Tuesday, February 11, 2020

Our Week - The One with Another Date Night

This week was much slower than last despite the fact that baseball started.  I had lots of downtime during the day while the kids were at school and we ended up having a couple of quiet evenings at home, too, due to lots of rain.  Such a big difference compared to last week when we were running around constantly!

Monday, February 3

I always love kicking the week off with a workout and this week was no exception.  I got my cardio in first thing (despite the fact that my hip was killing me) and then spent the rest of the day working. 


It was a beautiful day Monday so the kids and I rode home from school with the sunroof open yet again.  These little tastes of spring have me yearning for warmer weather.  I don’t usually get super excited about summer anymore because the older I get, the more I hate the heat, but for some reason this year I feel like I’m already ready to have the kids out of school so we can head to the beach!  Haha.  But seriously, it’ll be here before we know it.


Monday evening Jacob had batting practice in the cages so we got him to the park at 5:30 and B met us there after work.  Olivia and I had originally intended to head straight home once B arrived so we could get a head start on showers and dinner, but the weather was just so nice that Olivia didn’t want to leave, and honestly I didn’t either… so we ended up staying for almost the whole practice.  This is me learning to be more spontaneous.  YOLO.  Haha.  I told B the other day that I’m going to end up doing a complete 180 this year with all of my goals to be more laid back and I’m going to end up becoming the queen of leisure.  Haha. 

Tuesday, February 4

Tuesday I had nothing scheduled so I worked at home all day.  I noticed this week that Maui has taken to sleeping in my chair in my office.  She has her own bed in my office and has been sleeping in it all day every day for two years now, but I guess she’s finally decided that she needs a change of scenery.  Haha.


After school the kids had haircuts.  We always wait forever to get Olivia’s cut so this was only her third or fourth haircut of her whole life.  Her hair was crazy long and it had reached the point where it was constantly dragging in her food and getting tangled and it was just a hot mess to brush, and I think she and I were equally as excited for her to get the chop.  Jamey ended up taking off about 6-8 inches and she looks at least a year older as a result.  We are both loving how easy it is to wash and brush now, though!



Jacob got a chop chop, too, and as always, he looks even older now, too.  I can’t take it that he’s going to be nine in just a matter of months.  How, though?



Right after haircuts we headed home, Jacob did his homework quickly, and then it was time to head out to baseball practice.  Practice was scheduled for 5:30 to 7:15 so Olivia and I had intended to drop Jacob and then leave when Brian got there from work, but again, the weather was lovely and another local blogger was there because her kids are on Jacob’s team, and she and I ended up talking for nearly the entire practice.  There are barely any bloggers in town that I know of, so to have met one is SO AWESOME.  I feel like people who don’t blog don’t understand the blogging world at all so it often feels like a lonely business.  It’ll be nice to make friends with someone local who understands the ins and outs and the struggles!!

Before bed either B or I always go check on the kids and when I walked in Olivia’s room Wednesday night I saw this:


She had snuck her book back in the bed and had fallen asleep reading it… a girl after my own heart.  <3

Wednesday, February 5

Wednesday I headed to the gym first thing, and after three whole years of being a member I decided to try something other than the treadmill!  I love my treadmill workouts because they count as my cardio as well as a muscle-building activity (since I do mine on a steep incline), but lately I’ve been a little bored with it and I’ve been itching to try something new.  I’ve always been a little intimidated by gyms and all of the equipment, though, so I think that’s partially why I never tried any of the other machines.  I ended up jumping on the stair stepper for 10 minutes and it ended up being a great workout!  It got my blood pumping and my legs burning in that short amount of time and I burned almost 100 calories!  I’ll definitely be doing that more often.  


After the stair stepper I jumped on the treadmill and did 20 more minutes and then headed home.  The rest of the morning and afternoon were spent working on a monster blog post that went live yesterday.  Everyone has been shouting for more organization posts, so your wish is my command!  This one took lots of thought, lots of writing and editing, and it required a little photo shoot, so I hope y’all enjoyed it!  Lots of hours were put into that one.  You can see it here if you missed it.


