Our Week - The One with Blue Man Group, a First Communion Retreat, and the Start of Baseball Games

We had another busy week, and an even busier weekend, but it was a great one!  Here’s the recap.

Monday, February 28

Monday morning, I dropped the kids at school, got my grocery shopping done at Publix, and then I headed home for the whole day to try to get ahead on blog stuff again.  Even though I’d managed to get ahead by an entire week, all of my forward progress was lost last week since I had so much else going on. 

Mid-morning, I stopped to have my monthly session with my therapist, and then it was right back to blog work.  Brian started going back to work in-person on Monday, so I had the whole house to myself for the first time in ages and it was… weird.  Haha.  Who knows how long the in-person work will last, but for now he’s primarily back in the office. 

After school, I surprised the kids with a trip through the Burger King drive-through for soft serve cones, and then we headed to Olivia’s dance studio.  Once she was settled in class, Jacob and I headed home to prep for Tuesday and get homework done, etc. 

B arrived at home just as I had to leave to pick Olivia up from dance, and then Olivia and I arrived back home just as the boys were leaving for baseball.  The boys had already eaten dinner, so Olivia did her homework while I made some sandwiches and fruit for us, and then after dinner she got showered while I squeezed in a half-hearted mixed cardio workout.  I’m soooo ready for the weather to start being warmer in the morning so I can go back to doing my workouts right after school drop-off.

By the time Olivia was out of the shower, the boys had gotten home from baseball practice, and Jacob got showered.  After that, we all lounged around on our bed for a bit, and then we got the kids in the bed.  B and I ended the night with an episode of The Bachelor, but we cut it short in favor of more sleep.

 

Tuesday, March 1

Tuesday, I dropped the kids off at school with a King Cake in hand for Olivia, and then I headed back home to work for a bit.  At 11, I had an appointment with my ENT because I’d been having some trouble with the ringing in my ears.  All of you long-time readers may remember that I started having tinnitus (ringing in my ears) after a terrible bout of allergies in Fall 2018. 

Well, I’ve seen a TMJ specialist, an allergist, an ENT, and a therapist to tackle all possible issues that could be causing it, and nobody has been able to figure it out.  Therefore, I’ve had a ringing in my ears 24/7/365 since Fall 2018.  I haven’t heard silence in nearly four years.

For the first year, it drove me NUTS and I thought I was going to go crazy some days, but after a lot of prayer and acceptance, I have completely embraced the ringing, and I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’ll probably be hearing it until the day I die.  Ever since I accepted it, it hasn’t bothered me.

Until a few weeks ago…

Several weeks ago, one day I woke up, and the ringing in my left ear had gotten way louder.  Up until that point, the ringing was even in both ears, and it wasn’t impairing my hearing.  Well, after the ringing got louder in my left ear, I also noticed over the next few days that I wasn’t able to hear as well out of that ear.  And since the ringing was way louder in the left ear than the right, it had started driving me crazy again.

I went to the allergist last week, and while doing my checkup, my doctor casually mentioned that my left ear was so full of wax that he couldn’t see my eardrum.  Immediately, a light went off, and I realized that was probably why the ringing had gotten louder.

Sure enough, my ENT did confirm that the wax in my left ear had formed a plug and it was obstructing everything.  He vaccumed out both ears, and when he was done I had instant relief.  I could hear again, and the loud, obnoxious ringing in my left ear had subsided, and my ears were back to their normal, equal ringing.  Whew.  I never thought I’d be so grateful to have my normal ringing back.  Haha.

After my appointment, I headed back home to eat lunch and finish working, and then it was off to pick up the kids from school.  They were all hyped up about their day… our school goes all out for Fat Tuesday, so they’d had a parade, a King Cake, and they’d gotten Mardi Gras beads.  They both had a blast.  Olivia’s teacher sent me this picture of her and two of her friends with their Mardi Gras masks they had made.

When we got home, the kids had just enough time to get snacks and homework done before we had to leave again to get Olivia to dance.  Since Brian isn’t working from home anymore, Jacob had to come with us, and he and I sat in the car while Olivia was in class.  He finished his AR book and I got caught up on some emails, and 45 minutes later, it was time to head back home.

