Last week was a good mix of fun and productivity and I’m recapping it all on the blog today… only a few days late. ;o)
Monday, July 14
Monday morning, I was up at 7:45, I got showered and ready for the day, and then I had breakfast and unloaded the dishwasher – the usual. I worked on a blog post for Wednesday for a few minutes afterward, and then it was time to head to my appointment with the upper cervical chiropractor.
Olivia had a pre-pointe dance intensive all week that was smack in the middle of the day, and we knew we likely wouldn’t make it home in time to get her there, so my parents were kind enough to watch the kids, so they didn’t have to go to my appointment and risk getting back late for dance.
Brian and I dropped them off mid-morning, and then we hit the road. At my appointment, the doc did a new set of x-rays since I was done with my initial treatment plan, and he confirmed that my atlas is level. It is still not where it needs to be laterally, but it’s getting there! My C curve hasn’t changed at all, though… it is still straight, so he told me to go ahead and purchase a special device to lay on each evening. I have to start on level one for 5-10 minutes per night and then work my way up to 15 minutes per night. As long as there’s no pain, I can keep increasing levels until I’m on the highest level for 15 minutes every night, and he said that will slowly restore the curve to my neck.
I actually already had a device similar to the one he wanted me to get, but mine was a cheap plastic one with no head cradle, and it was non-adjustable, so he told me to toss that one. I had purchased it years ago for my neck tension thinking that it would help, but it didn’t, and the reason why was because my atlas and axis were so out of whack. We had to get those back in place first, and now I can use the device. I guess I was on the right track, though, thinking that my neck had lost its natural curve!
After the x-rays, he did the computer tests again – the Joint Position Error test, a range of motion test (which he didn’t do the last time), and the Butterfly Test. I scored an 86 on the Butterfly test this time, and my heat sensor test (the wavy lines test, as I like to call it), looked pretty good. Based on all of that, he told me that he thought that meant that my adjustments were holding, and after doing a quick leg check, he did indeed, confirm that it was holding.
I ordered my neck pillow on the way home only to find that the fastest it would get here was Sunday (boooo) and I was disappointed that I’d have to wait a whole week to get started.
Brian drove us both home, I made myself a green protein smoothie, and then I headed to Momma and Daddy’s to pick up Jacob. Olivia had already been dropped off at dance camp with a very fancy hairdo, compliments of my Momma, and Jacob and I hung out over there for a bit until it was time to get Olivia.
After that was done, I worked some more on my blog post for Wednesday, and then I lay down to finish my book. Just as I finished, Brian was finishing up with work, so we made breakfast for dinner. I got pretty dizzy while I was cooking, so that wasn’t fun, but the dizziness has decreased dramatically over all since the start of seeing this new doctor, and I’m so grateful for that.
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Tuesday, July 15
Tuesday morning, I got up at 7:45, and the kids both woke up right after I went downstairs. We had breakfast, and I unloaded the dishwasher and watered the outdoor plants. The kids worked on rainbow loom animals… Olivia has been making some really intricate things and it’s just been awesome to see her creativity flow this summer. Once she was done with that, she also tidied her room because it had gotten a little out of control, and Jacob finished summer homework for one of his math classes.
We picked up Olivia after that and then headed to Walmart and Publix to pick up groceries for the week ahead, and then it was back home to unload everything.
I spent the afternoon finishing my blog post for Wednesday while the kids played video games. Brian came home from work a little early because he had plans to take the kids to see the new Superman movie with his dad. They also grabbed dinner at Chick-Fil-A first and then watched the movie in 3D – hence the reason I didn’t go – I just can’t do 3D movies.
We had all been having a conversation about Texas Roadhouse rolls and butter at our last dinner, so we all decided to eat there for our July get together. We always eat somewhere local for our girls dinners, but we made an exception for those Texas Roadhouse rolls. Lol.
I hadn’t been there in AGES, and I had forgotten how good it was. Their 6 oz. sirloin is SUCH a good steak, and it’s so affordable compared to any other restaurant. Six of the seven of us were able to make it, so that was nice, too! We almost had the whole group!
When we got home, I was feeling great, so I went for a four-mile jog, and then I showered and got ready for bed. Brian and the kids still weren’t home, so I spent some time in my office reading until they got home. The internet was still down, so Brian had to work on getting that back up, and then we got the kids in bed. They all loved the movie, too, by the way! They said that the dog stole the show!
Wednesday, July 16
Wednesday morning, I was up at 7:45 again, and I did my usual – breakfast, unload the dishwasher, water the outdoor plants.
I spent some time reading blogs after that and I worked on my blog post for Friday. I also spent some time browsing suits for Jacob since the ones at Men’s Wearhouse are so pricey.
