Our Week - The One with Girls Trivia Night and Another Birthday

It’s time to recap yet another week, y’all!  Let’s do it!

Monday, March 20

Monday morning, I got the kiddos off to school and then I headed straight home to throw my fuzzy PJs back on because it was 28-freaking-degrees.  Whyyyy, though. 

I spent the entire day bundled up inside working on the blog, and then at 2 it was time to get moving and do all the things.  Jacob was feeling better Monday, so we had piano lessons and golf on deck, plus dance for Olivia. 

After the kiddos were released from school, they ate snacks in the car on the way to dance, and then once Olivia was dropped off there, Jacob and I headed to piano lessons.  They were recording some upcoming stuff for the recitals at the school in the lobby, so I couldn’t sit in there, so I ended up sitting in on Jacob’s lesson for the first time ever.  I’d spent a couple of minutes in there at the end of one of his lessons before, but this was the first time I was able to sit in for the whole thing.

He was in the process of learning a really hard song, so he ended up working on that same one the whole time.  His teacher had him play it with one hand at a time at first, and by the end of the lesson, he was playing it (slowly) with two hands.  He is really coming along, and I really enjoyed being able to watch him and watch the whole teaching process.  Jacob also informed me that he loved having me in there with them, so I might start sitting in more if he wants me to.

After piano lessons, Jacob and I shot straight over to golf, because he had a tee time of 4:42.  We were cutting it soooo cloooose, but thankfully, we got him there on time.  Brian met us there, and I hung around to watch him tee off at the first hole, and then I had to go back to dance to pick up Olivia.

When she and I got home, she worked on homework while I got in a stair stepper workout, and then she got showered and ready for bed while I got dinner ready.  Mondays are hectic, late nights now that golf has started, so I did turkey and cheese biscuit sliders and fruit for dinner.  Simple, but always a crowd pleaser. 

Once the boys got home, we ate dinner together.  Jacob had shot a 45 which was only one stroke higher than the previous week, so he had done really well again.

After dinner, Jacob had math homework to do, and then he got showered and ready for bed.  By bedtime, he was exhausted, and he couldn’t get into bed fast enough.  While he got ready for bed, I got in a quick arms workout to round out the evening.  I had wanted to do it right after my stair stepper workout, but on Mondays, I just have to get it in where I can fit it in!

Once he (and Olivia) were tucked into bed, I retreated to my office to meditate, and then B and I watched some of The Bachelor before heading to bed.

Unfortunately, Monday morning, B’s throat started feeling scratchy, and by the time we went to bed, it was full-on sore, so he must have gotten whatever Jacob had.

Tuesday, March 21

Tuesday morning, I dropped the kids at school and then I headed to Publix to drop a giant bag of plastic bags for recycling.  I also grabbed a few items that we needed while I was there, and I was in and out in about five minutes.

The rest of the day was spent working on blog stuff.  B worked from home on Tuesday since he was under the weather, but thankfully, he tested negative for Covid.  Must just be a spring cold. 

After school, the kiddos and I came home so they could do homework, and then I drove Olivia to dance.  After I dropped her off, I headed downtown for a girls’ night.  We have an awesome food hall downtown, and they just started doing trivia there on Tuesday nights, so we thought that would be a fun change of pace rather than just doing dinner.

When we arrived, we all grabbed beers and food, and then we grabbed a table in the room where they were doing trivia.  I opted for a hot dog and fries from one of the newer vendors, and a couple of the girls grabbed Mexican food from a different vendor. 

Trivia ran for about two hours, and we did four rounds.  The first round was just a hodge podge of random stuff.  The second round was all about MTV.  For the third round, the trivia host listed three random things and we had to say what they have in common.  And then, the last round was my personal favorite because it was a music round.  The host played songs and we had to list different things about them – artists, song titles, lead singer’s names, and various other random things. 

We ended up doing SO WELL on all four rounds, but we were barely beaten by a different group every single time.  We had so much fun, though, and our trivia host was a hoot!  He was really funny and personable, and he kept cutting up with us since we were sitting right by him. 

