Maggie Moo and all the Food

I've been trying for 3 years/11 days to write a new blog post. I have stories! And pictures! But I have 10 minutes between my barre class and heading out to see Isn't It Romantic with my mamas (juice box of rosé wine and peanut m&m's already in my purse) and there just isn't time. So instead of an actual update I leave you with this delightful series of pictures of my dog yawning and our menu plan from last week and the week ahead!

I promise a more fulsome update very soon! I'd say tonight, but Maggie is skeptical.

All is well, just busy. Also, I have to spend 90% of my home time loving on my dog.

On to food!

Sunday: Spinach Artichoke Lasagna, ciabatta bread. (This was great and super easy!)

Monday: Beef & Cabbage Stir Fry, steamed brown rice, frozen Spring Rolls and frozen Shu Mai (both from TJ's; surprisingly good).

Tuesday: Crockpot Chicken Gnocchi Soup, crackers and cheese on the side. (SOOO good)

Wednesday: Leftovers of all of the above.

Thurs/Valentine's Day: Pink Pancakes, bacon, berries (for the kids); Flank steak (my mom's marinade: 1 Tbsp sherry, 2 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp honey, minced garlic; marinade overnight and grill to rare,slicing thin against the grain), twice-baked potatoes, and roasted carrots. and champagne. and cake (for James and me after the kids went to bed).

Friday: Out for chips and queso (and margaritas!) after Cora's dance party. The girls had chicken nuggets and fruit at the dance; James ate 3 rice taco bowls at the restaurant; Landon was at a friend's.

Saturday: Dorito Taco Salad (we do ours a little different; I use ground turkey, browned with onion, garlic, and taco seasoning and then add the drained pinto beans, red kidney beans, and corn to the meat in the skillet to warm it all up; toss with chopped lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, and black olives. I don't use a dressing, just add some salsa as needed. Crunched up nacho cheese doritos - TJ's version - get mixed in last. HUGE hit.)

Sunday: My favorite salmon; roasted multi-color potatoes, steamed broccoli.

Monday: Balsamic Pork Tenderloin, Parmesan orzo with peas.

Tuesday: Chicken & Mozzarella ravioli (refrigerated; from Costco) with tomato cream sauce.

Wednesday: Out for school fundraiser at the restaurant with my favorite french fries! It's for the children.

Thursday: Out with my mamas for my birthday! Kids will have tacos at home with James.

Friday: Grilled smoked turkey sausage, homemade Mac & Cheese, steamed broccoli.

Saturday: Greek Turkey and Rice Skillet, extra olives, feta, tomatoes, cucumber, and more on top; naan bread.

Helping with dinner

Have a great week ahead- Maggie says don't work too hard!

Checking in on the Four Kids

I couldn't blog for the last three days because we had to start and finish Russian Doll on Netflix. It is SO GOOD. It has a 100% rating on rotten tomatoes and you should not learn a single other thing about it before you start watching immediately. I'm probably going to watch it again starting tomorrow.

Except maybe not because tomorrow I'm going to a course selection meeting for my future MIDDLE SCHOOLER. What in the what, how is this possible? Just this morning as I was pulling out of the driveway to go to work, I caught my almost-middle-schooler running around the pool and front yard. "What are you doing?!" I called out the car window.

"Getting in some extra steps before school!" The kid had running club and climbing practice later in the day, not to mention recess where they play tag non-stop, but yeah, get those extra steps. One advantage of my forced furlough was getting a little more downtown with my tweenager and what a funny, chatty guy he is these days.

Landon had a climbing competition this past Saturday, his first in the spring "ropes" season. His climbing gym doesn't have ropes, so it was new for him, but much to our surprise (and, I think, his), he placed 6th! He said it was way harder than bouldering because you have to climb so much higher and stay on the grips holding up your weight for so much longer. The ropes mean you won't break anything when you fall, not that you get any help to stay up there. I continue to learn a lot about this new sport.

~ ~ ~ ~

And now a snapshot of Claire, literally, as she gets her reading log minutes in but is ready to roll (again, literally) the SECOND her minutes are up.

