Our Week - The One with Summertime, Week 7 (Swimming Lessons and Pedicures)

Another week of summer is under our belts, and we only have four left.  Gosh, it’s gone by at lightning speed this year!  While I’m soooo excited for fall and all things cozy, I’m just not quite ready to send the kiddos back to school… I feel like there’s still so much we need to do!  Today I’m recapping week seven of summer and it was full of swimming lessons!

Monday, July 5

Monday, Brian was off for Fourth of July, and we all slept in a little later than usual since we’d been up late on the Fourth.  It was a very lazy morning and early afternoon at home, and then Olivia and I headed off mid-afternoon for her swimming lessons!  Prior to this year, she’d taken lessons twice before, once when she was four and then again when she was five.  She loves the pool, but haaaates learning to swim, so she was still in desperate need of more lessons in 2020.  We were going to send her for a third (and hopefully final) time in summer 2020, but then Covid canceled everything.

Ms. Joni, the lady who used to do the kids’ lessons, finally retired (I think??) and Olivia had gotten to the point where she was having anxiety every time we went to her house, so we decided to schedule them with someone else this year and give her a fresh start.  The lady who we decided to use does private lessons at her house and is probably in the top three most sought out swim instructors in the city, so it’s nearly impossible to get in with her.

I ended up booking these lessons months and months ago, long before Olivia broke her elbow, so when she did break her elbow, I just knew we were going to have to cancel her swimming lessons.  However, it ended up working out that she came out of her cast one week prior to lessons starting, and her doc said it was completely okay for her to follow through with lessons.

So, Olivia and I headed to Mrs. Marty’s house at three, and Olivia was actually excited instead of anxious, which was a huge relief.  There were only three other girls in her group, and they were all the same age, so we liked that as well.  Ms. Joni always had 7-8 kids of all ages in each of her classes, so it was nice to have the smaller class sizes this time. 

Mrs. Marty’s lessons are also only 30 minutes whereas Ms. Joni’s were an hour, and I think that’s actually better for Olivia, too, as by the end of an hour she was often exhausted, which resulted in more tears. 

Her first lesson went beautifully.  On the first day, Mrs. Marty taught the kids the basic mechanics, and she held them under their bellies and helped them swim around the shallow end several times.  She also didn’t make the girls put their faces in the water on the first day either, and I’m sure Olivia also liked that as that’s her least favorite part. 

Mrs. Marty does also teach the kids how to pull themselves out of the water on the side of the pool using their arms and elbows, but we told her Olivia couldn’t do that.  The doc said she can move her arm as much as she wants, but he didn’t say anything about putting weight on it, so we didn’t think that was a good idea at all.  Overall, everything went beautifully, though, and Olivia used her left arm just as much as her right to swim… as a matter of fact, Mrs. Marty told us she was using her left arm even more, so her elbow is obviously doing great!  Olivia LOVED her lessons and she didn’t want to leave.  Haha.

When we got home, the boys were finishing up a Star Wars movie that they’d started a while back, so Olivia joined them, and I headed upstairs to my reading nook with a snack to sneak in a few minutes of reading.

Soon enough, it was time to cook dinner, and I made our family favorite – baked ziti – and B and I indulged in a glass of wine… a rarity for a Monday, but hey, it was still technically the weekend since B was off.  ;o)

After dinner, B and the kids and I all went outside and played several games of Cornhole.  The kids just love it and B and I do, too, so it’s something fun all of us can do as a family.  I also squeezed in a cardio workout which was much-needed after all of the junk I’d eaten all weekend.

Once the kids were ready for bed, we watched a couple of episodes of Breaking Bobby Bones, and then the kids went to bed while B and I watched The Bachelorette.

Tuesday, July 6

Tuesday morning, the kids spent a good chunk of time doing summer homework.  We’d been having some trouble getting Olivia logged in to take AR tests from home, which is part of her homework, so I finally texted the school librarian to see if she could help, and she sent me a different link that worked.  Olivia had already read several books and she was able to knock out a couple of tests before we had to leave.

I had my annual eye appointment Tuesday morning at 11, and unfortunately, B has started going back into the office on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so the kids weren’t able to stay home.  My eye doctor is still not allowing family members in their office because of Covid, so I dropped the kids off at my Momma and Daddy’s house so Daddy could watch them for me. 

