Unicorns Riding PlasmaCars

I started typing a post like 3 times this week but it was super busy and weird and I worked out a ton because I didn't want to waste any Orangetheory or ClassPass credits even though we'll be gone for 7 days of the month and then I subbed barre twice Thursday night (5:30 and 7:00 p.m.) and then again Friday morning (8:30 a.m.) so then I mostly just wanted to sit in a scalding hot bath with an old Ilona Andrews book on my kindle in one hand and a giant glass of wine in my other even though I'm not supposed to because I have probably-psoriasis.

Hi.

And then yesterday was the one day all year when I'm off work but the kids are in school and I wanted to do SO MUCH with my 7 hours that I was nearly paralyzed in indecision. Do I do all the things because I can? Or NOTHING because I could do that too? I tried a hybrid- I taught barre, went to the post office, treated myself to a Starbucks, came home to change clothes and switch a load of laundry, did a meandering unnecessary stop at TJ Maxx for an adorable pink cowl neck sweater tunic and my first ever vest that was so soft and adorable I wore it all around the store up until the checkout and the woman was like, do you want that? and I said in a very surprised voice, yes!. I wore that to Homegoods where I fell in love with a chair I DEEPLY regret not buying, then drove to Trader Joe's for a few final groceries for our trip and to feed our hungry horde for our last 24 hours here, then home again for a overly delayed lunch that gave me a headache followed by 90 minutes of West Wing watching and couch internet time, then picking up the kids because 3:00 comes WAY TOO EARLY, then Target because that's an errand they can join me on, then Bed Bath and Beyond because it's nearby and the kids were inexplicably fascinated by the whole store, then to Montessori to get Cora and then home to start packing and making pizza dough from scratch because WTF not. I'm not sure if I actually won my day off, but I certainly got a lot out of it.

The chair that should be in my living room

Here's a pic of the Pesto Pepperoni Pizza Rolls I took to torture my mom who loves a good carb + cheese offering.

They're kind of a pain, but SUPER delicious. And perfect when you're going out of town but have a quarter package of pepperoni, the dregs of a Costco container of pesto, and half a bag of mozzarella cheese left in your fridge.

After the kids were in bed we got the table ready to celebrate Cora's birthday in the morning since we're leaving at 6 a.m. on her real birthday. We had her friend party last weekend, but family gifts and our traditional birthday donuts (and the birthday pig!) were queued up to be enjoyed first thing today, along with this magnificent unicorn Rody horse riding a PlasmaCar.

[I started typing this post on Tuesday night and have tried to publish it each night since; I have to keep going back and changing the references to "today" or "tomorrow" and it's messing with my verb tenses, so that's why this is a bit of a mess. The paragraph is from Friday night.]

Speaking of things Cora will be very excited about, I can't believe that after a 315 day countdown, my little phone app now says 1 day to Disney. The kids still don't know many details, which is exactly how I plan to leave it. They're pumped but vague and currently quite focused on the plane ride and going to a Christmas party. I did have to correct Cora on a few things- like the fact we will be returning to our house after 6 days and not "staying at Disney forever." "This house?" she replied skeptically, looking around the living room and judging it harshly. "Yes, this house." I told her firmly. And now she'll have a pet unicorn and new mode of transportation to come back to. But the trip is going to be a blast and the me of 5 years ago would NOT BELIEVE how excited I am about it. Then again, the me of 5 years ago didn't know I wanted a 3rd baby and that was the greatest decision of all time, so 2012-me still had some evolving to do.

So on to today. We did in fact start by celebrating our sweet little CoraBunny. I cannot believe that my tiny cuddly baby is turning 4 but I'm too distracted by Disney to be upset about it. Almost.

We did our traditional birthday donut run, Cora in full style as always.

Birthday pig candles were blown out and presents were opened.

She loved everything.

Anna boots, a Rapunzel playhouse full of tiny pieces from Uncle Eric, several pairs of princess shoes to replace the ones she's grown out of and/or literally worn through the soles, three new princess dresses, a magnificent butterfly barbie from Tia, and a very awesome cape (and the unicorn and a snazzy outfit) from my parents.

One of my favorite things, besides how much Cora loved everything she got, was how much Landon and Claire loved everything she got.

Particularly Landon. Whenever anyone else is excited about something, Landon is all in on being excited with them.

Barbies, Cinderella necklaces, and tiny Rapunzel doll houses. When he knows you'll love it, he's there for that.

He spent much of the afternoon wearing Cora's new cape and driving her PlasmaCar, but sadly I failed to get a picture. Possibly because I spent 27 hours of the afternoon packing for our trip.

My alarm is set for 5:15 a.m.. which is less than 6 hours from now. The magic bands are in my purse, our Disney apps are on our phones, and Cora's surprise Aurora dress is secreted away in our carry-on for our afternoon pre-Christmas party stop at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique for a birthday salon appointment. It's going to be a fabulous few days ahead!

P.S. Cora named her bouncy unicorn "Sketti." Apparently like the word Spaghetti? She has never named an object anything other than precisely what it is (her stuffed animal unicorn is named "My Unicorn" so Sketti is both very surprising and very... odd. But she was quite emphatic about it and only after I referred to him as Sketti was she willing to ride him out of her room and to the playroom where he will reside.)