Just like the old days

Yesterday was a good day.  First of all, the rain had finally left the area and we were left with sunshine, low humidity, a breeze, and temperatures no warmer than the mid-80’s.  That’s virtually unheard of for this area in August.  I made the most of it and ate my lunch – Subway Wednesday! – al fresco.

Continuing with tradition, I went straight to the Y after work and took a cycle class.  I was there early enough to catch up with some of the people at the front desk, and then I saw my friend Erika in the class and we were able to chat for a bit.

The class was hard (I think my last cycle class was in April the week of my birthday), but I sweated through it and held my own.  The best part?  I felt amazing when I was done and had more energy than I had going in.

My traditional hump day wrapped up with popcorn, which I earned in that spin class.

Yes, I have a new normal these days, but I do miss my old habits.  However, I’m looking forward to this evening and spending that one hour with Connor before he goes to bed.

What can I say, I’m a study in contrasts.

FYI

You know those hotels where you can smell the pool from your room…on the third floor?  Turns out, that’s not necessarily a good thing.

And I always thought the stronger the chlorine smell, the safer the water.  Not that it’s going to stop me from using those pools, or keep Connor out of them when the opportunity arises.

But maybe I’ll be better about keeping my eyes and mouth shut.

Just a little PSA for your Wednesday.  Happy Hump Day!

Anniversary

On August 12th of last year, I let you guys in on our little secret: we were expecting a McBaby!

Now said McBaby is almost six months old.

It’s not all fun and games (just keepin’ it real here), but I sure do love that little roly poly up there.

{Recipe Recap} Strawberry Dream Cupcakes

Last week, we girls celebrated two more birthdays, Vickie’s and Sara’s.  Just like in June, we went to Outback and we ended up sitting essentially where we did last time.  The restaurant was fairly busy for 6ish on a Monday night and tables were pushed pretty close together.

There were seven of us and we get along famously so there was a lot of happy catching up from one end of the table to the other.  Well, apparently diners at a table near us didn’t like being able to hear our conversation and they complained to their server, who must’ve gone to the manager because he came over and asked us to keep it down.  Oops.

Maybe we should’ve skipped straight to the treats and kept our mouths full and therefore quiet.  Nah, we make no apologies for having a good time.

Since I’ve brought it up, let’s take a look at one of the desserts.  Vickie’s birthday was first so we’ll go with hers: Strawberry Dream Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream.  Vickie requested the frosting and let me decide what to put it on.

We had recently talked about eating lots of strawberries, and I already knew that Vickie was a fruit fanatic, so it was a logical choice.

I know the cupcake looks like it’s made of something really delicious like bran, but I promise, they are strawberry through and through.  I used both strawberry extract and two cups of pureed strawberries in the cake batter.

These cupcakes baked up perfectly.  They were moist without being overly wet and they had a light airy texture.  The amazing flavor was an added bonus!

You know I don’t prefer fruit desserts so when I tell you that this cupcake is one of my favorites, you know it has to be good.

This will be my go-to strawberry cake recipe from now on.  Seriously, look no further because you will only be disappointed.

Happy Monday, everyone!

{Recipe here}

Our recent visitors

My sister Bri and nieces Lyla and Maxie visited us the last weekend in July, arriving on Friday afternoon.  They really came up to see Baby Connerd, as Maxie refers to her newest cousin.

Lucky for them, Connor was due for a bottle right after they got to the house so they got some up-close-and-personal time with him (whether he wanted it or not) right off the bat.

He was a little unsure of the new person feeding him while being surrounded by two other unknowns so I helped him finish his bottle while the girls continued to visit with him.

After Connor’s bath and bedtime, we grown-ups ate turkey burgers.  While the McHusband grilled those, Maxie and Lyla found a productive way to pass the time.

Were they hunting Easter eggs?

Searching for moles?

Looking for buried treasure?

They struck a deal with the McHusband where he’d pay them a penny for each gumball they picked up.  Somehow that expanded to include rocks so before too long, the bucket was too heavy for Lyla to move but it still wasn’t even a third full. 

We wondered if Lyla would remember that the McHusband owed her money and guess what?  Right before they left on Sunday, Lyla held out her hand and said, “Pay up!”  He did honor his end of the bargain with an approximation of what was owed.  I think the girls came out ahead in the end.

After their dessert, it was time for the girls to go to bed.  They slept on a mattress in the bonus room while the dogs were relocated to the laundry room.  The McHusband had to do some quality control.

On Saturday, Bri and I took the kids up to Charming Charlie’s, a store Bri had heard about but never been in.  We wandered through its color-coordinated sections then went to A Children’s Place before having lunch at Tijuana Flats.

Once home, I did some prep for that night’s girls’ night in, and Lyla helped me keep Connor entertained. 

And later, she lent a hand during Connor’s bathtime.  Such a good helper!

(I don’t have any food pictures, but you should definitely make this Artichoke Dip Bruschetta.  It was decadent!)

The McHusband organized a guys’ dinner and visit to a new brewery in town and then most of that group came back to our house afterward.  We were having such a great time that it was close to 3 in the morning before we called it quits.  Totally worth being exhausted all last week as I struggled to recover from getting less than 3 hours of sleep, but I won’t be doing that again anytime soon.

We had a little time for playing first thing Sunday morning.  Lyla showed Connor some of her best dance moves then it was time to get dressed and pack things up.

We thoroughly enjoyed having Bri, Lyla, and Maxie visit, and we really appreciated them making the drive to spend the weekend with us.  Love you guys!

Sneak attack

I have a real post for you tomorrow.  Last night, my fingers were busy putting popcorn in my mouth so I fell back on the internet and let it do my blogging.

Raise your hand if you want a lion cub now?  Yeah, me too.  Cuz that’s just what I need, another Monte-sized animal with lots of energy running around my house.

Happy Hump Day!  Also, happy day-after-your-birthday to Sara!

{Recipe Recap} Homemade Vanilla Frosties

When Bri was here with Maxie and Lyla last weekend, I decided to make some Frosties for them.  They prefer vanilla to chocolate (I know, whose family did they come from?) but I guess they aren’t the only ones since the internet knows how to make vanilla Frosties.

Lyla helped me blend everything together.

The blender was really full and Lyla was a little worried that it wasn’t going to hold everything in.  Spoiler alert: No upcoming pictures of the sitcom-sized mess.

Once everything was blended, we put the mixture in the fridge to chill for later when I’d put it in my ice cream maker.

Verdict?  I think we had two happy campers.

Did you notice they’re eating their Frosties out of ACTUAL Frosty cups?  My coworker goes to Wendy’s pretty frequently so I asked her to get some Frosty cups for me, and the restaurant was kind enough to indulge her.

I think Maxie liked her cookie cake more than the Frosty, and I can’t blame her. 

I can’t say I’d make this plain Frosty again as it really didn’t taste like a whole lot more than sweetened heavy cream.

But you know what made it better?  A little Whipped Vodka, Bailey’s and Kahlua.  Yep, it made a great Mudslide!

It might not have been my favorite treat, but the girls seemed to like it so that’s all that mattered.  More on their visit soon, I promise.  Since I’m not spending this week recovering from getting less than 3 hours of sleep one of my weekend nights, hopefully I’ll have a bit more energy for exercise and blogging.

Hope your week’s off to a good start!  My Monday will wrap up nicely as we girls are celebrating two birthdays with dinner tonight.  Definitely a good way to kick off a new week.

{Recipe here}