Our Week - The One with a Girls Dinner, Lunch with Coworkers, and a Coffee Date

We had another busy week, and I’ve just been feeling so very grateful for all of the normalcy and time with friends and family.

Monday, March 7

Monday morning, I dropped the kids at school and headed straight home to work on the blog for most of the day.  I got tons done, and by the end of my workday, I had five full blog posts done and scheduled.  I typically have one or two, maybe three totally done at once, but it’s rare to see five!

I also tackled some laundry, continued backing up my computer to make the switch to my new one, got some clothes listed on Poshmark, ordered some necessities, and ordered a birthday gift for Olivia’s friend’s party.  Such a productive day!

I grabbed the kids from school at 3 and we headed straight to dance.  Once Olivia was inside, Jacob and I headed home and he did homework while I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, made lunches for the next day, tidied the house, opened the mail, packaged some Poshmark shipments, etc.

B got home just in time for me to leave to pick up Olivia from dance.  Jacob was supposed to have had his second baseball game Monday night, but it was canceled due to the rain, so Olivia and I headed home after dance instead of the ball field as originally planned.

On the way home, the sun peeked through the clouds as it was raining, so I told Olivia to keep her eyes open for rainbows, and I had barely gotten the words out of my mouth when she yelled, “There’s a HUGE rainbow!!”  Sure enough, there was an entire rainbow stretching over our heads.  We could nearly see the whole thing and it was so, so vibrant!  Such a special treat on a Monday evening. 

B and I made breakfast for dinner, and then after the kids got showered, we watched another episode of The Amazing Race.  While we watched, I jumped on the stair stepper and got in a good 45-minute workout.  After the kiddos went to bed, B and I watched another episode of The White Lotus.  What a strange show, y’all… and yet I can’t stop watching.

Tuesday, March 8

Tuesday morning, I got the kids to school and then I spent the whole day working on blog stuff, backing up my computer, shopping for our Disney trip, and doing several other things.  I decided to get a fanny pack for Disney World (or “waist bag” as they’re calling them these days to make them sound less cheesy and 80’s-ish) and I found several on Amazon that I liked.  I ended up ordering four different ones and then I’m going to see how I like them all in person before deciding which one to keep.

After school, we came home for the homework routine, and then Jacob, Olivia, and I headed to dance.  After we dropped Olivia, Jacob and I ran to CVS to grab a prescription, and then we headed back to the dance studio where B was waiting for us. 

I had dinner with my girlfriends Tuesday evening, so we transferred Jacob to Brian’s car, and then they stayed and waited for Olivia to get out of dance class while I headed downtown to meet all of my girls. 

We opted for dinner at one of our favorite local restaurants downtown, and six of us met there.  We had a round of drinks, and then ordered dinner, and then afterward, we all splurged on dessert.  The place we went is known for their delicious cakes, and they are HUGE, so we ordered one slice of strawberry, one slice of chocolate, and one slice of coconut, and the six of us shared.  Everything was so, so yummy.

During dinner, I got a text from B and I almost spit my drink out because I was laughing so hard.  On nights when I’m away from home, B usually makes Kraft mac n’ cheese and hot dogs for himself and the kids because that’s their favorite.  Well, on Tuesday while Olivia was in dance class, he and Jacob decided they would pick up dinner from Chipotle instead, but when they told Olivia the plan she said, “Today is International Women’s Day so I should get to choose dinner, and I want macaroni and cheese and hot dogs.”  LOL.  Brian said he couldn’t argue with that, so he went home and made macaroni and cheese and hot dogs.  LOLOLOLOL. 

It was, indeed, International Women’s Day on Tuesday, and the kids and I had heard a few segments about it on the radio and talked about it a bit, so it was fresh in her mind.  And apparently, she wasn’t gonna let any man boss her around on her day.  Hahahaha.  She is a piece of work, y’all!  Y’all don’t even know.

Anyway, back to dinner – it ended up being wonderful, as always, and I’m just so dang grateful to have so many amazing ladies in my life.  Each and every one of them are such good humans and they each bring their own special “thing” to our table.  I just feel so blessed to know them, and I couldn’t think of a better way to spend International Women’s Day than to spend it with a group of kick-ass ladies who I’ve known and loved for so long.

