I absolutely love Amaya’s commitment to her face mask. Coolest girl I know.
It was a quiet school week. The last week of first semester! We’re halfway through first grade! What an unexpected year. Here, Steven is doing some math games.
The boys got to work shoveling snow to take some of the load off their father.
Snow swimming.
It’s common for me to have meetings through lunch but the days I can eat downstairs are such a treat. It’s an unusual year but there are definitely pieces that mean so much to me and these extra moments with SSA are the lion share of those pieces.
By chance, Sammy and Amaya wore the same shirt design on Monday – both made with Amaya’s screen printing kit. <3
Sammy learned how to slice mushrooms this week!
Cooking up those mushrooms. Photo credit: Amaya
In fact, now that SSA have iPods, it’s not unusual for the kids to text me all sorts of photos. This one came from Amaya during my workday on Friday.
This one today, showing me a sandwhich she drew.
On the subject of art, Amaya wanted to draw Bob Ross. But she didn’t wanted to draw a male version. Here is her interpretation. I love it!
Sammy drew this awesome dragon.
There was no school on Friday as teachers prepped for 2nd semester changes – which are more extensive than usual as some kids return to in-person learning. With extra downtime, came extra Switch time.
Amaya was after Sammy’s Pogo Jumper. Steven came to his rescue and, ultimately, Amaya decided to buy one with her own money.
We had a very, very lazy weekend at home. It was great. We even decided to put away Ticket to Ride, midgame, and finish another day.
Amaya demonstrating Feats of Strength.
If you need someone to chop, slice or dice green onions for you – Amaya is the girl to call. Not an green onion ends up in a Cline recipe without Amaya’s chopping skills. (Better than Gordon Ramsey!)
Our favorite breakfast days are sushi mornings. Steven even made a point to leave some of his dinner for today so he could have sushi for breakfast.
Sunday night was rough – especially for Amaya and Steven. Amaya cried herself to sleep, staring at a picture of Charlie. It was heartbreaking to see but, as hard as leaving was, we were all so glad to visit.
Early Monday it was back to the airport. As always, Steven was drawn to the airport map. We left from JFK and out gate was as far away from security as it could be. I can remember coming into that gate one, years ago, when I was traveling alone with the kids. We got in late and no one wanted to walk so I pushed the double stroller and carried Steven – along with all of our bags – for what seemed like forever.
Sammy, king of the moving walkway.
This trip was another first – two of the kids sat in a row behind me instead of next to me. We’ve come so far and grown so much. Seat assignments still included m&m bribes but SSA are truly such capable travelers.
Where’s Steven?
Back home with Daddy!
On Tuesday, Gabby celebrated the kids’ birthday with them. Such a special treat, with gifts that truly speak to each of their interests.
Wednesday morning – January 20th! We have SEVEN year olds!
Steven, Sammy and Amaya each got to open a present before school. Sammy got his long coveted Mario Kart game and controller, Steven got a Nintendo Switch and Amaya got an iPod Touch – exactly what they were hoping for. 🙂
Digital kids.
Penni took this awesome picture of me with my three sweet babies. <3
The kids also wanted to be sure to get an annual birthday photo in front of the fire place. Amaya tried to get a little closer to Sammy but this was the staging he preferred. 🙂
School day fun-time with Penni.
Our BirthDAY treat for Steven, Sammy and Amaya was late-afternoon dining in an Igloo at Deadwood Grill. It was awesome. We had a two hour time slot. The Igloo was warm, clean and came with a bluetooth speaker. It was so nice to eat out together after so long and the novelty of the environment added to the experience. Plus, Jason and I left work early and the kids got to skip their last class of the day.
Steven, watching a train go by.
Present time came with a BIG surprise for the kids. We surprised Amaya with her own Switch and Steven & Sammy with their own iPods.
Amaya’s reaction was perfect, priceless and totally genuine.
Happy Birthday!!! I absolutely can’t believe seven years have past but here we are, the luckiest parents with absolutely incredible kids.
On Thursday SSA made the most of the snow we had left, rolling some huge snowballs. (It’s snowing right now, too, and the Brothers got some nice time out in the snow earlier today between time playing Animal Crossing and Minecraft.)