During my appointment, they dilated my pupils like they always do, and it seemed even more miserable this time than usual.  I could barely open my eyes outside, even with sunglasses, so driving wasn’t fun at all.  Luckily, it’s a verrrry short drive from the eye doc to my parents’ house, and I was there in no time.  On the way back to our house from my parents’ I just decided to swing through the Zaxby’s drive-through to grab lunch because it was late, and I didn’t feel like making anything when we got home. 

After lunch, we squeezed in an hour of quiet time (work for me and video games for the kids) and then we headed to swimming lessons.  On day two, Mrs. Marty had the kids swimming to and from the steps by themselves while she walked alongside them, and she made them swim with their faces in the water.  The distance was short (only 4-5 feet or so) and all of the girls did great.  Again, Olivia didn’t want to leave!  Such a wonderful change from 2019 when she cried her eyeballs out for nearly the entire two weeks!

When we got back home, we had another hour of quiet time and then I cooked dinner.  The kids played outside all evening while I cooked and then they headed right back out there after dinner.  It was cloudy and cool and windy and eventually we got some good rain, but the kids played their little hearts out on the porch.  It’s always so nice to have a cool evening during the middle of our hot, hot summers.  Most of the time it’s too unbearable to even be outside this time of year.

I finally dragged them in just before 8 so they could get in their PJs before Lego Masters started.  We all watched that together and then the kids slept in their sleeping bags on the floor in Olivia’s room.  That was the first time all summer they’d asked to have a sleepover and I wasn’t going to say no to that!

Wednesday, July 7

Wednesday morning, I was ready and out the door by 8.  Maui had started in with an awful, awful cough Saturday evening, and it continued through Tuesday.  The only time she wasn’t coughing was when she was laying down, and she coughed constantly while she was up and moving around.  It sounded terrible and it was debilitating for her, so we finally called the vet Wednesday morning.  They had a cancelation and were able to get her in first thing, so she and I left the kids with B and headed out early. 

After I dropped her, I ran a ton of errands – Walmart, library to drop some books, UPS Store, Target, and CVS – and I was back home before 10.  The kids and I all sat down together when I got home to do some more summer homework.  Jacob worked on math in IXL and Olivia blew through four AR tests for books that she’s already read this summer. 

After they were done, I had just enough time to grab a cup of hot cinnamon tea and read a few blogs before it was time for lunch.  After lunch, I swung by the kids’ school to drop some old uniforms, and then I headed to pick up Maui.  Naturally, after coughing her head off for three days, she ended up being at the vet for five hours and didn’t cough a single time.  Therefore, the vet had some trouble diagnosing her. 

The vet did mention that part of Maui’s trachea had some minor abnormal narrowing, but she said that happens sometimes with tiny dogs and there’s not much we can do for it.  She said it’s likely Maui picked up some kind of cold from somewhere (probably from another dog in our neighb since we walk her around), and that the cough was causing her trachea to swell which, in turn, was causing her to cough even more, so it was like a vicious cycle.  She gave us some doggie cough medicine to give to her and sent us on our way. 

And before I continue, may I just say that one good thing that came out of this pandemic is the curbside pick-up/drop-off/service!!  I LOVE not having to get out of my car at certain places, and the vet is one of them!  The entire process is so much faster now that it’s all curbside!

Wednesday afternoon was spent the same as Tuesday – an hour of work for me and video games for the kids, swimming lessons, and then more work when we got home.  Swimming lessons went well again.  On day three, Mrs. Marty had the kids swim to and from the steps with their faces in the water, but she had increased the distance by a couple of feet.  Olivia swam LIKE A BOSS, and there wasn’t much for Mrs. Marty to have to correct for her on Wednesday. 

The outer bands of Tropical Storm Elsa started moving in right when we got there, so it poured rain for about half of the lesson.  Since there was no thunder and lightning, Mrs. Marty continued with the lesson right through the rain.  The girls all seemed to love it, though, and Olivia was just smiling and laughing the whole way through.  Jacob and I were very grateful that we’d gotten a spot under Mrs. Marty’s covered back porch, though.  Haha.

When we got back home, I squeezed in another hour of work, and I grabbed a second cup of hot tea to take with me.  It was a very cozy afternoon with the rain coming and going, and I love a good cozy afternoon that feels like fall right in the middle of summer!

Thursday evening, I made breakfast for dinner, and then I headed out for a solo walk while the kids showered and got ready for bed.  I love walking with the whole fam, but when we walk together my Apple watch doesn’t even register as exercise because we’re so slow.  Lol.  I like to keep a pace of 16-17 minutes per mile when I walk, so I am TRUCKING. 

