Five on Friday - Sequin Little Black Dress, Concert Plans, Books, and More

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Well, after my good news that I received earlier this week, I’m in a much better frame of mind this Friday than I was last Friday.  Last week was rough, and I’m so grateful to have it behind me.  And if you don’t know what I’m referring to, see #5 below in this post. 

Are y’all ready for some favorites from the week?

O N E – Another Amazon Dress

Ok y’all, the dress saga continues, and I think I’ve finally found the one!  Turns out, it was none of the ones that I posted about on Monday.  While I loved each and every one of those, there was something lacking from each – they were either not good for dancing or they weren’t quite as dressy as I wanted them to be – so I ended up ordering three more from Amazon earlier this week.  Face palm.

This one has the one shoulder fit that I love so much, it’s fitted but not tight, it’s easy to dance in, and it’s covered in SEEEEQUINNNNSSSS.  The sequins really take it up a notch and I feel like it’s more cocktail-y than some of the other choices from my post on Monday.  It runs true-to-size – I’m in a small – and the quality is fabulous!  

 

T W O – Concerts, Concerts, and More Concerts

If you’ve been following me for a while, then you know that I loooove live music.  Love it.  it’s my most favorite thing in the whole wide world.  I would choose to go to a concert for an artist I love over pretty much any other activity/event.  Because of Covid, a lot of artists have put their tours on hold for these last couple of years, and therefore, we’ve only been to a few concerts since the beginning of 2020.  However, in 2023 it’s looking like things are back in full swing!    

So far this year, we have Paul Thorn lined up in April, Ed Sheeran in May, and then we’ll have Dave Matthews Band in July as soon as the tickets go on sale.  I’m also still on a mission to get Taylor Swift tickets.  I’m completely and utterly obsessed with her new album and I just have to see her live on this tour, y’all.  HAVE TO.  If we can somehow manage to get tickets to see her, then dare I say, I may just be able to see four of my favorite artists of all-time in 2023?! 

Oh, and DMB is also releasing their first studio album in five whole years!!!!  May 19 can’t get here fast enough!

And speaking of live music, I also get to hear some tomorrow night, and even though it’s just a local band, I’m just as excited about it because I get to daaaance! 

Give me all the live music, y’all!  All of it!  Time to get my girlfriends together for a night out somewhere to hear some live music!

T H R E E – A New Book Stack on My Desk

I’ve always had a stack of books on the corner of my desk that hold a plant, some sticky notes, and a small bowl of stuff I use while at my desk – Chapstick, headache medicine, CBD oil, blue light blocking glasses, etc.  I recently switched out my stack of books, and I’m in love with this combo!  I love that they’re all uniform, and I love that they make a mini rainbow on my desk.  I’ve actually read all of these, too, and I highly recommend each of them.  When Less Becomes More and Growing Boldly are my favorite two, but Grace, Not Perfection and A Simplified Life were good, too. 

F O U R – Cousin Group Chat

My oldest little brother rounded up every single one of my cousins on my mom’s side of the family (12 of us) and threw us all in a group chat on Facebook Messenger this week with the intent that we could all catch up and keep up with one another, and we’ve all been reminiscing since then.  I’m very close with several of them, but some of us aren’t as close as we used to be due to location and all of the busyness that life brings as we get older, so it’s been nice to catch up and hear from each of them.  Our ages range from mid-50’s to mid-20’s (my grandparents had six kids spread out over 20 years so the grandkids are even more spread out) so we’re all adults now which just blows my mind.  But catching up with everyone and being reminded of some of the fun things from my childhood has definitely been a favorite from this week.

Here's a picture of all but one of us 18 years ago... can you tell by my outfit that this was 2005?!  Haha.  OMG with the tiny, short cardigans of the early 2000's.  Hahahaha.

And here is all of us at my Big Daddy's funeral back in 2015... 

 

F I V E – Good News

And if you read my post on Wednesday, my very favorite thing from this entire week was the good news I received on Tuesday.  You can read more about that here in case you missed it.  Thank you, God, for answered prayers.

