Last week we wrapped
up another school year and we’re officially on summer break!!
Monday, May 19
Monday, I
dropped the kids at school and then I had to get home to work on catching up on
everything from slacking all weekend… and by slacking, I mean spending 22 hours
at the theater for Olivia’s recital. Ha!
I hadn’t done
any of my “Sunday things,” so I started with those – transferring pictures from
my phone to my computer, getting my planner ready for the week ahead while
those were transferring, and then sorting and organizing photos. There were soooo many since it was recital
weekend, that the photo sorting ended up taking up my entire morning.
I had lunch
with Brian since he was working from home, and then I went back to my office to
finish sorting the photos. I had just
started cleaning out my email inboxes when I got a call from Olivia’s teacher
saying that she had slammed the back of her head into the swing set pole. She put Olivia on the phone and Olivia was
beside herself, crying, and barely able to talk.
It scared me to
death because Olivia doesn’t usually cry, so I jumped out of my chair and
headed to the school as fast as I could.
When I arrived, the assistant principal was sitting with her. He’d already checked her over for signs of a
concussion, and he said that he thought she was fine. They had gone back to review the footage of
her on the playground, and he said that it wasn’t just her head that had hit…
her hip and elbow had taken most of the brunt of the hit, thank goodness. She did have a small bump on the side of her
head, though.
Since we were
only an hour and a half away from dismissal and since it was the last week of
school, I went ahead and checked Jacob out, too, and then we all got in the car
to leave. By the time we left, she had
settled down a lot, and I called one of my friends who is a nurse to ask her if
she thought we needed to take her to the ER or acute care.
She asked me
several questions and then assured me that there was no need to get her checked
out. She just told me to watch her for
the rest of the day, and that we would just need to get her to the ER if she
started vomiting or showing signs of confusion.
Thankfully, she
was fine for the rest of the day, although she did have a pretty decent bump on
her head, a massive bruise on her hip, and a massive bruise on her elbow. I swear, this girl is going to be the actual death
of me one day with all of her injuries.
When we got
home, I chatted on the phone with my mom for a bit and I watered the plants and
got the towels in the wash while we were on the phone.
I finished
cleaning out my email inboxes, I watched my online sermon while editing photos
since I’d missed it Sunday, and I chatted back and forth with my friend,
Jeannine, all day via text.
Once my sermon
was over, I got my quiet time done for the day, and then Olivia and I went
through all of her recital stuff and got it put away. I had to reorganize all of her recital
supplies and get them stored in our recital box, and then she added all of her
new costumes to her costumes bin… she now has close to 30.
Jacob had one
more Velocity event Monday night, so Brian ran him over there while Olivia and
I got a couple more things done. She
finally had time to try on a few pairs of shoes I’d gotten for her so we could
figure out which size worked best…they’d been sitting in the middle of the
floor all week because we’d been too busy!
I made
breakfast for dinner while Brian was gone, and when he returned, he, Olivia,
and I all ate dinner together. After
dinner, Brian went out to mow while I cleaned up the kitchen, and I got
Olivia’s flowers arranged from her recital and tidied the huge mess in the
kitchen, living room, and stairs that had accumulated over our busy weekend.
Olivia started
working on choreographing a dance while I did all of that, and she showed me
how far she’d gotten. It’s incredible
how fast she can put one together now and remember it each time.
I got some
returns ready and then started on a meal plan for the next two weeks, but I had
to cut that short to go pick up Jacob since Brian wasn’t done mowing.
Jacob told me
all about Velocity on the ride home.
They’d done a “Fear Factor” challenge and they’d done crazy (but mostly
tame) things like playing Beanboozled (the nasty jelly bean flavor challenge),
trying cow tongue (which Jacob opted out of), and several other gross things
that Jacob also opted out of. Lol. He said it was a fun night, though!
I got home just
in time to squeeze in a quick walk/jog before it got dark, and then I showered,
and we got the kids in bed. Olivia had a
headache, but other than that, she’d been totally normal all evening, so I was
able to rest easy knowing she was okay.
Brian and I
watched a little bit of American Idol and then we went to bed.
Tuesday, May
20
Tuesday, I ran
to Walmart and Publix for groceries, and then after the groceries were put
away, I edited pictures from Olivia’s recital literally all morning. I checked emails and started writing my
weekly recap while I ate lunch, and then I had to stop and pick up the kids
from school.
All the way
home, the kids and I talked about what we wanted to put on our summer bucket
list – fun things to do, places to eat, friends to hang out with, etc. – and
then we wrote everything down when we got home.
