Sugar Support

So after Landon's triumphant return to a 98.6 degree temperature and performance in the school spelling bee, he crashed again that night with a 103 degree fever and the devastating knowledge that he would be missing his friend's cookie decorating party on Friday night. So back to the doctor we went. She requested some blood work to see what his white blood cells were doing, and turns out, though there's a bunch of them floating around in there, the distribution of the types look like Mycoplasma (occasionally, somewhat wrongly referred to as walking pneumonia). And by that point - 6 days of fevers and 5 days of missed school, it was just a relief to have a name and an antibiotic to fix it. And sure enough, two doses of a foul tasting white liquid later, and he's basically back to himself! No fever since Friday and driving us all CRAZY today with a surplus of energy and not near enough social interaction.

But first we'll go back to Friday. Before Landon and I went to the pediatrician, again, and before he nearly fainted during the blood draw (that was exciting; he told me I didn't need to go in the lab room with him, so I sat in the hallway by the door; suddenly I could hear the lab tech going Landon, LANDON!, and ran in to see a ghost-white, also lime-green Landon totally non-responsive with his eyes rolled back in his head. He's had finger prick tests before, so I assume his reaction was due to not eating and being sick for so many days, but man, it was a moment. He thinks it's super awesome and has told the story to everyone. He also got to drink a sprite in the office to recover, so I think he's going to try to faint again in the future just for that.).

new nightgown; loves it

But back to Friday. It was also Claire's parent-teacher conference! James was at a pro-am swim meet in Dallas, so it was just me, but she's doing SO great and it was so fun to get to chat with her teacher. We adore our school and its wonderful, dedicated teachers. Like last year, her teacher this year also taught Landon in 1st grade and has been at the school her whole career. She's so warm and kind and manages to maintain complete control of her classroom without ever raising her voice. When Claire calls me by her name when we're at home, it's a compliment. Academically, Claire's a grade level ahead in everything; she loves to write and she is great at math. And just as importantly, she loves 1st grade just as much as she adored Kindergarten. Mrs. H said she always has a bright smile on her face all day, and she is a diligent and careful worker. She plays school with her gaggle of friends at recess and leads them all around the playground in a straight line before finding a place to "teach." The visual makes me smile.

That night was our friend's cookie decorating party. A bunch of kids, a bunch of my favorite grown-ups, appetizers, drinks, cookies, and this mulled wine. Go make that mulled wine, I'm not sure why I don't have it simmering on my stove at all times. Landon couldn't go, of course, even though he woke up with fever bright cheeks on Friday morning and put on his dinosaur Christmas shirt "just in case." This is a terrible time of year to be sick. He and James rented a new movie and I gave him one of his Lego set stocking stuffers. And though we tried not to rub it in, the girls and I had a marvelous time at the party. Cora decorated cookies Montessori-style, deliberately and with great endurance. And then she ate a plain one because the weirdo doesn't like sweet things.

Yesterday I taught barre and then ran a few errands. One of them involved returning a sweater at the mall. I never go to the mall, but American Eagle has the best, cheap, non-see-through leggings to wear with tunics and their website talked me into also ordering a beautiful lavender sweater even though their tops never fit me, so I had to take it back. And once there, I walked by Victoria's Secret and remembered how badly I need new bras. I walked by again, saw the "every bra is $35" sale sign, remembered again that the bra I was wearing was purchased before I had Cora and before I started working out pretty much every day and there was no way it fit properly. But I kept walking, only to halt halfway to the exit, turn around and march back in to Victoria's Secret, grab a salesperson and explain that my newest bra was 3.5 years old and I needed everything.

And that's what I got! Turns out, I've been wearing the wrong size (shocking). I'm a 32D not a stretched-out 34C and wowza does that 2+ inches make a difference. Did you know your bra band should fit flat against your skin? That you should not be able to store extra items in the cups that aren't actually touching your boobs? You are not! I literally wore one of my new bras out of the store. I was a new woman. A properly supported, nicely shaped if-I-may-say-so-myself, adult goddamn woman in a powerful properly fitted bra. It's magic. I bought four and removed every single old bra from my drawer as soon as I got home. It was a big day for me.

bras not pictured, but have some ranch dip

Also while out shopping the temperature dropped 25 degrees in 1 hour, and then dropped 10 degrees more. Dinner plans were changed mid-shopping-trip (I'm a list maker; changing the menu on the fly is an act of lunacy for me, I blame the new bra) and we enjoyed cozy chili, mac and cheese, AND corn bread, and a tray of fresh vegetables because I was feeling a little guilty about the nutritional value of my new plan.

