Our Week - The One With Grandparent’s Day, Dinner With My Girls, a UCC Appointment, and Momma’s Birthday Dinner

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Happy first day of fall, y’all!!   Last week was busyyyy and I’m so happy that this week is going to be a little less wild.  Let’s get to the recap!

Monday, September 14

Monday, I was up at 6 AM and then I dropped the kids at school.  Brian worked in the office Monday since he stayed home Tuesday with Belle, so he headed out bright and early.  We’re not leaving Bellie for longer than 3-4 hours at a time just yet, and we didn’t want her to be in her crate for hours on end while I was at the school doing Grandparent’s Day.

Since he was in the office Monday, it was just Bellie and me at home.  But first, I had to pick up 22 tablecloths from the school office for Grandparent’s Day the next day!

When I got home, I fed Belle and took her outside, and then I brought her up to my office with the hope that she’d behave so I wouldn’t have to put her in her crate.  I grabbed a pumpkin donut, a cup of caramel crème coffee, and then we settled in upstairs. 

Bellie kept trying to chew on my metal chair leg in my office when we first got up there, but then she finally settled down and went to sleep.  While she slept, I started tackling the things on my to do list for the day:

 

-       Work on my blog post for Tuesday

-       Wash and dry four loads of laundry

-       Catch up on both email inboxes

-       Send a few last-minute text messages regarding Grandparent’s Day to ensure we were all set and ready to go

Belle was waking up from her nap at that point, so I took her outside and then I put her in her crate for a little bit so I could get a few more things done.  As I was walking back to my office, I smelled something just outside Olivia’s bedroom and it smelled electrical.  I searched all over Olivia’s bedroom to make sure her twinkle lights, lava lamp, and all the other electrical sources weren’t the culprit, and none of them were.  They were all unplugged.

Just as I was leaving her room, the air conditioning kicked on, and as it did, I heard a weird humming noise that didn’t sound normal.  I’d been hearing it all morning since I was getting ready in the bathroom earlier in the morning, but I hadn’t been able to figure out where the sound was coming from.

Just as I was going back to my office, a horrible noise started coming from the air conditioning vent just outside Olivia’s bedroom and the electrical smell flooded the whole second floor again.  I immediately went and turned both air conditioning controls off and I called Brian to let him know I was going to contact the HVAC company to come out.  The scent was so unsettling, and it scared me because it smelled like there was an electrical fire in the attic.  The girl at the HVAC company told me they’d send someone out and that they’d call me when they were on the way.

The high was 93 degrees on Monday, so I ended up sweating my butt off for the rest of the day since I didn’t want to turn on the air conditioner.  I figured it was better to sweat it out and wait than to risk burning the whole house down. 

I let Belle out of her crate at noon and then we went outside and had lunch.  I took her back to my office after that and she slept while I finished up with a couple of things in my office.

By the time I left, it was 80 degrees upstairs, so I was excited about sitting in the car since it had cold air!  In the car line, I sent a few more texts for Grandparent’s Day to make sure our step-and-repeat had been set up and to make sure that we were still on track with the photo booth being delivered, and then I spent some time reading.  This book has me reeled right in at the moment.

Just as we were leaving the school, the girl from the HVAC company called to say the technician was heading to our house, and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect since we were heading back, too.

It was even hotter in the house when we got home, so we were all very grateful to see that HVAC truck roll up in the driveway.  I explained what was going on to the technician and he said he thought he knew what was going on based on what I told him.  He was there for about 20 minutes, and he figured out that the blower wheel was off track of the blower motor shaft allowing some parts to move that shouldn’t be moving (hence the crazy noise and the smell). 

He was able to tighten everything which fixed the problem, and thankfully, it wasn’t a crazy expense, but he did say that it’s not normal for that component to come loose and that it was a good thing that I was home to detect the weird smell and hear the noise.  If I hadn’t been home, we would have likely had to shell out a ton of money for a whole new unit in our attic.

While he was working his magic, I did the dishes and deep cleaned the sink, and I also ate a snack downstairs and helped the kids with a couple of things.

I had to take Olivia to dance early Monday afternoon, so Brian came home early from work so he could be there while the HVAC guy finished up.  Thank goodness he has such a flexible work schedule.

