Our Week - The One with Valentine’s Day, Quarantine with Olivia, and Brian’s Birthday

The last two weeks were long, y’all.  Long.  Haha.  After two weeks at home with Covid kids, we are soooo glad to be back to normal this week, and we’re really looking forward to getting back out and doing lots of normal things now that we’ve finally had Covid in our house.  Here’s how the week of quarantining with Olivia went…

Monday, February 14

Monday morning, I got Jacob to school and headed to Publix to do our grocery shopping.  When I got home, B had already made breakfast for Olivia and she was in the living room snuggled up in a blanket and watching her beloved Bluey.  After I got the groceries put away, I headed up to my office for a quick 20 minutes to get all of the pressing things done, and then the rest of the morning was spent hanging with my girl.

Whereas Jacob loves alone time and is very good at keeping himself entertained, my little girlfriend is a people person and she always wants someone nearby.  We played numerous rounds of Guess Who as well as several rounds of Pictureka, and eventually we made it to lunchtime. 

Just before lunch, B had stepped out to grab some special cupcakes for Valentine’s Day and he made it home just in time to eat lunch with us.  Afterward, Olivia played video games for a little bit while I hustled to get as many things checked off of my to do list as I could in such a short amount of time.  Thankfully, I’d had a sneaking suspicion she’d end up with Covid at some point since Jacob had it in our house already, so I’d made it a point to complete all blog posts for the week just in case.  Smart girl.

Monday, all day, I still had a cough and a runny nose, but I didn’t feel bad otherwise, so I just kept on getting stuff done.  You may remember I’d started having the cough and runny nose on Sunday, but I had tested negative Sunday night.

At 3, I picked up Jacob from school, and then we headed home.  He was on a high from his Valentine’s Day party and Olivia picked up on his energy, so the two of them were bouncing off the walls all afternoon.  I finally got them wound down enough for Jacob to do his homework, and then we sent them outside for the rest of the afternoon until dinner was ready.  So grateful for more sunshine in the evenings these days!

My mom and dad came over before dinner to bring some Valentine’s Day treats to the kids, and we all stayed outside and kept our distance so they wouldn’t get the funk.  We ended up talking to them for a while, and then by the time they left, it was time for me to get going on dinner. 

I’d originally planned to make breakfast for dinner along with homemade waffles, but my momma had brought her giant griddle to me that she no longer wanted, so I decided to do pancakes with our breakfast instead of waffles.  You may remember that last year, I tried several times to make good pancakes at home, and I failed miserably every time because my griddle was tiny and terrible.

This new griddle worked like a charm and it was exactly what I needed to make the perfect pancakes.  I made my momma’s recipe that she’s been using my whole life, and they turned out just like hers.  FINALLY.  It even went so smoothly, that I was able to make some cute heart-shaped pancakes for us, too.  :o)

We all sat down to eggs, grits, bacon, sausage, and pancakes for dinner, and then afterward, we all let our food settle for a bit before bringing out the cupcakes that B had picked up earlier in the day.  The kids split a chocolate chip cookie dough cupcake, and they couldn’t even finish them because they’re so darn big.  And rich, too. 

After they finished with their desserts, they headed upstairs to shower and get ready for bed, and then once they were in bed, B and I watched another episode of Station 11 while enjoying our cupcakes… strawberry for me, and chocolate chip cookie dough for him. 

I was still feeling just fine Monday night other than my cough and mild runny nose, but my cough was getting more persistent as the night went on, so I made a hot toddy before bed, and as usual, it worked like a charm.  No coughing the entire night, and I slept like a baby until…

 

Tuesday, February 15

Olivia woke us up around 1 AM to tell us that she had woken up and couldn’t go back to sleep because “her knees were aching” so we gave her some children’s nighttime medicine and then I patted her back for a while until she finally felt sleepy.  I’m assuming that her achy knees were just body aches from the Covid, but it was hard to know since she said that was the only thing that was aching?  I suppose it could have been growing pains, too.

