Our Week - The One with Summer, Week 3 (B Out of Town, a Breakfast Date, Dinner with My Girls, a UCC Appointment, and Voting)

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We had a lovely, low-key third week of summer break.  There was just enough activity to keep things interesting, but not so much that we felt overly busy.

Monday, June 8

Monday, Brian was out of town for work, so the kids and I were on our own.  I got up around 8:30 AM and both kids were already up.  Olivia had spent the morning majorly cleaning out her bedroom and getting it tidy.  She didn’t quite finish, but it was drastically better since she’d fallen off the wagon at the end of the school year and stopped tidying her room.

I opened all the blinds, turned on all the lights, unloaded the dishwasher, and ate breakfast, and then I headed upstairs to my office to try to finish organizing our beach photos on my computer.  There were so many that were missing and so many that were “broken” files when I did the original transfer, so I had to go one by one and email myself every photo and video that was missing, so it took the entire morning. 

Meanwhile, the kids had some screentime and they also worked on making some more movies with all their Palm Pals (these things are everywhere right now!) and Olivia’s iPad.  They’ve been making movies all summer so far and they are just hilarious.

I had just enough time to tidy my office after my photos were organized, and then we all had lunch together.

I spent the rest of the afternoon checking loads of items off my list.  I was still behind since we’d been out of town for eight days.  On the list for Monday was:

 

-       Catch up emails (again)

-       Add several dates to my calendar

-       Organize my planner

-       Organize a couple of to-do lists

-       Start getting organized for Prime Day 2026

-       Look for some plug-in rattan hanging pendant lights like the ones in our condo

-       Finish blog post for Tuesday

-       Start blog post for Wednesday

-       Go over the new Home and School Advisory Board calendar for the upcoming year (yes, we are already prepping for the year ahead) and send a couple of emails about that

-       Start researching the steps that need to be taken for Jacob to get his learner’s permit next month (HOWWWW?!)

-       Sit with Jacob to locate all his summer homework

-       Sit with Olivia to locate all her summer homework

 

Neither summer homework load looks terrible.  Jacob has assignments for Pre-AP Lit & Comp, Chemistry Honors, ASL III Honors, and Pre-AP Pre-Calculus, but none of it seems overwhelming.  He and I also placed a hold for his summer reading book at the library.

Olivia’s summer homework is just a math packet, and she has to choose a book to read from the rising seventh grade reading list.  Not too bad at all!

By the time all that was done, it was time to get dinner ready.  I made turkey and cheese biscuit sliders, steamed broccoli left over from Sunday evening, and fruit.  Olivia finally ate normally for the first time since Saturday morning, so I was happy to see it!

After dinner, the three of us got out for a walk, but we only walked one mile.  Olivia was still a little tired, so we didn’t want to overdo it.

When we got back home, I did a functional strength training workout and I stood on my vibration plate for a few minutes, and then all three of us got showered and in pajamas.  I literally stayed in pajamas all day until after dinner, and I only changed into workout clothes for our walk, and then I got straight back into pajamas.  I love those kinds of days!

Since Brian was out of town, we didn’t want to watch any new movies without him, so the kids and I settled on Sweet Home Alabama since Brian had already seen it.  Olivia painted the whole time we watched so I’m not sure exactly how much she paid attention, but she said that she enjoyed it, and Jacob said he liked it, too.  There are a couple of parts in that movie that are pretty cringe, though, so we had conversations about that as well.

After the movie was over, we Facetimed with Brian and then the kids went to bed around 10:30 PM.  I stayed up and read for about 45 minutes after that, and then I turned out the light.

 

Tuesday, June 9

Tuesday morning, I got up at 8:30 AM and the kids were already up again.  I was surprised because they tend to sleep later than I do when they go to bed that late.

I did my usual morning routine – opening all the blinds, turning on all the lamps, unloading the dishwasher, and having breakfast – and then I went to my office to finish my blog post for the next day.  I also started my blog post for Friday and then I went to get showered and ready for the day.  And Olivia came in to show me her finished painting!  This one was a paint by number so it wasn't her own design, but it turned out so great!  I couldn't find her exact set anywhere as it was a birthday gift from a friend, but there are soooo many paint by number canvas sets here!