After that, I
headed to my office to finish the weekly recap blog post – it was the
supersized recital post, so it took foreverrrr – and then we had leftover Taco
Joes for dinner that I’d frozen the last time I’d made them. It always feeds our family twice… it’s nice
to be able to cook one meal and then freeze part of it for another meal later
on!
Once dinner was
done, I dusted the entire house, I did some tidying, and then I got in another
two-mile walk. I’ve been taking it easy
because my knees have been bothering me lately, so I haven’t been doing
strength or squats or stair stepper, or anything else that might irritate them.
I showered when
I got home, and then we all watched an episode of Geek Girl together. After the kids went to bed, Brian and I
watched half of The Last of Us followed by some more of American Idol
in bed since we were so far behind.
Wednesday, May 21
Wednesday morning, I dropped the kids at school and then I headed home to
GET STUFF DONE. It was my last day at
home without them since I had to be at the school Thursday and Friday, and I
had a list a mile long.
I started and finished my blog post for Friday, and I started and
finished my blog post for the next Friday… my blog post for the following
Friday, 6/6, was already done, so I was sitting pretty!
After that, I got Jacob’s graduation card ready for the next day, I did
my quiet time for the day (minus the Bible study… I did that later), and then I
caught up on nearly two weeks of blog reading while I ate lunch. I was still behind about a week at that
point, but at least I knocked out a good chunk.
I’ve missed reading them every day and keeping up with you fellow
bloggers, and I’m excited to *hopefully* have more time this summer to stay on
top of it.
Before I had to pick up the kids, I vacuumed and mopped all the
floors. I always like to start the
summer with a clean house!
During the car line – my last one for the year – I looked over my monthly
goals, and I made a few other lists for things that needed to be done. Then when the kids got in the car, Olivia told me all about her last field trip for the year! They'd gone to a local trampoline park all day and she'd had the best time.
When we got home, I did my Bible study, and then I finished my entire
blog post for Monday. I got both email
inboxes completely cleaned out, I washed the bath mats, and I deep cleaned our
bathroom counter to wrap up the house cleaning.
Meanwhile, the kids tidied the playroom for 15 minutes – it was a WRECK
so that hardly put a dent in it – and Olivia cleaned the kids’ bathroom, too.
After all that was done, it was time to head downstairs and make dinner
and tidy the kitchen. I made stir fry
with chicken, rice, broccoli, pineapple, and red peppers, and I made some
chocolate chip muffins per Olivia's request.
After the kitchen was clean, the four of us went outside in the back yard
and threw the frisbee for a while. It
was gorgeous out, and it wasn’t too hot, so it was the perfect weather for it. I’m hoping to spend more time outside this
summer than we did last summer and frisbee is something we all enjoy (even
though I somehow lost my frisbee throwing skills – LOL).
After the kids went inside to shower, I went for a two-mile walk / jog,
and then I loaded up the car with all of our donation stuff before taking a
quick shower.
We ended the evening with an episode of Geek Girl, and then we got
the kids in bed. Jacob didn’t have to be
at school until 9 AM as he was done aside from his 8th Grade Promotion Mass
(AKA graduation… that’s what it was called when I was there), and Olivia’s
teacher wasn’t going to be at school Thursday as she also has an 8th grader who
was graduating, so we just decided it was pointless to get up early and send
her to school only to have to check her out 45 minutes later for Jacob’s
graduation.
She was thrilled that I decided to let her skip and sleep in the next
morning, and I was thrilled, too.
After the kids went to bed, Brian and I watched the second to last
episode of The Handmaid’s Tale, and it WRECKED ME. It felt like Rose letting go of Jack’s hand
on the door in the ocean all over again.
Hahahaha. But seriously, has anybody
else watched?! I cried like a baby. That show is brutal to watch sometimes, but
what a masterpiece it is, especially this final season. It will definitely go down in my top five
favorite shows of all-time.
Thursday, May 22
Thursday morning, I was able to “sleep in” until 6:45 (better than 6,
though!), and then I got ready and got the kids up. We headed to the school so I could return my
school laptop after using it all year to work on the alumni relations database and it
felt SO GOOD to have that checked off the list.
We still had quite a lot of time to kill before Jacob’s 8th grade
Promotion Mass & Awards Ceremony, but it was nice to be there early because
I was able to get great seats. Brian and
all of the grandparents joined Olivia and me shortly thereafter, and then the ceremony was
underway.
