Well, It’s been a while now since I’ve promised this blog post, about my oldest turning 10 (TEN!) Wow. Double-digits. Here’s a recap of our celebration. I wanted to mark this birthday in a special way, so we had a girl’s weekend in Seattle, just the two of us. I picked her up early from school on Friday and we headed up to our first stop, Elliott Bay Books. I have long loved this bookstore. When we lived in Seattle we would spend many a weekend afternoon perusing its aisles. My girl is a bookworm in a major way, so I knew she would love it. Then, we got coffee (and cocoa) at another favorite, B&O Cafe. MMM. They really have a way with whipped cream. Serendipitoulsy, Mr. Uhler happened to be working at the Seattle office that afternoon, so we got to visit and see his business-y space with an amazing view of the city. The girl felt a little dizzy that high-up, she is quite afraid of heights.
We checked into our quaint, refurbished hotel in Queen Anne an had some bonding time over, um, girl stuff. And can I just say how strange it is to have this jolt of a realization that your first little baby is rushing fast toward young-adulthood. What a gift. In order to make the movie time downtown, we had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. I kept warning her “Do not fill up on bread, the portions are huge, trust me, you’ll want room for dessert…” to no avail. Truth be told, by the time our entrees (no idea why I ordered two!) got there, we were stuffed after a few bites. Of course we ordered cheesecake…to go. (Helpful hint: do not share a crepe while waiting for your table at the Cheesecake Factory. Also, do not see the movie Gnomeo and Juliet. It is about as exciting as a movie about garden gnomes).
On Saturday, we walked all the way to the top of Queen Anne (had to work off the cheesecake and work up a breakfast appetite!) hill and found an amazing toy store that has something for kids of all ages. Of course, she bought something for her brothers with her very own money. I love her thoughtfulness. We ate breakfast at one of my very favorite restaurants, Toulouse Petit. Oh, delish! We took the monorail downtown and walked through Pike Place Market, and only felt slightly like tourists. But then it started pouring, so we ducked into the best little French boulangerie-patisserie and enjoyed pain au chocolate, which I could eat every day of my life, thank you very much. It made me long even more for a true French bakery in Tacoma. Sigh. Someday.
Since we didn’t drive downtown, we had to hoof it in the downpour back to our hotel from the monorail and we were soaked! But we were together, and alone together is a good way to be when you have three kids. I love the how the dynamic changes when I can set aside unencumbered time to devote to one of my kids. It’s not easy to carve out, but so worth it. My sweet, I love the thoughtful, creative articulate girl you are.
She’s still a little girl, not one of those, I’m to cool to be goofy, types. Perhaps having little brothers keeps her young. (Doesn’t have that same effect on me, unfortunately.)
She wanted to have a “It’s a Small World” party, where everyone had to come dressed in clothes from another country and with a treat from that country. The Girl wore her shalwar-kameez from Pakistan and we played pin the Girl on Pakistan. I loved the potluck aspect to this party, though we supplied lentils and naan from India, Pocky from Japan, licorice from Finland, hummus from Israel, and juice form Indonesia. (This party brought to you by World Market and Trader Joe’s). Carrot cake was our sweet American indulgence.
