Our Week - The One with Quarantine, Week 38 (Our Anniversary and Maui's Birthday)

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This week kept us pretty busy.  B and I were able to get out alone together for a bit, and we celebrated Maui’s birthday, so it was also a pretty good one!

Monday, November 30 (Day 262 of Quarantine)

Monday morning, I dropped the kids at school and came straight home to do a dance workout.  It was coooold and dreary outside, so all I wanted more than anything was to curl up in my heated blanket with a cup of hot tea and work, but I made myself get in that workout.  After I was done, my heated blanket and hot tea were still waiting for me.  ;o)

I work work worked all day long, knocked out five loads of laundry, and skimmed over the Cyber Monday deals while doing it.  The hours flew by and I was in the car line waiting on the kids in the blink of an eye.

Monday evening, I cooked dinner, and afterward, B and I gave new Advent calendars to the kids.  We get them the fun themed ones each year, and this year it was a Lego City one for Jacob and Lego Friends for Olivia.  Olivia was so excited that she screamed at the top of her lungs when we gave it to her.  The look on her face was absolutely priceless… I hate that I didn’t get a picture of it.

The kids have been working at creating school worksheets for each other, and I had to snap a picture of these because they were so elaborate!

After the kids went to bed that evening, B and I watched the Fresh Prince of Bel Air reunion special and it gave me all the feels.  I loved that show as a kid and it was awesome to see them all reunite.  It made me want to watch the whole series again, too! 

Tuesday, December 1 (Day 263 of Quarantine)

Tuesday was Brian’s and my thirteenth wedding anniversary, so he took the day off so we could go on a day date.  We do these every year, and they pretty much always include breakfast out, lunch out, and a movie, but of course, it’s 2020, so we weren’t able to do those things.  Instead, we picked up coffee (well, I did anyway) and then we tackled some Christmas shopping early in the morning to beat the crowds. 

After dropping the kids at school, we headed to Walmart first since it was open the earliest, and then we followed that with Starbucks (drive-thru), Target, FedEx to drop a return, the post office, a local candy shop, the library to drop some returns, our church’s outreach center to drop Christmas gifts for families our church provides for, and the gas station.

Whew.  That was, by far, the most places I’ve gone in a single day since the pandemic started.  Fortunately, as I said, we started at 7:45 AM, so there was hardly anyone else out and about, and we also, of course, wore our masks the entire time.  As a matter of fact, today was the first time that I completely forgot I was wearing a mask for an extended period of time… twice.  We drove all the way from one location to another, and I went to grab my mask to put on, and realized it was still on my face.  Lol.  

That said, I’ve really come a long way.  In the beginning, I was really worried about having to wear one because of my asthma and other breathing issues caused by anxiety, but I knew it was necessary, so I’ve been wearing one since the very beginning.  If I’m able to adapt this well to wearing one, then most other people should be able to as well.  I know there are people who won’t be able to for certain reasons, but the majority of people can.  YOU CAN DO IT!  

We were VERY successful at Target (of course – haha), but there were a couple of other places we weren’t successful… Walmart (because our local ones are TERRIBLE about keeping their shelves stocked) and our church’s outreach (because they were closed even though they were supposed to be open). 

And speaking of Target, I found possibly the coolest (and cutest) toy I’ve ever laid eyes on… an animatronic Baby Yoda.  Did you guys see my Instagram story about this?  This toy looks SO REAL.  He moves and makes noise and I swear it’s basically like having your very own Baby Yoda.  We, of course, we bought one for the kids… ahem, me.  Haha.  While we were at Target, I also snapped a picture of the toilet paper aisle because – people are hoarding it again.  Sigh. 

We made it home just after noon and had lunch together (leftover pizza for B and a salad for me), and then we exchanged anniversary gifts.  B got me some Airpods and I’m soooo excited to finally be wireless on my walks and runs!  Woo hoo!

After lunch, we spent the next hour organizing the gifts we’d bought for the kids and getting them hidden away, and then we left a little early to pick them up so we could swing by a different Walmart on the way.  Walmart was partially successful as we were able to get a few boxes of my favorite Christmas lights as well as the elderberry supplement that the kids take every day.  We were not, however, able to find the elderberry that B and I take every day, or the white cranberry juice needed to make my Winter White Cosmos that we love so much this time of year.  That stuff is IMPOSSIBLE to find each year and we don’t understand why.  So crazy.

After we picked up the kids, we headed to yet a third Walmart because according to their website, they were stocked on the white cranberry juice.  Nope, strike three on that, and strike three on the elderberry supplement for B and me.  Sigh.  We did let the kids come in with us and pick out gingerbread houses to build, though, so that was a win!

When we got home, the kids did homework while I made dinner, and then B and I mixed up some Winter White cosmos to celebrate our anniversary with… pink cranberry juice… because that was the closest thing we could find to the white.  Haha.  Let me tell you, it is NOT the same, but it was good enough, I suppose. 

After dinner, the kids showered, B built a fire in the fireplace, and then we watched half of the Disney Holiday Singalong that we’d recorded from the previous evening.  This anniversary was surely different than usual as B and I were never able to get out to our favorite restaurant for a date night, but it was still good, nonetheless.  I mean, how could I not be grateful to be a part of this goodness?

 

Wednesday, December 2 (Day 264 of Quarantine)

Wednesday, I spent the whole day in my office getting caught up after taking Tuesday off, and I ended up having a productive day.  I picked the kids up from school at 3, got Jacob home, and then Olivia and I went to dance.  Her dance class is an hour and 15 minutes this year, and since I can’t go inside anymore, I’ve been using the time to respond to emails, read, and work on any small projects that I’m able to do from the car. 

On this day, I bought along our Christmas cards and worked on getting those addressed while staring at this beautiful view.  Gosh, I just love this time of year.

