to my brother on his birthday

My dear little brother,

I'm thinking about you today and wishing you a happy day! I hope that you feel loved. I hope that you are content. I hope that your family spoils you. I hope that your friends remember your birthday.

My memories of our childhood together mostly involve laughing with you - you have always had a great sense of humor. I remember your reading Calvin and Hobbes aloud constantly. I have always enjoyed your easygoing nature.

If you were here, I would make you a dinner of your choosing and the boys and I would bake and decorate a cake for you.

All my love,
Lecia

get well soon Abbott!

photo by Abbott

We were awakened at 4am by Abbott, quite ill (thank goodness for mattress covers!). We amused ourselves today by having a tea party with our stuffies.

Camp Orkila

Soundtrack: Barenaked Ladies "7 8 9"

Alexi and Abbott spent the weekend at Camp Orkila on Orcas Island together with their Y Guides group.

Abbott enjoying the ferry ride to Orcas Island.

the cabin

Activities were numerous; here's a look at some of what they did:

craft time

playing on a swing

archery

Making s'mores - Abbott is in the striped shirt, second from the left.

Sunday Selection

The changing of the seasons always makes me acutely aware of the passage of time. Since school started a few weeks ago, I've haven't been able to shake the sense that Abbott and Cal are growing up before my very eyes. Today's Sunday Selection is from Anna Quindlen's Loud and Clear (p. 10-11).

“The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less."

I am going to do my best to treasure the doing a little more - to listen to, cherish, enjoy, and teach my children - and the getting it done a little less.

What's Outside My Window?

We recently had this dramatic display of the fog rolling in before our eyes.

soccer season

Have I mentioned that my boys are athletic? I'm very proud of their intensity and love of all sports (tball, soccer, swimming, tennis and hockey so far). I have learned many valuable things from my experience with sports; for example, that hard work always pays off, how to work with a team, that you have to give if you ever want to receive. It makes me very happy that Abbott and Cal have an early opportunity to learn some of these things.

Cal is playing soccer once a week in a class setting with friends from his preschool:



Alexi is coaching Abbott's soccer team. Here's an excerpt from an emailed practice plan to parents.

"- Red light / green light - I'll review/summarize the skills we've covered so far and we'll add 'Roundabout!' to the standard red and green lights and 'hit the highway'...
- Wrecking cranes and builders ...
- Alligator pit - they more or less cross the pit whenever they feel like it
- Star Wars - the kids stand outside the perimeter of the field and try to 'shoot down space ships' by kicking their ball from a distance and knocking over cones...
- Trash Day - a line of cones divide the field in half, with half the kids on each side of the field. The kids then try to 'clean up their yard' by kicking balls over the 'fence' into their neighbor's...
- Stinky ball - the coaches' ball is covered with stinky stuff and we try to 'share the stink'....
- Switch - the coaches are 'thieves' trying to steal the players' ball....
- Tag version 1 - ...
- Tag version 2 (something completely new!) .....
- Steal the Bacon - 1 v 1, 2 v 2, or 3 v 3, favor 1v1 for more tentative players (this forces them to get into the action) and favor 2v2 for players who may be up to passing/team..."

Here are some photos from recent soccer games. Click on any you wish to enlarge. Abbott is in the red jersey and also has on a blue hat in the shots with multiple kids:

Here's an excerpt from an email from Alexi to the team parents before the first game:

"Hello Soccer fans,

Hooray, our first game is nearly here!...

The C family will be bringing a bag of lollipops and handing out a lollipop to any of us (coaches included!!) who instructs from the sidelines. Cheering (yeah! well done!, etc.) is encouraged. Instructing (go! run! shoot! pass! kick it!, etc.) is prohibited, for many reasons.

Kids two or more years older than our children will be refereeing. Needless to say, we'll go with the flow. Please direct any concerns about the officiating to me. Please remind your son that we will thank the referee after the game...

After the game, I hope your questions for your son will be along the lines of "Did you have fun?" and not "Did you win?" If your son says he did not have fun, please send me an email or give me a call. If anyone asks me the score, my answer will be something along the lines of, "435 to 7008." I hope your answers will be similar."

Olympic Sculpture Park part II

Here are a few more photos of one of my favorite spots in town...

Here I am in front of Wake

Curve XXIV, Richard Kelly

Split, 2003, Roxy Paine

My favorite sculpture: Typewriter Eraser, Scale X

Sky Landscape I

Bunyon's Chess, 1965

the weekend according to first graders

Here's a look at what Abbott's classmates reported about their weekend last Monday. Abbott's is the fourth from the top, initials AP. I'm curious to see what the Monday Morning News will be like this week.

What We're Reading

Here's a look at what the Phinneys are reading these days.

Uber-dad Alexi is reading this:











My current reads:




















Abbott is all about Geronimo Stilton:

Cal's choice:










(click on any of the pictures you wish to enlarge)

mother love

This morning...the car ride to school....singing along with Lauri Berkner about Rhubarb Pie; hearing about all the configurations possible with five pieces of tinker toys....I think my heart will break after leaving the boys at school. I'm sure I'm going to go home and pace the floor until it's time to get them again.

What's In Your Lunch Box?

I had a request to write about school lunches, so here goes...

First and foremost, I do my best to make the lunches waste-free. (Waste-free = earth friendly.) I do this by using a reuseable lunch box, washable containers instead of ziplock bags and pre-packaged foods, and a cloth napkin instead of paper.

Here are some ideas I came up with:

Protein/Main Course:
Sandwiches (on bread, bagels, whole wheat pita or whole wheat tortilla roll-up):
*Peanut butter or other nut butter (or sunflower seed butter if your school has a no-nut policy like Abbott's) with jam, bananas, raisins and/or sliced apples. Abbott and Cal love PBJ & apple together.
*Meat and cheese
*Grilled cheese
Bagel and cream cheese
Meat and cheese chunks
Cream cheese spread on meat and rolled up
Quesadilla with cheese, refried black beans and/or corn
Hard boiled egg
Yogurt
Nuts
Sliced cheese
Soup in a thermos with crackers or bread sticks
Pasta
Pita with hummous
Salads like tabbouleh
Leftovers, if a microwave is available in the classroom

Fruit:
apple slices, peach slices, grapes, melon etc - whatever is in season

Vegetables:
cherry tomatoes
carrots
yellow/red pepper slices
cucumber slices
sugar snap peas
edamame
bean sprouts
can include hummus/ranch dressing for dipping

Carbs:
whole grain crackers
veggie booty
rice cakes
pretzels
granola bar
pita bread/pita chips
healthy muffins such as morning glory muffins

I recommend packing the night before...the results are likely to be more thought-out which often equals healthier; better yet, have your child make their lunch while you make dinner. You're already in the kitchen and available to help.

Remember that sugar comes in many different forms. If you send yogurt, raisins, apple and a juice box, your child is getting four forms of sugar for lunch.

Sillyville

We spent Saturday enjoying the Puyallup Fair...

Lots of eating....

Alexi's choice - elephant ears

Crafts...

Amazing produce....

Rides...

Things to buy...

Animals...

baby quail

baby chicks