Weekends Are Definitely NOT for the WEAK

We're all busy - I know all about it. After all, I'm a mom with three kids...

Okay the truth is my kids are all "technically" adults but, with two still in college, it doesn't always seem that way.

And with kids, of any age, family traditions are important.

It was Luke's birthday so he came home to go to the Apple Festival. Okay, since he was on his phone most of the weekend, one might surmise that just maybe he came home for the presents. . . but the Apple Festival is something we've been enjoying since the kids were in kindergarten--maybe even before that.

You can always tell when it's Apple Festival season in Portland, Oregon. You just have to look up in the sky to see the Flying Fruit. A giant apple hangs in the air overhead. This beacon of red deliciousness heralds fruit lovers toward the festival.

So, then, after the Portland Nursery Apple Festival we headed straight for home to have a nice family dinner, which I wanted to enjoy at a local "family" restaurant because going out to eat has many advantages: no cooking, no cleaning, nothing but enjoying.

But Luke put a quick nix on that idea.

"I just want to stay home," he said.

"But," I really tried to bribe him here, "I was planning on Thai food," I told him.

Unbribeable, um, I mean Unswayable, he said, "I really want spaghetti."

Since it was his birthday, I tried to compromise, "There's always the Spaghetti Factory," I reminded him.

"Too noisy," he shook his head, "I want to be able to talk with everyone."

I know it sounds so sweet. BUT, if he would have told me BEFORE 3:00 p.m. on the day when everyone was coming at 5:00 p.m. - I might not have resisted so much--there just wasn't any time to argue. So, my husband called everyone and restrategized.

He told them just to come to our house, while I ran to the store to get the groceries. Then I quickly baked a cake--or two--since I have a BIG family. Oh, and I still had to cook the meal--for twelve people--and then serve it.

Just thinking about it, I'm tired. But, everything went O.K. with a lot of people pitching in--including the birthday boy "Luke" and Mackenzie.

Of course on such short notice, nothing could have gone perfectly. My Dracula cake didn't come out as I'd hoped. It was still warm when I had to decorate it. Icing wouldn't work--so I stenciled one of my Halloweenish favs on the front--yep, Vlad.
No time to be picky. So, I did the best I could. And I even threw a couple of eyeballs on the plate to make it a little more...festive.

It was a crazy, busy day. But you all know about those.

Oh yeah, and then we all went to see Jake's musical but that's another blog post.