After I dropped Olivia off at dance, I had to run to Hobby Lobby to grab a couple of things for her for a project she had to do last week.  She had given me a list of things she needed, and I was able to grab them all there, and then I headed home.

I still hadn’t finished my blog post for the next day at that point because of everything that had happened with the A/C, so I spent the next hour doing that and then sending an email to all the seventh-grade parents regarding our upcoming school wide tailgate. 

Brian picked up Olivia from dance, and I got started on breakfast for dinner, and when they got home, he made the scrambled eggs, and we all sat down to eat.

After the kitchen was clean, I headed out for a walk / jog, and I felt great, but that was the last time I’d feel great because the rest of the week I was on the struggle bus with constant tension, pain, and dizziness.  Brian ran to Walmart to grab a few things we needed and the kids got showered.

When I got done showering, Brian was helping Olivia cut some styrofoam balls for her cell project, and then we all watched a couple of episodes of Friends before the kids went to bed.  Brian and I ended the evening watching the Chiefs game and wondering why Taylor Swift was sitting with Tom Cruise in the box.  What a random pairing.  Haha.

 

Tuesday, September 15

Tuesday morning, I was up at 6 AM and I dropped the kids off at school right at 7:30 AM.  I was chairing Grandparent’s Day at the school that day, so I had to get started.  I’d had three volunteers cancel overnight, so I knew it was going to be a bit rough.

I went straight to the hall where we were having the reception to see that our school’s food company had already set up all the pastries, muffins, coffee, and juice.  I was soooo grateful it was done, but unfortunately, it didn’t look like enough food so I had to reach out to see if they had any extra that we could bring in to replenish when ours ran out.  Thankfully, they had a ton of extra stuff in the main kitchen in the school, and they had someone wheel it all over.  Whew.  Crisis averted.

One of our volunteers helped me put all the tablecloths on the tables, and then she had to get back to work.  Then, my friend, Kendra, who’s on the Advisory Board with me, came in and she stayed the rest of the day to help. 

The photo booth had already been set up, but the guy had to come at 9 AM to turn it on and make sure it was functioning properly, and then it was time for Kendra and I to stand outside the church to greet all the grandparents who were arriving for Mass.

Once Mass started, I chatted with our resource officer and a couple of the ladies from admin in the commons area, and we helped the grandparents who arrived late locate their grandchildren in the church.

Once Mass was over, Kendra and I stationed ourselves at the photo booth for the rest of the reception, and we didn’t look up until it was done.  The photo booth was a HUGE hit, and all the grandparents were delighted that they got to walk away with a printout and a digital copy right then and there. 

Kendra and I made great time getting hundreds of people through the line.  She got everyone lined up and held purses and bags while I operated the photo booth, and everything went so smoothly.  I was so grateful to all the administrators who stepped in to direct traffic (literal and figurative), help out with coffee and juice, and mill around to answer questions since I only had one volunteer show up.

My parents and my mother-in-law were there with Jacob and Olivia, so they were able to get their photos taken too, and I just love how they turned out.  So sweet! 

After the last of the families came through, Kendra and I got our picture together, and then she had to leave.  I wiped down tables and swept, and a couple of the ladies from administration helped bag the trash and tidy a few other things, and then after the photo booth owner came to turn off the photo booth, I was on my way home!

I arrived home around 12:30 PM and Brian and I had lunch together.  I took Belle to my office after that to get some work done, but I had a migraine again, so it was hard to concentrate.  I did manage to clear out both email inboxes, add a few things to my planner, and work on a couple of things for our school tailgate, but that was about it.

Olivia had crochet club after school, so I didn’t have to pick up the kids until 4 PM.  I do love not having to be in that car line some days!

When we got home, I grabbed a snack and a cup of hot tea, and I caught up on text messages from the day.  My head was still hurting, so I couldn’t do my Bible study and devotional as I’d wanted to.  It’s so hard to read the small text when I get those migraines because my eyes bother me so much.  Although, staring at my phone screen isn’t much better.

After I was done with my tea, I freshened up a little bit and then I took Olivia to dance.  I tried to pick up my trial pairs of contacts after that, but the office was closed, so I went ahead and drove over to the pub down the street from our church and school to meet my girlfriends for dinner.  I was a little early, but I was able to get a table since we had almost our whole group.