We had to select a team name for each round, and instead of using the same one over and over, we chose different names for each round, and each name we chose had something to do with the Sister Act movies.  Hahahaha.  After trivia was over, our host told us that he was loving all of our names so much because Sister Act was one of his favorite movies growing up.  Classic!

Trivia wrapped up just before 8 and the girls and I hung out outside for a few.  Since we were right by the river, we had to go take a picture with the cow, too.  She’s been a landmark in our city for decades, and they recently moved her downtown so we can all enjoy her. 

On the way home, I swung by Publix again because I realized that I was supposed to have picked up chicken and I forgot (face palm) and then I headed home.  By the time I got home, it was time to get the kiddos in bed, and then after that, I squeezed in a quick 20-minute arms and squats workout while B and I watched The Bachelor.  I reeeeally didn’t feel like working out since it was so late, but I got it done anyway!

Wednesday, March 22

Wednesday morning, I dropped the kiddos at school and then I spent the day at home working on blog stuff, washing sheets, and doing various other things that needed to be done.  I always dread washing the kids’ sheets because there’s so much stuff that has to be removed from their beds before I can even get the sheets off.  I snapped this picture of Olivia’s bed because I wanted to share the sheer volume of crap that she keeps in her bed – like six pillows, a million stuffies, multiple blankets, random toys, and… a tri-board.  Hahahaha.  Whyyyy though.

After school, we had nowhere to be, so we headed straight home, and the kids got their homework done while I prepped for Thursday and got dinner ready.  We sat down and had Cajun chicken pasta with steamed green beans and Cheesecake Factory bread for dinner, and then afterwards, we got the kitchen cleaned up.

After dinner, B lay on the couch for a bit because he was tired from not sleeping well the night before.  His funk kept him up most of the night Tuesday night.  He did test for Covid one more time Wednesday evening, and he was negative again, so I think it’s safe to say he didn’t have that.

While he lay on the couch, the kiddos played outside, and I went for a run.  I had actually intended to walk, so I started a walk workout on my Apple Watch, and then I ended up running most of the 3.5 miles.  Normally, I’m struggling a bit after a run, but for some reason Wednesday night, I felt like I could have run 3 more miles.  Strange!

By the time I got home, the kids were done getting ready for bed, so we all watched The Mandalorian, and then I showered and got ready for bed before getting the kiddos into bed. 

Once they were tucked in, B and I watched some of the new American Idol episode, and then we headed upstairs for a little bit of reading and bedtime.

Thursday, March 23

Thursday morning, I dropped the kids at school, and then I dropped Maui off at the groomer FINALLYYYY.  She was in desperate need of a haircut and a bath.  After that, it was back home for a few minutes to get started on some work, and then I headed back to the school to attend school Mass with Olivia + their third quarter awards ceremony. 

 

By the time I got home, I still hadn’t heard back from the groomer, so I did some work to pass the time until it was time to pick her up.  They always call between 11 and 12 to say that she’s done, but she didn’t end up being done until almost 2, which meant that I couldn’t get her because I had to pick up the kiddos from school.

Fortunately, B was still working from home on Thursday because of his cold, so he was able to run out and grab her as I went off to pick up the kids.  Both kids were in desperate need of new tennis shoes for school, so we swung by the store to grab some after school, and then we headed straight to Olivia’s voice lessons. 

She is still not wanting to do the recital, but her teacher is letting her pick a song as if she’s going to do it, so that way she’s prepared in case she does end up deciding to do it.  She had already decided on one Taylor Swift song, but this week, she decided to switch to Afterglow by Taylor Swift.  She loves that song so much!

Once lessons were done, we headed home, and I got started on dinner – one pan roasted sausage, sweet potatoes, broccoli, and onions with blueberry muffins – and then we all ate dinner together.  B had to work some more after dinner, so he went back to his office to finish up, and the kids headed outside to play while I stepped out for a 3-mile walk/run.

