Our Week - The One with Summer, Week 8 (A Girls Dinner, Volunteering at Outreach and the School, the Pet Store, Time with Friends, Diva Day, and Toy Story 5)

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Week eight of summer break was another good one.  It was pretty lowkey, which is always nice!

Monday, July 13

Monday, I was up at 7:45 AM, I had breakfast, and then I headed to my office to knock out final verification for the kids before they go back to school.  It usually takes foreverrrr, but this year it didn’t seem to take as long as it usually does.  When that was done, I worked on my blog post for Wednesday, and then it was time to get showered and ready for the day.

I headed to Walmart to get groceries after that, and once the groceries were put away, Brian and the kids and I all ate lunch together.  Jacob worked on his summer homework for a bit after lunch, and Olivia painted her nails, and I worked on several random tasks around the house that I’d been putting off.  It’s always nice to tie up those loose ends!

The kids had some screen time after that, and I ordered Jacob’s birthday gifts along with a couple of things for Christmas (yes, already).  I also got two loads of laundry done, and then I lay down for 20 minutes to rest my eyes and my neck.  The withdrawals from my vertigo medicine were still going strong on Monday.  It was mostly sensitivity to light, which worsens looking at screens, so it was nice to close my eyes and rest them.

After I rested for a bit, I finished my blog post for Wednesday and I worked on my blog post for Friday, and then it was time to freshen up and head to dinner with my girlfriends.  We met at the local pub down the street from our church, and only five of us were able to make it, but we enjoyed catching up, as usual!

While I was gone, Brian took the kids to eat dinner at Culver’s (their favorite), and by the time I got home, they were already home.  I jumped on my stair stepper while they showered and got ready for bed, and then, we all watched some of America’s Got Talent together followed by several episodes of Friends. 

I lay down on my vibration plate and neck pillow to meditate while the kids got ready for bed, and then Brian and I started the movie Office Romance on Netflix before heading to bed.

 

Tuesday, July 14

Tuesday morning, I was up at 7:30 AM and then I showered and got ready and had breakfast.  The kids and I headed to our church’s outreach center to volunteer again, and we were busy all morning filling bags with fresh zucchini and squash, loading grocery carts with all the things, and walking carts of groceries out to those who came to pick them up.  It was another busy morning there, and sadly, by the time we left, we were running out of food.  The kids and I had brought several bulk packages of macaroni and cheese, and we received a few other donations while we were there, but the shelves were still mostly bare.  There are so many people experiencing food insecurity, so if you can donate to your local food shelter, I’m sure they would be grateful.  No amount is too small!

When we left outreach, the kids asked if we could go to one of the local pet stores that has dogs.  They’d been begging to go ever since my parents’ neighbors brought their new puppy over Sunday evening.  I was hesitant to go because I didn’t want them to fall in love with one since I knew we wouldn’t be bringing one home, but ultimately, I decided it didn’t hurt to look.

They had so many sweet babies there, but this precious Yorkie stood out to all of us because he looked a little like Maui in the face.  Maui was a Yorkiepoo, so she was half Yorkie.  We washed our hands and then they brought him to us in the cubicle so we could hang out with him.  He was the cutest, spunkiest little thing and he had the zoomies while he was with us.  We spent a while with him, and then we gave him back, but I did get information on him just for funsies.  He was nearly 16 weeks old, and he was on track to max out somewhere under 10 pounds. 

It’s been almost a year and a half since Maui died, and I miss having a dog in the house so much.  I still don’t know if I’m 100% ready yet to get another puppy but hanging out with that little guy sure did give me doggie fever!  I suppose at this point that if the right one comes along, I’d probably be ready to bring him or her home, but it’s just a matter of finding that right one.

Jacob and Olivia have been talking about the Yorkie every single day since then and they are both 1000% ready for another one… especially Olivia.  She’s been begging for another dog for months now, so we already have her stamp of approval for a new pet.

After we left the pet store, the kids and I headed home and ate lunch.  Then, the kids settled in for some screen time while I got to work – answering emails, cleaning off my computer desktop, finishing my blog post for Friday, adding some dates to my planner and simultaneously transferring a few things from my List Master app, and then researching some more about Jacob getting his learner’s permit.  I emailed the school to see how to get a copy of his ADAP certificate (a requirement in the state of Georgia), and I sent Jacob a copy of the driver’s manual so he could start studying. 