I cleaned out our TV room bookcases and closet this weekend and came across the first four Betsy, Tacy, and Tib books! I LOVED those books! I gave the first one to Claire with my heart in my eyes and unlike Landon's total rejection of my beloved Harry Potter, Claire accepted my book offering and started reading and she loves it! She loves a book! One of my favorite books! She asked to bring it to gymnastics to read while she waits for James to pick her up! Every part of this is so exciting to me. She's a great reader, and she never complains about doing it, but she never seeks it out either. Betsy for the win, I'm going to have to read the whole series again in celebration.

~ ~ ~ ~

On to Cora. Our third baby continues to work on following directions that aren't her own, but she remains cheerful and so easy-going it's easy to miss the fact that she's blatantly disregarding you while charming your pants off.

Super Bowl party outfit, obviously

She remains a diligent little worker bee at school, and, since I also got a notice for Kindergarten Round-Up today (waaaaaaa), I appreciate the glimpses we get into her busy preschool day.

"Mom, these are the planets. This is Jupiter and I drew a storm on it. There's an X on Pluto because it doesn't get to be a planet anymore because it's just a star Mom. The sun is yellow but I put orange on the edge of it because it's on FIRE."

The other day I asked her what kind of Valentines she'd like to get this year.

Cora: Um, I just want some that have a princess on them. ... And a unicorn. And a rainbow. And the unicorn is jumping over the rainbow and the princess is sitting on a heart underneath. And that’s all. ‘kay?

Me: ... Um, I’m not sure Target has those.

Cora [had already walked away bc she doesn’t have time for my excuses.]

(Always has time for her doggie)

~ ~ ~ ~

And now for my last baby, Princess Maggie remains the greatest of "small sisters." (Cora calls herself the "small sister" because thinks that's what you say for little sister and it is my favorite. Yesterday she asked, "Mom, am I Maggie's small sister?" Actually no, I explained, she's younger than you, so you're her big sister! "And she's my SMALL SISTER?!!" So exciting, she's always wanted a small sister.

And so, our smallest sister had her first play date with our friends' dogs this weekend when we went to say hi to Claire after a sleepover at their house (to say hi, because, as she made clear, she was not ready to actually leave and come home yet). Maggie was so brave.

She hid behind her daddy's legs for 30 minutes and then at the very end, moved to sit beside them.

Her new doggy friends were very excited and did lots of sniffing and happy barking, but our sweet, submissive, very deaf dog had no idea and spent at least half their playtime turned around backwards to make them disappear like a toddler playing hide-and-go-seek with their hands over their eyes. Then she came home and took a 3 hour nap to recover. Couldn't even get her whole body on her bed and fluffy blanket, poor thing.

She continues to be showered with all the love she deserves. She gets woken up by all her human siblings each morning while they gently and lovingly try to cajole her out of bed.

She's skeptical, but willingly to be convinced, every time.

Her new sweater came in the mail today, continuing her streak of having every package that gets delivered to our house belong to her. Cora added the tutu and I think she felt very beautiful indeed.

I took her in the car when we went to drop Claire off at gymnastics and she was SUCH a cheerful co-pilot.

I mean, she couldn't see out the window, so I'm not sure she had any idea what was going on, but I felt like we were in good hands.

Kid updates complete, what should I watch now that we've finished everything that's looked good recently (Ozark, Man in the High Castle, Russian Doll, Homecoming, The Bodyguard, Narcos, Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Sneaky Pete, Peaky Blinders, Barry... and probably a few I'm forgetting). I just like good story telling- something I'm excited to turn on when the kids go to bed to see what happens next. James can't do sit-coms and definitely leans toward the dark and dramatic. I prefer a little levity with my drama and darkness, but can get it from my books if needed. What's something good that you've watched lately?

Capturing the last 75 days of January

January was 75 (hundred) days long and I am so glad to see it over. We spent the first 6 days of that month on a fabulous ski vacation with family and friends in Colorado and it still felt it went on FOREVER. February, come take me away with your 28 days of champagne, chocolates, and my birthday.

