*This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Last week was
all about getting back in the swing of things after ten days off for spring
break and Easter. I was a busy little
bee trying to get caught up on #allthethings and, unfortunately, I had to do it
while my allergies kicked my butt all week.
I’ve had a scratchy throat and a very hoarse and sometimes non-existent
voice for over a week now with no end in sight.
That’s spring in Georgia for you, though!
I’m also still
having issues with my retainer – BIG SIIIIGH – so I was fighting off some
pretty bad face and jaw tension and headaches all week… it’s looking more and
more each day like I may need to see if getting a fixed upper retainer is a
possibility.
Anyway, let’s
get to the recap! There was lots of good
this week even though re-entry after vacation is always challenging!
Monday, April 6
The kids were out of school again for Easter Monday, so after an
exhausting (but incredible) trip to Disney World and a whirlwind of an Easter
and birthday weekend, we finally got to relax on Monday. Brian did have to work, but he was working
from home, so he was able to sleep in a little, and I slept in until 8:30. Praise!!
The kids were just getting up when I got up, and we all had cake for
breakfast because we had so many leftovers.
It was the day after my birthday, so I figured, why not? ;o)
After breakfast, the kids tidied the house. They had Easter stuff and lingering Disney
stuff all over the place, so it was much needed.
Meanwhile, I washed my new weighted blanket that Brian gave me for my
birthday and then I got to work in my office.
I had gotten so ahead on the blog before we left for our trip, but as
always when returning from vacation, I was right back to flying by the seat of
my pants when we got back. I had to
finish my blog post for the next day, and it was a time-intensive one, so it
took all my work time for the day.
The rest of the morning was lazy for the kids – some video games for
Jacob since he’d been deprived of them all week (LOL) and some Facetiming with
Maren for Olivia.
Late in the morning, Olivia brought Maren into my office via her iPad,
and she and Maren told me that Maren’s mom had said that Olivia could come over
and hang out if it was okay with me and that she’d be texting me shortly. Sure enough, I got the text, so right after
lunch, I ran Olivia over to their house so they could hang out all afternoon.
They live just about five minutes from us, so it’s so convenient because
it’s a quick round trip. Olivia was
thrilled to be spending all day with her bestie, and she said goodbye and
jumped out of the car as fast as she could.
I headed back home after that and helped Jacob finish up with his
Confirmation paperwork. I also helped
him log some service hours as he needed help with the contact information.
After all that was done, I hit the pavement for a walk and Jacob put
together his new Lego set that he’d gotten in his Easter basket. It was cold and dreary on Monday, so that
wasn’t ideal, but it still felt good to get out after not working out for four
days.
By the time I got home, Jacob had finished his Lego set and he had
showered and gotten ready for the day, so he played video games for a bit
longer while I finished my blog post for Tuesday. He also figured out how to solve the 4x4
Rubik’s cube, so of course, I had to snap a picture of him with it! ;o)
I did my final Lent study and got showered and ready for the day, and
then Brian, Jacob, and I left to pick up Olivia from Maren’s house and meet my
father-in-law at a local restaurant to celebrate my birthday with him. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law also met
us, and we had a delicious dinner together.
After dinner, Brian, Jacob, and I went back to my father-in-law’s house
for Dairy Queen Oreo Blizzard Cake and gifts, and then we hung out for a bit
and chatted before heading home.
Artemis II was busy making its journey around the moon that day, so we
had been following along on and off all afternoon. When we got home, they were on the dark side
of the moon with no communication, which had to be so wild for them. We turned on the live coverage when we got
home, and I started making a grocery list while Olivia went upstairs to shower.
A few minutes later, I glanced outside and saw a rosy glow on the
neighbor’s house across the street, so I ran out back to see the sunset because
I knew it must be a good one. Sure
enough, I was treated to one of the most spectacular sunsets I’ve seen, and I
stood out there and marveled at it for about 15 minutes.
The sunset started out as a fiery orange and yellow and eventually
morphed into hot pink, deep purple, and blue, and it was just STUNNING. All the while, I kept thinking about the four
humans just flying around in space beyond what I could see in our atmosphere,
and it was just one of those moments when you realize just how grand the
universe is.
Brian had gone back to his dad’s house to pick up some stuff and on his
way home, he saw the sunset and he texted me to make sure I knew about it. He knows me so well!