On the agenda Tuesday was to run some errands, so the kids and I went to Target to return something and grab a couple of things, we went to the library to drop off and pick up some books, and we went to our friend’s bookshop to finally spend my gift card from Christmas.  I had totally forgotten that they were out of town, though, so we didn’t get to see them.

When we got home, we had lunch together… Olivia was craving hot dogs (so random, lol), so I made hot dogs for the kids and I had my usual scrambled eggs, almonds, and green protein smoothie.

After lunch, the kids played Tears of the Kingdom (Zelda) for a bit because they had a wave of nostalgia for it when they saw something at Target.  While they did that, I finished my blog post for Friday, I started my post for Monday, I planned some social media content, I filed all the kids’ keepsakes that had been piling up in my office, and then I helped Olivia hang the painting that she’d finished.  She wanted to start a collage wall over her vanity so she’s on her way!

Olivia and I also spent some time thumbing through the book in which she was published at the end of the school year.  I hadn’t had the time to look through it much, and it was so cute seeing her story as well as all her friends’ stories.  I also had to snap this picture of Jacob being goofy as he always is.  Haha.

We wanted to go for another walk together, but it poured down rain all evening.  Instead, I did a functional strength training session and then I stood on my vibration plate for a few minutes.

Olivia worked on doing some watercolor paintings from the book she’d purchased at our local bookshop, and I caught up on my devotional while Jacob played piano for a few minutes.  Then, we all sat down to play Scrabble together.  She loves these books... they provide a photo, a color palette, and an outline so you can learn how to use watercolors.  The paper is super thick, too, so you can paint directly in the space provided in the book and it doesn't bleed through.

Jacob ended up beating me by a few points and Olivia trailed behind quite a bit.  But we all had fun!!  Also, peep the two words that Olivia made up that Jacob and I didn’t want to challenge.  Haha.  Oh, and a rotating Scrabble board is a gamechanger, by the way.  Although, it must be rare now based on my search, because holy moly look how much our set is selling for now!

After Scrabble, we Facetimed Brian again and then I got the kids in bed a little earlier because we had an early morning Wednesday.

 

Wednesday, June 10

Wednesday morning, I was up at 6:30 AM because I had a breakfast date with our old friar, Father Manny and Grammy Trish who I’ve known for most of my life.  I know she’s reading this, so hiiii, Trish!!  My Momma usually comes with us, but she was at the beach with family.  She was sad to miss.

After I got ready, I drove the kids over to my father-in-law’s house to hang out with him while I went to breakfast.  Jacob’s old enough to stay home alone now, of course, but he likes to hang with Grandpa because they play lots of games together.

After I dropped them off, I headed downtown to a local donut shop.  It’s a walk-up place with the cutest little façade and it’s located in the most picturesque stretch of our downtown area.  We found a table on the sidewalk, and the weather was perfect for breakfast al fresco.

Father Manny comes to town every June, so we always get together with him, and it’s always one of my favorite days of the whole year.  We miss him and all our friars so much, but I’m always so happy to be able to see him.  We chatted for nearly three full hours, and it flew by in the blink of an eye.  It’s never enough time!

I picked the kids up from Grandpa’s house after that, and then we put gas in my very empty SUV before running through the car wash and vacuuming out all the beach sand.  It’s always so nice to get the car washed after our beach trip because there’s always a thick, salty film all over it from the beach air.

After that, we headed home and I surprised them with donuts.  We all had lunch together and then I spent some time in my office catching up on emails, catching up on blog reading (barely made a dent in it because I was so far behind), and updating a few more album covers to add to my iTunes since I also downloaded and synced Taylor Swift’s new song to my iPhone.  Gah, I just love it.  I cannot wait for Toy Story 5!  That is one of my favorite Disney franchises and I’ve loved it since I was a kid. 