The eighth graders processed in to Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
and then we had a full Mass. During
Mass, all of the “lifers” at his school (kids who have been there since PK-4 or
Kindergarten) got to take the gifts down, and Jacob carried the bread, and it
was such a beautiful thing. Those sweet
kiddos have been together for ten years now, and by the time they finish high
school, they will have been together for 14 of their 18 years of life. Just amazing.
One of the many reasons we’re grateful for our school – because they can
stay on the same campus from age 1 all the way until they graduate. The daycare (1-3 year olds) wasn’t open until
our kids were past that age, so they were not able to start there at age one.
After Mass, our assistant principal gave a beautiful speech, and then it
was time for awards. Jacob received the
following:
- Principal’s List for the
entire school year (A average in all classes for the whole year)
- The President’s Award for
Educational Excellence (A average in all classes for the whole year + high
standardized test scores, recognized on a national level)
- The High School Algebra
Award – his high school Algebra teacher recognized him as her student of
the year for demonstrating the school’s four core values of faith,
honesty, loyalty, and respect in the classroom.
In addition to those awards given at his 8th Grade Promotion Mass, he also
had the following accomplishments this year:
- He was a member of the
National Junior Honor Society
- He participated in in his
school’s Velocity program (Teen Advisors for middle school)
- He played golf for the
school in their fall and spring seasons, and he received the “Living the
Values” award for the spring season (an award for exhibiting the highest
level of character)
- His peers voted him “Most
Intellectual” for 8th Grade Superlatives in the yearbook
- He received the highest
Merit Scholarship for high school that is renewable for all four years
based on his grades and high school placement test results.
- He took two high school
classes and maintained an A average in both for the year
- And all the while, he
continued taking piano lessons outside of school
What. a. year.
I think it’s safe to say that this kid THRIVED in middle school. He is such a shy kid, and I have to say that
I worried tremendously when he started middle school in 6th grade (it’s so
different than elementary school since they change classes and their class size
more than doubles), but he didn’t miss a beat, and he found his stride
immediately. He made new friends, he
found his tribe, he learned SO MUCH, he stepped outside his comfort zone with
Velocity and counseling other kids, and he enjoyed everything that middle
school had to offer. He may be shy, but
he is mighty, and most importantly, he has such a kind heart. I pray that life just keeps getting sweeter
for him in high school!
After the awards, the kids sang the school song (the same one I sang at
my 8th grade graduation *tear*), and then they walked out. We headed to the big hall in our church for a
reception after that, where they had cake and the sweetest slideshow
presentation of all of the kids as babies and now, and I cried through the
whole thing. They, of course, played all
the songs to bring on the waterworks – My Wish by Rascal Flatts, Never
Grow Up by Taylor Swift (I mean, OMG), and It Won’t Be Like This for
Long by Darius Rucker. Sheesh. Every single one of those gets me.
After the slideshow, we took lots of pictures, and then I chatted with Jacob’s
best friend’s mom. Since his parents
(and Brian) had to work the rest of the afternoon, I grabbed Jacob’s friend and
took him along with us for the afternoon.
We stopped at our church’s outreach center to drop some donations on the
way out, and then we went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch and milkshakes.
We headed back to our house for the rest of the afternoon. The boys played video games, and Olivia
played with them a little, and I tried to tackle some work.
At five, we dropped WJ at his grandparents’ house, and then Jacob and
Olivia and I headed home. Brian met us
there, we gave Jacob his graduation card from us, and then we headed to IHOP as
that’s where Jacob wanted to eat for his big day. Hahahaha.
Of all the places to go, he picked IHOP.
My parents and my father-in-law joined us, and then when we were done
there, we headed home. The kids got
showered and in the bed, Brian and I finished the episode of The Last of Us
that we’d started earlier in the week, and then we headed to bed.
Friday, May 23
Friday morning, Olivia and I were up and out the door for her last day of
school. Jacob was done, so we left him
sleeping – luckyyyy.
Olivia helped me carry all of the stuff in for her last class party –
the last class party I’ll ever plan as a room mom *tear* – and we got all set
up. The whole intermediate hallway
(third, fourth, and fifth) had one big party, so we set up the tables in the
hallway. They had donuts, muffins,
bagels and cream cheese, fresh fruit, fruit cups, and juice… it was a huge
spread.
After the party was over, we cleaned up and headed to the final school
Mass for the year. I sat with my girl
and her friend, Maren, and her parents, and I soaked up every single second as
it was the last lower school Mass we’d ever attend. Olivia will be with the middle schoolers and
high schoolers next year, so there will be no more tiny little voices singing
at her Mass. (And not much room in the
church for parents since the middle and high schoolers fill it themselves.)
