Monday, May 21, 2018

The Weekend - Another Date Night & French Braiding

Considering how crazy these last couple of weeks have been, this weekend seemed surprisingly low-key.  Friday Brian had to be into work extra early so I took both kids to school.  Back in the days of me working, this was a HUGE inconvenience because I would have to change my work schedule around to come in late, skip my lunch to make up the time, and even then I was still rushing like a crazy woman to get everyone where they needed to be on time, but now that I’m home it was no big deal.  Reason # 1,247,873 I love staying at home!

It was drizzly and yucky outside and I had a to-do list a mile long, so I treated myself to a coffee from Starbucks since it’s (kind of) on my way home from dropping Olivia off.  I’m still trying to get all of the loose ends tied up before the kids get out of school, so I spent the rest of the day whittling away at that – writing blog posts for the summer, organizing some files on my computer, cleaning out a couple more things for the yard sale, etc.  It was a very productive day, and even though I still have a million things to do I was feeling pretty accomplished by the time it was time to leave to pick Jacob up from school.


Since B had gone in so early, he was able to get off early, so he grabbed Olivia before I had the chance to, and we all got home extra early for an extended Friday evening at home.  We grabbed a pizza from our favorite place, B and I cracked open some beers, and we had a movie night at home… Anastasia!  I had never seen it, but unfortunately I was pretty underwhelmed.

After the kiddos went to bed, B and I turned on an episode of the The Crown (naturally, since the royal wedding was Saturday morning) and we watched that until it was time for bed.  Shortly after we had put Olivia down, I looked on her monitor only to notice that she was no longer in the bed, and when I went up to check on her, I found her like this:


Apparently she was in a camping mood.  Lol.

Saturday started off as another cloudy day.  I had been working the day before on organizing the last of the cabinets in our kitchen… this time, the paper products/party decorations cabinets, and I was in need of some plastic bins, so I ran to Walmart first thing, was shocked to find that they actually had exactly what I needed (and enough of them), and I was back home in no time to get to organizing. 

I spent the rest of the day organizing those cabinets, and friends, you know how excited organizing makes me!  I am happy to report that our paper plates for all occasions, our napkins for all occasions, our holiday straws, dish towels, decorative toothpicks, candles, tablecloths, and general party decorations are now decluttered and organized TO THE MAX.  All the heart eyes!!

Once I was done with that, it was time for some relaxation.  The sun decided to come out and play around 2:30 so the kids and I went out in the back yard to read and play while B edged the yard.  We all headed inside a bit later and I started working on cleaning out our coat closet and “mudroom” area by our door that leads out to the garage.  I got rid of a lot more stuff, and then it was time to get ready for another date night!  Our second one in two weeks!  Whaaaat.


As I’ve mentioned many times, our kids go to school at my alma mater which is also where we go to church.  Our church has a Contemporary Couples’ Club for all of the 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s couples and we all meet every few months for a fun evening of dinner, drinks, and socializing.  We’ve known a lot of the people for a long time (I even went to school with some of them way back) and all of them have kids at the school with our kids (some of them are the teachers at the school as well) and it’s just really nice to get together with them every now and then to interact outside of school functions.  And it’s amazing to be part of such a tight-knit community where everybody knows everybody.  That sure does make it a heck of a lot easier to send our babies to school each day… especially in light of Friday’s school shooting. 

The get-together was at a local Italian restaurant and the turn-out was great… there were probably around 20 couples there so we had an entire room to ourselves.  We all feasted on salad, lasagna, Cajun shrimp pasta, and tortellini.  They had a few craft beers on tap, so I tried one of those and it was delicious.  We spent several hours eating and chatting and just having a great time and it was a really lovely evening.

B was on call all weekend for work because he has a huge project going on, so when we arrived back at home just before 10 PM, he had to get to work.  Since he was working, I just decided to keep him company (YOLO!) to catch up on the royal wedding coverage since I’m not a morning person and I did NOT watch it live.  I got almost to the end of the wedding ceremony before calling it quits just before 12:30 AM. 

