Our Week - The One with the First Week of School and Three Birthdays

Last week was the first official week of school, and thankfully, we were able to ease into it with no extracurricular activities and not many appointments or obligations on my calendar.  Here’s how it went!

Monday, August 4

Monday was the kids’ first day of school – high school for Jacob (9th grade) and middle school for Olivia (6th grade).  I still cannot believe that we have a high schooler, y’all, and I can’t believe that my last little baby is starting middle school.  Sigh. 

Monday was also the first day that I had to wake at 6 AM for the first time in 10 weeks, and I was dreeeeaaaading it.  Haha.  I am just not an early riser.  My body seems to do the best when I wake at 8 and go to bed at midnight.  That’s when I feel my best and have the most energy, and I never feel tired.  Even waking at 7:30 is doable.  Prior to 7:30, my body just doesn’t want to function.  So, when my alarm went off at 5:33 AM (I snooze 3 times before actually getting up) it basically felt like the middle of the night even though we’d gone to bed early on Sunday.  Haha. 

Thankfully, we were fully prepared and ready Sunday evening, so Monday morning went smoothly.  I had time to curl Olivia’s hair for her first day (per her request) and we had time to take our usual back-to-school photo and still get out the door right on time.  Unfortunately, it was raining, so that didn’t make for a great drop off since the first day is already a cluster anyway.  Thankfully, Brian came with me for drop off so he drove.  I hate driving in the rain.

We have to drop off in a different car line this year since Jacob is in high school and Olivia is in middle school.  It’s the same car line that I’ve used for pickup for the last three years, though, so I’m already familiar with the procedure.  After the first day dropping off on that side, though, I miss the other side.  It is always quite the cluster in this car line that we have to use this year because there are so many main roads that converge on that side of the campus… people are easily able to cut in line if they don’t follow the correct route, the traffic is super heavy making it hard to turn into the car line, etc.  For pickup at the end of the day, we use the same route, but I always make sure I’m there early, so I avoid all of the drama at the convergence.  In the morning, though, there’s no avoiding it.  As with everything else, I know it will smooth out as the school year progresses… the first week is always hard.

After Brian and I sent both kids off, he and I headed to Starbucks to grab a little treat for me because my friend, Emily, had sent me a sweet little Venmo delivery for the first day of school.  It was the absolute perfect day for it, too, because we maxed out at 68 degrees!  That is unheard of for August in Georgia, y’all.  Even on the rainiest of days, we’re typically still in the 80’s this time of year.  So, I wore leggings and a hoodie, and it was glorious!!

Brian had his first colonoscopy Monday morning, so he and I headed to the hospital after that.  It was just a routine checkup based on his age, so there was nothing to worry about.  And also, I got his permission to share this here.  I wouldn’t have shared without asking him first.  Haha.  So let this serve as your reminder to get your colonoscopies if you’re 45+.  Colon cancer is becoming more common in younger people, so it’s good to stay on top of it.  Thankfully, Brian got the all-clear to come back in 10 years, and we were out of there by lunchtime. 

While I was waiting for Brian to come out, I was sitting in my chair in the waiting room, minding my own business, and reading a book.  I watched as person after person got wheeled out after their procedures to go home.  Before Brian went back, a guy who was about my dad’s age came in, and he was super rude to one of the female nurses telling her that he had been waiting too long.  He ended up going back before Brian, and then he got wheeled out while Brian was having his procedure. 

As he was wheeled by me, he gave me a creepy, disturbing look and started cackling this evil sounding laugh, and then he shook his head and said directly to me and the whole waiting room, “This one is high maintenance,” talking about me.  He ended up turning his head as far as he could so he could stare at me as he left the room, and it was just so icky.  After he said that, the nurse who was wheeling him out said, “Okay, let’s get you out of here,” but he kept on talking and saying how he was “high” and that when you’re high “the truth just comes out.”  And that “that was just the truth.”  Eye roll. 

I ignored him because he was obviously just a jerk, but I was also perplexed because what on earth is high maintenance about a girl sitting in a hospital waiting room in leggings, a hoodie, and tennis shoes, reading a book, and waiting for her husband to come out of his colonoscopy so she could drive him home?  Hmmmm…

Like, 20 other people were wheeled out while I waited for Brian and not a single one of them said anything rude or weird.  They were all fully “with it” and most of them were telling the nurse what they were going to eat when they got out of there.  That guy was just a jerk.  And y’all, he was like my dad’s age… he wasn’t a super elderly gentleman to whom we might give a pass.  This guy was totally with it, and he was just gross.  It wasn’t even his words that bothered me so much as his creepy stare, his cruel laugh, and his mannerisms.  The whole thing was just icky… that’s the best way I know how to describe it. 