Friday Funnies

On the Blog This Week

 Four Little Black Dresses Under $55

Our Week – The One with Covid, Girls Night, and the Mother Son Dance

Thankful for Answered Prayers

Happy Friday, y’all!

*Linking up with A Little Bit of Everything for Friday Favorites.

Thankful for Answered Prayers

Hey, y’all, happy Wednesday.  I had another post intended for today, but I decided to bump it to share some good news. 

If you read every day, then you probably saw me mention in a post or two that we’ve had a bit of a rough start to the year, so I just wanted to share what’s been going on now that we actually have more information. 

On January 11, I went in for my annual mammogram and ultrasound as I do every year.  We have a history of breast cancer in our family, so I started getting annual mammograms at age 35 at the urging of my midwife, and my breast tissue is very, very dense, so I get called back every single time for an ultrasound since the mammogram doesn’t pick up everything.  The ultrasound tech always does the ultrasound, then the doctor comes in and does another quick ultrasound just to doublecheck, and then I’m told I’m all clear for another year.  That’s been the standard operating procedure for the last five years, and I’ve always received a clean bill of health. 

Well, at my visit a couple of weeks ago, the tech did the ultrasound as she always does, and then the doctor came in to do the ultrasound as he always does.  He usually does a really quick sweep since the ultrasound tech has already gone through once, but this time, he lingered in one spot for far too long.  He and the tech started talking quietly and in medical terms that I didn’t understand, so my heart sank, and I just knew there was something wrong.

Sure enough, the doctor announced that the ultrasound had picked up a tumor in my right breast.  It’s so small that the mammogram didn’t even detect it, and it’s so small that I didn’t even notice it during my self-checks.  As a matter of fact, even now, knowing its exact location, I still can’t feel it. 

He told me that they needed to do a biopsy, and that the tumor could either be benign, or it would be cancer.  Hearing the C word was one of the scariest moments of my life, and after he said that, my brain pretty much turned to mush.  The nurse scheduled my biopsy for the following Tuesday, January 17, and I walked out of the office in a fog.  I failed to ask a single question because my brain just couldn’t get past the fact that I might have cancer.

When I got in the car, I called Brian at work and immediately burst into tears.  Then, I called my Momma and Daddy and did the same thing.  The rest of the day was rough – I couldn’t concentrate on much – and I cried a LOT of tears, but I kept busy because a) that’s what I do when bad things are happening beyond my control, and b) because I’m a mom of two small kiddos and I don’t really have a choice.  Haha.

I told a handful of family and close friends that day because I knew that I’d need support and encouragement no matter what the outcome would be, and I also just needed to be able to talk about it.  That’s what I do… I overanalyze everything, you know.  ;o)  And also, the more prayers the better, right?  I did choose to not tell the kiddos, though, because there was no reason to get them worried or upset when it could turn out to be nothing.

The next couple of days were fairly easy and good because we went to Athens to celebrate our Georgia Bulldogs winning the National Championship game.  That kept me super busy and engaged and excited, and it was a much-needed distraction to help keep my mind off of things. 

Then we got home, and things went downhill. 

Sunday morning was the day we discovered Olivia had Covid, so we were not able to get together with family for Sunday lunch or dinner, and I felt like I needed that more than anything that weekend.  Then Monday was the MLK, Jr. holiday, and we were stuck at home that day, too.  To top it all off, the weather was abysmal, so that didn’t help matters either.  I typically like dreary days in January and February because I love the coziness that those days provide, but in this instance, I just needed some sunshine in my life. 

Tuesday morning, Olivia had to stay home, and then, Jacob came home sick, too, so that was not ideal, especially since Tuesday was the day of my biopsy.  I was scared and not feeling great mentally, of course, so having to focus on two sick kids all day was tough. 

The hospital wouldn’t let anyone accompany me to my biopsy because they are still following strict Covid protocol, but I suppose it didn’t matter anyway since B had to be at home with two sick kids anyway. 

