This past Monday
was a holiday, and the kids were out of school, so I spent most of the day with
them instead of working, which is why today’s weekly recap is a day late!
Last week was a
good one, and the weekend was even better because it was four days long! I have a lot to recap, so let’s get to it!
Monday, February 9
Monday morning, Olivia was getting over some congestion that she’d had
over the weekend, so we kept her home just in case she was harboring any
germs. She never ran a fever, she didn’t
have any aches or pains, and she didn’t have a cough… just a severely stuffy
nose and she was tired. This is the
second time she’s had this in a matter of a few weeks, so I was really
surprised that she had come down with something so close to being sick just a
couple of weeks ago. We keep flu/Covid
all-in-one tests on hand, and she was negative for Flu A, Flu B, and Covid, so
we’re just assuming it was another cold.
The rest of us never got sick either, so it ended up being a non-issue.
I took Jacob to school and then came home to work. Olivia parked herself on the floor with her
pillow, her weighted blanket, and the remote, and she rested all day.
I had an appointment with my orthodontist shortly after I got home, so I
headed there while Brian stayed home with Olivia. Thank goodness he works from home now on
Mondays and Fridays… that has saved us so many times when we have sick kids!
When I got there, they had my new retainer ready to go. The assistant popped it in, and it felt good,
although, it wasn’t flush with the roof of my mouth. The orthodontist came in to check and see if
it needed any adjustments, but he said it looked perfect, and he told me that
over time, the retainer will mold better to the roof of my mouth. Sure enough, by the time I got home, it had
already shifted and it felt better.
While it’s not nearly as bad as the Invisalign retainers, it’s still
causing some weirdness with my tongue and jaw, but I’m hoping it will all
settle down once my mouth/jaw adapts to the new one.
Brian, Olivia, and I all had lunch together, and then I got some more
work done before heading to the school to pick up Jacob.
He is done with e-sports for the season, so we’re back to having our
Monday afternoons and evenings wide open, which is lovely! It’s the one weekday that the kids don’t have
extracurricular activities, and it also makes for an easy transition back into
the week after being off all weekend.
Jacob had some studying to do, and Olivia had some schoolwork in her
Google Classroom that she’d missed at school, so they both worked on the things
they needed to do. I did my quiet time
and then headed out for a walk because, y’all, it was 68 degrees and
sunny!! It was GORGEOUS outside!
I was able to wear a tank top with my leggings, and I got sweaty and felt
GREAT after I was done. It was so nice
to have a little taste of spring after having so much cold weather this winter.
When I got home, I showered, and then I made dinner. We had beef and rice skillet (it’s a Mexican
dish with lots of red peppers, green peppers, tomatoes, corn, and other yummy stuff)
and I served it with tortilla chips, cheese, and fruit on the side.
After dinner, I finished my blog post for the next day (clearly, I was
behind!), and then Olivia and I watched the Opalite music video that
Taylor had dropped over the weekend. The
video is SO good, and I just love how clever and creative she is. Truly a mastermind!
After Jacob was done showering and getting ready for bed, we all watched
some more of Dumbo and then the kids went to bed early. They’d been up late over the weekend, and
Olivia needed to get a good night of sleep so she could go to school Tuesday
since she was feeling better.
Brian and I ended the night with an episode of Run Away and then
it was bedtime.
Tuesday, February 10
Tuesday morning, I dropped the kids off at school and then I swung by
Publix to get a few items that we needed.
After that, I headed home to work all day. I still wasn’t feeling 100 from all my head
and neck tension (it always takes soooo long for it to all settle down once it
gets stirred up), so it was slow going.
I started and finished a blog post for the next day and then I started
this blog post. I usually try to stay on
top of these weekly posts by typing out each day live, but in recent months
I’ve been keeping notes in my phone and then typing up these whole super long
posts all in one sitting, and that’s extremely time consuming. I’ve been wanting to go back to typing each
day in real time like I used to, so I’m hoping I can stay on top of that now
that I’ve started doing it once again.
I also got a few loads of laundry washed, dried, folded, and put away and
I tackled a few other odds and ends around the house. I finally got all the donations bagged up and
out of the closet in Brian’s office so I could drop them off later in the week.
