We Are So Proud

Five days ago, Sammy graduated High School!

I am not sure we could be more proud. This post is dedicated to sweet, sleepy, smart, sporty, sensitive Sammy.

He did it! Sammy graduated from High School. Phew! I’m not gonna say it was easy. It wasn’t. It wasn’t easy for Sammy and it wasn’t easy for us. Sammy had THE wickedest case of “senioritis.” There were moments when we questioned his ability to pull it off. But he did, indeed, pull it off and we are so proud of him for hanging in there.

This house will not be the same without the presence of Sammy Lubitz. The cats, oh those cats are going to miss hanging out on the leather sofa watching you play video games J

When you were 0

You were the sweetest, happiest, sleepiest little baby

and we fell in love the moment we laid eyes on you.

You got your first tooth and held your own bottle both at

the ripe old age of 4 months.

When you were 1

You charmed all the childcare staff and they spoiled you.

You were strong and happy, you watched everything your big brother did

and you wanted so desperately to keep up with him.

Your first word was ball and the next was blue

and you loved all balls, big and small.

When you were 2

You had THE most beautiful blond curls

and the biggest brown eyes, and you didn’t go

anywhere without a Hot Wheels car or a Thomas

The Tank Engine in your pocket. Your favorite

book was The Runaway Bunny.

When you were 3

You made friends at preschool and you were loyal.

You loved kicking, throwing, and bouncing balls

wherever and whenever you could and you

refused to learn to swim (a running Lubitz Brother theme).

When you were 4

You refused to wear a peach colored shirt

because you said that color was for girls.

You learned to ride a bike without training wheels,

you took your first tennis lesson, and you got your

first “buzz” cut because you wanted straight hair like

your brother and your best friend. You would have

nothing to do with girls.

When you were 5

You started playing t-ball and soccer and

learning Japanese. You made new best friends

and you started honing your mischievous side.

You took one piano lesson and decided right away

that you did not want to play the piano.

You loved collecting rocks and found shiny ones

to store in your pockets. Every night you begged me

to read you Harry Potter.

When you were 6

T-ball turned into baseball and we realized

you could play every position on the field with skill.

You loved being a soccer goalie and you learned to read.

You started taking tennis lessons every week (and never

stopped). You traveled to Japan for the very first time.

When you were 7

You were told you had to play all soccer positions

(not just goalie), so you quit the team and focused

on baseball. Your love of video games was

born in earnest and you spent every possible moment

with your best friends (no girls).

When you were 8

You begged to play tackle football and we begrudgingly

agreed. You played both Fall and Spring baseball.

You traveled to Japan for the second time and even

had your own business cards. By third grade it was obvious

school was not your favorite place to be and your 3^rd

grade Japanese teacher told us you often slept in class, but

somehow managed to ace every test. This would also

become a running theme.

When you were 9

You continued playing football, Fall and Spring baseball and

it became obvious school was not your favorite, but you went

diligently in order to spend as much time with your friends as possible.

You took up the Bass Guitar.

When you were 10

You continued playing football and you took up soccer again in the Fall.

You traveled to Japan for the third time. You gave up baseball, temporarily.

You graduated from elementary school.

When you were 11

You played your 4^th year of football, you started playing basketball

on the school team, and you continued playing goalie on the soccer team.

You started middle school.

When you were 12

You played your 5^th and final year of football. You did an absolutely

amazing job at your Bar Mitzvah ceremony chanting both your Torah

and Haftarah portions. You had a party and invited every single one of your

classmates because you didn’t want anyone to feel left out. The inflatable

sumo ring you picked out was a big hit! You continued playing basketball

and soccer and loving it.

When you were 13

You traveled to Japan for the 4^th time. You came home from Japan and

gave an awesome presentation comparing American and Japanese

Automobiles. You graduated from the Japanese Magnet Program having

been on the honor roll every single grading period and you made the decision

to follow your brother to Catlin Gabel for High School. You played basketball

and you decided to play baseball again in preparation for Catlin. You were an

amazing closing pitcher, catcher, first baseman, and one of their best hitters.

Your team came in 2^nd in district and went to the state tournament.

When you were 14

After taking tests, being interviewed and being accepted, you started

your Freshman year at Catlin Gabel School. You made new

friends. You went on outdoor trips and played basketball and baseball.

When you were 15

You played basketball and baseball and continued your nearly lifelong

habit of spending absolutely as much time as possible with your friends.

We didn’t take it personally. You inherited Nana Fern/Papa Skip’s

1966 Thunderbird (which went immediately to the mechanic).

When you were 16

You made me the most beautiful bench in woodworking class.

You traveled to Japan for the 5^th time and you said good-bye

to your brother as he headed off to college. Your friends became

even more important to you and we understood. You played

basketball and tennis. You attended the winter formal... with

a girl J

When you were 17

You took the SAT exam. You struggled with motivation and had

a hard time making it to class and getting your homework in,

but at the same time, your artistry as a filmmaker became apparent.

You attended your Junior Prom. You got your nose broken at basketball

camp playing flag football and other than practicing basketball and tennis,

you took the rest of the summer off.

When you were 18

You started the college application process and

you realized you would, in fact, need to go to class in order to graduate.

You decided to go to Bates College in Maine. You went to the Senior Prom.