I also had to call the pediatrician’s office to get a copy of Olivia’s immunization form to send to the school, and then I fixed some blog typos, tidied my office, filed some papers, and watered all the plants in the house inside and out.  It was a productive afternoon.

Jacob studied for his learner’s permit test for a bit after that, and I did two Bible studies and read my devotional.  Then, while I made dinner (sausage, peppers, and onions tacos), Olivia made some chocolate chip muffins and Jacob made some cinnamon muffins to have on hand all week.  Olivia doesn’t like cinnamon muffins, so she always wants to make a separate batch of something different when we make those.

We all ate dinner together and cleaned the kitchen, and then I went out for my evening walk.  It was HOT and humid Tuesday evening, so I sweated buckets, but I always love sweating… it always feels so cleansing!

I did a quick arms workout when I got home, and then I cooled off while I lay on my vibration plate and my neck pillow, and then I got showered and in my pjs. 

We all watched several more episodes of Friends and then Brian and I watched another chunk of Office Romance before calling it a night.  We never just watch a whole movie all the way through anymore.  We split it up like it’s a miniseries.  Haha.

 

Wednesday, July 15

Wednesday morning, I woke up tired because I didn’t sleep well.  For some reason, my feet were freezing Tuesday night, and I couldn’t get them warm, and that kept me from falling asleep.  Since I had finally fallen asleep so late, I ended up snoozing through my 7:30 AM alarm and sleeping until 8 AM.  Even then, I had to drag myself out of bed.  Thankfully, it was the one day last week that we had nowhere to be, so we were able to be lazy all day.

After breakfast/kitchen cleaning, I settled in at my desk with my cup of tea to read blogs, and then I worked on my first Denver post, editing most of the photos. 

My laptop has been lagging a lot recently, so I dug deep into the storage situation after that to see if there was anything I could do to remove some items to make room, and I did see a massive file that was taking up more space than anything else, but I didn’t touch it because I wanted my tech guy AKA Brian to look at it first, and he was at work, so it was going to have to wait.

Mid-morning, Jacob and I sat down together to do his birthday interview, and of course, Olivia joined us as she always does.  She loves to interject.  I also made Olivia an emergency orthodontist appointment because one of her brackets came loose Tuesday evening.

After the interview, Jacob studied some more for his learner’s permit test, and I set up our new kitchen utensils holder so I could toss the old, rusted one.  I love it SO much.

The kids and I had lunch together after that, and then we sat down to play a game of Scrabble together.  I was in the lead for a good portion of the game, but Jacob still managed to come back and beat me.  I don’t think I’ve ever beaten him.  Haha!

Some of the kids’ new uniform items had been delivered, so they both tried everything on after that, and we removed the tags and got them in the hampers.  Then, after a bit of tidying, the kids settled in for some afternoon screen time.

While they did that, I worked some more on my first Denver recap, I lay for a few minutes to rest my eyes, and then I did my Bible study and devotional for the day.

After that, I got dinner in the oven – parmesan chicken – and then I got started on the sides – mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli (and if you’ve ever wondered why we eat so much broccoli, it’s the only vegetable that my kids tolerate – LOL). 

While everything baked / steamed / simmered, I cleaned all the toilets, folded and put away the towels, and I got a return packaged.  Then we all ate dinner together. 

Once the kitchen was clean, I headed out for another evening walk, and it was another hot one.  I was dizzy and out of sorts from my withdrawals again (it can take weeks for the meds to exit my system and my body to get totally back to normal), so the walk was a struggle, but I was glad I got it done.

I opted to skip an arms or tai chi workout, and instead, I cooled down while I lay on my vibration plate and neck pillow.  Y’all I am just LOVING the vibration plate!!!!  I’m about three weeks in to using it consistently and my feet and ankles haven’t swollen since then.  My fingers also stopped swelling so badly during and after my walks. 

I got showered and ready for bed after that, and then we all watched a few minutes of AGT followed by more episodes of Friends.  The kids are loving Friends so much that they don’t want to go a single night without it!

Brian and I finished Office Romance, and then I passed out at 11:30 PM because I was so tired from not sleeping well.