After being up with her for a bit, I couldn’t fall back asleep for a good hour or more (which is rare for me), so I ended up getting up at 6 AM on the struggle bus.  I got Jacob off to school, and by the time I got back home, Olivia had just finished breakfast.  I let her watch a little bit of TV while I squeezed in a few minutes of work, and then she and I spent the rest of the morning working on her birthday interview, doing her birthday chalkboard, cleaning out the closet under the stairs, coloring, and painting. 

We had some leftovers from my momma for lunch, and then afterward, I headed back to my office to squeeze in another hour and a half of work before I had to leave to pick up Jacob from school.  Olivia played Minecraft while I worked… she and Jacob both love builder mode!  They never play the actual game… they always just build!

After Jacob and I got home from school, he worked on homework and then the two of them played while I got a few things done around the house.  I made pasta and veggies for dinner, and then I got in a stair stepper workout after we finished cleaning the kitchen. 

Since I was still coughing all day Tuesday (and still had a runny nose), I decided to test for Covid one more time.  We have lots of stuff coming up (B’s birthday, Olivia’s birthday, Grandparents Day at the kids’ school that I’m in charge of, etc.), so I wanted to stay on top of it so we know how to proceed for upcoming events.  My test was negative yet again, so I’m just chalking my cough/runny nose up to allergies.  My pollen app is saying that the pollen count is medium high here right now, so I’m guessing it really is that.  I can’t imagine two different Covid tests would tell me I’m negative (three if you want to include the one I took after we found out Jacob was positive, but that was before I started having symptoms).  I just find it highly coincidental that I started having respiratory symptoms after both kids got Covid.  I haven’t had respiratory issues like this since February/March 2020 (although these weren’t as bad as those… those were awful). 

The boys left for a 7:15 baseball practice, and while they were gone, Olivia and I tried on her old Disney shirts to see if any of them still fit for our upcoming trip (they didn’t), and then she we played a game of Headbandz as well as another game of Pictureka.  My girl loves some board games!

By the time we’d finished the second game, it was time for her to get ready for bed, and I had her all tucked in by 8:15 so she could get a good long night of rest.  I caught up on social media and watched some of the Olympics coverage until the boys got home at 9, and then after Jacob got showered and in bed, B and I had just enough time to share a cupcake and then head up to bed ourselves.  Those late baseball practices are always rough, and the older he gets, the more of them he has!

Wednesday, February 16

Wednesday morning, I dropped Jacob at school and then I headed home to find Olivia just turning on Netflix to watch Bluey.  I left her to it to get a couple of quick things done in my office, and then I headed back downstairs to play with her for the rest of the morning. 

She wanted to color first, so I printed a couple of coloring sheets per her request, and then I pulled out my coloring book and colored pencils and I joined her.  While we colored, we listened to the Classical Disney songs Pandora station, and that lasted about an hour before she was ready to do something else.

We decided Wednesday morning was a good time to take her birthday chalkboard pictures, so she picked out her outfit and I did her hair, and then we did our little photo shoot outside.  After that, she tidied up the table while I took down the Valentine’s Day decorations and then we played her Princess Cupcakes game followed by a game of Trivial Pursuit.  Lol.  Random, I know, but she wanted to even though most of the questions are ones that she can’t answer.  She did get two right, though – how many people are in the group Salt N Peppa (somehow, she knew it was three!!  Haha.  I thought she’d guess two), and what three flavors are in Neapolitan ice cream. 

Brian picked up Chipotle for lunch per Olivia’s request.  Olivia had gotten wind that we’d had Chipotle without her while Jacob was home with Covid, so she wanted her turn.  Haha.  After lunch, I retreated to my office for an hour and a half to work and Olivia did some more Minecraft building. 

I picked Jacob up from school and he and I swung by my parents’ house to pick up some leftovers followed by the gas station.  When we got home, he tackled his homework and read for a bit, and then he and Brian headed to early baseball practice.  While the boys were gone, Olivia and I got outside for a nice long walk around the neighborhood.  She hadn’t gotten out of the house in nearly 48 hours, so I wanted her to get some fresh air. 

