Our Week - The One with Homecoming Festivities, Jacob’s First Homecoming Dance, and My 25 Year High School Reunion

Last week, thankfully, was pretty uneventful during the day while the kids were at school, and then we had a busy but super fun weekend since it was homecoming at the kids’ (and my old) school.

Monday, October 13

Monday morning the kids and I were off for the holiday, so we slept in.  Brian worked from home, so he was able to sleep in a little, too.  We were so grateful for the extra day since we’d just gotten home from Universal Studios late Sunday afternoon.

I made homemade waffles for breakfast since we hadn’t had them on Saturday and then it was time to get stuff done around the house.  The kids tackled their laundry, I organized all of our pictures from our trip to Universal Studios, and I sent some pictures to my friend, Jeannine, who had come along with us.

I washed the towels, watered the indoor plants, watched a sermon from the weekend, got some Amazon returns ready, sorted the laundry, washed and dried a load of clothes, got my blog post done for Tuesday, and I folded the towels. 

Since my vertigo has been in check for a while and my dizziness is under better control (but still not totally gone), I started weaning off the vertigo medication I’ve been taking for two years and I started something new on Monday, and the transition was ROUGH.  I was so nauseated all week and so. dang. exhausted.  I don’t think I’ve ever had exhaustion like that before aside from when I was pregnant.  It was all completely normal (and expected) during the transition period, but it kicked my butt and I’m still not completely off the original medicine yet.  I was so grateful that we didn’t have much going on last week, though, because I was truly a zombie all week.

So, while Monday was a productive day, the rest of the week – not so much.

We made mini pizzas with biscuit dough for dinner, and then I put the laundry away while the pizzas baked.  After dinner, we all went out for a family walk, and I took it easy since I had zero energy.  Jacob had to clean the neighbor’s pool since they were still out of town, and then we all headed home. 

We all got showered, I put the rest of the laundry away, I looked at my to do list for the week ahead while the kids showered, and then we watched an episode of Is It Cake? Halloween before sending the kids to bed.  Brian and I ended the day with some pro football.

Olivia also took the time on Monday to place each of the songs from The Life of a Showgirl on each of Taylor’s old albums based on their sounds/meanings, and I think she did a pretty good job!

Tuesday, October 14

Tuesday kicked off Homecoming week for the kids, so they had dress-up days each week.  Now that Jacob is in high school, his themes are different than Olivia’s so we were all over the place!  Tuesday was “Tweedledee and Tweedledum Day” for Jacob AKA Twin Day, so he and his friend, WJ, both wore matching Minecraft shirts.  It was “Moana Day” AKA Polynesian attire for Olivia, so she wore a flowery top, a flowy skirt, and a lei.  (And this time of year, it’s pitch-black outside when we leave for school, so the lighting for the pictures I took each morning is horrible.  Haha.)

Brian came down with a cold Monday (probably from Universal Studios), so he slept in and stayed home from work Tuesday.  After I dropped the kids, I headed home, and I spent the day doing three loads of laundry and completing my blog post for Wednesday from start to finish. 

I felt awful all day again Tuesday, so after lunch, I took a quick 30-minute nap before I picked up the kids from school.  We ran home quickly, Olivia changed into her dance clothes and did her homework, I did my Bible study, and then the three of us headed back out for an orthodontist appointment only to find out when we got there that… they didn’t have appointments that day.  Sigh.  I have no idea how I had them on the calendar wrong – I’ve never mixed up an appointment in my life – but thankfully, we were early rather than missing it altogether.  Turns out that their appointments are this week.  Whoops.

Since we were already out and we had time to kill before dance, we turned lemons into lemonade, and we stopped by the library to drop and pick up some books and then we went and got my SUV washed – finally!  It was filthy from travelling to Florida and back and it is soooo nice to have a clean car.  It really makes such a big difference when it’s clean inside and out!

After that, Jacob and I dropped Olivia at dance, and then we headed home.  When we got settled in, he and I walked over to the neighbor’s house to clean their pool, and then I walked a little longer by myself after Jacob returned home. 

After my shower, I made tortellini soup and I baked some blueberry muffins for the week ahead, and I got the house all cozy – cinnamon and pumpkin in the diffuser and piano jazz on the speakers – and when Brian and Olivia got home from dance, we all ate dinner together.  When Olivia walked in the door, she said, “Ooooh, I love the vibe in here.”  Hahahaha.  She is SO her mother’s daughter.

After dinner, Olivia got showered while Jacob studied for a test, and I made my to-do list for Wednesday.  After the kids got into bed, Brian and I watched an episode of The Leftovers and then we headed to bed.

 

Wednesday, October 15

On Wednesday, Brian slept in and stayed home one more day just to make sure he didn’t spread any germs, and I got the kids to school.  Wednesday was “Team Day” for Jacob, so he wore UGA stuff, and it was “Glow Day” for Olivia.  She didn’t have anything neon to wear, so we improvised with glowsticks.  We really phoned it in this year for the HOCO dress up days.  Haha. 

I was exhausted from the time I woke up until the time I went to bed on Wednesday.  I did my blog post for Friday, caught up on blog reading (which took forever because I was so far behind), and then after lunch, I took another 30-minute nap before picking up the kids from school.

