Weekend Al Fresco

Now that I'm not on vacation and or home all day dying of the flu, the blog posts have slowed down again.

Actually, the real reason is because I discovered Season 3 of Orphan Black is available on Amazon Prime and we've been watching 3 shows a night to devour it as quickly as possible so I can get back to complaining about having nothing to watch (after doing the same with Season 4 of House of Cards- very good by the way, the first season to come even close to the glories of season 1), particularly now that I'm finally going to stop hate watching and recording The Walking Dead because omg that is the worst written show in the history of shows and it's finally fallen so low (THAT FINALE!) I can't even watch it just to see how they find a new camera angle to shoot zombies eating viscera. We're halfway through season 2 of Daredevil and it's pretty good, but not as strong as Season 1 (clearly, since we didn't think twice about interrupting it to binge on Orphan Black, which is just a Tatiana Maslany love fest- oh my GOD is she an amazing actress. Season 3 hasn't been quite as strong as 1 and 2, at least not until these last few episodes at the end, but I will watch her switch between versions of herself for hours because she blows my mind.).

That was a long intro- I need to do a post on TV- but first, the weekend! This time around it was fever free and so much more fun!

It started with my return to the barre on Saturday. I tried to take it easy, pausing a lot to check form and not even trying to do most of the workout, but I still regressed to my throat-closing-blacking-out thing that happened the first time I ever taught. I think it has to do with talking out loud while exercising and forgetting to take deep breaths. So I remembered and it got better, and it actually felt wonderful to be back in the studio, but it was crazy how far I felt like I'd fallen in my endurance and lung capacity.

I spent the afternoon lounging on the couch bothering James while he was trying to get work done, which reminded both of us very much of college (he was very studious and diligent, I was more of a skim the chapters the night before the test girl), and enjoying listening in on the kids and their games.

The weather was beautiful I googled my way to a new restaurant on the Trinity River that promised an outdoor patio and play yard, fabulous burgers (goat cheese and bacon jam! glorious!), and what turned out to be a new entry for my Top Five list of favorite french fries (there's so rarely a shakeup at the top, it was quite exciting). Plus an adult beverage I don't remember the name of, but involved mint leaves and watermelon lemonade and something fizzy and maybe gin? It was delicious and pink and I loved it.

The kids ran around in the play yard area, James and I lounged in the shade, and we capped the whole thing off with a family trip to Target because it just felt right. And we decided we needed more patio furniture to go with our newly refurbished patios.

actually a picture of old chairs because the chaise lounges I want are still out of stock,
but doesn't the deck look nice?

On Sunday everyone slept in and I ran off to Orangetheory because I'm trying to use up the 4 classes/month pass I bought before I went on an 8-day road trip and got the flu. I did pretty well during the weights and then felt my flu recovery on the running, but I was good and didn't let ego win- lowering the treadmill speed to a walk on the slower intervals and generally not killing myself. I felt very adult and responsible.

The kids had a birthday party at a bounce house place, so I changed and met everyone there. Cora, after yelling at the bounce houses at our last party, has now decided they are the great love of her life and bounced her heart out, totally holding her own with kids twice her size. When we got home the kids all played outside (we're there! we're finally at the "hey kids go outside and play while I make lunch" phase with all THREE of them! everyone in our house is so delighted by this, particularly Cora. and me.) and Cora bounced on our mini trampoline one million times, ate her lunch, asked to go night night, and then took a 4.5 hour nap until we finally woke her up because we missed her and wanted her to play outside with us before dinner.

And oh that was the best part of the whole weekend. I'd run a few errands during the endless nap time and decided I needed to make a pitcher of white sangria because a character in a book I'm reading had made some for a dinner party and it sounded delicious. I googled a recipe, ran into Sprouts to grab the necessary fruits, and made a pitcher just for me when I got home. I love being a grown up.

The kids played an intense game of four-square (three-square?) with James. Cora rode her bike and flung herself down the slide on repeat. I turned on music. The weather was so spectacularly beautiful.

I floated between everyone, enjoying my beverage, singing to my music, lounging in our new patio chairs and just generally feeling like everything in my life has led me to this exact moment- a perfect afternoon and evening with my kids, all of whom can play independently with each other and yet still love playing with us. We grilled out Italian chicken breasts and veggies, with a simple herb pasta and french bread and brownies with chocolate frosting for dessert.

It is so nice to not have the flu. It will be a long time before I take a 98.6 degree temperature for granted again.