Before picking up Olivia from school, I ran a couple of errands, and then
she and I headed home. Jacob had golf
after school, so Brian picked him up a little later.
The afternoon was a typical afternoon – a Bible study for me while Olivia
did homework, then I dropped her off at dance, and then I headed outside for
another walk because it was 70 degrees!
It was gloomy out, so there wasn’t any sunshine, but I was grateful for
the warm temp for the second day in a row.
When I got back home, I did a very short strength training workout. I’m still having to take it easy with my arms
and shoulders until my upper cervical chiropractor gives me the green light,
but I did pull out some three pound weights to very slowly, very deliberately
work out my arms. I was soooo careful
not to put any strain on my neck or my upper back, and I ended up doing well. My arms have lost so much muscle these past
couple of years since I had to stop working out my upper body, and I’m ready to
get them back in shape!
The boys were home by the time I was back from my walk, and I showered
and got into pjs before Brian headed back out to pick up Olivia.
We had turkey and cheese biscuit sliders for dinner, and then after
dinner, Olivia got showered and immediately went to bed. She was still pretty congested, and dance
always makes her tired, so she put herself in bed at 8:15. Haha.
Jacob stayed up for a bit longer, playing the piano, and Brian and I
watched some of the Olympics before saying goodnight to Jacob. Once he was in bed, we watched another
episode of Run Away and then called it a night.
Wednesday, February 11
Wednesday morning, I dropped the kids at school and then I headed home to
wash, dry, and put away the last load of laundry. I also worked on a couple of blog posts, and
I finally got caught up on responding to blog comments. It had abeen a long time since I’d done that,
so it took a while.
After that, I took a break from the computer to stretch and then I
finally sat down to organize and wrap all the gifts for Valentine’s Day,
Brian’s birthday, and Olivia’s birthday + sign their cards and all that jazz.
By the time I was done with all that, it was time to eat lunch, and then
after lunch, I opened all the packages for the prizes from the games Olivia
wanted to play at her upcoming birthday party and got those all arranged in a basket, and I
opened her party favors and got the items ready for her to put together later
in the week.
After that, I loaded up the car with aaaallll the things we’ve cleaned
out this year so far – and it was a LOT since the kids have outgrown so many
clothes and toys – and I drove to the thrift store that our church recently
opened to fund our outreach center. I
donated all that stuff so the items can go to new homes where they’ll be well
loved again.
I still had a few minutes to spare before I got in the car line, so I put
some gas in my car and then made my way to the car line to sit. I read my book for a bit and chatted with our
resource officer, and then Olivia and I headed home. Jacob had his ninth grade retreat all day and
they weren’t getting back until 4:15 PM, so Brian ended up leaving work early
to get him so I could get Olivia home to do homework, eat dinner, and then get
back to dance.
Olivia and I spent the time she had leftover before dance sorting through
the items for the party favors that she’d picked out. We got them all bagged, and then we piled in
the car, opened the sunroof, and sang all the way to dance.
When I got home, I went out for a two-mile walk, and then I got dinner
started. While it cooked, I squeezed in
another very slow, very deliberate strength workout (it feels so good to be
working out my arms again!) and then I jumped in the shower and put on my
pajamas.
Dinner was almost ready when I got back downstairs, and all I had to do
was mash the potatoes and pop the bread in.
Then, I sat down with the boys to eat parmesan chicken, mashed potatoes,
steamed broccoli, and Cheesecake Factory bread.
Jacob told us all about his day at the retreat and it sounds like they
had a great time. They went to Mass,
they played games, they had small groups, they spent a ton of time outside, and
they ended the day with Adoration. It’s
times like this when I’m most grateful that our kids are able to go to a
faith-based school because I believe that real, human connection is just as
important (more important, honestly) than academics.
After dinner, we all cleaned the kitchen, and then Brian headed to pick
up Olivia from dance. Jacob got
showered, I prepped for Thursday, and then we worked on the puzzle until it was
time to get the kids in bed.
