*This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Happy Tuesday,
y’all! It’s time for another weekly
recap… and this week I got it up on time!
Monday, February 2
Monday, I woke up feeling yucky because I hadn’t slept well because my
allergies had flared up since I was temporarily off my allergy medication. I had an allergy test Wednesday, so I had to
be off all antihistamines for seven days prior, and I hope I don’t have to do
that again for a long time because I am still recovering and it’s been
12 days.
I dropped the kids at school, stayed for a Home and School Advisory Board
meeting, and then I went straight to the orthodontist to talk to them about my
retainers. Since they were causing all
my facial tension and dizziness to come back, the orthodontist said that he
thinks the best solution is to put in a permanent retainer on my bottom teeth,
and a traditional retainer for my top teeth.
No more Invisalign retainers.
For whatever reason, my jaw just did not like those. And the only reason he put me in them to
begin with is because I clench my teeth all night while I sleep. The Invisalign retainers would have protected
my teeth, so now I have no idea what I’m going to do about that, but I’m just
taking things one step at a time for now…
They went ahead and put in the permanent retainer at my appointment
Monday, and they made the mold for my top retainer, and I had to wait a week to
pick it up. The orthodontist told me to
try to continue to wear the top Invisalign retainer as much as possible to keep
my teeth straight until my other retainer was available, but I didn’t wear it
much because I just couldn’t stand all the tension and dizziness that it brought
about.
After my appointment, I ran to Walmart and Publix to grab groceries, and
then I had just enough time to get everything unloaded and put away, get dinner
in the slow cooker, eat lunch with Brian, and work on my blog post for Tuesday
before heading to the school to pick up Olivia.
When we got home, I did my quiet time while she did homework, and then I
listed a couple of things on a local website for sale. One of them sold immediately, so that was
nice!
Brian picked up Jacob from e-sports when it was over and then the two of
them spent some time at the driving range to get Jacob ready for golf later in
the week. While they were gone, I
managed to get a few things done around the house – plant watering, toilet
cleaning, vacuuming my car mat and getting it back in the car after letting it
sit outside for weeks due to the gasoline smell that got in it (it’s finally
gone!), and I finished making dinner.
I did get my top retainer back in for an hour, but it made me feel awful,
so that was about all I could do.
Thankfully, my top teeth didn’t shift at all the rest of the week when I
didn’t wear it. Whew.
After golfing, the boys had to go out and look for some new golf shoes
for Jacob since he’d outgrown his, and then we all sat down to eat ranch
chicken pasta, steamed broccoli, and Cheesecake Factory bread when they
returned.
I felt so yucky from my retainer and allergy issues that I lay down for a
bit after dinner and then I got a second wind and put some laundry away before
hanging out with Olivia in her room. My
little old lady was crocheting, and I loved watching her and chatting with her. I absolutely love that she has taken up
crocheting as one of her new hobbies… she crochets, she plays guitar, she’s
learning French, she takes seven dance classes, she makes videos, she paints,
she writes song lyrics… she’s my little Renaissance woman! She is truly so well-rounded – both of our
kids are! – and I love that about both of them.
We have always encouraged them to do whatever it is that their little
hearts enjoy most, and it has been a true blessing watching both of them grow
into the creative, intelligent little humans that they are.
After everyone was ready for bed, we watched some more of the Grammys,
and then after the kids went to bed, Brian and I watched another episode of Run
Away. Since I didn’t sleep Sunday
night and I was super congested all day Monday, I made myself a little
nightcap, and I slept like a baby (mostly, anyway) Monday night.
Tuesday, February 3
Tuesday, I got the kids to school and then I headed home. I realized when I got home that I’d never
finished my blog post for Tuesday (oops!), so I finished it and set it to post
Wednesday instead. I also had to move my
weekly post to Thursday because I just couldn’t get my act together in time to
get it done.
Between all my tension and dizziness being back and my allergies raging
because I couldn’t take my medicine, I was a HOT MESS Tuesday morning, and I
could barely keep my eyes open. Around
10:30 AM, I realized it was dumb to keep forcing myself to sit at my computer
and work when I could just give my body the rest that it needed, so I grabbed
my electric blanket and my pillow, and I curled up in our bed and slept for an
hour and a half.
I was still congested and dizzy when I woke up, but I did have way more
energy, so I knocked out a few things on my to do list:
-
Worked on blog post for Thursday
-
Got gas in my car
-
Returned a few Amazon items to UPS
-
Returned a few books at the library
Check, check, check, and CHECK!
When Olivia and I got home from school, I did a Bible study while she did
homework, and then I took her to dance.
Meanwhile, Brian picked Jacob up from e-sports and took him to golf. While they were all gone, I walked two
miles. It was 60 degrees on Tuesday, but
the sun had already gone down by the time I got out there, so it was pretty
chilly, but it sure was nice having some warmer temps!