I wasn’t scared or worried about the procedure itself at all – medical things like that don’t bother me in the least – it was just the potential to receive bad results from the procedure that scared me to death.

The procedure itself was easy peasy, although, quite a bit more invasive than I thought it would be.  For some reason, I pictured them just sticking a needle in there and “sucking” some stuff out and that would be that.  But no, I was wrong.  Haha.

Instead, the doctor inserted a needle to numb everything layer by layer.  Then, he made an incision near the top and stuck some kind of tool in there.  He had to keep jiggling the tool around in there to get to the right spot, and then once he was near the tumor, he would make two loud clicks/jolts (he warned me about that part before he did it because it was quite harsh/unexpected) and that is what would chop a piece off of the tumor.  Again, that whole time, I thought he was just using some sort of fancy needle.  I didn’t realize that he had even made an incision.

The pieces of the tumor kept coming off really small, so he ended up having to take four pieces, so he did a total of eight clicks/jolts all while looking at everything on the ultrasound.

After that, came the shocking part – the doctor then inserted a piece of titanium in my breast?  And it will stay there forever?!  Apparently, the titanium marks the spot of the tumor to make it easy for the technicians to find it each time, and it also marks the spot in case I ever have to have surgery to have it removed.  The doctor said the titanium is only about the size of a single grain of sand, though, so it won’t set off metal detectors or anything like that.  I had just never heard anyone mention anything like this before, though, so it completely blew my mind. 

After that, the nurse then held some gauze to the incision to make the blood clot (I did feel blood drip down my side at one point) and then she put liquid stitches over the incision.  Again, I had no clue that there was an incision so I was a little confused as to why they were using liquid stitches, but I figured it was just that they’d used a needle and needed to put something over the puncture from the needle. 

Y’all, normally, Lindsay is asking lots of questions because Lindsay wants to know everything that is going on because that’s who Lindsay is.  But I’m telling you, my brain was complete mush the whole time so I didn’t even think to ask questions.  I just wanted it to be over.

After that was done, I had to have another mammogram, and then they sent me home with instructions – no showering, no working out/pushing/pulling, and no lifting anything over 5 lbs. for 24 hours, and no blood thinners (including Ibuprofen) at least 48 hours.  I. was. shook.  Haha.  I had no clue that I was going to be sent home with limitations and I was so sad because all I wanted to do was go for a run that afternoon to run some of my anxiety out.

What can you do, though? 

The doctor scheduled my follow-up appointment for the following Tuesday, January 24 at 9 AM, and he told me that he’d try to call earlier with results if he could. 

I had to wait a whole week to get results.  Sigh. 

I’m not good at waiting.

But who really is when you’re waiting for this kind of news? 

It would have been nice to have been able to fill my next seven days with friends and family and projects to keep my mind off of things, but sadly, we had two sick kids at home, one definitely with Covid, so we couldn’t go anywhere. 

Needless to say, it was a loooong few days after that.

Thankfully, Jacob ended up never testing positive for Covid, so Saturday we were able to go to church and dinner with family, and then we were able to do Sunday dinner with my family, so that was a huge blessing.  I also snuck out Thursday evening to go to dinner with my girlfriends… I needed that for my sanity.  That was a perfectly timed dinner, that’s for sure!  And I also had lunch with one of my old friends/coworkers the day before I got my results, and that was a huge blessing as well. 

Yesterday was my follow-up appointment, and of course, by the time it rolled around I had pretty much convinced myself that I had cancer because there were so many “signs” that were pointing to it. 

For one, on the very day of my mammogram/ultrasound, I published my blog post with my goals and word for the year, and I talked about how I had pivoted at the last minute to change my word to CONFIDENCE because I had been feeling a strong tug in that direction.  So of course, my brain took that to mean that I had been feeling the tug because, little did I know, that I was going to have to have confidence to fight something big this year. 