Brian and I finished Run Away and we enjoyed it. I never in a million years would have guessed
that ending!
Thursday, February 12
Thursday morning, I woke up with a little bounce in my step because we
had a four-day weekend coming up, and Thursday was our Friday!
(The bounce in my step was probably also due to the fact that I had a short
reprieve from the face and jaw and neck tension and dizziness. Haha.)
I dropped the kids off at school and then I headed home to work all
day. I knocked out Friday’s blog post
from start to finish, I caught up on emails, I did a few odds and ends around
my office, I did some blog housekeeping, and I did some final preparation for
Olivia’s birthday party on Friday.
I also hole punched all our Christmas cards from 2025 and got them
together on a binder clip so they can be displayed next year. Having cards out from previous years is one
of my favorite Christmas decorations! Oh, and I switched around some of the faux flowers in our house... I moved the tulips from our dining room into our bedroom because I'll be able to enjoy them more in here since we don't use our dining room very often.
I picked up the kids when they got out of school, and we headed to music
lessons. I sat in with Jacob this time,
and he advanced further in his book as well as in the song he’s been practicing
for fun on the side.
Brian met us there to take Jacob to golf practice, and Olivia and I
headed home. Since Thursday was our
Friday, the kids had no homework, and Olivia got on her iPad and Facetimed with
her BFF for a bit while I did a couple more things for her party.
When the boys got home, I went out for yet another walk – last week the
weather was SO beautiful, y’all! – and then I got in another very short arms
workout. After my shower, Brian and I
made breakfast for dinner, and we all sat down together to eat.
The rest of the evening was spent prepping for Olivia’s party while the
kids got ready for bed, and then the four of us settled in with popcorn in hand
to watch some movies since they were off the next day.
We finished watching Dumbo first since we’d started that one
earlier in the week. Then when that was
over, the kids asked to start Bambi (whyyyy – LOL) so we started that
before they went to bed. Apparently,
they want to watch all the old, sad Disney movies that they never saw growing
up. Haha.
After they went to bed, B whipped up some Manhattans for us, and he and I
settled in to watch the newest episode of Shrinking.
Friday, February 13
Friday morning, I woke up at 8:15.
Brian had to work, but he was working from home, so he was already
downstairs in his office. I ate
breakfast and unloaded the dishwasher, and then I started checking things off
my list for the day:
-
Blog reading
-
Cleaning off my computer desktop
-
Sanitizing our humidifiers
-
Decorating the table for Olivia’s party
-
Whitening my teeth (so happy I can finally do this
since I couldn’t the whole time I wore braces!)
-
Taking off my old nail polish
-
Unwrapping plates, napkins, and cups for Olivia’s
party
-
Dusting the house
And Olivia baked brownies, vacuumed the whole house, and cleaned the
bathrooms. I didn’t even have to ask her…
she just did it. It will never not be
shocking to me when my kids voluntarily clean the house. Haha.
It was a busy day prepping for Olivia’s party, but we got everything
done, and then Olivia and I both got ready and headed out for the afternoon. She had a makeup guitar lesson at 2:30, so we
went to see Mr. Steve, and then we went to Walmart to pick up fruit, a veggie
tray, chips, drinks, and several other things for her party.
We had one more stop after that – Dairy Queen to pick up her Blizzard
cake – and our neighbors (who own the location) were kind enough to give us a
big discount. We frequent their location
to support their business, and even though we always tell them we’re happy to
support them, they always either give us stuff for free or give us a big discount. They’re always so generous.
When Olivia and I got home, we had about an hour before her friends
started arriving for her party, so we got the groceries unloaded and put away,
and then I headed to my office with a cup of tea to have a few minutes of quiet
before the chaos.
Thirty minutes later, I headed downstairs to prep the rest of the stuff
for the party. I got all the lights
turned on, I put some yummy oils in the diffuser, I cut the fruit, and I
arranged the food and drinks on trays. Oh, and of course, we had to take photos of everything. ;o)
The girls started arriving at 5 PM, and a few of the dads came inside to
chat for a bit before leaving. For the
first hour, the girls all hung out while we waited for everyone to arrive, and
by six, all seven had arrived for a total of eight girls. Whew.
