Our Week - The One with Quarantine, Week 49 (Brian’s Birthday & the Start of Olivia’s Birthday Celebrations)

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After weeks and weeks of rain, gloom, and cold weather, the sun finally started shining this weekend, so we are rolling into this Monday feeling pretty darn good… even though it’s raining again today.  Haha.  This past week we celebrated our best guy’s 43rd birthday, and we also started celebrating our best girl for her birthday as well.  Let’s get into the recap!

Monday, February 15 (Day 339 of Quarantine)

The kids were out of school on Monday for President’s Day, and the weather was awful, so we spent the entire day at home.  It was cold and it rained nonstop all afternoon, so we were verrrry lazy.  I spent some time reading in the morning, then the kids tackled some homework, and then the kids and I sorted through two huge bags of jewelry that belonged to my Nana.  My parents are still going through and cleaning out all of her old stuff, so they keep on sending stuff our way.  Olivia particularly loved this butterfly clip, so she kept it.  <3

Jacob’s baseball practice was canceled yet again for Monday evening, so we spent a quiet evening in with leftover pasta, wine, the rest of American Idol that we hadn’t finished from Sunday, and then The Bachelor.

Tuesday, February 16 (Day 340 of Quarantine)

Tuesday morning, we woke up to a light dusting of snow on the rooftops and the potential for black ice on the roads.  One of the back roads near our house was a little dicey, but our commute ended up being nice and smooth.  The kids were delighted to see all of the snow-covered rooftops, and Olivia whined, “NOT FAIR!” about a hundred times on the way to school because we didn’t get actual good snow that she could play in.  Haha. 

That said, we were absolutely heart-broken and devastated watching the disaster unfold in Texas last week.  All of that snow and below-freezing temps + the power outages made for an absolute nightmare for many Texans, including several of our family members and friends, and our hearts go out to all of you.  Our weather here is pretty comparable to the weather in Dallas, so I was in complete disbelief at all of the snow and sustained temps near zero degrees.  I can’t even imagine what things would be like here if that happened, and I’m praying we never find out.  Our city isn’t remotely equipped for that kind of weather. 

After I dropped the kids at school, I headed straight to the grocery store, and it was nearly empty as it usually is at 7:45 in the morning.  I had to stop and get gas on the way home, and wooooweeee, was it cold.  The wind chill was in the teens and the air felt so cold and wet that I thought my hand was going to get stuck to the gas pump.  Yeesh.

The rest of the day was spent catching up on a few things, working, prepping for upcoming birthdays, and meeting with my therapist.  I’m STILL having daily tension headaches – sometimes debilitating – and she advised that I get some testing done to see if I’m deficient in a particular nutrient or having some kind of hormonal imbalance.  I mentioned to her that I’d stopped taking my Flonase, and she said that could be the cause, too.  She said that she takes Flonase daily and if she forgets to take even a single dose, she gets a headache.  I’m thinking that may be the culprit…

I grabbed the kids from school at 3 and Jacob and Olivia were both all a chatter about their Fat Tuesday class parties.  Both of them were adorned in beads, and Olivia's teacher had given her a pretty mask.

Jacob’s baseball coach asked me to be the team mom for this spring season, and I had a team mom meeting Tuesday evening.  I’ve never been a baseball team mom before, so there was a lot to take in and learn – concession duty, raffle tickets, barbecue sales, end-of-season celebrations and trophies and gifts for the coaches.  Obviously, things will be a lot different this season because of Covid, but it’ll still require a good bit of planning on my part. 

The meeting lasted about 25 minutes and I was relieved that it was quick because about 90% of the other moms weren’t wearing masks… it wouldn’t have been that big of a deal if we had been outside, but we weren’t.  I was pretty shocked considering our league has tons of safety precautions in place… our coaches and kids always wear them at practice, so it was a bit mind-blowing that there were only two of us in the room wearing them.

After the meeting was over, Jacob had his baseball uniform fitting.  He has alternated between #11 (for Jake Fromm from UGA) and #34 (for Hershel Walker from UGA) for the last seven seasons of baseball and soccer, and he was excited to get his first choice of #11 this season after having #34 for the last two seasons. 

By the time we were done, it was nearly 6:30, so we grabbed Panera on the way home since I had zero time to cook.  B and Olivia were waiting for us at home with a fire in the fireplace because it was FREEZING. 

Wednesday, February 17 (Day 341 of Quarantine)

Wednesday was a dance workout followed by work and birthday gift-wrapping, and then after I grabbed the kids from school, Olivia had dance class.  She was extra excited when she got back in the car because they finally started learning their ballet, tap, and jazz routines for their big recital in May.  Not sure what that recital will look like this year due to Covid, but I’m assuming they’ll figure out some way to have it safely just like they did last year.