After that, I got showered and ready for the day, and after lunch, I dropped Olivia off at dance while Jacob stayed home to work on summer homework and his paperwork for Confirmation. I swung by the library while she was at dance to grab a book, and then I read in the parking lot until she was done.
For dinner, I cooked beef and parmesan pasta, and I had a glass of wine and listened to one of my records while I cooked.
After dinner, the whole family got out for a 1.5 mile walk, and then I did one more mile by myself. Just as I was heading home by myself, I nearly put my foot down on a four-foot long snake. I swear, I must have jumped six feet backwards and I also yelped, so I’m sure some of our neighbors got a funny show. Lol.
It was just a rat snake, but boy was it disgusting. So weird that it was just hanging out on the main road, too. And yes, I know that we have snakes here, but I do not want to see them. I just wish that they would stay in the woods where they belong. Hahahaha.
Thursday, July 17
Thursday morning, I was up at 7:45, I showered, had breakfast, unloaded the dishwasher, watered the outdoor plants, and then I did a couple of blog housekeeping things before we hit the road.
Thursday was errands day, and it started with an orthodontist checkup for me. At this appointment, the orthodontist shaved between my front bottom teeth as promised the last time, with the goal of bringing my bottom teeth closer together so they can nestle under my top teeth better.
Once that was done, they put a chain on my bottom teeth for the first time ever. I’ve been wearing a chain on my top teeth for the past year or so, and I had forgotten how bad it hurt to have it put on for the first time. I swear, my bottom teeth moved so much just from them putting the chain on that by the time I left the orthodontist, my bottom teeth were already fitting under my top teeth so much better.
My bottom teeth hurt like HECK for the rest of the day, though, and for several days after. It was not fun. I still don’t have a date to get them off… the ortho just told me that we’d take a look in eight weeks when I go back in September and go from there. Sigh.
The next morning, though, I woke up with my top teeth overlapping my bottom teeth as if I had been wearing rubber bands for six months. Apparently I just needed to shaping for my bottom teeth to finally make my mouth sit in the position it should.
After my appointment, the kids and I all went to Walmart to get school supplies for Jacob. Our school offers pre-packaged school supplies boxes through a third party company for PK-3 – 8th grade, and we have always bought those because a) it saves money, b) it’s so dang easy and saves us a ton of time, c) the school receives a portion of the proceeds, and d) the school supplies are literally sitting on the child’s desk on the first day of school so we don’t have to carry them all there. It’s a win-win-win-win.
This means that our kids have never once gone shopping for school supplies. Since Jacob is starting high school this year, the school supplies boxes are no longer available, so I took them school supply shopping for the first time in their entire lives. Haha.
Jacob needed a bunch of binders and paper + a few other things, and Olivia just needed a locker organizer and some bougie locker décor + a planner, so it wasn’t too bad. We were able to get everything we needed except for a planner… Walmart had a ton of options, but none of them were good enough for my girl. She had a very specific vision, and none of those options suited her needs.
After that, I treated the kids to a trip to the new French bakery here in town. We’d been wanting to try it, so I thought we’d give it a whirl since we were already in the area. They had so many delicious things, and the kids each ended up picking out some macarons, and we got a strawberry croissant for Brian. Fun fact, our kids will choose macarons over pretty much any other dessert. They LOVE them.
When we got home, I had an email from the school saying that the kids’ schedules for the new schoolyear were available, so they both checked to see if they’d gotten all that they’d wanted (they both did), and they both started texting (and emailing – Olivia) their friends to see what classes they had in common.
I spent a few short minutes in my office, and then we had to leave yet again to go to music lessons.
When we got home from those, I spent a few more minutes in my office, and then I had to eat a quick, very early dinner alone because I had to be at the new family ice cream social at the school at 5:45. Every year, our school hosts an ice cream social for all of the new families joining the school, and we have a Home and School Association table there, so we can talk to new families about volunteer opportunities. I spent the next couple of hours sitting with two of the other parents, and we ended up having a good turnout for signups. We really needed someone to chair the hospitality portion of Home and School this year, and we had two people volunteer to chair or co-chair and several others who were willing to help, which means… it’s off my plate. Whew. Haha. I have never chaired hospitality before, and I wasn’t looking to take on anything new, but I knew it was likely going to be handed over to me if we couldn’t find anyone, so I made it my mission to find someone Thursday. Haha.
I got home around 7:45, and I was relieved because I didn’t feel terrible. Usually, one of my biggest triggers for my neck tension, dizziness, and vertigo is having long conversations with people or having to talk for a long time, and typically after doing so, it takes my body a while to recover. Well, I didn’t have any issues at all, so I’m praying that means that my neck adjustments are working!
When I got home, we finished America’s Got Talent, we watched a little more of the fourth Harry Potter movie, and then we got the kids in the bed.