 

Thursday, July 16

Thursday morning, I got up at 7:45 AM feeling well rested.  I made the bed, had breakfast, unloaded the dishwasher, grabbed a cup of tea and a cinnamon muffin, and I headed to my office to tackle a few things before I needed to get ready for the day – I caught up both email inboxes, I finished my blog first Denver recap, and I started this blog post.

Mid-morning, I got showered and ready, and Olivia and I headed to the orthodontist so she could get her bracket fixed.  While we were getting ready to leave, her friend, Maren’s dad texted me to see if Olivia wanted to hang out all afternoon, so after her appointment, I dropped her off at Maren’s house.

I went home to Jacob, and we had lunch together after that, and then we had to stop by the post office to drop a package that our mail carrier didn’t pick up from our mailbox (boo). 

My friend, Jeannine, texted to invite us to her library to test out some VR equipment Thursday afternoon, so we headed there after that.  Jacob and Jeannine’s boys all played with the equipment for nearly an hour before we had to go.  Jacob loved every second of it and he didn’t want to leave.

He and I headed home after that so I could get a few things done around the house and grab a quick snack before we had to leave to pick up Olivia.  I caught this blog post all the way up to present, and then it was time to go!

The kids had music lessons, so we swung by Maren’s house to pick up Olivia, and then we went straight to the music school.  I sat with Jacob while he worked some more on Clair de Lune and then we headed home.  I did my devotional and a Bible study and then I tidied the kitchen, loaded the dishwasher, and did a bunch of little tasks around the house. 

I had to be at the kids’ school at 6 PM, so I ate an early dinner and then headed out after Brian got home from work.

Our school hosts an ice cream social for all the new families joining the school for the upcoming year, and I had to sit at the Home and School Association table to get all the new families excited about volunteering.  I’ve mentioned this several times, but I’m on the Home and School Advisory Board (our version of the PTA or PTO… whatever you want to call it!), and we are responsible for planning and implanting numerous events throughout the school year (Grandparent’s Day, Daddy/Daughter Dance, Mother/Son Dance, Reindeer Run, Trunk or Treat, and Breakfast with Santa to name a few). 

Many volunteers are needed for each of these events, so we had sign-up sheets for each of the events that the new families could sign up for to get more information.  This year’s event was very busy – we had almost 300 people RSVP – so I was busy all night meeting the new families and seeking out new volunteers.  We had so many people who were eager to help this year, so many of our sign-up sheets were full!  Hopefully that’s a sign that it’s going to be a great year!

I had to fill my car with gas on the way home, and then I got home just before 8 PM.  The kids were just finishing up getting showered, and I jumped on my stair stepper for a quick workout. 

We watched a few minutes of America’s Got Talent and then switched back over to Friends.  A few minutes into watching, I asked Brian to pause it because I wanted to go look at the sunset… I could see that there was a rosy glow outside, and sure enough, it was just beautiful. 

When we went back inside, we popped some popcorn and watched several episodes of Friends, and then after the kids went to bed, Brian and I decided to give Running Point another go.  We’d started it shortly after it came out, and I wasn’t impressed, but so many people have said they love it, and I’m hoping that I will, too this time.  (Although, I still wasn’t impressed with episode one.  Lol.)

 

Friday, July 17

Friday morning, I was up at 7:45 AM, and after breakfast, I settled in for my morning blog reading.  Once that was done, I had a long list of things to do for the day:

 

-       Work on this blog post

-       Correct a few more blog typos

-       Download the new Gracie Abrams album

-       Start working on Denver blog recap #2

-       Tidy my closet

-       Wash a load of laundry

-       Tidy the rest of the house (it’s amazing how quickly it gets junky when the kids are home during the summer!)

-       Try on the 84,000 pairs of jeans we bought for Olivia to see which ones she likes best (she’s long and lean like I was when I was her age, so it is always an impossible task to find jeans that actually fit that are also ones that she likes)

-       Order more pairs of jeans for Olivia to try, and order a few tops for Olivia for fall

-       Get a return ready from Amazon

-       Order a different sized leotard for Olivia since the one we tried was too big

-       Get Brian to look at my computer with me to see what to do about storage (he helped me delete the massive iPhone backups on my computer since we use iCloud now, and that freed up 120 GB!!  MUCH NEEDED.)