Also a friend brought the best veggie dip ever to the party on Friday and I was determined to eat as much of it as possible for the second time. Fiesta ranch seasoning packets?! Who knew? I don't even like Ranch dressing! I had to stop at a SECOND store to buy it, so you know I was in love. By then it was 35 out and I was dressed for the 65 degree weather it was when I left the house.

Today it was freezing. Literally, which is pretty rare here. It was 18 when we got up at 8, so I canceled my spin class and coped with the cold by fantasizing about what life will be like with a new HVAC duct system and baking 6 trays of homemade cinnamon rolls.

The kids made nests by the fire and/or wore princess dresses and snow hats. We all cope in our own way.

The cinnamon rolls didn't rise properly, so I have concerns, but they look pretty. Just not fluffy. I've made this at least a dozen times and have no idea what happened.

We're eating them anyway though. For the icing if nothing else.

By mid-afternoon we were going to divorce Landon (love and adore him, but he is a very active social butterfly who had been denied by activity and social interaction and OMG even Cora yelled at him - "Landon NO. I play BY MYSELF."), so we decided to go see Moana! You guys, we loved it. So bright and fun and beautiful. Loved the characters, loved the music- we sang Lin-Manual Miranda's "How Far I'll Go" the whole way home. As soon as we got in the house Cora exclaimed, "wait! I go get dressed!" and emerged with a crown and several wands, ready to hula her arms and sing up a storm.

Sometime during our sing-a-long I noticed Claire had decided to lay in front of the fire and sing from the floor. We ate dinner (a delicious Greek Lemon Avgolemono soup- go make it; recipe below) and after she stirred her soup for a few minutes she said, "Mom my head hurts." One click with the thermometer and yep, 101.5. Oh, Bear. We'd hoped she escaped what Landon has, and she has the talent show tomorrow night and she has been practicing SO hard and was SO excited. I feel just awful for her and am still holding on to hope she'll wake up tomorrow feeling great.

And now I just realized I listened to the entire Moana soundtrack all alone on the couch. Time to go to bed- but first, the menu:

Saturday: My mom's chili, Mac & Cheese, Cornbread, Crudites (Carrot, Cucumber, Cherry Tomatoes, Orange Bell Pepper), and the BEST dip (sour cream + packet of Fiesta Ranch dip - I hate ranch dressing, but I freaking love this dip)
Sunday: Avgolemono soup (with added chicken), Naan bread, Block of Feta, Kalamata Olives, Cherry Tomatoes (y'all, that soup was SO GOOD; I doubled the recipe and we had just a little leftover and James has already claimed it)
Monday: Claire will be performing at the talent show (we hope! I typed this menu before her fever spiked), so it depends on when the show ends; probably leftovers reheated real fast when we get home, maybe pasta because that's Claire's favorite.
Tuesday: James and I are going on a date night! His pool is closed, so for the first time ever we get to hit up a Happy Hour! Also, we like to find excuses to keep Tara in our lives. Kids will eat TJ's cod filets (basically fish sticks, but I feel better about them), veggies, and fruit. It's nice when your nanny is a nutrition major.
Wednesday: Crock Pot Balsamic Pork Roast, Rice Pilaf, Sauteed Green Beans, Crescent Rolls
Thursday: No idea. Realistically, probably something from a restaurant with margaritas. It's a very, very rare week where James is home before 7, I feel we need to celebrate with attendance at multiple happy hours.
Friday: My parents are here! They're bringing food.

Saturday, Christmas Eve: Dinner: Flank steak (marinated overnight in soy sauce, honey, and sherry; grilled; sliced thin against the grain), Twice-Baked Potatoes, my family's precious Asparagus Casserole, Mandarin Orange Salad (leafy lettuce, green onion, cilantro, cucumber, mandarin orange slices + red wine vinegar dressing), Fluffy rolls.