On our way to dance, Olivia’s ENT doctor called us with the results of her thyroid ultrasound, and he said everything is normal with her nodule and that there’s no need to do another biopsy, thank God.  He did say that they found a second nodule, though, and that it could be new or it could have been there the whole time and they just never saw it before last week.  Thankfully, he doesn’t think it’s an issue, and we’ll continue monitoring her every six months until she has her surgery to have it (them) permanently removed.

Dinner with my girls was wonderful as usual, but unfortunately, my migraine was still present, so I didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hoped.  I was just ready to get home and lay down and close my eyes.  I did get a care basket delivered to a friend who was having surgery the next morning, though!

Since it was almost time for Olivia to get out of dance, I picked her up since I was in the area, and then we headed home.  I’d wanted to do a stair stepper workout when we got home, but I felt half dead by the time we walked in the door after 8 PM, so I washed my face and got in my pjs while Olivia showered.

We watched an episode of Friends, and then after the kids went to bed, I made a hot toddy (which finally softened the migraine) and then we watched a few more minutes of Outer Banks before I fell in a dreamless sleep.

 

Wednesday, September 16

Wednesday morning, I woke up with the migraine gone, but my jaw was hurting from clenching my teeth all night.  I got showered and ready, dropped the kids at school, and then I ran a couple of errands.

First up, was Target to grab a couple of things we needed.  There was a line of at least 200 people waiting to get into our store, and I found out it was because of a Pokemon drop.  I had a few minutes to browse before the place for my next errand opened, so I looked around at all the fall and Halloween stuff.  I wanted to add these to my cart soooo bad, but I refrained because we do not need them.  Haha.

I drove to the eye doctor next and I picked up my trial contacts from the optical shop.  Then, I drove to the orthodontist for my semi-annual checkup.  I arrived early because I had no other errands to run in between, and I was so happy that they were able to go ahead and take me back!

My appointment went well.  The orthodontist said both my permanent retainers look great, and he said that my back teeth haven’t shifted much at all.  At the last visit, he’d told me to try to wear my Hawley retainer over my permanent retainers as much as I could stand it, but it just gives me too much face and neck tension every time I wear it, so I barely did these last six months.  The good news is that even though I hardly wore it, not much shifted, and I’m still able to get the retainer in and out even though it’s tight.

He told me he didn’t see any reason to continue with the Hawley retainer since my bite hasn’t narrowed too much, which means nothing will change since I wasn’t really wearing it much anyway.  Lol.

He wants to see me back again in six months and he said if my bite drastically changes without the Hawley retainer, they can make a new one to ensure that it doesn’t continue to go down a bad path.

After my appointment, I headed home to Bellie.  I took her outside, got her to finish eating her breakfast, and then we went up to my office together.  She wouldn’t go to the bathroom when I took her outside, so she peed on my floor within, like, 10 minutes of going to my office, but then after that she settled down and went to sleep.

While she slept, I caught up on emails (again), I started and finished my blog post for Friday, and I started this blog post and got it caught up to present.  Instead of listening to the radio like I do every weekday while I work, I turned on my happy background You’ve Got Mail DVD because I just needed some extra happiness.

Around 12:30 PM, Belle woke up, so I let her out and we both ate lunch.  After I was done eating, I played fetch with her for a while so she could burn some energy, and then we headed back upstairs.  Belle was restless in my office, so I took her back outside and then left her in the kitchen while I finished up a few things. 

I did some blog housekeeping, paid a bill, added a few things to my planner, I bought six of my eye shadow palettes on eBay because they’ve been discontinued (and they're more expensive at Walmart, too, waaaahhhh!), and I started looking into adding Jacob to our car insurance since he’ll be driving on the road soon.  We are dreading seeing how much that’s going to cost.  EEK. 

After that, I headed outside to let Bellie go potty before I left to pick up the kids, and y’all, that crazy dog would not come back inside.  I think she knew I was about to leave, so maybe she figured if she just didn’t come inside, I wouldn’t?  I don’t know.  But I must have looked insane chasing her all over the yard.  Haha.  It was not remotely funny at the time because I knew I was going to be late getting in the car line, but it’s funny to think about what I looked like… I must have looked like a fool.  Haha.  And she’s SO FAST so there is absolutely no catching her when she’s running.

