. He was so happy. I feel really fortunate to have found this daycare for him. He's sad when I drop him off, but it's gotten so much better, and there aren't any tears.

We had plans to have the Hildebrandts over for Earth Day dinner. There was some time between picking Tyler up and when they'd be over, so I took the boys to the schoolyard to ride their wheelies. 

Dinner turned out really nicely. David grilled chicken breasts and asparagus, and Andrea made a yummy sauteed asparagus and white bean dish. I made brownies with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. Jon brought beer. Yay, beer!

Where Did The Sunny Go?

I was told it would be nice out today. Um, no. I mean, it wasn't crappy.

Anyway, the boys went to Miller this morning. I'm surprised that they still enjoy it there. It's more fun for Vincent when he has a friend, but he still does well with just Tyler. They stayed for clean up, as usual.

This includes deflating the bouncy house...

Putting the cars away...

And, folding up the mats...

This afternoon, I took the boys to meet up with my friend and her two boys at a playground so that they can ride their wheelies. Ty's getting so good with his scooter. Vincent still uses training wheels, but I'm not in a hurry to rush him out of them.

We had a lousy dinner. What can I say, I got lazy! I stuck a frozen lasagna in the oven, and that's it. I tried to "bulk" the meal up with strawberries and olives, and I gave the boys juice boxes. Nobody seemed that into the dinner. I confess, I liked it. It's one of those gross, processed meals that secretly comforts me. Although, I may have reached a turning point with it tonight. I was hungry so I ate more than I needed, but I didn't feel comforted. It must've been all the guilt, knowing that my family didn't care much for it, and that I was unwilling to make them anything else.

I had planned on meeting a friend and her daughter (which Vincent said to me on our way out the door, "I want to marry Serenna.") at the ale house for a drink. They were having dinner, but I had already put the lasagna in the oven when she called. I took Vincent, and David dropped Tyler off about half an hour later. I ordered Vincent an applesauce before Ty got there.  Unfortunately, as I was contemplating going home, both boys begged me for food. Oh, alright, I guess I can have another drink while you guys eat.

And, Vincent had to use the restroom, but somehow missed, and peed all over his pants and the floor. *Sigh* He was a good sport about it, and even said to my friend, "I'm free-balling." Nice.







Warmer

OMG, it's finally getting a tiny bit warmer. And, by warmer I mean, in the 50s. It's ludicrous that I'm saying this is warmer. What's even crazier to me is that I let my children go outside in shorts and t-shirts and play with water. They loved it.

I was lucky to snap this action shot of Tyler running through the yard. Doesn't he look big here? He's not even 3 feet tall, but he looks like a total kid.

I got some other fun shots of Tyler today. We had our class at Seattle Central. He was playing with these foam blocks and liked knocking them down.

 No, he didn't build this whole tower, with the colors nicely designed like that.

Both boys seemed to have really good days today. At school, Tyler was really sweet and loving to me. I think he enjoys having me play with him. Sadly, this is one of the few chances we get these days. He took a short nap, again, today. Vincent napped, and when I woke him up, he said he wanted to go back to bed. That didn't last long, since the idea of going outside with Tyler was too enticing.

Dinner tonight was pork schnitzel with balsamic onion tart and sauteed zucchini with corn. It's my first crack at making schnitzel (I think I may have made it in culinary school). I got the idea from America's Test Kitchen, but didn't follow the recipe. I used it as a guideline. I pounded my boneless pork chops, which their recipe didn't call for. It came out nicely, though heavy on the salt. I was amazed at how quickly I became full. Each pork was probably about 5 oz. and neither David or I could finish ours. Lunch tomorrow! The kids enjoyed the pork, but couldn't finish theirs, either. Vincent ate the zucchini and corn, Tyler picked the corn out of the mix, and both took one bite of the tart and rejected it. At least, they tried. They had creamy whole wheat sphaghetti.







Back To Whirligig!

I took the boys to Whirligig, again, today. I asked Vincent if he was interested in going again, and he got so excited. And, apparently, Tyler was, too. He was saying in the car, "Bouncy house, bouncy house!" Only, I understood it as, "Bessy house, bessy house!" I asked Tyler what he was saying and he kept repeating the same thing, until finally, Vincent blurted out, "Mommy, he's saying BOUNCY house." Oh-oh!