When we got home, I made beef and parm pasta for dinner, and we had just enough time for the four of us to sit down for dinner together before Brian and Jacob had to leave again for a late baseball practice.  While they were gone, I got in a cardio workout, but I struggled all the way through it because my big toe has started hurting again… I guess I’m going to have to have somebody look at it if it doesn’t stop flaring up like this.

While I worked out, Olivia got ready for bed, and then she and I lounged in her bed for the rest of the evening until it was time for her to go to sleep.  We snuggled and chatted about all kinds of things, and it was just the best time with my girl.  She’s getting so big now, and I know these days of her wanting to snuggle and tell me everything are numbered, so I’m just soaking it up while I can.

I left her room at 8:15 so she could go to sleep, and then I snuggled up on the couch with Maui until the boys got home.  Practice ran late, so they didn’t even walk in the door until nearly 9:15, so Jacob showered quickly and got to bed, and B and I watched the State of the Union address before heading off to bed, too.

Wednesday, March 2

Wednesday morning, I dropped the kids at school and then I ran to Target so I could start shopping for Easter basket goodies.  We’ll be getting back from Disney World the weekend before Easter, so I want to have the baskets totally done before we ever leave so I’m not scrambling at the last minute.  I ended up getting enough stuff to fill Olivia’s basket, and I also got a couple of things for Jacob, so I made good progress!

At 9, I headed back to the school and church campus to go to Ash Wednesday Mass.  The lower school Mass was at 9:30, so I grabbed both kids when their classes came in, and we all sat together with my Momma and Mama Cass as well.  Since the church wasn’t crowded, we skipped the mask-wearing, too, which was so nice. 

After Mass, I chatted with Momma and Mama Cass in the parking lot for a bit, and then I headed home to tackle some more blog work.  After school, the kids and I came home and I was a whirlwind prepping for the next day, completing random tasks, and tidying up.  At 5, Olivia and I whisked Jacob over to the baseball field for practice, and B met us there to take over so Olivia and I could return home to cook.

While at the ball field, we got an email saying that Olivia’s teacher had to resign due to family circumstances, and that she won’t be able to finish out the school year.  Olivia was absolutely crushed, and she burst into tears… she loves her teacher so very much.  Her teacher will be there for the next couple of weeks, though, so Olivia will have the chance to soak up lots of time with her before she goes.  The school does already have a permanent replacement who will finish out the school year with her class, so at least we don’t have to worry about a revolving door of subs.  Olivia was pretty blue all evening after that, but she is so very resilient and she handles change better than the rest of us in the family, so I have a feeling she’s going to be just fine.

When we were leaving the ballpark, several of the teachers from her school (including her first grade teacher from last year) were all walking, so we were able to stop and chat with them for a bit, and that most definitely cheered her up.  When we got home, Olivia jumped in the shower while I started dinner, and then she helped me set the table and prep some things for dinner. 

The boys got home a little after 7 and we had a late dinner, and then after Jacob got showered, we got them in the bed and relaxed in front of the TV for a bit before calling it a night. 

Thursday, March 3

Thursday morning, I dropped the kids at school, and then I headed home to work all day long.  Thursday was the first day that I didn’t have something on the calendar, so I had a full, uninterrupted day of work.  I got a blog post completed, and I prepped and worked on several more, I placed a Target order for all of the snacks and some other things we’ll need for our upcoming Disney trip, and I bought a few things for Jacob’s Easter basket.  I’m already getting close to being finished with both kids’ baskets and we’re still over a month away from Easter!  Feels good!

After school, the kids got their homework done and then we all spent some time outside because the weather was insanely gorgeous (aside from all of the tree pollen – ugh).  The kids played basketball and I got all of my plant clippings planted in pots.  All five of the clippings that I put in water several weeks ago ended up growing nice, long, strong roots, so I got them planted in three pots, and I now have some new little babies to add to my house plant collection.  Now I just need to freshen up the soil in my existing pots!

I also need to prune a couple of my other plants because they’re out of control!  Local friends and family, if you’re local and you want a clipping, holla at me and I’ll get one started for you! 

After our outdoor time, I got started on dinner, and while I did that the kids got showered and changed into some fresh clothes because after dinner, we had tickets to see… Blue Man Group!  So fun!!