It was COLD Monday night, so I froze to the bone watching it, but it was
totally worth every single second. Just
look at those gorgeous pictures. Every
single one of them is unedited and unfiltered.
Just God’s true beauty shining right there on the picture.
After the sunset, we all got into pjs, the kids went to bed, and then
Brian and I watched some of The Chosen before going to bed.
Tuesday, April 7
Tuesday was the first school day in 10 days, and I can tell you right now
that waking up at 6 AM to get the kids to school is way less fun than waking up
at 6 AM to go to Disney World. Hahahaha. I draaaagggged my booty out of bed and still
felt half asleep, but we were out the door on time, and the kids made it to
school just after 7:30 AM as always.
I had to go to Walmart and Publix to get groceries because we were out of
everything, and then I went home to put the groceries away before getting to
work. It took most of the day to get my
blog post done for the next day, and I also had to transfer pictures from my
phone to my computer and get those organized again. While those were transferring, I tidied my
office and fixed some typos, and then I finished my blog post for Wednesday
with just enough time to look at my planner for the week ahead and leave to
pick up the kids from school.
On the way there, I swung by the library to pick up some books, and I
talked to my friend, Jeannine, for a bit.
After school, we headed home, and I did my devotional and then turned all of Jacob’s Confirmation paperwork in (a huge check off the list as he’s
been working on it since last summer) all while keeping my eye on the news
since our administration was sending horrible threats to Iran.
Olivia had parent night for her lyrical class at dance, so I drove her
there and then sat in with her class. I
got to see part of her routine for the recital, and it looks awesome so far. Those girls sure do put in the hard
work. Their warmups alone are
exhausting.
I headed straight home after that to get dinner in the oven while she had
her other two classes, and Brian was just getting home from the funeral home as
his best friend’s mom passed away and the visitation was Tuesday afternoon.
While dinner was in the oven, I got the rest of the groceries put away
and I chatted with Brian about the visitation, and then I got in a very quick,
very half-hearted functional strength training workout. I felt like crap all last week with a
scratchy throat, an achy neck, and lots of issues from my jaw and face tension,
so it wasn’t a fun week. Pretty sure my
retainer is causing issues, so I may have to see if I can just get a fixed
retainer and be done with all the drama.
I’m soooo over it.
The four of us sat down to eat dinner when Brian and Olivia got home from
dance, and it was nice to have something a little healthier than takeout after
a week of junk food on vacation. I made
barbecue chicken, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli, and Cheesecake Factory
bread, and it was a nice to be back around our own table together.
After the kitchen was clean, I did a quick strength workout, I watered all the plants outside and in, and
then Jacob wanted to order a 4x4 Rubik’s Cube to up his game. The one he had completed Monday was my uncle’s
OG Rubik’s Cube from 1982. LOL.
After both kids were showered, they got into bed (Olivia with her book in
hand that she couldn’t put down and read in less than 24 hours), and Brian and
I watched some more of The Chosen while I sipped on a hot toddy. I didn’t sleep well at all the night before
because of all the drainage in my throat, so I needed my surefire remedy… and
it WORKED because I fell asleep immediately Tuesday night!
Wednesday, April 8
Wednesday, I dropped the kids off at school and then I headed home to
wrap up in my electric blanket and work.
I had thought the cold snaps were over for the season, but last week
proved me wrong. Haha.
Wednesday was another admin day because I had a bunch of “life” stuff
that needed attention. I shopped for a
few things Olivia needs for her upcoming recital, I grabbed a couple of things
with my birthday gift cards, I downloaded some new music, I paid a bill, I
caught up on emails, I looked over summer dance registration information (I
can’t believe it’s already time to sign up for that), I ordered Olivia’s school
supplies for next school year (how on earth are we already here?!), and then I
spent the rest of the day catching up on blog reading. I was a week and a half behind so that took
foreverrrr.
But again, I felt like crap all day Wednesday, so it was a nice day to
just be lazy and catch up on reading my favorite blogs. I fought sleep all day until 1 PM, and I
couldn’t take it anymore. Everything
hurt from my tension, and my brain fog was fogging, so I covered up with my
weighted blanket and passed out for a 30-minute power nap. I did feel a little better when I woke, but
still not great.
I had to put gas in the car before grabbing the kids from school and then
we all headed home. I did my devotional
with a cup of tea and then tackled a couple of things around the house and then
it was time to get Olivia to dance.