We’ve been doing these monthly dinners for months now and we never think to take a picture, but we finally remembered on Tuesday night!  All six of us graduated from high school together in 2000, but some of us have known each other even longer than that, since grade school. 

Jen and Jessica (the two ladies on either side of me) and I have been friends for 31 years.  31 years, y’all!!!!  We all met in 4th grade when we started going to the school from which we eventually graduated together nine years later.  Then Jeannine (second from right) joined us at the school in sixth grade, and Jenn (third from right) and Becky (right) joined us in 9th grade.  It’s crazy to me that I’ve known each of them for 26 or more years.  Where oh where has the time gone?

After dinner, I headed home, and we had just enough time to finish the episode of The Amazing Race that we’d started earlier in the week before the kids had to go to bed.  Once they were in bed, B and I watched This is Us, and then it was sleepytime. 

Wednesday, March 9

Wednesday morning was another rainy day, so I headed home to work on the blog all morning.  I left just before noon to go meet my old co-worker, Donnie, for lunch, and another one of my old co-workers ended up coming along with him.  It had been a few months since Donnie and I had hung out, and I hadn’t seen Gilbert in probably three years, so it was the best lunch catching up with both of them.

After lunch, it was back home to finish up with work for the day, and then I headed to school to pick up the kids.  Wednesday was supposed to have been our one night without commitments, but Jacob’s rained out game from Monday ended up being rescheduled for Wednesday night. 

We did the whole homework, tidy, unload the dishwasher, prep for the next day routine, and then I squeezed in a quick cardio workout as well as a quick video chat with another old co-worker before cooking an early dinner. 

We headed to the ball field for Jacob’s 7 PM game, and the game ended up getting delayed until 7:25 so we knew it was going to be a late night.  It was so cold and damp Wednesday night, so we all froze while we watched Jacob’s game, but his team got another big win putting them at 2-0 for the season!

Jacob was walked once, he struck out once, and he had a BIG hit, but it went straight to the shortstop’s glove for an out.  He did score one run after he was walked, though, and his team won 12-7.

Thursday, March 10

Thursday morning, I dropped the kids at school and then settled in at home for another day of intense blog work.  We’re crazy busy this time of year, and we’re also about to be out of town for spring break, so I’m trying to get as far ahead on the blog as possible.  I’m also starting to prep blog posts for summer so I can have as much free time to spend with the kiddos as possible.  I can only get so far ahead blogging, though, because so many things I blog about are in real-time (like my weekly recaps and fashion posts) so there are many posts I can’t do in advance.

I worked all day, and then before car line pickup, I got outside and took Maui for a walk because the weather was beautiful!  After days and days of dreariness and rain, it was nice to finally see the sun! 

After our walk, I grabbed the kids from school at 3, and then we all came home for the afternoon routine.  I cooked an early dinner because Jacob had a game at 7:15, and then we all headed to the ball field.  All of the grandparents were able to join us, and it was a really great evening watching Jacob play ball and chatting with everyone. 

His team played so well again, and they came away with another win, 16-10, putting them at 3-0 for the season so far!  Jacob was walked twice, and he scored a run, so he did well. 

During the game, one of the umpires started walking over to the fence right to me, and I was wondering why on earth he was approaching me, and then I realized that it was one of my old coworkers from waaaay back coming to say hi.  I hadn’t seen him in years, so it was nice catching up with him for a few minutes, too!

As always, 7:15 game nights are always late nights, so by the time we got home, we had just enough time to get the kids showered and in bed, and then B and I spent about 30 minutes downstairs with Maui before we headed to bed, too.

Friday, March 11

Friday morning, I dropped my Telluride off at the Kia place for a maintenance appointment, and then Brian picked me up, so I didn’t have to wait around for them to finish. 

At 10 AM, I had a coffee date with the same group of girls I’d had dinner with Tuesday night.  My friend Jessica couldn’t make it because she was at work, but everyone else was there, and we were able to sit and catch up with our friend, Emily, who now lives in Montana.  Emily is another friend I’ve had since fourth grade, but she hasn’t lived here since high school, so I’ve rarely seen her these last 22 years.   

We wrapped up our coffee date around 11:30 and I headed home to grab B so we could head back to Kia to pick up my Telluride.  The rest of the afternoon was spent working, and then I grabbed the kids from school at 3.

