Our Week - The One with Quarantine, Week 55 (Easter and My Birthday)

Beach trip.  Easter.  My birthday.  Actually getting to celebrate with family this year.  My cup runneth over, y’all. 

This past week has been every single thing that my heart has needed for a whole year, and I’m so grateful that things are very slowly shifting back into the realm of “somewhat normal-ish” after a very long year that has been anything but. 

This past week filled my cup to the brim, and then some, and I’m praying that all of these good things continue…

Let’s get to the recap!  Since our beach trip took up Sunday through Thursday last week, I’ll be recapping those days in a couple of separate posts, and this post will just cover these last few days since we returned.  And since the kids were off Monday, I thought I’d go ahead and include it in this post, too. 

Friday, April 2 (Day 385 of Quarantine)

Friday was our first full day back from the beach.  B went ahead and took the whole day off, so we all had the long day at home together.  I got up and immediately headed to Publix to get groceries since we’d been gone most of the week. 

The rest of the day was spent doing laundry and settling back in after our vacay, and I squeezed in a run in the early afternoon while B played soccer with the kids in the back yard.  The weather was incredible, and we’ve reached the point where everything is blooming – the grass is greening up, the trees are thickening and giving us back our privacy from the neighbors one street over, and there are little buds of new life every which way you turn. 

Friday was Good Friday, so I watched Stations of the Cross at our church virtually.

It’s hard to believe it’s been a full year since I’ve set foot inside that building.  That’s the longest I’ve ever gone without being there. 

Friday evening, we picked up pasta from our favorite local Italian place – our last meatless meal for this Lent.  And then after dinner, we watched the latest episode of Secrets of Sulphur Springs as well as a new Netflix animated movie Secret Magic Control Agency.  The kids loved it.  Me, not so much.  But it’s never a bad time being snuggled on the couch with my sweet little fam by the fire!  Because yes… we had some kind of freak cold front come through and it’s been (literally) freezing every night.

Saturday, April 3 (Day 386 of Quarantine)

Saturday morning, I made homemade waffles with Easter sprinkles, and then I spent the rest of the morning doing my usual Saturday things – washing sheets, tidying up, and getting the house back in order after the long week.

Then, B and I pulled all of the furniture off the porch to do our semi-annual cleaning.  There was a thick coat of pollen on everything, so it was quite the task!!  Twice a year, we always pull everything off, sweep everything off, and then hose everything down.  In the past, we’ve had major issues with black widows laying eggs in the undersides of our furniture, but this time, we didn’t find a single one.  Woo hoo!

We all ate a quick lunch after the porch was done, and then the rest of the afternoon was spent hanging out, relaxing, getting some work done, and getting ready.  B left to pick up dinner from one of our favorite pubs, and then his dad came over to eat dinner with us.  He brought some Easter goodies for the kids, and we spent the whole evening on the back porch.  The weather this past week was what dreams are made of… seriously.  The BLUEST skies.  Perfect sunshine without a cloud in sight.  Low temps at night.  Warm (but not too warm) temps during the day.  And only 20% humidity.  That, my friends, is a unicorn here in the south.  We literally only get about 3-4 weeks of this a year.  Total.  So, when it happens, you better believe everybody and their grandma is out soaking up every second.

After my father-in-law left, the kids got showered and then we watched some more of American Idol.  Now that they’re doing two two-hour episodes per week, we’re never ever going to get caught up!   

Sunday, April 4 (Day 387 of Quarantine)

Sunday morning was Easter!!!!  We were up earlier than usual for a Sunday, and the kids immediately tore downstairs to hunt down their baskets that the Easter Bunny had hidden.  They were very excited about their goodies, and they spent the rest of the morning putting together their little Lego sets in between eating breakfast and getting ready for church.

That’s right – CHURCH!!!!  Actual, real-life, in-person church!!!!  For the first time in over a year, we were able to attend Mass.  Our church reopened its doors about six-ish months ago, but with lots of safety precautions in place.  They’re limiting capacity, everyone is strongly urged to wear a mask (and I think pretty much everyone does), everyone is required to social distance, and all pews are wiped down after each Mass.  They also amended Communion to keep everyone safe as well. 

So far, this many months in, our pastor said that no Covid illnesses or outbreaks have been linked to any of our services, so that is a great thing!  But even though the odds have been pretty good for us to stay safe there, we just haven’t felt comfortable going back.  We literally do nothing indoors other than get groceries as needed, but we always try to go first thing in the morning when nobody else is there.

All that said, our pastor decided to do an outdoor Mass for the first time in our church’s history (at least I think it was... it was definitely the first time in my existence)… Catholic churches don’t usually allow Mass to be celebrated outside, so it was awesome that they were able to make an exception. 