Wednesday evening, we made breakfast for dinner, and then we celebrated Maui’s 11th birthday!  She loves cheese, so we always give her a little square each year… and yes, we stuck a candle in it.  We also opened her gift, which was a little blue sweatshirt with sequin snowflakes.  She was our very first baby, and I just cannot believe that she’s eleven years old.  Where oh where has the time gone? 

After her celebration, we went through the whole bedtime rigamarole, and then, B and I started that new miniseries The Flight Attendant on HBO Max.  It is really good, y’all!

 

Thursday, December 3 (Day 265 of Quarantine)

Thursday morning, we were treated to the most beautiful sunrise.  There was a thick layer of dew on the ground, so thick it almost resembled snow.  The sun started coming up with a rosy glow, and between that and the dew, it was just the most beautiful thing!

Thursday was another work all day kind of day.  I've been wrapping up each morning in my heated blanket while I work, and Maui has discovered its goodness, and she guilted me into giving it to her Thursday morning again.  Lol.

Later that afternoon, I picked the kids up from school as usual.  The moment they climbed in the car, they were both arguing and fussing and acting crazy, and then the rest of the afternoon was just as bad.  Olivia whined all the way through homework (usually she loves it) and then after she was done, she and Jacob were fighting constantly while they were playing. 

It got so bad I finally sent them to their rooms for a bit to decompress and recharge.  That worked like a charm, and for the rest of the evening, they got along.  We got them in the bed a little earlier that evening since they’d both been so cranky, and then B and I watched two more episodes of The Flight Attendant. 

 

Friday, December 4 (Day 266 of Quarantine)

Friday, I worked all day again, and B and I picked up Publix subs for lunch.  We tried to go to the Blimpie that’s five minutes from our house, and we discovered they had closed.  We have no clue how long they’ve been closed since we don’t go there much, but I sure was disappointed!  Haha.  After lunch, I got some more gifts ordered and I also started the long process of wrapping all of the ones that are already on hand.

Friday afternoon, I got the kids from school and then we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in because it was rainy and chilly out.  The kids and I played three games of Chutes and Ladders, and then I addressed most of the rest of our Christmas cards.

B picked up food from our favorite local pub, and after dinner, we watched Christmas Chronicles on Netflix.  That was our first time seeing it, and we all enjoyed it a lot!  After the kiddos went to bed, B and I caught up on A Million Little Things and The Mandalorian.

 

Saturday, December 5 (Day 267 of Quarantine)

Saturday morning was homemade waffles and finishing up the Christmas cards, and then I got in an hour cardio workout.  We had a small lunch at home, and then the kids played outside for a long time.  Their new favorite thing to do is to take their scooter and plasma car out front and go shooting down the driveway.  Our driveway is on a hill, so it always makes me nervous to watch.  They, of course, wear helmets, though. 

The rest of the day was spent cleaning out some of the kids’ artwork, working on some room mom stuff, and watching Serendipity in my office while I worked.  We always let the kids have some video game time in the afternoon on weekends, so that’s when I get stuff done.

Saturday evening, B picked up Carabba’s for dinner.  We hadn’t had it in forever, so it really hit the spot.  We were supposed to have had a Georgia game to watch, but it got postponed because Vanderbuilt’s team had too many players out with Covid.  Sigh.  That’s the second game we’ve had to miss this season.  So far, our team has managed to avoid having Covid, so fingers crossed we’ll be able to make up the games in the next two weeks so we’ll have some more football to watch.

After dinner, the kids wanted to watch How to Train Your Dragon 3 (which we just watched recently), so we let them go upstairs and watch that in the play room while B and I watched Let it Snow on Netflix.  I had seen Let it Snow described as being similar to Love Actually (which is my favorite movie of all-time), but unfortunately it was nothing like that.  Haha.  And it was about a bunch of high school kids.  Not exactly what we had in mind at all.  We ended up watching the whole thing, but it wasn’t great at all. 

After the movies were over, the kids got into bed, and B and I watched two more episodes of The Flight Attendant.  It is just SO GOOD, y’all!  We’re all caught up now and we’re not-so-patiently waiting for Thursday when the next two episodes will be released. 

 

Sunday, December 6 (Day 268 of Quarantine)

Sunday morning was cinnamon rolls and church in our living room, and then the kids watched some TV and did homework while I pulled out our bins of stuff to sell on Poshmark.  I’ve been sitting on this stuff forever, just not finding the time wanting to take the time to photograph and get it listed.  It’s been stored in the same closet with all of our seasonal decorations, and after dealing with an overpacked closet for fall and Christmas décor, I decided it was time to get this stuff listed and out of there for my own sanity.  Haha.

If you’re interested in shopping, it’s mostly boy and girl toddler clothing, and you can see everything I’m selling here.  Right now, I only have fall and winter clothes listed, but I’ll be listing a whole lot of warm weather clothes, probably in February.  I also have some maternity clothes that I’m hoping to list in the coming week. 

Sunday morning, B also found out that one of his coworkers passed away from Covid, so please keep his family in your prayers. 

We had a quick lunch at home after the kids finished their homework, and then we got ready and popped over to my mom and dad’s house to return their folding chairs from Thanksgiving.  We spent some time chatting with them, and I also went into their house (masked) so I could see my old bedroom and bathroom that they recently refreshed.  I lived in that house for 17 years, but because I’ve barely spent any time in it this past year, it felt so strange being in there.  Sigh.

When we got back home, we went for a walk to the neighborhood playground, and the kids played for a while.  Then we headed back home for afternoon video games and work.  It was cold and dreary the rest of the day, so I pulled some White Chicken Chili out of the freezer, and we had that for dinner.    

See y’all back here tomorrow for something festive and tasty!