I picked up a prescription from CVS on the way home, made chicken stir
fry, rice, and veggies for the boys and me when I got home, and then I got out
for another walk. I was able to complete
my entire route, but my pace was slower, and it did feel good to get out even
though I’d been lacking energy all day.
When I got home, I got showered and then Jacob got showered while Brian
went to pick up Olivia. I lay in bed for
a bit after I got in my pjs because I was completely sapped of energy, and then
when Olivia got home, I sat with her while she ate some leftover Dairy Queen
Blizzard cake and told me about dance.
After she showered, the kids got into bed and then Brian and I watched
the season finale of Shrinking, me with another hot toddy in hand. And regarding Shrinking – if you
aren’t watching it, you are missing out so much. It is one of the best shows I have ever seen…
right up there with Ted Lasso and Schitt’s Creek. It is LAUGH OUT LOUD funny and you will cry
at every episode as well. I had tears
streaming down my face at the end of last week’s episode. Gah, I love every single character on that
show.
Thursday, April 9
Thursday morning, I dropped the kids at school and then I came home to
work on the blog all day long. I started
and finished my post for Friday, I started and finished my post for Monday
(yesterday’s post as you’re reading this), and I started this post that you’re
currently reading and got it caught up to present time. Once that was done, I started my post for
Wednesday, which is the first of my Disney recaps! It was a very productive day on the blog
front and I’m happy to report that my scratchy throat had improved (a tiny bit)
and I was no longer brain foggy and feeling exhausted.
I grabbed the kids from school when they got out, and we headed to music
lessons. Jacob was supposed to have had
a golf match, but it got cancelled, so we didn’t have to worry about
conflicting extracurricular activities as originally thought.
I sat with Olivia during her guitar lesson and she worked some more on
her acoustic version of The Fate of Ophelia. She’s contemplating doing the music recital
again, so we’ll see. Jacob is also
contemplating doing the piano recital, so we will see about that as well!
When we got home, I had just enough time to clean up the kitchen and have
a cup of tea, and then it was time to leave to meet my girlfriends for
dinner. We had to cancel our last two
dinners because so many girls were sick and/or tied up with kids’ activities,
so I was extra excited to see them Thursday evening.
We met downtown at a market that sells a fusion of different cuisines and
has a large beer wall. I’d been craving
pizza since Brian had ordered one at my birthday dinner on Monday, so I ordered
a pepperoni pizza. Jeannine, Jen,
Jessica, Heather, and I all grabbed a high-top table and we spent the next
couple of hours catching up and discussing pretty much everything under the
sun.
Jeannine and Jessica and I hung out a little longer after Jen and Heather
left, and then we spent some time outside because the weather was
perfection. Downtown was busy,
too, and the sidewalks were filled with people eating and drinking and walking
around.
I got home around 7:45 PM and the kids were just finishing showering and
getting ready for bed. I got into some
workout clothes, and I did a stair stepper workout while we watched some more
of the live action Lilo and Stitch movie before the kids went to bed.
Brian and I started season four of The Chosen before heading to
bed.
Friday, April 10
Friday morning, I dropped the kids at school and then headed home to get
stuff done. On the list for Friday was:
-
Filling in some events in my planner
-
Catching up on emails
-
Moving Disney PhotoPass pictures and videos to
Brian’s and my shared file
-
Working on this blog post
-
Finishing my first Disney blog post
-
Washing a load of clothes
-
Cleaning out my List Master app
-
Downloading the new Teddy Swims single
-
Organizing a couple of Instagram highlights
-
Placing an order for essential oils
After school, the kids and I headed home to have some downtime before our
very busy weekend kicked off. Jacob and
I sat down together to select his classes for next schoolyear (TENTH GRADE,
HOWWWW?!), but his link for Honors American Sign Language hadn’t been
activated, so he ended up having to email the guidance counselor and pause his
registration.
Olivia received her recognition from Locks of Love on Friday, too, for
donating 12 inches of hair!!
After that, the kids went to have some screen time, and I enjoyed a cup
of hot tea while reading my devotional and then I checked a few more tasks off
my ever-growing list.
-
Opened a couple of packages
-
Got an Amazon return ready
-
Measured for new light fixtures
-
Sent Brian some of the videos I took at Disney World
-
Placed an Amazon order
-
Responded to all blog comments from the last week
At 5 PM, I decided that productivity could wait, and I did a rare Friday
workout. Fridays are usually the days
that I take off and rest each week, but I knew I wasn’t going to have time for
a workout Saturday, so I wanted to get out and move my body a little. It was just lovely outside, so I didn’t want
to waste the good weather.
