Maycember is in
full swing over here, and we’re officially living our busiest week before
things finally settle down. We just have
to get through Jacob’s Confirmation and Olivia’s very long, very involved
recital weekend and then we can breathe a sigh of relief on Monday. I can’t believe they’ll be out of school in
just five days (Jacob) and nine days (Olivia).
Like, what?!
With that said, since we're on our way to summer break, I'll be going to blogging just three days per week most weeks, and then when the kids go back to school in the fall, I'll likely increase my frequency to four times per week again.
Anyway, today
I’m recapping last week, which was also busy, but not quite on this week’s
level. Let’s get started!
Monday, May 4
Monday morning, I snoozed one extra time and then it was time to get up
and get ready for the day. As I was
getting ready, Olivia came into our room to tell me that she wasn’t feeling
well. She was congested and had a
scratchy throat, and she said that she wanted to stay home. So, I dropped Jacob at school and then stuck
around for a Home and School Advisory Board meeting to plan the next school
year. Thankfully, Brian works from home
on Mondays, so he was able to stay with Olivia while I ran all the errands.
After my meeting, I swung by a local print shop to drop off the Bible
that we bought for Jacob. They were able
to engrave it for us, and it’s so beautiful.
After I dropped that off, I ran to Walmart to pick up groceries, and then
I headed home. Olivia had gone back to
bed after she told me she wanted to stay home and she ended up sleeping until
almost 9:30 AM, which is unheard of for her.
I got the groceries put away and then I warmed a chocolate chip muffin
for her that I’d bought at the bakery.
Our kids love a muffin, and they especially love the ones from Walmart
bakery. We all do! I had gotten myself some banana chocolate
chip muffins, so I warmed one for myself, I made some tea, I got Olivia settled
in with the TV, and then I went to my office for a bit to try to get some work
done.
I worked on my blog post for the next day, I had lunch with Brian and
Olivia, Olivia checked her Google Classroom for any school assignments she’d
missed, and then I worked on my blog post for the next day some more.
At 1:45 PM, Olivia got dressed and ready, and then we headed to school to
pick up Jacob a little early because both kids had orthodontist
appointments. Olivia was feeling much
better and she had been bouncing all around the house all afternoon, so I knew
it was fine to take her.
Both their checkups went really well, and we got great news for both of
them! Jacob had been dreading this
appointment because he knew he was going to have to start wearing rubber bands
around the clock rather than just at night, but the orthodontist told him that
he has been so diligent with wearing them at night that there was no need for
him to go to wearing them around the clock!
He was thrilled! Now he just has
to continue wearing them at night and then he’ll be rounding out his treatment
soon enough!
Olivia has been dreading this appointment because the orthodontist had
told us a couple of appointments ago that she’d be needing to get her Herbst
appliance, but he informed us that her overbite has closed significantly on its
own and she will no longer have to have one at all!! Great news all around! That Herbst appliance looked awwwwful, so I’m
grateful she doesn’t have to worry about it now. And I’m also grateful that both kids have had
a much smoother process with their orthodontics than I did. Fingers crossed it stays that way.
After two excellent appointments, we swung through the Starbucks drive
through for cake pops to celebrate! My
babies may not be babies anymore, but they will always love a cake pop! Haha.
We got home around 3 PM and I realized that I’d forgotten to put dinner
in the slow cooker (whoooops), but thankfully, I was able to get it in there
quick enough to have it done by 6:30/7 PM.
We’ve reached the point of the school year where we’re just not caring
as much about eating earlier, going to bed earlier, and all that, so I figured
we might as well just go ahead and do the slow cooker meal with a later dinner
time.
While that cooked, I put away the rest of the groceries, I put away the
dishes that had been drying all day, and I tidied the kitchen. I finished my blog post for the next day
(finally), and then I did a Bible study and my devotional. The kids didn’t have any homework, so they
had some screen time, and Olivia was feeling fine aside from some lingering
congestion, so it was back to school for her the next day!
I had time to get in a two-mile walk, and Brian mowed, and then we all
sat down to eat ranch chicken pasta, broccoli, and garlic cheese bread for
dinner.