Wednesday evening after dinner Olivia did a dramatic reading of the book I am a Bunny.  For some reason lately she has really taken to that book and has read it about a hundred times and we all have it memorized from hearing it so much.  Haha.  I actually had that book when I was little and it is one of my favorite children’s books of all time.  Seeing all of the illustrations takes me straight back to being five years old and reading it in our old house.  I love that it’s now one of her favorites as well.


After Olivia’s reading, the four of us played a game of Sorry and then it was time for the shower and bedtime routine.  Olivia came waltzing in my office after her shower dressed from head-to-toe in hearts, and she said, “Mommy, take a video of me talking about my outfit!”  Lol.  I swear, I can’t make these things up. 



B and I got the kids in the bed and watched hours four and five of The Bachelor for the week.  Why in the world did they show it two nights last week?  It’s exhausting to watch that much drama in the span of three days.  Haha. 

Thursday, February 6

After three days with nothing on the schedule, Thursday I had a packed schedule – a home and school meeting, an appointment, errands to run, dance for Olivia, and baseball for Jacob – so naturally, that was the day that we had severe weather all day.  It poured all day long, there were some thunderstorms, some crazy strong winds, and to top it all off, we were under a tornado watch and a flash flood warning all day.  Sigh.  I managed to make it to every single place I needed to be, but not without a few seriously nerve-racking drives.  So. Much. Rain. 


The highlight of the day was when I saw that Matthew Perry had finally joined Instagram!!  Could I be more excited?!


By the end of the day, I was absolutely exhausted and I felt like I was getting a migraine so I ended up falling straight to sleep in the bed while Olivia read to me after her shower.  I rallied long enough to catch up on a couple of shows after the kids went to bed, but B and I ended up turning in a little earlier than usual to get a good night’s sleep.

Friday, February 7

Friday I woke up feeling good as new and the weather had started to clear, so I treated myself to Starbucks before heading back home to get some things done around the house.  I stopped briefly to make some avocado toast for lunch, and then it was back to the grind. 

Just after lunch, I received a text from one of my old co-workers saying that they were all thinking of me because they were eating at Chicken Salad Chick for lunch, which is where we usually go together when I meet them.  They’ve deemed the place “too girly” to eat there with a bunch of dudes, so they always choose to eat there when I go with them so I can be their girl buffer.  Hahahaha.  I was proud of them for eating there without a girl in tow for once!


The rest of the afternoon was spent prepping for Valentine’s Day – wrapping gifts, signing cards, and preparing for my special treat for the kids that I’m doing this week leading up to the big day… sticking paper hearts on their doors each night with one thing that I love about them.


When B got off of work we dropped the kids at my parents house and he and I stepped out for a nice dinner alone together.  A few years ago, B and I made a pact to start going on an average of at least one date night per month and we’ve accomplished this goal every year since we made that pact.  Well, we recently realized, even though we do go on one date night each month, we rarely just go sit down to dinner and talk.  Our date nights always consist of school events with friends, concerts, Georgia football games, and other social events where we are with a bunch of other people.  Don’t get me wrong… we adore doing all of those things, but we just found it funny that we’re rarely actually alone together to just talk.

So earlier in the week when B texted me from work and randomly suggested going out to dinner Friday, I jumped at the chance.  There are a handful of new restaurants that have opened around town this past year, several of which we hadn’t tried, so we opted for the nicest of them all since the kids weren’t in tow.  And a special thanks to my Momma and Daddy for watching the kids without much warning since we were being spontaneous!



The vibe was perfect for a date night – quiet and dim and cozy.  We started the evening with drinks and both of us ended up ordering the filet with sour cream and chive mashed potatoes and roasted brussel sprouts.  The meal came with grilled zucchini which I wasn’t terribly excited about, so I substituted for the brussel sprouts and then I was so sad when the zucchini that had come with Brian’s meal was AMAZING.  The brussel sprouts were good, too, but daaaang that zucchini was awesome. 


The entire meal was fabulous from start to finish and we considered getting dessert, but we were both stuffed and there wasn’t really anything specific that was calling to either of us.

B had an excellent IPA with dinner so we thought it’d be good to stop at our favorite craft beer store while we were downtown before heading back to pick up the kids.  Normally we would have walked since downtown is so pedestrian friendly, but it was bitter cold so we decided to drive the couple of blocks and find a spot there.  Well, unfortunately there was some kind of convention in town for theater actors, and the entire downtown area was crazy, so we decided to forgo the trip to the store and headed to pick up the kids.  