The boys had just left for baseball when we got home, so Olivia did her homework and practiced her splits while I prepped everything for dinner and got lunches made for the next day.  We still had some time to kill after that, so she showered and then we read some of her AR book together.  She’s in first grade this year but her AR level is 3-4.5 (third and fourth grade level) now, so she’s reading long chapter books now and rocking them! 

I had breakfast for dinner on the table as soon as the boys walked in the door, and then we got both of them off to bed just before 8:30… later than usual, but baseball seems to cause that a lot. 

Thursday, February 18 (Day 342 of Quarantine)

Thursday, I spent the whole morning researching primary care physicians.  I haven’t had a primary doctor since my early 20’s, because most of the time when I have an issue, it’s something that one of my specialists needs to handle (midwife/OBGYN, allergist, ENT, gastroenterologist, dentist, optometrist, etc.).  The few times I’ve been sick and needed antibiotics, I’ve just used one of the local urgent care facilities, so I’ve never made it a priority to have a PCP. 

I’ve been meaning to find one for over a decade now, and have never taken the time to do so, but at the urging of my ENT doctor last year, I finally started to research them last March.  Just when I narrowed my search to a few, the pandemic started, and all of them stopped taking new patients.  Argh.  At my recent visit with my allergist last month, he urged me to try again now that everyone knows how to operate in a pandemic, so I started my search again.

Y’all, I have been fretting over this decision so much… I know exactly what I’m looking for in a doctor, but it’s so hard to find one that checks all of the boxes.  The most important thing to me when looking for one (aside from competence, of course) is good bedside manner.  I want someone who is going to actually care about me and listen to me and not try to rush me out the door so they can move on to the next patient.  I LOATHE when the nurses handle everything and then the doctor is only with you in the room for two minutes. 

I’d also love to find someone in a smaller office so the wait times aren’t super long, and it’d also be really nice if I don’t have to drive to the other side of town to get there.  I’m also leaning towards wanting a female doctor because it just seems that she would understand the female body better than a male would since she lives in one.  Haha. 

And while older doctors who have been practicing for decades are usually my favorite because they have so much experience, I do not want someone who is going to retire in the next few years, because then I’ll be right back where I started – without a doctor.  I need somebody who can be in it for the long haul with me, but I also don’t want to see somebody who is brand new and has no experience.  Is this all too much to ask?  Haha. 

So anyway, I turned to Facebook to ask for recommendations from friends and family first, I researched all of their suggestions, and I finally narrowed it down to two.  Now I just have to make the final decision and make the appointment.  Whew.  If you’re still reading this, then God bless you… I’ve been rambling on forever.

Anyhoo, Thursday evening, Jacob had baseball practice at the indoor cages, so it wasn’t canceled despite the fact that it had rained all day yet again.  Olivia and I hung out at home, reading together and then doing her seventh birthday interview.  I cooked dinner and had it on the table when the boys got home, and then it was time for the whole showers and bedtime rigamarole. 

B and I watched some TV as we always do, and B was kind enough to rub my neck because I’d had yet another horrible tension headache all day.  Yet another reason I need to get to the doctor…

Friday, February 19 (Day 343 of Quarantine)

Friday, I dropped the kids at school and worked most of the morning, and then mid-morning, I left to run a few errands.  Jacob’s baseball practice was canceled yet again Friday evening because of all the rain we had, so we were able to have another quiet Friday night at home.

I took down all of the Valentine’s Day decorations while Brian finished working, and the kids played outside.  Then we got Mexican takeout, poured some margs, and watched Flora and Ulysses on Disney+.  We’ve watched so many movies during this pandemic that we’re scraping the bottom of the barrel, y’all.  Lol.

Saturday, February 20 (Day 344 of Quarantine)

Saturday morning, I made my momma’s pancake recipe and finally got it right… third time was a charm, I suppose!  I’ve always made homemade waffles, so I’m no pancake expert.  But since Olivia declared pancakes to be her favorite food just recently, I decided I should probably find a good recipe for them. 

After breakfast, I spent some time in my office meditating, reading my devotional, and doing my daily Lenten video.  During Lent, I’m trying to spend more time in quiet time, so I’ve been taking my time each morning with it. 

After my quiet time, I got in a very quick cardio workout, made the bed, tidied up a few things, and started some laundry, and by the time I was done, it was time to get ready and eat a quick lunch.  Jacob had baseball practice at 1, and we decided that we’d all go since it was Brian’s birthday and the weather was beautiful. 