I ended up getting in the car line late, but miraculously, there were fewer cars there, so I ended up being right about where I normally am towards the front. 

I read my book for a bit while I waited, and then we headed home.  Wednesday, we had NOWHERE TO BE and when I tell you the four of us were very excited about that, I mean it. 

When we got home, I tidied the kitchen and chatted with the kids for a bit, and then I did two Bible studies and caught up on my devotional since I’ve gotten so behind this month.  Olivia worked on her cell model and Jacob studied while I did that, and then they had some video game time while I did a few other things:

 

-       Got an Amazon return ready

-       Put away all four loads of laundry that we’d piled up on the chair in our room while I listened to The Swiftie and the Scholar

-       Threw a new load of laundry in

 

After the kids played video games for about 45 minutes, Olivia cleaned all the spaces in the house where she’d thrown stuff down.  Lol.  She had an explosion of stuff all over the house, and it was long overdue because it was driving me crazy.

Jacob played with Belle while she did that, and I moved down to the kitchen to get everything cozy for the evening – fall oils in the diffuser, jazz on the speaker, and homecooked comfort food – beef and parmesan pasta with zucchini!  I’m SO in the fall spirit, but the weather is just not cooperating this year… I think it’s been hotter than ever!  But – I refuse to let the weather win and we’re pretending inside that it’s fall.

After dinner, we cleaned the kitchen and I vacuumed.  Our floors have never been dirtier!  Then, I got outside in the blistering heat to walk two miles.  I felt good enough Wednesday evening to jog some of the way, so I did!

When I got back home, I showered and put away the laundry I’d washed earlier in the afternoon, and then we all sat down to watch three episodes of Friends.  While we watched, I cut my nails and posted my best sellers for the week and then the kids went to bed.  I usually don’t work or do anything else in the evening while we have our family TV time, but last week was so busy, I had to squeeze a little in here and there when I could.

After the kids went to bed, I meditated and then Brian and I watched a few minutes of Outer Banks before calling it a night.

Thursday, September 17

Thursday was bonkers… we had so much on the calendar that day.  I was up at 6 AM and I got ready for the day as I always do.  When I went downstairs, the kids were hanging out on the back porch because they were both ecstatic that it was only 67 degrees outside.  I think that was the first time the temps had dipped down into the 60s since April or May and it basically felt cold outside.  Haha.

Before we left for school, we got Bellie all set up in her room AKA the guest bathroom downstairs where her crate is, and we made sure she had food and water.  I had to do day two of Grandparents Day at the kids’ school and Brian was unable to stay home that day with her, so I knew I was going to have to leave her for a long time.  We didn’t want to make her stay in her crate for that long, so we gave her the whole bathroom instead.

After I dropped the kids at school, I drove around to the hall in our church where the reception was going to be held.  The food was already set up, and the tablecloths were still on the tables from the previous Grandparents Day celebration, so there wasn’t anything for me to do to set up.  I walked over to the school office after that to grab the check for the photo booth company, and then I stood outside the church to start greeting grandparents as they arrived.

I had three volunteers on Thursday, so that was fantastic, and they were all such a huge help!  Kendra and I ran the photobooth again, and everything went smoothly.  The Grandparents Day on Thursday is always much crazier because it’s the one for the lower school, so way more grandparents show up on that day.  Because there were so many people, the line for the photobooth was insanely long, but Kendra and I were able to move it along quickly like we did Tuesday.  She made sure everyone was set up on the red carpet and positioned just right for the photo while I operated the screen and entered phone numbers for the digital copies.  Everyone was incredibly impressed with the photobooth again, and we were told over and over again how we had really leveled up this year having that there.

The last of the grandparents came around 11 AM and then it was time to clean up.  The four of us gathered the tablecloths and threw them in my trunk, we swept, and we took out the trash.  I had to return a few things to the school office after that, and then I was pulling into my driveway by 11:45 AM which was a little earlier than expected.  Bellie had been by herself for almost 4.5 hours at that point, and she did great!  No accidents at all!  And she was soooo excited to see me as you can imagine!

I took her out to potty right away and then we both ate lunch.  After that, I played fetch outside with her for a long time because I knew she needed some play time and she really needed to stretch her legs.  That dog loves to play fetch!  And it was only 85 degrees at that point in the day, so the heat wasn’t terrible… yet.  Haha.