Unfortunately, I think he is just one of those privileged, misogynistic, white men who thinks he can just say whatever he wants to whomever he wants whenever he pleases.  They all seem to be coming out of the woodwork again thanks to the words and actions of our current administration and the climate in our nation… it’s like they’re all feeling empowered and it’s gross. 

But anyway, let this be your reminder to just be kind and treat people – ALL PEOPLE – with respect, y’all.  And please teach your children to do the same so we can try to make this world a better place for our children and our future grandchildren.

I drove Brian home in the pouring rain, and job one was to get Brian some food since he hadn’t eaten in 36 hours.  My mom had sent leftovers home with me on Sunday, so I warmed them up for Brian and then made lunch for myself. 

After lunch, I got some work done in my office, but I was just counting down the minutes until I could leave to pick up the kids from school.  I was so excited about hearing about their first day!

The car line pickup is the same this year with regard to location, but now that Jacob is in high school, he just comes out as soon as the bell rings rather than Olivia getting walked over to him and them coming out together.  So that was something that we had to figure out, too.  Sometimes the car line will start a few minutes early depending on which teacher does it, but the high school is strict and will not let the kids leave their classrooms until 3 PM on the dot.  Jacob’s class is completely on the other side of the building from where I pick up, so I have a feeling we may run into issues this year where we’re holding up the car line on days when they start moving it early.  Hopefully that won’t happen, though. 

Monday’s pickup went smoothly, and both kids were bursting with excitement when they got in the car.  They are both so happy to be there and they both had an excellent first day.  Jacob said that he is so happy with his decision to double up on math because his teacher for his second math class is “easily <his> favorite teacher,” and that class is, by far, his favorite. 

The first thing Olivia said when she got in the car was, “I don’t want to leave!”  Haha.  It made me so happy!  They both chattered nonstop all the way home and then for a good 30 minutes after we got home. 

I surprised them with Dairy Queen Blizzards right after school.  That is our first day of school tradition, but both of them had forgotten about it, so when I turned to go in that direction instead of going home, they were both soooo excited.  They told me I’m “so skibidi.”  And in case you are not the parent of a middle schooler or high schooler right now, “skibidi” means “cool” right now.  Lol.

After DQ, we headed home and brought a Blizzard for Brian with us.  He was feeling great after his procedure and was mostly just taking it easy all day.

When we got home, we started going over the class syllabus for each of the kids’ classes.  They didn’t have all of them on Monday, so we went over the ones that had come home, and I had to sign them along with the kids. 

After that was done, I worked for another hour since I hadn’t gotten much done earlier in the day, and then I did my Bible study before heading down to make dinner.

We just had breakfast for dinner on Monday, and then after dinner, I went out for a walk while the kids showered.  It had stopped raining, but it was so cool out that it was hard to believe it was August.  It was wonderful.

When I got home, I showered, we watched some more of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1, and then after the kids went to bed, Brian and I watched some more of the Trophy Wife documentary.  At that point, I wasn’t even paying attention anymore because it was so boring.  I just got stuff done on my phone instead.  Haha.

 

Tuesday, August 5

Tuesday morning, I got the kids to school, and the cluster of traffic was even worse because people weren’t following the correct route.  They were cutting in line, and therefore, backing up traffic down two of the main roads.  It was a mess. 

I had nowhere to be Tuesday, so I headed home after drop off, and I was happy to do so because it was so rainy and gloomy all day again.   

I knocked out my whole blog post for Wednesday and I did five loads of laundry, and by the time all that was done, it was time to pick up the kids.

I read my book in the car line, and then we headed home when the kids came out.  They’d both had another fantastic day, too! 

At home, the kids had snacks, I signed a few more syllabi (yes, that is actually the plural of syllabus… Jacob and I looked it up the other day.  You can also use syllabuses, but that just sounds weird.  Haha.).  The kids also talked my ear off about their days at school. 

Once they were done talking, I headed to do my Bible study, and I got most of the laundry put away.

I’d forgotten to defrost meat, so we just had Digiorno pizza for dinner, and then Brian went out to mow while I hung out with the kids a little.  I was just walking outside to go for my walk when I realized it was raining.  Brian had to cut his mowing short. 

