Our Week - The One with Quarantine, Week 60 (Teacher Appreciation and Mother’s Day)

This past week was busy and this coming week is going to be even busier.  This year, I’m welcoming the busy, though, because it sure beats what we were doing this time last year – NOTHING.  Ha!

Monday, May 3 (Day 416 of Quarantine)

Monday morning, I had to be at the kids’ school at 7 to prepare for Teacher Appreciation Week, so I was out the door by 6:45, and B was kind enough to drop the kids later, so they didn’t have to get up early to be out the door with me. 

All of us Home and School Association ladies had two tables set up – one in the high school and one in the lower school – and we handed out gift cards and apples Monday morning to all of the faculty and staff to get their week started out right.  We truly have the best teachers and staff at our school, and they all deserve to be celebrated… they do an outstanding job every day, but they have done an especially fantastic job this past year during this pandemic. 

It was SO wonderful being back in the school after not setting foot in there for a whole year.  I had started volunteering more than ever right before Covid hit, and it was such a letdown to not be able to do anything for so long.  So many of the teachers commented on how great it was to be able to see us back inside the school again and I couldn’t agree more!

The bell rings at 8 and school starts promptly after the bell rings, so we had handed out all of the gifts by 8 AM, and we were done for the day.  I headed straight to Publix to do our bi-monthly grocery shopping afterward, and I was home by 9 to get everything put away.

The rest of the day was spent working all cozy in my office.  It was a stormy day, so I wrapped up in my blanket with my hot tea and 90’s romcoms and I didn’t move for the rest of the day.  I took a different route to school to pick up the kids on Monday so I could avoid the highway… it’s always a bit crazy during heavy rain and it was POURING when I left the house.

Thankfully, the drive to and from school was uneventful, and we made it back home quickly.  Jacob had baseball practice at the indoor cages Monday night, so he was still able to go, despite the rain.  He’s been enjoying every second of baseball this season and he has been so disappointed when practice has been canceled, so he was excited to go. 

While B and Jacob were gone at practice, I hung out with Olivia, started cooking dinner, and got in a quick workout while she showered and got ready for bed.  The boys got home early, so we had plenty of time to finish American Idol during dinner and still get the kids in bed on time.  The storms continued all night, so Olivia had some trouble getting to sleep, but once she was out, she was out cold and she didn’t make a peep for the rest of the night, despite the fact that it thundered crazily loud for half of the night.

Tuesday, May 4 (Day 417 of Quarantine)

Tuesday, I had no commitments or errands to run, so I dedicated the entire day to the blog.  I’m still trying my hardest to get way ahead before the kids get out of school for summer, but it has just been impossible this year.  I worked on blog posts ALL DAY and I got a lot knocked out for one day.

Tuesday evening, Jacob’s baseball game was postponed due to the impending bad weather, so we stayed home and celebrated Cinco de Mayo Eve since actual Cinco de Mayo was going to be B-U-S-Y.

The storms blew through just before 9, and although our weather people said we had straight line winds upwards of 70 mph, we personally didn’t have any issues.  Our power did flicker a couple of times, but thankfully, it never went out, and we didn’t have any damage or trees down like some of the other areas around town. 

Wednesday, May 5 (Day 418 of Quarantine)

Wednesday morning, I got in a couple of hours of work, and then I headed to the kids’ school at 10:30 AM to help out with the Teacher Appreciation luncheon.  We did a nacho bar for them since it was also Cinco de Mayo, and we had every single topping you could imagine – steak, grilled chicken, salsa, queso, guac, lettuce, tomato, corn, black olives, cheese, jalapenos – it all looked SO yummy and the teachers were so appreciative. 

Olivia’s teacher came to get hers and saw that I was there, so she sent Olivia down the hall to see me.  I’ve missed getting to see my babies at school!!

The ladies and I wrapped everything up just after 12:30, so I headed back home to grab a quick lunch and squeeze in some more work before heading back to the school to pick up the kiddos.

Olivia and I headed off to dance where I spent the majority of my time responding to emails, ordering trophies for Jacob’s baseball team, and reading.  I started Firefly Lane last week and I finished it before the weekend ended.  It was SO good.