On Friday, Jason and I celebrated TEN years of marriage. What an incredible ride it’s been. <3 To celebrate we took the day off work together and hung around, binging Master Chef.
Speaking of Master Chef, our stand mixer arrived so Sammy picked a recipe from his Master Chef Junior cookbook to make this weekend – Chocolate Lava Cake. I’m pretty excited to have a stand mixer and move past all of the improvising we’ve done up till now.
Amaya’s female spin on Pete the Cat.
Amaya and Sammy made Jason breakfast on Saturday morning. Here he is, contemplating the masterpiece in front of him.
A priority for the weekend was learning how to play Animal Crossing. We checked that off the list and, today, figured out how to visit each others’ islands.
Brothers, helping brothers
Steven, showing his Daddy how he plays Super Mario Odyssey. (I swear we have screen time limits but they’re primarily enforced on weekdays. We go more with our gut and the flow of the day on weekends.)
After Zoom Hebrew School, where the focus was Tu B’Shevat (think, Arbor Day for Israel), the kids planted some parsley which will hopefully grow in time for Passover in late March.
Steven was excited to do a craft he saw on Crafty Carol this morning. “I’ve been waiting to do this since 5:57!” The project was crafting a jet pack and, even though we didn’t have all of the necessary supplies, Steven came up with alternatives to get the job done.
We had our first Cline meet-up on my Animal Crossing island. <3
As I mentioned, Sammy wanted to make chocolate lava cakes so that was our afternoon activity. The insides gushed chocolate just liked we hoped!
And, before dinner, Steven and I took an impromptu nap together. I can’t think of the last time I napped with one of the kids. I love this.
That’s it for us, from the Land of 7 Year Olds! Have a great week!
I think my favorite part of Sammy’s are the exclamation points, especially after Sammy’s name. He’s Sammy!, for sure!
Topic: Favorite Season
My Opinion: The best season is summer. (Steven picked winter.)
Reasons: You can go to a pool. Go to a beach. Hot weather.
I’m convinced, Sammy!
Steven has a different opinion than Sammy. His favorite season is winter. Steven likes winter because:
My birthday is in winter
Driving through pretty lights
Collecting ice
Conclusion: I love winter so much
I have been hard at work, wrapping and wrapping birthday gifts. Can’t talk about them yet, though, because Steven, Sammy and Amaya are going to read this with me before January 20th.
Steven asked for a Nintendo Switch and took Sammy’s box, which we still have, to measure against the gifts to see if one is the right size lol.
After work one day I found SSA cuddled up on the couch with Slothy (and Sammy’s Whammy Puppy) playing the sweetest games together, and singing original songs about Slothy. What a truly amazing experience to grow up together.
Until we dig a lake, new remote control boats need a test drive in our bath tub. Still fun!
Amaya wanted to be sure that Slothy can travel safely to NY so Slothy tested out a mask. 🙂
How I (sometimes) roll… business on top, lazy Sunday on the bottom.
The kids are working on their first 300 piece puzzle – a prize that Sammy picked out. If we were willing to leave it out until they finish, I actually think they’d work through it pretty quickly.
The cooking skill of the week was slicing apples. Definitely a “supervision required” activity but Sammy did a great job!
Bedtime snuggles <3
On Wednesday night I got some snuggles with my Bubba.
The Clines! <3 <3 <3
Bedtime book selfies! Every night a different Cline kid gets to pick our bedtime story. Whoever’s turn it is also gets to sit on my lap for the book. This night, Steven chose “Bear Snores On.” A classic favorite. (I always hear this book in Aunt Ouize’s voice.)
We are still all about magnatiles in the house. The deal the kids and I made is that we’ll put their creations away every night but SSA first get to take photos as memories.
On Friday afternoon the kids and I both took half days off work/school and headed to the airport for a pre-birthday weekend in NY! I was so worried COVID would interfere with this trip but, in the end, it enabled the trip because we were able to safely stay with the Goldbergs for the weekend.
Slothy and her mask. 🙂
These kids have it down.
We were so excited to see Aunt Sara at La Guardia!
Charlie worked incredibly hard to get the house ready for three birthday kids. Streamers and banners everywhere – plus crowns, necklaces, lollipops and a pinata. Amazing!