I showered when I got back home, and then I got started on dinner. The boys were done with golf just in time to
pick up Olivia from dance and then we all sat down to sausage, peppers, and
onions tacos, chips, and fruit when they got home.
The kids got showered after dinner and then Olivia crocheted for a bit
before putting herself to bed (LOL – it never fails to crack me up that she’s
just ready to go to bed some nights… I swear, she is just a little old lady at
heart) and then after Jacob went to bed, Brian and I watched another episode of
Run Away.
Wednesday, February 4
Wednesday morning, we woke up to a rainyyyy day. I got the kids to school, swung by Target to
return something, and then I headed to the allergist for a skin test. My last skin test was nearly 10 years ago,
and I was severely allergic to so. many. things. – various grasses, trees,
weeds, and many other outdoor things + dust mites, roaches, and a few other
odds and ends. I did three years of
allergy shots and they helped me tremendously.
I haven’t had nearly as many issues since I completed my allergy shots,
but it’s been six years since I finished them, and my seasonal allergies have
ramped up again the last year, so the doctor wanted to test me again.
It turns out that I’m still very allergic to dog fennel (a type of weed)
but I’m only a little allergic to all the other things, so the doctor said she
didn’t think that warrants doing another round of allergy shots. Instead, she told me just to keep using my
allergy medication as needed (which, for me, is every single day – cringe) and
let them know if I have any major issues.
She did also diagnose me with vasomotor rhinitis, which is rhinitis
that’s triggered by environmental irritants like changes in weather (especially
cold temperatures), high humidity (which we have a lot here in Georgia), and
shifts in barometric pressure. That
explains soooo much, y’all. If I
discontinue my allergy medication for even a day during the winter when nothing
is blooming, I get congested, and even though I take allergy medication
year-round, I have a perpetual runny nose during the winter, and now I finally
know why! I had no idea you could be
“allergic” to weather changes.
After my appointment, I headed home to work for the rest of the day. I still had to finish my blog post for
Thursday… the one that’s typically posted on Tuesday… so I was a bit behind. Haha.
After school, the kids and I headed home.
I did my quiet time and then went for a walk, and then I drove Olivia to
dance. The boys and I had leftover ranch
chicken pasta, freshly steamed broccoli, and leftover Cheesecake Factory bread
for dinner, and then I sat downstairs and watched Jeopardy and Wheel
of Fortune with them while Brian worked out.
Brian headed to dance to pick up Olivia, and I spent some time in my
office getting ready for Thursday while Jacob got ready for bed.
After the kids were in bed, Brian and I watched the newest episode of Shrinking
that had been released and then we went to bed.
Thursday, February 5
Thursday morning, Jacob had to be at school at 5:45 AM for his e-sports
state tournament. They had to travel out
of town, so it was a very early morning.
Brian got up with him and got him to school and then he headed to work
early, and Olivia and I got up at our regular times and I got her to school.
When I got home, I finished my blog post for Friday, I started my post
for Monday, and then I took yet another nap because I just couldn’t kick my
congestion and dizziness. My congestion
had eased up a little bit since I was able to resume my allergy medication on
Wednesday, but once I get congested, it tends to hang around foreverrrr.
When I got up, I tackled a few things around the house and then it was
time to pick up the kids from school.
Since I’d had such an unproductive morning, I decided not to read in the
car line, and instead, knock out a couple of tasks in the car. I had to call our orthodontist and update our
insurance info with them, and I had to book security for our school dance that
I’m co-chairing. Our resource officer
ended up coming out and chatting with me for a couple of minutes while I
waited, and he got security all lined up for me. Check and check.
Jacob was supposed to get back from his field trip by 2 or 2:30, but he’d
texted me earlier in the day to let me know that they were running behind and
wouldn’t be back until right at dismissal.
I was on pins and needles because the kids had music lessons right after
school (all the way across town), so I knew we needed to leave right on time to
get there on time. I tracked him on
Life360 for the last 30 minutes of his journey, and they literally pulled up
just as the kids were dismissing. We
ended up holding up the car line for 1-2 minutes because Jacob had to run all
the way across campus to get to me, but he made it, and we made it to music
lessons! Whew!
I sat in with Olivia for her guitar lesson, and she practiced some more
of The Fate of Ophelia by Taylor Swift.
When we got home, I did my quiet time and then went for a walk, and after
I got showered and into pajamas, Brian and I made breakfast for dinner.
I was lazy for the rest of the evening, and we ended the night with the
rest of the Grammys with the kids, an episode of Run Away for Brian and
me, and a hot toddy for me to flush out some of that congestion.