-       Set up iCloud to back up my photos and my text messages going forward since those options weren’t selected when we originally set it up

-       Delete a ton of old text threads (all junk from medical providers, spam, etc.) on my phone so I don’t bog down iCloud

-       Pay a bill

-       Take down and put away the July 4th decor

-       Random other blog housekeeping things

 

In the midst of all that, Jacob worked on chemistry summer homework, Olivia tidied her room and the playroom (again), and we all had lunch and got ready for the day. 

We left the house around 3 PM to run to Target to pick up an order and return a few things, and then we went to my friend, Jeannine’s, house to pick up her boys for the evening.  Buckley and Olivia were going out with our friend, Jen, for a Diva Day, so I grabbed Mack and Jacob to take them back to our house for a Dude Day.

We met Jen at the movie theater so she, Olivia, and Buckley could watch the new live action Moana and have dinner (and Buckley showed up with friendship bracelets... the sweetest!), and then the boys and I stopped by the gas station on the way home to grab some gas station snacks.  ;o)

When we got home, the boys enjoyed their snacks and played video games and had Pokemon battles for the rest of the evening, and I got a few more things done. 

First up, was a Bible study and my devotional for the day, and then I had to report my order to Target because they’d forgotten to put two of the items in my pickup order.  Whoops.

Brian picked up pizza for dinner, and while he was out, I edited some more photos from our Denver trip, and I went ahead and did my meditation/vibration plate/neck pillow for the evening.

Brian, Jacob, Mack, and I all ate dinner together and then we cleaned up the kitchen.  I did a couple more things around the house and then I went out on the back porch to sit and read and watch the storms roll by.  It never rained at our house, but there were storms all around us, so it was dark and windy and moody, and it was so peaceful hearing the leaves rustling in the trees and the thunder rolling in the distance.  It also cooled down tremendously, so it wasn’t quite as stifling.

While I read, Brian did his usual evening workout, and the boys played Wii Sports.  They played bowling and tennis and baseball and a few other really old video games, and they were cracking up all afternoon and evening.  It was making me laugh hearing them laugh so much.  The best sound!

Jacob, Mack, and I headed to Chick-Fil-A at 8:30 PM to meet Jen and Jeannine and to trade Mack for Olivia.  When we got there, they were still eating dinner, so Jen, Olivia, and Buckley all filled us in on their first ever Diva Day!

They had watched live action Moana complete with popcorn and candy and slushies and blankets to stay cozy, and then they’d gone to Dollar Tree and Five Below per the kids’ request.  Jen bought them each a few things – makeup for Olivia, of course.  Haha.  And then they’d driven to Publix to pick up flowers for Jeannine and me, which I thought was the absolute sweetest thing ever.

On the way to Publix, they blasted music and sang at the top of their lungs, and Olivia said that they were the people who pull up at the red light that you can hear their music in your own car.  Haha.  And finally, they’d gone to Chick-Fil-A to eat dinner and have ice cream and play on the playground.  Jen, had spoiled them rotten, and they loved every single minute of it.  Olivia declared it the best day ever and she said that Jen is her favorite person… “Besides Mommy, and Daddy, and Jacob, of course.”  (Her own words.  Well, technically her own words didn't mention Jacob because she was trolling him even though he's her #1 favorite person in the world.  Ha!)

We got home at 9 PM with two very happy kids, and we all got in our pjs (Olivia and I match now!) and watched two episodes of Friends, one of which was a Christmas episode, so now we’re all getting in a cozy frame of mind.  I’m definitely not ready for Christmas yet, and I’m certainly not ready for the kids to go back to school, but I’m soooo ready for fall and football season!  I know you can’t have one without the other, though.  Haha.

After the kids went to bed, Brian made an old fashioned for himself and I made a toasted marshmallow old fashioned for myself, and then we watched the newest episode of Silo that had dropped.  After that was over, Brian turned on a show he has been watching on his own because I had started dozing.  Then, we went to bed.

 

Saturday, July 18

Saturday morning, I slept in until almost 9 AM (probably because we’d stayed up until 12:30 AM), and then I made waffles for breakfast.  We all cleaned the kitchen and then I arranged my flowers from Olivia (and Jen and Buckley) and got them on the table.  Look how pretty!  Olivia told me that she picked out baby pink roses for Lindsay’s Sweet World.  :o)

The rest of the morning was spent cleaning.  The kids did their laundry and deep-cleaned their bathroom.  Olivia worked on tidying and cleaning her bedroom some more (I didn’t even ask her to do it!).  I did some blog housekeeping and worked on my second Denver blog post while I enjoyed my tea, and then I washed the towels, deep cleaned the kids’ bathtub/shower, washed their shower curtain, and then ordered a new shower curtain and liner when theirs didn’t come clean.

