Our Week - The One with Summer, Week 10 (Cleanouts, Meet the Teacher, Brewery, Poker Night, and a Birthday)

Well, summer break is officially over, and our kiddos started school on Monday.  I’m usually (mostly) ready to get them back to school at the start of the school year because I’m ready to get organized and get back on some kind of schedule.  But unfortunately, since I spent the last four weeks with vertigo and couldn’t drive or do much, I wasn’t ready AT ALL to send them back this year.  It was honestly really hard, and I’ve been struggling with it a lot. 

I wish we could have a summer redo (or at least extend the summer by a few more weeks), but life obviously doesn’t work that way, so I’m just trying to make my peace with the whole situation.  It would probably help if my vertigo had completely resolved by now, and although I’ve made some improvement, sadly, I’m still not 100%.  It’s just a mess, y’all.

Let’s recap the last week of summer break.

Monday, July 31

Monday morning, I got up and ready for the day, and then I had breakfast with the kiddos.  After breakfast they watched cartoons for a few minutes while I caught up on blog reading, and then the rest of the morning was spent cleaning out Olivia’s room. 

Her room was, by far, the worst it’s ever been (and that’s saying a lot because it’s always pretty bad), so it took two hours just to clean out her dresser and that area on top and under it.  Typically, when I do these big cleanouts, I knock out the whole room in one day, but all of the back-and-forth was extremely aggravating to my vertigo, so the dresser was all I could do.

By the time we finished that, it was time for lunch.  After lunch, the kids played outside for a bit, and my Momma picked me up for an appointment with my therapist.  We swung by the post office on the way home, and then she hung out for a few minutes and chatted with me.

After she left, the kids played video games and I got some work done, and then Brian and Jacob left to get haircuts.  Jacob needed a fresh cut since school was on the horizon.

While the boys were gone, Olivia and I played a couple of rounds of The Hatchimals game, and then I got to cooking dinner – Taco Joe’s that we’d frozen from a previous meal, steamed broccoli, and fruit for the kids.

After dinner, I wasn’t feeling all that great – my stomach had been upset for a bit before dinner – so I decided to skip my workout.  Instead, I got back in Olivia’s room and did about 20 more minutes of cleaning out, and then B and I looked at some hotels for my potential girls trip to NYC later this year.

Once the kids were ready for bed, we watched another episode of Is It Cake? and then once they were in the bed, B and I started The Bachelorette.

When Olivia was cleaning out her room, she had decided to set all of her stuffies up around her bed (because she has so many we didn't know what to do with them – LOL) and her bed was just the coziest little place!

Tuesday, August 1

Tuesday morning, the kids watched some cartoons, read their AR books for a while, and then Olivia and I worked some more on cleaning out her bedroom.  By the time that was done, it was time for lunch, and then the kids started cleaning out the playroom while I finished cleaning out Olivia’s bedroom.  Here's the before and after of her desk area.  OMG.  Haha.

After that, it was video games for them, and work for me, and while I was working, my ENT doctor called me back to discuss the results from my VNG test from the previous Friday.

He said that there was tremendous evidence of a cervicogenic issue, and that he thinks that is the cause of my vertigo.  I do carry all of my anxiety and stress in my neck and shoulders, and there are days where I physically cannot make my neck muscles relax.  I’d had a terrible episode of that the day before the vertigo started, so it makes absolute perfect sense that it could be the cause.

He told me he would put in an order for physical therapy and that the PT will treat the cervical spine issue as well as the inner ear in case the inner ear is part of the cause.  In addition to that, he prescribed a muscle relaxer and prescription strength Ibuprofen that he wanted me to take for a week to see if it would loosen the tension a bit. 

I realized after I’d hung up with him that he didn’t mention anything about going to the cardiologist.  At my VNG test, the doctor had told me that there was concerning evidence that I might need to see a cardiologist (it wasn’t clear why, though), and my ENT doc didn’t mention it when he called.

So, I called his office back, left a voicemail with the nurse, and then he called me back a few minutes later.  He told me that she hadn’t put anything in the notes from the testing and that there wasn’t anything in the test results that raised any red flags for him, so he told me he’d try to get in touch with her and then get back with me.

After I got done working, I headed downstairs to start on dinner.  On the menu Tuesday was stir fry with chicken, rice, and lots of veggies, plus rolls. 

After dinner, I felt good enough to attempt another walk around the neighborhood.  It was really hot, but the humidity was low, and the sun wasn’t beating down because there was a slight cloud-covering.  The four of us + Maui ventured out and we decided to walk on the trail through the woods (which was smart since the sun ended up coming back out) to the neighborhood playground. 

