Birthday and routine

My dad turns 50 this week. Since my parents were planning to come over for dinner anyway, we had the whole family over to celebrate. Since I can't settle for your run-of-the-mill birthday party, I decided to take dad back to his teenage years, and go with a 1970s theme.

For appetizers, I made Mexican quiche, combining Dad's love of Mexican with the quiche food fad of the 70s (so Food Network tells me). For the main meal, I tried my hand at chimichangas. I love Mexican, but am not experienced with cooking it. Thankfully, everyone seemed to really enjoy it. For dessert, I made Better than Sex cake, and after everyone exclaimed over my audacity to make such a scandalous cake, we ate it up. Dad blew out the cake candles while wearing his party hat--a 1970s afro wig.

For decorations, Dustin purchased a little [little] disco ball, and we hung it up in the living room. Smile face balloons, pop rocks, streamers, and little toy soldiers (Vietnam War).

We danced to 70s music in my little itty bitty living room. It was very loud, but it was fun! The craziness of the night got the best of Christian and Lara, who spent the last hour screaming (happily) and running around.

In other news, I'm trying out a little thing called self-discipline. It's not so fun, and I am not so good at it. I'll do really well with a certain commitment for, like, 3 days, and then I am done. Currently, I am working really hard on keeping us girls on a good, daily routine that involves exercising, activities, meditation, and, of course, Mommy Time! I am feeling better now that Claire is sleeping better, but my energy level is still low. Sometimes I still wake up ready for a nap. I have taken the week to try out different things and see what works well for us. I've learned that I absolutely need to have consistent alone-time. Because I am an introvert, if I am around people all day with no break, I feel extremely deenergized. I have to make sure I am taking opportunities to take a break. I am blessed with a wonderful husband who jumps at the chance to make that happen for me.