The kids got showered after dinner, and I did the dishes and cleaned up
the kitchen so Brian could finish mowing, and then after everyone was done with
their tasks and ready for bed, we started the movie Twister with the
kids since they’d never seen it. Oh, and
while I was watering the ferns before watching the movie, I got the sweetest
surprise – a little nest with one perfect egg inside.
After the kids got into bed, Brian and I watched Saturday Night Live,
and I sipped on a hot toddy because my throat felt scratchy and I had a feeling
I was coming down with whatever Jacob, Brian, and Olivia have all had the last
few weeks. Sigh.
Tuesday, May 5
Waking up early Tuesday morning suuuucked because I barely slept all
night. My nose was so stuffy that even
my Flonase didn’t help (which never happens!), so I couldn’t get
comfortable. I tossed and turned for
hours before finally falling asleep and when my alarm went off, I think I’d
only slept for four or five hours.
My nose cleared when I got out of bed and from that point forward it was
just runny, so I knew it was just a little cold and nothing worse. And thank goodness, too, because I had to be
at the school to help out with Teacher Appreciation Week.
Monday morning, we had a sponsor provide breakfast from Chick-Fil-A, so I
didn’t have to help that day, but Tuesday, we did a trail mix bar for the
teachers, so that had to be set up. This
year, Juliet (the chair for TAW), picked out a book theme, so Tuesday was Where
the Wild Things Are Trail Mix Bar. So
cute, right?! We put out various types
of nuts, dried fruits, candies, marshmallows, chocolate chips, pretzels, etc.
and the teachers were able to grab a bag and create their own trail mix
combo. We also had drinks in a cooler
for them. And somebody had brought in the cutest cookies, too!
After that was set up, I hung out with the other ladies who were helping
out until I had to go to my annual GYN checkup.
Everything went well there, and my doc decided to draw some blood to
check my thyroid and some other hormones/markers since I mentioned to him that
I’ve been uncharacteristically exhausted for the last few weeks. Now I’m just waiting to hear what comes back
from those results.
After my appointment I headed home and ate lunch, and then I finished my
blog post for the next day. I felt run
down since I didn’t sleep well the night before, so I lay down a took a
30-minute power nap before I had to get in the car line.
When we got home from school, I grabbed a cup of tea and finished my book
since I only had a couple of chapters left, and then I did my devotional and
Bible study for the day.
Olivia had to be at dance shortly after that, so I got her over there,
and then when I got home, I caught up on emails and my planner + I tackled lots
of little things that needed to be done.
I also folded the towels, watered the plants, and cleaned the
kitchen. All the things.
I had just enough time to go for a walk and do an arms workout after
that, and I was just about to jump in the shower when Brian texted me to let me
know that Olivia had gotten out of dance early and they were on the way.
Instead of showering, I went downstairs and got dinner ready – turkey and
cheese biscuit sliders, fruit, and chips – and then we all ate dinner together
when Brian and Olivia got home.
Once the kitchen was cleaned, I got showered, Olivia got showered, and
then we all sat down to watch a few more minutes of Twister before the
kids went to bed.
Brian and I finished watching Saturday Night Live, and then I
settled in for another night of no sleep.
Waaaahhhh.
Wednesday, May 6
My nose was super stuffy again Tuesday night, so I was running off only a
few hours of sleep again on Wednesday, but somehow, aside from having to blow
my nose every five minutes, I felt like a million bucks. So much energy!
I dropped the kids at school and then put some gas in my car, and then I
headed back to the school to assist with Teacher Appreciation Week, Day 3. But before we got started – I saw Olivia off
for her field trip! She is in the gifted
program at school, and all the sixth and seventh graders in gifted went to a
mine to dig for rocks all day. She was
THRILLED, and I was happy because one of my friends at the school who also went
on the trip sent me pictures of her all day.
I love being able to see what she’s up to when I’m not with her!
On the agenda for TAW Wednesday was a coffee truck! Since 130 coffee orders had to be filled (all
teachers, faculty, and staff), we had someone taking orders, and then the rest
of us ran the coffees to the classrooms when they were ready. I clocked an impressive 6,000 steps just in
the two hours that I was there helping.