Friday evening, we had nothing going on, and it was a nice evening at home for the first time in a couple of weeks.  We got takeout from our favorite local Italian place, and then we finished the rest of this season of The Amazing Race before sending the kiddos to bed.

Afterward, B and I caught up on A Million Little Things, and we also watched another episode of The White Lotus.

Saturday, March 12

Saturday morning, I made homemade waffles for breakfast and got in a cardio workout, and then B and I got to work setting up my new laptop and moving over files from my old one.  Y’all.  Could this process take any longer or be more complicated?!?!  My goodness. 

By lunchtime, all that we’d accomplished was getting all of the programs installed and we’d gotten my entire music library moved over, minus iTunes.  We’d also attempted to sync my iPhone to iTunes to create a backup of my phone/iTunes just in case there’s any problem when we try to move iTunes over, but after syncing for well over an hour, the phone failed to backup.  My computer is so old, and my phone is, too, and now the computer is having issues detecting the phone, and it’s causing major issues.  I swear, I just need to switch to a Mac.

Shortly after lunch, I got ready for the day, because Olivia had a birthday party to attend at 3.  Unfortunately, a massive cold front had come in over night so the high was 39 and we had sustained winds of 30 mph all day long.  And did I mention that the party was outside at a park? 

Y’all. 

It.  Was.  Freezing. 

The wind was INSANE, and it was pretty miserable, but we all bundled up and did the best we could.

At the park, the kids did a couple of crafts (and everything kept blowing away – LOL), they hit a pinata, and then they snacked on hot dogs, chips, cake, and ice cream (LOL) while the adults snacked on a gorgeous charcuterie board.  Olivia had a blast with her besties, and I enjoyed hanging with the other mommas, but my goodness, was I ever grateful when 4:30 rolled around and it was time to go. 

We did manage to snap a few pictures of the kiddos, but half of them were missing in both and most of them weren't looking.  Haha.  And the boys?  Forget about it.  They were too busy running around to stop and take a picture.

When we got back in the car, I cranked up the heater full blast and I turned on the seat warmers, and I still wasn’t warm by the time we got home.

When we arrived at home, Olivia and I had just enough time to freshen up, and then we all headed to 5:30 Mass.  After Mass, we did our usual Mexican for dinner at our local place, and y’all, my parents joined us!  For the first time in two whole years, we were able to go out to eat with my parents again!  If you’re a longtime reader, you may remember that our pre-pandemic tradition was always 5:30 Mass on Saturday evening followed by dinner out (usually Mexican) with my parents, and sometimes, my entire extended family.  All of that ceased during the pandemic, and we finally got to bring it back on Saturday night!!!!

After dinner, we headed home, and we watched about 30 minutes of American Idol before sending the kids to bed.  I realized a few minutes into it that the time was springing forward overnight, so I knew we all needed to go to bed a slight bit earlier than usual, so we weren’t sleep deprived in the morning.

After the kids were in bed, B and I watched an episode and a half of The White Lotus, and then we headed off to bed, too.

Sunday, March 13

Sunday morning was cinnamon rolls followed by more computer setup, and I also got in a really good HIIT workout.  I tried syncing my phone with iTunes yet again, and after two hours it was only about halfway through step two, so I had to disable it because we had to leave to be at lunch at my mother-in-law and step-father-in-law’s house.  Sigh.  I’ve never had this problem before, so I’m not sure how to proceed at this point.

We had lunch at my MIL and step-FIL’s at 12:30, and after we were done eating the kids played ping pong in the garage with their cousins while all of us adults sat around and talked for a while.  Before we left for lunch, I snapped this picture of Olivia because I thought she just looked too cute!  She reminded me so much of myself in 1990 with that jean skirt and leggings, the purse, and aaaallll the accessories.  Haha.

 

Saturday afternoon, I got in an hour of blog work while the kids played video games, and then I had to get everything ready for Monday, make a meal plan and grocery list, etc. 

We spent the evening over at my parents’ house with my parents and Mama Cass, and Momma made some new bomb recipe that was soooo delicious.  As always, it was the perfect way to end the week. 

I’m just so very grateful for these normal days again after two years of weirdness, and I’m even more grateful for these normal days after seeing all of the terrible things that have been going on in Ukraine these last few weeks.  What a privilege it is to be able to sit around a table and share food with those who we love most.

Happy Wednesday, y’all!