Our Week - The One with Disney Decisions and the Return of Sunday Lunch

We had a rainy, but very cozy, week and there wasn’t much exciting going on, but by now you all know that I enjoy recapping the mundane weeks just as much as I enjoy recapping the exciting ones, so here’s a little peek at what we did last week.

Monday, September 13

Monday morning, I headed straight home after dropping the kids and I got in a run.  Temps were in the mid-sixties and the humidity was a bit lower than it usually is in the morning, and I found that my run was SO much easier.  It was actually, dare I say, enjoyable?  I typically have a love/hate relationship with running.  I always dread the thought of going for a run, but then I love it once I actually get out there and get in the zone.  I also love the way it challenges me and makes my body feel like it gets a genuinely good workout, but I also hate when my SI joints and/or toes are in pain afterward.  And it’s always waaaay less enjoyable when my asthma flares up, too.  See?  Lots of love, lots of hate. 

Anyway, after my run, the rest of the day was spent in my office working on blog posts, updating some old links, paying some bills, and scheduling a couple of appointments.  B and I finally talked over lunch about our Disney trip and we decided to postpone it once again since things are so dire here right now with Covid.  The southeast is a hotbed right now for the virus and every single ICU bed in our city has been full for weeks. 

One of my friend’s sons works at one of our three local hospitals and he said that they are currently treating people in hallways, ambulances, and even hospital closets because there is simply not enough room for everyone.  The staff is overworked, and they are mentally exhausted from watching people die every. single. day. 

It has been worse here these last few weeks than any other point in the pandemic, and we just can’t bring ourselves to take the kids out in crowds right now since they’re not vaccinated.  Especially since things are supposedly worse in Florida right now than they are here.  Which is hard to imagine.

We decided to ask our travel agent to move our trip to Spring Break 2022.  That will give things some time to die down again, and by then, hopefully there will be a vaccine available for the kids.  That also means we will actually be able to stay at the resort we want (right now, the one we want to stay in is closed), we can hopefully dine where we want to dine (we weren’t able to get a couple of the restaurants we wanted for the October trip), and the kids won’t have to miss school like they were going to if we went in October.  That also means we won’t have to be there during the 50th anniversary celebration either… we know it’s going to be insane, so we weren’t excited about being there that week anyway.

Although, I’m sad we’re having to push it out yet again, I’m feeling at peace with the decision.  And that also means that we’ll be able to go on our annual mountain trip instead.  We had originally decided to bump it for Disney, and we weren’t sure we’d end up making it.  Thankfully, we’d booked a backup Airbnb months ago just in case, and I’m so glad we did.  Otherwise, there’d be no place to stay in the mountains.

I picked up the kids from school at 3 and we headed straight to dance.  Olivia changed in the car, and then once she was safely inside, Jacob and I headed home.  I got him dropped off there so he could do his homework, and while I was there, I got lunches, thermoses, masks, snacks, etc. prepped for the next day, and then I headed back out.  On the way back to the dance studio, I made a quick stop by the library to pick up and return some books (I was super excited because my hold finally became available for Malibu Rising after months of waiting!), and then I had about 30 minutes when I arrived back at dance to catch up on emails while I listened to a podcast. 

Olivia’s class was over at 5:45, and then she and I headed straight for the Chick-Fil-A drive-through to pick up dinner.  Then we met up with Brian and Jacob at the ball field to watch Jacob’s 7 PM game.  All of the grandparents joined us, and Jacob’s team got a win!  Jacob had a great game getting one single/RBI and scoring a run, and he was walked for his other at-bat.  Last game, he played at third base and a little at second, and in this game, he played center field. 

We were up towards the end of the game without the possibility of the other team pulling ahead, so they called it early, and we were able to get out of there by 8:30, which was nice!  B and I had taken separate cars and the kids requested to ride home with him, so I got to ride home solo in the dark with the sunroof open and my music blasting which is one of my favorite things in the whole world!  I’ll never not have a sunroof.