The last week brought us back to our happy, normal, busy but balanced life. Mommy was back at work and everyone was happy about this. Neatly stacked papers and dual computer monitors and cups of tea and post-it flags how I've missed you.

(The succulent lives! This is the only kind of plant I can keep alive and not even a 35-day furlough can stop me.)

Our nannies are back in our lives and everyone is happy about this too. Particularly Maggie, who now has two new people to adore her.

(I texted our Monday nanny to check on my baby - the dog, not the human children who I figured were fine - and she responded "she's perfect." And I was like, I know and I MISS HER.)

I was chatting with my mom on my drive home from work and she was asking if Maggie gets up on the furniture. "Oh no!" I exclaimed, "she's too well behaved and perfect for that." And then this is the scene that greeted me as I walked in the door.

"Um, mom. I have to go." To take a picture, obviously, and then to tell the dog to get off the couch. Except she's deaf, so I'm not sure it got through.

~ ~ ~

In a bit of catch-up backwards blogging, we went to the Rodeo last Sunday! The weather was perfect and the rides were colorful and only occasionally rickety and death defying.

Claire wore her best cowgirl couture and I was here for it.

And this glimpse of college-Claire.

Cora went unicorn rainbow shirt, purple sequin skirt, pink leggings, and pink princess boots. She was in it for the thrill rides.

I was too. And the ribbon fries.

It was a super fun afternoon.

Landon ate a fried snickers, Cora was finally tall enough for all the rides, and Claire took the prize for the bravest of all. (The ride we went on not pictured, but I have a strong stomach and I'm pretty sure I was green the whole time. My stomach was definitely not in its preferred location.) Someday we'll go to the actual rodeo, but until then, we sure do enjoy the Midway!

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It's been a little while since we've had a Cora story and this made me laugh out loud Tuesday morning. We are coming to realize that her being everyone's favorite person in the house for her first five years might not bode well for us for her next 15 or so, so we're trying to remember how we raised her generally helpful and responsible big siblings. Turns out it involves a lot of work and consistency and follow-through (and not having older siblings who just cheerfully do everything for you) and we kind of forgot about all that.

So, over the last few years she has developed many creative and sneaky ways to get out of cleaning up her messes (putting away 10% and pulling a "Mission Accomplished," claiming with confidence that only the original owner of the toys - never her/#ThirdBaby - has a lifelong responsibility to clean them up, putting her toys away in new and non-approved locations, some of which frequently require more work than just putting the damn things back where they go...), but we’ve been trying to crack down. On Monday night we told her in no uncertain terms that she was to clean up ALL her toys and put them back where WE have told her they should go.

On Tuesday morning I noticed our bunch of bananas had grown by one and I appreciated her subtle resistance to our orders.

And then on Wednesday, she pulled some more third-baby-logic:

Cora: Mom, look at my lovey I brought to school today!
Me: Oh, that's nice... wait- isn't that Landon's falcon?
Cora: Yes, but I put Claire's doll clothes on him so now he is mine. Isn't he so cozy?

I should note that this logic does not break the "whoever the toy belonged to originally should have to pick it up" Cora-rule. Obviously.

~ ~ ~

Moving on! Maggie got a new dog blanket and she loves it and would like one on all her (five) beds please. I have not made a single online purchase for anyone in this family since December 21st. I have not been inside a Target since December 23rd. We made substantial and occasionally harsh cuts to our personal budget during the furlough and I'm hoping to stick with it through our next credit card bill.

But in the last week five boxes have been delivered to our house. 100% of them have been for the dog. She deserves them.

She had her first appointment with our vet on Friday and I finally read through her full medical history with the rescue club and it was heartbreaking. She was found collapsed under a tree in July in 105 temperatures. She had a fresh c-section scar, the chemical burn, and had either escaped from or been dumped by a bad puppy mill. At less than 4, her body showed a clear history of too many litters too fast, especially for her little frame. She was heartworm positive with two infected ears, an infected tail, and several infected teeth. The teeth and tail were removed, four inches of belly skin and scar tissue was removed, and she was spayed and treated for the heartworm. At every entry, after any medical jargon, the always vet noted "patient is very sweet" and she IS. We love her so much.