The rest of the evening was spent visiting with my parents for a bit, and then catching up on A Million Little Things and more Gossip Girl.  We’re coming down the homestretch!

Saturday, February 8

Jacob was scheduled to have baseball practice first thing Saturday morning, but the weather was bitter cold and rainy yet again, so coach canceled practice.  We had arranged a meeting just before practice with someone local who wanted to buy the kids’ old Hotwheels Garage, so even though practice was canceled we had to get out of the house in the yucky weather.  We all piled in the car basically in our PJs and met up with the lady at 9:30, made the handoff, and then proceeded to go straight back home where we remained in PJs for the rest of the day. 

I read for a couple of hours, we made grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch, the kids got their Valentines ready to hand out at school on Friday, and then B and the kids played video games all afternoon.  It was nice and relaxing and I have to say, I’m really enjoying embracing this newfound leisurely lifestyle. 


Saturday evening we went to mass at 5:30 and I volunteered for my first Children’s Liturgy.  Our masses are one hour, and for the first half, the small kids are invited to leave the sanctuary and have their own children’s church while the adults listen to the readings and the homily.  My friend Amanda recently asked me if I was interested in helping out and I jumped at the chance.  I do a lot of volunteering at the school, but I rarely volunteer for anything at the church, and I’ve been wanting to get more involved as part of my way to CONNECT in 2020.  I feel like there are so many things I’ve been wanting to do in life and some of them have just fallen right in my lap these past few months.  I guess God knows just who to put in your life and when to put them there.  <3

Children’s Liturgy ended up going well.  We had about 15 kids including my Olivia, a couple of her friends from school, and my best friend’s two boys.  Learning the ropes was pretty easy and they even gave me my own set of leader guides to have on hand so I’ll be prepared in case I ever end up having to do it alone.

After church our whole family all went out for Mexican again.  My brother, sister-in-law, and my niece and nephew were all in town, too, so we had an even larger party than usual.  And I got to love on my babies which is always a great thing.

Our family of four stopped by DQ on the way home (naturally) and then B and I ended the evening with two more episodes of Gossip Girl.  I know I’ve been talking about that show for months, but I swear we’re almost done with it.  Haha.

Sunday, February 9

Sunday morning I spent a little bit of time getting organized for the week ahead, sorting laundry, watering plants, and all that kind of stuff, and then I curled up on the couch and read for a while.  I’ve been working my way through City of Girls and it was a little slow at first, but I finally reached the pivotal point in the novel where everything has picked up and now I haven’t wanted to put it down.

Saturday afternoon we ran by Target and then went to my MIL and step-FIL’s for our usual Sunday lunch.  The weather was perfect Sunday afternoon and it was a welcome sight after buckets and buckets of rain + several blustery cold days that week.  We spent some time out in the back yard soaking up the sun before heading home.

Typically on Sunday afternoon we have 2-3 hours of downtime between lunch at my MIL’s and dinner with my parents.  That time is usually spent preparing for the week ahead, blogging, and playing video games.  This week, however, Jacob had baseball practice from 4-5:30 since practice had been rained out twice earlier in the week.  We all snuck in a few minutes of quiet time and before we knew it, it was time for baseball.



We all decided to pile in the car, Maui included, and go to practice since it was such a lovely day.  While Jacob practiced, we all walked down to the second block of the park to let Olivia play on the playground.  We take Maui with us to the grandparents’ houses every Sunday and we take her for plenty of walks around our neighborhood, but we have rarely ever taken her to the park.  She didn’t even know what to do with herself.  Haha. 

We arrived at my parents’ house just in time to sit down to homemade spaghetti, salad, and bread, and then we finished the evening with homemade lemon cake, courtesy of my Mama Cass.  Mmm mmm good. 

Happy Tuesday, y’all!  I hope you  have a great week ahead!



3 comments:

  1. That's great that you had a date night this week! Olivia's haircut looks great. Both my boys want to grow their hair longer. We'll see how that goes!

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  2. I am so glad you had a nice date night just to be together and talk, it is so important! I just loved when you posted that video of Olivia in her heart gear, she is too cute!

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  3. What a great week! Date nights really are the best!

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