When we got home, the kids got showered and in bed, and B and I had just enough time to spend a few minutes with Maui before calling it a night and heading upstairs so I could start my new book.

Tuesday, September 14

Tuesday morning, I stopped by Target and Fresh Market after I dropped the kids and, as always, Target’s seasonal section sucked me right in.  Y’all, just look at all of those Halloween-themed snacks in my cart.  SMH.  Haha.

I spent the rest of the day working in my office and then I grabbed the kids from school at 3, and then we headed straight to the doctor’s office where Jacob had an appointment.  Olivia wasn’t able to go in, so B met us there to pick her up and take her to dance.  Again, thank goodness for B’s flexible work schedule!

After Jacob’s appointment, we headed home, finished homework, cooked and ate dinner, and then played wiffle ball in the back yard for a while.  When the kids went inside to shower, I laced up my tennis shoes and headed out for a nice, long, solo walk around the neighborhood.  It was super cloudy and cool, and so enjoyable.  I ended up walking until it was almost dark, and I got back in just in time to tuck the kiddos into bed.  B and I started season two of Trying, and then we headed up to bed.

Wednesday, September 15

Wednesday was National Dot Day, so the kids celebrated at school by wearing dots.  Jacob didn’t have anything with polka dots, so we had to improvise with this soccer athletic shirt that just so happened to have one large dot (the soccer ball) and a bunch of little dots in the background.  Olivia ended up twinning with her school principal, and the school posted this picture of the two of them in their Instagram stories.  So sweet!

Wednesday was the first of many rainy days last week, so I snuggled up in my office for the first couple of hours, and I had a nice, long phone conversation with one of my old coworkers.  He and I try to catch up once a month or so and we were a little overdue since he’s been working a ton due to a huge project at work.

As much as I’d hoped to stay in and enjoy the coziness of the day, I had to leave the house around 10 to run a few errands.  I stopped by the bank, made a quick stop at Kohl’s to grab a birthday gift, and then I had a hair appointment at 10:30.  I had to get those roots taken care of since Olivia was coloring them all dark on her pictures of me.  Lol.

After my hair appointment, I swung by Chipotle to pick up lunch for B and me, and then after lunch, I worked until it was time to pick up the kids.  We had nothing going on Wednesday evening, so we spent the evening at home.  I’d hoped to spend some time outside, but it rained all day and all night. 

We had dinner, I read while the kids got ready for bed, and then we watched the Lego Masters finale.  Our team won!!!!  You may remember that my friend Jeannine and her fam challenged our family to a friendly bet, and our team ended up winning.  The kids were soooo excited!

We finished up with Lego Masters just as the SpaceX launch was starting, so we let the kids watch a few minutes of that, too, while I wrapped up my stair stepper workout, and then we got them off to bed.

Thursday, September 16

Thursday was another super rainy day, so I cozied up in my office again after I dropped the kids at school.  I had to put my coziness on hold at 9 AM to leave for my annual skin check at the dermatologist.  I have always loved laying out in the sun and I used to spend one month each year laying in a tanning bed in high school and college, so I started getting my skin checked a few years ago.  Just a friendly reminder to get yours checked, too! 

I got a clean bill of health for another year, and then I headed to Publix to grab some treats for Olivia’s class to celebrate her teacher’s birthday on Friday.  The rest of the day was spent working in my office, and then I picked up the kids from school at 3 as always, this time in a very rainy car line.

Jacob’s baseball game was canceled from all the rain, so we made breakfast for dinner at home, and then afterward we went for a walk around the neighborhood since the rain had finally stopped.  We went about a mile with the four of us and Maui, and after they headed home, I continued the walk solo for nearly three more miles.  It was breezy and cool again, and I was treated to a partial sunset in between cloud formations.  Perfect way to end the evening.

By the time I got back, the kids were all showered and ready for bed, so we snuggled up on the couch and started America’s Got Talent before getting them into bed.