I didn’t feel great all day Wednesday because I was having so much trouble with my neck.  At that point, my atlas (C1) had been out of alignment for nearly two weeks, and my symptoms typically get worse and worse the longer it stays out.  Since I was feeling so bad, I lay in bed reading for about an hour and it did help with my neck tension.

When I got up, I did my devotional and a Bible study, and then I headed down to make dinner for the kids and me.  On the menu Wednesday was spaghetti and meatballs (although, I just used jarred marinara), and I used some more of that Sam’s chicken for my pasta (instead of meatballs) since I was trying to eat a bit healthier after eating so much junk the previous week.  I also steamed some broccoli and warmed some garlic cheese bread.

While I was finishing up with dinner, we Facetimed Brian at the airport, and then we all ate together.  Olivia painted some more after dinner, and I went for a walk.  It was hot as hades Wednesday evening, so I was sweating like crazy when I got home.  I took the trash out and took the cans up to the street, and then I jumped on my vibration plate – big mistake since I had been so dizzy all day.  I got right back off after 1-2 minutes and I felt awwwwful.  It felt like it had shaken my brain all up and I felt like I was walking on a boat swaying back and forth in the ocean for the rest of the night and all the next day.  My upper cervical chiropractor has since told me to stay away from the vibration plate when I’m symptomatic from the atlas misalignments.  He said he thinks I’ll hugely benefit from the vibration plate, but I absolutely do not need to use it when my symptoms are flaring.  I got home to Jacob watching Olivia paint and it was the sweetest thing.

I got showered after that, and the kids got showered, too, and then we all sat down to figure out what to watch together.  We couldn’t find a movie that all three of us agreed upon that we could watch without Brian, so Jacob happily went upstairs to play Tears of the Kingdom (Zelda) while I introduced Olivia to one of my favorite 90s masterpieces… Center Stage!  GAH, it’s one of my favorite movies of all time!  That final dance scene at the end of the movie has lived in my head rent free for 26 years… I think about it often.  Haha.  It is SO GOOD and that movie has stood the test of time.  

Olivia was enamored the entire time, and she told me at the end that it’s her favorite movie she’s ever seen!  I knew she’d love it since she’s a dancer, too, and it makes me soooo happy that one of my childhood movies makes her so happy, too. 

We watched the final dance scene not once, but twice, and then we finally turned it off and the kids went to bed.  I stayed up reading for a bit, and then I tried to go to sleep, too, but for some reason, I had trouble falling asleep which is rare for me.  Oh, and we had also received this picture from Brian in the family group chat before bedtime.  So pretty!

Brian got home sometime around midnight (I think??) and I was still half awake (I think??), but after he got in bed and got settled, I finally fell asleep.

 

Thursday, June 11

Thursday morning, I woke up feeling so bad – brain fog, a headache, dizziness, the works – so I knew it was going to be a not-so-great day.  I typically feel pretty good in the morning even when my atlas and/or axis are misaligned, and it tends to get worse as the day goes on, so when I wake up feeling bad, I know I’m in for it.

Brian had already left home for a doctor checkup and then work, and Olivia came busting up in our room to let me know that she had woken up with pink eye and that Jacob had a really bad bloody nose.  Pollen here is bad pretty much year-round but the grass pollen in June and July are always terrible, so the kids and I always suffer.  Jacob seems the least bothered by it, but he does tend to get bloody noses during the summer.

We all had breakfast, I put some drops in Olivia’s eye – thankfully, we still had some leftover from the last time she had pinkeye – and then I went upstairs to work on my blog post for Monday.  It was a beach post, so it was a long one, and there was a lot of photo editing to do, so that took up most of my morning.  I also spent some time on Instagram to see what TS had been up to... my FYP that morning was almost all of her.  Hahahaha.

We all had an early lunch, and then I got showered and ready for the day.  I had hoped that the hot shower would alleviate some of my symptoms, but it didn’t at all, so I went to lay down again after I was done getting ready.

