Food, Princesses, and Splashing

I haven't posted a menu in a while, so we'll start there. Cora assisted me in my shopping today while the kids helped JP with yard work (Claire graciously volunteered to shop with me, but JP and Landon were not having it and off she went with a giant dust pan to scoop up the leaves Landon sweeps into piles on the walkways and patio).

It was Cora's first time in the big baby seat and she was VERY excited. There was much squealing and pumping of legs and "holding" of mommy's list.

I swear I'd put her in my purse and take her everywhere I go if I could. I think she'd be a real value-add in my settlement meeting tomorrow and testimony on Wednesday.

I actually had testimony last Friday and the night before it, JP and I went to bed too late, as always, at 11:55 p.m. At exactly 11:58 p.m. he jumped out of bed to throw up, and remained in that mode until nearly 4 a.m. I stayed awake the whole time in solidarity and noise/light sleep sensitivity. He finally passed out and then I finally passed out and then Cora started crying 80 minutes later. I soothed her, stumbled back in bed, and woke up 25 minutes later to get ready for work. It was rough. But the point of this little paragraph was to say that, while doing better, JP is still not very into food so we should have leftovers for the first time ever. This week's menu relies on it:

Sunday: penne with vodka cream sauce; garlic bread
Monday: caprese quinoa (I'm making it up with quinoa, grilled diced balsamic chicken, cut cherry tomatoes, tiny balls of fresh mozzerella, fresh basil, balsamic, olive oil, and salt and pepper)
Tuesday: leftover penne with vodka cream sauce
Wednesday: Greek pasta salad (cold cooked penne and this salad with double the dressing)
Thursday: Greek pizzas (naan broiled with feta and mozzarella and kalamatas) and leftover pasta salad

In other happenings, I read an article about the importance of reading to children and thought somewhat smugly, "Check! We're really good about reading!" And then I remembered we had a third child, and right after she was born we shifted to having our oldest child read to our middle child while we cared for this youngest child and then the new division of labor kind of stuck and oh my god our 7 month old has only been read to like a dozen times. So we got right on fixing that. Cora was all, what is this "book" you are referring to?

Oh you're reading words? Out loud? That have some rhyme and rhythm? This is so nice! Let's do this again.

Also happening this weekend, Queen Elsa Claire went to a princess birthday party.

Cora came too.

And like any good third baby, she partied hard and took a nap where she could get it.

JP took Landon to another swim meet over an hour away where he dropped time and won both events again! It is so fun watching him succeed in a sport, especially one I actually understand.

Today there was more swimming, but of the non-competitive variety.

And we found a new outdoor pen for Cora: pack 'n play + toys + mosquito netting leftover from a long ago camping trip. I thought she'd hate it, but she happily crawled around and squealed inside it the whole time L & C swam. And after all the giant mosquito bites she's gotten in the last few nights, including one on her beautiful bald head, she's going to be spending more time in her outdoor bug pen. When Landon saw it he exclaimed, "Mom, it's like a princess bed!" Sure, just like.

There was a LOT of swimming/choreographed jumping.

It is so fun having a water-safe, water-confident, able-to-jump-and-swim-and-play-like-a-pro-while-mommy-sits-on-the-patio-in-the-shade-and-reads-a-book Clairebear.

I hit the lowest weight I've ever healthfully been on Friday and felt so good and strong and did extra yoga before bed (still LOVING yogadownload.com) and woke up feeling amazing, and then I didn't get to go to barre once this weekend and found myself eating an alarming amount of pizza and pasta and skittles. Barre makes me eat less and better and that is only part of its magical powers.

We took family pictures this morning and I'm anxiously awaiting our proofs in a few weeks. It was supposed to be mainly about the kids, but I decided at the last minute that JP and I should be in a few of them, so I found two somewhat complimentary outfits in our closet this morning and my hair was terrible and it was so hot and sticky outside and I'm 99% sure I'm going to hate any picture I am in. But the kids looked amazing. I loved their outfits more than any outfits I've ever found for pictures and they were very cooperative despite the heat and 60 minutes of "smile!" they were forced to endure. A few good portraits of the big kids at their new ages (we never got pics of them at 6 and 3) and some personality-filled shots of Cora (she's changed so much since her newborn shoot!) are all I wanted, and I think I'll be happy there, but I'm secretly hoping photoshop can change everything about my hair and sweaty red face so I can love the pictures I'm in too.

And now to bed. This week is going to be crazy at work and then it's off to Gruene, Texas on Friday for my sister's wedding weekend! Prepare for some adorable pictures of a flower girl, ring bearer, and Cora in a dress with pink chiffon. There's also going to be a margarita machine. I can't wait!