An Early Birthday Fete

We celebrated Tristan's birthday Friday night with 13 other ten and eleven year old boys and a Rock Band Tournament. We moved some of the furniture out of the family room and brought up the Wii and all the band equipment. I made a HUGE spread of food: 8 lbs of wings (half were spicy wings and the other half not), 6 pizzas, 12 liters of soda, a vegetable tray, cupcakes, a tub of red vines, 5 lbs of MnMs... I hear this is just the beginning of growing boys and their mass consumption of food.

About half way through the party it became evident that we were going to have to take it to a more active phase. I accompanied the whole gang to a park by our house where we commenced night games. We played kick the can, dracula, murder in the dark, capture the flag and some others I'm not remembering. I'm so grateful it was just cold and windy as opposed to super cold and windy with a foot of snow on the ground like it is today. I don't think the weather would have mattered to the boys; they would have gone regardless of the conditions (the other curious phenomenon of boys this age: they can go out in freezing weather without appropriate clothing and somehow they don't even feel it).

Our party was a huge success, I think everyone had a great time. Tristan seemed right in his element. It was an interesting dynamic as half of his guests were from his school and the other half from the neighborhood. Grandpa and Grandma also came up for a while and Gavin and Mia enjoyed having open access to large bins of candy. Dan hung out with the adults in the dining room, trying to keep Mia from making herself sick on junk food. Jolie went to a friend's pajama party so she missed the whole thing.

Sinful Popcorn

If you're looking for a tempting treat, try this Cinnamon Carmel Corn with Pecans and While Chocolate. I made some last week to take to some friends and it was a big hit. I wrapped it up in cellophane bags with some pretty ribbon and it looked like it was from heaven.

I don't, however, recommend having it in the house if you're on a diet. It will call your name from far, far away.

Halloween

Where do the weeks go? I've been trying to get to the computer to post our Halloween photos for weeks.

It was an exiting one. Tristan went with his friend, Evan. His warewolf costume was one of the scarriest in town. Mia couldn't be in the same room with his mask without breaking into blood-curdling screams. He consulted our neighborhood map days ahead to plan his route. Ofcourse the objective was to get as much candy as possible and to hit the houses that give out the best stuff.

Jolie spent part of the evening ahead of us with her friend Megan and part of the evening with us. Even with her wart I think she was the cutest witch around.

Gavin's costume was very fitting. He played the role of cowboy well. It's probably all the practice he's gained while pretending he's the Lone Ranger. He likes to watch the into sequence of the show. He's not interested in the dramatic episodes themselves, just the intro which he asks me to rewind over and over again. His holster is one given to us a while back by my grandmother. My dad and my uncle used to play with them when they were kids.

And then there's Mia the butterfly. What else can I say? I love this age for Halloween. She was just mesmerized by the whole affair. Who could have guessed that you can knock on doors and ask for treats over and over again? I loved watching her take her time to take it all in. In a few years she'll be in a race for the most candy, too.

Pinks and Greens

Just showing off a project- a baby quilt for my friend Sarah who is expecting her fifth(!) baby in December. This was a fun quilt, I can't wait to give it to her.

It took some courage to start this project- I haven't quilted since we moved here. That, cooincidentally, was about the same time I became a mother of three. It seems that many of my hobbies evaporated around that time

Fall Break in San Diego

We spent last weekend in San Diego with Nana and Papa. Now that we're over the worst of the swine flu (everything but the coughing), I can give my photos the proper attention that they deserve.

While in San Diego, we picnic-ed at the grassy knoll, we took the kids to Legoland, barbequed on the beach and roasted marshmallows, explored tide pools and a cave in La Jolla, and my dad took Jolie and Tristan to their first Padres game. We also saw the Blue Angels who were performing at an air show at Miramar naval base.

The best part was staying at Nana and Papa's house. The kids explored the orchard, Mia found all of Nana's little treasures around the house, Nana made us pancakes, we did some reading, Tristan watched baseball with Papa, and it wouldn't be a visit to Nana's without fireworks, hot tubbing and blowing bubbles.

Legoland

We experienced Leogland two and a half years ago and the kids (especially Gavin) have been talking about it ever since. Dan and I decided to leave for San Diego a day early so that we could take them back.

It was worth it, we had a great time.

I Need a Little Validation

The question of the day: Is it worth taking myself or one of my sick kids to the doctor to confirm that our illness is H1N1?

My answer all week has been no, it's not worth it. It's run its course through my body and I'm pretty sure what it is. But then I spoke to Dan (who's been feeling fine and going to work all week) and he challenged me by saying he didn't think this was swine flu.

OK, maybe I'm a little irritable after being caged up all week, sick myself as well as taking care of three of my four kids who are trying to fight it off. I haven't been past the front porch since we returned from San Diego Sunday evening. I slept maybe two hours last night because Mia is in the coughing stage.

I'm seriously thinking about going in to the doctor so I can get some validation around here. (Oh, and I told Dan that I hope he comes down with the virus over the weekend so that he can experience it all himself- was that mean?)