Later we'll eat leftover cold flank steak with cheese and crackers while opening presents, plus popcorn, champagne, and sugar cookies. It all goes together when gifts are involved.

Sunday, Christmas Day: Brunch: Cheesy Amish Breakfast Casserole, Tamales (from a local restaurant), Refried Black Beans, Tortillas, Homemade Cinnamon Rolls (this recipe; different icings- mostly a cream cheese glaze, plus a few with a simple sugar glaze because some people are confused about the deliciousness of cream cheese icing).

Linner: All the meats and cheeses! Whatever looks delicious at the cheese counter, plus turkey summer sausage and prosciutto. A smoked turkey and pretzel rolls from Costco. Olives, pickles, crackers. A platter of the crazy delicious combination of sliced ham wrapped around cream cheese and a piece of pickle. And homemade mac and cheese to bring it all together. With sugar cookies on top.

Fevers, Bees, and $6000 Ducts

So you can't tell from the title, but I'm writing this quite cheerfully. I have half a pizza and two sugar cookies in my belly, a sparkling Christmas tree to my right with all my presents wrapped and underneath, and Christmas carols playing overhead (or "coming at my from every angle," as James keeps complaining)- NOT EVEN a depressing visit from a second HVAC guy to confirm we need about $10,000 of work done to properly heat/cool the main part of our house can bring me down. At least not until I write that check. The holidays are HERE and I LOVE them.

in healthier times

But let's take it back to the earlier part of the week. Landon remained sick through Monday night and Tuesday morning. Claire's fever never went over 100 and on Tuesday morning, after we let her sleep in as late as she could, she started asking why she couldn't go to my work Christmas party that afternoon. After a few minutes of back and forth on that, I decided if she felt good enough to (a) want to go; and (b) argue with me about it, she should be at school! So off she went. We let her sleep in on Wednesday too, just to stave off anything that may be trying to attack from my Landon, but she had great days and has been her cheerful, chatty, occasionally argumentative self. Poor Lanman on the other hand just kept feeling worse. His fever was constantly hovering just under 102, down to 99 with meds, then back to a high 101. His head hurt, his throat hurt, his stomach hurt, he had a bit of a cough. He had to miss his class field trip on Tuesday and was so miserable yesterday he didn't even care anymore that he was miserable. He sat in the TV room alone and in the dark (by choice; it sounds like we were shunning him like a Biblical leper) and when the TV remote fell out of his hand he didn't even pick it back up again. It was the saddest.

Cora remained unaffected, like the immunology science experiment she could be, and between expressing her DEEP concern for Landon's illness, rode into our room on Tuesday morning on the back of a majestic unicorn swinging nunchucks with one hand and her pants over her head with another. I was only have awake, but it was pretty magnificent.

Also on Tuesday I abandoned my sick child to attend a My Favorite Things part with some of my favorite people. I scandalized my children by opening one of my Christmas gifts under the tree, but since my parents just moved my mom asked me to pick out my own Christmas gifts and when you do that, and I just happen to pick out the PERFECT holiday party blouse, and I'm the boss of my Christmas tree, I'm going to wear it early. Along with the necklace I bought from her too. Thanks mom!

I wore it to work the next day too

At the party I discovered everyone but me knows how to sew (I take shirts to the dry cleaner seamstress to sew back on buttons; my skills consist of looking at the button, looking at the shirt, and wishing for magic) and if you take a slice of ham and wrap it around cream cheese and a pickle it tastes amazing, even if you were REALLY sure none of those things went together. I also walked away with new tea, dark chocolate peppermint bark, a handmade neck warmer (sewing!), and a gift certificate to a fabulous embroidery artist that I've already redeemed. And there was prosecco (because I brought it). It was an excellent time.

But Landon was still sick. By last night he seemed to be feeling a little better. Not enough to actually join us at the table for dinner, but enough to ask what we were eating and opt for crackers and peanut butter. He still had a fever, but insisted he would be attending the Spelling Bee this morning. I told him we'd see, but when I went to check on him at 7 this morning he was already up and dressed. A little pale and cheeks a little pink, but temperature holding at 98.9 and DETERMINED to Be at the Bee. So we let him go. And we were there - 10 minutes early even - to cheer him on.