I also thought about how I typically get my mammograms and ultrasounds in November, but we were so swamped in November and December, that I pushed mine back to January for the first time ever.  The doctor said my tumor is very small, so naturally, I was thinking, “There’s a reason I pushed my mammogram and ultrasound to January… it’s because if I’d had it in November as scheduled, then the tumor would have been so small that they wouldn’t have found it early.” 

Then, I thought about how if we had gone to the National Championship game in California as we had originally scheduled, then I would have had to move my mammogram and ultrasound from January 11 to another date further out because we would have been out of town that day.  I was so torn about going/not going to that game, but we ultimately decided not to go (even though it killed me), and therefore, I went ahead with my mammogram/ultrasound as scheduled, so I took that to mean that there was a reason that I chose not to go out of town.  If I had moved my appointment maybe a different technician wouldn’t have found the tumor?! 

Then, I thought about how I have been feeling so fantastic lately – I’ve mentioned a couple of times here on the blog and on Instagram how I feel like I’m in the best shape of my adult life.  I feel strong.  I feel fit.  I feel healthy.  So, naturally, there’s a reason for that, right?  It’s because subconsciously I’ve been preparing myself to fight. 

And also because, every time I finally feel like I’m finally in a good place mentally and physically, obviously something has to come along and knock me back down, right?  A good thing can’t last forever, right?

And since I had Covid in October, I still haven’t gotten my full appetite back.  Maybe it’s not the Covid causing that… maybe it’s cancer?

Plus, we have a family history of breast cancer…

So. Many. Signs.

(And, by the way, this is what it’s like living with anxiety, y’all.  If your brain does not operate like this, then consider yourself lucky.)

Anyway, Brian met me at the hospital at 8:30 AM yesterday for my 9 AM appointment, and we went ahead and went inside early since we were there.  When we arrived, the lady at the front desk looked in her system and didn’t see my appointment, so she asked what I was there for, and when I told her, she took us straight back.  That is not standard procedure for them at all – I ALWAYS have to wait in the waiting room – so my heart sank because I knew it had to be bad news since they were expediting things. 

They also let Brian go back with me even though at my previous appointment they had told me I couldn’t bring any guests.  Again, not good.

The doctor came out within two minutes (which I was very grateful for) and he led us to a dark room with a million computer screens with scary images.  He told us to sit down, and then he started explaining the picture on one of the screens – it was a picture of the tumor, of course, with the needle in it – because he wanted to show me that we’d gotten a good, legitimate piece of the tumor.  Well, naturally, I took this to mean that I had cancer since he didn’t just come right out and say it was benign. 

I just knew at that point that it was cancer.

Two minutes later, when he finally proceeded to tell me that it was benign, I was in total shock because I hadn’t expected that at all.  I burst into tears because I was so relieved, and I cried pretty much for the rest of the day.  Haha.  I was just a basket case, y’all.

The doctor proceeded to say that there is no reason to remove the tumor at this time, so I’ll just live with it for now.  I have to start getting mammograms and ultrasounds every six months now instead of yearly so they can monitor it properly.  Eventually, it may get too large and/or painful so I may have to have surgery so they can remove it.  But for now, I can go about my normal life. 

With all that said, I am so incredibly grateful today for good results.  I’m incredibly grateful for answered prayers.  I’m relieved.  I’m happy.  And I’m still in shock.  I’m also infinitely grateful for my tribe… you know who you are, and I love each and every one of you dearly.

Ladies, please take the time to schedule your annual mammograms.  If you have a family history of breast cancer, please, please start those mammograms early.  Do not get too busy to get your mammogram.  Do not skip it because you don’t feel like doing it.  Do not skip it because it’s too painful.  If you have dense breast tissue, demand an ultrasound, too.  Do not take no for an answer.  My mammogram didn’t even pick up the tumor.  At all.  My ultrasound is expensive, and it has to be paid for out of pocket because our insurance won’t cover it.  But it is worth the extra money if it can save my life.  Please take care of yourselves.  Early prevention is key. 

