Birthdays, Bulldogs, and all the Recipes

So, now back to the recap I intended to write before I got distracted by my end of year love affair with Shutterfly -- a recap of what has apparently been 14 days!

A diet/exercise update: I'm greatly enjoying my 2-3x/week Orangetheory, even as it makes me sweat a lot and wake up sore in new places. I'm eating less food and drinking more water and wondering why my 2 week commitment hasn't immediately melted away 18 months of frozen margaritas and queso. In the meantime, I'm to appreciate my body and focus on the fact that I'm the strongest I've ever been and the cardio my body has clearly missed feels amazing. Little, sustainable changes is where we're at right now. Or we were, until we had a mama's night out with my besties last night at a BYOB Italian restaurant to celebrate our three September birthday. Worth it.

Also on the fitness front, I subbed my first ever yoga class this past week! I was so nervous and man, the nerves were justified. One month after graduation and so many things have already left my brain. I wrote out a 45-minute flow and practiced it ahead of time, and overall I think the students all thought it went well, but I know I had so many more cues on the tip of my tongue just 30 days ago. I did get all the breath cues right, which I'd been worried about, but I didn't adjust a single person- the idea of adding adjusts to the breath-posture-cuing I was already straining to make sound natural was just too much. But I did it! I sweated through my yoga pants, but I did it. I sub again in another week and then I start my very own class at Urban Yoga on October 6th! I have a lot of review work to do before then.

Nervous sweat = a faux healthy glow on the skin!

But back to where I left off two weeks ago when my mom was driving up from Houston for her birthday! My dad was out of town for a golf trip so I wanted to surprise her with ALL our Lag Liv family traditions:

A decorated table, pictures, animal candle holders, a rainbow theme- all our favorite family things! and she was SO touched and so excited. I loved doing it for her.

I also made a homemade ice cream cake, keeping the flavors as simple as the Gigi prefers them. Chocolate cake, hollowed out and filled with Blue Bell homemade vanilla ice cream and mini chocolate chips, covered with homemade chocolate buttercream. It was delicious and she loved it.

But before we could enjoy cake and a birthday table, we headed out for the traditional birthday shopping. My last time in stores was during her last visit in May and I feel certain the clearance Dillard's missed us.

Gigi was being very practical, focusing on cozy boots and clothes for her upcoming Colorado retirement. Like here, a simple cozy house boot.

(She actually didn't get that one, but it still makes me giggle when I see it because it's so very her.)

On our 5th time through the dressing room, I had long stopped bringing in items and instead attempted to recharge by sitting in a nearby chair.

Gigi, of the endless energy, showed no signs of slowing down.

Finally, as I limped to accompany her back to the dress section a final time, dehydrated and starving, my body no longer sure it was the same day as when we entered, she declared herself to be done with this store. We each had a little basket of items we were immensely pleased with (like the gorgeous tall leather boots I got for $32 that were originally $400) and we emerged from the Dillard's doors, relieved to see it was still daylight outside. I love this photo- I look exhausted and Gigi looks spectacular and ready for more.

But we opted to go home and fill her birthday girl glass with chardonnay instead. I'm wearing a new dress ($8!) and the kids were excited to see the birthday girl.

We ordered Gigi's favorite local pizza, enjoyed the very tasty cake, and played MANY rounds of Uno. It was a wonderful celebration of our Gigi.

The rest of the week is something of a blur of the busy, happy, and mundane. The girls are in gymnastics, everyone is in swimming, Landon is still working through Don Quixote.

I bought this print on our neighborhood resell page and I absolutely love it in our bathroom. It's huge and a signed, original print that was originally hundreds. I got it for $40 and the colors are perfect! At this point I think half our house is from the neighborhood buy/sell page and I delighted the people around us seem to redecorate often.

Claire had a fever earlier in the week, so I worked from home for the second half of the day. After working in a few rounds of Uno with my subpoena drafting, I finally took a break and taught her Solitaire. She LOVES it and we both worked happily side for side for another two hours. When Cora got home from school she immediately got to her homework (I can't imagine why Kindergartners need homework, but Cora absolutely loves it and feels very grown-up while intently filling out her pages) and Maggie watched over us all, probably wondering when it would be time for dinner and/or petting.

Oh! Another highlight my phone's photoroll has found for me- Cora requested a side pony tail one random morning and was SO EXCITED about the result. The poor girl still despairs of her hair (while we and literally everyone else who sees her loves it!)- she had a full on sobbing meltdown one morning because she just desperately wants long hair and her hair is so curly and it makes her so terribly sad. But! she loved the side pony and I was glad she found some joy in her beautiful hair, even if it did apparently fall out by recess.

Maggie got a few new outfits for the changing seasons. What bulldog doesn't need a new tee or buffalo plaid puffer vest?

I got a small (but much appreciated!) year-end bonus at work this past week and so finally pressed checkout on the dog stroller of my MUCH researched dog stroller dreams. It arrived on the same day as Maggie's new pj's and I think it was all meant to be.