Unfortunately, I had forgotten that the last time I ran, my right tennis shoe had started bothering my big toe, and as soon as I hit the pavement my big toe started hurting.  I decided to power through, and I got in a 2.5 mile walk, but by the time I got back home, I was limping because my toe hurt so bad.  I had a major sharp pain every time I put any weight on my toe or bent it, but there wasn’t any bruising or swelling, so I’m not sure exactly what kind of injury it was. 

As soon as I got home, I propped it up, and then we watched America’s Got Talent.  The kids asked to have another sleepover, so they got their sleeping bags set up in Jacob’s room and we said goodnight.

After they went to bed, B and I watched All American from Monday, and then we called it a night, too.  And speaking of All American, is anyone else as underwhelmed with this new season as I am?  I have loved that show so much until this season… I feel like this season has been kind of boring and it doesn’t hold my interest. 

Thursday, July 8

Thursday morning, my toe was still hurting soooo bad when I woke up, so I knew I wouldn’t be doing any kind of cardio workout.  Instead, I did a yoga workout that focused on core and arms… I couldn’t even do downward dog because of my toe.  Waaaahhhh.

After my workout, I got ready for the day, and after our morning routine, the kids and I cleaned out the playroom.  We usually do that at the beginning of the summer, but we hadn’t had the chance with the broken elbow, beach trip, camp, and aaaallll the sickness, so it felt good to finally knock it out.  It was in pretty bad shape, so we went through and pulled everything out, created homes for everything, got rid of trash and recycling, bagged up items to donate, put everything in their new homes, and then relabeled bins as needed.  And all the Type A people said AMEN!

Before:

After:

By the time we finished, it was time for lunch, and then after that, the kids and I all had 30 minutes of individual reading time.  Jacob finally got an AR book for his summer reading homework, and Olivia still has a few more she needs to read, so they worked on that while I finished up Little Fires Everywhere.  I loved the book, but I hated that I had already watched the show first, because I found myself not getting into the book as good as I would have had I not watched the show.

After reading time, the kids played video games for a short while and I tackled some work, and then we had to head out for day four of swimming lessons for Olivia.  On day four, Mrs. Marty had the kids jump off the side in the shallow end and swim to her, and then she had them jump off the side in the deep end and swim to her.  They did that over and over.  Olivia did great aside from lifting her head out of the water to see where she was going.  Every time she would lift her head and then put it back in, she would get water up her nose, so Mrs. Marty worked hard with her on keeping her head down and opening her eyes under water to see where she was going instead.

After lessons, we headed back home where I squeezed in another hour of work.  Having to split up my main block of work time each day because of swimming lessons has definitely been tough… I feel like right as I get in the zone, it’s time to quit, so I was way less productive last week.

We had baked ziti leftovers for dinner Thursday evening, and we snuck in a glass of wine, and then after hanging out for a bit, we watched a couple of episodes of Walk the Prank.  Jacob and Olivia had a sleepover for the third night in a row, and then B and I started a new show on Netflix called Atypical.  Apparently it's four seasons already but I’d never even heard of it.  Have any of you?  What do you think?  It took me a few episodes to really get into it, but I am loving it now!

Friday, July 9

Friday morning, I got up and did a stair stepper workout… I had wanted to run, but my toe was still hurting pretty badly, so I had to do something that didn’t affect the toe.  After our morning routine and a few minutes outside, the kids settled in to build a unicorn trap.  No clue where that idea came from, but I love when they get creative! 

While they worked on that, I got busy uploading a bunch of Olivia’s old baby clothes to Poshmark.  I’d had them packed away for years and finally got the boxes out so we can get rid of them once and for all!  I ended up photographing and uploading 23 new listings so that felt good since I’ve been neglecting Poshmark for the last couple of months.

By the time I finished with that, it was time for lunch.  After lunch, the kids worked on summer homework for another hour.  We had a little bit of trouble with the internet and then the IXL assignment Jacob chose was absurdly difficult, so I was grateful B was working from home and was able to step in the kitchen and help as needed.  Summer homework has been a struggle this year… probably because we waited so long to start and now we’re having to cram it all in.