Brian made Manhattans for us, and then we watched the second episode of The Summer I Turned Pretty.
Friday, July 18
Friday morning, I woke at 7:45, got showered, had breakfast, and unloaded the dishwasher, and then I read blogs for a few minutes before we had to leave for my appointment.
Brian drove and the kids came along this time and everything went well. My neck temperature test showed a bit of a wave at the top of the middle line, so the doc said he thought I might be slightly out of adjustment, and sure enough, the leg check showed that my legs were off by about an eighth of an inch. When he lay me down on my stomach, he could tell that the middle of my back was slightly out of adjustment, too, and I was happy he had noticed on his own, because if he hadn’t, I was going to tell him. I could tell it was not in the right position anymore because my spine was protruding again in a specific spot that he’d fixed, and I hadn’t been able to sit straight in the hard pew at church the previous week.
He did a couple of taps to the middle of my spine and then he did four taps behind my right ear to adjust my atlas, and then we were on our way. He told me I could wait a whole week before going back the next time, and that if my adjustment holds, I might start going every other week after that. Woo hoooo!
Anyway, after we chatted with Lynne and her husband for a few minutes, we headed back home so Brian could get back to work. Lynne had told us about a huge Lego store in the area near my doctor's office, so we’re actually taking them today (the day this post goes live) after my appointment and they are so excited!
When we got home, we had lunch, and then Jacob sat down to work on some more summer homework for math. While he did that, I put away the dishes and watered all of indoor and outdoor plants, and then I sat down to do some work, but just couldn’t do it.
These adjustments seriously take it all out of me every single time, y’all. After every adjustment I am always EXHAUSTED, and I also get winded very easily. I ended up laying down to relax for a bit, and of course, I fell asleep. After my hour and 15 minute power nap, I felt worlds better, so I finally sat down at my desk to get some things done while it stormed.
I ordered Jacob’s birthday cake for Sunday dinner, I ordered his suit and shoes for my niece’s wedding, and then I spent some time reading while Brian went out to pick up pizza from our local pizza place for dinner.
I whipped up some Moscow Mules while he was gone, and then after dinner, I was really feeling like I wanted to do something active, so I went for a walk. My pace was SO slow – I literally couldn’t have gone faster if I tried – and I was exhausted by the time I was done, but I did it! And I had no dizziness or unsteadiness after that adjustment, so I’m hoping that means we’re making progress! So many glimmers of hope so far throughout this process!
After the kids got in bed, Brian and I started the show Paradise on Hulu, and y’all, it is SO good. We’d never even heard of it, but the cast is awesome, the trailer is interesting, and then there is a twist at the end of the first episode that totally takes the whole show somewhere we had no idea it was going to go. So good!
Saturday, July 19
Saturday morning, we slept in, I made homemade waffles, and then Brian headed outside to do some yardwork and clean some of the brush that’s grown up around our privacy fence.
Meanwhile, I caught up on my blog reading and blog comments, I caught up on emails, I caught up my medical and health spreadsheet, and I finally cleaned out the entire closet under the stairs. It was a HUGE job – one that I have been putting off for a few years – so it felt great to get it done. I clean out our whole house every year, but for the last couple of years, I have avoided that closet, and it was long overdue.
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Olivia has owed us a small amount of money for a few weeks because there was something she wanted to buy and didn’t quite have enough money for it, and she’s been wanting to pay off her debt, so I told her we’d clear her debt if she’d vacuum the whole house. That’s not one of the kids’ normal chores, so we gave her the opportunity to make that money back that she owed us to have a clean slate, and it was helpful for me because I’m not really supposed to be doing anything like that right now with my neck adjustments. My upper body is so weak since the doc told me to cease working out for a bit, so any little thing like vacuuming or sweeping or picking anything up that even has a little bit of weight to it irritates my neck, so I’ve been avoiding as much as I can.
After she was done vacuuming, she finished her “peas in a pod” that she was making with the Rainbow Loom and are they not the cutest things you’ve ever seen?!
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Sunday, July 20
Sunday morning, we slept in, had cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and then I threw in a load of towels to wash while I watched my sermon, did yoga, and got my planner ready for the week ahead. I also made a to-do list for the day because the school year is starting to creep up on us, and the list is starting to build. Boooo.
Sundays are the best days to list items to sell in that Facebook group, so I listed several more things there, and several more of them sold and were paid for within minutes of me posting. Woo hoo! I was so sad to say goodbye to these gorgeous prints that Olivia had on her wall for so long, though. She informed me earlier this year that she was going into middle school and that she no longer wanted princesses on her wall. *tear*
The afternoon was spent folding towels, sorting all of the other dirty clothes, talking to my Momma on the phone for a bit, and getting ready for the day. And the kids finally sorted the shells we’d gotten on a beach trip like three or four years ago. For whatever reason, there was one year that we forgot to go through the shells when we got home. They have been sitting on shelf in our garage for literal years – LOL – so we finally checked that off the list this weekend.