I LOVE the Spelling Bee. It's my favorite day all year. The kids are so earnest. The tension is so thick, but also gentle. All the kids watching are so into it. It's a packed house in the auditorium- every seat filled and kids on the floor and everyone is so quiet and by the end the groans in solidarity when kids would get out are just awesome. For one day at least, good spelling is the COOLEST.

Landon did great! For his first hour back in school since last Friday, he totally held his own, making it through 6 rounds to be one of the last 6 standing. This year the school had 40 kids make a 100 on the qualification test (I think last year it was 28), so that's amazing and a big starting group! He took his time with each word, totally stressing out James and I (Landon didn't look at all stressed, while we were turned into each other like little shrimps, trying not to make any facial expressions), and finally went out on "opinionated" - adding the o after the first i. He knew it when he did it, but we were so proud. Two of his best friends also did awesome, 3rd grade boys were representing - and are already looking forward to next year!

Landon's cheeks were looking a little flushed by the end, so we decided to bring him home and have him rest the rest of the day. I REALLY want him to get better, and you know he's been feeling bad when he readily agrees. He still hasn't popped a temperature above 99 today so I'm hoping he can go back to school tomorrow and, more importantly, attend our friends' big cookie decorating party tomorrow night. Priorities. (But really, we've been looking forward to it for weeks! Cookies!)

To add to the excitement of the week- we had an HVAC guy come by post-Bee to diagnose a loud rattling in our main house HVAC unit and tell us what we were sure would be a super cheap fix to the problem that the girls' room and the TV room run about 8 degrees cooler than the rest of the house while Landon's room runs hotter. The good news is he was able to fix the rattling for just his $75 service charge. The bad news is, as expected, the temperature variance issue is due to our extremely messed up patchwork of inefficient uninsulated hard metal duct tubing that runs haywire all over the house. Because roughly 50% of our house is made up of additions and renovations, but the duct work hasn't been updated since the house was built as a little bungalow in 1949, it's a disaster up there. An expensive and inefficient one. Plus the HVAC unit is also quite old, so that's just waiting in the wings to die too (as is the one in our master, which is actually 8 years even older - like my sister, it was born in 1985).

The guy was upfront and honest; he said there was no gain to fixing what's up there now- it's a mess and we should just buy some blankets for the cold rooms and wait until we're ready to replace the system. He did say we could do it in pieces - $3,000 for the duct-work + $3,000 for the indoor furnace/blower unit now (or whenever we're ready to not freeze the girls) and $3,000 later for the outside big box when it dies. It will be a much more quiet, efficient, cheaper system, and it would be awesome to have a house that is one temperature, but UGH. Particularly when we know our unit is going to die any time (another $6,000; at least the duct work in our add-on is fine). Bah humbug. But this is why we contribute monthly to a house renovation account, something we started doing two years before the kitchen and just never stopped (though the current balance was supposed to go to my dream of adding a front porch). And once we do have to fork it over (and I'm always of the mind that if I have to pay it, I'd rather do it earlier so I can start enjoying it sooner), it will be amazing to have one expensive system in the house that is "new and under warranty" instead of "super old and could die any day" like the two water heaters and the other HVAC. So, bright side?

On the actual bright side, I already made our final condo payment and paid for our lift tickets and ski school tuition for the kids, so this news can't take that long-planned trip away from me. The Lag Liv family is going skiing for the first time since Cora was a tiny confused baby who couldn't believe we thought a ski road trip with a newborn was a good idea. (Even though it was; it was an AWESOME idea, we had so much fun on that trip)! Even Cora gets to ski this time and it's going to be amazing. Skications are the best.

WTF you guys

More brightness- food! The week's menu (sugar cookies not listed, but implied):

Monday: Vegetable Beef Barley Soup in the crockpot (from the Betty Crocker Slow Cooker cookbook which is hard to say, but I got it when I got married and it is full of foolproof recipes)
Tuesday: Ravioli Lasagna from Costco because I went to a party
Wednesday: Creamy Chicken Enchilada Chili (love this recipe)
Thursday: Chicken and Broccoli Penne (James is carbo-loading for his big swim meet on Friday and Saturday; I just like carbs)
Friday: Cookie party! We're bringing mini pigs in a blanket which I expect to be my children's dinner; I'm having champagne and cookies.