It was just gorgeous out Thursday evening, and I am soooo happy to be able to take my evening walks/runs again.  They are one of my most favorite things in the whole world.  I love moving my body, I love the fresh air, I love seeing all of our neighbors out in their yards enjoying the weather, too, I love pushing myself and sweating, and I love how I feel afterward.  I’ve also noticed that on the mornings after I go on an evening run, it’s much easier for me to get out of bed when my alarm goes off.  I just cannot get enough of evening runs and walks, y’all!

When I got done with my three miles, the kids were still playing outside, so I rounded them up, and we all headed inside so they could get showered and ready for bed.  While Olivia was showering, Jacob and I played piano together some more.  We wanted to try to tackle a mainstream song rather than just the songs in his books, so we’ve been taking note of all songs that would be “good piano songs” when they pop up in my music shuffle. 

Some of the ones we’re interested in – “Drops of Jupiter” by Train, “Clair de Lune” by Claude Debussy (it’s one of my all-time classical pieces), “Casper’s Lullabye” from the old Casper movie from the 90’s (seriously the most beautiful song in the whole world.  I used to listen to it every single night when I was a kid while I was falling asleep.), and… “All My Life” by K-Ci and JoJo. 

“All My Life” won, so we started working on that one Thursday night.  I played the intro for him a couple of times, and he picked it up instantly, and figured out the first part in less than five minutes.  He is seriously amazing, this kid.  His music teacher was right – he does have the gift of music.  He doesn’t even really have to try all that hard.  I watched him while he was figuring it out, and I swear, I could practically see the wheels turning in his head.  He had the whole first few notes figured out in, like, two tries.  Truly amazing.

Once Olivia was out of the shower, Jacob and I wrapped up our piano session so he could get showered, and then I got showered and ready for bed, too.  We’d played outside so late, that by the time everyone was done getting ready for bed, it was already time to get in the bed, so we said goodnight and B and I ended the evening with some more American Idol. 

Friday, March 24

Friday morning, I dropped the kids at school and then I headed home to work.  My day had been quite hectic on Thursday with all of the errands that we’d had to run, so I left some things undone from Thursday.  I spent the day working on the blog and tying up some loose ends, and then grabbed the kiddos from school at 3 when they got out.

My nephews play baseball on the high school varsity team at our kids’ same school, so we decided to go watch them play at their 4:30 game since it was at home.  It was a beautiful day to be outside, although, a little on the hot side since we were directly in the sun.  We went from 28 degrees at the beginning of the week to 85 at the end of the week. 

Our boys ended up winning 6-0, and when the game was over, our family of four headed to our favorite Mexican restaurant that we frequent right by the kids’ school and our church. 

After a round of margs and some yummy food, we headed home to hang for the rest of the night.  Jacob and I worked some more on my piano skills, and I played my first song without the actual letters shown on the scale… my first time reading actual music without a cheat sheet!  Haha. 

After that, the kids got showered and ready for bed, and then after they were tucked in, B and I watched a couple of episodes of Only Murders in the Building.  I ended up falling asleep during the second one, though, because I just couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore.

Saturday, March 25

Saturday morning, we woke up to pouring rain.  I made some homemade waffles, and then read for a bit, and by the time I was done reading, the rain had cleared out and the sun was out.  I got in a good cardio workout after that, and the kids headed outside to play.

After lunch, I headed outside to lay out in the sun and read for a bit, and a big thunderstorm popped up halfway through that sent me inside.  It rolled in and out in about 20 minutes, and the sun came back out, and you’d never know it had even rained, so I headed back outside to lay in the sun some more. 

By the time that was done, it was time to get ready for church.  We sat with my Mama Cass and two sets of aunts and uncles, and then the four of us headed out to dinner at our favorite pub down the street from church.  Some of our friends were also there after church, and they sent over some leftover beer in their pitcher before they left. 

