Our Week - The One with Quarantine, Week 39 (Prepping for Christmas)

After a rough start Monday, last week ended up being so productive… I got so many projects wrapped up, got so many blog posts prepped, and got so much stuff done for the holidays! 

Monday, December 7 (Day 269 of Quarantine)

Monday was one of those days where I felt like I was working my tail off all day long, but had nothing to show for it… I was just basically spinning my wheels all day.  It was frustrating to say the least.  I don’t have those days often, but when I do, they put me all in a tizzy because I don’t like feeling unaccomplished, especially after I’ve exhausted myself trying to get things done.

Monday evening, I did, however, make my favorite recipe of my momma’s for dinner, along with some homemade banana pudding, and I also sat down and did a big brain dump to organize my thoughts and to-do’s.  I felt a little better with a full belly and an empty brain. 

The kiddos bounced off the walls all evening (they are ready for a break from school!), and after they went to bed, B and I caught up on Saturday Night Live while we devoured some of the banana pudding.

 

Tuesday, December 8 (Day 270 of Quarantine)

Brian was off of work again on Tuesday (and for most of the month of December, actually), so he came with me to drop the kids at school so we could get some more Christmas shopping knocked out afterward. 

We grabbed Starbucks while we waited for Target to open to the general public (the first hour every Tuesday from 7 AM – 8 AM is for senior citizens right now during the pandemic), and then we walked in the building at 8 AM sharp.  We pretty much had the whole place to ourselves, and that’s always a good thing during this pandemic.  It’s nice to feel like we can browse without putting ourselves at risk.

We somehow managed to knock out the rest of our Christmas shopping (minus a couple of smaller things), and this may be the earliest that we’ve ever finished.  We are still debating one last item for the kids, but that will be purchased on Amazon if we do decide to get them.  It’s nice to know that we’ll be able to avoid the stores altogether these last few weeks of December!  I’m sure I’ll have to pop in to a couple of places before the end of the month, but the bulk of it is DONE.  Now, time to wrap!  Eeks!

After Target, we went and dropped all of our plastic bags and Styrofoam containers at Publix.  We recycle every single thing that we possibly can, and while our city has a recycling program, they won’t accept plastic shopping bags or Styrofoam, so we take those to Publix as they do recycle them!  We had a massive trash bag full of plastic shopping bags and literally about 50 egg cartons, so I singlehandedly filled up their bins.  Lol.  It’s so nice to be able to recycle the majority of our waste, though!  Fun fact, our little family recycles more waste than we throw in the trash.

After that, we headed to our church’s outreach center to drop the Christmas gifts we had purchased as well as some donations, and we got to see my aunt because she just happened to be there at the same time dropping hers.

We were home by 9:45 and then I had the rest of the day to work! 

Tuesday afternoon, I got an alert that the blood I’d donated a few weeks prior was on its way to save a life!  If you’re a blood donor, I highly recommend downloading the app, because they send you notifications every single time your blood is used.  SO VERY COOL to know that I’ve saved lives.  Now that I’ve started donating, I plan to continue donating as often as I can.  I’m type O- which is universal, so they’re always wanting mine!

Tuesday evening, the kids played outside while I cooked dinner, and then after dinner, we all piled on the couch to watch some more of the tree lighting in Rockefeller Center that we’d recorded from the previous week.  Both of the kids were extra snuggly, and I just soaked it all up.  Jacob rarely sits on the couch with us anymore when we watch movies (he likes to sit on the floor right in front of the TV), so I was especially excited about his snuggles.

At one point, Olivia was laying in front of the fire, and I just had to snap a picture because it was the sweetest little situation – she was eating a candy cane for her treat, she was wearing her new Christmas jammies, and she was sitting by the fire and the Christmas tree while we were watching the tree lighting in Rockefeller Center.  Does it get more Christmasy than that?  This time of year will never get old.

After the kids went to bed, B and I watched The Bachelorette and then it was bedtime!

One important thing to note on this day in the fight to end the pandemic, was that the very first person in the world (besides those who participated in trials) received the Covid-19 vaccine today!  It was a 90-year old grandmother in the UK.  Praying so hard that this will be the beginning of the end!  It’ll be a long end, I’m sure, but at least there’s a tiny ray of light peeking through the verrrry long tunnel that we’ve all been stuck in!

