Our Week - The One with Summer, Week 4 (Cleaning Out, Dance Classes, Jacob in the Kitchen, a Movie, Prepping for Nashville, and Father’s Day)

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Much of summer week four was spent at home because it was the calm between travels.  We kicked off the month with a week-long beach trip, then Brian promptly left for a work trip, and we have two more trips back-to-back at the end of this month, so I spent a lot of this week prepping for the trips, prepping the blog for the trips, and catching up (still) from being gone on our first trip of the month.

Monday, June 15

Monday morning, I slept until 8 AM and then I headed downstairs to have breakfast and unload the dishwasher.  I worked on my blog posts for Wednesday and the following Monday, and then mid-morning, I got showered and ready for the day.

I had to run to one of my doctor’s offices to sign some paperwork for insurance (our new insurance has been a huge pain in the butt this year), and then I swung by the liquor store to grab a gift for Brian for Father’s Day.  I ended my morning out shopping at Walmart and Publix for groceries, and then I headed home to put everything away.

While I was gone, the kids had started their summer homework and tidied the house, and it was good to have the summer homework underway.  We’re doing so much traveling this summer, so we’re using all our slow at-home days to tackle whatever we can, so it doesn’t sneak up on us at the last minute.

After the groceries were put away, Brian, the kids, and I had lunch together, and then I headed to my office to do a few things.  We had found out that Myles Smith was opening for Ed Sheeran in Nashville, and I was soooo excited because I love him so much.  I went to look up more of his music to find that there’s not much out there that I don’t already have, but that he is releasing an entire album.  By the time this post goes live, the album will have already come out, but it wasn’t available yet the day I was looking.  If you don’t know who he is, you should check him out! 

I finished my blog post for Wednesday after that, and then I read my devotional and did a Bible study before tidying my office and texting with my cousin, Shelby, to discuss our upcoming trip to Denver.

The kids made blueberry muffins late in the afternoon and I watered all our indoor plants and started on dinner, and then we all sat down to eat together… chicken stir fry, rice, and veggies.

After the kitchen was clean, Brian and the kids went outside to play basketball.  It was so rainy all last week that we didn’t get much outdoor time, but we did get out when we could!  While they played, I went for a walk, and I did my whole route.

Everyone got showered later in the evening, and then we finished Sister Act 2 before the kids went to bed.  Brian and I watched some more of Your Friends & Neighbors after that, and then I finished my book before we went to sleep.

 

Tuesday, June 16

Tuesday, I was up at 7:45 AM.  I’m not a fan of waking up that early, but I do set an alarm during the summer most days, so I don’t sleep too late.  Brian was already at work, and the kids were already up, which was a shocker.  We all had breakfast and I unloaded the dishwasher.  It rained all day Tuesday, and when I say all day, I mean ALL.DAY.LONG without ceasing.

That, of course, meant one thing – a cozy day was in order!  We turned on all the lamps and twinkle lights, I put some oils in the diffuser, and then I headed to my office to do a few things before spending some time with the kids.  On my short list Tuesday was:

 

-       Catching up on emails

-       Catching up on a few things in my planner

-       Some blog housekeeping

-       Working on my blog post for Monday a little more

-       Paying a bill

-       Contacting someone about a bill that hadn’t gone through insurance

-       Calling the allergist to get an itemized bill from earlier this year (I’m telling y’all, we have had so many issues since we got our new insurance)

 

After that, it was time to hang out with the kids.  Olivia wanted to clean out her big basket in our kitchen that holds all her art stuff, so we turned on some music and got that done.  While she worked on that, I also cleaned out and organized the table above the baskets that houses writing utensils, slime, paper, and some other random items, and within five minutes, it was looking good again.  It was such a slow, cozy morning, and we all enjoyed it even though we didn’t do anything super special.

We all had lunch together after that, and then I finally finished cleaning out the kitchen.  There wasn’t much to do, and a couple of areas didn’t really need anything, but I did finally get our bar cart organized as it had been overrun with items since I have an icon glass addiction.  Hahahaha.

After that was done, I got showered and ready for the day and then I lay down for ten minutes to rest my neck.  I was so sore last week and SO DIZZY and it was SO ANNOYING. 

I grabbed one more thing online for Brian’s Father’s Day gift after that, and then I got everything else wrapped for him and for my own dad. 

I spent the next little bit doing my devotional and doing two Bible studies while I enjoyed a cup of tea, and I also edited more pictures for Monday’s blog post.

Olivia had her first day of summer dance classes Tuesday afternoon, so we had to get out in the rain – boooo.  Haha.  And while I was gone, Jacob completed all of his ASL III Honors summer homework, so that was a check off the list!  Then, he and I went over his school supplies list for next year.  There’s quite a bit on the list, but thankfully, all his binders are still in excellent condition from last year and he has most of the other items, too, so he doesn’t need much – just some new pens, paper, highlighters, and a few other small things that we can get any time.