After IXL, the kids spent some time playing Super Mario Odyssey while I did some work, and then when B got off of work, he and Jacob headed off to play tennis while Olivia and I headed off to get pedicures!  Our family of four typically does everything together, but now that the kids are getting a little older and some of their interests are changing, we’ve reached the point where we’ll probably be pairing off and splitting up some of the time.  I like the one-on-one time anyway… I rarely get it with either of the kids, or Brian for that matter, and it’s always nice to have their undivided attention.

Olivia has only had a pedicure at a spa once ever – after her Pre-K4 graduation – and she had started asking a few weeks ago if we could go get another one, so she was thrilled.  She picked the prettiest deep sparkly pink and a light aqua to get her toes done in two different colors, and I ended up using her same pink for my toes because it was so pretty. 

After our pedicures, we ran to CVS to pick up a prescription, and by the time we were done there, the boys were done with tennis and had placed our to-go order at Five Guys.  Olivia and I were already in the area, so we grabbed it and then headed home.

B had already made Moscow Mules for us by the time we arrived with dinner, so we were ready to roll!  After dinner, a huge storm blew in, and we all snuggled in on the couch and watched Shark Tale per Olivia’s request.  She’d been begging for weeks to watch it, so we finally gave in even though the rest of us weren’t too excited about it.  Haha.

I fell asleep per usual, and then the kids got settled into their sleeping bags for yet another sleepover, this time back in Olivia’s room.  After they went to bed, B and I watched a couple more episodes of Atypical and then some of that other show, Sweet Tooth. 

Saturday, July 10

Saturday morning was homemade waffles, a mixed cardio workout (carefully done in favor of my still slightly aching toe), and laundry, and then we all headed outside for the rest of the morning and much of the afternoon.

We discovered that Olivia’s sunflowers finally FINALLY had some blooms, although, they were still green.  We planted them way back in May, and they have just taken forever to bloom.  We had reached the point where I was starting to think it wasn’t going to happen at all. 

Olivia got in the blow-up pool and the boys played wiffle ball while I settled in with my new book, Daisy Jones and the Six, and not less than an hour went by before Jacob was in the pool fully clothed.  Haha.  There are so many times that he’ll say he doesn’t want to get in the water, and inevitably, he ends up in there anyway. 

We headed back inside just before 3 when the worst of the heat was kicking in, and then I snuck in a quick hour of work in my office while Jacob and Olivia played Super Mario Odyssey.  Before I knew it, it was time to get ready for church.  We’ve been so used to having the entire day Saturday to spend at home for the last 16 months, that it’s been odd stopping late in the afternoon to get ready to go to 5:30 mass again.  I’m so very grateful that we’re able to be back, though.  So so grateful. 

My Mama Cass, Momma, and Aunt Becky and Uncle Bob were all at church along with a couple of friends and their kids, so we were able to hang out and chat with them afterward for a bit.  It has been so wonderful being inside the building again and seeing people we haven’t seen much this last year!

After church, we swung by DQ for Blizzards along with a local pizza place right across the street to pick up dinner, and then we headed home to eat.  We watched an episode of Mighty Ducks Game Changers and a Walk the Prank with the kids, and then B and I settled in to watch a couple of episodes of Atypical and Sweet Tooth.

Sunday, July 11

Sunday morning, we had cinnamon rolls for breakfast (our usual), and then I spent the morning prepping for the week ahead – meal planning for the next two weeks, making the grocery list, sorting laundry, washing towels, watering plants, prepping my planner for the week, and working out. 

We had our usual Sunday lunch at my mother-in-law’s and step-father-in-law’s and they had an abundance of tomatoes from their garden, so they sent us home with a whole bunch for us + my parents.  It was perfect timing, too, because I’d just added lots of tomatoes to my shopping list for a new pasta recipe I’m trying this week. 

It rained all day long Sunday, so we didn’t get to spend any time outdoors, but that was okay by me because I love a good cozy indoor day during the summer… gives off the best fall vibes.  Plus, once July 4th comes and goes, I get totally in fall-mode anyway.  I’m so ready for September 1 already, y’all!

The afternoon was spent all cozy in my office with twinkle lights, my fuzzy blanket, Father of the Bride 2, and a delicious new oils blend – vanilla, wintergreen, and grapefruit.  Oh my word, it smells so yummy!

We headed to my parents’ house Sunday evening and my mom made her famous vegetable lasagna.  We shared a bottle of wine and stayed cozy all evening, and it was the perfect way to end the weekend. 

Happy Wednesday, y’all!