Off to go test drive my neck warmer because I'm in the TV room with Landon and he has all the blankets (I'm such a giver when one of the kids is sick), and as we all now know, none of the heat pumping out of my heater gets over here. Now that I think about it, we'd save a lot of money if we'd just buy a second TV to put in the main room and then have the girls camp out there at night. We could use their room as giant a cold-storage pantry. Bright side, indeed.

This Post Brought to You by Two Sick Kids (with a Lot of Interruptions)

It's a Lag Liv family first - two kids sick at the same time. Fevers- Landon's first in years and it's totally freaking him out ("Mom, I feel hot. Like on the inside? But cold on the outside.")- coughs, sore throats, tummy aches, and general listlessness abound in both big kids, with Landon falling first around 7 p.m. last night and Claire waking up with the same. Cora, who according to our patient portal visit history has never had a sick kid visit to the pediatrician in her life, remains fever-free, but was whisked off to school as early as possible to avoid contamination. Though really, maybe she's the one holding the cure and we should bring her with us for study. Landon has a field trip and the spelling bee later this week, so we're really hoping for a quick virus that will go away with powerade and a good night's sleep.

Not even trying to maintain a perimeter

But before the contamination, we had a weekend full of magical sugary goodness! Or rather, before the contamination was revealed, we had a weekend full of magical sugary goodness. Guess we won't be passing those cookies out to friends and neighbors after all, though I'm totally still eating every one.

But first! The reason I didn't post anything last week. I went to San Antonio for my first business trip in forever (like 3 years) and the kids were completely freaked out by my "traveling all alone" and were greatly relieved when I caught an early flight back and was reunited with them within 18 hours. I got to see all four of my grandparents on Monday night, which was absolutely wonderful, and then thanks to the standby on the earlier flight, got to eat dinner with the kids Tuesday evening. Perfect trip. (The work stuff was good too.)

Reunion!

But, the point- I started a new book series on the plane - Gena Showalter's (author of the Lords of the Underworld series I have enjoyed greatly, though you kind of have to slog through book 1) YA series the White Rabbit Chronicles. The first book is Alice in Zombieland and it is SO fun (I mean a lot of people are eaten by zombies and die, but overall, it's fun). So I read all four books between Tuesday and Saturday and got very little sleep (finished book 2 at 3:28 a.m. Thursday morning) and am now very sad they're done. It was nice to take a break from my computer, online shopping (though man eBates is killing it for me right now; we needed new suitcases and eBags has a 20% rebate. 20%!! That's a sound reason to also buy new packing cubes and a makeup case!), and just curl up on the couch with James and read each night. I usually read ~3 books a week, but I feel like photobooking, Christmas shopping, and watching Season 3 of The Fall really got in the way. But now I need books! Karen Marie Moning's final Fever book comes out in January and Kresley Cole has several lined up for the new year- and we're getting 2 new Ilona Andrews novels, which is always welcome, but I need more. Recommendations welcome. Nothing real or serious or that makes me remember that we're going to have a temperamental Russian-puppet-child as our president in the new year. Dystopian future books might have to be out for the same reason.

Cora's all set

So there was a lot of reading, still some shopping (I got this blouse for holiday parties and it is so beautiful; also Nordstrom has a 6% ebate), and at the end of the week, a lot of baking. First up, the precious sugar cookies.

I've learned it's best to spread out this project. Day 1 is cookie dough (recipe here; it's my great-grandmother's and it's amazing)- it has to chill for at least 8 hours but overnight is best.

I tripled the recipe this year instead of doubling, apparently I felt that last year I didn't come home from work and stuff my face with cookies a sufficient number of times. It nearly broke my KitchenAid.

Also, I discovered Cora doesn't like cookie dough. I cannot even with that child and her hatred for delicious things.

And I made the first part of the teacher gifts and then ate a ton of it as an appetizer for dinner. Yum! Then James and I went out on a date because fancy pizza is the best cookie-dough-chaser out there. And a stop at Stir Crazy Bakery, because our cookie dough wasn't baked yet.