B ended up working until almost 6 AM, so he hit the hay just before the kids and I got up Sunday morning.  I headed downstairs to get the kids some breakfast and saw this:


Some of the leaves on my plant that I JUST mentioned Friday started turning brown overnight!!!!  Somebody hellllp!  Why is this happening?!  Is it because I repotted it?  What can I do to fix it?  Is it too late?  I’m soooo sad, y’all!

The rest of the morning was spent moping over my plant, cleaning out yet another closet downstairs (the huge one in Brian’s office that houses all of our holiday decorations and other things), and planning the week ahead. 

Olivia has been requesting French braids lately and I have never French braided anything in my whole life, so this past week I watched a couple of YouTube videos and I thought it was about time to try out my skills.  When we got to my MIL and step-FIL’s house, I put my new-found knowledge to work and I was able to get the job done!  It wasn’t perfect but it was pretty darn good for a first try if I do say so myself!  I didn’t have a chance to snap a picture until a couple of hours after she had it, so by then some of her fine baby hairs had started to escape, but it was still going strong overall.  Now I just need to learn how to do it a little tighter. 



After lunch we milled around the garden for a bit.  The blueberries are ripening quickly now and the banana peppers are coming in strong!  There were tomatoes and strawberries (Olivia already helped herself to a few!) and a few okra and green peppers as well.  Won’t be long before a lot of it will be ready to eat!




These little rascals picked a few of Nana’s flowers before heading in and I just had to snap their pictures because they are just so darn cute.  Mischievous, but cute.  ;o)


Sunday evening we headed over to my parents’ house for Sunday dinner and we were all happy to be back over there for our tradition.  The past few weeks were spent having Sunday dinner on Saturday, having Sunday dinner at our house, and having no Sunday dinner because my parents were at the beach, so it was nice to be back over there in our usual Sunday evening spot.  Gosh, I’m such a creature of habit!

We spent the evening eating baked ziti, salad, bread, and wine and celebrating my momma for Mother’s Day since we didn’t get to see her last weekend on actual Mother’s Day!

Well friends, this is the last week of school for the kids so the countdown is ON!  Only 4.5 more days of peace and quiet but I couldn’t be more excited!!  Happy Monday, y’all!

Don't forget to link up with HeatherJohannah, and myself... just grab our new graphic and link up below!



*Linking up with B Loved Boston for Weekending and HoHo Runs for Weekly Wrap.





28 comments:

  1. Olivia's hair looks so cute and how precious..she got out of bed and opted for the floor. LOVE your eyelet trim dress and an Italian meal sounds heavenly! Happy Monday!

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  2. What a great weekend! I can't french braid great, either. But I have watched several Youtube videos too to try! It's takes lots of practice!

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  3. I love that your kids' school does that fun parents night!! So fun! xo,Biana -BlovedBoston

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  4. So glad you guys were able to make it out on Saturday! And yay for more organizing - I think you need to come up when I move and help me organize, haha!

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  5. GRR I wish I could French braid. I feel like I'm one of the few that can't haha

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  6. Looks like a fun weekend and your first French braid looks awesome :) Loved watching the royal wedding too! xoxo ERIN www.simplepurposefulliving.com

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  7. Ugh I need to step my hair game up! My girls always want french braids or the braid in the front (which I'm assuming starts the same as a french braid) I've watched some videos but it's not clicking for me haha.

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  8. What a great weekend. Maddi has been doing her hair all school year and usually wears it in a low ponytail. I miss the days of doing her hair for her. What a fun weekend!

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  9. Where did you get the plush princess dolls? E needs a Belle!! And she will only let her teacher do her hair fun, lol.

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  10. Your braid looks great. I need your motivation of cleaning and organizing to wear off one me.