After dance, Olivia and I headed home, and the boys were already gone at baseball practice.  Jacob’s game from Tuesday had been rescheduled for Wednesday, but the fields were still too wet to play, so they just had indoor batting practice instead.

Wednesday was one of Olivia’s favorite days of the whole year – recital costume distribution day!!!!  So, of course, she had to try them on immediately when we got home.  This year she’s doing three different routines in the recital – one for ballet, one for tap, and one for jazz – so she has three different costumes.  All of them fit her beautifully, and she danced around in each of them for a few minutes… to say she was excited is an understatement.  She was just glowing, y’all.

The rest of the evening was breakfast for dinner followed by unexpected on-time bedtimes for the kids (PRAISE), and some TV-watching for B and me.

Thursday, May 6 (Day 419 of Quarantine)

Thursday morning, I had to be at the school at 7 AM again, so I headed out early and B eventually dropped the kids off when it was time.  On Thursday, we did Chick-Fil-A chicken biscuits, juices, and coffee for breakfast for the teachers, and a sweet parent had also dropped off several dozen Dunkin Donuts, too, so they ate very well!! 

The bell rang at 8 AM, so the other ladies and I tidied up a bit and then headed out.  I went straight home to get in a quick yoga workout, and then I spent the rest of my day at the computer working. 

Thursday when I picked up the kids from school, Jacob was BURSTING with the news that he’d gotten student of the month for all of fourth grade!  Their school’s student of the month program celebrates one student per grade with outstanding academics + school community contributions, and Jacob received the honor for the fourth grade class in the month of May.

I don’t brag on our kiddos very often, but this kid deserves a little shoutout because he has completely ROCKED fourth grade.  He has had straight A’s all year with the exception of one B in the second quarter (that was only 1 point away from being an A – argh!) and we are just so proud of him.  His school is a college preparatory school, so the curriculum is challenging, and they also grade on a much tougher scale than our local public schools… A’s are 94-100 at our school whereas A’s are 90-100 at public schools.  Most of his A’s have been very high A’s… one was even a 101 last quarter!  He has worked hard this year and studied every single day, but he honestly makes it look easy, and I pray he continues to thrive for the rest of his school career. 

Baseball practice was canceled Thursday evening, so we had dinner out on the back porch and spent the whole evening out in the yard playing baseball.  It was one of those perfect weather evenings where you just want to stay out until the sun goes down. 

After the kiddos went to bed, Brian and I started the new season of Handmaid’s Tale and, y’all, I’m just SOOOO excited for it!  We’ve been waiting TWO WHOLE YEARS for it to return and I can’t wait to see what happens this season.

Friday, May 7 (Day 420 of Quarantine)

Friday, I dropped the kids and headed straight home to work.  I spent the whole morning working on the blog, preparing for Olivia’s recital (making To Do and To Bring lists because there’s so much involved) and took a break to eat lunch with B at home like we do every day.

After lunch, I headed to our local plant nursery to round up a few summer things – ferns for the front porch, annuals to plant in my pots, soil, and sunflower seeds.  Olivia has been dying to plant some sunflower seeds for weeks now, so I knew she’d be super excited!

Friday evening, Jacob had a baseball game that had been rescheduled from earlier in the week.  The game was supposed to start at 5:30, but we ended up starting an hour late because another team decided to finish their game that had been delayed earlier in the week from the weather. 

The game was another close one, and the lead went back-and-forth from inning to inning.  In the last inning, the other team ended up pulling away and taking a huge lead to win the game 20-14.  Thankfully, this time, there were no terrible calls at home plate, and no terrible calls that affected the outcome of the game, so at least we had that going for us!  Haha.  It’s much better to lose when you’re at least losing fairly.  Hahahaha. 

Jacob played a good game, getting one single, one walk, and scoring two runs.  He did have one strikeout, though, and his walk happened because the pitcher accidentally hit him with the ball.  He took the hit in his back and it looked so painful, but he shook it off and took his base.  I could tell it shook him up, but I was grateful that it didn’t hurt him too badly.  We’ve had some kids get hit so hard that they cry, so I was thankful that didn’t happen.  That is always the saddest thing.

