Our Week - The One with More Sickness, a Girls Night, and Fall Decorating

Well, Olivia ended up getting what Jacob had, and she had to miss a couple of days of school last week, but as I type this, all four of us are finally well for the first time since August 2, and I’m hoping it stays that way for a while!  Let’s get to the recap of our week, shall we?

Monday, August 22

Monday morning, I dropped the kiddos at school, hit up Publix for some groceries, and then I spent the day working on the blog and deep cleaning the toilets and all surfaces of the house.

After school, Jacob and I dropped Olivia at dance, and then I got him home so he could do his homework before he had to leave for his golf interest meeting.  I left at 5 to go back and pick up Olivia, and Brian and Jacob headed to the school for the golf meeting, and then we all met back home at 6:15 for dinner. 

Since we get home later on Mondays, I just heated up some Publix meatballs and then made some mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli to go along with them.  Our kids would eat those meatballs every single day if we’d let them.  They are so good!  Just a little FYI if you have a Publix nearby!

By the time dinner was ready, Olivia had finished her homework, so after dinner, the kids headed upstairs to get showered.  While they showered, I got outside for a quick 2-mile walk/jog.  It was cooler Monday evening because it had been dreary all day, but the humidity was a million percent, and I was drenched by the time I got back home.

I got showered when I got home, and then the kiddos played in the playroom for a bit.  One of Jacob’s friends texted my phone and asked to talk to Jacob, so the two of them texted back and forth for a bit before it was time to go to bed.

Right before bed, we were all upstairs, and we all heard a loud crash followed by the shattering of glass downstairs.  B and I ran down there to see what on earth had happened, and after searching the whole house we couldn’t find anything wrong.

I finally realized that one of my beloved champagne glasses had slid off the back of our wine rack and crashed to the ground.  I was so glad that happened while we were home, because if we hadn’t been home to hear it, we probably wouldn’t have noticed for a while that it had fallen.  Then we would have run the risk of someone stepping on one of the shards of glass that had flown out from behind the rack.  It shattered into a million pieces. 

We have no clue how or why that thing fell, and it was just really bizarre.  I’m still scratching my head over it. 

After the kiddos went to bed, B and I watched another episode of Vampire Diaries, and then some more of the Manti Te’o documentary before heading to bed.

Tuesday, August 23

Tuesday morning, Olivia woke up with the same stuffy nose/scratchy throat cold that Jacob had over the weekend.  Sigh.  They are together every minute when they’re at home, and it’s impossible to keep them separated, so we figured she’d get it at some point.  She felt totally fine, and she didn’t even have a fever, but we, of course, kept her home so she wouldn’t spread her cold germs at school.

I had an allergist appointment and a school meeting on the calendar Tuesday, so Brian ended up having to work from home yet again since I couldn’t stay with Olivia.  Tuesday was the first day that he was finally going back to the office for work since August 1 since he’d been out with Covid for so long, and then he had to tell his boss he had to stay home again.  Can’t make this stuff up!  Lol.

After I dropped Jacob at school, I ran to Staples to grab a couple of things, and then I went to my allergist appointment at 8:30.  After that, it was Starbucks and Target to pick up some stuff for Olivia’s teacher’s birthday, and then I had to be back at the school for a 10 o’clock meeting.  I’m in charge of Grandparents Day again at the school this year, and it was time for our meeting since Grandparents Day is next month!

After the meeting, I finally headed back home to Brian and Olivia.  I pulled her away from her cartoons and got her all settled in with her schoolwork.  Thankfully, this year, a lot of her work is done on a laptop, so she was able to make up the majority of her classwork right there at home.  So convenient!

After she was done with schoolwork, she played video games for a little bit while I did some work, and then I headed out to pick up Jacob from school.

Olivia was supposed to have two dance classes Tuesday evening, but she had to miss them, so we had an unexpected free evening.  I cooked dinner while the kiddos finished up homework and played, and then after dinner, I finished folding towels and did an arms workout while the kids got ready for bed.

We watched some of AGT before the kiddos went to bed and then B and I watched another episode of Vampire Diaries and finished up episode 1 of the Manti Te’o documentary.  Side note, we’re about a quarter of the way into the second season of Vampire Diaries, and I am totally swooning over Damon, y’all.

Wednesday, August 24

Wednesday morning, Olivia was still pretty congested when she got up, so we made the decision to keep her home for another day.  Pre-Covid, I would have definitely sent her back on Tuesday, but we are trying to be especially mindful right now about germs since there’s such a stigma, and for good reason.