The kids played on the playground for a bit while B and I sat.  Normally, we walk big circles around the playground while they play, but I wanted to take it easy since I still wasn’t feeling 100%. 

By the time we got home, I’d walked a total of almost two miles, and I felt pretty good, so that was definitely progress!

When we got home, Brian headed to CVS to pick up my prescriptions, and the kids and I all got showered and ready for bed.  When B got home, I popped my first muscle relaxer, and then we sat down and started America’s Got Talent before sending the kids to bed.

B and I watched the rest of The Bachelorette, and y’all, I was crushed at who Charity sent home!!!!  I have absolutely loved this season.  I feel like she is a very genuine person, and I feel like the last four guys were all very genuine, too.  I honestly don’t know how she can possibly decide.

By the time we went to bed, I still didn’t feel any different from the muscle relaxer, but I’m assuming it did something because I ended up sleeping super hard!

When I went to check on Olivia before we went to bed, I found her in her bed all curled up with her light-up heart right next to her face.  I have no clue how she slept with that thing right by her eyes like that.  And it's just battery operated... no lightbulbs that could get hot or catch fire, so no worries.  ;o)

Wednesday, August 2

Wednesday morning, I woke up with my mouth hanging open, and I’d somehow not remembered turning off my first alarm.  That’s really saying something since I typically clinch my jaw while I sleep, and I never feel relaxed.  I’m assuming the muscle relaxer must have done something. 

After I got ready for the day, the kids and I headed downstairs to have breakfast, and I popped another muscle relaxer.  I did feel much dizzier all morning once it kicked in, so that wasn’t fun.  And the weird part was that it didn’t seem to relax the tension in my neck at all.

The kids spent the morning watching cartoons, reading their AR books, and playing, and I worked a little and then read for a bit, too, once the muscle relaxer started to wear off. 

The three of us had lunch together, we checked on Olivia's sunflowers, and then we spent some time cleaning out the playroom.  We just did 30 minutes per day because I couldn’t do too much all at once. 

After that, the kids settled in to play some video games while I got some work done, and then we tried on some new school clothes (for Jacob) and shoes (for Olivia) to make sure everything fit.  Who is this teenager?!

After that, it was time to cook dinner – eggs, grits, bacon, and toast. 

After dinner, I got in a stair stepper workout, and then we watched the last episode of season 2 of Is It Cake? before the kids went to bed.

B and I watched some TV (I don’t remember what… haha) and then we went to bed.  Last week went by in a blurry haze from those dumb muscle relaxers.

 

Thursday, August 3

Thursday, the kids and I were stuck at home all day again since I couldn’t drive.  I felt like I was in a haze all day from my muscle relaxer, yet my muscles didn’t even feel relaxed.  It was not fun.

Thursday morning, I did some work in my office, I got signed up for the Taylor Swift 2024 Eras Tour presale, and then after lunch, the kids and I cleaned out the playroom some more.  They played video games for a bit, and I did some work, and then after that, Olivia did some rock mining while I made dinner. 

We all ate dinner together when B got home (turkey and cheese biscuit sliders and fruit), and then after dinner, the kids played in the back yard while I headed out for my first walk by myself since all of this vertigo started.  We had a storm blowing in, so the sun was behind the clouds and the temp had cooled off a bit, and I was able to get in 1.5 miles before the bottom fell out.  My pace was pretty slow, but I felt pretty good the whole time, and I definitely could have walked further if the rain hadn’t started.

When I got home, the kids had just gone inside from the rain, and while they got showered, I read a bit on the front porch while the storm rolled through.  I showered and got ready for bed after that, and then we all watched the rest of America’s Got Talent before getting the kids in the bed.  

Brian and I switch off tucking in the kids each night, and I was with Jacob Thursday evening.  We always chat for a bit after we say our bedtime prayers, and Thursday as I was leaving Jacob’s room he said, “I always enjoy our little talks at bedtime.”  Oh my word, y’all.  Those are the moments I live for.

B and I finished the evening with some more of Manifest, and then I was out like a light from those stupid muscle relaxers.

 

Friday, August 4

Friday was Meet the Teacher day at school, so we were up and out bright and early.  I still couldn’t drive, so Brian had to take off of work to get us there.  First up, we swung by Olivia’s classroom from last year because we found some books that belonged in her teacher’s classroom library this summer when we were cleaning out.  Oops.  Haha. 