~ ~ ~

Now that I'm back at work and pleasant to be around again, AND now that our missed paychecks are being processed, James and I got to go on our fancy holiday date night! Originally scheduled for December 23rd, it was regretfully canceled when furlough became a reality, but very joyfully rescheduled for last night. I wore a new dress my mom had bought me in October, gorgeous 4" Ann Taylor heels I bought on clearance for $8 in 2009 and keep faithfully in a plastic box in my closet for just such occasions, and carried this beautiful purse I inherited from my aunt/godmother after she passed away two years ago.

It was an excellent evening. There is nothing I love more than a fancy and delicious date night with my favorite person at our favorite place. We ate all the things and talked and flirted and enjoyed our first night out without our children since October.

And then on our way home we stopped to pick up Landon from a friend's, except he decided to spend the night, so I hopped out of the car to play with my mama friends and James took Landon home for a change of clothes and other necessities. Then I accidentally stayed over for two more hours before coming home to a James who had just finished a terrible show I didn't want to watch and was now ready to cuddle. It was the best night.

~ ~ ~

And now on to recipes! (Cora just announced to me, with a sigh, while eating lunch, "Mom. I think I'm getting close to not liking pickles. I mean, I still like them right now. But maybe not tomorrow." Luckily, there are no pickles in this meal plan.)

Sunday: Pizza rolls, lots of them, in many varieties, for a Superbowl Party I asked a friend to have so I could go to one.

Monday: Black bean and veggie enchiladas, mexican rice. I made these up a little while ago - chopped zucchini, yellow squash, carrot, onion, and garlic, sauteed in a bit of olive oil, cumin, and chili powder. Add drained black beans and shredded Monterrey jack cheese and scoop the mix into tortillas, roll, and top with a verde cream sauce (jar of verde salsa simmered with some cream cheese to make it creamy). Bake. So good.

Tuesday: BBQ chicken sandwiches, chips, fruit. I'll be at a PTA meeting, and James and the kids love this meal more than I do, plus it's super easy for them to pull together when they get home late from swimming.

Wednesday: BBQ chicken quinoa salad. Claire's most beloved meal. Leftover bbq chicken over quinoa with black beans, corn, chopped avocado, tomato, and cheddar cheese. Top with a swirl of ranch and/or bbq sauce. Chips on the side for some crunch.

Thursday: Pasta with tomato cream sauce, garlic bread, steamed frozen veggies. I have a future 6th grade parents meeting (how could that possibly apply to me?), so I'll be gone once again and this is another meal James loves more than me. (I like it very much; James could eat it daily and loves making it.) And it comes together fast for when they get home at 7.

Friday: Lemon chicken orzo soup. We loved this so much last week we're having it again on the day our weather is supposed to drop 50 degrees.

Winning at Bees and Bulldogs

You guys! I have so many exciting things to report! It's like my whole life has changed since I last wrote. I'm back at work! My succulent lives! I have a dog! Landon killed it at the regional spelling bee! We went to the Rodeo! Some of this will have to be covered later, so we'll stick with the B's for now.

Like this gorgeous, noble, MAJESTIC bulldog who now calls our house home.

"Draw me like one of your French girls, Jack."

This is Lilly Belle, now named Magnolia Jane "Maggie," and we adopted her on Saturday from the fabulous Lone Star Bulldog Club Rescue.

She is 4 1/2, completely deaf, soft as velvet, and sweet as sugar.

She had a rough start at life on the streets. She has a chemical burn that is healed but will never grow fur, scarred up ears, and needed a mommy tuck when she first got to rescue last year because she is a petite girl who clearly had far too many litters than her body could handle.

We had a meet and greet Thursday night. She was calm and sweet and loved the kids. We were powerless in the gaze of her gentle eyes.