Friday, September 17

Friday, I had nowhere to be and it was yet another rainy day, so I skipped the workout and snuggled up in a blanket in my office aaaallll day.  I turned on Friends, got some cinnamon and clove going in my diffuser, turned on the twinkle lights, and drank several cups of hot tea throughout the day while I worked.  Gosh, I love days like that and I’m so looking forward to fall and winter so I can be cozy all the time.

Olivia’s class was celebrating their teacher’s birthday on Friday, and her teacher’s assistant posted this sweet picture of the whole class on Facebook celebrating.  When I picked the kids up from school, Olivia was just gushing about all of the fun they’d had.  She had a classmate celebrating a birthday, too, so they got to have twice the fun!

When the kids and I got home from school, we spent the whole afternoon outside because the rain had finally let up for a bit.  I sat and read for a long time because I have to get this book back to the library since there’s a long wait behind me.  And for the record, I am loving it.

B was on call until 4 AM because he was backing someone up on a big project, so I left to pick up barbecue from our favorite place for dinner at 5:30.  When I pulled up in the pickup line, I just so happened to pull up right next to my parents!  Crazy!

The rest of the evening was spent watching the season finale of America’s Got Talent with the kids, and then B and I watched the new episode of Ted Lasso, and the first episode of the new season of The Morning Show in between B’s work calls.  Random thought, Ted Lasso was really weird this week and not my favorite.  It seemed like such a waste of an episode!  I ended up going to bed around midnight, but B had to stay up until the project was done, and it didn’t end up finishing until 2 AM.  Yuck.

Saturday, September 18

Saturday morning, I made homemade waffles for the kids with our new spiderweb waffle iron.  We already had the pumpkin waffle iron from last year, so I made a combo of pumpkins and spiderwebs, threw some Halloween sprinkles on top, and they turned out so adorable.  The kids were so excited.

The rest of the morning was lazy as always on Saturday football weekends.  B and I curled up on the couch and watched ESPN College GameDay for a couple of hours, and then I finally got off my butt to work out while we watched the last hour.  B left for tennis just after noon, and the kids and I had lunch, did the Saturday laundry, and spent some time outside together.

The rest of the afternoon was spent indoors because it rained yet again, and I did some work in my office while the kids played video games.  Right now, they’re obsessed with MarioKart and Minecraft, but they only do Minecraft in builder mode.  All Jacob wants to do is build stuff!  Between that and his Legos, I’ll be shocked if he doesn’t end up doing something with architecture of some other kind of engineering.  He LOVES to build and figure out how things work.

Saturday was a huge day for college football, so between all the football and the fact that it poured down rain all afternoon yet again, we spent the rest of the day watching the Alabama / Florida game, the Georgia / South Carolina game, and the Auburn / Penn State game.  We had pizza delivered so we didn’t have to leave the house, and it was another cozy day indoors.  As much as I’ve been loving the coziness of the rain, I’m ready for some sunshine later this week!  We are ready for some fall outdoor activities and we need baseball to stop getting rained out!

Sunday, September 19

Sunday morning, we watched Mass virtually with our cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and then I planned the week ahead, meal planned for the next two weeks ahead, made my grocery list, watered all of our plant babies, and got the house in order for the week ahead.  I always spend a little time on Sundays getting prepped for the week ahead and it sure does make things easier all week!

Sunday afternoon, my mother-in-law and step-father-in-law cooked lunch for the first time in six weeks (since before school started), and we were so happy to be able to see everyone.  We’ve seen my MIL and step-FIL at baseball games, but we hadn’t seen my SIL and BIL and nephews since the last Sunday lunch.  Since we’re all coming from different jobs and schools, we still aren’t sitting around the same table just to be on the safe side, but it was nice to be able to enjoy a good meal and then spend some time with them after we finished eating.

Sunday evening, my Momma, Daddy, brother, and Mama Cass all came over for Sunday dinner.  I made my Momma’s baked ziti recipe that we’ve been eating since I was little (I need to share it on the blog sometime… it is so easy and so dang delicious), and we had a Caesar salad, garlic bread, and of course, wine.  We sat around on the back porch all evening under the twinkle lights and that was the end of our week!

Happy Tuesday, y’all!