I grabbed my book and sat on the back porch listening to the rain while I read, and a few minutes later the rain stopped, so I headed straight out to walk in between rain showers.  On my walk, I saw a live armadillo rooting around in some grass by the woods, and I stopped to watch it for a bit.  Armadillos are nocturnal, so it’s rare to see them out in the day, and honestly, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen one up that close alive before.  They are all over the place here in Georgia, but 99.9% of the time they’re dead on the side of the road when I see them.  It was so cool to observe him for so long.  The second he saw me, though, he froze and then headed off to the woods.

When I got back home, I was walking up our street to find that there was a rainbow, and our house was right at the end of the rainbow.  So cool!  I didn’t get a picture of it when it was most vibrant, but it was really beautiful.  I had just been thinking about rainbows, too, and I was thinking how much I would love to see one, so it was a little Godwink moment.  :o)

When I got home, I got showered, we watched some of America’s Got Talent, and then after the kids went to bed Brian and I watched more of Trophy Wife.

 

Wednesday, August 6

Wednesday morning, I got the kids off to school, and they had our resource officer out there directing traffic, so it was smooth sailing through the drop off line.

Again, I had nowhere to be… I always try to keep the first week of school light with to-dos and errands since waking up early and doing the whole school routine is exhausting in itself.  So, I headed home, grabbed a cup of tea and my morning protein bar, and headed to my office.

It was dreary (and cozy) yet again Wednesday, and to make it even cozier, I decided to put some cinnamon and clove in the diffuser and boy did it send me orbiting straight into the fall vibes!  That’s literally all it took.  Haha.

While the kids were at school, I was ultra productive – I had some time to read my favorite blogs, I started and finished Friday’s and Monday’s blog posts, I did some goal setting, I printed the goals lists, I updated and printed my holiday checklist (yes, already), and I put away the rest of the laundry.

In the car line, I started a Taylor Swift fan fiction book called Scars of August.  It popped up in my Facebook feed in a TS group, and everyone was saying that it’s a fan fiction book based on the Folklore album (which is my favorite album by her ever), so I had my friend, Khristina, order it for me from her bookshop.  I had very high hopes for it based on the comments section on Facebook, but so far I’m not impressed.  The author obviously did not have anyone edit the book (including herself) because there are typos and grammatical errors GALORE.  A few of them were just painful to read.  I’m trying to get through it, though, because apparently the content itself is enjoyable if you love the Folklore album, so I’ll have to report back once I’m done.  I just don’t know if I can look past all the grammatical errors.  Lol.

When the kids got in the car, both of them said they’d had yet another great day, and they chattered my ears off all the way home, which I absolutely love.  I cherish our afternoon car conversations.  It’s one of my favorite times of the whole day. 

We had more syllabi (syllabuses, if you prefer – LOL) to go over and sign for both kids, so we did that when we got home, and then I did my quiet time.

Jacob wanted to work on writing his own sheet music for a song he loves from the video game Tears of the Kingdom since he couldn’t find sheet music for it online, so he started working on that while Olivia worked on yet another craft.

Since they were both occupied, I spent a few more minutes at my desk.  We keep a bulletin board in the kitchen for school info, and I updated our school notes and printed it out to hang on the bulletin board since a few things have changed now that Jacob is in high school.  I could easily look up said info in the school’s app or on their website, but I like to have some of the stuff right there in the kitchen in case others want to see it at a glance, too.  It just makes life easier, and I’m all about doing things to make life easier!

For dinner, I made stir fry with chicken, rice, broccoli, red peppers, and pineapple.  Everyone enjoys it, so it’s in the rotation quite often.  It’s also healthy, so that’s an added bonus.  I always despise cooking with chicken, and have despised it even more in recent months, and I found myself just not cooking with it as much, so I don’t have to deal with it.  I recently found that Publix now has chicken that has already been trimmed AND DICED, y’all, and if that hasn’t been a gamechanger then I don’t know what is!  Yes, it is a little more expensive, but for $1-$2 more for a meal for our whole family, it is worth it for the convenience.  Plus, the chicken is so tender and seems to be better quality than all chicken that we’ve been getting from Walmart, Fresh Market, and Publix. 