Tyler was a little hesitant at first, but then got really into the slides. They didn't do quite as many as Vincent did last time, but it was still worth seeing them so happy. In one of the houses, there were a couple of bigger kids and Vincent really got into being rough with them. I tried not to be too worried, especially when he was being smooshed by both of them for a few seconds. But, he seemed to have a great time and wasn't hurt. The final one they went on was the "Mini Slide", and the gal was nice enough to let them go on without anyone else, since they were small.

I thought for sure they'd take a monster nap this afternoon, but they slept for less than an hour. Vincent didn't even sleep. I think he would've, but Tyler woke up and by that time, I wasn't going to let Vincent fall asleep. Audrey put them to bed, and said Tyler was super cranky by 5:30pm.

Oh, and I introduced the boys to The Beastie Boys this morning. They LOVED them.



Don't Stop Believing

I'm obsessed with Glee. Yes, I'm a 'Gleek'. I even have a t-shirt. Hmmm. Come to think of it, where is that shirt?

Anyway, I've always liked the Journey song, "Don't Stop Believing," but ever since David and I have started watching Glee, that song's been stuck in our heads. Yes, it's been a few months now. We sing it, we play it on Pandora, we even did karaoke to it on a date. The kids know the song, too. Last week, when I went to pick up Tyler from the daycare at the gym, the gals told me that he was singing the song while having a snack. I'm a little embarassed, but only just a little.

So, last night, I finally purchased and downloaded the song. We've been listening to it all day.

Vincent's Turn to Party

David and Vincent went to a birthday party this morning. We weren't sure if it would be appropriate for Tyler, so he and I didn't go.

Instead, we ended up taking the bus to Capitol Hill and playing at a park. When we got there, it was pretty empty, but soon, many more families joined. Actually, it was mostly partial families, where just one parent would take the kid(s). We ran into one of the teachers from Ty & David's Saturday class there. Tyler had a great time running around, climbing, sliding, and swinging.

We met up with David and Vincent at Broadway Grill for lunch. First of all, I had no idea that place was so large. I've been there once, maybe twice, years ago, and never noticed the whole back area. Secondly, I felt kind of hip being there (thanks, Larry, for the hot tip). And, lastly, buffet brunch: kids' price $4.99. Vincent was totally into it. The rest of us didn't order the brunch, but when V saw it, he said that's what he wanted. He was all about the brown sugar bacon. I wouldn't say it was the best meal I've had, but it was a decent experience overall.

We went home and all took naps. Well, we're not 100% sure Vincent did. He was awake and sitting at the dining table when David and I finally woke up. Hmmmm.

For our evening, we ended up having dinner out, too. We needed to go grocery shopping, and it just worked better to eat out, especially since it was in the same shopping center. At one point, Tyler liked the music playing and started swaying in his seat. He then urged the rest of us to "dance," too.





Changing It Up

This morning, Tyler and I dropped off David and Vincent at Chinese school. Normally, I take Vincent and David take Tyler to a class at the community college. We thought we'd switch it up. The whole family was invited to a birthday party for Thomas. He's the little brother of a friend of Vincent's. We didn't want Vincent to miss Chinese school, so I took just Tyler to the party, since Tyler and Thomas have a class together. Make sense?

Anyway, this was one of those days when having 2 cars would have been nice, but we were able to figure it out.

Ty had a great time at the party. They have a huge backyard with an awesome sandbox that he spent most of his time in. And, we had some sunshine!

This afternoon, we took the boys to the local indoor public pool. They had a blast! Tyler shivered most of the time, but he was so brave. Both were. We wrapped these noodle things around their bodies as a floatation device, and they paddled themselves around. Tyler held on to us at first, but by the end he was doing it on his own. 