The weather was absolute perfection Wednesday – sunny and 70 degrees with hardly any humidity – so our walk was just what we both needed to feel refreshed and energized.  As we walked, we talked about her returning to school on Thursday, and y’all, she was just so pumped.  She hates missing school. 

When she and I got back home, she showered, and I started my new book because it had finally arrived!  I ordered It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover because our local library system doesn’t have it, and it was supposed to have delivered last Sunday, but it ended up getting lost and delivered late.  I was so excited I couldn’t wait to get started on it.

After Olivia was so fresh and so clean clean, I started cooking dinner and she read for a long time.  The boys got home around 7:30 and we had a very late dinner, and then after dinner, Jacob got showered, and we got both kids in the bed.

After they went to bed, B and I watched episode four of Station 11, and y’all, that show gets weirder and weirder with each new episode.  We’re both enjoying it, but let’s just say that it is nothing like I imagined it would be.  During the show, I made another hot toddy… my cough always gets worse at night, and I didn’t want to risk losing sleep over it.  So far, fingers crossed, my cough hasn’t caused me to lose any sleep yet.  That’s rare for me… I always dread getting sick because I usually have several nights in a row where all I do is cough.  All. night. long.  It’s awful for me, and I’m sure it’s just as awful for B who has to listen to it.

 

Thursday, February 17

Thursday morning, Olivia was able to go back to school, and let me tell you, she JUMPED out of bed when I went in there to wake her.  She was stoked.  In addition to that, Jacob had finished his five-day mask requirement to end his 10-day full “quarantine” (or whatever you want to call it) after his Covid, so we decided to let him go to school mask-free on Thursday for the first time since August 2020!!!!  We figured that since he just had it, since he’s fully vaccinated, since cases are trending waaaay down here now, and since most of his other classmates have stopped wearing theirs (many of them have had it) that we’d let him have a mask break for a while. 

In addition to that, the CDC has started hinting at better days ahead recently and many states and large corporations have started relaxing their mask mandates in the last few days.  I’m praying that’s an excellent sign that maybe things are heading in the right direction forever and that maybe Wednesday was the last time he’ll ever have to wear a mask to school… forever??  Could it actually be?!  Praying that this stupid thing is finally fizzling out once and for all. 

After I got the kids off to school, I spent the entire morning catching up on all of the work that I’d gotten behind on.  I had a to do list a mile long (there were even more items than the ones I posted in my Instagram stories), so I set out to check as many things off as I could before picking the kids up from school.  I started on scholarship paperwork for school, I worked on finalizing our Disney plans, I worked on our packing list for our trip, and I continued working through to see what all needs to be purchased for our trip. 

We have soooo much going on for the next three months and my head has just been swimming trying to keep track of the planning for all of it, so I tried to get as much of it down on paper as I could – scholarship applications, yearbook ads, little league spring raffle, researching and booking summer camps, voice lessons, and piano lessons for summer, Brian’s birthday, First Reconciliation, Grandparents Day, Olivia’s birthday, Blueman Group, spring auction school fundraiser baskets, my birthday, Disney trip, the G-Day game, Easter, Field Day, Teacher Appreciation Week, the spring social at school, Olivia’s dance recital weekend, a Dave Matthews Band concert, and First Communion + all of our usual things like dance classes, a crap ton of baseball practices and games, girls dinners, a movie night with my Momma, hopefully a dinner with my old coworkers, and a couple of lunches with old coworkers, as well as the usual appointments and meetings I always have…

AND THAT IS ALL HAPPENING BY THE END OF MAY. 

Then the weekend after that, we leave for the beach. 

Y’ALL!  I think I’m going to be extra thankful for that beach trip this year!  This time of year is B-O-N-K-E-R-S, but I’m the most grateful that we are finally able to do all of these things again and I’m looking forward to savoring every single thing!

I’m so glad we got our Covid out of the way before all of this started.  Haha.  Well, hopefully, anyway. 

Brian didn't even want a dog, and now look at him.  Hahahaha.  When he comes to my office during the day he always has to give her some snuggles.