When I got home, I made sure Jacob was ready to go for his retreat, and
then I got showered while Brian dropped him off, picked up donuts for breakfast
Saturday, and picked up barbecue for dinner for Olivia, himself, and me.
After my shower, I decided to try out my new self-tanner, and it turned
out to be SO good. It did stay
sticky-ish for a while like all self-tanners do, and it also started having
that self-tanner scent that doesn’t smell great once it started developing, but
the color is beautiful, it doesn’t look fake at all, and it left zero streaks
or weird patches on my knees or ankles or feet.
And the best part is – it’s so inexpensive, especially compared to the
ones that all the other influencers are marketing these days.
After my self-tanner was applied, I put away the laundry I’d washed
earlier in the day, and then I whipped up some cocktails for B and me – a
Moscow Mule for him and a Manhattan for me, of course. I got to use my new picks for the cherries,
and it really does make the drink feel so much fancier. ;o)
After dinner, we all cleaned the kitchen and then we turned on NASA’s
livestream of splashdown for Artemis II.
The last time I watched a mission return home from earth was Columbia in
2003 and I will never ever forget that moment of watching it fall apart in the
sky. All crew members on board were killed,
and it was such a sad day. Needless to
say, I was a bit on edge as I’m sure most of the world was. Thankfully, everything went beautifully – it
was a textbook landing, and they hit their exact target at the exact time they
had planned which is truly mind-blowing.
I’m just so proud of my little brother for working on this hugely
successful mission!! Several of you have
reached out to me to ask what exactly he does at NASA, and I never know exactly
how to explain it, so I talked to him Saturday to get the information in
layman’s terms, and this is what he said.
He is a Launch Vehicle Systems Integration Engineer. When a rocket is built, it has to be built in
pieces because it’s so big. His job is
to integrate all the pieces into one full rocket and launch it. He makes sure all the requirements are met
for flight and he makes sure that everything fits physically, as well as
electronically like computer systems, etc.
He is also on the launch team, and he makes sure that all requirements
are met and that the rocket is healthy from the start of countdown through the
end of launch. Whew. So if you are one of those who has ever asked
me, hopefully that helps! Haha.
While we were waiting for the crew to deboard, I talked to our old
resource officer on the phone for a bit as he called to wish me a belated happy
birthday. He had just boarded a flight
to Ireland, though, so our call was pretty short as he had to turn his phone on
airplane mode.
We ended up watching the Artemis coverage for hours… until all four crew
members were safely out of the capsule, and then we finally turned it off. Olivia and I watched the Elizabeth Taylor
music video by Taylor Swift (finally) and then she went to bed because we had
an early and full day ahead Saturday.
Brian and I watched some more of The Chosen after she went to bed
and then he had to leave to pick Jacob and his friend, WJ, up from their
retreat at 11 PM. When they got home,
they told us a little about their day and then they grabbed some snacks and
headed upstairs, and Brian and I headed to bed.
Saturday, April 11
Saturday morning, Brian got up early to put a few lawn equipment items
out in our neighborhood yard sale, and I had set my alarm for 8 AM because we
had so much to do. The first thing I did
was make sure Olivia was up because she had an early dance class that was added
to the schedule at the last minute.
Then, I woke up the boys so they could get ready and have breakfast
before day two of their retreat.
We all ate donuts that Brian had picked up the night before, and then I
had a quick cup of tea while prepping my to do list for the day in my
office.
Olivia and I left a little after 9 AM to get her to dance, and then when
I got home, Brian brought in all the stuff that hadn’t sold in the yard sale.
I headed upstairs to get showered and ready for the day while Brian and
the boys headed to day two of their retreat, and then Brian came home to get
ready because we had a funeral to attend for his best friend’s mom. She passed away last week after a long battle
with Alheimer’s, and she was a second momma to Brian since he grew up hanging
out at their house.
My dad also happens to be friends with Brian’s best friend’s dad, so my
parents were at the funeral as well. It
lasted about an hour and then we hung around for a bit to hung everyone and
give our condolences and then we had to be back at Olivia’s dance studio to
pick her up by 12:30 PM. The funeral was
a really beautiful service, though, but it was a particularly tough one as
Brian’s best friend, his best friend’s sister (who we are also close with), and
Brian’s best friend’s son and daughter all said a few words. I doubt there was a dry eye in the whole
church.