My doctor did tell me on that first day that even if it did turn out to be cancer that I would, “be okay” because we caught it so early.

I found those words to be a little odd, because how can you really “be okay” when you have cancer? 

Today I’m just really grateful that I don’t have to find out.  And I pray I never do.

Our Week - The One with Covid, Girls Night, and the Mother Son Dance

Last week was a tough one with sick kiddos and other things, and I’m hoping that this week is going to be much, much better!

Monday, January 16

Monday, everyone was off for Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, but Olivia had Covid, so we were stuck at home.  The kids spent the day playing while I worked on blog stuff for a bit, and then I got some of the kitchen cabinets cleaned out. 

After lunch, I got out to do our grocery shopping for the next two weeks, and I changed it up and went to the Walmart Neighborhood Market instead of Publix.  I loooove Publix, but their prices are higher than Walmart’s so one of my New Year’s goals (even though I failed to put this in my blog post) is to try to shop at Walmart more often so we can try to save some money.  I haaaate the regular Walmart stores, but the neighborhood markets are usually pretty nice, so hopefully I can stick to it.  We’ll see.  Haha. 

Grocery shopping took foreverrrr since I have no clue where anything is in that store, and they also didn’t have, like, 20% of the items on my list, so I ended up having to go to Publix later in the day anyway.  Sigh.  We did, however, end up saving money overall, so I’ll probably try to stick with Walmart for the most part.

By the time I got home, I had just enough time to get the groceries put away and get dinner in the Crockpot before it was time to get Jacob to piano lessons.  When we arrived, I told his teacher that Olivia had Covid, but he was fine keeping the lesson and not rescheduling.

After Jacob’s lesson, he and I swung by Publix to pick up all of the items that Walmart was lacking (including broccoli, green beans, and carrots – how does a store not have those things?!) and then we headed home so I could finish getting dinner ready.

For dinner on Monday, I made Ranch Chicken Pasta with green beans, and then after dinner, I got in a stair stepper workout and put some laundry away while the kiddos got showered and ready for bed.

After bed, Brian and I watched an episode of Vampire Diaries, and then we went to bed, too.

 

Tuesday, January 17

Tuesday morning, Olivia had to stay home from school because of school protocol, so Brian offered to drop Jacob at school so Olivia could sleep in.  That also meant that I was able to sleep in a little bit, too. 

I got myself out of bed at 6:45 just as B was finishing up getting ready, and then I got everything ready for Jacob to head to school just as Olivia was waking up.

After that, it was breakfast for the both of us, and then I went to my office to get some work done while she watched some cartoons.  Then, after cartoons, she and I worked on schoolwork together.

Around 10 AM, my phone rang, and it was the dreaded call from the school office saying that Jacob had a sore throat and we needed to go get him.  Ugggghhhh.  He had been fine at 7:15, so it must’ve started sometime after he got to school.  Sigh.

At that point, Olivia and I were both still in our PJs, so I had to call B to see if he could pick Jacob up and bring him home.  He was going to have to come home at lunch to stay with Olivia anyway because I had a doctor appointment that afternoon, so he just went ahead and shut everything down to come home early.

When they got home, we tested Jacob for Covid, but he was negative, and he was feeling fine other than his sore throat. 

Once the kids were settled in and playing, I got ready for the day and then we had lunch together.  Then after lunch, I headed out for a doctor appointment while B stayed home with the kiddos.

On the way home from my appointment, I picked up some leftovers from my parents’ house, and then I headed back home for the evening.

Brian had a tennis match Tuesday evening, so the kids and I ate dinner together without him (turkey and cheese biscuit sliders with fruit), and then I quarantined myself in my bedroom for the rest of the evening while they played and showered.  They can keep those germs to themselves.  Haha.

They did both pop in to show me some artwork they’d been working on.  They are both into doing “How to Draw” videos on YouTube, and Olivia had sketched this girl.  Pretty dang good for an eight year old, right?