When we got home, I dropped Olivia off, and then Jacob and I headed back out for his dermatologist appointment.  He’s been having issues with dermatitis around his eyes, and we just can’t get it to clear up.  The doctor gave us the game plan for the next four weeks, and she said if it doesn’t clear once and for all, she’s going to refer him to an allergist for testing as most of the time in situations like these, the underlying issue is some sort of allergy.  He was allergy tested once when he was very small – two maybe? – and he was allergic to nothing, but allergies change throughout our lives, so it’s possible he could have developed new allergies. 

When we got home, Brian was just leaving to get Olivia to dance, and I checked the mail and saw that my deluxe limited-edition CD had arrived from one of my friends.  When Taylor started releasing variants, this was the one that I wanted, and I couldn’t get my hands on one, so one of my fellow Instagram friends snagged one for me and mailed it to me.  I’m so dang excited to have this for my collection!

I got my Bible study done after that, and Jacob played some video games.  Brian made a stop at Sam’s to pick up some bulk items we needed, and then the three of us had leftover tortellini soup for dinner. 

After dinner, we got the kitchen cleaned up, and then Jacob and I walked to the neighbor’s pool to clean it one last time before they got home later that night.  I went out for another 1.41 miles by myself, and then I got showered.

While Brian went to get Olivia, Jacob and I learned together how to log his service hours for school.  He had a backlog that needed to be put in, but this is his first time using the system to log them, so we went over everything together.  It’s so nice that they keep them logged electronically, because the system will keep everything in one place for him, making it very handy when the time comes to apply to colleges. 

After Jacob and I were done, I went upstairs and saw this:

My girl, laying in the bed reading a Taylor Swift magazine.  Haha.  I just love her.

After the kids went to bed, Brian and I watched another episode of The Leftovers and then we called it a night.

 

Thursday, October 16

Thursday, Brian went back to work, and he took the kids to school for me so I could stay home.  I was seriously a zombie last week, so it was nice to not have to drive them to school in the dark Thursday. 

Thursday was “Pajama Day” for both of them, so Jacob wore some random comfy stuff that wasn’t exactly PJs and Olivia wore her Travis Kelce tee with some pajama pants, a sleep mask, fuzzy slippers, and she brought her stuffie, Sheepie… the whole nine yards!  My little girlfriend takes pajama day verrrry seriously.  Haha.

After I said goodbye to them, I edited all of my pictures from day one of our Universal Studios trip.  There were nearly 100 of them, so that took a good chunk of the morning.  I also started writing the post, and I literally couldn’t keep my eyes open, so I went to lay down, and I ended up sleeping for an hour and a half.  Sheesh.

When I woke up, I tackled my emails, and I got some housekeeping done for the blog before eating lunch and tidying my office.  I had to grab gas for my SUV on the way to pick up the kids, and then we went to music lessons after school.

Jacob is learning Pachelbel’s Canon in piano lessons, and I’ve been enjoying that one a lot.  He also did a duet with his piano teacher for another song he’s learning, and they sounded absolutely fabulous together.  Jacob played in the upper register while Mr. Jarret played in the lower register and they sounded so good!

When we got home, I did my Bible study, we had breakfast for dinner, and then I ended the evening with another walk.  It was hard to find the energy last week to walk, but I sure never once regretting going… each walk made me feel better and much more energized once it was done.

After everyone was showered and ready for bed, we watched another episode of Is It Cake? Halloween and then Brian and I watched some of The Leftovers before heading to bed.

 

Friday, October 17

Friday, the theme was “Minions” for all of the freshmen, so we’d gotten Jacob a t-shirt, and the theme for Olivia was “Extreme Spirit,” but she didn’t feel like being extreme this year, so she just wore her jeans and a spirit wear t-shirt.  In the past, we’ve been known to spray the kids’ hair red and blue, use face paint, and all kinds of other crazy stuff, but this year, Olivia didn’t feel like doing any of that, and I was happy because I was TIRED.  Haha.

After I got them to school, I worked on my blog post for Monday, and then I took another hour-long nap because I couldn’t keep my eyes open.  When I tell y’all I was exhausted last week, I mean I was EXHAUSTED.  I don’t think I was that tired when I had Covid both times. 

Brian and I had lunch together and then I worked on more blog stuff before picking up the kids from school.  When I got home, I finally got some pictures and videos uploaded to Instagram stories from our Universal Studios trip, and then I got my quiet time done before getting ready for our alumni social at the school.

We had the alumni social and the HOCO football game Friday night, so our family headed to the school at six for that.  The weather couldn’t have been more perfect – it was sunny and crisp, and it actually felt like football weather.  We had barbecue at the social and we hung out with my parents as well as our school family. 

We ended up staying at the football game to see the Homecoming Court and then we took off.  I couldn’t wait to get home and put on my pajamas and lay on the couch.  Haha.

Olivia showered when we got home, and then she and Jacob both got in bed.  Brian made Manhattans for the two of us, and we ended the night with some college football and The Leftovers.