After Mass, Brian and Jacob met us in the church hall for her awards
ceremony. She was awarded with:
- Principal’s List for the
entire school year (A average in all classes for the whole year)
- The Religion Award
- The Accelerated Reader Award
- The Choir Leadership Award
(for all of her singing/duets at school Masses)
- She was voted “Most
Artistic” by her classmates for their class superlatives
We are so proud of her for all of the hard work she put in this
year. 5th grade was a tough year!! But she rocked it, and now she’s off to
middle school.
Last week marked a lot of lasts for both her and me – I planned my very
last class party as a room mom, Olivia attended her last class party, we both
attended our last elementary school Mass, Olivia played on the playground at
recess for the very last time, and Friday was her last day as an elementary
school student.
MIDDLE SCHOOL, HERE SHE COMES!
After the awards ceremony was over, we took some pictures, and then we
hit the road!! They had noon dismissal,
but we busted outta there around 11:15 and I felt sad and relieved all at
once. We survived Maycember and we’re
all ready for a much-needed break, but as with any end of the school year, that
just puts both of my babies one step closer to spreading their wings and
leaving the nest. Gosh, I’m not ready
for that.
When we got home, Brian and I ate lunch together, and then the kids got
their own lunch a bit later (neither of them were hungry when Brian and I
ate). I headed to my office to try to
get some work done, but I felt an overwhelming sense of exhaustion, so I went
and crawled in the bed in the middle of the afternoon and took a nap. Something I never, ever do. Maycember will surely take it out of you!
I woke up feeling refreshed, and then I sat down to type out this post
that you’re reading and catch up on emails.
I already had an email from the school with all of the back-to-school
information for the 2025-2026 school year, which I super appreciate (because I
love to know all the things in advance) but BOY, was I not ready to even think
about that. Haha. I left that one sitting in my inbox. Hahahaha.
Olivia came in shortly after that and asked me if we could clean out her
room and I wasn’t going to say no to that.
Her room was a complete and utter disaster – maybe the worst it’s ever
been. We started in one corner of the room,
and we started chipping away, and I couldn’t believe how diligent and helpful
she was. Typically, when we clean out
her room, she doesn’t really want to do it in the first place, and she ends up
sitting there like she doesn’t know where to start, but she dove in head first
this time.
We didn’t have much time since it was getting close to dinnertime, but we
got most of her dresser cleaned out and organized, so that was a start. Brian picked up pizza for dinner, and we made
some Moscow Mules, and then after dinner, I threw in a load of laundry before
we all relaxed in the living room together.
We ended up watching the first episode of the new season of Lego
Masters and then we watched two episodes of Geek Girl before getting
the kids in the bed. Brian and I made
our way through our backlog of American Idol and still didn’t get caught
up.
Saturday, May 24
Saturday morning, we slept in until 9 AM, which is late for me, and then
I made homemade waffles. The kids
watched cartoons after they got their laundry started, and I got completely
caught up on blog reading. Woo hoooo!
While I was reading blogs, Jacob’s friend’s dad called me to see if Jacob
could go to a Memorial Day party with them later that day.
Olivia and I worked some more on her room late in the morning, and then
we stopped to eat lunch. Jacob left at
2:30 with WJ to go to their pool party, and Olivia and I cleaned out her room
some more. I think this was the toughest
cleanout ever.
Meanwhile, Brian was determined to get our new rug under the bed, so he
used some new furniture jacks he’d bought to jack up the bed, and he got the
old rug out from under the bed all by himself.
I tried to help him get the new rug under there after that, but we just
couldn’t do it because we needed a third person to lift the other side of the
bed with him. Sigh.
After that, I was whooped, so I spent a few minutes in my office getting
my planner ready for June and Olivia spent some time on her computer. I also did my quiet time, and then it was
time to get showered for church.
After Mass, the three of us went to our favorite Mexican restaurant with
my mom and dad and Mama Cass (small group!), and then we swung by WJ’s house to
grab Jacob as they were back home after their party.
When we got home, Jacob wanted a snack and he had to shower, so I got
right back in Olivia’s room and cleaned out some more stuff. I also started bagging up all of the
donations.
After the kids went to bed, Brian and I finally finished American Idol,
and then we headed to bed.
Sunday, May 25
Sunday morning, we had cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and then I did yoga,
got my planner ready for the week ahead, listened to my sermon, and did my
quiet time/Bible study.
