Last week was a
great one – the weather was lovely and warm, Olivia attended her last Daddy
Daughter dance ever, and I had a pretty productive week while also allowing for
some down time. Let’s get to the recap!
Monday, February
3
I kicked off
the new week with a Home and School Advisory Board meeting. We worked on wrapping up details for events
for the current school year, and we started looking forward to the 2025-2026
school year already which is just crazy… how are we already here?!
After I was
done there, I headed to Walmart and Publix to grab groceries, and then I got
everything unloaded at home, got dinner in the slow cooker, and I worked on the
blog for the rest of the day.
Monday, we had
nowhere to be after school, so we had a nice, long, leisurely afternoon. The kids did their homework, and I finished
up my quiet time that I’d started in the car line. Then, they played basketball outside all
afternoon because it was GORGEOUS Monday – 70 degrees and perfectly sunny.
While they
played outside, I went for a walk/jog, and then when I got back home, I prepped
everything else for dinner and we all ate together.
After dinner,
it was shower time for me, and then the kids got showered and ready for bed,
too. While they did that, I worked on
our 1,000 piece Lego puzzle that we started a few months ago. I love a puzzle, but I’ve been struggling to
work on them since I started having all of my vertigo and dizziness. Looking down for long periods of time is one
of my triggers, and by the time I was done, my neck felt stiff and full of
tension. Boooo.
Once the kids
were ready for bed, we watched another episode of The Unlisted, and then
after the kids went to bed, Brian and I discussed a potential upcoming trip for
spring break, and we also talked about all of the craziness going on in our
government right now… so many things being done are unconstitutional and it’s
scary. I don’t talk a lot about politics
here, but with all of the shocking things happening these days, I’m documenting
it for my own memories. I have a feeling
this current administration is going to be one for the history books… and not
in a good way.
Monday
afternoon we also got a fun message from Olivia’s teacher… the kids got to
spend some time on the bounce houses during school. They were supposed to have done that the
previous Friday for Catholic Schools Week, but the weather had them postponing
it.
Tuesday, February
4
Tuesday
morning, I got the kids to school and then I had some errands to run. First up, I gassed up the car, then I had to
get items returned at Target, and after that was done, I had an appointment
with my therapist… timely considering all that had transpired in our nation on
Monday.
After my
appointment, I headed home and worked for the rest of the day. I had loose ends to tie up for our auction
basket, the Daddy / Daughter dance, Valentine’s Day, and Olivia’s teacher’s
upcoming birthday, plus I had to work some more on Brian’s birthday and
Olivia’s birthday. Whew. February is a busy one!
I grabbed
Olivia from school at three, and we had some time to kill since Jacob’s
Velocity meetings had started up again at school. We decided to go on a date to Chick-Fil-A to
grab a milkshake (for her) and an ice cream (for me), and while we were there,
we nailed down some more of her party details… namely, the gift bags she wants
to give her friends for attending.
We headed back
to the school after that to pick up Jacob from Velocity, and then we headed
home so Olivia could get changed and ready for dance. Thankfully, she didn’t have any homework
Tuesday, so she was able to get changed and head straight back out the door to
get to dance by 5. When I got home from
dropping her off, I had just enough time to tie up some loose ends at home,
fold the towels I’d washed earlier in the day, and finish my quiet time that
I’d started in the car line, and then Jacob and I left to go to a makeup piano
lesson at 6.
At his lesson,
his teacher asked him to try out for the Honors Recital again, so Jacob is
trying to decide whether or not to do that… I think he’s leaning towards doing
it again, so we’ll see!
When we got
home, I poured myself a glass of wine, I turned on the Dave Matthews & Tim
Reynolds Live at Luther College album (one of my favorites of all-time), and I
started cooking dinner. Brian headed out
the door to pick up Olivia just after we arrived at home, and when they got
home, we sat down to beef and parmesan pasta with zucchini and garlic cheesy
bread. It’s one of our favorite go-to
meals on busy weeknights!
After dinner, Olivia
headed upstairs to shower and get ready for bed, and I got in a stair stepper
workout while she did that. By the time
she was done, it was time to get them in the bed, and then Brian and I sat
downstairs with Maui for a bit. We only
had a short time before bed, so we didn’t even watch anything. Brian searched for new shows for us to watch
and I wrapped up a couple of last-minute things on my phone before heading up a
little early for the night.