Brian and Jacob had left to get pizza, and as soon as they got home, the
girls came down to eat. After dinner,
Olivia opened all her gifts, and she got some pretty great things… a mirror
ball, art supplies, makeup and beauty items, journaling items, etc. Her friends know her so well! And the cards they made her – y'all – SO sweet.
After all the gifts were open, it was time for dessert, and while the
main dessert was her Dairy Queen Blizzard Cake, she had also made brownies and
printed out pictures to put on toothpicks to play that viral “Here Me Out”
game.
You basically print pictures of random famous people (human or animated,
conventional and unconventional) and then you go around the table choosing
characters and listing the reasons why you could have a crush on them. Our printer ink was almost out, so the
pictures didn’t print well, but as you can see from the picture, she printed
Sully from Monster’s Inc., Mickey Mouse, Justin Bieber, the red M&M, Woody
from Toy Story, Michael Jackson, Tarzan, and several others. Diverse!
Lol. The whole purpose is just to
laugh and have fun and have a silly debate with your friends, and the girls
sure had fun with it. They laughed so
hard that they nearly cried.
And for the record, I would have chosen Sully from Monster’s Inc. for my
crush, because – here me out – he’s big and protective and kind and gentle,
and he has the happiest smile. Anybody remember this picture?! ;o)
I MEAN!!
After the girls were done with their debate, we sang happy birthday to
our girl and everyone ate Blizzard cake.
Then the girls moved into the living room to play Bingo and Twister. We had a whole basket full of prizes – hand
creams, claw clips, water bottle/laptop stickers, and Push Pops – so they all
got to pick from the basket after they won.
And then they all traded after it was over. They also put on their lip masks. These girls!!
Brian, Jacob, and I left them to do Bingo and Twister on their own, and
by the time they were done with the games, it was almost 9 PM and time for
parents to come pick up.
It was loud and it was chaotic and Olivia didn’t want it to end. She had the best time!
After everyone left, we got the house cleaned up and then the kids went
to bed. B and I collapsed on the couch
with Manhattans and started watching the miniseries The Girlfriend.
Saturday, February 14
Saturday was Valentine’s Day, so I got up, decorated the table, set out
cards and treats for Brian and the kids, and I made waffles for breakfast. We had the most festive little breakfast, and
the kids loved their little Palm Pals.
After breakfast, the kids did their laundry and got showered, and I got
busy tackling a bunch of random things…
-
Catching up on emails
-
Updating a few album covers in my music library
-
Making the bed
-
Washing the towels
-
Putting away the humidifiers
-
Whitening my teeth
-
Putting the dining room back together after the
party
-
Tidying up my decor closet in Brian’s office since
it had gotten messy
-
Getting a Poshmark shipment packaged and ready
-
Ordering new guitar strings for Olivia
-
Cleaning out the living room
-
Cleaning out the dining room
-
Cleaning out Jacob’s room
-
Looking at everyone’s clothes/shoes to see if we
needed to order anything for our Disney trip
-
Researching daily inhalers for myself as our
insurance just stopped covering mine and it’s now going to cost $664.58/month,
which we obviously cannot afford (DO NOT get me started on that.)
-
Paying a bill
-
Shopping for Easter basket items (yes, I know it’s
still verrrryyyy early, but we will be out of town for spring break, so I’m
trying to make sure everything is done before we go)
-
Researching Bibles for the kids… I’d like to get
them each a nice Bible that they can keep forever, but I can’t find exactly
what I’m looking for (NRSV or NABRE translation, brown faux leather, journaling
version with lines, customizable with name engraving, with built-in ribbon
bookmarks… if anyone knows where I can find that, let me know! There’s only one that I could find on the
whole internet, but it’s currently sold out.)
-
Doing my quiet time
I really wanted to go for a walk since I’d skipped my workout Friday, but
the city was doing a controlled burn, and the air quality was horrendous
Saturday. It was sunny most of the day,
but everything looked brown and hazy, so I wasn’t about to set foot out there
with my asthma. Yeesh.