"Born To Be Wild" Take 2

Since the tickets sold out last week for the IMAX 3D show "Born To Be Wild" I called ahead and reserved 2 tickets for Vincent and I to see it today. It's only about an hour long, but he loved it. Have I mentioned that Vincent doesn't have an off switch? Yeah, he asked tons of questions the whole time, and if he wasn't asking questions, he was making comments to himself about the movie. I finally gave up on asking him to be quiet. He also loved the idea of having popcorn for lunch. Hey, I packed some stuff for him, but he kept saying "no" when I asked if he wanted this or that.

After the movie, we came home and chilled out until it was time to pick up Tyler. He played PBS Kids games on my laptop while I tried to think of what to make for dinner.

As for Tyler, he went to daycare. He was a little sad during the drive over, and sad & clingy when we went inside, but he never actually cried. Su, his caretaker, invited him to join the group in storytime, and though he was still sad, he went over and sat down without tears. This is progress.

Dinner tonight: spaghetti with zucchini, sundried tomatoes, and capers. There was also some chopped shallots, garlic, basil, scallions, and some white wine. Ooh and lots of extra virgin olive oil. Finely shaved parmesan cheese was sprinkled on top. I thought it this was super yummy. Tyler enjoyed his noodles, but rejected the zucchini. Vincent accepted the zucchini, but didn't care for the noodles. Sheesh. 

Just Another Day

Nothing major happened today, unless you count that I crazy cooked in the kitchen this afternoon and only produced a few side dishes for dinner. And, David and I discovered Boulder Canyon Malt Vinegar & Sea Salt potato chips. All natural, yeah. Plus, we hardly eat chips anymore these days, so it tastes even better.

Speaking of dinner, I am making it a personal goal to do one vegetarian week a month in our house. Well, that is, I'll only cook vegetarian that week, but we don't have to eat all our meals that way. Still, I think it'll make a difference, somehow. Last night, I made a Swiss chard quiche. Tonight, I made creamy mushroom soup, red Inca quinoa with sauteed zucchini, and baked fingerling potato fries.

Tyler quite enjoyed the quinoa, rejected the zucchini, and ate a little bit of potatoes, until he gagged on the skin of his last piece. Oh, and he spit out the soup I tried to feed him. He was still hungry, so he had this apple/carrot sauce thing from Trader Joe's. Vincent enjoyed the potatoes, raved about the soup, but didn't eat it, and reluctantly ate the quinoa and zucchini. He then got pissed off at David for spoon feeding him his last piece of zucchini, saying, "You didn't need to put that in my mouth. I could eat it by myself!" Well, then, why didn't you?

Chocolate Dipped, Round 2

I could not be defeated by my chocolate dipping disappointment last week. Tyler and I stopped in at Trader Joe's this morning, and I picked up a bag of their semi-sweet chocolate disks. "For baking, melting, and nibbling." We received fresh strawberries in our CSA box this morning, so this afternoon, I woke Vincent from his nap and had him help me dip them.

He wasn't so keen on doing it, but liked the idea of licking the spatula (and dipping his finger into the remainder of the chocolate) afterwards. Success this time.

For dinner tonight, I went out with my friend to La Bete. We shared their pork rinds & sauteed Swiss chard. Jill had the striploin steak and I had Tails and Trotters Farm Coppa Pozole with Polenta, Cabbage, Radish, and Pumpkin Seeds. Delicious. For dessert, we shared a chocolate salted caramel tart and coconut trifle. Both so good. I mean, goooooood. And, so different from each other. The coconut trifle was unique, refreshing, light, and interesting. It was the perfect end to our meal. Oh, and we had one piece of pork rind left, to which I asked Dan to put in a box,because I couldn't let it go to waste, knowing that my husband would have eaten it if he was sitting there with us. Dan said, "Tell you what, when you guys are just about ready to go, I'll have them fry up a fresh batch to take home to David." GET OUT! How cool was that? I loved the look of surprise and excitement on David's face when he opened the box.

As for my boys, I did cook them a meal before I left. They had a quiche with Swiss chard that I sauteed with chopped olives, capers, sundried tomatoes, garlic and shallots. I was amazed at how wonderful all these ingredients tasted together. I had gotten the idea of putting the olives and capers with the chard just a couple hours prior from Simply Recipes. If you like chard, you've gotta try this out!