On Saturday I taught barre (3 minute plank series, oh yes) and then procrastinated on starting the cookie rolling and baking until about 4. I also procrastinated in our crockpot dinner, so our whole weekly menu had to be rearranged. But finally, around 4:30 I decided yes, it's now the perfect time to roll, cut, and bake a million cookies. Probably mostly because it finally seemed acceptable to also open a bottle of champagne.

Cora was an enthusiastic helper. I finally had to send her on break so I could cut out my cookies in a logical manner that didn't require re-rolling the dough after every single cut, but as with all things Christmas this year, she was SO excited and so adorable about the whole thing.

Landon popped over and helped too.

12 trays of cookies later, I squared off with my Nightmares-from-Pinterest Bugle santa hats that I loathe and love every year. They're such a pain in the ass, but they're SO cute, so this year I lessened the torture by forgoing the bottom re-dip in red melting discs and white ball sprinkles. It cut out two steps and I honestly found the mouthful of crunchy sprinkles to be too much when it came to actually eating the mix.

But mostly it cut out two steps. Still, cute right?!

Claire did not help because she was off with a friend watching The Polar Express in pj's at the Science Museum's IMAXX theater. She didn't get to eat cookie dough (Cora again tried and forcefully rejected it), but she did get to eat popcorn and candy and watch a movie on a giant domed screen with one of her best friends. We'll call it even.

On Sunday I took myself to spin class in preparation for eating all the cookies once we'd decorated them. I was surprised with mimosas after class (10:00 a.m. "brunch" class at CycleBar Waterside- you should come!) and drank two to replenish my electrolytes. A sweaty stop at Target later to get something to jazz up the teacher gifts, and then a shower and blow dry of my hair because I knew I wouldn't have time later and Claire and I had a fancy date night planned, and then a little lunch to cushion the sugar, and it was time!! Let the sugaring begin!

Jazzy? Gluing a piece of ribbon is as crafty as I get if it doesn't involve sugar.

The special cookie-decorating table cloth was unfurled from its bin and the special cookie-decorating cups were filled with milk (all from Target two years ago and now deemed SACRED to the cookie decorating cause). The icing was made (2 lbs. of powdered sugar; oy). The colors were mixed (we added brown this year at Landon's suggestion; not normally in our mix, but admittedly appropriate for all the gingerbread men and reindeer that always had to be yellow in the past). The sprinkles released. The champagne poured.

And the decorating could begin.

Cora was Montessori-focused. She judged all our messy work stations and called out to me anytime icing dripped off one of my cookies. She carefully and deliberately covered a star in tiny snowflakes only to pick it up later and realize you need to put icing underneath them first. She loved it and worked so hard on the 6 cookies she had on her mat the whole time.

Claire was cheerful and well-paced. She was the last decorator left standing at the end and had a lot of creative ideas that didn't quite work in the execution. "Oh well," she'd shrug, "maybe next time."

Landon was creative and has some high-level technical skills. His cookies often had a story, but he found his creative juices tapped early and he retired from the table.

James had to fix all 50 strands of lights on our tree after a devastating electrical short, but thanks to a new electrical gun toy and a lot of switching fuses he got them all re-lit (YAY) and joined us for his traditional painstaking decorating of five cookies. Five.

I did my usual six at a time, all identical, knowing that if I want to stuff my face with cookies after work it's up to me to decorate them. I think I did about 70. And this year I've decided you can only eat what you kill/decorate, so they're all mine.

As soon as we finished the decorating and scrubbed everything in the kitchen and living room with soap and water, including the children, it was time for Claire and I to fancy ourselves up and head to The Nutcracker at Bass Performance Hall!

She participated in the Texas Ballet Theater's CityDance program this year, where TBT comes to various, generally underprivileged, local schools and teaches free ballet lessons once a week for six weeks. Claire still maintains that she does not like ballet, but it was free and an amazing opportunity AND on the one afternoon that our nanny had a lab and couldn't pick the kids up until 4, so she had to go anyway. She had friends go as well and she stopped complaining after the first two weeks. Then, as a treat at the end of the program, every kid got two tickets to see TBT's Nutcracker performance in December! I called to reserve the tickets, expressing my thanks for the program and the ballet tickets, and was told to get my tickets at will call on the night of the show. I fully expected to be in a back corner somewhere, but was shocked to find ourselves in the Orchestra- 7th Row Center. It was amazing!