After Olivia and I dropped Jacob at school, she and I swung by Publix to pick up cupcakes for her teacher’s birthday on Thursday, and then we stopped to get gas, and we ran inside to find some Vanilla Coke to add to her teacher’s favorite things basket from the class since that’s her favorite.  I hated to take her out in public while she was sick, but I didn’t have a choice since B was back at the office.  We both wore masks just to be safe even though there was hardly anybody there anyway since we went before 8 AM.

By the time we got home, her teacher had added her assignments into their Google classroom, so she worked on those for the rest of the morning while I vacuumed and mopped the whole house.  I finished up just as she did, and then we played a game of Memory with her favorite set of cards.  Per usual, she whooped my tail, 17-10.  I swear, she and Jacob have THE BEST memories when it comes to those memory games.  I totally suck at remembering where any of them are.  Haha.

By the time we finished up with that, it was time for lunch, so I got everything on the table, and Olivia and I ate together while listening to our Halloween playlist.  My girl has been begging for a couple of weeks to listen to it, so I finally gave in… who am I kidding… I’m excited for it, too!!

After lunch, we got everything cleaned up, and then she helped me put all of the gifts together for her teacher’s birthday gift from the class.  We got it all wrapped and got everything ready to go for Thursday, and then I helped her hang a couple of handmade Halloween decorations she’d made for her room.  She’s just as festive as her Momma!

We had just about an hour before it was time to pick up Jacob from school, so I sent her to play video games so I could get some work done.  I had to send an email to all of the parents about the teacher’s birthday gift, and then get a couple of things done for the blog.

On the way to pick up Jacob, we jammed out to the Encanto soundtrack, and Olivia was content in the car drawing more Halloween decorations to hang in her bedroom… although, she was initially shocked to find out that I have to sit in the car line for 30-40 minutes every day just to pick them up from school.  Haha. 

When we got home, the kids had snacks and did homework, and then Jacob played video games for a few minutes while I got dinner ready.  I had to be at Parent Night for the middle school on Wednesday evening, so we ate a verrrry early dinner, and then I headed to the school. 

Brian took Maui and the kids for a nice long walk and to play on the neighborhood playground while I was gone, so they were finally able to get some fresh air after a lot of rain earlier in the week.

Parent Night went well, and I was able to sit in each of Jacob’s classes and see what to expect for the upcoming year.  I was also able to meet the two teachers of his that we didn’t already know, one of whom is new to the school this year.  I was impressed with all of them, and I think Jacob is going to have a really wonderful year!  So far, so good!

I got home around 7:30, just as the kids were finishing up getting ready for bed, and then we all sat down and watched a few more minutes of AGT before sending them to bed.  By the end of the day, Olivia was feeling great and had very minimal congestion, so we knew we could go ahead and make the decision to send her back to school on Thursday.  Like I said before, she really could have gone back on Wednesday, but we’ve been being overly cautious about germs since Covid started.

After the kiddos went to bed, it was more Vampire Diaries and more Manti Te’o documentary for us, and then bedtime.

 

Thursday, August 25

Thursday morning, I dropped both kiddos off at school (PRAISE!) and then I dropped off some cupcakes and a class gift for Olivia’s teacher since it was her birthday.

After that, I headed straight home to do all the things that I hadn’t been able to do since I’d been entertaining a sick kiddo.  Thursday was the first day that Brian was at work and both kids were at school since May, so it was the first time I’d had the whole house to myself for the day in months!  It was nice, but also odd because it was so quiet.

At 3, I grabbed the kids from school, and we headed straight home for a quick snack before music lessons.  Jacob’s piano teacher had a cancellation right before Jacob, so the kids were able to take their lessons at the same time on Thursday which meant that our time there was cut in half!  Woo hoo! 

The kids’ school librarian/media center specialist was there with her two kiddos (one of whom is in Jacob’s class), so I was able to chat with them during the 30 minutes that the kids were taking lessons, and that passed the time very quickly. 

When we got home, I got everything prepped and ready for Friday, and then I headed out for dinner with my girlfriends while B took the kids to the driving range.

We’ve officially reached busy season, so only four of us girls were able to make it to dinner, but it was nice to get out and catch up with those who were able to make it. 