Wednesday, February 5
Wednesday, I had no place to be, so I got caught up on a lot of things
that I haven’t had the chance to look at in forever. I caught up on some emails that had been
sitting in my inbox for quite a while, I caught up on responding to blog
comments which took up most of my morning because I hadn’t done that since
mid-January (oops), I planned out my goals for the month and started my blog
post about it, I started this blog post that you’re reading today, and I
finally got the kids’ yearbook ad done.
I have a TON on my plate in February, so I also made a list of every
project and all of the details for each so I could ensure I don’t drop the ball
on something…
- Daddy / Daughter dance
- Auction basket for the
school
- Super Bowl get together we
hosted
- Valentine’s Day
- Olivia’s teacher’s birthday
- Brian’s birthday
- Rounding up a
dress/shoes/accessories for the ball
- Olivia’s birthday
- Yearbook ad
- Scholarship applications
- Alumni work I’ve had on hold
Whew. February is rivaling May and
December this year!
I did my Bible study in the car line, and then when we got home, the kids
did their homework and read while I finished up the rest of my quiet time. After that, I got the bar cart all arranged
for photographing so I could send a picture to the parents who contributed to
make it awesome. I still had some time
before I needed to take Olivia to dance, so I went for a walk/jog and then got
straight in the car to take her.
But first, a quick picture of Corg, Olivia’s Corgi stuffie that she’d
made a bonnet for out of Rainbow Loom rubberbands. Hahahaha.
She is THE MOST creative.
When I got back home, Jacob and I went for a walk together, and then
Brian left for tennis just as we were getting home. Since B was at tennis and O was at dance,
Jacob and I were on our own for dinner.
He warmed some leftovers from the night before along with some garlic
cheese bread and fruit, and I opted for an egg bowl, toast, and some
fruit.
After dinner, I got showered, and then Jacob got showered and ready for
bed. While he was doing that, I steamed
Olivia’s dress for the Daddy/Daughter dance, I tried on some of the masquerade
masks to decide which one I wanted to wear for the dance, and I decided on my
outfit for the dance… my co-chair and I always love to dress for the theme when
we chair these events. ;o)
I was ready to go pick up Olivia from dance since Brian was at tennis,
but he texted and told me he could grab her since he had finished early. That was nice because I hate driving in the
dark and I was so ready to get in my PJs.
Haha.
After I got in my PJs and got my face washed and my teeth brushed, Jacob
and I worked on the 1,000 piece Lego puzzle to wind down.
When Brian and Olivia got home, Olivia got showered, we got the kids in
the bed, and then Brian and I watched some of the UGA basketball game before
calling it a night.
Thursday, February 6
Thursday morning, I got the kids to school and then I headed home to work
all day again. I was able to knock out
Friday’s blog post, most of Monday’s, and a lot of Tuesday’s. I also worked on the various projects we have
going on in February.
Maui has reached the point now where her tiny bladder can only hold out
for an hour or two at a time, and she also can’t go up and down the stairs well
anymore, so we’ve reached the point where she’s asking to go out more often
throughout the day. She’ll sleep in my
office next to me while I work, and then every hour or so she’ll get out of her
bed and look up at me like, “It’s time to go, Mom!” and I’ll carry her down the
stairs and let her out, and then I’ll carry her back upstairs and she’ll go
back to sleep until she has to potty again.
I have a tendency to sit and work for long periods of time when I’m in
the zone, so it’s been a good thing for me to get up more often.
After school, the kids had music lessons.
Jacob started working on a new Minecraft piece, and Olivia worked a
little bit on Safe and Sound, and then we headed home.
When we got home, I got a few things done around the house, and then
Olivia and I pulled out the masquerade masks for the Daddy / Daughter dance and
she tried on every single different one to see which one she liked the best so
she could go ahead and claim one before the dance… perks of your mom being in charge. ;o)
Jacob was voted “Most Intellectual” by all of his classmates for the Eighth
Grade Superlatives for the school yearbook, so he had to be photographed on Friday. They asked the kids to dress/bring fun props
to really play up their categories, so I bought him a pair of glasses and he
practiced his pose. Does this post make
him look intellectual? Haha.
After that, I started dinner right as Brian was getting home from
work. We had turkey and cheese biscuit
sliders and then I helped Olivia study for her word work test (spelling and
vocabulary) on Friday while we cleaned the kitchen.
While the kids were showering, I was a whirlwind finishing up last-minute
things for the dance, packing up the bar cart for the auction and loading
everything in my car to turn in on Friday, and various other things.