Friday, February 6
Friday morning, I dropped the kids at school, I knocked out some work at
home, and then Brian and I left to go to my upper cervical chiropractor
appointment. As I suspected, my atlas
had moved out of place, and the doctor said that it had moved significantly
compared to how much it usually moves when it does come out. I was bummed because I’d gone two months
without issues, and then that dang Invisalign retainer caused everything to get
completely out of whack again just like that.
My neck scan, my leg test, and the doctor’s manual assessment all very
obviously showed the misalignment.
Although it sucks that I’m having issues again, at least I do now know
with 100% certainty that it was the braces rubber bands that caused my initial
issues… and now the retainers are causing the issues all over again. It’s amazing how much damage can be done to
the whole body with such small shifts of the jaw.
And the doc said that it wasn’t just my atlas… he said, “there is (was) a
whole lot going on,” and he ended up adjusting both SI joints, several places
all the way up my spine, my atlas (7 taps this time, which was the most EVER),
and my jaw. He told me that my left jaw
joint isn’t doing what it’s supposed to do and, therefore, it’s causing all the
issues with my right jaw joint. He got
the left jaw functioning smoothly, but it was already back out of whack in the
hour that it took us to get home. Sigh. He did tell me from the get-go that jaws are
tricky to get to stay in place, especially if they’ve been out of alignment for
a while. Mine has been messed up for 20+
years, so I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to get them to stay the way they’re
supposed to.
When Brian and I got home, I finished my blog post for Monday and had
lunch with B. By the time we were done
with lunch, I was so sleepy, hot, and my breathing was so rapid that I felt
like I’d just run a marathon. That is
all totally normal after an atlas adjustment because the adjustments affect the
nerves that run through the atlas, and those nerves control tons of things in
the body, including the “fight or flight” response. Since I felt like crap, I lay down and took
yet another nap, and when I got up, it was time to pick up the kids from
school.
When we got home, the kids got everything put away from the week and then
they had some screen time. I did my
quiet time and then got lots of little things done that I had been neglecting
all week... like cleaning the last few slats on the blinds in our bedroom. Look at the difference between the top ones and the bottom ones! So satisfying!
Brian picked up Olive Garden for dinner per the kids’ requests, and then
we spent the evening in, watching Is It Cake? Valentine’s Day edition
and starting Dumbo… like the old Disney movie from the 1940s. So random, but both kids said that they
wanted to see it since they’d never seen it.
I, for one, have never liked that movie because I just can’t stand
watching all the elephants be so cruel to that sweet baby.
After they went to bed, Brian and I watched another episode of Run Away,
and then we called it a night. As I was saying goodnight to Olivia, she kicked back in the bed like this and said, "Life is so great!" It was the cutest thing, and I just love seeing her so happy!
Saturday, February 7
Saturday morning, Brian picked up donuts for breakfast since we hadn’t
had them in a while, and we were all up by 8:30.
We had the Olympics on throughout the day, but I didn’t watch much of
them since I wanted to try to get caught up on some things that I hadn’t gotten
done during the week thanks to all the naps and breaks from feeling yucky.
The kids and I tackled some laundry, I fixed an issue I’d been having
with my blog for a few days, I painted my nails, I did a little bit of blog
reading, and I did lots of planning for Brian’s and Olivia’s birthdays.
Brian dropped the kids off at my parents’ house late in the afternoon and
he and I got ready for the benefit ball that we attend every year.
We’ve been attending this ball for 17 years (I think?) so I wore one of
my old dresses that I’d worn in previous years, and it was so fun to wear it
again… it’s one of my favorites!
The first year we attended the ball, we had just gotten Maui and she was
only eight weeks old. I have pictures
that I took with her tiny little self while I was all dressed up. Then, last year when we attended the ball,
Maui was very sick and she ended up passing away in the wee hours the next
morning. Needless to say, she was on my
mind the whole day Saturday as we got ready and headed to the ball.
Last year, we went long enough to eat dinner and hear the keynote
speaker, only to bolt to get back home to Maui, so I was looking forward to
having the whole evening at the ball this year.
We arrived at 6:30 just in time for cocktail hour. There was a bar, a huge charcuterie spread
that I wish I’d gotten a picture of, and there was a photo booth to use while
we mingled with everyone else. Lots of
our school friends and family were there, so we spent cocktail hour bouncing
around from person to person to catch up.
I got to see my old English, Religion, and History teacher from my sixth
and eighth grade years, as she was the keynote speaker, and she was a delight. She retired and moved to the beach years ago,
so I hadn’t gotten to see her in ages, and it was wonderful to hug her and take
a picture with her during cocktail hour.
Allen Levi, the newly famous author of Theo of Golden was there
(that book is everywhere now and it makes me soooo happy!), so I got to hug his
neck and catch up with him. I’ve
mentioned this on the blog before, but he was friends with my dad growing up,
so I have known him since I was little.
