Madonna

David got up early this morning so that he could catch a bus downtown to Key Arena, where he lined up with about 40 other people, to purchase Madonna tickets. Of course, this is nothing compared the the lines I used to get in back before you could get tickets online. I remember lining up at Tower Records in West Covina, California, with my sister to get Morissey tickets. The line went around the building, and then some. So, 40 people isn't bad. But, he had to contend with those online. Lucky for these 40 or so people, Ticket Master's website crashed. And, lucky for me, David was not persuaded by the scalpers in line to change his mind on his ticket choices, because...

We're going to go see Madonna!!

Early Valentine's Day present? I think so.

Morning With Eva & Pizza Dinner

This morning, we picked up our friends' little girl, Eva, and took her on an outing with the boys. We haven't seen her in a while and she was asking her mom about the boys. They were super excited when we told them this morning that we were picking her up. 

We went to South Lake Union, parked the car, and rode the street car down to David's building. We looked at the fish tank, then headed to his office. The kids ate a snack and played a little XBOX. Actually, Eva and I did some drawing while the boys played. 

 

Then, we rode the street car back to the car. We drove the car to the waterfront to Old Spaghetti Factory. As we pulled into the parking lot, as train was passing by slowly. The kids got a real kick out of it. And, while we had lunch, 3 more trains drove past. We had an awesome window seat with a close view.

This afternoon, David took the boys to the schoolyard to ride their wheelies while I worked on dinner. 

It was a last minute decision to make pizzas, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well it turned out, and easy. Thank you, Jamie Oliver.

Vincent's was sweet Italian sausage, sliced salami and provolone cheese. Tyler's was all the same ingredients, with the addition of Castlevetrano olives, his favorite kind of olives. The last pizza was all the same ingredients as Tyler's, plus sliced scallions.

Happy Birthday, David!

For David's birthday, I reserved a table for 20 at Piecora's Pizza in Capitol Hill. I also got us a sitter so that we could actually have adult conversations. It was a great turn out, and when we were done with pizza, we headed to a nearby bar. Actually, we tried a brewery down the street first, but it was pretty packed. Next, we tried the Comet, but there was a band playing and a $7 cover. Finally, we ended up at Cha Cha, where it wasn't crowded, but still had a good vibe. We were able to get a few tables before the real party people showed up. I tell you, we left as the place filled up with those 10 years younger than us. My last treat to the birthday boy was some Old School Frozen Custard. Good thing we left Cha Cha when we did, cuz the custard place closed soon after we got our order. So yummy.

Churro

Tyler calls churros "cheerio." Or, so I just figured out. We went to Costco today and he kept talking about getting the cheerio. After a while, and with pointing at the food area, I figured out what he meant. And, since we were cutting it close on time before picking up Vincent from preschool, we had to have lunch there. This, of course, included some samples. We also shared a hot dog. Not my proudest moment, but it satisfied him. I got a churro for him to split with Vincent, but let him have his in the car. Well, he didn't get to eat much of it, cuz he fell asleep.

And, he stayed asleep all the way home. When I went to transfer him to his bed, he got upset and said, "I want to eat my cheerio!" Lucky for me, he accepted that he can have it after nap time, and fell back to sleep.

My Date With Tyler & Montlake School

This morning was a mess. We were super late for preschool, then late for Tyler's gymnastics class. But, when we got to gymnastics, Tyler was so cute. I told him to run over to his class, all the way on the other side of the building. I thought he was hesitating, but what he was doing we "revving" himself up to race over. Boy, he ran faster than I've ever seen him run. He did trip and fall once, but it's all so soft and bouncy there, he was fine. 

After class, we took our time getting out. I let him each his snack, which he loved, of course. Ty now likes sliced deli turkey meat. He still does not like ham, and definitely doesn't like cured meats. Weirdo. Who doesn't like cured meats? Well, unless you're a vegetarian or something.

When we were ready to go, he said he wanted to go to a playground. Unfortunately, it was raining today. But, we have membership to KidsQuest! We headed to the east side. 

We only spent about 45 minutes at KidsQuest, since we still had to look for rain boots at Target and eat lunch before driving back to get Vincent. We didn't find the boots, but we enjoyed sushi rolls at Genki. Here's what Tyler did.

Built a ramp and played with a helicopter at KidsQuest.

Got a drink - mostly up his nose, as he told me.

Stuffed his face.

Ate strawberry mochi ice cream. Yum.

And, his wore new shades. The kazoo was to keep him from falling asleep on the ride back to Seattle, but he still fell asleep.

Lastly, tonight we went to the open house of the school around the block from our house. We were pretty sure Vincent would end up there in the fall, but last week we checked out another school nearby, just in case. Well, it's official. Vincent's going to Montlake Elementary. We loved it, and are so excited for him to go there. It's just what I imagined an elementary school would be like for him. Well, minus the portables, but that wasn't a deterrent.

How About A Shout Out?

I suppose it hasn't been that long since I last posted, but it sure feels like it. 

First, a shout out to my A.M.A., the ladies of my "cooking club," Alicia, Monica, and Alicia. We have only gotten together twice, but both times have been so fun. Monica is the mastermind behind the idea. She had done something similar through a community center, but thought, "Wouldn't this be more fun with friends?" Why, yes, it would be! 

One person hosts the event, we arrive there with containers to carry food home in, and we cook and divide out the goods. It's great! Today, we made two soups: broccoli and apple, potato and leek, chicken marbella was marinated, and butternut squash risotto was prepped and portioned into kits to cook at home.

Now, on to the family...

As I was off cooking today, Vincent was dropped off at a Superhero birthday party (he had been looking forward to it all week), and David took Tyler to a Secret Garden open house for next year's new students. Vincent wore his Spiderman pajamas, which he has been saving for today, though, you can't really tell in the picture taken at a playground before the party.

David asked Tyler where he wanted to have lunch, and Tyler requested "the fishy place!" They were on 15th Ave, but David had no idea where Ty meant. So, he asked Tyler to show him. He took him right up to the door of Jamjuree Thai, where they have a fish tank inside.

And, finally, WAY TO GO GIANTS!! We watched the Superbowl at Barry's house. The boys, especially Vincent, got a little crazy in he beginning, but settled down after we put on some Toy Story. We had a great time with a bunch of friends, and ate lots of junk. Woohoo!

My Little Knight

Vincent's taken a liking to knights in the past couple of days. Could be due to the fact that knights carry swords, or it could be from this iPad game that David has started playing. I didn't mean to do this, but I bought him a pair of jeans, on clearance, that happened to have a shield on it. I thought nothing of it. Vincent, however, thinks they are the coolest pair of jeans, ever. And, he just discovered the knight helmet we've had in his dress-up box for the longest time. Not to mention, he built himself a sword out of popsicle sticks. I swear, aside from the pair of jeans I innocently bought, I have not encouraged this interest in anyway. Okay, maybe except when I took all these pictures.

You have to admit, he's somethin' else. Tyler put on a helmet, too.

Tonight, I went to work. David had Tom over for dinner. He made hardshell tacos for everyone, and Tom helped Vincent improve his sword. It's now much longer, with these side things that stick out, and red.

And, it was a beautiful, sunny day. Even ever so slightly warm...if you find 50s to be warm. We do, apparently.