Brian worked outside all morning, spraying weeds and weed eating.  And then we all had lunch together.

After lunch, I worked on a few annoying non-important tasks that have been sitting on my list for a while, and then I folded and put away the towels (same day!!) before laying down for 10 minutes to rest my neck.

Olivia tried on the new clothes we’d picked up at Target the day before (this top – OMG), and then the kids settled in for some screen time while I worked on this blog post a little longer.

I went out for a walk mid-afternoon, but it was blazing hot and the sun was beating down.  Thankfully, it was cloudy off and on, so I got a break every now and then from the sun. 

When I got home, I cooled off for a few minutes, and then I grabbed a cup of tea (which is insane since I was still so hot), and then I did my Bible study and devotional for the day while thunderstorms rolled through our area.  We didn’t get any rain at our house yet again, but it sure got dark and thundered a lot.  Gah, there is nothing better in the summer than a good thunderstorm (assuming you have nowhere to be). 

After that, I shut down my office, and I did my vibration plate, neck pillow, meditation for the day before getting showered and getting ready for church.

We went to Mass with the whole family and then to our favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner with our usual group.  After dinner, we went to Bruster’s for ice cream to change it up.  We hadn’t been there in ages.  I don’t ever get ice cream anymore, but they had s’mores, so I decided to try it.  It ended up being a bit freezer burned, so I wasn’t impressed. 

When we got home, we all got in our pajamas and watched a few more episodes of Friends.  Then, after the kids went to bed, Brian and I watched another two episodes of Running Point.

 

Sunday, July 19

Sunday morning, I was up at 8:45 AM, I got the dishwasher unloaded, I ate a couple of egg whites, and then I grabbed a cup of tea.  We had plans to see Toy Story 5 at noon, so we also decided to go to brunch, so I didn’t want to eat too much.

After my cup of tea, I got showered and ready for the day, and then we headed to brunch.  We went to a local place that we’ve eaten at a couple of times before, and I got the bananas foster French toast + bacon.  The kids got waffles, eggs, sausage, and one of their homemade biscuits, and everything was good.  It wasn’t quite as good as we’d remembered, though, so we’re not sure if they’ve changed or if we have.  The service was quite slow, too, so we barely got to the movie on time.

We all loved Toy Story 5!  I thought it was so funny and so well done and so very relevant.  I’ve loved the whole Toy Story franchise, but this one was one of my favorites.

After the movie, we went to Target to pick up the kids’ new shower curtain and liner, and then we headed home.  I immediately got the shower curtain in the wash, and then I headed to my office to transfer photos from my phone to my computer, get them organized, work on this blog post some more, and work on my second Denver post some more.  I also hung the kids’ new shower liner and curtain after the curtain had dried.

We went to my parents’ house for Sunday dinner, and my Momma made parmesan chicken, rice, green beans, a delicious corn and bacon dish, and garlic bread sticks.  Everything was delicious, as always, and we had a brown sugar pound cake to eat for dessert, too!  I’m actually eating some leftovers as I type this.  ;o)

When we got home, we all got in pjs, and we watched a few episodes of Friends before the kids went to bed.  I also got up and moved around a little bit while we watched because I hadn’t worked out all day and I felt like I needed to move around since I’d eaten so much all day.

After the kids went to bed, Brian and I watched a couple more episodes of Running Point after that and then we went to bed.

This summer break has been so very good to us and I’m not ready for it to end.  As a matter of fact, Thursday evening at the new family ice cream social, one of the other ladies on the Home and School Advisory Board looked over at me and said, “You look so relaxed.”  And for once, I was like, “I am.  I really am!” 

The summer hasn’t been all rainbows and unicorns, of course, with all my withdrawals symptoms and my backtracking with my neck progress, but I really can’t complain overall, because it has just been so lovely to be able to travel and see new things and also have so much down time with Brian and the kids.

The back-to-school scaries are starting to settle in since the kids go back in just 1.5 weeks, so we’re going to hold onto every last bit of these days at home before things get crazy again!

Happy Wednesday, y’all!