Saturday

Gastronomically speaking, Saturday was a pretty good day.

It started early when I took Mark out to breakfast before his haircut.  We either needed to get it cut or I needed to start braiding it.  Titi cuts Mark's hair.  She is a terrific lady and Mark adores her.  (Me too.)

When Adam asked him how Titi was when we got home, he said, "I thought we were going to talk about my Halloween costume but we ended up talking about my school work." 

A little self absorbed?

But then, at least he doesn't write a blog about himself thinking people would be interested in the silly drivel in his head...

Because that would be really self absorbed.

Saturday was spent with a gentle pleasant mix of leisurely pursuits and much needed tasks completed like changing lightbulbs and fertilizing the lawn.  OK, Adam did those things.  I took care of the leisurely pursuits.

Last week, Grandma Geri had questioned Mark's footwear choice...flip flops.  He told her his tennis shoes were too small.  Adam and I felt duly chastised and determined to take Mark shoe shopping.  We gathered him up from his new friend's house.  We met our new neighbors.  Neither of us caught the dad's name although he told it to us.  Darn.

Mark kept telling us his shoes were fine as we were driving away.  He wanted to go back to John's house.  Finally Adam said, "Put your foot up here."  Mark swung his foot up towards Adam and while he was driving, he squeezed Mark's toes and said, "Yeah, his shoes fit fine."

It turned out Mark wanted to wear his flip flops because they were faster.

Adam said, "Mark!  You know I got in trouble with my mom because of that?  She was mad that your shoes were too small and I hadn't gotten you new ones."

I don't think Mark believed Adam.  I don't think I did either.

We abandoned the shoe shopping trip and went to lunch instead at El Paraiso.  Adam and I can't pronounce it correctly.

We still like to eat there.

I had vegetarian fajitas and chastised Mark for looking at the football game on the TV over my shoulder while I was talking to him.

question 1:  why do restaurants put TV in their corners?

question 2:  why is it men can't resist them?

We went to Fred Meyer for a mix of random errands and crisscrossed the store in inefficient ways.  It was OK though...and kind of fun even.  Adam bought an eggplant for a dinner idea he was hatching.

(See what I did there?  Eggplant--hatching?)

It was a rainy day and when we got home, I decided to bake a cake because there's nothing I like doing more than baking on a rainy day and there's nothing I like more than cake.

I made a spongy oatmeal cake like my mom used to make.  I made creamy penuche frosting for it like she used to make too.  It's so rich and caramelly I think it will give us each several cavities.  But worth it.

On a whim, Adam and Mark decided we should go swimming at the YMCA.  Adam asked me if I wanted to go.  He quickly amended, "You can read your book."

Rainy days are for baking cakes, not swimming.

Everyone suited up (except me, I found my book) and we went to the YMCA.  I found a comfortable chair in the snazzy new lobby and they swam.

After, we stopped at Safeway.  Adam needed more ingredients for his dinner plan and he needed to get the kids a treat.  He had promised them one if they could beat their swimming times.

We left the wet chlorine scented kids in the car and perused Safeway.  We sampled carmelized onion and garlic bread in the bakery spread with imported Irish butter.  We gathered supplies for Adam's feast and pretzel M&Ms for the kids.  I got an extra bag for Adam and me to share because I deserved a treat too.

I had done really well reading my book.

Our next stop was Central Market for tapenade.  The selections at Safeway were not satisfactory for my maestro.  We added peppercini and fresh mozzarella...they were just sitting there, ready for us.  And also my favorite pasta salad in the world.  How could we not?

It was late when we finally made our way home...and the kids had already had sandwiches (boys) and salad (Emma--who is shunning meat presently) from Safeway.  (Braeden had been a little hesitant at the mention of eggplant and why should we cast our pearls before swine?  We'll save the good stuff for us.) They settled down to watch the conclusion of Where the Wild Things Are, Adam prepared our dinner and I painted my nails and Emma's.

The dinner was divine.  On split foccaccia, Adam layered grilled eggplant, tapenade, roasted red peppers, peppercinis, spinach, artichoke hearts, fresh mozzarella...I'm not sure what all.  It was good though.  And spicy.  We also ate the wonderful garlicky bowtie pasta salad.

Mark said he "needed his mama" towards the end of Where the Wild Things Are so I squeezed into the red chair with him.  (If he wants to keep doing that, he's going to have to stop growing.)  Adam and I saw the movie in the theater months ago but our kids hadn't seen it.  It's really not a kid movie.  We decided to show it to them though.  I think Mark got it in ways that we didn't.  I also think in so many ways, he is Max.

Hopefully a less sad Max.

He reached up and felt my eyes to see if I was crying at the end.  He felt my tears.  When the mom is watching Max eat after he's returned home...how could a mother not cry?

I love my children.

I'll eat them up I love them so.

Or not.

I was too full.  Too full even for the cake which we had to save for the next day.

And when I'm too full for cake, I am full.