What a week, y’all! We had a busy one that was spent wrapping up school things, settling into our summer routine, hanging out with friends, celebrating birthdays, and going to see Ed Sheeran in Atlanta. Let’s get to the recap!
Monday, May 22
Monday morning, I dropped the kids at school and then stopped by Walmart and Publix to get groceries for the next couple of weeks. After that, it was straight home to put those away and start sifting through the hundreds of pictures I’d taken during Olivia’s recital weekend.
I saw my therapist mid-morning for my monthly maintenance, and then I headed back home to tackle a to do list that was a million miles long. After being gone all weekend for Olivia’s recital, the house was in shambles, no laundry had been done, there was a makeup/hair stuff/costume explosion in the living room, and I hadn’t done a single thing for the blog all weekend. Sheesh.
At 3, I picked up the kids, and it was soooo nice because we had no dance, no piano, and no voice lessons, so we were able to go straight home and stay there aaaallll evening. Praise!
When we got home, the kids had snacks, and then they started unpacking their backpacks. They’d been sent home with tons of stuff – books from the year, locker stuff, etc. so they got all of that sorted and recycled and put away. Then after that, the three of us tidied up most of the house since it was in pretty bad shape. I also got all of Olivia’s recital stuff unpacked and put away, and I got all of her dance supplies organized and put away for next year.
By the time that was done, it was time to make dinner. I pulled some leftover vodka sausage pasta out of the freezer, and I made a fresh batch of noodles along with some steamed broccoli and rolls, and then we all sat down to eat when B got home from work.
After all of that was done, I headed out for a three-mile walk while the kids played and got showered, and then I showered and got ready for bed when I got back. We all sat down to watch an episode of Weird But True together, and then we got the kids in the bed early since we’d had such an exhausting weekend.
Tuesday morning, I made my last school lunch hopefully forever – LOL. The kids’ school is moving to a new lunch program next year, and lunches will be included in tuition which means they’ll both eat there every day going forward… which means… NO MORE LUNCH-PACKING FOR ME! Woooo!
I ended up grabbing cookies and cream instead, and then I headed straight to the school, grabbed my key from the office, and then I got the ice cream in the freezer before heading to Olivia’s hall to set up for the party.
Once everything was set up, we all headed to the lower school cafeteria for Olivia’s end-of-the-year awards ceremony. She ended up receiving the Principal’s List award, the Religion award, the AR award, and the Attendance award, but most importantly, she received the Grace award for her class for being a student who models Christian values. Y’all. Of all of the awards to receive, that is THE one that makes me the happiest. Yes, academics are important, but being a good human is, by far, the most important thing. Look at the pure joy on her face when they announced she'd gotten that award! <3
At the end of the awards ceremony, Olivia’s sweet teacher presented me with a gift basket for being the class mom this year, and it was full of cute little goodies and a Starbucks gift card. So sweet!
After the ceremony, I ran back to the office to grab the ice cream from the freezer, and then I headed to Olivia’s hall to start serving the kiddos. We had a whole ice cream sundae bar complete with M&Ms, Skittles, Gummy Bears, chocolate syrup, sprinkles, whipped cream, and cherries. The kids grabbed those + some special 4th grade cookies that one of the moms had made for them and then they enjoyed them in the classroom. We had hoped to have the party outside, but sadly, it rained that whole day.
After the party, I got everything all cleaned up, and then I headed back to the office to return my key. Then, it was off to the car line to sit and wait for dismissal.
When the kids and I got home, we did round two of backpack cleanouts since they had brought more stuff home, and then I worked on uploading all of Olivia’s recital pictures to Instagram and Facebook. By the time that was done, it was time to cook dinner – BBQ chicken, mashed potatoes, steamed green beans, and biscuits.
Since it was rainy and gross all day Tuesday, I wasn’t able to get out for a run as I wanted to, so I settled for a workout on the stair stepper instead and then I added a very short arms workout afterward.
Wednesday was the kids’ last day of school and it was a noon dismissal day. They were out of uniform, but they had to dress in church appropriate attire since they had their last school Mass that day.