By the time Brian got home, it was time to get them in the bed, and then he watched a UGA basketball game while I scrolled through my phone.  Wild night.  Haha.

Wednesday, January 18

Wednesday morning, I slept in a few extra minutes while B got ready for work.  We knew we were going to keep Jacob home again just to be safe, so there was no need for me to get up and get going since B was going to take Olivia to school.  She was cleared by administration to go back that day (they are doing the whole five days of quarantine + five additional days of masking rule right now… although, really, it’s technically six days of quarantine since they count the first day as Day 0) since her symptoms had started the Thursday morning of the last week.

Jacob ended up waking up before they ever left, and then he spent some time watching YouTube videos on TV.  He and Olivia have been into watching YouTube videos of Dominos knockdowns and marble runs and various other videos that they have deemed, “soooo satisfying.”  Haha.

While he did that, I flew through some blog work, and then I joined him downstairs for the rest of the morning.  We did another Covid test late in the morning Wednesday, and he was still negative.  I even used a different brand this time.  So strange.

We had an early lunch together and then my parents swung by after that to sit with him so I could get to my appointment with my therapist.  I had suggested that they sit outside with him just in case he did have Covid, but they ended up staying inside with him the whole time.  They did all wear masks, though, just to be safe. 

By the time I got back from my appointment, it was almost time to pick up Olivia from school, so we hung out with my parents until then, and then Jacob and I headed to pick her up.  Thankfully, it was unseasonably warm on Wednesday, so we opened the sunroof and rolled down the windows so I could try to avoid germs.  It was bleak and dreary, but the fresh air was still nice.

When we got home, Jacob was able to work on some schoolwork he’d missed while Olivia did her homework, and then I let both of them play video games since it was so yucky outside.  While they did that, I cooked dinner (my Momma’s famous cheesy chicken, mashed potatoes, and broccoli) and got some stuff cleaned out in the kitchen. 

When B got home from work, we all ate dinner together, and then I got in a cardio workout while Jacob finished up his math work and both kids got showered.

The kids ended up getting into bed a little later than usual because the math work took a lot of time, so by the time they were settled in, B and I only had a few minutes to ourselves before it was time to head to bed.

Thursday, January 19

Thursday morning, we got Jacob up as if he was going to school, and he said that his throat was still hurting.  B tested him for Covid yet again, and it was negative yet again.  So very strange.  Since his throat was still hurting, we kept him at home again because I just can’t bring myself to risk exposing him to other kids at school (and technically right now, the school’s policy is to not bring your kids to school if they have any symptoms of any kind anyway).

He spent the morning watching more videos while I worked in my office, and then around 9:30 I headed back downstairs to hang with him while he tackled some schoolwork that had popped into his Google classroom.

After lunch, he helped me clean out the cabinet that holds all of our games, and we got rid of several things that they don’t play with anymore.

He and I headed to pick up Olivia in the car line a little later, and thankfully, it was another warm day, so we were able to roll down the windows and open the sunroof to help me escape the germs. 

When we all got home, my parents met us there to hang out with Jacob once again, because Olivia had voice lessons and we didn’t want to bring him along and risk exposing anyone.

While she was in voice lessons, Jacob’s piano teacher came out and sat with me in the lobby to chat for a bit since he didn’t have a lesson during that time slot.  He’s (obviously) into music (and y’all all know that’s one of my all-time favorite things!) so we like to chat about that.

After lessons, Olivia’s teacher told me that she’s still doing great, and she told me that Olivia sings Lavender Haze (by Taylor Swift) very well.  Apparently, that had been her song of choice that day.  She is her mother’s daughter!    

After her lesson, we headed home to find Jacob and my parents playing in the back yard.  The sun finally came out Thursday afternoon and it was glorious after days of doom and gloom. 

B got home a few minutes later, my parents left, and I headed out to meet my girls for dinner.  For the first time in months, every single one of us was able to make it, and it was so fun having everyone together.  We are usually missing one or two here and there depending on what everyone has going on and what kinds of things pop up at the last minute (like sick kids – HA!).