After we grabbed Olivia from dance, the three of us headed home to change
back into comfortable clothes and then eat some lunch. Olivia tidied the house and showered
afterward, and I spent some time tidying and arranging my new drawer organizer
that I got for my birthday. I cleaned
out a few things as well, and I’m soooo in love with the final result. Everything has a place, everything is grouped
together logically, and it just looks so much cleaner and neater in there. Ya gotta love an organizer!
 |
| Before |
 |
| After |
Once that was done, I grabbed the banana pudding donut that Brian had
gotten me, and I took it to my office with some tea for an afternoon snack
while I worked. I chatted with my
brother for a little bit and then worked on a couple of blog posts while also
getting some laundry done. While I
worked, I also watched the live coverage of the Artemis crew being welcomed
home… they all gave some beautiful speeches, and they kept crying and hugging
and crying and hugging and it was just such a beautiful thing. Those four have been the highlight of my
week!
Brian picked Jacob up from his retreat at 4:30 PM and he came home to get
showered and ready for the day.
I folded the towels and blankets I’d washed earlier in the day, and then
I got changed and freshened up, and then we headed to one last hockey game of
the season with our friends, Jeannine and James and their boys.
There were multiple events downtown in the same area, so parking was a
nightmare, but eventually, we lucked out and found someone leaving, so we were
able to get their spot, and we made it to the game on time. They ended up starting the game 15 minutes
late, I’m assuming because so many people were still waiting to get in at game
time due to the parking situation, and then there were a few other things that
happened during the game that delayed it, making it run super late. We decided to leave during the intermission
after the second period to avoid the crazy traffic that was likely to ensue
after the game since it would be letting out around the same time as the other
events. Plus we were all exhausted after
the long day.
That said, we all had a fun time and the kids got to take pictures with
the mascots and get ice cream, so it was a fun evening out! Mack also had a hat with a running marquee light across the front of it, and all the kids kept passing it around. Olivia wanted her picture taken in it... no surprise there! Haha.
When we got home, the kids went straight to bed – they were both
exhausted – and Brian and I settled in to watch episode one of The
Testaments – the spinoff from The Handmaid’s Tale.
We had some of the best cocktails of our lives in Hollywood Studios on
our Disney World trip, so Brian ordered the ingredients to make them at home,
and we tried our first round Saturday night, minus one of the ingredients that
hadn’t yet arrived. It is out of this
world delicious and I plan to share the recipe here as soon as we get the final
ingredient!
We ended up going to bed well after midnight, but thankfully, we were
able to sleep in on Sunday.
Sunday, April 12
I got up around 8:45 AM Sunday morning, made cinnamon rolls, and helped
Brian clean the kitchen afterward. Then,
I settled in my office with my cup of tea to plan the week ahead and I also
knocked out my entire blog post for Friday, making me almost a week ahead on
the blog!
Meanwhile, the kids did their laundry, prepped for the week ahead, and
had some screentime.
Late in the morning, I left my office to tackle a few things around the
house – cleaning the remaining blinds and windows that I hadn’t yet gotten to
(front room, Jacob’s room, Olivia’s room, and the playroom), and then we all
had lunch together.
After lunch, the kids finished up with their laundry, showered, and
prepped for Monday, and then they had some screen time while I did some more work
in my office. I had to transfer all the
photos from my phone to my laptop from the week and then get them
organized. And I also got this blog post
nearly finished. And Brian ended up
selling our old lawnmower and edger on our neighborhood Facebook page, so we can
officially cross that off the list! Woo
hoooo!
Late in the afternoon, I got showered and ready and then we headed to 5
PM Mass before grabbing Mama Cass and going to my parents’ house for Sunday dinner. It was good to be back after skipping the
previous week for Easter. We celebrated my
birthday over there with my favorite meal that my Momma makes – meatloaf,
mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, black eyed peas, and banana pudding for
dessert! YES, MA’AM!
Sunday was also my parents’ 46th wedding anniversary!!!! So wild that they’ve been married almost five
decades! Happy anniversary, Momma and
Daddy!!
When we got home from my parents’ house, I sorted the dirty clothes, so
they’d be ready for laundry day Monday, and then Brian and I settled in to
watch some Saturday Night Live after the kids went to bed.
Happy Tuesday, y’all!