Cousin dinner
Uncle Dave and Slothy – fast friends!
One of the best sight’s I’ve ever seen. <3
Before bed, Charlie read the kids some chapters from a Junie B Jones book. Steven loves Junie B Jones!
Post-breakfast lollipops, compliments of Charlie.
Late morning, Nana, Papa and Savta came to spend time with us.
Hi Papa!
I know I said something else was the best but this is truly the best.
Another birthday special treat was silly string – which led to silly string wars.
SSA, Chase and Charlie spent ages on the trampoline. Steven and Chase were the last two standing, with nearly an hour of jumping time. The trampoline is definitely a bonus perk of our visits.
Some TV down time
Savta and Sammy always find their time together.
Pinata time! It took more than 15 minutes to break the pinata and it was calling in the big guns – Chase and Charlie – that finally did the trick.
In the afternoon, we went to Levy Park in Merrick to climb the “mountain”, see the views, and check out the dock. We walked 2.25 miles and had a great time together.
Two really pretty pictures that Nana took.
Steven, Amaya and Charlie played an “office” game which involved interviewing the adults for a job as Charlie’s assistant. “I hear you’re looking for a new job. Why do you want a new job.”
This interview notice was delivered to Aunt Sara by Amaya.
She got such a kick out of interviewing us.
Sunday was the official birthday celebration day. (Though, truthfully, it spanned the weekend.) On Saturday night, the birthday message was delivered and set up on Aunt Sara and Uncle Dave’s yard. I might love it even more than the kids do. 🙂
Sara, Dave and I checked it out after the kids were in bed.
The (almost) birthday kids! SEVEN. I mean, how? HOW?
The birthday kids with their birthday message. It was cold this morning.
Sammy noticed the puppy right away.
Birthday cupcakes! Jojo for Amaya. Lego for Steven. Mario & friends for Sammy.
Amaya and Papa cuddles.
Nana, staying diligent.
Gin Rummy with Nana and Chase/Sara. Steven was sad that I didn’t win.
Art for Savta
Storytelling with Savta
Happy Birthday, Steven, Sammy & Amaya!
Another hour on the trampoline!
Auntie and Dod Shuki came to celebrate with us, too. <3
Sammy was gifted a Scruff-a-luv which he’s tending to with Charlie.
Steven is working on a new Minecraft pirate lego set. (Amaya has a Jojo themed Caboodle for her make-up.)
It was a phenomenal visit. Now we’re ready to head home in the morning and celebrate Steven, Sammy and Amaya’s 7th birthday on Wednesday!
We’ve entered the age of devices in the Land of Cheltenham. In the mornings, Sammy has his Switch. Amaya or Steven ask for one of my phones for messenger kids or minecraft and, whoever doesn’t have my phone, generally asks to use my Switch. (“Switch Lite, mom”, say SSA.)
Here, Sammy and I are playing 2-player Super Mario Odyssey. <3 (photo credit: Steven)
Our housekeeper came on Monday so the return to normal also came with a day of school in the basement.
Movement break!
We’ve entered month 4 of our outdoor hours tracking. December definitely got a boost from our trip to FL. (November is a bit short because we didn’t start until 11/8 and the early part of November was beautiful.) So far, I’m not bothered by the cold weather but that could be because I don’t go anywhere. No freezing car to drive at the end of a work day. 🙂
The kids all made New Year’s resolutions at school. Amaya’s is to eat an apple everyday. Sammy’s is to play two board games every Saturday. Steven’s is to play with magnatiles every weekend.
When Amaya’s stuffie Slothie talks to Jason, she calls him “Papa”. Amaya drew this picture of Slothy free hand. Just the sweetest.
While I was working on Monday afternoon, the kids came rushing in. “Mommy! Quick! Sammy is showing Sally to our class!” It was so cute and, fortunately, I wasn’t in a meeting at the time.
The kids got thank you cards from their teacher and I loved hearing Steven read his. Reading opens up a whole new world.
On Tuesday SSA had show and tell. Sammy brought puppy, Steven brought his big inflatable shark and Amaya brought Slothy.
Now that the playroom is clean and clear, the kids can actually play in there! A 20201 miracle.