These days, it seems that all places are selling that “woody chicken” (Google it) and no matter how much you tenderize the meat before cooking it, it is still chewy and/or tough and it’s soooo grossss.  This pre-trimmed, pre-diced chicken is so good and convenient, so I’m completely sold!  Maybe I am just late to the game, but I am so excited I have found it. 

After dinner, Olivia and I sat down to try on her THIRD set of dance shoes that we ordered, and they still didn’t fit.  Sigh.  Y’all, I don’t know what the deal is with these fancy brands, but they are killing me.  Her toes are either curled up in the front because they are too short length-wise, or they are too large around the heel/ankle area, and they slide off.  Sigh.  Her dance school always offers professional dance shoe fittings, so I guess next year we just need to take her to that.  We’ve never gone since we’ve never had a problem, but this year, we are struggling. 

Part of the problem is also that the sizing charts are wildly inaccurate online… especially for the ballet shoes.  According to their sizing chart, Olivia needed a 3.5, but they were too small, so we moved up a full size to 4.5.  Those were too small, so we moved up another full size to a 5.5 and they are STILL too small.  So, we are about to purchase our FOURTH round of ballet shoes.  Sigh.  I’m tempted to go up by two full sizes this time just to be safe, but I just know if I do that, they will be too big.  Lol.  HELP!

After that, I left for my evening walk, and Brian finished mowing while the kids got showered and ready for bed.

We finished the evening with some of America’s Got Talent with the kids and then The Summer I Turned Pretty for Brian and me.  Are y’all watching?  Are you Team Conrad or Team Jeremiah?!  I’m Team Conrad all the way!  I read the books a few years ago, and I was Team Conrad the whole time I read the books, too.  And the guy who plays Conrad reminds me SO MUCH of Leonardo DiCaprio circa 1997 (the Romeo + Juliet and Titanic days), and I was head over heels for him.  I had him plastered all over my wall.  That fish tank scene in Romeo + Juliet will forever be one of my favorite scenes from any movie ever of all time.  Period.  End of story.  Haha.

 

Thursday, August 7

Jacob has had a rash around his eye for a while, and his pediatrician’s office diagnosed it and gave him medication before school ever started, but it never improved.  Thursday morning, he woke up and it looked AWFUL.  It had completely changed overnight, so I was instantly worried.  It was too early to call any doctor’s office, and since he felt totally fine otherwise (no fever, no issues with his actual eye, etc.) we sent him to school, and I immediately started calling around to see where to get him in after school. 

At that point, I didn’t really want to take him back to the pediatrician, so we decided to go to the eye doctor for a second opinion.  I had actually already scheduled him with a dermatologist, but the earliest they could see him was the following week (and that was only luck from a cancelation because it was going to be October if not for the cancelation).  Our eye doctor is impossible to get in with – you have to book out by months – but thankfully, they were willing to get us in for an emergency appointment right after school.

I spent the rest of the day working on the blog and working on cleaning out and reorganizing my List Organizer app until it was time to pick up the kids.

We headed straight to the eye doctor, and we ended up having to wait forever, but I was just grateful they squeezed us in.  Since we were there for so long, Brian swung by to grab Olivia on his way home from work, and I stayed with Jacob.  

The eye doctor told us, thankfully, that it was nothing serious (my dumb self had been doing some Googling earlier in the day and I came across some scary things, so to say I was relieved was an understatement).  The eye doctor wasn’t 100% sure about the rash either since it wasn’t textbook, but he told us he’s fairly certain it’s just an allergic reaction/eczema/dermatitis kind of issue.  He sent us home with a prescription ointment that’s a steroid/antibiotic, and he told me to call in a few days if it didn’t improve or if it got worse because he had a backup diagnosis with a backup plan and backup prescription ready to go.  That made me feel so much better.  In addition to all of that, my Boo still has better than perfect vision... he still has 20-15 vision which is considered "eagle eyes."  He was able to read that very bottom line all the way across the room with his own eyes.  That is just crazy to me.

We swung by CVS on the way home to pick up his prescription, and then I got straight to cooking because it was late already.  Thankfully, I had beef tacos on deck for dinner, so they were quick and easy after a long afternoon.

After dinner, I went for a walk even though I was sapped of energy, and I ended up being happy that I went (as I always am), and then I got showered and ready for bed.

We finished AGT for the week, and then the kids went to bed early.  Brian and I went to bed early, too, because the week had kicked my butt.  It’s amazing how exhausted I always am from waking up at 6 AM every morning, even though I’m getting the same amount of hours per sleep per night that I was during the summer.