After that, I went to my office to try to get a few things done.  Belle kept scratching at the door to get out, though, so I put her down in the kitchen.  I hated leaving her down there alone again, but she was driving me insane and she clearly didn’t want to be in my office.  Haha.

While she was in the kitchen, I caught up on some blog reading and my blog reader was all messed up and out of order + it was missing a bunch of blogs.  Sigh.  Technology is so disappointing sometimes.  And if I’ve missed any of your posts, blog friends, forgive me!

After that, I caught up on emails, I caught up on my planner, I made a to do list for the rest of the day, I made a grocery list, I did the dishes, and I tidied the kitchen because we had a busy evening ahead.

I let Belle out one last time and then I put her in her crate and headed to pick up the kids from school.

After school, they both had music lessons and I sat with Jacob.  Then, we headed home, I made some chicken fingers for Olivia for an early dinner, I pulled out the hot glue gun so she could finish her cell model, and I had a cup of tea while I tidied the kitchen (again) and deep cleaned all the toilets.

Jacob and I dropped Olivia off at dance at 5:15, and then he and I headed to pick up a gift card for my mom for her birthday and drop a return at UPS.  Jacob had to be at an event for Teen Advisors at 6 PM, so I drove him over there after that.  We arrived a few minutes early, so I did a couple of things for work on my phone while we waited, and then he headed in right at 6 PM.

After that, I stopped by Publix to pick up all the things needed for Sunday dinner since I was cooking for my Momma’s birthday, and I was finally home by 7 PM.  Brian and I were childless for the evening, so we ate leftover beef and parmesan pasta with zucchini for dinner together, and then after the kitchen was clean, I vacuumed and mopped the entire house while Brian went out to pick up both kids.

My floor cleaning took forever, and Belle was hindering me because she kept trying to eat the mop, so I had to take her out a thousand times, and I had just wrapped up with the floors when Brian and the kids walked in the door at 8:30 PM.

I tidied the whole house after that, I watered all the indoor plants, and then I did a quick stair stepper workout while both kids showered.

By the time they were done, it was time for them to get in bed, and then I meditated and Brian and I watched a few minutes of Outer Banks before going to bed.  I was absolutely worn out after that busy day.  And I calculated that I was in the car for 3.5 hours Thursday… I could have driven all the way to the beach with that time!

 

Friday, September 18

Friday morning, I snoozed an extra time and then I got up in the best mood ever because I knew that we had nothing going on all day and night other than my upper cervical chiropractor appointment.  I was SO looking forward to a lazy day, and a lazy day it was!

After I dropped the kids at school, I put some gas in my car and then I headed home to make a cup of coffee and grab a snack before Brian and I left to go to my appointment.

My atlas and my axis were both out which explains why I’ve felt so wretched this past month, and my doctor and I discussed my potential Ehler’s Danlos Syndrome and POTS diagnoses again.  He told me he pegged me for EDS at my very first appointment, but only recently brought it up since my adjustments aren’t holding.  He said there’s not much you can do for EDS so it’s an unfortunate thing to have.  While I still don’t have an official diagnoses (I’ll have to see other doctors for that), I’m almost certain that’s my issue.

The doc did five light taps behind my right ear to get everything aligned and then we chatted some more about steps going forward.  I mentioned isometric exercises that have worked for some people in my C1/C2 cervicogenic dizziness Facebook group, and he said I can definitely try those.  So going forward, I’m going to try to start attacking my issue from as many angles as I can – upper cervical chiropractic adjustments to keep the bones aligned, isometric exercises to try to gently strengthen the muscles around the bones, vestibular exercises to try to correct my vestibular system (because it’s all out of whack since I tapered off my vertigo medicine), and massages to release all my tension and *hopefully* retrain my muscles so they’ll stop pulling on the bones.  This is becoming a full-time job trying to recover from all of this, but at this point, I’ll do anything as long as it works!

I was hoping to get a massage at the UCC’s office Friday, but she was booked through the afternoon, so I went ahead and scheduled one at my next adjustment in October.