After I dropped them off, I headed home for a few minutes to get some work done, and then I met Brian and the church/school to attend the kids’ last school Mass of the year. After Mass, they held the 6th grade and 7th grade awards ceremony for the year. We had been contacted by one of Jacob’s teachers because she said that he was going to be receiving a special academic award, so we didn’t want to miss it.
He ended up getting an award for Principal’s List, and then he also received his special award. Each year, one student per grade is selected to win the award (one for each subject), and the award is given to the student who excels in that subject and also demonstrates the school’s four core values of faith, honesty, loyalty, and respect. Jacob was selected among all of his peers to receive that award for Grammar! We are so proud of him!
Since they wanted to stay, I obliged, and then I chatted with a few people at the school before heading down the street to TJ Maxx to browse and kill some time. I made my way back to the school just before noon, and we all said PEACE OUT for the summer!
It was another crummy weather day and it rained all the live long day, so we headed home after school and we had lunch together. After lunch, I decided that an end-of-school year treat was much needed, so we headed to Target to grab a birthday gift for Olivia’s friend and then Michael’s to grab some beads for me to make bracelets, and then we headed to Crumbl to go get that treat!
After dinner, the four of us + Maui FINALLY got outside because the rain had stopped after three days, and we walked to the neighborhood playground. The kids played there for the rest of the evening while B and I walked laps around it, and then I set out for a 2.5 mile run on my own while B and the kids walked back home.
Thursday was the first official day of summer break, so the kids and I slept in while B got ready and headed off to work. I would have loved to sleep later, but I pulled myself out of bed at 7:15, and then I headed downstairs to make breakfast only to find that the kids were still asleep. They ended up getting up a few minutes later, and then we all had breakfast, cleaned up the kitchen, and did our devotional time together.
After that, the kids watched cartoons for a few minutes while I got a couple of things done in my office, and then we spent the rest of the morning cleaning out backpacks and lunchboxes (yet again), getting them washed, going through school papers, reminiscing about the year, trashing what needed to be trashed, and filing what needed to be filed. I also got the bulletin board in our mudroom changed out from school year to summertime, and I got in a stair stepper and arms workout. It was a SUPER productive morning.
Finally, we swung by Barnes & Noble because Olivia had a gift card leftover from her birthday, and she had been wanting to spend it. That also gave me a chance to look at some Bibles in person. I’m hoping to read the Bible from cover to cover soon, and I have been wanting to buy a really nice Bible for years. I have researched tons on Amazon, and I wanted to see a couple of them in person, so this gave me the opportunity to do that as well.
When we got home, the kids played video games for a few minutes, and I got a couple of things done in my office for the blog, and then I got ready to meet my girlfriends for Happy Hour and dinner.
We had all planned to go to a restaurant downtown, but upon arrival, we were told there was a 40-minute wait because they only had two servers. Instead, the girls and I piled in one car and drove down to the other end of downtown to a local beer bar and kitchen that we love, and I was so glad we ended up there instead because the food ended up being amazing.
We kicked off the evening with a round of drinks, and I opted for an Old Fashioned. One of my friends also ordered the Killer Tofu appetizer and it was incredible. It was crispy tofu with teriyaki, chili crisp, sesame seeds, and scallions, and it was ahhhh-mazing. I couldn’t believe I was eating tofu because it was so satisfying… it tasted like chicken.
After dinner, nobody was ready to leave, so we left the restaurant and ended up grabbing a table outside on the main street downtown to chat some more. The weather was just PERFECTION Thursday night, and we wanted to soak it all up. After chatting for another hour or so, three of us walked back to our cars at the other end of downtown, and then we all headed home.
Friday, May 26
Friday morning, we all had breakfast, the kiddos watched TV for a few minutes while I did some blog reading, and then I went for a two-mile run since B was working from home and could stay with the kids.
Friday evening, we went to Longhorn with my father-in-law and both of Brian’s sisters and their families for B’s sister’s birthday. After dinner, we hung out at my FIL’s house for the rest of the evening, and then we headed home to wrap up the night with a couple more episodes of Ted Lasso.