I did the dishes after that, and then I put some more oils in the diffuser, I turned on some jazz music, and I grabbed another cup of tea (my third for the day for anyone who is counting) before settling in with Jacob to play Scrabble.  He beat me again, but that does not surprise me.  Ha!  Meanwhile, it was still pouring rain.

Brian left to pick up Olivia from dance and then Jacob made beef and parmesan pasta with zucchini for us.  He’s learned a few things in the kitchen, but he hasn’t really ever made an entire meal from start to finish, so I thought this one would be a good place to start since it’s simple and it takes place all in one pan.  I told him what needed to be done, and he did pretty much the entire thing from start to finish.

We all ate together and then we cleaned the kitchen.  I jumped on my stair stepper after that because I couldn’t walk with all the rain.

After the kids were ready for bed, we watched the last episode of The Mandalorian as a refresher since we were taking the kids to see it Wednesday evening.  Then, we watched a little more of America’s Got Talent before the kids went to bed.  Brian and I finished the evening with some more of Your Friends & Neighbors, and then we went to bed.  I felt pretty bad all day adjusting to this new tongue posture and I could tell it was greatly affecting my neck and my balance on Tuesday, so I was happy to finally get to bed and shut it all down.

 

Wednesday, June 17

Wednesday morning, I was up at 7:45 AM and I did my usual breakfast and dishwasher unloading routine.  It was rainy most of the day again, so I knew it was going to be another day spent indoors. 

The kids slept later than I did, and they were just coming downstairs when I was going to my office.  I had a pretty long list of things to tackle since we were leaving town Friday morning, so I settled in to do those things:

 

-       Print some itemized bills that had arrived for insurance

-       Catch up on both email inboxes

-       Catch up on blog reading

-       Catch up on a couple things in my planner

-       Download some new music

-       Wash clothes that everyone needed for our trip

-       Start packing for Nashville

-       Wash the kids’ backpacks

 

I took a break and rested my neck mid-morning and then I checked on Olivia’s bedroom.  She had been cleaning all morning, and she wanted me to come and see it since it had been restored to a very tidy, organized state.

Then, I finally found a place for my vibration plate, and I cut a piece of foam board to go under it, so it’ll slide in and out of its spot easily.  It has suction cups on the bottom to stick to hard floors, making it impossible to slide across carpet, so the foam board solved that problem!

The kids and I had lunch together and then we all put the laundry away.  Then, the rain miraculously stopped long enough for us to get out and walk one mile together.  It was HOT and humid, though, since the sun was peeking through, but just after we got home, it started pouring again.

We all got showered and ready after our walk, and then the kids filmed themselves doing one of those you make the face, I’ll make the sound videos while I finished editing pictures for part two of our beach recap.  It was actually so funny.

I put the kettle on for some tea, and I put away the rest of the clean dishes that had dried while I waited.  Then I finished typing part two of our beach trip and I did my devotional for the day. 

I finished getting ready, tidied the house, and shut everything down, and then the kids and I met Brian at Chick-Fil-A for an early dinner before our movie.  When we got there, though, we saw that they were doing some kind of kids’ dress up night, so the place was PACKED.  We ended up pivoting and trying Raising Cane’s.  We hadn’t been there yet, and we ended up liking it a lot.  The décor is super cute, too.  We love a mirrorball.  And Jacob loves a silly face.  ;o)

We headed to the movie theater after that to see The Mandalorian and Grogu, and we all enjoyed it.  I am not a Star Wars fan, but I do love me some Baby Yoda (and Pedro Pascal), so I was content to see it with them.  Jacob’s friend, Graham, happened to be there with his family, so he came to sit with us. 

After it was over, I swung by CVS for something I needed, and Brian and the kids headed home.  When we got home, there was a beautiful sunset, so Olivia and I went outside to see it and look at our pretty mimosa trees in full bloom.  Then we watched a few minutes of America’s Got Talent and the kids went to bed.  Brian and I watched some more of Your Friends & Neighbors, and then we called it a night, too.

Thursday, June 18

Thursday morning, I was up at 7:45 AM again and it was yet another dreary day.  After I ate breakfast and the dishwasher was unloaded, I finished my blog post for Monday, I started and finished my blog post for Tuesday, and I started my blog post for Wednesday (this post that you’re reading now). 

The kids got themselves packed for Nashville (and I followed up to make sure that they had everything they needed) and then I packed myself.  (And my toiletry bag is on sale this week!)

We all had lunch together and then I worked on some content for social media before showering and getting ready for the day.  I had just a few minutes to work on this blog post a bit more, and then the kids and I had to head to music lessons.

Unfortunately, we had some nasty weather in the afternoon, and it started about five minutes before we had to leave (because, of course!), so it wasn’t a fun drive to music lessons, but thankfully, it’s a short drive.  At that point, we were under a tornado watch, a flood watch, and a wind advisory.