Such a gorgeous theater and a special night downtown. We got dinner together first, walking around Sundance Square to see Santa and the tree, and then eating on the patio of Cheesecake Factory. I don't know that I'd ever had a meal with just Claire- she's such a communal creature, she really does generally want everything to include as many family members as possible, but it was really nice to just spend some one-on-one time with her. She made us sit side-by-side in the booth ("so I can be really close to you mom;" Claire continues to be our child who would prefer us all to be glued together) and we discussed vacations (Jamaica and Utah were her two faves) and future careers (school teacher, yoga teacher, mom, maybe lawyer).

We met her fellow reluctant-ballet-class-taking friend at the theater and they showed off a few moves in front of the tree. It was such a beautiful performance. Barre is about as far from true ballet as swimming, but it was still inspiring for me to see the foot positions I use in class, to see the gorgeous arabesques and long strong arms and legs holding such beautiful STRONG positions. Claire was mostly impressed by the clear cables holding up the flying ballerina and sleigh, but she did enjoy the performance and I hope she got a glimpse of what the purpose of all those "little moves" she did in class build up to. I think it's always amazing to watch talented people giving you the best of their craft.

And now, having been interrupted by an Orangetheory class that nearly killed me ("12 runners running" = a LOT of running, plus 1200m row, plus the longest floor series ever; their "12 Days of Fitness" have not made me feel very festive, though nothing has been worse than the "5 Rowers Rowing" and its 5000 meter row BAH HUMBUG) and a pediatric appointment (it's "justavirus" and not strep!), it's time to get back to administering ibuprofen, sneaking to the kitchen for more Christmas cookies (there are many reasons I need to go back to work tomorrow, but the 6 cookies I've eaten so far today might be the biggest one), and wondering how early I can go get Cora.

Happy mid-December to you all! May your days be merry and bright and your nights be quiet and fever-free (and cookie-filled).

Magical and Special and Sparkly

The holiday season continues apace. We closed out last week with James's swim school holiday dinner on Friday night. He always treats all his instructors and staff to lunches throughout the year, with a big dinner at the end. This year was tough with the pool cancellation and uncertainty and then last minute find. The new location is awesome, but the gap meant some loss of clients (hopefully temporary!), which is stressful, but he'll keep putting out a great product and we're all looking forward to a big spring and summer. In the meantime, there's always Bricks and Bags!

On Saturday morning, it was time for Cora's ballet recital! Or, as she referred to it, "time to wear my Cind-Rella dress!!!".

She's been doing ballet through a local Stretch-n-Grow program. They come to her school once a week, we pay $40 a month, she gets to wear ballet shoes and dance with her friends, and I don't have to drive her anywhere during our free time - everyone is winning! Claire did the same thing, but turns out, she does not like ballet and refused to dance in two recitals and then stopped going to class without telling me so I paid for months of her non-attendance.

Cora, on the other hand, LOVES it. And her recital involves costumes! She was SO excited about the costume.

We weren't sure what would happen when we arrived, but she calmly joined her teachers in the ready room while we found a seat. She marched out with her class, allowed the microphone introduction (though refused to say her name), and then the music began and she...

...sat down and judged everyone else for being there.

For song two, she stood up! At the end of song three, she got a new spot - front row this time - and a look on her face that says, "Oh, you want me to dance? I'll show you dance."

BAM.

YES.

2ND POSITION BITCHES.

Once she decided she wanted to dance, she wanted to DANCE.

At the end, she announced triumphantly, "I do my dance again TOMORROW!"

NYC ballet, here she comes.

Later in the day, after a big brunch and nap for our ballerina (still in her ballet shoes and tights), and creating a big kid assembly line to stamp, address, and seal up our 130 Christmas cards (if your labels are cockeyed, it's the elves' fault), we packed up to head to one of our favorite holiday traditions - the Casa Manana Children's Play! We subscribe to their Children's Series every year and the Christmas play is always a favorite. And this year, for the first time ever- Cora got to come!

And she LOVED it. She had to sit in our laps because we didn't get her a seat at the start of the series, but clapped at the end of every song and was utterly enraptured for every minute of the hour and a half show. She also rocked a giant head bow.