B and I saw them in Vegas pre-kids and we both loved it, so when we saw that they were going to be nearby, B snagged some tickets.  During a pandemic that’s kind of a gamble because you never know what things are going to look like months later when the show finally rolls around, but we lucked out in that everything has settled down tremendously here.

It was a packed house, but the theater still has a mask mandate, so everyone was fully masked the whole time except to eat or drink.  The show ended up being nearly 90 minutes long, and I think the kids laughed for at least 60 of those minutes.  They loved every single second and said it was pretty much the best thing ever.  The show is interactive, so they pull people from the audience several times throughout the show, and those parts were always laugh-out-loud funny.

We were near the front of the theater so we got to see them up close and personal when they would come out into the audience, and we were blasted with confetti twice, much to the kids’ delight.  They even took some home as souvenirs.  Haha.

We got home laaaate, so the kids both got into bed right away, and then B and I spent about 30 minutes downstairs with Maui before calling it a night.  Poor girl, she is all thrown off now that we’re so busy again.  After nearly two years of not doing as much, we have been going in a million different directions these last two weeks (especially with B going back to work in the office), so Maui has been all out of sorts. 

Friday, March 4

Friday was book character day at school for Olivia, and she dressed up as the unicorn in How to Catch a Unicorn.  We had all of the perfect pieces on hand so it was easy peasy.

After I dropped the kids, I headed home and worked all morning.  B is still working from home on Fridays, so he was home for the first time in four days on Friday and it was nice to be able to eat lunch with him again. 

He had ordered a new laptop for me because mine is old as dirt and it has been causing all kinds of trouble, so I spent part of the afternoon backing up files on my computer to an external hard drive.  I’m not about to migrate everything over to the new laptop without doing that first!  EEK!

Friday afternoon, I picked up the kids from school, and we headed to the library to pick up a book on hold for Jacob.  The kids also browsed for a bit and picked out a few more books, and then on the way out, we saw my friend, Jeannine, and her boys playing in one of the meeting rooms.  We stopped by to say hello, but we couldn’t stay because Jacob had baseball practice and we had to get home and get him ready.

After the library, we headed home, and I had just enough time to get the dishwasher unloaded and get everything put away before it was time to head out.  Since practice was at 6:30, that put us in an awkward spot for dinner, so we all decided to go eat Mexican at our favorite place near the kids’ church and school since it’s also close to the baseball fields. 

The kids have been obsessed with Encanto lately like most other kids, and they’ve been speaking in Spanish as much as possible.  They’ve both been taking Spanish at school since Pre-K4, so they know a lot of the basics.  While we were at the Mexican restaurant, our waitress encouraged them to speak to her and order in Spanish, so she helped them along when needed.  It was so sweet.

After a round of margs and lots of queso, the four of us headed to the ball field for practice.  Jacob was in the cages Friday evening, so he was done by 7:15 and we headed back home after that.  We had just enough time to get in PJs and watch an episode of The Amazing Race before sending the kids to bed.  And then B and I watched A Million Little Things and I promptly fell asleep on the couch.  I was exhausted.

Saturday, March 5

Saturday was B-U-S-Y.  Saturday morning, we were up bright and early to get Olivia to church for her First Communion retreat.  She had to be there by 9, so she and I headed out first thing... but not before snapping a picture of her epic arm party!  This girl and her accessories.  Haha.

After I dropped her, I headed straight back home to grab the boys.  Jacob had opening ceremonies for baseball at 10:30 and we had to be there by 10, but we ended up getting there at 9:45 because we knew parking was going to be awful.

Opening ceremonies started promptly at 10:30 and ended at 11:15, which was perfect timing, because we had to be back at the church by 11:40 to go to Adoration with Olivia to end her retreat. 

Olivia was all excited to tell us about her morning when we arrived.  They’d had a traditional Seder meal and tried all kinds of new foods, and they’d learned lots, and they’d practiced receiving First Communion with potato chips.  She’d gotten to hang out with her friends from school, and she’d made new friends with a few kids from the Sunday school classes who don’t go to school with her, and she’d had an all-around fantastic morning.  My friend, Jeannine, and Olivia's teacher both sent me pictures of her with her BFF.  Sweetest girls.