And before I left, I got to partake in the treats, and I got myself a
s’mores iced coffee. Oh, my word, was it
delicious. It was one of the best
coffees I’ve ever had.
When I left the school, I headed to the library to pick up my books that
were available (more of my holds became available when I already had three at
home, whyyyy!), and then I stopped by a nail salon to grab a gift card for my
mom for Mother’s Day.
When I got home, I tackled emails, I paid a bill, I texted my friend,
Shaun, to plan for a fall event at the school (yes, we are already booking DJs
for fall events), and I worked on my blog post for Friday.
When I was on the way to pick up the kids from school, I had just merged
onto the highway and was going 70 mph (the speed limit) when I saw a rock fly
up from a trailer hooked to the back of the pickup truck in front of me. It all happened so fast, but I knew
immediately that the rock was giant and that it was going to hit my car. I couldn’t change lanes, though, because
there was another vehicle in the lane next to me. I braced myself and cringed, and sure enough,
it hit my windshield and left a three-inch circle. Siiiigh.
Right after the first one hit, I saw another one fly up, so I braced
myself again, but thankfully, that one miraculously missed my vehicle. I was able to pass the truck after that, and
as I was passing, I could see lots of those same rocks lying on the trailer. I tried to get the driver’s attention to let
him know that he had rocks flying off the back of his trailer, but he wouldn’t
look over at me.
I had just started reading my book in the car line when I got a text saying that Olivia’s field trip was running late and they were just leaving the
mine. They were supposed to have already
been back by then, so they were running suuuuper late. Thankfully they got back just in time to come
out when school dismissed, and then the kids and I hit the road.
When we got home, Olivia showed me all the rocks she’d found, and then I
did my devotional and read for a bit.
After that, I made Olivia a quick dinner, and then all three of us did a
quick kitchen tidy.
I got Olivia to dance, and I picked up the tickets for her recital while
I was there, and then I headed home.
Brian got home just as I did and he had picked up a few things we needed
from Walmart. I helped him put those
away and I also got dinner ready – leftover ranch chicken pasta, broccoli and
bread.
After dinner, the boys watched some more of The Matrix, and while
they did that, I went out for a walk. We
were under a tornado watch, so it was dark and ominous outside and the wind was
blowing, and I had just enough time to get in my full route before the rain
started. I could hear thunder rumbling
in the distance while I walked, but thankfully, everything held off.
When I got home, I did an arms workout and then I went outside to water
the ferns. When I got out there, I
discovered two more eggs in the nest that I’d seen earlier in the week, so I
carefully watered around the nest, and then Brian hung the fern back up so the
momma bird could come back and protect her babies from the impending storm.
After that, I tidied the entire house from top to bottom, I tackled a
bunch of tiny, insignificant tasks that I’d been putting off, and I put away my
Bath & Body Works soap that had delivered the day before.
When Olivia got home from dance, she had a snack, showered, and then both
kids got in bed. Brian and I finished
the evening with an episode of Rooster, and then we went to bed.
Thursday, May 7
It stormed all night Wednesday into Thursday, but I was so exhausted from
not sleeping two nights in a row that I slept through a lot of it. Every time thunder would wake me up, I would
fall right back asleep, so I finally got a decent night of sleep. Although, Olivia did come in our room and
camp out on our floor in a sleeping bag because the storm was too loud for her
liking.
We ended up getting six inches of rain overnight, so we were under a
flood warning when we got up.
Thankfully, the rain had stopped, so we had no issues getting to
school. We did a chips and guac, queso, and salsa bar for the teachers that day, so I didn't have to be there to help out since the food was catered.
After I dropped the kids, I headed to the orthodontist, where he put in
my permanent upper retainer. So far, I’m
liking it, although, it’s pretty tight, but I’m assuming I’ll adjust to it soon
enough. It is a bit bulkier than the
bottom one, though, so it’ll take some getting used to, but anything is better
than the others! I have to go back in
two more weeks so they can adjust my other retainer (the OG one) because he
said he’d like for me to at least pop it in for a couple of hours per week just
to keep my upper arch in place IF I can.
He said it’s not going to be the end of the world if I can’t wear it at
all anymore, but I think I can tolerate a couple of hours per week.