When I picked the kids up from school, Olivia was just over the moon about her day.  She’d gotten to pass out and receive her valentines, she worked hard all day to make up some of the work that she’d missed, and she’d finally gotten to meet the new student whom her teacher had selected Olivia to mentor.  She said that they get along great and she had the most fun helping her during class and playing with her on the playground. 

Baseball was canceled Thursday evening (which was nice because it was a late practice), so we had the evening at home.  The kids played outside for a long time because it was 73 degrees, and I read for a bit and then cooked dinner.  After dinner, the kids got ready for bed, and then we watched some Olympics coverage while the kids sorted their valentines. 

After they went to bed, B and I watched episode five of Station 11, and then we called it a night.

Friday, February 18

Friday morning, I dropped the kids at school and then swung by Publix on the way home to grab some ingredients for Brian’s birthday dessert on Sunday.  I’d been holding off planning a birthday dessert because we were originally supposed to be celebrating at his mom’s house, but they decided to postpone since Olivia will still be in her 10-day Covid window.  I have to say, as sad as I am that we have to cancel Sunday lunch again, I was very relieved, because I just didn’t feel comfortable going over there since both kids have had Covid in the last two weeks and Olivia was still within the 10-day window.

When I got home, I spent the morning working, but I had to cut my workday short to go pick up the kids at noon.  For some reason this year, instead of giving the kids the entire day off for President’s Day, we just had a noon dismissal day on Friday for a teacher workday.  So strange.

On the way home from school, we picked up Chick-Fil-A for lunch, and after lunch, the kids played video games for a bit.  They were wired when they finished playing video games, so I sent them outside where they played for a couple of hours until dinnertime.  It was another gorgeous day, although a little on the cold side.  

Also, I had to mention this because it has been cracking me up – the kids have started "pranking" us when they're outside by sneaking over to the front door, ringing the doorbell, and then running away.  What they don't realize is that we have a Ring Doorbell Camera, so it gets them on camera every single time, and this picture of Olivia made me laugh so hard last Sunday.  It's so funny to me that they started doing this because they don't even know that it's something that kids used to do when I was little!

B headed out to pick up Five Guys for dinner, and I read for a bit while he was gone.  I couldn’t put it down all week!

After dinner, the kids got ready for bed, and we watched an episode of Mighty Ducks Game Changers, and then we started the new season of The Amazing Race with them.  Brian and I used to watch that show all the time, but hadn’t watched in a few years, and we thought it would be the perfect family show for the four of us to watch.  Both kids seemed to like it a lot, so hopefully, this will be a new thing for us.

After the kids went to bed, B and I watched episodes 6 and 7 of Station 11 and then we headed to bed.  Only three episodes left and they sure to have a lot of loose ends to tie up!

Saturday, February 19

Saturday morning, I made homemade waffles for breakfast, and then the boys headed to baseball practice.  Olivia was on Day 8 of Covid, and even though she’d been able to go back to school on Thursday, I didn’t feel right about taking her out in public anywhere, so we stayed home for our one last slow weekend before all of the craziness that spring is going to bring for us.

While the boys were gone, I read for a little bit, and then Olivia and I did a craft that she’d seen on Gabby’s Dollhouse.  She made a little bunny out of an Easter egg and placed it in a little basket made of pipe cleaners.  It was a simple craft, and all she needed help with was the hot glue gun, and it turned out so darn cute.

After our craft, she finished up catching up on all of the schoolwork she’d missed earlier in the week while I started some laundry and then got in a cardio workout.  She helped me change the sheets on her bed, and while the comforter was off the bed, she decided to set up a little shop.  At her shop she mailed letters, sold stuffies, and she had a little library where you could check out books.  It was the cutest.  :o)

By the time all that was done, the boys were home and they had brought home a free lunch from one of our local food trucks.  The food truck had been catering an event in the park where Jacob plays baseball, and they had food leftover, so they were just giving it away.  B and I had chipped pork sandwiches and Brunswick Stew and the kids had massive sausage dogs and chips, and it was really delicious.

After lunch, the kids tidied the house and did their laundry, and then they played for a bit before switching to video games later in the afternoon.  I spent the afternoon trying on old Disney shirts to make sure everything still looked good for our trip, and then I got a few things done for our trip.