My brothers and I always called him Uncle Allen even though he wasn’t
technically related to us. He is an extremely talented writer, singer/songwriter, guitarist,
storyteller – all the things! – and he authored my favorite children’s book of
all-time, Oliviatown. We own two
copies of it, one signed and one not, and I can’t even begin to count how many
times I read that book to Olivia when she was little. It was one of her favorites. I
would link it for y’all, but it’s been out of print for years… I couldn’t even
find a used copy online when I just tried searching. People must be hanging on to theirs!
Anyway, we chatted for a bit about all the things. He asked me all about my little fam and about
my blog and my parents. I gushed to him
about Theo of Golden and even got to talk to him a little bit about Ellen
of Golden… the sequel that’s forthcoming.
;o) We snapped a few pictures
together and then my friend, Heather, joined us for a picture, too.
Cocktail hour was wrapping up by then, so we were ushered into the
ballroom for dinner. The head chef from
one of our fine dining local restaurants did the dinner as always, but this
year, I didn’t love it because I don’t love fish or seafood. He usually does steak and chicken or roast
beef and chicken, but his year it was salmon and chicken, so it wasn’t my
favorite. The salad and dessert were
delicious, though!
While we ate, we chatted with all our friends. We were seated with Olivia’s best friend’s
parents, another one of Olivia’s friend’s moms (her dad had to work), another
couple who we’re friends with who also has a son in Olivia’s class, one of my
friends who is on the Home and School Advisory Board with me, and another
couple.
It was a great group, so the conversation flowed easily all evening. Towards the end of dinner, the live auction
started, and once that was done, the keynote speaker (my old teacher) took the
podium. She was truly fantastic!
After she was done, the presentation wrapped up with a prayer, and then
we all got up and took some pictures with other friends and family. My Aunt Joy and Uncle Greg were there, so we
talked to them for a bit, and then after we’d spoken to everyone, we hit the
dance floor.
The band this year just had a pianist and a guitarist, so the music
wasn’t really the best for dancing.
Several of us listened to them for a bit, and then Brian and I talked to
some friends for a bit before heading home.
Last I heard, we’d raised nearly $100K to support tuition assistance for
Catholic education. As a product of tuition
assistance at a Catholic school, it’s something that I’m very passionate about,
and I’m so happy that our school is able to provide assistance for so many
families who want to give their kids a faith-based education but can’t do it on
their own. <3
By the time Brian and I got home, it was late, so we closed up shop and
headed to bed.
Sunday, February 8
Sunday morning, we woke up to an empty house since the kids had stayed
the night with my parents, and it’s always so weird when the kids aren’t here.
Brian and I had leftover donuts for breakfast, and then I did all my
Sunday morning things – prepping for the week ahead, getting my planner ready
and going over the schedule for the week, listening to a church sermon, and
transferring this week’s photos from my phone to my laptop.
Late in the morning, we got ready and then headed to my parents’ house to
pick up the kids around noon. We chatted
with them for a few minutes before grabbing the kids and going to my
mother-in-law’s and step-father-in-law’s house for lunch.
We ended up staying over there for a long time catching up since it’d
been a couple of weeks since we’d seen them, and then we headed home so the
kids could get unpacked, showered, and ready for the week ahead.
My congestion was still lingering Sunday, although thankfully not nearly
as bad, but I was still having some lingering issues from my adjustment, all
the previous issues I’d had with my retainer, so I didn’t feel 100%.
We went to my parents’ house for Sunday dinner and we, of course, watched
the Super Bowl while we were there.
Jacob and Olivia had stayed up extra late the night before since they’d
been at my parents’ house, so we went home to watch the halftime show. I’ve never really listened much to Bad
Bunny’s music, but I think he’s a great guy – especially after watching his
speeches at the Grammys a couple of weeks ago – so I was excited to watch the
show.
Friends, it did not disappoint! I
had no clue what he was saying other than a few words here and there since the
whole thing was in Spanish (I did take three years of Spanish in high school,
so I could understand a few words here and there), but at the same time, I knew
exactly what message he was communicating and it was just a really beautiful
thing. The whole performance was so
thoughtful from start to finish, and after it was over, I immediately began
digging in to read about all the symbolism and the meanings of all the
different aspects of the show. After
digging in, I went back and watched the halftime show again the next morning and
I loved it even more. And did any of you
spot Pedro Pascal like we did?! Gah, I
just love him and he was such a vibe during the show!
I love how they paraded flags from all the countries in North and South
America to unite us all at the end, and I love love loved the message at
the end of the show…
THE ONLY THING MORE POWERFUL THAN HATE
IS LOVE.
Happy Tuesday, y’all!
.jpg)