Jacob had a massive cheering section Friday evening – Brian, myself, Olivia, both of my parents, my Mama Cass, my Uncle Billy, my mother-in-law, and my father-in-law!  My Mama Cass has been wanting to see him play so bad, but the ballpark where he plays is very hilly and full of trees and natural areas, so we knew it’d be hard for her to get around.  My parents finally convinced her to let them push her in a wheelchair so she could go.  She is so stubborn and hates the thought of being in a wheelchair, but we were glad she finally gave in so she could be there.  I mean, she still mows her own lawn and drives herself everywhere, so I can’t blame her for not wanting to ride in the wheelchair, but I told her whatever it takes… just come!

The game wasn’t over until well after 8, and by the time we told everyone goodbye, made it to the car, picked up dinner, and drove home, it was laaaate.  We didn’t even start eating dinner until well after 9, so it was a late night for everyone.  Luckily, it was Friiiidaaaay, so it didn’t really matter! 

After dinner, the kids got showered and in the bed, and then B and I watched another episode of Handmaid’s Tale!!

Saturday, May 8 (Day 421 of Quarantine)

Saturday morning, I made homemade waffles for breakfast and then I got in a 90-minute cardio workout… it was a GOOD one.  After my workout, I cleaned the whole house top-to-bottom, dusting and cleaning toilets and cleaning floors, and I got several loads of laundry done.  I also cleaned out the kids’ shower, washed the sheets, and tidied the whole house.  I was on FIRE.  B heard me vacuuming and he came running telling me, “You don’t need to be cleaning on Mother’s Day weekend!”  So, he grabbed the vacuum and did the whole house for me.  Not going to turn that down!  I also tried out my new mop Saturday and I was practically giddy at how wonderful it was.  Who knew I could be so excited about a mop?! 

By lunchtime, I’d already closed my entire activity ring + my exercise ring 3 times, so it was time to relax.  B picked up Chick-Fil-A for lunch, and I tried the new Lemon Kale Grilled Chicken Salad.  It is DELISH, y’all.

After lunch, we all spent the rest of the afternoon outside.  Olivia and I potted my new annuals + her sunflower seeds, and we got everything watered while the boys played soccer.  After the planting was done, I finally crashed on one of our chaise lounges on the back porch and I read for an hour while also planning Mother’s Day dinner with my mom over the phone.

We all came in around 3:30 during the hottest part of the day, and I showered and did several things in my office to prepare for the week ahead while B and the kids played video games.  B headed out to pick up pizza for dinner and then we watched Madagascar 3.  The evening ended with and episode of Manifest and another episode of Handmaid’s Tale.

Sunday, May 9 (Day 422 of Quarantine)

Sunday morning, B and the kids showered me with hugs and gifts.  The kids had made all kinds of handmade cards and drawings and they had hidden them around the house for me to find.  We had cinnamon rolls for breakfast afterward, and then we watched Mass virtually. 

After Mass, I planned out the week ahead and then B and I finally set up the Echo Show we’d ordered weeks prior.  We had a light lunch at home, and afterward, I went outside to lay in the sun and read my book while B and the kids made homemade chocolate chip cookies for Sunday dessert.

Sunday evening, my parents and Mama Cass came over for a special Mother’s Day Sunday dinner.  B had picked up a family-sized lasagna from one of our favorite local Italian restaurants, so my mom and I didn’t have to cook, and we ate it on the back porch with salad and bread and wine. 

The weather was gorgeous yet again, although the temps are starting to creep up a bit, but it was just lovely to be able to spend so much time outside with my favorite people!  I will never take for granted this time with my parents and my Mama Cass… I’m so grateful our babies get to grow up spending so much quality time with all of them!

It was a wonderful, laid-back weekend at home, sandwiched between two busy weeks, and it’s just what we needed to get started out on the right foot for this crazy week ahead of us!

Happy Monday, y’all!

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