 

Friday, August 8

Friday morning, the rash around Jacob’s eye still looked pretty bad, but it was dry which is a good sign that it was healing, so I got both kids to school and then headed home.  The doc said Jacob is not contagious, so it’s fine for him to go to school and everywhere else.

After I dropped them, I headed home to water the outdoor plants, and then Brian and I headed to my appointment with my upper cervical chiropractor.  I got great news there – my atlas and axis are both holding strong, and he said that even though my atlas is still technically off a little laterally, since I’m having zero symptoms now, he doesn’t want to mess with it.  He also told me that he is moving my appointments to every THREE weeks now.  Aaaahhhh.  Such great news. 

While I was there, I asked him to look at my right SI joint because it’s been a little wonky since I’ve been walking so much, and he was able to fix it right up.  I also had him look at my jaw again since he adjusted it the last time I was there, and sure enough, my left jaw was locking again and not opening all the way, causing my mouth to move sideways every time I open it.  He adjusted my left jaw bone a bunch, and it felt so smooth when he was done.  I have a feeling it’s going to be stubborn for the long haul, though, since I’ve had this problem for 20+ years.

He also told me that I can start working out my arms again as long as I am very careful and intentional about my movements.  He told me that he’d prefer I do fewer reps with some weights than more reps without weights (like my YouTube workouts that I love so much).  I’m so, so excited about that because my arms have never felt weaker.  There is barely any muscle there anymore, and I’m tired of feeling weak. 

When we got home, I got my cup of tea and a snack, and I settled in to get some work done.  I also talked to my parents on the phone for a while because it was my dad’s birthday!  Brian and I ate lunch together, I did some more work, and then it was time to hit the car line.

On the way home, Jacob told me that his Pre-AP Algebra II teacher told the class that they’d be using a program that integrates math and art, and Jacob told her that he already uses the program at home sometimes (for fun), so she decided to give him a special challenge (also for fun).  She told Jacob what she wanted him to do, and she told him that she thought he could probably finish it around December.  Jacob went back to his seat, went into the program, and he completed her challenge in just 10 minutes.  LOL.  He said he went to show it to her, and she was amazed.  She said that he did it differently than she would have done, and he said she was really impressed.  She told him she’d have another challenge for him on Monday.  He loves that class so much and hopefully this is a good sign that he is going to do well in there.  I still can’t believe he’s taking an 11th grade math class in 9th grade.  Oh, to have a brain like his!

Also, Jacob’s eye looked so much better when I picked him up from school, letting me know we were on the right track getting his irritation under control, and I was grateful for that.  By Sunday evening, it was pretty much clear!

When we got home, I let the kids have some video game time since it was the end of the week and neither of them had homework.  While they did that, I got three Bible studies done!  I have been missing my Bible studies so much the last few weeks while my neck has been healing, so I was excited to be able to devote a long time to it and try to get caught up a bit.

We rarely go out on Friday nights anymore unless we have something specific planned (school football games, poker nights, etc.), and we pretty much always get takeout on Friday nights if we don’t have anything going on because we’re all so tired after the week.

This week, we decided to go out for Mexican at a new-ish place that’s pretty close to our house to celebrate the first week of school.  Thankfully, we got there at just the right time before the waiting list started, so we were able to be seated right away.  We enjoyed spending time with the kids and hearing about their week, and of course, we had to snap pictures in the big chair on the way out.  ;o)  Also, Olivia's face in that first picture.  Lol.  She loves making crazy faces and this one looks ridiculous.  Haha.

When we got home, I got into PJs and worked on a few things in my office while the kids got showered, and then we settled in to watch some more of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1.  Jacob doesn’t like Harry Potter at all, so he didn’t want that to take up his entire Friday evening (LOL), so we watched Harry Potter for a bit, and then we started Interstellar.  Jacob loves science and space and all things like that, and he has recently started saying that he wants to be an engineer for NASA, so we thought he might like that movie.  Brian and I saw it in the movie theater way back, and I remember liking it, so I’m excited to watch it again with the family.

After the kids went to bed, Brian and I finished that Trophy Wife documentary and then we started the show Man on the Inside.  Y’all, it is laugh out loud funny.  I am loving it so far.

 

Saturday, August 9

Saturday, we slept until 8:45 (PRAISE!) and then I made homemade waffles for breakfast.  The kids started their laundry after breakfast, and then Jacob did some origami while Olivia worked on a Rainbow Loom project. 