When I got home, I started checking tasks off my list:
-
Finished my blog post for Friday
-
Started my blog post for Monday
-
Mailed a Poshmark shipment
-
Caught up both email inboxes
-
Filled out a form for Jacob’s Confirmation
-
Called GYN’s office because they’d forgotten to file
insurance at my appointment
-
Filed a claim for my broken windshield
-
Scheduled an appointment to have the windshield
fixed
-
Responded to nearly 100 blog comments (I was a
little behind – LOL)
-
Finished catching up on a week and a half of blog
reading
-
Emailed the kids’ teachers about signing their books
-
Organized my planner
Once all that was done, I jumped in the car line, and then the kids and I
headed to music lessons. Both decided to
opt out of their music recitals this spring, which makes me a little sad, but
also a little relieved, because that took one thing off our plates. I sat with Jacob, and he worked on a few
songs from his piano lesson books, and then we headed home.
When we got home, I threw in a load of laundry and then I did my
devotional for the day along with a Bible study.
My Momma was out of town last week on a girls trip, so we invited my
Daddy to eat dinner with us Thursday evening.
We made eggs, grits, bacon, sausage, and homemade waffles, and he joined
us. After dinner, we cleaned up the
kitchen and then sat in the living room and chatted for a bit before going
upstairs because Jacob wanted to show my dad his Minecraft world that he’s been
working on.
I think I’ve already mentioned this here, but Jacob is building our
entire church and school campus in Minecraft, and it is ah-mazing. It looks just like it! My dad was blown away by it, and he couldn’t
get over it as Jacob was taking him on the tour.
Daddy left shortly after that, and I got out for a walk while the kids
showered and got ready for bed. After my
shower, we finished Twister with the kids and then Brian and I started
the show Your Friends & Neighbors before going to bed.
Friday, May 8
Friday, we had a lot going on, so we had to divide and conquer. Brian took the kids to school while I dropped
my Telluride at the Kia dealership for service.
He then picked me up, and then I dropped him back off at home, and I
drove his Bronco to the school to help out with the final day of Teacher
Appreciation Week.
Juliet and I were the only ones volunteering Friday, and we had a lot of
ground to cover, so we got started right away.
I stocked a cart with loads of snacks – candy bars, granola bars, fruit,
chips, etc. and she loaded up a wagon with all the teacher gifts – the cutest
striped beach towels with the school logo.
We then walked around the entire campus (preschool, lower school, middle
school, high school, gym, and church office) delivering the gifts to the
teachers and letting them pick snacks from the snack cart.
I got to pop into Olivia’s literature class and say hello to her, and
Jacob was in biology when we came through.
That also gave me the opportunity to drop the kids’
Oh, the Places
You’ll Go! books off with their homeroom teachers to be signed.
If you have no clue what I’m talking about,
you can see
this post.
Probably one of
my favorite things we’ve ever done for our babies.
We wrapped up a little before noon, and Brian and I ate lunch together
when I got home. I had just enough time
to catch up on emails and do a couple of other things on my computer before it
was time to pick up my car from the dealership.
Brian drove me over there, and thankfully, there was no damage to the
engine after the oil debacle the previous week.
They said that they changed the alerts for oil changes to every 5,000
miles instead of 7,500 so hopefully I won’t have issues again. We will definitely be checking the oil level
every few weeks going forward, though, just to be safe.
Brian headed home after that, and I headed straight to the school to sit
in the car line. While I waited, one of
our resource officers came out to chat because I had his TAW gifts since he’s
always out patrolling the school.
When we got home, I finished my book and I made Olivia a very early
dinner, and then I took her to her last Friday evening recital practice.
When I got home, I did my devotional and Bible study, and Jacob played
video games since he didn’t have anything going on.
Brian went out for a haircut and to pick up dinner from Carabba’s (per
Jacob’s request), and while he was gone, I edited nearly 100 pictures for my
last Disney post. That was supposed to
be up Monday, but last week was so busy I never had time to get it done.
When Brian got home, the three of us ate dinner, and then I snuggled up
in bed and read while Brian and Jacob finished The Matrix.