Maggie isn't quite sure about it, but I know that once it cools off and we can take her outside she will LOVE getting to join us on our long walks on weekend mornings. She loves being with us so much and I feel so badly when we leave her behind (because her max walking distance is about 0.1 miles as opposed to the 3.0 miles of our favorite neighborhood loop). I am 100% ready to be a person who pushes her dog in a stroller, and someday when James and I buy each other bikes for Christmas, the stroller converts to a bike trailer!

Maggie's chariot awaits.

[Full disclosure, the brakes didn't work right when we set the stroller up so after some back and forth with customer service it was determined they're defective. We got it back in the box to ship back and they're sending a replacement! It otherwise feels very solid and well-made and fits Maggles perfectly.]

Speaking of Maggie (always), Landon takes her on a walk every morning before it gets hot. The tradition started in May as it started to get hot outside and Landon was always ready for school at least 10 minutes before his sisters. He walks her up and down the street and then she takes an 8 hour nap.

The tradition has continued and now if anyone else puts a leash on her before 9 a.m. she just sits at the top of the driveway and refuses to move. When Landon spends the night at a friend's house she just skips her morning walk because she absolutely will not be budged until her boy comes out to join.

James takes the girls to school at 7:30 and now that Landon doesn't leave for middle school until 8:30, that's when he walks Maggie. For the last few days, he's asked me to join and it's such a lovely way to start the day, strolling up and down our street with my favorite boy and bulldog before climbing in my car and heading off for the day.

Yesterday he was telling me chemistry jokes and stories from his favorite class (English) and why he thinks he shouldn't have to start Cotillion tonight (largely based on his dislike of pants). 12 years old has been such a delight- it's a sweet spot between teen and child, chatty and funny and very interested in what James and I think about things he's thinking about. It's emotionally calm and physically looking ever older. He's absolutely rocking middle school and we're just so enjoying this phase right now.

And now, ending as I often do, with food! Our menu from the last two weeks:

Saturday: King Ranch Chicken Casserole (this was great! a childhood classic, remade without any canned soups and with a lot of flavor. I saved it for a night Landon was away at a friend's because you really can't make this one without the cheese).

Sunday: Slow Cooker Rosemary Garlic Beef Stew, crusty rustic wheat bread. James's favorite kind of meal, it was cozy and comforting, as long as you ignored the fact it was 100 degrees outside.

Monday: Skillet Taco Cauliflower Rice, black beans, and the usual taco fixings; James and the kids ate this in tortillas, I ate it as a taco salad with a big bowl of lettuce and it was delicious.

Tuesday: Minestrone Soup, made over the stove top with 2 cups less water than directed and I used farro instead of bulgur (I cooked 2 cups of dry farro in a separate pot and then drained and dumped it in), and this was INSANELY GOOD. My new favorite soup for sure; the farro was filling and hearty and perfect and the soup had a ton of flavor.

Wednesday: Skinny Fettuccine Alfredo with Prosciutto and Peas (prosciutto leftover from our anniversary wine and cheese night, this is probably our favorite way to eat it). I just follow the fettuccine recipe, add the frozen peas in at the last minute of boiling the pasta, and toss in sliced up prosciutto at the end.

Thursday: Surprise night out! We needed a celebration of the kids' amazing progress reports after the first 3 weeks of school and we hadn't eaten out as a family in a long time. It was a really nice evening for once and we sat outside and enjoyed the not cooking and not cleaning.

Friday: Parent Mixer for the middle school! Landon babysat and the kids are mac and cheese before we left.

Saturday: Greek night! Gyro strips (from Trader Joe's), naan, sliced tomato, cucumber, and bell pepper, tzatziki sauce, feta, Kalamata olives. Roasted potatoes.

Sunday: Broiled salmon, kale radicchio salad with lemon miso dressing, and roasted broccoli and cauliflower.

Monday: Meatloaf (I also added some cooked, diced onions), cauliflower mashed potatoes (frozen from TJ's, I mix one bag frozen mashed potatoes and one bag frozen cauliflower mash), roasted carrots.

Tuesday: Avocado Ranch Chicken Salad- so good!! (I used two cans of chicken, doubled the Greek yogurt and avocado and halved the ranch), served with crackers, toasted wheat bread, sliced cheese, tomato, and cucumber, chips and sliced apples on the side. The kids really loved this and me think I should go picnic-y more often.

Wednesday: Fried Rice (I made this up: ground turkey cooked with diced green onion, then added a bag of frozen mixed vegetables, a bag of shredded cabbage, and two bags of cooked brown rice, scrambled egg, and soy sauce), frozen dumplings from Costco on the side.

Thursday: Mama's Night Out! James and the kids made pasta with tomato cream sauce after swimming.

Friday: Every kid has an activity, but they all begin and end at different times (of course!), and we have a grown-up friend's birthday at a brewery with bbq, so we're trying to work that in with the car pools. I'm pretty sure I'm not cooking though! (Though I did make these Maple Pumpkin Oatmeal Bars this morning and they're great!!)