It was a super fun evening, finished off with the best pizza (Mellow Mushroom; the densest and chewiest of pizza doughs) picnic-style on the floor while watching Home Alone. We watch almost no TV all year until December when my beloved Christmas movies fill the screen guilt-free at every opportunity. I love a good Christmas movie. And the bad ones. I love them all.

Today dawned chilly and cloudy and after a little more Christmas movie watching, we embarked on the exciting task of taking apart and returning our new Christmas tree. Because after buying it last weekend, tetris-ing it into our car, assembling it, and fluffing it, we discovered a single strand of lights was out. And so back we all went, with the giant tree, to At Home- the worst name ever for a store I continue to call Garden Ridge because saying "I'm going to at home" sounds ridiculous, to exchange it.

The day ensued with more movies, a long nap for Cora (obviously still exhausted from all the dancing), lots of fighting with the big kids (WTF with the two of them all of a sudden; for the first time ever I'm tempted to use Santa as an incentive for good behavior except Landon's friend at school told him Santa isn't real and on Friday I got a text from Landon's teacher that he- Landon- was telling other kids Santa wasn't real and at the time I didn't even KNOW Landon knew that so we had to have a long, sad talk about adult secrets and keeping the magic alive for others; I was not ready; he was fine), and a bunch of errands for me.

I also had the most vicious headache I've had in months, to the point the pain was so bad I was nauseous, but after James took everyone to Kroger and I rubbed Aveda's blue oil on my temples, it finally started to ebb. I don't know if it was the quiet house, the oil, or the pretty powerful drugs I'd taken an hour before, but I finally didn't feel like my skull was trying to crack open -- and stopped hoping it would do it because surely then it would feel better.

So, now cured, I marched James around the house to hang up all the beautiful stuff I bought last weekend at Homegoods (there is never more romance in the air than when someone is holding a leveler and barking out questions re: anchor placement) and we ate a delicious batch of jambalaya and Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuits-from-a-Box (omg they're so good I don't even feel bad they're from a box; or that I once accidentally read the nutrition information). And THEN, after the kitchen was clean and the big kids had been grounded to their rooms to read because jesus, we got the gang back together, fired up the Raffi Holiday pandora station, put on some new Christmas jammies and decorated the tree!

The new, big tree is decked out in the finest $2.99 sets of gold and silver Christmas ornaments that At Home/Garden Ridge has to offer. As with all these new holiday traditions she's discovering, Cora took her duties VERY seriously.

The big kids helped covertly rearrange her intense groupings of similar ornaments. They may have turned on each other, but they are still firmly pro-Cora.

And because Cora was the only family member no one wanted to kill at any point during the day, she got to put the star on top of the tree. Third baby victories!

We then moved on to tree #2. It's the colorful family tree we bought on clearance at Target a few years ago and keep in the TV room. I love it. And I love having it in the room we retire to each night. So out came the mismatched and wonderful family ornaments- the kids' handiwork, the 15 "first Christmas" ornaments we have for Landon and the 0 we have for the girls. The six new princess ornaments I bought this year and the sparkly high heeled shoes that are Claire and my favorite. I love each and every one.

Again, Cora was the most dedicated, toiling away to arrange things just so. She kept climbing off her ladder to turn back on the dancing (and singing!) Santa that haunts my Christmas dreams. It was a fun night.

I'm headed to OTF in the morning, a bit of work, and then San Antonio for a 24 hour business trip. You can tell my life really changed when I joined the SEC because the big kids are flabbergasted I would be traveling "alone." "But you'll be all by yourself on the plane!" Claire cried out. "Well, no, I'll have the other passengers, honey." "Yeah, but you won't have US," a deeply concerned Claire replied. I love that they have no idea I ever used to travel. When Claire was about one I took 5 trips in a month and spent more nights in hotel rooms than my own bed. They have absolutely no idea and they are seriously worried about how I'm going to travel without them to help me and felt much better when I told them (1) I've done this before; and (2) I'm going to see all my grandparents the night before my meeting, so I'll have responsible adults around. They feel a lot better about my leaving now, but have each noted several times how weird it will be to not have me home. I'm so glad.