Our Week - The One with the Last Day of School, a Birthday Party, and the Ed Sheeran Concert

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.

B and I finally finished the entire season of American Idol, and then we ended up going up to bed a little after 9 because I was more tired than I have been in a long time.

Tuesday, May 23

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 dropped the kids at school and then I headed home to work on the blog all morning.  I ate an early lunch at my desk while I continued to work, and then I headed out to Walmart to pick up three gallons of ice cream for Olivia’s end of the year class party.  The plan was to get vanilla since we were going to have a ton of toppings, but I was shocked to see that Walmart was completely sold out of vanilla ice cream!!  How does that even happen?!

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

 

In addition to those awards, Olivia’s teacher had all of the kids in the class vote and award each other with all kinds of “fun” awards, and Olivia was voted Most Stylish by her classmates.  She was so excited about that, too!  Haha..

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.

Once that was done, the four of us curled up on the couch to watch an episode of Weird But True, and then once the kids were in bed, B and I watched another episode of Ted Lasso.  Gosh, I just love that show, y’all.  It is laugh out loud funny and it really does just make you feel so good. 

Wednesday, May 24

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!

After his awards ceremony, I wanted to check the kids out and head home to start summer break, but both kids wanted to stay and finish out the last 1.5 hours of school.  Sigh.  Haha.  I love that they love being at school so much, but my goodness, I was just ready to GOOOO.

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!

Jacob and Olivia both selected Dirt Cake cookies, Brian had requested Banana Bread, and I got my beloved Pink Sugar.  I can’t resist that one.  They flavor the frosting with almond extract, and I swear it’s like crack.  Apparently, the way to my heart is through almond extract because I can never resist anything with that in it.

When we got home, we all enjoyed part of our cookies (they’re way too big and filling and rich to eat a whole one all at once) and then the kids settled in to play video games for a bit while I did some work in my office.  This little girl joined me.

 

Later that afternoon, I headed downstairs to get started on dinner, and when B got home, we sat down to eggs, grits, bacon, sausage, and toast for dinner. 

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.

At home, it was showers for the kids and me, and then we all watched an episode of Weird But True before getting the kids in the bed.  B and I ended our evening with an episode of Ted Lasso, and then we hit the hay, too.

Thursday, May 25

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.

After that, the kids and I ate lunch together, and then they played outside while I got showered and ready for the day, and then we headed out to run a few errands.  First up, was Hobby Lobby to grab some beads since Michael’s didn’t have what I was looking for.  Then we stopped by Bath & Body Works to grab some soaps for the primary bathroom.  I prefer those in our bathroom because they’re the best at taking the makeup off of my hands each morning after I apply it.  The Mrs. Meyers soaps that we use everywhere else in the house don’t work as well.

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 have seven in our usual group, and we typically have at least one person missing at each of our monthly get-togethers because of extra-curricular activities for our kiddos and other random stuff that tends to pop up, but this time, everyone was able to come, and we had a bonus friend show up who was back in town for the weekend!

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. 

For my meal, I ordered the Apple Butter Burger and fries, and oh my word, y’all.  It was amazing, too.  It was a burger with apple butter, goat cheese crumbles, and bacon, and it was to die for.  If you’re local and want to know where we went, just send me a message!

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.

When I got home, B and the kids were playing the new Zelda game, and once they were done, we got them in the bed.  It was so late by the time they got in the bed, that B and I only had time to watch a small portion of an episode of Shark Tank, and then we went to bed, too.

 

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.

When I got home, the kids and I headed outside for the rest of the morning, and then we all ate lunch together on the back porch.  It was so mild here last week, and it was downright chilly most nights and mornings, so it was a nice change from the typical hot, humid weather that we typically have at the end of May.

After lunch, the kids did their laundry and showered, and then they spent some time playing video games while I worked in my office, made some bracelets, and cleaned out my purse.

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.

After all of that, Olivia and I headed out the door to attend her friend’s birthday party.  On the way there, Olivia buckled the gift in a seatbelt because she wanted it to stay safe.  Lol.

 

The next couple of hours were spent at our friends’ house for the party.  They had a donut theme, and they had gotten donuts from all of the good local places in town, including one new place that we haven’t had the chance to try.

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.

After the party, Olivia and I flew home so I could get showered and ready because B and I had to drop the kids at my MIL’s and head to Atlanta for the Ed Sheeran concert!!!!  We made excellent timing considering it was a holiday weekend, and we ended up arriving with plenty of time to grab dinner in the stadium. 

Meanwhile, the kids were picking fruit from Nana and Poppie's garden...

Our seats were AH-mazing, and they happened to be club level seats, so we had access to the private club level bars, restaurants, and bathrooms.  I told B that spoiled me so much that I’m going to always need tickets in that section from now on.  Haha.

After a round of hot dogs and beers, we explored the club level area, we grabbed a second round of beers + dessert, and then we settled in to watch Khalid.  I LOVE him, and I was so excited he was one of the openers for our show!  Ed has various openers for this tour, so we really lucked out with Khalid.  He was really great, and we enjoyed him so much.

After he was done, we headed back down to the club level bathrooms for one more bathroom break (didn’t want to have to miss any of the show since we’d had two beers!), and then we got back to our seats.

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.

The concert ended around 10:30, and then B and I hit the road to head back home.  We ended up getting to bed super late since we had to drive home from Atlanta, so we were both exhausted by the time our heads hit the pillows.

 

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. 

 

After that, it was time to get ready and head to my MIL’s to have lunch and see the kiddos.  We celebrated my sister-in-law’s birthday over there with them on Sunday, too, and then we headed home.

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!