And, they enjoyed their chocolate dipped strawberries for dessert. Thank you, for leaving me a few, Boys. That was kind of you to remember me.

Big Fat ZERO

Yup, zero was how much we spent today to get our car serviced at the dealer. Broken gas cap from last weekend, check. Leaky shocks, check. Power steering recall, check. Looking at my list makes it sound like we've been driving around a piece of shit. I guess it kind of looks like one cuz of our duct taped side mirror and cracked windshield. But, it's not, I swear! I love our car. Really. And, they got it all done super fast.

Not having the car this morning meant that the boys and I were travelling by bus. We got on, and Vincent ran straight to the back, with Tyler trailing after (and me, praying that nobody does a face plant as the bus starts up). We didn't go too far, just to the old community center. It was fun for me to catch up with some familiar faces, and fun for Vincent to play with Athena. As for Tyler, he just had fun, period.

When Athena spotted me, she came up and asked where Vincent was. I told her he was in the bouncy house, then I called to him to show him who was looking for him. He came out and was like, "Hi. C'mon," then turned to go back in to bounce. I asked him if he wanted to give her a hug. Both kids were so happy to see each other. Athena said to him, "I haven't seen you in so long. I've been looking for you, and I miss you." So sweet. Vincent sort of just shrugged it off. But, they had a blast together. They held hands almost the entire time they played. Since the sun was sort of out, we went to the playground afterwards. Vincent had a school friend there, too, and they began running around. Athena didn't like their game, so then she felt left out. It's always so interesting to see kids this age try to juggle more than one friend at a time. Eventually, another girl came up and played with her. When it came time to leave, Vincent went to say good-bye, and there was a moment of awkwardness with them, but then it passed. Funny.

Tonight, David and I went to dinner at Mistral Kitchen for Seattle's Restaurant Week. We both really enjoyed our meal. Here's what we ate:

David - 1) Hamachi crudo, 2) chicken breast with speatzle 3) chocolate mousse

Anny - 1) pork pate, 2) cod, 3) lemon cake

Sorry, I'm not doing these dishes justice with nice long, descriptive names. But, take my word for it, everything was tasty. The only slightly negative thing we'd say is that the hamachi needed a touch of sea salt sprinkled on top. It was a little flat.

David's chicken breast was yummy. They cooked it, sous vide, for a day and a half in 61 degrees C, then quick roast it to order in an oven at like a million degrees so it's nicely browned. His chocolate mousse was actually quite light, with a bourbon foam on top. It looked like a cappuccino.

My pork pate was amazing. So, so good. The cod, delish. It was light, flakey, flavorful. And, the lemon cake was a nice balance of sweet and tart. For some reason, maybe it was the second champagne cocktail talking, this dessert made me think, "If Hello Kitty was a dessert, this is what she'd be."

Dining al Fresco

Sunshine graced us today in Seattle. I was determined for us to get a little outdoor time, so the boys and I ate lunch on the back deck. Aside from having to manage little people and get up and down for all their little needs, it was quite glorious to bask in the sun.

In other news, Vincent had his first Nerf soccer game of the season. I wasn't able to make it, since Tyler was still napping away. Lucky for me, David's the coach this time, so I don't have to drag the boys out of bed and down to the community center.

After dinner, we went to get some frozen custard. I saw that they were giving a free upgrade to a waffle cone if you mention their Facebook post, and today's flavor is Peanut Butter and Chocolate. I thought it was okay. I've had it before (or so I thought), and it wasn't as good as I remembered. I snapped a couple of shots of our soccer player and his coach.

We we headed back to the car, the boys decided to race the whole 2 blocks there. That's Tyler on the left, getting on his mark. Vincent's already takin' off, and David, well, I don't know what he was doing.

Fun? Yes. What wasn't fun was that after Tyler got all strapped into his car seat, he started to cough...A LOT. And, then he proceeded to puke up his scoop of frozen custard, along with his dinner. Gross. Gross. Gross. At least, I happened to pack a couple of handi-wipes! Probably wasn't such a good idea to run back to the car, huh?