Once all of that was done, the kids and I got rolling on more house
cleanout stuff while Brian baked chocolate chip cookies for Sunday dinner that
we were hosting.
The kids got their beds stripped, washed their sheets, and then got them
back on, and while everything washed and dried, Olivia and I finished cleaning
her room. As soon as we were done with
her room, it was time to clean the playroom, because yes, it was a complete and
utter disaster even though I’d JUST cleaned it out a couple of months
prior. Sigh.
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We had to stop about halfway through to eat lunch, and I was on a rampage
by then because I was soooo disgusted with the state of the playroom. It was just ridiculous how messy it was in
there. The kids were suuuuper helpful, though, and we were able to knock the
rest out right after lunch. I got the
towels washed and dried after that, and Brian finally got our blinds fixed in
the playroom after a piece had broken off of them, like, two years prior.
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Once everything was clean, vacuumed, and bagged up, I got showered and
ready for the day, and then I headed to my office to transfer all of the
pictures from my phone to my computer and get them organized. While they were transferring, I listed
Olivia’s Barbie Dream House for sale, I cleaned out my email inboxes, I filed
some papers, and I got my office tidied… it was a mess from housing a bunch of
stuff that needed to be put in the kids’ keepsake boxes.
Once the pictures were organized, I worked on this blog post to get it
caught up, and then it was time to head downstairs to finish dinner. Thankfully, the slow cooker had done most of
the work, so all I had to do was boil the noodles, toss a salad, and bake some
bread.
My dad was sick during Mother’s Day weekend, and the following weekend
was Olivia’s dance recital, so we finally got to have our Mother’s Day makeup
dinner! We had a small group – just my
mom, dad, Mama Cass, and Uncle Billy + the four of us because my littlest
brother was out of town.
While they were over there, my dad and my uncle were also able to help
Brian lift our bed so my mom and I could get the new rug in place, and I AM IN
LOVE. It is absolute perfection and I am
oh so happy to have that dang rug where it’s supposed to be. It’s been sitting in the middle of our
bedroom for over a month and I was getting so tired of it being there.
After everyone left, we finished cleaning the kitchen, and then I downloaded
some music for Jacob and helped Olivia hot glue a sock puppet she’d made, and
then I put carpet tape under the new rug so it wouldn’t slide, I watered the
plants, and Brian and I sorted the laundry.
We got the kids in bed and then finished the night with the last episode
of season two of The Last of Us, and then we started the season finale
of SNL before calling it a night.
And that was our very busy, very productive last week of school!!
Thank goodness for summer break!
And now for some current things…
Currently
Reading
In May, I read Tangled Up In You by Christina Lauren, and I loved
it! It’s like a modern-day Rapunzel
and I thought it was so well done. The
twist at the end got me, too. In
addition to that, I also finished a book that I started reading months ago when
I was in the thick of my vertigo and dizziness – Suffering: Gospel Hope When
Life Doesn’t Make Sense by Paul David Tripp. I thought there were some great takeaways
from this book, and I always love PDT’s writing.
I’m also still reading my devotional for 2025 – Everyday Gospel by
Paul David Tripp. I’ll be working on
this one all year long. While I am
enjoying this one, I do like his first devotional – New Morning Mercies –
better.
And, of course, I’m still working my way through the Bible for the second
time around, along with my new study… The Bible in a Year with Father
Mike Schmitz.
Currently
Watching
With B: In May, B and I finished (or will have finished by the time you’re
reading this) the final season of The Handmaid’s Tale (OMG, I still
haven’t recovered from episode nine – waaaahhhh), and we also finished the
current season of American Idol, the current season of Saturday Night
Live, and season two of The Last of Us. We’re still making our way through season
three of The Chosen and now we’ll also be starting some new shows since
we finished so many this season.
With the Kids: This month, we started Geek Girl and Lego Masters,
and we’re currently making our way through both. Geek Girl is so cute, y’all! We also took the kids to see A Minecraft
Movie, and y’all, I laughed my butt off.
It was so funny, and I don’t even know anything about Minecraft other
than the fact that my kids love to play it.
Alone: I’m still listening to music 99% of the time but still watching The
Wedding Planner every Sunday afternoon that I work in my office. :o)
Currently
Listening To
Right now, I’m obsessing over Zach Paradis… he opened for Abe Parker when
we saw him in concert, and I fell head over heels for his music
immediately. I have been playing his
stuff on repeat for weeks now. And, of
course, I’m always sneaking in some TS and DMB.
Happy Wednesday, y’all!