 

Wednesday, December 9 (Day 271 of Quarantine)

Wednesday, I spent the entire day working in my office.  I always do a yearly recap as well as a yearly goals recap + a yearly goals post for the coming year, and they are always long and time intensive.  I worked on those three posts all morning long, and I’m still not done with them!

After lunch, Brian and I spent the afternoon laying out all of the gifts we’ve purchased for the kids, and deciding which ones will be from Santa, which ones will be from us, and which ones go in their stockings.  Laying everything out and getting a good visual always takes SO MUCH stress away from Christmas Eve, and it also allows us to see if we’re missing anything or needing to purchase anything else.

Once we had decided, I got all of the gifts from us wrapped and labeled, and I got the rest of the gifts put away until we need to pull them out for Christmas Eve!! 

Wednesday afternoon, the kids and I all had our semi-annual dental cleanings and checkups, and since our appointment wasn’t until 4, I surprised them by swinging them through the Dairy Queen drive-through for peppermint hot chocolate Blizzards!  They were so excited!

We all had great checkups at the dentist – no cavities x 3! – and the dentist office was still doing a great job to keep everyone safe.  The hygienists and dentist all wore N-95 masks along with surgical masks over their N-95s, plus a face shield, and they were still doing a fantastic job of sanitizing everything in between patients.  Needless to say, we felt super safe being there, although, it was really weird being so close to someone other than B and the kids after avoiding personal contact for so long.

My hygienist also told me that so far nobody at their office has contracted Covid-19 either!  She said that there have been a couple of people who came down with something mild and had to be tested, but their tests were negative.  That just goes to show what a great job they’re doing!

By the time we left the dentist, it was nearing dinnertime, so the kids and I swung through the Chick-Fil-A drive-through on the way home to grab some nuggs and fries.  We ate a quick dinner at home followed by homework, and then after the kids’ showers, we finished watching the tree lighting in Rockfeller Center by the fire.  We also started watching some of the Christmas special with the Rockettes, and then after the kids went to bed, B and I finished off the banana pudding I’d made earlier in the week while we watched Christmas Vacation.  Man, I just love this time of year!  Give me all the cozy!  Maui likes it, too.  ;o)

Thursday, December 10 (Day 272 of Quarantine)

Thursday morning, B came with me to drop the kids at school, and then he and I swung by Walmart on the way home (again – sigh) to get a few more things that we needed that have popped up… all of y’all with kids know what I’m talking about!!  SO MUCH STUFF pops up for school this time of year… parties, dress-up days, class crafts, teacher gifts, GRACIOUS!

The rest of the day was spent working and getting things ready for the holidays, and then I cooked dinner Thursday evening.  B and I whipped up some more Winter White Cosmos since my mom was able to find the last two bottles of white cranberry juice in the whole city!  They are so much better with the white cranberry juice than the pink, y’all!

After dinner, we finished up the Rockettes Christmas special, and we got the kids in the bed.  When I popped in to Olivia’s bedroom to tuck her in, she was just lying in the bed with her little hands tucked behind her head, listening to Christmas music on her alarm clock radio, and she looked so cute that I had to snap a picture. 

After the kids went to bed, B and I watched the two new episodes of The Flight Attendant that had dropped.  The finale will be released this Thursday and I’m DYING to know what’s going to happen!  It’s so dang good.

 

Friday, December 11 (Day 273 of Quarantine)

Thursday, Taylor Swift had announced that she was dropping another new album, the sister album to Folklore.  Y’all know how I’ve raved about Folklore, so I couldn’t download the new one fast enough!!!!  I spent the morning getting holiday stuff organized and listening to it, and it’s another great one.  Quarantine looks good on her… she’s on fire this year.  SO much talent.  I haven’t yet decided which songs are my favorites as I still need to listen a few more times, but there are several that caught my ear the first time I heard them, and I’m sure I’ll be wearing it out over the next few weeks just like I did with the last one.

Thursday, we all decided that we’re not going to be able to get together at my parents’ house for Christmas Eve like we always do, and y’all, I’m not going to lie... it broke my heart.  I was hoping and praying to find a way for all of us to quarantine leading up to Christmas Eve, but unfortunately, my mom can’t as she works full-time outside the home.  While I’m trying to stay positive about the whole thing and I hope to “make the most of our situation” (I’m so sick of that phrase this year, y’all), I’m not going to lie and tell you guys that I’m okay with it.  I’m not and it sucks, but safety is more important than traditions this year, so there’s not much I can do about it.  We will not be wreckless for the sake of tradition, so it is what it is this year.