I got home around 8, and the kids were still in the midst of getting ready for bed since they’d gotten home late.  B had picked up dinner for them, and apparently Jacob wanted Chipotle and Olivia wanted Chick-Fil-A so he took them to both places so everyone could get what they want.  Suckerrrr!  Haha. 

Once the kids were in bed, it was more of the same for Brian and me – Vampire Diaries, and more Manti Te’o documentary.  We’ve been watching that in 15-minute chunks so it’s taking us forever to get through it.  Ha!

Friday, August 26

Friday morning, I dropped the kiddos at school and then I swung by a friend’s house to pick up some uniforms for our kiddos.  The rest of the day was spent working, and then after school, the kids and I swung by the library to pick up some books.  My friend, Jeannine, was working, so we were able to chat with her for a bit, too.

When we got home, I wanted to start pulling out fall decorations, but in order to do that, the closet we store them in had to be cleaned out first.  The closet in Brian’s office houses all of our holiday décor, sell/donation items, and gift wrap, and it has also become a catch-all for junk, so it was reeeeally bad. 

We had a lot of stuff in there that needed to be listed to sell, so I photographed all of it and got it uploaded to a local Facebook page that we use to sell stuff, and then I got all of the donation items pulled out and placed in our dining room until I could get them loaded into my car and dropped off.

Once all that was done, Brian helped me carry the fall boxes out to the front sitting room so they’d be ready for me first thing Saturday morning.

I had to cut my cleaning short because we had plans Friday afternoon/evening to hang with my father-in-law and the rest of B’s family to celebrate my FIL’s birthday.  His birthday was back near the beginning of August, but we were never able to celebrate with him because B got Covid. 

Brian picked up food from our favorite pub and my SIL picked up a Dairy Queen Blizzard cake, and we all met over at my FIL’s house to eat dinner and hang out.  We hadn’t seen any of them since the end of July because our family had so much sickness in the house in August, so it was nice to be able to see everybody again.

When we got home, we had a package on the doorstep from my blog friend, Jess.  She had sent us a bunch of Georgia goodies that she'd gotten at work all the way in Oregon and we were all so excited.  There were so many wonderful goodies in there, and the kiddos had fun helping me unpack everything.

By the time that was done, it was late, so the kids showered and got in bed, and then B and I ended the evening with two episodes of Vampire Diaries.  We also finally finished the Manti Te’o documentary… what a crazy story!   

Saturday, August 27

Saturday morning, Jacob had his first golf tournament, but this one was just for practice.  Therefore, we were up a little earlier than usual for a Saturday.  I made some homemade waffles for breakfast and then Olivia and I sent Brian and Jacob on their way.  For golf, only two spectators are allowed per player, so our family of three won’t be able to go together.  Instead, B will likely be taking him to most of his matches. 

While they were gone, Olivia and I got down to business decorating the house for fall.  ESPN College GameDay was on for the first time this season, too, so we turned that on as our happy background noise while we decorated, and it was just the coziest little morning with my girl!  We ended up getting nearly everything done by the time the boys got home… including adding some décor to Olivia’s bedroom for the first time ever.  And, of course, I added some fall foliage to my office. 

Jacob wanted a couple of things in his room, too, so we hung a fall leaf garland over his headboard, and we added a pumpkin to his dresser.  It was the perfect little touch to make his room festive!

Jacob had done pretty well at the golf tournament.  They had paired him with another kid, and the other kid only beat him by two strokes, so we figured that wasn’t too shabby.  This was the first time he’s ever played in a competitive environment for golf, so we weren’t sure what to expect with regard to scoring at this age group.  After looking at all of the other scores, Brian said that Jacob’s score was comparable to the other kids’ scores so that was good. 

Jacob said that he had a good time, and Brian confirmed that he did, indeed, seem to enjoy it.  The real season starts this week with his first practice, and his first match should be next week, so it was good that he was able to get out there with some other kids so he’ll know what to expect.

By the time the boys got home, it was time for a light lunch at home, and then afterward, I finished decorating for fall (for the most part), cleaning out the closet in Brian’s office, and getting all of our everyday decorations put away since we won’t need them until the end of December/early January after Christmas décor comes down!

By the time I’d finished, I was exhausted, but it was THE MOST productive day, and I could finally see the floor in the closet for the first time in months, so that alone was a huge win!!!!

By the time all that was done, I had just enough time to have a little snack and rest for a few minutes before it was time to get ready for church.  We hadn’t been to Mass in nearly a month since everyone had been sick, so it was nice to finally be back in person.  Virtual is great to have as a backup option when someone is sick, but it is definitely not the same as being there in person.