By the weekend, I was still coughing and my nose was still running, but both had improved significantly.  Since I’d tested negative three times in the last 14 days, I just chalked it up to allergies and that was that.

B had to work Saturday evening, so we had a very early dinner – he picked up Mexican from our favorite place – and then he got to work (from home).  The kids headed outside after dinner and they played outside until dark.  Jacob’s baseball coach told all of the kids that he wanted them to catch 1,000 pop flies this week, so Jacob got to work, and he did 150 Saturday evening. 

While the kids played, I got some old baby stuff photographed and listed online to sell.  It’s been sitting in a closet for seven years, so it was long overdue.  Haha. 

The kids came inside at dark and played a couple of board games, and then they watched Encanto yet again, because that’s their movie – and music – of choice these days.  While they watched, I worked on a couple of projects and then I finished my book.  It was so, so good, y’all.

The kids got in the bed a little after 9, and then I snuggled with Maui on the couch until B finally wrapped up work a little after 10.  We had just enough time to squeeze in another episode of Station 11, and then we ended up watching half of the next episode because one just wasn’t enough.  Ha!

 

Sunday, February 20

Sunday was Brian’s birthday, and the kids greeted him with homemade cards when he came downstairs.  After that, it was our usual cinnamon rolls and virtual church (hopefully for the last time ever unless it’s by choice!) and then B opened his gifts.  We gave him the Donkey Kong video game for the Switch, so he and the kids headed straight to the playroom to take it for a test drive. 

While they did that, I made some homemade banana pudding for B’s birthday dessert (his request) and then I photographed more baby clothes to sell on Facebook and Etsy.  We all had a light lunch shortly after that, and then we all headed outside.  It was a beautiful, clear, sunny, semi-warm day, so we all got another little taste of spring.  B and the kids played basketball forever and then I eventually headed in to get ready for the day.

The rest of the afternoon was school prep and a tiny bit of blog work for me, and then I went out and picked up pizza from a local place that we love, but rarely have.  We don’t usually do takeout on Sundays, but B requested it for his birthday… pizza is his favorite. 

After dinner, we sang Happy Birthday to the birthday boy and he blew out the candles in his banana pudding (haha).  Then all of us piled on the couch to watch some more of The Amazing Race.

And that was the last of our lazy days for a while, and I have to say, I’m actually looking forward to the busyness this year!

And now for a few current things…

Currently Reading

 

This month, I intended to just read one book, but I ended up choosing two excellent books, and I couldn’t put either of them down.  Therefore, I read two books!  The first was The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, and the second was It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover.  Both were excellent, though very different.  It Ends with Us was my first Colleen Hoover book, and from what I’ve heard, all of hers are excellent, so I’m looking forward to reading many more this summer.

 

Currently Watching

 

With B:  This month, B and I have been watching This is Us, Supermarket Sweep, Shark Tank, The Bachelor, and Saturday Night Live on network television.  Then for streaming, we finished Ozark, we started and finished season two of Raising Dion, and we started and finished Station 11.

 

With the Kids:  We’re still working our way through The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Mighty Ducks Game Changers, and we finished Secret Benedict Society and Secrets of Sulphur Springs at the end of January.  We also watched a ton of Ice Age Movies and a lot of Olympics coverage with them as well, and we started the new season of The Amazing Race.  This is their first time watching that show and so far, they like it!

 

Alone:  Still watching The Big Wedding on repeat while I work, and I also added The Wedding Planner back to the rotation.  I could watch The Wedding Planner a million times and it would never be too much.

 

Currently Listening To

 

We’re still jamming to the 90’s pop station on Amazon frequently, and I’ve also started throwing the 90’s R&B station on Amazon in the mix.  It is so dang good.  We also tried to listen to the Disney Classical Music station on Pandora per several recommendations, but it always kicks us out after a few songs… I guess you can’t listen to that entire play list if you don’t pay??  And then, of course, Encanto, Encanto, Encanto when I’m with the kiddos!

Happy Tuesday, y’all!