B and the kids wanted Dairy Queen afterwards, so we swung through their drive-through for Blizzards, and then we headed home.  By the time the kids were done with theirs, it was time for them to get into bed.  B and I watched the episode of Only Murders in the Building that I’d fallen asleep during the night before, and then we watched one more episode before heading up to bed.  Aaaand I fell asleep during the second episode again.  Hahahaha.

 

Sunday, March 26

Sunday morning, I woke a little later than usual because it was pitch black outside from some stormy weather just north of us.  They ended up having a tornado that did quite a bit of damage, and I was thankful that it missed us. 

We made cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and then I planned the week ahead, (finally) finished my book that wasn’t great, and I got in a yoga workout.  Once that was all done, I got ready for the day, and then we headed to my mother-in-law and step-father-in-law’s house for Sunday lunch and to celebrate my MIL’s birthday. 

 

It rained off and on most of the day, so we spent the rest of the afternoon at home.  My parents didn’t cook Sunday dinner, so we made a frozen pizza at home, and then ended the night with two episodes of Secrets of Sulphur Springs because it’s officially back!  After that, B and I re-watched the episode of Only Murders that I’d fallen asleep during, and then we watched some of American Idol before heading to bed.

And now for a few current things…

Currently Reading

 

I read four books this month, y’all.  Four.  Who am I?!  This time of year is usually so busy that I don’t have the time to read, but with Jacob not playing baseball, that has really freed up some time, and I’ve been devouring books like it’s my job!

 

First up, was Float Plan by Trish Doller.  It started out a little slow for me, but I ended up liking it pretty good once it picked up a bit.  I did love the characters in the book, and I was satisfied with the ending.  I’d say it was worth the read.

 

Next up, was November 9 by Colleen Hoover.  She is hit or miss for me, but I loved this one.  It’s definitely in my Colleen Hoover Top Two, and I loved it so much I gave it five stars on Goodreads.

 

Then, came After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid.  Overall, I liked this book.  It wasn’t fantastic, but it was definitely readable.  It just wasn’t a masterpiece like her book One True Loves that I read in February. 

 

Finally, I read The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary.  Y’all.  Oh my goodness, this book was soooo boring.  I thought the overall concept was so cute, and I really appreciated how the author incorporated some music into it to set the tone.  I was also struck by a few phrases here and there throughout the book that were very well-written, but other than that, this book was soooo boring.  I really feel like it just should have been so much better than it actually was.  I also feel like there was a lot of filler that could have been left out.  It’s a pretty long book, so maybe it would have been better if it had been shorter?  Anyway, I took a poll on Instagram and the vast majority of people who have read it told me it was just ok or to not waste my time, so I guess I should have listened to y’all.  Ha!

 

Currently Watching

 

With B:  We finished season two of Only Murders in the Building, season one of The Last of Us, and season three of Outer Banks, and we’re still making our way through A Million Little Things, Saturday Night Live, and Shark Tank.  We also started the new season of American Idol.

 

With the Kids:  We finished the new season of Floor is Lava, and we picked up Fresh Prince of Bel Air again.  Oh, and The Mandalorian and Secrets of Sulphur Springs are both back, so we just started season three of both of those, too!

 

Alone:  I’m still watching How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days every now and then, but mostly, I’ve just been listening to music.

 

Currently Listening To

The question is, what am I not listening to?!  I listen to music nonstop when I’m at home and in my car, so I always have something playing.  I’m still playing a lot of 90’s Hip Hop and R&B, but I’ve also been listening to Taylor Swift and Dave Matthews Band (because, duh).  I’ve also been listening to some newly downloaded songs on repeat as well – Love Come Back to Me by Phillip Phillips (he’s putting out a new album soon!!), Nobody Gets Me by Sza, Escapism by Raye, Wonder Woman by Miley Cyrus, and Eyes Closed by Ed Sheeran.  I’m counting down the days until his new album comes out in May!  And until we see him in concert again!  EEK!

Happy Tuesday, y’all!