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    1. Thank you! Sending cleaning and organizing vibes your way! Just do it! You'll be so thankful you did!

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  11. Sounds like a great weekend. I need to work on my french braiding skills again. I used to be able to do it, but I am out of practice. I watched the Royal Wedding during the day since it was broadcasted over and over here. Hope you have a great week!

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  12. Sounds like a great weekend!!! That couples club sounds so much fun! And good job on the french braid!

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  13. Yay for date night!! We are getting out on one tonight or tomorrow night... so excited!! Love the braid; I seriously wish I could do that.

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  14. New reader! I came over from Erika and shays blogs! Small world but I'm from peachtree city ga and my husband is from Fayetteville. We live in Columbia SC now but all our family is still in Atlanta so we come home fairly often. I'm a stay at home mom too!

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    1. Oh that's so cool!! It's so nice to "meet" you! I'm glad that you found me! Thank you for stopping by!

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  15. Sounds like a fun weekend! I love getting things organized.. it's such a good feeling!

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  16. Lilli wanted to sleep on the floor this weekend, too! Must have been something in the air. ;) Have a great week!!

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    1. Aw, that's so cute! I forsee a lot of that during the summer!

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  17. Got to try the Crown - so many people saying it is good and need a new show. Your poor plant - I will ask my Mum she is a green fingered genius - will let you know her prognosis! :) Your school couples night sounds like a great idea - nice to create a community that includes the Dads (it is all Mums' nights here). Congrats on the organising - you really are the BOSS woman when it comes to sorting and decluttering!

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  18. Oh my goodness, look at those blueberries! LOVE that you are so much more refreshed, and not a crazy woman trying to alter your schedule around work anymore. I may not be a SAHM yet, but I'm SO incredibly thankful for my new job that is flexible with working from home and coming and going when needed as they consider family the most important. Total dream come true <3
    Green Fashionista

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  19. I lol'ed at Olivia on the floor, that is too cute! You did a great job on your first french braid! Now all it takes is practice to perfect it! So happy you got another date night in! My sisters' kids all go to our alma mater (Catholic like you) and when I go for things it is so fun to see all the familiar faces and facilities. Hope you enjoy your last week of freedom!

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  20. So many blueberries! I really hope all our bushes aren't eaten again this year. For two years in a row now we've had caterpillar moths eating all the leaves and berries and flowers. I think it's a riot she slept on the floor; my youngest once crawled under his bed to sleep and nearly gave me a heart attack! (Then did the same thing one day when my mother in law was babysitting and I hadn't thought to tell her.. yeah she was a bit freaked out too). So funny the places they can and do sleep.

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    1. Yeah, my MIL said that their blueberry bushes are already starting to get eaten and they're not even ripe yet! I couldn't even tell,though, because they still have so many! And OMG, that is hilarious! I don't know what I would have done if I couldn't have found Olivia because she was under the bed. Lol.

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  21. Olivia's braid looks SO good!! I need to do some youtube watching to learn some new braiding techniques for myself and for Olive. My skills are pretty basic right now.

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  22. Great job on the French braid! Love that you have blueberries!

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  23. Hi,
    I read one of your previous posts on the Unicorn roller for anxiety. I'm interested in purchasing one as my son suffers occasional anxiety attacks. Also, does it work as a stress reliever? If not, what is the best for stress? Any information would be appreciated. Brands, etc.
    Thanks so much!

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    1. Hi! There are several essential oils that can be very calming. I use Young Living oils and there are several different ones that I love when I'm feeling stressed or overwhelmed - Valor, Stress Away, and Lavender are all great for that and are included in the starter kit. The unicorn roller that I made is a combination of Frankincense, Valor, Orange, and Stress Away. It smells so good and it really seems to help me! You can only order Young Living through a distributor so feel free to use my link if you're interested! You can get to it through this link on my blog - http://www.lindsayssweetworld.com/p/oils.html

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