Brian got out the old Nintendo Wii so Jacob could check it out – it’s vintage now LOL – and I listed more items to sell and messaged with buyers to arrange pickup.
For the last hour, I transferred pictures off of my phone and worked on my blog post for Monday, but I didn’t have time to organize my pictures because I had gotten too behind and ran out of time.
We had to stop at Walmart to pick up Jacob’s birthday cake that I’d ordered earlier in the week, so while we were out, we swung by Bath and Body Works to grab some hand soaps because they were on super sale, and they had their Halloween selection out.
The girl went back to the refrigerator, came back and told me that there was a cake for someone named Ashley (not helpful) and then she told me that the baker left at 1 PM and there was nothing she could do for me. I told her we were literally on the way to Jacob’s party right then and we needed our cake, and she basically ignored me and walked off. At first, I thought she might be going to get someone else for me to speak with, but nope, I saw her a couple of minutes later stocking baked goods on one of the shelves. She had literally just ignored me and walked off. Sigh.
I ended up going to customer service to talk to them about it and the lady there told me there was nothing she could do, so I told her I wanted a refund, and she told me that she couldn’t refund my money even though I had the transaction right there in my Walmart app AND an email receipt from them. At that point, I thought I was going to lose it. I said, “So you’re telling me that I’m literally on the way to my child’s party with no cake, and you’re telling me that you will not refund me for said cake even though it was your store’s fault for not making it?!”
And she said, “Well I can go get my manager for you…”
So I told her, “Yes, please get the manager.” And then she said, “Well, she’s just going to tell you the same thing that I’m telling you.”
Y’all, when I say I was LIVID, I am not exaggerating.
The lady ended up telling me that I had to call Walmart’s 1-800 number to get my refund and that I was not getting my cake, so I left immediately and went straight to Publix where we were greeted with a smile and the baker offered the kids free cookies. I told her my predicament, and she let us select a cake that they’d premade (which wasn’t ideal since Jacob had wanted a Pokemon cake), but we were already late and couldn’t wait for someone to make a custom cake.
Walmart made me SO MAD last summer with the whole beer incident, and now this – I am done. We haven’t purchased alcohol from Walmart since the incident, and now I won’t be purchasing a cake from there ever again either. (We never buy cakes from there anyway… we always get them from a local bakery or Publix, but Walmart was the only one that had the size we needed in the style Jacob wanted.)
I told Brian I’m going on strike from shopping at Walmart for everything again after the way they handled things. They have the worst customer service everrrr.
We finally made it to Momma and Daddy’s (late) and we had spaghetti for dinner per Jacob’s request. He also always asks for rice for his birthday dinner because my mom’s rice is his favorite. Lol.
We celebrated his birthday over there with his generic cake, and the cake ended up being delicious despite the fact that it wasn’t the Pokemon themed cake he’d asked for. He took it in stride, though, and he didn’t seem too disappointed. I was more upset than he was. And I told him we could do the Pokemon cake for his birthday party with his friends the following weekend… and that we would get it from Publix even though the only sizes they have there are too large.
Happy Friday, y’all!
That is crazy about Walmart! What a mess.
ReplyDeleteYikes, that snake! I've been going on evening walks with one of my daughters, and sometimes we don't get out until after dark. I've already been a little uneasy about what might be lurking,this definitely doesn't help, haha!
ReplyDeleteWal Mart is something. I had a crazy experience with customer service at Walmart last year. I was with one of my daughters at the time, and we still talk about it every time we’re in the store!
You guys have such busy weeks but know how to mix a lot of fun in, too! What a pain about the cake. I'm sorry it didn't work out and you weren't given the customer service you deserved. That's just wild!
ReplyDeleteSo... I own literal shares of Walmart stock (that were purchased as a gift for me) and I NEVER EVER shop there! LOL. They drive me up the wall but I just can't even over that cake. So glad Jacob took it in stride. That French bakery looks amazing!! Alec loves his macarons too but honestly he usually gets quite a few things from any bakery we visit; claiming he needs to taste test everything.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great week!
ReplyDeleteI hope the new device helps, it sounds like you are heading in the right direction to being right again.
The dancing sounds hard work for Olivia and I love the rainbow looms that she has been making. The peas in a pod are just adorable!
Eek! I could not cope with living near snakes. I would have screamed the whole neighbourhood would have heard. lol
Oh my goodness, I would have been livid too with the issue with the birthday cake! It sounds like Jacob took it well, bless him. Happy birthday to him!