After Adoration, the four of us headed straight to Chick-Fil-A to pick up lunch, and then we took it home to eat super-fast and let Maui out.  We had about 30 free minutes after lunch, so I took the time to gather some laundry, tidy up some things, and open my Target order that had arrived, and then it was time to hit the road yet again. 

Jacob had team pictures at 2:15, so we had to be back at the ball field by 2, and after that was done, we had an hour to kill before we had to be back at the ball field for the third time for his actual game.  We didn’t want to drive all the way home again since we didn’t have much time, so we decided to spend some time downtown instead. 

Our favorite craft beer store is downtown, and B had a gift card to spend, so we browsed there for a bit and picked up a few new beers to try.  We still had some time left after that, so we walked around and got donuts for the kids as a little treat.  The weather was perfection and downtown was hopping, so it was a fun little way to spend the afternoon.

We headed back to the ball field after that and watched Jacob’s first game of the season at 4:30.  He opted to play one more season of B-Ball rather than move up to A-Ball, so this was his third season of B-Ball.  His team looked awesome and they ended up winning 11-6.  Jacob played second base and he did a great job of backing up the pitcher.  He also threw a kid out at first.  For batting, he had two walks and he also got a single that was also an RBI, plus he scored two runs.  He even stole home one of the times.  After the game, his coach was gushing about him, and he gave Jacob the game ball for the first game of the season! 

It was the best evening watching him play and hanging with my father-in-law and my parents outside in the beautiful weather… as much as I can’t stand the intense practice schedule at the beginning of baseball season, I sure do love watching him play.  I’m sure going to miss it after this season when he makes the switch to golf.  I mean, just look at his cute self!  It's the hat for me. 

By the time the game was over, we were all sweaty and exhausted – it was hot on Saturday! – and it was dinnertime, so we picked up takeout from our favorite BBQ place on the way home.  They had an issue with our order, and we ended up waiting for much longer than they’d told us originally, so they offered free dessert to us as a “we’re sorry” gift.

By the time we got home with our dinner, it was 7:30 and we were all starving.  We started the new season of American Idol while we ate, and then after dinner, the kids showered and got ready for bed, and we watched some of The Amazing Race.  Our plan was to watch The Amazing Race during dinner, but the episode started out with the contestants eating cheese covered in live maggots (I mean, whyyyy), and none of us wanted to watch that while we were eating.  Haha.

After the kids were in bed, B and I watched the last episode of season two of Raising Dion, and then we started The White Lotus (I know, we’re SO behind).  We made it through the first episode and by the time it was over, I was out like a light.  This was the most exhausting week!

 

Sunday, March 6

Sunday morning, we finally slept in, and then I made homemade waffles and we watched Mass virtually.  Jacob’s game had prevented us from going to Mass on Saturday afternoon like we usually do, and we were all so exhausted, that we decided not to get up early for Mass in person.

After church, I got in a cardio workout and then did aaaallll the things I hadn’t been home to do Saturday + all of my Sunday chores – laundry, replacing towels throughout the house, tidying, cleaning, prepping for Monday, etc. 

The kids built a fort in the front sitting room and they played all morning, and they also got their laundry done.  We had a light lunch at home, and then afterward, the kids tidied the whole house and then played basketball outside with Brian for a long time because it was another beautiful day.

I spent the afternoon in my office, continuing to back up my old computer (soooo time-consuming), and getting some blog work done, and then we headed to my parents’ house for Sunday dinner. 

Mama Cass and my youngest brother joined us there, and we had my favorite meal that my Momma makes – meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn on the cob, Red Lobster garlic cheese biscuits, and, of course, a bottle of wine.  Just for the record, my Momma’s meatloaf is the best thing ever… and if you don’t like meatloaf, she will convert you!

After dinner, we lingered around the table for a bit, and then we enjoyed some chocolate crinkle cookies that Momma had made for dessert.  Then we migrated to the living room to watch the tail end of America’s Funniest Videos before heading home.

It was the best busy week and my heart is so happy that we’re able to be out and about again… things are finally feeling pretty normal around here again after nearly two years of weirdness. 

Happy Tuesday, y’all!