I sat with Jacob for his lesson, and he worked some more on the songs in his learning book rather than working on something fun.  Then, when the kids were done, we headed straight to Olivia’s dance studio to drop her off at dance class.  Jacob and I headed home after that, and I was so happy to be out of the yucky weather. 

I put away the dishes that had dried, and then I did my devotional and a Bible study for the day.  I also transferred photos from my phone to my computer so I would have a clean slate for the weekend since we were traveling… I always take a million pictures and videos when we travel, so I needed that clean slate.

The storm ramped up shortly after that, so I went outside to check it out.  I had just started videoing when the rain picked up so hard that our gutter started washing away.  There was a bolt of lightning and a crack of thunder at nearly the same time, so I knew it was right on top of us, and then I got a tornado warning alert, so I hightailed it inside and called Jacob downstairs to get ready to take cover. 

Brian was sitting in his car in the parking lot at Olivia’s dance studio waiting to pick her up, so he had to go inside and shelter in there, and Olivia texted me from her friend’s iPad to let me know that they were huddling in the hallway. 

Jacob came straight down and the first thing he said was, “Do you want me to grab Sheepie?”  I thought that was the sweetest thing that the first thing he thought of was to grab Olivia’s favorite stuffie, y’all.  He knows how much Sheepie means to her, and it just made my heart swell when he said that.  He’s so thoughtful and he’s always looking out for her.  When I told him how thoughtful it was, he said, “Well, I just know that if I’d had a favorite stuffie since I was born, I would want it to be safe.”  Oh, my goodness.

We got the all clear about 20 minutes later, so Brian and Olivia made a run for it, and thankfully, they made it home safely.  Jacob was going to make dinner again, but at that point, it was way later than we’d needed to start, so I just went ahead and did it so we could get it done faster.

We all sat down and ate sausage, peppers, and onions tacos for dinner when they got home, and then after everyone was showered and ready for bed, we watched some more AGT followed by Your Friends & Neighbors after the kids went to bed. 

 

Friday, June 19

Friday, we were in Nashville, so I’ll be recapping that in a separate post.

 

Saturday, June 20

Saturday, we were in Nashville, too!

 

Sunday, June 21

Sunday, we got home from Nashville a little before 5 PM and we had just enough time to unpack the car, unpack some of our bags, give Brian his Father’s Day gifts, and do one load of laundry before it was time to head to my parents’ house for Sunday dinner.  On a normal Sunday, we probably would have skipped since we were so tired and had so much to do, but it was Father’s Day, and I wanted to be able to spend some time with my Daddy!  We also hadn’t had Sunday dinner since May, so it had been a whole month!

Momma made a yummy dinner, we opened a bottle of wine, and we had brownies for dessert.  It was nice to be back over there after so many weeks off. 

We got home a little after eight, and then we watched a few minutes of AGT before the kids went to bed early.  Everybody was exhausted after our very late night Saturday.  Brian and I watched a little more of Your Friends & Neighbors after they went to bed, and then we went to bed a little earlier, too. 

And now for some current things…

 

Currently Reading

In June, I read 6 books – The Night We Met by Abby Jimenez (5 stars… I love her novels).  Then, I read Don’t Let Him In by Howard Linskey (4 stars).  I read Heart the Lover by Lily King, and I really enjoyed it (5 stars).  Forget me Not by Stacy Willingham was next (4 stars), followed by Forever, Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins Reid (4 stars).  And finally, I read One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle, and I loved it so much.  She can do no wrong.  I have given every single one of her books 5 stars, and this one was no exception.

I’m also still reading my new devotional for the year – Called by Name: 365 Daily Devotions for Catholic Women by Kelly M. Wahlquist and I’m still reading my Bible along with The Bible in a Year with Father Mike Schmitz. 

 

Currently Watching

With B: In June, Brian and I made our way through both seasons of Your Friends & Neighbors, and that was about it, I think!

With the Kids: In June, we watched Just Go with It, Meet the Parents, My Girl, The Devil Wears Prada, Sweet Home Alabama, Edward Scissorhands, Sister Act, Sister Act 2, the last episode of The Mandalorian, The Mandalorian and Grogu, and we started the new season of America’s Got Talent.  Olivia and I watched Center Stage alone one evening and the boys finished Guardians of the Galaxy that they’d started forever ago. We also had a family home videos night where we watched old videos of Maui and the kids when they were little.

Alone: Just the occasional viewing of The Wedding Planner and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days on Sunday afternoons while I work.

 

Currently Listening To

I’m still listening to the podcast The Swiftie and the Scholar as new episodes come out.  And we’ve been listening to a lot of Ed Sheeran since we were gearing up for our concert!  I just downloaded Myles Smith’s new album, too, so I’m sure that’ll be on repeat for a while!  Oh, and of course, I Knew It, I Knew You by Taylor Swift.  Gaaaahhhh I love that song so much!  I really hope she wins an Oscar for it.

Happy Wednesday, y’all!