Oh, this picture. I’m including this in the spirit of recording real life with the kids because maybe, someday, they’ll like having a picture of their mom with a shirt on her head. (Plopping my curls.) Steven was scared to go to sleep so he settled in with me and fell asleep while I drank wine and watched TV.
In Wednesday’s early hours, Amaya lost her 2nd tooth! Two in the course of a week. She said she likes losing them but doesn’t like how it looks. Steven’s big tooth is already almost fully in. Sammy’s too. I forgot that the gaps don’t last that long.
Another parent night for Steven. This time the tv was on while he was still awake so a big pillow blocked his view and gave him the perfect propping spot for his printed picture book so he could see his mommy’s face as he drifted off. <3
Some art! This week we have Forky, from Toy Story. First is Sammy’s followed by Amaya’s drawing.
Sally has, remarkably, turned into a very patient cat. She sat for a good while on Friday night while the kids had their lovies and stuffies pet her.
Steven has been interested in building a Lego pirate ship for some time – not from a set, but on our own – so, on Saturday morning, we spent about an hour and a half building together.
Lots and lots of Legos.
My pirate ship building buddy.
On Saturday afternoon, while Sammy watched Master Chef with Jason and Amaya played Link’s Awakening, Steven played Minecraft with four school friends. It’s very interesting for me to observe the chaos of 5 six year old boys trying to play a video game together, remotely.
We were back to the fort playground on both Saturday and Sunday. I’ve noticed that almost all of the families at this particular playground are in masks. It’s such routine for SSA at this point that I think they’d feel odd without a mask on when they’re out of the house.
More master chef and Nintendo time.
My two girls.
When you’re a Cline kid, you eat sushi for breakfast. 🙂
It’s Sunday, not Saturday, but we fulfilled Sammy’s resolution with two board games today – Catan Jr. and Ticket to Ride. Amaya was the Catan Jr. winner. I was the overall Ticket to Ride winner and Steven was our kid winner.
Back to the playground for another hour of fun.
Tonight Amaya and I made a dinner recipe she picked out from her cookbook and then Jason and Sammy made us a delicious dessert.
“Send this to Penni and ask if she made this because she has the same cookbook.”
Amaya was annoyed at me at this point in the process. We don’t remember why.
The Queen of Ice Cream and her baby, Slothy, got busy on Monday with some Lego sets. A multi-tasking woman of many talents. 🙂
The kids spent some time on Monday using stencils to paint canvases that I had in the house.
Penni had taken a picture of Amaya but she said, “Wait, I wasn’t ready. Take another one.” The kids definitely have this blog top of mind when we’re taking (many) photos during the week.
We had a Raddish Kids recipe we hadn’t made yet so, on Monday night while Steven played with Legos, Sammy, Amaya and I made Alpine Pancakes. Delicious. We made the batter from scratch and it included rolled oats. The kit also came with shapes for creative pancakes.
Steven has this glow-in-the-dark mobile kit that he worked on for a while on Tuesday. “I’m going to paint Jupe now,” he said.
Sammy still looooooooves slime and, fortunately, he also still has a slime kit.
Checking it out, and sharing, with Amaya.
The hill in our yard continues to prove itself useful. It doesn’t take a lot of snow to get going and the kids can play outside on their own, which is great. It’s going to come in handy the rest of the winter while we remain (mostly) stuck at home.
On Wednesday afternoon, Sammy had his first Minecraft play date. He and his friend Ruxin met up on FaceTime and played Minecraft together in Ruxin’s realm. It went really well. They stayed on for 2.5 hours! I’m glad there’s a way for the kids to be social when they can’t be physically present with their friends for play dates. (On Saturday, Steven had his own Minecraft play date with Ruxin and their friend Quinn.)
The kids have digital watches from Vtech and one of these features is a “Silly Meter”. You take a picture of someone and it tells you have silly they are. Amaya was working the system to increase her points lol.
I worked a half day on Thursday and then was off. (Jason was off on Wednesday and Thursday.) After I finished for the day I got some amazing cuddles from SSA. <3
It was warm enough on Thursday afternoon, and sunny, so Steven, Sammy, Amaya and I went to a playground where the played for an hour or so. It was quiet there and I had a parking spot right in front of the playground entrance so I sat in my warm car, with the window cracked, while the kids played. It was amazing to be able to do that!