The kids had a marathon of music lessons Thursday afternoon since they had to each make up a lesson and do their usual weekly lesson.  Jacob and I sat with Olivia for 30 minutes, then Olivia and I sat with Jacob for 30 minutes, and then both kids had another lesson at the same time, and it was my turn to sit with Olivia again.  She randomly asked to learn how to play Rip Tide by Vance Joy and I was shocked because I didn’t even know that she knew that song.  She said that they had all sung it at karaoke on her last day of school, and she liked it, lol. 

The verses are just three chords with a unique, but very quick, strum pattern, and she picked it up quickly!

When we got home, I sat down with a cup of tea to finish my book, and then Brian got home from work, so we all greeted him at the door since none of us had actually seen him yet.

He brought Palm Pals for the kids from the Philadelphia airport, and he brought me some Biscoff from the plane.  ;o)

After that, I freshened up and headed out for a girls night.  I had to swing by UPS first to return a couple of Amazon items, and then I walked over to the local Mexican restaurant that we all love.  The ambiance is 10/10 there and the food is 10/10, too.  All seven of us were able to make it to dinner this time, which is rare, and it was just so lovely to be together all evening. 

The restaurant was PACKED so the service was a bit slow, but we weren’t in a rush, and it was nice to have a couple of hours with my girls.

I got home around 7:45 PM and Brian and the kids were ready to watch something, so I settled for a stair stepper workout instead of going for a walk.  However, they decided to watch Edward Scissorhands, and I hate that movie, so I wrapped up my stair stepper workout early and then went out for a quick sunset walk while they started the movie.

When I got home, I showered and put on my pjs, I joined them on the couch, and I started a new book while they watched the movie.  After the kids went to bed, Brian and I watched some more of Your Friends & Neighbors, and then we went to bed, too.

 

Friday, June 12

Friday morning, I woke up at 7:45 AM feeling refreshed after an excellent night of sleep, and many of my symptoms had eased up a bit, so I felt pretty great.  I had an appointment with my upper cervical chiropractor later that morning, so I knew that I was going to be feeling better soon anyway!!

I got showered and ready, had breakfast, and unloaded the dishwasher, and then I headed to my office with a cup of tea in hand to do a couple of things on my computer until we had to leave for my appointment.

The kids came along for the ride, and when I got there, I told my doctor that I was pretty sure that my atlas was out a lot.  He confirmed that it was, indeed, out of alignment but that it was only out a little bit (whew!!) and he fixed me right up.  One tap to the left SI joint, a couple of taps to the middle of my spine, and six very light taps behind my right ear, and I was all done!

This month marks a full year that I’ve been seeing him, and while I’m so grateful that he was finally able to figure out what was wrong with me AND fix me, it’s getting frustrating that my adjustments are not holding.  Towards the end of 2025, I had made great strides, and my adjustments were holding for almost two months at a time, so it’s been disheartening that they have only been holding for 4-5 days in recent weeks.

After talking to my doctor some more about it at this last visit, he is certain that my tongue posture issue (that just popped up after getting my braces off and getting my Hawley retainer) is the culprit for the adjustments not taking hold.  After doing a TON of research the last couple of months, I have found that your tongue is directly connected to your neck and that tongue posture changes can wreak havoc on your neck, your jaw, your airways, and many other things.  Unfortunately, it takes about 6-12 months to adapt to a new tongue posture, so I could be experiencing these issues for a while as my mouth continues to adjust to the correct tongue posture. 

My doctor mentioned that he just received a new tool that has something to do with C1/C2 misalignment and tongue posture and that he’s learning to use it now, so he said that as soon as he’s done with his training, he’ll definitely be trying it out on me.  I don’t really know what any of that entails, but I’m so grateful that there are doctors who are willing to learn such specialized technology for people out here like me who have these very uncommon issues that nobody else knows how to treat.

While I was there, I also asked him if he’s ever had any patients who could never hold atlas/axis adjustments even after months or years of treatment, and he said that yes, he has, but that it’s very uncommon.  The process of the treatment I’m doing is to get adjusted a couple of times a week for the first couple of weeks, and then gradually spread adjustments out further over time until the bones, ligaments, and muscles completely stabilize to where I don’t need adjustments anymore at all.