You played tennis doubles most awesomely and walked away from the OSAA

State Tennis Tournament with an outstanding 3^rd place finish. You received the

Media Arts Award for your filmmaking and you graduated High School. Your C&C deemed

you the strongest person they know, most likely due to your recent obsession

with weightlifting and for your Catlin Gabel Upper School Arm Wrestling

Championship Title. You left for Europe.

Sammy, despite our constant fretting and worrying over you, we adore everything about you. You are kind, sensitive, strong, athletic, loyal, intelligent, witty and oh, so handsome. We hope all your dreams come true and we miss you so much. After putting this down on "paper", I also realize how much we will miss watching you play sports. I am currently thinking of buying a place in Maine J.

Gray is the New White?

Each week I get this great email from a local real estate agent (who used to be Joey's guitar teacher) highlighting Portland properties for sale. The links in the email take you directly to the real estate multiple listing for that property. Most of the listings include lots of great pictures. One of the houses in today's email has this gorgeous kitchen with gray cabinets. I have been noticing lately (on Pinterest, of course) that gray cabinets are really hot right now. If I didn't love my kitchen, I think I would get me some of those gray cabinets. Here are some of my favorite gray kitchens:

Love the open shelving and white countertop, I would do white marble :)

and I would totally have pink flowers on the counter all the time, because what a lovely color combination: pink & gray!

Love the shaker cabinet style and the hardware

Love the wood countertops

Love the open shelving, chandelier and shiny floors

Love the pot rack with all new-looking pretty, shiny silver pots and the big marble top table and stools

Again, gray and marble. Such a beautiful, clean contemporary feel

and this is the kitchen from the recent real estate listing. Lovely big farm sink. Lovely everything!

Breakfast Project: Day Five

Breakfast with Sammy

Day Five: "Not Mother's" Eggs Benedict

I have reached the fifth and final day of my Breakfast with Sammy Project.

I have a few general observations:

(1) I want to state that I am extremely proud of both my boys. They do both frustrate me and they also bring me the greatest joy I have ever known. I love them both for who they are as people. The teenage years are tough for all involved, but it is merely one step in a wonderful journey and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

(2) Like most everything else, practice makes perfect when it comes to cooking.

I enjoy the practice.

(3) I very much prefer sunny sunrises to cloudy ones.

(4) Getting up at 6:30am just isn't that bad, especially when I get to spend time with my 18 year old.

(5) Some things I thought were irreplaceable, aren't.

Thursday afternoons the house cleaners arrive. In preparation, I pick up everything in the house that is not in its place and put it away (otherwise who knows where it will end up). I make sure all the dishes are done, beds are made, etc... The animals are all rounded up and herded into my office. The cleaners clean the bathrooms, kitchen, floors, dust the furniture, vacuum, etc... I wish they wiped down the walls, but they don't. I thought when the boys got older, things like dirty fingerprints would be a thing of the past. They aren't. It seems the smudges are just higher up on the wall, and bigger.

Yesterday, while I was working away in my office surrounded by my three furry babies, I heard a large crash and then the sound of something (or somethings) shattering. Oh how I hate that sound. It seems one of the cleaners backed into a plate rack I have hanging in the dining room. She dislodged the rack (even though it is installed with a screw), it crashed to the floor, and my two 1920's German Majolica Bird Relief plates, that I adore, shattered into many, many pieces. This is not the first time my things have been broken (actually, Michael breaks things all the time). The cleaners have broken drinking glasses, a bowl, and even a light fixture. That was crazy, apparently while they were dusting it, the whole thing just fell out of the ceiling and crashed to the ground? When I saw the plates, I was heartbroken. Even though I don't speak Spanish, I know what the house cleaner was trying to say, and I felt bad for her. I could tell she was offering to replace the plates. I told her it was okay and went back to my office.

I loved those plates so much, that I often took pictures of them. For example, Tuesday morning, a picture of one of the plates appeared in my blog. Here's another picture taken that morning:

Thank goodness for the internet. After a brief period of mourning, I decided to see if more plates were out there somewhere. I am happy to say, I found them at an online antique store. Two "like new" plates are on their way to me. I am a happy camper.

Now, on to breakfast!

I love Eggs Benedict. I didn't used to love it, but sometime in my 20's I had an epiphany regarding Eggs Benedict. My favorite of all favorite Eggs Benedict is served at Mother's Bistro in downtown Portland. My Eggs Benedict today was NOT as good as MOTHER'S, I will admit that, but it was pretty good

We have made Eggs Benedict at our house before. Once, I made Eggs Benedict with Crab and Avocado. YUM!

Today, I went traditional. When I was preparing Sammy's, the Hollandaise curdled some and I didn't have the time to fix it. Once Sammy left (and I am left with the options of cleaning up my breakfast mess or starting work at 7:30am), I set to making that Hollandaise as smooth as silk.

Even though I know how to make Hollandaise, I feel I cannot really do it justice without having Julia's book in front of me. 

and then trying to get the sauce smooth again, I had to glance at her hints, just to make sure I was doing it right

We also had some delicious, sweet and juicy cantaloupe

I had a half portion of Eggs Benedict because I really should not be eating it at all and I also have an early lunch date with a good friend. Looking at these pictures, I am already hungry.

I made it through and I enjoyed it.

Next week, our breakfasts will be dedicated to healthy choices :).