After Mass, we headed to our favorite Mexican place with my parents, and then we swung by Dairy Queen to grab some Blizzards to go.  Our next-door neighbors own the Dairy Queen by our church, so we like to go support their business whenever we can… we also like to use that as an excuse to go get Blizzards.  Hahahaha.

By the time we got home, it was time to get the kiddos ready for bed, and then after they went to bed, B and I enjoyed our Blizzards while watching two more episodes of Vampire Diaries.

 

Sunday, August 28

Sunday morning was cinnamon rolls and cartoons, and while the kids watched cartoons, I sat down with my cinnamon tea and I spread out my planner, my blog calendar, and my lists, and I got to planning the month of September.  Seeing all of the fall leaves and other décor in the house made the view even better, too!

After that was done, I headed upstairs to do a quick arms workout as well as a yoga workout, and then I got a couple of things done around the house while B mowed the lawn.  Late morning, we all got showered and ready and then we headed to my mother-in-law’s and step-father-in-law’s house for Sunday lunch.  We hadn’t been there since July, so it was nice to be back and be able to visit with them after all that time had passed.

When we got home, the kiddos played some video games and I got everything prepped and ready for Monday, and then we headed to my parents’ house for Sunday dinner and to finally celebrate my Daddy’s birthday which was also back at the beginning of August.  So much catching up to do!  My Momma made her famous spaghetti, and we ended the evening with a delicious apple spice cobbler with vanilla ice cream… it tasted exactly like fall, and I thought that was the perfect way to end the weekend that had started with fall decorating and college football!!!! 

And now for a few current things…

Currently Reading

 

Well, I didn’t read anything for most of the month of August because I was waiting on my book to become available at the library and it never did.  Boooo.  I finished The Summer I Turned Pretty in July and immediately put the second book on hold at the library.  There were two copies, and both were checked out already, but I was first in line for the holds, which meant that I should have only had to wait about a week to get the book.  Well, it’s been about six weeks now and I’m still waiting because the people who checked them out won’t turn them back in.  I finally gave up and started The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, though, so I’m back reading after a weeks-long hiatus!

 

Currently Watching

 

With B:  In August, we finished the final season of Better Call Saul, although, I hardly paid any attention to it.  I just didn’t love it.  We also watched the Manti Te’o documentary which was just bizarre.  Brian also started House of the Dragon and while I’m present when it’s on, I pay zero attention to it.  Haha.  And, of course, we have also been making our way through The Vampire Diaries.  Y’all, I am obsessssed!!!!  It did take me about 10-12 episodes to really get into it, but now I am fully invested and I’m SO excited that it’s eight seasons because that means I can enjoy it for a long time.  There’s nothing worse than getting into a great show, binging it in two weeks, and then going through withdrawals because it was over so quickly.  Haha.  The bad thing is that it’s leaving Netflix on September 3, but I’m hearing rumors that it should move to HBO Max sometime in September, so I’m praying that’s accurate.  What the heck am I going to do if it doesn’t move somewhere quickly?!  Waaaahhhh!

 

With the Kids:  We’re still working our way through America’s Got Talent on network TV and the kids finished the first season of Theodosia.  We also watched a couple more episodes of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, but we didn’t have much time for anything else since AGT takes up so much of our time.  Oh, and we also had a couple of movie nights – Lightyear and Zombies.  Brian and Jacob also watched Revenge of the Sith the night that Jacob was sick and couldn’t attend the Back to School Social.

 

Alone:  I have actually branched out this month and I’ve watched quite a few movies to have on as my happy background noise while I work –  Father of the Bride 2 (I just can’t quit that one), Mean Girls, When Harry Met Sally, Crazy Stupid Love (I had forgotten how fantastic that movie was!), Miss Congeniality, Bridget Jones’s Baby (did not love that one but I didn’t like the OG Bridget Jones movie either), Something’s Gotta Give, and Made of Honor (don’t think I’d ever seen that one and it was just okay).  I also started Gilmore Girls again.  Hahahaha.  ‘Tis the season!  And I just realized that I actually haven’t watched any more of Friday Night Lights after starting it again last month.

 

Currently Listening To

All the cozy fall faves AKA old standards and jazz!  We may have already listened to our Halloween playlist a couple of times, too.  I blame Jacob and Olivia.  ;o)

Happy Wednesday, y’all!