He told me that, yes, there are some people who just never hold the adjustments permanently, and that, while rare, some of them were diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a genetic disorder, which is typically characterized as having hypermobile joints, loose skin, fragile tissue, easy bruising, and tissue that takes longer to heal than average.  Because the ligaments are lax, they don’t hold the bones in place as they’re supposed to, and that’s why the adjustments don’t hold. 

He told me he was hesitant to tell me about this because he is not ready to have me be tested to be diagnosed with it, but he did tell me that I’m on his short list for it and that he will continue to monitor me for it.  He told me not to worry about it just yet, but I did look into it, and I do identify with all those markers except for the loose skin.  I also learned that people who have it are also most susceptible to having jaw (TMJ) pain (check!), chronic musculoskeletal pain (check!), digestive problems (check!), and several other things, some of which I do have, and some of which I do not.

He looked at my thumb joint while we were there, and he told me that I can extend my thumb backwards way more than the average person.  My elbows also hyperextend and I had tons of issues with round ligament pain while I was pregnant… all potential signs for Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. 

I asked him what will happen if I were to be diagnosed with that and that my adjustments never hold, and he said all hope is not lost.  If that ends up being the case then strength training will be my best friend.  He said heavier weights and fewer reps is what I need to be doing.  The only problem with that is – every time I lift heavier weights, it pulls my atlas out of alignment.  So it’s basically a catch 22.  I’m darned if I do and I’m darned if I don’t.  So basically, I’m just frustrated right now with the whole thing.  I am choosing to trust that eventually it will all work out, though.  Everything else has.

After that, we made the drive home, and then we went straight to the voting precinct since it was the last day for early voting in our county.  The line was soooo long, but I wasn’t going to miss letting my voice be heard, so we decided to stay.  It ended up taking 45 minutes total, so it was way worse than usual, but we got it done!  And the kids were able to come with us and see how the process works.  (And, of course, the kids didn’t actually vote since they are not old enough.  The poll workers did give them stickers, though!)

After that, we headed home, and it was lunchtime, so I got everything prepared for the kids and myself while Brian jumped on a call for work.

After lunch, the kids started cleaning the playroom because it was a wreck, and then they had some screen time.  I worked on my blog post for Monday again, but then I had to lay down again because my adjustment was hitting me.  It always makes me woozy and a little sleepy.  This time, I was less sleepy and more woozy so I never went to sleep.  I just lay peacefully for a bit.

When I got up, I felt a little better.  I finished my blog post for Monday, I started this post, and then I did some more blog reading.

Brian went out to pick up dinner from our favorite barbecue place and then we all ate together when he got home. 

The kids requested to have a family home videos night, so we spent the rest of the evening watching videos of Maui when she was a baby and watching videos of the kids when they were babies.  Oh, my heart.  Those evenings are always bittersweet.  I cannot believe we’re about to have a 15-year-old and a 12-year-old.

The kids went to bed around 10:30 PM, and then Brian made us some toasted marshmallow old fashioneds before we settled in to watch some more of Your Family & Friends. 

We ended up staying up until about 12:30 AM which is quite a bit later than usual. 

 

Saturday, June 13

Saturday, we slept in until 8:30 AM, I made waffles, cleaned up the kitchen, and then Brian headed outside to mow and do several other things that he hasn’t had the chance to do since we’ve been on the go.  The kids did their laundry, and I caught up on blog reading completely (finally), I made our bed, I threw a load of towels in the washer, I worked on this blog post, and I deleted around 3,000 photos and videos from my phone.  I also finallyyyy responded to blog comments.  I had a backlog of 60+ comments that needed attention, so that took a while.

Once all that was done, we had lunch together, and then I lay for 20 minutes to rest my neck.  Since my adjustments haven’t been holding longer than 4-5 days the last couple of times, I am being super careful this time, and I’m listening to my body and resting at the slightest tweaky feeling in my neck.