Mass was held on the school’s football field, and our unicorn weather was present for the third day in a row… I think it was just God showing off for his Son’s big day.  ;o)  Everyone brought their own chairs, and by the looks of it, our pastor said they think about a thousand people showed up.  A THOUSAND.  Everyone wore masks coming and going, and everyone did a great job of spreading out and social distancing.  My mom sat with us, but my Daddy wasn’t quite comfortable with sharing a space with that many other people just yet, so he sat this one out.  My Mama Cass and Aunt Joy and Uncle Greg, and my cousin, Shelby, plus a bunch of our other church and school fam were all there, and it was just an awesome service. 

I was able to receive Communion for the first time in over a year, y’all, a YEAR, and that just made my whole day.  I was so overjoyed to be able to do that again that I teared up on the way back to my seat. 

When Mass was over, my momma snapped a few family pictures of us, and then we all parted ways to prepare for the rest of the day.  My little fam headed back home to change clothes and grab Easter baskets, and then we headed to my mother-in-law’s and step-father-in-law’s for Easter lunch.

 

Everyone who comes to Sunday lunch is now either fully vaccinated or half-vaccinated (except for the kids), so we decided that it was probably safe enough to start bringing Maui along for the ride again.  She has attended all Sunday lunches since she was born, but we stopped bringing her the few times that we’ve gotten together during the pandemic because we didn’t want to run the risk of her somehow spreading germs among different households.  She was thrilled to be there, and we were equally as thrilled to not have to leave her behind!

We all sat outside to eat so we could enjoy the beautiful weather, and after lunch, we all celebrated my birthday.  Everyone sang, and we had Dirt Cake for dessert per my request.  I opened my gifts, and then all of the adults sent the kids inside the house so we could hide eggs for our Easter egg hunt.  Last year, we weren’t able to get together at all, so we did a small egg hunt for our two kids at home, and they were so excited to be able to get back together with their cousins again.

Once the hunt was over, my MIL spread out a few quilts in the grass, and all of the kids opened their eggs to claim their prizes.  The rest of the afternoon was lazy… we all sat around in the yard talking while the kids played baseball.  It was just the perfect afternoon.

We lingered over there later than usual, and then we headed back home to get ready for our Easter/my birthday celebration with my family.  B helped me prep the back porch and get everything settled in while I made some homemade mac n cheese, and prepped the rolls and ham, and my momma, daddy, littlest brother, and Mama Cass!!!! came over for dinner.  As of now, everyone in that group is either fully vaccinated or half-vaccinated, so we felt super comfortable.  The only person who isn’t vaccinated yet is my little bro, but he wore his mask the whole time.    

We ate dinner on the back porch, and my momma outdid herself with homemade potato salad, deviled eggs, sweet potato souffle, green beans, salad, and a funfetti cake… my very favorite since I was about five years old!!

Brian and my Daddy and I all shared a bottle of wine, and I mixed up a Winter White Cosmo for my momma, and we had a lovely evening under the twinkle lights on the back porch.  For the first time in forever, most of us sat around the same table, too.  What an incredible day!  Who knew that all of these simple things we used to take for granted could make us all so very happy…

We celebrated my birthday after dinner, and everyone lingered nearly until 9.  When they left, the kids were exhausted after a big day, so they got ready and hopped straight into bed, and then B and I crashed on the couch and caught up on some TV.

After missing all of this last year, it was just an incredible feeling to be able to celebrate with everyone again.

Monday, April 5 (Day 388 of Quarantine)

Monday was my birthday, and I woke up to homemade cards from each of the kids.  Jacob had made a dot-to-dot for me, and Olivia had made a bubble diagram and a color-by-number for me.  Those sweet, creative babies!

We made cinnamon rolls for breakfast since we’d not had them Easter morning, and then the whole morning was spent being lazy.  The kids watched some cartoons and I started getting caught up on some blog reading since I hadn’t read any for over a week.

Brian had to work, but he joined us for a quick lunch (at home, of course), and then the kids and I headed outside because it was another glorious day.  We walked to the neighborhood playground, and they played while I got in three miles.  When we arrived back at home, I showered and sat down to do some work, and they played video games.

My mother-in-law delivered some special goodies Monday afternoon – some herbs she’d potted for me for my birthday!  This year she planted basil, rosemary, cilantro, mint, oregano, chives, parsley, and lavender.  I’m so dang excited about that lavender!  This is the first year I’ve had it!

After I got my little herb-babies settled in and watered, I started dinner, and then we ate early.  I opened my gifts from B and the kids after dinner, and then we all piled in the car and headed to the park for Jacob’s baseball game.

The game was a bit of a bummer, and we ended up losing 12-4, but we did get to hang out with my mom and dad + my MIL and FIL all evening, so that was nice.  It was another late evening, and the kids didn’t get in the bed until almost 10, and then B and I spent about 30 minutes on the couch with Maui and some leftover dirt cake before calling it a night!

It was SUCH a full weekend after a full week, and my heart is equally as full!  I'll be sharing our beach trip soon, so be sure to check back!

Happy Thursday!