Our Week - The One with Jacob’s 8th Grade Promotion Mass, Olivia’s Last Day of School + Awards Ceremony, and Lots of Cleaning Out at Home

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:

 

1. Principal’s List for the entire school year (A average in all classes for the whole year)
2. 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)
3. 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:

 

1. He was a member of the National Junior Honor Society
2. He participated in in his school’s Velocity program (Teen Advisors for middle school)
3. 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)
4. His peers voted him “Most Intellectual” for 8th Grade Superlatives in the yearbook
5. 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.
6. He took two high school classes and maintained an A average in both for the year
7. 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:

 

1. Principal’s List for the entire school year (A average in all classes for the whole year)
2. The Religion Award
3. The Accelerated Reader Award
4. The Choir Leadership Award (for all of her singing/duets at school Masses)
5. 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.

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

Everything we got rid of

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.

Before

After

Before

After

Everything we got rid of

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!