Brian picked Olivia up from dance, and after she got ready for bed, we
started Jumanji (the newer one with The Rock). After the kids went to bed, Brian and I made
toasted marshmallow Old Fashioneds and we watched the newest episode of The
Testaments plus the rest of the first episode of Your Friends &
Neighbors.
Saturday, May 9
Saturday, Brian went out to grab donuts for Mother’s Day weekend so I
wouldn’t have to make breakfast, and then the day was a blur of doing laundry,
washing sheets, paying bills, catching up on emails, prepping for Olivia’s
recital, and getting other things done around the house. Unfortunately, I had zero energy, and I had
an awful headache that no medicine would touch all day long, so I felt pretty
terrible all day.
I got out for a walk around 2 PM to see if that would help with my
headache and boost my energy level, but it actually made me feel more exhausted. Pretty sure it was all hormone related,
because thankfully, Sunday, I felt back to normal.
We went to 5:30 PM Mass, and then to dinner with my parents, Mama Cass,
and Aunt Joy and Uncle Greg. They didn’t
have a big table for us, so the kids sat at their own table, which they always
love. Jacob worked on his speed cube
while Olivia colored (because apparently, she brought her entire art supply bin
inside the restaurant – LOL). We got to
hear about Momma’s girls trip, and, of course, we enjoyed our margs and chips
and cheese dip.
Brian and the kids grabbed Dairy Queen for dessert after that, and then
we headed home to finish Jumanji.
I still felt exhausted and I was worn out from dealing with my headache
all day, so I fell straight to sleep on the couch during the movie. I had already seen it, so it wasn’t a big
loss!
After we got the kids in bed, Brian and I finished an episode of Your
Friends & Neighbors, and then I fell asleep on the couch again, so he
had to pause the show and watch something else without me.
Sunday, May 10
Thankfully, on Sunday I had much more energy, and my headache was
(mostly) gone, so it was a better day. I
slept in, we had leftover donuts, and then Brian and the kids gave me gifts. Jacob made me an origami heart bookmark, and
Olivia made a decorative bin for me. It
was so sweet.
After breakfast was eaten and gifts were opened, I headed to my office to
prep for the week ahead, transfer the pictures from my phone to my computer and
organize them, and start my blog post for Monday. I got way behind in the blogging department
last week since I was at the school so much, so I had a lot of catching up to
do.
Late in the morning, I got showered and ready, and then we went to my MIL
and step-FIL’s house for lunch. We’ve
told my MIL a million times that we can take her out to lunch for Mother’s Day,
but she always says she’d just prefer to cook.
So, she made chicken spaghetti and we had green beans and asparagus from
the garden + broccoli and garlic cheese bread.
After lunch, we helped clean up a little, and then we headed home. The kids showered, and then they had some
screen time, while I retreated to my office to start this blog post. Typing these lengthy posts takes quite a long
time, so I was barely able to get it caught up before I had to stop to prep for
Monday.
I always cook for my mom for Mother’s Day, but this year, Jacob had his
Confirmation practice at 6 PM on Sunday.
Instead of cooking, we gave my Momma her gift Saturday night at dinner
and then we Facetimed her Sunday afternoon, and Olivia and I are going to take
her to get pedicures sometime in the next couple of weeks since we didn’t get
to spend time with her on Mother’s Day.
I got the dirty clothes sorted, folded the towels, and did a few other
things around the house, and then we headed to the church for Jacob’s
Confirmation practice. That took about
an hour and a half, and then we headed to dinner at our favorite local pub only
to find that they were closed for Mother’s Day.
By then, it was almost 8 PM, so we just ran over to Panera for something
quick and then we headed home.
Brian has been wanting to show the kids Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
(I’m not an 80s movies fan, so I wasn’t too enthused – haha), so we started
that when we got home, and then after the kids went to bed, Brian and I watched
some more of Your Neighbors & Friends.
Regarding Ferris Bueller, I do have to say that it’s one of the more
tolerable 80s movies. I was born in
1982, so I’m a millennial and very much a 90s kid, but Brian was born in 1978,
so I feel like he has more Gen-X qualities than I do, including having a love
for 80’s movies. Hopefully he won’t make
me sit through too many of them this summer, though! I guess I’ll have to take a lot of naps. Haha.
Happy Wednesday, y’all!