For Covid precautions, they don’t want parents and siblings hanging around too much during practice, so Brian, Olivia, and I did a couple of laps around the park, and then caught the last half of his practice from a distance.  I hadn’t been to a practice this season, so I was finally able to see what Jacob and his teammates could do… they’re all looking pretty darn good and we’re thinking that he could end up having a pretty good season.  I guess we’ll see…

We got home mid-afternoon, and my parents dropped by to see Brian for his birthday and to bring us some leftovers – yassss!  We hung out with them outside for a bit, and it was a nice visit, especially since the weather was so lovely.

Saturday evening, B requested pizza from one of our favorite local places for his birthday dinner, so I made the quick drive over to pick it up, and then we all enjoyed it together back at home.  I always get B a new beer to try on his birthday, preferably one that has a new bottle cap for his beer cap map, so he and I tried one of the new ones with dinner, and it was so delicious. 

After dinner, B opened his gifts and then we busted out the cupcakes that I’d bought for his birthday so the kids could go ahead and have theirs.  B and I were still too stuffed.  After that, we watched The Neverending Story per Brian’s request and he and the kids both enjoyed it.  I, on the other hand, thought it was one of, if not THE, worst movie I’ve ever seen.  Hahahaha.  I know it’s one of those movies you probably have to see when you’re a kid to appreciate, and I never saw it.  And if I did, I don’t remember it.  But anyway, I just did not understand all the hype around that movie, and apparently most of my Instagram followers didn’t either as I took a poll and 71% of people thought it was terrible, too.  Hahahaha.

The kids had a slumber party in Jacob’s room for the second night in a row, and then B and I headed back downstairs to watch some more of our shows and dig into the delicious cupcakes I’d gotten him for his birthday!

Sunday, February 21 (Day 345 of Quarantine)

Sunday morning was cinnamon rolls and virtual mass, and then I started prepping for the week ahead before getting ready for the day.  We had a socially distant outdoor lunch planned at my mother-in-law and step-father-in-law’s house to celebrate Brian’s and Olivia’s birthdays and we were SO excited.  We hadn’t seen them since our weird, outdoor Christmas celebration and it was LONG overdue.

My MIL and step-FIL cooked all of our favorite things, and we all sat outside on the back deck and ate at separate tables.  The weather was incredible, y’all!  Just incredible.  It was 63 degrees and sunny, and there wasn’t a single cloud in the whole sky.  Seriously just perfect, and it was exactly what we all needed after being cooped up at home for weeks on end with all of the yucky weather. 

Brian and Olivia both opened their gifts and then we had cookie cake for dessert per Olivia’s request.  We were all enjoying the weather and the visit so much, but sadly, we had to call it a day just after 3 because we had to get Jacob to baseball practice.  We’re hoping that the weather will be nice all the time soon enough so we can start getting together again for lunch more often. 

Brian took Jacob to baseball practice while Olivia and I hung back at home.  She had just received a bunch of birthday loot, and all she wanted to do was put together her new Lego sets and do her Magic Ink books!  I did some work while she did her new activities in my office, and then I got dinner on the table just as the boys got home… leftovers from my momma!  Yum yum!  It was a wonderful weekend and a great way to celebrate two of my favorite people!

And now for a few current things…

Currently Reading

 

For the month of February, I read Be the Bridge by Latasha Morrison in honor of Black History Month, and I cannot tell you how much it spoke to me.  It was equal parts heart-breaking, informative, and inspiring, and I highly recommend it if you’re looking to learn more about what you can do to help pursue racial unity. 

 

Currently Watching

 

We’ve been watching The Bachelor, This is Us, Shark Tank, Saturday Night Live, and All American on TV, and we’re also working our way through New Girl and The Good Place on Netflix.  New Girl is absolutely the cutest and funniest show and I am OBSESSED with it, y’all!  I heart Nick so much.  I’m also still working my way through Dawson’s Creek while I work… it was my favorite show when I was a teen (aside from Friends, of course), and I’m loving revisiting it all these years later. 

 

Currently Listening To

 

I’ve been shuffling my entire music library since the beginning of this month, and it’s been so fun to listen to some songs I haven’t heard in, probably, years.  I have 5,000 songs in my library and my taste in music is verrrrry eclectic, so you just never know what’s going to pop up – Dave Matthews Band, Shai, ACDC, NKOTB, LSG, Blake Shelton, Counting Crows, Led Zeppelin, Nsync, Boyz II Men, 311, Rod Stewart, Frank Sinatra, Claude Debussy, Lauren Daigle, The Beatles, Weezer, Sublime, MercyMe, Lil Jon – I could go on forever!

Happy Monday, y’all!

*Linking up with My Glittery Heart, The Other Side of the Road, and The Sirois Family for Hello Monday.