After the kids went to bed, Brian and I watched episode two of Severance,
and I’m still not loving it. Have any of
you watched it? Should I hang in there?
Friday, February 7
Friday was bussssyyyy. I dropped
the kids at school, and then I ran to Publix to buy a nice bottle of champagne
to add to the bar cart because I’d gotten a last-minute donation the night
before. I headed back to the school
after the car line stopped running, and I unloaded the bar cart and all of the
accessories and got them turned in… I was ecstatic to have one thing off my
plate!
After that, I ran by Walmart to pick up everything for our Super Bowl
party on Sunday, and then I had to go to CVS and pick up prescriptions. I was back home a little after nine and then
I got down to business – working on the blog, working on projects, finalizing
plans with various people for the various projects I’m working on, sending
reminders, blowing up balloons, and letting Maui out 84,000,000 times. I sure do love this view from my desk,
though. ;o)
I got in the car line earlier than usual to ensure that we were out of
there as soon as possible because we had to go all the way home, get myself
ready, get Olivia ready, and get the car loaded for the Daddy Daughter dance…
all in just an hour.
I ate a big snack when we got home to hold me over since I wouldn’t be
eating dinner, and then I used our waver to wave Olivia’s hair. Once that was done, I got myself freshened up
and changed into my outfit, and then we got Olivia in her dress.
She looked so beautiful, my girl.
I just love the dress that she chose, and it was so fitting for the
masquerade theme. My sweet, blue-eyed
girl. I cannot believe this was her last
Daddy Daughter dance. :o(
After everyone was ready, we snapped a few pictures and Brian gave Olivia
her corsage, and then it was time to load the car and get going. And Jacob had to do his impression of us posing. Lol.
Brian and Olivia dropped Jacob off at my friend, Jeannine’s, house for
the evening so he could hang with his friends, and I arrived at the school
right at 4:45 to get started setting up. Then, they headed to dinner with several other daddies and daughters.
My friend, Bianca, arrived shortly after that, and with her help + one of
our other Home & School Advisory Board members + one of our wonderful
teachers + a couple of volunteers, we had everything set up in no time.
My friend, Shaun, DJed for us again, so we had to get our traditional
picture in our themed outfits beforehand like we always do, and then Bianca and
I had to get our traditional picture in front of the balloon arch like we
always do.
By the time all that was done, it was go time. I positioned myself on the stage again to
take song requests all night, and we didn’t have many at first. Once Shaun announced that I was taking the
requests all night, the girls came flooding in with them, so I spent the rest
of the night firing off song names to Shaun via text and weeding out the ones
that weren’t appropriate for a PK-3 through 5th grade crowd. He and I had some good laughs Friday over
some of the requests. Haha.
One of our high schooler’s dads passed away last week, so in honor of her
father’s memory, she wanted to give away two $100 gift cards to a couple of daddy/daughter
pairs at the dance, so I got on the mic to make that announcement about halfway
through. The teachers had given me a
script, but it was so hard to get through it given the circumstances. When I was going over the script with the
teacher before the dance, I could barely get through it because I’m SUCH an
empath, so I cry at everything. I didn’t
know how I was going to get through it in front of 200 people.
I’m also T-E-R-R-I-F-I-E-D of any kind of public speaking in any way,
shape, or form, and it’s one of my biggest triggers for anxiety. So, to get up on the stage on a microphone and
stop the music to announce something so sad in front of 200 people was basically
the perfect recipe for a panic attack, but… I did it. I was worried I was going to cry while
announcing it, but thankfully, my voice only wobbled a little once and then I recovered
quickly.
I couldn’t hand that microphone back to Shaun fast enough. Lol. He
and Brian both assured me that I’d recovered well after the little wobble in my
voice so that was a relief.
And I’m sure some of you are rolling your eyes at this, but if you’ve
never had anxiety about getting up in front of people (or anxiety in general), be
grateful. It is crippling for some of
us. <3
Most importantly, please keep that sweet family in your prayers. Two girls are missing their dad tremendously
today, and I know they’d appreciate the prayers. It was an honor to make that announcement on
their behalf at the dance despite my anxiety.
The rest of the night was spent taking requests and spying on my
girl. ;o) I love that I’ve been able to be there these
the last few years… I absolutely adore watching her dance and sing her little
heart out on the dance floor with all of her friends. Especially when Defying Gravity came
on and she belted out the entire thing from start to finish.
I also snuck some pictures and videos of her dancing with Brian. Dancing and singing is her favorite thing to
do and she was so sad when the night was over.