Saturday, May 27
Saturday morning, we did homemade waffles for breakfast, and then I got in a quick mixed cardio workout. I forgot to snap a picture since I was in such a hurry, but I remembered to do it later in the day after I had already changed out of my workout clothes.
The kiddos all lived their best lives in the pool and on the trampoline while the adults cracked open some adult beverages and chatted, and it was a fun time. I tried a donut from the new place, and it was so good. I just might have a new favorite local place.
While we were waiting, somebody started the wave, and I cannot believe how many times it went around that whole stadium. Usually, it fizzles out somewhere the first time around, but I think it went around at least five or six times and the only reason it stopped was because Ed hit the stage.
The next two hours Ed played a bunch of songs from all of his albums and it was just incredible. We’ve seen him live twice prior to this time, and he has never once disappointed. He is just so freaking talented, and I love him so.
Sunday, May 28
Sunday morning, B and I both slept in until almost 9 which rarely ever happens, and then we had breakfast. B headed out to mow after that, and I watched church and then did my Sunday morning yoga workout.
Sunday, we got really sad news from my side of the family, as well as some really sad news from Brian’s side of the family, and that combined with the sad news we’d already received a couple of weeks ago from another family member really took its toll on me Sunday afternoon. (I apologize for being so vague, but I’m just trying to respect everyone’s privacy. Everyone in my immediate family of four is okay… this doesn’t have anything to do with any of us. But if you are the praying type, please keep our extended families in your prayers. We have family members who really need them right now.)
My anxiety spikes when things get heavy, and my body’s natural response is always to just kind of shut down. So, I spent the rest of the afternoon in my office reading and praying and writing, and just being still.
My parents didn’t cook Sunday dinner since they’d just gotten back from a beach trip, so instead, our family of four went and grabbed Mexican at our favorite place for dinner, and then Brian and the kids watched the movie Chupa on Netflix and I slept on the couch the whole time.
After the movie was over, we got the kids in bed, and then watched a couple of feel-good episodes of Ted Lasso, and then B and I called it a night. And that was our week.
And now for
a few current things…
Currently
Reading
I read three
books this month despite the fact that May is just crazy.
First up,
was The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis-Graves. I absolutely LOVED this book, y’all. It was fantastic.
Next up, was
In This Moment by Karma Brown.
That book was great, too, and I flew through it.
Finally, I just
finished reading The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks, and I loved it,
too. I couldn’t put that one down. It was a great, suspenseful book without
being too disturbing or over the top.
In addition
to those, I also started Winning the War in Your Mind: Change Your Thinking,
Change Your Life by Craig Groeschel.
That one is more of a study, so I’m taking my time getting through it because
I want to really put in the work and let it all soak in. I’m loving it so far, though.
Currently
Watching
With B: We finished A Million Little Things and
American Idol, and we’re also still watching Shark Tank here and there. In addition to those, we also started season
three of Ted Lasso. We haven’t been
watching a ton of TV because we’ve been so darn busy this month.
With the
Kids: We finished The Mandalorian
and Secrets of Sulphur Springs last month, I think, and we started watching
the show Weird But True sometime in April, I think. I failed to do one of these currently recaps
in April, so it’s hard to remember exactly when we started and finished some of
these. In addition to those, we also
watched Chupa on Netflix, although I slept through the whole thing. And Brian and Jacob also watched Back to
the Future and Jurassic Park.
Alone: I started watching The Wedding Planner
again while I work some days, but mostly, I’ve just been listening to music.
Currently
Listening To
May was all about Ed Sheeran and Dave Matthews Band. Both of them released new albums this month,
so I’ve been listening to both of them on repeat. I’ve definitely been listening to Ed Sheeran’s
new one more than DMB’s, though, because I wanted to learn all of the songs
before the concert. Now I’ll probably
turn to DMB’s more often so I can learn all of their new songs before the concert
in July!
Happy Wednesday, y’all!