After a very productive day of doing lots of little random tasks it was
time to get ready for Mass.
After Mass, our usual group all went out together to dinner. Since it was Valentine’s Day, we weren’t sure
what to expect regarding restaurants being busy, but thankfully, our Mexican
place wasn’t overly crowded. As a matter
of fact, I think it was less busy than usual.
I sat next to my Valentine, and we had to snap a picture with our
margaritas. ;o) This lady is going to be NINETY-SEVEN next
month and I’m so grateful that she is still hanging out and drinking margs with
me every Saturday night. I don’t take a
single second with her for granted. Does
she not look incredible?!
When we got home, we finished watching Bambi with the kids and I
fell asleep. That movie is just too much
for me. Haha.
After the kids went to bed, Brian and I watched another episode of The
Girlfriend, and then we headed to bed, too. Oh, and shoutout to Brian's Valentine's Day socks! Hahahaha.
Sunday, February 15
Sunday morning, I was up at 8:30, we had cinnamon rolls for breakfast,
and then I spent some time in my office doing the things I do every Sunday morning
– sermon, planner for the week ahead, quiet time, transferring photos from my phone
to my computer. I love a routine! And just the other day when I asked Mama Cass
what her secret to longevity was, one of the first things she said was that she
loves routines and she thinks they’re important. <3
For lunch, we went to my mother-in-law’s and step-father-in-law’s house,
and my mother-in-law’s sister and her husband were visiting. They live in Minnesota, but we get to see
them once or twice a year when they’re driving through to Florida to visit family,
and it’s always nice to catch up with them.
We sat around the table forever after lunch, and then I snuck outside
with Olivia to play with the cat my mother-in-law and step-father-in-law have
recently “adopted.” I use that term
lightly because it was a stray that just started hanging out around their
house, and since they never found the owner, they started feeding and caring
for it. He was skittish when he first
came along, but now he’s super friendly and cuddly, and he loves getting all
the pets. He purred nonstop the whole
time we were out there with him.
After lunch, we swung by CVS to pick up a prescription, and it was a whole
long ordeal because we have new insurance this year. Needless to say, we’ll be moving all our
stuff from CVS somewhere else. They have
been a nightmare.
We got home just in time for torrential rain to start coming down. Olivia was thrilled because she loves having “cozy
video game time” and that always involves a nice rainstorm. We all settled in for the next couple of
hours being lazy. I turned on The Wedding
Planner while I organized my pictures from the week and I tried my best to
work on this blog post, but it was tough because my face/neck/jaw issues were
out of control all weekend. I feel like I’m
at least 50% less productive when everything flares up because it’s hard to
concentrate and look at a screen when I’m so dizzy and feeling so much
tension. I’m hoping that my body will
adapt to this new retainer soon, but it is slow going.
For Sunday dinner, we went to my parents’ house to celebrate Brian’s
birthday. He got to pick the menu, and he
chose one of my favorites of all time – my Momma’s chicken alfredo bake – so
we all came hungry. We had a salad and
Boursin baked baby carrots with it (OMG, SO GOOD) + bread and wine. And Brian had picked out a festive wine for
Valentine’s Day, which was so cuuuute.
For dessert, we had a caramel spice cake, which is another one of my
favorite things, and it was a very filling evening. Haha.
I ate soooo much Sunday, and I felt stuffed all Sunday night, but it was
worth it.
The kids didn’t have school on Monday, so we started The Truman Show
with them when we got home. I love that
movie, and it’s so much fun watching all these old 90s movies with the
kids. They have loved every 90s movie we’ve
watched so far and they loved this one, too!
It was especially fun because the movie was filmed in Seaside, FL where
we go to the beach every summer, so we got to see all the old shots of what it
used to look like 28 years ago. It looks
very similar, but there are some noticeable differences. We took a picture at The Truman Show house a
few years ago, so we may have to go back this year and see it again while the
movie is still fresh in our minds! The
kids got a kick out of seeing our real-life home away from home in a movie!
Brian and I ended the weekend with another episode of The Girlfriend
(woooo, it’s getting good!), and that was our week!
Happy Wednesday, y’all!