Since the doc had adjusted my atlas and axis, I felt pretty woozy on the drive home, and when we got back, we let Belle out and I struggled to get anything done in my office.  I brought Belle up to my office and gave her one of these bones, and she was completely enthralled with it the whole time we were up there.

I did some blog housekeeping and caught up on emails as well as my planner, and then Brian and I ate lunch.  He had a bunch of meetings, so he was on calls the whole time we were downstairs, and I finished my lunch outside while Belle played for a bit.

After that, I left Belle in the kitchen and I got in bed.  I read a chapter in my book, and that was about all I could muster before I curled up and went to sleep.  It was a peaceful sleep, and I was in and out a lot, but it was blissful.  I do love a good afternoon nap on the days when I truly need one. 

I felt much better when I woke up an hour later, although still a little woozy from my adjustment.  I got freshened up, let Belle out, and then I picked up the kids from school. 

When we got home, we had nothingggg for the rest of the afternoon and night, and we were all so very excited.  The kids got snacks and spent some time on their computers/video games just being lazy.  I grabbed a cup of tea and the last of the leftover brown sugar pound cake my Momma had sent home with us on Sunday, and I read for a while, did two Bible studies, and caught up on my devotional.  And then, I turned on You’ve Got Mail and worked some more on this blog post.  I also started on Monday’s blog post as well since I was behind on that.  And I fixed some blog typos that Brian had found.  Oh, and I emailed my UCC regarding massages locally.  They were able to tell me that I can, indeed, get a massage here, and my doctor told me which muscles I need to tell them to focus on.

I got my Momma’s gift ready, tidied my office a bit, and then I put on my Halloween pjs, turned on some jazz, put some fall oils in the diffuser, and got the house all cozy while Brian went out to pick up dinner from Five Guys (and a biscuit for Olivia from Jack’s… Brian spoils her – haha).  The kids played with Belle outside to try to tire her out so she wouldn’t get hyper later when we were all trying to sit down to relax, and then we all ate dinner together when B got home with the food.  Olivia also painted her nails, and y'all, the ghosts!!  I die!  She is so cute.

After dinner, Brian and I turned on college football while the kids showered, and I read for a bit on the couch.  Then, when the kids were ready for bed, we popped some popcorn, busted out the candy corn marshmallows, and we watched five episodes of Friends. 

After the kids went to bed, Brian and I made some toasted marshmallow old fashioneds (with the candy corn marshmallows) and then we watched the newest episode of Ted Lasso as well as some more of Outer Banks.  It was just the coziest night, and I was so grateful for it after being so busy (and having so much pain) all week.

 

Saturday, September 19

Saturday morning, I slept in until 8:30 AM, and when I got up, the kids were already hanging out in Olivia’s room.  I let Belle out and then I made pumpkin shaped waffles with googly eyes for breakfast since Olivia had requested them.  I love that they still want fun stuff like that even though they’re both getting older.  We have certainly gotten our money’s worth for this over the years!

We turned on ESPN College GameDay at 9 AM, and I sat on the couch most of the morning being lazy.  I did work on my one second a day video for the year, so at least I did something productive! 

Meanwhile, Brian mowed the lawn and the kids both did their laundry and played video games for a bit.  Bellie stayed downstairs with me, and she was being a menace all morning, so I gave her one of her bones, and that kept her occupied for a while.

After the kids were done with their laundry, I started washing all the tablecloths from Grandparents Day.  There were 23 that needed washing, and our washer is only big enough to do four at a time, so I had six loads to do, one of which I didn’t have time for on Saturday.  As they dried, I folded, hung, and zipped them up in their garment bags.

The Georgia game started at noon, so we all watched that, and while it was on, I changed out all the batteries in my taper candles to get them ready for cozy season and then we all had lunch together.  My cousin was front and center before the game, too, because they were filming him getting our QB1 ready for the game.  

After lunch, I did a stair workout while I watched the game, and after the game, I did two Bible studies in my office while some storms rolled through.  At our house, they weren’t that bad – we just had a little bit of wind, lots of lightning, and some rain – so we didn’t think anything of it until we had to drive to church later because it had been BAD in the heart of town.

I showered and got ready, and then we headed to church in the rain.  On the way, all three lanes on the highway ended up being stopped shortly before our exit, so we had to detour onto another exit.  At that exit, the power was completely out and many of the streetlights had ripped off their wires and smashed in the street.  There was also debris everywhere + numerous trees down around town.  We had to turn around at one point and go a different way because a big tree was down across one of the roads we usually take to get to church. 