The rest of the afternoon was spent cleaning off my computer desktop, editing a bunch of my pictures for an upcoming blog post, printing Jacob’s school supply list (sigh), and going through old family photos to find a few that I could submit for my cousin’s celebration of life that we’re heading to in Denver at the end of this month.  It’s going to be a very sad but also joyful and a just very emotional day.  I’ve been trying to prepare myself for the upcoming emotional roller coaster, but I’m not actually sure just how to go about doing that.  I also watered our ferns and checked on the babies.  They were holding their heads up!

I’d wanted to work out Saturday, but I decided to take it easy since my neck was still feeling a little delicate, so instead, I did my devotional and another Bible study, and then it was time to get ready for church.  Peep Jacob in our OOTD picture.  ;o)

We were the only ones in our family to go since the rest of the family was getting back from the beach, so we sat in a different spot per Olivia’s request (what?!) and after Mass, we said goodbye to our current priest who is leaving July 1 to follow orders to Savannah.  Our church is celebrating him with a party in a couple of weeks, but we will be out of town for much of the rest of the month, so this was our last time to see him.

After Mass, we headed to our favorite local Mexican place, and my Momma and Daddy met us there.  We hadn’t seen them in what felt like foreverrrr so it was nice to catch up.

After dinner, we headed home, got into our pjs, and we started Sister Act.  Our kids had never seen it, and as Catholics, it’s a rite of passage, LOL.  We started it so late that we ended up not finishing it.  The kids went to bed around 10:15 PM and then Brian and I watched some more of Your Friends & Neighbors.  I also texted back and forth with our school’s old resource officer because he was at the Knicks game!!!!  I couldn’t believe he was actually there.  He told me and he was at the same game that Taylor Swift was at last week, too, so he saw her.  Just crazy!  And speaking of the Knicks, this popped up in my feed on Friday.  ICONIC.

Sunday, June 14

Sunday morning, I was up around 8:30 AM, we had cinnamon rolls, and then I tackled my usual Sunday morning things – planning the week ahead, transferring photos from my iPhone to my computer, organizing all the photos, getting this blog post caught up, and then doing my devotional and Bible study for the day.

Late in the morning, I got showered and ready and then we headed to my mother-in-law’s and step-father-in-law’s house for Sunday lunch.  We hadn’t seen them in soooo long, so we were happy to be back in our usual Sunday routine.  We chatted around the table for a while after lunch was over, and then we celebrated my nephew’s 21st birthday.  I cannot believe he’s 21.  Goodness!

After lunch and the birthday celebration, we all went outside to the garden to pick some blueberries.  Olivia won’t touch a blueberry from the store, but she’ll eat her weight in blueberries straight from the bush!  We only got to pick them for a few minutes and then it started raining so we headed back inside. 

We got home around 3:30 PM and then we settled in at home for the rest of the day.  My Momma was exhausted from their trip to the beach, so she decided not to cook Sunday dinner. 

So, we had a cozy afternoon and evening at home.  It was gloomy/rainy off and on for the rest of the day, so we stayed inside.  I worked on this blog post, I completely caught up on my end of the year blog post, and I watched How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days while I worked in honor of the Knicks winning the championship.

After that, I lay down and rested my neck for about 20 minutes and then I headed downstairs to make dinner.  We all ate different things for dinner and Brian and I ate light since we’d eaten such a big lunch. 

I made a grocery list and watered the ferns after that, and Brian and I were so sad to see that the nest was turned over and one of the baby birds was dead underneath.  The other two were gone completely, so we’re assuming that they knocked the nest over when they flew away and one didn’t make it??  I have no idea.  The ferns hang from our porch ceiling so we doubt a snake or other animal could have gotten to them, but it was just the most bizarre thing.  And I was so sad.

After that, I had enough time to go for a quick walk and a shower, and then we finished Sister Act with the kids.  They loved it so much that they immediately wanted to start the second one, so we did, but we didn’t finish it since we’d started it so late.

After the kids went to bed, Brian and I made toasted marshmallow old fashioneds (one for me in my favorite glass and one for Brian in this glass... SO cute) in honor of National Bourbon Day and we watched some more of Your Friends & Neighbors before heading to bed.  We stayed up super late yet again, and I just love these days where we don’t have to be so dang scheduled! 

Happy Wednesday, y’all!