I Completely Forgot to Title This

Hellooo from Tuesday night! So far we've watched 3 minutes of the RNC before switching over to Peaky Blinders on Netflix. We just finished Season 1 and it is SO. GOOD. Highly recommend. It's much more soothing to get mired in the exploits of a "Romani gangster family" known for wearing razor blades in the bills of their caps in Birmingham, England in the aftermath of World War I than to dwell on the fact that there's an actual chance Donald Trump could be our next president (#imwithher). Go vote everyone, go vote. And while you wait to do that, try out Peaky Blinders. It's really, really good. (I mean, watch Orphan Black first if you haven't yet, but if you're like us and between series because show runners forget people watch TV in the summer, this is a good option).

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So our weekend left off with me going to bed at 1 a.m. the morning of our big Regional swim meet. Because Claire's session wasn't until the afternoon, and 2/3 of Landon's events are at the very end of his session, we decided the boys would head out first and the girls and I would meet them midway through the morning. Sleeping in sounded wonderful, particularly when insomnia plagued me yet again, except Claire ran into my room in a full panic at 6:50 a.m. yelling, "mom! mom! Landon is missing and I can't find him ANYWHERE!".

She wasn't at all concerned that James was missing too. Nor did she remember that we told her the boys would be gone before she woke up. It was a little endearing that she was so concerned about his whereabouts, and it also gave me insight into just how early they sometimes wake up and how long they hang out together before Cora or us wake up, but after about 4 hours of sleep on my end, I wasn't feeling reflective. So the girls and I were up early and once I drank a gallon of tea, it was fun to just be with them.

We pulled out of the driveway, blasting the Frozen soundtrack and pumped for the meet. And then I-35 was shut done and since I never leave my bubble of Fort Worth I didn't know how to get out of the traffic snarl and it took us 90 minutes for a drive that should have been 40, so that was fun, but the meet went well. Long with the two sessions but the big kids dropped time in all their events and both made state! Landon won his 50 free and 100 IM and got 2nd in the 25 fly. Claire got 4th in the 25 back and 5th in her 25 free.

James won everything while still swimming against medical advice. His foot still looks terrible and he isn't allowed to complain about it. We aren't going to state this year- it's in McAllen Texas which is 500 miles south of us and basically in Mexico. So we're just proud to have qualified, thankful for a great and fun swim season, and looking forward to next year.

Landon continued his obsessive rainbow-looming (can I really call it that when he doesn't use the loom? it's just brightly colored bracelet making) and drummed up quite a side business selling custom creations to swimmers at the meet. Claire had a blast playing shopkins (I still haven't figured out how one "plays' shopkins) and cards with her friends and then waving like crazy to the stands from the pool deck.

The best part of the whole meet was the scream of joy Cora gave when we came down the stairs after Claire's last event and she was coming up to meet us from the pool deck and the sisters were reunited after being apart for TENS AND TENS OF MINUTES.

There is so much love there.

After 11 hour swim meet we had swim meet friends over to swim, as one does. The adults enjoyed beverages and everyone enjoyed Landon's leftover carrot cake and cookie cake. It was a perfect cap to a really fun season.

On Sunday I got to teach barre for the first time in FOREVER and it felt SO GOOD. Sweaty, heart-pounding, yelling over the music, muscle shaking, kicking it to Michael Jackson kind of good. Then I spent the next few hours making 5 lbs. of vegetable lasagna that tasted as good as barre felt. And after endless hours of me getting in the pool at night so Cora can swim to me after she jumps (and now dives!) into the pool over and over and OVER again, Cora finally got her first swim lesson with daddy in several weeks! I think we can get her on the team next year- the heat sheet does say "6 & under."

Tiny Swimmer from Lag Liv on Vimeo.

[I also found out I'm allergic to the waterproof mascara I wore to the meet on Saturday so that was pink puffy eyed fun by Saturday night! I looked like a zombie on Sunday, but a zombie doing passe-kicks to "The Way You Make Me Feel" and everyone was too sweaty and busy to notice I might be a paranormal creature with pink eye. Fun!]

This week is busy at work. James is pushing ahead with as many lessons as possible as he faces the imminent demise of his swim school at the end of August. The big kids are in a science camp that is proving "very awesome" and Cora continues to be delighted by her new preschool/daycare. James usually drops her off and he told me the other day that when they arrive, Cora's little class is usually combined with the one next door for morning snack. So they go into her classroom and she places her lunch and nap blankie in their spots, and then she stands in the doorway between the classrooms, squares her shoulders, spins to present her chest, and waits... brimming with confidence, she waits with a smile on her face, knowing that any moment now there will be an exclamation of "It's Cora!!" and then she'll run in to give her teacher a hug. I loved it as he told it to me last night, and then this morning when our schedules got messed up and I needed to drop her off I loved it even more when I got to witness it in person. What a glorious way to start your day- waiting for your entrance to be called, just knowing your people are going to be DELIGHTED to see you.

Our menu for the week:

Sunday: my sister's amazing vegetable lasagna, garlic bread

Monday: pesto chicken salad sandwiches, chips, fruit

Tuesday: brisket enchiladas (leftover brisket + some shredded cheese, rolled up in tortillas, smear some sour cream on top, add a bit more shredded cheese, and bake at 375 for 20-30 mins; also awesome with leftover bbq pulled chicken or pork), black refried beans, cauliflower mexican rice

Wednesday: crockpot chicken taco stew, assorted toppings

Thursday: meatloaf, roasted potatoes and carrots

Friday: pesto with gnocchi, fresh mozzarella, cherry tomatoes (have I written about this? Trader Joe's gnocchi- 3 packages because we eat our weight in carbs, a bunch of pesto (Costco's is quite good), halved little mozzarella balls, halved cherry tomatoes - toss and serve! takes literally 5 minutes once you get the water boiling; it's a summer family favorite)

Saturday: no swim meet, so we're going to Costco! (could that be a more suburban-mom thing to say?), so something from the fresh fish or beef cases that looks good, fresh veggie sides, and a big loaf of bread with butter; wine.

My grandparents will be with us tomorrow night as they stopover on their way up to Wisconsin. I'm allegedly going to Orangetheory tomorrow morning, but oy it's late and it already hurts to think about. I did OTF on Monday, was lazy today, and will do yoga Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. Plus I teach barre Thursday night and Saturday afternoon. I write my workout schedule for the week right next to the meal plan in the same chart; it helps me visualize it and stick to it because each piece fits within our overall schedule like a puzzle and to miss one is to not get it back. Like when it's 11:34 p.m. on Tuesday night and 6 a.m. seems so soon but you know because of the chart there isn't another morning you can do OTF this week, so you force yourself to press "publish" and go back your work clothes in your gym bag for the morning. Ugh. If only writing "sleep" on a schedule chart was so mystically effective. Night all!