We met at a local pizza place that my family loves (we eat there after church sometimes), and we bought a round of drinks and a pizza flight so we could all try the different ones. 

One pizza was a standard pepperoni because theirs is SO delicious, and then we opted for a “Whole Farm” which had pepperoni, sausage, red onions, green peppers, black olives, mushrooms, house marinara, and whole milk mozzarella (although we left off the onions on this one).  Our final choice was the “Krystal” pizza, which is beef, mustard, pickle, red onion, and whole milk mozzarella and it tastes exactly like a Krystal burger.  If you’re not from the South, then you may not know what that is, but for all of you people who don’t know what Krystal is, I’m told they’re similar to White Castle, although, I’ve never had White Castle. ;o)  I ended up eating the pepperoni and the Krystal pizza, and oh my goodness, that Krystal pizza was soooo good, y’all. 

It was a wonderful night hanging out with my lovelies and eating all the yummy food, and we made sure to document the evening with a picture since we were all there.  

I drove home solo (one of my favorite things to do – at night, sunroof open, music blasting) and by the time I got home, it was baby bedtime, so B and I divided and conquered as we always do (we take turns, so we’re with a different kid each night so as to spread the love).  Once I had gotten Olivia tucked in, I got in my PJs and headed to my office to meditate.  Between two weeks of Christmas Break followed by a week’s worth of sick kids, I’ve gotten out of my usual routine, and I’ve been mediating at night lately, but I have to say I think I actually prefer it.  It’s so much more peaceful meditating under the dim glow of the twinkle lights in my office than it is during the day when it’s sunny and bright.  Might just keep this routine!

After that, B and I watched an episode of Vampire Diaries, and then we called it a night.

And a quick note about today’s to-do list… after I posted it on Instagram on Thursday morning, my friend, Jessica, texted a corrected version to me because she had added our girls dinner to it.  Hahahaha.  Love it.

Friday, January 20

Friday morning, Jacob tested negative for Covid for the fourth day in a row, and since his throat was barely bothering him anymore, we sent his little booty back to school.  Haha.

I dropped both of them off, and then I had to swing by the school office to pick up a few things for the dance that I was co-chairing Friday evening.  After that, I headed back home to work for a couple of hours.  The plumber returned Friday morning to install our new faucet and garbage disposal, and then mid-morning, I headed out to run some errands.

First up, was Hobby Lobby to grab a new tray for our kitchen soaps.  Then, I swung by Five Below to return something.  After that, it was Barnes and Noble to try to find a copy of the special edition Sports Illustrated magazine for our National Championship win, but I had no luck with that one. 

Finally, I had to go to Sam’s to load up on snacks for the dance.  I grabbed a couple of huge trays of cookies, a couple of huge trays of brownies, some boxes of individually wrapped chips, and some lemonade, and then it was time to head home.

By the time I got home, the plumber was done, and our kitchen sink looks so nice!  It’s going to be awesome to have a working, non-dripping faucet for the first time in years! 

B and I ate a quick lunch together after that, and then I headed back to my office to tackle couple more blog things and start blowing up balloons for the balloon arch I had to make for the Mother/Son dance at the school Friday evening.

At 3, I picked up the kiddos from school, I got them back home, and then I loaded up the car with all of the dance supplies, and then I headed back to the school for the third time that day.  Haha.

The two other ladies who helped me put this all together met me there at 4:30 and we spent the next hour-and-a-half setting up.  The theme for the dance was “Light Up the Night” so everything was all neon and blacklight responsive… think aaaallll the 90’s skate center vibes!  So fun, right?

It was pretty easy to throw together – photo backdrop, snacks (cookies, brownies, chips, lemonade, water), party favors (light up flashing glasses), a DJ, some other random décor, and a few more strobe/party lights here and there.  Done.

Here’s the balloon arch under the regular lights…

And here it is under the blacklights!  So fun, right?