Shaun played I Love You, I’m Sorry by Gracie Abrams towards the
end of the dance (one of Olivia’s and my faves), and Olivia told me later that
she teared up during it because she didn’t want the night to end. Sweet girl.
The dance was over at 8, and with all hands on deck, we had everything
cleaned up in about 30 minutes. It
always takes Shaun longer to take down and put away all of his equipment, so I
stayed with him so everyone else could get home, and then I locked up for the
night just as the cleaning crew was coming in.
Brian and Olivia had already picked Jacob up from Jeannine’s house, and
they were all in their PJs when I got home.
I got in my PJs and ready for bed while they watched an episode of The
Unlisted, and then after we got the kids in bed, I grabbed a glass of wine
and some Cheez-Its (so random – LOL) at 10 PM.
Brian and I watched another episode of Severance, and then we
headed to bed late.
When I was at Walmart Friday, I also bought Maui some little doggie
diapers to try at night, and she wore her first one that night. She didn’t love it at first, but she’s since
gotten used to them, and she’s now not soiling her bed at night anymore. She’d had a couple of accidents prior to
that, so I’m glad we were able to find a solution to keep her more comfortable.
Saturday, February 8
Saturday morning, I got up to make waffles and realized that somehow,
we’d run out of flour, but I had just enough to make them for B and the kids,
and I opted for some protein pancakes that we had in the freezer.
The boys headed out to play golf after that, and I headed to my office to
get some things done – sort through the tons of dance pictures, delete the bad
ones, upload some to Insta, and work on a blog post. Olivia had lots of tidying to do because
she’d left a trail of crafts around the whole house, so she worked on that for
a bit while I worked.
Late in the morning, she and I both headed downstairs to hang
together. She worked on some crafting at
the kitchen table while I cleaned out a couple of kitchen cabinets, and we
listened to Gracie Abrams on repeat… namely, I Love You, I’m Sorry and Us.
since those are our two faves.
When the boys got home, we had lunch, and then the kids did their laundry
and cleaned their bathrooms and finished tidying. I got some things done around the house and I
worked some more on the blog, and then it was time to do my Bible study.
After that, I got in a quick walk/jog, and then it was time to get ready
for church. We got a nice surprise at
church because my cousin was in town and we didn’t know she was going to be
there. Afterward, we all went out to
dinner – the four of us, Momma and Daddy, Mama Cass, Aunt Joy, Uncle Greg, and
Shelby – to our favorite pub down the street from church.
When we got home, we hung out for a bit, got the kids in the bed, and
watched another episode of Severance.
Sunday, February 9
Sunday morning was cinnamon rolls, planning the week ahead, yoga, a sermon,
and a Bible study, and then we all got ready and went to my mother-in-law’s and
step-father-in-law’s house for lunch. They’d
just had a new deck installed on the back of the house, so we ate lunch
outside. The weather was perfect – 75 degrees
and cloudy, so it wasn’t too hot and it wasn’t too cold. After lunch, we showed them our finished One
Second a Day video from 2024, and then we headed home.
I had to get a couple of things done in my office and then I headed
downstairs to get ready for our Super Bowl party. My parents, my brother and his roommate, Mama
Cass, my Uncle Billy and his girlfriend, and my father-in-law all came over, and we grilled
burgers and hot dogs + some other Super Bowl foods – baked beans, chips and
guac, etc.
Olivia and I were cheering for Taylor’s boyfriend ;o) but, sadly, they
lost. However, the Eagles are loaded up
with old Georgia football players, so it was a win-win either way for me! I do love watching my Dawgs succeed in the
NFL!
Going in, I wasn’t super excited about the halftime show as I’ve never
been a huge fan of Kendrick Lamar (honestly, he hasn’t really ever been on my radar
other than doing Bad Blood with Taylor), but after that performance, I did
a deep dive, and I can say that I get it now.
His music may not be your thing, but his genius is undeniable. The symbolism of the entire performance from
start to finish was incredible, and I thought it was awesome for him to have
the opportunity to get up on that stage in front of the current president in this
current climate and make that statement.
Also, fun fact, he has won a Pulitzer Prize for his music… and 22 Grammys. I didn’t know that until this weekend and
that surely caught my attention.
After the halftime show, the kids watched a bit more of the game, and
then we got them in the bed. Brian and I
watched the rest of the game, and then we headed to bed a little later than
usual for a Sunday.
And that was our week! Happy Tuesday,
y’all!