Then we made our way down the hall so Olivia could check out her new classroom and say hi to her teacher.  Her teacher this year is actually the same teacher she had for Pre-K4, and she is so excited to have her again this year! 

The fourth-grade teachers did a Friends back-to-school theme, and it was seriously the cutest.  They had Central Perk coffee cups with packets of hot chocolate on each of the desks for the kids to take home, and they had the cutest bulletin board set up in the hallway.  Those of you who have been reading here for a long time probably know that’s my favorite show of all-time, so it was right up my alley.  ;o)

After Olivia said hello to her teachers, we headed back home as Jacob’s Meet the Teacher time wasn’t until 1 PM.  At home, the kids watched some TV and played, and then we had lunch together.  After that, we headed back to the school, and Jacob was able to find all of his classrooms, meet his new teachers, and find and set up his locker.  He’d already gotten his schedule about halfway through the summer, so he knew what to expect, but it was nice for him to be able to walk to each classroom in order so he knew what to expect on Monday.  He’s like his Momma… he likes to know what to expect, so I wanted for him to be as prepared as he possibly could.

Once that was all done, we headed back home, and Brian finished up working for the day while the kids played video games and I worked.  At 5, we met my friend, Jeannine, and her family at a local brewery for a bit, and we hung out there for about 45 minutes until it was time to go to our friend, Khristina’s, house for poker niiiight! 

I had decided that the muscle relaxer I took Friday morning was going to be my last one, so I was able to have a beer while we played, and it didn’t make my vertigo any worse.  I’ve been avoiding alcohol for the last month while I’ve been having these dizzy spells (with the exception of a small glass of wine a couple of different times at my parents’ house), but it doesn’t really seem to be affecting things at all.  If anything, the alcohol seems to help??  So weird.

Khristina and Ian had pizzas for us when we got there, and then we ended up playing poker until 9:15.  When we got home, the kiddos got in the bed, and then B and I watched an episode of The Summer I Turned Pretty before heading to bed.

 

Saturday, August 5

Saturday morning, Brian picked up donuts for breakfast.  We had a new place open in town a few months ago, but it’s been hard to get anything from there since they’ve been selling out so early.  B was finally able to get some good ones Saturday morning, and they were really yummy. 

The rest of the day was spent doing the usual Saturday things – laundry, a cardio workout (modified for this stupid vertigo), tidying, etc.  Then we had lunch and did some work, etc. before getting ready for church Saturday evening.

After 5:30 Mass, we went to our favorite Mexican restaurant with our usual group – Momma, Daddy, Mama Cass, Aunt Joy, Uncle Greg, and Uncle Billy – and my Uncle Greg secretly told our server that my dad’s birthday was coming up this week, so they brought out the sombrero and sang to him and put ice cream on his face.  Hahahaha. 

After dinner, we swung through the DQ drive-through to grab Blizzards for B and the kids, and then we headed home.  By the time the kids were done eating their Blizzards, it was time for bed, and then B and I watched an episode of The Summer I Turned Pretty before heading to bed.

 

Sunday, August 6

Sunday morning, we had leftover donuts for breakfast, and then I did my usual Sunday morning things – hot tea, planning the week ahead, yoga, watching my Sunday sermon – and then it was time to get ready for lunch at my mother-in-law’s and step-father-in-law’s. 

I had stopped taking the muscle relaxer on Friday, and I think my body went through some nasty withdrawals from it (seriously, the withdrawal symptoms are hideous and scary if you look them up online) and I felt awful ALL DAY Sunday.  It was horrible.  My dizziness was out of control again and I felt like I was just in this horrible fog all day.  My brain felt like it was barely working, and I also felt like I had a black cloud over me all day… I felt legitimately depressed, and that’s not something I usually experience.  I have TONSSSS of anxiety, but not usually depression.  Basically, I just wanted to crawl in bed and not come out until it passed. 

Obviously, I couldn’t do that, so we went on to lunch at my MIL and step-FIL’s.  They cooked a yummy lunch, and we chatted for a long time afterward.  Then Sunday evening, we headed to my parents’ house for Sunday dinner and to celebrate my Daddy’s birthday, which was yesterday. 

My Momma made meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, black eyed peas, and biscuits plus a chocolate cake, and it was all soooo delicious.  We all sang to Daddy and gave him gifts, and then we headed back home a little early to get ready for the first day of school.

 

So yeah, the last week of summer wasn’t ideal, but it’s over and done, and now we move on.

Happy Wednesday, y’all!