Home in time for a New Year’s Eve dinner which included crab legs for Mommy and Sammy.
We decided the kids could try to stay up until midnight and, after dinner, we still had 5.5 hours to go. We kicked off our night watching Soul – which was a bigger hit for the adults than the kids. I got in some great cuddles, though.
Ready for 2021! I know the big theme of New Year’s was leaving 2020 behind us but we had a lot of wonderful moments in 2020. Steven, Sammy and Amaya finished Kindergarten. They started first grade and are doing so well with school from home.
We kicked off 2020 in NY and had another trip over President’s Day weekend, oblivious, to what was to come. We did our best to see family with outdoor visits with Grandma Sunshine and Aunt Annette and, by August, made it back to NY with two week long visits – one in Aug and one in October.
Amaya passed her deep end test at the JCC pool and the boys made tremendous progress in swim lessons at Aqua Tots. We also had a fantastic trip to FL in December. Plus, the year was full of family time – cooking, games, cuddling – and that counts for a lot.
So while the pandemic was rough, and still is, 2020 was still full of a lot of amazing memories.
Then and now!
A tired fying squirrel playing Super Mario Party.
Steven was the first one down, just after 10:30pm. Amaya watched NYE coverage and rubbed his back.
Shortly before 11am we carried a sleeping Steven upstairs and settled in. Sammy was out about 5 minutes later. Amaya fought the good fight and fell asleep at 11:35pm. So close!
Jason and I promised the kids we’d try to wake them if they fell asleep before midnight. At about 10 to 12 we tried out best. We tried really hard. But these kids were not going to wake up for anything.
I’ve watched this video at least 10 times now.
Happy New Year!
The 1st was a pretty quiet day. Queen Amaya, Sammy and I made some yummy chipotle bbq chicken for dinner, with cheesy cauliflower. Definitely something I’d repeat.
Sammy is not the only one with a Switch. I have a Switch Lite (as the kids would want me to clarify) and, on Friday, I beat Link’s Awakening. Playing a Legend of Zelda game takes me right back to 1988. It was awesome.
We woke up on Saturday to a dusting of snow that iced over a bit – perfect for sledding. Amaya headed out on her own for a while before we convinced her brothers to join her. The first outdoor hour of 2021!
Amaya had a tooth hanging on by a thread and I wanted one last picture of her with all of her baby teeth. It’s so bitter sweet for me.
All my kids together!
With so much downtime, there has been a lot of gaming over break. Here we have Amaya on my Switch, Steven playing minecraft on one of my phones and Sammy on his Switch. Right now, as I type this, Steven is playing on my Switch and Amaya and Sammy are both in a classmate’s Minecraft realm.
At Steven’s request, we played Catan Junior. Amaya was our winner this game.
It’s also been a weekend of magnatiles. With the cleaned-up playroom, it’s easier than ever for the kids to play with their best toys.
While I was making dinner, Amaya pulled out her tooth! She was sitting on the couch with Jason and just pulled it out! Our girl. <3
The center bottom tooth next to the one she lost is loose, too, so I think Amaya will be the last to loose a first tooth and the first to lose a second tooth!
Tooth fairy pillow! We have one believer (Steven), one non-believer (Amaya) and one on the fence (Sammy).
We woke up to more snow today. It wasn’t good sledding snow but the kids were able to make snowballs and snow people.
Snowlady!
“Mountain Man”
A new Raddish kids kit arrived so we made homemade ravioli. It was more work than I expected! The dough was dense but Amaya and Steven both said they liked it a lot – and Amaya doesn’t usually enjoy ravioli. I’ll call it a win for the experience and the first-try outcome.
Steven, Amaya and I found the energy to also make a delicious dinner. Amaya took pont on the green onion, as she often does, and Steven was on celery duty.
We wrapped up our weekend with a family game of Carcasonne. Steven was our winner today.
And Sally joined us for family dinner! Sweet girl. <3
Tomorrow it’s back to our regular routine which is always jarring for me. It’s been a great break, though. Happy New Year!