She is perfect. She is petite in size, doesn't bark - doesn't make a sound actually, unless it's some dainty snoring while she's sleeping, doesn't jump, and doesn't chew. She was in her foster home for 5 months, so they really felt like they knew her personality and she was the only foster dog at the house that was allowed to be loose when her foster parents went at work because she was so well behaved. She's great with other dogs (there were 9 at her foster house!), great with kids, loves to be outside and loves to play dress up.

The hero we don't deserve

We simply adore her.

Since she's deaf, the comings and goings and low-level chaos of our house don't bother her in the slightest. She sleeps soundly through the night and only wakes up in the morning when there's a change in lighting. On Sunday morning the kids were so excited to play with her and it wasn't until the sun came up high enough through our skylights to wake her that they could attend to her in the way she has quickly become accustomed.

We went to the Rodeo on Sunday and this was our guard dog 10 minutes after we returned.

Oh hai, where did you come from?

She ADORES James. He is her sun, moon, and stars and she looks at him with little heart emojis swimming around her head. I suppose it's only appropriate, since he made the call to the Rescue Club to start the process of finding our perfect match, 15 months after we had to give up on poor Winston.

She has integrated well into the family routine. She volunteers to help with chores and likes to take little loops through the house periodically to check on things.

She wakes up in the morning looking like a model and is ready for hugs.

At work today I was missing her when James randomly texted me a picture, just so I'd know she was busy being majestic at home.

You guys, I flipping love this dog.

And I look forward to sharing a few hundred smooshy faced pictures of her with you.

Lady Magnolia, killing it

In other things that start with the letter "B," Landon had the Area Spelling Bee at the Botanic Gardens Lecture Hall yesterday!

He'd been studying his massively expanded spelling list since he won the Bee at his elementary school, though honestly we just remained thrilled that he'd won the first round and saw this as a bonus experience. I think he did too, though he was definitely edgy and nervous when Monday morning rolled around. He made me bring his packet of words into the lobby and quiz him until he started. I tried to be helpful by only asking him words I knew he'd get right.

I mean, not that we don't think he's brilliant or want him to do well, but as we walked into the auditorium on that Monday morning James and I really just wanted for him to not go out first. These were all champions of their schools! Middle schools and 6th grade campuses were there! This was the big leagues and we were happy to be present.

And then shit got serious. There were 16 kids total. 4 went out on the first round. Then 5 more. At the start of round 3 we were down to less than half! And Landon was still up there, calmly and confidently spelling out words without pause or hesitation.

We were floored.

His words were:
1. damask
2. cavil
3. gaiters
4. piedmont
5. recompense
6. docile
7. noisome

And he just banged them out without even a "can I get a definition please?" We couldn't believe it. By round 8 it was Landon and an 8th grader from the middle school he'll soon go to for the last six rounds.

Just the two of them. Up and down.

He kept going:
8. cinnabar
9. eviscerated
10. balaclavas
11. phaeton
12. cursive

And then, he got "blemish." In many ways, it was the easiest word he'd gotten so far and he just froze. "B-l-e..."

Frozen.

He added a silent a. He told us later he totally knew how to spell it but he out-thought himself because he thought it couldn't be that simple so late into the competition. So the 8th grader won!

But you guys, he got 2nd!

He was runner-up at the Area-Wide competition and will get to go watch the Regional Competition in March. That's the level of competition from which the winner goes directly to the National Bee! We were so very proud of him!! He was so proud of him! It was the best Monday morning.

He got a trophy and a silver medal. He got to go eat a donut with his dad before going back to school while I headed in to my first day of work in 2019, and then I stopped on the way home so I could surprise him with a selection of frozen pizzas, dark chocolate brownies, and ice cream when he got home from climbing. What shopping cart could look better to an 11.5-year-old?

It was such a special day. Area Spelling Bee Runner-Up! A dog to come home to! And a mom back at work, our sweet nannies back in our life, and a homemade dessert on a non-birthday evening.

The rest of the week has a lot to live up to.