 

Saturday, October 18

Saturday was busyyyy, but thankfully, we didn’t have anywhere to be first thing in the morning.  I ended up sleeping in until nine which is later than usual, and I finally felt refreshed when I got up.  I made homemade waffles, and then I rotted on the couch for an hour watching ESPN College GameDay since it was in Athens at the Georgia game.

I would have loved to have rotted even longer than that, but we had things to do.  So, mid-morning, I got up and got dressed because Jacob had a Teen Advisors event.  Brian had a tennis match, and he’d already left for that, so Olivia and I drove Jacob over to his event and then drove back home.  When we got home, I finally got myself into gear for the first time all week and I got a bunch of stuff done.

I stripped the bed and washed our sheets, I finally put away the laundry that had been laying on the chair in our bedroom all week, I cleaned up my closet that had been a mess all week (which is not like me at ALL), I tidied the whole house, I got a couple of annoying tasks done that had been hanging over my head for a while, I started pulling out the Halloween decorations (better late than never), I finished my blog post for Monday, I cleaned off my computer desktop, and then when Brian and Jacob got home, we finally ordered Halloween costumes for the kids.  We’d gone to Spirit Halloween back in September, but the kids weren’t sure what they wanted to be that early on, so we ended up waiting really late this year.  Hopefully they arrive on time!  Yeesh.

The Georgia vs. Ole Miss game started at 3:30, so we watched that, and I got my planner ready for the week ahead while we watched.  It was back-and-forth the whole time – a nail biter – but it was a good one.

I had to go get showered and ready just before halftime, but I turned it on in our bedroom so I could listen/watch while I got ready.  Then Brian ordered pizza for dinner.

After dinner, Jacob got ready for his first Homecoming dance, and I got ready for my 25-year high school reunion.  Our class graduated in 2000, so our 20-year reunion got canceled because of Covid, so we decided (at the last minute) to try to get as many people together as we could. 

Jacob didn’t want to take a date to the dance this year – most of the freshmen just went in groups – so he met up with his friends at the dance.  That meant that I didn’t have to be anywhere for pictures beforehand, so I hugged him goodbye and asked Brian to take pictures of him before he dropped him off.  A lot of the guys go all out with full suits, or at least khaki pants and a blazer, but since Jacob wasn’t taking a date, he opted for khaki pants and an oxford shirt, no tie or jacket.  That was fine with me because I just wanted him to be comfortable and have fun.  I love this kid so much and I still cannot believe that he is in high school.

While Brian and Olivia got Jacob to the dance, I listened to the end of the Georgia game on the way to pick up my friend, Jen, for our reunion.  We rode downtown together and met the rest of our girlfriends (the girls who I do my monthly dinners with) in the lobby at the hotel of the rooftop bar that overlooks the river here in town.  We were just missing our friend, Becky, who couldn’t make it.  :o(

The weather was perfect yet again – cool and clear – and I wish I’d taken some photos from the rooftop because it was a beautiful evening.  But when we got there, I was too busy hugging everyone who I hadn’t seen in forever, and catching up with everyone. 

Our graduating class had 76 people (I think??), but since our old class president had sent the email about the reunion just two weeks before our gathering, only 14 people were able to make it.  Five of the ladies are my BFFs who I see all the time, and one is a girl I see a lot as we are dance moms together, but I rarely get to see the others… some of them I hadn’t seen in 15 years, since our 10-year reunion. 

We all grabbed drinks from the bar and then sat around for the rest of the night chatting and catching up.  We had such a great time, and it was just the best evening with everyone.  We were able to grab a (very dark) group photo at the end of the night, although, one girl had already left.  And then my girls group grabbed one more photo on the way to the parking garage since the lighting was so pretty. 

I drove Jen home, and then I headed home.  Brian had long picked up Jacob from his dance that had ended at 10 and they were waiting for me to get home before going to bed.  I got home sometime after 11, we got the kids in bed, and then Brian and I watched college football until 12:30 AM before finally going to bed.

 

Sunday, October 19

Sunday morning, we slept in until nine again, and it was the coziest morning because we finally had some RAIN.  The rest of the morning was a typical Sunday morning in our house – cinnamon rolls for breakfast, planning for the week ahead, watching my sermon, washing the towels, transferring pictures from my phone to my computer and getting them organized, etc.

We all got ready and went to my MIL and step-FIL’s house for lunch, and they had made a couple of new recipes that were delicious.  The kids were excited because they had the house all decorated for Halloween, and Nana had made special Halloween treats for dessert.

We left a little earlier than usual because we had to get to church by 5 and then go to my parents’ house for Sunday dinner.  I had to dry the towels, work on my blog post, and prep for Monday in between, and I only had an hour to do it, and then we picked up Mama Cass for 5 PM Mass. 

After Mass, we headed to my parents’ house, and my Momma had made a yummy spread of food including the cutest Halloween themed birthday cake for my brother’s best friend.  Seriously, how cute is this cake?!

When we got home, we got the kids in bed early since they’d been up so early Saturday night, and then I made the meal plan and grocery list for the week ahead before crashing on the couch and watching pro football with B.

Happy Tuesday, y’all!