Last year, you may remember that my Nana passed away while we were at Christmas Eve mass, and after that heartbreaking Christmas last year, I’ve been yearning for a normal Christmas Eve more than ever this year.  Sadly, it’s just not going to happen.

Friday evening, we took some family pictures to send to my mom for their Christmas card.  They do a very creative or funny card every year, and this year, my mom requested that we take pictures with masks on.  We usually take a huge group picture each year for their card, but obviously, we couldn’t do that this year.

B picked up takeout from our favorite local barbecue place and I drowned my sorrows with a beer (please know that I’m joking… I don’t turn to alcohol every time I’m in distress), and then we all watched Christmas Chronicals 2.  The kids liked it even better than the first one and I thought it was very well done, too. 

After the kids went to bed, B and I caught up on A Million Little Things and The Mandalorian, and then we went to bed.

 

Saturday, December 12 (Day 274 of Quarantine)

Saturday morning, the kids randomly asked for donuts, and since it was 12/12, Krispy Kreme was doing a special where you buy a dozen, get a dozen for $1.  That meant that B came home with, you guessed it, two dozen donuts.  Lol.  We’ll never eat them all!!

After breakfast, I went for a run.  I hadn’t been for one in a while, and it was nice to take a break from the indoor mixed cardio workouts I’ve been doing so much of lately.  Working out inside can be so boring! 

The rest of the morning was spent doing laundry and tidying up the house for the weekend, and after lunch, B and I settled in to watch the Georgia vs. Missouri makeup game at noon while the kids played outside.  I got all of my remaining Christmas wrapping done while we watched, and it feels so good to have nearly everything done!  My goal is to have all of the Christmas shopping and wrapping completely done by the time the kids get out of school, so I can spend lots of good quality time with them during their time off, and I’m well on my way to meeting that goal!

The late afternoon was dreary and drizzly, so B and the kids played video games, and I watched Serendipity in my office while I worked on my end-of-the-year posts some more.  That was the third or fourth time I’ve watched that this season, but I have no shame.  It’s one of my favorite movies of all-time, so I watch it over and over this time of year! 

Saturday evening, we got pizza from our favorite local place, and then we watched Jingle Jangle on Netflix.  If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend it!  I loved it and the kids did, too.  B thought it was okay, but stated that it wasn’t very Christmassy which is actually kind of true.  The movie has Forrest Whitaker, Felicia Rashad, and Keegan Michael Key (three of my faves) and you just can’t go wrong with any of them!  The movie has lots of music in it, and I enjoyed all of it so much.  I had heard prior to watching it, that if your family loved The Greatest Showman that they would like this one, and I totally agree with that statement.  I would have loved to be able to see this one in the theater, because all of the set and costume details are just beautiful.

 

Sunday, December 13 (Day 275 of Quarantine)

Sunday morning, we had leftover donuts and we watched church, and then I spent some time planning the week ahead while the kids watched a couple of shows.  After TV, Olivia wanted to play with her Spirograph, so she and I worked on that for a bit, and y’all, those directions for some of the designs are just mind-boggling.  Haha.  We managed to do a pretty great job, though, and by we, I mean ME.  I literally did all of it while Olivia watched.  Haha.

The kids got some homework done after that, but it didn’t take long, because they don’t have much this week since they’re getting out for Christmas break soon!  Woooot!

We had a quick lunch at home, and then after lunch we all got dressed and headed out the door for our traditional Sunday afternoon walk to the neighborhood playground.  I ended up walking for the entire hour and a half we were gone, and B joined me for about half of it.  I managed to get in just over four miles while they played.  It was a mild and partly sunny day, so we were all wearing shorts and t-shirts… December in the south, y’all.  The fall leaves are finally looking beautiful, though, so there's that!!

The rest of the afternoon was spent in my office while the B and the kids squeezed in some more video game time, and then I made mummy dogs and mac n cheese for dinner.  The kids love those dang mummy dogs so much that I’ve decided to start making them more often throughout the year instead of just at Halloween.

Well, just a few more days until Christmas Break!  Happy Tuesday, y’all!