We finally arrived at church way later than usual to see that there was a big tree down across the driveway to the portico.  Since the tree was down, my mom and dad weren’t able to bring Mama Cass to Mass as they were planning on doing.  She has to be dropped off right by the door, which wasn’t possible because of the tree, so they ended up staying with her at her house while we attended Mass.  We just couldn’t believe how much damage there was in town.  And there wasn’t even a tornado warning or anything like that… it was just a thunderstorm.  Our meteorologists are speculating that it was either straight line winds or a microburst, and I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough after the National Weather Service does their investigation.  By the time we got out of Mass, some good Samaritans had already chopped the tree up and moved it all to the side.

After Mass, we met Momma and Daddy at our favorite Mexican restaurant, which thankfully, still had power, and Mama Cass opted not to come to dinner because she wanted to watch college football.

After dinner, our family drove over to Aunt Joy and Uncle Greg’s house because my cousin, Shelby, was in town for the evening and we wanted to hug her and see her ring because she got engaged last weekend!!!!  I just cannot believe my baby is getting married!! 

When we got home, we let Belle out and fed her some dinner, and then we all got in pjs and watched college football for the rest of the night.  I also finished catching up on our one second a day video.

 

Sunday, September 20

Sunday morning, I slept in until 8:50 AM and I was the first one up, so I let Belle out.  I’d forgotten to buy cinnamon rolls, so everybody just ate whatever they wanted for breakfast, and I got the dishwasher unloaded, I tidied the kitchen, and I cleaned off the soap pedestal + my glass cake dome.  I also threw the last load of tablecloths in the washing machine and folded a few more that I’d draped over the chair late Saturday night.

After the bed was made, I grabbed a cup of coffee, and I went to my office to get a few things done.  Brian was in his office downstairs, so we left Belle in the kitchen because she’d been particularly bite-ish all morning.

I transferred all the photos from my phone to my computer and worked on my blog post for Monday, and then I got dinner in the slow cooker.  Brian worked out in the yard later in the morning and he finally removed all the low branches on our two oak trees in the back yard so we can actually see underneath the trees again.  Its canopy had dragged the ground prior to that, so it was always a little creepy because I never knew what was lurking under there.  Haha.

We all had lunch together and then I watered the outdoor plants, and I showered and got ready for the day.

After lunch, the boys left.  Brian had a tennis match, and he dropped Jacob off at Mack’s house so they could walk in the park and do Pokemon raids in their PokemonGo app.

Olivia and I stayed home.  She showered and made videos with Bellie, and I finished my blog post for Monday, organized all the photos I’d transferred, and I got my planner ready for the week ahead.  Oh, and I got this post all caught up to present.  While I did all that, I watched You’ve Got Mail.  Again.  ;o)

Around 5 PM, I headed downstairs to get ready for dinner.  The slow cooker had done the bulk of the work, but I still had to boil some noodles, steam the broccoli, warm the bread, and wash and pluck the grapes.  I also had to set the table, do some last-minute house tidying, get some oils in the diffuser, and start some music before everyone came over. 

I mixed up some Manhattans for Brian and me right before everyone arrived, and then Brian mixed up a winter white cosmo (one of my most-viewed posts!) for my Momma when she arrived.  We also poured some wine for everyone else who wanted it. 

The rest of the evening was spent around the table eating, chatting, singing to my Momma, and watching her open her gifts. 

During dinner, we got a call from the school saying that school was going to be cancelled and moved to a virtual day on Monday because the school still didn’t have electricity or internet after the storm that had moved through Saturday afternoon.  The kids and I were excited at the news because that meant we had a bonus day to sleep in!!  But gosh, I can’t stop thinking about people in that area who were without power for so long.  It’s been SO hot here all weekend, so it would be impossible to not have air conditioning at a time like this.

Everyone left around 8:30 PM, and since the kids had the day off Monday, we were able to stay up later.  We watched three episodes of Friends, and then after the kids went to bed, Brian and I stayed up late watching the end of the Chiefs game since it went into overtime.

And that was our week!

Happy Tuesday, y’all!