The dance started at 6:30, and I manned the photo spot all evening.  We had originally intended to have a photographer, but everyone we asked was booked, so I ended up taking pictures with people’s phones all evening and I think everyone actually preferred that.  That way, they didn’t have to wait for a photographer to edit photos and get them back to everyone days later which meant that they were all able to post on social media right away.

It was a loooong two hours, so I was excited when 8:30 rolled around, although, it was nice seeing friends and chatting all evening.  I also talked to the DJ for a while towards the end to pass the time. 

We started cleaning up a few minutes before the last song was played, so we were out of there by 9!  Woo hoooo!  All of the mommas and the kiddos seemed to have a really great time, so it was a success!  And I loved seeing everyone’s pictures on social media all evening afterward.  Couldn't have done it without this girl!!  We make a great team!

Jacob is officially too old for the Mother/Son dance this year, so B had both of the kids at home all evening, and they’d picked up dinner and watched a movie while I was gone.

By the time I got home and I was settled in my PJs, it was time to get the babies in bed, and then I grabbed some cheese, crackers, and fruit with a big glass of wine since I hadn’t eaten dinner.

B and I started season one of Only Murders in the Building, and then he watched some of a tennis documentary on Netflix while I fell asleep on the couch.  Yet another wild Friday night! 

Saturday, January 21

Saturday morning, B headed off to a tennis match bright and early, and I made homemade waffles for the kids and me.  After that, I got started on laundry and tidying because our house has been a disaster area all week since we’ve had sick kids. 

I got in a cardio workout mid-morning, and then we tested both kiddos for Covid ONE. MORE. TIME. to make sure it was safe to go to church Saturday evening.  Olivia was on day ten at that point, and Jacob still hadn’t tested positive in the first place, and all of their symptoms were gone, so we figured it they were both negative then it would be perfectly safe for them to be around my Mama Cass. 

Thankfully, both tests were negative, so Olivia is officially past her Covid, and Jacob officially never had Covid.  His scratchy throat never morphed into anything else, so we’re just going to say it was a cold, I guess?  Who knows!

After a light lunch, the kiddos worked on their laundry and then they played video games because it was another cold, drizzly day.  I got some blog work done in my office since it had been V neglected all week, and then we all got ready to go to 5:30 Mass later in the afternoon.

We sat with my extended fam at Mass as we always do, and then afterward, we all went out to dinner together.  It’s hard finding a restaurant that can seat nine people together right away at 7 PM on a Saturday night, but we have a pizza place that we all love that’s right near church that can always accommodate us, so we headed there.

Unfortunately, they’d just seated a huge party and there were lots of other people there, so they turned us away.  We tried calling a couple of other restaurants close by and both said that they had long waits, so we ended up at our favorite Mexican place that we go to a lot on Saturday nights.  They never let us down!  Haha.  Dinner was yummy, and the company was even better, and I just love this group so SO much. 

After dinner, we were going to swing through the DQ drive-through for Blizzards, but the one we always go to was closed for renovations so we headed home instead.

Once the kiddos were in bed, B and I re-watched episode one of Only Murders in the Building because apparently, I hadn’t been paying enough attention to it Friday night – LOL – and then we watched the second episode as well before calling it a night.

 

Sunday, January 22

Sunday morning, I made cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and then B and the kids finished watching Avatar that they’d started Friday night.  While they did that, I got my planner ready for the week ahead and did some yoga.

 

My MIL and step-FIL were out of town Sunday so they didn’t cook lunch.  We usually use that as an opportunity for a Sunday Funday where we go out to lunch and do something fun, but the weather was so gross on Sunday that we just decided to stay home all day.  It was cold and it rained all. day. long.   Yuck.

Sunday afternoon I got everything prepped and ready for the week ahead, I got a jump start on some laundry, and I worked on some blog stuff while the kids played video games. 

We had Sunday dinner at my parents’ house per usual and we celebrated my uncle’s birthday while we were there.  Soaking up that family time is always a great way to end the week!

Happy Tuesday, y’all!