Birthday Party

Earlier in the week, I was having a blah kind of evening. It was after dinner. The girls were playing outside. I was resting and being a couch potato (or a bed potato? since I was in my room watching TV - whatever).

Rose came in with a small beach ball. "Mommy, tie a ribbon on this"

Ok. Whatever.

Then, they both walk by the room calling out, "hey Mommy, come outside with us!"

I said no, I was resting, they headed on outside and played for awhile.

I thought of something to tell Steve, so I went to the garage to tell him. I mention that I've just noticed that the girls have taken a lot of toys outside.

"They're throwing you a birthday party"

Oh. Whoops. Parent fail.

So I go outside, and they've set up a ring of chairs and doll chairs, with dolls and stuffed animals sitting in the circle.  In the middle is our little outdoor side table covered in leaves and white rocks with a little owl sitting on it. (like a nest) Around the  little table is a circle of leaves and white rocks.

The beach ball is tied to a basket. It's the birthday "balloon".

So I sit down to enjoy my birthday party. They play their Tinkerbell music box thing for me, and then Willow runs to get Steve...b/c they want us to slow dance to the Tinkerbell music so we can be romantic. (or whoa-mantic as the one kid pronounces it)

So we slow dance to Tinkerbell music, and then have a smooch for their benefit :) Haha.

Needless to say, my heart was full.

It was also one of the only times all week when they weren't fighting with each other - they just need more common goals i guess ;)

Happy Birthday

Yes, it's that time of year once again.  My birthday. Weee.

We're going out tonight for dinner, so that will be fun. Nothing particularly special today, lesson, visit at the facility with GM, errands, lunch with the kid at school, lunch for me from Chik-fil-a (yum)...rest, be a bum...clean house b/c we're hosting group class in the morning...errands, pick the kid up from school...resting again...

I do plan on doing something self-centered tomorrow. The Japanese Garden in FW is having a thing, and I'd love to go to that...but it might be hot (commence whining)...or I may just go shopping with my bday money :) haha.

In honor of my birthday, I weighed myself, and I am officially (for today at least) 20 pounds less than when we left PA 3 years ago. Crazy.  But that was a nice little boost...you know, since I'm an old woman in my mid-30's now. Haha.

Some plans in the works for me for this summer...looks like I'll be teaching again...interesting how things come about, how they steamroll, and where they lead, only God knows. And then to think that it's been 9 years since I taught in school. How am I that old??? AAAAAAHHHHH.  Been going through a lot of feelings this week in regards to recognizing abilities, bla bla bla, how do I want to define myself, where is my passion...still working on it, but possibly, and i say POSSIBLY, maybe allowing that teaching music MIGHT be where I'm willing to go gung-ho...and not just b/c I can or it's what I do well, but b/c I have a desire to do it.

Now, I'm not meaning in the naval-gazing-woe-is-me-1st-world-problems-get-a-job-already type stuff, but like really, what do I want to do as I look at the girls getting older, etc...

I definitely still want to be the "stay at home" mom, but when they are both in school, what are my options for private teaching during the day? exploring that. how much time do i want to commit to teaching after school when the kids are finally home...where are the boundaries...i want to be able to help them with homework, help them practice, be able to make dinner, etc...

So that's where I'm at with that, just contemplating the possibilities...praying too...

So it will be interesting to see what doors are opened and what doors are shut.

You know, for awhile, i thought maybe I'd want to pursue something in the medical field (orderly, aide, whatever)...but I kind of feel like that itch has been scratched, and to a moderate degree, I'm still doing that.

So yes, happy birthday to me :)

Food and Exercise

So that spin class I'm taking? Apparently it uses all the muscles I haven't used in previous exercise.  It seems to be getting harder, not easier.

The other ladies in the class are pumping away at a level 4...me, I'm struggling at level 1.  I don't feel "bad" about that b/c I know i'm not in the same shape they are, etc... bla bla bla.

I've really been stumped this week what to make for book club dessert.  I've flipped through magazines, browsed websites, toyed with a few ideas, but nothing was speaking to me.

During spin class, I thought to myself "man, i'm a cream puff compared to these ladies"....and then ..."hey, i can make cream puffs for book club!"

problem solved.

i have an easy recipe from everyday food magazine - i made these cream puffs a year or two ago (don't remember). then they are filled with a fruity whipped cream. i've got some delicious strawberry preserves from a local bla bla bla that i'm going to use with the whipped cream for the filling.

Yum.

I'll be making these tomorrow. That way, if they bite the big one (hahahaha) then i have time to either (a) make something else or (b) buy something on the way there.

I'm going to be 34 in 10 days. AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH. I mean, that's almost 35, which is like, the mid-30's. haha.

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in other news, i made a tasty dinner.  i did some regular white rice in the rice cooker. i threw in some chili powder, cumin, and garlic powder into the water and rice and let it steam together. it gives it a light flavor without adding calories - not quite a spanish rice or anything, but better than just plain white rice. you should experiment with spices you like and see what you come up with.

then, in my smaller soup pot, i sauteed an onion and some garlic in olive oil. then i added a can of rinsed chickpeas, 1 chicken breast cut into small pieces, a bit of chipotle sauce (maybe a couple of tbsp?), some tomato paste - almost a whole can, and then some chicken stock so things wouldn't stick. then i threw in some mexican oregano and a bay leaf. once it was boiling, i reduced to a simmer and cooked for about an hour and a half.

TASTY.

so the chickpea/chicken mixture (and this would have totally worked without the chicken) was served atop the rice, and garnished with sharp cheddar, cilantro, and sour cream.

easy and healthy. at least i think it was healthy :)

I'm making this for book club tomorrow night.

 Here's a video of W with her "BFF" who has quite the internet following.

Day to day, not much going on.

I'm taking a spin class, which is TOTALLY kicking my hiney. Oy.

 We go every day to the facility to see GM, and R has become quite the belle of the place. I appreciate that R can take it all in stride.

 When I decided not to blog about the kids here as much, it kind of took away anything for me to talk about. Ha! So food and exercise and housewifery it is.

Pesto

So I made a pesto the other day... if by pesto, I mean throw a bunch of stuff in the blender and hope for the best... so I had some curly kale...threw that in. had some curly parsley...threw than in. had a small amount of basil (but enough)...threw that in. no pine nuts, but there were some walnuts in the freezer...why not! threw that in. garlic, salt, olive oil, parmesan it actually turned out pretty good. we've had it a few times now on pasta - i think for the last bit of it, i'm going to make some pizza dough and put it on that. yum! (but don't tell Steve or the kids) ;)

Catching Up

Realized it's been almost a month since I posted here...but the main things going on are things I don't blog about here, so I'm not left with much else to say :) Um...the girls had a trophy festival for violin, and did great jobs. W won a scholarship for Suzuki camp (yay!) Spring break was fun and relaxing. I made a flourless chocolate hazlenut cake, topped with whipped cream and hazlenut pralines (book club) Then I made a strawberry orange shortcake tart (book club) And...that's it. :)

A Day in the Life...

the 12 yr old working at McDonald's (b/c all people younger than me get classified as 12 now) pointed out that I seemed like I was in a bad mood (which I wasn't) - but if I was, I know I'd want to confide in that kid and/or have my bad mood pointed out to me....(grrr) I threw out a "I'm really hungry" kind of comment...b/c saying "oh, I often come across as unfriendly, but I'm really great when you get to know me" just seemed to personal for ordering happy meals...