I caught up on emails, cleaned off my computer desktop, gathered all of the dirty towels in the house, and tidied the kitchen while Brian edged the yard.

Mid-morning, the kids did the rest of their chores – they deep cleaned their bathroom, stripped the sheets off their beds and washed those, and I got our sheets washed, too. 

After lunch, we tried on Olivia’s third set of dance shoes one more time to see what we needed to reorder because I had dropped the ball on that earlier in the week.  I got her shoes ordered in the next sizes up, and I got the returns ready for the others. 

After that, I made sure our bulletin board in the kitchen was completely ready for the school year, and then I worked on styling my record player stand.  I ended up moving my letterboard over there so I can display random song lyrics, and then I moved my cocktail recipe books into the spot where the letterboard was on the bar cart, which meant that I was able to move all of our liquor from the cabinet to the cart to have all in one place.  We’ve always had it divided between the bar cart and the cabinet, so I’m happy to have it all together.

We got all the sheets back on the beds after that, and then the kids played video games for a bit while I worked on the blog and did a Bible study. 

After my Bible study, I got showered and headed off to church, and Brian and the kids headed off to Olive Garden with my father-in-law and the whole family.  I was initially going to go with them, but they had to move the time, so long story short, I ended up going with our original evening plans to go to church and dinner with my parents, Mama Cass, and my aunt and uncle since my dad’s birthday was Friday.

We went to a local restaurant in midtown that we hadn’t been to in a while, and then when I was done there, I met Brian’s family back at my father-in-law's house for cake and presents.  We ended up staying over there until after nine, so by the time we got home and got settled in and ready for bed, it was about time to get the kids in the bed. 

Brian and I made Manhattans, and then we watched two more episodes of Man on the Inside, but I was so tired from the week catching up with me that I fell asleep during the second episode and we had to watch it again Sunday night.  Haha.

 

Sunday, August 10

Sunday morning, we slept in again, and then I made cinnamon rolls for breakfast.  I spent a few minutes in my office watching my weekly sermon and getting my planner ready for the week ahead, and then I decided to head out for my first run in months.  I don’t usually go during the middle of the day during the summer because it’s typically blazing hot, but it has been so dreary lately, and it hasn’t been too hot. 

I had stopped running for a while because my knees were hurting so badly.  I’ve never had knee problems in my whole life, but apparently, they were also a casualty of my messed-up neck, because shortly after my upper cervical chiropractor started working on my neck, my knees stopped hurting.  He told me that when your spine is out of alignment (especially the atlas) it can wreak havoc on literally your entire body, and I believe it 100% because I am living proof of that.

My knees felt fantastic on Sunday for the entire run, and I didn’t ever end up getting new shoes like I’d originally planned to.  I tried the Hoka Bondi shoes, but they were so uncomfortable on my feet and way too wide for my stride that I returned them.  I’m glad now that I didn’t keep them because my knees are fine.  I do hate my current running shoes, and I do still need new ones, but they do not have to be knee-friendly now.

Anyway, the rest of my body wasn’t acclimated to running anymore since it had been so long, so I was struggling a little bit in other ways.  But I just need to get conditioned again (assuming I’m going to start running again).  That’s to be determined.

After my run, I flipped a load of laundry I’d started before I left, I got showered, I got the bed made, I lay out the laundry, I got a load of towels in the washer, and then we headed to my mother-in-law’s and father-in-law's house to celebrate my niece’s birthday.  And Olivia brought her newest Rainbow Loom creation... a giant axolotl.

We had a delicious spread of food, as always, and we sat around the table and caught up with everyone.

On the way home, we swung by Five Below to grab Olivia a sketchbook and some acrylic paints for her painting class, and then we headed home.

When we got home, I had to do all the things – I flipped the towels to the dryer, I transferred photos from my phone to my computer and got those organized, I worked on a blog post, and I prepped for Monday.  While I worked in my office, I watched How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. 

We headed to my parents’ house to celebrate my dad’s birthday after that, and Momma made her famous spaghetti since that’s dad’s favorite.  She’d also made a Hershey cake for dessert, and by the end of the day, I was overstuffed as usual when our moms both feed us in the same day.

When we got home, the kids got everything prepped for Monday, we got them in the bed, and then Brian and I ended the day with two more episodes of Man on the Inside.  And that was our first week back to school!!   

Happy Tuesday, y’all!