Springtime in Seattle

Kurt's bench in Viretta Park

The ride to Bainbridge

The View from Docs

The Beach in Edmonds

Rick's Old House

Dinner at the Space Needle

My pedicure.

The Space Needle

The view of Lake Union from our hotel.

We just returned home last night from the most wonderful trip to Seattle, just the two of us. It was so awesome to recharge our batteries. We didn't have to do a single thing. It was so totally relaxing, that I don't think I'll need another break until I go to Denver week after next... Thanks to Meagan, who watched the boys after work on Friday and all weekend, and thanks to Tim who let Logan play hookie, and watched the kids all day Friday, we would have had to cancel our trip if they hadn't helped out.

Rick and I visit Seattle several times each year, but this was our first visit in the spring, and the weather was more than agreeable. The temperatures during the day, were in the upper seventies, a virtual heatwave, I even got a bit of a sunburn. It seems like a completely different city in the sunshine. Wherever we went people had huge smiles on their faces, and there where lots of exposed white limbs everywhere we turned.

We did all the things we usually do when we visit, but this time we also drove to Edmonds, WA to visit Rick's childhood home. We also saw his grade school and stopped to watch a baseball game at the local high school...Rick was in heaven. He pointed out what used to be the old "Candy Corner" where he would buy penny candy (man, he sounds old), and we even ate breakfast in a quaint restaurant that used to be a furniture store he worked in as a teenager. We spent some time walking the beach he played on as a child, and then made our way back to the city. It was a delightful morning.

Of course, we made our way over to Bainbridge, because we have a love affair with Doc's clam chowder...it is out of this world. If you ever go to Seattle, it is worth the hour long, round -trip ferry ride just for that. http://www.docsgrill.com/ Also, an author I enjoy reading, Susan R. Sloan, is a native of the Island, and although she renames the places she writes about, once you've been to the island, there is no misunderstanding her inspiration. I found this out quite by accident on my last visit. I had just finished reading this book http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/s/susan-r-sloan/isolated-incident.htm on the flight over, it was like walking into the book--very strange, but very cool. There is also a darling candy shop on the island that sells the most delicious cherry cordials, so I had to get some to eat for the ride back to city. This time we took the car over on the ferry, we enjoyed the view from the sun deck on the way to the Island, but took a much needed catnap in the car on the return trip. We got back to the city just in time to change clothes and meet an old Las Vegas friend at the delightful Zig Zag Cafe http://zigzagseattle.com/, on the Hill Climb below the market. It was wonderful to catch up over yummy mandarin vodka martinis...

We also managed to squeeze in a pedicure for me, visits to two museums, shopping at the Market, a visit to the space needle, a two hour treasure hunt for the tiny Viretta Park, which is a makeshift memorial for the late Kurt Cobain, and so much more.

We are already looking forward to our next visit, and hope to explore even more.
My pre-trip challenge is to talk Rick into visiting the grave of Jimi Hendrix....

Friends that are Family

I am so grateful to my friends, who love and support this family of mine.

The ones who take my boys off my hands, when I am close to losing it. The ones who invite us over, even though there are usually at least seven of us. The ones that are brave enough to venture out with us in public, even though it's usually a scene. The ones that offer to babysit all day on a Friday, and all weekend, so that my husband and I can get away. The ones who change their plans, to accommodate us. The ones that save us seats during movies because we are always late. The ones that remember we're still adults and individuals, not just parents. The ones that know we can't do it alone.

Thanks for making this life we've chosen so special for us and our family, all of our surrogate "aunts" and "uncles", some of you, my children truly believe we are really related by blood, and as far as I'm concerned we are. Thank you...thank you...thank you, for the love you shower our family with, and for the influence you have on my children

Mother of the Year!

Yes, that's me! I should be mother of the year. How many other mothers tape broken lollipop sticks back together? Really it's more like this...I'd do anything to stop the crying and whining, even if it's only in two minute increments.

A few days ago my "Mom's Group" met at a local park. We've spent the winter at indoor playgrounds and pay-to-play facilities trying to be the best mother's we could possibly be. These play dates always turn out to be incredibly stressful, overwhelming events for me, I always leave feeling terribly guilty, burdened and exhausted, and typically covered in ranch dressing and orange soda. We thought it would be a nice way for our children to get some fresh air and enjoy some of the wonders of nature. After carefully choosing the park, for it's safety features; least likely place for our children to get run over, or escape from, etc., we embarked on an hour of fun. We spent that hour like the border patrol- walking the perimeter of the park, checking our cell phones for the time- wishing for our watch to be up. Not only did we not want our children to escape, but we needed to make sure their cheeks didn't touch the drinking fountains, and their boy parts didn't touch the toilet bowl, and they used hand sanitizer before they ate their apples.

Now I ask this question, how long do you have to stay at the park, before you can say "you went to the park"? Is it 20 minutes, is it 30, or a whole hour or more? As mothers, must we beat ourselves up trying to be "Mother of the Year", comparing ourselves to everyone else, afraid if we don't take our children to the park everyday, that we will be considered bad mothers?

Last night, after a crazy day, and evening, I did something I rarely do, at 10 o'clock - well past every one's bedtime, including my own , I lay in bed with all five of my boys and read stories front to back and back to front, over and over again. For the first time all week, I was overcome with motherhood, and the emotions that go with it. I wasn't stressed, or overwhelmed, I wasn't worried that someone would get run over, or catch the swine flu, and I didn't care what anyone else thought, I didn't watch the clock to see if it had been long enough. I simply basked in the love of my children.

I'm a blogger

Well, today is the day that I officially stopped talking and started writing, thanks mostly to the encouragement from my friends Suzan and LuAnn. Although most of the time,I feel as though I don't have anything to talk about, let alone write about. Not to mention my lack of time and my lack of enthusiasm. My kids seem to suck it all out me, like five hungry vampires. This weekend I'm feeling particularly drained without Rick here to do this dance with me. He's been in MANtana since Wednesday and I am counting the minutes until his plane lands at 8 o'clock. I've stooped to giving the boys cold cereal for dinner, because the thought of cooking anything in a pan actually evokes a painful physical reaction .

I plan to write more thoughtful postings in the future, ones that some of you may actually care to read, but for now, let's see how this works.